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L Lawliet (エル・ローライト, Eru Rōraito),[1] known mononymously as L, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the manga series Death Note, created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. He is an enigmatic, mysterious, and highly-esteemed international consulting detective whose true identity and background is kept a secret. He communicates with law enforcement agencies only through his equally inexplicable handler/assistant, Watari, who serves as his official liaison with the authorities. Though his past is shrouded in mystery, he has gained a reputation as arguably the world's greatest detective/criminal profiler.
Throughout the series, he observes and spies on the activities of the series' protagonist, Light Yagami, a high school genius. L attempts to expose Light as the infamous serial killer "Kira", who is responsible for massacring high-profile criminals worldwide through apparently supernatural means. As the series progresses, the psychological mind-game between L and Light intensifies, and each becomes bent on uncovering the other's true identity through a series of intricate ploys and schemes. He serves as an ideological and visual foil to Light.
Creation and conception
Tsugumi Ohba, the writer of the series, created L as a young adult, since he believed the story would not hold much interest if L were significantly older than his opponent, Light. For L's name, he wanted to use a single letter with a lot of significance; he considered "I" and "J", but eventually he chose "L" after careful consideration.[2] Ohba left most of L's character design to Takeshi Obata, artist of the series. Obata asked Ohba if L could be "unattractive". Afterwards Ohba included ideas in his thumbnails, including L's manner of sitting, "he's part English", and "he's listless". Ohba added details regarding L's mannerisms and his interests in sweets. Ohba credits Obata for the character designs.[3] Obata commented that L's thumbnails by Ohba had no bags under his eyes, and that he had a "plain face with no expression" which was very useful. Obata drew L as an "attractive young man" until chapter 11, when the character appeared in person. After chapter 11, Obata and Ohba agreed to contrast his appearance with Light's.[4]
During the development of the early manga chapters, Obata feared L would appear "so suspicious that Light would know instantly it was L if they ever met". When Obata's editor told him that he wanted L to have a face "looking cool based on the angle", Obata added black bags under L's eyes. Obata cited Devilman's Akira Fudou when stating that he believed that black bags were appealing. In addition, Obata thought of a "dead eyes" concept, which involved L having "all-black eyes" and "mostly no eyebrows". Obata believes that black eyes usually makes a character goofier, but the bags "sharpen the character's gaze". Obata believes that the design evokes "a feeling of mystery" and that the reader cannot determine L's true thoughts. Obata also said that the bags under L's eyes were useful for inspiring speculation about his lifestyle and background. The outfit Obata designed for L was a "simple" white, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, to convey that L does not put thought into choosing his clothing. In Death Note 13: How to Read, Ohba presented an initial rough draft of L and said that, with a "cool expression" and without the bags under his eyes, L looked like a different person.[4]
Obata stated that the peculiar traits exhibited by L are best revealed "gradually". Obata added that if he drew L eating "mountains of sweets" before revealing his face, he would not have "much credibility as a super detective" and people would ask if he was "crazy".[5] Both Ohba and Obata chose L as their favorite character from the series, with the former noting him as the "strongest" character in the series besides Light, and the latter due to "appearance, personality, everything". Obata said that he could never have created a character like L and that he enjoyed drawing him.[6] Obata added that because of this, L was not "real" to him and that he liked that aspect of the character.[7]
L's fighting style has been described as similar to capoeira. However, Obata has denied considering this when drawing L's fights, saying that he was thinking of the most effective way to kick someone whilst handcuffed. He added that if the style resembles capoeira, then this "adds another element to it" and "that makes me happy".[4] When designing color illustrations, Obata assigned specific colors to the main characters to help "get the atmosphere right"; gold was assigned to L.[8]
References
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi and Takeshi Obata. "Character File 2: L." Death Note: How to Read 13. Viz Media. 10.
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.
- ↑ Ohba, Tsugumi (2008). Death Note 13: How to Read. Viz Media. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4215-1888-6.