The Importance of Near in Death Note | Death Note Analysis 

I like near theme music

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

"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

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

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

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.

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

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

i like Near Ryuk is best girl still

He’s really not that bad

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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?

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

Awesome analysis. I love Near even more than before now

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"

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.

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.

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.

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 ☹

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 :) )

L >>>> Near Always

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

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

near is best boi

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.

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.

This is a solid piece. Nice job!

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

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

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.

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

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.

After L died, the end was Near...

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Near is awesome wtf

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.

Phenomenal video- completely changed my outlook on near and second half of death note. Although I don't think that mello's chocolate fetish adds nothing to his character. It represents mello's emotion/pleasure driven desire for victory and the gratification he gets from beating near and being no.1, similar to the gratification u get when ur eating chocolate as it makes u and ur taste buds feel good/pleasured.

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.

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.

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

Love this video.

L is always my favourite but i have also always loved Near, i think this show really plays with psychology so much and there are so many ways to see actions and conversations and what they represent... for example, The last scene where Matsuda shoots Light is actually quite powerful to me. Matsuda was always thought to be the least serious, he felt a bit useless at times and made mistakes but he was also of those who always believed in Lights innocence, he always had this belief that Kira could be good and a source of justice if only the killings weren’t so reckless.. and then he was the first and quickest to pull a gun of everything he believed in the name of justice.... I love it.

Let's be honest here. The core reason people hate Near and Mello is because they replaced a fan favorite character. People will always hate on a replacement, especially when said replacement mirrors the original a lot and has little uniqueness of their own. Its even worse that L was perfect in nearly every way and was killed unjustly. L did everything right, but still got killed in the end so people were pissed off about his death to begin with.

I’m not saying people can’t have valid reasons to not like Near, however I feel like some people hate him just to jump on the bandwagon. (Also I love near too and appreciate this video since half the videos or comments about near is nothing but hate)

I just finished watching the show and it's obvious near wasn't given enough time to be flushed out. I'm surprised people hate a character in an anime to begin with. My favorite part of the show was when Light released control of the death note and the interactions between him, his girl friend and the crew

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

Tbh In my opinion the last arc seemed abit fast paced, this is why people never liked N, L was actually friends with light and even if light doesn't want to admit it, he was friends with L they had a great fleshed out character development and it was quite fun to see how they interacted with each other. L was fully fleshed, you felt like you wee actual friends with him and was realistic. Then when L died you had this other detective called N who seemed cool at first but you never built a friendship with him and his character development wasn't great. We could have looked more into his past and his friendship with mallow but mallow died to early and so N never was fully fleshed out as a character. If death note final arc was a couple more episodes long to focus more on N as a character we would have liked him a lot more but instead he felt quite forced. There were still good scenes with N and I don't despise N but he could have been a lot more of a great character if they didn't rush the story at the final arc. Sorry if that was confusing I am dyslexic so I can't read very well and can get confused with random words.

Near is my favorite Death Note character and one of my favorite anime characters. Near deserves less hate and more respect

Nice Video! I never hated near as a character but I understand why people didnt like him. It felt like L was replaced with just a part of L instead of something entirely new. But they really showed why L wasn't winning and how to defeat kira which was a good conclusion to the story. Btw I think you forgot to mention, and I never saw someone else mention it, that the character traits from near and mellow come from L himself. Near loves playing und Mellow loves sweets. L loves to play with sweets. You can see him stacking the packages of the sweets.

I prefer the second half of the show because shit actually started to happen. L would go out of his way to not prove Light was Kira, in my opinion, he had a bias towards liking him. Near didn't care and went on the attack from the outright. Its been over 10 years since I saw the anime for the first time and have always gotten shit for liking Near but till this day, I stick with my opinion and its nice to feel validated haha. I was mostly dealing with people that were like " L is so Kawaii desu >,

*I'm sorry, but the ending just didn't do it for me.* The reason has little to do with Near. #1: Light underestimating Near was _stupid._ For this reason, I believe this was wildly out of character and somewhat lazy, for, the Light we've known throughout the entire series- while willing to take risks, is extremely calculated and should've been able to easily identify that Near was no feeble opponent. This underestimation was, no doubt, his downfall, but it doesn't really make sense to me for Light as a character to fail over something so stupid. #2: The whole "battle of writing names in the REAL Death Note." Surely, Light could've easily given his accomplice that tiny piece of the Death Note in his watch as a fail-safe. After all, the guy was able to write in extremely tiny font. He could've easily written their names in both the tiny piece of the Death Note as a backup plan if for some reason the first plan failed- and simply waited to reveal himself. These two very simple, very plainly obvious things shouldn't have been overlooked/disregarded by Light, and the possibility of such shouldn't have been overlooked by Near, either. Me, as a viewer, was able to surmise that the Death Note was probably swapped before the scene even went down. And I'm no genius. So why couldn't our genius main character Light have worked that one out? And why did Near not even consider the possibility of a contingency plan? In other words- after EVERYTHING, Light went down over a stupid mistake, and the guy who got him was too stupid to even assume that Light may not make said mistake. Frankly, the ending seemed like a lazy cop-out and a way for the writers to simply get the ending they wanted- which was the death of Light (for some reason). With a series this awesome and well written, there could've been at least 5 better endings that would've easily fallen into place.

I personally like near, he is like L in way but also a lot different. Near is like L’s cold and calculated side, while mello is L’s emotional and risky side. Near is a deep thinker like L, but also near lacks emotional traits L has which makes him a very different kind of detective. Vice versa, mello doesn’t have L’s cold and calculated thinking process so he is also a lot different. Both near and mello are like pieces acting independently. I never understood the whole “near disrespect L” argument. Near and Mello are both shown to highly respect L. Near always tried to put himself in L’s scenarios during his investigation because he trusted that L came to accurate conclusions. Near also shows his respect during the final fight with light by saying he and mello stand with L. Near sees himself as a very capable detective but also knows L was just as if not more capable. Mello obviously looked up to L and was pretty emotional when his death was revealed at wammys house. However, they are both aware they aren’t L and therefore have to use their own means to solve the case. Both make their own moves and act different but similarly to L. Near is calculated and thinks ahead like L, while mello thinks of aggressive plans to bait the enemy then charges into battle similarly to how L thinks of risky plans and jumps head first. One example of this is when L uses death row inmates to bait kira or when he flat out reveals his face and identity to light. Both near and mello are needed to beat Kira because both are not just parts of L, but essential parts to a good detective. Emotion and risk is needed just as much calculation and intelligence. The way I saw it was near and mello were one of L’s plans. I mean L did partly train them in wammy’s house and the wammy organization was created by watari and enhanced by L. Whether near and mello started with no background evidence on the Kira case or not, the fact that L planned for his own failure and had 2 excellent detectives ready to secretly continue the investigation should he be unable to continue was brilliant. The fact that L prepared for failure is what won him the war against Kira. Light’s power over the super natural and immoral manipulation tactics won the first battle and killed L, but L prepared for his own failure because he is an intelligent detective and excellent strategist. Light had the power and the smarts, but not the preparation. He was to cocky, manipulative, and egotistical. That is what caused L to find out Kira exists in the first place. Light never thought about losing because to him failure was unacceptable. To L, failure was a scenario he needed to prepare for. Light almost never prepared for failure of any kind, especially against opponents he found unworthy such as near. Light didn’t prepare for mikiami’s misstep during the final battle with near and therefore lost the game. Light was about to win, but the one mistake that was made by his companion is what cost him everything. L had a trustworthy back up he designed from the beginning, while light had to hastily form one once near already showed up in the form of mikami. Light got careless and cocky once L died, and didn’t even conceive the idea that L would use a legacy to continue fighting. Light would never have a legacy for Kira because he wanted to be the one true god himself. Light only cared for himself, while L ultimately cared for the justice of everyone else. It didn’t have to be him who solved the case, as long as the case was solved L wins. Light had a good plan in the form of mikami. The plan was good, but as we saw not full proof. It had a few holes that a intellect like near and sheer power like mello could pounce on to exploit. L prepared for the Kira task forces failure and had the wammy house as a back up plan. L’s cases are never about his own glory, only about testing his limits and saving lives. L’s planned legacy was brilliant. Even then it was a hard battle. Light almost beat near, but mello and near together proved to be too much for him. L’s strategy for his own failure is what lead light to his own demise. Light never understood the principle of preparing for complete defeat, and therefore struggled to keep up with mello and near who were in fact made by L. Nears cold emotionless calculations bashing light on one end and mellos insane assaults on the other was extremely difficult to handle for light. It was as if L’s two sides sprouted into new bodies and attacked simultaneously. It was a war on two fronts for light. In the end it was L who defeated Kira, near even states this as he states “Together we can stand with L. Together we can surpass L. Together we can face the Kira who defeated L and beat him at his own game”

Somebody understands me!!!!! Thank you for making this video!

Fun fact: L didn't just have a sweet-tooth. He was also constantly PLAYING with his food, if you notice. This is another way of conveying that Mello and Near are like a distilled and separated L. Mello has the sweet-tooth, while Near plays, but with actual toys rather than food.

I think a lot of the hate for the final arc comes from it being cut down in the anime. Where as in the manga it had more room to breathe. If they'd had a few more episodes to fully flesh it out maybe the last arc would be remembered better. It did end up taking both Near and Mello though, without Mello's actions that ultimately got him killed, Mikami wouldn't have made the mistake that ultimately cost Light in the end.

I love near's toys, especially the miniature death note he showed when he explained he tampered with the note

I personally thing Mello played a super important part in death note

I guess my favorite part of Near is, when he asked that one member of the spk to come back to LA because he needs to go to Japan and needs him to help buying a ticket and taking a airplane. Its kinda humanizing. And a little cute.

My main problem with near is that while we see how l gets his answers and his thought process, near essentially just yells HACKS MODE ON, and gets handed all the answers. And, by the time that near faces light, light is so overconfident that near is fighting a severely weakened light. He just feels like a worse l in every way

why does EVERYONE hate near, i thought he was kinda cute playing with his toys, kinda like L eating stuff

Definitely agree that Near doesn't deserve the hate. The problems for me were more the convenient chain of events that led to Light's downfall. I went from being enthralled by the show to having to explain away what seemed like plot holes at first viewing. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been thinking of these things as plot holes, but rather conveniences woven into the story to get to the conclusion the writers wanted. Having the tight game between Light and L conclude with a legitimate win on L's part (basically the reverse of what happened) would have been more satisfying, because it wouldn't have felt so forced. In that regard, I find the conclusion of the original live action films to be much more satisfying. In any case, I love Near too, and just wish he hadn't been party to such a series of lucky encounters because, in reality, Light won the game but was just really damn unlucky at the end.

Tell the truth, I actually found Near to be a very adorable person in spite of him being actually a teenager, kind of making me want to be an older brother figure for him as a way to help develop a bit of a casual side, while still retaining his intelligence and ability to quickly solve crimes. I think what also makes me like Near over L a little more is that Near was more focused on solving and defeating Kira, using anything possible to get even the most hardest of problems cracked, while L wasted a lot of time by playing mind games. Mind games can only get you so far before a plan can be made to work around them.

Finally someone that loves near as much as I do!! instant subscribe lol

Personally I've always liked Near, sure my favorite character is L (naturally). I never understood the hate, I never read the manga so I might know less then most however I always saw Near and Mello as two halves of L. I always saw Near as the intellectual who leaned less towards emotions and more on logic and worked with the law, I saw Mello as the more emotional side of L who was willing to work with criminals. It seemed to me like Near represented L's logical side while Mello was the emotional. Both part of the things that represented L, so to me it made sense that the only way they could reach L's level was to work together in order to catch Kira. It's fine if you don't find them as charming as L, however to say they should have died and Light should have won is basically saying that the manipulative murderer should have gotten away with it. Don't get me wrong I like Light as a character however people gotta realize Near was right in the end. Light thought himself as a god when in reality he wasn't special, the Death Note was. Yes he was intelligent but so was L, Near and Mello. People like to say Near cheated but does it matter if he did? Light has been cheating since episode. 1 using the powers of death gods against L who was trying to catch Kira with human means. I'm not saying you're wrong for preferring the first half of Death Note, but the reasons I've seen from the second part haters get really ridiculous and hateful.

I think the fact that it was Near who got Light in the end is perfect. Near talking about all that Mello did to help the investigation and then telling Light that he's not even slightly impressed by him that he is in fact BORING to Near is incredible to me. Light spends most of the show knowing that he's the talk of the town and he literally has super genius L telling him he's impressive. Near don't give a shit.

L is my favourite character however, I find the series gets better after his death. Ik that kinda contradicts itself but idk I just find that before his death, the series is kind of slow and nothing that significant really happens. Once near takes over, the series gets way mire intense, the task force begin to suspect light and you can really tell the end is closing in for light, despite his countless efforts to escape. Now don't get me wrong, I do cry everytime I see L's death but the plot still gets better

This is completely on point! Near is one of my favorite characters and you made lots of great points about Near. Thank you for making this video.

Near really said "Trust me pal. You are not Him"

I think L saw some parts of him into light and was indeed similar to Light in many ways. He also thought of Light as frustratingly childish because of his beliefs, but still felt he had things in common with Light. So, in conclusion is that why L lost? Cause he gave importance to Light even though he despised him?

That description though

I am OK with Near. But, He smiles like necrophilia graveyard guard!!! JEEZZZZZ

I liked how u figure out even very small yet crucial points that haters never figures out.

Okay don’t attack L tho his sweets make him focus more that’s what he said lol

What I liked about near was it was a vindication of the main criticism of L(lack of social awareness) and a more precise criticism of light(lack of emotional intelligence).

Nail on the head. Near is my favourite too