#Someday I will write an in-depth review of all the DR games and characters
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honhonluigi · 4 years ago
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I say we take a second to appreciate the positive. The writing of DR is a shitshow, yeah, but what are your favorite things about the series?
Honestly, I like some of the writing in DR. If it was all just terrible writing, then I wouldn’t play the game. It’d be the anime all over again-- nothing but terrible writing and horrible characters and I’d just avoid it like the plague. Nah for the most part, I think the writing is pretty good. The plot is a really interesting concept. The lore about Despair is fucking stupid, but the backstory of Hope’s Peak is good, and the Kamukura Project is great. The fact that Hope’s Peak’s own hubris and cruelty and ambition is the thing that eventually brought them down is a really good twist. The individual characters are written well, including the way they interact with each other. There’s just a few characters/relationships that are written horribly that stick out: Maki, Chiaki, KaiMaki, Junko, Shuichi. And they stick out because they’re written so horribly compared to the rest of the game. The same writing is also responsible for characters like Nagito, Hajime, Izuru, Kokichi, Kaede, Celeste, Kyoko, Makoto...And that just baffles me. How can you write characters that are so fun and interesting, and then shove these horrible Mary-Sues down my throat? (Fanservice! That’s how! Fanservice is the devil of all fictional media!) 
But my favorite things about the series-- 
1. The characters. This is DR’s absolute strongest point. If I don’t like the characters in something, then I’m never going to enjoy it, no matter how interesting the lore or plot is. I love the majority of characters in DR, and the ones that I hate vehemently are the ones that actively strive to ruin the story with their awful writing. Other than them, the rest of the characters are good. They’re consistent, they’re solid, they’re interesting, they’re fun to learn about and interact with (even if their backstories are wtf???? sometimes). I hate Byakuya, but he’s written well. He makes sense as a character and he serves his function. Same with Hiyoko. So I still don’t view those characters as ‘negatives’, because they’re well-written, and I don’t dread it when they speak. They’re fun to hate. Every piece of media needs someone you can hate. Most of the characters are super fun and interesting. I love seeing content of them, hearing them speak, learning more about them, etc. I would never have played the games if I hadn’t liked the characters. Plus, I find more and more that I like large-cast media because there’s so much more opportunity for character. You get such a large ensemble of different personalities and it’s fun. Plus, if you have a bunch of completely different people, the odds are more likely that I’ll love at least one. Whereas in most main-character + love interest focused media, I hate both the MC and LI, and so the whole thing is ruined for me. In large-cast media, I can hate the main character and/or their lover, but love the rest of the cast and go through it for them. 
2. The plot. The backstory and plot surrounding Despair is the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Completely unbelievable. Outlandish. Ridiculous. But, the plot as a concept is really fun. The idea of the killing game and being trapped there and having nothing to do but make friends or kill each other leaves so much room for character growth and fun drama. It’s like those “mysterious mansion dinner party murder” books but better. And the backstory and plot surrounding Hope’s Peak is actually fairly decent, and interesting, if you take the ‘Despair’ bits away from it. 
3. The moral ambiguity. This might not be DR’s strongest appeal to people, but it is the most important thing to me in any piece of media. I need moral ambiguity. I can’t get interested in a piece of fiction if there’s absolutely no sense of moral ambiguity at all. If it’s just black-and-white “good hero defeats evil villain”! Then I’m going to be bored and angry and I’ll never read/watch/play it. There’s nothing I despise more than black-and-white hero stories. I need moral ambiguity. It’s a theme that I prize above everything else in fiction. I need my fiction to reflect the greyness of the real world. That real people aren’t good or evil, they just have motives and they act on those motives according to their personalities. That no one is good or bad; bad people do good things, good people do bad things, etc. DR2 is literally that theme, tied up in a nice little bow. None of the characters are ‘good people’ after Despair (except the little Mary Sue!!!), but they all are shown to be worthy of life and friendship and love anyway. They show that they can do good things as well. Plus, there’s the theme of all the murders being “for good reasons”, and you have to decide for yourself if that’s true or not. And the question of “are they really evil for committing a murder when they were forced to by threat of Monokuma?” Hajime is the closest thing we get to a morally ambiguous protag, and that’s why I love him. Makoto is definitely a ‘good person’, but his character isn’t used to preach some moral theme about goodness. He falls in love with Kyoko, who’s the second shadiest person in the cast. And he’s best friends with Sayaka, who is the shadiest person in the cast. And he defends them, even when they do bad things. This theme right here, about being allowed to do bad things and have it be recognized by the writing and other characters, is what separated Sayaka from Chiaki for me. It’s why I like one and hate the other. 
This is also why I hate Shuichi. His character is used for nothing but toting around this moral stance of Kaito’s black-and-white good-and-evil “belief”. Shuichi’s character arc outright destroys any of the moral ambiguity in DRV3. And this is a huge part of why I hate Junko. She’s just a purely evil villain with no other personality and no motives. She has no opportunity to show ANY good traits at all. She’s just pure evil, for evil’s sake. Literally. And honestly, this also serves to make Chiaki more obnoxious too. Being the only faultless one in a cast full of ex-terrorists? Fucking lame. And the writing portrays her like she’s a perfect angel hero, who never does anything wrong (even though she does a lot of selfish, shitty things in the game and she’s a horrible person too), because of course! you’re not allowed to hate Mary Sues. There can’t be any such thing as flaws in a Mary Sue, and they can’t do anything wrong, otherwise you’d have a valid reason to hate them! And you can’t hate them because they’re the best character!!!! Anyway, you might be thinking “how come you hate Maki? She’s the definition of moral ambiguity!” Nah bro, she’s the definition of denial and hypocrisy. She and everyone else ignore and deny and cover up all the bad shit she does and insist that she’s a “good person” for absolutely no reason. She never shows any good sides. Then she and everyone else go around talking down to and hating every other cast member for being “bad” when idk?? They’re not fucking serial killers so I’d say they’re better off. And we’re not allowed to acknowledge her flaws or hate her for them, because it’s all part of her tragic backstory!!! 
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marshmallowgoop · 5 years ago
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Goop Plays Kill la Kill the Game: IF (Satsuki Episodes 9-10)
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What.
Episode 9
Okay, before I get into the episode, I do have a confession to make: I did know some kinda spoilery things about the story mode before I started playing.
Me being me, I couldn’t help but read into every little thing that review copy owners said about the plot of the game prior to release. So, when my note about Hiromi Wakabayashi stating that IF was canon to the anime at last year’s Anime Expo seemed plausible enough to Globku that he even mentioned it in his review of the game, I figured something was up.
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In a Discord group for IF, I wrote:
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I think Globku was actually referring to a comment I made [in his review], where I noted that Wakabayashi said the game was canon at AX last year ^^;
But apparently it could fit into canon
Which....
mmmm
Dunno how to feel about that
Globku later responded:
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@MarshmallowGoop correct
I was referring to your comment
that's the first I heard of it
I had thought "this could actually be canon" at the end of story mode
so hearing that made sense
And I answered:
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I'm famous! :D
The thing is, though, I had thought it was a misspoken statement, given that the story was later stressed to be an AU. But here is the source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nFRRTHkfwM&feature=youtu.be&t=45m2s
Or to sum it up, from one of my millions of articles: "We first got story details at Anime Expo’s Kill la Kill the Game: IF panel back in July, and the crowd there didn’t waste any time in asking if the game would be canon to the anime. Studio Trigger’s Hiromi Wakabayashi answered in the affirmative, prompting applause from the audience. 
'Yeah,' Wakabayashi said. “I consider them [the game and the anime] to be in the same universe, as part of the same story.'” 
I elaborated some more:
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Takeshi Yamanaka, the game's producer, also said in a recent video, "Nakashima-sensei is going to be the one drawing the storyboards. As you might expect, there were parts of the story that he wasn’t able to tell in the anime, so he’s putting a lot of effort into writing a side story that wasn’t able to be told in the anime. It takes place before the point in the anime—before the Naturals Election takes place, so around episode… 8.5? It’s less of an alternate universe story and more a story that happened, but there wasn’t time to depict it. It wasn’t shown in the anime, but these events actually happened in Nakashima-san’s head."
Which... I thought was really curious.
source: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/185751744432/crunchyroll-on-twitter
And then I concluded by saying:
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In any case, the confirmation that this "alternate story" could fit into the anime's story... kind of explains some things
Globku went on to warn me that “they really use a popular gimmick to make it all fit together” and I shouldn’t “get [my] hopes up,” and when Timodus, another review copy owner, shared the trophy list for the game, I immediately took note of how the achievement for beating the final boss in Ryuko’s story is called “Lost in a Dream.”
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“inb4 the whole game was just a dream,” I said.
So, tl;dr, I was kind of expecting something like what happened in these two final chapters of Satsuki’s story.
But I’m still very, very lost.
Ragyo’s completely right. I’m not sure I can hope to understand!
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Ragyo: You cannot hope to understand, dear.
I mean, what?
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Ragyo: I suppose, though, that your obliviousness is what brought this situation about in the first place. A distorted world such as this can transcend space and time. One such as this can even be spun into a single yarn with the Primordial Life Fiber.
I suppose I should have seen something like this coming when it was stated in episode 4 that Life Fibers can transcend space, but I’m... very confused. Is this game a whole ‘nother universe that somehow ends up merging with the anime’s universe? Or is it just Satsuki’s dream, as the ending sort of implies? Or is it a “dream that’s more than a dream,” as is so common in Magical Girl stories (of which Kill la Kill takes many cues from)? Why does Ragyo refer to the world as “distorted”?
I’m sure Ryuko’s story will explain things more, but right now, I’m kind of scratching my head.
Trying to understand how this game fits into the anime aside, the battle with Ragyo in Shinra-Kouketsu is so much more difficult and more enjoyable than the final boss (as much as I enjoyed Junketsu-Shinzui). Once more, I really loved all the cute introductions as other characters joined Satsuki for the battle; Satsuki saying that she’s counting on Gamagoori and that she never imagined fighting with Ryuko by her side is so sweet. Satsuki’s comment to Nonon that she shouldn’t hold back also caught my interest, as it implies that Nonon might have seen Ragyo as a much kinder figure and wasn’t aware of her horrible abuses against Satsuki.
Hey, I know the consensus on this game has gone from generally positive to really mixed, but, uh, could we please get a Kill la Kill prequel someday? I mean, Little Witch Academia is getting another game despite the first one basically being a critical failure, right?
All that said, this episode really hammered home that I was definitely hoping for too much depth from a short story in an anime tie-in game. I kinda had the same reaction as Ryuko. That’s... it?
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Ryuko: That’s it? It’s over?
And, uh, relating to my discussion of the last few episodes, Rei is totally dead, but is Ragyo? And Nui? I wasn’t completely sure, but if they are, is everyone just kinda “whatever” about that? They’re all teenagers who just killed a bunch of folks, nbd?
O... kay.
More positively, I loved the bit where Satsuki saw visions of the anime. All of those visions are about being with Ryuko, my heart. And the first one is her apology on the Naked Sol. My heart.
The style on these images is also really nice, too.
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Can’t say I know at all what’s going on—does Satsuki end up just standing still after this because she realizes that the world is all fake or something?—but I was kind of expecting to dislike a gimmicky dream plot or whatever, but I actually... like it?
At least, so far, anyway.
Episode 10
Speaking of stuff I was expecting to dislike, I wrote a whole essay years ago about how I didn’t think Junketsu-Shinzui would be thematically fitting. In another essay, I argued, “Their [Satsuki and Junketsu’s] destructive “bond” is likely why Junketsu-Shinzui, the super-mode Junketsu version of Senketsu-Kisaragi, is never used. In a series quite literally about the power of friendship, having great strength come in the form of the exact opposite simply doesn’t work.”
But having Junketsu-Shinzui come from absorbing the uniforms of the Elite Four⁠—much like how Senketsu-Kisaragi came from absorbing other uniforms—made it work for me. It’s about friendship overpowering the monster that is Junketsu, not about power coming from domination, hatred, and control. It’s actually pretty sweet.
And Satsuki looks so beautiful.
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However... I will say that I was hoping for a lot more from this story than what happened. There was none of the Senketsu and Satsuki bonding that I was dying for (sob), and Satsuki doesn’t grow at all as a person from the storyline here. She never realizes her mistakes and vows to be better as she does in the anime. 
Initially, I was really bummed by this lack of development. But as I thought about things more, I... didn’t mind so much. If this dream or universe or whatever is something that Satsuki “experiences” before the events of the anime, of course she won’t grow as a character here. Maybe this game is kind of the Kill la Kill prequel I’ve been begging for for over half a decade.
And as much as I didn’t get anything, I thought the ending bits between Ryuko and Satsuki were so good. 
Like, I suppose Ryuko’s absorbing the Life Fibers or something?? But wow, pretty.
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And the part where they talk before Satsuki disappears? That’s my kinda anime bullshit. It’s the kinda anime bullshit I wanted from the OVA between Ryuko and Senketsu. 
You know that scene in Wolf Children where Hana and the Wolf Man talk in the end? I have a lot of problems with that movie, but I just love things like that. Good shit.
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Satsuki: Thank you. I am sorry for all the trouble.
Ryuko: Huh! Don’t get all mushy. Besides, there’s a few things we still gotta settle.
Satsuki: Indeed we have. Until we meet again.
But, okay. My questions are endless.
Where the heck did Ryuko and Senketsu go in that last battle? How the heck can Senketsu-Kisaragi happen in Ryuko’s side of the story? What the heck happened to my boy, anyway? (I’m assuming he died, but....)
And what’s the symbolism of Satsuki needing to cut herself in half to “wake up”?
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And why do all the ties between humans and Life Fibers have to be severed when Ryuko and Senketsu are so lovely together? Not to mention that Ryuko still has Life Fibers in her, right?
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Satsuki: The ties between humans and Life Fibers... shall be severed!
And I thought I was expecting too much from those ominous trailer lines, but apparently not?
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Ragyo: All of this is because of you, Satsuki. Because of who you are.
You cannot hope to understand, dear. I suppose, though... that your obliviousness is what brought this situation about in the first place.
But what does it mean????
Why is Satsuki having this “dream” or whatever in the first place? Did the Life Fibers ultimately want the ending of the anime, and this “world” is to help Satsuki and co reach that ending? I mean, why else would the Primordial Life Fiber baby show Satsuki all those bits from the anime?
Also, what is the significance of the final boss basically being a big baby.
I just. I don’t even know.
I do also have to wonder how much of this “world” that Satsuki remembers in the end. I tend to forget my dreams (when I actually have them) really quickly, and that’s honestly the only reason that I can make sense of this story. Satsuki experienced all of this stuff, but all she really remembers about it is that girl with the red in her hair and one half of a giant pair of scissors...
It’s kinda poetic. Nakashima is a playwright, I suppose.
The story also reminds me of a fanfiction I’ve wanted to write. In the story, I too wanted to use some BS Life Fiber explanation to justify time travel of sorts. The idea was that Ryuko would continuously go back to the past to try to prevent Senketsu’s death. But she’d only remember previously living through the events of the anime close to its ending, and no matter how many times she’d try, she’d never be able to change the fact that Senketsu had to perish.
The final time she tries, she’d confess everything to Senketsu, and he’d say something about how some things are just meant to be. The future is as set in stone as the past.
I don’t think I’ll ever write it⁠—especially after I just revealed the whole plot, lol—but I dunno. I kinda liked seeing something a bit reminiscent of my idea in an actual “canon” Kill la Kill story, and Senketsu’s line in the preview for Ryuko’s half of the game makes me curious if there won’t be some more similarities coming up.
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Senketsu: When humans realize the world they desire is a fleeting thing, will they be able to accept it?
Maybe the world Ryuko desires is a world where Senketsu lives, but that kind of world would be fleeting—but that’s enough for her.
Orrr I’m probably just being too optimistic for more stuff about my babies. 
But, c’mon, Senketsu says he’s getting more action in Ryuko’s story! So! Let a girl dream!
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At the end of the day, I think what I’ve wanted most from this story is more respect towards Senketsu. And... since I didn’t see Imaishi’s name in the credits, I’m hoping that at least that much happens.
But speaking of the credits, I’m sad I didn’t get mentioned, lol. Playing the game at Sakura-Con and Anime Expo apparently didn’t count!
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