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They're not dead ends per se because their purpose is growing the characters and revealing more of them to the audience. The movie streamlines and speed runs all that, for better or worse.

I also thought the the L spin-off was pretty good.

Couldn’t disagree more. Both the manga and the anime are masterpieces.

Ehhh, they're masterpieces and then a second half happens. Still ends up quite good.

Indeed the first half is supreme. I really enjoyed watching Light's downfall though.