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watermelpm · 1 day ago

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A "little" Kokichi Ouma analysis

WARNING - Spoilers for LOTS of V3

As a character, Kokichi Ouma is smart, skeptical, arguably selfless, absolutely obnoxious, and someone who would do anything for the greater cause. His forced role as the “antagonist” paired with Shuichi’s forced role as the “protagonist” makes for an intriguing, tragic dichotomy between the two that enhances his own descent into villainous extremities, up until the deadly climax of chapter 5. He is a fantastically complex character, partly due to being one of the most intelligent and forward-thinking in the entire franchise, despite how he seems on the surface.

Kokichi’s intelligence is evident from multiple elements of the game, even just as simple as his room (enhanced analysis abilities in particular are evident from the whiteboard and his ability to predict, anticipate, and plan for future room invaders). Additionally to his room, he also knew/predicted the Monokuma cameras that were around the campus WAY before anyone else noticed; kept track of all the events that were happening/things being said, placing importance on Gonta’s brief mention of “seeing little bugs”, asking Miu to make the BugVac for his suspicions; wrote the Horse A message, meaning he knew or at least hypothesized Rantaro’s perk before anyone else; and made every single move under the assumption the mastermind was one of them, which he was correct about!. Kokichi had a fantastic, well-rounded understanding of how he was perceived and meticulously planned every move he made around how others would react.

Another important aspect of Kokichi is his unrelenting skepticism, which I firmly believe was the crux behind every move he made in DRV3. He kept track of all the murders— hoarded pieces of each trial—, firmly doubted his own memories (which was almost unanimously accepted by everyone else, even the Ultime Detective), and was extremely careful around every other person in the game. His unexplained disappearances and generally less rambunctious, loud attitude at the beginning of the game makes me believe he was observing the actions of his classmates, getting to know their character, and analyzing their chances of becoming killer/victim, which informed his later attachment to classmates he deemed safer (i.e. Gonta in particular). My belief is a lot of his earlier lies were meant to paint himself as not vulnerable, lowering his chances of being killed, and his more innocent, earlier lies eventually grew into the astronomical falsehoods they became because he realized the survival advantage of no one knowing when he was telling the truth.

However, the most crucial reason I think Kokichi’s lies got as out-of-hand as they did is because his classmates immediately and unquestionably treated him like a villain. It’s practically confirmed in-game that Kokichi played up his sinisterness the entire game (playing the mastermind, acting like he was going to “win” the game, both of which are disproven by the end) and I believe it’s because all the other characters expected him to be that way. Everything he said was treated like something wicked and malicious because he phrased it playfully/mischievously, but his intention was almost always (at least until chapter 4) non-malicious. This can be easily seen from the very beginning, when he’s “getting on Kaede’s case” about forcing everyone to keep trying the manhole escape minigame when they were clearly unable to continue, and from him encouraging Himiko to let herself feel upset after the chapter 3 trial. Yet, from almost the first words out of his mouth, Kokichi was seen as the antagonist. Not to say he wasn’t sly, mischievous, playful, and a fucking smartass, but no one could see past the surface of undesirable speech characteristics to understand the intention beneath.

It’s my theory that, by chapter 4, Kokichi fully realized that no matter what he said, it would be perceived negatively. However, as stated, Kokichi was smart, and he ultimately used this epitome to his advantage— wrapping himself up in lies, going completely crazy with it, because it truly no longer mattered what the truth was in the eyes of everyone else. He was willing to lie, cheat, and let everyone else think he was a terrible person for one reason and one reason only: to end the game.

Kokichi hated the killings, as evidenced by D.I.C.E. 's rules about murder and his later confessions/efforts in ch 5. There were many other smaller motivations he practiced throughout the game (surviving was one of the biggest ones, but I’d argue discovering the truth about the game was just as important) but his hatred of the game was the biggest driver of every single action he made. This, in my mind, is the most important reason he “became the villain”: not because he wanted to, but because his classmates wouldn’t listen to him any other way, and he needed to have relative control/understanding of their actions to carry out his own efforts to end the game. None of them (except maybe Gonta, and Shuichi near the beginning) picked up on his ulterior motives, or even had general curiosity about why he acted the way he did. It’s this unfortunate perception of him that prompted Kokichi to intensify his behavior in an effort to reach his goal. Even if he wanted to stop the villain act, Kokichi had gone too far by chapter 4 to pull himself back out, so his lies only grew.

It’s impossible to talk about Kokichi’s character without talking about Shuichi’s because their arcs are so beautifully intertwined. Their separate journeys inform both their development throughout the game.

Kokichi gravitated toward Shuichi from the beginning. This is evidenced by his whiteboard (trustworthy?), his efforts to befriend him in chapter 4, and the general “togetherness” of their viewpoints during trials (99% of the time being on the same side in debate scrum and Kokichi’s lies almost always serving as a way to further the truth both Shuichi and him were seeking, even if they were seemingly at odds). Shuichi was different from everyone else, expressing curiosity about Kokichi rather than immediate resentment like the other classmates, and Kokichi clearly wanted him on his side. Yet, Shuichi, much like Kokichi, was forced into a role by his classmates: the protagonist. While Kokichi’s talent was immediately perceived negatively, Shuichi’s was perceived positively (due to the nature of the killing game, having an Ultimate Detective on your side was likely a factor). As the game progressed (and he grew more confident in his abilities) he proved himself as someone capable of investigating the murders and coming to the correct conclusion.

By chapter 3, everyone had begun to rely on Shuichi to get them through the trials. Even when he was shocked and sad about the deaths, he immediately jumped into every investigation because everyone else’s lives were dependent on him doing so. This ultimately just perpetuated him being driven into the role of the protagonist because he couldn’t stop doing what he was or everyone would die.

Shuichi’s “rivalry” against Kokichi was fabricated completely by the roles they were pushed into. Shuichi was led away from Kokichi the entire game by his friends (Kaito and Maki especially, who both despised Kokichi and vice versa) and Kokichi was isolated, the only person who could stand hanging around him being Gonta. The rest of his classmates’ hatred toward Kokichi also turned Shuichi’s feelings for him into resentment by chapter 5, with Shuichi often feeling like a villain for “siding” with Kokichi in trials. Shuichi was curious/skeptical about Kokichi’s motives the entire game, but it transformed into dismissal (ignoring Kokichi being hurt after he fell through the floorboards in ch 3) and irritation (how Shuichi acts in ch 4’s trial) because he began to perceive Kokichi as everyone else did: a villain.

None of these roles ultimately benefited them, in the end. Even Shuichi, who we usually see as someone who gained more self-confidence due to the uplifting of his friends, really didn’t come out of the killing game better off. He was stuck carrying everyone else through trials, pressured to perform under his intense anxiety/fears, which only made him more scared about making a mistake and inadvertently being the reason for everyone’s deaths, if he was. Kokichi put on a mask of lies to protect himself, not seem helpless, and to achieve his goals, but was pushed into decisions he never would’ve made otherwise in order to play the villain (sacrificing Gonta and using him to kill Miu, for example, discussed later.) Thus, they both suffered for the situation they were put into, forced to butt heads but just as trapped as the other was.

Their similar yet completely opposite directions in the game, as dictated by the people around them rather than themselves, is what makes their relationship so tragic, yet also that much more interconnected. It’s one of the reasons I’ve really started to grow fond of saiou. Here are two people, neither of whom wanted to be protagonist vs antagonist, but, because of the situation they were thrown into— a scenario dictated by fear— and the surface-level perceptions of their talents/personalities by people who didn’t really know them. Kokichi wanted to get closer to Shuichi because he knew Shuichi could help him end the game; his and Shuichi's smarts working together was sure to help them figure out a plan, or at least something to stop the killings from happening and end the game. But Kaede, Kaito, Maki, and everyone else made Shuichi steer clear from Kokichi (though Kokichi was at fault for this too by a certain point because he deliberately pushed others away by chapter 3) but he knew that if he could get Shuichi on his side, they could end the game. And maybe they would’ve.

It’s even more tragic to know that they were incredibly similar not just in their character arcs but even just at a characteristic level. Shuichi wanted to find the truth so badly in every single trial, much like Kokichi, but at the end of the game he CHOOSES TO LIVE A LIE— chooses to be Shuichi Saihara and defy the game even though he knows he’s not a real person anymore. I think that’s profoundly beautiful when we think about Kokichi, who was living a lie the whole time— who already had an understanding that being a lie was less painful and often more advantageous than the truth. Yet he was just like Shuichi, seeking truth even if he had to lie along the way.

Two truth-seekers, two liars, extremely similar characters on a soul-level who would’ve made such a good team had they not been forced apart.

By chapter four, Kokichi’s villain persona was solidified, but what he did was not inherently evil. Kokichi was smart— smart enough to figure out Miu’s plan (when even the Ultimate Detective didn’t). He understood, even without knowing exactly what Miu was planning, that if he let her murder him, everyone else would die, too. I believe he felt the work he made up to that point and the entire killing game itself would be useless if it ended the way Monokuma wanted. He desperately didn’t want that, and so he sacrificed Gonta for this reason: to keep himself and everyone else alive.

This is another aspect of Kokichi’s character I feel isn’t as easily seen on the surface-level: his selflessness. Even if his jokes/lies made the others mad, he was still thoughtful and would try to help them. For example: giving them those electro hammers that Miu made to everyone and telling Kaede to stop using toxic positivity to get everyone to keep on trying to escape through the tunnel they found in Ch 1. Even him telling them about the outside world was meant to act as a mercy— to stop the killings from happening to them. But Kokichi’s ultimate act of selflessness was killing himself in the end— giving his life so that the others could live on.

I believe Kokichi felt like a shitty person for doing that to Gonta— selfish, hopeless even, just because he decided to prioritize the majority. Gonta was the only person that actually trusted Kokichi; he believed in him. That love and appreciation from Gonta made Kokichi tell Gonta about his plans; he’d bring Gonta with him everywhere, tell him what he was trying to do, and Gonta always helped him. This proves to me that if someone else had just been nicer to Kokichi, he would have probably opened up more and much of Kokichi’s more extreme, desperate actions could have been prevented. I can’t even imagine what that was like for Kokichi, tricking the only person that had actually cared about him into killing someone. And it likely made his hatred for the killing game grow even more.

I personally think Kokichi was breaking down really really hard at the end of ch 4. Even if he acted like he didn’t feel bad at all after the execution, it was just that: an act. When he tries to go with Gonta to his execution, I don’t think his feelings were lies; and, if they were, it was a kind lie, meant to help Gonta feel cared for before he died. Kokichi was hurting on the inside while watching what was happening to Gonta, you could just tell, the one person that trusted him and believed in him, he screwed over and betrayed. Kokichi even went full-mastermind mode because he felt like the villain, felt like he was evil because he sacrificed Gonta just to save himself, and realized it was the only way to truly end the game.

Kokichi was an absolute asshole and smartass that knew exactly what was happening and what to do about it. No one listened to his ideas because he put on the villain mask. The others felt like they couldn't trust him, which is what he needed, so that he could pose as the mastermind. Kokichi probably figured out Tsumugi's secret at one point during the game and that's why he played as the mastermind, which is part of the reason he acted like he drank the antidote but gave it to Kaito instead. It was part of his plan to stop the game and expose Tsumugi for breaking the rules that SHE made. He tried to make an unsolvable murder, but he hadn't expected Maki to come into the hangar, which is part of the reason Shuichi was able to solve it.

I know that Tsumugi knew that if Kokichi and Shuichi had been friends, the game would have ended earlier. That’s why I believe her/Spikechunsoft wrote them to be the Protag and Antag duo. Which is sad because they would have been a great team. And yes, Shuichi did end up having to live a lie at the end of the day, which shows great resemblance to Kokichi. They both wanted the truth, they both wanted to end the game and figure out the truth to the trials, but they both did it in separate ways. Kokichi would often question Shuichi during the trials or just in general, that made Shuichi think harder about the situation, which helped all of them find the truth. Kokichi lied to find the truth. Others may think that his lies were useless and bad, but Shuichi had also lied to find the truth. Shuichi lied to everyone else during the trials just to get the truth out of them, and it worked. They both lied to find the truth, but they both would still tell the truth. Kokichi told more lies than Shuichi, and that's what helped him find the truth. Shuichi told more truths than lies, which helped him. Meaning, both Kokichi and Shuichi had different ways of getting the truth out of others. Kokichi lived in lies, he lied to himself about how everything was going to be okay, that the game would end soon, that if he just kept his jig up for a little while longer, he would find the truth of the killing game. Kokichi didn't like lying to himself, but it made him feel better about the situation, more positive, he even lied to himself so much that I could imagine he sometimes couldn't tell whether or not he was telling the truth. Which is one of the reasons I mainly believe he went through with his plan in ch 5.

Shuichi was more emotional than Kokichi, and that's why he couldn't lie to himself. Shuichi wanted to feel better about the situation, he wanted to feel like it would get better, but it was harder for him to lie to himself like Kokichi did. No matter how hard Shuichi had tried, he just couldn't.

I couldn't figure out where to include the last 3 paragraphs but I really wanted to include them lol. Also thank you so much to my sister @kiwi-luminaryofthestars for helping me edit this silly little thing! And an extra shout-out to @starredskys for being so nice and excited to read this thing!

#danganronpa #drv3 #danganronpa v3 #danganronpa killing harmony #shuichi saihara #kokichi ouma #danganronpa shuichi #danganronpa kokichi #drv3 shuichi #drv3 kokichi #character analysis #Watermelpm yapss #Saiou #Saiouma

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