Ohba describes Matsuda as a "very simple guy" easily used in the story. Some fellow task force members even refer to him as an idiot, including L and Light. Matsuda is very useful as a character because he acts only on his emotions, which according to Ohba is "probably" why he survives. Despite working to capture Kira, Matsuda admits that he is not entirely sure whether or not the death of criminals is such a bad thing, though he does not let it get in the way of his work; even in the epilogue of the manga he still struggles with determining whether or not he did the right thing in siding with Near. This trait was given to him because Ohba felt that any group would have at least one individual who supports Kira to help balance it. Obata described Matsuda as "hard to predict and thus hard to draw." Obata felt that Matsuda's character concept consisted of an "average young detective", and that because Matsuda's character was not unique and his actions were not consistent, something Obata sees in himself, he did not like the character or how it pointed out his "own inconsistency." Obata described Matsuda as the sole character who "looks younger" during the Near and Mello arc. His birthday is December 14, 1978.