Ever since I first watched Death Note (a long time ago I think it was one of the first anime I ever saw...), one thing never sat right with me: why didn’t L win? And more than that, why wasn’t he the real protagonist of the story? I’m not saying the anime isn’t good far from it. It’s one of the most iconic of all time. But the narrative choice to kill L halfway through still feels wrong to me. Honestly, Death Note would’ve been way more interesting if he had managed to defeat Kira. Can you imagine what would’ve come next?
L was always the most intriguing character.
Eccentric, with those eternal dark circles under his eyes, that weird posture, addicted to sweets, and a mind that seemed to operate on another frequency. While Light Yagami slowly turned into a messiah of chaos, L remained the one who questioned, investigated, who saw the nuances. He didn’t want to kill anyone he wanted to understand what was going on. And that, to me, is what holds the anime together until episode 25. After that, the tone shifts entirely. The arrival of Near and Mello felt more like an attempt to replicate the L formula than anything else. It didn’t work. Neither of them had the charisma, presence, or mystery of the original.
If L had won, the story could’ve gone down a much deeper path.
Think about it:
He defeats Kira, exposes the truth, saves thousands of lives but instead of destroying the Death Note, he keeps it. After all, it’s a unique relic. And then, the unexpected happens: someone steals the notebook. Not another criminal mastermind, not another teenager with a god complex. A regular person. A frustrated worker, a bullied student, a housewife with trauma someone you’d pass on the street and never imagine would be drawn to the idea of taking justice into their own hands. The world changes again. And L has to act. But now, carrying the weight of guilt. He chose to keep the notebook he opened the door for this.
That is, I’m not some famous writer or anything, haha. These are just my ideas.
That would add a much more human layer to the story. We would see L as a flawed person, who makes mistakes, who carries burdens. It would no longer be just about logic and deduction, but about responsibility and consequence. And let’s be honest: that’s way more interesting than Light screaming in a breakdown at the end, trying to hold on to some convoluted plan until the very last second. The anime’s ending, as it is, had some impact... but it felt rushed. As if they killed off the main character and didn’t quite know how to continue. Because that’s exactly what happened.
The saddest part is that this universe had room to grow. Something like What If...? from Marvel, showing different hands holding the Death Note, different ethical dilemmas. A concept similar to the tone of Monster by Naoki Urasawa, where every decision has weight, every face tells a story. But no. They killed the best character, tossed the hot potato to two soulless substitutes, and wrapped it all up with a shallow moral: “whoever plays God dies in the end.”
And maybe that is the message. But I still think the journey would’ve been much richer if L had won. He was the perfect counterbalance to Light. Where one saw destiny, the other saw justice. Where one thought he was chosen, the other demanded proof. Where one acted out of vanity, the other moved through doubt.
Honestly, I’d totally watch a new version of the anime focusing on this alternate timeline.
To wrap up this post, here’s one of the best anime intros ever made my personal favorite:
