#if tsumugi ends up the mastermind though then these five will all have interesting stuff going on

[multishipper-baby]

Also, given all that we've learned so far and how few characters we have left, I wonder if I can guess the mastermind by process of elimination...

K1-B0 is definitely not it. He's wrecking the academy's shit. Maybe the "inner voice" is the mastermind, though.

Shuichi also most likely isn't- unless it's by technicality, like with Hajime. But I don't know if they'd reuse that plot point.

Maki is similarly unlikely. Her whole demeanor and attitude wouldn't make sense if she was the mastermind, nor would her obviously suspicious Ultimate Talent.

Himiko... I don't see it tbh. She's not intimidating nor threatening. And her whole story with Tenko and Angie would be hugely devalued if she was just pretending.

So... Tsumugi. I guess it would make sense, since they haven't really done anything with her this far. All the other survivors have cool stuff and she's just... There. I would've hoped they'd do something interesting with the mastermind before the literal end, but, eh.

[isuckatthisdonti]

I love this idea. Only two people remain in the killing game. Kodaka wastes a lot of potentially good ideas that would have made V3 more interesting.

Thank you so much dood! I did come up with a bunch of possible scenarios before playing it but I really like the canon ending that they went with too. :) i did not see THAT coming! I know no one asked for this. But here are some of the other theories i had two years ago before the NDRV3 game release:

Theory 1.) They’re in a Space Colony. - they have a SHSL Robot and Astronaut (i hope they get along well)- A character named Hoshi (literal translation meaning “Star” in Japanese)- vegetation indoors (for helping air purification?) - DR3 anime ending with monaka going outer space- “Even if you killed someone and escape the place, you’re screwed either way Part 2″ kind of thing. (similar of the outside world all broken from DR1) 

Theory 2) They all used to be the blackened. - There were multiple killing game occurring all around the world near the same time.- The winning “Blackened” thought they were going to “Graduate” but their memories were wiped, gathered, and forced to participate the game for their second time(but not having the memories from their first). Final showdown among the past ‘winners.’ - They either slowly remember stuff from the old game via flashbacks OR used as a motive in a chapter - Amami  remembers everything from the previous game and his original talent. his memories were not erased or the machine didnt work on him. - Mastermind: Someone from the classmate. Motive: wanted to play the mutual killing game with the blackened. lie with the best of the best. and win. 

Theory 3) They’re all Artificial Humans. - Scientific experiment for creating talent artificially (like Kamukura, but from the genes)- Their memories are fake, implanted via dreams/programmed while they are in the capsule. - Amami = the genius scientist that made everybody or the failure sample without talent- Saishuu High School = Guinea pig cage- Everyone is technically a newborn. ( the monocubs being baby cubs was a hint to that) - Keebo = the assistant that took care of everyone when they were sleeping OR actually the mastermind/scientist ( if that’s the case his motive: the world is actually set in the far far future where robots took over and humans are extinct for a very long time. keebo was fascinated by humans and wanted to understand emotions and wanted to study them so created the 15 students) 

Not really a theory theory, but Theory 4: Future Dream - A lot of their talents seems like ones people put on “What do you wanna be when you grow up?” Questions as a kid. (Detective, athlete, artist, astronaut, etc) The occupations are filled with dreams. Maybe they were given them those talent they wished back when they were little kids. - maybe some people put down stuff they were simply good at, even though they weren’t that passionate about them. ( Maki and Toujou) - Amami = left the answer blank. hence, didnt get anything- If this theory is true these guys will be crazy: Ultimate leader and Robot (not talent). But Ouma as a child may have been messing/joking around. Cause he’s a liar~

Theory 5: Talent Swap- the NDRV3′s theme was “lies” → Maybe their talents itself is a lie- also some people look more like the SHSL xxxxx than others. PERSONALLY SPEAKING(only judging by appearance) i thought: - Akamatsu as the caregiver/nanny- Maki as the pianist- Hoshi as the astronaut (i mean his name? and height? )- Gonta as the Aikido master (he’d look good in a dojo uniform and i was not wrong )- Shinguuji as the ultimate leader (by the military looking outfit) or bug guy (creepy-ness) or robot ( loves people watching, and his clothes cover up so much of him and doesnt show skin that much. we can only see his eyes.)- Tsumugi as artist - Momota as magician (his hairstyle is an illusion itself. ) - Saihara as tennis player. (That prince of tennis look. and the only quote that was released before the game release in japan, somewhat similar to that catchphrase Ryoma does in prince of tennis) if you read all of that, ultra high five dood thanks for even reading my long long blabber. Soooo what did you guys think? :DDDDD pretty crazy after knowing the answer right? haha  thinking of different possibilities were so fun. 

[dancer-cotillion]

Rose Thorns: Bullshit Happy Ending Epilogue

[A/N] I use the term ‘Bullshit Happy Ending’ because I wanted to give them a proper happy ending where they get out of the killing game together. So Kokichi does not die (neither does Kaito, his illness isn't fatal for literally no reason other than that's how I want it to be in this fic) and thus a bunch of stuff happens differently (though that was obviously already the case since everything that happened in Chapter 4 is clearly not happening). Kokichi's reaction to finding out that everything they know is supposedly fiction would without a doubt be super interesting to explore but doing so in this fic would feel like a huge out of place tangent when it's otherwise been entirely focused on the ship (whatever led up into that would feel even more out of place as well as be super-duper difficult to write). So instead for the proper epilogue part of this chapter, I basically I decided to explain everything away with a 'stuff happened and now they're free' kind of vibe. It's not ideal but I hope y'all are cool with it and can forgive me for it for the sake of the ship and the happy ending. [A/N]

*

“Yeah, I coughed that rose up last night. You see, it was growing in my chest because of my love for Shuichi. It was going to kill me if Shuichi didn’t reciprocate my feelings. But he does and last night we kissed so I coughed it up. It was actually really painful.”

Everyone else stared at Kokichi, disbelief written plain on their faces. Shuichi found himself doing the same but for different reasons. Kokichi had made him promise not to tell them so he’d pretended to be just as mystified by the presence of the bloody rose as everyone else all morning but now Kokichi was telling them the truth?

“That has got to be the most obvious and stupidest lie you’ve ever told,” Miu said.

“Yeah uh… Gonta thinks it doesn’t sound true either.”

“Even Gonta doesn’t believe you.” Himiko said. “You can’t get more of an obvious lie than that.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely one of your worse lies,” K1B0 added.

“So, this means it’s one of Kokichi’s pranks and not something we need to worry about after all,” Kaito said.

“Ah you guys figured it out.” Kokichi’s look of disappointment had to be fake. This had to be what he was going for, right? If he told the truth everyone would assume it was a lie and thus dismiss the evidence of it as unimportant. (In hindsight, Shuichi should’ve woken up early to dispose of it but he’d slept in because of last night’s activities.) “Damn it, I spent all that effort making the rose bloody and stuff for no reason. You guys didn’t even believe me for a little bit this time. That’s so lame.”

“You should’ve come up with a more believable lie if you wanted anyone to believe you,” Maki said, frowning her disapproval at Kokichi. “Let’s go though, spending any more time on this is only going to encourage him to try something else.”

The rest of the group made murmurs of agreement before leaving, quickly dispersing. Leaving only Kokichi and Shuichi in the dining room.

“What was that about? I thought you said not to tell anyone what happened last night?” Shuichi wasn’t even sure what had had happened or why. It had felt like a dream but he’d woken up with Kokichi fast asleep next him and he’d been pleased by that.

“I meant you,” Kokichi replied. “I can tell them because they won’t believe me. And telling the truth when it sounds like a lie is almost as fun as lying is.” Which meant it was nigh-on impossible to tell when he was lying at times. … Shuichi was sort of starting to figure him out though, maybe one day he’d be able to unravel the mystery entirely. He could only hope.

“Anyway uh… how do you feel?”

“Fantastic!” A lie no doubt. He’d coughed up an entire rose last night on top of the sleep he’d been missing. The fact that he’d only slept until almost noon today was a miracle. But even with the slight bags under his eyes and too-pale face he was good at pretending to be okay. Meaning he was probably good at hiding other kinds of hurt too. “But you should probably leave now before someone notices you’re still hanging out with me after that awful lie I told about us.”

“Uh… yeah.” Before Shuichi could second guess himself, he gave Kokichi a quick kiss on the cheek before fleeing the room, not even waiting to see what Kokichi’s reaction to such a move was.

 -

Keeping it a secret proved to be easier than Shuichi had expected. They didn’t get much alone time together but what little they did get, Shuichi made sure to take advantage of. Mostly hand holding, an awkward hug or two, a few kisses since neither of them really knew what to do here. Their situation wasn’t the best one for figuring out romantic feelings and how they wanted their relationship to work. They did the best they could though.

Things took a turn back towards the worse though when the killing game inevitably resumed. Following the next execution, a bunch of stuff happened that eventually led to them discovering that Tsumugi was the mastermind and that everything they knew was basically a lie. But in the end, five of them remained (Shuichi, Kokichi, Maki, Kaito, and Himiko) and were free at last. Free to live their lives, no more killing or watching their friends die. Regardless of anything else, the killing good was over for good, they were free.

Stepping through one of the holes in the wall that had imprisoned them for the past few weeks, they were greeted by the sight of empty field of grass. A small city was visible not too far away. It would’ve normally been a mundane setting but here and now it was wonderful.

Nearly overwhelmed with relief, Shuichi turned to Kokichi and hugged him. They’d both made it out alive somehow. That felt like a miracle, like it shouldn’t have happened. But it had and for that he couldn’t possibly be more grateful.

Kokichi paused for a moment before returning his embrace. “You actually managed to keep your promise,” he whispered. “I’m glad.”

“Me too,” Shuichi whispered back.

“You two are being awfully affectionate with each other,” Kaito said, a frown audible in his voice. “What’s that about?”

They separated; Shuichi’s face hot with embarrassment. He hadn’t meant for the others to see.

If Kokichi was embarrassed though he didn’t show it, smiling as the turned to face the group. “We’re actually a couple, have been for a while.”

“I’d say I have a hard time believing that if it wasn’t for the look on Shuichi’s face,” Maki said.

“Yeah,” Himiko added, “and the way he hugged you.”

“What the fuck Shuichi? Is that true?” Kaito understandably looked a bit flabbergasted.

“Uh…” He’d promised not to tell them – a smart move actually, considering all the tensions that had been going on among the group – until they were free and they were free now which was why Kokichi was telling them, right? Unless he was just doing the thing where he told the truth so the others would think it was a lie. But regardless, Shuichi wanted to tell them and they were free of the killing game so there no was no strong good reason not to, right? So… “Yeah, it’s true.” ‘A couple’ was the word for what they were now, right? Even if neither of them had voiced it out loud until now.

Unsurprisingly, his words were met with looks of surprise. They weren’t as strong as he’d expected them to be though. Except for Kaito, he looked like a rug had been ripped out from under him. “Since when?” he asked.

“Since the thing with the rose,” Kokichi answered. “Remember I told you guys about it, it’s called Hanahaki Disease and it sucks. My throat and stuff still hurt because of those thorns.”

Kaito took a few seconds to think before speaking again. “You mean you were actually telling the truth about that?”

“Yep, he was telling the truth,” Shuichi answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at the ground. “I… watched him cough up the rose after I kissed him. It was… an interesting sight.” One he’d never forget that was for sure. Though that was true for a lot of things he’d seen in that hellhole. At least that memory had some positives attached to it. “And then he showed me the book explaining it so uh… yeah, it’s a thing and he had it and now he doesn’t because… you know the rest.”

“Because you love me,” Kokichi supplied with a big stupid grin and a giggle, making Shuichi’s embarrassment ten times worse. “That or I’m blackmailing him to go along with my lie for nefarious reasons.”

“As much as I think we all wish that was the truth, I’m guessing it’s a lie,” Kaito said with a resigned sigh, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, if it were true, I don’t think Shuichi would be so embarrassed about all this,” Himiko said.

“Maybe what I’m blackmailing him with is super embarrassing. Or maybe he’s just super ashamed to be going along with my lie. Or maybe he’s ashamed because he’s the one lying this time and he doesn’t actually…”

“Don’t,” Shuichi cut him off before he could finish whatever that thought was. It didn’t sound like a good one. “For once, he was actually telling the truth. And… I’m not ashamed to admit that we’re like a… couple now.” He was however very embarrassed about how open they were being about it right now, especially considering how it had come to light.

“I guess miracles do happen sometimes,” Maki said with a shrug. “Good for you two, I hope you’re happy together even if I don’t understand it. Let’s get out of here though, we need to figure out what we’re going to do from here on out.”

“Yeah,” Kaito agreed, enthusiasm returning to his voice. “Let’s get away from this hellhole.”

And with that the five of them set off. What they’d find was still unknown but anything was better than what they were leaving behind.

Previous

[missingmywing]

hmmm odds 1-10 evens 11-20 for the dr thing? c:

Sure~! (This’ll be interesting. And long.) Okay so:

1. Favorite Game: V3! 2 is good and 1 is okay, but V3 is amazing. (We always love the games we started on first the most XD)

3. Favorite OST: … this is gonna sound really morbid, but probably the execution themes. (Though I also love all the opening themes! DR2′s Dangan Island is really catchy, and DR3′s openings are awesome.)

5. Favorite Game Design: I’m not entirely sure what it means by this, but I’m assuming it means overall gameplay and aesthetic. Probably V3. It has all the things as the previous games in terms of gameplay (though it would have been an added interest to bring back pets from DR2) as well as new mechanics. I love the scrum debates. I love the music, and I love the concept of the class breaking into two teams to argue it out. I also love how smooth the gameplay is. DR1 was a bit clunky in terms of a lot of things, mainly the Rebuttal Showdown and Bullet Time Battle. Rebuttal Showdown is much smoother in V3, and Argument Argument seems to flow better and is more fun with how you physically break apart their armor as you destroy their argument. I also think that, in terms of wandering around, it looked better and was, in some ways, more engaging than previous games. The fact that you could gain Monocoins by breaking furniture was a good mechanic and worked well with-

Sorry. I’m gonna stop here, because this turned into a full breakdown which is probably not what the question meant. (I’m going to college for Game Design, and we’ve been doing this stuff all semester and we just finished doing this with Bioshock, so I’m still in college mode. I even formatted like a college assignment… Next question!)

7. Favorite Class Trial from All the Games: TRIAL FIVE FROM V3!!! No question, hands down. Kokichi and Kaito’s class trial was the best. Ever. No competition. Kokichi is fantastic and I adore him and his ridiculously smart little smartass self and his kickass plans.

9. Favorite Execution: XD Also trial five from V3. Kaito’s failed execution is a beautiful middle finger to the mastermind in several different ways, and I still find it absolutely hilarious. (Still sad, but hilarious and justice.)

10. Least Favorite Execution: CHIAKI’S. THAT ISN’T FAIR IT ISN’T RIGHT AND I HATE IT SO GODDAMN MUCH. (Also the method. It reminds me too much of Kokichi and it hurts.)

11. Favorite Unused Execution: … Togami’s. It’s harsh but it would have been hilarious to watch. There definitely would have been at least a little bit of justice served there, considering how he treated people. (In-game, that is. He seemed to be a lot more mature and open in DR2. And no, I don’t mean impostor.) I really like (and hate) Fuyuhiko’s fanmade one, too. It’s wonderful and horrible all at once.

12. Least Favorite Unused Execution: Hmm… maybe Fukawa because of the steamroller bit? Or Fujisaki simply because it’s Fujisaki and he does not deserve that.

14. Favorite Free-Time Event: Kokichi’s, of course. He’s such a little shit and it’s great. It’s followed by either Nagito’s (because you get such good insight into his character, but it’s so sad) or Rantaro’s (because you get actual character information on him. You actually find out more than his name. Yes, I’m still salty about that.)

16. Favorite Game End: In terms of full ending? 2 hands down no question. In terms of the protagonist being badass at the final trial? A tie between 2 and V3. (V3 tears me apart for so many reasons, and even Shuichi’s choices hurt so much in the context. But he rises up, faces the challenge, tells the whole world that they’re wrong, and convinces them of it. He’s just… it’s such a powerful moment, and it breaks the cycle both in-game and in terms of the games.)

18. Favorite In-Game Moment: Either 2 when Hajime/Izuru starts glowing and destroys Junko’s despair, or the entirety of V3 Trial 5. It’s just so clever.

20. Happiest In-Game Moment: … Does Danganronpa have happy moments? XD And do side modes count? Happiest in-game moment… hmm… Tsumugi getting crushed. That was a very happy moment. Also, Junko’s destruction in 2 was great. (If we’re talking character interactions… all of them are bittersweet in retrospect. Kaede and Shuichi’s talk in the classroom was wonderful in the moment… and heartbreaking afterwards.)

[chessanator]

First thoughts on NDRV3

Actually, first off, has everyone seen the way of changing the tutorials to talk about PC controls rather than Xbox ones? It’s supposed to give you the option as you start up, but it isn’t for a lot of people, including me. You have to find the local folder (you can also do this by right-clicking on the game in Steam and going to properties) and then activate V3launcher.exe. Then you get the options.

Okay, back to first thoughts:

Seriously, fuck the Monokubs. No-one fucking needs any Monokubs.

They’ve loaded up on the Chuuni, haven’t they? Not that that’s a bad thing, but...

Still trying to work out if this’ll be in the same universe as Hope’s Peak. I thought it wouldn’t, but unless the opening cinematic was just them scratching their own back it might be. On the one hand it feels weird by this point to have anyone other than Junko as the bad guy, but on the other hand I really don’t want any more canon in the Hope’s Peak setting

So, obvious twist is obvious; less obvious twist is also obvious; I think I trust Spike Chunsoft to have more on top of that.

Rather jarring start? Like I was hoping for a dip in the interest curve after the prologue, but then we get that despair pipe nonsense.

Very heavy on the Kaede/Tenko during the introductions.

More VLR references in the achievements! What more can you ask for?

My current opinions on the characters, from least favourite to most, along with wildly over-confident predictions about what will happen to them.

16 - Tsumugi Shirogane: She’s committed the twin evils of a) having the same talent as a character from my fic and b) having 100% uselessness as the core of her being. I guess those add together to be a plus? (Prediction: Murderer. I don’t think they can save her as a character if they don’t.)

15 - Gonta Gokuhara: About the only thing he’s got going for him is that he’s a different big-guy stereotype from before. (Prediction: Murderer. They never have the big guy survive, but I think they’ll be tempted to switch it up this time.)

14 - Tenko Chabashira: They’ve done the whole “hates guys” thing before, and Mahiru was a lot more nuanced with it. (Prediction: Victim. Too strong to make an interesting murderer, too strong to keep around for long.)

13 - K1-BO: He hasn’t really accomplished anything other than “being a robot” and “yelling at Kokichi” yet. Plus, he’s really stepping on Miu’s territory just by his very existence. (Prediction: Vicitm. When has Danganronpa ever gone well for robots?)

12 - Miu Iruma: Coming into this, I was absolutely certain Miu would be my favourite. I was wrong. If you’re gonna be aggressive, stick to your guns rather than flip-flopping over to channel Mikan Tsumiki every five seconds. (Prediction: Survivor. Mostly I just selfishly want her to have the chance to recover and rise to my expectations.)

11 - Angie Yonaga: Interesting concept. I suppose I’m not really feeling the interaction of that concept with other characters yet, which is leaving her a bit 1-D. (Prediction: Vicitm. I best she’ll be used as a red herring in one trial due to doing something completely suspicious but not actually the murder, and she’ll be killed in the next one.)

10 - Shuichi Saihara: Bit bland, at the moment? I’m guessing we’ll be seeing a lot of him, so he’ll have a chance to develop, but he’s probably the weakest of the deuteragonists from each of the games. (Prediction: Survivor. If someone forced me to declare who I’d guess for the mastermind, I’d pick Shuichi, but it’s far too early to tell so I’ll guess that he survives)

9 - Kokichi Oma: He’s maybe a bit obvious in how evil he is, but he’s fun to have around. (Prediction: Victim. It would be too obvious if he killed someone, and I think that he’ll be attracting a lot of hate his way sooner rather than later.)

8 - Maki Harukawa: Interesting that they’re trying someone who doesn’t like their own talent. I won’t focus on her for free time, but if she lasts long enough I gladly look forward to prying into that backstory. (Prediction: Survivor. I think she’s someone who’ll be sympathetic enough to reach the end, without having the sort of hooks that could drag her into the plot of one of the murders)

7 - Ryoma Hoshi: Interesting character, but maybe a bit to ridiculous to move into the big leagues of character ranking. (Prediction: Victim. He’s killed before, which makes him someone the game’s gonna want to get out the way quickly.)

6 - Kaede Akamatsu: An interesting new protagonist who’s cleanly distinguished herself from Makoto and Hinata right from the start. I vaguely noticed some more teasing/sadistic tendencies from her at first; obviously she’s suppressing them now because of the situation they’re in, but it’ll add something if/when they come back. (I swear I heard something before I blacklisted NDRV3 spoilers that they’d mix it up on this one, but I don’t think I believe it. Prediction: Survivor)

5 - Korekiyu Shinguji: While he’s channelling all the crazier parts of Komaeda, I’m enough of a Komaeda fanboy to actually appreciate it. Plus, the way that his talent is always present in the atmosphere and actually being used by him is very welcome. (Prediction: Survivor. There’s always someone who’s antagonistic at the start but then is forced to see the error of their ways and escapes as a different person. Kokichi, or perhaps Ryoma, more fit the mold set by Byakuya and Fuyuhiko, but a slight change gives the trope some spark.)

4 - Kaito Momota: He’s just a cool guy. What else can I say? (Prediction: Murderer. Okay, so that prediction completely contradicts everything I said before, but... I’ll enjoy that case when it happens?) 

3 - Himiko Yumeno: She hasn’t had the chance to show it yet, but definitely best girl. (Prediction: Murderer. They’ve never had the short cute girl as the killer. Spike’s got to have noticed that as much as I have.)

2 - Kirumi Tojo: Competent from the get-go. Sure, she appears to have no goals or direction yet, but unless they kill her off in the first round she’s got room for some great character development all while still being a badass. I’m pretty much reminded of Sachi from Grisaia, though I expect they’ll take Kirumi in a different direction. (Prediction: Murderer. It’s an obvious way to take her, but I think there’s enough depth available to not make it cliche.)

1 - Rantaro Amami: All of the best parts of Nagito Komaeda, none of the worst (Prediction: Survivor. They need to keep him around at least long enough to reveal his secrets, and I think they’ll be important enough to keep him to the endgame.)

These’ll have to change, of course, as I find out new stuff and the characters develop.

Tomorrow I’ll do the first few Free Time’s. I’m thinking Rantaro, Kirumi and Himiko, maybe Maki if there’s a fourth one or if I don’t have the gifts for my first choices.

[oumakokichi]

Hi, I wanted to rant a bit to you about people who hate on Ouma without understanding what type of character he is. I saw some people call him overrated and "useless to the plot", while just generally overlooking the type of impact he had to the game. One person even said he was only useful to chapter five and the rest he's just an annoying character. I got really mad towards these people but I didn't want to say anything because I get scared and shy easily. I thought you might listen to me :)

I understand your frustration—andthe getting scared and shy bit too! It can be overwhelming in a fandom as bigas DR to voice opinions on the games or the characters because as with any bigfandom, there are going to be a lot of differing opinions and the fear ofbacklash can be pretty intimidating. That was one of the reasons I was actuallynervous about starting up this blog in the first place, although thankfullyeveryone’s been very kind and welcoming to me since I did so!

I can understand why peoplemight not like Ouma as a person. In fact, I think it’s pretty understandable.Ouma does do and say very horrible things after all, and even though he has hisreasons for doing them, that doesn’t excuse them, nor does the narrative orOuma himself try to act like it does. I personally love him as a character andfind myself super interested and invested in everything he does, but I canunderstand why other people might not be able to put aside their personaldislike for the kinds of underhanded tactics he uses or the things he says inorder to like him.

However, I do think it’s alsotrue that there’s a certain degree of dislike associated with him in thewestern fanbase right now that’s almost entirely a result of: 1.)mistranslations and false information, and 2.) a certain association with Oumaof being “Komaeda 2.0” and a dislike for how popular he is without realizing oracknowledging why he is so popular. Isaw quite a lot of backlash here on Tumblr for Ouma in the days following thefirst results of the Japanese popularity poll; many people seemed to assumethat Ouma’s popularity was either “rigged” or an “annoying” result of him “justbeing a fan favorite even though he’s so horrible.”

I certainly don’t want to tryforcing my opinions on anybody. If people don’t like Ouma, they’re absolutelyfree not to, and that’s okay with me! People have different taste incharacters, and I can understand why people wouldn’t like or approve of Ouma’sactions. But saying that he’s “useless” to the plot or “doesn’t do anything,”or even questioning why he’s so popular when that poll was specificallytargeted towards Japanese people who have actually played the game (and didn’tneed any translations to do so or have any fake information) seems, in myopinion, to be missing the point a bit.

Ouma is central to the entire plot of ndrv3. He’s one of, if not the, mostimportant character to the main story (yes, even weighing out over Saihara andTsumugi in my opinion). People don’t have to like him, but these are the facts.Disliking Ouma won’t make him any less plot-relevant or important to thenarrative, nor will it change the fact that his themes as a character arelargely one and the same as the themes of ndrv3 as a whole. In a game that’sall about lies and especially about illusions or fabrications getting acceptedas reality, it’s not really a coincidence that the character most well-knownfor lying in the entire game happens to be as popular as he is.

Trying to discount Ouma’simportance to the story and the narrative would be like trying to say thatKirigiri was unimportant to the events of dr1. Similar to Kirigiri, Ouma is afigure who is neither a protagonist nor an antagonist, but a central figure touncovering the mysteries of the story, someone who fights behind the scenesagainst the mastermind/ringleader the entire time. Like Kirigiri, he refuses toput his trust blindly in people, even at the cost of making himself looksuspicious or unlikable (people tend to rather forget the fact that Kirigiriwas not well-liked by the dr1 castuntil very late into Chapter 6).

More than that, Ouma is the most central figure in keeping the groupalive. Without his diagrams, drawings, and plans, the group would never havereceived the items essential towards uncovering secrets and helping them accessmysteries within the school. The electric hammers, electric bombs, bug-catchingjar, and other items he had Miu make were the only reasons the group was ableto get as far as they did in later chapters.

Very much like Nanami in sdr2,Ouma as a character is essential to trying to keep the group alive—and even intrying to get them to work with one another instead of killing each other. It’sjust that where Nanami was a leader figure by encouraging them all to trust inher and in each other, Ouma worked in the opposite way, encouraging them toband together by putting himself up as an easy target to hate.

I could list all the ways inwhich Ouma’s actions are central to the plot or where he keeps the group aliveor functioning, but that would probably take far too long. Just to list a few,starting from Chapter 2 and onward, Ouma is the only one who recognizes thatMonokuma shows up to try and give them an incentive to kill each other wheneverthey start talking about friendship and cooperation. His calculated façade of “enjoyingthe game” and trying to stop everyone’s warm and fuzzy speeches about workingtogether are much more for the sake of trying to keep Monokuma at bay and thegame “more entertaining” for the audience than because he actually enjoys beinga force of chaos. Ouma’s “chaos” is actually exceptionally calculated, andalways targeted at ending the killing game.

In the Chapter 2 trial, he isthe only reason the trial doesn’t completely trail off with no one knowing whothe culprit is. He provides vital clues and hints about the fact that Kirumiwas the only one who could have done it, all while trying to act as if he’s nothelping. And had the whole group actually carried out his plan to get them allin one room and watch everyone’s motive videos together and discuss them, it’svery likely that a murder would’ve actually been avoided, or at least deterreduntil later on.

In Chapter 3, again Ouma is themost notable source of clues and hints which were necessary to keeping the groupalive and well. The only reason Saihara even participates in the kagonokoritual at all is because Ouma asked him to switch places with Kiibo. HadSaihara not been present, he would’ve had no way of knowing about any of theevents that took place directly at the time of Tenko’s murder. Ouma presentedhim and the rest of the group with clues about the kagonoko ritual book afterthe fact too, and was the only one tonotice the floorboard trap being set in all four rooms, not just the one whereTenko was killed (and he made sure to present this clue to them even though itgot him a literal concussion).

Ouma is the driving plot forceof Chapters 4 and 5, for better or worse. He does awful, morally questionablestuff, he says horrible things, he gets two people killed—I’m not really surehow anyone can actually play through ndrv3 and understand the text fully andsay Ouma is “useless” or “unimportant” to the plot here. It’s perfectlypossible to go through Chapters 4 and 5 not liking Ouma, hating him even, butthere’s not really any way to deny that he’s a central figure to the plot bythat point.

Not only that, but more andmore information keeps coming to light about him even after he’s dead and gone.Uncovering the truth of his moral code and his honest desire to end the killinggame is one of the most tragic things about Chapter 6, and it’s his trail ofbreadcrumbs which leads Saihara and the others to Amami’s lab, which helps themuncover the whole truth about the 2-person rule and the killing game show’scycle to keep repeating.

Ouma’s actions are full ofintentional ambiguity and riddles; he’s constantly challenging not only Saiharabut also the player themselves to see if they can decipher what’s true and what’snot in the things he says. The whole point of a second playthrough with anygame, and with a mystery game like ndrv3 in particular, is to go through andtry and spot what you missed on the first playthrough, to try and see whichmysteries are being foreshadowed or alluded to early on which might have flownright over your head when you were playing before. There are the obviousmysteries to decipher, like the truth of the outside world, Tsumugi’s status asthe ringleader, etc.—but there’s also Ouma himself.

Ouma is so undeniably importantto moving forward the plot of ndrv3, to Saihara’s growth as a protagonist, andto the themes of truth, lies, and the huge moral grey area that spans betweenthem. It’s entirely understandable to not like him for personal reasons or tofeel that he’s annoying out of personal dislike, but trying to trivialize hisimportance to the narrative or acting as if his unpopularity with otherportions of the fandom is unwarranted just because of personal dislike towardshim suggests a lack of understanding of what the real themes of ndrv3 were allabout.

I haven’t seen nearly as muchdislike for Ouma coming from members of the Japanese fanbase who have actuallyplayed the game fully. This isn’t definite proof of anything of course becausepeople’s tastes in characters will still vary due to individual preference, butit does suggest that playing the game without relying on preconceptions, fakerumors, and mistranslated information will give you a different perspective onOuma’s character and behavior.

Anyway, I’ve talked for longenough probably. Again, I can understand your frustrations anon! But all I canreally say is that it’s okay if people don’t like a character. It’s veryfrustrating when character hate gets tagged or made extremely public, moreso ifit seems like these people haven’t actually played the game yet for themselves(I track Ouma’s tags and I’ve seen similar stuff on a pretty regular basis),but it’s not really worth starting any kind of argument about. I started thisblog because I wanted to be able to provide people more accurate informationand clarification about the game and its characters—if I’ve managed to do thatmuch at the very least, then I’m happy!

Thank you so much for stoppingby! I’m always willing to listen to people in my inbox, and I really do find itfun to write about and discuss these kinds of things!