#spoilers for danganronpa as well

[mozillavulpix]

So okay, a bit delayed but

the things about the Rain Code ending that confuse me (story and gameplay-wise)

Because I actually really enjoyed the ending but there’s a few parts that I legitimately don’t know why they did it like that, it almost feels like weird game and script oversights

So the final chapter of Rain Code has Very Big Danganronpa vibes.

The main reason being that at the end of the day, it comes down to the protagonist being forced to make an impossible choice.

The choices being:

a) Yuma reaps Makoto’s soul in the Mystery Labyrinth to uncover the truth (and escape the labyrinth he’s stuck in), but this means having to reveal the truth that everyone living in Kanai Ward is a homunculus that’ll turn into a mindless flesh-eating zombie if they’re exposed to sunlight. So they’re vampire zombies.

b) Yuma lets Makoto go, allowing him to keep them in relative safety under the artificial rain cloud where they’re in no danger of harming anyone, but that means Yuma can’t leave the Mystery Labyrinth since the mystery won’t be uncovered and his soul will eventually be consumed from staying there for too long.

Of course, in typical Danganronpa fashion, Yuma chooses the secret third option.

c) He lets Makoto go, but tells him he trusts him to tell the residents the truth himself. If that happens, the mystery of Kanai Ward will no longer be a mystery, so the Mystery Labyrinth will disappear on its own and he’ll be freed.

On paper this is a nice ending, but it’s done kind of weirdly?

1. The game actually physically makes you make the decision of either “Destroy the Labyrinth” or “Remain in the Labyrinth”, but it actually doesn’t matter what decision you make. Even though Yuma’s decision really does come down to “Remain in the Labyrinth”, even if you choose to destroy the labyrinth, the game will act like you chose to remain. I guess it’s because ‘Yuma asks someone to destroy it from the outside’ isn’t exactly either of those choices, but also the game treats it like this is a decision to “Remain” first and foremost.

This is especially weird compared to Danganronpa Ultra Despair Girls and V3. In those games, they give you the option to physically decide between the choices, and if you don’t do what the protagonist chooses to do (ie: “Don’t break the controller” and “Refuse to vote”), you get a nonstandard game over. But that’s not the case in this one. It’s just baffling because they didn’t need to give you the ability to make the choice if it doesn’t actually do anything.

2. It kind of contradicts itself on whether or not Yuma was choosing to sacrifice himself. 

On the one hand, he acts like there’s no way that Makoto would be able to destroy the Mystery Labyrinth on the outside in time before his soul is destroyed. So is the point that he’s choosing to give up his life for the hope that Makoto will find a better solution? Even if that’s the case, he is still resigned he’ll die, so it doesn’t even feel like the game is making him choose a “third option” at all.

But then just as he’s waiting to die, Shinigami suddenly tells him that there’s an emergency exit that he can use to leave the Labyrinth whenever he wanted. She offhand mentions it in an earlier chapter, but you had probably forgotten about it. I guess she didn’t want to bring it up until there was no other option because doing that breaks their contact, meaning he can never use her power again, but also...Shinigami, shouldn’t you have told Yuma while he was still deliberating on that choice? She’s completely silent when he has to make the decision, saying it’s all up to him, but like...coming-of-age story aside, don’t you think you should tell him important details like that before he chooses? Because the game seems to say that Yuma definitely didn’t remember that option.

3. Yuma gets his memories back as a consequence of choosing to break the contract with Shinigami and I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a good or bad outcome.

Because on the one hand, Yuma’s lost memories are that he’s Number One of the World Detective Organisation, that he’s literally the greatest detective in the world and is said to have the “world’s greatest mind”.

But on the other hand, himself as Number One seemed a bit unhinged and you’d also think Yuma would be conflicted over whether getting back those memories would fundamentally change the person he’s become over the course of the game.

Like, the main thing is the game spends zero time discussing the implications of this if he uses the emergency exit. Yuma is more concerned and upset about the fact breaking the contract means losing his memories of Shinigami. Which is fine, it’s a nice way to end it, but...are you worried about getting your old memories back or not? He literally doesn’t say. It’s like just a side-effect of losing Shinigami and they don’t bring it up at all.

It gives me major Danganronpa 2 vibes, but comparing it to Danganronpa 2 confuses me more than anything. Because in Danganronpa 2, it was clear that Hajime having to wake up as Izuru would risk destroying his entire sense of self. It was only through Hajime’s sheer determination that he changed the rules to force his personality to remain even after the choice was made. We also had a whole epilogue narrated by Hajime that gives an unambiguous answer that he chooses to live as Hajime once the story is over. In contrast, we barely know anything about what Yuma actually *is* at the end of the game. We know he’s choosing to be a detective, but that’d be the case whether he was Number One or Yuma Kokohead. We also don’t know if he has some kind of detective super-brain like Izuru or...Makoto. He just gives Kurumi a letter saying he’s leaving on a journey, and he’s in a place with mysteries, but he doesn’t do any actions on-screen to give us an idea of how competent he is.

Like, at least give Number One a different eye colour or something. It makes no sense that amnesia would change your eye colour to begin with, but this is a game with vampire zombies and a death god that can turn into an anime girl. Realism is not their priority here. It’d help give a clear way to tell the difference between the personalities. Hajime doesn’t show his eyes in the epilogue of Danganronpa 2, but Danganronpa 3 gives him hetereochromia just to nail in that his personality is some sort of combination between the two. Or even just a different outfit. Or a different hat. Why did make him look identical as Number One? It makes it all the more confusing.

anyway, I still enjoyed it. I think it was actually a less confusing ending than Danganronpa V3. At least it was clear on what things were real and what things mattered. 

But I just find it weird because these issues all have very simple fixes. Change the way the player has to make the ‘choice’ at the end. Have Shinigami bring up the emergency exit before that. And make Number One have some noticeable difference to Yuma so we know who he is at the epilogue there. I don’t know why they didn’t do it like that.

[lampochkaart]

There's nobody here.

I chose these words specifically because they can be interpreted in several different ways

There's no body here. Because there was no body left.

There's nobody here. As Kaito's possible denial of Kokich's death. There's nobody in the press. There's definitely nobody in the press.

There's nobody here. As a realisaton that Kaito is completely alone in this cold silent hangar.

[quinns-art-box]

I'm that "first-person" they talk about in all the books / I'm that perspective you cannot doubt, see how I look

[grayscale0901]

behold. my magum opus

[khattikeri]

everyone suggesting whit is claustrophobic and nobody suggesting charles is claustrophobic and that on top of all the blood in the trial room, everyone possibly being trapped there without elevator access was enough to make whit get mad at monotv. we spent a lot of the trial talking about levi not having an inherent sense of empathy, but whit is the one whose sense of compassion feels most screwy to me.

whit appears completely undisturbed through multiple people's brutal deaths. levi gets bullets through him and everyone's freaking out about getting him medical treatment ASAP, except whit. whit's primary concern was that charles didn't close his eyes and saw all the blood from it. the only things whit ever brings up with any sense of seriousness relate to charles. this goes beyond ship fuel or mastermind/traitor bait, i'm half beginning to suspect this ultimate matchmaker is just a very dedicated yandere

[emotional-mess-in-distress]

The strings around you and me.

[woolying]

"You can't go back, no matter how hard you try."

[amarayys]

SPOILERS FOR DRDT AND THE CANON DANGANRONPA GAMES. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Okay, so. I've seen quite a few people hating on the chapter 2 culprit choice due to their execution and it not fitting their ultimate talent. The reasons they include as far as i've seen are; - Min's execution was centred around her talent, so to have the chapter 2's execution not centre around their ultimate is inconsistent. - The canon Danganronpa game's executions are centred around the the culprits talent, so having the culprit's not revolve around their talent doesn't make sense. - The "sections" (can u tell im not trying to spoil bfore the cut.) of the execution felt random and didnt really make much sense. My opinion of these takes? "NO, THAT'S WRONG!" In other words - I wholeheartedly disagree. And this post is going to explain why - as well as why I believe the culprit's execution is wonderfully done. *btw this is not an attack towards anyone and is purely my opinion as is your own dont come for me. please.

To begin: let's tackle the points I mentioned above. (side note - ik the colour coding looks a little random but its fun okay.) - "Min's execution was centred around her talent, so to have the chapter 2's execution not centre around their ultimate is inconsistent." I can understand why you think that, but Min's execution is more than just being based off her talent. Min's character revolves around how the only reason she's seen as anything more than a normal person is due to her being the "Ultimate student" and extremely smart (which can be seen in her bonus episode dialogue.)

She's terrified of making any mistakes and her life revolves around being enough. She also has imposter syndrome due to her talent not being scouted out like usual.

This plays into her execution as well - It gives her questions that have no real answer, causing her to fail - in other words, make a mistake. She also has to spend her last moments alive doing a test and being a student - which we know she feels as if that's all she's worth for.

Basically - Her execution fits her character well, as well as her ultimate talent, because her talent is very important to her character. Let me copy and paste a line from the above paragraph -

"her talent is important to her character." Min's execution fit her talent because her talent was a big part of her - which cannot be said for Ace. Sure, there's some lore behind him not enjoying jockeying - but it's not as major to his character as his fears. As we know, Ace is scared of many things - But the things he is scared of all have some way of hurting/killing him. To boil it down - Ace is extremely scared of death.

That's very major to his character, obviously - as it's the reason he kills Arei in the first place. Ace's execution is based on his fear of death and false alarms because that is the best way to cause despair for him- to make the execution as interesting for the audience and as torturous for him as possible. To sum this up - Ace and Min's executions are consistent. Sure, Min's execution revolved around her talent - but that's only because to her, talent is extremely important to her character. Her imposter syndrome and insecurity around her talent makes it a very big part of her, so that's why her execution was a test - Because it fit her character. Ace's talent, similarly, revolves around his character. He is scared of death and that is what led him to murder. The only difference is that Ace's talent is not as relevant to him as Min's is to her, and therefore it isn't part of the execution.

moving on! - The canon Danganronpa game's executions are centred around the the culprits talent, so having the culprit's not revolve around their talent doesn't make sense. Okay, to put it bluntly, no. as for the actual explanation!! I can give you multiple examples of danganronpa characters who's executions revolve not around their talent, but their charater. I think the best example I can give is Celestia Ludenburg. (please excuse me if i mess up anything on the following section its been a hot minute since i've played thh)

To recap on her execution: Celestia is shown tied onto a pole. A fire starts, and she begins to get burned alive witch style. Suddenly, an ambulance crashes into her, killing her.

Now, if you've been paying attention to the canon Danganronpa games, you would know Celestia's talent is the Ultimate Gambler. Which - shock - has absolutely jack shit to do with her execution! Anyway. Celestia's execution is actually pretty smart if you think about it. Celestia's character revolves around her wanting to seem extravagant and royal. (her clothing style, the whole European castle dream, you get me?) She doesn't want to be seen as some "Basic Japanese girl".

When she is caught as a culprit, she eventually says that she'd be okay with dying as long as it was extravagant. And, at first, it is. She's being burned at the stake - like a witch, probably referring to her gothic (?) like style - which is certainly not a boring way to go. We see in her execution she's pretty chill with dying like that, as she is smiling. However, the ambulance then crashes into her. The genius in this is that car crashes are one of if not the most common cause of death. In other words, a basic way to die, and nothing special. That's the best way Monokuma could have caused Celestia to feel despair - Make her feel normal. Unlike everything I've just stated above, Celestia's talent is not too relevant to her arc. It's really most relevant in her FTE's, which are completely optional. Hey, doesn't that sound familiar? A characters execution is based of their character and not their talent due to their talent not being as major to their character? Yeah?????? YEAH??? - Kirumi Tojo's (and maybe korekiyo's??) execution also doesn't really fit their talents, but I wont go into detail on that.

Moving on!

- The sections of the execution felt random and didn't really make much sense.

Well...no, not really! If you look into more detail, there's actually a lot of cool stuff to notice. (all the below comes from this post! check it out, it's super cool)

The first "death" is Death by Illness. This is alluding to how Xander's family allegedly died to an "unexplainable illness", which you can see in his bonus episode.

Death by Fire is referencing his "Fiery" attitude/temper.

Death by Car Accident - Ace mentions this one directly in chp 1. episode 2.

Death by falling is referencing Min falling to her death in her execution.

Death by murder is kind of obvious. The attempt on Ace's life Nico made - as well as how the weapon is pointed at his neck, similar to how Nico garrotted Ace's neck.

Death by drowning - This one is my own interpretation - maybe alluding to how water was used in both the murders so far?

Death by lightening: Xander being electrocuted?? Maybe??

Death by Execution: I hope I don't need to point out how this relates to DRDT.

Ace dying from fear induced cardiac arrest is both ironic and incredibly tragic. This post explains it VERY well.

TW FOR TALK OF EDs If I were to horrifically sum up the post - Ace could have lived if he didn't suffer from an ED. Anorexia makes your heart beat slower - having a slow heartbeat makes it so that, when you feel very intense emotion, your heart rate shoots up, making you more prone to have a heart attack, and therefore cardiac arrest. It's really, really sad that this caused him to die in the end. TW OVER

anndddd we're done!!! haha im so tired. anyway honorary teruko mention!!! also drdt dev i love u for chp 2 you did INSANELY well.

[accirax]

the way people are theorising a million ways it could possibly not be ace.... guys i think its over.... ace confessed already... the glove may still be missing and the scuffs may not be directly explained but teruko said that not everything has to be completely known (maybe it'll be like the note and be relevant in the future idk).... i already accepted that i have to see ace die next week dont feed my delusions drdt fandom /j

yeahhhhhh... i agree. i don't really think that there's any way to get out of Ace being the killer here-- not after that huge confession after the end of last episode, at least. i know that some people have been citing the fact that there wasn't a vote or execution last episode as "evidence" that Ace might not be the culprit, but ending the episode on a closing argument -> immediately starting the next episode on a vote is exactly what happened in Min's case.

i suspect that next episode (which is very likely both the episode of Ace's execution and the last of the chapter) may be a lot longer than Min's final episode due to whatever plan Teruko said that Veronika would see after the next person was murdered, but that it will kick off the post trial.

if someone else were to be the culprit at this point, i think it would basically have to be someone else who was blackmailing/otherwise coercing Ace to do it. otherwise, why the hell would he give up and confess? that would also open up other options of people who could have gotten their hands on the tape, but more importantly, the fitness band, which currently has no other substitute in terms of launching the ball over the rafters. however, we have no idea what could have caused someone else to have such power over Ace, which renders this idea very implausible.

you could also argue that Eden did it, but switching the target to her last minute would involve needing to either reveal someone else who saw the body before Teruko/Eden/Whit did or explain the see no evil concept, AND explain how the hell Eden would have gotten her hands on the fish. at the pace this trial has been running at, both of those things might take up an entire episode. possibly more than that if the answer was "she had an accomplice" (which I guess would probably be Ace, to explain his confession???) because then we would need to determine who that is and why. if there were that many changes to the murder coming up, i don't think that DRDTdev would make a closing argument for the Ace part. not for the sole sake of faking people out into thinking it's Ace, especially when the DRDT team was already working overtime to put the episodes out now.

so, y'know, i probably could have cut this ask off after "yeah i agree" and called it a day, but that's never been my style. but now, this post-- just like Ace's chances at being innocent-- is over.

[beearcheops]

earthflax

[precipasse]

:(

[terukotime]

thinking about Ace and Eden again and how i really don't want either of them to be the culprit lol. i just feel like either one being the blackened would be a waste of their potential. i know in Danganronpa that's bound to happen with some characters, but Ace and Eden both have traits and arcs that could run through the whole series, or at the very least, to the next chapter. while a big part of any killing game story is losing characters quickly and having their arcs and growth cut short (we've already seen as much with Arei, rest in peace queen), Eden and Ace have a lot of prominence in the Trust vs. Distrust theme of drdt, on either side respectively. and they both have a lot of potential for their views to change. i can totally see Eden's optimism finally starting to crack, and she begins to lose hope in trusting others and thinking they're good-intentioned, especially since she was put in virtually the same place that Teruko was in in the last trial, with everyone distrusting her and thinking she's the culprit. though Ace hasn't had much of a catalyst to alter his beliefs yet, there's still hope for his views to change. he's a lot like how Teruko began to behave after the first trial, thinking he can't trust or rely on anybody and pushing everyone away as much as possible.

[giant-ass analysis under the cut. i didn't expect myself to go on such a huge rant, but i realized i have quite a lot of thoughts on the matter lmao. there are probably a lot of hot takes in here and i know there will be people who won't agree with me, so take this all with a grain of salt, pls & thx]

while Ace's role in the trials is mostly confined to causing conflict and being a comedic relief, he's expressed being committed to investigating the scene of Arei's death. while sure, if Ace is the culprit, his desire to investigate could very well be a ruse. but for the sake of his potential, it'd be far more interesting if him being innocent results in him going on to investigate more thoroughly and contribute substantially to the trials. Arei did have potential for a full redemption arc, but her death doesn't feel narratively unfulfilled. its tragedy not only allows the audience to further sympathize with Arei and see just how nuanced she was, but it's also meaningful to the members of the cast, and will serve as a point of motivation for them, whether that be to maintain hope in escaping or giving into despair.

at least, that's how it's set up to be. i feel that if either Eden or Ace are the culprit, Arei's death loses a good deal of its weight and meaning. especially if the culprit is Eden; even if she had "well-intentioned" motivations for killing her (as well-intentioned as murder motivations can be, anyway), Arei's breakdown, desire to change, and tragically short path to redemption is rendered pointless. her want to be a good person will have affected virtually no one. her death will have only held significance to David, as most of the cast didn't care for Arei or hated her, much like Ace.

while Culprit Ace won't render Arei's death *as* meaningless as Culprit Eden, it sure would make Ace's own death feel pretty meaningless. he'd be dying in a trial where he fully believes everyone is cruel, everyone hates him, and no one cares about him at all. his shift in his belief can't really be considered much of an arc or even a regression; he just descends further into his hatred and paranoia until he dies doing exactly what the killing game expects of him. Ace, a character who has prioritized his self-preservation all throughout the series, will have thrown that away for...what? revenge against Nico? would he really place his hatred for them over his fear and will to live? Ace is impulsive and narrow-minded, but he's not without *some* sense. if Ace were to be the culprit of this chapter, what would he have contributed to the story? what would his existence have meant? what would he have provided that the story can't progress without? he'd have zero growth, zero stakes, and zero relevance to the ongoing plot, aside from unrevealed backstory (most of which will likely go unsaid in the main story if he were to die now). do i think Ace is going to play a significant role in the overarching story? no. not as much as characters like Xander and David, anyway. but he still has so much to offer as either a survivor or later victim/culprit, as we'll have spent more time with him, gotten a better understanding of him, and possibly be able to sympathize with him, like we do with Arei.

and here's another thing i've been thinking about, too: all the deceased so far have a point of significance to the story. Xander has a connection to the larger-scale mystery surrounding the killing game and a complex relationship with David. he continues to be relevant in the story even after his death and will likely always be.

Min is not only a cautionary tale to the rest of the cast, but her story follows a very cohesive path:

she's a girl committed to her academics and has been led to believe it's the only thing about her that matters ->

while not a social butterfly, she still enjoys spending time with others and making the most of the situation she's in ->

she forms a bond with Teruko, someone who has shown to value both her intelligence and her personality ->

she finds Teruko being murdered by Xander, and instead of being a bystander, she takes action to save her friend ->

she realizes that what she did has jeopardized her own life, a life that she does not center around herself. her family depends on her having a successful future, a future she has been groomed to achieve since she was little and has made several sacrifices for ->

though Teruko is her friend, Min prioritizes her self-preservation. there are too many things that are objectively more important to her than the life of a girl she's known for a couple days ->

still, she cannot shake her guilt and chooses to remain at Teruko's side throughout the investigation ->

she's desperate to maintain her lie, even if it means framing the friend she tried to save and getting everyone else killed. she fights and fights until she can no longer ->

she loses everything. her life, her future, the trust of her friends, the trust and bond she had with Teruko. Min always had good intentions. but even good-intentioned people can do terrible things.

Min's story throughout Chapter 1 alone is very digestible and easy to follow. even without knowing the greater contexts of her life, like her family's financial situation or her groomed future of being a Hope's Peak student, her motives and actions make complete sense. you don't come away from it feeling like she acted out of character or that her death was hasty or sloppily written. her death has a lot of meaning and impact on the other characters.

and that alone makes Culprit Eden or Culprit Ace unsatisfying. Culprit Eden would not only undermine Arei's death and potentially lead her into character derailment, it'd also just be Min's story regurgitated in a much less compelling manner. Teruko has already had her trust broken, and while it seems like she's slowly starting to see the value in relying on others again in the Chapter 2 trial, what good would Eden's death do for her? even if it causes Teruko to regress, what will change? wouldn't Teruko go back to being the way she was acting at the start of the chapter, undoing whatever growth was already beginning to happen? will she be unaffected by Eden's death, or at least act like it? will it somehow strengthen her desire to trust and rely on others again? (it won't.) Eden's role as the chapter 2 culprit really won't do much good for the story, regardless of what her reasons are. everything we've learned about Eden and Arei, both together and individually, will be irrelevant. the significance of Arei wanting to be Eden's friend unconditionally, something that we learn is so significant for her because of her secret, will turn out to actually be pointless because Eden will have killed the one person who expressed they'd be her friend her regardless of who she is.

Ace simply hasn't done enough in the story to establish his deeper character. with Xander, Min, and Arei, we already got glimpses into their core beliefs, their true selves, their moral standings. if those aspects of a character are only revealed after they're confirmed to be the culprit, then honestly...that's just bad writing. i don't like saying that, but i firmly believe it. not only do we hardly know anything about Ace's backstory, we just don't know a whole lot about him other than surface-level things the show outright tells us: he's fearful and paranoid, he doesn't like being a jockey, he's hotheaded and unsociable, he developed an eating disorder due to the strict requirements of his talent, he's hardly ever had any friends, he doesn't think anyone cares about him. and while a lot of inferences can be made from that information, it's still very speculative, and even a bonus episode after his execution wouldn't be able to cover enough of his backstory and personal life for it to feel justified narratively. you simply can't kill him off without letting us see another side of his character and have it better the story.

if either of them do, unfortunately, turn out to be the true culprit of the case...i will be very disappointed. i won't drop drdt or criticize drdtdev for their decisions, but i will still personally believe it to be a bad choice. nevertheless, it's not my story, and i will continue to support and enjoy the show regardless. i have a lot of faith in drdtdev's skills as a storyteller, but no story can be completely perfect. Ace or Eden being the true culprit won't destroy the show as a whole, and i'm not trying to imply that it's a fundamentally bad choice, i just think it'd be very difficult to pull off and have it feel natural, organic, and satisfying for the ongoing story. i will neither be optimistic nor pessimistic about what happens in the next coming episodes, i will simply wait and see. i just wanted to get all my thoughts out here, and hopefully i didn’t come across as aggressive or snobbish or anything. this is a free to watch series, after all, and i enjoy and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it and made it possible.

[lampochkaart]

I really love this parallel between Kaito and Kokichi.

Kaito has the persona of a stereotypical hero. He built his personality around the "hero-protagonist" archetype. He always talks abot himself in that way. He literally calls his close friends "sidekicks."

But with all this, the the main character of the game is Shuichi, Kaito's “sidekick”. And from the viewer’s perspective, Kiibo can be considered protagonist.

Kokichi plays the role of a clichéd villain. He constantly chatters about how he has a huge villainous organization, he exiles unwanted people to Siberia, he controls the entire government, etc. He plays the terrible villain as best he can. Later in game he even pretends to be a mastermind.

But at the same time, he is not the actual villain. He is not a mastermind. He was not the one, who imprisoned everyone in that academy and forced them to kill each other. Moreover, by nature he is a pacifist and spent all his time in the killing game trying to find a way out and save the most people.

In short, Kaito and Kokichi play the roles of clichéd hero and villain, without actually being them.

[dan4572]

‼️‼️‼️NEW EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW‼️‼️‼️

Okay so what she said here was kinda out of pocket but CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS NEW VERONIKA SPRITE

Drdtdev is cooking.

We’re starting off (or continuing off) with a BANG

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

So a while back i was listening to various remixes of spamton's theme songs and i thought "ok but like.....what if spamton was yuriko???" So i made a fusion (complete with neo form!!!)

She looks so much like her mother here....*sigh*

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Kyoko time! Also, keep in mind, spoilers ahead ^v^

For her first outfit, the casual attire, it's nothing too crazy. Feel she'd still be rocking those boots as she's older. Kyoko just gives me boot energy after all. I like to think she's got strong legs and can kick fairly well, her boots adding to that strength. At the same time though, I just feel she just really enjoys wearing boots. Maybe it's that extra height or the very chunky look they have. Whatever the case though, she's a woman who's not giving up those boots. Additionally, I'll be honest. Most of the choices I made for her casual attire are entirely off of vibes. For instance, I feel she'd still be a skirt gal which is why she has a skirt here. This also applies to the bow on the back of her hair and the braids. How I interpret Kyoko is that she's not one to wear overly girly accessories that are very bright, loud, and vibrant. However, she still enjoys the subtle show of her femininity and feeling pretty! Thus, the braids and the black bow stay! They're just moved to the back of the head instead of one side. As for her work attire, for one, she's still doing detective work in my au, perhaps helping Makoto on the side since they're both roommates in the same apartment. I also decided to give her pants for her work attire, not because she couldn't do it with a skirt. This is Kyoko after all! She'd be able to manage. Feel with age though, Kyoko would be less likely to prioritize her style and instead goes for practicality for work. She has more of a social life now anyway so she can let her style shine and be as pretty as she wants then. Oh, and before I forget, she's got an eyepatch too! I left it open for interpretation in regards on what exactly happened. For those who mostly ignore the anime's addition to the canon, it can just be that she got the injury during a case. For those who like aspects of the anime though, the scar on her face is from that time she almost died. With how the poison dispersed, I like giving her this scar to show that effect! Plus, if they were going to do a fake out death and not just kill her off, at LEAST give it some impact by having her be physically scarred! That's my 2 cents here though!

As for physical features, I drew her a bit more stocky here, still very much a feminine shape though stronger as well. After all, she's still fairly active though it's not like she's jacked or anything either. I don't think she'd lean to wanting a more muscled appearance. Not to say she couldn't kick ass! Her legs have a bit of toned muscle to them and her arms do as well. It's all subtle though! Moreover, I like to think though that Kyoko's in a good balance from how she treated detective work back then though. Though she'd still do some risks for solving a case, she's less likely to throw her entire life in jeopardy. She's ensuring she's eating properly, treating her body well. Thus, the pear shape of her body is showing a bit more here as well as the fact that she's a grown woman. I also thought it'd be cute that, no matter if Makoto or Kyoko ever become parents, they are destined to have mom and dad bods, even if it's subtle. Additionally, with her age, life experience, and all that she's gone through in her life along with the others, she is much more willing to accept aid. Perhaps during her time working on case work at home, she gets some input from Makoto since they're living together and she also generally respects Makoto's thoughts and opinions. Some other aspects of her physical appearance I wish to mention here is her hair. I honed in a bit more on that practical feeling for her by having it shorter but still expressing her femininity. She's also wearing Makoto's boxers here as well. Just wanted to drop that tidbit in there as well >:]

For the most part, I can say I'm fairly happy with how she's turned out! A good mix of what makes Kyoko who she is with a mix of my own flairs! More to come soon! (1) | (3)