#4. kind of having a crush 5. just escaped near death 6. acting like a neurotic prey animal

[zevranunderstander]

I know literally no one except for me cares but I have oc brainrot and it's incurable

[bullshittierlists]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA V3 (and probably the other games, too, just to be safe)

So, just as a heads up, I made this list a few months ago, I think in the middle of chapter 4. I was going to update it, but I realized that any feelings I had were just made stronger and the list was still relatively accurate. Here are my thoughts:

I see no god up here other than me

Kirumi Tojo - As you may know about me, I can typically tell who my favorite characters are going to be before I indulge myself in a series. This has especially rung true throughout Danganronpa, I was able to correctly guess Taka and Gundham as my respective favorites before actually seeing them in action. Let me tell you that Kirumi surprised me. I originally guessed K1-B0 as my favorite and while he’s still up there, he is nowhere near Kirumi. I realized she was my favorite the moment chapter 2 ended. Not only were her execution and plan wonderful and brilliantly done, her last-ditch plea to convince everyone to let her live sold her for me. Not only did this plea make sense, it almost worked and I kinda wish it would’ve. Her motive was almost completely selfless and she worked damn hard to escape. Her execution was the only time I cried during this game because I wanted so badly for her to escape, but I knew that all of her efforts were futile. I know her biggest criticism is that her plan from hiding Ryoma’s body was completely unnecessary, but I like to believe she was just nervous and overthought the whole thing. I mean, this had to go perfectly in order for her to save her country, of course she’s going to add a few too many steps.

Miu Iruma - Okay, I know this is going to sound fake, but I actually really love the dichotomy of her character. The way that she acts so self-righteous but is actually quite self-conscious really stood out to me. Of course she’s funny and hot, too, but I feel it’s important to really appreciate the way her character was written. It amazes me that she was written to be the least likable character in the entire series and still ended up being one of my favorites.

You’re the best

K1-B0 - Yes, I type out his name every time. As I already mentioned, he was my original guess for favorite character, but it obviously didn’t work out that way. He stayed in his position of first for a while, but I always knew it wasn’t meant to last, I just didn’t know which character would take his place. Even besides my doubts, I still love K1-B0, I just wish more could’ve been done with him in the earlier chapters. There are several opportunities for him to be a really funny character and have good interactions with Kokichi and Miu, but he just comes off as annoying. I feel like he only really started to be utilized after Miu died with Monotaro and I really enjoyed their dynamic, I just wish we could’ve had some of this side of K1-B0 before this point.

Kokichi Oma - This spot probably isn’t as subjective as I’d like it to be. Every time Kokichi was on screen, I would get visibly annoyed, but I knew I was in for a treat figuring out his deeper intents behind what he’s saying. The only reason I really like Kokichi at all is because he’s fun to analyze. It gets boring to analyze Nagito because his motivation is pretty much just a mix of “hope” and “he’s crazy.” Kokichi’s character trait of lying makes it so fun to individually analyze each of his lines to figure out whether he’s telling the truth and why or why not. Other than that, I guess he has some funny dialogue with Miu sometimes.

Gonta Gokuhara - I really don’t know. I know this is way too early to be unsure about characters, but I just know I couldn’t put him any lower, but I also couldn’t put him any higher. He’s just such a sweetheart, but that’s about where the substance ends. I adored every time he was on my screen, but everything that would’ve been fun to analyze about him just leads back to Kokichi. I still really enjoy his presence, though. I’d like a big Gonta hug.

Kaede Akamatsu - I’ll just say it, I think she would’ve made for a better protagonist. I’ll talk about this later, but Shuichi’s character development doesn’t really feel like it goes anywhere and the twist doesn’t feel worth it because of that. I think the twist should still have been incorporated, but with the roles reversed. Either way, we got what we got, and what we got was tears from Clair de Lune. But seriously, she really is a great pianist. I’ve been trying to learn the piece for ages and it’s still too complicated for me. I mean, it’s in 9/8 for God’s sake. Good for her, regardless.

Tenko Chabashira - Tenko’s a weird case. I didn’t actually care for her that much until quite literally a few lines before she died. Fun fact: I spoiled this entire series for myself before I ended up playing it and I’m still mad at myself. This meant that I was just waiting for all of the deaths to happen, especially Tenko’s. I was fully aware that every line could be her last during the seance, but I wasn’t aware that she would pull on my heart strings before she went. When she tells Himiko that she’ll do the seance in her place so she can talk to Angie, I literally almost started crying. Before this, Tenko was just kind of annoying, but not too bad, but this moment really solidified her spot for me. She really just wanted to help Himiko and I wish she had chosen a better target for her affections.

Hey, I think you’re pretty cool, I like you a lot

Shuichi Saihara - Time to elaborate on what I said for Kaede. I actually really enjoyed Shuichi’s character development throughout the first three chapters. Before coming to Hope’s Peak, he was afraid to hurt people with his detective skills. Kaede notices this and helps him through it, passing the reins to Kaito once she passes. Shuichi convicts Kaede and later Kirumi, much to everyone’s detriment, but they’re all okay with it (Nobody was really super sad about Korekiyo to begin with, lol). Then, starting in chapter 4, everyone just kinda flips on him. Shuichi + the rest of the gang - Kokichi all believe that Gonta is innocent and Shuichi tries to prove this. Instead of supporting him, everyone (especially Kaito) tries to... stop him??? from proving it??? They’re all just in agreement that it wasn’t Gonta, but don’t want to proceed with the investigation to figure out who it was instead. It’s really frustrating and made my overall experience much less enjoyable. This is bumped up a few notches in chapter 5 with Maki. I understand that she was part of the whole case, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying that she won’t let me prove Kaito was the victim. It just feels like the character development was all for nothing and every student feels like a human obstacle (except K1-B0, of course). Still relatable and emo, though.

Rantaro Amami - I would make the joke everyone expects, but I’m on my laptop and I don’t know how to get to the emoji keyboard.

Ryoma Hoshi - I genuinely don’t have anything to say about Ryoma. He’s my halfway point because I don’t have anything particularly for him and I don’t have anything particularly against him, either. Go off, funky little cat man.

Kaito Momota - He got on my nerves in chapter 4, but he was a genuinely sweet character that I really enjoyed talking to. Any time he would talk about the stars, I would swoon because he’s just such a natural romantic. Not really my type, though. Very average.

Monophanie - Legally you can’t ask me why the monokubs are where they are. She’s voiced by Natalie Hoover (Sonia) and I guess that’s my only reasoning.

Monotaro - I really just liked his interactions with K1-B0 in chapter 4. Other than that, I greatly disliked his and Monophanie’s presence in Gonta’s execution. 0/10 worst use for monokubs.

Monodam - A nice, non-distracting addition to Korekiyo’s execution. But he had so much potential and just threw it all away. Apparently I’m a basketball dad from a high school movie now.

I remember you

Angie Yonaga - Many times, I’ve found myself asking who I ship from the series and this love triangle comes to mind. Of Angie, Himiko, and Tenko... I only really like Tenko. I don’t hate Angie’s cult stuff as much as everyone else seems to, but she didn’t have nearly enough of a presence for me to latch onto outside of the cult stuff, which was funny, I will admit.

Maki Harukawa - I was so excited the whole game for her to get cool. I knew she was going to get cool, I just didn’t know when or how. But then, it was chapter 5 already and she hadn’t gotten cool in my eyes yet. I was really meh on her by that chapter anyway, but her being annoying really knocked her down a few pegs. She got a couple extra points for surprising me during the case, but not enough to bump her up any spots.

Himiko Yumeno - I was rooting for her to be crushed under the rock at the end. She was fine before chapter 3, but then they tried to develop her with the Akane treatment and it didn’t work for me at all. She just got on my nerves during the third trial and continued to contribute nothing throughout the rest of the game. During chapter 5 and 6, it’s like the writers just completely forgot that she was there. This would’ve been fine if they weren’t the last couple of chapters and she was one of about 6 people left alive. She had a role to play and didn’t play it in the slightest. The most she was utilized after chapter 3 was as Miu’s replacement post-chapter 5. Someone needed to fill the dirty jokes quota and I guess Himiko was chosen. #GiveTenkoABetterLoveInterest2021

Monosuke - The only thing I remember him doing throughout the entire game was distract me from Kirumi’s exectuion. Not a fan.

You are the worst. Literal scum. Leave this planet and never return

Korekiyo Shinguji - Okay, listen. He’s not that bad. His design is actually one of the best, in my opinion and I love his dedication to his craft. However, he just creeps me out whenever he’s on screen and I’d prefer not to be around him. It’s not even the sister thing, I honestly think that’s funny and a nice change of pace, but his overall demeanor is creepy. Not to mention he’s played by Todd Haberkorn and he’s been in one too many roles recently. Hopefully I’ll get over it, but as for now, that loses him points.

Tsumugi Shirogane - I know, not exactly an unpopular opinion. She’s just annoying and downright pisses me off a lot of the time with her “plain” shtick. I already knew she was going to be the mastermind, so most of the game was just me waiting for her to reveal it. I swear, I almost couldn’t take it every time she said something like, “What if there isn’t a mastermind?” “What?? There’s a mastermind????” Just stfu Tsumugi. You all are lucky I don’t have the energy to talk about 3-6 right now.

Monokid - Hate the tongue sprite, that’s literally the only reason he’s down here. He’s also kind of annoying, but made the best addition to an execution out of all of the monokubs. His death was one of the few things that surprised me in this game and it was a welcome twist. I was sick of him by this point, but was still incredibly shocked when he was pushed into the execution. Then, his severed head rolls out to all of the students looking on in shock at Kaede’s death. Masterful. Still hate the tongue sprite.

There we go. Definitely my least favorite cast out of the whole series, but it’s still fun to love on and hate on a lot of the characters, as per usual. There are just a few too many in the middle tier (metaphorically speaking) that are either uninteresting or just don’t get their time to shine. Maybe they’ll eventually grow on me more, but I doubt it.

[rainstormcolors]

Alright, I did it! It’s March, but I did it!

This list is hella Kaiba-centric. That was kind of inevitable I guess.

1) See this post I guess. I talk about this nerd too much.

2) Mokuba Kaiba. I like Anime Mokuba, but if I’m honest I also find that version of the character to be quite static. I think it’s in the pages of the manga where this kid shines his brightest. He isn’t just a prop for his difficult brother but is instead a character in his own right with his own arc and a headstrong personality. He’s devoted and proactive, and he has his own battle of opening up to the world. It’s a subtler journey, but he too is trying to escape the darkness of their past. His initial prickliness is a front, and that front falls away as the other characters come to support him. My sentiment cements his place here. Oh geeze, Duelist Kingdom… (It’s of course perfectly alright for a person to prefer other versions of these characters.)

3) Yugi Mutou. I consider Yugi and Atem to be co-protagonists. Don’t be mistaken, I like Atem as well, but Yugi sneaks past. There’s a warmth and gentleness to him, and there’s quietly blossoming strength and stray vulnerabilities. He has this crumpled view of himself and as the story progresses, that view becomes something more pristine. I think the narrative undercut the scope of his development and I think he deserved more page time, but he’s still my third favorite character overall. His capacity for kindness is touching. He is the center of the web of relationships.

4) Noa Kaiba. A tragic, doomed, and loveless brat, who crumbles after just one sincere gesture of caring.

5) Atem. His grandiose personality hides what is ultimately, quietly a tragic figure: he’s a prisoner who has already died once and whose fate is to die again. When the story first sprouted, before it found its footing, he was a violent vigilante who lashed out in what seemed to be a mechanism of Yugi’s distress. Psychological torture is wrong and it’s a mistake to take him as a hero at this part of the story. It’s debatable how intentional it was, but what comes across is that as Atem interacts with the world and gains a better grasp of himself as a real being he pulls away from acting out the sparks of Yugi’s emotions, because he understands he’s no longer just Yugi’s darker half. His self-righteousness remains but it becomes something more noble and self-sacrificing then.

6) It’s not much of a secret that I favor the original manga by Kazuki Takahashi. I find it to be more nuanced and less bloated, but I understand why others prefer the anime. It’s just my preference. Otherwise, the only other series I’m familiar with in any capacity is GX.

7) It’s tricky because there are specific aspects I enjoy about each arc in the manga. For the opening volumes of the story, I like watching the friendships build, those moments of vulnerability between the characters, and I also like the little flourishes of character details that vanish once the card games take the reins. At Duelist Kingdom, those moments regarding the Kaiba brothers tug my heartstrings like little else in fiction. There’s also a freshness to the storytelling here that’s difficult to describe; I think it’s because the changed circumstances are new to the characters as well. Things feel more routine by Battle City. But Battle City has many moments I savor as well. I guess I have to go with Duelist Kingdom overall.

8) “For him. The Pharaoh.”

But from the original series? The problem with trying to pinpoint quotes is that it isn’t the quote itself I value, it’s what it means within the narrative and to the characters to me. I want to list Seto’s oohrah speech to Atem after Atem buckles in the pressure of facing Osiris, but it’s because of what that moment means for the characters.

9) I’m so bad at picking out quotes. I’m really just picking out some favorite scenes. “I took something important from this duel. The light of hope.” That doesn’t work at all outside of the context of the story. How about, “I love you”?

No! Wait wait wait! How could I forget the line, “I was able to win this long because I had a rival like you, striving for a higher place. I know it’s the same for you. What are you? My rival... My friend... Why does this line stand between us?”

10) In the anime, it’s when Jonouchi sings to pick out a pod at Alcatraz tower. In the manga, for whatever reason I find it funny when in the night at Pegasus’ castle, Ryou blurts out to distract the guards.

11) If I’m honest, I never got a sense the characters were ever truly in danger. I knew they’d always pull through in the end. Even regarding the scene I mentioned in Answer 1, I didn’t imagine he was going to actually fall. It was an emotional investment.

12) The reveal of the lockets at Duelist Kingdom. It’s bittersweet, poignant, and maybe a bit manipulative. “Before this, our only real exposure to the Kaiba brothers had been at Death-T, and Kazuki Takahashi was clearly playing with the audience’s expectation for what kind of person Seto would be post-mind-crush. To get the audience to care about these two would take something truly heart-tugging.” And it was. It’s piercing.

13) I have to return to the scene at the castle as mentioned in Answers 1 and 11.

14) Prideshipping. I fell for this ship in 2009 I think. Prior to this I was never really into shipping. I’ve already rambled on about these two elsewhere.

                                       “But I have seen the best of you and the worst of you, and I choose both.”

15) Seto and Mokuba. I’m aware there are complications, some weighty complications. But they reach so desperately for each other at Duelist Kingdom, and then they’re nearly always side-by-side in Battle City. It sings to the soft side of my heart.

16) Rivalshipping. I fell for this ship in maybe 2012, or some year close to that. In a way, the answer to 24 is a snapshot of why, though I answered 24 independent of this question.

17) I’m in love with the bond between Atem and Seto on the platonic level as well. I also enjoy the bond between Yugi and Atem. And I also like the friendships lacing through Yugi’s troop. I would consider the relationships between Jonouchi and Yugi, Yugi and Atem, and Atem and Seto to be the sails of the story.

I’m gonna be honest… I don’t put all that much thought into the card game. I could give answers if I had to, but there would be no passion.

24) Yugi’s gesture of pure sympathy, tenderness, and understanding, and Seto’s heartbroken expression. Yugi’s unwavering kindness meets Seto’s aching vulnerability, over the shell of their shared dead friend. With or without the ideological battlefield, it’s a powerful moment.

25) Diva. I’m aware his backstory is cookie-cutter and his motivations aren’t original even within this storyline, but overall there’s something about the character that works for me. I attribute it to the presence of his voice actor, who endows Diva with a storminess and young regality. And to be more shallow for a moment, I like his character design as well. I think I’m just a sucker for his archetype even when it’s not the most lustrous.

26) Sera was a flat-note for me. She’s too pure and cutesy. Though I do find the contrast between her presentation in Transcend Game against her presentation in DSoD to be a bit unusual. (I suppose her manipulating Kaiba is another parallel with Isis, but Isis does it better.)

27) Even if I adore the movie personally, it’s not as if I don’t understand the criticisms levied against it or believe it’s anywhere near perfect myself. I’m well aware it’s not. The high notes just hit so high for me. For my personal complaints, I think it would have been nice to give Jonouchi and Anzu a little more gravity. I would suggest trading out the puppyship fanservice scene for perhaps a moment where Jonouchi bonds with Yugi. In turn, during the final meeting with Kaiba, Jonouchi might say something brief to him. Just what he says I don’t know, but in any case it would have more substance than a dream. It should go without saying I wish the dub’s script was more faithful to the original Japanese, but I’ll still enjoy the dub until the DVD/Bluray comes out. I do wonder what was in the half-hour supposedly cut from the script. I would totally watch a three-hour-long YGO movie.