Discovered at age eight by Quillish Wammy (Watari) and raised in England's Wammy's House orphanage for gifted children, L Lawliet (born October 31, 1979 or 1982 in some adaptations) possessed an intellect that propelled him to become the world's greatest detective under Watari's guidance. He operated under strict anonymity, communicating solely through Watari and representing himself only with a stylized "L" in Old English or Cloister Black fonts. His true identity remained hidden behind aliases like Ryuzaki, Hideki Ryuga, Eraldo Coil, and Deneuve, with his full name, L Lawliet, disclosed only in supplementary materials. L presented as a pale, slim young man with messy neck-length black hair, dark eyes, and deep shadows under his eyes from chronic insomnia. He consistently wore a white long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, preferring to go barefoot even in public. His characteristic posture involved crouching or sitting with both feet flat on his chair, claiming normal sitting reduced his deductive abilities by 40%. Eccentric habits included stacking food, holding objects delicately between thumb and forefinger, biting his nails, and engaging in socially unconventional behaviors like talking while eating or placing his feet on furniture. His investigative brilliance fused analytical genius with psychological manipulation. L employed deception, disinformation, and high-stakes gambits, such as using death row inmate Lind L. Tailor as a televised decoy to confirm Kira's existence and location. He frequently offered misleading probability percentages about suspects; while claiming minimal suspicion of Light Yagami as Kira, he privately considered it near certainty. Tsugumi Ohba described this trait as L being "a liar" strategically. Despite a diet comprised solely of sweets, he maintained athletic ability, evidenced by past tennis championships in England and competent martial arts skills. Morally ambiguous, L admitted lacking conventional justice motives, solving cases purely as intellectual challenges. He stated, "If you measured good and evil deeds by current laws, I would be responsible for many crimes." Ohba described him as "slightly evil," and he utilized ethically questionable tactics like surveillance, confinement, and torture. In *Death Note Relight 2: L's Successors*, a flashback shows L confiding to Wammy's House children about seeing himself as a "lying monster," stating: "Monsters who always tell lies are a real nuisance... in truth, I am that monster," highlighting his alienation and acceptance of deceit as a necessary tool. His defining rivalry was with Light Yagami. Suspecting Light as Kira early on, L handcuffed himself to Light for direct observation and enrolled at To-Oh University under the alias Hideki Ryuga to provoke him. Their dynamic blended mutual respect and psychological warfare, culminating in L's death by the Shinigami Rem to protect Misa Amane. Posthumously, in *Relight 2*, L narrates parts of the story, breaking the fourth wall. His legacy persisted through successors Near and Mello, whom he trained at Wammy's House. The OVA depicts Near accessing L's confidential case files, accelerating his investigation against Light. The film *L: Change the WorLd*, set in an alternate continuity, explores L's final 23 days, depicting a more human side as he protects a child and confronts a bioterrorism threat, contrasting with his canonical detachment by emphasizing empathy and sacrifice. Across all media, L's influence endured through his methodologies and the orphans he mentored, cementing his foundational role in the pursuit of Kira.