First Impressions: Who Has the Upper hand?

[Shay]

For people like me who have not read the manga nor know any spoilers. People who be new to this great story.

Light, has the advantage that; for the moment he is in no way connected to any of his victims. He also has a "companion" Yes, Ruyk's motives for hanging around are a little vague but he could still well play a valuable role in Light's endeavours. Time will tell. Also, Light is still young, surely far from suspicion, or is he? Could being such a commendable student be a shortcoming? Over-confidence is often an Achilles' heel!

L, from the little we have seen, seems a most worthy adversary to say the least! In a matter of minutes, albeit on a hunch, he was able to determine that the murders could be done from afar, and narrow it down to one guy from one region. Also he has concluded that for a murder of this calibre to take place certain conditions must be met. I have to admit I like his style.

So on first impressions, who do you think has the upper hand in this game of wits?

[musouka]

As of episode 2, I'd say both of them are equal. Neither one can really harm the other at this point, though this first round went to L in a huge way due to Light's ego.

L might have a slight advantage at this point, as he at least knows Light's general location, whereas Light doesn't even have an idea of where L is.

[Lollerpants]

More or less equal I'd say; L knows where to look but not who to look for while Light can kill anyone as long as he knows their name.

But from that, L would have the upper hand at the moment since "no one" knows what he actually looks like. And or name.

[Deathkillz]

up to ep 2 s far it an equal playing field...
L doesnt know wht kira looks like and visa versa...L can point out the area where kira is but i can also argue that kira would know where to pin point L (generally) as he would be thinking about the police force...
and they both know that each other arent stupid so its game on at this moment :p

[Itachikun]

Well its kinda unfair, since L had the first move and yet Light knew nothing of how he acts. Probably in the future episodes Light might get the upper hand... but both ways, can't wait for their battle!

[monir]

I believe L has the upperhand at the moment. He has pretty much put Light on the defensive in this one "meeting". One thing is for sure that they both have no qualm about killing for their own ideals. Good thread Shay! +

[Grey]

Light was a bit too self-righteous and he messed up by killing 'Lind L. Tailor.' This allowed L to confirm a good number of his suspicions. Light gave away a bit too much information with one act.

...however, neither seems better posed to defeat the other. Because of the Death Note's supernatural powers, Light can kill while leaving essentially zero evidence of the perpetrator--this leaves L seriously disadvantaged when it comes to tracking down 'Kira'. On the other hand, L is anonymous and as long as he stays the role of a 'shadowy puppet master' Light has no way of killing L.

When we are weighing who is better poised to identify (and thereby defeat) the other, they are presently on equal ground because both may maintain anonymity with ease. However, Light is in a winning position because as long as he stays free he may continue to shape the world into his utopia, so this standoff actually benefits Light.

Mutual Goal - identifying each other: equal ground
L's Goal - catching Kira: disadvantage
Light's Goal - reducing crime: advantage

[Nightengale]

I would akin to Light having the lead at this point of the anime, even if his lead which was originally so far ahead was cut short by his own egoistic attempt of self-recognition and rejection of negativity.

The main point lies in the concept that Light has full workings of how the Death Note works and he knows his own weapons and capabilities to see himself what he can do at a particular moment and what he cannot do, (( Someone else may assume an empty-handed Light is capable of just killing a criminal with the face and name, even when in reality he can't because the Death Note or a pen isn't in his hand )), while L only has little ground to work upon and half of his hypothesis statements regarding how Kira kills and the limitations behind the murder patterns would be limited to mere 'what ifs'.

Frankly, had it not been for Light's ego and his natural tendecy for being a sore loser, it would've taken L much much much longer to pinpoint the main suspect to being only him.

[cyw1988]

Equal Ground... The battle has just begun...~~~ =)

[Ori]

Give me a break, L never is on equal ground with Kira.

L is someone who can only kill when that person is proven to be Kira - which means he needs solid prove and not only convince himself that Light is Kira, but also everyone else.

Kira can kill anyone as long as he thinks that person is a threat.

[ryaken]

L has the upper hand.

Light makes a harsh mistake by jumping to conclusions and killing Lind Taylor. He fell entirely into L's trap. L has been paying attention and is already on his tail, and Light never even realized it.

For now, Light needs to prove himself and really step up his game to keep from being destroyed by L. L isn't an idiot.

note:I've read the manga, this is a first impression.

[Jaden]

Light has the upper hand. I can't see how anyone is going to catch him writing names in that notebook. He could just ignore L and continue his work.

[Shiroth]

Equal Ground... The battle has just begun...~~~ =)
That i can agree with, and its hard to say stuff here when i've read the manga, though i'll give it a shot.

Right now after episode two, its easy to say that L has. He's the guy who's known about this for a few days now.. so of course he's had time to plan it all out. Light had no idea about L, so he's going to be shocked.

Anyway, a great idea for a thread. Can see some good talk coming from here in the future~

[Quajafrie]

Light has the upper hand. I can't see how anyone is going to catch him writing names in that notebook. He could just ignore L and continue his work.
Well, that's true. If he wasn't an egoist and if he wasn't stubborn, he wouldn't even have been laid by L in the second episode, and L wouldn't have any clue about him.

[Shiroth]

If he wasn't an egoist and if he wasn't stubborn, he wouldn't even have been laid by L in the second episode, and L wouldn't have any clue about him.
I wouldn't say its all about his ego, though he could have done with thinking about the situation a little bit. At the end of the day, he as the power to kill - so really he is going to jump into situations like this.

[lana3007]

That's a tough choice. I am tempted to vote for L, simply because Light was caught by surprise. If nothing else this was a blow to his ego, and Light strikes me as a person who might make a mistake in a situation where his anger gets the better of him. So I'd think that L is probably a little better off since if Light act on an impulse he could mess up some more, but if he doesn't do anything rash then L is probably in a weaker position, simply because he has nothing to counter Light's powers with.

[Snubben_Pierre]

I voted for Kira, although it was a very tough decision.. cant really explain why i chose what I chose.
I hope that they like walk past eachother on the street without knowing it, that would be pretty cool :P havent read the manga so i have no clue about anything -.-

[Dark`]

It's hard to give a completely unbiased view of this when you've read the entire manga series...but I'll give it a shot. It's not a huge spoiler since you can kind of deduce this from what's been said, but just in case...


In episode 2, L mentioned how it wouldn't be long before he would be able to catch Kira...or rather, send him to death (something along those lines). That would mean catching him, with evidence (as Light said, either caught red-handed with the Death Note or a confession from Light himself). With that being said, Light has the advantage over L because he needs no such thing, all he needs is a name and a face (difficult in and of itself, but not as difficult as what L needs imho).


The deal that Ryuk will tell Light about gives him an even bigger advantage, since all he has to do then is to meet L in person in order to get what's needed to get rid of him.


Anyways...that's my take on it for what it's worth...

[Darklightz]

Now up to episode 2,Light still has an advantage.Even if L pinpointed Kira's location to Kanto,he still has no clue how the murders are done.

[Cats]

Episode 3 :
Light > L (1:0)
+police chief's son
+new eyes (almost there)
+easy plan to find L
+Ryuk

-student theory
-mysterious man
-power revealed (time theory)

[Rurik]

Nice post Shay...I will say L could have aslight advantage:

L should use his wit to Find Kira, I remember that the anime Initial D was said, that usually the one who is pursued is the one with the more pressure and thus prone to make mistakes, differently from the one who is the pursuer, this gives L and edge.

But then, Kira has the element of the unknow person and that that He is using supernatural powers to Kill.

EDIT...Wao this poll is so good that so far the votes are very tight

[White Manju Bun]

ok this is only through epi 2 but at this point L does have a slight advantage. He was able to conclude so many things just based off how Raito was killing ppl. I dont think Raito expected L to figure out he was in that specific area of Japan that easily.

But Raito is smart so it will definitely rotate who has the advantage

~cant wait til they get further into the series!!!~

[Lotiman]

Until ep2 Light still hold the upper hand because L not yet know how he kill people without direct contact and L only know he live in Kanto area. However, L is impresive for pinpoint Kira with only a few clues.

[i0td]

Episode 3 for the most part really illustrates to us again the balance between both sides. Every time L uncovers another crucial piece of evidence and you think that he has gained the upper hand, you find out that Light was actually not as reckless as you originally thought. Each side seems able to anticipate the other side's actions, making it difficult to tell who is really chasing whom. Each side has an edge in this truly masterful duel, and either one can convince you that they'll be the one that ultimately ends up on top.

Now concerning the Death God eyes, I really wonder when and how L will pick up on that. Notice that I didn't say "if" lol. I could be wrong, but I really have to give both sides that much credit. They are both just that good.

[SuperAfroPenguin]

I think its safe to say Light has the upper hand.

I mean, he's been taking a very direct approach to his killing spree. The book allows him to attribute someone's death however he sees fit, however. As long as he can get a little more creative, he can really throw in a few twists...For example, what's there to say when criminals start killing eachother/killing themselves, freak accidents occur, etc...

Also, all he has to do is destroy the book when times get desperate and poof, no evidence...

As for my own commentary...it was incredibly stupid to try and attack L. Not only was it exactly what was expected, but it lowered him to maniacal killer from righteous killer. L didn't deserve to die...Light should have taken the high road, as he claims to be doing...

EDIT: more post commentary...why doesnt he see the goodness that can come from the death note? if he can attribute death however he feels like, why doesnt he just write his own name and say "will die in 100 years naturally in sleep"...problem solved?

[Shay]

Also, all he has to do is destroy the book when times get desperate and poof, no evidence...



I could be wrong but I don't think the deathnote can be destroyed that easily. I mean it is the book of a Shinigami* after all. Maybe Ryuk isn't telling Light the whole truth about the deathnote.

I personally think the evidence is here to stay and I still think L has the edge.

Edit:


EDIT: more post commentary...why doesnt he see the goodness that can come from the death note? if he can attribute death however he feels like, why doesnt he just write his own name and say "will die in 100 years naturally in sleep"...problem solved?

Hmm... I'll have to think about that one...:heh:

[Azuma Denton]

I'll vote for L since i like his personality better...

[Hagges01]

ligth has the upper hand

probably the main fact is his father, at least for now
i haven't read the manga, so it's just my opinion

[Jordus]

As of episode 3 L has the upperhand, and is a good length ahead of Light. I mean, he has a list of only 141 families that contain the possible suspect. With enough time he can find that light is the culprit...however, if light goes ahead and gets the death god eyes, that will shift the balance some. Though L knows that the name and face are required, it wouldnt take long to figure out that only face is required with the eyes. All in all I guess Lights situtation doesnt change too much, other then he can take out his tail. Which it seems like he may do that, and if he does take out his tail, then L will know it was him.

[Reppa]

I have to give it to L at the moment. L came in too smooth with the planing.

[P.G.]

Light has the upper hand on ep2, while on ep3 L gets it... well, L;s theory was right that Kira(Light) is in kantou & again guessed that Kira could kill w/o laying a single finger on them, L's investigation is superb... If Light would get hold of those shinigami eyes... well....

I could say they are equal for now...

[^_Usagi_^]

Raito has absolutely no lead no clue about L & if he does not reveal HIMSELF (by himself, sounds weird >.< ) then there is no way he Raito can find him.

L, on the other hand, has already narrowed to the country--> region & possible people who can have close contact with Kira. + L is already guessing that Raito can't really kill people he cant see (by asking to check records of dead criminals)

it would be very hard to ACTUALLy catch Kira with evidence though. damn, its hard to talk or even evaluate, since I've read the manga

[Lord Embok]

After watching episode two, I was immediately favoring L in their conflict. The moment that L showed up on the television, I knew that the worst thing that Light could possibly do was kill him, and that he would do exactly that.

Light's ambition is to become a god, correct? There is one thing that all gods need, and that is followers. Light has followers because he is taking out criminals. When Faux L went up on the screen, he stated that he worked for the law. Light should have known that killing Faux L would have taken away from a resource that he would almost definitely need later. This poor thought on Light's part shows that he isn't thinking far enough in the future. If this doesn't change, Light is going to be at a disadvantage throughout this conflict.

On the other hand, L showed off his cunning strategy and high quality deduction skills. He made Light divulge a lot of information without giving away much himself. It may have been a better move to allow Light to believe that he had truly defeated L, but based off of the rest of his performance in this episode I am inclined to believe that he has a reason for it.

So really, after the second episode Light has made an error that caused him to lose followers, and to have his location revealed to L. With that combined with L's logical abilities, it seems that L has the upper hand at the end of episode two.

*heads off to watch ep3*

[Shay]

Whao! Light just stepped up a gear.

He is quickly becoming a master of the deathnote. He is using it to perfection. Just like Ryuk said, he is a more worthy Shinigami than most actual Shingami's.

However, did he take it too far? It seems just going on the date was sufficient for, Ray Penbar to strike him off the list. Surely L will see all this commotion as more than just a coincidence.

Or will Ray even get to make a report, now that Light knows his name? If Light kills Ray too soon it will be all L needs... No. Light is too clever for that. He will probably wait until Ray is following someone else, then kill him.

I love this anime.

Edit: lol Light has taken the lead! Could it be any closer!/

[Jn183]

I think L has the upper hand since Light stills do not know who L is and where L is etc. However, L already narrow Kira down to 150ish households.

So pretty much like most mentioned, L has way more info on who might kira be and what kira could do.

[Deathkillz]

after ep 4 light has the upperhand...at least he has a foot hold to step on via Ray Penbar and hopefully able to squeeze some info out of him while L is still above clouds :heh:

[Lost]

From episode 3;

I feel that Light is giving too much of himself away. Just killing one criminal an hour tells L. more about his ability: namely, that he can kill criminals at any time he dictates.

Also, and worse IMO, Light reveals indirectly to L. that he has a link to the police - of course, that may have been what Light wanted, but you can see from his assumption (of what L. would do, investigate the police etc etc.) that Light is getting too full of himself. He directly assumes what he thinks L. will do to be what L. will do, and he believes the assumed outcome/consequence of what L. will do to be true. So I think that that overconfidence, along with his rashness, will bring about Light's downfall.

L. on the other hand stays in the shadows, revealing nothing about himself or the way he works. I think, from first impressions that L. has the upperhand.

(lol tie-break!)

[Jn183]

Once Light find out about "Watari" being L's contact then I will give Light the upperhand.

[Ja-Y-Ce]

hahahaa sorry.! i know it's no link at all... but Happy Birthday to L kun~! and Happy Halloween to all... =))

hopefully i wun get banned for tt... :X

[DribCC]

Kira has the upper hand even though L basically has eniter country looking for him. But the biggest problem I feel is this. It feels like L just pulls his theries right out of his ass! I mean how could L even begin to think that L is a student. We know this because the series fallows Kiras side of the story fr the most part. There is no way to know that Kira is a student from the evidence the police have gathered.

[Lost]

^ Not really, he surmised that from the time-periods at which the criminals were dying. Of course, its just a assumption on L.'s part at this stage; but to us it appears different, because as you said, we know that Kira is a student.

[hitokirigirl]

I think Raito is still too full of his damn self. Always performing good scores and all...
Unfortunately, he butts in a shadow (L) he can't see or grab, which is envelopping him little by little.

Yes, L, in the current state, is outsmarting Raito, unless Raito enters seriously the game of "who's gonna catch the rabbit first".

[DribCC]

\/ Because we don't see that much of L. in an episode its harder to believe his theories. He doesn't nearly get as much face time on screen as Light, which means he has less time to explain the reasoning behind his theories. This laso means that the shorter explanations givin by L. are weaker. Where as Light gets all the time he needs to explain himself. And as for Light being too rash, I'll admit that Light comes off as irrastional but he only explins the currnet step he his on at a givin time in his master plan. We know that he is going to purify this world of all the rotten people in it and bcome the God of this new world all while useing the Death Note to do this. But we don't know exactly how he is going to do this, but understand that Light is a ginuse and he isn't the type of person to get fly by the seat of his pants. Light is always thinking four to five steps ahead.

[Psylocke]

IMO, currently Light has the upper hand. He has access to more information but not too sure where it's going to step off from now (ep 5)

[illogicalcow]

not sure if up to episode 6 counts as a first impression, but L seems to be at an advantage in spite of the lives that were lost. i can't imagine light picking up L's identity at this point, where by 6 L seems REALLY close to light's identity. one more hint to get light, but L seems so much farther away.

as for pre-bus-jacking, it feels like L is playing a much tighter game, but light has a (super)natural advantage. i would say even ground up to then.

[michaelman90]

I'd say that Light has the upperhand, and has been for the most part. They're both pretty equal in intelligence (I'd say L is smarter, though), but Light has the Death Note, which ups his chances quite a bit, even though L is extremely cautious.

[xfuture]

Kira had the advantage in the beginning, because all the detective can do is react.

But when L reacted, Kira walked right into the Taylor trap. Than L had the advantage.

Then Kira made a move (Penbar) and decimated L's manpower.

Also, even though L is smarter than Kira, he doesn't seem to be as fast at thinking on his feet.

If L was in Kira's place, he would have been way too meticulous to pull off episode 7.

[Shay]

Hmm, well. After episode 7 I'm kinda torn. Maybe because there was not much shown from, L whereas we got to see a lot of Lights inner thoughts and fears and also how well he dealt with them.

At first, I felt he panicked a bit too hastily and I was about to "lol", and mock him at how mediocre he had become at the first sign of trouble but he immediately turned it around by exhibiting what I would call, "world class shrewdness." The guy’s ability to pick up on the slightest detail and use it to his advantage is second to none. Extraordinary even!

So, with what looks like up to now his only real threat gone, plus the fact that his father is on the task force... No, scratch that. I feel that factor will ultimately be pivotal in a rather negative way for Kira in the future plot. But for now I guess it is an advantage, however, a swiftly depleting one.

I'm going to give this round to Kira. Spontaneously and luckily as it was for him to bump into Naomi at such a time, I feel the whole desperate encounter has given him an edge. I believe, or at least I hope, our young megalomaniac has gained something from the reality of almost being exposed. Well, knowing, Light, unpredictable as he is, I guess he will either prosper from the incident, or immaturely rise in confidence... Who knows…?

[division]

I voted Light. Not because he's "smart" or has the death note, but because he seems to have a form of arbitrary main-character shield which makes things always work out his way in the end.

If I were to vote based on actual character behaviors, I'd vote for either "L" or, given the option, "Light bungling something up by virtue of being psychotic and not as smart as he thinks he is."

[wingdarkness]

Well I haven't read the other responses but I'd say Light still has the advantage and will continue to have it...Light has the death note and the help of his reaper which gives him an ultimate advantage...Now if the question is merely whether or not Light will get caught I'm not sure the answer but in-terms of him simply having the overall advantage he still does...He is a bit too psycotic and arrogant for his own good but he has the death note at his beakon call...Even if he was to get caught or cornered in some way he'd still have the option of giving away half of his life to see names(Not that he would want to, but if it's him and L trapped in an ally who knows?)...After episode 8 I think the writer wants the audience to believe Light is being cornered, but I see it more of L being too brazen in his analysis (For obvious reasons we know this--L is going to over-analyse to the point he'll make mistakes aswell)...Light has to be more careful than he has been up to this point, but even with mistakes in judgement the death note gives him the upperhand especially if he's forced to play it...

[Darkside]

I think Light will overcome L, but I don't think he'll reach his main goal in the end either. He's just too evil to be able to succeed >.<

[Darashinai]

I voted Light. Not because he's "smart" or has the death note, but because he seems to have a form of arbitrary main-character shield which makes things always work out his way in the end.

Ditto, hense my boredom with him.

[Trax]

Hm, that's exactly what's been bugging me about Light, circumstances generally working out in his favor by extraordinary coincidence. But yeah, that and Ryuk undeniably gives him a bit of an edge. Without it, he'd have been in big trouble already.

[Deathkillz]

as of ep 8 imo...
L has the upperhand...the amount of surveillance his house in under right now is crazy...
L is closing in onto light and he can feel it...but hes smart and is trying to outfox L...still i think that L would eventually figure it out

[division]

But the biggest problem I feel is this. It feels like L just pulls his theries right out of his ass! I mean how could L even begin to think that L[ight]* is a student. We know this because the series fallows Kiras side of the story fr the most part. There is no way to know that Kira is a student from the evidence the police have gathered.
*(editted at that point, by me, for what I assume you meant to say)

Maybe he watched Hikaru no Go too ^^? I know back around ep 3 or 4 I was thinking it would be only a matter of time before his scheduling painted him as a student in much the same way Waya surmised the "Sai" was a child.

I do somewhat agree with you, however. The way it was described by the police in that episode did certainly make it sound like it could be anyone holding down an 8-to-4 job.

[anselfir]

For the show to progress, L must learn more and more of Kira, which by definition will make L's position more advantageous. Kira has yet done anything that would damage L's life in any way. Even if the current investigation stops, you think the show will stop on a lame reason like "nobody would work with L anymore?"

So far, everything that kira did that would hinder the investigation at best gets him a draw. he's never confused or misled L enough to force the investigation into a totally wrong direction.

[Xerion12]

*(editted at that point, by me, for what I assume you meant to say)

Maybe he watched Hikaru no Go too ^^? I know back around ep 3 or 4 I was thinking it would be only a matter of time before his scheduling painted him as a student in much the same way Waya surmised the "Sai" was a child.

I do somewhat agree with you, however. The way it was described by the police in that episode did certainly make it sound like it could be anyone holding down an 8-to-4 job.

Well, not that this means anything but.. In the movie L pieces together the times all he criminals died and it somehow graphs out some japanese symbol for highschool or something.. And he says "Oh, he might be a student!"

[wingdarkness]

My key thing is L can have signed affidavits, paperwork, official documents, strategies and schematics, or anything else you can discuss that points to him being on the blood-trail of Light (And I mean everything but the finite evidence), but no matter who wants to use the blind-folded "Scales of Justice" for examination,... the bottomline is, a name and a face is all that is needed for Light's side of that mutual scale...You can put 1,000 tons of $hit on L's side of the scale, but a name and a face for L will equate it or easily tip the scales in Yagami's favor...Worst case scenerio Light has to give up half his life to easily attain it...Worser case even is if L somehow reveals "Kira's" identity, but the contrast to that is L must still prove how and what he's been doing...Light has no such hurdle to pass if he has a sheet of death loose-leaf, a face, and a name...He even has the ability to cause confusion after that fact by manipulating others via the deathnote(He could start a war if he wanted right in the heart of Japan just to stall if need be)...IMO, L won't have the advantage until he HAS THE ADVANTAGE (Clearly--which means he has Light at death point)...L has the awesome task of figuring out who, what, and why, while Light's task is only figuring out the who part with an invisible shinigami who aids him and the deathnote at his disposal for the ultimate endgame...As great as L has been and despite the mistakes Light has made up to this point, until L has clearly won he's still at a disadvantage...completley (He's doing a damn good job though despite this HUGE disadvantage he can't even fathom)...

LOL he simply can't kill others with the stroke of a pen guys...

[division]

My key thing is L can have [stuff], or anything else you can discuss that points to him being on the blood-trail of Light (And I mean everything but the finite evidence), but no matter who wants to use the blind-folded "Scales of Justice" for examination,... the bottomline is, a name and a face is all that is needed for Light's side of that mutual scale

That's hardly fair, IMO. While L is being less careful with his identity than Light (I haven't watch the most recent episode), assuming he's using a false name. Light needs to know "Xxxxx Xxxxx is 'L', and this is what he looks like" for his win scenario against L. L, on the other hand, needs to know that "Xxxxx Xxxxx is 'Kira'" to win.

I don't see why you think it's some trivial matter for Light to discover L's identity when L is in fact substantially more covert in his actions and behavior than Light is. Or at least to the degree where he can't hide behind the invisble hand of the Death Note, so he actually puts thought into covering his tracks.

Light doesn't strike me as deep-thinking enough to legitmately cover his tracks well enough to say "discovering his identity is near impossible" (supporting events: entire fbi "arc", and the end of ep 2).

Additionally, even if you want to say L only wins if he can send Light to jail... I don't recall them telling us that Light's been destroying or burning pages from the death note as he's been using it. Having a log book of all the people he's suspected of killing will be pretty incriminating, especially any unreported deaths or causes of deaths. Let alone the ability to see Ryuk at that point, who may even just explain what's going on.

[wingdarkness]

That's hardly fair, IMO. While L is being less careful with his identity than Light (I haven't watch the most recent episode), assuming he's using a false name. Light needs to know "Xxxxx Xxxxx is 'L', and this is what he looks like" for his win scenario against L. L, on the other hand, needs to know that "Xxxxx Xxxxx is 'Kira'" to win.

I don't see why you think it's some trivial matter for Light to discover L's identity when L is in fact substantially more covert in his actions and behavior than Light is. Or at least to the degree where he can't hide behind the invisble hand of the Death Note, so he actually puts thought into covering his tracks.

Dude bring it back a little...I never said Light getting L's name was trivial by any stretch...I just said that all of L's evidence is rendered pretty unsubstantial if Light was to figure him out first (which he's probably as close as L right now since his father is working directly with him)...Again faced with death or ultimate humiliation worse case scenerio he gives up half his life and just needs to see him...L once again has to do more than just figure out who "Kira" is...

Also don't discount the fact that police or agents may be much less willing to work for L given the deaths of many agents already which puts him at the disadvantage in man-power (and the ability of the men he does have who may fear "Kira" thus not produce results)...He'll he had to come out of hiding to devise a new plan with a localized unit who's chief is "Kira's" dad...How can L not be at the clear disadvantage I ask??

Light doesn't strike me as deep-thinking enough to legitmately cover his tracks well enough to say "discovering his identity is near impossible" (supporting events: entire fbi "arc", and the end of ep 2).
Light has made mistakes because he's an arrogant academic teenager who seems to be playing a game (which means he wants to play this game)...If he wanted to he could stop this madness but is playing to continue it...He's immature and was intoxicated with power from the start which makes for a bad combination...Having his relative location found out propelled him to really start his game with L when he didn't even have to...Whatever the final results he has still shown ample critical thinking skills and deduction ability (as in eps 8 and 9), he is quite intelligent and cunning especially since his first mishap (Exposing his location), but no one is so smart that they'll make no mistakes and I never said finding his true identity is impossible by any means...Conversely L's mistakes cost people their lives as we've seen which doesn't quite equate to Light having the "WTF-face" paranoia when he makes a mistake...



Additionally, even if you want to say L only wins if he can send Light to jail... I don't recall them telling us that Light's been destroying or burning pages from the death note as he's been using it. Having a log book of all the people he's suspected of killing will be pretty incriminating, especially any unreported deaths or causes of deaths. Let alone the ability to see Ryuk at that point, who may even just explain what's going on.

I never said L only wins when he sends Light to jail...I said he wins when he WINS...To me that could mean he has a gun to Light's back with one hand, the DeathNote under his arm with the other hand, a digital cam somewhere with the undeniable proof on it, AND a mask on his face...Simply catching Light on some percieved flimsy evidence isn't enuff...As smart as L is he can't even come close to comprehending an invisible shinigami from soul world is helping a Japanese teenager become a God of sorts...Without the deathnote in hand how do you prove any of this?? Even with the DeathNote in hand the public or jury has to be convinced a notebook can kill people...What you gonna do right Light's name or arbitrarily kill some Joe Schmo? IMO L will stay at the overall disadvantage even if he wins a battle or 2, because the DeathNote doesn't exist for him...I doubt anyone could truley understand what Light is going thru right now (Not that I agree with it morally)....

Honestly though, L's mistakes cost lives, Light's mistakes cost Ryuk's his red-apples...

[Rich]

To me i think Light has the upper hand because from watching the episodes so far Light is basically playing with L since L was introduced. As we all can see, when L comes up with an idea, Light counters it. Such as when L put 64 cameras in Light's room, Light could still kill people (but not effectively). Not to mention Light has made the police department fear him and refuse to work with L and that also plays a big factor in who has the upper hand.

[Grifis]

At the beginning of the series, Light had incredible advantage since he has the book, the death god and he's in the dark. As the series moves along, Light's level of advantage is shrinking due to his mistakes and L's amazing wits. I have to say L was gaining on the advantage little by little using his own brain. And at ep 9, I think L finally gains equal ground. L sure is good.

[Papaya]

Light will ALWAYS have the upper hand as long as he holds the Death Note.

Because Light holds the Death Note, he controls what will happen. L is only able to predict--he cannot be certain. Light will ALWAYS be certain of what happens. In this way, whatever L choose to do will always be a reaction to what Light does.

[superr]

Man Light could have been caught so easily. I'm only on episode 4 and I can think up of many ways Light could have been caught already. Since the cops + L knew from ep 3 that there was a possibility that he was a student and that he has police access, they could have restricted access to the police archives for random police personalle. They could choose say 20 people at a time to be restricted for a period of a week (no person is restricted twice) and then narrow the possibilities down. Also, Light seems to be a internet noob. Can't the police just track down what people are searching on the internet? Light has got to have a way of finding out people to kill and all the cops would need to do is observe the webpages people are browsing (specifically in the Kanto area) and how frequently they browse these webpages. Since Light prob gets the info on who to kill, the cops can track his IP and he would be highly suspect since his dad = cop and there is also a student which = him in the household. The govt could have also messed around with the media and choose to censor our some key information (ie: no pictures).

[XeNoGeaR]

LOL....thats not true i think :)

[Neku]

Man Light could have been caught so easily. I'm only on episode 4 and I can think up of many ways Light could have been caught already. Since the cops + L knew from ep 3 that there was a possibility that he was a student and that he has police access, they could have restricted access to the police archives for random police personalle. They could choose say 20 people at a time to be restricted for a period of a week (no person is restricted twice) and then narrow the possibilities down. Also, Light seems to be a internet noob. Can't the police just track down what people are searching on the internet? Light has got to have a way of finding out people to kill and all the cops would need to do is observe the webpages people are browsing (specifically in the Kanto area) and how frequently they browse these webpages. Since Light prob gets the info on who to kill, the cops can track his IP and he would be highly suspect since his dad = cop and there is also a student which = him in the household. The govt could have also messed around with the media and choose to censor our some key information (ie: no pictures).
Erm.. you should watch on first.

Anyways.. on-topic; I'd say equal ground. I'm not putting my views into this, because I really don't know who has the upper hand. What I know for sure is, regardless of who wins in the end, NOW, they are equals. Light cannot kill L and L cannot figure out who is Kira. It doesn't matter if Misa is here because.. since she doesn't abide Light's rules of justice, I think Light is surely gonna use her to the most, but only to an extent.

Anyways.. they're just thoughts.

[Darklightz]

As of episode 11,I"d say Light definitely has the upper hand.Not only L is losing focus on him because of the TV station incident,but with a new Death Note owner in the picture,it's more pressure for L,while Light can just sit back and laugh.

[nine_tailed_kyuubi]

For now and after seeing episode 11 we can see that L has the upper hand even though a new stronger kira appeared . I believe that L will also has some kind of a hidden power like light's otherwise if L keeps having the upper hand and comes close 99% to capture Light, Light will have no choice than making that eye deal with Ryuuk and he will know L's real name and kill him so there will be no point of L in the series without him having strong power as well. It's just a guess, maybe i'm wrong

[DAmer]

Now that the new Kira showed up, I think its going to become harder for L to prove that Light is the one doing all the killing. The worse that can happen is that the new Kira gets caught. All Light has to do then is destroy his own death note or hide it somewhere extremely safe. Since there wont be any way to prove that Light committed crimes without the death note, all the blame is gonna go over the new Kira. Even if the new Kira doesnt get caught like darklightz said Light can just sit back and laugh. Also he can murder more people over the time and blame it onto the new kira. So i guess light has the upper hand.

[willem113]

Kira has just a slight adventage over L.

because there is nothing linking him to the murders.
And he has Ryuk helping him out once in a while. :D

[Theowne]

Because Light holds the Death Note, he controls what will happen. L is only able to predict--he cannot be certain. Light will ALWAYS be certain of what happens. In this way, whatever L choose to do will always be a reaction to what Light does.

I disagree with that. He sure wasn't certain that killing Lind. L Tailor would've resulted in narrowing down the case against Kira. He's certain of things regarding the murders, yeah, but it's not only L who reacts to Light, there are things L has done to which Light has reacted (wrongly) to.

[Shikimori Kazuki]

I would say equal grounds. Even with the appearance of the new Kira, it would possibly be a threat to Light, since the fake kira can leak information without thinking twice as seen in ep.12. Furthermore, the fake kira is not the same as Light, just a fan of him, so it is a double sided sword if you ask me. It can either destroy you or aid you in many ways, just depends on how you would use it.

Many would say L has a disadvantage but you have to give him props for thinking the right way all the time. His analyzes and prediction on the situation leads to the right way but he is not sure. However, when he thinks of the ideas that might be possible to the murders, he will attempt to pursue it to the end until he is satisfy with the answer that he obtained.

[atilim]

I would say Light, because now mater how you look L hasn't even come close in oder to discover Kira. Every time he has a idea Light comes with the perfect way to counter his theories and in doing so he is winning. The only thing that can help L to win is to discover second Kira and to take advantage.

[mycen]

I have followed this series to episode 14 and I would have to say L has the upper hand. He has been zeroed into the character and possible location of kira early on and has since been forcing Light to react to L's actions other than the other way round.

[Moon Eclipse]

Anyway you look at it Light has the upper hand because at any time he can still kill L.
He has a book that can control others moments before they die. So... Control one of the other cops whose name he knows, barge them in. Shoot L to death and throw them off the belcony. Have yourself get shot in the process so you don't attract attention. If you're a victim too, no one will ever suspect you.

[Klashikari]

Anyway you look at it Light has the upper hand because at any time he can still kill L.
He has a book that can control others moments before they die. So... Control one of the other cops whose name he knows, barge them in. Shoot L to death and throw them off the belcony. Have yourself get shot in the process so you don't attract attention. If you're a victim too, no one will ever suspect you.

err, this isn't possible because :
Until Light discovers L's name, he is unable to kill him in any way... well no in such manners you described.

the Death Note cannot force one's death if this event will affect someone else, not mentionned in the death note.

that means : you CANNOT write someone's name, hoping he would assault the hotel, and shoots L.
Once you write a name in Death Note, that person will carry the order in such manners it is possible to that human to do so, without any possibility to kill anyone not involved in the process.
so : until that person is L himself, there is no way that Light can use someone to kill L. he has to kill L directly, there isn't any other way to do so.

[Moon Eclipse]

err, this isn't possible because :
Until Light discovers L's name, he is unable to kill him in any way... well no in such manners you described.

the Death Note cannot force one's death if this event will affect someone else, not mentionned in the death note.

that means : you CANNOT write someone's name, hoping he would assault the hotel, and shoots L.
Once you write a name in Death Note, that person will carry the order in such manners it is possible to that human to do so, without any possibility to kill anyone not involved in the process.
so : until that person is L himself, there is no way that Light can use someone to kill L. he has to kill L directly, there isn't any other way to do so.



It's hard to understand what you're trying to write. Possibly because I'm tired, but do you mean to say:

That you cannot have someone (whose name you've written in the book) affect someone else's life line (that is to say terminate it) in the instructions you leave in the book leading up to the original person's (the person whose name you've wrintten in the book) death?

[Klashikari]

It's hard to understand what you're trying to write. Possibly because I'm tired, but do you mean to say:

That you cannot have someone (whose name you've written in the book) affect someone else's life line (that is to say terminate it) in the instructions you leave in the book leading up to the original person's (the person whose name you've wrintten in the book) death?

roughly : yes.
i'm aware, this kind of thesis was pretty solid, the explanation was, unfortunately, explained much later in the manga. (i don't think it was such huge spoiler but meh...)
IIRC, it was never really explained how Light found about this rule (if any DN manga reader can answer this, please do so.)

the correct rule is :

HOW TO USE XXVI

Even though only one name is written in the DEATH NOTE，if it influences and causes other humans that are not written in it to die，the victim’s cause of death will be a heart attack.

[Theowne]

At this point (I'm at ep 16), I think the main reason why Light has the upper hand is because he is aware of the Shinigami and the Death Note, while L does not know how the killings are being performed. There are so many possible answers to that question, but the rules and workings of the Death Note are so specific that it leads to the kind of baffling events (from L's perspective) like in episode 16. I'm interested to see how L will get around this obstacle of not knowing the nature of how Kira works.

[Super Ska Master]

L did have the upper hand until Light Gave up ownership of the Death note and you will all see soon after maybe 10 or so episodes.

[Shay]

Oh well, I guess Light won after all. ;)

[Kikio]

Obviously L. Why? Because Light made to many mistakes in the beginning that he didn't know about. For example, killing Ray Penbar was one mistake.

[Kira1987]

Well Light does over L but yeah.

[pirostyle]

did anyone else notice how much L changed between volume one and two ??

when he was first introduced in volume one, he looked like he might be an adult almost, that and he didnt do any of those weird habits of his

but in volume 2 when the task force met him, he really changed a lot, started his habits right then

might not be that important but its something
I thought L had the advantage from the start, but the strange habits kinda made him look a like he could care less

[x happy ending]

Light seems to have the advantage at the begining.

although L has numerous people under him, millions of dollars, and that huge brain of his, Light is just some high school kid no one would usually suspect, and since its not a direct murder, L has nothing to track him down with. He's to hard to catch with no trace.

thats the impression I got at first.

but by the end you realize... L can still solve a crime, without anything to work off of O_O

[x happy ending]

Oh well, I guess Light won after all. ;)



not really.. they all ended up dying in the end xD

L and Light both lost; Near won in the end, i guess.

[Aquaman OS]

L won. He might not have made it to the end but his justice (still present being represented by Near) won over Light's view of justice. So L lives on in Near, while Light has nobody to continue for him.

[Echoes]

L won. He might not have made it to the end but his justice (still present being represented by Near) won over Light's view of justice. So L lives on in Near, while Light has nobody to continue for him.

That's not entirely accurate, his actions spawned a cult following after his demise.

[Samurai Panda]

Through first impression only, L of course. His sneaky little "fake L" trap at the begining, along with the quotes "I am L and I WILL hunt you down" and "I will send you to an excection" made him seem epic and gave us the idea he was holding all the cards.

[Touka]

Light obviously has the upper hand.

Both Light and L's downfall was trusting and using other people.

[blewin]

I just started watching DN. Though I know the ending already (but haven't seen the entire series), it looks at first that both Light and L are equally strong in their skills.

[Jaya,]

I'd say Raito and L were pretty equal. I mean, Raito did have his victories and I'd say that L, also had his equal share.

[pilipok]

light got the upper hand
L got no evidence or wats or ever
no idea hw he kills
nothings
not even the slightest idea tt a note book can kill
if light jus keep his notebook and stay low
i doubt L can do anything on him

[Lord Uiruu]

L Wins!:bash:
kinda....

[kk2extreme]

light got the upper hand
L got no evidence or wats or ever
no idea hw he kills
nothings
not even the slightest idea tt a note book can kill
if light jus keep his notebook and stay low
i doubt L can do anything on him

too bad misa ruin everything, and light has to cover for her, thus laying ground for his demise at the end.

[Sniper Wolf]

Ugh if you ask me it was pretty obvious that Light had the upper hand...Light gettting help from Misa,Rem L had to figure out everything since he wasn't getting any help from rem.....thats how Light won By using Rem...quiet sad......

[LightYagami]

Well, besides Light being able to kill without being seen/detected, he had the help of Ryuk during the incident with the planted cameras. Ryuk was able to tell him which way the cameras were facing, which enabled him to use the chip bag to hide the portable TV. If he hadn't of known what direction the cameras were facing in, he would have been forced to carry out the killings from another location, and that would have only made L suspect him more. If he tried to deactivate the cameras himself, that would have seriously put him under suspection. And if he just stopped writing names altogether, he would have been caught.

Rem also helped Light by giving the Death Note to Higuchi so that the killings would continue while he was in confinement.

These advantages gave Light the upperhand over L.

[Light_Yamagi_Kira]

Wow, like we don't all know who you are. Please try harder, thanks.

[KimmyChan]

I believe that Light (Kira) had always had the upper hand in this series to an extent :)

[Arina-desu]

I felt L had teh upper hand because he's a tiny bit more intelligent than Kira ;)