Near (ニア,
Nia), whose real name is
Nate River (ネイト・リバー,
Neito Ribā), 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' 0"), 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-Kiracommitting suicide. Throughout the 40-page manga chapter, the identity
of the new Kira isn't revealed. It is also revealed that Rester and
Lidner continue to work with Near.