So, to further prove that the Death Note and vanity is the ultimate manipulator here, I have another essay. If you read DN at all and have any inkling of a liking to L, you may or may not hate me after reading this. (Gee, that’s, like, everybody.)
SPOILER WARNING: Nothing excessive. Hints at ch.44 (a quote) and the ending (my personal view), but nothing specific.

     Let’s pretend that L got his hands on the Death Note instead of Light. Don’t go saying this is bogus because we know that Ryuk randomly dropped it. So we will pretend L randomly picks it up. I would bet big money that he ends up like Light, if not more messed up. (Don’t kill me yet, I’ve only just begun.)

     Okay, now I have some explaining to do. First, we know that L and Light are suitable rivals and that is because they are so similar when it comes to their intellect. They both think similarly because they basically have a “criminal” mind; L uses his to catch criminals while Light does similarly until he finds the Death Note and uses it to elude the police as a criminal. The way I see it, L would have just as easily set his brilliant mind to using the DN to seek out justice. Both characters have a strong sense of justice as well as responsibility, which is why Light started killing in the first place. Besides, L was the most willing to sacrifice a few more criminal lives in order to find the means of Kira’s murders when everyone else found it appalling. (Ch.44) If those kinds of decisions must be made, they should be done by the most capable person, and I’m sure that is how L reasons.

     Still don’t believe that L would ever use the DN? Me neither, but that’s not my point. We are assuming he does for the sake of this argument. In continuation: L is afflicted with the same “weaknesses” as Light and these are pride, self-righteousness and egotism. He refuses to actually arrest Light on suspicion of being Kira because he needs to be 100% sure; he prides himself in being the best detective in the world, so he would no doubt pride himself in being the most ingenious murderer. He believes in himself to the point that it is flawed, and, just as Light, he claims “I’m righteous.”(ch.2) Finally, just like Light, he is known to be the best for so long that it is hard not to develop a large ego.

     Alright, so since he is so similar to Light, how could he become more messed up than him in the end? Percentages. Honestly, with him, it seems that barely anything would be 100%, and if forced into situations the way Light was with those crazy, risky plans, I’m not sure he would take the risks or he would go mad trying not to think of what can go wrong. Basically what I’m saying is that he is more fit to find the flaws in other criminal master plans than he would be to admit to his own. I am in no way dissing L’s skills. (cuz he is awesome!) I’m just saying that the DN would mess him up and he would not be the loveable detective just as Light is no longer the bright-eyed, cheery teen.

     So there. What have we learned? DEATH NOTE IS EEEEVIL! It’s really fun and entertaining, but it’s EEEEVIL! Thank you for reading.