Mello

Name: Mihael Keehl Alias: Mello Birthday: December 13 Height: 1'71 Weight: 52 kg Organization: Wammy House and the Mafia Mello is the older of L's two successors, raised at Wammy House, Watari's orphanage for gifted children in Winchester, England. When Roger asks Mello and Near to collaborate in capturing Kira, Mello refuses, pointing out the differences between them. He leaves the orphanage soon after and eventually seeks help from the Mafia.

While Mello is undoubtedly a genius and smarter than most people, the concept of being only the second smartest person in the Wammy House, after Near, fuels the inferiority complex that defines his character. Mello borders on immorality in his obsession with being the one to defeat Kira and is willing to do "whatever it takes", including kidnapping Sayu Yagami, the daughter of the director of the Japanese police force, and orchestrating the assassinations of most of the SPK members. After Mello manages to steal a Death Note, he even goes so far as to attempt to blackmail the President of the United States into giving him funds and resources to aid him in his pursuit of Kira and evade Near, threatening that if his demands are not met, he will use the Death Note to force the President to launch American nuclear missiles and start World War III. It could be argued that Mello isn't trying to defeat Kira out of a simple sense of justice, but because capturing her will prove to the world that Mello is indeed L's worthy successor as the World's Greatest Detective, and not simply Near's runner-up. As Mello describes his goal in his own words: "I'll be number one!" Mello's envy and hatred towards Near are only one-sided and that Near "honestly liked Mello." Mello is not purely evil, citing his genuine concern for Matt's well-being and his apology for his death, as well as his apology to Soichiro Yagami for his responsibility in Soichiro's fatal injuries. Mello has a brilliant mind and sometimes lets his emotions guide him. Mello strives for everything, unlike Near, whose intellectual gifts are innate.

Mello is a young man with chin-length golden-blond hair and blue eyes. His bangs fall just above his eyebrows, and he is of average height. Later, after causing an explosion at the mob hideout to avoid capture, he is left with a large scar, which starts between his shoulder and waist and extends to just between his nose and left eye. Mello usually wears dark leather clothing. The manga depicts him wearing a red rosary and a bracelet with a cross on it. In the anime, however, the cross has been edited to resemble a stick (the horizontal portion of the supposed cross is not present). He wears a unique belt with cross-shaped buckles. He also carries a pistol attached to his belt, which, in the manga, has a cross attached to a chain hanging from its handle. Mello's weapon is a Beretta 92FS.