Matt

Matt (マット, Matto), real name Mail Jeevas (pronouced Mile) (マイル・ジバス, Mairu Jibasu), was Mello's accomplice and friend from Wammy's House, and was considered the third most talented member of the orphanage. He first appears in Chapter 83 (Volume 10, page 70) of the manga, and in episode 35 of the anime.



History
Matt is first seen in the manga as Mello's accomplice in spying Misa Amane, and later, Mogi and Aizawa. After letting his guard down, he lost track of them and eventually follows Mello to Japan in their pursuit. He is only seen again during Takada's kidnapping, where he distracts her bodyguards with a smoke gun, allowing Mello to kidnap her. After some time, he gets cornered by the bodyguards and is shot multiple times after surrendering. In the anime he hid a gun inside the back of his shirt which he tried to take out. A total of twenty four bullets went into his body. The bodyguards later state that they never intended on bringing him in alive because of their belief and loyalty to Kira, claiming that Matt wouldn't reveal anything about the kidnapping and that death the only punishment for Matt's crimes. Mello later sees the news of his death broadcast on TV, and apologizes for having gotten Matt killed.

Later in the manga, a TV broadcast reports that his identity is unknown, and that the bodyguards were forced to shoot because he was showing a dangerous and aggressive behaviour, even though he surrendered peacefully.

Concept


According to How to Read, Matt enjoys video games and is not outgoing. He also seems to be a chain smoker, using his last breath to smoke his cigarette. He is also directly behind Near and Mello in succeeding L.

Ohba said that he created Matt because when Mello started to act alone Ohba believed that he would find difficulty in advancing the story unless Mello had a character to interact with. Ohba said that to a reader Matt may appear to play video games and have no other actions, but he said that Matt's existence was "important" in the story. In response to a question inquiring which characters the creators had the most difficulty creating, Ohba cited Matt and said "I didn't even know what kind of person he was!"

Obata said that he did not receive advance notice towards Matt, who had the character concept of "a young man who loves gaming and doesn't really care much about the world." Obata said that he remembered seeing the thumbnails and asking his editor "Who's this character?!" The thumbnails gave Matt a bowl haircut and goggles; Obata instead drew "what he liked". Obata added that he could "create Matt naturally" as he had a "he probably won't do much" mentality regarding characters introduced in the Near and Mello arc.

Matt's appearance was a total of 18 panels in the manga (spread out over chapters 83-87 and 98-99) and two episodes in the anime, though only for a few minutes, in a non-speaking cameo in episode 32 and a speaking role in episode 35 (where the events of Takada's kidnapping and his death was depicted).



It is later revealed that Matt's real name is Mail Jeevas. Fans sometimes refer to him as M² for the fact that his name also starts with M and he's second after Mello, who is the first M.

Trivia

 * Matt is the only one of the best known Wammy Boys that Linda didn't draw.
 * Matt is also one of the few characters in Death Note to admit out loud that Misa is "cute", but this only happens in the manga during the time he was instructed to keep an eye on her.
 * In the anime and manga, Matt is left handed.
 * He resembles the facial features of Matsuda.
 * Matt, Weddy, Demegawa and Ukita are the only characters in the series shown to smoke. (Note: the scene in which Ukita smokes wasn't shown in the anime)
 * Matt used his last breath to take a puff of his cigarette.
 * In the anime, Matt's car is a red 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 450; the epitome of the American sportscar.
 * Despite being a minor character with few appearances, Matt is one of the most popular characters of the series.
 * Matt was made so Mello wouldn't be lonely.