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creepercraftguy · 4 years

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I decided I wanted to try one of those DR Ask meme’s, but I decided to do it a little differently and I’m just gonna answer all the questions.

This one is made by @muzumi-san but I didn’t repost theirs because I don’t want them to directly see my shitty opinions.

1. Favourite game?

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It just had the best characters, best plot twists and best trials in my opinion.

2. Favourite Protagonist?

It depends. If it’s in terms of writing, Shuichi. Otherwise, it’s either Hajime, or Kaede.

3. Favourite antagonistic character?

Kokichi is my favorite in general of the three, but as an antagonist, I like Nagito more.

4. Favourite character?

Kokichi Ouma. I know, he’s a fan favorite and you’re probably sick of hearing him get talked about, but dude, he’s just great.

5. Best girl?

Mahiru Koizumi.

6. Best boy?

Gonta Gokuhara or Gundham Tanaka.

7. Favourite class trial from all the games?

For Game 1, it’s Case 2. I love the twists and use of the Red Herring aspect in regards to the locker room. For Game 2, Case 4 is my favourite, but Case 5 is the better one in terms of mystery. For Game 3, Case 4. The fact you have to rely on video game logic to solve the case is really neat.

8. Least favourite character?

Without a doubt, Yasuhiro Hagakure, for several reasons that I’ve stated previously.

9. Least favourite class trial?

Game 3, Case 3. That whole case was just bullshit after Bullshit.

10. What would be your Ultimate Title?

Ultimate Animator, like Mitarai, but you know...Better.

11. Favourite cast?

As I’ve already mentioned, Danganronpa 2. My least favorite member of that cast is Akane, but even her, and the more disliked characters like Teruteru and Hiyoko, I love all of them. They’re all great.

12. Favourite Danganronpa 3 character?

Seiko Kimura. She’s such a fun character who I think deserved better.

13. What’s your opinion on the Danganronpa 3 anime?

I fucking hate it. The only episodes of it that I actually consider to be good, are the first two episodes of Despair Arc, and the final episode. The characters and cast genuinely piss me off half the time, especially Juzo, Munakata and Ruruka, and the writing was just generally shit throughout the entire thing.

14. What do you think about Danganonpa 1 anime?

I actually think it’s alright. Video Game anime’s tend to not be as good as the games (unless it’s Persona 4′s animation, which was actually awesome) and the same goes for Danganronpa. The game is generally more enjoyable than the anime, but the anime wasn’t bad all things considered.

15. Your absolute OTP?

SAI-MAT-SU! SAI-MAT-SU! SHIP-THAT-GETS-SHIT-ON-TOO-MUCH! SAI-MAT-SU! SAI-MAT-SU!

16. Your absolute BROTP?

I guess Sakuraoi? I get why people ship them, but Sakura is one of the characters who canonically has a boyfriend, and I just think they make really good friends other than girlfriends. No disrespect for anyone who likes them together though.

17. Do you have an OT3? Which one?

I’m not crazy about my OT3′s, since they’re mostly two characters who are romantically involved, with a third wheel/wingman on the side, but yes, I do have at least one for each game. For the first game, it’s Chishimondo (Taka, Mondo and Chihiro) for the second game it’s Sonsoudam (Sonia, Gundham and Kazuichi) and the third game, it’s Tenhimiangie (Tenko, Himiko and Angie)

18. Favourite rare ship?

There’s a ship I like called Nagiseiko or Komamura, which is Nagito Komaeda x Seiko Kimura.

19. Who do you think is an underrated character?

There are quite a few, like Nekomaru and Mahiru for instance, but I absolutely have to say Mondo. He has arguably some of the best characterization among the DR1 cast, and he’s my favorite killer in the first game purely because of his backstory and motive, and how he reflects upon the second case’s whole theme, and yet nobody seemed to focus on that importance. God Speed, you wonderful JoJo reference.

20. Who do you think is an overrated character?

Please don’t hurt me when I say this, but absolutely Chiaki. Many can chew me out for liking Kokichi, who in himself is overrated, but for a deuteragonist, Chiaki really doesn’t do an awful lot until Chapter 4-5

21. Favourite voice actor?

In terms of performance, either Derek Stephen Prince (Fuyuhiko and Kokichi) or Marieve Herington (Celeste)

22. Favourite talent?

Ultimate Detective. Shuichi and Kyoko are both really cool.

23. Favourite mascot?

Monokuma, duh! Compared to Monomi and the Monokubs, neither of them have shit on him.

24. Favourite Monokub?

1000% Monodam. All of them suck, except for him. (And Monotaro’s fine for the most part, but Monodam will always be the best)

25. Least favourite mascot?

Mono-fucking-phanie.

26. Favourite execution?

Leon Kuwata’s, the 1000 Blows. As they say, you never forget your first.

27. Least favourite execution?

Mikan Tsumiki’s, Bye Bye Ouchies. For reasons I don’t think I even need to state.

28. Favourite unused execution?

I really like Kazuichi’s unused execution that involves the drill.

29. Which character should survived in your opinion?

If we’re talking characters I wanted to survive, then I would’ve loved to see Chihiro make it to the end of DR1. As much as I love the importance of his passing, I really wanted him to get out alive and unscathed.

30. Which character would’ve deserved to survive?

In each game, there’s at least one character I think should’ve deserved to make it out alive. For the first game, it’s absolutely Taka, for the second, Hiyoko, even though I’m not strong on her, and for the third game, Ryoma, for the same reason everyone else thinks he should’ve lived.

31. Is there a character you think who shouldn’t have survived but did?

Yasuhiro did basically nothing to contribute to the class trials, or the overall progress in figuring out the mysteries of the academy. He never pulled his weight, and for some reason, he still managed to live through the killing game.

32. Least favourite protagonist?

I love her, but Komaru. She just doesn’t reach the same level as the others.

33. Character with the best clothing?

Celeste absolutely nails the gothic lolita style and it fits really well with the type of character that she is.

34. Best character design?

Gundham and Celeste.

35. A character who should’ve got more character development?

Kirumi, without question. She’s arguably my least favorite in the V3 gang purely because of her lack of development. She deserved better writing than what she got.

36. Character who looks amazing but you don’t like?

I love Ruruka’s design, but I hate Ruruka’s character. The same goes for Sonosuke Izayoi, who looks badass but got no development.

37. Favourite minor character?

For the little screen time he got, I vibe with Taichi Fujisaki.

38. Favourite eyes?

What? Uh...no preference?

39. Smartest murder plan?

Gundham’s plan in the 4th case of the 2nd game. He used pretty much every aspect of the funhouse to pull his plan off, and I love it.

40. Favourite culprit?

Gundham Tanaka, for what I’ve just mentioned, plus his motivation, and overall character.

41. Person you’ve never expected to become a culprit but they became? (Doesn’t include Chiaki)

I guess Mondo, Peko and Kiyo from each of the games. They all exude the energy that they COULD kill someone, but the chances of them actually doing it don’t seem that high, and yet...

42. Honest opinion on Tsumugi Shirogane?

I thought she was boring character at first, even after she was revealed to be the mastermind, but I’ve come around since then and I respect her as a villain a lot more. Being the only villain in the game who’s not directly tied to Junko, that at least gives her a bit of uniqueness.

43. Describe Monaca Towa in 3 words!

Piss Baby UGH!

44. Describe Nagito Komaeda in 3 words!

Extremely Entertaining Character

45. Unpopular opinion?

I think Hifumi Yamada is a pretty decent character overall. His Free Time Events, while awkward, were quite enjoyable, and he conveys the strong message that appearances aren’t everything. He’s aware of how different he looks compared to everyone else, but to him, it’s what’s on the inside and what he can do that matters.

46. Unpopular headcanon?

I don’t really have many major headcanons, and I have none that I would consider unpopular. I guess I’ll say “The V3 cast have a group chat in a Non-Despair AU that they meme the shit out of.”

47. A headcanon you have about a character?

In the ask blog that I run, Mikan and Ibuki are an item, and after they become one, Mikan discards her bandages and dyes a highlight in her hair. I live for that, so I guess that’s my answer.

48. Favourite OST?

If we’re talking about a game soundtrack, then either Danganronpa 2′s, or Ultra Despair Girl. If we’re talking about my favourite song in the whole series though, then my favourite is the opening theme to Future Arc in DR3, Dead or Lie.

49. Favourite mini game?

I don’t really have one. I have minigames that I like, and Minigames that I hate (looking at you “Improved” Hangman’s Gambit) But I guess I like Scrum Debate in concept a lot.

50. Favourite game design?

V3 is the most aesthetically pleasing DR game.

51. Character you thought you were gonna dislike but loved in the end?

Maki was such a piece of shit in my opinion at the beginning of V3. Of course, the development she gets reprimands that amazingly. I WOULD say Tenko, but I hated Tenko when I finished V3, and it was only after a short time later that I really turned around on her.

52. Character you thought you would like but disliked in the end?

I guess Angie? She was pretty annoying even before I outright disliked her, but then the whole third chapter brainwashing thing happened and I’m like, “this bitch suck for real!”

53. Favourite game end?

Danganronpa 2′s, and I don’t wanna hear all the “Ugh, the anime bullshit, ugh!” From a writing perspective, the second game just had the most enjoyable ending.

54. Least favourite game end?

I guess Danganronpa 1′s but even that wasn’t too bad. I have incredibly mixed feelings about V3′s twist ending, but I’ve grown to accept that it happened and there’s not a lot I can do about it...

55. Favourite love hotel scene?

Kaede’s. J-Just Kaede’s...That scene gives me the right amount of serotonin that I can keep going with my day.

56. Best free time events?

Hard to say, but I really liked Taka’s. Most of the FTE’s in Danganronpa tend to be pretty nice (unless you’re Hiro), but for him, I loved learning about the circumstances behind his family, how it corrolates with why he acts the way he does, his spite against people who call themselves “geniuses” and why they suck, and everything about his character just hits right.

57. Character who should’ve lived longer?

Kirumi or Ryoma.

58. V3 Pregame! headcanon?

“They aren’t evil creatures with a pessimistic look on life!” Seriously, why the hell do people headcanon the pre-game V3 cast as evil and masochistic bastards. Sure, their look on life was very cynical and pessimistic, and some of them wanted to join V3 for the money or the fame, but that’s just basic human nature and desire. That doesn’t mean everyone in V3 was an inherently bad person before they joined Danganronpa. They aren’t the remnants of despair for fucks sake.

59. Favourite moment?

Shuichi’s final stand in V3 really showed his growth in character, and his refutation “WE’RE GONNA END DANGANRONPA!” gave me goosebumps.

60. Saddest moment?

Gundham’s Execution made me cry, and I almost shed tears in Peko’s final moments. My answer therefore, is those two.

61. Character who looks like the love child of ???

Shuichi has always looked like the love child of Makoto and Kyoko or Makoto and Mukuro. I don’t have any parental headcanons though, and prefer to think of Shuichi as his own character.

62. Describe Mikan Tsumiki in 3 words!

Needs Love Mending! She’s an emotionally broken girl who needs love to heal her fragile heart.

63. Describe Kyoko Kirigiri in 3 words!

The Best Deuteragonist. By that, I mean out of all the characters who are most relevant to the plot alongside the protagonist and antagonist (which includes Chiaki and I guess Kaito too) Kyoko is the best one in my opinion.

64. Which character seemed like they were gonna be a culprit but they wasn’t?

I honestly expected Sonia to kill someone several times in DR2, but she ended up making it to the end. I’m not disappointed though, and I’m glad she never ended up snapping.

65. Who did you never expected to die but they died?

Kaede, no doubt about it. C’mon, she was set up to be the protagonist and then she got executed falsely. Rantaro also surprised me honestly, as did Fake Togami in Game 2.

66. Describe the last trial from V3 in 3 words!

An Absolute Clusterfuck. Not the bad kind, mind you, but Jesus, that trial was long and confusing.

67. Which character would you never want to meet in real life?

There are several honestly, but I’m gonna narrow it down and say Junko. Anyone who meets her is doomed to have their life ruined.

68. Which character would you like to meet in real life?

I relate to most of the weeb and dorky characters, so I guess either Hifumi or Non-Evil Tsumugi.

69. Choose one character which you would take with you on a trip.

Mikan would be handy to have around in case I get injured while on a hike or something.

70. Character you would have a sleepover with?

I don’t feel any sort of attraction to her romantically, and I tend not to for fictional characters, but Kaede is someone I’d really want to hang out and be friends with.

71. Character you can relate to?

Makoto, and I know that’s the whole point of his character, but even though he’s kind of basic and lacking in any significant personality, I still like him a lot.

72. Character you can relate to but you dislike them?

I sympathize with Kiyo’s plight, and how he suffered a lot of emotional abuse from his sister, but with his final moments and how much bullshit came from it (particularly the implied incest subplot) I just couldn’t feel anything except eagerness when I watched him die.

73. Character who deserved better?

Than what they got, I guess Taka.

74. What do you think of Hiyoko Saionji?

If she had survived the game, she’d have been recognized as great a character as Fuyuhiko, since she would have had time to develop. Unfortunately, her lack of growth thanks to her death relegates her into just being “that bitch from Danganronpa” In general though, I don’t dislike her at all, I’m just not as strong on her as I am the rest of DR2′s cast, or DR’s cast in general.

75. Describe Gonta Gokuhara in 3 words!

The Best Boy.

76. Favourite research lab?

The research labs are a cool concept that I really wanted to see more of in things like Fangans. I think my favorite is either Shuichi’s or Kokichi’s.

77. What do you think of the fandom?

Honest to god, I feel more comfortable in the DR Fandom than I do any other Fandom I’m a part of. We have cringe, toxicity and the same old jokes, yes, but other Fandom’s I’m in, like Persona and My Hero Academia, have the same on a whole other level. I think the majority of the Danganronpa Fandom truly does genuinely care about the game series and I appreciate that.

78. Favourite random/unnecessary scene?

The Man’s Nut scene in Danganronpa 2 was god damn hilarious. I never ever really thought the Peeping Tom scenes in each game were wholly necessary and just existed as cheap fanservice, but the Man’s Nut scene is SO damn funny!

79. Which character has the cutest design?

Chihiro is the most adorable bean in the universe.

80. Hope or Despair?

I have no real preference, but I choose Hope because I like to think I’m not a bad person.

81. Could you be the Ultimate Lucky Student?

Probably not. I dunno.

82. Favourite chapter?

DR2 Chapter 4. The funhouse chapter hit differently.

83. Least favourite chapter?

DR2 Chapter 3 and DRV3 Chapter 3. The former primarily due to the Despair Disease and Nekomaru’s death at the hands of Akane’s stupidity, and the latter because of reasons I’ve already mentioned, particularly Angie’s Student Council.

84. Which character do you easily forget?

Pretty much half the Danganronpa 3 cast. Particularly Tengan, Izayoi, Gozu and Bandai.

85. Could you be a Dangan Protag? Why?

I’d love to be, but I’m not as quick-witted or inquisitive as the likes of Makoto, Hajime and Shuichi.

86. Favourite Anthology chapter?

I like a lot of them, but the one where they all make chocolate is really cute.

87. Describe Peko Pekoyama in 3 words!

She’s pretty cool. There’s not much to say about her. Even if she is the one who killed Mahiru, a character I love, she’s a lot more important to the plot than many realize, especially in regards to Fuyuhiko’s subplot.

88. Describe Mondo Oowada in 3 words!

Completely Underrated Marvel. Just refer to Question 19.

89. Least favourite Danganronpa 3 character?

Pretty much any of them that aren’t Seiko, Ryota, or Yukizome. I’m gonna say Juzo though, because of his whole bullshit that Junko used against him, and how the tragedy is primarily his fault.

90. Do you like Junko?

Not at first, but I like her a lot more as a villain now. She wasn’t that fun in the first game, but was better in the second.

91. What do you think of Monokuma?

As far as game mascots go, he’s alright, however, the more the series goes on, the less relevant he becomes. In V3, he serves no real importance, and the game may have been just as good without him, leaving us with just the Monokubs. I hate the Monokubs, but that’s primarily because their existence just takes Monokuma’s importance away. V3 would be so much better if we had one without the other, either way around.

92. Least favourite Monokub?

*Heavy breathing* Mono... *Heavy breathing* Fucking... *HEAVY BREATHING* PHANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEE!

93. Did you like the Monokubs?

Not for the most part. Monophanie and Monokid suck, and I hate them both. Monosuke sucks for similar reasons, but he’s just kinda...boring...Up until the whole incest imagery in Chapter 4′s trial, Monotaro was actually ok, and had some really funny lines, and as I’ve mentioned, I love Monodam a whole lot, since he was the only one who had something close to a character arc.

94. Did you like the Warriors of Hope?

I guess? I do feel bad for most of them, but at the same time, they can be really annoying. They ARE just kids, so I get it, but still. Masaru, I really didn’t care for. He was arguably the most annoying, and Jataro, while I felt bad for him, wasn’t much better. Kotoko was pretty fun in the end, and Nagisa was a really well written character with a strong morality to him. Monaca is a pretty sinister villain too, but I don’t like her as much as Junko and Tsumugi.

95. What do you think of Gundham Tanaka?

HE IS EXCELLENT AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Also, as I’m writing this, it’s his Bday, so happy Bday to Gundham Tanaka.

96. Who’s an overrated character you dislike?

I said Chiaki was overrated, but I don’t dislike her. I guess people like Kirumi too much considering how little development she gets overall.

97. Overrated ship which is your NOTP?

Komahina, do not test me on this. Everywhere I go, I see that ship that I know, from analyzing Nagito and Hajime’s relationship throughout the series, is incredibly toxic and would never realistically happen simply due to Nagito’s nature, and the way his FTE’s end means nothing to me.

98. Outfit you dislike?

Everyone’s always saying that Akane’s design sucks, and while I’m not too concerned on it overall, I do completely agree.

99. Your absolute NOTP?

Komahina again, and I guess JunkoMikan.

100. Opinion on all the Protagonists!

Makoto is relatable as hell, and I sympethise with him a lot. It’s quite fun to play as him in the first game, because he reacts more regularly to the characters in a way that most people probably would. I love Hajime’s reactions, and his backstory. I’m not too fond on most of the memes around him, like Organe Juice and the 91cm Titties, but in general, his reactions to things and the way he tends to call out his classmates is pretty entertaining. As I mentioned, Komaru, and I guess Toko, are my least favorite protagonist(s) but I still care about them both greatly. Komaru is as relatable as her brother, and UDG gives Toko the character development she so greatly needed in Game 1. Kaede is amazing, and is a character who gets too cussed out by people both in the game, and outside of it, and her death was super relevant, and an amazing twist I didn’t see coming. She’s just awesome in general. Shuichi, while Kaede’s death did upset me, he was an equally great protagonist, and I loved watching his growth throughout V3.

#danganronpa #ask meme

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commentaryvorg · 5 years

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Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 5.9

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time, almost everyone was in so much despair that they were legitimately suicidal, Maki definitely was not and cannot possibly have been okay with helping everyone die before they’d rescued Kaito, then the plot continued to be one massive lie as they saw the Hope’s Peak Flashback Light, which was a terrible piece of in-universe writing to pander to the audience, that had to be semi-brainwashing the characters to make them even care and fill them with a meaningless “hope” that’s nothing close to the actual point of the word.

We left off kind of mid-conversation as they were talking about this meaningless hope, specifically because things are about to become a lot more meaningful right here.

Maki: “We have to… save Kaito, too.”

Because finally, someone is talking sense!

Himiko: “He’s so stupidly positive. He’s just the kind of guy we need at a time like this.”

Keebo: “With Kaito by our side encouraging us, then even if we are the only people left… I think we can still find a new hope.”

Shuichi: (Yeah… that’s exactly right. I knew that… even in a situation like this, he’d think of something!)

And now it seems like they’re shifting slightly towards the actual definition of hope. They’re assuming that, with Kaito’s incredible levels of optimism, he’ll be able to think of some way this situation can end positively, some outcome that they’ll actually be able to hope for.

(And technically, in deciding to rescue him, they’ve now found something to actually hope for already – they’re hoping they can get their friend back! It’s just a more minor hope that doesn’t fix their overall situation yet.)

Maki mentions that she happened to see Kokichi leaving the Exisal hangar yesterday, which is how she knows they’re both in there.

Tsumugi: “By chance? Really? I bet the truth is you were worried about Kaito and were watching the hangar all day.”

Of course she was worried about Kaito, they’re friends, you moron. Anyone would be worried about their friend in a situation like this if they weren’t in too much despair and depression to find the energy to do so – which Maki was not, because she’s been through so much awful stuff in her past that it’s given her a certain level of resistance to that kind of feeling now. Shuichi was worried about Kaito too, and if he’d magically not been in despair then he would also have been watching the hangar yesterday and trying to figure out a way to rescue him.

Some lines a little bit later will make it clear that Tsumugi (and perhaps also the narrative) is trying to imply that the only reason Maki is worried about Kaito is because she has romantic feelings for him, but no, fuck off, that’s amatonormative as all hell and the fact that she does happen to have romantic feelings for him doesn’t change that.

Maki: “…”

Shuichi: (Looks like that was the case.)

Maki is blushing, because apparently she picked up on Tsumugi’s implication about the romantic feelings and is still not ready to admit to that part. Makiii, don’t let yourself get caught up in that nonsense; you did it because Kaito is your friend and nothing else is relevant here. This is exactly the kind of bullshit that could pressure people into thinking they totally must have romantic feelings for their friends when they genuinely don’t, which is not okay.

Maki: “It’s not like I was worried about Kaito or anything. I just… had nothing else to do.”

Maki has always worried about Kaito since they became friends and has even more or less admitted to it a few times. She’s only denying it so insistently now because Tsumugi is implying that if she’s worried about him then that’d mean she’s obviously in love with him because it’s not like you can possibly be worried about your friend at all. Ugh. Ugh.

Maki: “Also… I’m used to watching others, so it wasn’t any trouble. It’s important for assassins to watch their targets, and think of ways to kill them—”

I like how this starts out sounding like she’s talking about being a child caregiver, and then… oh. (I bet she did watch the kids a lot while she was caring for them in the orphanage, though.)

Maki: “…We’re going to wait until tomorrow morning? What about the hangar?”

…

Shuichi: “Maki… I know that you don’t want to wait a single minute more than necessary…”

Maki is really fixated on getting Kaito back as soon as possible. As it happens, there is a time-sensitive aspect here and sooner would be better, but she’s not aware of the fact that Kaito is dying and yet still seems to think time might be of the essence. She’s still worried about what Kokichi might be doing to him, isn’t she.

Maki: “Fine, that’s what we’ll do then… This time, we’ll definitely kill him.”

Shuichi: (Kill…?) “No, Maki, you can’t! Even if he’s a Remnant of Despair, that doesn’t—”

Maki: “But if we kill him, then everything will end. We have no other choice. For that reason… I will kill him.”

Maki Roll, no! I would say that this is Maki getting caught up in the incorrect buzzword-y definition of “despair” and believing that “despair” still exists as long as Kokichi is alive, even though that’s bullshit because despair is a feeling and not a person and they’re already no longer feeling it right now. But there might be more to it than that, because she did indicate earlier that she’s not convinced Kokichi is really going to leave things here. So long as she believes that Kokichi might do something else to try and hurt them and make them feel despair again, it is somewhat more justified that she wants this. At least in her fucked-up worldview where she’s been raised to believe that killing people is the go-to method of solving problems that don’t have an obvious peaceful solution.

Shuichi: “But… Kaito said that killing is wrong… remember?”

This is a really inappropriate way of putting it that makes it sound like killing is only wrong because Kaito said so. What Shuichi really should be saying here is two completely separate things: that killing is wrong, full stop – and also that Kaito in particular doesn’t want Maki to kill anyone and would be upset if she did. Merging the two ideas together makes it come out incredibly not right.

Maki: “… …Fine. If everyone thinks that way, then I’ll listen to you guys.”

Maki Roll! I wish this wasn’t a lie but it is! In fact, the fact that everybody doesn’t want her to kill him is possibly what spurs her to try and kill him alone, in the middle of the night, because it seemed that until then she was planning to do it when they storm the place tomorrow morning.

Maki: “But if it seems like anything dangerous is going to happen, then I’ll definitely kill him.”

This is a slightly more reasonable mindset – self-defence, if he was about to hurt someone. But she could still definitely do that by just knocking him out. Dammit, Maki, you and your fucked-up upbringing that’s made you think this way.

Himiko: “There’s nothing more dangerous than a heated Maki Roll.”

Himiko gets glared at for it this time, but we’re slowly working towards Maki being okay with Himiko calling her that!

Shuichi: (I didn’t think we’d be able to stand together as one again. And… it’s thanks to Maki. While we were sedentary, feeling sorry for ourselves, she was planning…)

Yep! Turns out being written with the most tragic backstory ever can actually be useful in terms of making you desensitised to horribly despairing situations that would break anybody else’s spirit.

Shuichi: (I suppose it might also be thanks to Kaito… Because Kaito was worried about her, she promised to work hard to do her best…)

Of course! If it weren’t for Kaito, Maki wouldn’t be trusting and co-operating with everyone like she is now!

(Although I wonder if this is a mistranslation and the original actually meant to say “because she was worried about Kaito” – and if that’s what it means, then that’s less relevant. She would have been up and about regardless because of her resistance to despair, and it’s only because of that that she was then able to spend time worrying about Kaito. Shuichi is worried about Kaito too, but that alone wasn’t enough for him to fight off the despair.)

Maki: “…Let’s do our best. Then the three of us… can train together again.”

NO. DON’T DO THIS TO ME, GAME. Not when they’re not ever going to be able to train together as a trio again, because no matter what happens from here, Kaito is not going to make it. Aaaaaa.

In his room, Shuichi decides that there’s still something he can do, namely scouting out the Exisal hangar.

Shuichi: (And… I’m worried about Kaito. He’s hurt, and… he’s sick… I’m sure he doesn’t want me to worry about him, but… I have to.)

Aww. I love how Shuichi has picked up on the fact that Kaito hates it when people worry about him – but of course Shuichi can’t help worrying about Kaito anyway, Kaito is his best friend, how could he not.

And look at how Shuichi is perfectly aware that Kaito is still sick. Kaito’s claims of being back at 100% at the beginning of this chapter really did not fool anyone.

It’s also lovely that it’s not even occurring to Shuichi that Kaito might still not want to talk to him. So many awful things have happened that their falling out is barely relevant to Shuichi any more next to the fact that he just wants to see Kaito again and know that he’s okay, and he’s unthinkingly assuming Kaito would feel the same. (Which, of course, he does.)

If you try and head somewhere unrelated, in which the game always gives you a line that’s its way of saying “this isn’t what you should be doing, go progress the plot already”, the line that serves that purpose during this particular part is a repeat of most of what Shuichi just thought here, about how Kaito wouldn’t want him to worry but he has to. So it seems like being worried about Kaito is really the main thing on Shuichi’s mind and scouting out the hangar is mostly an excuse to get the chance to see if he’s okay.

(It’s almost like being worried and wanting to check on them is the natural response to your sick and injured friend being held captive by the big bad evil mastermind and not an inherent indication of anything other than platonic feelings. Fancy that.)

Oh, man, I decided to examine a dead student’s door to see what Shuichi had to say about them, except I happened to randomly choose Gonta’s:

Shuichi: (Gonta… I finally understand your pain. I understand the despair you were holding inside. If you had known… that you were a symbol of hope… maybe we could have helped…)

I didn’t know this was here! It’s so lovely that this exists to acknowledge that Shuichi understands now what Gonta went through! Aww.

Knowing that he was a symbol of hope should not have changed anything about the despair he was feeling and the fact that he wanted to save everyone else from feeling that despair, though, just like it shouldn’t have changed anything about how Shuichi feels. I wonder if Gonta, with his more simple and straightforward outlook on things, would have been able to pick up on this. Maybe he’d have been kind of confused by all this stuff about symbols of hope and epic battles and would still have been simple-mindedly focused on the fact that everyone they knew is dead.

…But then again, even if he felt that way, if everyone else told him that he’s a symbol of hope and that he can still make a difference by holding onto some vague, nebulous “hope”, Gonta would almost certainly have been spurred to do his best anyway. Whenever someone told Gonta he could be useful, he’d always cling to that without questioning it, after all.

Keebo: “We must rescue Kaito, no matter what… If we’re to defeat despair and find a new hope for ourselves… I’m certain we’ll need him by our side.”

At least Keebo realises that Kaito genuinely is a source of hope.

Shuichi: “…Yeah, you’re right. It was thanks to Kaito that we’re all working together again!”

It’s interesting that Shuichi says this; he’s apparently talking about the last time Kaito rallied everyone together, which was before this whole mess happened, but that’s still important to him! Have I mentioned that Kaito is still a hero even though he never has any idea what he’s doing.

During this bit where you can walk around as you head to the hangar, Himiko is hanging out in front of Tenko’s lab, which is cute. I wonder if she went to apologise to Tenko for having given up for a little while.

Tsumugi: “Maki, who was so tsundere in the beginning, is now the one pulling us along. But, it’s probably because of Kaito’s influence.”

Shuichi: “Huh? Why do you think that?”

Shuichi, you should know that Maki’s helpfulness is thanks to what Kaito has done for her, you shouldn’t be asking this. Apparently he is awkwardly being twisted into asking this as a setup for the bad writing that is about to ensue.

Tsumugi: “Huh? Why? You can tell just by looking… Maki’s interested in Kaito.”

Because this is not the fucking point! Maki would have changed just as much thanks to Kaito’s encouragement and training whether or not she had any romantic feelings for him, and that is obvious. Just because Tsumugi happens to be right doesn’t mean that her coming to this conclusion for these reasons makes any kind of sense.

I also cringe at the phrasing “interested in Kaito”, as if Maki’s trying to get something from Kaito, like she’s entitled to it just because she feels this way. Admittedly that phrasing is just a product of general background amatonormativity in the way things like this are usually talked about and not necessarily inherent to what the game’s doing here. Still, I’m pretty confident that Maki in particular would not actually be thinking like this just because she has feelings for him, since she is seemingly on the aromantic spectrum and doesn’t see things in that usual way, and is also horrendously selfless and never thinks that what she might want is ever important.

Tsumugi: “Otherwise, she wouldn’t be watching the hangar the whooooole time like she is.”

Yes, because it’s not like she could possibly be worried about him and staking out the hangar to figure out Kokichi’s movements and the best way to rescue Kaito if they were “~just~” friends, right???? Shut up.

(Shuichi, you’d better not tell her that you’re about to go scout out the hangar too since you’re also worried about Kaito. That might just give her even more Stupid Assumptions.)

Tsumugi: “Huh? Are you shocked? Were you guys in some reverse love triangle situation?”

(Or possibly Tsumugi is also heteronormative and that wouldn’t occur to her; I’m not sure who she’s implying Shuichi is into here. At least this one she goes on to admit is a joke, but, ffff.)

Tsumugi being like this is incredibly frustrating, but it makes a certain amount of sense, because the point of her character is that she’s a fan, and this is exactly the kind of thing fans do. (And shouldn’t. Shipping itself is totally fine, ship whatever you want if it makes you happy, but insisting that perfectly platonic things are definitely proof of romantic feelings is amatonormative, please don’t. People can care about each other to the ends of the earth without being in romantic love, and this needs to be acknowledged more.)

Tsumugi is also going to insist later that Maki’s feelings for Kaito are totally her doing, which she might already be trying to sow hints at here, but I’m of the firm belief that that’s bullshit, too. I’ll talk about that more in chapter 6.

Maki is the only one who’s not out and about somewhere during this part. The fact that she apparently doesn’t want anyone to see her right now is a little concerning.

The Exisals are guarding Monokuma. It’s entirely possible they were doing that from the moment Kokichi came back from the tunnel, making this the reason why Monokuma hasn’t been there for the announcements and hasn’t been able to try and influence the game since then.

Note how it is only four Exisals doing this – the fifth one (the red one) is still inside the hangar, because Kokichi is preparing to execute his plan and knows it’s going to be needed. Even if Maki wasn’t going to storm in and complicate things, he is already ready to do this.

And now to talk to Kaito!

Kaito: “Don’t shout, stupid! Kokichi will hear us!”

Kaito says this, but this isn’t going to stop him from sometimes talking quite loudly during the rest of this conversation anyway.

Shuichi: “Tomorrow morning… we’re all coming to rescue you.”

Kaito: “All of you?”

Kaito’s voice sounds so surprised and moved to hear that it’s all of them, as if he never expected the others to care enough to make the effort to rescue him. But of course it’s not just your sidekicks who care about you, Kaito! You’ve had a huge impact on everyone!

Shuichi: “We had all given up. But not Maki. She did everything she could to get you back. …It’s because she believes in you, Kaito.”

I mean, really it’s because Maki is resistant enough to despair that she hadn’t given up, and from that position the most useful thing she could be doing was working on rescuing Kaito, but. She still does believe in him. That is still a very true statement.

Shuichi: “She knows that you would never give up, no matter how bad things got.”

Kaito: “Y-Yeah! Of course! I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Even if the world has ended and humanity has gone extinct, I can’t give up!”

Of course not! But of note is his slight stutter as he begins to say this, and the fact that he only even says it after hearing that Maki believes he wouldn’t give up. Kaito is definitely having a much harder time staying optimistic about this than he would like to, and he only starts forcing it through once he hears that one of his sidekicks is expecting it of him. He has to keep living up to that expectation, no matter what.

Kaito: “It’d be a crappy story if the hero gave up so easily!”

He’s still trying his hardest to be a hero, even after all of these incredible hardships he’s been through! In fact, I think this might be a sign that Kaito has stated to shift his view of heroes just slightly – that he’s realised that the most important thing for a hero isn’t necessarily that he succeeds, but just that he never gives up no matter what’s thrown at him. What makes a hero story crappy isn’t that the hero struggles, just if those struggles cause the hero to give up and lose.

(Also, the “story” part is quite relevant. Kaito’s thing of seeing himself as like a hero in a story is delightfully appropriate to the game’s theme.)

Shuichi: “Yeah, that’s right, Kaito.”

Shuichi agrees! Both that Kaito is still a hero, and, I like to think, that good hero stories involve the hero never giving up. Shuichi likes novels, after all, so he’d know – far better than Kaito ever used to – that the heroes who struggle and suffer make much more compelling and inspiring stories than the heroes who effortlessly win at everything.

Kaito: “Don’t you worry! I’ll do something about all this! That’s a promise!”

Kaito, you wonderful moron, you don’t need to! Shuichi just told you they’re all coming to rescue you! All you need to do is sit tight and wait!

Kaito: “All you guys are working so hard, so I can’t just sit back and relax!”

But of course he can’t just do that – he always feels the need to do something about the situation, and to do it himself so that he can feel like he’s making a difference. He’s still supposed to be the hero, isn’t he?

This hasty promise of his culminates in his basically inconsequential attempt to fight back against Kokichi with the crossbow tonight. But note that he clearly hasn’t actually thought of that plan yet, or he’d be asking Shuichi to go and bring him a crossbow instead of having to ask Himiko later.

Shuichi: (There’s… something I want to ask him… I don’t care if he’s overconfident, or acting… I just want to hear him say, ‘Don’t worry, it will be okay.’)

See, Kaito really is still a hero to Shuichi! Shuichi still needs and benefits from Kaito’s encouragement and optimism, even when he’s perfectly aware that it’s all a façade. Sometimes just hearing those words even when you know they’re not true is all you need, and Kaito is the best at giving them. Since he knows they’re not true but is choosing to invest in them anyway, Shuichi isn’t seeing Kaito’s words as lies, but as an inspiring fiction. (Kaito sees them more as lies, though, because he thinks they’ll only work as long as Shuichi believes they’re true.)

Kaito: “It’s just… I’m happy you guys wanna save me, but stay safe, okay? Getting close to an Exisal is dangerous, even if you’ve got an Electrohammer.”

Oh, Kaito, of course you would still worry about everyone except yourself in this situation. He’s glad they care about him, but he still doesn’t like the idea of them risking themselves just for him.

Shuichi: “Ah, by the way… are you feeling okay? Apart from the injury, obviously.”

Yes, that very vague and nebulous injury where we never actually know what kind of injury it even is. But that aside, what Shuichi is actually asking here, albeit indirectly, is, “How’s your health?” He totally knows that Kaito is still sick.

Kaito: “Who, me? Yeah… of course. It’s nothing.”

But of course it’s fine. Of course it’s nothing. It’s definitely not so horrendously bad that he’s barely even going to last a day from here, nope, he can’t have Shuichi worry about him at all or risk ruining his high spirits, especially not at a time like this.

Kaito: “Anyway, Kokichi should be back soon, so we better end our chat.”

Shuichi: “Ah, okay… Sure. … And hey, Kaito… About what happened with Gonta—”

It’s appropriate that Shuichi only awkwardly brings this up when they’re supposedly about to end their conversation. He’s just had this whole chat in which Kaito is happily talking to him again, so things seem fine, but he still doesn’t want to end it without trying to address what happened between them. Perhaps the fact that Kaito is finally talking to him again is what gives Shuichi the confidence to bring it up, even though he’s still not sure exactly what to say (because I certainly hope Shuichi isn’t about to try and apologise for the absolutely nothing that he did wrong).

Kaito: “Shuichi, I leave the rest to you.”

This is the first time Kaito has said Shuichi’s name since pushing him away at the end of chapter 4. And yes, you guessed it – in Japanese, this is him using the name “Shuichi” again, and not “Saihara”. He is immediately letting Shuichi know that everything is okay between them.

To talk specifically about Japanese-Kaito a bit more, because this thing with Shuichi’s name is a delightful bit of extra nuance which is sadly (but unavoidably) missing in the English: I imagine that Kaito regretted calling him “Saihara” from the moment he said it, because that gave the implication of “I don’t care about you any more,” which he must know would have hurt Shuichi and he never wanted to do that. But he’d have also spent early chapter 5 not feeling like he deserves to call him “Shuichi”, because that’s a mark of the close, trusted friendship that he feels like he’s broken by letting him down. So Kaito’s inability to talk to Shuichi would have been somewhat convenient for him in this regard, because it gave him a perfectly good excuse to not address Shuichi by either name when both of them would have hurt to use.

Shuichi: “…What?”

Shuichi is so bewildered that this is how Kaito chose to respond to this. He was preparing himself for a painful, heavy talk about what happened to Gonta, but instead Kaito is just… praising him…?

Kaito: “While I’m gone, you gotta support everyone. Especially Maki Roll… She can be reckless sometimes.”

The “while I’m gone” part could sound on the surface like he’s just talking about until they rescue him, but… I think we all know what he really means by that. He means, “When I’m gone”. Because he knows he won’t last much longer and that Shuichi is going to have to take charge and keep fighting without him when the time comes.

This is also not the first time Kaito has asked Shuichi to support Maki while he’s not able to do so himself, as if Maki still needs some support with her issues and Shuichi is a hero enough that he’d be able to give it.

(And I am amused by Kaito having the audacity to remark on her being reckless sometimes. Look who’s talking.)

Kaito: “You’re an impressive detective, through and through.”

…Yep, Kaito’s response to Shuichi bringing up Gonta very much is all about him telling Shuichi how awesome he is. This may sound like he’s just shifting the topic away from the Gonta issue, but in fact this is Kaito responding to that in the best way he ever could. Because the core issue of that trial was never what happened to Gonta and was never about Kaito being angry at Shuichi for doing what he did. It was about Kaito not being able to accept that Shuichi is stronger and more of a hero than him. And that’s exactly what he’s able to do now. By praising Shuichi’s strength and reliability, Kaito is essentially saying that he’s no longer letting himself be upset by that and Shuichi shouldn’t worry about it any more.

That said, that message doesn’t really get communicated to Shuichi here, because Shuichi never realised the problem was on Kaito’s end in the first place, and Kaito is still not actually admitting to having been jealous or apologising for lashing out quite yet. Still, Shuichi can at least tell from Kaito’s positivity and encouragement (and using his given name in Japanese) that things appear to be good again and therefore Kaito apparently isn’t angry at him any more (even though he never was in the first place, you idiot).

But one thing that unfortunately doesn’t ever really get covered is why Kaito is okay with this now. It’s a pretty significant shift for him, but he’s been offscreen for almost two ingame days so we never get to see any hints of how that shift occurred (and he’s certainly never going to talk about it, because he’s Kaito).

That’s not going to stop me from thinking about this anyway! To be fair, I think a lot of it rather simply comes down to suddenly facing an even bigger, even worse problem which puts the problem between himself and Shuichi into perspective and makes him realise it’s not quite as big of a deal as he was making it out to be. The notion that he’s let Shuichi down suddenly doesn’t matter nearly as much when also the entire world has ended and they’re two of literally only seven people left alive.

I also think, though, that this would have put things in perspective for Kaito in another way. Up until then, he’d basically managed to irrationally convince himself that Shuichi is an invincible hero who doesn’t need him. But a revelation this huge and awful would be hard on anyone, no matter how heroic they are. At a time like this, everyone is going to need support from their friends, and everyone is going to be able to give it, just by being there. And the only thing someone can really offer in this situation is baseless optimism because this is too massive for anyone to “do something about it”, yet that baseless optimism is still going to help.

So, while this is all speculative because we never see any indications of what went on in Kaito’s head during these two days, I think it makes sense that the impact of what he saw outside that door would have shifted his previously very black-and-white perspective about heroes and sidekicks, and strength versus weakness. He should be able to realise now that even though Shuichi may be stronger and more of a hero than him, that doesn’t mean he won’t still need and benefit from someone else’s support, and it doesn’t mean Kaito can’t still be someone who can give that to him, even if all he has to give is words of encouragement and a smile.

Kaito: “You might not only reach the truth, but something even beyond it.”

This is a very interesting line! Apparently Kaito believes that there’s something “beyond” the truth. It’s almost like he’s also aware that what they saw outside isn’t actually the real truth.

Now, he definitely doesn’t know that for certain, or he’d be telling Shuichi he thinks so (unlike someone), but, consider. Kaito has still managed not to fall into despair from that awful supposed-truth, despite not being numb to despairing situations like Maki is, and despite not having seen the Flashback Light which filled everyone with artificial motivation. This is a testament to his ridiculously stubborn optimism, which even manages to work in a situation that’s this completely hopeless. Kaito’s is a mentality which utterly refuses to let him properly acknowledge painful things that are right in front of him – that’s why he couldn’t accept Gonta’s guilt, after all. He’d rather cling to the slightest possibility of something better, even if it goes against all reason to consider it possible in the first place, purely for the sake of not giving up.

So I think Kaito managed to keep himself together in this situation by stubbornly telling himself that maybe what they saw outside isn’t quite the whole truth after all, despite having zero actual proof that that could be the case. It’s completely baseless optimism, but a baseless optimism that he clings to all the same simply because he’s Kaito and he refuses to fall into despair. And if the outside world they saw really isn’t the whole truth, if there really is a real, less hopeless truth behind that, then Kaito sure as hell doesn’t have a clue how to prove it – but he knows that if anyone can, it’s Shuichi.

Kaito: “And don’t forget… you’re not alone! Don’t try to do everything yourself. It’s only gonna wear you out. When times are hard, you gotta rely on your friends.”

Despite how he believes in Shuichi’s potential to take charge of it all and take everything from here, Kaito still also knows that Shuichi is liable to put all of the pressure on himself and carry the burden alone. So Kaito’s still telling him not to do that, albeit in a very different way to how he was back in chapter 4. Back then, Kaito was always insisting that he was there for Shuichi, that he’d carry the burden for him – but now it seems Kaito’s finally accepted that it doesn’t necessarily have to be him, so long as Shuichi has someone and isn’t alone.

This definitely also has a lot to do with the fact that Kaito is dying and knows he’s not going to be able to support Shuichi any more before long, no matter how much he might want to. In fact, this particular sentiment is something Kaito’s going to repeat to Shuichi in the actual final conversation they have, suggesting that this is the last thing he wants to make sure Shuichi hears from him and remembers going forward.

Which implies that, even during this conversation… Kaito isn’t sure if he’s ever going to get another chance to talk to Shuichi. He’s worried that he might not make it until next morning when they’re coming to rescue him. His illness is so bad by this point that it’s a real possibility to him that it’s going to kill him before then.

And yet, that’s only half as long as he actually manages to make it from here. Kaito is so much stronger than he thinks he is – just about exactly as strong as everyone else thinks he is, in fact. The outward stubbornness and determination he gives off is really not so much of a lie, even if he doesn’t believe it himself.

(The belief that he’s dying this quickly might also be part of why Kaito insisted he was going to carry out a plan of his own when he doesn’t need to – because he’d never be able to bear the alternative of just sitting and helplessly waiting to die. He needs to feel like he’s doing something and have something to focus on and distract himself, no matter how pointless he knows it really is.)

Kaito: “I believe in you. So I’m leaving the rest to you for now.”

Kaito says this in a surprisingly subdued way for his usual standards, which actually just makes it come across as even more earnest and genuine and adorable. A lot of what he’s said here has been an overly-cheerful façade to help Shuichi stay positive – but Kaito’s belief in Shuichi is 100% the truth.

Kaito: “You got it, Shuichi?”

And then he puts a bit more enthusiasm into his last sentence here, to keep pushing Shuichi forward.

Shuichi: (Kaito… thank you. Thank you for being my friend.)

This is adorable (they are FRIENDS did you know), but it seems to be saying that Shuichi is simply grateful for Kaito generally being his friend ever since they started training. That’s not actually what this line is supposed to be about – in Japanese, Shuichi thinks, “Thank you for calling me by that name again” and is therefore specifically being grateful and relieved that they’ve made up after their falling-out. That’s even more adorable and goes to show just how hurt Shuichi was by the thought that their friendship had been broken (even though it never had; they were just both being idiots). This line could still have got that sense across in English despite the name thing not being a thing – something like, “I’m really glad we’re still friends,” perhaps.

Kaito: “Alright, now get going before Kokichi comes back!”

Shuichi: “You’re right. See you tomorrow, Kaito.”

Yes. Yes, you will see each other tomorrow, even though both of you are going to be afraid that won’t be the case at one point or another between now and then.

(Note how it’s Shuichi who says see you tomorrow, not Kaito. Right now Kaito is the one who doesn’t quite fully believe that’ll happen.)

Shuichi: (After leaving Kaito with a smile, I returned to my room.)

Awww he’s so happy that they are still friends and that Kaito seems to be doing okay (but he totally isn’t, the selfless idiot).

Meanwhile please imagine Kaito turning away from the window and just kind of collapsing against the wall as he’s hit with the full weight of the fact that this might have been the last time he’ll ever see his best friend.

(It still would have helped to get to talk to him here, though. Up until now, Kaito must have been afraid he might never see Shuichi again at all and wouldn’t even get the chance to make up with him – that he’d die while still not quite even being Shuichi’s friend. That would have been so, so much worse.)

Shuichi: “We go at dawn.” (I won’t hesitate anymore. Kaito has taught me…)

Kaito has taught Shuichi so much! If only Kaito realised that.

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