#good news: she agreed to finish dr1 with me

[lampochkaart]

Finaly had time to properly admire the gift from my friend

She literally decided "you like danganronpa? i'll give you A WHOLE BOX of danganronpa!" and I couldn't be happier💘

[imtheperfectvoid]

So I’ve been REALLY fixated on Danganronpa the last few weeks (replayed the last two games and recently finished DRV3 as well) and I realized I have many many thoughts about certain characters and their respective arcs/stories/behaviors/etc. and bc I enjoy shouting my thoughts into The Void That Is The Internet I’m just gonna mash em into one post and send it out to sea. Spoilers for DR1, SDR2, and DRV3 under the cut (and sorry, it gets looooooong)

DR1:

My biggest thought I’ve had is that, over time, I’ve slowly begun to realize that I just... don’t like Kyoko as much as I thought I did. Like, when I first played the game back a couple years ago, I thought she was pretty alright. Not a favorite, but perfectly fine. However, after replaying recently, I kinda realized she just... rubs me the wrong way? I guess? Like, I understand why she is the way she is, but she just constantly comes across as being so abrasive and distant and mildly unwelcoming. Byakuya is the same way, though - hell, he’s even more abrasive and unwelcoming - but I enjoy his character more. I couldn’t figure out why until it hit me about nearish the last chapter; it’s because Kyoko switched gears and started opening up to Makoto in a way that just didn’t feel natural or earned, y’know? Byakuya was an absolute shitheel, through and through, but his character shift (as small and hardly noticeable as it was) still made sense because he came to realize that him neglecting the feelings and thought processes of others can really bite him in the ass (a la Sakura’s trial) and he starts to cooperate a bit more with everyone. Kyoko, on the other hand, just kinda... decided to open up to Makoto a bit too fast for not really any clear, distinctive reason. Maybe I glossed over it? Maybe I just didn’t read deep enough into her lines or take enough interest in her Free Time events? I don’t know. All I know is this: Kyoko’s character development in terms of her connection with Makoto and the others felt too forced and disingenuous overall, like it lacked sincerity.

I enjoy Hagakure. Like, people seem to generally find him irritatingly dumb, which I get, but honestly? Sometimes his shit is just so wild that I can’t help but enjoy it.

Same with why I like Byakuya so much. He’s a dick, but he’s pretty entertaining to watch and listen to, especially when he’s thrown off guard. That shit’s the best.

I have no idea why but... I also would’ve liked to learn more about Ishimaru? He just seemed fascinating to me, especially in his Free Time events when you learn about his family and his history of harassment and whatnot

Junko being the mastermind was really unexpected and I enjoyed that twist a lot. I did not see it coming when I first played, and the small clues they left throughout the game pointing to her were very clever!

This first game will forever be iconic in many ways, but it is sadly my least favorite of the trilogy only because they just kept getting better

SDR2

*slams fists on table* I! WANT! MORE! GUNDAM! TANAKA! (I am fully aware that he was given quite a decent amount of development, both throughout the story as well as in Free Time events, but god, I don’t know what it is but I just fucking love this guy)

People seem surprisingly divided on Kazuichi??? Which is understandable but I liked him plenty. Sure, his thing with Sonia was a bit... much... but aside from that, he’s pretty enjoyable and funny. Like Hagakure, but less dumb, I suppose.

Honestly??? I wish the blackened in chapter 4 had been Sonia- please hear me out on this one. By no means do I dislike Sonia - she’s great, I love her! - HOWEVER, I think this could’ve led to a lot more interesting development for everyone. Imagine the insanity of realizing Nekomaru, a giant, strong, agile, keen robot who couldn’t even be killed by a bazooka to the chest being killed by Sonia goddamn Nevermind. That would be a mindfuck and a half (granted, they’d have to do some serious explaining on how she’d have done it. I don’t doubt she’d take on the Final Dead Room, though - she seems plenty capable of challenging that tbh). Not only that, giving her the same motive Gundam had is just as fitting and sad enough to boot - she’s the Ultimate Princess, of course she’d want to motivate everyone and use her influence to keep their morale up in such a seemingly hopeless situation, right? Hearing her post-vote explanation for why she did it would be heartbreaking. And possibly my biggest reason for wanting Sonia to be the blackened? Imagine Gundam and Souda after her execution. Now wouldn’t that just be a moment of despair? Gundam, likely, would be very steely and unflinching on the outside, probably saying something about how “the Dark Queen no doubt knew this was her moment to take flight from this world and prevent you mortals from abandoning the lives you’ve been so fortuitously bestowed” or whatever, but god, I genuinely feel like he’d be torn up about it inside (I should add: I’m not a sondam shipper, by any means - I don’t ship Gundam with anyone - I just like the idea that Gundam is so unaccustomed to kind gestures and compliments that he just gets nervous about them coming from literally anyone (like with Hajime in Free Time events)). And Souda???? He would either try to play it tough or he would be a fucking wreck. And as much as I like Souda, I’d love to see how he carries through the rest of the game after Sonia’s execution.

Komaeda is vastly overrated. Like, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy his character - I think he’s complex and interesting and his batshit insanity is goddamn hilarious at points, but he’s waaaaay too overhyped. Bouncing off this thought, I also feel like his character went through a lot of ups and downs in terms of enjoyability. Like, first trial? Very enjoyable - we learn he’s fuckin cuckoo for Hope Puffs and it’s great but also awful but also great. Fifth trial? We see how far he’s truly willing to go to fuck with others and bring despair so that hope can shine through, and it’s fascinating. There are other times, though, where he’s just... annoying. Not really adding anything new and just babbling about hope and despair and saying the same tired shit again and again. But what makes him a neat character is that he’s at least fun to hate. Granted, not all the time, but most of the time, yeah, it’s fun to hate this guy. Getting frustrated at how he holds back information crucial to a case or how he turns his nose up at those he thinks are below him - it’s done in a way that I at least don’t get annoyed by hating him, and I have a good time doing so.

Y’know who’s not fun to hate, though? Saionji. I fuckin hate Saionji. I honestly do. Nothing fun about hating her. Nothing fun about her at all.

I am fascinated by Twogami/Imposter’s story and character as a whole. I would love to know even more about them.

Junko being brought back again was a bit... much, yeah, I’ll agree - I as a bit disappointed that they just made her the Big Bad again, but honestly? The whole Izuru Kamukura twist made up for it. Same goes for the simulation twist; yeah, had it just been “it was all a game!! nothing really happened!! your friends are fine and monokuma ain’t real lmao”, that would’ve been real shitty, BUT by making them all Remnants of Despair, leaving the dead people most likely dead (though it’s implied that they can actually wake up, it’s just unlikely), and making Hajime technically the mastermind behind this killing game, it became a really good twist ending.

This game had some bomb-ass music, especially with the 8-bit mixes and stuff. V v good

FUCK (IMPROVED) HANGMAN’S GAMBIT. “””IMPROVED””” MY ASS. YOU RUINED A PERFECTLY GOOD GAME MECHANIC IS WHAT YOU DID. LOOK AT IT - IT’S GOT UNFAIR PLAYABILITY

This game used to be my favorite of the installments, but then... but then...

DRV3

Yup. This game’s my favorite. It’s got the best overall cast (but I’ll give SDR2 credit for having my favorite character of the whole series - my sweet boy Gundam), best music, best debate game mechanics, AND best post-game content.

GONTA GOKUHARA IS A BIG FRIEND WHOMST I LOVE VERY MUCH

A lot of people seem to be divided on how the protag switch from Kaede to Shuichi was either good or bad. Personally? I liked it. Yeah, it would’ve been really cool to have a female protag for a change, but Kaede felt too... complete, I guess? She felt like a very self-realized, confident character. While yeah, that would also be cool to see, having a very confident, strong character as the protag from the get-go, I like seeing a protag go through something like this starting out weak or unrealized and coming out on top with more of a complete character than they started with. I love Kaede, and I love Shuichi. I thought the protag switch was acceptable.

People also seem to be divided on how they feel about Ouma. And by “divided” I mean a lot of people love him a lot and some people hate him a lot. I really liked Ouma’s character a lot. I don’t like Ouma as a person - God, Christ, I do not like Ouma as a person - but his character was absolutely fascinating to me. Having a character being the total embodiment of a lie was so interesting, especially in a situation where truths and lies can gravely affect the outcome of a vote. And much like Komaeda, he was enjoyable to hate, but to an even greater extent. So many moments with Ouma were fucking hysterical. He’s got some of the best lines (”Stop making such dumbass comments and keep your smelly breath in your dirty mouth” still cracks me up with the delivery he gives for it. Also any time he yells and his voice does the screechy thing is fuckin great) and his sprites are a goddamn trip (his creepy smile sprite that just keeps getting creepier over time???). There’s a lot I can say about Ouma but I’ll just keep it at that. I don’t love him by any means, but I greatly enjoy watching him throughout the game.

People are also very divided on the ending. I loved it. I love when shit gets so meta that it blows me outta the water. And it’s really easy to fuck up a metagame ending like that, but I don’t think DRV3 did (well, I’m a bit let down by the post-credits bit - kinda would’ve preferred for it to just cut off where it did before the credits - but even that wasn’t enough to really detract me) I even liked the twist of the mastermind (even though I definitely had my suspicions solely bc Tsumugi was just too boring, and Danganronpa wouldn’t make such a nothing character for no reason, even if being plain and boring was literally her character trait, y’know what I mean?)

I’m gonna be real upfront about this - I really liked Korekiyo at first and am subsequently really disappointed with how they chose to develop his character. Granted, the whole “I’ve killed nearly 100 women in order to appease my dead sister whom I was supposedly in an incestuous relationship with and is also a tulpa in my own mind who speaks through me sometimes” was definitely something that threw me for a loop and a half and was a surprising twist, but “surprising” doesn’t equate to “good”, not in this case. See, I loved the mysterious and creepy vibes Korekiyo gave off - doing his Free Time events, I saw how intelligent and composed and fascinating he was to interact with. His views on humanity, his views on a lot of things, were just so interesting. I wanted to see more into him, see what more he had to offer, and I thought we’d get something like that in chapter 3 when we unlocked his research lab, and I was really looking forward to it. When they threw that twist out there, I was... really let down. Making him something that was just so objectively vile and inhumane seemed unfair and not as interesting as it could’ve been. I was expecting him to be more Gundam-like (looks like they’d kill you but is actually pretty nice and likely would not kill you) or maybe even slightly Komaeda-like (his obsession with the beauty of humanity drives him to say and do some weird shit, which ended up being kind of true, but not to the extent I was expecting) Kiyo’s development felt too over-the-top, too, in that sense; like, it wasn’t enough that he’d killed nearly 100 women - he also had to have a tulpa who was his sister that encouraged him to do these things, and he also had to be in an incestuous relationship with said sister when she was still living. That’s just... a lot. Like, waaay too much. Had they thrown that out, kept his weird shtick about how “humanity is beautiful, even when ugly” and all his other overall strangeness, I think he could’ve had a far more compelling backstory and character arc. Honestly, maybe get rid of the serial killer bit, get rid of the incest, and he becomes more interesting while still being a character who eventually kills someone for the wrong reasons (i.e. maybe to see “the beauty of a life leaving its physical body” or something, not for his own survival or escape). Hell, maybe even keep the tulpa to give a twist on his story that focuses on how he’s unhealthily coped with his sister’s death. Maybe his sister tells him to do these things but he doesn’t listen to her and tries to avoid causing harm to others and block her out. Or maybe she’s more rational. Or maybe it’s not a tulpa and Korekiyo knows she’s not really with him but he pretends to help himself cope. Any of these would’ve been interesting to delve into (albeit assuming they’re done properly, as well). I didn’t anticipate to linger on this for so long but goddammit, I really wanted a cool character out of Korekiyo and was cheated out of it and it really disappointed me.

(also some people like korekiyo way too much and it frightens me)

(same with ouma like guys c’mon)

But on the bright side, I do love me some good “seesaw” memes

I’m also amazed at how there wasn’t a single character in this game that I didn’t enjoy to some degree. DR1 had Kyoko, Hifumi, and Celeste whom I never ended up feeling very strongly for one way or the other (though Celeste freaking tf out in the 3rd trial is always enjoyable to watch), SDR2 had Saionji and also had Mahiru and Akane who were kinda “meh” for me. But DRV3? Yeah, Angie got pretty annoying in chapter 3, and yeah, I can see in what ways people would get annoyed by Tenko or Himiko or Ouma or Miu or... most of them, really, but everyone in this cast was interesting and enjoyable for extended periods of time. Some, all the way through the game! (Looking at you, Gonta, Miu, and K1-B0)

THE DEBATE SCRUM SONG IS A FUCKIN BANGER

AND THE DEBATE SCRUM IN GENERAL IS AWESOME

Thank God they fixed Hangman’s Gambit

A lot of the music in this one was really really good!! I have the soundtrack CD in my car and I very much enjoy it and will probably blast it during my drive back to campus on Monday

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk

[manlyronpa]

Long ass DR venting

Man I really just wanna give up on everything, I’m really tired of pretty much loving something but overall not feeling like I’ve gotten anything out of it. As a fan I’m completely disappointed, as I feel the series creators and writers never once considered me a part of their demographic at all. Like everything that appealed to me or interested me from the series just kinda got unceremoniously swept under the rug or mainly used to make other characters look better. I can’t emphasize enough how shitty it feels knowing you have a favorite and that the only time they get brought up is to kind of rub it in your face that they fucked up and they don’t get a second chance. It’s especially shitty when they make it feel like none of them matter and that their only relevance to the story is that their losers. For fuck’s sake, it would not have been that hard to have something, anything for them that doesn’t make them feel like absolutely no one in this series gives a shit about them. The closest I got to that was in AE and AE turned out to be something that had interesting ideas and things, but none of that shit gets explored! And I dunno maybe that’s my biggest fucking gripe with this fucking game series. It plays everything too fucking safe now and it’s fucking uninteresting when it takes those routes. Like god damn, do I even need to bring up DR3? Like how the hell is a long time DR fan supposed to feel about that shit? There’s absolutely no way people who actually love the series as a whole can say it was anything but shit. Did it have cool stuff? Yes. Did it have interesting ideas and great potential to properly go into things and give us a unique view on things? Yes. But the big thing here is that it didn’t do any of that shit. It took the laziest god damn route which was to play everything fucking safe, no one dies, all the SDR2 kids are actually pure cinnamon rolls who did nothing wrong and best of all any and all inconsistencies from previous entries get either cut off, retconned or my personal favorite, out right ignored completely! How dare I get invested in the larger world of Danganronpa or expecting it to deliver at all, especially after SDR2 pussied out on killing anyone. All in all, I love the majority of the characters, I feel almost all of them can bring something interesting, new, or different to the table. Yes, even the SDR2 kids. I don’t fucking hate them as much as people seem to think, I just give them and the DR1 survivors a particularly hard time because they are fucking survivors, I expect more from them. And it’s disappointing the route they took with every single one of them. Even Touko/Syo who should’ve grown since the events of AE just came off as completely regressed or worse than before AE’s events. And that fucking sickens me, the game was supposed to end on the note that Touko was finally detaching herself of her obsession on Togami, so why is she regressing to being worse by tenfold? On top of that, I do enjoy the ideas and messages Kodaka tries to push or tell the players. I feel that they can be interesting to think about and in some cases challenges how someone may see things. But at the same time, Kodaka’s a bit of a two-faced shit because he goes back on a lot of these messages often or contradicts himself with these messages or what is more common with him is that there is no power behind his messages. His execution is weak and flimsy, and while I can understand where he’s trying to come from, his actual execution leaves someone like me unsatisfied and often times frustrated like I am right now. Well whatever, I can accept that maybe the writing is just not for me, and that the survivors are not for me, and that 85% of the series is probably just not for me. So I should move on right? Nope, it’s not that easy especially since it really did leave that much of an impact on me. Recently someone told me they think it’s sad that I love and hate this series so much, yet I can’t move on from it like I have other things. And I’m inclined to agree with them, it is kind of sad that I can’t let go of it. But I firmly believe it’s because I think this series did help me as a person, especially the 1st entry. And it’s that appreciation I have for the most part that keeps me going. I don’t know, I want to see this series succeed. I don’t hate it, it’s more so a strong feeling of frustration of having to deal with a writer who has changed so drastically as Kodaka. While NDRV3 was alright for me, after playing it, I feel like Kodaka needs to be the one that moves on from it and to leave it to a more capable and admittedly, firm writer. Kodaka’s biggest problem is that he had a solid message in the 1st game, which was to keep going forward, no matter what happens. And he again had a solid message in the 2nd game about how you don’t have to live life the way everyone sees you, you can reinvent or renew yourself. However in the jump to DR3, Kodaka went back on his word for the 1st game. Rather than move forward, he went back, bringing back the DR2 kids. And not just a few, but literally all of them, even Chiaki in a weird way got brought back by turning out to be a real person. On top of that, AE’s complete lack of onscreen deaths and complete pandering to what the fans want in the DR3 anime kinda sealed it that Kodaka had gotten completely soft. I’m not gonna lie, I bet if people were being just as vocal about the dead DR1 kids as they were about the SDR2 kids, Kodaka and Lerche would’ve brought them back to life. After all, Kodaka said he wanted them to be more involved in interviews, he wanted them because they ARE important to the story. But for the most part it feels like the fanbase not only don’t care about them, but also feel like they don’t matter at all. So Kodaka took that in mind and decided not to use them, despite the fact it was something he fucking wanted. And the fact the anime actually kind of portrayed them as unimportant no doubt made my own heart sink. Lastly is while the fanbase is so vocal, they do not like even the slightest bit of criticism, especially when it’s about SDR2 or DR1 survivors. I constantly see AE shat on, I constantly see dead DR1 kids shat on, but man point out the flaws or bad writing in DR2 or DR1 survivors and everyone is quick to defend it. That’s admittedly why I love NDRV3′s release so much, due to the message given at the end of the game and also Kodaka’s acceptance of everyone’s opinions on it. I love that Kodaka is basically saying everyone’s opinions on everything concerning NDRV3 are completely valid. If you think it’s shit? That’s fine. If you think it’s good? That’s fine too. Do you not give a shit either way? That’s fucking fine too. I wish the other two entries were handled that way, because then I wouldn’t feel like my opinion isn’t just gonna be seen as negative. I mean, as most know, I haven’t really made many (or any?) friends in this fanbase, despite me contributing to it as much as I can and being so passionate about the series. Currently I have no one to really talk to about this series much with, as everyone I’ve met have moved on and this leaves me conflicted as to where I wanna go with things. I don’t want to quit DR, but I have to face the facts that while I loved NDRV3, it did not leave as much of an impact as 1 did. And that as much as I love the 1st game, none of my favorites are ever going to come back or get anything special. Those characters stories are firmly done and at this point Kodaka saying ‘Well as long as you love them, they’re still never truly die’ isn’t helping since I do love them, yet DR3 made sure I don’t forget that they’re dead and no one gives a shit. So most likely, after I finish my current engagements(NDRV3 Anthology, SDR2 anthology, Chiaki manga, Genocider Mode), I’ll move on to just doing what I love about the series. This probably means I’ll only really push or work on DR1′s anthologies and 4-koma kings. And once those are done, I think I will properly quit and leave behind all my resources and raws to let anyone who wants to do the leftover DR2, DRAE and possibly NDRV3 stuff to the fanbase. Ultimately I know all anyone will shift to only giving a shit about NDRV3, but at least if I do that I will feel like I contributed, did what I wanted and that I legitimately tried my best to make everyone happy in the fanbase.