The Importance of Near in Death Note | Death Note Analysis

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Every single day, I daydream of finding the people who shit on my favorite anime character, so I can beat their fucking face in with a bat. If I showed those mother fuckers this video, they would love Near too! BUT THOSE HYPOCRITICAL BASTARDS WOULD NEVER ADMIT IT. INSTEAD THEY JUST CAST JUDGEMENT UPON THEIR FELLOW MAN FOR SOMETHING THEY THEMSELVES WOULD BE GUILTY OF. ALL THOUGH NOBODY SHOULD FEEL GUILTY AT ALL BECAUSE THERES NOTHING FUCKING WRONG WITH LOVING THE CHARACTER NEAR! GOD DAMN IT! I JUST WANT TO FUCKING KILL THEM! I WANT TO KILL THEM ALL! I WANNA SNEAK INTO THEIR HOUSES AND HATCHET THEM TO DEATH! THOSE DISGUSTING FUCKING HYPOCRITES! THEY'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT THEY SAID! THEY'RE GONNA FUCKING PAY! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The widely acclaimed anime series, Death Note, strikes a chord with fans for it's intellectual writing. With characters like the genius high school student Light, and the world's greatest detective L, it's no surprise. But many fans view the latter end of Death Note to be inferior to the rest of the series. Death Note fans point to the character Near, a resident of Wammys House and successor to L(alongside his fellow Wammys House resident, Mello), as the main culprit behind the loss of quality. Despite this, Near(also known as Nate River) is one of the most intelligent characters in Death Note.
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[@onyxwilson4246]

I like near theme music

[@cml64_]

same

[@SierNotsruht]

Why'd you pin this?

[@isgamer-8732]

@@SierNotsruht because it's the best theme in the show

[@mokied]

@@isgamer-8732 together with L's theme

[@Snowingeel]

I like near theme music

[@i.147]

Another fact about Near playing with toys : when he plays he ALWAYS builds a wall around him, be it with cards, dices or paper.

[@KatoBeyond]

I always just attributed this to him sitting in one spot for too long. -Zero

[@imbakestation6159]

Who gives a fuck

[@callie.7093]

@@imbakestation6159 bruh

[@imbakestation6159]

Callie BRUH

[@callie.7093]

@@imbakestation6159 B R U H

[@EnderHeart5911]

"I'm not as great a man as L was. I'm not as experienced a detective or as righteous as he was. However, I'm still enough to beat you because you, Light Yagami, are not special." Wow, this is incredible.

[@willdg8108]

EnderHeart5911 this quote was may favourite part of the story

[@HannibalBeerus73]

"I just had a fair chunk of information from L's investigation (despite the data involving the case being deleted, Near literally talks about how L suspected Light before, meaning he clearly knows some things), so, with this head start from the best detective in the world, I, a simple child, could beat you." But let's just act like Near didn't have any information beforehand or anything. He started with as clean a slate as L did.

[@willdg8108]

Hannibal Beerus it was still what light needed to fucking hear

[@krutarthshukla3067]

All said but if mikami hadnt gone to the bank to get the real note.. Lights plan would have worked

[@helphelp8618]

AlreadyWon No he wouldn’t of. Near would be dead.

[@Funnybones30]

i used to hate Near like many others when i first watched the anime. Then i read the manga and i realised that the main problem with Near is that the anime messed up the pacing and only gave him 10 episodes whereas is was in half of the manga and that meant he had more time to be fleshed out and more distinguished from L. Near wasn't the problem, the pacing of the show was

[@mommyslittlegamer9667]

i just finished reading the manga and can confirm this is 100% the case. the anime was really faithful up until the near and mello arc

[@aprettycoolguardsman572]

Mello in the manga wasnt just a smart vigilante, he was someone who would take action when no one else would. But then the anime turned him into "eat chocolate and act rash"

[@Funnybones30]

@@aprettycoolguardsman572 I really agree

[@Viviana088]

100% agree, even though I didn't hate Near when I first watched the show. The Anime did the best it could to give Near as much development as they could, so I understood that the development for Near was a bit rushed. After reading the Manga, Near instantly became my favorite. 😂

[@erfanshahed3746]

@@aprettycoolguardsman572 nope he helped near to detect light as kira and also distroyed entire yagami family.

[@chaboki]

I love how Near and Ryuuk just have a friendly hello while LIght's essentially having a panic attack

[@Pidgeyato]

I know, right?

[@arthur0023]

Yeah full on shane dawson

[@Pidgeyato]

@Malchik Blue "Well it was fun" *kills him*

[@ImOutsideTheBox]

@Malchik Blue it was always clear to me Ryuk was a psychopath who's purely motivated by boredom in that he wanted to keep up shenanigans so he didn't have to go back to playing poker with the other gods for eternity.

[@eta0carinae]

​@@ImOutsideTheBox psychopathy is a human trait. ryuk, being literally a god of death, kills humans all his indefinite time, it would be unnatural for him to have empathy to any of them. it is exaggerated by the death of rem and gelus, the reason of which is their unusual empathy to humans. for all people involved in "death note", the story has great impact on their lifes. for the being as powerful as ryuk, it's a funny little story describing tiny portion of his eternal life.

[@nighthathfallen]

My favorite part of Death Note is when Light is walking with Ray's fiancee and has to find some way of getting her name. I like how in that scene you can see Light panicking inward as he is thrown into a situation he's not comfortable with but he manages to keep somewhat calm front.

[@user-cm4op2kz3y]

Exactly. Everyone always talks about how Light never panics but he does a lot but most of it happens on the inside. And it the final episode we see him go mad and let it all out which is not out of his character

[@nzbg1132]

lol that was so weird he said to her bye and just started following her i was like wtf why is she not saying anything

[@bahajidouae4798]

Probably the greatest scene in the anime

[@GBGSK]

That scene was so so black and dark and just great.. also one of the few or only time where we had a complete Light perspective. Was defenetly needed to build up the character Light and get more dragged into the show as a Viewer😍

[@FlytoZenith]

I absolutely love that episode. It's a testament of how good death note is. What other show or manga can make 2 people walking up and down a street talking and wasting time exciting and nail biting?

[@scorpioigor]

I also love Near, and his burns to Light at the final episode are amazing. "No, you are just a murderer, Light Yagami". That sentence there is exactly what Light needed to hear at his defeat, and I agree with you, L probably wouldn't have said that, especially after forming a bond with Light. Near coming from the outside and defeating Light without getting close to him like L did allowed him to be 100% objective. In the end, L is indeed more emotional than Near.

[@troy.nuesca]

@@kamarihodges4205 whats your problem

[@DHEER-np9qs]

Baltimore Life NO

[@treceslez]

@@troy.nuesca Lmao, the truth is his/her problem.

[@deathhy7590]

L didnt actually get close with Light at all, the writer said hen L called him his friend it was a a lie to act like theyre close.

[@treceslez]

@@deathhy7590 I think there are a lot of different ways to get close and form bonds with someone other than friendship (even negative feelings can make you get close to people). It's not that we believe that L and Light were truly friends, but they certainly got to a level of closeness that Light did not share with Near whatsoever.

[@Jakebrand11208]

L never had a rival so when Light showed up he was happy that someone was even close to his skill, Near already had a rival therefore he could see light for what he truly was a crazy serial killer.

[@bolbolfan449]

Hmm.. I hate to admit it, but you're right.

[@minecraftminertime]

I think you're wrong. Near doesn't need a rival to not be the crazy serial killer's friend. Mello rivaled Near, but Near was focused on the crazy serial killer and didn't really care about Near.

[@lance7380]

Rivalry is unimportant to Near he does not concern himself with ranking others against himself he sees objective truths and does what his definition L's definition would require of him

[@marlo.candeea]

If only I could heart your comment...

[@user-fx1jl1jt3o]

What about BB?

[@4D4plus4is4D8]

I think there are two reasons that they introduced Near and Mello - 1) they wanted Light to win the battle against L, to show how ruthless he is, but they didn't want the story to just end with Light being victorious. So they needed a successor to ultimately defeat him. 2) and Mello existed so we could explore what it might have been like if L was as ruthless as Light in his pursuit of victory. In other words, what if Light had to battle someone just as smart as L but without L's attachment to justice.

[@watdahellll]

Wow youre right makes sense

[@jjk_enjoyer.1]

I agree it fits in with the characters and what happened with Light in the end (him going insane at that moment a.k.a his kira laugh)

[@Youtokstagram]

Beautiful comment. Made me think!

[@voice-less]

They introduced them to make lengthen the story, the authors wanted to end the series with L and light both loosing, but they were forced to lenghten it, this is why the ended up cornering themselves with near, mello, mikami, and the task force And this is why near went full avatar state to find out who mikami was, which was impossible since mikami literally has zero correlation to light, as a person who did3change anything in his lifestyle for over 4 years And this is why mikami broke out of his character, he worshiped light as a god, and he never once questioned him or his decisions in any way, yet somehow at the last second possible, he went to the bank, which didn't make sense either*not mentioning how they rewrote an enitre death note by hand, in one night* And this is why light lost, the story's message is that killing doesnt3make the world better, they simply needed a way to kill him, everything else was meaningless

[@decristal48]

Once I write a story that it was supposed to have maximun 12 pages (it was for a contest). In some point, I was enjoying the development of my story that I extended without realizing it. When I noticed I have 16 pages. Because of the contest rules, I somehow cut it to have 12 pages exactly. Even so, a friend of mine noticed something in my story and told me: "I'm not sure, but I feel like the story just change at some point at the end". And he told me the exact point where I started to cut my story. I don't try to compared myself with Death Note's author at all. But I kind of feel that people can tell when a story suddenly changes. Cause' I feel that same thing when Death Note continue without L. I feel that the end was suposed to be that Light wins. But for some reasons they just extended the story. I don't know :/

[@jaeyisna7712]

near actually isnt a bad character if you think about it. its just that the way he was introduced made it seem lazy.

[@callie.7093]

YES. I love him sm

[@eimearparr1047]

Yeah tbh i still hate his walmart L ass

[@callie.7093]

@@eimearparr1047 he and L had different tactics and he was his successor, not a ripoff

[@kira1834]

It’s hard to say I like him, but I see him as a genuine genius; still I prefer my game with L.

[@goodguysolid6398]

@@kira1834 id say Near played only to win. L wanted a challenge and took it on as fast as it came to him, after a while he didnt even want it to end

[@andersonsmiths7437]

"Really though, the hate regarding Near is quite irrational; read the manga! (I've noticed that people who hate Near tend to also be the ones who only watched the anime; he's a more developed character in the manga)" -some random dude on Reddit

[@SwagokuLion]

even in the anime near is a cool character fuck L

[@sifatahmedx]

@@SwagokuLion did you said f l?

[@SwagokuLion]

@@sifatahmedx Yup his fans are annoying and stupid.

[@SwagokuLion]

@@cookieteandblueberry Near > L.

[@chatbloom7188]

@@SwagokuLion boring troll

[@LegendaryBattalion]

I enjoy the second half of Death Note, the whole show is great in my opinion.

[@shosty575]

Same too

[@Lacie9]

The second half is great but the first half is Amazing

[@darkmage4648]

Ending is a little rushed. I like Near. But the switcheroo is a tried trope and to think Light would fall to it, just seemed forced to me.

[@eroslee16]

Me too. At first, I was so disappointed at the sudden death of L. I thought I would not be interested in Near but as the show progressed I came to love him. Especially on the part where he says " Please to meet you at last L number 2". Light was really pissed at that moment.

[@saltedwater5655]

@@darkmage4648 the anime definitely rushed it, in the manga they showed more about near and mello's rivalry and shit

[@supremespark2454]

Light’s end is. . . . “Near”

[@deszi4444]

Underrated

[@iceycoolman3320]

Supreme Spark well now that light took the L, the world is darker.

[@blackflashp.rna2085]

Supreme Spark i get it

[@darksyner7682]

The ending NEARly made me cry.

[@mikahatesmilk3960]

Puns all around

[@ludwigamadeusbach8363]

I just realized something! That last part u talked about with near saying that light wasnt special references the beginning because ryuk told light that he picked it up by chance and that he wasnt chisen for anything and light refuses to believe that.

[@patiencewallace8453]

Wow, I didn’t even think about it like that. Thank you

[@riad1482]

@@patiencewallace8453 neither did I

[@MrPF]

I love how Near calling Light a simple killer, is a slap to the face of all the shity fans that actually think of Kira as a God It doesn't matter if he used a knife to kill 5 people or a nuclear bomb to kill thousands He is still a killer, a monster, a mistake in society Even Light confirms this in what he says: "No one else could have done this" He thinks of himself as a god, he thinks that Ryuk is just another puppet And Near puts him in his place Light Yagami doesn't die in a greate war or shoot out, he dies of a heart attack in a random staircase

[@mechamanw668]

Another reason why I like the mangas ending more. It shows Light's desperation and Mikami calls Light a loser after seeing who he really was.

[@Appathetic_Substance_Abuse]

In the middle too. Not at the top, (heaven) not at the bottom, (hell) but right in the middle

[@l.pricetag.5207]

I don’t understand how anyone can honestly think Light was the hero. I’ve seen tons of people who actually think he was good or that his actions were justified and it honestly hurts my soul.

[@anandmathur7886]

@@l.pricetag.5207 true it just creeps me out how can people even think of a random guy with a deadly notebook rule their lives. Also I'm amused that people actually think of him as a god.

[@l.pricetag.5207]

Anand Mathur Exactly, I mean, I can understand it if he was only killing the worst criminals (eventhough I still find it a little harsh, I can understand it) but this guy was murdering innocent people as well often for no good reason outside of his fat ego and power craze. When I first watched Deathnote I thought it was clear Light was the villain of this story and I was surprised as ever to see that some people actually support him in real life.

[@casterforlife4995]

Why people hating on him? He only did his job.

[@hexingon6088]

nah he just got his answers from his ass you see L mind process of getting answer and then you see Near make same assumption without any basis and dont make me even start on Mikami bs

[@markhegedus]

Hexing ON that is not the character’s fault but the studio’s, after the death of L a lot of dialog from the manga wasn’t included in the anime

[@brigidflanagan9585]

Márk Hegedűs yeah, I found myself getting a lot more confused after his death, cuz certain things just seemed overlooked. Like, the death note light kept with him to maintain his memories- I couldn’t figure out which note that one was. I might have to borrow my friends copy of the manga

[@markhegedus]

Brigid Flanagan I think that part was in the anime too, but first he got ownership over the one which was found in the yotsuba case. When Rem died, her note book became the one that “holds” Light memories. (After a certain amount of time, if it is not used, the death note’s owner forfeit ownership automaticly. I don’t know the exact amount of time, but I guess it’s less then the timegap between L’s death and N’s appearance, so the “yotsuba” death note doesn’t have an owner at N’s appearance) Then he had to give his current one to his father so he gave up the ownership of Rem’s death note. But in order to keep his memories and maintain Misa’s eyes he tied Miss’s death note to his body. This way Misa was still the owner but he had contact with the death note all the time so he could keep his memories plus his father could see his life span so it’s another “excuse” why he cpuldn’t be kira. After when Light’s dad died on the bed, he was the first who touched it. That was the death note which he had until the end. Originally that was Rem’s book, Jealous’s book ended up in Mikamis’s hand and the one Light found in the beginning was taken back by that ugly shinigami. I hope I was helpful ^^

[@brigidflanagan9585]

Márk Hegedűs okay, the part where he reclaimed ownership of his dad’s note was what I was missing, ty

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

You explain this perfectly Light was focused on L L was focused on Light Mello was focused on Near Near looked past Light completely, and focused on the Death Note itself

[@johay899]

Yes 👍

[@otherssingpuree1779]

My favourite character was Ryuk. He had no affiliation or attachment with anyone. He was just passing time. For him, it was all just a game.

[@redmoose5553]

@@feriluv. rem killed L cuz he was a simp

[@LaughOutFrikinLoud]

I love both L and Near. I love how Near always knew instead of suspected Light was Kira. His cocky attitude, and confrontations towards Light were so upfront I loved it. Also he realized how much Light and him would think alike so he would make obvious moves then switch them up at the very end like how he did with adding a fake notebook instead of just replacing the final pages. Also Near had an edge that his colleagues didn’t care about going above the law at anytime because they knew they had to put any cop morals aside. Unlike the task force L worked with who kept questioning the moral in all of his moves.

[@imbakestation6159]

Star Lord Exactly, L’s task force was weak hence Light Yagami saw that and manipulated them like a fiddle. However, Near had different ways of going about it leading to Kira’s demise at the Yellow Box Warehouse

[@patiencewallace8453]

Agreed

[@classicxd7879]

You do know the only reason light lost was cause Mikami messed up, right?

[@mlpmlpmlpmlp1]

@@classicxd7879 light lost at episode ten, where he mentioned to L that raye penber investigated him while someone who is supposedly innocent, shouldnt know about that. L knew from the beginning that it was light, but this proved it further, making Light lose the game.

[@remyleke5944]

Even though L is my favorite Death Note character, Near has always been my second favorite and I never understood why he gets so much hate. So I'm sooo happy you made this analysis

[@lovechants6963]

IMPACT ! I agree with u

[@martacastillo6272]

I just finished the anime last night and yep, my favorite characters are in that order :)

[@xDreMack]

For me it's the ssa pulls he constantly came up with in order to win.

[@angry2270]

Omg yes a fellow person that doesn't hate Near. Like I be crying while hugging my Near figurine cause most of the fandom hates him

[@KatoBeyond]

We're in this together, friend.

[@alyssa2084]

Same 😔

[@anikazarin2871]

Yeah, I still don't understand why people hate him soo much.

[@chetanbrahmania7697]

Yep

[@trapnestqqq]

Things I learned from death note: 1) eating chocolate,sweets and playing with toys makes you smart 2) never second guess yourself 3) don't pick up random notebooks

[@razkable]

Your first hunch when it comes to suspects in a crime is usually 70% right...

[@trapnestqqq]

Asmosis Jones good point

[@jessicarichards4428]

I really hate your cremello

[@JM-wb8rq]

L always second guesses himself

[@reyniknamyrion3557]

And third guesses and fourth guesses. But he tends to listen to the third guess and ignore the fourth guess. Unless there's a fifth guess. Then he listens to the fourth guess, then tells people he believes in the second guess while putting into place a plan for the third guess.

[@lucillelacroix2735]

I never really considered the fact that Near's best advantage against Light was the fact that he just considered him as a crazy serial killer, but that is so true, it's amazing. And it really shows why L did loose in the end, he was way too admirative of Kira. In a sense, you could almost assume that L didn't even want to catch Kira, because he was happy to see that someone as intelligent as him existed, he liked the fact that Kira was able to challenge his intelligence, he liked to confront him. I'm not sure if he wanted to win the game more than he just wanted to play it. If he had won, the game would have just stopped, and that's not fun for him... I'm not saying that he wanted to loose, but simply that maybe he wasn't actually so interested in winning, because unconsciously he valued the confrontation more than its outcome (maybe, I don't know). Which wasn't the case for Near who just wanted to win and had no particular interest in Light.

[@Yoids]

And Near is humble, something that neither L or Kira had. Near rulz! :P

[@Steven-nv7qu]

I think L knew that Light was Kira. There was simply no one else that could be Kira other than Light and there was no evidence at all. I do not think L didn't want to catch Kira. He doesn't seem to be the type of person who'd let a serial killer be at large, especially someone with great "power" like Kira. L lost not because it wouldn't be fun for him or it wouldn't be interesting if he won. He lost because there was no evidence to prove that Light is Kira despite how hard he fought to find some evidence, e.g. Light's father shot him with a blank gun, weeks in isolation. He knew he was going to lose because there is no evidence and there is just too much he doesn't know. He couldn't do anything about it and that is how Light won. Nevertheless, L is glad to have a friend like him, even if he knew it was fake.

[@tomiekawakami5039]

L had an OCD to have *perfect score* when he was 99% sure that Light is Kira (L said so himself). Apart from this, he chooses Light as a co-detective in the Kira's investigation, further giving Kira access to L's power as -the greatest detective in the world- ; This led to L's downfall. *This perfect-score great detective pride is a mirror to Light's godly perfect-world pride as Kira* Near actually would have lost to Kira just like L, if not for Mello meeting up with Near. Mello had Light as Kira 100%, but his inhumane investigation methods made Mello a criminal. Thus, Mello cannot put justice on Light as Kira (unlike Near). Mello admitted that he hates losing to Kira (even though he had technically won against Near in the investigation battle as he has more evidence to prove Light is Kira, but he is not keen in co-operating with Near). Thus, he knew that by letting Near die would mean that Light will be free and Mello lose to Kira (he hates losing to Kira more than to Near). Mello dies to further push Near on the right direction after he made his point clear to Near in the meeting, in a reluctant co-operation between Mello and Near. Near himself acknowledged this at the introduction of both characters and ending of the manga, where he stated that *Mello and Near are superior to L* ; If both are superior to L, then they both are superior to Light / Kira. In the end, Light / Kira mistakes were in his pride as Kira and choosing Mikami as Kira's proxy (somewhat similar to L's mistakes). In my opinion, Mello is the true winner (regardless of methods). Near picked up where Mello pushes Near to lead his own investigation, becoming the default winner since Mello died and Near is the only one who can apprehend Light as Kira (bringing him to justice). In the manga, L firmly stated that Kira is a mass murderer numerous times, and this is translated the same with Near in his conviction. Thus in a way, this shared convictions between L and Near makes Near the rightful heir to the name "L" (not Light, who took the name as second-L, not even Mello who cares more about result and not the methods). Near and Mello both are the best characters in my opinion. They were the ones who gave the real pressure for Light to further prove his intelligence and a reason for the Japanese force team to doubt, whereas L was the one receiving such pressure from Light and the Japanese force team.

[@ACCH00]

Lose not loose, but either way I like your comment.

[@lucillelacroix2735]

ACCH00 yeah, sorry about that, it was already too late when I realized I made a mistake ^^' (but at the same time, "choose" and "chose" are not pronounced the same way, but you say "lose" and not "loose", it doesn't make a lot of sense to me x) but my first language is even worse so I understand)

[@gottesurteil3201]

I liked Near. He represented the viewers who had utter contempt for Light like myself. Shrugging off Light's downfall as if it were nothing is the perfect end to the god of pretenders.

[@GregoryFord98]

I agree completely. I always saw Near and Mello as two pieces of L's persona, as you stated. I first noticed it with what they did. L's always was eating sweets and then building buildings or making puzzles. Mello eats the sweets, while Near builds the puzzles. People say Mello is too radical, but L's out of the box behavior is what got him killed. He plays tennis with Light to get him to slip up, and even after Light gives up the death note, L fights Light hand to hand twice. All actions that were mirrored by Mello, be it having Yagami at gun point or even getting killed by Kira. Something I think that you missed, or may have ignored is the sweets. Light and Mello eat sweets because it keeps their body and brain active. That's why they are so radical and hyperactive. L and Mello use their thinking ability to burn the calories from the sugars as well. The two worked together not to beat Kira/Light that worked together to surpass there mentor L, by doing the one thing that he could not.

[@victorpetrescu6586]

Thinking doesn't actually burn calories kek

[@genostellar]

I never considered that difference between L and Near that you point out at the end. That absolutely does make it more enjoyable. I always thought of Light as a character with huge flaws, only beating L because he had a fortunate situation, but I never considered how L made Light into a god and Near treated him like he was nothing special.

[@genostellar]

You didn't understand my comment at all, huh?

[@CalinFletcher]

fortunate situation? i think not, it was quite unfortunate, due to misa, the reason L was able to be killed, L also learned of shinigami and the notebook, in my opinion L sacrificed himself knowing that with what he knew someone would come along and dispose of Kira. we can all agree that if misa was never introduced and L never died, we all wouldve been satisfied with L winning against Kira. Simply put we love L, if Kira was exposed we wanted L to do it, not his kid successor with the power of bullshit writing for him to figure everything out.

[@mattmat6967]

@@CalinFletcher late comment but it seems you didnt understand what geno said at all

[@xxxxcxxxc6917]

@AlreadyWon L also lost because he didn't truly trust his instincts. He should have done that. L is way smarter than Light because of the fact that he always finds a good explanation for the actions people are doing thus he can also predict what their next move will be. I like Near in fact he and Ryuk are my favourite characters so I don't get why people hate on him. Near is calm and he is smart. He is not as smart as L but still. Near treats everyone equal it doesn't matter to him if they are criminals or shinigami or whatever. That's why I like him.

[@priyankachoudhury2965]

I agree with you in so many levels... Light's death actually relieved me. He started off to change the world but gradually started killing the people who're not on his side. What does this make him? A selfish murderer who can do anything to avoid being caught. I was shocked when he killed Ray. That scene when he looked at Ray dying had me chills. I even felt like L started admiring Light's ability as you know he was way younger and still managed to be an equal to L in terms of intelligence. There was a point where may be L even got a bit emotionally attached to Light as they were so similar. The things Near said in the end is all I wanted to say to Light the entire time. I know people sympathise with him but doing so is like sympathising with Hitler and his actions as he too faced similar end.

[@nono9543]

I do think people forget that part you brought up. L knew Light was Kira but he did grow some connection to him. Near has no such connection. He doesn’t like Light, nor does he respect Light. He sees him as a criminal. Nothing more and nothing less.

[@desiamvs2862]

Indian??

[@uwu-chan4618]

Light's philosophy is so bad at so many levels, but it's kinda true. It's like Thanos objective to while out half of the universe, except Thanos objective is actually better since it will decrease the general requirement of the resources needed for survival. Light's wish to kill all the criminals is good and all, but just in 5 days he went insane, saying that he is probably the best person in the world, while in the reality he's just the worst criminal ever exist. It's kinda funny how he is a criminal just by writing names in a notebook.

[@machina5]

@@uwu-chan4618 Why didn't Thanos just use the Gauntlet to make more resources?

[@uwu-chan4618]

@@machina5 That question is literally a meme. Maybe he just didn't think about it.

[@DemyrNox]

I don't hate Near, but what I really disliked was that the whole story was an amazing battle of intellects, yet Light only loses because Near got lucky that Mikami was an idiot. You can say that it was a misstep on Light's part, and sure, to some degree it is, but it doesn't feel like a satisfactory end for such a confrontation to be won because someone else failed. It would've felt much more powerful had Light been trully outwitted.

[@cookiecutter6735]

I always felt that it added a tone of realism. They can be as big geniuses and unreachable in terms of intelect as they want. They can be as flawless as possible. They still live in a world surrounded by imperfect people who have flaws. It made sense that if they are not gonna make a mistake, someone else will make if for them.

[@cookiecutter6735]

@Ákos Erik I expressed very poorly what I thought about that. I also meant to say that they live in a world where things are out of their control, therefore something unrelated to their actions causing an inconvenience is very much a possibility (Mikami acting on his own). Sure from a story telling perspective this would be catastrophic and unsatisfying, but something that could very much happen would be Light getting hit by a car

[@AstralBelt]

Consider it poetic justice, because the only reason L and Watari died was because Light has a supernatural advantage.

[@deveanopoku7950]

Demyr Nox Mikami wasn’t the idiot you idiot, he was doing his part , it was part of Nears and Mellos plan to get him to write a name in the real notebook

[@account4345]

Demyr Nox I feel like L’s alternative demise embodies this much better. I haven’t seen it but have read about how L sacrifices himself in one of the movies. Read on if you don’t mind spoilers (though L always dies anyways), basically L writes his name in the Death Note for 24 days later, making any time his name is written in the note redundant since only the first takes effect. Kira falls for this writing L’s name in the book and L pretends to die. Unveiling Kira’s plans and essentially outsmarting him, of course he dies days later, but outsmarts him nonetheless. I much prefer this to the anime death where Light just manipulates a shinigami to do it for him.

[@OwenMooshi]

i like Near Ryuk is best girl still

[@KatoBeyond]

Finally, someone with a brain in this comment section.

[@cheesy_yeety]

@@KatoBeyond yes

[@saladism_5803]

Owen Moore obviously L is best girl lol

[@AcelShock]

Wow, the bottom is pretty far from your first statement

[@isaacmartinezlowlykarma9134]

Owen Moore reEeeeeeeeeeeeee

[@jcage1022]

I didn't like Near the first time I watched the show. But I watched it again a second time a few weeks ago. And I love Near now. Especially bc of that scene where the only things he grabs with his life in peril are his toys.

[@justblack6500]

same

[@thecyberpirate4055]

I might never like Near but he doesn’t deserve the hate he gets. Had he been a bit more different from L, he may be more likable.

[@whoasked4455]

He’s really not that bad

[@Sonicdaniel123]

I loved that he pinned your comment after 3 years the video was out, when you just commented now.

[@tramarthomas6105]

I liked him since the beginning, hes an un-lonely L

[@Sonicdaniel123]

@@_k__601 cause you liked L, and the transition was bad

[@madonnaswift4768]

near wasn't funny at all, only L had a good sense of humor. this anime kinda feels unfishined though

[@everythingbobafett8781]

Yea

[@ktge5050]

4:16 It just hit me how fucking crazy it is that the comic relief for such a serious show is a GOD. OF. DEATH. Anyone else had that irony slap them in the face?

[@bebopcola4643]

Conceptually Near is interesting but they skimp hard on the logic behind his deductions which make him seem ironically godlike. Specifically the scene where he discovers Teru Mikami as Kira-X.

[@jamesbuckley1722]

Read the manga. Animators get lazy

[@chuckles3116]

That’s because the Near arc takes up half the manga but only a third of the anime

[@salomaoserra9169]

I always choked that up to the writers of the anime not wanting to spend more time with the same monologs from pre-L's death. That scene in particular, where the camera spins and his eyes are glowing, i thought of that a representation of him going over the subject over and over, until coming to Mikami. Even the whispers he hears when he finds it are basically his mind comparing Mikami's profile to what he thinks x-kira's profile would need to be: 1- someone close to Takada 2- someone clearly devout to Kira

[@thelonelyone2713]

@Bebop Cola What was wrong with that scene?!!!! it clearly shows the past connection between Mikami and Takara, and based on that it is fairly reasonable for Near to speculate that X-Kira is Mikami. Beisdes, Near knew that Light is Kira based on what Aizawa told him, also Makami made it publically clear that he embrace Kira's beliefs, not only that but he also showed that he understands what Kira wants and how he would behave. Putting the pieces together, it makes a sense to conclude that Mikami is the X-Kira. In fact, one could argue that Light Yagami was expecting that Near would easily find Mikami and that is why he asked him to use fake notebook and keep the real one in another place, he purposely did that to mislead Near and guide him to the fake notebook. But Near understood Mikami very well and waited him to act on his own so he can find the real notebook. This could not be done without Melo kiddnapping Takara. In the end, with Melo's help Near outsmarted and outplayed Light and defeated him fair and square.

[@yc2877]

Yes!!

[@AD-eh2ou]

L: *dies* Near: "Lemme introduce myse-" The whole fandom: "What's ur full name again?"

[@AD-eh2ou]

@Emiko Todoroki understandable. I don't really have much of an opinion about him tbh, I just don't like when people hate on characters for no reason

[@AD-eh2ou]

@Emiko Todoroki I can understand the fandom missing L, me too tbh, he's my favorite character. I don't like how most people compare L to Near though. In a "hE wAs WAy BeTtEr" way if you know what I mean. Most of the fandom sees Near not as a new character but more as a bad version of L and that's kind of annoying if I'm being honest.

[@lukisluvsjesuschrist6505]

@Emiko Todoroki You know what sucked? The fucking ending. It makes no sense. And here's why: First off you have Mikami going against Kiras orders (even though he said that Kira could do no mistakes, but whatever) which is totally not his character. Second you have Mikami acting so fucking stupid. He goes to the bank, and acts like a fucking weirdo, even though he always knew that there was the danger of being followed. Not to mention that he apparently hid the real death note in a bank with "low security". Why the hell would someone like Mikami, who's a successful lawyer who knows how important security is, hide Kiras weapon, literally the most important tool for him in the world in a fucking cheap low security bank tresor? Oh yeah and how the hell was Giovanni able to copy the entire fucking death note in one night? Considering that Mikami had the death note for about a few months and wrote about 40+ names in it everyday, it would have been IMPOSSIBLE to copy it perfectly. Also Near somehow managed to copy the notebook so perfect that he ripped out the fake pages in such a way that even Mikami who checked the death note under a MICROSCOPE didn't realized it. The ending was total horseshit. But answering your question, Near was a total carbon copy while Mello was cool, because at least he contributed something and got shit done, while Near just sat on his lazy ass. L and Mello are guys who can achieve things on their own, while Near is fully dependent on others. It wouldn't surprise me if the little shit can't even put on clothes without the help of others.

[@mlpmlpmlpmlp1]

@@lukisluvsjesuschrist6505 dont get ur panties in a knot, its a cartoon 😭 yall take this way too seriously

[@mirandastube6193]

@Emiko- chan Wdym??? The mha fandom is nothing like this! All fandoms have they're toxic and cursed sides, the death note fandom hates Near and Mello for no reason, meanwhile the mha fandom is just really gay... That's all...

[@gxrou3366]

I love Near because he's the only character who used his brains only instead of sacrificing someone's life to catch Kira. He's not arrogant, and is extremely humble, and he's not like his predecessor "L", and he admits the fact. He chose the noble way to catch Kira. BTW, I love his hairstyle too.

[@osheridan]

I wouldn't call him humble but he's nowhere near as arrogant or self-obsessed as the other three players, which is why he ultimately won.

[@sancharidas9971]

I really appreciate this fact that there are actually a lot of Near supporters in this world. Thanks to this video. It satisfied me.

[@taylorcarabiooo]

I loved Near from the start, because he caught on to the situation really quickly. he saw it with with fresh eyes, he was able to look at the situation and say, “yes, Light Yagami is Kira. yes, Misa was the second Kira. yes, Light is nothing more than a simple serial killer.” i still love L, but it’s so fun to see Light get bested by someone he sees as inferior rather than an equal.

[@Jay-or5ex]

Yeah. That's what I enjoyed about Near. From a fresh perspective you don't have to be a genius, anyone who is petty would recognize how passive aggressive Light's tone was towards Near. People often think Light is a genius for killing L but I think the opposite. He was blinded by his own bravado that he failed to recognize that L had already solved the case. If I was Light and I heard L tell me that we would be parting ways after the whole symbolic moment/let alone just the moment they had with themselves - you'd be aware enough to realize that not only is it very an unusual act from someone like L but with in addition with L saying his goodbyes. That already would alarm me that he knows my next move. He knows - that one of us has won in the next coming minutes. At that point, it's 4D chess. If your opponent has found out that you'd win the battle, how much do they know of the outcome with the war. Which ties back to the original encounter with L: saying he's willing to sacrifice his life but that doesn't mean he's lost. Light has always been cocky and without anyone to humble him like L it only makes sense for Near and Mello to expose his personality.

[@cheshirechill154]

L always knew Light was Kira, but he could never get enough evidence, and as much as he hated to admit it, was attached to Light. L's last episode alive showed that he KNEW he was going to die-he accepted that Light was going to kill him.

[@suicune690]

9:20 Near looks like a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

[@KatoBeyond]

Near lookin' like a snack.

[@khanginh5007]

i like dat ''A SCOOP!''

[@riyak.7393]

@@KatoBeyond He's a fucking kid-

[@KatoBeyond]

@@riyak.7393 It was a joke, and Near's an adult in that scene

[@sushanie]

Kato I thought that Near was 17 after the huge timeskip after L’s passing... did he age up after that too?

[@thomasnorman8369]

People criticize him for doing little, but they don't seem to understand he deploys other people as toys/assets to collect information or catalysts to unveil it: all for it to be assimilated in extremely talented mind at processing for decisive, incisive conclusions - all symbolised with his intricate toys/puzzles representing the web of his symbolic logic interconnecting into a holistic perspective. L was linear, methodical and egoistic: he enjoyed playing and interaction over winning or results. Near was passive, cold and presumptuous: he was the blunt resolve to Kira's meglomnia, belittling and humbling Light Yagami into madness as when simplifying the complexities of his rationale/philosophy mockingly or Kira's archnemesis mask condescendingly - degrading Kira's developed ego massively whilst also defeated. Furthermore, he humillated Kira's belief of a 'perfect world' and his position as a 'saviour' - exposing the inherent qualities in people he repressed (i.e. foiled siege of SPK HQ) that he'll never transform as he is not 'God' - he is merely a terrorizing, egoistical murderer. Kira was indeed a brilliant visionary as L was a bold detective, yet Near was the profound answer of all the mysteries in Death Note - he embodied the person to solve the puzzle that was the very motif of Death Note.

[@thomasnorman8369]

PS: It's mostly L fanboys - who're numerous as a loyal following, viewing any rival as inferior competition oddly - who're critical of Near and also those who haven't read the manga which wasn't as rushed for his arc. Plus, there's the natural aversion, too, to any change and main character switch..........

[@KatoBeyond]

I think you're exactly right. It does seem like people who love L the most also have the most hatred for Near, but there are a lot of subtle nuances to the character that those people seem to miss.

[@Search4Knowledge]

Near builds a lot of his theories on research done by L. When Watari died, he deleted all the data. How dit near manage to get all the data regarding all of the research L had conducted?

[@KatoBeyond]

Near didn't get any research from L. There was a 5 year time skip after L's death and the continuation of the story. In that 5 year span, he managed to get information on par with what L had from the outside without help from L.

[@Yue_mariin00]

Thomas Norman Preach this comment

[@AspieMediaBobby]

Also Near pisses Light off on a level L never could because as a seemingly innocent child,the exact same sort of innocent Light claimed he became Kira to protect he exposes Light`s hypocrisy and lack of conviction, furthermore he demonstrates that although Light is three or four years older Near shows more maturity by conceding his inferiority to L and correctly diagnosing Light as "not a god but just a crazy serial killer",two things Light could never do!And of course what`s the next thing Light does?Breaks out into a fit of maniacal laughter and gives a delusional-ass,desperate motive rant to prove Near`s point!As if that weren`t enough, in said rant he calls his own father a fool,turning Matsuda the one person on the Kira Task Force who always defended him against him in the blink of an eye!

[@KatoBeyond]

Truth!

[@Kendorable]

I also find the Yotsuba arc to be the poorest. I'll never understand why people dislike the series Post-L so much. It feels different, with more wide scale action taking place, but the tension is still there and it's so fun to the end.

[@brigidflanagan9585]

Kendal Kendorable honestly, yeah. I think part of how we see it is based on our expectations of our enjoyment- all it took was a few people complaining that it was bad on the internet, and then practically everyone was going into the final arcs with that mindset, leading to them being more judgmental of it than they would have without that influence. The yotsuba arc was more boring without the battle of minds, as light had no memories, but I did think it was fun to see them interact as a team. Overall, it’s a really good series, and Near and Mello add to that a lot

[@larspaceship]

With L, one slip up from Light was all he needed to to prove he was Kira. So Light had to be extra cautious while making moves of his own. L even revealed himself to Light knowing it was possible he was Kira. With Near, Light didn’t have a reason to feel threatened so there was no tension. you kind of knew Near was gonna win and not just because it’s cinematic common sense, you could tell Light was gonna lose because he never even made any progress with Near. there were never any moments where I thought Near was gonna die or he was being pressured. Light was the only one being pressured in their battle. and that’s why the majority of people don’t like Near. (there are other reasons but tbh they are usually just people’s personal dislikes) the battle always felt one-sided and it just doesn’t seem fair to L, who risked his life throughout this whole investigation.

[@Mistchiv]

@@larspaceship I believed it was the other way around. When L died we see Light becoming more and more psychopath, he felt like there's no one to stood against him anymore, and he's completely lost to his god-complex mind. He even said that Near doesn't even compare to L, (which is true in one way) But its is obvious that Near is a real genius as well. Towards the end of the series, Light is becoming worst of an antagonist while Near maintained his cool and mystery, making it looked like the common scenes we see in a movie where the villain thinks he's all powerful until the knight comes in. That feeling of cliche is what made the end of it kinda boring to some because it has become somewhat predictable seeing light becoming crazy and Near seriously creating the best way to reveal light is kira

[@nafeeahnaf6296]

I actually think the yotsuba arc was pretty suspenseful as without that arc the death note would have never been found out by L and the others and Light's master plan being this whole arc was a treat to watch

[@matrimalviarin5043]

I will admit, however, that what Near said at the end was incredibly satisfying.

[@luciatarghetta8447]

I love Near: his thought processes, his cold look on things, his lack of ego, his aesthetic. Just amazing. He doesn’t have the most brain power out of them, he’s just the most detached. That’s why he wins.

[@DammnDeejay]

When Near used all that money as a distraction.. I knew L was so freaking proud, he couldn't help but smirk from beyond

[@anandmathur31274]

No he would be annoyed because he saved that money for eating cakes and candies

[@LJLvids]

I'm so glad somebody agrees with me. I tought i was alone in my liking this character.

[@_silver_4265]

LJLvids same

[@liliaguirre8401]

same near 4life

[@liliaguirre8401]

same near 4life

[@liliaguirre8401]

same near is the best

[@liliaguirre8401]

same near is the best

[@sungod9797]

Thank you! I just came out to my friends as a Near fan lol… it’s such an unpopular opinion and I finally found someone online who doesn’t mock him for completely unfounded reasons. Near is my second favorite character in this series after Naomi Misora lol

[@KatoBeyond]

Wow, both your faves didn't get their due in the anime, feelsbad.

[@khushijoshi1809]

L >>>> Near Always

[@Anny-me9ny]

You’ve been staring at me for the past two minutes What’s wrong? Are you annoyed that I’m the only one eating cake at the moment?

[@Lorenzo-hb4rt]

L>>>everyone in dn

[@apocalypse_march1499]

Yes, that's what near literally said himself

[@Bloooo95]

I mean yes, but I still love Near.

[@scava21]

___ not really, the deathnote was already known when they came in. L had to figure out everything for himself and pinpoint where Light was, who he can trust and what’s going on. These two walked into the easiest case and still had difficulties. Ranking of intelligence light>L> Naomi > kiyomi> Misa> mello> near. And that isn’t an over exaggeration. Near couldn’t solve this by himself, especially if he was given the opportunity from the getgo. However L figured out everything but his main goal was to put light into submission and admit it himself. Naomi given another month would have solved it or have been on the verge of solving it. It took near a handful of tips and info from the past case, mellow and all the government resources to catch light, which had to happen. In reality light would have won but the anime had to end due to ohba not wanting to continue. That is the only reason why light lost.

[@AndreaS-vv1oh]

I always liked Near. He was literally my anime crush when I was a little bit younger. After watching this, I just couldn't believe I missed all those details! Thank you for this video!

[@marvelouschester3018]

When Near was introduced I wasn't impressed. But after a while I accepted him as L's replacement. He's both super intelligent and very adorable.

[@SixLeafCloverOFire]

I absolutely love Near, so I'm really glad that you made a video about this. I think a lot of people think I'm crazy when I tell them that Near is my second favorite character, right behind L. The reasons why I like him are some of the reasons that you mentioned, but I want to add some things. His character design is... Amazing. He has the dilated pupils like L and Mello does. He has white hair, which, in my eyes, has always been quite godly or mysterious. The first thing Near says is quite interesting. He pretty much calls L a loser because he couldn't beat Kira, and that not only throws Mello off, by the audience too. It really makes you think "Who is this guy...?" I love the fact that he plays with toys and creates huge, ridiculous contraptions. It really shows how quirky he is. Near's personality is... Well, distant, ironically. There's a trace of L, but Near is more confident. It also really makes him an interesting character. Another amazing touch about him that I love are his themes. Each of his themes sound very calculated, like he's putting a puzzle together piece by piece. They also sound mystic, like he's some kind of mysterious god or something, even though he isn't. The last thing I want to mention is something that even you may not know. When Near takes his L mask off in the abandoned warehouse, he stares blankly at Light, and then suddenly smiles. A lot of people pass that off as him being overconfident or something, which is something that Light did, that's why he gave him the "Yeah, we'll see" smile back. That was actually a grin... He couldn't contain his excitement, because he was now actually 100% sure that he won. Why? Because he could see Ryuk... Near is such a hilariously brilliant character!

[@KatoBeyond]

I didn't really mention his themes, but I've been listening to all 3 basically since they were first available on KZbin.

[@Yue_mariin00]

SixLeafCloverOFire This is favourite comment on the entire section, preach

[@meachew]

this is why near's my favorite character.

[@ddm1912]

Kato this comment should've been pinned rather than that fucking hate spitting comment on the top

[@TheVsagent]

Excerpts from the Death Note manga: "For Mello and myself, L has been the only person we adore, and the only person who deserves our respect. (...) It's clear that L, our respectable goal, was killed by Kira... We want to catch Kira by all means, don't you think it's a natural feeling?" - Near to Aizawa, Chapter 82 (Myself) "He is the same person as the one who appeared in "Kira's kingdom" and stood out in my memory as a prototype immersive to Kira's idea. (...) Mikami appeared twice of all the TV programs Takada appeared. Twice... I suppose they had enough chances to become close. Plus, his way of saying... this closely resembles Kira's idea saying "I don't allow qualified people not to use their talent to contribute to society."" - Near thinking while watching his multiple screens "-I think the shortest way to world wide peace should be acting under Kira's instruction and direction. Lord Kira, please give me your words... Without Kira's direction or words... I think I need to speculate and judge what's Kira's idea and then act accordingly." recorded Mikami speach from Kira's Kingdom's broadcast "4 days before this word Demegawa died and 4 days after Takada was chosen as the next spokesman by Kira... This also happened after I posed L that "13-day rule is fake" and Mogi came to me through Mello and Aizawa on his own... Obviously L-Kira must have thought Light Yagami and Misa Amane would be suspected again and kept watched. If he had had Amane have the eyes and judge, Yagami would have felt pressed. He might have chosen Mikami and sent the notebook from Amane to him who he thought was useful among the people in "Kira's kingdom" before he got watched... As Aizawa came back and began to watch him, L-Kira couldn't get contact with Mikami, so Mikami killed Demegawa on his own judgement to stop him running out of control... Without any further instructions from Kira, Mikami showed his excuse through Kira's kingdom and after 4 days he chose the announcer Kiyomi Takada, who he knew was a Kira admirer, as a spokesman of Kira." Near concluding Mikami is the best match for X-Kira - Chapter 91

[@Neko141212]

That third one is such good foreshadowing!

[@melancholiclonging8641]

Near was my favorite too. I read the manga before I watched the anime so maybe I benefited from not having the last half of the series shortened. I always loved the quote he had at the end of the manga where he says to light that even if there is a god and his rules were laid out clearly in front of him, he would still decide if they are right or wrong based on his own morals.

[@mikemarks6136]

I actually really like near tho not as much as L but i do like him enough to think he is a worthy successor to L

[@insomniackitty9397]

my problem with near, isn't near, it's the pacing of the story given to near. at the start of the anime it slowly ramps up, finds death note > tries death note > murders are bought to attention > announcing of a challenger then 30 episodes or so of back and forth attempt to get the other to make a mistake. where as near was more "Ok, L died, heres a new character, he knows everything L learnt, accuse Light of being kira and being adamant from start to end" it seems rushed, and for fans of L it seems that N is a replacement, who knows everything L learnt over the series immediately (Also Light seemed to panic a lot more and honestly makes a lot of mistakes eg. the same money raining on the followers scene Light calls Near once he notices and is like "oh are you in trouble? oh that's a shame" which comes across like "yo, you're my only threat and i hope you die let me talk to you to savour this moment"

[@mughwortslongshot4545]

Like, he’s my favourite too in the entire series of both manga and anime; calm, mature enough to admit that he won’t succeed on his own, all and all never lets himself be blinded by ambition. It’s only years later that I found out many people dislike Near it’s pretty upsetting.

[@MathWizHQ]

I won't pretend that the Near plot was as technically sound as the battle between Light and L, but I at no point felt the same level of hatred for the character that so many people seem to have. I'd personally rank L, Matsuda and Light above Near as far as my favorites go, but I really liked his personality as well as the three-way dynamic that the final arc of the show presented. This whole section of the show aggravates a lot of people, and I can totally see where they're coming from, but from a thematic standpoint, I think it provides at the very least an acceptable conclusion to the events of Death Note. It's far from perfect, but it could've been far worse than what we got. And even in saying that, Near isn't the sole flaw in Death Note's final arc. Anyways, great video! I was really happy to see someone share my relatively unpopular sentiments toward the character.

[@KatoBeyond]

I do feel like he gets a lot of unfair treatment, and it's become such a meme to just insult the last arc of the show that people don't even think about it, which is a shame.

[@PhulaTrox]

To be honest, the only problem with Part II is uneven pacing, but the manga doesn't have that problem. So I'll say it is on par with the first 16 episodes. In fact, I might even say it's better, because: 1) Three-way battles are the best 2) Light doesn't just defend, he attacks as well 3) The whole thing with Light reducing crime by 70% and stopping wars, which make this show extremely morally ambiguous, was introduced in Part II 4) You see Light's insanity at his peak 5) The ending was absolutely beautiful and brilliant 6) Some of the best characters were introduced here, such as Mikami, Matt, Gevanni, Halle Lidner, etc. But, to be honest, I don't really know which is better. But, that doesn't matter, because whether it's Part I or Part II, it's still the same masterpiece of an anime, Death Note

[@randysavage2585]

PhulaTrox "Some of the best characters were introduced here...Matt...". Boi what are you talking about. Matt had less then a minute of screen time

[@PhulaTrox]

+Gehrman, the prideful wanderer lol I guess what I meant was the most popular and loved characters. But besides that, there are still legitimately good characters.

[@sasukeoftheleaf3179]

Mathwiz97 but but he cheated

[@batman88891]

My problem with Near isn't what they did with his character, or how the character was written. My problem was that he existed at all. From a thematic perspective, yeah, Near and Mello beating Light works. But from a storytelling perspective, introducing two new characters half-way through (in the manga, in the show about two-thirds of the way through) and having them be the victors just... isn't satisfactory. Had they been introduced or hell, even just forshadowed early on it would have been fine. It also would have been fine if they were introduced as their own characters, having nothing to do with L. Despite that, these two unlikable characters (at least for the majority of people) are supposed to not just fill the role of L, but surpass his role. I do think that an L-like character was needed, but if you were going to introduce the idea that a group has to work together to be as good as L, why introduce a new pair of characters when we already have a group, close to Light, with motivation to catch Kira, and a want to avenge L? The Taskforce catching Kira would have been, to me, the best way to end the series. We have followed these characters from the start, they were shown from the beginning to be the underdogs, and in the end their role was basically to fill time within the series and progress the plot here and there. Yes, the cat and mouse between Light and Near/Mellow was interesting, but before even L's introduction Light already had a cat-and-mouse setup with the police.

[@KatoBeyond]

I've often thought that one of the few ways to improve Death Note would be to introduce Near and Mello earlier so that they didn't feel out of place( which obviously they don't to me, but they obviously do to many people), so I don't disagree with that complaint. Does the fact that they came into the show so late ruin either character for me? Not at all. It didn't break my suspension of disbelief, and I was able to roll with the idea, so I enjoy the characters. A lot would have to change for the Task Force to defeat L, but the idea is actually very interesting. Of course, it means that we probably wouldn't get my favorite character, so I'm not gonna say it would be better, but it would be an interesting change to the story we have.

[@KatoBeyond]

I also want to point out that you said your "problem with Near isn't what they did with his character", but then said that Near and Mello both would have been fine if they had been properly set up before L's death, which kinda implies that the way the character was handled actually was a problem for you.

[@batman88891]

Kato You wouldn't have to change too much for the Taskforce to win; at multiple points in the series each member had suspicion of Light, especially so toward the end. The most you would have to change would be removing anything related go Mello and Near. I think having Near and Mello still just doesn't work narratively, not while the Taskforce exists anyway. Because the two don't work together for so long, one of them is going to wind up useless to the plot for at least a while. I think it's important to realize that while, yes someone might be your favorite character, they still aren't best for the narrative, themes, etc. It's the same as realizing your least favorite character IS important to the plot, themes, etc. And yeah, that was just crappy thinking on my part. Doesn't really go against any of my points though.

[@colorbar.s]

@The Wolverine it's just about a fictional character, calm down.

[@Sokkaeatspeople]

Must I remind all of you that Near and Mello defeated Light by starting off where L left off. They probably couldn’t have done it without L.

[@amknight7085]

"Im pleased to meet you at last, L number 2".. Near is a badass I dont care what anybody says.

[@Duval-In-The-Wall]

From that moment on, Light was in trouble, because up to that point, NO ONE other than the task force was to know that L was dead

[@tonts5329]

I personally never got, why people would dislike/hate Near. I mean the bit about using the money to help him escape, was brilliant. It showed just how shallow and uncommitted these followers of Kira, really were. How they could be distracted by money, so easily. If they actually believed in Light's philosophy, they would ignore the money, and keep trying to get to Near. Which is why Light later punishes the people, leading the mob, by having Mikami execute them, to show his dissatisfaction, with their lack of faith. Plus Near really is the only one, to outright tell Light, that he's just a crazy killer. if Matpat's film theory on how deadly the Death Note is, is accurate. Then it truly was the deadliest weapon, of mass murder.

[@carter9693]

Near was always the most fascinating character in Death Note to me. L was certainly a better detective, having figured out Light so quickly, and not even losing to him. He lost to Rem. But Near always had that childish sense to him that just made him so interesting. He played with toys, but also built huge houses of cards. He Would build toy trains while catching the most infamous mass murderer in all of history. That was what separated him from L. Those little moments of him pretending his toys were flying, or sitting in the middle of a railroad track.

[@patiencewallace8453]

Yes. He was 17 and still played with toys like he was a kid while spitting straight facts- I’ve never seen a character like him before

[@skyler4517]

Near is the best. He cared more about the world than anything else. The L's and Mello cared more about the game.

[@hausofone]

Awesome analysis. I love Near even more than before now

[@KatoBeyond]

That's all I've ever wanted.

[@bunthansephierothkong5478]

Lol hell yeah

[@theintelligentmilkjug944]

I always liked near

[@Zenmi._0]

@@canuzun931 , 12 year old Eugene alert

[@VincentDoesThings]

#hater

[@keiracollins9503]

I actually love Near. I don’t care who judges me

[@eaglechild4661]

Jack park he definitely isn’t presented as perfect. He completely lacks emotion which is already an imperfection as well as lacking social intelligence.

[@maddieshere247]

I love Near as well UwU💖💖💖

[@mackansw]

Near is a worthy successor of L, mello was too wild but he was still a force to be reconed with

[@gus6612]

I'm judging you right now

[@abuncharandomstuffs9863]

Same

[@ennuiblue4295]

L is a hard to act to follow, if they had sprinkled Near in sooner people would have been warmed up to him. The seemingly sudden 'replacement' was understandably ill received ☹

[@ha.a8194]

People don't stop to think and just talk about how much they loved and miss L. But near was sooooo necessary! If L was the one to catch light it'd have been so boring. He had to die for the story to move on. Had L been there till the end it just would've been "well they've been going back and forth back and forth for over 30 episodes and I guess L finally got the upper hand" instead of major shifts in the story actually leading to kira's eventual capture. The story would've just been a drag on rehash of the first few arcs had near and Melli not been added to the story. It was a great decision from the writers

[@KatoBeyond]

This is actually a very interesting point that I haven't really thought of before. I'll have to ponder this one. -Zero

[@roderickbarringer4333]

ha. a nice generalization of “people.” Who told you that you get to decide how people should think? I’m guessing you’re around 24yo.

[@aizunaizu6755]

My argument is that Light shouldn't have gotten captured because it would've made for a far more shocking ending and wouldn't have felt as forced a continuation. Also, f*ck anything after episode 17

[@youthful6098]

Sad just how few people think of it this way. Death Note is still great even with Near and Mello. And I'm glad Near was the one to finish Kira off.

[@hexingon6088]

i have to disagree completely Near was just lazy writing he got his answers instantaneously and without any thinking(unlike L who could even make mistake) and that Mikami part single handedly killed second part of Anime for me

[@Xane875]

Actually, Mello's chocolate and L's sweets do serve a narrative purpose, but only in relation to each other. You see, Near and Mello are meant to mirror the two halves of L's detective skills. Near has his intellect and speculative skills, while Mello has his decisiveness. Likewise, L not only loved sweets but would tend to play with his food before eating it. And by extension, Mello took the love of sweets (only more specific with chocolate) and Near took the playing with objects aspect with his toys.

[@Lhopx21]

I never understood the Near hate train for Death Note, but I always knew I loved the character. Maybe it was all the subtle nuances that you explained. Great video!

[@greenleaf37]

Because people never bothered to look more about him, they only assumed he felt better than L and the animators didn't do any justice to him, made him look like a superhuman who just assumed everything and got lucky instead of showing his thinking process :(

[@chuckles3116]

The Near arc takes up 59 of the manga’s 108 chapters and 12 of the anime’s 37 episodes The anime made up for this by doing the equivalent of removing the Lind. L. Taylor scene and replacing it by giving L a throwaway line mentioning that school shooter guy from the first chapter/episode.

[@chuckles3116]

The Wanderer for a concrete example of what I’m talking about, there’s basically an entire arc (in the same sense that Misa acting anonymously as the 2nd Kira is an arc) about Near sowing distrust between Light and the others in the task force, with Mello spying on Near and his investigation using Hal Lidner and aiding by forcing Mogi to walk into Near’s HQ. This leads into a multi day standoff as Mogi has refused to talk and Near doesn’t want to interrogate him so he lies and says that Kira killed Mogi, leading Aizawa to leak information to Near and Light to make the Sakura TV guy to stage an assault on Near’s team. Or when Mello got a notebook there was a period where the Shinigami that Ryuk stole the notebook dropped in the first episode/chapter from comes down to earth to get a book to extend his lifespan. Mello manages to learn about the fake rule and convince the Shinigami to remove the masks of a swat team raiding the mafia base so that he could write the names of the swat team down.

[@alextroll3400]

oh hi there

[@inthenameoflove6891]

Be honest, you only like the first 9 episodes because it's around where the Epic Potato Chip Scene happens

[@KatoBeyond]

You caught me.

[@inthenameoflove6891]

Kato You need to be a big KZbinr, you deserve it

[@skkms910]

This is a solid piece. Nice job!

[@MetalHead9042]

Michael Smith *Cheers*

[@gorillatitty5537]

As someone who fell in love with L and was devastated when he died, Near managed to win me over. I think the pacing was off and he was rushed which gave less time to come to terms with L being gone and Near being his replacement, however, he grew on me and I was satisfied when he (with Mello’s help) defeated Kira. He also admitted that by themselves they couldn’t measure up to L, but together they were able to get some justice for him. I hear he is more developed in the Manga which I may have to check out.

[@KatoBeyond]

Definitely check out the manga, there's almost twice as much material in the second half.

[@vulcan65]

right i loved near the minute i saw him hes like a mini L

[@martacastillo6272]

I just finished the anime last night and this were my exact thoughts :)

[@Sonicdaniel123]

Near is a person who’d rather stick to a guarantee rather than a possibility, and whenever he does scheme it’s more like potshots, manipulating or testing people, which already have a high chance of success. Near’s plans and thought process mostly dealt with guarantees, but as Light said, his flaw was thinking of other possibilities like a fake death note. Which was why Near needed Mellow, Mellow always did stuff up to chance and usually got more info because of it. Like Near said, if him and Mellow worked together, they could surpass L. Since if you think about it, L died because he let Misa go off surveillanceed, getting the death note out of the woods. Same with Mellow, letting Takada take her time getting her clothes off and writing his name in the death note pages, when he could’ve survived if he didn’t do the same as L. Aka L and Mellow respect WAman, Near doesn’t.

[@prithvirajbhowmick6288]

The fact that Near pulled off the great task to identify Kira was due to several reasons. Yes, Light was no one special at the point of the story where Near caught him off guard. Light was a perfect candidate for the Deathnote at the onset of the story, but excessive power slowly shrouded his vision towards his original goal. This was the only thing that showed the human nature of Light. And my favourite scene was where L wiped the feet of Light. This was a fantastic portrayal of the Biblical scene where Jesus wiped Judas' feet even though he knew Judas was going to betray him. Here Light was Judas, the Task force were the disciples and L was Jesus himself. ~ I guess most fans loved this scene too.

[@KatoBeyond]

Oh my God, you're a hero. I wasn't too religious as a child, so I never actually got the Biblical reference. I've always been so confused by that scene. -Zero

[@prithvirajbhowmick6288]

Kato I watched Deathnote atleast 20 times to find a few intricate details. XD I'm not a Christian either. So finding references was quite tough.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

If you watched it twenty times, then you might be suffering from apophenia.

[@leviHeichou]

Though I really thought the story arc after L's death was never as good as it had been before, I never particularly hated Near or Mello for it. Actually I found Lights defeat itself very satisfying because ,even though I missed L a great deal because he was my favourite character and still is, I always saw Near and Mello as a part of his plan to win at the end. I even got the impression L was well aware he would die in this but his successors eventually would win the thing as a whole. I even thought he probably knew it would take Near AND Mello to do so. One indication of his awareness was the whole episode of L's death where he is very melancholic and even says to Light, it is sad that all of this has to end soon (Or something like this about it all coming to an end. I think it is stated in the foot rubbing scene although I am not sure about the exact words because I didn't watch the show for a long time). This for me was a strong indication L was at least somehow aware of what was going to happen even though he probably didn't know when it was going to be. This led me to believe that he was also aware that Mello and Near impersonated very important parts of himself (as stated in the video) and together could be a great successor if they worked together and therefore they were trained so as to become his successors at Wammys. So I always thought of Mello and Near as a part of a bigger plan L had in mind to defeat Kira at the end. Maybe that is reading to much into Ls intentions and intellect because I like him so much but I think it is not too far-fetched if you think about that it took the efforts of Mello and Near combined dispite their rivalry to defeat Light. Also it really fits if you think about the end credit scene where Light dies on the stairs where he doesn't see an image of Near or Mello but an image of L standing in front of him, like L looking upon the finally defeated Light after he won at last after the great battle. Of course that could be just him seing L because he is joining him in death (what he isn't technically because death note users can't go to hell or heaven). But the way Light is laying their and L is standing upright (for his standards ;D) made me see it in a final, triumphant way, without being mischievous about his victory. Like I said that is probably too far-fetched because I love L as a character so much and searched for connections after his death and a reason in his death but that is why I always thought of Mello and Near as two sides of the coin that was L. That doesn't mean of course they couldn't be outstanding characters for themself, I just couldn't see them as stand alones in the perspective of L choosing his successors to win the battle after his death. But therefore I couldn't hate them either for "not just being L" or some other unnessary reasons because for me their where part of the plan to defeat Light. Therefore through Near and Mello L defeated Kira at the end. (Please excuse spelling or grammar errors for English is not my mother tongue :) )

[@camerama-fp2dq]

Damn i just really read all that lol

[@filipferencak2717]

Honestly, I don't think you're right about L incorporating Mello and Near into his plans for Kira. That fight was all about L. But when he realized he would lose, I'm sure he thought to himself "it's all on you two now" (that's how I view those flashes to Whammy's House as L was dying).

[@shreyadeshmukh7197]

Thats exactly what i thought to digest L's death

[@roca7268]

When L was opposing Kira it always felt like a mental battle to me, a battle between two intellects. But when Near was opposing Kira I realised a turning point had happened, because it suddenly became a battle between ideals. L never really challenged Kira's ideals, just tried to form an identikit and to understand his modus operandi. He said things like "Kira is childish", "he hates to lose" and so on, but, even if he tried to expose him as a person, he NEVER attacked his view on the world. It was mostly a "the law says you're wrong, and you're an interesting rival. I don't really need to justify why I'm opposing you, since the formal justice is on my side, so I'll just do my job and capture you. Let's see who is smarter". Near, on the other hand, was very cold and ruthless in attacking and demolishing Kira's ideals. Maybe it's also because at that point popular consensus became very important to determine the outcome of that war. Many citizens started to OPENLY accept and even support Kira, and Kira himself searched for potential allies among them. It wasn't a private 1vs1 battle anymore, but it became a battle between two teams and views: Ligth was full of allies and supporters/"pawns", while Near had very efficient SPK agents on his side. This is a thing I really liked about the second half of the series. Still, I think the second half could have been handled better. The rivalry/collaboration between Near and Mello had potential (Kira could be cornered from two differents sides...), but ultimately felt nearly inexistent. And I understand why people say that Near has too many similarities with L. Also, some parts were too long or felt like fillers (and a lot of those were leaded by Mello). Anyway, as I said before, I like how different the second arc felt. I like that Near humbled down Kira, while L used to take him into great consideration. But I also like that, in the end, everyone was humbled down, even Near. "I don't take orders from you, Near", said Aizawa before going after Light. And Near was taken aback, but he accepted it. I know it happened only in the anime, but I really like that ending. It took everything to its original equilibrium, and everything was balanced again. Everyone was just a human, no one a God. In the end, there was no real winner. Near just did his duty, what must be done, and, as he himself said, he didn't win for his mind alone; the police agents realized they were deceived and lied to the whole time; Kira lost; the Shinigamis are still the most powerful creatures, but the only thing they have is a long and purposeless life.

[@KatoBeyond]

Good take, thanks for commenting. Near was definitely the winner tho

[@Vaksharules1999]

I loved this video, your agument was very well constructed. I hated Near when I first read Death Note when I was younger, but now hes one of, if not, my current favorite. Near was the only person who could see the reality of Light just being a megalomaniac obsessed with being god, and the only thing special about Light as opposed to other similar "martyr" killers was the Death Note, which he got by dumb luck.

[@SorenS_]

Man I don't find amazing channels like these very often, but when I do it's the best. Concise, legitimate analysis that isn't pure clickbait is all I've ever wanted. Thanks dude.

[@patiencewallace8453]

THANK YOU, someone who *finally* doesn’t hate Near. I think ppl dislike him just bc he’s not L, and that he won. Ppl also don’t realize that the task force only believed Near when it came to Kira being Light is bc it’s not the first time they heard it. Hearing it from one genius who claims to be childish was easy to ignore, but a whole new genius who thinks the same... well they can’t ignore it anymore.

[@sabreleo4030]

near is best boi

[@lalocheziac]

This video makes me feel personally validated

[@kamarihodges4205]

lmao shut up

[@okccitizen4400]

😂👌🏽

[@darrylwolfe7359]

Only the real Death note fans know that Near had an important role in the series.

[@rhast57]

How dare you kinda make me like Near! Your points were very good, and I'd never thought of any of them.

[@dru_by_sub]

L got soft and over confident after L died. I think he would’ve won the battle against Near if Light was the same Light that was facing L.

[@zvakicauwu]

yes, but his ego became to big, it wasn't about justice, it was about him being the god of the new world

[@Buubje13]

After L died, the end was Near...

[@Fullmetal1890P]

I definitely agree, for me, the best part of Death Note was after L died and shit got real. It just went to show that, when you live as a serial killer, you will EVENTUALLY be caught, there is no way of getting around it, especially when you continue the crimes so regularly. Light thought that he had won when he defeated L, but really, all he managed to do was emotionally manipulate L as long as he had to in order to find a weakness that he could exploit. Near never gave him the opportunity because he remained distant and refused to work with Light, which I'm pretty sure was L's biggest mistake. If L had never agreed to work with Light, he would have eventually caught him, because his emotions wouldn't have gotten in the way, but with the police constantly giving him grief about investigating the Yagami family and everyone else that got in the way, they literally made it impossible for him to do his job. Near never got too close, and possibly because his personality is even more detached than L's was, but his completely emotionless demeanor is ultimately what saved him and took out Light.

[@KatoBeyond]

Your analysis of the L being unable to act because of the Task Force is exactly correct.

[@goku8306]

SPK>>>>TASK FORCE

[@justbny9278]

Fullmetal1890P ironic. Near won because he wasn't close.

[@blackstar9816]

+Just BØNY Thats one of the cool things about the show. Everyones name is ironic. Light was the center of darkness. Mello was over emotional and high strung. Near kept his distance, not even appearing in the same country as the action until the end. And ryusaki took his name from a suave, handsome movie star. Enough said

[@LuciusFox24]

Not all serial killers do get caught though, look at jack the ripper

[@frazfrazfrazfraz]

The hidden importance of near is that he's beautiful in the one shot

[@Sonicdaniel123]

Recently, I tried rewatching Death Note. Instead of watching normally, I skipped the first 25 episodes and watched episodes 26-37. I was actually impressed on how great it was and how it felt on its own individual story. I think I know why, it’s because in the first 25 episodes it’s mostly about Light and how he saw everything, being the protagonist and all. But in the 26 episodes and beyond, it was mostly about everyone else, as if trying to shift the protagonist role from Light to everyone on the task force and the SPK, the people against Kira. Not only that, I also read the manga because of this, and it felt different from the anime. In the anime, it felt mostly felt it was centered around Light, adding detail about Light, yet removing logical and world detail. But in the manga, it felt more like a mix between L with the police’s POV against Light’s POV. So even if the anime has great sakuga or you loved L, people should give the other half of Death Note a second try, take your time, it’s great.

[@obblez]

Excellent video, dude :) I have to agree with you that Near is a cool and underrated character, though I still really loved the half of the show with L in it a little more because of how dynamic it all was. Still, excellent video :D

[@thegreenhat5720]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Finally someone understands me I agree on everything you said and there are even things I never thought about. Near is my favorite character tied with L

[@KatoBeyond]

I'm just glad I'm not alone, lol.

[@asishmajumdar6657]

Best character N.

[@Whatacomedian_]

A little detail at the end of the show that I noticed. In the final confrontation near is huddled up like he's grieving while claming victory against kira. He wasn't as emotionless as he appeared. I believe L & melo were on his mind in that moment.

[@doubleasworkshop1692]

If people really want to undestand near and mellow they are better off reading the manga. The anime did them very little justice

[@bingus7706]

Near is awesome wtf

[@qymeanjaishelaal1731]

ikr

[@kamarihodges4205]

Hell na

[@Nothing-fc2so]

@@kamarihodges4205 did you read the manga

[@0nikolaigogol0]

h e l l n a w

[@Nothing-fc2so]

@@0nikolaigogol0 near is great in the manga

[@samueljohnson9371]

Near is a cute boy genius. Understandable that some missed L so much but then why exactly is there a reason to hate Near? He even praised L for his massive contribution and put him over himself and Mello. Such a good introduction to a cute, genious kid and good farewell for him too.

[@shaharoztahir6669]

Finally someone who gets it

[@KatoBeyond]

I've felt the same way reading some of these comments.

[@okaberintarou6757]

A man who laughs I agree

[@seraphywang4638]

Ikr

[@brokenlocket2475]

A man who laughs ikr

[@gretel654]

It's annoying when people don't bother seeing hidden dynamics in Near's character. I think he's very layered and complex and not at all emotionless or lacking in personality, nor is he a copy of L.

[@KatoBeyond]

I agree, for the most part. I do think it's true that he's less emotional than the average person, but to call him lacking in personality or an L clone is wholly ignorant and clearly wrong.

[@jessicarichards4428]

cool video**********

[@gretel654]

NεεкѕAиgεlσღ I wish all Near haters could see it.

[@shodan9915]

It's also true that in the manga Near displays a greater degree of emotions...

[@gretel654]

SHoDAN Without a doubt. A shame that most people only watch the anime and think they can judge Near.

[@liyah5301]

i love near so much i never understood why ppl didn’t like him😭

[@moonbeam3431]

Near was always my favourite and he will always continue to be. He has a special place in my heart :)

[@kamarihodges4205]

Fucking weirdos 😂😭

[@abigaillane5995]

Thanks for your thoughtful contributions. I hadn't actually considered that. Too many people did hate Near for those reasons. I never really hated Near, Matsuda... yeah, but I felt Light became too careless by the end, which is one of the reasons I felt that the ending of Death Note wasn't as good as it could have been. I think that is also one of the reasons people started disliking Near, he was becoming smarter than Light (L), but on a second thought it could be because the audience as a whole had started to buy Light's crap about being better than anyone else and becoming God-like. And also because we had been following the story through his perspective from day one. When Near does turn up with a new point of view and comes to the same conclusion as L, he doesn't get attached to Light, but rather concludes what an ugly thing Light really turned out to be. It is unusual to have your protagonist as your villain very few stories are written this way. So, it does become morally challenging when you see someone you have been with for a long period of time get brought to justice. Because we all secretly wanted Light to get what was coming for him, while also being proud of all his terrifying accomplishments thus far. And that is what made Death Note so special.

[@KatoBeyond]

I agree entirely. Though I used to dislike Matsuda. I was only 9 or 10 years old when I first watched this show, give me a break.

[@PhulaTrox]

Light's carelessness by the end actually was a great factor in the end. It perfectly portrayed his ever growing insanity, narcissism, and cockiness which have grown at their peak after L's death.

[@HotTeaWithCookies]

Incredible analysis, I never thought of Near in this fashion. You spelled it out nicely from start to finish, good closing arguments. Subscribed!

[@Haedox]

Love this video.

[@KatoBeyond]

Hey, thanks man.

[@Diagonalstuff]

The monthly return to this video