kokitschy

[kokitschy]

Danganronpa: Eternal Endings

In this English fangame by StephenW313, you get to peer into what it may be like to die in the Danganronpa world. After all, despair doesn’t die just because you’re already dead!

You can really tell that Stephen’s got a lot of interesting ideas while you’re playing the game. After all, in comparison to most other Danganronpa fangames I’ve seen, this cast isn’t just from all over the world - they’re from all over time as well!

Petra Nightingale’s my favorite, I’ve gotta admit. I admire her for a lot of different reasons, but most of all for her talent! I swear, I myself would not be able to be a senior caregiver. I’m skittish and very easily bored, unfortunately. That isn’t to say I wouldn’t try at all, but the responsibility is HUGE!! I look forward to what more we’ll get to learn from her, though honestly I already feel like I’ll learn from her boundless patience and kindness. Also, I’ll admit, I’m super jealous of her scene look. I never had the money or freedom to dress like her, and I’d totally go for it even nowadays! I wouldn’t be a scene “kid”, but I’d be scene enough!

His previous work, Rocky Restarts, used a more RPGMaker inspired approach that ran in Unity. Eternal Endings also runs in Unity, but has a fully rendered 3D environment for you to explore! It reminds me of the official games in that way! Take a look at all of the paintings as you walk through the halls or explore the rooms, it’s totally worth it to see what’s up there! All of the guest art was genuinely really nice to look at!

I’d personally recommend playing through the currently-available Prologue for yourself and popping into the Discord to let the creator know how much you loved it! As usual, I had a great time playing!!

[kokitschy]

Go Support DR10MINS!!

Hey, it’s Ko. I wanna start making posts here about fangans I’ve gotten to play and really like. I’ve been kinda shying away from fanganronpa spaces, but now I wanna dust this blog off and do something I think I’d really like doing.

PLEASE GO AND SUPPORT DR10MINS!!!

It’s a Japanese/Chinese fanganronpa that I think you’ll all really enjoy! An official English translation is in the works right now, so it won’t be too long until you’re able to understand what’s going on. I feel like the experience goes beyond the language barrier, personally!

I will not divulge any spoilers as to how playing the game goes, and how the experience is. Just know that I personally had a really good time playing it!

[kokitschy]

About Brainwashing in Danganronpa

Hello to all 3 of the people who see this account. A few months ago, I made a thread on hit website Twitter dot com about brainwashing in the Danganronpa Series. I discussed where it came from, how it works, and how the brainwashing of class 77-B was never a retcon. The thread got a lot of attention there, even getting a "debunk" on other hit website Reddit dot com (lmao). Due to that, there's been a lot of responses and questions. Since I can't really update a Twitter thread, I decided that I'd make the Ultimate™ Brainwashing thread and hopefully dispel any information on the subject while making my original points more clear and covering things I failed to cover. So here it is: Brainwashing in Danganronpa, how it works, where it came from, and how it was intended from the start. (a 🧵 except not really) *Massive spoilers for Danganronpa Zero, Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa Another Episode, Danganronpa Togami, and Danganronpa 3, as well as the series as a whole*

Danganronpa Zero: First Sighting

Brainwashing has its roots all the way back in the second official entry produced in the series, Danganronpa Zero. During the story's events, Ryoko comes across a secret cult made up of students from the reserve course. They're seen staring at a strange video, seemingly turning them and turn them into mindless zombies.

The video depicts members of the student council killing each other. Ryoko is stunned while watching it. She can barely look away, but eventually through force of will she does. This same video is later used to convince the reserve course to rebel.

The way it's described to work is that it uses their “pent-up emotions,” implying that their emotions played a role in its effectiveness. It's also worth noting that the novel itself refers to what is happening as brainwashing, making this objectively the first depiction of brainwashing in the series right from the second entry.

Danganronpa 2: Now it Gets Dubious

Our next instance of brainwashing comes from Danganronpa 2. The concept is brought up multiple times, such as when Makoto states that the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed or how the Neo World Program is good at treating brainwashing, though the details of what brainwashing actually means in this context are kept vague.

It's also worth noting that Danganronpa 2 was being written around the same time as Danganronpa Zero and Kodaka wanted concepts from the novel to appear in Danganronpa 2, likely so readers would feel validated. This is why things like Izuru Kamukura and the reserve course play huge roles in Danganronpa 2, it's not too much of a stretch to say that the same applies with brainwashing. One detail we’re given about the brainwashing is from Monokuma, who states the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed by Junko taking advantage of their feelings. Specifically love, hate, grudges, and "anything really". If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly how the brainwashing video from Danganronpa Zero was described to function, using their pent-up emotions.

I should mention that Monokuma and Junko are known for being unreliable narrators who often stretch the truth, exaggerate things, and use hyperbole to manipulate people into believing their narrative. Monokuma describes the Ultimate Despairs as “nothing more than Junko’s limbs”, which contradicts the existence of characters like Nagito. Who, while in his despair state, did not work with Junko nor did he look up to her (at least in the normal sense like the other Ultimate Despairs). In fact, it would have been impossible for them to really obey any of Junko's orders as Ultimate Despairs because Junko was trapped inside of Hope's Peak with minimal connection to the outside world. This isn't a definitive "Monokuma is lying" statement, but just note that his word isn't 100% reliable. Meanwhile, someone like Makoto who outright mentions brainwashing, is a much more reliable source.

Danganronpa Another Episode: More Brainwashing! (kinda irrelevant tho...)

The next time brainwashing is used is in the next entry, Danganronpa Another Episode. Though its purpose in this discussion isn’t the most useful, as the brainwashing is caused by Monokuma helmets, which don’t have their functionality explained. I figured it was worth mentioning and describing at least, as its another example of brainwashing at least.

I did figure it was worth adding how the brainwashed children act. They obey the Warriors of Hope’s every command, as if they have zero control over their actions. This is different from how the Ultimate Despairs act, who still some free had free will after presumably being brainwashed judging by the actions of Nagito, who is also in this game.

Danganronpa Togami: I Hate My Life

Okay. As mixed as my opinions are on this novel trilogy, it does feature brainwashing. In fact, it might feature one of the most detailed and important descriptions of brainwashing in the series, and even outright CONFIRMS that class 77-B were brainwashed (sorta).

"Hey um... Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu... what do you mean by 'sorta'?" Well my uninformed reader who I guarantee has probably never read this book, there's a twist. I regret to inform you that the canonicity of Danganronpa Togami is rather questionable, as it depicts an extremely unreliable narrator’s warped viewing of events due to this thing called the K2K system, which means not everything in the novel is meant to be taken literally or at face value.

This doesn't mean that everything should be discarded or immediately dismissed however. This just means that we have to use our brains a little and decipher what the hell Yuya Sato was cooking when he wrote this novel trilogy. In the novel, we discover the existence of the elusive despair novel. When read, the novel will turn the reader to despair and inflict them with the despair disease. This novel is what's used to plummet the world into despair, as well as being what caused the class 77-B to become the Ultimate Despairs. There's no known ways to avoid it, once you read it, it's joever. 😔

As I said earlier, the events of Danganronpa Togami can’t be taken literally. Due to this and prior context, we can safely assume that the despair novel is most likely the K2K's warped idea of the despair video from Danganronpa Zero. Instead of being a book being read that brainwashed people, it was a video being watched. What makes me so sure? Well let's look over the similarities. The way the despair novel works is that it uses cruel words to overload the reader with negative emotions, causing them to snap and turn to despair. That sounds almost exactly like the despair video, overloading the viewer by manipulating their emotions until they turn to despair. This connection's a little bit of a stretch but I'll bring it up anyways. The technology used in the despair novels was originally to bring hope. (Take notes, it will probably be important assuming you buy this connection.)

Essentially, the despair novel works the exact same way as the despair video, but instead it’s a book and you read it instead of watching it. This means that class 77-B and the rest of the world were most likely brainwashed via the despair video, and that is what caused the class to become Ultimate Despairs.

Danganronpa 3: The One People Really Don't Like

And all of this brings us to the most detailed yet controversial usage of brainwashing: Danganronpa 3. Many assume that the anime’s usage of brainwashing is a retcon, contradicting the words of our holy savior Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair High School. However, I’d like to debate that. In fact, I'd like to finally put a nail in the coffin of this really stupid debate and finally show you that Danganronpa 3's depiction of brainwashing is exactly how it has always been described.

In Danganronpa 3, we are introduced to Ryota Mitarai and his anime. Using the power of subliminal messaging, it heightens the viewer's emotions and makes them more powerful. What was once a slightly emotional scene is now a complete tearjerker fully capable of tearing at the viewers heart strings! While he acknowledges that there are unethical things that can be done with this technology and it's technically brainwashing, his goal is to use this technology to make the world a better place, even if it can be dangerous. If that sounds familiar, that's because it's what Hope's Peak tried doing with the despair novel in Danganronpa Togami. Though I'll admit, this single point is a little bit of a stretch as there are differences. I just figured it was worth at least a mention.

Using her analytical prowess, Junko gets a rough understanding of how the technology works, so she develops the despair video, featuring the student council killing each other overlayed with subliminal messaging technology to make the despair felt while viewing the video stronger.

The video works on Mikan, however Junko fears that the video may not be powerful enough to fully go through with her plans due to not understanding the technology nearly as well as Ryota does. Because of this, she forces Ryota to create a better, more powerful despair video. A despair video v2 if you will. Junko’s fears weren’t unfounded, as we discover that Chisa had the mental fortitude to resist the despair video, similarly to how Ryoko was able to resist the same video in Danganronpa Zero. This is exactly why Junko needs a more powerful video, one that she knows can’t be resisted.

"Ermmmm, Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, how come Ryoko and Chisa are able to resist the despair video but Mikan and nobody in the reserve course could?" Good question, the answer is pretty simple. As mentioned before, the video takes advantage of the emotions of the viewer. Mikan is already pretty weak minded, so there wasn't much issue in controlling her. The reserve course already hated Hope's Peak and would take any reason to hate them more, so a video that shows them the sins of Hope's Peak would affect them as well. Ryoko and Chisa have no connection to the reserve course however, and neither are particularly very weak emotionally. Ryoko has the analytical prowess of Junko and Chisa is just a very strong willed person in general, and paired with Junko's lack of knowledge about subliminal messaging when creating the video, it's pretty obvious it wouldn't be that effective on them. All the more reason for Junko to force Ryota to make a better despair video.

The despair video v2 that Ryota is forced to make comes in the form of Chiaki’s execution video, where the stronger subliminal messages paired with witnessing the representation of the happiest moments in their miserable lives and their closest friend suffer makes class 77-B unable to resist. Ultimately this causes them to finally snap, being overloaded with despair, and now they turn into the Ultimate Despairs. (side note this is so freaking cool idc what anyone else says)

This resembles Monokuma’s explanation from Danganronpa 2. Junko used class 77-B’s emotions and years of getting closer against them to turn them to them to despair. Now featuring the added context of her using the video designed to manipulate people’s emotions. This depiction of brainwashing fits perfectly with the information provided throughout the series, even down to the little details. It’s so close in fact that I can say without a doubt that Danganronpa 3 did not retcon anything. “But Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, that isn’t how the video is shown to work during Hope Arc. Therefore it actually contradicts previous entries and is inconsistent!" To that I say, you’re correct! ...at least about the hope video functioning differently, but that doesn’t make it inconsistent. The hope video behaves pretty differently. Instead of overloading the viewer with negative feelings, it simply just shows them a repeating video loop that turns them into a mindless zombie, likely caused by even stronger subliminal messaging. The people affected can also snap out of this state with some time, as seen with Aoi.

The reasoning for this is actually pretty simple, it’s just different technology entirely. It’s stated that the hope video was developed later on after the despair video. If anything, it behaves very similar to the Monokuma masks from Danganronpa Another Episode, which we also already established uses different technology. The hope video doesn’t contradict the despair video at all because they both use completely different tech. This can also be seen with how the despair video uses subliminal messaging, meanwhile the messaging in the hope video couldn’t be further from subliminal. There is no inconsistency, just two different things.

The reason the hope video needed to be broadcasted everywhere was so that since it would be airing everywhere, nobody would have time for the effects to wear off or resist it. This would turn the world into mindless zombies who obey every command, similarly to the Monokuma kids. It's just that now they don't have to force bulky helmets onto everyone.

Debunking Common Arguments

With the hope video out of the way, I think it’s very safe to assume that not only is the despair video’s functionality very accurate to previous descriptions, it’s also always been the reason for the brainwashing of Class 77-B, long before Danganronpa 3. Even if you disagree and think the cause of brainwashing was never explicitly mentioned in Danganronpa 2, there's still the fact that Danganronpa 2 outright says it was brainwashing. So even if a video wasn't the direct cause of it, them being brainwashed was still always intended (though given the context, I'm certain that the video was always the culprit). Many point to this line where Kazuichi asks why they became the Ultimate Despairs and Makoto says he never got an answer to debunk this. But... this doesn't change anything. He asks why they became Ultimate Despairs, not how. And this is completely ignoring the fact that Makoto clearly has done his own digging into the situation, he discovered the Remnants of Despair were hiding among Future Foundation after all. The Future Foundation had access to brainwashing videos, they found them, so of course Makoto is going to know about the brainwashing. But that's not what he's asking about, he's asking about the why. That's what he doesn't know.

Many also point to Mikan stating that it was her many human relationships that led her to being the way she is. Once again, this changes literally nothing. Mikan was the only one of the remnants who actually knew Junko, she was the only one who spent time with her because she was the first subject. This is why she gets more attached to her, and even why she'd believe what Junko would tell her when they spent time together. Monokuma also says that Junko used "hopeless methods overflowing with charisma and humor" to control the masses. I don't even know why I have to address this, but this statement is so vague you can interpret it as a million things. Like for example, this is how she got Ryota to work for her. While pretending to be Makoto to manipulate the people in the trial, Junko tells them that they all became Ultimate Despairs while coming into contact with her at Hope's Peak and they were subjected by her terrifying influence. Again, ignoring how vague "terrifying influence" is, this is literally Junko trying to LIE AND MANIPULATE them. This is quite possibly the worst example you could have used because we know for a fact that she is lying to them while pretending to be Makoto. There's other examples of Junko trying to manipulate them, like mentioning how everyone hated them and their all Ultimate Despairs at the end of the day. But that's just what this is, manipulation. You would think that the "Junko manipulated class 77-B" crowd would understand that saying "everyone hates you but I saw your potential" is literally manipulation 101. Some say that the brainwashing turned them into mindless zombies and eliminates all blame from their actions. While I would agree that it does make them less at fault, they still have the ability to make choices and still have free will. Their original personalities haven't been overwritten, their brains were just rewired to crave despair. They're still each their individual person with their own ways of feeling despair, and characters like Chisa and Nagito show that they regain their free will to an extent.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This whole debate stems from people misunderstanding Monokuma’s words and going along with the popular interpretation, which turned out to be wrong. Whether you like the use of brainwashing or not, it objectively isn’t a retcon as it's been developed ever since Danganronpa Zero. Personally, I love the use of brainwashing. I think the way it's developed throughout the series and its usage in Danganronpa 3 is super interesting. If you disagree, that's fine! Heck, if you choose to headcanon that Junko manipulated 15 individual teenagers into all becoming despair hungry terrorists capable but ending the world and fighting off every military in the world in less than a year, that's cool too! But the truth is, Danganronpa 3's brainwashing is canon and it's also not a retcon nor does it contradict anything. Contrary to popular belief, Kodaka was involved with the writing of the anime. He provided a large draft and outline of the plot and oversaw its development. He produced the anime, he did his homework, he knew what he was doing. I'm sure if Kodaka intended for them to all be manipulated one by one, that's what he would have went with. All information implying that it was manipulation is very few and far between and questionable at best, not to mention outweighed by everything implying it was brainwashing. Mind manipulation stuff is not new in this series, its been around since the first game and brainwashing was established in literally the second entry ever produced. Whether you love it or hate it, think it's the best thing since sliced bread or the death of the series, brainwashing was the answer the whole time. Some people just never noticed it, and instead of acknowledging that they were wrong, they stuck with a headcanon that they believed so much and jumped to the conclusion of "retcon". I hope this mega post managed to inform some people, maybe change some minds too. If you still don't buy it, then I guess there's nothing I can do. Thanks for reading all of this though, I tend to yap a lot about this franchise lmao.

[kokitschy]

I wish I felt any sort of welcome in Fanganronpa spaces anymore LMAO

[kokitschy]

Honestly I’m gonna do some unhinged shit and post an AU idea I had a long time ago here.

Chestnut Soda AU, also called Always Performing, where Kotoko Utsugi grows up to be Kokichi Ouma. I told you it was unhinged.

I got inspired by a Wattpad synopsis and was like, “Y’know, these two are some of my favorite characters of all time, and I like using media to apply some catharsis to myself. So, for them to be ‘the same person’ would actually be really cool.”

I have two versions of this AU that exist.

Chestnut Soda AU is one where Kotoko is a system and her protector is The Bard of the Warriors of Hope, Kokichi Ouma.

Always Performing AU is an AU where Kotoko ran away from home with the other Warriors of Hope, and then eventually grew up to be Kokichi Ouma. (No, this isn’t some “reverse tr*p” arc, Kokichi is trans in this AU.)

These’re like, weird little comfort AU’s, similar to some of the other AU’s I’ve made before (“One Is A Horse And The Other… AU” being one where an OC named Megumi is Kokichi’s little sister, for example).

I think fiction is a good way to process emotions and figure out what your stances are. I tend to be very morbid in my own consumption of fiction (mostly horror fiction on this front!) so let me know if I ever say or do anything uncomfortable/weird.

This is the first post that will be properly tagged on this blog - I kind of want this to be a slightly more open space for me to discuss things. I’d love to be asked questions, reblogged from, etc. etc., I had a friend on Discord who I used to go on long rambles to and they suddenly left at one point. I feel bad I haven’t been able to speak to them for a long while.

[kokitschy]

A small pet-peeve - Fangan opinion thing

Here’s a fangan-centric opinion of mine. I’m gonna try to avoid giving too many details on the off chance someone cares too much about what I have to say.

Making a fangan with the already existing cast of characters is actually a very smart move, one usually spurred on by either a lack of resources or a genuine want to tell an alternate killing game story using pre-established characters. Using characters that already exist in the franchise gives people a bit of a guide for what to expect for the rest of the fangan as well, and they can decide early on if they wanna get invested or not.

I’ve accidentally discovered a new pet-peeve of mine. Now, if you manage to piece together which fangan this is despite me being careful, please don’t try to do anything to or with them regarding this post. They don’t want feedback from anyone, as far as I can tell, and they likely wouldn’t like hearing about some rando online expressing opinions about their work. These’re just my feelings I wanna get out into the open air, and their project is probably a passion project meant for themselves and a few close friends.

When you are using a pre-established cast, you’re writing fanfiction that most people will assume you went into writing with the intention to be at least a little accurate. If not accurate, then attempting to be accurate. Often people looking into fangans of a pre-established cast will be searching for some form of accuracy, typically with the characters. After all, the characters are the high point of the games, not just the general trial gameplay.

Here’s my blunt, no-holds-barred opinion: If you write characters who you don’t like extremely unfavorably - or vice-versa - people will notice. And they might not like it. Naturally, you probably want to know what I mean by that. What I mean is that when the characterization of someone is so heavily altered that people notice, it might take them out of the experience.

I rarely ever am taken out of the experience of fiction, so me being able to say this 100% is saying a lot of this issue. I’m not some pedant looking for issues to whine about, I’m a random girl on the internet who just-so-happens to be obsessed with Danganronpa. I’ve been into it for years now, and I’ve always been giddy when it comes to well-made fan projects. I can deal with a lot, but somehow bad characterization can take me right out of something.

If you demonize your hated characters and prop up and actually bother to develop your most liked, people will notice the bias and they might not like it if their views of the characters don’t align with yours. I think - personally - that a good recast fangan should be able to appeal to everyone based off of their premise alone, and not just because of pandering to a specific subset of fans who love one character and loathe the other.

Let’s say for example that a person loathed Korekiyo for personal reasons, and chose to include him in their fangan as a killer, or even a long-standing antagonist. All of his negative qualities are quadrupled for the sake of making their audience loathe him, and all of his positive qualities are muted severely, if not outright written out. The people who don’t like Korekiyo could stomach it, and might even flourish in those conditions... But someone who is neutral or enjoys Korekiyo will feel alienated, or feel pressured to take to a specific side to continue enjoying your product. That isn’t good.

I understand completely not liking specific characters. It doesn’t even have to be someone like Korekiyo, it could be someone functionally and relevantly harmless like Makoto who a writer finds to be boring and lackluster. I understand not being able to stomach every character someone else does, and this isn’t an attempt to shame someone for not wanting to write for a character they don’t like.

But... that’s the thing. You don’t have to write for characters you don’t like. If you can’t trust yourself to write them with the dignity the writers initially gave them, I don’t think you should stress yourself with writing them. You don’t like them, thinking of them and their actions makes you angry... So don’t do something that pains you that way, and write similar plotpoints for others characters who would work out instead. Allow yourself to develop characters you can stand.

And when it comes to the goodening of controversial fandom figures, I think I could argue much of the same. Don’t instantly goodify your contentious figure. Don’t look at someone like Nagito or Kokichi or Korekiyo and go, “They’re going to be written massively different from their canon counterpart” and give no explanation whatsoever to why they’re behaving differently. Do you want to write a redemption arc? 100%, go for it! A game where they’re the protagonist because they want to do things differently? I implore you!

A game where their flaws and issues are inexplicably fixed off-screen and you just have to accept they’re no longer troublesome?

Umm... No. No, I don’t buy that at all.

I love it when people try to write arcs for characters. Even if it isn’t the best, or even if it heavily relies on the art, I just want people to try instead of making glorified defense or offense posts about why a specific character is shitty for/to another specific character.

I’ve seen seemingly unexplained character changes actually plotted out and accounted for, and they worked powerfully. I don’t understand why most people are averse to just writing the characters how they are in the story sometimes. Exaggerating certain qualities to pass on a specific message to your audience is a little bit against the point of a recast fangan, I think.

If you want to write different takes of already-existent characters, please put the time into designing and coming up with your own unique Ultimates with which to tell a story. I’m sure it’d make you happy to be able to introduce completely new characters you won’t have to fit into specific expectations for. That, or outright tell everyone from the getgo that your fangan isn’t relying on some sort of accuracy meter. You’re writing it for fun, you’re doing it to sort through feelings for specific characters, etc. etc...

Just write what makes you happy, and address the confusion as it comes.

[kokitschy]

Problematic Faves

I think that the way people handle Danganronpa in certain aspects is a little askew. But if you’re coming across this randomly, please keep in mind that this is just my opinion. I never tag my posts with fandom tags because this is just my little spot to put my thoughts and look back at them later. I’m not striking out at anyone.

Danganronpa is intensely character-driven, so much so that there are entire swaths of people who consider themselves to be related to or spiritually connected to the characters in some way. I don’t want to blindly attribute this to kids being kids because honestly that feels like brushing it under the rug, and I don’t want to do that. The comradery that comes from associating oneself with a character whose specific archetype is so well understood not only by the fandom but also by people outside of it is astonishing to me. You can just say a string of words nobody outside of fandom culture would understand and someone can instantly make semi-accurate guesses about you and your personality.

I don’t think it’s the most healthy thing in the world, some people attempt to say they know everything about a person from just hearing about their favorite characters, but realistically nobody knows anything about anyone from something as simple and minor as their favorite or most related to characters. A reason someone might relate to someone can be completely different from the general assumption of why a person may relate to someone.

I also am of the belief that the idea of being angry at someone or telling someone to stop liking a specific character on the basis of an objective moral wrong is kind of silly. In the world of Danganronpa, a large chunk of the cast are canonically murderers. This isn’t me being hyperbolic. While there are typically more victims than there are killers in any given game due to the sacred rule of Chapter 3 setups, it does not change that each cast has their own little selection of killers, each cast having their sympathetic murderers.

Danganronpa is a game filled with characters you will become enamored with and then watch them either die via a murder or have their ‘worthiness’ in the fandom’s eyes ripped apart by the situation. A victim is killed when the murderer kills them. A murderer is killed when the killing game kills them. The killing games are no joke. They feed off of the sickening catharsis some people receive at watching the punishments. The horror is mixed with the player’s sense of “I liked that character, I’m glad the character who killed them is dead.” And that has prevailed throughout the fandom for years now. It is not strange to say that any one character should’ve died, but the moment a character does something problematic during their life, it’s all over. It’s time to stop liking them.

V3 came in and waved the twisted nature of our fandom in our faces and I saw one of two reactions at first: a smug glee that Kodaka addressed the fandom and actually went for a meta approach, worn by people who feel they’re smart for not having an emotional reaction... And the people who felt betrayed, angry that Kodaka has ‘called them out’ on what still amounts to enjoying a video game.

The characters of Danganronpa feel like they’re real, because they’re written to feel like they’re real. The world they’re in is real to them. Danganronpa is real, but only in the world of Danganronpa. Danganronpa V3’s world introduces them proper as a fantasy, a famous franchise with sequels happening over and over and over again. The layer of it using real people not as actors but as the Ultimates who genuinely die on set is really only there for the shock value. We, the player, understand that Danganronpa’s cast considers themselves to be real people. The slap in the face is supposed to be that they are real people, but they’re real people who prioritized their favorite piece of media over their own safety. They used to be real, and they traded in their previous identities to live out their fantasy of being an Ultimate.

I think that’s a funny coincidence when it comes to the current state of things.

Obviously nobody is actually going to be trading in their identity to become an Ultimate. However, the fact so many people find enjoyment in connecting themselves to canonical murderers, enablers, abusers, and other some such while pointing and yelling at others who do the exact same thing, but in ways they better understand, is really really weird to me.

“I can relate to murderers who killed for sympathetic reasons. But a girl who was abused and craves having some form of power for herself? Now that’s crossing the line!”

Every single Danganronpa character has factors of themselves that are imperfect, problematic, an issue, otherwise ‘not good’, and I think that the idea of getting on someone for their favorite character, kins, or other such things is counter-intuitive to a healthy fandom experience. Everyone in fandom is different, period. Full stop. Because every person is different. Full stop. No one is ever going to be able to healthily make a perfect little echo chamber where only their thoughts are heard. If you want people who will solely do things that you are comfortable with for the rest of your life, you don’t want to interact with people, you want to have pet rocks. No emotions beyond what you project onto them, no opinions beyond what you say for them, and no fears beyond what you give them.

Let people in the Danganronpa fandom enjoy the things they enjoy. Let them like Haiji. No one who enjoys Haiji has condoned him and what he did and what he likes. I have never seen anyone do such things. I have seen people remake Haiji in their own image, attempt to give him a different arc and a different reasoning. I have seen people try desperately to justify why they like Haiji, all while the people around them forever forget that Haiji Towa is not real and the people in the fandom understand that what he did and what he thinks about doing is horrible and wrong.

Chill out. You can like Haiji Towa. Or Kokichi Ouma. Or Mikan Tsumiki. Or Junko Enoshima. You don’t have to justify liking morally wrong characters, or thinking they deserve happiness, or thinking positive things about them. No one should make you feel like you have to explain your happiness, because when you do feel like that, you start to feel bad because they’re obviously seeking to make you feel like you shouldn’t enjoy the things you do.

If what you like is legal and doesn’t hurt anyone or anything, you have nothing to justify. So you don’t have to justify your problematic faves. Just like them, and draw them, and write about them, and talk about them. You can do that, and you should be able to do that without fear.

[kokitschy]

Here’s a small set!!! I have dubbed her as Sonia MASTERmind (hahah)

I might still do more, there’s some other expressions I want to do.

[kokitschy]

Mikan and Saionji

As a Both Enjoyer

I think the both of them are interesting in their own right

Mikan got picked on because she literally makes herself a target in multiple ways all of the time. It's hard for me to even know how much of it she didn't want. I'm willing to believe she did consider it bullying at the time but also her pre-despair self lived for attention and yearned for control.

The saintly Mikan so cruelly bullied by little bitch Hiyoko wanted to at some point grievously injure someone so they would be reliant on her forever. And that was before the Despair Disease made her remember.

Meanwhile all you get from Hiyoko's FTE's is the reveal people have been trying to kill her for years due to her name and birthright.

And how she formed an unbearable exterior because of that

(Something you never find out if you hate her so much you think she deserves it)

There's no justification for what she did but I think there's a difference between having her die with you not knowing the reason and having her die with that reason in mind.

Her reason for her exterior makes her attempt to turn around in that chapter more believable.

[kokitschy]

Kiyo and Kiibo friendship

Korekiyo and Kiibo friendship unironically would've been cool.

A robot befriending someone who knows humans inside and out, on a cultural level anyway.

That's already very interesting on its own, y'know? But Kiibo is canonically interested in fitting in with humans and getting along with them. He wants to be seen as someone not very different from them, but paradoxically also appreciates his own uniqueness. He's just an awkward teenager trying to handle that balance.

So imagine Kiibo stressing himself out on trying to fit in and Kiyo just casually assuring him that him worrying about himself so much makes him fit in already, because if he were just some soulless machine he really wouldn't give a fuck.

Because every human out there has their weird self-consciousness about something about themselves, and it's more common to find issues with yourself that may not even exist to other people. And then there's the fact Kiibo is factually different from others, and many people out there in the world also run into that "fun" little issue of being different enough to warrant comments. Many people out there probably relate to the constant stress of knowing you're going to stick out like a sore thumb and trying your hardest not to stick out more than you already do.

But Korekiyo? Fuck, dude's probably seen everything. He isn't the Ultimate for no reason. He's literally probably one of the most emotionally mature students out of everyone due to all the shit he's seen in the world.

So a socially awkward robot and a teen who's seen it all walk into a bar.

And they become good friends.

Korekiyo probably considers their friendship transactional at first since, y'know, he gets to be an anthropologist learning about how a robot thinks and experiencing a sentient robot for himself. But I imagine over time he comes to actually genuinely like hanging out with Kiibo. Because he, ironically, is kind of one of the most normal voices in the cast. He's also right during every scrum debate.

Imagine a Korekiyo who becomes aware of the fact Kiibo's inner voice probably means he isn't as sentient as he thinks he is, but legitimately not thinking any less of Kiibo because of it.

Imagine Korekiyo coming to regard Kiibo as a genuinely interesting person, instead of just a case study.

I'll die on the hill of "Anthropologist and Robot friendship should've happened".

[kokitschy]

4 ppl from a server just said they resonate w this so much and im not sure what to do w that info yet ???

if u r seeing this @ server ppl, talk to me when u want to /hj