MELLO AND NEAR'S RELATIONSHIP ESSAY
(by Akane, which is obvious since it's full of Engrish)
WARNING!!! Spoilers up to page 80+!!!! Please don't read this unless you read the original manga.
Mello and Near's relationship is complicated and twisted; both of them seem so clumsy at this thing called 'life', no matter how brilliant their brains are. However, I believe their relationship and "friendship" has been the key for Death Note second arc story, as we can see at the very end. They are like the sun and the moon, day and night, black and white. Each of them has what the other lacks, and could fit perfectly as two pieces of the same puzzle if their twisted minds allowed them to (which is hard). They can't fit properly, yet they can't stay apart either. And no matter what path each of them take, they'll always be linked to each other in a way or another. They understand each other more than anyone else, always having this unspoken language between them, a secret nobody else shares but them both. And whenever they are together, the chemical reaction is strong! MELLO Mello is pure emotion, specially when it comes to Near. He has been obsessed with him from their childhood days, when he struggled to get better marks and become number one without succeed. His obsession made him take different ways, but even if he repeats again and again how he hates him, it seems all decisions he took in his life were because of Near, always because of Near. And Mello has always been a slave of his own passions and addictions. Near started working for government at the tender age of 15, so Mello decided to join the mafia. He is extreme when it comes to take decisions and is willing to do anything in order to become the best. We have seen him in some horrible situations during his mafia days after he got the Death Note, yet we never see him lose his cool, not even when he was face to face with death. As the last resort he had to blow up the mafia headquarters in order to scape (that's how he got his burnt scar). As extreme as always... Also, there is a scene of a woman (Hal) naked in front of him, yet he doesn't react in any kind of way. In fact he was thinking about Near the whole scene and ends forcing her to take him where he is (^^; In short: Mello is very emotional, but knows how to keep his cool even in extreme situations. However, when he meets Near after 4 years (they both are 18-19 now), he just loses it. The tension between them is too strong, so Mello becomes the very emotional being he is whenever it's about Near and ends pointing his gun at him. Such rage, such passion when it comes to him... Not even being able to think properly, just feel and lose control.
Near seems the only one able to make Mello lose his head. No matter how emotional he is, we never see him lose his cool as he does it with Near is involved (only as child when Roger talked to him about L). But of course rage is not the only thing he is feeling. It's obvious he wants him for himself, in more than one way. It's normal, considering that Near has become the center of his world, the center of his obsessive personality. This comes from the interpretation some people did of said scene. They said that Mello pointing his gun at Near with such loss of control is a representation of his sexual desire for him. Well, this is still an interpretation, right? However, it seems his gun is REALLY representing his sexual desire in that scene! Want proof? This, my friends, is what publicity world knows as subliminal message. Advertisments and comercials are full of those suggestive images that might not be understood nor caught by the eye at first, but that somehow our brain notices unconsciously. That image is not there as casuality, this is a clear message the author left for those able to see it. You'll notice that many things in Death Note which have no relation with the Note itself are often hinted, and I have learnt that Obata-sensei is a great genius at visual language and subliminal messages. This makes sense, since let's face it, Mello wants to be in control, but he can't control Near intellectually speaking. Near never loses his cool like Mello does, and can't be beaten at exams since he is always number 1. But if it's physically, Mello could always have the control since he is taller, stronger and way more active and passionate. Also, the way he dresses and the way he welcomed physical contact with mafia members proves that Mello seems really a physical being. From that meeting on they start to "cooperate", though both try for it not to be seen as such (they are so clumsy and unable to have a functional relationship after that. Wammy's House + brilliant brains = they messed good). The ending will be the peak of their relationship, though I won't talk about it here. NEAR While Mello is a physical and emotional being, Near is more spiritual and passive. He is well known for not showing much emotion, what made many Kira fans call him a "robot". However, even if he doesn't show emotions directly, they are still there and are noticeable if you pay enough attention and are able to interpret his actions. In other words, Near says many things in an indirect way. I'm going to talk about how I personally interpret his actions. He is a very very difficult to understand character; at first I was really lost about him (^^; Near seems even more dysfunctional and clumsy than Mello at relationships, and has given me several reasons to think he is even scared of them. First of all, Near didn't seem to care about anyone at Wammy's House. We see him playing alone and doesn't accept Linda's invitation to go outside to play with other children. He doesn't even bother to look at them, just gives them a polite reply while he continues working in his puzzle. When Roger tells both Mello and Near that they could work together in the Kira's case, Near agrees without a doubt, yet Mello is angry and argues that such a thing is not possible because they both don't get along well... Mello leaves the orphanage, Near doesn't do anything to stop him. He just continues working in his puzzle, silent. Mello leaves a photo behind, I believe on purpose for Near to take it (the reason, I don't know. But I know Mello likes leaving a mark of himself for Near to remember he is the challenger). The thing is, Near takes the photo and keeps it with him all the time, hidden inside his clothes. He makes sure no security cameras catch it and nobody sees it for Mello's safety. And the greatest part, he has writen in the back of the photo "Dear Mello". It's as if for whatever twisted reason and no matter how many times Mello has said "I hate you", Near still treasures him, cares about him and waits for him during those 4 years. He never hated Mello and I doubt he wanted him to be his rival. He didn't seem to give a damn about the other children, but for Mello he has shown this strange light of what could be emotion. When Mello storms into the SPK headquarters and meets Near after 4 years of being separated, SPK agents point their guns at him for killing their comrades in the past. Near then excuses Mello by saying there is no proof it was him who killed them (which was an obvious lie, since he stated before that he knew his agents would die as soon as Mello got the Death Note (^^;;). This won't be the last time Near will excuse Mello's behavior and will defend him. Near has always strongly followed justice as L did, however when it comes to Mello he ignores all the bad things he has done and how many people he has killed, even if it's his own agents the ones killed. He ignores the fact he is a terrorist. There are some interesting points from that meeting. First of all, he says "Because of all the things Mello did, I could narrow Kira so much...". This sentence makes Mello furious and ends pointing his gun at him ("Near, I'm not your piece to solve a puzzle!"). I think it was a very clumsy and shy way of Near to tell Mello how good it would be if they worked together, that because of Mello, Near is able to do great things. That they complete each other. But Mello and his inferiority complex always thinks Near is just trying to use him (^^;;; And just like he did in the past when Mello left the orphanage, once more he does nothing. He doesn't try to explain Mello the true meaning of his words, just like he didn't try to stop him from leaving that time. Near is so passive, so clumsy, so scared to say anything that matters. He just lets Mello point his gun at him and even says "If you want to shoot me, please do". Mello could easily surrender to his own passions and destroy them both, and Near would just let him. Because it's Mello, he would let him. The second interesting point from this meeting is the fact Near doesn't look at Mello, not even once. Even when Mello asks for his photo back, Near does this:
As you can see, it's not he doesn't look at him because he feels lazy or not interested. This is clearly intention not to look. Why wouldn't you want to look at the person you proved to care about? The person whose photo you have been protectiong? Maybe because you are scared to feel anything? During the meeting and after things calmed down, Mello exanches some precious information with Near even if he states clearly "I don't want to work with you. ...But it wouldn't be fair for me to leave without giving you some info, since you have given my photo back" <--- TAKE THAT! Greatest excuse ever seen!!! Near then accepts the challenge of playing this game with Mello. They both see this as a game, a "let's see who reaches last boss first!" (last boss is Kira). Isn't it cute? (^^) It seems they played many games at Wammy's House, hehe. And after this they'll cooperate sometimes, giving Kira a big headache. Yet they'll be too twisted/proud/whatever to admit directly they are cooperating. Which takes me to... HAL LIDNER This woman is a SPK agent who works for Near, also a "spy" who works for Mello. Basically she helps them both: Following Near's orders and telling Mello all the information Near gets. She has an obvious crush in Mello and we see her trying to seduce him in a scene where she decides to take a shower in front of him (=w=;;; When Near finds out about this, he'll make a good use of her to communicate with Mello "indirectly", in a way only Mello will understand. Mello will use her to communicate with Near too. The thing is, why don't they speak directly if they are actually willing to kinda cooperate? If Near wants to give Mello some information, why doesn't he do it himself? Mello knows very well it was his will to give him that information anyway! For this I have to copy-paste what Tehriah-san said (because it's so great and written in good English). "I think Mello and Near keep up this sort of facade. They both see right through it, but keep it up anyway, because that's what people like to do. Mello is all in your face and anger-management-worthy all the time, while Near is all closed-off and emotionless; both of them see the real Mello and Near behind the fronts they put up, but neither of them is willing to shed the masks because it would make them vulnerable. Near talks to Mello through Hal, completely aware that Mello will know exactly what he's doing, because to come right out and tell Mello himself is kind of scary to him; it would be like admitting their little hidden relationship".
And last , I want to say that the end of Death Note will show how important their link was for the story, also how deep it was. It's what I call "the peak of their relationship"; The final piece to complete the puzzle that was their lives, though always somehow unfinished. But I won't talk about it in this essay because I suspect that some people who didn't read the manga are reading this (^^; In the future I'll tell more about their secret relationship!
|
