Death Note Rap Battle: L vs. Near

No BoP or conduct, just vote based on who has better rap (taking audio into account if linked). The quality of disses/bars should take into account the context of the show and any references being made, which may increase the impact of said bar. Participants may link to annotations explaining any double meanings or references, and participants may link to external recordings of them performing the diss. If they do, voters should make it clear that they referenced the annotations and listened to the recording. However, the lyrics must be posted in each round and fit into the character space provided.

PRO is L (Lawliet) from Death Note (https://deathnote.fandom.com/wiki/L_(character))

CON is Near (Nate River) from Death Note (https://deathnote.fandom.com/wiki/Near)

Round 1

1 of 3

Savant Administrator

Pro #1

Beat to loop

Lyric Explanations/Annotations

Of all the minds in Death Note, we all know I’m the greatest

Your end is what you are when I hand you what my name is

Tanaka beat you in one shot; your intellect’s a joke

The only way you have a chance is by copying notes

It took a whole god of death to stop me from checkmating Light

You got the solve from me but needed Matsuda to save your life

Like Mello’s partner you’ll get walked on; there’s nothing you can say to me

I wouldn’t need a Death Note for you to hide your face from me

But if you think you’re Near me, then M.A.L. can teach you

I’m number 4 of all time, and even Misa beats you

I get a twenty-thousandfold return when I invest

Your return is something like negative a hundred percent

You’re not the only one who envies me, and that’s a fact

The fans would rather they were killed than see the second half

You faced a psychopath and half the fans still wish that you had died

I might be Jesus in this show, but watch no-L get crucified

Even Mello crashed out when you tried to diss me

Your arrogance pales next to my streak of victories

You’re me but uncool and too pathetic to be cocky

But your ego’s pretty rich for a dollar-store copy

Just cause you inherit from the master don’t mean you’re one

Took you four years to catch up to what I did in just four months

You can’t protect your agents or the SPK location

Your team is so exposed it’s like the Kanto confrontation

You’re like GPT, version 3, trained on me

Should have expected a shadow of L would be 1D

My tactics and reveals make exposition look exciting

While you’re the face of an arc that Ohba regretted writing

I’ll murder you with my pen, I’m like Yagami when I spit well

You’d diss me, but you still look up to me, so call me Big L

Mello’s your closest friend, and he can’t stand to be around you

And compared to me, Watari couldn’t care less about you

If I’m your aspiration, I can offer you some help

Next time you throw my fortune out the window, throw yourself

GreatfulGoy

Con #2

Beat to read to

If needed I'll explain some references later.

They say L and 'erru' is the pronounciation

Sitting on a chair? That's a south Asian with constipation

Watari's favourite, cute alsation, who's a good dead doggy outdone by the suspect at investigation?

You fell in love with Light, on your knees head bowing not to duck the fight, Misa got a threat in the contest for subordination.

Shut the hell up with your ranting, huffing puffing panting,

Watch me as I team up with Mello against the yellow lantern,

You're a freakshow, autist phantom, look like a ghoul so far form handsome,

What you doing chasing criminals? You're the Japanese Marliyn Manson

What you want some sugar? have it, I got bait and you're in with sharks suckling plankton,

You literally handcuffed yourself to the primary suspect, let him inside the headquarters... What a shambles, if you led my nation I'd take the knee during the anthem,

You see Near is Neal in English, and when I bend my knee only the dice are random,

Your name has Law in it but in English it's Raw and the law enforcement like me more, I roll dice on the floor, you roll dice with human life even when it comes to ransom.

You make Light look sane,

What's that IQ worth, when you're slain?

I outplay, any game, any car any lane,

Any partner in my work's a pawn you're checkmated, what a shame,

Let the white-haired King worm his way into your brain,

Get obsessive, make a mess of every single advantage you have in this game,

Let the prime suspect lead shit, you're a genius in vain,

I'm the Wammy House champion, you're the dead body that I drive by on the lane.

Round 2

2 of 3

Savant Administrator

Pro #3

Beat to loop

Lyric Explanations/Annotations

Every aura moment your arc got was inspired by me

Like how you bit off my aesthetic just to call me a freak

If you got albinism, that’s a game you don’t wanna start

When half a continent would murder you for your body parts

You call yourself the Wammy’s champion when I’m like his kid

And does anyone there but Mello even care you exist?

You thought that I was Asian? I’m a British tennis champion

But I guess I am a freak, cause just for you I’m Charles Manson

You’re a footnote in my file without respect of your rivals

Even dead my star outshines you, you’re a shadow of your idol

Cause comparing you and me is Quayle and Kennedy

When everyone forgets you, see who really has longevity

I put two Kiras behind bars, and I guess that really floors you

Would you even know who Light was if I hadn’t caught him for you?

Thought my backup would come through quick, but you made that fall apart

By turning Mello off and not working together from the start

Hundreds of thousands die when you’re slow with investigation

In Japan you lag behind like Caucasian with math equation

And hunch like imitation with no imagination

After verbal castration delivered without sedation

Light and I together’s an act, like you and deontology

For cheating with the Death Note, I enter your psychology

What separates the crooks from us is using notes to kill

Had to abandon what I taught just to pretend you matched my skills

With all the feds in the world, you’d still depend on my brain

I’m sure your task force just adores you till you let em get slain

Your feds are good for pawns at most, I can use them to get close

But my main team stays protected even when I’m a ghost

I even showed my face to Kira to end his reign of terror

You’re the coward to my martyr, saved by Mikami’s error

Trade your own team, your soul, disrespect your predecessor

Years of genocide, just to become Kira’s successor

GreatfulGoy

Con #4

Beat to Loop

Main R1/R2 references explained

Further lyric explanations in comment #10, please read them.

Let's clear something up a minute, this mixed race Jap says he is British,

Let's establish I'm a purebred, shit it's as if he can't figure out what he really is, no wonder he's so skittish,

A quarter Japanese, Russia, French or Italian

only at most a quarter English

Mongrel boy, I got your tonsils? oi? Why'd you move to Japan lil bitch if you dont identify with it?

I'm pale 'cause of my DNA, you're pale 'cause you don't get sunlight... so quit it,

Shut the fuck up with wokeness, orphaned mystery ethnicity boy, puzzle for the puzzle expert... How exquisite,

Is it a phase when you cuffed yourself to Light? Is it a sexuality or a momentary fetish?... When you had Light locked up for days did you want to pay a visit?

I think you suck and that you like it, on your knees, or squatting, on Light's D to be explicit,

Doesn't matter 'cause either way it's your broken heart that Kira finished.

You say I got albinism, guess the white King with the dark eye's got you dazed, diminished,

You call me Nate, call me Near, I'm N and you're queer, take the L you were born to be, bitch, you're busy downing ice cream while I nibble on this spinach.

Understand this, it's simple, you live for the fans I live for the victory,

You were simply Watari's first, I annihilated all others that remained when Roger picked me,

You got Watari killed, so quit telling my army spilled blood, we both can see those were necessary, not that the risk had missed me,

You took risks for a thrill, bitch, gambled at will, some would say you were killed in action, I say you fell for well-deserved trickery,

Who the actual fuck hides their name and face for security, then invites over a major suspect... Didn't solve the mystery,

Merely, passed hard bit to me. And dont you ever mention Mello, he and I made history, we solved got your ethnically mysterious anus blistery,

Oh wait, you're a tennis champion... Jock-brained dork, I solved the case, not one clue missed me.

Round 3

3 of 3

Savant Administrator

Pro #5

Voters, remember to read the linked annotations for all verses in order to understand all references properly, per the rules

Beat to loop

Lyric Explanations/Annotations

I can see that you get angry when I get in your head

It’s more emotion here than when you saw your task force dead

I’m East Asian migrant income, your ledger is pure red

You say that you’re purebred, while I’m making pure bread

I gamble and win, my stock profits fund you

Keep enemies close, but I don’t have a Ratt in my crew

You’re so inferior, the only way that you didn’t die

Was by being so unimpressive that Light didn’t try

I die for my fans, for victory, you’re out for yourself

You can’t annihilate any rivals without Kira’s help

Sending you out on your own was like Roger’s last choice

I’ll stay jock-brained, you play with age 14-up toys

From my death, Watari’s, and Light’s to the fake rule on thirteen days

Gods of death keeping you relevant is your whole resume

I got bars and you don’t, just like it’s locking up Light

Musically my meter’s above you, like canon height

Little mini-fake-me acts like he doesn’t miss clues

You’re so unwoke you were asleep till they were handed to you

My team is interns to me, but you still rely on my cops

You need the team I picked to outsmart some paper in a watch

From a pool of six billion, I got two Kiras correct

So you could find Yagami from a pool of one suspect

You’re just forgotten, no history made’s what you get for hiding

Had to control Mikami just to see your name put in writing

I stopped a world war when I was just your age minus five

You’re so below me that you were useless when I was alive

My sole addition is a conviction to every campaign

I’m sorry that you can’t burn calories by using your brain

But I’ll give credit, you’re the only one who scared Light straight

He didn’t call out for his girls till he saw your face

And I’m the one all your successors want to be growing up

So go ahead and brag that Light doesn’t love you, cause no one does

GreatfulGoy

Con #6

Beat to Loop

References laid out/explained

Waa waa, N is angry when he replied, baa baa black sheep fell, Watari died,

Ooh, Ah, Shingami enters, L resides in whatever Hell awaits the scum that's tarred by pride,

Who the fuck cares how many more love you, you're dead, you misplayed knight,

I'm the white King, frightening as I play Jeckyll to Mello's Hyde,

I utilise the Shinigami in a chess game, alright,

You're the cunt the female fucked up, I'm the cunt even big dick Ryuk dont wanna fight,

You're the runt of the litter, suck up, you're the bark without the bite,

Watari fowt so sowwy fo' da autist orphan so da audience lapped up limelight,

I'm the darkness dwellin' knockin' the terror in the night.

Let this sink in, Jock-brained boffin, you're the actual felon's cock-boppin', wannabe concubine,

I'm Sherlock 'n' Mycroft's god-son you're givin' sloppy top while layin' every team member's life on the line,

Kira's honorary bottom, cleanin' his feet, flip-floppin' rain droppin' as you're dying,

I'm a lion with enforcement, I'm a stalker, bidin' time, I'm the eagle above peope you mistook as yours or mine,

The fans are not loyal to you, they celebrate you 'cause you're so pathetic, you're potassium where I'm iron,

They overlook what they mistook as too perfect a robot mind, I'm literally too damn tough 'n' smart for any to relate to, that's my crime,

Not that you solve 'em anymore, you corpse, your suspect's not wasting taxpayer's dime,

Don't worry it's legal, people, blame it on the circumstance, whatever helps you deal with that I cross the finish-line in record time,

There's winners and there's losers, and you had the whole alphabet and take L, that's sublime

There's black eyes and there's bruises and your ego got all sorts, let's cut you and squeeze lime,

I'm the one too Near, the River filled with blood of many who mistook my strategy games as pantomime,

I'm the great ole' Nate, the one who made Light's very last checkmated sound heard sirens.

SatanLucy

#71

Yeah, I am not voting because I dont feel like I can accurately weigh impacts here. Rhyme I already said who likely won there. As for impacts, there are too many of them for me to measure anything. This isnt like debate where debaters respond to arguments, but its more like gish gallop debate where each ignores arguments of another, plus I didnt read this manga till end, so even if I had a will to produce a vote here, I likely wouldnt have the knowledge. Its best if this rap battle is decided by someone who actually watched the series.

Savant Administrator

#70

--> @GreatfulGoy

Ok fine, I guess I overreacted. I just saw it that way because the things you were discussing were similar to what SatanLucy indicated was going to influence his vote.

GreatfulGoy

#69

I had this battle to defend Ns honour. Why cant we discuss it in the comment?

GreatfulGoy

#68

--> @Savant

Wtf? We are talking about the characters? Go report it to your colleagues.

SatanLucy

#67

--> @Savant

No, I am not a voter, and these are just comments, my opinion on the series. Anyone who votes is of course expected to ignore all these comments, and anyone who votes based on comments should get his vote removed if those voting standards still apply.

Savant Administrator

#66

--> @GreatfulGoy

Come on dude, you're clearly trying to sway a voter at this point outside of the arguments proper.

GreatfulGoy

#65

I agree. N would have done the same bait as L did anyway (at first) but have not taken the further risks L did in the same way, I predict. Plus N used allies very well, including the entire available police force at his disposal. L had this narcissism where he had to do it himself and couldn't include others.

SatanLucy

#64

The fact that he started using notebook in Japan and also in his close location first was actually quite a retarded move. Then trying to kill L only to get baited to reveal his approximate location even more. Guy literally was retarded. L wasn't really as skilled, he was just taking advantage of his opponent not knowing even basics and only learning them after it was too late.

SatanLucy

#63

--> @GreatfulGoy

"Most fans dont agree"

It's different when someone is a fan, I guess. I am not even a fan. It's just manga I bought on discount, thought it was great, then I read a bit and at point Yagami started killing women and innocent people, I just quit. It's sort of a psychopath manga but lacking many elements of usual psychopaths. Yagami was just insane retard. The fact that it took someone few days to find his close location is quite retarded, but that was product of him using notebook in most retarded possible way. Everything after that was basically just forced chess moves. And L was just quite skilled at baiting him, but not exactly some relatable character.

GreatfulGoy

#62

--> @SatanLucy

I agree. Most fans dont agree.

N was 3x the overall detective L was. L was a savant at tactical guesswork and baiting.

SatanLucy

#61

--> @GreatfulGoy

"L is the cute detective you love for being hapless"

I mean, he is a bit cute, but his personality is annoying. I have entire collection of Death Note, and I never made it past few volumes because the story is so terrible it's insane. It's difficult for me to follow a story in which I don't like any character. L is interesting at start, but as time goes on, he becomes a lot less cute very quickly.

GreatfulGoy

#60

L is the cute detective you love for being hapless despite his apparent savant blessing in detective intelligence.

N is the outcast detective you envy and dislike for being flawlessly ingenious across all facets of strategy.

The 'you' in this comment is the typical self-hating, loser-rooting simpleton watching weeb shows.

The 'you' you should strive to be is the one that realises that L and N were and admires N correctly what one holds L with disdain for the ridiculous level of risks the savant took.

GreatfulGoy

#59

Savant Administrator

#58

--> @SatanLucy

Won't be offended if you vote a tie or for Greatful. But would love to see your thoughts as a vote, especially if you do go through with making it a rap.

SatanLucy

#57

--> @Savant

You both did well. I am not sure if I will vote on this, because I am undecided.

Savant Administrator

#56

--> @GreatfulGoy, @SatanLucy

If we want to be pedantic, the first syllable in spinach is stressed, so you wouldn't typically rhyme it on only the second syllable. I only say this cause the convo has been going on so long, but I would generally hesitate to be having these kind of convos with voters before they vote. Beyond saying something like "make sure you read the annotations and are fair to both sides." I also think the door was opened partially by Lucy making comments on judgments before posting a vote, which I would generally discourage due to this kind of thing.

GreatfulGoy

#55

bitch does rhyme with spinach.

SatanLucy

#54

Perfect (True) Rhyme: Words with matching sounds in their stressed syllables and any following sounds (e.g., light and night).

SatanLucy

#53

Yeah, bitch doesn't rhyme with spinach either, but I guess at least as a slant rhyme it's somewhat closer.

GreatfulGoy

#52

--> @SatanLucy

I won't ask AI. AI is inferior to me.

minute, British,

shit it's ... (real)ly is, skittish,

English

lil bitch if with it?

quit it,

mystery ethnicity exquisite,

Is it (sexual)ity (moment)tary fetish?... did you... visit?

think you D to be explicit,

Kira finished.

(al)binis(m), King with (dim)inished,

be, bitch, spinach.

SatanLucy

#51

But first ask AI, so I dont have to use AI to correct your posts.

SatanLucy

#50

--> @GreatfulGoy

sure

GreatfulGoy

#49

--> @SatanLucy

want me to lay it out for you?

SatanLucy

#48

Well, I am not sure if AI knows how words actually sound like, but anyway. I know I didnt feel a rhyme there when I was reading. Even if its actually a slant rhyme (not perfect rhyme), its too spaced out to be felt. There are like 5 or 6 sentences between finished, diminished and spinach.

SatanLucy

#47

--> @Savant

I mean, slant rhyme is by definition an imperfect rhyme, but AI doesnt tell me its strong in that either.

"They share some similar sounds, especially the short “i” sounds and the final consonant-like endings, but their stressed vowels and ending sounds differ.
Verdict: A loose slant rhyme at best, not a strong or perfect rhyme"

Savant Administrator

#46

--> @SatanLucy

It's a slant rhyme. I used slant rhymes as well. I would typically pronounce it "spin-ich"

SatanLucy

#45

Also, word "finish" wasnt even used there, but word "finished". So that only rhymes with spinach if you say "spinished" for spinach.

SatanLucy

#44

"Finish and much more rhymes with spinach"

AI says no, unless your accent is "finich" or "spinish".

GreatfulGoy

#43

Finish and much more rhymes with spinach

It may be your bosnian accent, genuinely. Try to read it as an american would.

SatanLucy

#42

I even asked AI just to confirm, does Manson rhyme with plankton? AI says no.

"Iron" maybe partially rhymes with "lion", but its spaced out so much that upon reading, that rhyme simply isnt felt.

And I have no idea what possibly rhymes with spinach there.

LancelotDuLac

Criterion	Pro	Tie	Con
Winner

Reason:

Regardless of what anyone says, L is the superior character hands down.
I tried to compare beats, but I'm tone-deaf, so I couldn't decide which beat I liked more.

Savant had the superior references and quantity of jabs.
The rhyme structure was easier to understand and much simpler.
Savant's rapping was more like prose that used a lot of rhymes. Grateful's rapping followed a more traditional style of rap, that had a more poetic structure. Grateful's disses were more aggressive and personal. The setup and punchlines from Grateful were also superior. Rhyming was equal on both sides, but the flow and jokes were just better from Con's side.

Both did a great job, however.

whiteflame Global Moderator

Criterion	Pro	Tie	Con
Winner

Reason:

Alright, always feel a little weird voting on these because they're largely vibes, though given how much went into explaining each round, I can at least provide some details.

I think Con found his rhythm by the end. That final round had some of the best disses, and I really enjoyed some of the rhyme schemes. I think he was largely outplayed on the reference front, which in part comes down to just how much detail Pro went into on that front, though I spotted a lot of it. There was just more diversity to what Pro covered, and while I can't say his disses are quite as strong, they do hit more often over the course of this rap battle than Con's. I'd say that's largely what makes the difference. Both sides had good attention to detail, and while I think Con found some fascinating points of attack, Pro's consistency and theming were generally stronger.

Definitely one of my favorite rap battles to date, great job to both of you!

SatanLucy

Criterion	Pro	Tie	Con
Winner

Reason:

This is just to counter a clearly insufficient vote cast before me. Hopefully third vote will be of quality.

GajarMooli

Criterion	Pro	Tie	Con
Winner

Reason:

It seems that Pro was writing a free style poem for an exam

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

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