Light Yagami vs L Lawliet: who is smarter?

L has the better raw deduction. Within days of the first killings he works out that Kira is somewhere in the Kanto region and that the killer needs a name and a face. He does it by setting a trap in public, with a decoy broadcast that draws the killer out, which is a real experiment on a hidden opponent. Light has nothing quite like that: his problem-solving is mostly about what to do with the notebook once he has it.

Light is stronger at planning and adaptability. He runs a small army of people who each know one piece, keeps a persona intact for years in front of a man who suspects him, and changes plans when a plan fails. His best decisions are about hiding, and about who to use and when to let go.

The ending decides less than fans think. Light wins because a death god acts to protect Misa, not because he out-thinks L in an open contest, and L helped create the circumstances. It is a victory of position and nerve, and it is why we call Light a little short of L on pure intellect and a little ahead on strategy.

Light Yagami

• Turning an FBI agent into a weapon (Death Note, early Kira investigation)
• The memory-loss plan (Death Note, Yotsuba arc)
• Turning Rem against L (Death Note, Rem and L's death)

Full Light Yagami profile

L Lawliet

• The Lind L. Tailor broadcast (Death Note, opening Kira vs L arc)
• Narrowing Kira to the police families (Death Note, early Kira investigation)

Full L Lawliet profile