#rei kiyoka

[monkey-overalls]

Danganronpa Textposts: DRA/SDRA2 Edition 🥳🎉

[modstarfell]

DRA in SDRA2's overworld pixel sprites... [Some special ones under the cut]

[splendedtea]

I felt like drawing an assortment of characters in all honesty I think I accidentally just drew my top 7 from DRA unknowingly

[rachelcommitscrimes]

DRA memes except i havent finished it so they might be innacurate

[laugtherhyena]

A hc that's been growing a lot on me lately is that Kizuna loves old pop/disco songs from the 70s-80s tho she'd never admit it

[etherealabyss11037]

What Were They Keeping from Us?

So, I've began rewatching Weeby Newz's livestreams of Danganronpa Another; I'm currently on Chapter 2 during the reveal of the new motive. Here, the 13 surviving students are forced by Monokuma to take a note from a box containing the dark secret of one of their classmates. Only a very few are openly revealed: Kakeru Yamaguchi, Teruya Otori, Mikako Kurokawa, and Yuki Maeda's. Kakeru's secret, as abruptly revealed by Tsurugi, was that "Kakeru Yamaguchi was teased for being too big in elementary school", which is a trauma Kakeru reveals in his FTEs. Teruya Otori's secret, revealed by Kizuna, was that "he still sleeps in bed with his dad"- and of course, who can forget the classic "Mikako Kurokawa might actually be talkative?" as revealed by Yuki when glancing at his note after promising his classmates he wouldn't. Great job Yuki. Speaking of lucky boy, his secret was that "Yuki Maeda might know the identity of the mastermind"- which was true, depending on how you look at it. Regardless, we now have 9 students whose secrets were never revealed, which has always been a bit disappointing. I'm curious to know what skeletons these kids have in their closet- assuming it isn't just something stupid like Kakeru and Teruya.

Firstly, it's important to take into account that one of these secrets is also in the corresponding character's FTEs, so it stands to reason that the same can be applied to the others as well. Another point is that two of these secrets were actually foreshadowing upcoming reveals, so this may also be the case in at least one secret. Some secrets I'll speculate about will be purely based on knowledge about the character in question. Alright, enough with the introduction, let's go!

Akane Taira: I think Akane would have had a similar secret to Yuki- "AkAne TAira miGht kNow tHE IDenTiTy oF thE MaStErMind" and all that jazz. An underwhelming explanation, I know, but I can't be arsed to think of another possibility. Akane without her dEsPaiR memories is pretty docile and isn't the type of person to inflict harm or mayhem unto others, thus I can't see her committing any atrocities that haven't been wiped from her memory. If you have your own idea, please share!

Ayame Hatano: I see it two ways: in her FTEs, we learn she's had problems with her hamstring, which could have severe repercussions on her physical health if she were to push herself too hard when trying to achieve her dream of becoming an Olympic gold medalist. This secret may be more depressing than dark, but Ayame wouldn't like to have this kind of personal issue exposed to her class. However, if we're to be more macabre and use zero canon evidence to support our theory, we could speculate that Ayame's secret was that she had used steroids/drugs to enhance her performance because she feared her ailed hamstring might compromise her skill. This is an act of cheating that, if ever exposed, could result in Ayame being banned from all future competitions, effectively crushing her dream. Now THAT is some tea I could get behind!

Kizuna Tomori: Honestly, based on her final FTE, we learn that Tomori forces her fellow cheerleaders to sleep with the boys that bodyguard her so that she doesn't have to "waste her precious body" in that manner. Aside from attempting to commit literal murder, sexual coercion is the worst thing you can do to someone, so it stands to reason that such a fucked-up secret would be enclosed in one of those notes. If it were revealed to the rest of the class, I highly doubt they'd be so willing to let Kizuna back into their group, if only by virtue of not wanting to befriend what's basically a pimp.

Kanata Inori: This has zero in-universe basis, but I feel like it's fitting for such a sweet character like Inori to have a rather fucked up secret, such as she severely injured or killed a patient while operating on them. It was an accident, of course, but it would still weigh heavily on her tender heart, and I doubt she'd like to be reminded of it.

Kinji Uehara: Using point number two as stated in the preamble, I believe that Kinji's secret would be that he was the traitor working on Monokuma's behalf. Something like that would decimate an already strained relationship with his class, and Tsurugi would definitely forbid Kinji from joining his group after that- hell, Tsurugi might try to convince Kinji to kill himself or try to confine him to his dorm room for the remainder of the killing game. I doubt Tsurugi would show any leniency to Kinji even if he confessed that he betrayed them only to protect the lives of the orphans at his church, which the others may find to be more forgivable. Perhaps this conflict of interest could lead to the Kinjo cult disbanding early? Who knows.

Satsuki Iranami: Idk. This is Satsuki for Christ's sake. This girl has literally done nothing wrong in her life. ever. (Okay, I know she shot Haru, but it was an accident, and she couldn't help it) Like, the worst thing I could ever see Satsuki doing is like stealing candy as a child or some shit (watch Kinjo execute her for that). Girlypop has literally zero malicious intent towards any creature of any kind.

Haruhiko Kobashikawa: that he's a virgin.

Tsurugi Kinjo: Going by his FTEs, Tsurugi has a few skeletons in his closet- but what I think would really alter his relationship to the group would be the reveal that Tsurugi himself has killed. In what I believe is his third(?) FTE, we learn that Tsurugi shot a group of hostages -who were his colleagues from the police station- when they were being used as shields by a group of terrorists attempting a deadly attack in Tokyo. Although this deed was done for the greater good, I think this would be enough for his classmates to finally reject Kinjo's bullshit. He spent all of chapter two ostracizing and vilifying Kinji, Rei and Kizuna and demeaning them as "preliminary criminals" all because they refused to be under his control, yet fucking Kinjo out here is killing innocent people? I think the hypocrisy would send some of his biggest haters, like Haru, over the edge, and the Kinjo cult would disband sooner than it did in chapter three.

Rei Mekaru: that she adores and sleeps with teddy bears at night. Yeah, not exactly a heart-stopping, bone-chilling reveal, but knowing uptight, "I-am-so-mature" Mekaru, she would not be happy for that information to be known to anybody. It would be hilarious to read aloud, though. I get the feeling that Kizuna would never let her hear the end of it once she found out.

Ah, it's nice to fantasize on how the other student's secrets could have impacted the killing game if they decided to be like Yuki and take a peek at their notes. Although this concludes the characters that were around for when the second motive was introduced, I'll throw in a bonus question for y'all creative thinkers: what do you think the secrets would have been for the three students who were dead (Kiyoka and Mitch) or otherwise preoccupied (Kisaragi) and were unable to participate in the killing game?

I hope you found this lil' food-for-thought shitpost enjoyable, and that you have your own thoughts to share on this topic! Have a good day!

[fatherfigurefusion]

Danganronpa: Another Iteration (or a talent-shift AU for DRA)

Haruhiko Kobashikawa, Ultimate Surgeon

The protagonist, and 1/3 of the three "brain cells".

Comes from a family of field medics.

Ending up garnering lots of attention from the media for performing flawless surgeries at the age of five.

Would much draw attention away from the whole "medical prodigy" thing, but would lay down his life to save people (savior complex protag, my beloved).

Is a bit too into the anatomy parts of medical textbooks.

Mikako Kurokawa, Ultimate Pilot

Was groomed from a young age to be an unstoppable war machine.

Was told from a young age that "actions speak louder than words", resulting in her not talking much.

Doesn't really open up to anybody, not even her servant/adoptive brother.

People are often unnerved by the pale six-foot-one girl with noticeable muscles underneath her uniform, and rightfully so.

Yuki Maeda, Ultimate Exorcist

Has powers straight out of an isekai/shounen manga, and the underdog protagonist energy to match.

In spite of his title, Yuki actually specializes more in being a spiritual medium and summoning/communicating with the spirits themselves.

Is headmates with Utsuro, a far colder spirit in charge of the actual exorcisms, who finds just about any other activity "boring".

Has an awful and traumatic past that lead to both his attachment towards the dead and his alter.

Rei Mekaru, Ultimate Lucky Student

Primary trial saboteur.

Okay, I have two different prompts for a Lucky Student Rei.

First prompt, essentially Teruko Tawaki (right down to the backstory), but she doesn't need to get backstabbed for her to turn her back on others.

Second prompt: the Nagito-esque Rei I outlined here.

Either way, a total menace.

Teruya Otori, Ultimate Professor

One of Haruhiko's supports and 1/3 of the "brain cells".

Highly-intelligent and would drop tons of obscure trivia in a conversation, to the point that you would leave knowing a whole lot of stuff.

Father was the principal/dean of a K-12 school, and decided to hire his genius son to teach people.

He especially loves teaching grade-schoolers, but that kind of leaks into his interactions with his classmates (they all have at least one gold star/lollipop).

Akane Taira, Ultimate Merchant

Classic rags-to-riches backstory, with her going from a door-to-door saleswoman to a street vendor to the founder of a popular market chain.

Perfect customer service voice that she only ever lets go of when angry.

Seems docile and polite, but would punch a Karen.

Basically Akane, but even more girlboss.

Yamato Kisaragi, Ultimate Butler

Has a FuyuPeko-esque relationship with Mikako (minus the romance).

The Kisaragis have been working under the Kurokawas for generations to come.

Instead of Love Live! references, he makes Black Butler and Hayate the Combat Butler references in his dialogue.

Always seems to appear out of nowhere and know exactly what you want/need. Even Mikako is unnerved by this.

Kiyoka Maki, Ultimate Inventor

Specializes in creating weapons (primarily artillery).

Has the potential to make a nuclear bomb, but would rather spend all day doing typical teen girl stuff.

Greatly prefers fixing up old technology, rather than inventing new products.

Gets really dirty by the end of inventing stuff (blame her hyper-focus), and hates it.

Kinji Uehara, Ultimate Sniper

Was adopted by an Italian mercenary group, resulting in him becoming an assassin from a young age.

Is still highly-religious, believing that the lifestyle he has lived has condemned him to a life in hell.

Has a protective attitude towards children, has struck up a friendship with Teruya because of it.

Keeps a distance from the rest of his classmates, not wanting anyone to know the truth behind what he does.

Ayame Hatano, Ultimate Priestess

Can confidently lead sermons, but can barely handle herself in normal conversations.

Regularly goes on tangents regarding her religion, which can veer into some unnerving territory.

Is commonly seen as an upright maternal figure, which always throws people for a loop when they see how she really is.

Due to her talent, she is nowhere near the workaholic she is in canon, and she often encourages her classmates to take little breaks.

Tsurugi Kinjo, Ultimate Sprinter

Still has his strong sense of justice, but it isn't filtered through the black-and-white insanity of the police force. More like a shonen protagonist.

Would gladly sacrifice his life, if it means his peers would survive and/or be avenged. Who knows where that mentality would lead, when in a killing game?

Juu was a former Olympian, who Tsurugi looks up to and seeks to surpass.

Carries the burden of a promise made between him and his posthumous best friend.

Satsuki Iranami, Ultimate Police Officer

Haruhiko's other support, and 1/3 of the "brain cells".

Was born to a prestigious legal family, but was unable to live up to their standards, with Keisuke being the only one willing to give her a chance.

Is more of a Peralta-type cop, rather than a Santiago-type.

Probably owns a prop flag gun that says "GOTCHA!" or "BANG!".

Mitsuhiro "Mitchie" Higa, Ultimate Clown

Fandom's treatment of Mitch be like. /hj

Would have a more sanitized personality, for the sake of the kids.

Imagine Mitchie taking clowning as serious as canon!Mitch takes soccer.

Hates mimes and any other circus performances with a burning passion. Would start the clown uprising.

Kizuna Tomori, Ultimate Soccer Player

Would have a lot of issues with having a "gross" or "boyish" talent, thanks to Minako.

Would compensate for this with her hyper-girly personality.

Is highly competitive, and would do whatever it takes to win and get ahead in life.

Very Arei Nageishi-core.

Kakeru Yamaguchi, Ultimate Cheerleader

In contrast to the American-style cheerleader Kizuna is, Kakeru would be an oendan-leader.

Midori would be more athletic in this universe (although she still has her illness), and Kakeru cheers her at every event, like the good big brother that he is.

Big body = big lungs = loud shouts. Has a very hoarse and raspy voice outside of sporting events, because of it.

Is quiet to save up his voice for his cheers, and loves tea and cough drops.

Kanata Inori, Ultimate Lawyer

Her parents were murdered, when she was a baby, and she was taken in by the lawyer that prosecuted against and exposed the true murderer.

Her naturally polite and optimistic personality has made her the mascot of sorts for the Ando law firm.

Prime example of "A lawyer doesn't cry, until it's all over".

Could be considered an honorary member of the "brain cells", but she isn't a part of the polycule.

[pluto-bop]

[googledetective]

I can’t believe Nagito Komaeda missed the shot… 💔

[lolkkieyan886]

Lolkkie found out yesterday that it was the 10th anniversary of Danganronpa Another 1. And he literally gave it all in less than a day to commemorate the date. This drawing also celebrates the new year and 100 followers (almost there but why wait).

Thanks Linuj.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dangancember 2024 - Danganronpa Top 24 Class Trials: Number 18 Danganronpa Another Case 1

//Okay, so...I already know that I'm gonna get a little bit of confusion among the readers for this placement, because of two things.

//The first reason is that I said my biggest issue with V3 Case 5 was how strikingly similar the story beats were to DR2 Case 5. And many make the argument that this trial is the same case for the original Danganronpa's first case.

//Which...I do agree with. Especially considering the culprit for both is a sports-based student who uses their impeccable skills to help hide the evidence.

//And yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I will be making a LOT of comparisons between this case and that one for this analysis.

//But the first case of the original Danganronpa didn't even make the actual list, so...what gives? Why is this case above so many other stellar one's while that one is delegated to the honorable mentions?

//Let me break it down...

//KACHOW!

//Okay, I’m done breaking it down. Let’s talk about the case.

//First off, let me just make it clear that I do not DISLIKE the original Danganronpa 1 Chapter 1 case. The only reason it didn't make the ranking is because it did not interest me enough as a mystery.

//The culprit was bleedingly obvious, because his goddamn name was written on the wall, and Kyoko even straight up tells you during the investigation "Oh yeah, look at it upside down."

//The culprit of this case, Mitsuhiro Higa, or Mitch, was suspicious immediately, but that was legitimately because of vibes and vibes alone. He reminded me a lot of Leon, and it's because of that I assumed he would be the first killer.

//But had I not felt those vibes, I wouldn't have realized that Mitch was the killer for certain until the idea of the ball was brought up.

//I could go into a lengthy explanation as to why this case far exceeds the first case of the original Danganronpa despite so many similarities between the two, but the reality is that it would be pointless, because the short answer is so simple and clear.

//This case feels way more like a test of knowledge and observation than that case did.

//Danganronpa 1 Trial 1 sometimes feels like "My First Murder Case." A lot of the evidence is made very clear and obvious even to someone who probably doesn't use their brain a lot, and the murder itself is, by the series standards at least, very simple. It's a very normal murder case, with the exception of Sayaka being the one to instigate it despite being the victim.

//(By the way, I am sorry if you didn't figure out Case 1 of Danganronpa 1 as easily as I and most people did. What I'm going to say about that case during this event may sound very mean to you, but I swear, insulting your intelligence is not my intention, lol)

//But as I said, this case LITERALLY writes down the killers name for you. Case 1 is very much a tutorial for the entire series, and since most people do start with the first game, it does effectively teach you the mechanics, but doesn't give you an engaging mystery to sink your teeth into.

//Case 1 of Another 1 doesn't do that. It doesn't treat you like you're stupid, and while definitely not the most lengthy or complex murder in the Another series by a long shot, it is complex enough to really get you into the game, and is a very good opener for LINUJ's interpretation of the killing game.

//It kind of feels like the mock test that prepares you for the final exam.

//At the same time, it also feels like a test that LINUJ set himself to see if, you know, he was actually CAPABLE of creating a Killing Game structure or a trial. As much as I do like this case compared to DR1's opening case, I will point out that this is still my second least favourite opening case of the five games on this list, AND my second least favourite case from the original Another.

//With the exception of Another 1 Case 3, Another 2 Case 2, and Another 2 Case 3, all, if not most, of LINUJ's later mysteries go a whole yard further than this one does.

//As I said, it's relatively simple, but not TOO simple.

//One thing I DON'T like about this case compared to DR1 Case 1 is the characters involved in it. Yeah, I mentioned before that I found it very hard to care about Leon and Sayaka as the main two characters in the first case, but...later on, as I got more absorbed in the fandom and got to know their relevance in the overall story more (mainly through Leon's hangouts, UTDP, and then Summer Camp a few years back) I actually did grow to somewhat care about them.

//I cannot say the same for Kiyoka and Mitch though.

//Mitch is practically designed to be a Chapter 1 killer. Like he's a specimen created and bred in a lab to serve that exact purpose, based on the prior research.

//Mitch is like Leon, but basically 100% douchebag. He has none of the qualities that make Leon somewhat redeemable, nor does he get any great character moments later. Even in the later flashback sequences, his only standout moment is when he saves, ironically, Kiyoka, and makes her swoon (which was kind of funny for multiple reasons) but he still acted kind of like a jerkass and that doesn't redeem him for me.

//He even has a similarly brutal execution.

//LINUJ has a bad habit of ripping character development opportunities away from his characters, but in the case of Mitch, it feels like he just wanted to make a character who just SUCKS! Like, he wanted Mitch to be a completely detestable jock, with nary a layer to his character, nor a redeemable quality to be seen.

//Even Kanade is a more interesting character because there are actually layers to her. She's not just some psycho with no motives, nor does she act like a dick to people for no reason. It's not a GOOD reason, but it's A reason.

//Mitch on the other hand, is a prick, and NOTHING else.

//Which I guess is why he had to be the first killer, because my god, I would not have enjoyed this game at all if he had survived more than one chapter. I mean, he literally, at the VERY BEGINNING of Chapter 1, tries to force himself onto Akane Taira before Yuki steps in.

//Whatever empathy you could feel for him as a character isn't enforced at all. As was the case with Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 1, Monokuma's first motive in this game is the videos showing something or someone precious to each person in mortal peril. In the case of Mitch, his video showed his soccer team in danger, and that every soccer field in the entire world had been burned to the ground.

//To everyone else, it sounds ridiculous and contrived, but it's bettered if you'd played Danganronpa before this, because you know the full extent of Monokuma's power, and that this probably is the case. However, regardless of the truth of it, the effects of it aren't really felt because while it's TOLD, it's not SHOWN.

//As for Kiyoka, she is very similar to Sayaka as well in that she's this very nice all-around person who doesn't like being put on a pedastal when around genuine company.

//But the difference is that Sayaka had a lasting impact on the Danganronpa series, and is actually a really deep and interesting character as shown through her FTE's, as limited as they are. While Kiyoka's FTE's, while cute, don't really pay much attention to what really makes her the person that she is.

//Also, as much as I don't like how you're basically forced to hang out with Sayaka for all of Chapter 1 of Danganronpa, especially since it makes it really obvious that she's gonna be the first one to die, I at least understand the reason why she has so much screentime is because she won't have much for the rest of the game.

//You could honestly say the same thing about all the other characters who get killed in the first chapter. The Ultimate Imposter was a highlight of the first chapter before his death, and Yuri from SDRA2 had quite a significant portion of screentime and dialogue before he kicked the bucket. The only one who doesn't have that integral focus is Rantaro, but at the same time, I believe this is mainly to help try and sideline the player, because being the Ultimate ??? of his game implies that he might have some importance. And yeah, he does, but it doesn't imply that he's going to be the first one to die, especially considering the other Ultimate ???'s were the deutragonist and protagonist of their respective games.

//But Kiyoka doesn't have any overarching significance to the plot, nor does she get much screentime in Chapter 1. The only indication is some brief dialogue reflecting on Kiyoka's kindness, which happens right before the body discovery. The only lasting mark Kiyoka leaves on the series is that her brother, Ryutaro, is the protagonist of the Omake.

//And Ryutaro, despite having basically the same amount of screentime as his sister, is a MASSIVELY more intricate character than Kiyoka is. Kiyoka has one good speech about how she wishes everyone could be happy, and then poof, she's gone.

//And don't get me wrong. I DO LIKE Kiyoka. She's just not an interesting murder victim, or a character that's built upon well like Sayaka was. Especially since the latter had a genuine relationship and connection to the protagonist, which made her death more impactful as a result. Kiyoka and Yuki don't have that.

//And it's not just these two either. In general, the trial handles its characters not especially well.

//Take Tsurugi for instance. This case is the first time we see his true nature as a person, when Mitch gets executed, and is shown no sympathy, in fact, outright detest, from Tsurugi for his actions.

//Tsurugi, while initially presenting himself as a cop with a can-do attitude, is actually a complete bastard, and though he's set up as the deutragonist and the competant detective, like Kyoko was in the original game, he's far more commonly an antagonistic force, and remains this way for even the second game.

//Tsurugi is what is known as a Knight Templar. He's technically the hero, and does ultimately fight for the betterment of himself and everyone else, but he's blinded by the ideals that his corrupt father implanted into his head, and this eventually reaches the level of extreme tyrannical sociopathy.

//The way Tsurugi views law and order is he divides individuals into two groups in his mind: decent, law-abiding citizens and shady criminals who should only be punished and treated with contempt.

//And someone can be placed in the second category for committing ANY crime. For example, in SDRA2, he treats Yoruko, who lied about her age to work at a hostess club in the past, and Iroha, a member of VOID who has attempted two murders and is shown to have killed people in the past, with the same degree of scorn, and tries to have them both arrested.

//And as the game progresses, he just gets gradually worse and worse. Despite his efforts to keep them safe and his involvement in the Class Trials, he has by Chapter 4 effectively written off everyone else as murderous, unappreciative bastards. Completely ignoring the fact that he goes out of his way to torment Akane, and tell her to kill herself, over an accidental murder for which she not only obviously regrets, but didn't actually go through with, and attempted to impose ever-tougher rules on the others by effectively blackmailing them with his protection.

//In this chapter specifically, although he says he will not pardon Kiyoka's murderer, he adds that they most likely wouldn't receive his pardon anyhow. To the surprise of the others, he likewise demonstrates complete indifference to Mitch's execution because of him being the killer, and has a severe moment of black-and-white insanity that puts everyone else on edge around him.

//The bad part is that...it kind of comes out of nowhere?

//Comparing Tsurugi's reveal of his true nature to that of fellow rival character Nagito, Nagito's is far more well-structured. Even though his breakdown during the trial is very sudden and dramatic, there were hints that there was more to Nagito than met the eye.

//He was far too suspiciously similar to Makoto, but also exhibited traits and had some lines of dialogue that felt...off...Even from the very beginning of Danganronpa 2's prologue when he first introduced himself. Hajime even calls him out on it.

//And then, this all comes to ahead in Trial 1 of DR2 in a spectacular way that despite the suddeness, doesn't feel out of the question or non-consequential to the story that's going on right now.

//But in the case of Tsurugi, he remains completely chill for ALL of Chapter 1, and all of the trial. He's only revealed to be kind of fucked up actually at the end of the trial after all is said and done. And there's no build up, or implication, that he's actually this twisted of a guy. The closest thing we get is his original motivation as a cop which is to "end all crime."

//It's clever in the sense that this is a very high-strung aspiration, with quite a lot of weight behind it, though it comes off as a rather simple and honerable goal in life. It doesn't make you think about what Tsurugi is willing to DO to make that goal happen, and eventually, he goes so hard into this motive that it turns him into a straight up modern day dictator.

//But I just wish it had at least been insinuated more prior to this point in the trial. It's fucked up on its own, but eventually gets worse, and the fact that he just randomly decided "I'M EVIL NOW!" really takes me out of this character arc.

//With that out of the way though, let's get back to the actual case itself.

//Mitch actually planned on targeting Tsurugi originally, since his police talent would have the made the investigation that much smoother. When he accidentally gets caught in a mixup, and Kiyoka is the one who walks in with the note, he's forced to change targets.

//He then goes through a lot of steps to try and draw suspicion away from himself, but not only is he the one who brings up the idea that the boys couldn't have committed the murder since Kiyoka's body was in the girls' bathroom, but the plan itself, while complex and fun to solve, isn't that great in reflection.

//For Leon's trial, he was already suspicious, but the evidence that damns him is the fact that he, with his baseball skills, is the only one who could have made the shot through the gates to the furnace to throw away the evidence. For Mitch, the notion that he's the only one who could use the ball is what puts him in the light of suspicion, and the rest of the case is mostly proving how Mitch did it, and not necessarily what specifically points towards him being the culprit.

//In fact, I barely remember any of the "damning" evidence, other than the fact that he used the ball.

//During the trial, Kakeru notes that his murder was actually carefully thought out, including his choice to kill Tsurugi, because of his Ultimate Talent. And yeah, I'll give Mitch that, but...I don't agree with this, because as much as I did like the investigation and mystery of this case, there are far too many cons with his plan compared to pros.

//The plan to make it seem like only a girl could have killed Kiyoka, effectively removing Mitch himself from suspicion as a male, seemed clever at first glance. However, the execution of this idea had two significant flaws.

//First, his chosen method inadvertently shifted suspicion exclusively onto the male suspects. A female perpetrator could have accessed the girls' bathroom to hang Kiyoka without raising as many logistical issues. Even if the killer deliberately used the same convoluted approach for reverse psychology, a female suspect would likely have been able to clean the rubber ball stain left behind.

//Second, the method relied heavily on his unique Soccer Talent; a skillset no one else in the group possessed, which ultimately singled him out. Even in Leon's case, he only made use of his Ultimate Talent to dispose of evidence. Not actually as part of his plan to kill Sayaka.

//And ironically, every action he took during the setup for the crime scene made him the most obvious suspect. In hindsight, he would have been far better off leaving Kiyoka's body in the laundry room. That way, only Kakeru and Rei would have had alibis, broadening the pool of suspects and reducing the likelihood of his own involvement being found out.

//It's kind of like how Kiyo still went through with killing Tenko, even though he really didn't need to, and he just damned himself. This is a little less stupid though, because you can argue that Mitch did this on impulse and in a state of panic, misconstruing it for a stroke of genius. Again, his original target was another male.

//It's actually not that hard to imagine this happening in Mitch's moment of desperation. People do random things when in a panic that they think will help them, when in reality, it won't.

//In general, this is one of the hardest trials to defend, because while I do enjoy it, it's hard to really put into words why. I just think that as far as openers go, it's far more solid than people give it credit for.

//Though I don't like how this crime didn't really NEED to be that complicated, I like that it is, because it does make you think about what happened. And while Mitch is a very obvious killer, especially since, as I said, he's almost manufacturally designed to be a starter killer with terribly selfish motives for killing an innocent person and trying to get everyone else executed in order to escape, he's not nearly as blatantly obvious in the actual game's narrative as say, Leon or Celeste. The first who didn't cover his tracks very well, and the other who tried to cover her tracks so hard, that it just made her look suspicious.

//Mitch is a middle ground between both of them in this regard. And as I've said before, even though it ultimately implicates him, the way he does use his talent for this case is really interesting and the most fun part of the mystery for me.

//One other thing I want to talk about is the other characters who don't actually suffer in this case. With the big one being Rei Mekaru.

//I honestly don't like it when people say that Rei is just like Byakuya. Modern Rei from SDRA2 certainly isn't, but I do get why people say she's basically female Byakuya in the original Another.

//However, I think if you look deep enough here, you'll start to see how and why she's not a one-for-one recreation of Byakuya's character, despite filling a similar role.

//For example, she's the one who, at the end of the trial, points out to Mitch that he would still be sacrificing everybody else's lives just for the sake of saving his soccer team, and soccer itself which he calls "his life."

//Despite the fact that there was no guarantee that the information Monokuma showed him was the truth. In fact, of all the motives where the families of the Ultimate's got attacked, the fact that places like FIFA HQ got hit with a terrorist attack was by far the most ridiculous insinuation. Even if we know it's probably true, it sounds bullshit from the perspective of the characters.

//And this is interesting, because it sets Mitch's motivations apart from every other Chapter 1 killer. Let's just go through them.

//As many tend to forget, Sayaka and Leon actually didn't know about the Class Trial, or the fact that everyone could die if they won it, before they decided to commit their murder plans.

//Teruteru did, but coupled with the desperation he felt to go home no matter what so he could rescue his poorly mother, he also wanted to kill Nagito originally so that he could protect the others from him. I know that ultimately, Teruteru's actions were selfish, but I believe there is some truth to his words.

//Kaede, though I know she's not the actual culprit of Chapter 1, only instigated the killing because she was trying to kill the mastermind and end the Killing Game.

//And Hajime Makunouchi killed Yuri because he was secretly a member of VOID, and was one of the bad guys behind the Killing Game to begin with. Although it's revealed later through VOID theater that he never really approved of the Killing Game's violence, and did what he did mostly out of duty, not a personal grudge or desire.

//By comparison, Mitch...

Knew about the consequences of winning the Class Trial, and knew that everyone else would die while he alone survived if he managed to win it.

Already proved that he id not have as deep an emotional attachment to his own talent, or his close one's as Teruteru did with his diner and his mother.

Had no ulterior motives that were designed to aid everyone in the long term, nor did he truly consider anybody else in the Killing Game a friend.

Was just as much a victim of the Killing Game's circumstances as everybody else was.

//Rei's point at the end of the trial is completely accurate, and perfect. It did not matter whether he was given an incentive or not. Mitch was more than willing to let everybody else around him die, just so he could save his own neck. And all his talk about his want to save his soccer team was little more than a pitiful excuse to justify his actions.

//This single-handedly makes Mitsuhiro the MOST UNSYMPATHETIC killer in the ENTIRE FRANCHISE, besides ONLY JUNKO. Even Celeste and Kiyo are more sympathetic, because the former did not resort to murder originally, despite being more than willing, and the latter, while his motives were dumb and impossible to relate to, ultimately didn't do what he did for his own sake.

//And it's a good moment for Rei, because she comes off as if she doesn't care about anybody's feelings, but shows that she has something of a moral compass here from how she subtly disaproves of Mitch's stupid excuse to kill someone. And eventually, Rei arguably develops more than any other character in DRA1, except for maybe Teruya and Akane.

//She's also nothing short of amused about Tsurugi's true nature and aspirations, and I find that entertaining myself.

//All in all, it might seem ridiculous that this trial gets this high while Trial 1 of DR1 gets stricken off the list, because this trial lacks good characterization, and severely lacks in the emotional impact that makes Trial 1 of DR1 a good case.

//But Sayaka and Leon were NOT good characters in Chapter 1 of DR1, and this is just generally a much better and more enjoyable mystery.

//So in summary: This case is a decent opener. However, it is only the fourth best opening case in this series of trials, and it offered a mystery that was engaging and fun, but not overly complex or deep.

[anotherprofessional]

🎊Happy New Year🎊

[yogiyoyu1234]

If dra Become a "Toon in Dandy's World" ?

[p-chux]

Omg... girls

[laugtherhyena]

Out of curiosity, Are you able to talk about all the characters in Danganronpa Another and what you do and don't like about them?

And out of curiosity, what is your opinion on the creator?

Be ready for a lot of rambling anon because you just opened the floodgates here.

Ok so first and foremost, I don't really feel much towards Linuj himself? That's sorta of a me thing where i tend to not care much about the creators of stuff i like so you'll never see me go like "wow i love this person they're fucking awesome" or "Goddamn that guy sucks" (unless said creator has done something genuinely awful, in that case obviously I'd dislike them) at most you see me go "that's wild" or complain about writing decisions and that's about it, none of that makes me inclined towards liking or disliking Linuj as a person. Tho as much as i rant about his games i gotta give credit where credit is due, the dude manages to make two whole games prey much all by himself and I respect that honestly.

Onto the opinions on the charcters, I'll just be doing the Dra folks because it's been years since i last went through Sdra2 and since I don't like that game nearly as much as a the first one i feel like whatever I've got to say about the characters would be really shallow in comparison to the first game's cast and that's like,, not fair? In my head?So yeah, sorry Sdra2 fans, maybe some other time.

Kiyoka Maki

Kiyoka is a character i genuinely love a lot because she feels like the most perfect execution of a first victim character in a Danganronpa type game, so much so that i am genuinely appalled that Linuj just randomly decided to pick her as the first victim like, what?? She fits that role so perfect that it genuinely feels as if she was created with the idea of being the first victim in mind rather than creating the character and only assigning the role later, from her personality, to character traits and even down to her design, everything works so well together that it's insane for me to think that he created the pinnacle of first victim characters pretty much accidentally.

Regardless, the way she was written and inserted into the story never fails to amaze me but i already went into more details about that here so go check that out cuz now i wanna take this time to talk about her as a standalone character instead of just her role in the story.

Because really, Kiyoka is such a funny character! She's just this silly girl that wants to chill out and hang out with her besties but she could also shoot you square in the face from several feet away. That immense discrepancy between her talent and personality is something i always found absolutely hilarious, tho if there's one thing i dislike about her is that i wish Linuj would have explained how she got into spining in the first place? Since it's such an out there talent that Kiyoka herself doesn't even like that I can't help but wonder how that happened. Not in a "the character NEEDED this" way, I'm just genuinely curious and I'd love to know how she got herself into that pickle.

Her interaction with everyone else in the cast are delight too, i love thinking about her and the sunshine trio going around and getting into stupid shenanigans and i think Linuj did a fantastic job writtring her and Ryutaro's relationship, it's a very realistic portrayal of sibling relationship which makes me really sad whenever i think back to ch6.5 and how Ryutaro will never be able to apologize to his sister. Fun fact! The ending segment of that chapter where we see him at Kiyoka's grave was the first time I've ever cried over anything that happened in these games.

Mitsuhiro Higa

Higa is in this weird spot where I don't dislike him but I don't like like him either, it's this limbo area where I'm way too indifferent to actively dislike him so he just exists there and I don't think about him like ever and that's pretty much it.

Seriously, it's hard for me to even think about way to say in terms of likes and dislikes when it comes to him because i just. Don't think about Higa-

One thing that sorta bothers me about him is how Linuj tried to make him a bit "heroic" in that one flashbacks sequence we see in Ch6 that shows how the class was captured. It's just comes out of nowhere and it's so jarring considering not even his FTEs try to paint Higa in a nicer light. It's also really weird to me how Kizuna, the other awful person in a similar vein as Higa, didn't got any of that treatment which is just,, off.

Kizuna Tomori

And speak of the devil! Kizuna Tomori my beloved, they could never make me hate you❤️

I actually got this question about Kizuna specifically a while ago, so go read that post so that I won have to repeat myself here.

Ayame Hatano

Do you guys know Dungeon meshi? Have you ever seen people talk about how they've improved their eating habits or are generally eating and cooking more often because of how much they like Senshi, whose main character traits revolve around proper nutrition and cooking? That's literally me but exercising frequently out of how much i love Ayame.

Honestly? I feel a little embarrassed getting to talk about my liking for her like this because this is a character that's only around for like 1/3 of the game at most? If you count flashbacks scenes and extra materials like the FTEs and the IF chapter. At the end of the day Ayame is by no means an incredibly complex character so I'm not here to ramble about how she's actually really a deep and intricately constructed character and you guys just don't see it because ultimately, she isn't.

The older i get the more i realize that this is the sort of character i tend to gravitate towards in any media i consume. Very rarely do i ever become this attached to characters who are super intricate and complex, let alone main characters, i feel like even simpler characters like Ayame who has pretty normal life in comparison to others from the cast and not a lot of crazy stuff going on in her backstory have things going for that the casual fan may not notice but are absolutely worth looking into.

And it's crazy because i like quite literally everything about Ayame from her character to her design, in fact, it was her design that initially brought my attention to her because Ayame's hair is one of my favorite hairstyles to see in any character design ever (specifically the little spiky parts on the side that stick up a little) so that immediately made me like this character a bit before i even knew anything about the game other than the death order and that it came before Sdra2. And for real, i think Ayame's design is really good, simple yet solid much like the character herself honestly.

While Ayame was always amongst one of my favorites characters from Dra, I was much more into Sdra2 back when i first got into the series so for a good while my liking for her wasn't as imense as it is nowadays, but it was definitely more than i liked any other character in the first game though i could never quite place my finger on why i liked her so damn much. It was only when i got back into the another series years later that i was hit with a wave of emotions as i remembered how much i adored this character and looking into her again with a better understanding of things made me finally piece together what made me love her so dearly. Spoiler alert, it went much beyond my dumb teenage self pointing at the phone screen and going like “she's just like me fr‼️” to the point that nowadays i really don't relate to Ayame as much as i used to back then, i guess a good term to describe her would be a comfort character of mine but that doesn't feel that right to me either? I think this level of attachment to a fictional character goes beyond that like she has a special place in my heart and I think by now I've rewatched Ch2 more than any other person in this fandom-

I think what i love the most about this character is the inherent contrast within her, one so prominent that it goes as far as blending into her sprites and expressions, she appears as a serious and maybe even a little intimidating person upon first impressions with Yuki and while those are indeed parts of her Ayame is also a caring girl with a huge heart she's just a little awkward.

She struggles quite often when it comes to communicating and socializing with her peers but i cannot stress enough just how much Ayame cares for her classmates even though she's not the best at showing that, and don't mean just Akane (though she's by far the person she was the closest to). In the Ch2 post trial we learn that Ayame had actually been affected pretty heavily by the first motive video the cast was given yet she kept it to herself which when taking into account how she wishes for the rest of the class to get along as she's leaving for her execution reads to me as Ayame genuinely caring for the others as well to the point she wanted them to see her as strong so that they could also remain strong amidst the despair, and if that isn't enough to show her care then just look at the fact that this girl went as far as reopening an old wound on her leg, one that brought her so much pain and despair in the past, as a means of apology to all of them in case she managed to win the class trial (+ i personally believe this was also a self inflicted punishment for killing Kizuna since Ayame is well aware that she could have tried to save her instead of leaving her to bleed out with a knife on her neck, but that's more on the interpretation side than in-game implications.)

And this is where the nuance of this character comes in because while Ayame is a good person at heart, and a courageous and determined one at that, she's not beyond being cruel and getting her hands dirty in order to protect those she loves, but amidst this desire there's also a heap of selfishness in her acts that Ayame herself admits in the post trial as being the reason why she didn't just admit she was the killer from the start. She killed to spare Akane's life from an unavoidable execution but at the same time she wasn't free from the urge to take that as a chance to leave hope's peak academy herself and that's just,, ough man i love when characters can be brutal yet kind, selfless and selfish at the same time and i think this conflicting aspect of hers is what truly makes this character special.

So much so that i feel like if you just look at chapter 2’s case purely from a “clean” perspective where Ayame wanted to save Akane and there's not much more to that then you're missing out on the most interesting aspect of both the trial and her character and if that's as deep as most viewers tend to interpret her actions then it's no wonder why she's commonly deemed not very memorable and tends to be reduced to her relationship with Akane.

Yes, what she did was noble and it truly showed just how much she cared for Akane when she was willing to give up her own life and dreams for the future if it meant sparing her from a terrible fate, but you can't just gloss over the fact that at the same time Ayame had the selfish desire to use that as an opportunity to escape, and most importantly in my opinion we shouldn't ignore the fact that this sacrifice came in the form or brutally murdering someone she had the opportunity to try saving. It's just as cruel as it is noble yet simultaneously intertwined with Ayame's own selfish desires and wow! This character makes me unwell❤️

So yeah, in conclusion i like Ayame a whole lot and i wish more people would acknowledge the fact that she's kinda of a little freak too.

Kakeru Yamaguchi

So Kakeru is a weird one, in concept i like him quite a bit! I love the gentle giant archetype and i think the idea of him switching into a more assertive and loud personality in trials is really cool, but much like Kakeru as a whole, that is pretty underutilized and results in a character that could have been so much better than what we actually got in game.

I get the feeling that Linuj didn't really know what to do with Kakeru, he had a handfuls of ideas but there was no proper execution for them and he so he was sorta just,, there for the ride. I think what bothers me the most is how dumb he is in the trials, sure, DR trials aren't at all similar to the real life ones he would have been used to going to due to his talent, but that doesn't excuse the fact that Kakeru is surprisingly dumb in both the trials he's in when he should at least be able to argue and bring more to the table than just be another one of the characters that goes "i don't get it" or says something blantantly wrong for Maeda to refute. + If he smarter than that then maybe he could have been one of the characters to oppose Tsurugi more directly, since he is a lawyer and Kinjo has his "all criminals are scum" mentality. It would have fit well in with the characters and storyline but because Kakeru is such a nothing burger that role ended up being passed to Kinji since he's one of the few smart characters in Dra.

Still, none of that makes me dislike him it's just a little disappointing and ultimately makes him one of the people I don't think about very often but he's still a pretty sweet dude who i think it's pretty silly and funny in his interaction with the others from the cast so yeah, he's neat :]

Kanata Inori

You know, Kanata wasn't a character i originally thought much about but the more i looked into her the more i started loving this character, simultaneously, i felt disapointed of how underutilized she was in the story, but I'll get into that later.

Kanata is just such a sweetheart and you can really feel how much she cares for everyone during her interactions with the cast during the storyline, she's also quite useful in the trials she was in seeing as she was able to perform autopsies and give Yuki information that he probably wouldn't have known otherwise which more often than not ends up being pretty decisive in figuring out who the culprit is. I also really enjoy her backstory and how Ando's kindness in working to save her life despite the borderline nonexistent chances of her making out alive inspired her in such a way that Kanata decided to pursue a medical career so she could bravely save people just like he saved her! They're one of the sweetest family relationships in this series in my opinion so much so i get so sad whenever i rewatch ch6.5 and get to the part where Ando talks about Kanata and how she's an amazing kid :(

Much like Kakeru, the one thing i dislike about this character is that she was ultimately underutilized in the story, but whereas Kakeru's came from the fact that his character is an unorganized mess of ideas, Kanata had things going for her, they just weren't shown through most of the time she was on screen for whatever reason. Seriously, why was she reduced to the emotional character who cries all the time? I get that she's very nice and cares a lot for her classmates but c'mon, she worked at a hospital she should be able to deal with the situation at least a little better instead of bawling her eyes out whenever something bad happened.

Kanata hit a yakuza member on the head in the middle of a gang fight so that she could treat him properly once, she can be fierce and assertive when the situation calls for it, so why did she never do that in the main story?? This is absolutely baffling to me because it genuinely does such a disservice to the character and can end up driving people away from learning more about, like if i wasn't writing for an AU where she was a major character during the time she was alive I don't think i would have looked deeper into this character and learned how incredible she is because the main story made me think of her as just "the emotional one who cries all the time".

I also feel like it was a missed opportunity to not have her being the one who died trying to save the other ch3 victim. Like c'mon, her backstory shows us how she can often put other's safety before her own, that would have fit so well.

Kinji Uehara

Just like Kakeru, he's also a character I don't think much about but that comes from personal preference rather than feeling as if he was underutilized in story. Kinji just isn't the kind of character i tend to pay much mind to and that's ok! I do think he's a pretty interesting character, with his deal with the orphanage and also being the traitor in the game, i also enjoy how he always made his opinions clear to everyone like when he left the group because he didn't agree with Tsurugi's way of going about things and how he stood up against him and called him out in his hypocrisy in the Ch3 post trial.

If there's one thing I don't like about Kinji's is how linuj structured his murder plan, his method are SO violent for a character who had a noble motive and wasn't just some kind of crazy serial killer. Kakeru's make sense, since he was trying to stop him as fast as he could but i just don't understand why he still went on to kill Kanata when he had already killed someone (which was all he needed to do according to his deal with Monokuma), we're never told that Kanata saw it was him who attacked her, so why did ge insist on killing her anyway? Just because he had the plan set already? A plan that was also uncharacteristically brutal for a guy like Kinji. Seriously, when i first spoiled myself of all deaths in this game i got to Ch3 and thought "oh so he's the token crazy serial killer character" and while i was happy that he wasn't that, it's jarring that he got so violent out of nowhere + his breakdown in trial also feels pretty out of character in my eyes.

Haruhiko Kobashikawa

See, Haru is a cool guy, him Satsuki and Teruya (for a good part of the game) are essentially DRA's comedic relief characters and I've always had a big soft spot for those in DR games, when my faves inevitably die really early it's there character's inclusion that keep me watching the rest of the game!.. And then they die and struggle to get myself to watch the final chapters because most of the remaining characters are people I don't care nearly as much for- (thank god Ch5 has Mikako and Teruya survived the whole game)

But the thing is, when it comes to Haru himself I don't actually have much to say about him? He reminds me a lot of Kiyoka in the sense that he's a pretty normal guy for his age with a really out there talent that he's crazy good at. I think where Haruhiko really shines is not in his actions during Ch4 (tho that was amazing too, i can totally see why this is so many people's favorite chapter/case in Dra), but in his interactions with the other character because pretty much every single one of them are just so endearing to watch, regardless he's just being a dumbass or getting into trouble, in fact! I quite enjoy how he's a little hot headed (not sure if that's the right term)? The dude stands his ground and is not afraid of getting into fights if something's bothering him a lot, tho his own shortcomings and paranoia can often get the best out of him and he'll be sorta of an asshole and makes him feel so real to me, like he's just some dumb teen bound to make mistakes in a dangerous situation like the killing game and i really like that.

If i had to think of one thing i dislike about him I'd say is how he was characterized in the Ch6 flashback segment, like, by that point him and Satsuki are a couple right? So why was he trying to hit on the random Kisaragi fundation worker? That's not necessary out of character for him, but it's really weird that he's doing that despite havinya girlfriend of her own (smh Haru, i expected better from you).

Satsuki Iranami

Satsuki isn't a character i talk about a lot but i like her a lot! Not only is she a genuinly funny character who i love seeing her interactions with pretty much anyone in the cast, but i find her relationship with her family and the way she goes about it really interesting. I think anyone who've seen Satsuki's FTEs can tell that her family is insanely abusive, creating an environment of making their kids compete and compare themselves to one another on who's the best clown and treating Satsuki like absolutely garbage since she's considered the worst of them. Hell, I'm pretty sure they only sent her to hope's peak so they could get rid of her since she was of age to attend which is just,, damn. This is a fucking awful place to grow up in.

Yet Satsuki herself isn't a sad person nor do we ever see her get really depressed and upset when talking about her family, at most she looks a little sad and, unfortunately, agrees with them that she's the worst of the clows while sticking to not crying or sulking about it, instead she goes on to keep being silly and joking around which has always striked me more as a coping mechanism instead of "Satsuki it's too stupid to realize how terrible her family situation is" because as goofy as she is i do get the feeling that she knows her situation is absolutely awful but doesn't know a great way to cope with it other than what she's already doing.

And this seeing this strange coping mechanism explains so much about the way she acts in the killing game, she keeps joking around even during trials or when faces with murder motives because she just wants to remain happy and tries to see if maybe doing so will lift up the spirits of her classmates as well. Not saying that this is by any means a healthy coping mechanism, like, no, Satsuki girl it's okay to cry and be upset over terrible things, be it her family situation or the killing game, but this is nevertheless the most fascinating aspect of this character to me.

And once you take that into accound, it makes perfect sense why she was choosen to be sorta the "hope beacon" of the cast in Ch4 because really, that's just what Satsuki's Been doing the whole game. Tho i do wish this aspect was given more of a spotlight even in Ch4 itself because on first watch (without going through her FTEs) it felt a little jarring to me how Satsuki "randomly" became really important, but i consider that more of a nippick in comparison to other things I've complained about here.

Yamato Kisaragi

Oh right, this guy! He exists in the same indifference limbo as Higa but only because I don't think about him that often (so much so i forget he exists sometimes) because whenever i do think about him he gets violently pushed onto the active dislike section. Which is really funny to me considering Yamato is the perfect and super cool genius guy of the first another game, and that's a big point on my lack of care for him. The game insists in telling us how awesome Yamato is, how all of his classmates like him and how much of a hero he was for try to save them both in the Ch6 flashback and in the IF chapter, and i think that's exactly what made me feel such insane annoyance/repulse towards this character to the point that I'll see him and just groan and roll my eyes.

He's a character the story actively wants us to like but he's just so bland and generic that this push just annoys me and i feel nothing towards him as a person, the fact that we barely see him be himself in the game doesn't help either since he died almost as soon as he's introduced and all we have are flashbacks, the other character's opinions/memories of the guy and his Ai version. And even when we do see Kisaragi be himself in the IF chapter, his role there is like,, textbook generic anime nice guy protag and i just feel?? Insane???

His bland ass is like a piece of wet cardboard to me that i see people point at and act like it's the coolest thing ever and i just look down at it in my hands and think, i don't get it. I don't see it.

And don't even get me started on how Linuj fucking side lined Mikako's role and character in favor of giving this guy the spotlight by having him come in as if he's the goddamn saving grace of the killing game and solve all the mysteries that were set and build up BY ANOTHER CHARACTER, because nooooooooooo we can't have Mikako do that, it has to be Kisaragi because he's THE. GUY. EVER. ISN'T HE JUST SO FUCKING AMAZING EVERYONE????????

This makes me. Genuinely so mad and since I'd rather not pop a vein while raging as i write this go look at this post if you wanted to see me ramble a little more on this part.

Wow, after this it's tricky for me to even think of a positive to say, uhm.. I guess his relationship with Mikako is nice? I do like how it genuinely seems like they care a lot for one another tho sometimes this care can come off the wrong way and lead to arguments between the two, like how Yamato was avoiding and being rude to Mikako during that flashback sequence i keep mentioning over and over even tho she could tell there was something wrong with him and just wanted to help. They're sweet and tragic when thinking about how they met their ends but I can't feel much on that regard seeing how many,, feelings. I have towards Yamato.

Mikako Kurokawa

You know i feel like we as a fandom don't talk enough about the horror that Mikako goes through during the killing game. She never lost her memories, she remembers these people being friends and having strong bonds with other another and she's just forced to sit there and watch as they forget everything and murder each other without knowing of what she knows, and if Mikako does as much as try to say a few words regarding what she knows her head already starts splitting into two and she'll have headaches so bad they'll make her pass out and puke blood. And that's without counting the fact that she's left completely in the dark about her brother's whereabouts through most of the game and when she does reunite with him is in the worst way possible because Yamato’s mental state is even worse than hers and he dies not long after with her being blamed for his murder. She had the worst time ever in that game and i feel like it really isn't an understatement to say she suffered through the whole thing.

And that's where Mikako's spirit really shines because despite all the pain she went through, both physical and mental, she always held onto hope and wanted to help her friends even if her options were incredibly limited. She cared for each and every single one of them to the point she even wanted to try and save Yuki and Akane even though she knew they were the masterminds because she thought that with their memories erased they could embrace hope as well and come out of that as better people, and in her very last moments she still wished to help the remaining characters and kept talking even though she knew it would kill her. That's such an insane level of courage and determination from her part that it never fails to impress me.

She's such an insane character I can't help but feel like we were robbed when she died, especially when it happened before she could unravel all the mysteries Mikako had help build up through the entirety of the game and instead we get her amazing and so cool brother doing that and getting all the spotlight instead of Mikako herself.. How nice.

But i think what bothers me the most about her death is that it was so?? Unnecessary?? Like, what did it do for her character arc? It feels like she died more because Linuj wanted her to die than because it felt fitting for the character’s journey to end where it did, and you can't tell me it wouldn't have been awesome to see her in Sdra2 and how she'd react learning that her shitty mother was one of the reason why that second killing game happened in the first place.

I explained my thoughts on Mikako's death in a nicer manner in this other post so please go check that out because I will never not be upset over her death in this game, especially when her execution ends in a way that she would have survived if she wasn't already dead by the time started.. that just felt like an unnecessary fuck you from Linuj’s part-

Akane Taira

Another character I've rambled about in the past and so don't feel like reiterating it all here (this post is getting REALLY long), so yeah, check it out but tldr, I think Akane is a really cool character and i think writing her so frequently in -2+2 has made me not only get a better understanding of her character but also like her a lot more too!

Yuki Maeda

As y'all know, Dra Yuki>>>>>>>>Sdra2 Yuki always and forever in my heart ❤️

Seriously, for someone who tends to really not give a fuck about the protagonists in DR games it genuinely surprised me how much i grew to enjoy Dra Yuki after i went through the game's full translation and realized “Woah! He isn't the same universal punching back as the Sdra2 one!” Because prior to that i was under the impression that both Yuki acted and were treated the exact same by the game's storyline and as you can probably tell I don't like Sdra2 Yuki all that much.

Dra Yuki differs because not only does the game not try to force the horrors upon him constantly but he feels very human in his actions, he's just some guy not the embodiment of good or a hope hype man so he's bound to get a little sick of this shit sometimes and make mistakes. We see this during Ch4 in his argument with Akane and also in Ch2 where he decides to break the groups trust by reading the secret note anyway which later comes back to bite him when the cast finds out, and this really stood out to me and made him instantly more interesting than other protags in my eyes, although I'm pretty sure this nuance of his character was done as a way to foreshadow his reveal as Utsuro/The mastermind.

Either ways, it ended up creating one of my favorite protags of any DR type game + i do really like the twist of the protagonists being the mastermind at the end of the day, it was something super unique by the time Dra first came out and it's still something i haven't seen be done in any other fangan (tho to be fair I don't look much into those anymore nowadays-)

It's hard for me to pick something i dislike about him since he's overall just a neat guy in my eyes but if i had to pull something I'd say he constantly taking Tsurugi's side feels kinda annoying at times? Sometimes it feels like he just glosses over some of the nasty stuff Kinjo says, like when he questioned why the group for kicking out Kinjo in Ch3 as if he hadn't just told Akane to kill herself right after she saw her best friend be grinded into minced meat. Like okay buddy i get that you see good in Kinjo and you wanna help him, but he really deserves to get a good slap in the face sometimes and the others are rightfully mad at him.

Utsuro

Not much to say here honestly, i feel like i like the idea of Utsuro and what he brings to the table in terms of world building, how his presence and powers affect the others around him and even the story itself. The idea of someone with insane luck powers he can't control that made his life miserable since he could achive literally anything with no effort and everyone he met only wanted to exploit said powers which led to him falling into the despair ideology since by that point it was the one thing that made him feel something it's just so,, wow man, thats some crazy angst and such an unique way to explore the borderline magical luck that exist in the DR franchise.

I love thinking about him in that vein but as a character?.. Erh, i really don't care nor think much about Utsuro at all. Which in a way, i suppose isn't all that different from how the world saw him in universe? How ironic.

Teruya Otori

By far my favorite out of the survious though I'm not sure how to explain why i like Teruya so much? I feel like part of it comes from the soft spot for comedic relief characters i talked about earlier and the rest from the way he was written in the story.

It's crazy because i feel like Teruya's writing in itself really highlights the changes in the way Linuj viewed and went about characters by the time he started working on Sdra2, i feel like if Teruya was a character that originated from that game he would be portrayed as a bad person who you shouldn't sympathize for even though he has his reasonings for acting the way he does sometimes, sorta like how Linuj tends to punish Hibiki even tho she was the bigger victim at the end of the way.

Just like Haruhiko he feels very real to me and his character arc through Dra has gotta be one of my favorites. Teruya is not a bad person, he's a good kid at heart but the severity of the situation they're in and the stuff that gets forced upon him gets to him a lot which leads to Teruya lashing out at his friends and doing some pretty bad things here and there, yet he's never portrayed as an awful person that shouldn't be forgiven or shit and he does change for the better at the end of the day. He went through a lot and came out bigger and stronger on the other side and is a shame this kind of character arc isn't properly used in Sdra2 since Linuj's mentality became so black and white out of nowhere.

I love this little guy, I'm so glad he survived the killing game though unfortunately the same can't be said for the second one but honestly? Teruya's entire role in that story was such a mess, and sometimes even a detriment to his character in my opinion, that nowadays I can't even feel that sad over his death anymore. While there are a handful of things that bother me a lot about it, like the amnesia plot just because Linuj seems to hate actually building up to things in that game and his entire role in ch4 (seriously. What was that. Why.), i think what i dislike the most is the fact that he ended up being permadead while Rei escaped the killing game fine.

I know Linuj actually gave a good explanation to why it happened (unlike Mikako's barely explained sudden brain explosion), but still, it feels like such a mean thing to do to someone who's been through so much and still tried his hardest while being in a dangerous and unpredictable situation. My guy was done dirty in that game.

Rei Mekaru and Tsurugi Kinjo

Grouping these two together because i feel like my opinions on both of them are not only pretty much the same but they also stem from the same place, so yeah-

Don't get me wrong, these two are very interesting characters and I'd argue they're one of the more complex ones in the cast as well, not only because they make it through both games but also because of their own personal backgrounds and how that shaky upbringing affected the kind of person they became as they grew older. With Tsurugi living under his father's black and white ideologies of criminals being deserving of death no matter what and falling deeper and deeper into that the more friends he loses during his life and Rei being abandoned (albeit unintentionally?) by her parents at an young age which led to her working hard to get where she's at now which not only made her quite used to being on her own but also loathe those who "take the easy" way and want all awnsers handed to them on a silver platter, which explains why she's so rude to the rest of the cast since she wants them to figure out stuff on their own too.

There's a lot to look into these characters and it makes sense why so many people like them a lot, I'm however not the biggest fan of this type of character (tho i feel like that lies more in their personality than anything else?) so i never looked much into them before i started writing DRA -2+2 and decided to look into everyone in the cast to get a better grip on their characters. And man, writing these two really did give me a newfound appreciation and love for them! They're such fun characters to write and have interacting with the rest of the cast. Tho i wouldn't by any means say i have a proper understanding of them, i feel like that's a bit out of my league still.

If there's one thing I'm not a big fan if is that i wish we would have seen more of those two in Sdra2 instead of them just having a major role in Ch6, AKA; the messiest chapter in this entire series. Like, would it have hurt that badly to not have the Void theather segments and instead cut to small scenes at the Kisaragi foundation showing what the characters are doing and how they're reacting and planing to go about interfering with Mikado's killing game? I feel like that would have been so much more interesting than watching Emma bother Hajime with bad puns while Nikei and Iroha continue being the same assholes they've always been + it would have made Tsurugi's backwards development less of a shock to see whenever Ch6 actually rolls around.

Anyways, to wrap up this massive post here's what i hope will be the definitive Carol Dra cast tierlist