Near

SPOILER WARNING: Those who have not yet seen the ending to Death Note should not read on.

Near, (real name Nate River), is the younger of L's two successors raised in Watari's orphanage for gifted children (Wammy's House). Near is 155 centimeters tall (5'), weighs 88 pounds and his blood type is B. Near is the more level-headed, calmly assessing the situation, while the other, Mello, is more emotional and quick to act. Much like L, Near shows various odd behaviors during his normal life. He is usually seen hunched over than sitting, and he also constantly plays with various toys which he uses in his theories. He shows a great respect for L, basing much of how he solves crime on L's methods, even to the point where he only takes cases that he is interested with rather than trying to pursue justice. Much like L, Near uses the Old English "N" to represent himself. He is voiced by Noriko Hidaka in the Japanese anime.

About 5 years after L's death, he works for the United States under the SPK (Secret Provision for Kira) team that is established to investigate Kira. He soon manages to deduce that Light, posing as L, is actually Kira. After finding that Mikami is Light's proxy and Mello kidnaps Takada, Near is able to switch Mikami's Death Note with a fake one, allowing him to set up a final confrontation that leaves Light exposed. Ryuk kills Light soon after. Near claims that neither of he nor Mello could surpass L alone, but together have done so by inadvertently working together. Near soon takes on L's name, and keeps on the surviving members of the SPK as his subordinates.

In the one-shot taking place after the series, Near is shown as the new L. He summons the police force to fight against a new Kira. The new Kira had gained a Death Note which belonged to a Shinigami named Meadra (Midora in Viz's translation of Death Note: How To Read 13), who had received another Death Note from the Shinigami King by giving him 13 apples which she had taken from the human world. The new Kira had the quality of murdering only elderly people to "relieve their pain". When Near's SPK subordinates ask him why he isn't taking any action, he replies saying that he is trying to think what the previous L would do. He finally comes to a conclusion that the prevailing Kira was just a murderer without a purpose. He finally announces that he isn't interested in the case on national television, he also says that the reason for his backing out is that the current Kira is not the real Kira. This results in C-Kira committing suicide. Throughout the 40-page manga chapter, the identity of the new Kira isn't revealed. It it also revealed that Rester and Lidner continue to work with Near.

Appearance and Health
Because of Near's white hair and pale complexion, many fans have speculated that Near is an albino. This could explain why Near never is shown outside, due to the fact that albino people are very susceptible to sunlight and UV rays. Near, on average, also does not look people in the eye, and seems to be very bad at playing darts, possibly due to impaired vision, which is another symptom of albinism. However, this has never been stated in any Death Note book, anime, or movie, and is simply a theory from the Death Note fanbase.

Also, Near's eyes appear slate gray, which is a rather common attribute in albino humans. Even so, many fans disagree, as most people merely believe that albinos only have pinkish or blue eyes, when that isn't the case.

Interests
With extremely child-like interests, his surroundings always have toys strewn about. Even though he is only playing, piecing together an unpatterned puzzle starting out of nowhere and the like easily shows a sample of his abilities and intelligence. Though with his childlike additude, his IQ is above average, counting up to an outstanding 245.

Normally, his fixation with toys is light, but he does seem to have things that he particularly likes, since he has taken these with him when he had to escape. Three years after the main story, Near takes an interest in building Tarot card stacks. Of course, these structures are far beyond normal size, easily covering an entire room. It appears that Near would despise anyone who would knock down these structures, accidentally or intentionally.

L: Change the WorLd
In this sequel to the first Death Note film, L gives a talented Thai boy with high intelligence the name "Near." L hopes for the boy, the sole survivor of a Thai village ravaged with a deadly disease, to succeed him (as L knows that the rules of the Death Note will kill himself within a short period of time). Narushi Fukuda (福田 響志, Fukuda Narushi) is the person who portrays Near in the film.

[[Category:L]]