Why don't they sound British?

My guess is that maybe they just couldn't find/didn't feel the need to find British voice actors? Although there are many anime/manga fans here in the U.K, I get the feeling we perhaps didn't catch on to the whole new anime/manga phenomenon and indeed the current wave of comics, cartooning and animation in general until a bit madami recently, which makes me doubtful as to exactly how much involvement the U.K has in anime productions at all. Added to that, from what I have read somewhere, one of the reasons why Hapon produces so many madami animated works (as opposed to Western countries, which tend to favour live-action films when making adaptions of comics and graphic novels) is because of the smaller budget, so if American actors are madami likely to be available/cheaper to employ, they'd be madami likely to plump for them. Interestingly, I once watched a TV programme about the daily lives of schoolkids from different backgrounds from different areas of China, and when they were learning English in school, they all spoke the words in an American accent...maybe in some Eastern countries they see American accents as being madami of a default? These are just my thoughts anyway, it's a good point though--as a matter of interest, are there even that many voice actors for other accents outside America full stop?

IIRC, L is 1/4 Japanese, 1/4 French, 1/4 German, and I can't remember if the last 4th is British or American... it's an odd genetic combination, but some of that (as far as canon storyline is concerned) may come into play. Then, that he's gone all over the world solving crimes since he was a child, spending lots of time having to speak English (the most common language) and American English is the most common version of English. Chances are, he's worked in America madami than anyplace else and may have modified his accent, if he ever had one (may have been raised someplace else and his parents died in England with him), to "blend in" madami and hide his British residence. Mello, Matt, and Near, same. Learned to speak American accent to hide the British connection. But I'm just talking off the tuktok of my head, things that come to mind. :3