Originally Posted by
3pleT
anti-villains (L, Scar,...) and anti-heroes (don't get me started on this) are usually better written than heroes and villains, simply because they are not as simple as "good guys & bad guys". that's what makes mello so special; he is the best written villain in the series.
what people usually fail to see is that mello actually took least time to figure out that light is in fact kira, but he failed to capture him because he once again got "too emotional", which could lead many viewers to think that his intelligence was inferior to near's. however, even if they miss this, there's a chocolate in his hand which is a proof of his intelligence (since it was already mentioned that L eats so much because his brain uses up all the calories).
i admit, L is what got me hooked to the series, but mello is so brilliant that i really don't know which one i like better. i always thought of near as L's mini-me, but mello is much more than that.