 Mr Wammy as played by Shunji Fujimura in live-action Death Note films | Watari - aka Quillsh Wammy - is L's 'handler' in Death Note. He is also the founder of the Wammy chain of orphanages, including The Wammy House for Gifted and Talented Orphans. Also known as Wammy's House, this was the institution which raised L, Near, Mello, Matt, Beyond Birthday, Linda et al. It is located in Winchester, England. We first meet Mr Wammy under his guise as Watari, an anonymous figure clad from head to toe in a black leather trench coat complete with Fedora hat. He infiltrated a meeting of Interpol, wherein representatives of the world's law enforcement agencies had convened to discuss the Kira case. Watari was carrying a laptop from which emerged the electronic voice of L to address them all. Later, as the Kira Task Force are invited to meet L and vetted by the same, Watari appears again, this time in the suited guise of his actual self - Quillsh Wammy, benefactor of the Wammy Group chain of orphanages and the man who trained L to become a detective. He now facilitates his ward in his work solving crimes, acting as a handler, spokesperson or kind of butler. Noted mostly for organizing logistics of manoeuvres ordered by L; transferring the funds to pay for the same; and bringing copious amounts of cakes, sweets and other sugary things for L to consume whilst puzzling over his cases. Elsewhere, it transpires that Wammy is a crack marksmanship, as well as highly skilled in espionage. He made his considerable wealth as an inventor. Killed in the line of duty, during the fight against Kira, Quillsh Wammy is remembered as a 'great man' by members of the Task Force, lauded as the same by newspaper obituaries around the world. Yet there is a darkness that hides beneath the surface of this seemingly amenable, altruistic man. As author Tsugumi Ohba put it, 'He's a guy who cultivates detectives for fun. That's kind of terrible, isn't it?' (How to Read: Death Note 13, pg 27). Well, in anybody's language, that's child trafficking and rendition, at the very least. |
The Names of Quillsh Wammy Death Note's Watari is alternatively known as: | キルシュ・ワイミー Quillsh Wammy Quillish Wammy Kirushu Waimī Kirsch-Waimi Mr Wammy | ワタリ Watari W 渡 真名 Wye Me |
Originally, Ohba meant to call this character Shadow, as in L's shadow - a moniker with more than one inferred meaning, which fan-fiction writers would have had great fun exploring. However Death Note's editor pooh-poohed the name, telling Ohba, 'No, no! Anything but that!' Hence the author coming up with Watari, which he explained meant 'handler' in Japanese.
Watari's Vital Statistics
 | Hair Colour: Grey Height: 5' 7" (170.18cm) | Eye Colour: Blue Weight: 8 stone (112lbs; 50.8kg) | Occupation: Inventor; L spokesperson; benefactor of orphanages; collector of orphans; educator Relationship Status: Unknown, presumed single |
Key Dates for Watari
| May 1st 1933: | Quillsh Wammy born | Manga |
| May 1st 1936: | Quillsh Wammy born | Anime |
| November 5th 2004: | Quillsh Wammy killed | Manga |
| November 5th 2007: | Quillsh Wammy killed | Anime |
The Auguries of Quillsh Wammy
 Born on May 1st, astrologically Quillsh Wammy is Taurus |  Wammy's birth date of May 1st 1933 (manga) also factors into Shēngxiào. He is a Rooster in the Chinese Zodiac |  However, the time-slip of the anime would have him born in 1936 instead. That means that now in the Chinese Zodiac Watari is a Rat |  How to Read: Death Note 13 reveals that Quillsh Wammy's blood group is B |
A Versatile Fixer - The Personality of Quillsh Wammy
Death Note 13: How to Read gives us an insight into the character of Quillsh Wammy, at least insofar as his author saw him.
The older man scores highly for versatility, talent, initiative/willingness to act, motivation and emotional strength. Not far behind are his only slightly lesser scores for creativity, social skills and intelligence. That he doesn't reach the topmost figure for creativity is a little surprising, given that Wammy made his fortune as an inventor. The ultimate creator, one might think, this side of actual divinity.
We do get a hint of the kind of things that Wammy invented, when he turns up in the Death Note manga with belts containing panic buttons. Not exactly Bond's Q, but in the ballpark.
As befits a man whose wealth and life has become devoted to raising children, his pet hate is 'dirty rooms'. Presumably plenty of those at Wammy's House. I can't quite see the like of Beyond Birthday, Mello and Near running around with a duster.
This is an attribute taken to extreme levels in the Death Note TV drama, wherein guests are sprayed with disinfection at the door. The interior of L's headquarters is kept pristine in its cleanliness, with Watari hurrying in to exchange L's shirt should a mere splash of food stain hit upon it. In most tellings of the Death Note story, it's also inferred that Wammy is a fabulous cook. At least there doesn't seem to be any travelling caterer providing all that confectionery for L that his handler regularly delivers.
Though it's nowhere stated that Wammy is an Englishman, it's implied in the location of his main orphanage for the training of gifted and talented orphans - Winchester, in England. A further clue is given in his most favourite thing in the world - Earl Grey tea.
It's never truly explained how Watari managed to become such a crack marksman either. His sharp-shooting is such that, in the Death Note manga and anime alike, he's able to fire a bullet which blasts a gun from the hand of Yotsuba's Kyosuke Higuchi, far below him on the ground. Wammy himself hovering over the scene in a helicopter at the time.
Nor do we learn where Quillsh Wammy acquired such skill in espionage, though he puts that to good use in Death Note, infiltrating various organizations to gain or deliver information. Not least a gathering of Interpol.
Nevertheless he passed on all this knowledge, and the thinking/morality behind it, to the children in his care. Maybe more clues to Watari's character reside in those he raised - how they turned out and what became of them.
The older man scores highly for versatility, talent, initiative/willingness to act, motivation and emotional strength. Not far behind are his only slightly lesser scores for creativity, social skills and intelligence. That he doesn't reach the topmost figure for creativity is a little surprising, given that Wammy made his fortune as an inventor. The ultimate creator, one might think, this side of actual divinity.
We do get a hint of the kind of things that Wammy invented, when he turns up in the Death Note manga with belts containing panic buttons. Not exactly Bond's Q, but in the ballpark.
As befits a man whose wealth and life has become devoted to raising children, his pet hate is 'dirty rooms'. Presumably plenty of those at Wammy's House. I can't quite see the like of Beyond Birthday, Mello and Near running around with a duster.
This is an attribute taken to extreme levels in the Death Note TV drama, wherein guests are sprayed with disinfection at the door. The interior of L's headquarters is kept pristine in its cleanliness, with Watari hurrying in to exchange L's shirt should a mere splash of food stain hit upon it. In most tellings of the Death Note story, it's also inferred that Wammy is a fabulous cook. At least there doesn't seem to be any travelling caterer providing all that confectionery for L that his handler regularly delivers.
Though it's nowhere stated that Wammy is an Englishman, it's implied in the location of his main orphanage for the training of gifted and talented orphans - Winchester, in England. A further clue is given in his most favourite thing in the world - Earl Grey tea.
It's never truly explained how Watari managed to become such a crack marksman either. His sharp-shooting is such that, in the Death Note manga and anime alike, he's able to fire a bullet which blasts a gun from the hand of Yotsuba's Kyosuke Higuchi, far below him on the ground. Wammy himself hovering over the scene in a helicopter at the time.
Nor do we learn where Quillsh Wammy acquired such skill in espionage, though he puts that to good use in Death Note, infiltrating various organizations to gain or deliver information. Not least a gathering of Interpol.
Nevertheless he passed on all this knowledge, and the thinking/morality behind it, to the children in his care. Maybe more clues to Watari's character reside in those he raised - how they turned out and what became of them.
Complete List of Wammy Kids in Death Note Canon
Genius children taken from wherever they lived around the world and installed in Wammy's House, Winchester. Here their 'special talents' were cultivated with a top class education, whereupon they were sent back out into the world to put those skills into practice. All of these individuals were nurtured by Wammy - or at least had their upbringing and training overseen remotely by him, as warden Roger Ruvie took orders from above.
 A - Name Unknown Committed suicide at Wammy's House (Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Case)  E - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list (L: Change the World)  J - Name Unknown Appears only as character in a DS Death Note game. (L: The Prologue to Death Note)  M - Mello (Mihael Keehl) Joined the Mafia in a bid to catch Kira and succeed to the L title before Near did. When unsuccessful, he gave his life to help Near defeat Kira. (Death Note manga/anime)  Letter Unknown - Matt (Mail Jeevas) Third ranked Wammy kid at the time of L's death. Matt ultimately stepped into the Kira case at the behest of Mello. He was gunned down and killed by Kira supporters. (Death Note manga/anime)  R - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list. However the name is faded out to grey, implying that R is dead. (B's is the same hue.) (L: Change the World)  V - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list. However the name is faded out to grey, implying that V is dead. (B's is the same hue.) (L: Change the World)  Z - Name Unknown Assisted L in the Detective Wars bio-terror case. (Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases) |  B - Beyond Birthday Tried to lure L out with a series of grisly murders in Los Angeles; impersonated L for Naomi Misora, before setting fire to himself in a failed suicide attempt; imprisoned in LA, where he suffered a heart-attack and died (presumably killed by Kira) on January 21st 2004. (Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases)  F - Name unknown Rescued Near from a remote village, where all were dying in a deliberate epidemic, and sent him to L. F was killed in Thailand when a US helicopter shoots down his trunk. However F was already infected with a deadly virus. (L: Change the World)  K - Kimiko Kujo Scientist - unleashed a deadly virus in her own bid to 'change the world' by wiping out its human population. (L: Change the World)  N - Near (Nate River) Mathematical genius, who de facto succeeded L at age twelve, when the latter was killed by Rem/Kira. With clues provided by Mello's martyrdom to the cause, Near was able to finally defeat Kira in the name of himself, Mello and L, ergo Wammy's House. (Death Note manga/anime)  P - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list (L: Change the World)  Letter Unknown - Ryūzaki Cloned from L's DNA and raised at Wammy's House as L's true successor. (Death Note 2016)  X - Name Unknown Assisted L in the Detective Wars bio-terror case. (Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases)  Random Wammy kids as seen in Death Note: Relight (above) and Death Note manga (left) |  D - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list (L: Change the World)  G - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list (L: Change the World)  L - L Lawliet Apparently the prototype 'special talent' Wammy orphan, for whom all the rest were raised as back-ups or successors. At eight years old, L could beat up the other orphans in Wammy's House. He also discovered the delight in solving true crime cases, and thwarted the Winchester Mad Bomber. Beyond that he made his name as not only the world's greatest detective but, under pseudonyms, the 2nd and 3rd ranked too. He was killed during the Kira case.  Letter Unknown - Linda Became a successful artist. During the Kira case, she drew images of Near and Mello for the Japanese Task Force. (Death Note manga/anime)  Q - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list (L: Change the World)  T - Name Unknown Shown on L's call/mailing list. However the name is faded out to grey, implying that T is dead. (B's is the same hue.) (L: Change the World)  Y - Name Unknown Assisted L in the Detective Wars bio-terror case. (Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases)  |
Each skilled Wammy kid set loose on the world was assigned a letter by Watari. In L: Change the World, it's stated that this only occurs with the greatest, most intelligent of the Wammy's House outcrop. Kujo is according stunned to belatedly realise that she was afforded the letter K.
Dotted across various adaptations of canon, we've practically got the entire alphabet in Wammy Letters. With Watari himself indicated by the Letter W, only H, I, O, S and U are missing. However, some known Wammy alumni never divulge their letters. We don't, for example, know which Matt was assigned, despite him being third in the Wammy House rankings. Nor yet do we know which letter Ryūzaki will take in the forthcoming movie Death Note 2016, assuming that he takes one at all.
Meanwhile, by the end of the manga/anime Death Note stories, Near interchangeably uses both N and L. The latter earned post-Kira. Thus giving an insight into the fact that letters can be taken from their peers by successful rivals/successors from the same Institution. This is a system that Wammy himself must have set up.
Along with a code of ethics that apparently accounts for serial killers, abductors, biomedical scientists bent on mass destruction and the propensity of Wammy graduates to think it proper to die - or be killed - for want of a puzzle's solution.
Dotted across various adaptations of canon, we've practically got the entire alphabet in Wammy Letters. With Watari himself indicated by the Letter W, only H, I, O, S and U are missing. However, some known Wammy alumni never divulge their letters. We don't, for example, know which Matt was assigned, despite him being third in the Wammy House rankings. Nor yet do we know which letter Ryūzaki will take in the forthcoming movie Death Note 2016, assuming that he takes one at all.
Meanwhile, by the end of the manga/anime Death Note stories, Near interchangeably uses both N and L. The latter earned post-Kira. Thus giving an insight into the fact that letters can be taken from their peers by successful rivals/successors from the same Institution. This is a system that Wammy himself must have set up.
Along with a code of ethics that apparently accounts for serial killers, abductors, biomedical scientists bent on mass destruction and the propensity of Wammy graduates to think it proper to die - or be killed - for want of a puzzle's solution.
The Faces of Watari
 Quillsh Wammy Death Note manga  Quillsh Wammy Death Note anime |  Quillsh Wammy Death Note Nintendo game  Quillsh Wammy Death Note: Relight
|  Quillsh Wammy Death Note live-action movies  Quillsh Wammy Death Note TV drama |
