#at how much higher the quality of writing was in dr2.5

[rirururu]

Komaeda and Hinata in DR2.5

Before you ask, yes. This is a sequel to That Post, where I waste my time on a university thesis-worthy essay trying to convince you why the Danganronpa 2.5 OVA both brought a decent conclusion to Komaeda as a character, and showcased Komaeda and Hinata as perfect for each other. Am I looking too deep into everything? Possibly. Do I regret it? Nope.

Seeing that this time around, we got way more than 10 seconds of screen time, I’ll be splitting up this monstrosity into three parts. First, we’ll look at how Komaeda’s luck works in the OVA, then we’ll tackle the roles his friends took and what they mean. The implications these have on Komahina will be interspersed between all the arguments, but the bulk of the Komahina-centered scenes will take precedence in the third and final section.

1) Komaeda’s Luck

The first glimpse that we really see of Komaeda happens at that oh-so-cliche “running to school with bread in her mouth” scene with Maizono. The event then unfolds with her crashing into Komaeda which causes him to be hit by a car, land against a tree, and get attacked by chestnuts and a cat. This doesn’t seem too far-off from what we know about him so far. Normally he experiences bad luck, which is then followed by a bout of good luck of equal value-

Oh, but no. Instead what we see is Maizono being cared for by her possible idol/crush Makoto Naegi. I bring this up because this scene indicates a dramatic shift in how Komaeda’s luck works. It is addressed multiple times in the OVA that he’s “always been really unlucky” or that his luck “always turns out badly.” What happened to being “incredibly lucky” as he reiterates time and time again in DR2? By labeling what luck he experiences as specifically ‘bad,’ it is not an inconsistency or bad-writing. It’s actually a subtle implication of something very vital and personal about Komaeda’s character.

What this implies is that in Komaeda’s ideal world, he would want his luck cycle to work so then all the bad luck only targets himself which results in good luck happening to those around him. While in canon, he purposely acts malicious so others stay away from him, in this world, he keeps so many close friends and acquaintances (even Seiko, Ruruka, and Izayoi) because he knows having contact with him will cause him more bad luck, but result in good fortune for them. At seeing those around him happy at the expense of his own, he grew up to be very empathetic and supportive of his friends and amicable at just the very idea of living.

He looks so genuinely joyful at just the sight of a cat in the tree. This is someone who is completely content with his life.

On the other hand, in canon where he grew up to be much more twisted and cynical, his bad luck targets those around him which results in good luck happening to only him. Something like the luck Komaeda has instead in the OVA could be hugely taken advantage of. But because this luck is such an unknown force, Komaeda is the only one who believes it’s true. He’s even shown telling Fuyuhiko and Souda in one scene, just for the two to brush him off. Instead of trying to prove it to them in any way, he just lets them excuse it as him being weird. So it’s not like he wants recognition or gratefulness from them. What COULD he want, then? What does this mean? It means that he falls into despair at seeing others unhappy, and his deepest wish is to help his friends with nothing in return. We got a literal glimpse into Komaeda’s heart and this is what he’s telling us. Even Hajizuru agrees.

But of course, while this is sweet and all, it’s a double-edged sword. There is something else that can be derived from this; Komaeda most likely thinks that his biggest worth is his luck. Instead of wishing for traits such as looks, skills, a solid career, or dreams (something that other teenagers would desire), Komaeda prioritized changing his luck. He most likely doesn’t think of himself as a real person who could have respectable looks, skills, careers, or dreams, and hence he didn’t even bother. And the only trait about himself that he did bother to change, it was for the benefit of others. This is proven by his reaction to Fuyuhiko asking if he has any dreams.

Lo and behold; the subs released shortly after I speculated this and it was confirmed

This is very important because I’ve seen so many people on here arguing over the controversy of whether Hinata should’ve woken up Komaeda or not. The “nay” side generally has the argument that the latter was so much happier than he was in the real world. But the thing is, Komaeda was never really happy in his dream world. What he experienced was simply what he thought happiness meant, a concept which, may I add, he doesn’t have much of a grasp on. His idea of happiness is watching others be happy until he either grows old and dies alone or dies early from his own luck. This is why it’s necessary that Komaeda was woken up, that his luck can finally cease as long as he stays by Hinata’s side, and that he can begin building an actual future for himself.

We then move onto another interesting aspect of this OVA; just what was the intention behind having Komaeda hate talent in this world? Why do ultimate talents not seem to exist? We could interpret it two ways: either the shock of finding out that those talented students he believed in ended up being Ultimate Despair subconsciously carried over, or this is yet another personification of his desires projected into his fabricated society.

For those of your who don’t know, DR3 actually came with two songs sung by Komaeda. The one that we all know as the ending to Despair Arc, Absolute Hope Birthday, was supposed to be what Komaeda felt and said on the outside. While the one that coincidentally also doesn’t receive quite as much exposure, Sakura Zanka, is what Komaeda feels on the inside.

When I think about this whole idea of what Komaeda is like externally versus how he feels on the inside, I am reminded of his death scene in chapter 5 of DR2. Although he insisted time and time again that he was more than willing to be a victim, in the end, his face conveyed his true emotions of fear and desperation; feelings which implied that despite what he thinks, what he actually wanted on the inside was to keep living. His insistence on sacrificing himself was a defense-mechanism to atone for all the loved ones who died for him.

It is entirely possible that just as this defense-mechanism may have blinded him of what he truly felt about death, his dependency on hope and talent as his only comfort may have blinded him on what he saw as worthwhile in the world. It blinded him so drastically that his mind found an alternate outlet by having him hate talent in his new fabricated world. Add this on to the fact that he was nurtured by his luck to only care about material gains such as money/talent at the expense of affection and a future, it’s entirely possible for him to build up such contradictory walls around himself. This is supported by certain lyrics of Sakura Zanka where Komaeda expresses a desire to be ordinary.

cherry blooms, as if to convey the warmth the life of ordinary blooming and ordinary withering where would it fall the hand of the unforgettable clock stops, my heart blooms fully, the rain of cherry blossoms the storm of flowers, the sudden wind, I halt and open my eyes the flower petals on water like little boats, flowing away cherry blooms, as if to cherish the vanishing spring, if I can live an ordinary life, and die with you together oh, if that could come true

And what do you know, all the threads of Komaeda’s personality are coming together...

2) The Roles his Friends Took and What it Means

Hajizuru mentioned that these people Komaeda created were actually personifications of his own psychological defense mechanisms as a way to keep him mentally sane after the shock of dying. The way I interpret this is that these modified versions of his classmates were akin to what Komaeda sees as comforting thoughts before being killed by the poison. Similar to someone whose life flashes before their eyes, they each represent a summary of either what Komaeda himself wishes he was like, or what he wishes he had throughout his entire life. For that reason, I find that how his friends were presented in this world to also be significant.

Now, it makes sense to start with Hajime, so let’s start with Hajime. About 9 minutes into the OVA, incomes the amazing man-in-black!Hajizuru here to destroy Komaeda’s world, finger-gun style, guns in his fingers, fingers for guns. But before I even go any further, the fact that the one who showed up here was Hajizuru is actually a huge game-changer. Why, do you ask? If you recall the end of the Hope arc, there was this little (huge) plot twist revealed where it turns out that any AI that’s uploaded into the Neo World Program starts out as a blank slate.

That’s right; when the AI’s begin, they have no personality or appearance, and it’s whoever the person (or people) trapped inside the Neo World Program wants to see the most who the AI ends up taking the form/personality of. Connect the dots, and this implies that Hajime/Izuru was the one that Komaeda missed and wanted to see the most. If this isn’t enough proof for you, it is later hugely supported yet again by the three flashbacks that Komaeda has when his world begins crumbling.

According to the theory of the primary-recency effect, it makes complete sense that Komaeda would best recall the first thing he sees of the killing trip (that is, the island through the window while on the boat) and the last thing he did before dying (that is, forcing a murder disguised as a suicide). If Komaeda were truly remembering things at random, then Hajime shouldn’t have appeared here, but he did. Not only so, but his face specifically appears to be blurred out while everyone and everything else either takes the form of a sentient being, or just appears regularly in his flashback. The OVA had purposely juxtapositioned a distorted Hajime next to these clear and logical memories, and it wasn’t a coincidence. Just as the appearance of the AI in his world taking on the form of Hajizuru implies, these flashbacks also point towards the conclusion that Komaeda misses and wants to be with him the most, but the memory of Hajime is painful for him so his mind blocked his face out. It may be painful because he regrets pushing Hinata away. It may be painful because he betrayed and didn’t believe in Hinata back in DR2. It may be painful because Komaeda isn’t capable of projecting a version of Hajime that doesn’t flip his entire world upside down. It’s never explicitly stated, so we can only speculate for now.

So what, does Hajime just symbolize someone for Komaeda to miss, then? He does, but that’s not the entire truth either. Hajime knows Komaeda at this point, and he knows that no matter how much of a paradise Komaeda built for himself, he wouldn’t want to be trapped in there. There’s no future in a fabricated hope. And while anyone else would probably stay, Komaeda would leave in a heartbeat. Hajizuru understands that, and he’s the only one in Komaeda’s ideal world to take action in breaking it. He’s the only one who was serious enough in his ways to antagonize and make Komaeda hate him just to finally reach him.

This understanding is brought up again close to the end, when Komaeda states that he’s glad everything in that world was fake, that he couldn’t believe that he’d sacrifice his ideals so everyone else would be happy. That’s a line that’s so wonderfully Komaeda-like in nature, and sounds like one of those things that he would’ve said in DR2 that got everyone else pissed off at him. But instead of going off on his rails and brushing it off as Komaeda being crazy or an asshole like he had done in the past, Hajizuru just gets him. He understands what Komaeda really means when he says these things, that there is a clear contrast to what Komaeda says to what he really feels. He also knows exactly how to reply to make him feel better: by giving him the confirmation that even Komaeda living a normal and happy life without talent was possible. What Hajime represents to Komaeda is someone to miss when they’re gone, as well as someone who understands and accepts him.

...Would it be cheesy to say then that Hajizuru represents love for Komaeda?

Now, I know what you’re going to say. “But Rirururu, Hajizuru wasn’t part of Komaeda’s fabricated world, he forced his way in.“ Well, doesn’t it say even more that Hajime was apparently so painful for Komaeda to remember, that he couldn’t take form on his own, that Komaeda needed to be forced to think of the one he misses the most when the AI appeared? Doesn’t it say even more that Hajizuru wasn’t doing all of this due to following some command sent out by Komaeda’s head, but because he’s an extension of the real Hajizuru’s will? Komaeda doesn’t need to fabricate love for himself, because he already has it.

On the other hand, Fuyuhiko seems to take on the role of that friend who knows how strange Komaeda can be, who’s experienced his mood swings, but chooses to stick around anyways because that’s just a part of who Komaeda is. Komaeda lacks social tact, he feels passionately and passionately feels. But the Fuyuhiko in his dream accepts him anyways. To him, I think it really is just as simple as Fuyuhiko representing true acceptance/friendship for Komaeda. He’s the friend that Komaeda has always wished to have. There is the question of why he chose Fuyuhiko of all people, and I think there was a reason for it rather than just the writers randomly sticking a bunch of names in a hat for drawing.

If you recall, Fuyuhiko was in a similar position as Komaeda was in the beginning of the game. Everyone (except Hinata and Peko) was wary of him, didn’t trust him, and overall just found him not worth the effort of getting along with. It was all because he was a part of the mafia and was used to putting up an unlikable persona so others won’t get close to him, just like how Komaeda put up an unlikable persona so others won’t get close to him and consequently be hurt by his luck. He was similar to Komaeda in that sense. A lot of people who’ve played DR2 forget this, but it did get to the point where after hearing that the others had tied Komaeda up in chapter 2, he actually defended him. He defended Komaeda by calling everyone else cowards for so easily turning on their own friend. The reason why Komaeda can most easily project Fuyuhiko as his friend who accepts him no matter what is most likely related to that part of Fuyuhiko which could still defend Komaeda despite his skewed ideals.

Souda is a bit of a tough one, seeing as he died off pretty quickly shortly after his appearance. Luckily, we managed to see just enough to get an idea of what this Sonia-loving mechanic meant to Komaeda. Interestingly enough, the focus of his character in the entire OVA was specifically on his infatuation with Sonia and how, no matter how hard he tried, she didn’t respond. Or at least, she wasn’t supposed to respond, but for some reason and almost exclusively in Komaeda’s head, she does. Going off by the pattern of his ideal world, this means that another one of Komaeda’s wishes is to see Souda’s feelings answered.

I wonder why that is? Surely Souda’s efforts are in vain. Pretty much anyone in the class who’s seen how they interact agrees. Heck, even I initially thought that Souda’s feelings won’t go anywhere. They’re with good intentions, sure, but he just doesn’t view Sonia as a person enough for it to work out. So with everyone in agreement that Souda should just give up, it’s interesting that Komaeda is the one person who seems to think otherwise to the point of projecting the two as a couple in his head. It’s not like he was particularly fond of the either of them during their time in DR2. Sonia barely talked to him at all, and Souda did nothing but call him creepy and become the butt of most of Komaeda’s tricks. There’s really nothing that would make Souda/Sonia, in particular, a pairing that Komaeda would support...or is there?

Perhaps what Komaeda saw when he observed Souda and Sonia in the game was a guy who was pursuing a hopeless goal, yes, but whose efforts and determination to the point of being delirious was actually inspirational for Komaeda. He isn’t interested in things that just naturally happen, but rather, the things that can only happen when people fight for it. And to him, by projecting Souda finally getting the person he’s been pursuing, what he represents for Komaeda is success. Success for what? Perhaps success in the hopeless effort to make something of his life despite it ending soon due to dementia. It could be success in getting the affections of someone you’re in love with despite knowing that they hate you. Or maybe it’s the success of becoming the hope that inspires others, even though you know you’ve fallen into despair. Success could mean all these things and much more to Komaeda.

The last significant character who had a huge impact on the plot was Sonia. Similar to the role she played in DR2, she doesn’t really interact with Komaeda at all yet the OVA made it a point to highlight her actions in this particular scene at the funeral. The way they structure her words seem to be such that they act as a parallel to what Komaeda couldn’t do. Yes, she’s the Ultimate Princess and is better off than he is, but when concerning something like avenging a friend’s death from a murderer, she would arguably be just as if not more useless in it as Komaeda feels that he himself is. Unlike Komaeda, however, she was able to overcome her own uselessness, gain the resolve to fight back, and follow Fuyuhiko regardless.

And here we come to how this relates to Komaeda. Throughout the game and despite the fact that he was actually one of the most able characters, he was constantly berating himself and setting the expectations for his own capabilities low. He expresses the mentality that if something difficult comes up, then it’s better to wait for someone who is more suitable to handle it to step in rather than try to do anything on his own. It isn’t until the fourth and fifth chapters that he breaks past this and uses his luck to its full potential in his effort to become Ultimate Hope. And that’s exactly it. That burst of determination from Sonia in this OVA to reach for something that may be impossible, was the same burst of determination that Komaeda felt when he began planning his own death. A nice word to summarize this feeling is probably will that is free of one’s own low self-esteem or circumstances.

And there you have it. Through his projection of his classmates, Komaeda got to experience love/understanding, acceptance, success, and free will. These concepts were the main defense mechanisms which his brain set up. As mentioned in the luck section, they’re all part of what any normal teenager would want. But because Komaeda is inherently giving and sees no self-worth in obtaining these things himself, the nature of this world is that he gifts two of these upon his classmates, and gets one of them (understanding) shoved upon him unwillingly. We are learning so much about Komaeda from this OVA that it’s almost scary.

(On another note, that means Komaeda head-canons Naegi as a suave casanova who is probably a good 30 cm taller than he actually is and gets all the chicks; oh Komaeda...)

3) Ne… kikoeru?

I’m sure that 90% of the fandom has noticed this already, but the (beautiful) scene where Komaeda wakes up to Hinata watching over him while asking “Ne...Kikoeru” parallels how Hinata woke up at the beginning of DR2. I have to ask though: just why is this scene so significant? My first thought is that it’s like the analogy with Hinata facing the sun from DR2 and DR3. Just as his name means “a new day” or “a new beginning towards the sun,” the game tends to depict him watching the sun to indicate a brand new start.

In this case however, “ne kikoeru” is something that is specific to just Komahina. In DR2, it was uttered during Hinata’s first real awakening after being asleep inside Izuru for many years. In DR2.5, it was uttered during Komaeda’s first awakening as a version of himself who’s starting to come to terms with who he and his classmates are, after being asleep in the Neo World Program for a long time. In both cases, it is the other person who they see first when they open their eyes. Although this is not true of human babies, I find myself relating to the concept of a newborn baby bird who imprints on the first person they see when they open their eyes. Of course, Komahina are grown adults and quite a bit more complex than that, but it’s still a layer of their relationship that symbolizes a bond of trust, nurture, and care. 

I remember back when all we had of the OVA was a crappy quality recording in poor lighting and voices talking over it in the background. It comes as no surprise then that when this certain scene came up, no one noticed it. And here is why I should’ve waited for the DVD quality sub; because then I wouldn’t have missed this subtle smile that Hajizuru sends Komaeda during the climax in the building. Up until that point, Hajizuru was completely emotionless. He was detached while killing Peko, he had no guilt in stating that Souda’s life meant nothing to him, he freaking sent a picture of Komaeda’s dead friends to him for Pete’s sake. These are all the things that we’ve come to expect from Izuru Kamukura, let alone an AI with a blank slate for a personality.

For that reason, the fact that Hajizuru was even capable of smiling in this scene was really significant. He showed an emotion other than boredom because and I quote “what you’re feeling is hope.” I liken this to when Izuru first discovered despair in the killing trip of the student council in DR3. He showed no emotional attachment to anything until that moment when that student, with his head already sliced clean off and with all hope of winning lost, had still managed to nearly shoot him. That was the very second when Izuru was doomed; when Izuru decided to dedicate himself to that feeling of surprise that despair offers.

Just like the killing trip of the student council, Komaeda’s story begins with his friends being killed off mercilessly. Instead of running away, he confronts Hajizuru with everything he’s got despite knowing that there’s no way he could win. The scene where Hajizuru smiled was like seeing that moment where he discovered despair all over again. Except this time, what surprised him was Komaeda’s hope; what he can dedicate himself to now is hope. And he both sees and is excited by that hope that is in the recesses of Komaeda’s mind. Just as Komaeda is “in love with the hope that sleeps inside Hajime,” Hajizuru also expresses fascination with the hope that resides in Komaeda.

To further drive home the point that Hajizuru’s analysis abilities had not predicted the extent of Komaeda’s will, he outright states that he wasn’t expecting Komaeda to show up so soon.

Speaking of Hajime smiling, he sure does it a lot in any Danganronpa installment that takes place after DR2. It’s a little painful for me sometimes to read his wiki and see it stating that he retained 100% of his personality after waking up, when it’s not even close to being the truth. The Hajime from DR2 was almost constantly scowling, came off as a tad cynical towards his friends’ quirks, and had a bad habit of saying exactly what was on his mind no matter how blunt it would come off. Of course, at the same time, he was the go-to guy to confide in, easily approachable, and was wholly selfless and accepting to his friends’ problems. Merging with Izuru has matured him in all of these aspects, but the most noticeable to me is just how often he smiles. He now smiles like the weight has been lifted off his shoulders; he no longer suffers from his self-imposed inferiority nor from the overbearing boredom of superiority.  He’s finally found an equilibrium within himself to enjoy his friends and future, and I’m very proud of him for this.

As we wrap up our mountain-tall essay of an analysis (and I apologize that you had to sit through it all), we can’t stop without mentioning the famous hand-holding scenes. Was it just fanservice? Maybe. But I find it interesting that Kodaka scheduled the release dates so to make a point that the last thing we see of the original DR universe is Komaeda and Hinata holding hands. Not headmaster Naegi, not the Ultimate Despairs sailing away, but Komaeda and Hinata holding hands. Typically, the last moment of a film or series can either make it or break it. It’s like how the movie Inception ended with the screen fading to black before we could see if the top fell over; it was symbolic of how the main doesn’t care if he’s in reality or not. The last moment of a series always serves as an indication of how much the characters and their circumstances have come such a long way since the beginning.

What Kodaka decided to show us in this case is Hinata taking Komaeda’s hand, despite it being Junko’s mutilated one and an object of everything Komaeda did and was. This seems to indicate that Hajizuru is not repulsed by the person Komaeda is any longer, and Komaeda is willing to take that hand even though Hajizuru stated that he’s both Ultimate Despair and a reserve course student. It’s a symbol of their acceptance of each other’s worst parts. Why was this the last thing we saw? Well, I mentioned before in a rant about Hajime that I felt that his character was a personification of everything that was wrong with Hope’s Peak Academy even before Junko showed up to wreck shit up. He evidently works very hard during trials, cares about his friends enough to take a bullet for them, and is utterly selfless in some of the free time events. Yet he’s bullied, harassed, and considered too plain to ever accomplish anything in life. He’s an integral part of what makes Danganronpa tick. Perhaps in a similar manner, watching Komahina evolve from a burst of unhealthy admiration, to weak friendship, to betrayal, to hesitant mistrust, to rejected acceptance, to finally understanding and love is also symbolic of what finding both despair and hope with another person means. They were shown last because the fact that they’re okay now is actually a vital part of the entire thematic narrative of Danganronpa.

And this is why I think that the Komaeda OVA is by far, the best DR3 installment and anyone who thinks this OVA is crap can fite me (ง'̀-'́)ง Also, congrats to our boys for being the only non-heteronormal pairing in the franchise that got a happy ending. This has been a wild ride and I’m happy that I stuck with these characters and this pairing all the way through.

Oh hey look. Hinata is conveniently placed in this shot standing with Fuyuhiko and Souda’s waifus while waiting for Fuyuhiko, Souda, and Komaeda to get on board. I wonder what that means.

In conclusion, Komahina.