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julia-bunncat · 2 years ago

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A huge analysis of the 3rd trial | DRV3

Well! As I promised in the previous post (although since then I’ve already finished the fourth chapter – the saddest for me at the moment 😢) , today we will talk about the 3rd chapter of DRV3, Korekiyo Shinguji’s role in it, and in more detail:

a} I’ll tell you about my experiences during the direct playthrough; how hard it was for me to solve Angie and Tenko’s murder [I didn’t spoil the details for myself deliberately, only knew about the «seesaw effect» meme] b} I’ll analyze the class trial and Kiyo’s behavior in it; c} of course I’ll share my thoughts on improving Korekiyo’s arch, because actually every fan knows this truth – the writers failed their task to create an adequate, worthy story.

After all, I have no regrets; the goal of «find something useful + figure out every detail» has been achieved and to me it was paramount, because (if someone didn’t know and hasn’t read one of my posts) I plan to create my own universe where most of DRV3 cast are survived.

That’s the end of the intro! I warn you that the following text will be as full as possible of spoilers... and yes, it will be huge. Again. Just get ready for it.

☄ I’ll start by stating my attitude to what is happening during the 3rd chapter BEFORE murder (but I won’t go into too many details here, because for the most part, again, I plan to dedicate this post to Korekiyo). First and foremost, I want to say that Monokuma. is losing. his grip. Earlier I managed to spoil myself the thesis that once again chapter’s motive is sucks, but I didn’t know exactly what the problem was... Now it’s clear. As with the 1st chapter, the motive is not being used – the murder generates either additional conditions (like time limit) or the students' personal complexes / psychoses (Kaede has the desire to «save everyone», Korekiyo has the goal to collect «friends for sister»). If only the Monocubs had come up with that motive, I would understand and forgive… But no, despite the «revolt» against their father’s principles, it seems that they didn’t abandon his original idea to shove this useless Necronomicon – after all, at the end of the execution Monokuma is upset; he say: «Seems like a waste, though. You guys sure you don’t wanna use it?».

It leads me to believe that the writers have once again decided to avoid logic in “favor” of some gags. They wanted to introduce an aesthetic creepy freak into the story – they did it, nothing else matters. And this is actually upsetting to me – in theory, the events could have been staged in such a way that the motive is used either indirectly or directly. It’s such a waste….

Now, a few words about Angie and the main event – formation of the student council-sect. I remember Korekiyo talking about it as a natural phenomenon in their situation – in times of despair, people cling to faith as never before thingslikethat… Moreover, I agree, it (as well as the Monocubs’ revolt) is something truly unique. It must be admitted that in no other Danganronpa nobody even tried to do something similar.

…But in what shock and (no other words come in mind ;^) horror I was, watching the accession of the cult of Angie’s God. Those who have studied at least a little bit about sects, understand – it’s not really about despair. A sect is always either money or a cult of personality (sometimes all together), and in the case of Angie – God (Atua) it’s herself. It would be more appropriate to listen Kokichi’s assessment of event: «She uses the situation to take the school under her and make us dependent on “Atua”». His opinion is even more confirmed by the fact that Angie became active just after the guys checked the Flashback Light (with group funeral) and what they saw confused them really.

This sequence of actions actually makes her dangerous. I heard a fact that many fans was genuinely considered Angie as the alleged murderer of chapter three… And you know, I WILL agree to this without any hesitation! Perhaps, at least that way, what happens in this chapter would have made some sense.

Also, in the last post, there were a number of criticisms and aversions to Angie that came from my lips. And I'd like to add something to my remarks, yeah, because even though Angie has taken to enslaving the minds of her classmates very intelligently and promptly, she is still full of contradictions (which breaks down theories about her genius). I’ll outline these contradictions so as not to sound hollow:

1} Angie's motivation for using the Necronomicon is simple – she doesn't believe in resurrection, but she does believe that someone who has died can come back, since they actually didn't die at all (their body could have been replaced by a first-class replica). At first, she backs up her conviction with comments like: «Well, the more people, the more fun it will be in our paradise! Shuichi, don't you have any sympathy for the dead? #shameonyou» BUT! when it comes to a new Flashback Light the next day + the question of “who shall we resurrect” arises, Angie changes her mind without a bit of mercy. The resurrected man is no longer a welcome friend – he is a victim in case an inconvenient time-limit-type motive is reintroduced. Is this a contradiction? Or hypocrisy? Let's just not decide.

2} Theory with replicas. At the first sight of the wax figures of the four dead, Shuichi is irrevocably convinced that this is impossible. He reasonably and inspiringly explains to Angie (who believes in spiritual and otherworldly things) that no matter what works of art the figures are, even Ultimate Talent cannot replace the soul… But how does Yonaga react? Right, she contradicts her own words again. Or to be more precise: She doesn't even try to defend her own beliefs in any way. No one can be resurrected because the replicas don't exist? Whatever! God said the ritual had to be done anyway! It will work – but the logic and danger of realising the motive...? Pfft, who needs them?!

Things might not look so dumb if it turned out that Angie was trying to cover up her plan to kill someone (from the student council, for example) in that way... But in the end, she dies by accident and in a very stupid position. Don't. Be. Like that. DR screenwriters. PLEASE.

☄ Now for some personal impressions of what happened during the investigation and the process of solving the mystery. If I remember correctly, Korekiyo and Celestia are the only unicums who have risked killing someone in the middle of an investigation. Celes did this by confusing things from the start by running from floor to floor… When Shinguji, on the other hand, took a risk in every sense of this word. Firstly, he brought suspicion on himself by using a katana from his own lab (and not on purpose – Monokuma set it up so that there was nowhere else to get a long enough sharp object). Secondly, all the time before the murder he admired the Caged Child séance, longed for it and finally persuaded his classmates to try it out.

In all fairness, by listing all this I'm not trying to say that Kiyo is a lousy blackened – on the contrary, he even manages to turn some mistakes to his advantage. For example, the use of a katana from his research lab is justified by the clever creation of a locked room mystery. After all, Korekiyo is not a member of the student council (Angie only let them into the lab) or a master lock picker. Moreover, the way he created the locked room is quite handy. If it weren't for the gilding on the hilt of the katana, it would be harder to guess the exact purpose of the «upside-down figure + katana» combination.

More than once Korekiyo has been saved by his cunning, his diligence (sawing floorboards in three rooms at night is not like picking flowers xD) and his ability to think ahead. He created a safety cushion for himself by provoking another classmate (namely Himiko) to choose a new killing place for him, then framing that very classmate. By taking the risk of killing Angie, he helped himself by learning from Monokuma beforehand that (logically) only the killer who "got there first" would be punished. Shinguji could have got away with it many times, especially since the trials are based on the principle of "until I hear an unbreakable argument from you, you won't charge me".

But I'm getting a little carried away, ahah! All in all, despite the fact that I'm actually praising Kiyo here, his trial didn't seem all that complicated and confusing to me. Thus, I pretty quickly got to the bottom of the spinning-the-wax-figure trick, found correlations of the evidence and used them correctly to spot weaknesses in the arguments. Difficulties began closer to uncovering the essence of “seesaw effect”. For example, it's still astonishing to me how Korekiyo came up with the idea of navigation by touching SALT in complete darkness. Yes, he had prepared a straight line in several layers beforehand and remembered by heart how the circle was drawn, there was nothing to confuse it with... But he crawled, knowing that his stressed classmates were all around him, jumped on the floorboard with all his legs, managed not to fall in himself and STILL SANG!! What’s amazing human being!

By the way, the atmosphere at the séance was indeed tense to the point of creepiness. I knew what was going to happen – I had to be ready for it... But that viscous, crawling feeling of discomfort wouldn't let go no matter what :'D My bestie and I were still completely silent during the chants – just try it, there is no substitute for this experience 😨😂

I will continue to discuss the trial further, for on the purely technical side, it has a number of oddities for me:

During the investigation of Angie's case (i.e. before Tenko's murder), there's a scene in Shinguji's lab that still haunts me, even though it could easily be written off as conventional. When Maki and Shuichi go to the lab to check if the katana is definitely missing, Kokichi runs in after them to get a sheet for a séance. This is the same sheet in which Korekiyo will later carry the sickle to kill Tenko. Question: at what moment did he manage to hide this sickle in it?? If he did this before the séance, then sending Kokichi for the sheet was a monstrous mistake ;^ (although it's not that Ouma is a fan of solving murderers, no matter how disgusting they are to him – that would spoil all the fun) However, it was virtually impossible to do this during the preparations, because an abrupt leaving (to Maki's lab) would have raised a lot of suspicion, and no one had told us about such an event. One last variant is that he's been hiding the sickle under his clothes all this time, but... how? Don't you need special clothes for that?? Kiyo's uniform fits snugly over his body. Your theories? xD

I've noticed a tendency that very often it was Korekiyo who (indirectly) provoked the guys into discussing very pointless topics :'D (which I don't think is the best tactic on his part – blackeneds in general become more active at their trials). For example, when, making excuses on the subject of an offer to hold a séance, he recalls the "possibility" of entering the chosen place by crawling under the floor and because of this suspicion falls on Kibo with his new function. Everyone ends up wasting extra time, even though it is already obvious that Kibo's flashlight is BLINDINGLY BRIGHT – it would have been visible without any slits in the floor, in fact, as well as other light sources. Or this alternative theory that Tenko may have been killed when Himiko lifted the cage... although the blood was visible when Kiyo removed the sheet (which was also covered in blood) and Himiko literally toppled the cage on adrenaline alone, immediately bursting into tears?? In general, moments where the teenagers start tо stall make the trial seem more natural, but personally, as a player, I found it a bit annoying 😅

‌Well, one last point from the “we would have saved a lot of time without it” section – a lie feature. Honestly, before this I had no idea how to win a debate without using it (although I think the game mechanics provide a way out)... But not in the case of the third trial, no. A reminder for those who haven't replayed it in a while – when the trial comes to a bit of a standstill, Maki supports Kaito's spontaneous theory: «Tenko's killer was inside the cage the whole time». In other words, the murderer in her own case is Chabashira herself, she also threw the sickle under the floor after the deed + allegedly there was even a reason to commit su*cide. To refute this theory, Shuichi has to lie that Tenko died instantly... But... Why, when he could just retell Maki's words during the investigation? Tenko didn't die instantly, yes, but from the pain shock she couldn't move and therefore couldn't throw the sickle (especially so hard that it wasn't under her, but in another corner of the room). Seemingly another convention, but still quite hard to ignore x)

Despite my admiration for Korekiyo's mental capacity in such precarious circumstances, in the end I concluded that our anthropologist had created both an ingenious mosaic and a complete mess xD In theory, he might have won if Kokichi hadn't sneaked into the next room and discovered the trap there. He might have won if not for Kibo's function to reproduce his memories in the form of images... If Himiko hadn't chosen the very room where Angie died... If Maki hadn't noticed a piece of duct tape under the corpse (because Shuichi obviously wouldn't have dared to examine the dead girl's body himself like that – including to avoid disturbing the crime scene). But the main problem here is not the unpredictability of classmates and a series of unfortunate accidents, no. Kiyo, as a murderer with a very interesting talent, has one unforgivable sin... I would like to discuss it a little later.

When Kiyo decides to confess to killing Tenko (although he could have done it a long time ago, lol, he apparently VERY much enjoys hearing detailed and reasoned evidence), the cast begins to divide into two teams: "let's vote right now, recognising Kiyo as Tenko AND Angie's murderer" and "we can't vote right now". The latter team includes Kokichi...

And you know, already figuring out his true motives and attitude towards the killing game, I often wondered: “How does Kokichi feel about murderer-Korekiyo..?”. The answer was found, thanks to the following dialogue:

...now I finally saw that Kokichi was a little bit angry with Kiyo for being a hated murderer. Just because he voted to continue discussing Angie's case doesn't mean he believes in his innocence. On the contrary, he probably just wants to humiliate Shinguji = to lead others to destroy him morally (and he succeeds in doing so).

☄ After all, shortly after this scene, Korekiyo's having a nervous breakdown. He trembles, stammering, ready to almost spit bile... And then he releases his "defence mechanism".

So, now I announce a special category called "Interesting notes from interactions with Sister" o/ (quick note: only during the trial, because after that... everything goes down the drain)

❧ So that's where Kiyo's self-teacher kink is coming from..? To this phrase he replies «Y-yes, you're right. I'll teach them».

And it makes sense, if we think back to the hcs that Miyadera could have replaced Kiyo's parents, i.e. to be his main mentoring, educational figure... Now, copying her whole personality, her behaviour, whole experience with her, Korekiyo also tries to resemble the teacher and gradually experiences real pleasure in educating others. Which is why, when he befriends Shuichi after FTEs, he offers to be none other than his disciple. This is the only form of intimate communication available to him, ugh.

❧ I wondered for a long time: why Kiyo was so afraid of being declared as a culprit...? Shouldn't he, on the contrary, be coolly calm, because his execution / his death, would only be a transition to another life in which he could be reunited with his sister? But no, he's blatantly panicking :(

And sister's next phrases (even though she is addressing Shuichi)

prompted me to think of two things at once:

1) Kiyo isn't afraid of being culprit, but being blamed, because he remembers from childhood the consequences of his mistakes – the need to apologise to his sister over and over again, literally begging for her forgiveness and understanding. Even on "Argument Armament" he confirms my point with the phrase «You're all wrong, not me!» (which sounds like a rather childish statement :'D)

2) Whatever true love he speaks of, all he feels for his sister is fear. He wants her to let him into her arms when they reunites, but how is that possible if he has already made a mistake, if he has failed to realise his main goal? He fears death because his sister's punishment awaits him beyond it – and his execution, in fact, proves this directly. have always been of the opinion that the second part of it is an illusion on all sides. It would be logical to think of it not as something real, but as a representation of Korekiyo's subconscious; something that symbolically emphasises the gravity of his crimes.

❧ /foreword/

Once I was lucky (or maybe not so, ahah), to meet Chinese and Japanese Korekiyo fans on Twitter who were able to communicate with me (and their audience) in English. That's how I came to know one of the most horrifying facts: the Chinese and Japanese FD of Danganronpa don't consider Korekiyo's sister as abuser. What's more, they're sometimes even angry at this opinion; for them, Ane-Kiyo (an alternative name for our "Miyadera") is the main victim... And you know, I was so worried at first! «What if I'm getting my favourite character wrong?». «What if the English translation is so shoddy that it can't be trusted?».

But it's hardly that serious. Eventually, I found the reason for this mismatch of beliefs for myself.

English fd has several arguments. The most important of these, as far as I know, is the list of requirements that Korekiyo's sister makes in the trial: «You musn't raise your voice / musn't stutter / musn't waver» and so on. For a Japanese fd, however, there is no problem with it... And _that makes sense_, as these requirements are more indicative of a strict upbringing than a full-blown abusive relationship, which is confirmed by the fact that AneKiyo's tulpa enjoys being a teacher who teaches ignorant children [screenshots above]. Strict upbringing in Japan and China – especially in traditional families – is not uncommon + Japanese fans are convinced that the "sister behind the mask" has nothing to do with the life-in Korekiyo's sister at all (which is difficult to confirm or deny in any way, as we can only take the meagre bits and pieces that the game offers us at face value). In other words, no one is right or wrong in this situation – it's just a matter of cultural differences.

My personal impression: Kiyo's sister made the same demands on him as she did on herself, firstly because she was terminally ill, and secondly because she was the eldest and the role model. Roughly speaking, these attitudes + the fact that she had a loving, obedient brother at her side simply kept her from going mad from the pain she was experiencing. Of course this doesn't excuse her actions – it just makes her more psychologically understood. There is essentially no reason to go to extremes and see her as some kind of cruel tyrant. Even the way the tulpa makes Shuichi apologise – in a gentle, ingratiating tone – illustrates her preference for confusing and covert manipulation rather than shouting and pressure.

❧ It's interesting that when Kiyo (based on his voiceline) is already almost crying because he feels cornered, and can't afford himself to make a mistake in front of Sister... She calmly tells him to give up and admit defeat, even though she seemed to be on his side and defending him the whole time. Kiyo himself is surprised by such an advice, agreeing very timidly, with a shaky «O-okay...».

I think this is a direct demonstration of the indifference the Sister sometimes showed towards Kiyo's failures / worries when she was alive. This meant that Miyadera could actively support him for a while, but as soon as her brother made a mistake, she would coldly dismiss his feelings, to which Kiyo could only reply: «Okay...».

☄ And now... I can freely move to scenes that take place after the trial, before the execution (and this is one of those cases where it would be better if it didn't exist at all, or only existed in a few sentences).

TW: mention of incest and analysis of incestuous relationships.

❧ Yes, I'm starting with the most dysmoral stuff. After some thought about "why would Miyadera need this all in all", I came to the only plausible conclusion. Kiyo was probably the first one to fall in love with her (especially if she restricted his contact with other people = was the only person close to him) and she took advantage of that: а) out of despair that death is near and she has no friends or anyone else, has no choice; b) because a lover is even easier to control – he will be completely at her mercy.

I've made similar theories before. The only thing that wasn't clear before the direct playthrough was: "Why do many fans also see hints of sexual abuse from Miyadera..?" But now I have a bit of a guess...

Yes, we see the "no physical connection" note, but any way you look at it, Kiyo's words sound TOO provocative. If it had been, let's say, a simple hug, nothing would have stopped him from saying it directly (and that would sound just as "romantic"), but no... And the illustration itself seems designed only to confuse. On the other hand... Where basically could they have made love if the sister lived in the hospital? .-. And probably very often was in a weakened / critical condition?¿

Moreover, during the same monologue, Shinguji utters an intriguing line:

They called. What "they" he is talking about...? The parents? Doctors? But if "they" were so outraged, why didn't anyone try to limit the communication? Or is this a hint that attempts _were made_, but Shinguji siblings always found a way to "find each other again", unwavering feelings, all stuff..? Honestly, it sounds like clichéd phrases from novels that are hard to take for granted. I don't even have any assumptions here.

Another thought-provoking formulation

❧ «I had to kill». So Korekiyo with his own mouth calls it coercion – and again, related to his sister. It is as if he is admitting: "Yes, I had a sick, lonely sister. One day she died. If things had been different – I would never kill...". But that doesn't change the ambiguity of his words, does it? Moreover, I would venture to say that it is precisely this position that scores a few points in favour of his haters. For Shinguji, the quest to "gather 100 female friends" was a noble gesture, but for all sane people it remains an unwarranted horror, as it is unlikely that his sister would have directly asked him to do such a thing. There is no evidence,

[except these words, I guess]

...to support this, besides the tulpa – as a projection of Korekiyo's unconscious – can't be trusted with everything. Therefore, the only conclusion to be drawn is that Shinguji has invented such a goal out of despair caused by her death...

And in fact, he confirms it, yeap.

All of the above only convinces me that the quest. to gather. a hundred. female. friends. should. never. have. existed. This concept destroys everything from logic to the personality of Korekiyo Shinguji (or rather, those little particles are left of it). And that should be the fiction of his story.

Oh. Another line provoking the question "why is it..?".

❧ Yes, it's clear that Kiyo's understanding of love is distorted by the negative background of his relationship... But I would have described it in detail: in fact, Miyadera just never recognised him as anything more than a "little brother" or a "convenient, ephemeral lover". She didn't think they were similar in any way; that they could understand each other... An unbreakable, cold distance, full of endless illusions.

❧ But here I come to those Korekiyo's explanations that make me blaze as much as the "Shinguji is a maniac" concept.

So... At first, Kiyo claims that his goal wasn't to escape from the academy. In fact, it makes sense – there is no one and nothing waiting for him on the outside, all that he needs is inside him...

! Meanwhile, during the trial and just before it ends !, he remains nervous, panicky, angry and hysterical, afraid of being blamed (we've already confirmed this).

But then Kiyo suddenly contradicts the "I had no intention of escaping" thesis.

He declares that leaving the Academy would be a nice bonus for him, as he'd still be able to collect friends for his sister – he's just blighted by greed.

...What?!

So you're saying he behaved that way during the trial because he was still hoping to win..? That he has covered up the evidence behind him in order to get out of the academy..? (although, again, he DOESN't HAVE TO DO THAT – he can die in peace: his sister is happy, life after death continues!!)

I don't understaaaand 😫 It's so outrageously cynical! The facts add up to an unbearably illogical, contradictory mass, which in turn spoils the fans' attitude towards Korekiyo again... It breaks my heart.

☄ As you can see from the tone of the previous paragraph, I'm not going to end on a very positive note. A few hundred words ago, I promised to outline Korekiyo's main sin (read writer's)... So, I think it's about the circumstances under which Korekiyo decided to kill.

«Caged Child» séance.

An anthropologist who genuinely honours tradition... An anthropologist who's frankly delighted to have the opportunity to conduct a super-rare séance and communicate with the dead... Suddenly destroys everything that is part of his life's work in such a devil-may-care way? Are you _serious_?? Nothing could be more cynical than that. EVEN IF, as we know, the real reason for this attitude is love for his sister and the desire to give her 100 friends, this is no excuse, as anthropology and sister are still two closely linked things for Kiyo. It was Miyadera who encouraged him to develop their shared passion. It was Miyadera who made him a special uniform for field work. To betray anthropology is to betray his "true love", and how Kiyo can allow that to happen when he's so obsessed with this imposed love?? Doing this to your own brainchild is terrible.

And now, Korekiyo's last words:

By golly, if only the writers had left out those few rather deep, good lines – it would have been much better. I can't claim to be a literary genius, but the recipe sounds pretty simple to me:

We have a younger brother whose most important, closest person, who has built his life around her own leadership, is his ill older sister. The sister dies, the brother loses his mind in despair, and a little later gets involved into a killing game.

The organisers can erase his memory of his sister's death (provided he doesn't have a tulpa), or leave him with a tulpa and manipulate his mind with motives. Whether from chapter two or three – any motive will work. The main thing is to remind Korekiyo of how much he misses his sister, how much he misses the control he's so used to and/or the warmth, the voice, the visual embodiment of her.

This provokes a murder. Kiyo kills ONCE and NOT with an important anthropological séance, showing his respect. He tries to hide his direct involvement in the crime and panics at the trial because he has been taught – you cannot be wrong, Sister would not approve of your mistakes. One way or another, mistakes were made because of haste – his guilt is proved.

And well done o/ We get a character who resorts to killing because he can't deal with the death of someone dear to him and who had also abused him all his life. Touching – check ✔️ Empathy – ✔️ Cruelty – still ✔️ It's not so hard! .-.

But okay xD I hope you enjoyed reading this long analysis along with my still fresh impressions! ^^ I can't tell you how much I miss Kiyo continuing to play... But I have to move on, because the further I go, the more useful I find it. Thanks for your attention and have a nice day everyone – let's love Korekiyo Shinguji! 💖

#danganronpa #danganronpa killing harmony #drv3 #korekiyo shinguji #analysis #tw spoilers #❗kiyo's sis mention❗#phew that was a lot #I really put a lot of time and effort into it #If any thoughts and theories were repeated from others...#keep in mind that I didn't start reading tumblr posts about Kiyo very long ago and might not have seen it :D

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