Mihael Keehl

Mihael Keehl, also known as M or Mello, is one of the main characters from the Death Note anime and manga.

Mello is the older of L's two successors, raised at Wammy's House—Watari's orphanage for gifted children in Winchester, England. When Roger decides that Mello should work with Near to capture Kira, he refuses, citing an inability to work with somebody to whom he is considered "second." He leaves the orphanage soon after, stating "I'll find my own way," and he eventually seeks help from the Mafia.

Appearance
Mello is a young man with chin-length golden-blond hair and blue eyes. His bangs hang down just over his eyebrows, and he stands at about average height. He later gains a large scar, which begins somewhere between his shoulder and waist and extends up to just between his nose and left eye, after initiating an explosion in the Mafia hideout in order to escape being captured. Mello is usually seen wearing dark leather clothes. The manga depicts him wearing a red-colored rosary and a cross-adorned bracelet. In the anime, however, the cross has been edited to be a stick (the horizontal portion of the would-be-cross is not present). He also carries a gun that, in the manga, has a cross attached to a chain that hangs from its handle.

Personality
While Mello is certainly a genius and more intelligent than most people, the concept of being only the second most intelligent person in Wammy's House, behind Near, fuels the inferiority complex that defines Mello's character. Mello verges on immorality in his obsession with being the one to take down Kira and is willing to do "whatever it takes," including kidnapping the director of the Japanese Police's daughter (Sayu Yagami) and having a member of the Mafia murder most of the SPK members. In the manga, after Mello has successfully stolen a Death Note, he even goes so far as to attempt to blackmail the president of the United States via telephone into giving him funds and resources to aid his pursuit of Kira and to evade Near, threatening that if his demands are not met he will use the Death Note to force the president to launch the United States' nuclear missiles and start World War III. Arguably, Mello is not trying to defeat Kira out of a sense of "justice" but because capturing Kira will prove to the world that Mello is indeed the worthy successor to L as the world's greatest detective and not simply runner-up to Near. As Mello describes his goal in his own words, "I will become Number One!"

The artist of Death Note, Takeshi Obata, points out in Death Note 13: How to Read that Mello's envy and hatred of Near was only one-sided and that Near "honestly liked Mello." The book states that Mello is not purely evil, citing his genuine care for Matt's well-being and his apology for Matt's death, as well as his apology to Soichiro Yagami for his responsibility for Soichiro's fatal wounds. The book also states that Mello has an excellent mind and that he sometimes lets his emotions get in his way. Tsugumi Ohba, the writer of Death Note, has stated that Mello works hard for everything, unlike Near, whose intellectual gifts are natural.

Similar to L's fondness for sweets, Mello is seen eating only bars of chocolate, even when talking. In the manga, he is seen licking the chocolate before eating it. Mello also has a habit of bending his right leg up while sitting, often with his left leg turned outwards. He tends to alternate between that pose and simply crossing his right leg over his left leg. Another trait of his that is comparable to L is his tendency to take drastic strategies to confuse and force the hand of his opponents, as well as his lust for victory and the need to satisfy his ego.

Trivia

 * The only food Mello has ever been seen eating is chocolate bars.
 * Mello states that during his one meeting with L, he was told three stories: the first was of the L.A. BB murder case (which later became the subject of a book), the second was about the final fight between L and the real Eraldo Coil and Deneuve, and the third story recounts how L first met Watari when he was eight.
 * American singer Madonna cosplayed as Mello for her 2007 music video of "Jump." She cited Mello as her favorite character.
 * Mello's gun is a Beretta 92FS.
 * While Mello was absent from the live-action movies, L eats several chocolate bars as a nod to the character.