Honestly , Near. He's like L, but alot more hardcore. He's insolent, a brat, and plays dirty. I quite like him. Heck, I probably like Mello more than L too. Then L.

I voted for Light. He is such a cool character and i believe he used the death note for a good reason although killing is bad.

I've got to say, I'm not a fan of L. He was a very impossible character, constantly able to be just one step ahead of Light no matter how incredible Light performed.

And I know, 'why should Light be held to a higher standard?' Well he did have a good reason for being as cautious and calculating as he was, he was Kira, public enemy no. 1.

Meanwhile, L furiously chased Light with very little reason (though it was obvious the creator wanted you to think that he had one.) Seeming to be dwelling on a 'hunch' and took severe risks against his 'hunch' but then quickly retreated when he was forced onto unsteady ground. Light would bring about almost perfect evidence to his innocence and L would still have 'just a feeling'.

Meanwhile, Near on the other hand simply followed his guts and moved perfectly towards them. He had a few advantages over L, granted. But I firmly believe he would have performed differently than L.


How did Near ruin the ending?

I couldn't have asked for a better ending, personally. Everything I wanted to happen, did happen. Though, I did think that the 'evidence' seemed like a bit of a cop-out, but the show did a bad job of really explaining how it was done.

I like L, but I like Near and Mello more than I liked L, for most of the reasons already mentioned. Near was more cocky than L was, and he wasn't silly enough to actually associate with Light on a personal level, that was the key factor that enabled Near to get so far. L's biggest mistake was getting close to Light, if he kept a hands-off approach to him as Near did, things could have turned out a lot differently for L than they did.

I suppose the movie-ending was the 'sorry guys!' ending that the creator offered up to the fans who didn't like the anime/manga ending.

If you want to know how the movie ended, read this:
Near, Mello, and Mikami are not in the movie at all. Light's father isn't dead, and L also isn't dead, he comes back at the end with the proof against Light, only issue is, he used the Death Note to fake his own death, and will have 21 days to live. Matusa shoots Light like he did in the anime, and when Light freaks out, he demands that Ryuk kills L. Ryuk agrees, but when he shows Light the name that he had written, it was Light's name, and he dies there as a result.