 | Did you know that Death Note's Touta Matsuda has made it into the urban dictionary? I didn't. A right Matsuda apparently is someone 'endearing inept' at their job, who 'tries too hard' yet only makes things worse. This according to the on-line listing of items in the common lexicon that most official dictionaries leave out. The example given by Urban Dictionary being: Person A: How's the new guy doing? Person B: I dunno, man, he's a real Matsuda. All inspired by Death Note's youngest, most eager yet inexperienced police officer, who comes good in the end. (Assuming, of course, that you agree with his disdain of Light's claim to divinity, and can condone the multiple shooting of a preternaturally armed man with avowed intent to kill. On both sides.) |
However, it's this very Matsuda who carries the final judgement against Kira in the tides decreed by Near; and the 'inept' officer's impetuous daring with the Yotsuba Group gave L the breakthrough there that he needed; not to mention another swift bit of Touta sharp shooting in the Mafia den saw Soichiro's life prolonged (albeit briefly) with Mello fleeing bereft of his Death Note and all alone; plus all the random, workaday instances of bravery, loyalty, duty and query against the will and supposed wisdom of his peers (always a more courageous path than running with the herd).
Given all that - do you think the enduring impression left in Urban Dictionary's mark against Matsuda is fair?
In fact, was it even enduring? That entry was written in 2010. Did it last?
Given all that - do you think the enduring impression left in Urban Dictionary's mark against Matsuda is fair?
In fact, was it even enduring? That entry was written in 2010. Did it last?
Matsuda Bakayarou! - Death Note Matsuda Meme
Much more famous than Matsuda's Urban Dictionary entry is the Matsuda, You Idiot! Meme. This one spread across the world and caused lawsuits in the process.
It all began with the airing of that final confrontation scene in Japan. As Kira and Near faced off across the floor of the Yellow Box warehouse, things turned angry, then violent. Next thing you know, Matsuda's firing a bullethole into Light's hand and that infamous cry comes within a twisting, contorted expression of pain, 'Matsuda Bakayarou!'
That's variously translated into English as 'Matsuda, you fool!', 'idiot', or else something much stronger in its expletive. As soon as it was heard in Japan, the meme began. That was June 26th 2007, when Matsuda shot Light and the like of this took the world by storm:
It all began with the airing of that final confrontation scene in Japan. As Kira and Near faced off across the floor of the Yellow Box warehouse, things turned angry, then violent. Next thing you know, Matsuda's firing a bullethole into Light's hand and that infamous cry comes within a twisting, contorted expression of pain, 'Matsuda Bakayarou!'
That's variously translated into English as 'Matsuda, you fool!', 'idiot', or else something much stronger in its expletive. As soon as it was heard in Japan, the meme began. That was June 26th 2007, when Matsuda shot Light and the like of this took the world by storm:
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Shooting Down the Matsuda Bakayaloid on NND
| However, all these edits using segments of the Death Note anime did not go unnoticed by VAP - a subsidiary of Nippon - who owned the copyright on it at the time. In June 2009, a cease and desist notice served on Niconico (NND) - Japan's biggest video hosting service - lead to thousands of 'Matsuda, bakayarou!' meme clips being taken down. Some of those had been top ranking videos for some time, not merely within the genre, but across the whole site. VAP has continued to closely monitor and act upon violations to this day. But NND did fight back. Suddenly the meme was renamed Bakayaloid, formed of a conjunction between 'bakayarou' and 'vocaloid'. The latter being the computer software most were using to make the edits in the first place. Unfortunately, VAP staff weren't that daft. Despite a renewed surge in Matsuda, you idiot! videos, they were soon all gone again under the auspices of legal notices, and the company still keenly shoots down any Bakayaloid which has seen the light of cyber day since. The momentum of the meme ceased amidst the Japanese. Not in the rest of the world though, where YouTube continues to blithely host any Bakayaloid you care to upload. |  Still Matsuda Bakayarou by Raka Lee |
