#SHSL detective

[anime-to-the-t]

[dokitm-arch]

REVAMPED TAGS ... misc horror!

🦇 ' ⟪ ch. mondo oowada. ⟫ / shsl bike gang leader. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. celestia ludenberg. ⟫ / shsl gambler. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. chihiro fujisaki. ⟫ / shsl programmer. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. mukuro ikusaba. ⟫ / shsl soldier. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. mikan tsumiki. ⟫ / shsl health committee. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. fuyuhiko kuzuruyuu. ⟫ / shsl yakuza. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. hajime hinata. ⟫ / talentless nobody. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. kokichi ouma. ⟫ / shsl supreme leader. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. miu iruma. ⟫ / shsl inventor. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. shuichi saihara. ⟫ / shsl detective. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. ryoma hoshi. ⟫ / shsl tennis player. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. junko enoshima. ⟫ / the ultimate despair. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. steve burnside. ⟫ / carrier of veronica. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. ethan winters. ⟫ / molded father. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. rosemary winters. ⟫ / strong willed daughter. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. alcina dimitrescu. ⟫ / vampiric maiden. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. karl heisenberg. ⟫ / ironed hammerhead. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. donna beneviento. ⟫ / hallucinated doll. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. sal fisher. ⟫ / sally face. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. larry johnson. ⟫ / feel the metal music. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. mary (guertena). ⟫ / burned portrait. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. jou joe tazuna. ⟫ / gaudy sentimentalist. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. reko yabusame. ⟫ / punk lady. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. alice yabusame. ⟫ / raunchy prisoner. 🦇 ' ⟪ ch. gin ibushi. ⟫ / strange child.

[eggs-can-draw]

Byakuya and Shuichi on a coffee table because they saw a spider. Kyoko is the spider killer and Makoto is the spider saver

The spider’s fate is entirely dependent on who finds it first

[thememorieswithyouthatilost]

"YOU’RE IN TIMEOUT. GET ONTOP OF THE FRIDGE."

"THIS HOUSE IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE!"

#shsl detective wannbe -> haruhi suzuki, shsl criminal investigator

#kou’s favorite child -> ashton anderson / acid

#kou’s favorite child who’s now unlucky -> tumblronpa au ashton anderson / acid

#i have a knife and i’m not afraid to use it -> hikari nakamura / light

#walmart kokichi ouma with a knife -> tumblronpa au hikari nakamura / light

#youngest sibling and the least favorite -> masumi saihara, shsl swing dancer

#oyasumi oyasumi close your eyes and you’ll leave this dream -> haru "sunny" kimura, shel preforming arts (lil’ ultimate violinist)

#my brother killed my bully when i was four -> tsukki suzuki, former shsl felinologist

#tiny celestia ludenburg but male and gay and a fourteen year old boy -> nathan flores, shsl wild card

#all these people are so weird. thank god i’m the only normal one here -> ace killeen.

#somewhat an actually normal fucker?? -> kaoru kayano, shsl cosplayer

#[tumblronpa title] talk !! -> talk about said tumblronpa

#the chaos of class 79 -> the ultimate academy class talk

[shsl-analyzer-guy]

In-Depth Analysis On All The DR Characters Because What, Are You Gonna Try And Stop Me? Who Are You, My Mom? Yeah, I Didn't Think So- Part 3: Sayaka Maizono

It's finally time for my #1 THH girlie to shine!!! I may be a bit biased with this one because of how much I adore her, but I'll try my best to remain objective as we go in-depth on how well-written of a character she is. They used her character schtick incredibly, and I can't wait to go into why.

As always, only offical, canon material will be used in this analysis, primarily the english translation of the THH game. If you aren't interested, just keep scrolling.

Part 1- Character Design

Sayaka Maizono was one of the first characters to reach completion, designed for maximum likability to the player. Her look is extremely basic and palatable, with a regular schoolgirl uniform and softer features, and she's characterized instead through her expressions, which are used to either purposefully cover up her true feelings or let the 'perfect idol girl' mask slip when appropriate.

Her given talent was that of the SHSL Idol, or the Ultimate Pop Sensation, adding to her cutesy and likable nature. She was also used during development of the game itself as a placeholder due to how quickly her design came together, which made the developers sick and tired of looking at her(alongside Leon Kuwata, who was also finalized relatively quickly) and led to an early exit in-game.

Part 2- The Assistant Trope/Inspiration

Like many of the characters in Danganronpa, Sayaka was designed around and used to subvert one of the many tropes found in mystery/detective games at the time. For Sayaka, this was that of the deuteragonist, the assistant(one well-known example being Maya Fey from Ace Attorney). Her character introduction, the quick establishment of her relationship with the player, and her 'pleasant' demeanor all factor into this, making her seem as though she's going to be a major player throughout the rest of the game. She was originally meant to be a childhood friend as well, but this was severely cut down to just having gone to the same school. She was also put front and center alongside Makoto and Kyoko in the promotional material for the game to create a level of perceived importance for her before the game even started, and preemptively raise the audience's expectations for her role.

But there was another character that a lot of inspiration was pulled from- Marion Crane from the 1960 film Psycho. Marion is a character who'd lived her entire life as a good person but, in a moment of desperation, steals $40k and goes on the run. The first half of the movie paints her as the protagonist, only for her to be abruptly murdered and for the movie to shift to solving the mystery of her disappearance. Sound familiar?

Part 3- Character Introduction

From the get-go, Sayaka is put into a helper's position. She's not the one to suggest going around and introducing ourselves, nor is she the one to justify why, but she is the one that ends the debate and moves the game into introductory mode, suggesting that she's the go-to for the player to move forward in the game- "Okay, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sound good?" She's not asking the class, she's asking you as the player if you're ready to keep going.

Her first intro is brief, focusing less on her character and more on her public image. Makoto narrates about her position as lead singer in her idol group and how beautiful she is, as well as teasing some form of previous meeting between her and us. We also quickly establish her strong intuition.

"Well, never mind. No matter how you slice it, she's really beautiful. Almost like a doll or something..." "I'm not a doll, you know. I'm alive!"

She also seems to recognize you, despite the belief that she probably wouldn't remember. Of course, before you can talk any further, you're interrupted so the plot can keep moving, securing a connection to her without any actual information required.

As you talk to the rest of the class and head towards the entrance ceremony, she's one of the few to voice her concerns about the state of the school, and points out the lack of other students("And why isn't there anyone here? Walking through the halls, I didn't see a single person..."). She's observant and perceptive, keeping her guard up. In fact, she barely speaks throughout the entrance ceremony and immediate aftermath, waiting until their situation has been explained by Monokuma and all the rules have been read to call any attention to herself. When she finally does speak, it's to try and clarify rule 6- the rule that states killers can leave unless discovered.

So the first impression we're left with is that she's a more level-headed and competent girl with some kind of important connection to us, one that appears to be mutual. Anticipation has been built to learn more about that connection as well, which directly affects the story going forward.

Part 4- Your Ultimate Assistant

A major part of why Sayaka works as a character is because she connects with the player directly, offering to help you via a connection to our player character, Makoto. This relationship with us as an audience is the core purpose of her existence in the narrative. When we wake up in Makoto's bedroom and walk outside, it's Sayaka who's there waiting for us, to check if we're okay and fill us in on what's happened while we were out. She's here to help, but keeps the focus on how we're doing.

"But... are *you* okay? You know, from when Mondo hit you..."

"Oh, that's good. I was kinda worried..."

"Well, if you really are feeling better... I was hoping you could come to the dining hall."

She's also the character used from a meta perspective to teach us the functions of the game itself. It creates a certain reliance and trust in the character to continue being helpful to us as the player, even when it's not actually her doing.

It's here where we go on to learn how exactly she knew Makoto- the two of them went to the same middle school, albeit in different classes, and despite the fact that Makoto straight-up admits to having no distinguishable traits, all she can do is laugh it off, happy to have someone somewhat familiar nearby. She attributes this relief solely to Makoto, as if she's indebted to him, and decides she wants to thank you by acting as your Ultimate Assistant. In other words, she's buttering us up so we'll trust her wholeheartedly, and establishes a 'you and me against the world' relationship. And in-character, it works perfectly, with Makoto falling hook, like, and sinker.

"I'm just surprised, is all. I wouldn't have thought you'd remember me." "We went to the same school for three years, of course I remember!"

"But *you're* the one that helped me find my courage again. Not any of those 'ultimate' students." "Thank you for saying that..."

"I'm going to help you out as much as I can, so let's get out of here together!" "When she says things like that, it... it just gets me pumped up!"

"I may not be the best assistant in the world, but I'll give it everything I've got." "No... you've already done so much as my assistant." <-(said almost immediately afterwards, with no character action or events in-between)

And again, the game's mechanics force you to rely solely on Sayaka, utilizing the purple words to have the rest of the day's events explained through Sayaka being personable and helpful.

She continues to be the one to calmly explain what's happened so the player isn't lost or confused. She acts as a voice of reason when the class starts to panic. And again, once the conversation is ended by Celeste, she checks in with you again before splitting up.

"Okay, so since you're in the dark about all this, let me lay out what's been going on."

"Everyone just calm down, please! We need to stop and think about what to do from here."

"Makoto... are you ready to call it a day?" "Yeah, let's go."

The entire next day is spent completely with Sayaka, without a moment's break. From the moment Makoto wakes up, the objective is to talk to Sayaka, and you hunt for a defensive weapon with her. Even without finding a reliable weapon, Makoto very quickly offers himself up as a protector for her, and with that, the search ends. She's gotten what she really wanted- a reliable friend.

"H-Hey, don't worry about it! It's not like you need it right away, right? Plus, if anything *were* to happen... when the time comes... I'll protect you." "You'll... protect me? Thank you for saying that... If I've got you on my side, I guess I don't need a weapon after all!"

You learn more about her by sticking together and talking afterwards, and once you're done with that, the game decides to explain the concept of FTEs via immediately sending you Sayaka's way, again, to bond with her even more("Anyway, why don't you try it out by spending some time with Miss Sayaka Maizono? She's the ideal partner to begin with, don't you think?"), as well as give the player their first skill for the upcoming class trials. It's on-the-nose to the point where Sayaka herself apologizes for it.

This also works to her benefit, as even if the player is getting annoyed by the tutorials, they're less likely to blame Sayaka as a character for it, since she's showing shame for how much time it's taking. Sayaka is unequivocally the character to care about, the character to pay attention to. She becomes the object of Makoto's affections, and makes herself invaluable in his and the players' eyes, all with the handy help of game mechanic tutorials. Whether or not you as the player trust her or find her suspicious, she becomes the character at the forefront of your mind. Either way, the job is done.

Part 5- The Idol Mask

All this knowledge about how she operates for the player as a meta perspective is great, but it doesn't actually tell us a ton about Sayaka herself as a character. It's moreso about how we're being set up to perceive her existence within the game. Regardless, it's important to understand that setup to see why she works, but it's equally important to get into the characterization itself. So, let's do that now.

We already know that she's been working towards establishing a strong bond between herself and Makoto, making him feel better about being surrounded by people with insane talents and offering as much familiarity as possible, as well as singling him out and separating him from the rest of the class while everyone else forms their relationships separately.

She's been doing a great job of keeping up this appearance of a cute and reliable helper, but this leaves her seemingly lacking in substance, as she's solely focused on making us comfortable with her first and foremost. This is something that, from a character perspective, can easily be pulled from her idol career- she's a massive celebrity who advertises cuteness and likability, so leaning into that and using it to her advantage is a logical first step for her in establishing fondness.

As we head to the trophy case in the gym, we do start to get hints of her actual motivations and desires if you stop in the main hall to talk to Leon. It's brief, but a nice touch, especially considering the dynamic between these two later on.

Sayaka's true self doesn't really reveal itself until your conversation with her in the entrance to the gym, though, when she asks to spend some extra time together. Having nothing else to do feels wrong to her. It's unfamiliar, and puts her on edge("No, it's not that it's boring. It's just... I've never really done it before. I don't have a lot of time to just... do nothing."). It's enough to start to move her out of that idol shell in an attempt to fill that time, and let a little bit of that idol's mask slip- "Hey, um... this is kinda out of nowhere, but... Makoto, do you have a dream?"

By turning it around and asking about her dream, we directly connect with her core value- her deeply focused motivation for her childhood dream. It's something that she can't help but gush about, both the wonderful and terrifying parts of it. We get to learn exactly where she came from, raised by the TV, no mother to speak of and an absent father working his ass off, and how her dream took form as she watched her own idols.

"But more than anything else, there was her smile. Looking at her smile, I could feel my loneliness melting away. I decided that's what I wanted to be someday. I wanted to give that kind of encouragement to others."

The mention of an idol's smile specifically is proof that she did, in fact, succeed wholly on this dream, as it calls directly to the repeated mention of how comforting Sayaka's smile is to Makoto.

"That somehow mysterious smile of hers made my heart grow calmer."

"I can tell it comes from the heart. It makes me feel at ease..."

"That mysterious smile that softens my heart... I really wasn't flattering her. That smile saved me."

It also gives us some insight into why said smile exists, and just how often she's masking around us- "Her earlier mood disappeared, replaced by the bright smile I'd quickly grown used to. But how'd it happen so fast? It was almost like a mask, like some kind of neutral expression."

We also get to learn just what kind of world Sayaka lives in, and how much work it takes to keep her dream alive. The entertainment industry is cutthroat, and to be a positive role model and live her dream onstage, she has to fight tooth and nail at all times.

"I did whatever it took to reach that dream. I mean it. Even some things that... weren't so pleasant."

"To make your dream a reality, you have to keep your gaze fixed on it no matter what. In that world, if you lose focus for even a split second, you get left behind. You have to keep on swimming against the current, without even taking time to breathe..."

She even has to compete against the people in her own idol group for attention, though that rivalry is a major factor in what motivates her so much.

"We've been performing together since we were young, so they're all like family to me. Without them, I would have given up on my dream a long time ago."

Although Sayaka has been using Makoto to build herself a safety net and have someone to fall back on, her willingness to share this part of herself exists as proof that she did care about him to some extent. She genuinely does feel more secure with him around, and it allows her to let out her fear and frustrations safely. She's able to take the mask off for a bit.

She has a deep-seated fear of losing everything she's worked for, her entire life's work, to the whim of public attention. And it's not just her livelihood put at risk by this- it's the other 4 girls from her idol group as well. She's their lead singer, their central figure people think of from their group. They could keep performing without her, sure, but the public's perception of them would irrevocably change, and interest would drop. It's a realistic fear, too, as celebrity culture is defined by its "15 minutes of fame," and while she could probably milk her kidnapping story for exposure if she got out quickly enough, tragedies happen every day. With enough time, people would and could forget about her.

We get to see this further after the viewing of the motive videos. After everyone's watched their videos, she has the most volatile response, shoving Makoto away and running out of the AV room to hide. Upon being found, she's described as having no expression or emotion on her face. She's in the process of going completely numb, and can't even bring herself to lie when Makoto asks if she's okay.

It's here that a solid divide is truly defined between Makoto and Sayaka. Their motive videos, while both intense, have completely different implications. Makoto hasn't actually seen hers yet, but assumes it must be the same as his, and thus, his attempts to assure her ultimately fall flat.

"Think about it- those videos have to be fake! Because if those things really had happened...people out there would be in an uproar. Our families, the police, everyone!"

But Sayaka's motive video didn't just imply that her loved ones were hurt. No, her motive video insinuates that her being trapped led to her band falling apart. Their stage presence is gone; they're fading into obscurity. The family she found through the stage is now separated. And that's not something the police would think twice about. That's just the entertainment industry functioning as normal, and actualizing her greatest fears. She is replaceable.

It's here where we truly see what Sayaka's resolve is made of, and where she shows us that she's been thinking of killing this whole time.

Though no one's died yet, the mere idea of killing someone to get free has been gnawing away at her. Not only that, the need to act before anyone else makes the first move is something she's already familiar with thanks to working in the entertainment industry; to keep ahead of the game, you have to push out content constantly. She has to be the lead singer, she has to have the best music. All this pressure is mounting, and the motive video is leading her to blow. And through Makoto's help, she's able to calm herself down enough to direct the steam.

"I-If that happens...then I'll get you out of here myself! No matter what it takes!"

"Can I... can I believe what you said? That you'll help me get out? No matter what it takes?" "A-Absolutely!" "Makoto... You're the only one I can trust. So please... No matter what happens, please always be there for me. I need you on my side..."

Makoto says himself that he'll get her out "no matter what it takes." And he says this while they're trapped in a killing game, where as far as they know, the act of killing someone is the only way to escape. To Sayaka, this reads as an offer: I'll help you kill someone if we have to. So that's what she plans to do.

(It's also worth noting that, at that point, neither of them knew about the class trial at this point, or the potential repercussions of voting incorrectly in one. If they had, this entire situation may have been very different. We'll never know for sure.)

Though the personality she shows us for most of the game is one that's carefully curated, on the inside, she's constantly in terror. She knows how much to reveal about herself and how much not to in order to gain favor, and is always calculating her next move. We know from the description of her dream that she isn't an inherently selfish person- she acts for a dream that she believes is worth it in the long run, and wants to inspire and comfort young girls like herself and make them feel more secure. The concern she shows for Makoto's health and her remembering him from middle school isn't all purely an act; you can't fake memories that are that accurate to what actually happened in the past(will go into more detail in Relationships for this). She latches herself onto Makoto because she wants it to be Makoto, and while she tries to act to her benefit, her softer, more caring nature ultimately stops her from doing so, and winds up getting her killed.

Part 6- Sayaka's Murder

As stated previously, Sayaka being the first victim was designed to be completely shocking to its original audience. She was someone so clearly set up to be important to Makoto, and assisted us in walking through the beginning of the game. A strong bond was established between the two of them, and a character like that was typically propped up to be someone critical to the story unfolding. So this twist was like a gut punch to 2010 Japan. Nowadays, this trope-subversion has become a trope in and of itself, and that can be partially attributed to how much impact Danganronpa had within the genre, but it does make this twist into more of a base expectation for a newer generation of fans. Regardless, this was a major shock at the time, as was confirmed by interviews with the creator. This twist was even protected by the demo of the game, as the victim there was Yasuhiro.

For the rest of the chapter, we have to work to find out who's responsible for her death, and why she ended up dying. It's set to be both the moment that the player begins to take the murder-mystery aspects of the game seriously, and acts as a way to force Makoto as a character to take initiative in the class trial, as almost everyone immediately writes him off as responsible for her murder due to the location of the body. So in a way, Sayaka works in one final act as helper to the player, as it's her murder that leads to the first trial and how to play them.

It's in the trial where we also have it confirmed for us that Sayaka was the instigator, as the evidence gathered unfolds into a failed murderer being murdered herself. Though this comes as a shock to Makoto, we've already seen and addressed how she came to this point and why, so I'll spare the details of explaining the entire trial so we can stay focused on Sayaka herself. Suffice to say, this revealed betrayal serves to develop Makoto's empathy for the rest of the cast going forward as he realizes the one that trusted him most was using him as a buffer, thinking through every step of how to keep suspicion off of herself.

"Now do you understand? She wasn't a blameless victim in all this."

"And if it's true that she had the kitchen knife and attacked without provocation..." "Indeed... these are all the actions of an assailant."

"And by committing the murder there, instead of her room, that would implicate Makoto."

"For one thing, even if her plan worked, Mr. Naegi would just tell everyone they'd switched rooms." "I don't know... I'm not sure our softhearted Makoto is capable of that kind of cutthroat behavior. I'm sure Sayaka realized the same thing".

In the end, it's Kyoko who puts together not only that Sayaka was the one responsible for the trial, but also that her dying message existed to save Makoto. She deciphers the inverted English letters, and even pulls Makoto aside to say as much about Sayaka's true intentions.

"Sayaka meant to double-cross you. That's a fact that you can never change. But even till the very end, she wasn't sure of her decision. That's why... as she lay dying, she was thinking of you."

And because Kyoko is a character who goes on to be established as someone who seeks out the absolute truth, combined with the behavior we saw from Sayaka prior to the murder plot, we can trust that this inference is accurate. It's also directly shown to be true in other official adaptations, such as the stageplay, in which she's murdered in the bedroom and drags herself to the wall to write down Leon's name for Makoto.

Part 7- Relationships

Though Sayaka has few relationships, they're all fiercely important to her, enough to where she's willing to die/kill for them.

7.1- Sayaka's Bandmates

Though they aren't ever named in-game, Sayaka makes it very clear how important her bandmates are to her. She tells us that she sees them as her family, something huge for a girl who grew up lonely, and that her greatest fear is being forced to go their separate ways. They're her best friends, her coworkers, her rivals, her family. They've been involved in every aspect of her life as her bandmates. Their existence and this focus brought on them elevates Sayaka's own motivations- fearing for the success of their band as an idol isn't just about her own success anymore. Her being kidnapped puts her family's livelihood at stake, not just her own. And the motive video serves to throw that fact in her face.

7.2- Makoto Naegi

Sayaka latches onto Makoto quickly for a reason- he's familiar. The government-mandated FTE tells us as much. Not only did they go to the same middle school, but he was someone she very distinctly remembered. Because Makoto was in charge of taking care of the school's animals, he was the one who once led a giant crane out of the school's pond and into the nearby forest. It left enough of an impression on Sayaka for not having spoken to him back then becoming one of her greatest regrets, attributing the event to being something out of a fairytale.

"Honestly though, I was so impressed... That's why I always wanted to talk to you, even just once."

This story is one that's undoubtedly true, and Makoto himself remembers the event clearly as well. It stands as solid, undeniable evidence- that even though she was trying to use him to her benefit, she did genuinely like and admire him as a person, long before the game ever began, and enjoyed his company. She doesn't tell him how she became an idol or confide her fears purely for strategy; if that were the case, she wouldn't have panicked so badly at the motive video and ran. She doesn't want people to see that fearful side of her, but developed enough trust in Makoto to take the risk of letting him see her vulnerable. In the end, that vulnerability works in her favor, but to write it off as just manipulation for the sake of her plan would be inaccurate. Rather, she had genuine fear, and a genuine need to confide in someone, and made the observation as she did that it may be something she could use.

We're given a distinct difference between when she's acting for her benefit and when she's being genuine spelled out for us in our final conversation with her as well. When she's faking that fear of someone trying to break into her room, her irises still have their color, and she's still perfectly in control of herself, able to control her volume and look us in the eye as she gets access to Makoto's room. It exists in a stark contrast to her two breakdowns, where her eyes went white and she started to scream, panicking too much to pay attention to her surroundings.

She trusts Makoto wholeheartedly in the way he trusts her. He was there for her when she needed it, and that's how she's able to develop the confidence to go on and fake it later; she knows he'll take her concerns seriously. So she lies, saying that someone attempted to break in, and convinces him to switch rooms for the night, simultaneously giving her the space she needs to work with to avoid being caught and absolving Makoto of any blame for what she's about to do by keeping him in the dark. When she becomes a killer, he won't fall with her. There are a couple other instances of this subtle protection of Makoto that can be found in the game, like her taking him to look for a defensive weapon only to convince him he should be the one to have it, or her writing the name of her real killer down so Makoto wouldn't be blamed for her death.

It's also worth noting that in the canonical au novel Danganronpa IF, when Sayaka goes to have this conversation, Makoto faints and Sayaka immediately drops the act entirely, instead choosing to focus on getting Makoto taken care of. She rushes him to the nurse's office, and stays with him through the entire night, only going to bed in the morning when Mukuro takes her place so she won't pass out. These aren't the actions of someone acting purely in accordance with her self-gain. If that were the case, she could've just grabbed his key, thrown him in her room, and continued with her plan as normal. But she didn't. Makoto's health and safety is decidedly a real priority of hers every step of the way.

7.3- Leon Kuwata

The original game doesn't do very much to explain why Sayaka would choose Leon to attack as a victim. We learn through Leon's introduction that he wants to become a musician, but other than that, these two barely interact, and only in scenes that are skippable and not on the main storyline(pictured earlier). This comes from the unfortunate result of Leon just so happening upon the developers' shitlist and being killed off first so they wouldn't have to look at him anymore. As was stated earlier, both Sayaka and Leon were the first character designs to reach completion, and were then used in early development of the game quite often. This led to the game devs becoming sick and tired of looking at them and thus, chapter 1 had them both die. And while Sayaka was important enough to the development of the protagonist, Leon was not, and ultimately fell to the wayside throughout his time alive in the game. But that's not to say they didn't at least have an idea of what they wanted to do with the two's relationship at all, and the truth behind why she chose him was expanded upon in the supplemental manga series.

After Mondo knocked Makoto out on the first day, it was Leon who offered to help Sayaka carry him to their dorms in the hopes they'd get to talk. As we already knew, he wants to be a musician, and admires Sayaka for succeeding in the industry. Sayaka sees his excitement and how lighthearted of a person he is, and simultaneously admires and pities it; someone so casual wouldn't be able to fight his way through the industry, as far as she thinks. It'd only hurt him further.

Later, when she's trying to decide who to kill, she remembers this conversation. Leon is one of the only other people besides Makoto she's made any connection with, so he wouldn't suspect she was planning to kill him. Besides, surely he'd understand where she was coming from if he really wanted to be in the entertainment industry, and if he couldn't understand then, well, he was never cut out for it anyway. She was able to justify attacking him in her mind because of this, and thus, he became her target.

Ultimately, Leon wasn't even trying to kill her when she got stabbed. After getting the screwdriver from his toolkit, he was trying to wrestle the knife away from her and talk things out. He didn't trust Monokuma's empty promises, and respected her enough to try to get through to her. Meanwhile, Sayaka couldn't give up; she was in too deep, and if she didn't kill him, then surely he'd tell everyone, and she'd lose everything she'd worked for. But in their struggle, the knife ended up in her stomach, and he ran out, unable to watch her die as he went into damage control and she wrote his name in her blood, as one final apology to Makoto.

In the original game, we never get any of this insight into what happened. We only get Leon's insistence that it was out of self-defense and that he was "just unlucky."

He never fully gets to explain himself, and is executed without another thought, similar to how Sayaka died without ever getting to tell Makoto the truth.

Part 8- School Mode: Sayaka's Ending

After completing THH, you unlock School Mode- Enchanting Dangan Academy: Purely Prismatic Souls, in which instead of announcing a killing game, Monokuma demands the class build themed backups for him. In the downtime for this mode, it acts as a dating sim, as once you finish out someone's FTEs, you can take them on trips to different places in the school and level up their hearts to a max 10. If you win the school mode, and max out Sayaka, you unlock an ending conversation between her and Makoto. This is true of all the characters, but Sayaka's is special because she brings up the promise to stay by her side you made in the main game, despite it never taking place in the school mode.

This reveals something major- Sayaka was, in fact, psychic, and could see into alternate timelines all along. Her psychic intuition assured her there was a universe where Makoto would succeed in saving her, and it allowed her to endure the killing game.

"I knew everything... I knew you would never give up until it was all over. That's why I was able to go through all this, why it didn't hurt... Cuz I'm psychic, ya know?"

(And forgive me for getting conspiratorial here, but the way this is phrased leaves me to wonder if she, to some level, knew she was in a game, and that the tutorials being geared to Sayaka may not have been such a happy coincidence in-universe.)

Part 9- Starfall (Why do we care?)

After reading everything I've said in here, I imagine there'll inevitably be people who disagree with the end results of my analysis. I mean, there's not any real way to know what she's really thinking. So who's to say I'm 100% correct about her genuinely caring for Makoto? Maybe she cared more about her own idol status than anything else, and really was a selfish attention-seeking snake. (I mean, she wasn't completely lol, but I'm making a point here.) What I've presented is my interpretation of her motivations based off of the evidence given. You may not completely agree, and that's okay. Honestly, if anything, disagreeing with some of these conclusions only furthers the point of her character- We're not meant to fully understand her because people aren't easy to understand that quickly. People are complex, and you're not gonna be able to automatically trust the people that appeal to you. Sayaka's story is a remnant of the original idea for the beta version of DR; she pushes you to distrust. Blind faith can get you killed.

Afterword

I think I've really outdone myself with this one, y'all. I adore Sayaka and, even knowing why they chose her for this early-death role, still believe this was an incredible use of her character. As you can probably tell, she's my #1 character from THH for a reason lol.

I'm gonna start on Yasuhiro's analysis in a couple days, but there'll probably be a bigger gap between this one and the next than there's been between the past few analyses bc I have a real life I need to attend to sometimes :/

I hope y'all all thoroughly enjoyed this analysis!! Catch ya later

[cyanidas]

⚠️SHSL Detective ! Kazuichi Souda 🕵️‍♂️

I'm hoping to make a small series of fun lil sprite edits with my talentswap AU that scrambles the talents of Class 77 and Class 78, and has its own weird lil story to go with it

(someday I'll think of a cool shorthand title. maybe. perhaps. as a treat. i would also like to write this story someday... we will see, since evidently im allergic to projects)

Headcanons? Headcanons for Detective Souda?

(also a lil comparison between this one and normal Kazu, and some AU info)

For this AU, characters' original body types, general interests/inclinations, and much of their personality is intact - the only parts of their personality that change are things influenced by their line of work alone. A lot of who we are and who we become tends to be influenced by our interests, which in turn is influenced by our upbringing, which also influences who we are... but I intend to keep the characters as close to how they are outside of their original talents as possible.

This AU also swaps the end twists between the 1st and 2nd games, and in some way keeps original relationships (like Makoto and Kyoko's partnership, and Souda's inclination towards Sonia). Some personality aspects are allowed to bloom or forced into hiding, depending on the upbringing I imagine would have been needed to allow these talents to shine within them and rise to Ultimate status.

ok Souda Headcanon Time:

The teeth are actually natural - he has a disorder which effects a number of things but especially effects his teeth, which are sharp as a result (something that evidently exists?? tho i forget the name, and it's not as perfect as drawn here ofc but.)

I think og-Souda would have a great skincare routine, one that Detective Souda lacks, since he never gained the motivation nor inspiration to care more about his appearance in front of others. So, he has some zits.

When he was very young, he was living with his father in their bike shop, but his dad went too far one night. A worried neighbor called authorities on them after witnessing his dad's aggression. At some point, the situation tips over, and Kazu's removed from his father's custody.

The detective investigating his father's abuse took care of him, and eventually adopted him after his dad was incarcerated. New Dad was not physically abusive, and genuinely cared for his new son, but due to his line of work he wound up kind of a sad sack of a person, so he's still a pretty cringefail/wetkitten father figure.

Kazuichi would accidentally stumble across his files around the house, and witnessed far more corpses than he likely should have as a child. Terrified at first, he eventually suppressed his fears in favor of trying to become a stronger person, and insisted on applying himself to learn his caretaker's line of work... inadvertently witnessing even more death and dying than he should have, from a young age.

As a young teen, he took interest in therapy and self care, and came to realize his trauma regarding his father and his guardian / upbringing. New Dad has his full love and respect and he tries to change for his son. This kind of expands Kazu's self-respect a little, while adding new depths to his hatred/fear of violence and conflict.

Due to his new caretaker, he never went to the same schools, and lost his original friends as a result - so he doesn't suffer from the same trust issues as OG-Souda, and as a result, easily clings to the people around him and allows himself to get lost in his head a tad more often than OG.

He specializes in forensic investigative work, because his brain is still wired better for calculations, spatial reasoning, and mathematical speculation.

He also still loves learning about how things work, and now, he's especially interested in how things have happened / come to be - finding satisfaction in analyzing evidence, instead of reverse-engineering parts/machines.

He even still has a mild interest in mechanics! But he is firmly convinced that being handy and technical is nothing to boast about.

He is also now convinced that he wouldn't make a good repairman/mechanic/engineer, anything of the sort. Part of this apprehension is due to his hatred of his father.

He is still pretty timid, and jumps easily at any sudden or loud noise, is afraid of the paranormal, gets upset easily when socializing, and feels terrified when there is any perceived threat.

However, death and dead bodies are some of the things that no longer frighten him. Upset, sure, but nothing like OG-Souda. He sees dead bodies as objects to investigate and solve, as opposed to feeling the horror of seeing a deceased fellow human, or feeling too overwhelmed if it's someone he knew. Because of this, it's easy for him to get lost in his work and feel totally disconnected while investigating.

[benisbeaaaaans]

Corvid Eye - SHSL Detective

[s1eep-deprived-kitty]

💙🔎Shuichi Saihara, The SHSL/Ultimate Detective 🔎💙

[poisontective]

　　 ⏤͟͟͞͞ ☆ 　ULTIMATE / SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ASTRONAUT — FLAG FOR WHEN ONE IS THE ULTIMATE / SHSL ASTRONAUT⠀𓈒

　　 ⏤͟͟͞͞ ☆ 　ULTIMATE / SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL SUPREME LEADER — FLAG FOR WHEN ONE IS THE ULTIMATE / SHSL SUPREME LEADER⠀𓈒

　　 ⏤͟͟͞͞ ☆ 　ULTIMATE / SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL PIANIST — FLAG FOR WHEN ONE IS THE ULTIMATE / SHSL PIANIST⠀𓈒

　　 ⏤͟͟͞͞ ☆ 　ULTIMATE / SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL DETECTIVE — FLAG FOR WHEN ONE IS THE ULTIMATE / SHSL DETECTIVE⠀𓈒

　　 ⏤͟͟͞͞ ☆ 　ULTIMATE / SUPER HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL ASSASSIN — FLAG FOR WHEN ONE IS THE ULTIMATE / SHSL ASSASSIN⠀𓈒

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

REQUESTED BY; NO-ONE. SELF INDULGENT.

TAGGING; @rwuffles

EXTRAS; I got silly and redesigned some. The rest of DRV3 is soon I promise. (We immediately forget./SILLY)

[funishment-time]

the most fitting alternate title for the Nice AU (UTDP/Summer Camp) is the Jin Kirigiri Tax Evasion Bad Father Arc, for many reasons

not the least of which is that it's implied class 77, 78, and the v3 class (fanon name: 79, but this is never confirmed) all were accepted at once, are graduating at once, and spent 3 years together

so this dude accepted his daughter, then accepted another unrelated boy who is clearly worse, both as SHSL detective, at the same time, in the same year.

he probably forgot which was his real kid, Honestly

[0r1g1n4l-s1n]

Promo~?

"Ooh~! Shuii, I got it workingggg~!"

As the camera flickers to life, two boys stand before you, one looking rather displeased, while the other looks absolutely elated. One is clad solely in black, his darkened demeanor matching the color scheme, and the other dressed solidly in white, his mood light and cheerful.

"Hiiiiiii~! Hehe! I'm Kokichi Ouma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader! And yes, I'm also an Ultimate Despair! But you could probably tell from this little cutie on my cheek, huh?"

The boy giggled and tapped his cheek, showing off the bear tattoo on his cheek.

"Shuichi Saihara. Former Ultimate Detective, current Ultimate Despair. And yes, Kokichi and I are an item."

Kokichi giggles in turn and nods with Shuichi's statement, gripping his hand and swinging their arms.

"...Yeah. Anyway, can we have a promo?"

~

(( Feel free to ignore, interact if not tagged, or ask for your tag to be removed! Mods that play Kokichi or Kotoko on any blog in any capacity, please DNI! ))

~

@i-spy-with-my-lethal-eye @ultimate-rider @human-monokuma @pizza-for-my-friends @y0u-f4il3d-m3 @p0m3gr4n1t3-s33ds @little-miss-succubus @ask-shsl-scribe @mikado-sannoji @appetite-of-a-candy-addict and anyone else! ^-^

[thememorieswithyouthatilost]

You know it’s funny how haruhi started my oc universe to you guys but in reality the oc who did start this whole shabang was a ninjago oc who I don’t speak of..

[shiut]

I have to admit that sometimes I tend to be more of a fan of some of the snappy and cool localized version of words and terms over the clunky or maybe silly sounding literal English version of the words. (that's not to say that i think the japanese words themselves don't sound cool, just that the coolness sometimes gets lost when it's translated too literally)

Terms such as "Master Detective" and "Super Detective"(超探偵), or "Forensic Forte" and "Detective Special Aptitude"(探偵特殊能力). Even when it comes to Super High School Level, I know that it's supposed to sound goofy but I like the term Ultimate, so I kind of internally compromise by imagining that SHSL is for when they're in school and Ultimate is earned upon graduation. That reminds me that the villains in Danganronpa Kirigiri are essentially called "Crime Victim Relief Committee", but I think I also remember some of the translations call it "The Victims Catharsis Committee", or maybe a succinct "Catharsis" which I think sounds cool and ominous.

And man, Coalescence is just such a cool and elegant english name for Yuma's ability, while it's originally 能力共有(Ability Sharing).

But this preference works both ways because one of the reasons I was thinking about this in the first place is that I so wish that they could've kept the name of Shinigami's sword as 解刀(Kaitou) rather than the solution blade. Even if the amazing wordplay can't be properly translated, Kaitou is just a cool name for a sword.

On a kind of similar note, I wish that they kept the game's original english title as Enigma Archives: Rain Code....

[chocopat]

hiii!! i have a quick little request, feel free to answer in any form! i was wondering how some danganronpa characters (komaeda, saihara, korekiyo, rantaro and ouma) would react to their crushs talent being something vvvv out of the norm or morbid! like shsl mortician or shsl taxidermist! im personally vv goth and i work with animal bones in my artwork and have done cadaver drawing classes so im just sorta curious on how theyd react! thanks so much! take care of urself!

OO THATS SO COOL

୧ 𖥔 ۫ SHSL MORTICIAN . . . 🍮📹

- komaeda, saihara, korekiyo, rantaro, and ouma!

- warnings : mentions of dead bodies n kinda dark stuff but not rlly???,korekiyo killing ppl, not really gore-y tho?

- sorry this took so long omg

﹒ 𓈒 𓏸 ﹒ 🍞🐈‍⬛﹒ ࣭ 𖧋 ˚ 𓂋 ﹒

„ nagito komaeda

- he thinks your ultimate is so hopeful!

- he finds so much hope in the fact you help prepare dead people before their funeral

- doesnt really find the things you do scary? again, he sees hope in it

- doesnt really get it but he loves to learn about everything you do

„ shuichi saihara

- he thinks its so cool

- he loveeees looking at your art! he finds it so cool

- literally wants to be your emo detective bf so bad

- might confess to you through a letter with skull stickers LOL

„ korekiyo shinguuji

- he thinks your ultimate is so beautiful

- he finds beauty in the fact you care about these dead bodies

- might even care about you more than his sister

- maybe just maybe starts killing people so that you can work on more dead bodies n stuff

„ rantaro amami

- definitely interested!

- he doesnt really understand some things either but he listens very well when you explain stuff to him

- gifts you beautiful gothic rings henrjfhbd

- omg he gives you animal bones that he got from his hikes because he knows you work with them AWW

„ kokichi ouma

- definitely tells dice about it

- he pretends to be scared and fake cries but laughs and tells you its a lie when you tell him you know he’s lying

- wont admit it but he thinks your cool as FUCK!

- he pretends like he doesnt give two shits about your ultimags (but he does)

[nabateaprodigy]

Hi! Do you mind if i could request kirigiri, mukuro, Ibuki and kirumi (separate) x shsl s/o gn historian who is more in the shy side, thanks :D

Love of History

Series: Danganronpa.

Characters: Kyoko, Mukuro, Ibuki, Kirumi.

Genre: Fluff.

Proofread: Yes.

Reader: Gender Neutral.

Kyoko

I think that Kyoko would make a pretty great pair! Just think about it! Ultimate Detective and Ultimate Historian? A match made in heaven!

At first, it might be hard for you to talk with Kyoto's stoic expression and what you think at first to have a cold personality. However, once you get to know her you learn she just doesn't show emotion all that much. She cares a lot about what you have together!

I think it would be a lot of fun for you and Kyoto to talk about famous unknown killers and famous unknown unsolved cases. Who knows? Maybe with both of you working together, you'll solve them!

I think a great way for you and Kyoko to spend time together would be to visit museums! As the Ultimate Historian, you tell Kyoko more about anything in the museum. Than the information they have on display to demonstrate your talent!

Mukuro

Another character that I think you would make a pretty good pair with! I just think that the talent of the Ultimate Historian and Ultimate Solider would go pretty well together.

Unlike Kyoko who would be interested in almost everything you have to tell her. I think that Mukuro would be curious about famous wars and battles recorded throughout history. You don't mind telling her you are just more than happy that she's interested!

Mukuro would be interested in how battles and wars were won and the tactics that lead would lead to victory. After all, she's a soldier herself so anything you tell her could help her a lot! Even if they aren't the best of people...Mukuro would be interested in what the leaders of these battles were like.

Mukuro likes listening to your voice it calms her a lot whenever you talk. She liked learning about what you told her so that was always her favorite part of the day.

Ibuki

Honestly, this girl probably won't have the slightest idea what you're talking about most of the time. To your surprise but not to her surprise she's failing history class...

So of course you help her study! She appreciates it since history isn't one of her best classes. Of course, she'll ask if the both of you can do your homework together.

It might be a little overwhelming to get used to Ibuki and her antics. She's a very friendly person and can be very loud at times although that doesn't surprise you considering her talent...but you at heart she's a good person and soon warm up and feel comfortable around her.

It might be pretty embarrassing but I could see Ibuki doing something like this. She appreciates your help and is very happy about it! So I could see her boasting loudly about her talented and knowledgeable her S/O is.

Kirumi

Another person who I think would be a great pair! Although because of her talent, you might not think so at first. But she likes how passionate you can be.

Now and then Kirumi surprise you with historical facts that even you didn't know! It makes you very happy as you can talk about history with her and learn new things.

I think Kirumi is very easy to approach and talk with. So while you may have trouble talking with others. You have the easiest time talking with Kirumi since she's very friendly and a calm person.

Now Kirumi is the prime minister of Japan so because of that. I think that Kirumi could give you access to a lot of historical information that isn't easily available. It's something that makes you happy so she doesn't mind getting access to the information for you.

[unknown-ultimates]

Event: Dreams

*Me was rolling and tumbling in his bed, wincing and groaning from an awful nightmare he was having. He was reliving his traumatic past within his dreams and he was struggling to wake up. The abuse, the rape, the pain, it was too much for him to handle. And then at one point of his dreams, a bright light is seen in the distance. It was bright enough to banish the evil torturing Me.  In that small moment, Me reached out to the light as something reached out from the light to Me. At that moment, Me wakes up in a sweat. Me sighs and rubs his face in exhaustion. When he lays back down, his arm taps something that was laying next to him. Me looks to the side to see what it was.*

*Me screams and nearly rolls off the bed. The creature wakes up in surprise shouttoo.*

“Puyo!?” *The pink ball thing looks around then sees Me, calming down and looking at him curiously. The scream was loud enough to alert those inside Dementia’s castle and folks nearby. Are they attracted to the sound?*

@miraculous-ultimates @kaeder-flohwalzer @sweet-programmer @sweetened-lies-and-bitter-truths @sweetdrugs-and-introverted @thepersonaking56 @mikado-sannoji @your-pink-party-pony @y0u-f4il3d-m3 @ask-ultimate-fashionista @ask-the-ultimate-cosplayer​ @kitsunezaki​ @despair-erased​ @former-proffessor-and-policeman​ @lil-ultimate-neverland​ @ask-kuro-twins​ @hinokamiikaguraa​ @detective-shelf-collection​ @rxnowned-vxmpire-hxnter​ @ultimate-investagter-graduate​ @sinning-harmony​ @my-ultimate-academia​ @the-shy-pony​ @just-me-exe​ @chiaki-the-gamer-girl​ @ask-shsl-mass-murderer​ ​