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Just want to know if yall think Light is really smarter than L. For me, it was hard to decide even tho L died because of Light.

yes- cause L's intellect is dependent on glucose intake :]

^ This haha. :)

thats a tricky one, but light DID have the advantage of the death note, so if he got L's name its pretty much all over.

For L, who did not have a clue about anything, not how the Death Note works, not about the shinigami rulers and etc, he did much greater work than Light, who had all the information possible. L is much more deductive than Light and is much more experienced.
Light just had an advantage in this case.

I found that Light relied much more on luck than L.. won't spell out specific instances to avoid spoilers but it seemed to me whenever a dead end was achieved L simply waited and walked around it rationally while Light, not always but still, simply relied on an outside factors not really under his control... be it peoples reactions towards specific events or others stupidity. Light is indeed really good at evening his odds when relying on such factors, but when he uses these for over a dozen times and always it pans out specifically the way he intends the odds don't match up anymore.

I also don't think saying that the Death Note was the only edge in play is fair. While it is obviously the bigger advantage someone can have, specially considering L didn't even know about it's existence, L also had unlimited human resources. It's not an even match (it could be if it wasn't for the constant, random shinigami interference... really, those were stupid beyond belief) and the creators obviously pulled some tricks to keep Light in the game on more than one instance, but L is not completely on it's own either.

With all that in mind, I still think L is the smartest, but as long as he keeps fighting with his standards and Light stays without scrupulous it will always be an uphill battle and L will always loose in the end (specially considering what I just said about the "miracles" the writers pull for Light).

Examples please. And put them under spoiler tags since you're afraid of spoiling for others. Which really isnt necessary since anyone who sees the first post is going to know L vs Light battle, and the poster already stated the outcome. L also had advantages, especially at the start when L's existence was unknown to Light.

I'm not gonna stick around forever and discuss it, just inputting my opinion: L was smarter. He could play Light and did so multiple times, while nearly all of Light's actions were trying to avoid L's plans. L found out that Kira was in Japan and played Light for a fool with very little info, and very early on secured it so that he couldn't be killed by Kira or Light would be revealed.

Light never actually got the better of L, iirc, and L figured out that Light was Kira pretty early in the series. L even had both Kiras locked up and likely wouldn't have released them had other people not stopped him.

And in reality, Light never actually got L. He coerced a freakin God of Death to do it since he was unable to find L's name himself. Not that he wasn't clever in his own right, I'll admit he was genius being able to evade capture (bar the time he killed L's stand-in in episode 3 or w/e, which was his dumbest mistake imo and rather out of character) but he didn't and couldn't outwit L.

No, I don't think he's smarter. I think they're both equally as smart. Light's done some pretty smart things but so has L, lest we forget. L was pretty damn hasty in figuring out that Kira = Light. Although no one believed him at the time, he knew what was what. Telling Light right off the bat that he was L was a smart choice, but his first smart move was only broadcasting the tv program in one region, thus making Kira a citizen there. Although Light has done some big power moves like forfeit the ownership of the death note, his intelligence is knocked down a few pegs because of his power hungry ways. Man this guy was a fucking loony. And also at the end, fucking idiot says, "Near, I won." or something along those lines. R U STOOPID?! He took a complete chance and practically owned up to being Kira before he knew whether they were going to die. Stupid move.

Besides those, though, I truly do believe they are equally smart. I think Light only actually beat Ryuzaki because he had the advantage. He had the notebook and knew about the Shinigami eyes etc. Technically it wasn't a fair fight, but L still held his own.

id have to say lawlet would be the smarter of the two because he was left in the dark about alot of information like one of the people above be stated. but there was a similar character poll like this a while back comparing light a leloch

Don't forget L actually managed to narrow down Light because he was able to manipulate FBI. Without it, it would've been a different plot althogether. They both used their tools and Light won. I maintain my stance that it was a fair fight.

Not at all.
Light IS smart, I won't denounce that but I don't believe that he's smartER in no way.

He deduced a plan that would get L killed but that was by supernatural means, not because he was smarter. If Light didn't have the DN this wouldn't even be a discussion. He's not on the same level as L. Not just intulectually.

i think we could simplify the question. first i think L is smarter then Kira in anyway, but the only advantage that kira had, was knowledge, that is the huge difference, no matter how exeptional your logical reasoning is, without knowledge, it's useless. so if with this knowledge kira couldn't kill L, i think L is better than him.

Exactly how the hell was he supposed to know about the death note?!! plus he knew all along he was going to die. He talked about all the time!!! T_T L's a hero!!! I haven't finished the anime but I hope LIGHT DIES A SLOW AND PAINFULLY AGONIZING DEATH!!!

I think Reinhard von Lohengramm is smarter than both of them.

I find light smarter. L has all the cops of the world working for him and an endless pit of money (like wtf).
Light is all by himself, the other people hes using are merely annoyances. if he was the only one with a notebook he would probably have never needed any help.

No, he is not.

Both are indeed smart, but having the upper hand by having knowledge that your opponent doesn't have (which Light did) because the facts contradict common sense can't be seen as being "smarter".

That, and Light is a complete coward.

And in my opinion, both intelligent at the same level. That is both very, very smart. Both don't concede to each other - I can say.
And because of that I choose "no".

In terms of Assets, I think it was about equal. Light had a supernatural aid and L had money, influence and better accessibly to information. So while you could make the argument that one 'had an advantage' that would be another debatable topic that may or may not be related.
In terms of being smarter (intellectually and logical reasoning) I honestly do not think either was 'proven' to be smarter in the end. L and Light's bluffs and actions were constantly overtaking each others but what makes this most ambiguous is their conclusion.

Basically I don't see this as an 'intellectual victory' as it is not like achieving checkmate, but rather making an illegal move as it isn't something L could have prepared for or reacted to. Therefore I don't conclude Light to be smarter because of this.
This in essence is why I say neither is 'proven' smarter, so I choose "no"