Lavi is a friendly exorcist in charge of slaying "Akumas", monsters created by the Millennium Earl who wishes to destroy humanity.
Critics have praised Lavi's characterization, mostly for his cheerful personality and his character arc, which involved creating bonds with the other exorcists that he is told not to befriend by Bookman, his mentor.
4] In the manga's 119th chapter, "La"+"vi" (｢ラ｣+｢ビ｣ "Ra+Bi"), Hoshino wanted the cover to symbolize him, representing Lavi's mind through images including a coffin that contains books and an empty cage.
Designwise, Lavi was made to be the opposite of fellow character Yu Kanda but still felt the scarf might give her issues during drawings.
[4] Hoshino was surprised by Lavi's popularity as he made it to the top ten from the last character poll despite his lack of appearances in later story arcs.
72] In his introduction, he quickly befriends the series' protagonist, Allen Walker, and they work together in two separate missions: a hunt for demons labelled as "Akuma" and an encounter with the Romanian "vampire" Arystar Krory III.
40] Shortly after meeting Krory, Lavi and Bookman join a group of exorcists to find the missing General Cross Marian, who is being targeted by the Millennium Earl's forces.
During their journey to Japan, Allen is nearly killed in combat by Tyki Mikk, an immortal descendant from Noah aiding the Earl.[ch.
With his weapons broken, Lavi, along with Yu Kanda, aids wounded Allen and helps him face a highly evolved Akuma until they are saved by Lenalee Lee.[ch.
[14][15] Outside the D.Gray-man franchise, Lavi is present in the crossover video game Jump Super Stars[16] and is mentioned in the animated adaptation of the manga Gin Tama as part of a misunderstanding involving a letter about him.
[24] Kimberly Morales of Animation Insider liked Lavi's character for not being allowed by Bookman to befriend other people, since he is supposed to be a neutral observer.
[25] Holly Ellingwood of Active Anime had a similar impression of the character due to how he aids the weakened Allen during the fight against the Akumas despite being unable to see them within crowds of people.
[26] Todd Douglass Jr. of DVDTalk enjoyed Lavi's first mission with Allen, due to the misunderstanding in which they believe Krory to be a vampire but learn over the course of the story that he is another exorcist.
[29] Casey Brienza of Anime News Network (ANN) had mixed opinions of the presentation of Lavi's fight against the Noah Road Kamelot which, while it featured his character arc, was overshadowed by Allen's clash with Tyki Mikk.
[30] On the other hand, Ben Leary from the Fandom Post found Lavi's situation more enjoyable than the other fights from the same volume, but lamented it was not further explored in the book.
[31] IGN's Richard Osborn enjoyed Lavi's interactions with Allen and Lenalee Lee in Hallow's first episode as they created lighthearted moments in a dark story.