Anime Theory: Did Near Cheat? (Death Note Theory) 

ryuk literally showed no emotion to light dying after the 6 years they spent, he was like ‘kbye’ when light died

Near cheated by using a PLOT HOLE. The biggest plot hole was when Near just assumed Mikimi out of no where was connected to Kira by looking at a TV. Kira had thousands of supporters, but that scene where Near was just looking at TV out of the hundreds of supporters, he chose Mikimi randomly. That was BS Edit: three years later, never thought this comment would blow up. Thanks guys. And i saw the comments pointing out how the Manga did things a different

*spoiler* near was googling: “is light kira?”

Honestly the entire world was so committed to Kira at the end of the series that if Light just went into custody he may have been able to talk his way out.

While I was watching this I took a chip and ATE IT.

Tbh if he just got the eye deal none of this really would’ve happened

honestly light shot himself in the foot when he was like 'you lose' seriously so cocky

L had Light’s dad holding him back

If mikami didn’t screw things up and break his habits, I’m pretty sure light would’ve won

Near: I had an agent take the notebook and make a complete copy of it in one night. Handwriting and all in one night Me: THAT'S BULLSHIT!

I myself finished Death Note yesterday morning. Now I’ve been watching a bunch of theory and summary videos. Death Note might actually be one of my favorite anime now.

Guy says “I literally watched 37 episodes of an anime in a few days.’ You underestimate us nerds bro lol we all did! XD

L is the reason I want to be a criminologist.

Lights biggest mistake was becoming Kira in the first place. He should have stayed FULLY unknown until a much later date after getting the book.

I thought he killed himself because he couldn’t live with the mistake he made, and for letting down his god - plus him killing himself was like a last act of loyalty to Light who managed to get away for a little

If L caught light instead of some lame 12 year old, i would be satisfied.

This theory was actually brought up at the end of the manga books by Matsuda. He theorized that Near used the notebook to control Mikami before he headed to the warehouse. This would explain why Mikami didn't realize the notebooks had been switched. Knowing Light, he would have told Mikami to test the book before using it, since he already realized Near would try to switch out some pages. Also, in the manga it's said that Mikami died 10 days after Near caught Light. He didn't kill himself. He died in jail. If you read through the manga, Matsuda explains everything in detail. I just thought I would mention that this theory is backed up by the manga.

I don't think you can cheat in a game where there are simply no rules at all.

The more Light was acting on his very own the better he preformed.

The end was so unsatisfying and disappointing I loved light's character And I also loved L , I even cried in the 25th episode where he died But it would have less disappointing if L defeated light or if light would have won

actually I think that after Light defeated L he let his guard down. In that sense your theory adds up.

How Near solved the case faster than L: L: - he was alone (he has the task force but most of them aren't as loyal as Near's task force) - he had 7 billion people as suspect - he had kira by his side monitoring his every move so he cannot act as fast as he could - he had no mentor (by his intelligence) Near: - he had mello (his equally intelligent partner/enemy who helped catch kira) + his loyal taskforce - he only had 1 suspect (light yagami) - kira doesn't even know where near lived or what he's actually doing at any given moment - L already solved the case, he just needed some solid evidence of which Near provided - mentored by L

The issue for Near for me was two-fold. 1) He seemed to latch onto Light being Kira way too fast. 2) He picked Mikami as the Third Kira out seemingly at random. It makes him feel like a Discount L.

I wouldn’t have minded L killing light but near killing him is just stoopid.

PLOT TWIST. The uploader is light yagami

The ending of this anime made me very angry.

I am/was team Light but if he “needed” to be discovered by someone it should have definitely been “L”.

Being in Nears position is like having your character all upgraded full stats and playing the game on easy

ive watched death note like 5x from start to finish, and im pretty sure i understand the ending perfectly. try to correct me if you see any flaws. The ONLY reason light lost to near was because mikami took it upon himself to kill takada when Mello kidnapped her. in order to actually kill her, he needed to go BACK to the bank a 2nd time in the same day in order to take out the death note, which was Very unusual for his character, as his schedule is like clockwork. he was being followed by giovanni when he decided to go back to the bank to kill kiyomi, and after he left giovanni stole the death note from his bag or w.e. now near had the REAL death note, which is why they were able to make a duplicate of it. light anticipated they would try to make a duplicate, but i dont think light anticipated that mikami would try to kill takada, because light killed her himself, ironically at the same time mikami did. if mikami didnt go back to the bank in order to tie up the loose end of killing takada, giovanni never would have suspected something was wrong with him going back to the bank, following him in, and then stealing the death note from his bag. if mikami didnt do that, i think light truely would have beat near because he wouldnt have had the real death note, he wouldnt have been able to copy it, and he wouldnt have put a fake page in the spot where the final meeting was going to take place. if they didnt have access to the real death note, they wouldnt have been able to make a fake page, and lights plan would have ultimately worked in the end, everyone would have been killed and KIRA WOULD HAVE WON.

If light didn’t scream “IM GONNA WRITE YOUR NAME” in the end with the paper in the watch and just acted like he was lying down he would have gotten it too bad he is too cocky

Bro L was so cool he was a real investigator. Near was like see someone on this tv and say : Yes this is Kira partener. Instead L could search for evidence

Light already had won for long enough in that after L's death he literally had 4 years where he continued the Kira acts without interruptions. That is a LONG time, long enough to change the world forever (wars? ended, criminality? 70% ended). I think the authors just decided to picture the end of the story as Light finally "paying the bill" for his huge and unhuman sacrifice. BUT, if we really want to set the cards as if Light should've won against Near too, well: he should've just USE THE DEATH NOTE ON MIKAMI IN THE FIRST PLACE so that even if Near found the death note and attempted to manipulate Mikami it wouldn't make any effect 'cause you can't "overwrite" if the name has already been written on another note. AND/OR Light should've been preparing a backup-backup plan for that situation, that is just hiding a couple of pages of true death note in secret places near the area so that mikami used them just before the events of that day. So, to sum up, even Light himself knew that ultimately his death is just him getting punished for his genocidal actions (more than 120k targeted murders in 4 years!), on the long run he won, 'cause at that time he already mangled most of the evil lurking on earth, and that is something we have confirmation of in the 2020 one-shot with Minoru explaining all this. Death Note is a legendary story and I hope to see a new anime somewhere in the future.

I am honestly angry that light lost to near

Misa committed suicide because light died and also she didn’t remember that light was Kira but now that she knows that light is Kira she knows she lost both of the things that she lived for EDIT: she relinquished ownership of the notebook if you don’t remember

What sucks the most is because Light would’ve won, but after *SPOILERS* L’s death he became overconfident and this made him overlook some things,,, so technically Light is still smarter than Near- except since he made a mistake, Near was able to pin evidence on him

Light's plan was so well-thought out and had little to no way to falter that the writer himself had to break logic and reasonability in order for Light to lose. Shame.

2:20 L did that smile better.

Even death note creaters got confused to continue the story.. How near guessed mikimi as X-Kira? Really?

L: give reasons on why light is Kira Near: “pssh ion know dis guy sus”

I hated it when matsuda shot light, "Matsuda you idiot" he was an idiot in the whole series.

Couldn't Light just've said something like "What if you used the Death Note to control Mikami's actions and have him exclude just my name?" when Near showed everyone the names in the book.

It should have been L who defeated Light and not Near.

When I first watched the series I thought that Ryuk was gonna do some selfless act and save light in the end and sacrifice himself. But he didn’t give a shit

To everyone that doesn't know: near and mello are fun in the manga, as they actually get half of the series instead of a third

I know people who watched fifty anime episodes in 1 day. Death note can easily be watched in "a couple" days.

I think there is a central problem in deathnote's story. And that is there is never any alternate suspects or other possibilities. When L and Near suspect Light, the suspicions does not have any hard evidence and based mostly on feelings. Both of them admit Light is a long shot ranging from 5%-7%(initial assessment). But they both hound that long shot lead to death. Realistically, an criminal investigations will have many suspects that will prevent putting so much effort into one hail marry attempt result in much success.

Near was just pulling claims out the air bruh, he literally had no evidence, he just got a lucky guess

I just think if light would have thought that “oh maybe they actually did switch it and they won’t die” he could have kept his mouth shut...and make a run for it🤣🤣

Misa dies a year later (after the end of the series) by committing suicide. She does this because Light is dead.

Only reason Near won was because mikami accidentally led Giovanni to the real notebook. Light would've won if it wasn't for mikami acting on his own.

Near: *You did that so i did this* Light: *You did that so i did this* "I win" Near: *i know you would do that so i already did this* Light: "Fuck" Near: "i win"

He didn't cheat by using it, the notebooks fair game. He could've wrote "Mikama will write everyone's name except kira in the notebook" and boom, solved.

If this is what you think, then I'm afraid you missed the entire point of Mello's character. Near said he almost fell for Light's plan, but he knew the notebook needed to be tested. Mello agreed to kidnap Kiyomi Takada to put Light in a situation where the real death note would need to be used. Mello did this knowing it would get him killed and allowed Near to discover the fake death note. They worked together to beat Light without cheating.

Tsugumi Ohba indirectly answers the question of: "Is Matsuda’s theory correct?" in volume 13 HTR : Question: "Who is the smartest character in DN?" Obata: "Near, because he cheats."

The ending was perfect,i am angry that Light lost to near,but think,light did his best it was mikami who lost it.

"L is basically my spirit animal" Relatable

Near smiled in an Episode when he tells Light "so you do have a shinigami there with you, how interesting"

Lacking large emotions doesn't mean you'll go around breaking laws. Also, N mentioned that some methods would be despised by L, and N obviously wanted to live up to L's standards and play by L's rules.

L: Actually works on the Kira case Near: Sits and plays with building blocks and toys

Near was emotionless and it was shown in the first time we saw him Mello said that near didn't let his emotions get in his way

He didn’t cheat, Light got cocky and reckless at the end trusting and hiding truth from his follower who had the real book. Light should have told him he had some paper in case anything were to go wrong

I feel, the first half of deathnote is based around introducing you to these outstanding intuitive thinkers, whilst the second half, requires that we are one.

The developers wanted light to lose, light is smart enough to know that in the beginning he should of told mikami to rip a page out of the deathnote from the very beginning that he would use in the ending. Light is extremely smart and it would’ve made more sense and would have been a better ending if he knew they would try something like this. If an original deathnote page was ripped out and kept for mikami to use then this ending would’ve been way better and proved that light is brilliant. But naw they already planned on him losing so I guess they decided he wasn’t smart anymore

Near and Mello were originally supposed to be going to work together. Mello did had a Death Note at some point. If I recall,Mello visited Near in episode 30. It's likely that Mello shared information to Near. The anime writer preferred the anime to be rushed. That's why Mello did'nt have much screentime. If it was'nt that rushed,Mello would've give info to Near time to time and I think this is why Near knows everything. So pretty much,stuff happened offscreen. This is also why they wanted to kill off Near. They did'nt know what to do with him. And beside,even though Near had to restart the case from scratch because Watari deleted all the evidence,I still think that Near somehow finds info that L had to begin with. My friend also thinks that and I agree. There has been a theory where people claims that Near has Autism (Asperger Syndrome),which explains why he's smart and he plays with toys. (It's also speculated that L have Asperger too.) Near was raised in the Wammy's House,an orphanage for gifted children. GIFTED CHILDREN. It was confirmed that he has an obsession with solving complex problems and views and investigation as solving a puzzle. He is highly observational and was once seen piercing together a puzzle that was almost entirely coloured white. No joke! Near also appears to be ambidextrous. Despite his genius ability,Near has low social knowledge and is bad at interacting with others. It was later revealed in Death Note 13:How to read that Near is only able to display his true deductive powers when he has the support of his members. However,Tsugumi Ohba,creator of Death Note,approves that Near is seen as a "cheat" or "wannabe L". You see,Near is very young,and he still is. I know this is a huge comment,but I hope it helps your theory. Cheated nor not,Near is smart in his own way.

I found the ending so sad, idk I just wanted light to win even if he was a psychopath. Light should’ve won. Misa also died, because she committed suicide because she was devoted to light that much. That’s what I think anyway.

IMO Near didn't deserve to beat light. I would have been far more accepting of L beating light.

I heard in the Manga, there is an extra chapter after Kira died where they discus this theory too or something like that, just read it yourself

i’ve always been a Light’s fan and he shouldn’t have died like that.

If only Ryuk had the heart of Rem...

Misa committed suicide because light was dead

The way Light reacted when he was caught was disappointing. I would of been like hahahahahahahahaha you caught me. If you execute me then u deal with my supporters.

"Light's end is near" I think was the thought that motivated calling him *Near*

Misa killed herself because light died

I feel like the only person who actually likes Near. I know L is a fucking legend and therefor irreplaceable but Near is kind of interesting himself.

Yes, that's interesting and has gave me some more in depth look into the final episodes. Yet, you forgot to add that Mello had a part too inside the defeat of Light, since thanks to him he brought Mikami to act out of his normal routine.

I think the ending is good, because it really shows the development and changes of lights character, at his end: completely crazy. It shows what such a power would do to a smart, „responsible“ human. But I hate the way he was “outsmarted“, since the conclusions didn’t really make sense anymore

Except there's a HUGE flaw in this theory, the notebook was replaced long before you said. Secondly, Light DID in fact predict Near's plan, and had it not been for Mikami killing Takada, Light would have won. If he would have listened to Light and made no moves, Light would have won, but this obviously didn't happen, so no Near didn't cheat, and he didn't outsmart Light, in fact, he's not as smart as Light or L he just capitalized on a slip up. Perhaps you should rewatch the last half, and anyone else who thinks this theory is probable.

Near didn't really cheat (and I side with Light here). Near only won because Mikami was an idiot. If Light had control over all his pawn he would have never made the mistakes that allowed Near to win.

You say N has no feelings literally as a clip shows him toying with his hair in some kind of shame while having his eyes looking away from his interlocutor

Allow me to put this to bed. Yes, Near cheated. It's implied heavily in the deathnote mythos that Near used the real note to influence mikami, resulting in his madness and death, which lead to Light losing. However, objectively, the same can be said for Light and his victory over L. He used Rem to kill him rather than being able to outsmart and kill L himself like he had with his other obstacles. Of course one could argue that he didn't cheat as he used his available materials to put himself in a winning position, (outside help: shinigami) but that would invalidate the idea of Near cheating. So they both cheated. However, plot and author intention was the entire reason deathnote went the way it did. Even the most hardcore deathnote fans can agree that the charm of deathnote begins to decline with the death of L. The author didn't want a repeat of this with L's successor, so the next arc had to be very different, resulting in the creation of Near and Mello. By this Arc, Light became complacent due to having no real opposition as Kira after having defeated L, which is why he made so many mistakes with Near. It has been stated by the author himself that Near is a poor and unlikeable substitute for L, and that he does in fact cheat to gain victory, because of his mindset. In all honesty, he won by circumstance and by cheating. Mello was the basis for Near to even get to a point to be able to cheat to win, and therefore Mello is the true successor to L. Plot demanded Light lose. I could argue further but this comment is already long enough and I feel I've proven my point.

There was a way for Light to win, even if Near cheated. Here's how: Light: Why didn't you write my name? Mikami: You are God! Light: Why do you believe that? Mikami: I have the Shinigami Eyes, and I can not see your Death Clock Light: And...? Mikami: Only notebook owners have hidden Clocks. Light: As leader of the Task Force I technically own the notebook held by the Task Force. Near: ... Light: That is the only Deathnote I own. Light: You being here means Kira must be one of us. As no-one else's name is missing, the culprit must have given up ownership. Since Near was the one to set this all up, he is the only one here with a reason to give away ownership before this meeting. Near is Kira. Near: And what about you saying Looks like I win, Near? Light: Winning would, to me be proving my innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. Near: ....

Doesn’t that qualify Light’s method of defeating L as ‘cheating’, then? He used Rem and there was no way L could have predicted/prevented that

Light Didn't Done Such A Big Mistake It's Mikami Why Light Get Caugthed

Damn ryuk knew the entire time that light was gonna die

Death Note is my best anime I have ever seen, And L is my best character I have seen. I am so sad that he died though😭

I didn’t like that near literally got everything right

Who would catch Kira? A hard working detective who has never once failed or given up on a case? Or A Lincoln Loud inspiration

Let’s face it: We all miss L 😞

:/ You didn't take a very good look at Nears character. He's shown to have emotions all through-out the series, he just hides them for unknown reasons. He also makes it clear he won't be using the deathnote, he tells Commander rester that he wanted to win honorably without the deathnote. He has pride just like you said, enough pride to not use the deathnote. Also, please take a moment to think of Misa and Mikami's characters as well please. They were both highly emotionally dependent and mentally unstable people. If you watched the episode in which Mikami's character and story was explained, you'd see that Light Yagami is his god and in the last episode he blames himself for Light being on the verge of death... Light even screamed "How could you Mikami" when it's revealed that Mikami killed Takada at the same time as Light, he yelled it right into Mikami's face. Mikami blames himself entirely for what happened, months upon months of hard work to try and remove the root of all evil only to end wrongly all because of him, the timing was perfect. You can actually see his heart break. And Misa? Her whole family was murdered, the murder killed by her savior Kira. Kira makes up a huge part of her life. When she was with Light she finally began to get a sense of family back (shown very clearly when she visits the yagami's house and has tea with the whole family + matsuda) only to have it taken away from her, at the same exact time the man who avenged her family was killed... of course she killed herself. The kira case took everything away from her. Last but not least, Ryuk said it in the very beginning, it was already foreshadowed, "All those who use the deathnote are said to meet a bitter end" or something among the lines of that. Right in the very first episode when light asks what the catch is for using the death note. And... who dies? Everyone who used the deathnote! Mikami, Light, Takada, Mello, L, everyone who used it died. But who doesn't die? Near, because he was too righteous, he wouldn't cheat. EDIT: I realized I messed up saying L used the deathnote, he actually didn't. But, L did seriously consider it. All people who came in contact with the deathnote and truly thought they'd use it died. Why does everyone want to make Near look like a murderer?

Near didn’t deserve to find out who Kira is

Near does have emotion to some extent. It's not shown much in the anime but in the mangas, Near is a little upset about the death of some of the SPK members and genuinely cares for the SPK members -but he cares about his toys more-

* But.. ,I Love the Wisdom of Near :)

“L is my spirit animal” Relatable

Allow me to put some holds in your theory, First of all Ryuk is the one who killed Light. stating it would take too long for Light to die if he went to prison. That alone would dispute Nair using the notebook. Second, The only reason Light lost is because Mikami made an unnecessary move and not because of light's lack of planning. In truth Light actually out smarted Nair, however because of Teru Mikami's screw up, he lost. And Third Nair would not have used the notebook as he saw this a criminal act, he may appear to have no emotion but he is very similar to L. If he used the notebook he will become the same thing he is trying to put behind bars or even kill.

I really want a sequel anime where light as a shinigami guides his successor to be Kira and ties them around his finger just to become a literal god

If Light took the eyes he would have lived for at least another 18 - 20 years ngl.

"L is my spirit animal" 😂😂😂

Personally I disagree with the entire premise that Near was able to come into possession of the Death Note. If Mikami was really so careful and so stuck to his routine, he would have more likely taken more careful measures, or always kept a page of the real death note in his shoe or something. I just don't see someone who obsesses on the this sort of level about precision making this sort of mistake. Nothing about the second season adds up, and I'm surprised Light wouldn't have had ordered it done that way in the first place. Again its like his IQ lost 60 points so that he could screw up for season 2.

As soon as L dies, Light shows his true colors, kinda scary