There's probably a translation issue here, too - I don't know what the original Japanese said, and I know that there's subtleties to "kawaii" and I'm sure plenty of other words in the same area that we're not getting. I know that he's not supposed to be traditionally good-looking, in contrast to Light, but that succeeded in making him far more attractive to me, because I really don't go for traditionally good-looking.

When I was a TA, I always learned the names of the non-American students, and the annoying students first, because they stood out in my mind, whether it was for an unusual name, a nifty accent, or because I CURSED THE DAY THEY WERE BORN, er, had issues with their behavior in class. I feel sorry for the sea of generic frat boys who I always mixed up, because I couldn't ever keep them separate until they finally stood out as individuals in some way.