#makoto i dislike as a person

[femmefitz]

I can't imagine romancing anyone in persona 5 except maybe Ann. All the other girls it makes no sense to me. And I think the adult women should die honestly.

[afterthelambs]

PLEASE spill the Makoto cop tea. I'm always down to hear people's thoughts on that

Thanks anon! I do my best to keep this blog positive-vibes only, but since you asked I will answer. Warning: DO NOT read this post if you do not want to see any criticisms about Makoto Nijima from P5 + discussions of police. This is not hate towards the character or her fans. It's just criticism for the writing choices and their implications for her.

Makoto Nijima does NOT want to reform the police. There's a mandela effect in the fandom where everyone seems to think she does, but rewatch her rank 10. Reform isn't mentioned at all. I'm so serious. What she actually says is this:

Within her confidant, the context is the host that was preying on her friend Eiko. Wanting to stop situations like that is good and makes sense 👍 The writers framed her decision to become a cop as a response to the most clean-cut black-and-white situation ever.

But here's the thing though: what happens when the lawless and the victims are the same people? Because in the real world, crime tends to concentrate among the poor and marginalized. The real world is not black and white. And I try to separate my personal experiences with the law from the media/art I engage with, but that doesn't work here because the game at large doesn't portray society as black and white.

There are a number of people in this game that do wrong because they have been hurt or are marginalized or did not receive proper help. A lot of mementos requests are about 'lawless' people and yet many are portrayed as 'due to systemic issues' or a lack of support or developing mental illness. It's also not a coincidence that Akechi is the most marginalized of all the phantom thieves and he was the one who did the most crime. There is deliberate social commentary here. People do not become lawless out of nowhere. They are shaped by their circumstances. And the game itself sympathizes with these people, focusing on changing/ helping them. The game's conclusion is that providing support and rehabilitation is the solution. Rehabilitative justice > Punitive justice.

Police wouldn't achieve that. Police in the game are framed as corrupt and incompetent at their core. Our protagonist is one of their biggest victims to demonstrate how they are weaponized against the weak. Even Sae Nijima at the end of the story has shifted to become a defense attorney rather than attempting to reform it (best character arc btw) because she recognized that the system is broken. And you can't even blame it just on Shido controlling the police because we see that the problems persist beyond him. By the end of the story they remain useless or outright harmful. The police do not help or rehabilitate, they only punish.

So no, this isn't me projecting my personal issues with cops onto the story because within the game's own story, law enforcement is not the solution. If it were a question of reform, we could debate about whether police reform is possible, but again: Makoto doesn't care about reform. It never comes up. According to the writers, she wants to be a cop because she thinks not enough lawless people are being punished. You can argue that her wanting to 'head an organization' means she wants to be in a position of power where she can reform them, but remember that police only enforce the law. They do not make the law. If reform was her goal she would be a politician. (I honestly thought that's what she was set up to be, since she was student council president and all but I digress)

Also a small detail, but notice how she mentions destroying the lawless before she mentions helping victims? It's super minor but I think it's indicative of the cop mentality. There's greater priority on punishing than helping.

I also dislike this conclusion to her arc because it's net zero character growth. You're telling me the character that was rebelling against corrupt adults' orders is now becoming a cop, the biggest bootlicking profession of them all? She started the story being a well-intentioned pushover, and she's ending her story being a well-intentioned pushover. And it doesn't matter whether she as an individual is a good person or not. All cops comply to be active participants in a system that is designed to hurt the weak and prop up the powerful.

TLDR: You do not help victims by punishing the 'lawless'. You help victims by helping victims. Period. Makoto becoming a cop is a contradiction of this and her own character arc. Either the writers did her dirty by not thinking this through or this is meant to be who she really is, and both those possibilities upset me.

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Drawn on Nintendo 2ds. Via the camera on theeeeeere. Not the first but yeah (I'd link the others right but i'm lazy) Also, drawing that Ace flag took FOREVER!!! The color picking was pain T-T Like, for the gray. grey? i forgot which one is the british version and which one is the american. am bad at the spells so i try and do it intentionally sometimes as a joke to cope! HAHHA! :D

[thefandomcassandra]

To Live is to Die, They Are One and the Same

[Image ID: a colored traditional drawing of Ryoji and Makoto from Persona 3 set against a yellow-green moon. Ryoji is holding a longsword to Makoto's neck, looking down at him fondly. Makoto is holding Ryoji's other hand on his shoulder, looking up at him fondly. /end ID]

I am, as always, so normal about Persona 3. It was a game that I played during a time when I needed the message of it the most and now the ReLoad release means I can play it again.

There's something so poetic about carrying a piece of Death with you, humanizing it, befriending it, and then being told that this Death of yours is not a monster but a person. It is yours and you walked alongside it for your entire life and so, in a way, you take its hand and go with grace.

IDK I think Ryoji and Makoto are...they're a lot to me. Anyway pls appreciate my colored pencils.

This is not ship art.

[le-agent-egg]

This is not me hating but is it ok if I ask how come you think THH is badly written?

Don’t worry about it! Personally for me, I really dislike how many of the characters were treated, especially with the first character (how Leon and Sayaka weren’t given proper time to develop, how Makoto in my opinion does seem a bit flat in terms of personality, how the writers killed Leon and Sayaka off first because they were sick of drawing them). The second chapter also irks me with how they treated Toko’s DID and Chihiro’s gender, though I will admit a lot of stuff in game with Mondo and Taka’s relationship was actually pretty well written and honestly really cute. And I think Sakura’s death was honestly (in my opinion) one of the best parts of the game, though this could just be because I love Sakura.

This is just a personal gripe but I feel like post chapter two the game gets almost slow, especially with killing Taka off before he got any development and Celeste’s really weird motive. Plus I wish the fifth trial was just a little more interesting, and that some of the survivors like Hina, Hiro, Byakuya and Toko got a little more time to shine in game. I’m happy they got expanded on in other media, I just wish THH (especially the latter half) wasn’t so Kyoko and Makoto centric.

By no means am I saying THH is completely terrible! Believe me, I love it and I love the characters, I just really wish everyone got expended upon in game more. That’s just my opinion, and obviously I’m missing out on a lot of both good and bad things in this post. (I’m very sleep deprived rn haha) Just to summarize I think it’s writing could have been really improved if everyone got just a bit more screen time!

(I do yap a little more in the tags, mostly just about 1-1 and 1-2)

[mysunshine-youremoonlight]

i feel like makoto (p5) was just atlus trying to recreate mitsuru's character archetype and failing

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

My freaking life with naming schemes for the FeMC.

Me pre-movie: Oh! Minako like a fem version of Minato (narrator: little did she know, Minato was unisex). But Hamuko is a fun one too! Such fun fan names. I’ll use Minako if I’m doing a Twin AU tho. Me, post-movie pre-stage play and P5: Oh I could do Makoto Yuki. I mean it’s the male’s name, and they are probs one and the same person. And Makoto Yuki is unisex so it works out (narrator: dipshit over here still doesn’t realize Minato is unisex). Regardless, they seem to go for the anime names so I should get attached to this instead. Don’t want a repeat of Souji. :’) Maybe I’ll give her a nickname of “Ko/Kou-chan” just for fun. Me, post-movie and stage play, pre-P5: Oh she has a new semi official name! Kotone! And so does the MC! Sadly I don’t think they’ll use/get attached to them. I mean, Atlus has only been using the anime names, I don’t want a repeat of Souji. :’) Me, post movie/stage play/P5, pre- Puzzle dragon/P3P rerelease (aka when Makoto N was announced): ............GDI! This is worst than saying Yu’s name out loud in english. Yu sounds like you, and Narukami is too much of a mouthful. But now Makoto is taken by another big char??? And Yuki is already another 3-4 chars (including nicknames). TT0TT Ahhhh and the chick looks like FeMC too???? Wtf, FeMC hasn’t been acknowledged in so long, plus Yusuke looks like P3MC, are they trying to hurt me more. ;w; Screw it, we’ll go with my Ko-chan nickname (with Minako/Hamuko variants) until she gets a new name. TT0TT Back to calling P3MC Minato again.....or maybe I should just fully adopt P#MC? Yeah let’s go with that. orz Me: post movie/play/P5/puzzle dragon/P3P release but pre-P5X: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh no. I’m not getting attached still. I hate this mixing of canons. Give Sakuya justice! At least PQ’s personality matches Makoto Yuki....... Kotone doesn’t match her PQ2 counterpart imo.... I can’t. I won’t. Me post-everthing but esp P5X: So Mont’s name is probably “Kotone?” ....haha....AHFJDSAFJSAJFLA Oh it’s Makoto N all over again. Oh and there’s another Yuki? FanTASTIC!

[cliched]

aiura is a shameless, weird pervert and masochist who doesn’t care about consent

chapter 162

aiura greets her classmates, and they perceive her as the opposite of a sweet, modest girl

she enjoys the innocence of her classmates and flirtatiously says it isn’t necessarily bad

aiura then introduces herself and implies that she is romantically involved with many people

chapter 167

it is rumored that aiura has shoved a student’s face into her chest

she likely did this without his consent because she often disregards other’s feelings to get what she wants. for instance, aiura calls sawakita to meet him and suddenly rubs an eraser on his palm despite him yelling in pain and asking her to stop. later, she abruptly shoves two handfuls of pencil shavings into a student’s mouth, causing him to yell in pain. she did these without considering their thoughts or feelings, merely to satisfy her desire to find her soulmate.

chapter 176

aiura has a macrophilia kink, being attracted to kusuo’s height of 44 meters

chapter 186

aiura fantasizes about her and kusuu bumping each other and falling into suggestive positions

chapter 220

aiura undresses and lies on kusuo’s bed without his consent. he tells her to leave, but she stays and expects something from him in exchange for her help

chapter 236

aiura fantasizes about kusuo acting dominant and possessive toward her and is aroused by it

chapter 163

despite him yelling at her to get off, aiura latches onto aren’s arm, rubs her chest against it, and refers to herself as a masochist for her attraction to strong men

chapter 221

aiura admits that she would be aroused if the person she likes insulted her

bonus: aiura calls chiyo a pig to return her relationship with shun back to normal

aiura is constantly let off the hook simply because she is popular and likable. If Reita, Makoto, or Kūsuke did these, everyone would have one more reason to hate them. I don’t blame them for that, but what makes Aiura so different?

she doesn’t listen when someone asks her to stop after doing something to them without their consent. in this post alone, she has done it 13 times. specifically reira, the crossed-out people on the list below, aren, sawakita, and kusuo. count, if you must.

fantasizing about situations with your crush isn’t bad. we’ve all seen chiyo do it. the problem with aiura is that she imagined herself on top of Kusuo and looking at his crotch while he touches her and looks directly at her underwear

having unusual and unconventional sexual desires and deriving sexual gratification from pain or humiliation doesn’t make Aiura a bad person, it makes her a weird person

let’s say she’s just open about her sexuality and often makes and does suggestive comments and actions, she still often harasses multiple people

in my opinion, this makes her dislikable

[kanna-kizuchi-enjoyer]

Analyzing the versions of Terusai

How well it fits within canon and with the characters general personalities

Explanations:

Kokomi and Kusuo: Theyre already close friends and Kokomi has been shown to have a crush on him, when his powers went away, he stared at her and did say that her face would be considered pretty. Also the combination of gorgeous and psychic would be unstoppable.

It would also help both of them out, both of them get considered more than human, by their family especially. Kusuo already considers Kokomi to be a regular girl which is part of why she likes him so much, platonically or romantically. I think that opinion would do wonders for her, she would be allowed to have a break and wouldn't have to keep up her performance around him. And for Kusuo, Kokomi doesn't know him extremely well as shown by her fantasy version of him. However, she could get to know him better as time progresses. Even if she does learn about his powers, she would be shocked at first obviously, however she would grow to accept it, and given how shes been treated and how she is favoured by God, and her ability to guess people thoughts on her with extreme precision (see: average boy from the 3 legged race) her experiences border on psychic, this would allow her to be able to see Kusuo more as a regular boy than most people who know do, an example being Kuusuke.

It would also most likely help with their familial issues given the similarities. Both their older brothers have their issues, albeit different degrees, this would allow them to understand each other's problems and therefore let each other work through it.

Makoto and Kusuo: Who doesn't like enemies to lovers? They hate each other but they keep interacting, one time Makoto even halfway hugged him, strange behaviour to a guy you hate, not to mention how many times Makoto has randomly showed up at Kusuo's house unannounced. Also, Makoto is shown to be very jealous of Kusuo due to his friendship with Kokomi, a good twist on this would be that he's jealous of Kokomi but can't handle those feelings so he copes in the strangest manner. This would improve Makoto's character and the fanbases opinion on him. He is definitely the most hated Saiki K character, why? Because of his blatant obsession with his own sister, if you remove that, you can focus on his better qualities more. He's a funny and interesting character with a great design but that gets overshadowed by the sister thing.

Aside from that idea, it still works even if you keep the sister issue. Learning to love someone else would be good for him. His obsession hurts him and especially Kokomi, so being separated from her would give both her time to heal and him time to learn to love someone else, and allow the siblings to develop a healthy sibling bond.

Kokomi and Kuusuke: I believe it would be toxic as hell. Kuusuke has been shown to be actively hostile towards her (and most people) and given how much of her pride he shattered, she probably holds a deep grudge against him. I think if they were to date they would act nice to each other around people but it would be very strained and fake, but they would end up trying to best each other constantly, Kuusuke because he dislikes her, and Kokomi because she dislikes him and to regain her damaged pride. They would be like the couples who actively despise each other but Kuusuke and Kokomi would not tell people that.

However, in the scenario of a healthy relationship, It could benefit them in some ways. As I said with Kusuo, Kuusuke doesn't consider Kokomi anything more than a regular girl, (he actually believes that she's less than that, or more accurately, all humans are, except Kusuo and he likely places himself between the two categories.) Since he doesn't consider her godlike, she could be free to be herself, and be somewhat free from that pressure. On top of that, Kuusuke figured out her entire characters based on about 20 minutes with her, so there wouldn't even be a point of being a perfect pretty girl since he already knows who she is. I would say it would help him get over his competitiveness against Kusuo, however, I doubt he thinks highly of anyone else's opinion so Kokomi's input would have no effect on his behaviour. However, seeing the Cambridge scenes, he seems extremely lonely, so companionship, romantic or not, would benefit him.

Makoto and Kuusuke: Honestly, there's no telling how they would react to each other, they have no dynamic to go off of. However, everything I said about Makoto and how Kusuo would improve him, goes for Kuusuke as well so it would impact Makoto at least, and with Kuusuke, as with Kokomi, it would help dwindle his loneliness. Also, they have a lot of comedic potential, they are both very eccentric and strange men, being around each other's influence would probably amplify those traits. Imagining the amount of disapproval Kusuo and Kokomi would have about it is great on it's own. Overall, they are up to interpretation, they can be whatever the viewer wants them to be, and that in of itself is wonderful potential.

My personal opinions on them

What does "Positive but neutral" mean? It means I like the ship but I do not indulge in actively shipping it. Other than that, I post about Makoto and Kuusuke everyday without fail, I love Kokomi and Kusuo's friendship and see them more as best friends rather than lovers, and I am not very fond of Kuusuke and Kokomi (as a ship, as characters I adore them)

Overall, I respect all ships and the people who ship them.

[genoskissors]

What is your opinion on Genocide Jack's DRS events? Personally, I didn't like them at all and was fairly disappointed due to how they characterized Jack.

I decided to replay them all to give my best answer here. Honestly, my feelings are iffy because I don’t want to say I heavily disliked them, so I’ll just do a quick run down.

Things I Liked

• The Komaru Swimsuit Event

Things I Didn’t Like

• She seems less eccentric? Like she didn’t laugh as much as she normally does. She just seemed to be more mad than anything. I know she’s pretty abrasive, but without the laughs it feels a little odd. She has a few laughing and giggling voice lines, but I’m referring to the full on: Kyehahahas.

• She commonly refers to her type as hunks, even though it’s supposed to be adorable boys. Maybe I missed a part in canon. If so that’s on me.

• She seemed a bit too attached to Byakuya. It’s no secret that she was gonna talk about him a few times, but it feels like she wasn’t as willing to talk to others in general (minus Komaru). In UTDP, she seemed more open to talk with people such as Izuru, Sonia, Korekiyo, hell, she even walked up to Chihiro just to chat a little bit.

• I feel we missed out on some potential gems. This isn’t Genocide Jack exclusive, but is still a bummer. No commentary on Makoto or some other cute/pretty guy in a swimsuit?

• One of her hype cards is Toko. I feel like this should’ve been too hard to slip by. There’s no tongue. I don’t even need to inspect it, one glance and I can tell that’s not her.

Overall: Unfortunate

[rosehippiefield]

I love that no character is one-dimensional:

Sara is not goody two shoes protagonist with unwavering hope (I like Makoto it's not his slander I really promise I love kind guys), she has the highest chance of winning. It can't happen to ultimate cinammon roll. The balance between her caring side that wants to protect everybody and using charisma to her advantage is so tricky and yet it works (though I am a bit baffled at how she changes without Joe in AI simulations).

Joe is not only cheery cheesy best friend that dies just so you can cry about it (even if it's true as well). Joe is distrustful, he is scared and he kind of wants to escape with sacrifice card knowing what it entails. So he came up with a plan where good people being majority would live, and if not he can feel less guilt. Amazing idea! And we all know how he returns in second chapter. A sing of ungrounded guilt that doesn't correspond to reality whatsoever but can't be combated with logic alone. In best case scenario it is defeated with reminder of how real Joe behaved, showing how faulty our perception can get from trauma.

Keiji is not just sexy detective that supports Sara, oh no. This guy gets close to our heroine on purpose and I dare say kind of uses her for own gain. Then, his trauma doesn't equal all of his character nor it magically justifies killing Megumi, it simply explains his current actions. And of course I really want to believe that he is not some creep flirting with people in most suspicious way. He just needs excuse for evading akward questions. This man, deprived of sleep because of his sins, is both cunning and kind, capable of cruelty and striving to be like his idol.

Kanna and Gin are not annoying children that constantly need saving or exist to evoke sympathy. In Kanna's case sympathy is natural, but it is not the only thing going for her. Kanna is about giving a chance, letting go regrets, making thought-out sacrifice and when it fails moving on to make sure it doesn't have to happen. She develops constantly, bringing ideas to the table and trying to get all group stay united. Kanna makes conscious choice to spend time with Shin to get information, so while she can be manipulated it's not always the case and she's not all naїveness. Her arc of overcoming trauma and insecurity may seem familiar to characters from other media, but it is unique and distinctive.

Gin is autism representation without making him vilain or weird. He has some pecularities, for example, wearing animal-like clothes and repeating animal sounds, and yet nobody bats an eye, so surely he's no outcast or useless (on the contrary, he is quite useful remembering names in the bar, using scent, helping morally etc). Gin's the least morally gray of the cast, but it doesn't mean he is cardboard nice support kid either: he has his dislikes or his own thoughts (he is quite distrustful toward Kanna because he's younger and doesn't use age as justification for her actions).

Reko seems simple enough, a hot-tempered rock star, emo/punk lady many would like to date. Strict to the strong, kind to the weak. She had a lot of changing in the past and it continues here, she is becoming softer. But it's not her only trait: she's a talented singer that was interested purely in music and it's perfection. She ignored to some degree her happiness, her band, her beloved brother for the sake of art. She wasn't indifferent, but appeared as such. And now, finally having a better understanding of what's important and bright future ahead she ends up in a death game with Alice. Their plotline is prominent in second chapter and is devastatingly tragic.

Alice looks like comic relief with his exaggerated reactions and bizzare choice of words (personally I love this type of speaking it's cool). But he is actually not only a scaredy cat: he is a person without a purpose. He searched for it in a path with sister, but no happiness came, only murder of Midori. Alice hides his soft side to not be hurt, he on purpose builds a wall and appears so arrogant because when he was openly kind the close ones were indifferent (not to mention prison, I admire how Alice kept his sanity at all).

Shin is a prime example of morally gray character done right (majority here are morally gray but with him being antagonist it's far more prominent). I have seen various post about fandom interpreting him either as "totally evil manipulator", "Kokichi/Nagito kinnie", "cinnamon roll he did nothing wrong" or "what a loser". But he's not just good or bad, him having antagonist status doesn't make him Ouma copycat or Komaeda's successor, and while I get him being a loser is funny it's not the only thing to define him (though it's more of a joke than serious interpretation). Shin is very insecure and distrustful guy who "sees shadows where there aren't any" (quoting Sara) due to 0% and wants to live, using all methods... until he gets attached. He plots mainly against people he considers his enemies (to tell the truth, with 0% anybody could be classified as enemy), and I think he wouldn't abandon those close to him like Kanna, perhaps partly due to guilt of using her. In general, his actions, while obviously not the best (and he knows it perfectly well), come from fear of death and paranoia rather than pure malice or craziness.

Nao may appear as mentally weak girl you constantly have to help and can't rely on. Yes, Nao has problems with dependance on other, but she has her own aces up her sleeves. She's creative, smart, open-minded. For me her advantage lies in unexpectedness: who knew she saw through AI's lies? For her own sake and for the group Nao is capable of difficult actions like puching fake Reko. This girl is about growing more responsible, learning to trust your own judgement (she has great intuition by the way) and becoming independent.

Kai is quite too unique for stereotypes in my mind, a mysterious but awfully suspicious man. He looks so feminine but don't let that deceive you: he's assasin. Assasin that doesn't kill. Kai is the person escaping from his bloodied, horrible, traumatic past into right, calm, tranquil future with only householding chores and not killing attempts to protect... wrong people (Sara is not bad person, but her father is likely to be tied to Asunaro). So poor househusband is leaping from one abusive enviroment into another, but now being genuinely loyal and unaware of all skeletons kept in closet.

Q-Taro is certainly not only kindhearted big muscular guy (that dies in certain chapter) or stupid. Yes, he looks like parody on American, yes, all his accents make his speech a bit silly and stereotypical. No, he's not dumb. In fact, many plot twists involve him in some way (especially the banquet). Also, he could sacrifice his life for somebody, but he is equally capable of doing the opposite. Q-Taro is quite honest but not above tricks to leave this place, he cares for th group (taking into accout his team-spirited profession) but prioritises himself until later; he knows how sinful people are including him and that allows him to forgive quickly.

Finally, Mishima dies so early you don't hope to see him after 1.1. But if you think he's the shock value first victim that dissapears after, you are not quite right. Mishima, being dead, yet has influence on story as well, either through mystery of his head or AI that appear three times (maybe something is really up with him). Not to mention Ytts where his character shines and not burns. Him being almost perfect doesn't ruin anything, it motivates to become better as well because he wasn't always like this. Plus, he's no ideal, Mishima understands how world works but is passionate to a fault, not to mention his suspicious behavior. He is example of a person that matured, overcame his main faults and inspires the same in others.

Of course, everyone can interpret these characters differently and it's great, those perseptions can be true all at once. They are so interesting and captivating thanks to many layers of depth where everybody can see something unique.

[theamityelf]

Yandere Taka and oblivious Makoto? (I really love how you write these two) -@blueboybot

(🤗 Thank you! I'm not sure how well this came out, but here you go!)

------

Taka was not naturally very observant.

That was fine. It was normal. It meant he had to work hard to notice the important things. And he liked to work hard.

Makoto had been his study partner for over a month now. They met up every weekday after school (except some Fridays), and there was not a moment in those usually-two-hours that Taka was the slightest bit inattentive. In fact, the notes he took on even just Makoto's likes and dislikes, during their alone time, rivaled the notes he took for class.

He wasn't very observant, and Makoto could sometimes feel like a hard person to know things about. But he was eager to put in the work.

It wasn't until after their second month studying together that Taka learned he needed to elevate his approach.

It happened when Makoto walked into class one morning. To Taka's eyes (which of course had fixated on him right away, because he was not good at pretending not to be smitten) he looked completely normal. The only strange thing was that he was usually one of the early ones and today he was one of the last in, but that could have been a problem with his morning alarm.

And yet, as soon as Makoto entered, Kyoko asked him, "What happened to you?"

"Huh?" Makoto looked down at himself. "What do you mean?"

"Your hair. It's uneven on one side."

"Oh! Near miss with a hedge trimmer; the guy said he was sorry. I didn't think anyone would notice. Guess I should've stopped by a mirror, but I was already running late."

"A hedge trimmer was that close to your head?" Leon said. "And you're still on time for class?"

Taka's thoughts exactly. He was absolutely brimming with a thrilling mix of attraction and indignation on Makoto's behalf. "I think I speak for everyone when I say we admire your punctuality!" he said.

"Taka, it's 8 am," Junko complained. "Can you talk at people volume, please?"

"And I'm glad to hear the Ultimate Landscaper was polite enough to apologize," he continued.

"Yeah, he didn't mean to be careless. I think he was just pretty wrapped up in what he was doing. The hedges do look fantastic."

So it had been the Ultimate Landscaper. Well then, that guy would be in detention every day for the rest of his time at this school. He was very lucky he hadn't done any real harm.

More to the point, Kyoko's immediate awareness that something had happened to Makoto was a sign for Taka that his work, as yet, hadn't been enough.

He had felt so triumphant to have learned Makoto's birthday, his blood type, his favorite color, animal, food, even song (and it was hard to get specific titles out of him!), but his efforts still hadn't brought his undivided focus to the same level of perception as a casual glance from the Ultimate Detective.

He didn't envy her talent. Quite the contrary: He was excited to learn that he needed to put more work in.

When it came time for their study session that afternoon, he asked if they could do so in Makoto's room, rather than his own. It would help him learn more things.

The first thing he learned was that Makoto didn't lock his dorm room.

At all.

He actually left his key in the room when he left for the day.

Taka saw an opportunity to be helpful. After all, it didn't make sense to leave a room unlocked when an Ultimate Burglar attended this school. So, he borrowed Makoto's key and took to locking his room when he left for the evening.

And locking it again after Makoto left for class each morning.

Which meant, the next time they went to study together, Taka had to matter-of-factly unlock Makoto's room for them both.

"Wait, when did you get a key to my room?!" Makoto asked.

(His startled reactions, and the straightforward way he asked questions as soon as he wanted to know something, were so refreshing, compared to the many people in their class who tried to pretend they knew everything all the time.)

"Sorry," Taka said, blushing a little. "I borrowed it without asking, last time I was here. I wanted to make sure you lock your door more often. There are students here who would love to rob you blind!"

"Ah, I guess it's true that I never remember to lock it. But isn't taking my key and locking it for me a little...?"

"On the contrary! When a friend has trouble with a task, it makes sense to help them out."

"You got forceful all of a sudden," Makoto observed mildly. "Well, if you're just locking it after me, then I guess that's fine."

And he made no further argument on the subject. Taka was in the clear!

Adding Makoto's key to his own key ring made him smile. They clinked together like wedding rings. It made him hopeful that, despite how casually Makoto acted towards him, they might have that kind of future one day.

When he found himself growing anxious, because Makoto looked at a girl for too long or rescheduled their plans or any of the other ways the world seemed unaccommodating of Taka's dreams, he reached into his pocket and ran his fingers over their keys.

And he reminded himself that things didn't have to happen naturally. Love didn't have to be a thing that struck right away. Love, like everything else, was hard work, and Taka was the best at working hard.

Then the Tragedy happened.

...

Taka had his worries about the outside world, but in the privacy of his own mind, it was a relief to be able to barricade all those problems away and just spend all his days with Makoto.

The problem was, he wasn't the only one who wanted to spend time with Makoto, and he wasn't the only one Makoto wanted to spend time with.

Of course, Makoto didn't seem to mind when Taka tagged along on his quality time with others, but the ones he was with would often look at Taka as if to say, 'Do you mind?'

"Is the hall monitor going to be shadowing us the whole time?" Junko said.

"Huh?" Makoto glanced over. "Oh, hey Taka. Did you want to come?"

"The invite only extends to Makoto," Junko interrupted. "I'm the shy type; I can't stand to have too many guys looking at me, you know!"

Blushing, Makoto said, "That...makes it sound like...We're just going to look through your closet, right? For old clothes Hifumi can fix up."

"Exactly! I'm already letting one boy into my room. You think I should let in two?"

"Oh, right. I didn't think about it that way. Uh..."

"That's fine," Taka said. "I guess I'll go spend time with Chihiro."

That was fine. Makoto's gregarious nature was part of what Taka liked about him. And time away from Makoto was time he could spend studying his notes on Makoto. So yeah, it was fine.

(Chihiro got a peek at his notebook during lunch one day and was amazed at all the details. When they took an interest, Taka couldn't help going over a lot of what he'd learned, rambling about Makoto and his many-stage plan to incrementally progress their relationship, for at least a full hour before someone else walked into the dining hall and he quickly fell silent.)

The first serious problem came when Makoto asked for his key back.

It was toward the end of dinner. A lot of their friends had already left for their rooms or wherever else: there was only Taka, Makoto, Sayaka, Celeste, Hifumi, and Kyoko.

"Hey, um..." Makoto scratched his cheek shyly. "You still have my room key, right?"

"Of course," Taka replied. "Are you turning in for the night? Do you need me to let you in?"

"Well, yes, but actually...could I have my key back, too?"

Taka's heart faltered. "You'd like it back?"

"It would be easier on you if you didn't always have to let me back in, right?"

"That's no trouble at all! I've enjoyed walking you to your room."

"...and also, if I ever had someone over, or something, it might be easier if I had the key on me...right?"

Taka wasn't very observant, but he noticed that Makoto was blushing and that he had briefly glanced at Sayaka, who smiled back. The implications filled his brain with heat.

"So, uh, do you have it with you now?" Makoto pressed on.

Taka reached into his pocket, consoling himself with the feeling of the keys at his fingertips. "No, I must have left it in my locker," he said. "Excuse me."

He swiftly exited the dining hall.

That glance Makoto and Sayaka had exchanged. Those shy smiles. Like they already had plans, for once Makoto got his room key. It wasn't right! It was...unwholesome! It was wrong!

Sayaka barely paid attention to Makoto. She had her innate charm, but she wielded it just like Byakuya (who bought Makoto expensive birthday gifts instead of caring enough to make something by hand) or Kyoko (who noticed things without even trying or bothering to spend hours following him). Sayaka didn't know the special way he tied his shoes, or the embarrassing nickname his sister called him over the phone, or what common allergens made him sneeze, or...She probably didn't even know his blood type, his shoe size, his height!

He thought through his options. It definitely wouldn't be right to let Makoto spend time with Sayaka alone in his room. That would seriously complicate their eventual plans to get married!

(Should he maybe inform Makoto that they were going to get married one day? The prospect made him really anxious.)

He could report them to Headmaster Kirigiri (to head off any inappropriate behavior), or throw Makoto's key into the garbage incinerator (necessitating that he sleep in someone else's room), or just refuse to give it back, but then Makoto would be annoyed with him.

For now, Taka settled on returning to his bedroom and not emerging again all night. Makoto didn't come knocking on his door, so for the moment he was fine.

Maybe he should have a frank discussion with Sayaka, warning her that Makoto was spoken for.

But what if she pushed back? What if she insisted on pursuing Makoto? What if she said Makoto liked her more? What if she thought she was going to marry him?

Taka could make them some tea, and lace hers with some kind of toxin from the chemistry lab so she would be too sick to ensnare Makoto. That seemed like a peaceful way of handling things; she would just spend some time in the clinic, and then Taka would have more time to build up the courage to confess his feelings to Makoto.

Unfortunately, toxins didn't come labeled with what amount would make you sick and what amount would kill you. And since it was more important to Taka to avoid doing nothing (to avoid letting Sayaka steal his future) than it was to avoid doing serious damage, he might have been a bit generous with the measurements.

Yes, that was really unfortunate.

But to think about it a different way, at least Makoto hadn't gotten too close to her before it happened! And at least they'd had tea in the rec room and not in Taka's room, so he didn't have to worry about moving her body.

He shut her eyes and folded her hands in her lap, to give her some dignity in death, and took the tea set downstairs to wash.

His heart was pounding with adrenaline. As soon as the teacups submerged in the dishwater, he reached into his pocket to touch the keys.

He relaxed.

It was for Makoto. He'd had to save Makoto from a future with someone who didn't love him the way Taka did. And the world was in turmoil anyway; it might have been doing Sayaka a kindness, to free her from a world that probably wouldn't need pop singers again until she was well past aged-out of the teen pop demographic.

He washed the cups and put them away, deciding to go back to his room for his notes so he could make one of Makoto's favorite meals. A nice, hearty meal to console him through the loss of his friend.

[kotelok16]

Hii so I’m new here and haven’t touched danganronpa in years, so I’m just curious as to what got you into komamiki? My mind is blown whenever I see a ship that’s not implied in canon, so seeing your art was like woah!!!! And I just like getting people to infodump about stuff they love 💕

Thanks a lot for the question, anon! This is gonna be a long post, be prepared

In fact, I remember very poorly the moment when I got involved in this pairing. As I understand it, I saw one piece of art and just fell in love with this couple? That is, my brain clicked and was like, "Listen, I like it, there's something in this!"

If you still asking "why" I liked this pairing, then the main reason is an interesting dynamic. Yes, yes, komamiki haters, I know about the ending of the third trial and that these two "hate each other" (as they usually write). But... Isn't there a special charm in this? Has the path from hate to love stopped being a thing? I mean, at the end of the trial, it was shown how well Mikan caught Nagito's weakness. She could have left him speechless with a precise phrase. She understood Nagito.

Isn't there some spice in the fact that you are best understood by the person you dislike now? And everyone you admire didn't even try to understand you?? (yes, Hajime tried in free-time events. I know, I don't deny it. Just for now we are talking about the main plot).

Of course, I can think too much like any other fan of any other pairing. But this dynamic is driving me crazy!

It gives me pleasure to reflect on how difficult it would be for komamiki to restore a neutral relationship to begin with after the events of the game. And it's going to be difficult, as it's going to be difficult for all the killers and victims to talk about what happened, you know? And the difficulties are ✨interesting✨.

What I also like about komamiki is that they are two broken people who can understand each other. They both need psychological (and not only) help, okay?? But in this path of recovery, they can become each other's support.

Mikan is emotional, reads the general atmosphere and someone else's mood very easily, worries a lot. Nagito is actually more detached and calm (unless we're talking about hope-). He knows how to show the emotions needed at the moment, but he does not always read the general atmosphere (and does not always consider it necessary, he is on his own mind). In total, we have two broken people, one is very emotional and reads people well, and the second is calm, which adjusts to the mood of people. And both have low self-esteem and are very, let's call it, helpful. "I will do anything, just don't hate me!" and "I will do everything to become your stepping stone to hope!"

At the same time, they can learn a lot from each other and take care of each other. Mikan, of course, as a nurse. I like to think too much that she put all her strength into Nagito's life after him waking up from the New World Program. Komaeda, in turn, is sharp-tongued, and can protect his emotional girlfriend from unwanted comments verbally. He also knows how to express admiration, I think such words won't hurt Mikan. Tsumiki can also express in words and actions the importance of Nagito's life to her. Uh, a mutual aid circle??

Will such a relationship be difficult? OF COURSE, absolutely. But do you really think that any relationship does not involve difficulties? Including healthy relationships, which are being talked about a lot now? Like, guys, psychologists identify the crisis stages that ANY married couple goes through. The question is not what kind of problems are in the relationship, but how they will be solved. But I got off the subject.

If I think again about the post-canon, then I am hooked by the idea that the Class 77 will become the world's enemy. Not without reason, let's be honest. But, you see, there is no one left in their world who would accept them, except classmates (no, Makoto, don't look at me like that-). "In this world, we only have each other." Isn't this a bit dramatic, tragic and romantic?! (tragic for the most part, but we love it here)

Uh, I think this post is already quite long, it's worth taking stock. I love komamiki, I see an interesting, complex dynamic between them. Most of the time I draw them cute, gentle, romantic, well, because I like to draw them like that. I'm interested in thinking about their relationship, but drawing all sorts of cute things gives me peace of mind. Thanks again for the question, anon! It's always a joy to talk about your favorite couple^^

[rainbow-crane]

I'm feeling like being controversial today. Here, take some DR character opinions. Clutch your pearls besties

17- Makoto. I feel nothing for this character, in any positive or negative direction. To me, he's only ever been the vessel for which THH takes place for the player. That's kind of it. Bro is just chilling. (Note: these opinions are exclusive to the THH game.)

16- Leon. He suffers from what I like to call chapter 1 syndrome. Not only was he killed extremely early, but he had no plot or character significance before or after the fact in-game. I think the idea of a character that hates their talent is really interesting, and his design slaps, but he just didn't have any sticking power for me.

15- Yasuhiro. He's got funny moments here and there (the ghost bit in the ch 5 trial never fails to make me laugh) but he has no story. They don't do anything with him besides 'stupid occult man' jokes, and I can't help but feel like there was wasted potential to do something with his fortune-telling talent that was only ever used as another gag of his stupidity. Disappointing as a character, but at least he was around longer than Leon.

14- Byakuya. Asshole characters are always hit-or-miss for me, and Byakuya missed by a ton. I know he *technically* got showed up during the chapter 4 trial, but getting upstaged once and acting like nothing happened afterwards isn't enough of a character arc for me to find him surviving over so many others in the cast worth it. He's also just pretty weak as an antagonist in comparison to the others in the series(not to mention there was an objectively better option for antag in this very cast). He's the type of character I'd probably like way more in like, Ace Attorney, but here I just got so sick of hearing him speak.

13- Hifumi. I can appreciate the attempt to make a subversion of the 'perverted nerd' character, but they failed the second they actually made him a perverted nerd, even if they gave him that bare minimum ideal of rape being bad. Fanon interpretations of what could've been prop him up for me a good bit, too.

12- Mukuro. Similar to Makoto, she feels like a character that exists to serve a narrative purpose, and we never really meet her as herself in-game. Unlike Makoto, we actually got FTEs playable in the post-game that allude to a greater story with her and her doubt in despair that makes her retroactively more tragic and adds both to herself and her sister.

11- Toko. They just didn't do enough with her in THH to warrant me placing her any higher than this. I think the differences between her and Genocider are interesting, and I wish they'd been given more growth in the game instead of spending the entire game post-chapter 2 pining over and stalking Byakuya. Toko gets ranked lower because she wasn't as fun to have onscreen and I got sick of her insisting people disliked her for being ugly, even though she's pretty conventionally attractive beyond having glasses.

10- Junko. She was an incredible mastermind twist and had a ton of charisma and presence in the final trial, from her sprites to the VA's performance, but they just didn't use her enough to warrant putting her any higher than the characters above.

9- Mondo. I like the characters he's attached to more than I do Mondo himself. I like the 2-sided coin of toxic masculinity they write between him and Chihiro, and I love his relationship with Taka, but I just don't care much for him outside of what he provides for those characters. He's fine.

8- Genocider. Basically everything I said with Toko, but she's way more entertaining from her cheery and violent personality and is just more expressive and fun. I got excited whenever she came onscreen because I knew I was about to have a good time.

7- I don't think you could change Kyoko's role in the story much at all without drastically altering the game as a whole. Makoto may be the POV, but Kyoko is undoubtedly the main character of THH and not only is she the most capable member of the class, but her growth as she opens up to Y/N Makoto and puts her faith not only in the absolute truth, but also hope is beautiful to watch, especially as we get to learn the mystery of who she is and where she came from. In another world, she'd be my #1, but I've never actually shed tears for her so she ends up as low as 7th.

6- I'd say from an objective standpoint, Sakura is probably the most well-written character in THH. Her internal conflict as she's forced to play the role of spy paired with her rapidly growing relationship with Hina as she finally, finally finds someone that sees her as the woman she so desperately wants to be acknowledged as, growing past her greatest weakness- her fear- to stand up to Monokuma, and having to take the role of a fighter on for a class of people that hated her to be both victim and killer, freeing her classmates from having to become either- I think I've made my point. I still wish we'd gotten that 3rd-person fighter about Sakura.

5- When I went into THH, I fully expected Hina to be a dumb blonde character for the entire game, with no substance beyond her character design. Maybe that low expectation was what made her shoot so high up my list. She wasn't the smartest character, sure, and the game definitely focuses on her body an uncomfortable amount, but she still has an incredible arc in her relationship with Sakura. Her depiction of grief is so deeply emotional, and her sense of justice, which up until then had been alluded to but never put into her hands, became a weapon that almost took down the entire class with her tears. Not only does she lose her best friend, but she's then manipulated by Monokuma to make that pain so much worse by pinning the blame for her loss on everyone around her and herself. Her attempt of a murder-suicide of the entire class followed by the reading of Sakura's real will and her guilt and regret afterwards is one of the strongest moments of the series. I've always thought if Makoto didn't exist, Hina would've been a great choice for a protagonist for this game, since she starts with that same optimism and easygoing ability to make friends that Makoto does, but is a strong character in her dedication to her sports and fierce love of those closest to her.

4- As a trans man, Chihiro's story was a lot like looking in a mirror, especially when I was playing the game as someone who'd only just started opening the closet door. His insecurities due to his body and his attempts to forcibly feminize himself to receive acceptance and masquerade as something he wasn't was something I was intensely familiar with, and the tragedy of his finally gaining enough confidence to open up to a close friend and seek out help to try and become his true self, only to be betrayed by said friend and killed before he ever got the chance, was one of the best personal gut punches I've gotten from this series. Regardless of the transphobia and misogyny written into said storyline, he's a character I'll never not relate to. There's a ton to dive into with Chihiro's character writing, and he's one of those characters I can tear into like a raw steak and go not only into how he's treated by the show, but also by how many ways there are to write him better than the game actually did and all the different ways different corners of the fandom have treated him. (Also, to be clear, I'm not opposed to transfem Chihiros hcs, I'm using he/him bc that's what's canon.)

3- Taka. My beloved boy, underrated outside of his relationship with Mondo. I'll defend this man until the day I die, and will always believe he should've been a member of the surviving cast over Hiro. His constant uphill battle with trying to connect with and protect his classmates only to fail at every turn from his lack of understanding of social norms, going as far as to rationalize hobbies as a form of studying in his first FTE, and his pure joy in finally connecting with someone being decimated by the reality that that man went on to be a killer is so powerful. Watching him completely snap and go near comatose, only being pulled out of stasis by the news that an AI of Chihiro still exists and begging for forgiveness for not being able to prevent his death was shattering, and his fusion with his perception of Mondo pushing him over the edge only to be killed unceremoniously in the background of Celeste's plan was infuriating. This man struggled and clawed his way through the first half of the game for whatever scraps of screentime the creators would leave him, and then they tossed him out when they couldn't think of anything better to do. Justice for my man!!!

2- Celeste. Remember when I said there was a character more well-suited for the role of antagonist than Byakuya in this game? Well, this is she. Not only would she have worked as a narrative foil to the player, as Makoto and Celeste are both in the class for their luck-based talent, but she would've had a much more powerful and thematic rivalry with Kyoko, the girl who seeks out absolute truth, as the girl who wraps herself in a veil of lies. I already found her fascinating as she was, having a character that's unashamedly a bad person and follows her own ideals with no regard for the effects on the rest of the class beyond how easy it'd be to manipulate them, but her lack of regard for the class trials and refusal to cooperate could've been how she functioned as an antagonist, refusing to help the group when it didn't immediately serve her or intentionally leaving out details that put her in a bad position. Essentially, she'd function as an antagonist in a way inverse to how Kokichi functioned, which not only would've been phenomenal for THH, but for the parallel storytelling V3 later goes on to employ. That said, that's all hypothetical, but even without all of that, she's still an intriguing character that I can't stop thinking about.

1- Sayaka. I hated Sayaka when I first started playing, not because of anything she was doing, but because I didn't like how the game was seemingly gluing her to Makoto's hip. I didn't like having to slough my way through tutorial after tutorial going through her to talk to the entire rest of the class, and I didn't like being forced to burn my first FTE on her when there were other characters I wanted to learn about. I cheered when I found her body because it meant I wouldn't have to jump through hoops to speak to the other characters anymore. All that hatred dissipated as the first trial took place. Taking the cutesy sidekick girl and making her not only the first victim (something that was huge for the genre at the time) but also going on to reveal that she was actively betraying us and plotting to frame us for murder to save herself and her fellow idols was a genius move. Since then, Sayaka has become a stronger presence in my mind for this series, and her impact on the series as a whole can't be overstated. She put the first killing game into motion. She carried with her the first despair, and inspired the first hope from Makoto. Her desperation for a dream she had to fight tooth and nail for, that desire to hang onto her dream that'd kept her going for so long pushes forward everything. 11037 became a staple point for the series and the fandom, not just because of the poor western translation, but also because that was her point of regret, the guilt that stopped her from killing Leon successfully and ultimately saved everyone, her final moments being to save Makoto and the others. Every moment spent with her at the beginning is designed not just to make her seem like the desirable sidekick girl, but also to weave into your perception of her the darkness she carries on the inside, the dedication and determination to remain liked and retain her fame by any means necessary, feigning being agreeable yet still unwittingly developing genuine feelings for someone who's nothing but genuine. The money I'd pay for a prequel anime about Sayaka's rise to the title of SHSL Idol is unreasonably high.

[thebruno65]

I never realized i posted a tier list here until now, but just posting a normal, boring tier list of the game and maybe anime characters is soooo bland! So why not,

(almost) EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER IN THE DR FRANCHISE RANKED (spoilers for every entry obviously)

You’ll need a microscope to go through all of them lol, also, since its an obligatory thing, here’s some opinions on my top 10 characters!

TOP 10:

Sato: I don’t even need to explain it, because I quite literally have 30 times already, if you want to know how much I really love her, then check out my defence post pinned in my profile.

Karen Kisaragi: She is a character that strangely resembles sato in a way, IE; both are somewhat disliked by the fandom because they killed someone for “No reason” despite the fact they did have reasons and were in a state where they cannot think right. Which means, Kisato is peak!!!! (I seriously need to finish my fanfic abt them)

Yasuke Matsuda: Best novel character by FAR, he has a fun character, cool background, nice design, and just overall a nice anti-hero that has motives that you can actually understand. (which resemble sato too LMAO)

Yuto Kamishiro: Another dr0 character in a row! While yes, he is a creepy bastard when we first meet him, throughout the novel, we get to see more and more of him and his motives/personality shine and its just fantastic, while he would originally have been A+ though, what really sold me was when I started my “Full Class-Batch” series with Class 77-A, which made me love him even more.

Shoji Yoko & Daiki Kubo: Yup, the two character we never got to see their deaths in screen form (they’re shown in the dr0 novel), heck, even Shoji doesn’t have a canon voice. But what can I say? These two scream bros vibes HARD, like they’re the typical “bros before hoes” type.

Kyoko Kirigiri: FINALLY, a character that is from the games! She is amazing and the best one, from her mysterious aura in dr1, from her sacrifice in dr3, to her backstory in drk, she deserves the top spot for the best game character.

Hajime Hinata: Best protag is here! Yeah, I said it, he is the best protag. He shines in chapters like 6 and also in the anime where we see his struggles and doubts (dr3 is overhated, fight me). Not to mention his interactions with characters like Chiaki and Nagito, people say he is bland, but I dig otherwise.

Yui Samidare: 2nd best protag! Honestly, her and hajime could be interchangeable in spots, she is just that good! Her development and sister-like friendship with Kyoko is so cute!!!!, and so sad when you realize she protects Kyoko at all costs bc of her dead sister :( and makes it even more sad in the end of the novel. YUIIII WHYYYY.

Mikan Tsumiki: final character in my top 10, I feel so bad for her and what she went through both inside and outside of the tragedy, it goes to show how mental trauma like that can truly change a person, hope she is doing okay now.

Also, for those wondering who is missing here:

Almost Danganronpa Togami character.

Makoto Secret File Characters.

UDG Book Authors.

Kazuichi Novel characters (If any).

Drama CDS characters (if any).

Stage play Actors.

(maybe) some Danganronpa Gaiden/Manga characters

Oh yeah, heres my tierlist template for anyone to use: https://tiermaker.com/create/every-single-danganronpa-character-1204761-2

[kkatastrophic]

was the one hating on you for not being a Makoto fan the showgun dragon account. Because they did the same thing to me lmao, straight-up said "if you're allowed to dislike Makoto I'm allowed to dislike you as a person" WHY ARE YOU HERE THEN??? Bro was literally stalking my page 💀

Anyways don't let internet strangers get ya down they dig their own graves half the time anyway

YES IT WAS LMFAO-

"HOW DARE YOU DISLIKE MAKOTO!!!!! You need to PAY more ATTENTION!!! >:(" I've played the game twice and watched the show twice, I didn't like him in any of them-

THE WAY THEY GO ONTO PAGES TO SEND HATE WHEN SOMEBODY IS VOICING THEIR OPINION THO??? And then "ah, oh, no no I didn't mean it to be rude THE OTHER PERSON started the drama" smh bro thinks he's my ex .

I laughed tbh, like how am I supposed to reply to their childish insults and remarks, when I'm just trying to share my opinion. Like I literally said in the post "ask if you're interested on my opinions, I'll leave it where it is though if you don't" so... why did they feel the need to hate???