Throughout the first half of Death Note, Light Yagami battled against L as he tried to make himself seem innocent to the world's greatest detective. Light ended up beating L, who was replaced by Mello and Near, two orphans who were raised to become the next L.

RELATED: Death Note: 10 Things You Need To Know About Mello

Mello was quite reckless and always wanted to prove that he was better than Near. He joined the mafia after leaving the orphanage and ended up fighting against Kira, as well as the Task Force. Unfortunately, no matter how smart he was or what actions he took, he still failed on multiple occasions.

10 He Wasn't Chosen As L's Successor

L crouching down and looking up in Death Note.

Before he died, L was supposed to decide who would become his successor. Unfortunately, he was killed before he could choose between Near and Mello, with nobody knowing which child he wanted to take his place. Because of this, the two orphans were told that they should work together, and though Near was willing to do that, Mello refused since he and Near never got along. He left the orphanage that night, letting Near become L's successor, which was very painful for him to do as he didn't get the one thing he always wanted as a child.

9 Takimura Died, So Mello Had To Kidnap Sayu To Get The Death Note

Sayu eating Death Note

While Near began to work with the American government to defeat Kira, Mello walked a darker road and teamed up with the mafia. After proving his loyalty and worth to them for a few years, he had them kidnap Takimura, the National Police Agency's director. He did this so that he could get the Death Note from the Task Force in exchange for Takimura's freedom. However, Takimura died, and Mello was forced to start over. This time, he decided to kidnap Sayu Yagami, Soichiro's daughter and Light's sister. Though it didn't make much of a difference to Mello, this delayed his plans and it would take some more time than he hoped in order to get his hands on the notebook.

8 He Thought That Matsuda Was L

mello in death note

Matsuda was a member of the Task Force who was easily underestimated by those around him. Due to some of the foolish things he would say and not being as smart as his comrades, they didn't notice how much he cared about them as they should have.

RELATED: Attack On Titan: Grisha's 10 Biggest Failures

One of the times that he proved to be incredibly loyal was when he tricked Mello into thinking that he was the fake L that the Task Force created after L died. This put Matsuda in danger, but luckily nothing bad happened to him and Mello was left with information that turned out to be false.

7 The Japanese Task Force Killed The Mafia

mello mafia death note

Though Mello joined the mafia and became one of its most important members, he was secretly planning to kill all of them. Before he was ready to, however, the Task Force attacked them in order to get the Death Note back. At the time, the mafia had a Shinigami named Sidoh working for them, which is why they never suspected that the Task Force was going to attack. However, Sidoh ended up betraying them so he could obtain a Death Note. Mello was at a disadvantage with few people on his side, leaving him injured and unable to do as much as he was able to when he had people working for him.

6 Soichiro Obtained Shinigami Eyes To Learn His Name

Death Note Mello's name is Mihael Keehl

Moments before the Task Force attacked the mafia, Soichiro made a deal with Ryuk in order to obtain Shinigami Eyes, which allowed those who had them to see people's names and how long they had to live. Up until this point, Mello did a good job at keeping his identity a secret, but when Soichiro saw him and revealed his name, all that he had left to protect him from being killed by Kira was keeping his face hidden. Though the Task Force's plan was to have Soichiro write Mello's real name into the notebook, he refused to do so and Mello was able to kill him. However, he needed to be more concerned for his life than he ever needed to be before.

5 He Was Used By Near To Get Information

mello and near in death note

While Mello was a good fighter, could easily manipulate people, and was willing to do anything he needed to in order to achieve his goals, Near was always smarter than him. Because of this, Near used Mello in order to gain information.

RELATED: Death Note: 10 Best Quotes Of Mello

This infuriated Mello, especially since he wanted to prove that he was better than Near. However, Mello was also eventually able to use Near, who helped him. Due to his pride, Mello told Near information about the notebook in return for his rival helping him. Even though they didn't get along, there was no doubt that the two made a good team.

4 He Was Responsible For Matt's Death

Death Note Matt smoking

After the mafia was killed, Mello went to one of the few people who could help him, Matt. The two investigated in secret as they came up with their next plan, which was to kidnap Kiyomi Takada. Matt made it clear that he was a threat to her while Mello came to her rescue, only to deceive her and kidnap her himself. Unfortunately, Matt was murdered while putting their plan into action, and Mello felt guilty, losing the one person who was actually his friend.

3 He Sacrificed Himself To Help Near

mello kidnapping takada Death Note

The reason why Mello and Matt decided to kidnap Takada was that they learned about Near's plan. Near had decided that in order to catch Kira, he would have his and the other investigators' names written into a fake notebook that Kira believed was real. However, Near didn't know that Kira had also created a fake notebook until Mello kidnapped Takada. Mikami, who was writing people's names into the Death Note at the time, revealed where the real notebook was when he thought that he needed to kill Takada. Learning the location of the true Death Note, Near and the SPK were able to make another fake notebook and stole the real one, while Light, who had a piece of the notebook, had Takada kill Mello as she died. If it weren't for Mello's actions, Kira would have won.

2 He Wasn't Able To Avenge L

Mello face with scar Death note

No matter how much he wanted to be the one to avenge L, Mello wasn't able to do it. Like L, he needed to die in order for Kira to be caught. Luckily, their deaths were important as without them, Near wouldn't have been able to avenge both his idol and his rival. At the end of the series, Near was able to prove that Light was Kira. Not being able to do anything, Kira was going to be sent to prison until Ryuk wrote his name into the Death Note, completing the deal that they had made when they first met.

1 Near Became The Next L Instead Of Him

Near finger puppets Death Note

After the Kira investigation ended, Near became the next L. In the manga, it was revealed that a year after he won, he had started solving cases under L's name and worked with the Task Force when they were able to help him. Near also knew that if it weren't for Mello, he never would have been able to achieve their childhood dream, but because the two finally worked together, they surpassed the world's greatest detective. If they had worked with each other the entire time, they probably would have had fewer failures.

NEXT: Death Note: 10 Things You Need To Know About Near