Even though most people find him annoying, he proved himself to be more than comic relief in the final chapters. He mustered enough the courage to shoot Light twice faster than all of the other people in the warehouse saving Near's life. Also, Light was one of Matsuda's few friends and it takes courage to shoot someone you formerly admired. Lastly, if Matsuda didn't shoot Light, Near would've died and no one smart would be able to stop the second Kira (Matt was tricked pretty easily).
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