I apologize, xThe Vampire Armandx, for somewhat using your thread-naming technique. I just found it very clever.

Anyway, I really wanted to start a thread for Matsuda, because a lot of the people I know look down on him, but I believe he is a very interesting character. Matsuda, to me, seemed intelligent in the way that he viewed Kira. Although he thought that Kira was a murderer, and simply for that needed to be apprehended, he also understood why Kira was doing what he did and agreed with it without letting it interfere with his work on catching Kira. That was always something about Matsuda I had particularly liked. How, even though he knew that Kira was only trying to better society, and even though he agreed with that to some extent, was able to also always remember that Kira was a killer, and it was his duty to capture him. Another reason I love Matsuda is that though he was ever portrayed as the fool, I believe he ended ended up being one of the strongest people there in the end. Matsuda was one of, if not the only, person in the force who didn't suspect Light as being Kira. He didn't believe it whatsoever. Personally, I could never put that much trust in someone, but that's because I'm a suspicious person. But anyway, the one guy who put the most faith, the most trust in Raito, Matsuda,

~*Spoilers to the max! No, seriously, spoilerrific!*~

...and he's the one who's beliefs were strong enough to allow him to pull the trigger, at least that's how I see it. While at first he could never accept Raito as Kira, when it came all down to it, he did what he had to do while the others stood by watching. While those who suspected Raito as being Kira (Aizawa, Ide...etc.) stood by in shock right there at the end while Raito attempted to kill Nate, Matsuda, the one who trusted Raito, was the one who was able to pull out his gun and try to stop Raito. He, who doubted the others' suspicion, was the one who shot him. To me, that was one of the most amazing feats in Death Note history. It proved the stuff about Matsuda I knew, suspected, all along. But a lot of people say that it's only because of Matsuda's impulsive nature that he did it, but not because he was stronger than anyone else. But I think that even Matsuda's impulses had reasons. For example, when Matsuda broke into the Yotsuba building on an impulse, he only did it because he felt that he was no help to the other investigators, as they were always bashing him. Sure, it wasn't the smartest decision, but, as no one was really trusting him, he was only trying to do what he could to help, even if it was a bit foolish. I think, though, that had people not been constantly calling him an idiot and belittling him, he would have never done it. I'm not saying that I don't see why they didn't let him take on bigger jobs, only that Matsuda does do things for a reason. And it must have really hurt to find out that the person Matsuda trusted the most was Kira all along. It must have been really difficult to pull the trigger on Raito. Yet, it was him who did it, not those who suspected him. It was him, not anyone else. That, to me, definitely shows a strong will, and beliefs. Combine that with what I said about how he thought of Kira, and I don't think that Matsuda's so bad after all, but perhaps the opposite. But, what do you all think?

Uh....seriously, if you read all of that, AND you respond...you deserve a medal, or something. Or at least some appreciation, and a response from me. ^^

I can wholeheartedly say that I agree 100 percent with you, MoonlitLupine.

Matsuda does not get enough appreciation, in both the series or by fans. It annoys me when people fails to look past the outer shell of a person ... forgetting or never seeing the inner shell ... the true person. They take first impressions to the extreme and live by them. The same is said for Matsuda. He was first introduced as a young, naive and brash detective, however, as the series progresses we see him grow and mature, I feel at least. He expresses various different emotions ... emotions that are all too real and can be related to. However, no one can see that. He's just the bumbling idiot. I mean, I was looking for fiction about Matsuda and all I could find was stories about how much of an idiot he is (which are amusing, I'll agree), but that's about it. I think there are only a small handful of stories out there that capture the true Matsuda.

In addition to what MoonlitLupine said before ... Matsuda was the one to shoot Light. Was it just a impulsive move? When we are put under extreme cases of stress do we just act purely on impulse and not think ... or do our brains take full control and tell our body what is needed to know ... what we have always known and believed but did not want to act upon. Our brains tell our body to eat because the food provides us with strength we need ... it knows what we need to do, what we need to hear. I have known many people to actually work to their fullest capabilities when they are stressed. Sometimes stress can really help us deal with tough situations. Stress changes our bodies quickly and helps us react to an emergency. A little stress keeps us alert and helps us work harder. Maybe the same goes for Matsuda ... he knows what he has to do in the end. His trust in Light was thrown out the window ... he acted ... his brain was in control.

Overall, Matsuda showed and proved one thing in the series. That he is human ... nothing more, nothing less.

Yes. While he may not be a genius, he is a pure hearted soul that makes mistakes. It's not his fault he's not as intelligent as Raito is.

At least he has his keep of sanity.

You summed up human impulses beautifully, Bexi. And, rereading the end of Death Note right now, I realize that it was even all the more difficult for Matsuda, because I'm looking at the picture again and I've only now realized that Matsuda's crying. Just by that picture I think it becomes all the more apparent that his impulse, or his decision, was definitely affected by several strong emotions, and, in his mind, shooting Light was probably the best course. I think that this picture is saying that although Matsuda completely trusted Light, he truly realized where his duty and his beliefs lie in the end- and that was as someone who risked his life to stop Kira. Matsuda may not have always made what some would call "the wisest choice" but he was by no means a fool. He felt that he was able to fully express his opinions on Kira to the other force members, while letting it become evident that when it came down to it, he knew what Kira was in his eyes- a criminal. He didn't let the decisions of the world base his opinion, rather he based his own opinions off what were facts. Sure, he wasn't the one who was always able to figure out what was going on, but at least when he did know, he tried to help in every way he could, even knowingly risking his own life, which no one should call him selfish for if he got a bit shaken up by the idea. He was, in a word, a lot more brave then people realized. It wasn't foolishness, but an impulsive bravery that made Matsuda who he was, and that was someone who knew where he stood, and exactly where his loyalties were.

On a side note: One thing about Matsuda, though, that I never understood (I don't mean "never liked" but something I can't relate to) is how he could put complete trust in another. I'm very closed and suspicious, yet Matsuda always felt that he could trust people enough to tell them everything that was on his mind, trust them enough to believe them when he was risking his life to help him out...I could never be that way. But then, even though he did trust others so much, Matsuda was able to know what to do when they did betray them, which is definitely admirable. I mean, it's great that he can trust people, yet stick with his own convictions when they turned around and betrayed him, which is something that I'm to weak in various ways to do. So I not only like Matsuda for who he is, I think that I can say I admire his qualities, as well. Just an extra thought about Matsuda I think I'd throw in.

But in short: While you can agree with my previous post 100%, Bexi, I, too, can say that I agree absolutely with yours, and I thank you for your well thought-out reply. It's very nice to know that not every "intelligent" person views Matsuda as a fool.

"Yes. While he may not be a genius, he is a pure hearted soul that makes mistakes. It's not his fault he's not as intelligent as Raito is."- thexamimi

Yes, you're right, xamimi. Matsuda is indeed a pure hearted soul. He seems to genuinely care about others, what with the way he points out that the crime rate has gone down since Kira came around, but Kira is still a murderer. It does seem that Matsuda truly cares about other people. And if he didn't care about other people, why would he have stopped Light, who he also cared about, from killing Near? It's because, I believe, that although he liked Light, he knew what Kira was and when he found out that Light was Kira, I think that he didn't shoot out of a personal sense of betrayal, but out of concern for those around him. If he were shooting Light because he simply felt betrayed, he could have shot sooner, rather than wait until the point that he had tried to kill Near, although I suppose it could be said that he was "working up the courage." But I rather believe that, although he may have been working up the courage, he shot Light for trying to do away with Near, not because he felt betrayed by Light, although that may still have played some part in the decision. Well, I believe that however we look at it we can all agree that Matsuda did care about others, as well as make mistakes. But, like Bexi had said before, his mistakes only make us realize what Matsuda really was, simply human.

Many 'intelligent people', as you say, Lupine, may thin[k] 'gullible' and 'innocent' equals 'fool'. When they say 'fools rush in' (not referring to love or anything), it's likely they pertain to the time when Matsuda had shot Raito after finding out he was Kira.

I don't think that was foolish. It was an impulse. What would you do if there was an internationally known criminal that hid for six years standing there in front of your eyes? And you trusted that criminal for six years?

Hell would break loose. I'm surprised Aizawa didn't start shooting at Raito.

But, anyway, because Matsuda is so innocent-minded and easily puts his trust into everyone, everyone views him as a fool. He was optimistic around the tense investigation team and such. But, I don't think so. He was trying to make the place more...peaceful?

I guess when he wanted to be useful and ended up spying on the Yotsuba group that was when mostly everybody thought it was an idiotic thing to do.

I think out of the entire task force, Matsuda was the most human of everyone.

Sure, he got on people's nerves, but he was optimistic, and he wasn't overly rational.

You also see parts of him througout the series where he makes the satements that everyone is thinking (and don't deny it). Like questioning weather or not Kira was evil or not, and such.

I see Matsuda as an insightful human being, he's normal compared to the rest. Which is quite refreshing.

I think one of the main reasons why Matsuda was the one who shot Raito was that he was quite upset and shocked over the discovery that Raito was Kira. If I'm correct, Matsuda was Souichirou's partner in the initial investigations into Kira, and gradually grew close to him. Realising how disappointed Souichirou would have been when he found out that his son was the murderer they've been trying to catch all along, Matsuda reacted out of loyalty to Souichirou- something like, how could you do that to your own father? - and shot Raito first. And Souichirou died in the mistaken belief that Raito was innocent. Happy, but quite sad that it had to happen that way.

Matsuda doesn't think too far ahead of the consequences of his actions sometimes, so that's why he did what he did..

I think he was acting on instinct more then anything else. If a mass murder is standing 5 feet from you, you shoot them.

I'm sure Matsuda was vary loyal to Souichirou, and that relationship had some impact on the decision, but I think it had more to do with Matsuda's feelings for Raito. Matsuda really looked up to Raito, and respected him. Throughout the entire series you could see Matsuda having a soft spot for Raito.

Matsuda shooting Raito, I believe, had more to do with Matsuda acting on a feeling of personal betrayal, then loyalty to Raito's dad

I'm actually pretty certain that it is an even mixture of everything that caused Matsuda to act the way he did when he shot Light. I'm sure that Matsuda was loyal to Souichirou. For some reason I can picture those two having a close relationship ... almost father and son like. I mean, Souichirou seems very paternal ... do you remember the scene in the film where he placed a blanket over L's shoulders? I guess, what with Matsuda being so un-Light like (whoa, that sounds like one of the things from Zelda lol), and with the investigation team being in each others company contstantly throughout the Kira case, im certain there would have been times where Souichirou would have found a way to shed his fatherly light on Matsuda.

But back to what I was saying ... Matsuda may be rash but he is also dedicated and willing to do a lot for the case. Remember his "death"? I was actually impressed with the whole balancing act :D. Despite that though, he put the case first and knew what was right. He just gets rather emotional at times.

Also, back to what was said eariler about "inteligent" people. It really does not matter whether a person is inteligent or not ... what really matters and determinds opinions are the people themselves. Every single person out there is individual and have different views and various ways of expressing these views. So, it really is just a matter of opinion as to whether or not a person believes there is more to Matsuda than meets the eye. Having a different opinions does not make us any less human. Thats life.

Not everyone is going to appreciate his actions and ways. If they did, you might as well get rid of Light and L and centre Death Note on Matsuda and what he does in his free time lol.

ohhh, you make a fantastic point!

opinions are a result of the environment one grew up in. The people who inhabit it, and the things that happen, they all lead to the formation of ones opinions. A person could look at Matsuda and see a mindless idiot, while another could view him as a deep sensual young man. It's all a matter of the person

life is just a perception of your own reality.

Whatever people think of Matsuda, his presence in the investigation team provides more variety and amusement. If the entire team (including L) consists of boring, old men who are too serious to joke or play around, the show would be boring.

I agree. Matsuda does provide the team with more amusement, but I like to believe that he is more than just a comic relief character. However, no matter what task you're doing ... if it consists of team work then it is always best to have some relief. I mean, somtimes I purposely make an idiot of myself at work just to lighten the mood - doesn't mean I'm stupid. Sometimes it takes a lot to lighten a serious mood, especially one as serious as the Kira case. However, it comes easy to Matsuda - that screams skills and talent to me :D

Matsuda is very brave and an extremely strong individual. Even though the very Task Force he was working with kept referring to and thinking of him as an idiot, I really think none of them could have made it very far without him. And not just because of his spontaneity at Yotsuba, although that did help to move the investigation forward more than any of the members would have cared to admit.

Truth be told, I think Matsuda was the hope of the investigators. When things went wrong, when people died, when the outlook was darkest, Matsuda was still there with a smiling face and insurmountable determination. Even as the others wavered, at times considered giving in or believed that they lacked true usefulness to L, Matsuda never faltered, he only wondered what he could do to help more.

Although, like Lupine, I can't really fathom being able to trust someone as blindly as Matsuda does at times, I do find his faith in L and Light to be borderline inspirational as well. Think of it not so much as gullibility as loyalty, and it becomes more understandable. Matsuda is extremely loyal and caring, and I think that's why he was crying when he shot Light.

Light was Kira, Matsuda had believed in Light, trusted him, cared for him, and Light was Kira. I think Matsuda did feel betrayed, but I think he was also in shock, maybe feeling a little disbelief. Matsuda, who had always been so optimistic, who despite the horrors they had all faced had always been able to bounce back, always believed that together they could capture Kira and end the murders and live happily ever after... was suddenly faced with a darkness even he couldn't smile in the face of. The reality that there was no defeating Kira for them, because Kira had been their leader for a long time. The poor guy probably felt like the idiot everyone had accused him of being. The whole time, it was Light, and Matsuda had never suspected. I think he was in disbelief that anyone could be quite that evil. To have gone so far as to even kill their own father, a good man, just so that they could go on and keep killing more people. The fact that it was Light, who he'd believed in and liked, was like the final straw.

It was a terrible blow. And then Light compounded it by showing no remorse, and by trying to kill Near, despite the fact that at that point there was no way he could escape the situation. So Matsuda did what anyone with his incredible level of bravery would do in the face of such an attack: he hit back.

But yeah, this rant is getting way too long, so I think I'd better cut off there.

Short version: Matsuda's amazing. Light can really suck.

I think Matsuda is also one of the rarest characters you can find because of the way he trusts people. He trusts people completely and without questioning them, something that is amazingly rare in our time.

I also think that Light being Kira was a bigger betrayal to him than anyone on the Task Force because he was the only one who never thought Light was Kira. Even Light's father had some doubt in his mind that Light was Kira, until he died. Everyone was suspicious of Light, but Matsuda.

And I'll just end this now because I'm just going in circles.

^.^ i completely agree :D Matsu is my 3rd Fav. Character next to L then Mello~ :o i think Matsuda IS a rare character :3 his trust and loyalty is simply amazing D:

~On a side note~

No one really appreciates How Incredibly CUTE Matsuda is :3

Matsuda believed in Raito, and he really respected him.

Thats why Raito's death was more tragic, Matsuda shot him, and really, when Matsuda felt that betrayed......well I just felt all the more worse......

Kinda feel sorry for Matsuda,

but i love him

Thats why Raito's death was more tragic, Matsuda shot him, and really, when Matsuda felt that betrayed......well I just felt all the more worse......

Yeah, I felt really bad for Matsuda. He had all of his trust in Light and really believed that he wasn't Kira, but Light's crazy nutty **, tried to kill everyone with his blood using the Death Note. Then...Mastuda shot him. It was one of the saddest Death Note moments to me. -_- Even though we are having a somewhat sentimental moment here, I have to say......when Matsuda shot Light..I was cracking up. ^^'

Are you kidding me, it wasn't till after Raito's death that I felt like crying.

Through the whole thing, it was so over-dramatic that I was laughing my ** off.

It was extremely hilarious through the whole thing, yes. But what made me sad was when Light died on the stairs. I had to shed a tear on that one. But I was cheering when Matsuda shot Light I was like "Yey, Matsuda!"

I got mad at Matsuda initially, but after, I felt pride.

I'm sorry to bump this thread, but I had to comment, and I'll keep this short and sweet.

I really enjoyed reading the posts in this thread. It bugs me that so many Death Note fans downplay Matsuda, when really, he is a strong, insightful, trusting, loyal, and amazing character. All the posts in this thread were so on point and I nodded in agreement as I read them. It was Matsuda who shot Light in the end, it was Matsuda who risked his life more than once to move the investigation along, it was Matsuda who gave everyone hope (although the team never told him), and it was Matsuda who was strong enough to open up and share how he truly feels about Kira--understanding why Kira does what he does, while also remaining firm to his duty to capture him.

He's, in my opinion, the only completely good character.

Also, he seems to be the only one who sees Raito as a human, not a perfect little genius, a monster, or a god.

Ohhh Matsuda... he's like a breath of fresh air (that sounded slightly awkward). He's the kind of person that most not-genuis-type people identify with. We laugh at him, we grin and shake out head at his antics, and I'm sure we have all face palmed at him more than once, but really, we all love him or at least like him. He's like a lifeline to the outside of the shadowy business of investigating into the world of real people with real feelings, real thought processes, real embarassment... he's just real.

~SPOILER ZONE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ALL OF DEATH NOTE, BeWaRe!~

When Matsuda shoots Light.... complicated issue. Several explanations to that, like you said...

(1) realizing he was wrong the whole time, he decides that the only way to atone is to be the one who protects the investigation team (Near in particular) and kills Light.

(2) he realizes how wrong he is, and, hating himself so much, takes him anger out on Light, but still using that anger for a productive purpose (in other words he actually thought about it)

(3) acts on impulse because of his anger (same as 2 but not really thinking about it, more like instinct)

They're all likely, and ultimately have the same result, so it doesn't matter so much, but it's just fun to think about.

Personally, I think that it's probably not 3. The only reason Matsuda appears stupid is because he's surrounded by geniuses. If you put him in any other anime without genuises (Well L, Light, Lelouch type genuises) he'd seem pretty smart.

Now, after a short calculation we can figure out that that leaves two other options (some calculation XD), both similar, one has more to do with noble sentiments and the other has more to do with anger. When I put it that way, it seems that (1) is more likely, since noble sentiments can produce anger (anger at justice being defiled) but anger cannot produce noble feelings (generally). Matsuda's inner, noble core, grieved at his own folly, decided to atone for what he did wrong. (2) is basically the same thing, but, again, it's anger and not noble-ness driving him.

All things considered, Matsuda really is a pretty awesome character.

The only completely good character? As in morally good? Well, as far as a human can be morally good, what about L? Aizawa? Soichiro? Light's mom? Sayuko? OK the last two might be pushing it a bit since they're very minor characters but you know what I mean.

Mmm... I don't know. I think L views him as a human. Misguided human, yes, but not as a monster, god, or little genuis. Every other major character pretty much does except for maybe Aizawa and Ukita (who isn't really mentioned a lot).

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