#Why everyone compare him to komaeda THEY ARE NOT SIMILAR

[tobiasdrake]

Alright. We need to talk about Ryoma.

In 3-1, this was Ryoma's proposed solution to the "Waves of Monokumas will kill us all" threat, and it segues directly into 3-2's conversation about the utilitarian value of an individual.

Ryoma believes that his life has no value. He's a convict who went to prison for mass murder after everyone he loves died. He offers no societal value and there's nobody who loves him or cares about him. No one would miss him if he were gone.

Therefore, it stands to reason that if anyone's looking to win the Killing Game and get out of here, Ryoma's the Objectively Correct target to pick off, right?

Ryoma's not the first Danganronpa character to propose an idea like this. In a sense, he can be considered a deconstruction of Nagito Komaeda. Nagito offered a similar philosophy about his life, which was part and parcel of a complex belief system, compared and contrasted against that of Junko Enoshima. One that propelled him as one of Danganronpa's biggest characters and brought his whole arc to a startling and satisfying climax.

V3 doesn't have a startling and satisfying climax for Ryoma, though. Being unsatisfying on purpose is one of V3's goals. That's why every Class Trial ends with a sucker punch instead of catharsis.

Ryoma doesn't get to go on an interesting and compelling journey of character examination and evolution. He doesn't get to grow and change over the course of a complicated storyline until finally reaching a point that will serve as the ultimate capstone on his character.

Ryoma finds someone to take him up on his offer. And he just. Fucking. Dies.

This is the kind of thing you wouldn't typically write. The most obvious outcome for Ryoma, the most obvious character to die first. It's, as noted, deeply unsatisfying both as a capstone for Ryoma's journey and as the foundation for a murder mystery.

There's a reason nobody took Nagito up on his offer in DR2. Because that would be a boring answer for why one person killed another. There's no flavor in killing a guy who's offering himself up for anyone to kill if they want to. A murder motive of "He would be easy to kill so I did" is super boring.

But when you're trying to write a Whodunit that... like... kinda hates the whole concept of Whodunits? Just a little? Then this is exactly where you end up. The "Kill me first" guy dies because obviously someone's going to fucking kill him first. Technically second but he was campaigning to be the victim as early as the first chapter.

Which is not to say the chapter doesn't nonetheless have things to say about Ryoma. We'll get to that.

[vampelune]

This is your open invitation to infodump about an opinion you've been wanting to share. Go off, friend 💙

well considering my recent post, think its safe to safe to say im a strong opinion of the fact that komaeda + mikan would not be best friends, like most people seem to think they would be. i think they would strongly dislike each other, if not outright hate each other at some points.

there's a few reasons for that. for mikan, she's just... she bitter. jealous. anguished. i think of the line she said in her trial, to komaeda -- "is it because you're also someone who isn't loved by anyone?"

and i read that as mikan not only comparing herself to him, but bitterly envying him. because at this point, she knew -- she remembered their time in despair so there is no reason she would not remember komaeda's own love, toward kamukura, and perhaps she read it as one-sided.

and perhaps she's bitter, because as she knows, kamukura is alive. komaeda feels love toward someone, at the very least, who is alive. komaeda has what she doesn't, even after she killed for her love, twice over, she knows that enoshima is dead, and soon she will be too.

and she felt that way during the tragedy, seeing komaeda have what she doesn't. knowing that komaeda, as well, had earned enoshima's "love", whatever it was. felt jealous of him twice. felt angry.

and komaeda? he just thinks that tsumiki's weak. tsumiki, unlike the others, isn't into despair for the sake despair. she fell into it for love, plain and simple, and that disgusts him. komaeda can say he's in despair for the sake of the hope that will overcome, that he instigates despair to lay ground for hope, to provide stepping stones to overcome, and his classmates all still bear that hope somewhere deep within them, even as they fall to despair, but tsumiki?

she just loved enoshima. she did what enoshima told her, fell in love with despair because enoshima loved despair. she didn't idolize hope or despair, she was just in love, and then, in anguish at the loss of their love.

to me, i think they would just... hate each other because they see each other in themselves, the parts they hate most.

there's just things that they would dislike, too. jealousy, and envy. things like how kamukura certainly doesn't mistreat komaeda to the same degree enoshima mistreats tsumiki. things like how komaeda hates hospitals, hates medical equipment, hates the superficial care and compassion of a nurse who's paid to deal with him. how tsumiki is alone, after enoshima's passing, mostly because she forces herself to be out of undeserved "loyalty" to enoshima, but komaeda moves on so quickly to letting kamukura be his sole master instead of enoshima.

how komaeda, in all his similarities to tsumiki, how they are so deeply alike, how their traumas and sadnesses and attitudes are similar but far apart, how they're mistreated and hated by their peers, still has love. he has something she doesn't. and why? what does she lack, that he makes up for? why is she undeserving, when he isn't?

but they're so "kind", they play nice, now. despair is over, and the m.o. on jabberwock is to be nice. to put past grievances behind them. to get back their lost youth and be happy, with everyone there.

but tsumiki and komaeda don't let things go easily. they may play nice, may put themselves down around others in an attempt to make up for their grudges, hatred, annoyances -- but they internalize it all the same, still feel bitterness in one form or another.

tsumiki, in wanting to finally have dominance over her bullies, over others, to have control and agency when she's never had it, so she hurts others. makes them dependent on her. takes joy in it.

komaeda, when he finally finds a reason to be put himself above someone, he does. he takes joy in it, takes joy in any form of control because it's what he lacks, in his life. the ability to have a path he dictates, not luck.

so they speak to each other tensely, with teary eyes and tight-laced smiles. put themselves down in a way that reads as passive-aggressive, in a way that sleights the other. sometimes they snap, say things that go over that line they obsessively toe, and usually someone's nearby to pull them apart because they don't like to be alone with one another. don't trust one another, not at all.

they both want control. but at the same time, they just want to let go of it completely, to find comfort in the lack of agency, of letting someone else take the lead and control their lives. willingly, this time. because they chose it. chose someone like enoshima. someone like kamukura.

they need therapy, really.

[mozillavulpix]

super anti-komahina salt

and this is to go further beyond

I saw a komahina fan post a write-up and it just irritates me so I want to break it down:

“If you think Komaeda is batshit insane or that his character is only about his obsession with hope and you interpreted Hinata's feelings about Komaeda as just hate of course it wouldn't make sense. Except neither of these are true for their characters.”

This is the basic surface-level narrative Komahina fans argue against, and fair enough, it’s a massive generalisation. But this argument also just irritates me because it implies everyone who doesn’t ship them do so because they don’t understand the characters well enough.

“long story short Komaeda's obsesses over hope as a coping mechanism, because it's the only thing he can cling to.”

I can agree with this in a way, but in my opinion I don’t think he’s so weak that it’s impossible for him break free from that mindset (during the game) if he really wants to.

“Komaeda doesn't like Hinata because he thinks he is talented and above him, Komaeda says he loves all ultimates but it's not real love. His love for Hinata is different. In the SDR2 drama CD he mentions that he loves Hinata because he tries to understand him.”

I can agree with this. Although the Drama CD is literally just the Free Time Events, I don’t think it’s some kind of ‘gotcha’ like people think it’d be.

But also keep in mind, yes, Hajime tries to give Nagito a chance and doesn’t immediately run away screaming because scary person he can’t understand, but Hajime also doesn’t particularly act more saintly than all the other kids towards Nagito after Chapter 1. Nekomaru and Kazuichi seem to at least try to hear Nagito out before they punch him in the face. Mahiru seems like she was the first one to consider giving him breakfast. Hajime tries to stop Akane from attacking him after the Chapter 1 trial, but mostly because he’s resigned to the fact it won’t change what he did, and he then changes his mind and gets pissed off when Nagito decides to taunt him about his amnesia in response. And it’s Sonia who finally settles everyone down. So yes, Hajime tries to understand Nagito, but in the actual plot itself that’s not a special trait unique to him.

It’s only ‘unique’ if you choose to do the Free Time Events, and the Free Time Events...are basically not canon. They’re more like a what-if scenario the player chooses to view, and the dialogue was written from that perspective.

As in, maybe it’s canon that they’d interact like that if they spent time together on the island, but it’s not canon that Hajime does and wants to do that during the story. Because you can do them for everyone.

“And they reach a mutual understanding in DR3 because the two of them are more alike than Hinata would like to admit.”

Um...

Well, this is why DR2.5 is bullshit

I agree they’re similar, but I think both of them knew this from the very beginning. It’s not exactly a reason for reconciliation and forgiveness. The fact they have similarities is the exact reason why Hajime is so upset at his betrayal, and snaps back at Nagito every time he brings that up. So I don’t know if that’s really a good reason to explain why they’ve forgiven each other come DR3.

“Komaeda doesn't see himself as above untalented reserves either, because in 2-4, after realizing the truth about Hinata he says that they are the same, stepladders for hope. He was lashing out at all the students for being despair. They are similar, because they both share the same views that talent is everything.”

And then Hajime gets his character development for the rest of the game all so he can realise talent isn’t everything. So...?

“Now from Hinata's end, a lot of people seem to miss this about him, but he is someone who denies his feelings when they get inconvenient, he is called a tsundere by monokuma” 

I guess this is a diss against the surface-level people and people who are like “but the text literally says this”. But even then, the game literally shows Hajime’s inner thoughts. If he’s conflicted about things, the text generally shows that too, even if it’s with a careful inclusion of a ‘...’

So I don’t think we should take that trait as an excuse to literally ignore what the text says.

He was felt pumped when Komaeda was out of critical condition, but he thinks "why do I have to feel pumped, oh well best not to think about it"....because Hinata likes to avoid facing things that inconvenient him. Hinata finds it hard to trust Komaeda and doesn't play along with him, because he is afraid of getting caught in his pace, and not because he hates him and thinks he is better off dead.

This part literally read like a high-schooler’s english essay, and maybe this kid actually is a high-schooler, tbh. Because that is one big leap from “Hajime finds it difficult to deal with his feelings” to “since Hajime finds it difficult to deal with Nagito, it means he doesn’t hate him”.

“I don't think Komaeda is a fundametally bad person but is shaped to be what he is because of his luck cycle. In his last FTE, Hinata asks what Komaeda would do if didn't have his luck cycle, and his answer was something along the lines of " a normal life, devoid of hope and despair". And we get to that his innermost desires is to live a normal life in the OVA, and his character song zansakura zanka.”

He can also just decide to not believe in his luck cycle.

Also, in the OVA, he’s embarrassed by that inner desire and tells World Destroyer he hopes no one saw that maybe he wishes for a world without talent.

Like his desire to be a good person is so hidden that he doesn’t want people to know.

“Hinata even mentions Komaeda isn't trying to trick anyone for selfish reasons in his report card, so it's a shame to see so many people attribute all of Komaeda's actions to malice just because of what Hinata thought of him in chapter 5 because it wasn't clear what Komaeda's reasons were at that point.”

Okay, a few things to unpack here:

Just because Nagito is doing things ‘for the greater good’, doesn’t mean it’s not also selfish. Hajime isn’t going to say that because Hajime doesn’t realise that. You can’t exactly trust him with being able to articulate everything about a character’s worldview. Izuru would. He probably does in Chapter 0. (And that’s why he seems disgusted by him).

Also, there’s “maybe Hajime is a slightly unreliable narrator because he tries to avoid thinking about difficult things”, and there’s “actually, the majority of how Hajime views Chapter 5 is unreliable because he didn’t know for sure if Nagito’s plan was malicious or not, it was just his gut feeling”.

What about the video message after Chapter 5? What about having to spell out ‘KILL US ALL’? What about Chapter 0 showing how in the real world Nagito had completely lost it? It’s not like the game was trying to present Nagito as any little bit more sympathetic after the trial. If anything, every piece of new info reinforced that mindset Nagito was filled with malice, up to the ‘fake Makoto’ saying that he somewhat understood him. The fake Hope made by Junko to trick them.

If you compare Chapter 5 in 2 to Chapter 5 in V3, you can see how the positioning is different. V3 does the “the villain tries to make himself look the worst he can in the mind of the heroes when in reality his real intentions were different” a lot better. More flat-out intentionally - the protagonist kind of literally giving a monologue about how the character was morally grey and even at the end there they couldn’t say they knew their true intentions. But also it’s just not as...sinister as 2-5. No ominous chanting, no dismembered limbs, none of the characters feeling completely out of their element and terrified. I think it’s text that Nagito is supposed to be villainous in Chapter 5 and even past Chapter 5.

So...

I can at least understand where Komahina comes from, but god it annoys me

Unpacking it like this, I can see it’s not even fair to argue back a lot of it - the stuff people are saying do make sense and are arguing against kinds of people I have seen.

Besides, I’m not arguing Komahina ‘can’t be canon’.

My view is just I think Hajime deserves better than a character like Nagito, who never repented for his actions on-screen or even gave much of a hint that he wanted to repent for his actions.

And that it’s still easy to argue that Nagito is a bad person even with his trauma.

Not everyone who calls Nagito an awful person is an idiot who doesn’t know how to read text past the surface, you can still make a nuanced take with that conclusion

for god’s sake

[sillyguyhotline]

i hate when people compare shin tsukimi to kokichi ouma/nagito komaeda and here’s why

hi first off spoilers for yttd up to chapter 2-2 and for chapter 5 of sdr2 and ndrv3

hi, this is a little disorganized because it was one of my first analysis posts on here lmao. it’s in lapslock and kinda rushed because i wrote this rant to my friends and then decided to post it here!!

ok so!! first of all, sou has very distinct and established reasons for why he acts the way he does: the survival rates. the game shows us that, prior to the death game, sou (shin tsukimi) was very pleasant, even compassionate, and was generally a good dude.

 but the identity he adopted for himself, sou hiyori, the one who trusts nobody and lies to everyone and is a pretty huge dick, is a direct consequence of miley telling him he had no chance at survival. the antagonist characters in danganronpa are just...like that. yeah, they probably have their reasons (we know that nagito lost his parents and has a very weird relationship with luck, and we can infer that kokichi doesnt have parents and probably hasnt for a decent amount of time) but they were turned into their more manipulative selves over time, and that's who they are, whereas "sou hiyori" is more of a mask or an alternate identity than anything

secondly, i know a lot of people lump him in with the dr antags bc they consider him an "antagonist" character, but honestly?? he's really not. (either way, the term antag doesnt really fit kokichi or nagito cuz junko is the antag, they're still technically on our side and id consider them antiheroes). but,,,sou honestly doesnt do the things kokichi and nagito do. those two fuck with you in the trials and then they both have chapter 5, where they stage a murder that is directly intended to confuse either you or the mastermind. 

but sou doesn't do any of that shit! yeah, he declares himself as the keymaster and lies about that kind of stuff, but it's not intended to directly oppose you, he's just trying to survive. it just so happens that sara is the keymaster in the first main game, so sara is the one who has to expose his lies. he's a liar, but especially in the first main game (not as much in the second but i'll get to that later) he's more concerned with his survival than anything. both kokichi and nagito, however, have other goals (expose the traitor from the future foundation and get them out alive/end the killing game) and even when they arent executing those goals they go out of their way to oppose the protag.

thirdly, sou embodies his own, very distinct themes. he's still a foil to sara, as the antags are with the dr protags, but in quite a different way. (oh also ive seen some people point out that sou is also a foil to keiji). kokichi, most distinctly, embodies the theme of truth vs. lies; he's a liar and his entire personality is developed out of him constantly lying to everyone including himself, while shuichi, the protag, struggles throughout the game with the burden of exposing the truth of the murders. 

a lot of people look at sou and immediately think that the main point of his character is his lies (which is fair, as he lies to both sara and himself, similar to kokichi) but it's not- it's his inability to trust anyone. you'd think that him hiding his true personality and fabricating the "sou hiyori" personality would demonstrate that he is, at his core, a liar, but "sou hiyori," especially in comparison to the "shin tsukimi" he once was, is characterized by how little he trusts everyone. this is how he is different from sara, and why he envies her: sara has managed to gain the trust of the entire group, despite being nothing but a high school girl, and is able to utilize this to her advantage (hence why he breaks down in the first main game; he has already separated himself from the group for his own survival, but panics upon seeing everyone choosing to believe sara instead of him). his separation from the rest of the group and the way he loathes sara for the trust she's gained is what's at the core of his character, not his lies. his lies only aid his lack of trust for everyone else. 

also, another thing that separates sou from the other antags is something i outlined earlier: when they die, it is to serve a purpose greater than them. when sou dies, it is to save kanna. he's always been identifiable due to his desire to survive. this is why he becomes sou hiyori, this is why he is unable to trust anyone, this is why we view him as an "antagonist," because we as the player, usually, automatically want as many people as possible to make it out alive. but he forms such a bond with kanna, despite pushing aside everyone else, that he is willing to lose his life, which he's fought so hard to protect, in order to save her. this is also representative of how much more yttd focuses on its characters; nagito and kokichi refuse to die unless it ends the killing game because that is danganronpa's endgame and it's the only reliable point of dr's admittedly shoddy plot. yttd, however, focuses on how the characters grow as people and how relationships between individuals develop, which is why sou's character is so heavily dependent on kanna. he either dies for her or identifies himself as a true threat in order to avenge her, which makes him much more compelling.

sou may be a liar, but he's much more of a human than the danganronpa antags, he presents much less of a threat to the character, and he's able to actually develop bonds with kanna. 

i also find it pretty interesting how both nagito and kokichi's relationships with the protag reflect the main themes of their respective games (hope vs despair, truth vs lies) whereas sou's relationship with sara revolves around trust as opposed to the game's overarching theme of logic vs emotion (which he also helps to embody, but through his actions, not his relationship with sara).

this was very long and probably didnt convey my thoughts as well as it could have but in essence sou and the dr antags are very very different from each other, in both character and their role in the game, and when people compare them it feels like they're looking at a sou that they want to see rather than the sou who actually exists.

as an afterthought i find it sort of ironic that most of the humanization and development of the danganronpa characters occurs in fan circles, whereas sou is already developed and humanized by yttd to the extent that fans instead have to boil him down to danganronpa stereotypes.

if you made it this far, tysm!! this was kinda rushed so if there are any flaws in what i said please lmk and i’d like to hear if anyone else has any other thoughts on this topic!!

[scicraft]

im too lazy to find the filled out checklist for a quick joke but akechi is a komaeda. like incredibly so. but in superficial ways. i think most characters who are compared to komaeda it doesn't work but they are actually relatively superficially similar.

jhi okay im still super tired from work but ive held onto this ask all day bc i have opinions on it and why komaeda functions so differently from everyone people try comparing him to. like akechi is what im gonna harp on bc i main him obviously but like. the whole reason komaeda works the way he does is that the thematic through line he's written around is

1) unapologetically a nebulous concept

and

2) that nebulous concept is associated with good things

HOPE is what drives komaeda even if he does not explore all the implications of that as an ideal and it is EMPHASIZED by a truer antagonist (junko) holding the opposite value to drive home the grey morality of his framing.

akechi, by contrast, only fufills the first criteria of a True Komaeda. JUSTICE isnt associated w good things exclusively, since one mans comfort is another mans cruelty. the connotations arent united and therefore the dimension of his moral greyness comes from his concept, and not the contrast with the "truer" antagonist (shido) who is just kind of a bad guy who sucks yk.

i wouldnt say akechi is a unique archetype but his popularity could be argued into the idea that his particular deck of tropes can be most easily found in HIM and therefore anyone else who follows a similar format can be claimed as "akechi-like" as opposed to "komaeda-like, with a degree of separation because of xyz"

idk who akutagawa is in depth bc i spent most of my short lived romp through bsd [3 chapters] just screencapping dazai bc i thought he was hot and now my friend occasionally brings up how like clinically insane dazai is so yk its a comfort that my taste is near universally bad

[piyoduki]

Some rambly thoughts about Ishimaru and the themes (is this the right word?) of SDR2/DR3 (Side Despair) because I need to put them somewhere. Also an essay on why Hinata and Ishimaru should have definitely interacted and not just because I happen to like them both.

It got... a bit long... and my thoughts are all over the place...

Anyway, I'm pretty sure everyone has already heard people talk about how Ishimaru was a waste of potential because he definitely was. :P So I’m here to ramble about why he had so much potential not in DR1 but... in SDR2/DR3?!  SDR2 and DR3 have a few themes, but one of the most obvious and important ones is the whole view DR’s society has on talent, which wasn’t really explored much in DR1. Anyway, this is the main focus of Hinata’s personality, motivations and character arc of being the only talentless person in the main games (woohoo!). We learn about the existence of the reserve course, how they’re treated as inferior by the school/society for not having any talent, the questionable Hope Cultivation Program that preyed on Hinata’s inferiority complex and desire to gain a talent and recognition. 

There’s people like Komaeda, who because of his luck cycle and past shares a similar view that talentless people are worthless and to be used as stepping stones for the Ultimates because in this world, talent is everything and without it you are nothing. 

Then there’s a certain DR1 character whose views on the matter are almost opposite to Komaeda. Ishimaru hates geniuses (especially those that don’t work hard to accomplish anything aka Kamukura Izuru), and sees himself as a normal person like Naegi. He doesn’t believe people should be given special, or preferential treatment just because they have a talent, but because they have worked hard to earn it.  Anyway you can probably tell where I’m going with this. Ishimaru’s views on talent directly oppose the DR world’s and HPA’s. He believes that anyone can become successful as long as they work really hard. (Of course, he has his own issues with being unable to relate to other people and understand that not everyone is as obsessed with studying as him but that’s another thing entirely.) 

However, the school deliberately separates the main and reserve course students. They just use the reserve course students as a source of funding, to bleed them dry from ridiculous tuition fees, that is more than likely used to mostly fund the main course and HPA’s shady human experiments while the reserve course only get the bare minimum support. 

Of course, Ishimaru and his family is also in huge debt from a mistake his grandfather/former prime minister made, which is just even more reason for someone like Ishimaru to absolutely despise the school the moment he finds out about it’s dark secrets. It’s highly unlikely for him to share the same campus with the reserve course students and not be curious enough to find out what is going on with them. And I also doubt that none of the reserve course students have publicly voiced their complaints with the school anywhere at all, so it’s extremely likely that Ishimaru would find out about HPA’s superior/inferior treatment of talented vs talentless students and putting reserve course students into debt. 

Ishimaru is not the type of person to sit around and do nothing, rather he would most definitely try to protest for reserve course students’ rights and send many angry complaints to the headmaster. With his strong sense of justice he might even think about quitting the school entirely. The existence of the reserve course is everything Ishimaru stands against. 

But of course, none of that will ever happen because Ishimaru’s just a fodder character for a double murder wooo!

Other than that... I think Ishimaru and Hinata are interesting to compare with each other. Hinata being a normal guy who might put in above-average amounts of effort, only to realise he doesn’t actually compare to the most talented of people who are the only ones recognised and celebrated by society. Ishimaru being someone who is naturally extremely hardworking (possibly fueled by his desire to help his family financially and clear their reputation) to an obsessive extent (to other people, to him this amount of work is ‘normal’). 

Hinata who keeps failing to be number one in anything and eventually realises he might be chasing an impossible dream that only gets crushed more and more as he gets exploited and treated like trash. Ishimaru who through his dedication and effort manages to make a name for himself as an Ultimate, and constantly strives to work even harder so that he would not be considered just merely on the same level as a ‘genius’.

Hinata, who despite everything is a down-to-earth person who still tries to reach out to others, lend a listening ear and give advice for all their problems. Ishimaru, who shuns and is shunned by others because of his strict opinions on how others should act, who does not know how to empathise with others. 

Ishimaru, whose emotions got out of hand and caused his death. Hinata, who got his emotions erased, turning into the very embodiment of a person which Ishimaru would despise, that ironically ended up giving him a second chance at life in the end. 

But most importantly, Ishimaru would have called Hinata his senpai, why were we robbed of such wholesome content?? 

I don’t really have a conclusion besides Ishimaru’s character, backstory, personality and motivation just fit in really nicely with one of the main themes of SDR2/DR3 and Hinata’s arc, and they are... good kids. 

tl;dr: ishimaru is my favourite dr3 character

[hxpefulmuses]

🥢

Send ‘🥢’ for Your Muse to be at the end of My Muse’s Pocky Stick!

Meme

@despairfound

It was supposed to be a harmless game between everyone. Ibuki had brought out a simple red box with bold white font; a box of pocky sticks. She was getting supplies for the party that was going to take place at the music venue on the third island later that night when she had stumbled onto the box while shopping at Rocket Punch Market.

The colorful haired musician held up the red box with a look of pure mischief on her features as she already had in mind of how she could use the chocolate frosted biscuits.

After some more preparation with Tsumiki and Mahiru, everyone else on the island started to arrive around the agreed upon time.

When things were going well underway and everyone seemed to be having a good time in between sets from Ultimate Musician. She herself being in a pretty giddy mood brought out the little red box of pocky. "Look what I found at the market this morning guys~"

"Pocky?" The pink haired mechanic lit up as his imagination of being able to kiss a certain princess took over. They were shortlived as Ibuki began explaining how they were going to decide who went next.

"Everyone will draw a slip of paper from this box and get a number and then play the game that way!" She was definitely excited, because this would give her a chance to see either of the 'couples' she secretly cheered on have some kind of interaction in a near kissing experience.

"It can't be that bad. It sounds kind of fun, actually." Mahiru said trying to stay on the side of positivity.

"Right? Everyone take a slip of paper." Ibuki said grabbing the folded up piece, looking at the number before putting it away.

"Who got one?" Hajime asked as he was finally catching onto the game about to unfold. Games like this were always unpredictable, but also exciting in a way too.

"That would be I!" Gundam said as one of the hamsters who usually took up residence in his scarf brandished the unfolded slip of paper with a one written in black sharpie as if they were a judge giving a score at a sporting event. "The mortal who drew the corresponding number should cower before me." Apparently he was psyched up to play the game.

Souda's face fell as he looked like he'd been hit by a truck. "No way! Can we do a redraw?!" Of all guys why his rival in love? Eventually his shoulders fell with a heaved sigh as he gave up going forward after pulling the folded slip of paper with a two on it out of his left pocket.

"Let's just get this over with." Souda said as he approached Gundam who already had one of the chocolate frosted biscuits held between his teeth. For all of his bravado from earlier he seemed to be frozen in place as the mechanic started inching forward in micro nibbles. When his face got too close to the breeder, the male in question had wide eyes, but still didn't make a move, that is until the pink haired male got to what he deemed to be too close, then he chomped down on his end before burying his face in his scarf.

The next participants came and went. Peko had drawn Fuyuhiko, and ordinarily where both were usually a lot more composed they weren't during this small game. Both had met near the middle, and while of them seemed flustered they had cut the pocky off by each meeting in the middle, faces perhaps a little too close before the crunch of the chocolate covered biscuit met their ears along with a few words from the crowd showing approval.

Hajime shifted his feet nervously as he could have sworn the slip of paper was burning a hole in his breast pocket. He remembered he had the next number to go, five. With precise timing Ibuki called out for five to step up and play, and that meant him.

Stepping nervously into the center of the crowd he wondered if perhaps it was too late to object to the developing events. He didn't have much chance to however as after he held up the number for everyone to see, Komaeda had held up a similar slip of paper with a six decorating it.

"Me and my terrible luck." The white-haired male sighed, but Hajime caught a glimpse of an expression he couldn't read on the white-haired males features.

Hajime sighed, taking one of the chocolate treats, and biting at the end of it. "Let's get this over with." He said with a sigh, and the Ultimate Lucky student took that as his cue to start nibbling at his end.

Not wanting to not even give a decent attempt Hajime began moving forward with less confident nibbles compared to the other male he was paired up with. If anything, Komaeda seemed eerily calm about everything just moving forward. The sight of the male so close made Hajime start to short circuit. He froze up part way in the middle after inching forward a little more.

Komaeda on the other hand was brimming with confidence. He had luck on his tonight it seemed. As much as he was averse to the idea of sweet things, especially chocolate the sight of the usually confident Hinata appearing almost shy had made up for that. He saw his chance as the brunet faltered near the middle, and he quickly bit along the sweet treat until he could close the gap between their lips.

Hajime was flustered and ready to throw insults after the fact, but he did none of that as honestly, it hadn't been as bad as he expected it would be. He glanced over at the Ultimate Musician who seemed to be glowing with delight at the sight before her.

Meanwhile, Komaeda was chuckling while putting on a rather innocent mask of behavior. He felt he better unless he stay on Hinata's bad side. "It was all in the name of being a stepping stone." He said with a closed eyed expression, but as the Ultimate Musician was getting ready to go on stage, he cast a look over at the hopeful brunet.

"Or maybe it wasn't." He smirked thankful for his luck that night.

[hcpefulmarshmallow]

Zansakura (Danganronpa) & Leaves From The Vine (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Are Shockingly Similar, And Both Remarkable 

-- The Essay No One Asked For.

I vaguely eluded - and by that, I mean bluntly stated - this comparison before, but as a big fan of both these series and these songs, I figured this whole thing deserves a real, proper post, meta tag and all. But in order to compare the two, we must define them first. 

 It's fair to say I’ve done a lot of thinking about Zansakura. A while back, I even did a rather, let’s say, meticulous deconstruction of the song as well as Zettai Kibou Birthday, and compared the two to one other. In the interests of saving time and effort, I’ll do my best to summarise the key points; but if you’re interested, here’s the link. 

 Zansakura is one of Nagito Komaeda’s character songs, in which he conceptualizes his life as Sakura petals falling from their tree, and being carried away in the water. Sakura flowers - or cherry blossoms, as we know them - carry a certain significance in Japanese culture. The long and short of it is this: they signify impermanence, transience, and a wistful sadness in the face it. Cherry Blossoms are considered at their most beautiful, not as they bloom, but as they begin to wither and fall; see his canon dialogue: “As soon as my life entered the final round, it quickly became a rollercoaster ride!” Nagito, of course, suffers from an illness that is likely to take his life very soon. Throughout the song, he expresses a deep, regretful sadness at this being the state of things; but moreover, for the one line he breaks his Sakura motif in the song, it’s to say: “To live an ordinary life and die together with you/Oh, if that could come true”. For Nagito, the saddest thing he’s losing is not his life, but rather, the potential to love and be loved in return. 

 In the world of Avatar, Leaves From The Vine is a well-known nursery rhyme in the Fire Nation, and going by the lyrics alone, seems to have a vaguely optimistic message - a soldier returns home from war. However, the out-of-universe meaning behind this song is something else entirely. 

 We, the viewers, are not exposed to all aspects of Fire Nation culture, but rather those that are relevant to the story. So we do not know the song as any kind of nursery rhyme. We know it from Book 2, Episode 15: The Tales Of Ba Sing Se. This anthological filler episode - and I use the term filler loosely, because boy, was this show good at filler - follows various characters throughout the same day, as they go about having separate adventures in the Earth Kingdom capital. Each story serves a different purpose, but by far the most memorable and heartbreaking is the tale of Iroh. Iroh is a very beloved character, and for good reason. He used to be a renowned General, and the heir to the Fire Nation throne. But after his only son Lu Ten was killed in battle, fighting the war the Fire Nation started, Iroh lost all faith in his purpose. His life spiraled and his grief eventually lead to him being disinherited by his father, becoming a disgrace in the eyes of the Fire Nation (though still loved by many for his personality), and perhaps most importantly, turned him off the war altogether, and into the kind and nurturing figure we the audience know, and Zuko relies on. I mean, it was a little more complicated than that, but that’s the crux of it. 

 His tale in Ba Sing Se mostly revolves around disjointed, seemingly random events in which he somehow makes a stranger’s life better; talking a thief and mugger into turning his life around, comforting a crying child. But at the day’s end, Iroh climbs a hill and sits alone beneath a tree, retreating to grieve privately. There he lays out a cloth, incense, a picture of Lu Ten, and after having helped so many people, expresses his regret that he couldn’t help his son. This day happens to be Lu Ten’s birthday, and in his memory, Iroh sings a tearful rendition of Leaves From The Vine. He is barely able to make it through the final lines of the song: “Little soldier boy/Come marching home/Brave solider boy/Comes marching home” and that’s where is tale ends. Remember what I said about Avatar’s filler being remarkable? This, right here, is the entire essence of Iroh. At the end of his segment, we’re left in awe at how much pain he carries with him, and how he’s able to easily help so many people despite it. 

 This is where the song leaves an impression. This is the context through which we remember Leave From The Vine, so this is the lens through which I’m going to interpret and compare it to Zansakura. 

 Both songs elude to similar themes: namely death, loss, ephemera, ideology, and the downfall of having been devoted to an imperfect cause. In Iroh’s case, it’s the loss of life and purpose; and in Nagito’s case, is the lacking of purpose and love. 

Imagery

 In both songs, a certain sad imagery is evoked. It’s through this medium the bulk of the emotion is expressed. It is the withering and dying of nature. Though not sentient, the vines in Iroh’s case and the Sakura trees in Nagito’s are both undergoing a process that cannot be stopped, and will mean the end of everything that is beautiful for this living thing. 

 In both cases, however, this motif is broken to address things more literally. In the case of Zansakura, Nagito breaks to give the “to live a life” line. But it’s said in a way, and in a context, where we are meant to understand that he doesn’t believe he will ever achieve this. Likewise, even as Iroh sings about the Solider coming home, we know he never will. Both state a simple desire, to be with someone they love, despite the fact that it’s impossible. A perfect summation of each song, as it’s presented to us. 

Death, Loss & Ephemera

 Ephemera might just be one of my favourite words. Something that is said to be ephemeral exists for only a short time. Going back to the significance of cherry blossoms, the most common variety actually bloom and fall within a week -- and remember, this is when they’re said to be their most beautiful. Both Nagito and Iroh express a certain sense of defeat. They know their time has passed them by and there’s nothing they can do to get it back. While there is a huge difference between losing a loved one and losing your own life unloved, in both cases, it leaves things unsaid, undone, and unlived. There is a powerlessness both characters feel, that is palpable throughout these songs, and throughout several moments in their respective canon. Though they’re worlds apart, grief is something that can touch anyone, no matter what universe they live in, fictional or otherwise. It’s something that will touch everyone at some point, so perhaps that’s why these are such memorable themes for both Iroh and Nagito. 

Ideology And An Imperfect Cause

 For Iroh, it was the war that the nation he served began that lead to the death of his son. He fought for the glory of the Fire Nation his whole life, passed on this ideology to his son, and Lu Ten paid the price. Similarly, Nagito’s cycle of luck for which we can blame his illness, is largely tied to (perhaps even responsible for) his belief in hope and despair. But as we’ve seen, for that cause, Nagito will go to lengths so extreme, he often does more harm than good. It because of his luck he may never have the chance to live long or know love; the thing that, by his own admission, he wants more than anything.

 Both characters have faced unimaginable pain in the name of a certain ideology. However where they differ is that Iroh used his pain to follow a new path, one that would lead to a better world. Nagito only believed even harder in hope, followed more determinedly the path he was already on. But either way, despite the fact that winning their own personal desires is literally impossible for them, both characters have instead made it their life’s ambition to make the world better for others in whatever way they deem most valuable, no matter the cost to themselves. 

 In conclusion, I don’t really have one. Sure, the songs dabble in similar evocation, similar themes. A lot of songs do. Loss and pain are hardly unique subject matter, and both materials - almost all materials - handle them differently, just as different people do. I guess this was nothing but an excuse to riff about stuff I like. So there. 

[magioftheseas]

Kamukoma?

I have another anon asking for this, so I should probably do it.

My take on their canon relationship:

Chapter 0 is actually very interesting in it showing these two interact! In such a short time, you learn a lot about both of them, and the two even get emotional, you could say, during it. It’s a really strong conversation!

It’s small, but it’s definitely significant when it comes to understanding both characters, so it’s hardly negligible. If you dismiss it, you’re being short-sighted and close-minded.

As for the anime, their encounter…was also a really weird moment but it actually doesn’t amount to anything. Every bit of information you can glean is implicit with the reasons for the characters acting the way they do being completely unstated. Yeah, uh, the scene is really, really weird.

I would say it’s still interesting because it’s implied that Komaeda knew about Kamukura beforehand, and it also shows a proactivity on Kamukura’s part that never crops up in any other place (he’s always purely reactive) so logically, this scene should carry narrative importance that serves to further develop the characters, but…

…well, the anime isn’t…logical. It’s just dumb. Very fucking dumb.

So what am I even supposed to say here?

Still, the intention and purpose behind the addition of that scene remains murky to this day. Because, again, it implicitly carries important information and Kamukura acts in a way that’s different from usual, both things which demand attention and yet… There’s just…no follow up. At all.

Even if the scene was added for indulgent purposes, that’s still so baffling from a writing perspective. It’s possible any scene expanding on it was removed due to time constraints but again, we don’t know for sure, now do we? We just know this was important enough a scene to be retained.

So… Well… At least it doesn’t overstay its welcome compared to the other stupid shit added in dr3 but… That’s neither here nor there.

I may have gone a little off-topic, sorry.

I liked that scene, but everything about it confuses me so my take on it is also, uh, confused.

Do I ship them?

I ran the ship week dedicated to them.

Reasons why I do/don’t ship them:

Stated before on that very ship week blog.

But, the reason is simple and…believe it or not, has nothing to do with my love for Koma/Hina.

I think the potential for their relationship is just way too interesting to ignore.

I feel like a lot of people woefully misrepresent both characters, but if you actually do look at them, there are notable similarities and obvious points where they’d clash. Namely that Kamukura’s personality would be extremely frustrating for Komaeda to put up with. Yeah, boy has the talent, but if he doesn’t do anything with it, what’s…the point?

Just by existing, Kamukura challenges Komaeda’s beliefs and can lead to him questioning if talent’s really all there is to it. Mind you, in DRAE, Komaeda HAS SHOWN that he completely changed his mind and now believes that hope can be generated by the will of the common people rather than the capabilities of the talented. He’s now all about those underdog stories; so we know that, during despair at least, Komaeda wouldn’t idolize Kamukura the way everyone else assumes. And, in fact, Komaeda’s differing beliefs implicate that his relationship with Kamukura would have a bit of an edge.

I’m all about that.

But, admittedly, I also just…really dig their chemistry. They have such interesting interactions! Komaeda is definitely interested, but he’s very unfocused and gets a little cheeky towards the end. Kamukura feigned disinterest, but he clearly feels very strongly about the way he views things and at that point in time, he’s very motivated…and yet, he genuinely thinks so little of what would functionally serve as his death. That’s interesting. That’s very interesting.

There’s also that both of them were very isolated due to ‘talent’ and both of them are willing to throw their lives away on scenarios that will ultimately uncertain to them. Those aren’t insignificant similarities to have, so I think a significant connection could be formed by them. We don’t know anything about Kamukura’s deeper desires (except that he, may, in fact, not actually want to die) but we know Komaeda deep down, dearly desires companionship and someone who cares about him. I think if Kamukura fulfilled that role (even if it’s brushed off as whim), you could have a very emotional and heartbreaking relationship.

Yeah.

I’m all about it.

Headcanon, if any:

When they first held hands, it was more pinky-entwining than actual hand-holding.

How much do I ship (%):

10000000000%!! Obviously! I ship it a whoooole lot!

[kimmysfandomblog]

9 and 20 for Hinaegi, 5 and 14 for Komahina !

  Thank you for the ask, Chloe!!! 😀

From here! https://hajimehinata-kun.tumblr.com/post/180161745002/asks-21-otppairing-questions

Hinaegi:

9. Favorite aspect of them/their relationship dynamics?

I think my favorite thing about HiNaegi is more to do with potential interaction. They do things in different ways, but their basic ideals are the same. Naegi and Hinata don’t think much of themselves, but while Naegi kind of accepts he is average, Hinata doesn’t. He has too much ambition to give up on the dream of doing something bigger. They are both the type to listen and care for their friends, and they end up leading even if they don’t think of themselves as leaders.

I think that if they were to interact, they’d be digging into the things they hide behind their “average” exterior. It’s a lot more noticeable with Hinata, being that he’s a Reserve Course Student. I think Naegi would be one to say he feels out of place among the Ultimates, since they are so weird for the most part. They could get into how, even if they are Ultimates, they are friends and don’t even care about Naegi having the talent of luck, which he doesn’t even consider a talent since it rarely every affects him. Also, I feel Naegi will really be able to sympathize with Hinata. He might want to know what the Reserve Course is like, and he’d be able to validate Hinata’s disdain of being stuck there.

As for Naegi, he really accepts way too much from his friends- in terms of being a bit too passive. And he’s also too forgiving, I think ^^; maybe Hinata would be able to help him out a bit with that, or sympathize with him a bit (I mean, Souda was able to drag him into crashing a beach party, but Hinata was able to draw a line with the matching speedos, lol) Maybe he could get Naaegi to show off his more assertive side instead of hiding it like he does (and Naegi certainly does have an assertive side! It’s just one that doesn’t usually come out unless in a threatening situation)

I do perceive friction, however. I think that Naegi can be too optimistic about things, and sometimes you just can’t accept optimism. With Hinata, even if Naegi were to say that it doesn’t matter that Hinata is in the Reserve Course because he still has people who know that Hinata is a great person, and that is worth more than a title, I think that if something were to happen, like what Juzo did to him in DR3, that could cause Hinata to snap. If we recall what happened in DR2′s 6th trial, Hinata respected Naegi, but he couldn’t just accept Naegi’s plan, which put Hinata’s whole self at risk. It would also be something like, they are very similar, but the differences just rub at them even harder because they have certain expectations out of each other.

And then of course there is a canon AU with post-DR3… I can’t imagine Hinata being happy about Naegi making a new Hope’s Peak Academy. Hope’s Peak Academy has been pretty much the source of Hinata’s problems. He played his own part, of course, but a lot of it is to do with the environment and mentality that HPA created. I think that maybe the only thing that settles it is if the way Naegi runs HPA is different, like that these students do have to pay a fee unless they aren’t able to financially support their education (it isn’t government run, or not completely), that there are no talent scouts, and instead they apply to become Ultimates (like in V3), and that just overall, there are no special benefits (they still have to take the normal exams, but there is time allotted to their talent. They kind of have to have a longer school year because of that, and it may be needed to waive things as long as it is made up some other way, but there is no special treatment which would make the Talented superior. The point of the school is for talents to be fostered, but for the benefit of society and not scientific exploitation and the separation between talented/”average” people. This would also mean that you are not prohibited from letting friends visit the campus, as long as it is not disruptive.

I do think even then, there’s gonna be tension, but maybe Naegi’s optimism, that he is going to do everything he can to make sure this is not going to turn out the same way it did with the previous HPA, and just general sincerity that he believes in thisnew school, Hinata gives it a chance.

20. What made you decide to ship them?

I have a few guesses, but the exact reason why… I honestly don’t know. It was surely not immediately. Naegi was always a character I liked a lot, but didn’t love, so HiNaegi snuck up on me. By the time DR3 was rollong around, I was already attracted to the idea that they meet and interact in a meaninflgful way again. A part of it was that, due to them being protagonists, they often are featured together, and it screamed cute potential to me. I know the reasons why I ship them: they have this feeling of balance to them somehow, like they have a lot of similarities, and fill in for their weaknesses. They both look like they would trust each other and sacrifice for each other’s well-being in their own different ways. Of course, this could be platonic as well as romantic (and I do love both!). The moment I realized this… that I wanted to see them romantically involved as well… I am not sure. I just know that when Hope Arc gave me them goving each other that look, I was already deep in XD I just supressed it, like all the other fans did, because who was I gonna share my passion with? I am very glad that I broke out of that. The Hinaegi community has been very supportive, and I love them! (Some of us are also partners for the Hinata Project, so that wouldn’t have been even a thought without them!)

KomaHina:

5. Favorite canon moment of them?

Most definitely, it would be the Prologue and CH1! I love the way that they met, with Komaeda being really concerned over Hinata, whose fainted on the beach. I love that they are together for the introductions, and how Hinata kind of leans on Komaeda with trust. I like that Hinata really and truly didn’t want to believe that the Komaeda he was thankful for waking him up (sorry dr2 stage moment but-) was the type to kill someone, and that utter betrayal he felt later. I like how despite that, Komaeda was still hoping/expecting Hinata wouldn’t treat him differently (but accepts it anyways). Prologue and CH1 were truly just the best moments for me. A close second would be CH3, when Hinata is super concerned about Komaeda’s well-being despite all the feelongs in him :’) (yeah, that may be why I get mad about people criticizing him for not staying with Ko)

14. Is there a pairing that you think rivals them?

In all honestly, it is hard to compare ships, since in general, despite the tropes (like rival ×rival), changes in personality and backstory really change how I view that pairing. The only thing I got is my feeling, and KomaHina is just WAY up there in my interests. Sometimes I wish it was less popular, or maybe more like, I wish it wasn’t popular enough to have a vehemently rabid side with equally rabid antis XD Admittedly, most of the reason I like KomaHina is because I love the characters (specifically Hinata, but Komaeda as well), but that relationship they have truly feels unique to me.

This is more than just shipping the rivals together like some certain other pairs in these kinds of stories. There’s a complexity there, since Komaeda actively pushes everyone away, but feels comfortable around Hinata, but also doesn’t want to hurt Hinata with his presence so he pushes away even more. And then there is Hinata, who wishes he could hate Komaeda, but actually he is still concerned about the guy, even if Komaeda’s logic frustrates him, he still sees Komaeda as smart and tries to understand him, if not very openly saying he wishes to understand him. I have other OTPs that were rival×rival (was into SasuNaru for a long time, was into USUK if that works as rivals?), but somehow this pair feels different.

I guess the only pair I love equally, within this fandom at least, is KamuNami. The relationship has potential at complexity, though I guess because of the DR3 writing, no one that would have been okay with it initially, likes it. Rather, they quite hate it, and it’s… too bad. There would’ve been more complex interactions had they known each other, especially given how different their values are. Kamukura doesn’t care if he has killed or not, whether it was in self-defense or a casualty in his grand schemes. Nanami is adamantly against that- and she’d be annoyed at him too, I think, for his attitude. At the same time, there would be something that forces her to interact with him, whether it was the need to keep an eye on him (as class rep or as the Observer, for example), or general curiosity (him being an AI too, his connection to Hinata (whether as the same person or two seperate people), or if in some other AU some other similarity that makes them unique, like it could be how he beats her at games). As an AI, he would be the only one there besides Usami, and he has all the answers as to how her friends are doing. I can’t imagine her being too friendly when she realizes the lengths he had to go to and how unaffected he seems to be about it, but in the end, he did help it to help them, and it’s a rare case where such a thing was necessary. And he acts cold and unfeeling, but there was a glimmer of emotion in him at the same time. This is similar to human Kamukura as well, I think. If we set this in an AU, she would definitely struggle interacting with him, maybe even starting to believe he is cold and lifeless and nothing more. But then he’d say something and she realizes he’s human, but it’s harder for him to express emotions. They are the type of people who would rather isolate themselves and let others ignore them, but Chiaki has this self that cares about others, making her break away from her comfort zone. I headcanon she would go to extreme lengths, even going head-to-head and almost on par with Izuru if it came to it, to protect her friends, and that would shock him, I think. He’d observe her more carefully since she’s the one who did something interesting, but he’d get annoyed when she tries to make him see the world differently. He’s rather arrogant like that. I don’t think she’ll ever fully succeed, but he’s eventually going to be softer on her (in my headcanons, this is pretty much how it goes hahaha).

Another part of the reason why KamuNami is so important is because it has a lot to do with how accepting the community has been! I used to be ambivalent to the ship because of the shipping wars, to be quite honest, but the KamuNami community, however small we are, actually support each other with comments and reblogs. The mod of KamuNami Paradise is the sweetest and most understanding person, and she tries really hard for the community. I really look up to her! In a way, I guess that solidified it. My love for KamuNami was but a handful until KamuNami Week 2017, and the support of the community, as well as how well Mod Kibou fostered this ship, is the reason why I love it as much as I do. That blog… without it, I would have kept that KamuNami side of me hidden and let it die. I am thankful that didn’t happen!

For KomaHina, the community just feels too big sometimes. I have a lot more ambivalence about the fans who like KomaHina than I do for other ships, simply because KomaHina is the most popular ship (well hopefully remains that way lol. I do and don’t like the popularity, but I want the ship that beats it to be meaningful. And here in my salt corner, I don’t think this ship I’m talking about that has the potential to overtrow KomaHina is even a quarter as meaningful). I mean, it’s like there is this belief somewhere in there that anyone who doesn’t remotely ship it is like… homophobic, or ignorant, or ognorong canon- just overall a bad person. I never felt comfortable with that. Yet, at the same time, I made a lot of friends through KomaHina! Which is puzzling to me since I was so expecting, well, nothing to happen. That was my experience with every other fandom, you know? A lot of my mutuals also love KomaHina, so at least with this ship, I know I’ll feel validated. There is so much content for it as well that, for the most part, I don’t feel as starved for it XD (MOST of the time… it never truly leaves you lol) Also, participating in KomaHina Secret Exchange is just such a pleasure! You’re honestly another mod I admire XD That event is always fun! It’s incredible to see the amount of love for this ship that I care about, we care about.

I guess when it comes down to it, what I need in my OTPs is that potential for complexity, especially if it surprises you. I also like validation, apparently XD It is just lonely shipping something no one else cares about, you know?

On a side note, fave ship is still KomaHinaNami for very indulgent reasons XD but I’ve overexplained at this point lol

[serahne]

komahina for the prompt, 34 or 45? these prompts all look so cool and im super excited to see you write any of them aaa

Already did 45, so 34 it is !

34. meeting at a masquerade ball au

“Fake it until you make it,” Natsumi had said when she had given him the mask, a sly smile on her lips. “With it, you are no different than any of these idiots.”

It had seemed like a great idea, a few hours before. But now, lost in the crowd of Hope’s Peak students, he wondered why he even decided to come here. Maybe because it was secretly thrilling, to infiltrate a party for the Main Course. Maybe because one part of him craved to belong here. Maybe as a giant ‘fuck you’ to the school, too. No matter what the reason was, he was there, and he was alone, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

Looking around the room, he realized that no one was by himself - all the students were organized in small groups. The masks didn’t do a lot to hide someone’s identity to their friends. Just as it didn’t do a lot to make him feel like a student from the Main Course, he guessed.

Suddenly overwhelmed, he looked for an escape - there was a door, on the other side of the room, that seemed to lead to a balcony, and it would do, he decided. He managed to make his way through the room without crushing too many toes, and finally took a deep breath of the cold air outside.

“Well, good evening here ?”

He turned around, surprised to find that someone else was there, with him, leaning on the railing. A teenage boy, with a golden-and-black mask, and striking white hair that had Hinata rise an eyebrow.

I doubt the mask does anything to hide his identity. Not that I would know who he was even if he wasn’t wearing one.

“Sorry,” Hinata replied. “I didn’t know there was someone here. Do you want me to leave ?”

He didn’t want to, but if the guy wanted to be alone, he wasn’t about to impose himself like that. The other seemed to find the suggestion hilarious, and started to chuckle behind his hand.

“Oh, no, please. Who am I to ask you to leave ? I’m honored to share this balcony with you, and if my presence is ever too disgusting to you to stand, then I’ll go.”

“Err..” Hinata replied, unsure. “Alright ? Thanks.”

They stayed side by side for a few minutes. The freezing wind was starting to slowly kill Hinata, but he didn’t feel like going back inside yet. The other boy wasn’t wearing a coat either, and Hinata could see he was getting goosebump, but he seemed happy to stay here, quietly, looking at the sky. He couldn’t help but throw sideways glance at him, trying to guess what he would look like without his mask.

Would that be rude to ask ?

“Hey,” Hinata eventually coughed out. “Why aren’t you inside ?”

The white-haired boy turned toward him, a smile on his face.

“Am I bothering you already ? That’s alright, I can find another place to…”

“No, dammit.” Hinata cut him off, with a little too much heat. “I was just wondering. You came to this party, and now you’d rather freeze off on this balcony rather than being with your friends.”

The boy gave Hinata a curious look.

“I was wondering about that too,” he said. “Why would a symbol of hope like yourself would chose to stay here, with me, instead of enjoying the party inside? This sure is good luck for me, but I can’t help to feel bad. I’m utterly worthless, see, and I can’t even dream to mingle with everyone else. Don’t you see how despicable I am ? Compared to you, whose talent shine brighter than anything else, I am nothing. I’m just not rude enough to spoil everyone’s party by actually being here.”

Hinata was a little dizzy from the guy’s monologue. Despicable ? Worthless ? What are you saying, he wanted to scream. You are exactly where I wish I was. And, well, no matter how hard Hinata looked, there was nothing disgusting about him. Unusual maybe, but not repulsive or anything. Especially with the mask, and the moon lighting up his features, he almost looked unreal.

The most ironic part was that he thought he, Hinata, looked more likely to fit in the group than he did. It was almost laughable, really, how deep his insecurities could run. Or, more exactly, he deep he let them run.

And it stopped being laughable when he realized how similar to his own insecurities they were.

Turning toward the other boy, Hinata held out his hand.

“Let’s go back inside, together ?”

Even behind the mask, Hinata could see that the other was positively speechless. Nevertheless, he hesitantly put his hand into Hinata’s. His hand is frozen, how long has he been outside before I’ve joined him on the balcony ? Hinata offered him his best smile.

“I’m Hajime,” he said, and for the first time since the beginning of the party, he felt like he didn’t care that much if his true identity was busted. “Hajime Hinata. Nice to meet you.”

“Hinata-kun…” The other whispered back, a little lost. “The pleasure is all mine, of course. I’m Nagito Komaeda.”

[jinjojess]

Spoilery V3 Asks

I have a theory on why people stan for this character.

How is it much more extreme than deciding to straight-up murder the antagonist right out of the gate? Do you really think Akamatsu could not have reached a similar conclusion toward the end, just from a different, less wimpy angle?

Why do you Saihara stans always try to act like a character who was allowed a chapter and a half of screentime can be 1:1 compared to one who is the focus of the whole game?

Akamatsu never got a chance to grow as a character. If you compare her to Saihara in the early Chapters of the game, she is FAR more different from the norm than he is, and the fact that you had to bring in the Chapter 6 trial as your own evidence already shows that your argument doesn't hold any water.

Not to mention that stupid ass epilogue destroys any significance of his problem solving method by having him immediately go back on his insistence that they all need to die. At least Akamatsu put her life on the line and actually carried through.

She was surprised at people calling her a leader after she'd already started ordering people around, and that didn't make her stop. Her having some private reservations about what to do isn't the same as rejecting the leader role outright. (Meanwhile Saihara had to be coaxed into even participate in the first trial by Akamatsu.) She acted more like a weird combo of Sagishi and Chap 1 Komaeda than Hinata, Naegi, or Komaru.

I think you're the one who didn't pay attention during the game, anon. The entire fucking thing was the Let's Kiss Saihara's Ass Parade, where almost every character is for some inexplicable reason was 1000% invested in his emotional and personal development.

Everyone is always trying to comfort him about being sad about Akamatsu's death because him having a crush makes his suffering that much more tragic. They actively go out of their way to compliment him and talk about how well he handles the trials. Ouma treats him as the only character worth dealing with. Momota "gets jealous" for a bit but then ends the disagreement with "You're the best, Shuuichi. Everybody loves you so you don't have to worry about being the most important all the time." HaruMaki only bothers to associate with him and her programmed love interest. Literally the only antagonistic characters he faces are Iruma, who is like that to everyone equally and is doing it as comic relief, and the literal villain of the game.

What the fuck are all of you on?

[yuzuria]

Kirigiri & Togami ?

yes~ thank you!

Kirigiri Kyouko

why i like them

           the fact that the mystery and plot moved around her she genuinely felt the protagonist for me more than naegi. the type that she was the “chosen one” in trope terms where there’s mystery about  what her talent is and why she’s in hope’s peak, the one everyone is intrigued about and sort of suspicious while she’s the one who contributed the most in the trials. she got this rock hard rational attitude about her but despite that she’s very empathetic and that side of her always comes at the right time and instead of it presenting as a soft spot like stereotypes do, it’s part of her strength that builds her character. she’s initially a lone wolf but she steps forward and build their morale in a very kirigiri way and she does that while not making everyone look dumb, it naturally happens, in contrast to a certain heroine from sdr2 :/  im love her

why i don’t

          i had a bad dream where she was stripped off her character then died because she turned into a waifu. scary. :/  

favorite episode (scene if movie)

          when she threw off togami in ch4 and ch5 when she’s the only one who can lead them to the truth about junko’s plan making her sacrifice naegi in exchange of her life

favorite season/movie

          chapter 5 

favorite line

          “no amount of human language can describe the disappointment i’m feeling right now”

favorite outfit

           i really love her design, silver hair and outfit and all,, her ff uniform is much simpler than her dr1 uniform but manages to make her look breathtaking but my fav has to be her dr1 outfit

otp

          Kirizono~

brotp

          not to be basic but,, dr1 survivors, celeste, with sonia seems appealing~ and lastly komaeda!! not that i think they’ll be best of friends but they look so appealing and fun to imagine their professional rship :> my dream team

head canon

          i thought of how her hair braids have special meanings for her then i looked into her wikia and found out it’s in her likes and kinda shippy but before the tragedy i hc her to be close with sayaka and have her braid her hair

unpopular opinion

          she’s not a mary sue, she’s not an “ice queen whose heart is melted” idk how popular this is but there seems a few who believes she is one…..and her revive in dr3 sure is shit but she didn’t deserve to die in the first place (dr3 doesn’t exist)

a wish

          idk other dangan materials but i want a spinoff in her pov (dr kirigiri maybe?) and komaeda and kirigiri team pls pls pls also burning the reopened hope’s peak along with naegi

an oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

          imagine an independent well written chara was turned into a tool for manpain and reward in the end for some guy?? that sounds so bad im glad it didnt happen. dr3 doesn’t exist

5 words to best describe them

          classy, unyielding, empathetic, genius, Not-A-Mary-Sue (i ran out of words)

my nickname for them

          i’m not good at nicknames orz, i saw a fic that refers to her simply as Kiri and i find that cute~

Togami Byakuya

Why I like them

          HE’S HILARIOUS idk about any of you but simply his mundane scene makes me laugh, he often gives me secondhand embarrassment at times but despite all that i gotta give him chill in a while and admire that his ego came from hardwork of fighting for the top of the top so his arrogance isn’t baseless. also he’s ishida akira, what’s there to hate

Why I don’t

          After chapter 2 he’s just there, he gives major clues who the killer was in ch3, suspect and got wrong in ch4, it’s kinda underwhelming for a chara that seems to be compared to komaeda in terms of status as a “deuteragonist” when he’s just… that 

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

         I like the part that he’s aware and in monitor of celeste’s actions in chapter 3 and he was the major key (iirc) to luring out the real killer, it shows how similar they are also the investigation with him during ch2 was hilarious, since i played it and knew he did the crafts of “genocider syo murder” it was funny that he showed you around the places for you to be “amazed” of “”his” work like, “look naegi, it’s suspicious isn’t it *smirk*” like a lil kid showing his mom his work

Favorite season/movie

          chapter 3

Favorite line

          is there a more iconic line than “My name is Togami Byakuya” which was followed with “How does that relate to what I’m saying...”

Favorite outfit

          He only wore one clothing iirc, let him wear a fursuit you cowards

OTP

         Formerly with celes but I kinda grew out of it, ironically shipping togakure now because of one hilarious comic and their name fits perfectly (it’s a sign of true love)

Brotp

         Celes

Head Canon

         he used to play those mainstream fb games long ago like farmville and ofc he’s also a billionaire there

Unpopular opinion

          HE ISN’T KOMAEDA’S COUNTERPART IN ANY WAY AT ALL

A wish

         he gives me all his money

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

          interact with toko? pls don’t ever? again? i hope after toko’s honeymoon with komaru she forgets togami’s existence

5 words to best describe them

         togamemes, togamemes, togamemes, togamemes, togamemes

My nickname for them

         togamemes

give me a character and i will answer

[catboyebooks]

another thing i was noticing going through this chapter again — it is easy to see how a lot of the fandom misconceptions got started. i should remind people again that when i got into sdr2, there was no complete english translation. we were following along with an ongoing fanslation effort. there was a time when english-speaking sdr2 fans only had this much of the game to go on and it shows.

the obvious one is that basically everyone thought komaeda was some combination of "completely batshit nuts" and "lying his pants off" after this case. which, yeah, natural reaction. he really manipulated mansplained & malewifed his way through this one. this also would have taken a lot of people off guard, which it's supposed to — up until this point i think most people would have been viewing him as, like, super naegi 2. or just as the exposition guy. or your crime-solving buddy. this is of course all intentional, as is the way he parallels maizono here (he gets set up as the deuteragonist immediately, forms a close bond with the protagonist, and goes out of his way to be helpful, combined with some ship-teasing that even invokes similar language — and then he instigates the first murder, but isn't the killer), which led people to believe his behavior prior to this trial was an act and he manipulated hinata into trusting him. this isn't true, but at this stage you really can't be sure. like i said, a lot of what he says during this trial is him being totally honest about his motivations / philosophy / view of himself, but the stuff he's being honest about also tends to sound nuts, so it's basically impossible to sort that out from the lies until you know him better.

a couple more specific things:

lots of people used to have the idea that komaeda is yandere, which is just completely untrue in terms of how he acts with hinata, but i forgot that komaeda played into this himself when talking to hanamura in order to come across as dangerous. he did in fact call himself an obsessed fanboy. in context though he is actually talking about being an obsessed fanboy for hope's peak academy (reminder that hinata also is — we know this from his introduction lol) and for the concept of hope in general. it doesn't apply to his feelings for or behavior towards any of his classmates. he does however phrase it vaguely and you're not likely to assume he's talking about an abstract concept unless you already know what his deal is.

people also interpreted hinata as much angrier with / more aggressive towards komaeda following this trial than he actually is. this is part of a general misconception people had about hinata, who does tend to come across as blunt or rude at times (especially as compared to naegi), but there's a specific moment i think this relates to and it's when hinata tells owari to go ahead and punch komaeda. however the context is important: this is right after komaeda once again brought up how hinata doesn't know what his talent is. my first time reading this it wasn't something i picked up on either but hinata reacts poorly every single time he's needled about the talent thing, and i'm quite certain komaeda (who also thinks talent is a Big Deal) has noticed and is bringing it up on purpose to get under his skin. this is also when komaeda is again insisting that they have a lot in common, which for obvious reasons is a troublesome statement now, doubly so because he's correct and his point about how hinata can't know they're not similar when he's been made to forget so much about himself is correct too. i think it's clear why this, specifically, bothered hinata so much.

i said i had more to say about 2-1 and i do. in fact once again i've wound up feeling like i have so much to say that i don't know where to begin. i'd hoped to be able to write a more organized post about my thoughts on this chapter but i don't think that's going to happen. we are going to be messyposting. i'm just saying things. let's go.

[oumakokichi]

Do you think Tsumugi was anywhere near as smart as Ouma or did she just have the advantage of blindsiding him? Even in his final moments, he didn't seem to suspect her any more than any of the others. Atleast that we get to see.

Someone asked me a somewhat similar question awhile back andput it in really good terms. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but it wassomething about how if Ouma is a chessmaster (and I do think he is, given allthe evidence), then Tsumugi is an opportunist. I still think they really nailedit: opportunist is a perfect word forher.

If I had to compare how smart they both are in terms of justintellect? Ouma would probably be smarter. Considering he definitely seems tohave some variation of SHSL Analysis, his predictive and analytical abilitynearly rival Junko’s and Kamukura’s. Even taking into account the fact that hereally is genuinely childish and even klutzy sometimes, he still seems… well,like a genius.

Looking objectively at his 300-or-so page script which hadmulti-branching routes, predicted nearly all of his classmates’ behavior to aT, and was written in the span of 2 hours, he wasn’t “just smart.” That sort ofthing wouldn’t be possible for anyone unless they had some kind of talent orability that correlated to it directly. There are also the diagrams in hisroom, which he commissioned Miu to make. While Miu’s ability to actually inventthem is more than impressive, Ouma seems to be the one who actually thoughtthem up and designed them, which is absolutely astounding.

Assuming that he was a genius of some kind also explains whysometimes he seems like he has to rewind himself and put himself a few stepsback, like in Chapter 4 when he literally can’t understand why they’d think he’sthe culprit. The answer is clear to him, since he already knows the full factsabout the case, and everyone else’s remarks must’ve felt like the trial wasjust dragging on so slowly. When you’re haughty and self-confident like Ouma,feeling like the smartest person in the room means everyone else seems to begoing so slow. Sometimes he reallydoes seem taken aback before he manages to backtrack a bit and look at the casefrom their perspective, even though they’re all still stuck on the wronganswer.

By contrast, Tsumugi doesn’t seem to have these nearlysuperhuman abilities. She’s smart—verysmart, actually. But her smarts still feel within the realm of humanpossibilities, rather than her being on an entirely different level from anyoneelse. If I had to think of a character who she’s probably equal with in termsof intellect, Komaeda might be a good choice (it’s kind of hilarious that oneof her FTEs has her specifically hating on people who use fictional charactersas “stepping stones” to get famous). Both of them are incredibly smart,arguably smarter than a lot of the rest of their classmates. But they’re stillultimately human, and circumstances can and do catch them off guard prettyregularly.

Komaeda simply allows his luck to make up for the holes inhis plans, while Tsumugi doesn’t try to cover the holes in the first place. Asan opportunist, she’s capable of rewriting entirely new scenarios, or claimingcredit for things that she never actually planned in the first place. Thisallows both of them to take chances and risks in a way that characters likeOuma, Junko, and Kamukura rarely do. The former are genuine risk-takers whoknow they’re smart enough to handle themselves in the long run. The latter(particularly Ouma and Junko) might act as if they take risks, but very rarelydo. Instead they leave as little to chance as possible, relying instead ontheir own huge brains and analytical abilities.

As you said, Tsumugi’s best and strongest advantage oversomeone like Ouma was her ability to blindside him at all. And make no mistake,this ability to fly under the radar is something she’s very well aware of, justas Komaeda is aware of his own luck and the fact that it’ll typically makethings swing in his favor. She mentions it outright in her FTEs, citing exampleslike hopping a subway or going to the movies without paying for it because noone would notice her anyway. It’s no coincidence that she talks about how plain(地味)she is almost once per line of dialogue: if anything, she wants to drill intopeople’s heads exactly how unnoticeable and boring she is so that they won’treally pay her much mind.

This plainness of hers works really, really well againstsomeone like Ouma. Ouma is an intentional subversion of Junko in many ways, butit’s true that they still share certain parallels—including their need for thespotlight. Ouma wants things to be “fun” and “interesting” and “exiting” at alltimes. He hates boredom (yet another thing he has in common with characters whohave SHSL Analysis). Therefore, he tries to avoid it at all costs. Someone likeTsumugi who seems to be the embodiment ofboredom just put him off entirely. I’m not even entirely sure if he consciouslydismissed the idea that she was the ringleader, or if it was more of asubconscious aversion.

Either way, I think he was unable to close in on herspecifically because he, to some degree, was using chessboard thinking.Chessboard thinking is a type of game theory in which you try to predict youropponent’s next move(s) by putting yourself in their shoes. It has itsadvantages, but obviously it only works best if you can actually predict youropponent. Otherwise you make mistaken assumptions. And you’re always going tobe somewhat biased, as you’re thinking with your own logic, rather than theirs.

By thinking “what would I do if I were the ringleader?” Oumamade the mistake of thinking that the ringleader would act like himself. He fitthe role of “evil villain” so perfectly because he was playing a part, and heexpected the real ringleader to mostly act the same—but that assumption waswrong from the beginning. He and Tsumugi were on completely differentwavelengths the whole time, and he never, I think, predicted that theringleader could be someone so… absolutely boring.

Something I’ve always felt is ironic is that I think Oumaprobably could’ve predicted a mastermind like Junko far better than he could aringleader like Tsumugi. Kirigiri did it before him, after all, and he andKirigiri are more than paralleled on several occasions. His and Junko’s similarmindsets would make them a formidable match against each other (though it’sanyone’s guess who would actually win a debate between them, since Junko hasabsolutely no conscience while Ouma is deeply empathetic). But since he wassearching for Tsumugi all the time, he wasn’t ever able to realize what wasright in front of his face.

This really did allow her to blindside him completely, as heremarks bitterly in his talk with Momota in Chapter 5 once he’s explaining hisplan. He realizes quickly that the ringleader must’ve manipulated Maki as apawn into kickstarting the killing game into action again, but has no idea how they actually did so. Because heshut himself up in the machinery bay with no way to maneuver around the schoolor investigate for himself, he allowed holes in his defenses for the firsttime, and Tsumugi took advantage of it spectacularly.

She might not be a genius herself, but she’s plenty cunningand quick on her feet. Her ability to revise her own scenarios, and to makethese huge, sweeping claims for things with no way to prove that she didn’tactually do them, means that she can seem a lot more capable than she actuallyis. Even when she’s clearly human and fallible, and when things definitely don’tgo according to her plan (such as when Saihara stops wearing his hat, when sherealizes Momota was sick in Chapter 5, etc.) she can bounce back quick enoughthat it’s near impossible to prove she ever messed up at all.

If Ouma is absolutely brilliant, then I’d say Tsumugi is…devious. She’s more than capable of compensating for her lack of genius throughher sheer dedication to her goals, as well as the fact that she doesn’t alwaysnecessarily play fair. While Ouma was mostly right in assuming that she had tofollow the rules of the killing game because it was being broadcast, he failedto account for the fact that she already had broken the rules long before herstatus as the ringleader was exposed. As long as she can get away with it, she’sabsolutely the type of person to cheat in a game—and her plainness makes itvery hard to notice she’s cheating at all, usually.

This is just my take on it, anyway. The differences in theirway of thinking are honestly fascinating, so I really love getting to talk aboutthe both of them. Ouma is complex in his moral ambiguity and in how much healludes to the themes of the game, but Tsumugi is also complex in herhollow-ness, and how terrifyingly effective she is as an antagonist. Thank youfor giving me a chance to talk about them both!

[kasssiopeia]

Final thoughts on NDRV3

posted under cut because spoilers!

So I want to write a little review for.. i dont even know whos gonna read that? probably nobody that still wants to play the game afterwards, haha. Anyway I felt like writing a final report on what I liked or... disliked, at least for the record I guess.

Starting with characters:

When I first watched the trailer, there were quite a few characters that caught my eye. Especially Yonaga and Amami, also Saihara and talent wise I was really looking forward to Ultimate Magician cause?? Nice? Also the promo pictures oh my.. Akamatsu and Harukawa?? Hell yeah. Saihara and Momota? Yeah alright! Amami and.. whos that again? Ah yes Ouma.. well I don’t really care but sure? (haha)

Actually playing the game made me think twice on a lot of characters really quickly. First of all I immediately fell in love with Chabashira and the fact that she and Akamatsu got along was just suuuper exciting!! Also Shinguuji seemed interesting but his story seemed a bit difficult for me to understand in Japanese. After getting to know Hoshi for a bit I also became really attached to this character cause he was kinda relatable for me? and I dont mean because of the same alias, I just felt his kinda nihilism and will to sacrifice himself for the others cause they have more “will to live” hit home really closely. I think if it were me, surely I’d behave similarly. Halfway through the story I suddenly realized I really love Ouma, I don’t even know how that happened cause at first I was kinda meh towards him but smh it happens quite often that characters who pissed me off before suddenly become my bias, soo we are stuck with him now I guess? but ill talk about him in more detail later. Saihara turned out to be a true “meh i dont really care about this guy” character, Harukawa was annoying cause in the end her behaviour changed nothing and it was just plain boring. Hagakure.. I mean Momota was same, and it was even worse that these two kinda became a romantic pair cause that just made them even more boring. I could only acknowledge Momota after it was found out that he agreed to Oumas plan.

Also I ended up disliking most of the other characters, ESPECIALLY Yumeno cause she was equally boring and useless and dont act like you ever cared about Chabashira cause Im not buying that. Angie WOULD have been interesting if she had killed someone after all, but yeah whatever. Shinguuji had the potential but they decided to completely fuck over his character in his trial.

The game mode:

Tbh at this point, I cant really complain much? I gotta say I disliked logic dive and forgot how its called.. the sword mode something something. But then again I played this on pc and I think both wouldve been a lot easier with a controller. Now lets look at brain drive, which works similar like logic dive and... what? i have to pick up sex workers? Saihara’s car is full of sexy ladies? WHAT

seriously i dont know what they were thinking but that just weirded me the fuck out. The rest wasnt so bad. The new game mode they brought in wasnt so bad, relatively easy to win but to this day id need so much more time to figure out how to clear every block. The showdown thing?? pretty shit. I liked panic talk action in the previous games, but now it became a button mashing rhythm game that was.. pretty difficult aint gonna lie. Also the fact that you literally tear off their clothes until they are half naked in the end.. what. the. fuck.  Climax logic was alright, but the pictures got really tiny i think? sometimes it was hard to get what was going on unless you read the description. Scrum debatte was great, and the new feature to lie? ... Meh. Smh from the trailer I got the impression that i could either lie or tell the truth. Maybe I was just too stupid to do that, but i dont think i ever had a choice to do either. If someone was able to do different, please tell me cause I was a bit disappointed. Ah also, weak point panic talk(?) where you have to listen to many characters at first. if im not wrong it was introduced as something only Akamatsu can do? because of her musical ear I mean. Well guess that was a lie,

The trials:

Probably THE main thing in dangan ronpa I mean hey we all came here to enjoy a little murder mystery right? (jk im here to romance the characters in peace mode) Let’s say I wasn’t... too impressed with them.

The first trial was pretty interesting, well done too, if it WASNT for the point that the player character herself was the killer and got executed. Wait what, you just took my character away? after the FIRST trial? Yes exactly. I’m not sure what they were thinking except adding a bit more drama and man pain for Saihara but ill write more to that later. At the end of this trial, everyone cried more for the killer than for the victim just because her motive was something as noble as “I knew we wouldnt make it in time so one of us had to kill someone.”

second trial was... incredibly weird and unnecessarily cruel, and I’m not saying this because Hoshi is my bias. Okay maybe I am. But seriously first he gets drowned and then his corpse is eaten by piranhas so theres not even anything left of him anymore? The whole creating a ropeway with a pool floating thing just felt weird to me as well but sure I wrote it off as “after two games theyll eventually run out of ways”. Speaking about the motive... it was similar to the first murder in dr1, but the fact that Toujou turned out to be some president of a country (if I got that right, I was bored and didnt bother checking unknown words) and she wanted to get out to save her people just.. what? And I said this before but I dont believe that Hoshi just “let himself get killed”. Why’d he fight for his life otherwise and leave all those scratch marks on a fucking stone sink? After the trial, again, nobody cried for the victim, they were all ridden on the killers noble idea of getting out.... okay? what

the third trial!! hell yeah!! that was finally one i could really enjoy, despite my waifu getting killed (but she was beautiful until the end). I actually dont know what really got me to like this murder, but the fact that it was definitely plausible maybe helped. Also when it happened right in front of everyone was just really exciting! The trial was... good, until Shinguujis “real identity” was revealed. His motive was pretty gross, I mean the fact that hes romantically in love with his sister and kills for her, which also implied hes a serial killer just.. idk that was weird, but FINALLY they didnt cry for the killer but for the victims.

trial four was a PAIN to get to, istg this stupid game world pissed me off to the point where i didnt  wanna play anymore, also cause i heavily suspected Ouma to do something and I didnt want him gone haha. The death itself turned out to be pretty interesting (tbh i wouldve never thought theyd kill of a ero character like Iruma! ) so I’d say i liked this trial.

Dude trial five!!! hyped me up so much. I was so torn between hoping Ouma is the killer and also Ouma being the victim... if I ignore the stupid romance interval between Harukawa and Momota, I could even say this was my favorite trial. But it also heavily reminded me of Komaeda’s trial which was a bit.. weird. I got pretty pissed that in the end, Momota didnt go through with Oumas plan, therefore making his death basically useless.  But boy the trial gave me so  many Ouma feels, so that was nice...

The sixth and final trial... where do I even start? Well its where the whole plot comes to an end right? And the kotodama looked pretty interesting, just like the build up but then.. I understand that 4th wall breaking is cool, but do it too much or at the wrong time and its just a pain in the ass.

The trial almost had me throw away my ps vita in frustration also it was so boring i ended up skipping a lot of dialogue cause what are you even trying to get at? Not even the end or some more 4th wall breaking could fix this and literally until the end i was so bored that i just skipped through so i could unlock bonus mode... i almost feel like telling everyone, dont play this game now lol.

The story

If the beginning had you wondering, isnt that normal for all dr games? at least i thought so. normal game, normal killing, great. But the new main character! Akamatsu was pretty lovable. I enjoyed the way she brought in her talent into conversations (and left others stunned cause they couldnt relate). She was just really refreshing to play as, just the small romance-y sections with Saihara were boring (but at this point i thought its just being friends so okay) . Compared to Naegi who was seen by the others mostly as a “loser” or weakling who sometimes says something good, and Hinata whom everyone really liked, Akamatsu seemed to me like having some people who really trust her, and those who are somehow against her. AND THAT FELT RIGHT.

Too bad she literally gets killed as the murderer during the FIRST trial and replaced by Saihara who evidentally gives off a ~Naegi vibe~. Seriously why would you even do that.. It was stupid as heck, but the only good thing is that it saved us from possible Saihara and Akamatsu love story.

Continuing, Saihara loses some of his weakness thanks to Momota, and also it is hinted that Ouma can’t really be trusted or can he...? Cause what he did that was thought to be evil and possibly harmful for the others actually turned out to be a way to at least prevent one killing. After that I got the feeling that he actually grew just a little bit closer to the group and became even more helpful again.

Then we have these weird scenes with Harukawa and Momota, which are just weird and Harukawa herself was a boring character, but if you care for some tragic background and forseeable character development that of course has to end with romantic feelings, sure.

The student council thing to prevent murders from happen was actually pretty interesting and i wish theyd gone through with that just a bit more, but it was a nice turn of events.

Talking about Ouma, the moment you think hes on your side, theres this weird scene with him and Monokuma and you know somethings up. I made a post about this earlier too, wishing for him to double cross everyone and eventually turn out good, but that suddenly turned into a pretty far fetched wish after the fourth trial where hes portrayed as ultra evil and later on reveals that hes the mastermind (wait, is he really? should his black and white clothing scheme have given him away sooner?)

i guess i... didnt mind it so much except for the fact that Ouma wont appear that often anymore. he even goes as far as to say that the killing game is over, but isnt it kinda boring that the character who hinted that he was evil, turns out to be evil after all? Well a lot of things in this game were a bit boring, so... sure. We even learn that Ouma is a remnant of despair and what?? how does that even make sense. If they are supposedly students of the new Kibougamine Gakuen which was built by Naegi, Junko and Despair wouldve long been dead! Alright then? Oh yes also the whole setting ins in SPACE and those students are the last 16 humans from earth who were put in cryosleep until they reached a new planet to live on. Oh...kay? Why not I mean.

For Hope to win, everyone sets out to kill Monokuma to finally make the Killing game end for real and.. look, Ouma is helping them! Somehow that is really giving me hope for his character even if his insane laugh and incredibly creepy sprite (seriously what the fuck) are a bit unsettling...

And then.. who wouldve thought? Another killing happens but this time with a twist. Ouma wasnt actually the ultra bad guy everyone thought and guess what! Hes not even the mastermind! Thats my son. I was super happy that some faith in Ouma was restored, even tho his plan to snuff out the true mastermind reminded me of Komaeda going crazy to single out the traitor... especially cause there are quite a few similarities between those two.

So for the final trial, it seems that there are quite a few hints linking to the true mastermind being Enoshima... again? How did she even get here. But theres some weird plan from the government and the fact that Monokuma is here as well might be that someone implanted some sort of virus like in sdr2? We also know that theres definitely someone who is watching the whole killing game. And thats... where it all goes to shit.

This dangan ronpa is the 53rd installment and the people watching are actually dangan ronpa fans! surprise youre all just fictional characters who chose to be here, and so is every other dangan ronpa character! nothing is real, you dont even really exist! lololol

do i need to say any more

I think that was the worst plot twist ive ever seen? You couldve just somehow figured something out, even make it a reality tv show for crying out loud but not some bullshit like ohh the dangan ronpa fans wanna see you despair! they wanna see you have hope!

fuck. off.

if it wasnt for that ending, that game wouldve been a solid 7/10 I’d say, especially with the last 3 chapters really getting me fired up. But that shit.. Its a literal, oh we just made this game cause you fans wanted it? we didnt actually wanna make this but you keep asking for more?

HOW ABOUT YOU DIDNT EVEN MAKE IT IN THE FIRST PLACE

im gonna go romance ouma in peace mode now bye