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"Mature Content!" |
| “ | I don't need two or three days. Let me do it! | „ |
| ~ Matsuda accepts L's plan to arrest Higuchi even if this would risk his life. |
| “ | Matsuda: What was it all for, then? What about your dad?! What the hell did he die for?! Light: My dad...? You mean Soichiro Yagami? That's right, Matsuda. In this world, all those earnest people like him who fight for justice, they always lose. You want a world where people like that are made to be fools?! I know you understand, so kill the others! SHOOT THEM! Matsuda: You led your own father to his death...and now he's gone, you call him a FOOL?! |
„ |
| ~ Matsuda confronts Light at gunpoint over him being Kira. |
Touta Matsuda is a major antagonist of the Death Note manga and anime series. He is the youngest and the most inexperienced member of the Japanese Task Force and NPA, being amongst a few officers involved in the Kira investigation, aiming to arrest Kira and put an end to his mass murders in Japan and around the world, though his reckless attitude and lack of policing sometimes hinder the investigation, getting him into some sticky situations, much to the annoyance of his co-workers.
In the anime, he is voiced by Ryō Naitō in Japanese, and Vincent Tong in English.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Good?[]
- After 12 FBI agents sent to Japan were killed by Kira, many officers resigned out of fear for their lives, but Matsuda and four others remained; as even L points out, this shows he has a "strong sense of justice".
- When Ukita is killed during a broadcast of Kira's messages, Matsuda expresses horror and shock.
- When Light and Misa get rid of their memories of the Death Note, he is the main one to defend Light's innocence and insist he is not Kira (which he actually wasn't at the time).
- He, upon being called an idiot too many times, snaps and tries harder to become helpful in the investigation, deciding to head to the building of the Yotsuba Group (in which new Kira is among) to overhear information. He also proposes Misa to appear in their commercials to pose as their alibi.
- He manages to contact L, who gets him to fall off the building and fake his death to escape. With his return, he successfully gives them information regarding the investigation.
- When L points that the plan to capture Higuchi would risk Matsuda's life and gives him three days to consider, he accepts the plan without a second thought.
- He plays a major role in capturing Kyosuke, appearing on Sakura TV and lying he will reveal Kira's identity and face. Higuchi heads to kill Matsuda but is caught by L and the police, leading to the Death Note being discovered.
- He expressed grief when L and Soichiro died.
- Despite Near presenting evidence Light is Kira, Matsuda still respects Light too much to believe it.
- During the confrontation at the warehouse, when Light is exposed as Kira, Matsuda, feeling betrayed and heartbroken, is not persuaded by Light's final speech, and just as Light is about to kill Near, Matsuda shoots him, saving Near's life.
- He is enraged that Light (even if accidentally) caused his own father to die and claimed that he "died like a fool", proceeding to shoot Light multiple times as he tries to kill Near again.
- In the manga, as Light is killed by Ryuk, Matsuda still expresses sympathy for him before Aizawa tells him to stop.
- In the manga, despite Light's actions, Matsuda still seems to regret his death, even saying to Ide that he's not sure if they did the right thing, the global crime rate returned to what it was before Light became Kira.
- In the manga, he is seen befriending the new member of the Task Force, Yamamoto.
- In the anime, when Light uses the commotion caused by Mikami's suicide to escape, Matsuda and the other Task Force members, out of pity/concern that Light will bleed out and die instead of facing the law, defy Near's orders to leave him for dead, and give chase.
- He tried to stop the selling of the Death Note that was being announced on Sakura TV, wanting to avoid it getting used to kill others.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Good?[]
- He shows too much lethality to be Pure Good:
- He is a proponent of the death penalty, stating that Kira should be executed in secret if he could not be convicted. While being a proponent of the death penalty is not explicitly corrupting as that is merely a belief, he also says that Mello and the mafia deserve to die for their crimes, and even volunteers to make the eye deal so he can kill them.
- He states that the people online giving names to Kira are the ones who deserve to be killed by him, though this is only one line so it's a minor prevention.
- He's the only member of the task force who tacitly supports Near's idea of writing Mello's name in the Death Note (even at the risk of Near dying from the 13-day rule), citing that Mello was responsible for Soichiro's death, though he merely says he wouldn't object to Near doing it as opposed to really wanting to.
- He initially did shoot Light to save Near, but after Light is on the ground and physically defenseless, he runs at Light with murderous intent and rage, in spite of Light no longer being a threat, and he would've succeeded if the other Task Force members didn't stop him. However, this is a minor prevention because it's hard to feel any sympathy for Light after everything he's done as he became an irredeemable monster.
- He is very conflicted about Kira throughout the story and even shows some level of support for Kira at multiple points. These include:
- Bringing up that crime was decreasing since Kira begun killing in one of the task forces first meetings, to Soichiro Yagami.
- In chapter 75, Matsuda states he can’t see Kira as ‘completely evil’ and thinks Kira has made the world a better place for the ‘weak and earnest’.
- Understanding and agreeing with Kira’s threat to start mass killing lazy people, saying ‘that’s the way people should be…’, with his only issue being the practicality of killing lazy people in the first place.
- Even after Light’s mask slips and Light dies in front of the task force, Matsuda remains conflicted and asks Ide if they really did the right thing.
- When a new Kira, nicknamed C Kira (or cheap Kira) appears, Matsuda states that C Kira can help many problems in Japan, such as the aging population, declining birth rate and pension problems. This one shot takes place after the original events of Death Note.
- In Ryuk’s ‘human observation diary’, he lists Matsuda as a Kira supporter and part of the ‘God squad’, labelling Matsuda as someone who supports Kira because he stands up for the weak. While this is only Ryuk’s opinion, he had been observing Light and therefore likely saw a lot of Matsuda for 6 years, given Light led the task force Matsuda worked for, and the reasoning he states for Matsuda supporting Kira echoes similar points to Matsuda’s speech in chapter 75.
- When Light cheats on Misa Amane with Kiyomi Takada, Matsuda makes constant jokes about it and being jealous of Light’s situation, despite believing Light is two-timing rather than merely being with Takada for the Kira investigation. What makes this worse is that Misa and Matsuda were on good terms too, being friends with each other.
Trivia[]
- Matsuda is the only Death Note Near Pure Good who sufficiently pass the admirable standard of the series.
External Links[]
- Touta Matsuda on the Heroes Wiki
- Touta Matsuda on the Death Note Wiki
- Touta Matsuda on the Love Exalted Wiki
- Touta Matsuda on the Excellent Eejit Wiki
- Touta Matsuda on the Ensemble Dark Horse Wiki
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 Near Pure Goods
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Japanese Task Force Special Provision for Kira Others | ||