Movie
Description
Jinpei Matsuda was a police officer affiliated with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. At the time of his death at the age of 26, he held the rank of Police Sergeant. His career began in the Mobile Unit's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, where he worked alongside his close friend and partner, Kenji Hagiwara. Following Hagiwara's death in a bombing incident, Matsuda's superiors, concerned that his personal desire for revenge would compromise his judgment, transferred him to the First Investigative Division's Violent Crimes unit. It was there that he was briefly partnered with Detective Miwako Sato.

Matsuda is characterized by a blunt, direct, and somewhat aloof demeanor, often speaking his mind without regard for others' opinions. He possesses a rebellious and hot-headed streak, which frequently led to conflicts with authority figures and peers during his youth and academy days. Despite this rough exterior, he has a strong sense of justice and demonstrates profound courage and professionalism under pressure. His personality has been described as a mix of a friendly Shiba Inu and a fierce Doberman, suggesting a hidden warmth beneath his prickly surface. His motivations are deeply rooted in his past; his father, a professional boxer, was falsely arrested, an event that destroyed his career and led him to alcoholism. This injustice initially fostered a deep grudge against the police, yet paradoxically, it also drove Matsuda to join the force.

In his role within the story, Matsuda primarily appears in flashbacks as a pivotal figure in Miwako Sato's past. A week into his transfer to her division, the serial bomber who killed his partner resurfaced. The bomber placed an explosive device inside a Ferris wheel gondola at an amusement park. When Matsuda entered the gondola to disarm it, he was trapped. The bomber revealed a second, much larger bomb hidden elsewhere in the city, and stated that the location would be displayed on the Ferris wheel bomb's screen only three seconds before its detonation. Choosing to sacrifice himself to save countless innocent lives, Matsuda waited until the final moments to read the location, then sent a text message with the information to Sato seconds before the explosion.

His key relationships are central to his legacy. His friendship with Kenji Hagiwara, who taught him mechanics, was a defining bond, and he continued to send messages to his deceased friend's phone long after his death. His relationship with Miwako Sato is the most significant. Although she initially found him cold, they grew close during their short time as partners, and she fell in love with him. His final text to her ended with a confession of his feelings, a message she kept on her phone for three years as a memento of her lost love. He also attended the police academy with Rei Furuya (also known as Amuro Tooru), Wataru Date, and Hiromitsu Morofushi. Despite initially clashing with Furuya, they became close friends, and Furuya later revealed that he learned how to defuse bombs from Matsuda.

Matsuda is depicted as an exceptionally skilled individual. He was a proficient boxer, a skill taught to him by his father. His mechanical aptitude is extraordinary; he could fix cars, disassemble and repair firearms, and rebuild a cell phone in a matter of hours. As a member of the bomb squad, his core ability was dismantling explosives, which he could reportedly accomplish in under three minutes. His calmness under life-or-death pressure also speaks to his sharp reasoning skills, as he successfully deduced the bomber's riddle to find the Ferris wheel and chose to sacrifice himself to obtain the clue for the second bomb. His death left a lasting impact on the characters who knew him, particularly Sato, who eventually finds closure by solving the case and deleting his final message, though she vows never to forget him.