#i know the not-danganronpa game is also out today

[wuwubean]

oh yeah with the undertale news destroying my brain i almost forgot that GHOST TRICK IS OUT TODAY!!! GHOST TRICK GAME OF THE YEAR EVERY YEAR GO PLAY IT RIGHT NOW!!!

[kaibutsushidousha]

Hi not to Danganronpa-post in 2024 but I've been reading the V3 anthology and one thing I noticed was that Yumeno has very different speech patterns from in the English localization?? Obviously this is because the anthology was handled by a different translator but the changes are so huge (as an example, her using "tis", which she never once did in English DRV3) that it makes me wonder about... why they wouldn't include that? Do you have any thoughts about this since you've played V3 in both languages?

Yes to Danganronpa-post in 2024, we aren't Danganronpa-posting in 2024 enough.

On Yumeno's case, I don't know what to say that you haven't already saw yourself. English Yumeno speaks pretty normally aside from her nyehs. Japanese Yumeno speaks like a girlish version of the generic old wizard archetype in fantasy and RPG. Nowhere close to normal teenager speech. The consensus among V3 fan translators before the loc came out to handle her unique voice with thou, 'tis, and these other pseudo-Shakesperianisms.

Now for "why they wouldn't include that", I think I have to once again go back to the old post explaining how V3's localization worked.

Danganronpa games are entirely made of character dialogue. All narration is just the protagonist inner thoughts. So V3's team chose to split their workload by characters. Who got which character in that is a topic I already covered here. In this post, I also made a comment explaining why I believe Yumeno lost her proper character voice while the rest of the cast didn't, and that's a theory I still stand by today.

[ultimatemissadhd]

You guys want complex characters but you couldn't even understand Kyoko Kirigiri - Kyoko defending post.

So today I'm gonna talk about Kyoko framing Makoto because you guys only foucs on Makoto in here which drives me insane.

Yes, it was unfair that Makoto got framed. But don't forget that Kyoko was getting framed too, it's not like Kyoko framed Makoto for a murder she committed. The dead body belonged to Mukuro who died chapters ago.

Of course, Kyoko could have pulled out an inspirational speech and sacrifice herself for Naegi but there was no place for that bullshit.

Haven't you seen the bad ending? If Kyoko dies, they never get out of the killing game, the tradegy goes on forever and they don't even know.

And Kyoko knows that. Kyoko knows she's the only person who can end the killing game with all the information and evidence she got. As much as, some of these were in her room, that still wouldn't be enough for others. Plus they would probably have no reason to go there after she dies, I also wouldn't be surprised if Junko got rid of the evidence in Kyoko's room after she died.

The whole reason why the trail was in the first place was because Junko wanted to stop Kyoko from destroying her killing game. Kyoko knows that.

Now, Kyoko finds herself in a situation where she's about to get executed and the "if you vote the wrong person then you all die" rule is not going to help her anymore since the whole thing is rigged and she's being framed by the mastermind. She knows that if she dies the killing game will never and go on forever AND SHE'S RIGHT. She's nervous, she's scared, she's in a point of no escape.

She has to choices:

1. Die and lnever defeat the mastermind and have everyone locked in there forever, mastermind wins, all the deaths meant nothing.

2. Frame someone else, live and defeat the mastermind and then avenge the deaths of everyone including the person who got framed.

There's no place for sacrifice bullshit here.

Kyoko choses to save herself, not because she's selfish or arrogant but because she believes in her abilities and the knowledge she has.

Makoto ends up being the person who gets executed instead and that's s pretty much a random thing because it really could have been anyone. Yes, she feels guilty and yes, she knows it's unfair. But it was the only thing to do so she can end the killing game.

Makoto survives and she goes to look for him and saves him and she does it pretty quickly. She goes there, brings him food and water, then helps him get back to the building. If she didn't care about him, she wouldn't think about what happened to him.

The fact that she was the only one to do so, maybe because she detailed map of the school that she got from some secret room, however the fact that she threw herself down the trash to save Makoto shows that she cares. But I think it's safe to say that if she didn't go down there, there's a huge chance that no one would.

In conclusion, chapter 5 is not all about Makoto. I hate when people make it all about him and how it was unfair for him and JUST for him. Because if you think about it, it wasn't fair for anyone and Kyoko had no choice, just like everyone else. They couldn't just not vote, they had to vote for someone.

Kyoko is an interesting character because like I mentioned before, what you'd except from a Danganronpa female support character would be inspirational sacrifice to let the protagonist solve everything by themselves and "I believe in you" and blah blah.

That scenario just doesn't work here because Makoto alone doesn't have enough information and knowledge to defeat the mastermind by himself.

Another thing is that Kyoko apologies and explains everything as soon as she sees Makoto.

Makoto forgives her not because he is a loser people pleaser although he is but not here but because he knows Kyoko and trusts her and he knows that she has those information that could help save the killing game, he knows that without her they wouldn't defeat the mastermind.

Kyoko Kirigiri is a character with her own morals, brain, way of thinking and mind. She is a deep powerful character who was one of the main reasons Junko was defeated. Yet, she gets very little credit. This would bring us to talking about the anime but that's a topic for another day and another rant.

[aetherphobia]

Y'know what? I feel like throwing myself to the wolves today.

Hello Danganronpa fandom! I would like to hear unbiased opinions, please. Emphasis on unbiased.

In my opinion, V3 was honestly one of the weaker games of the franchise. And our resident asshole (/lighthearted) of the game, Kokichi, is believe it or not, not a perfectly written character.

Please do not come onto this post calling me a dumbass that is falling for "propaganda." I know his plan was to end the killing game the whole time. The problem is that he doesn't have a solid motive to do so. At least not one that is clear to the viewers. His plan may have been to checkmate the mastermind, but his plan seems to fall apart when you realize he has no proof Monokuma would end the killing game. He’s doing this massive elaborate plan, assuming Monokuma won’t just pick a random person to execute so the game can continue. Because fundamentally, this game is unfair. Kokichi assuming Monokuma would play fair makes his plan just seem redundant, as well put together as it may have been. A buddy of mine posted a similar opinion a couple days ago and got absolutely dogpiled because she wasn't absolutely praising the hydrologic press that he was crushed in (too soon? Nah it's been four years it's fine). In fact, one of the points made above was one I directly copy pasted got from her in specific and I took so that you as the readers could hear her without her getting all the notifications. will not be stating any names out of my respect and care for this friend. But for the love of god, don't dogpile anyone for their opinions.

The purpose of this post is to hear outsider, completely unbiased opinions about Kokichi as a character. So when replying to this post, take those biases and lock them away in a safe. You don't need to throw them away entirely, just put them away until you hit the post button. Info dump to me and clearly point out what exactly his motive was, based entirely on the context clues of the game. What are things that are clear as day? What can be read in between the lines? Why did he want to end the killing game? What was his motive? If you think you know the motive, explain to me what I apparently missed and when it happened. Provide me proof and screenshots. Just all around make it make sense without using profanity and calling me an imbecile for not understanding something that was not written in a way that was clear. I dont not want those kinds of responses, as they really do not help. And as lightheartedly as possible, calling me names in the replies over something like this really doesn't provide me with a reason to take your word for it.

And hey! If you agree with me, I would also genuinely love to hear your personal take on the whole thing and what you think could've been done better with his character. What are your ideas? What do you think would've been really cool and interesting if it had been implemented?

I do not condone the way a lot of you handled my friend's post. So please do not talk to me the same way. Please come in to this post with the assumption that I have already completed the game and I already know what happened.

I humbly await for your perspectives.

[rhondafromhr]

Headcanon that Grace’s love language is media. She obviously has a lot of hangups about physical touch and I feel like she wouldn’t be the best at using words to comfort people (love her but she’d probably accidentally say something that made them feel even worse lol), so if one of her friends is distressed she’ll put something on (movie, show, video game, etc) that she either knows is their favorite or thinks they’ll like. She’s weirdly good at guessing, too, and she’s helped them all discover new favorites.

With Steph, whenever her dad says something that really stings (even if Steph will never admit it and will say she’s just annoyed that he won’t get off her case), they watch so much trash reality TV together. Grace insists that it’s sinful filth and she’s only tolerating it for Steph’s sake, but she gets super invested to the point of actually yelling at the TV and it never fails to get Stephanie to crack a smile. Stephanie’s actually gotten into Twitter beefs with a couple cast members from previous seasons of Love Island (they just HAD to defend that problematic dog) and Grace thinks that’s the coolest thing ever.

With Pete, it’s old school video games. He has every retro console imaginable and especially likes the older Legend of Zelda games. Whenever he’s feeling down, Grace just has to get him rambling about the lore and showing her all the hacks and Easter eggs in the games and soon he forgets whatever was bothering him.

With Richie, it’s the Danganronpa games. Whenever they figure out who did it, she has endless thoughts on why the culprit’s plan was stupid and what they should have done differently to not get caught and Richie finds it both amusing and mildly concerning. They also watch a lot of anime in general (obviously, it’s Richie after all) and he’s endlessly fascinated by Grace’s deep analysis of the religious symbolism he didn’t catch on his previous watches.

With Ruth, it’s classic movie musicals. Ruth has a lot to say about them and the influence they’ve had on musicals today and at first, whenever she catches herself rambling about it she apologizes for being annoying and gets super flustered and embarrassed, but Grace encourages her to keep going because at least Ruth isn’t crying anymore. Grace actually really enjoys the music and the pretty costumes and larger than life choreography. She also appreciated that there was no sex/vulgarity in them until Ruth ruined it by explaining that there totally is, they just had to rely on more subtle innuendo. As a wise man once said, a song is a dick in sheep’s clothing. They also watch newer musicals sometimes, although they’re limited to ones that have pro shots or movie versions available because Grace refuses to watch bootlegs. Once Ruth’s really comfortable with her, she points out all the characters that are dream roles of hers and how she’d portray them.

With Max (assuming a Max lives/gets redeemed AU), it’s cartoons. He’s reluctant to admit to liking them because he’s worried it’ll make people think he’s stupid and childish, but one day he came to her house looking like he’d been crying after his dad really went in on him for failing a test and she put on Gravity Falls at random. She doesn’t approve of the satanic magic it promotes, but he seemed to like it and she would have done anything to get that devastated look off of his face and make him stop putting himself down. They also regularly watch Veggie Tales together after they discover they both grew up watching it.

She also makes them a cup of hot water to sip on because that’s what her mom always does for her when she’s sad. They all think it’s weird, but they still drink it because they appreciate the gesture and over time it sort of grows on them.

[anonzentimes]

Regarding the opinion that Nagito is a relatable character, I totally agree! He is very contradictory, but that makes him relatable. I think the reason he was looking for something absolute was because he didn't want to get hurt emotionally. I really like the following part of the line he says at Nagito's ending of Island Mode, and it made a strong impression on me:

I thought I would finally be released from the cycle of good and bad luck, but I was clinging to false hope...

(I took this quote from the Danganronpa fandom wiki, so I'm not sure if this is the exact line in the Englsih version).

I didn't pay attention to that line the first time I played the game, and for a while I even forgot he said it. But when I replayed DR2 from the beginning and reached that ending again, I was really surprised because this line reveals his honest feelings quite well. I think that he said things like "luck is an absolute good thing" in the Free Time Events, and even seemed to be proud of his talent, but in reality he felt that his life, being at the mercy of bad luck and good luck, was painful. (Since he says "finally be released".) In other words, you can see here that he has an ordinary mind, at least originally.

He had to think that his life was very happy to protect his heart. In reality, he felt that his life was a mess and not going well. Thinking about that makes me really sad, but that is the line he says just before he asks Hajime to be his friend, and Hajime immediately accepted, so I hope he feels happy to be able to enjoy the ordinary moment of spending time with someone he likes for the first time!

Hi Asaka!!! :D yes that's the exact line in the english translation don't worry!

Nagito is such a complex and wonderful character, he is the result of horrible circumstances and horrible continuous tragedies. He clings onto his coping mechanism to have something to live for, and I think to some degree he's aware his life is quite miserable. He cares about his life but has developed in a way where he doesn't have to think about things like anyone else would, and in turn these coping mechanisms became unhealthy, obsessive, and causes him to act morally gray for the sake of so called hope.

I really do love that line because it really does show he acknowledges there that it is a horrible cycle! Usually he wouldn't come to terms with that exactly. Any time anything bad happens he knows good luck for him will strike again, he knows hope surely will happen soon, so he lives on. When good things happen he's scared of the bad luck ahead but appreciative of the moment, and especially if the good is hope he's thrilled because it's what he lives for at that point.

I think he hates his talent and doesn't see it as worth anything because it has killed everyone he's ever loved, but I also think at points he takes pride in it since it's the main thing he can say he has. He thinks he's worthless, but at least he's the ultimate lucky student, right? I think he believes that If he doesn't even live up to his awful talent then he's even more worthless than before. He truly can believe in his luck as the only thing occasionally valuable about himself, but even then he thinks it isn't that good.

He's good at hiding his emotions for the most part when they aren't so extreme, and he has become partially emotionally numb to some extreme situations. But what I love is that, you still can tell when you analyze him enough how he thinks and feels. He's an honest person and even when he lies his emotions shine through if big enough or something usually spills out. One of the examples I spotted today when replaying and loved is when he starts to get really nervous after lying to Hajime so much when investigating.

I think Nagito Komaeda is so relatable because he just feels so human, if that makes sense. His depth is really well done, the world and his coping mechanisms are unhinged but he himself emotionally feels real. We see him use coping mechanisms, have love languages, fear dying alone, be emotionally contradictory, go through struggles and trauma, see the impacts of said trauma, see him have complex beliefs, see him having an honest kindhearted personality, have good intentions while doing the wrong thing, have self esteem issues, have tonal issues, he is just so well written that I could list things that contribute to his depth forever. There is so much that makes him feel human, a lot of it is apart of the universal human experience, while other things are a lot more specific since it's fantasy. The thought of Nagito recovering, being able to finally live the ordinary life he's always wanted after everything, being loved, and not dying alone makes me so happy.

[conarcoin]

Congrats on finding your white whale. I'm excited to see what comes next from either sharing, or keeping it to yourself.

This fic is definitely one of those pillar fics that created this reaction that we can still see the repercussions of today. And the negative attention the author received in wake of the fic was not something that they deserved. I must admit I am curious to see what that fic actually holds because I stayed away from that side of the mcyt fandom at the time because of personal reasons

Whatever decision is made with the fate of the fic, I will fully understand and support it. Knowing that the fic still exists in its entirety is enough for me.

But also. Were you around at the time of the fics original publication? And how much did the reactions to this fic actually set a tone for the rest of the fandoms interactions with content creators?

I was not! I was a lurker - for personal reasons I was inactive on social media from around 2017 to 2020, if I'm remembering correctly. However, I have done an absurd amount of research into MCYT fandom history to the point of digging through thousands of old SMPtwt tweets, since I'm very autistic about SMPLive and MCYT as a whole.

SMPRonpa directly led to the creation of the blog smp-boundaries, as it was singled out and used as an example of inappropriate fan content by CallMeCarson in his stream "Let's address fan culture", which was the reason the blog was made. Said blog would continue to be updated into the early Dream SMP period and is still cited today despite being filled with misinformation. SMPRonpa is frequently referenced as an example of "what not to do" by other fans - I remember Among Us and Squid Game AUs being heavily criticized with this "remember SMPRonpa" narrative.

Creators didn't really care about it besides Carson, and plenty of them were openly positive towards it! SMPtwt also for the most part loved it, while SMPblr considered it gross and inappropriate. Because of how Carson talked about the fic, people now have the incorrect belief that a majority of creators involved were super uncomfortable with it - when that isn't the case at all - you had them actively replying to the creator and discussing the fic with fans, cracking jokes about their in-fic deaths and kills, it even ended up with Poke playing Danganronpa which you can still watch on his channel!

It's a very odd piece of fandom history to me that goes to show the damage you can do to your community by interfering with and publicly shaming fan content you don't like. I feel like the community around SMPLive seemed way more friendly with their creators before the stream, and it never really was the same after that, unfortunately.

You also have to think about Carson being later stated to be manipulative and at times downright abusive to his friends, especially the three he lived with in 2019-2020 (Noah, Cooper, and Travis - Noah's talked about it in length in an interview that's up on YouTube somewhere) - I feel like this is an important detail to consider given how his concerns were made into "all of our concerns" in the stream. Creators besides Carson were largely uncomfortable moreso by the stan culture surrounding them rather than any individual fan works, at least from everything I've publicly seen.

[tobiasdrake]

Of the Danganronpa casts, which 8 characters do you think would best fit the Adventure Crests?

Ooh, that is a fascinating question to think about. I can't do an episode of Digimon today because I'm back at work after two days off so I not only have a lot of backlog to attend to but also end-of-week reporting to shoot out.

But this is a fun idea for an exercise to keep my brain moving through the day.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Courage: Mondo Owada. Mondo's issues with masculinity map well onto the Courage template. He's brave and impulsive to a reckless degree, driven by a desire to prove himself. His life has been defined by the virtues embodied in the Crest of Courage, both for better and for worse as his reckless bravery ultimately got his brother killed.

Mondo's story ends in a betrayal of his virtue. In the equivalent of Dark Evolution consuming his Digimon and driving it to kill him. But even this supreme act of cowardice occurs because he is shamed by the courage that Chihiro demonstrates. The virtue that Mondo has strived to uphold.

Friendship: Junko Enoshima. That one's going to take some explaining, but weird as it is to think, Junko's entire gambit as the Mastermind is a dark inversion of the virtue of Friendship. She knows each and every one of these people intimately, and she cares. She has to care for their deaths to bring her the despair she seeks.

The entire Killing Game is a form of self-harm, as despair-obsessed Junko inflicts emotional scars on both her friends and peers, and on herself. It's just like when she stabbed Yasuke; It only works, it only gives her the emotional response she desires, because she cares so much and knows so much about each and every one of these people.

Junko herself has the Crest of Friendship. Which she has corrupted in pursuit of despair.

Love: Sakura Ogami. Sakura is driven by love. Though seen only as a powerful and dangerous ogre by others, it's love that motivates her every action. It's love for Kenshiro that leads her to work for Junko. It's love for the rest of her peers that leads her to betray Junko.

Even her death, her final act in this world, was done out of love. Her final moments spent with a candy in her mouth; A present from a beloved friend. Sakura has a bottomless capacity for love.

Purity/Sincerity: Hifumi Yamada. A Purity-bearer is someone who is emotionally honest and sincere in their presentation. They wear their heart on their sleeve; What you see is what you get. They are, in every moment and every interaction, their truest unfiltered self. For better or worse, they shower everyone they meet in unrelenting emotional honesty.

Hifumi is often difficult to be around. His obsession with his favorite magical girl gets uncomfortable at times. But it cannot be said that he has any sort of filter or that he's concealing any part of himself. Hifumi puts his true self out there in every waking moment, even when you kinda don't want him to. He's not ashamed of himself and he's not going to pretend to be anything he's not. As such, Hifumi embodies the Crest of Purity more than anyone.

Knowledge: Kyoko Kirigiri. I mean. Obviously. Obviously the Ultimate Detective has the Crest of Knowledge. Kyoko is driven to find answers. So much so that she let Makoto die (or almost die until Alter Ego saved him) so that her investigation could continue. There is nothing that motivates Kyoko more than her own curiosity and need to find the answer.

Sincerity/Reliability: Kiyotaka Ishimaru. It can be confusing that there's two Crests named Sincerity in different versions. But they refer to different kinds of Sincerity. The Reliability Crest is exactly what it sounds like. It's the team mom. The most trustworthy person among us. Someone who is dependable and responsible for everyone's wellbeing, who steps up to make sure we're all cleaning our rooms and eating right and making good choices. Or at least tries to.

Up until trauma cracks him in half, that's Taka in a nutshell. A hard-working and diligent believer in effort over talent, Taka futilely tries to be the glue holding this group together and create a sustainable community within Junko's wicked game. He fails miserably, but it's still an effort worthy of the Crest of Reliability.

Hope: Makoto Naegi. He's literally the Ultimate Hope; Who else would this be?

Light: Sayaka Maizono. The Crest of Light is always a hard one because it's more of a spiritual thing than physical. The Light-bearer experiences reality in a unique way. They represent the force of life itself and are attuned to spiritual affairs beyond the mortal realm.

For me, that could only fit superstar pop idol and inexplicable mind-reader Sayaka Maizono.

Kindness: Chihiro Fujisaki. While not appearing in 01, the Crest of Kindness was added in 02 so I think it counts. Obviously there is no one more suited to Kindness than Chihiro, who would sooner give blood to a mosquito than smash it.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Courage: Akane Owari. Akane is Courage incarnate. Every bit as heroic, impulsive, and reckless as any Goggles Boy. Ready to fight at a moment's notice but disinterested in putting real effort into personal growth. She once threw hands with Monokuma hard enough to get one of her teammates killed; If that's not Crest of Courage material then I don't know what is!

Friendship: Gundham Tanaka. For all his bluster, Gundham cares a great deal for other people. Though he's uncomfortable with human contact, he's devoted his life to building relationships with others, even if they are primarily animal in nature.

Indeed, Gundham himself is no island, no single man standing alone, at any given time. He is accompanied always by his Four Dark Devas of Destruction, working together as a team of five to accomplish any goal. Gundham understands the value of teamwork and companionship like no one else alive.

Love: Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Though he tries to be the big bad gangster tough guy, the force driving Fuyuhiko has always been love. Love for his Ultimate Little Sister Natsumi and love for his dearest friend Peko, who he all but begged to deprogram from his family's conditioning.

Even before the Tragedy, Fuyuhiko had killed for love. In the Killing Game, he very nearly died for love.

Purity/Sincerity: Hiyoko Saionji. Again, she can be absolutely unbearable but for better or worse, she always puts forward her truest self. What you see is what you get with this foul-mouthed little bully who hurts animals and people for fun.

Knowledge: Sonia Nevermind. As the Ultimate Princess, Sonia is driven to learn much so that she can become a fair and just sovereign. The only reason she's even here is because she came to Japan to learn about the culture, and she also demonstrates a ravenous if amoral curiosity about macabre topics such as serial murderers.

Sincerity/Reliability: Nekomaru Nidai. As a coach, Nekomaru's dedicated to spending the very last years of his life to building people up. What time he has left in this world is his gift to the athletes training under him, and he will take a bullet for them in an instant. He is a responsible authority figure who selflessly and tirelessly works to build up everyone else, and for that reason he deserves the Crest of Reliability.

Hope: Nagito Komaeda. Again, this one's fairly obvious. He's a dark reflection of Makoto and Junko who embodies hope but in a twisted sort of way. Technically Izuru Kamukura gets called Ultimate Hope but that's just, like, the school administration's opinion, man. It's Nagito who has a complex relationship with the very concept of hope and so, I think, the Crest of Hope would go to him. Please use it wisely. (He won't.)

Light: Chiaki Nanami, of course. The digital human who serves in secret as one of the admins running the program, directly connected to the Neo World equivalent of Homeostasis.

Kindness: Mikan Tsumiki. This is another obvious one, I think. Of course the Ultimate Nurse gets the Crest of Kindness. Mikan struggles with her assigned virtue; she has some resentment in her, she's been abused so much she can't recognize positive reinforcement, and she enjoys the power trip of being in charge of others.

There is certainly a risk of a Darkness Evolution from Mikan. But I think those struggles only reinforce that importance and centrality of Kindness to her existence.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Courage: Tenko Chabashira. Tenko's a full-blown magical girl superhero. She's the Champion of Women, trawling city streets looking for rapists and abusers she can throw hands with.

In the Killing Game, she ticks all the boxes. Impulsive? Check. Reckless? Check. Heroic? Check. Does things without thinking to both the benefit and detriment of those around her? Check check check!

Friendship: Kaito Momota. Kaito well and truly believes that friendship and bonds of togetherness are how we're going to get through this alive. He's a serial adopter of isolated people, dragging anyone who doesn't have a friend into his own social group where he pushes them to become the best version of themselves.

In fact, his greatest flaw is having too much faith in people, blinding him to the darkness inside of them.

Love: Maki Harukawa. Furious though she would be to receive this Crest, Maki's capacity for love influences much of her story. Child caregiver for her orphanage, she became an assassin so that someone she loved wouldn't have to.

As the Killing Game progresses, Maki's capacity for love finds her again. Love is what drives some of her biggest and most influential actions.

Purity/Sincerity: Miu Motherfuckin' Iruma, shit-for-tits! If this were the Crest of Innocence, it'd be Gonta for sure. But this is about unfettered self-expression, and Gonta has to remind himself to conduct himself gentlemanly. He has fetters.

Miu, however, does not. Every last stray impulse or thought that hits her brain comes straight out of her mouth, even when it definitely shouldn't. She is honest and sincere self-expression incarnate, like no other.

Knowledge: Shuichi Saihara. Like Kyoko, this one's a no-brainer. Though he's reluctant to commit to the role, the Ultimate Detective is here to uncover the truth. His relationship with curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge defines his story throughout V3.

Sincerity/Reliability: Kirumi Tojo. Do I even need to explain why? The Ultimate Maid is the ultimate caregiver for all of these children. She is the pillar that makes living here sustainable, even comfortable. And she does it all without a single complaint. Caring for others is what she lives for.

Hope: Kaede Akamatsu. Though she isn't with us long, Kaede carries hope in her heart so strongly that it ultimately kills her. There is no greater gesture of hope in the entirety of V3 than Kaede's desperate gamble to try and corner the Mastermind. She risked it all on the belief that she could end everything right then and there.

She was wrong. But her effort earns her the Crest of Hope.

Light: Angie Yonaga. Cult leader and possibly oracle, Angie's life is downright haunted by her spirituality. She is already (allegedly) the vessel of Atua; She's the perfect choice for the vessel of Homeostasis.

Kindness: Gonta Gokuhara. This is the Crest that belongs to Gonta. Gonta is a gentle giant who loves all things big and small, but especially small. Though he can be scary at times, he means you no harm. He just wants you to meet his bugs. He loves bugs and he wants you to love bugs too.

Ultimate Team

So, of the three sets, who best embodies the virtue of their Crest? Let's assemble the team.

Courage: Akane Owari. Mondo ultimately falls short of his values. Tenko does a better job of it, but she's also terrified of pain and cracks easily under pushback, which holds her back from being a true icon of Courage.

But Akane gives zero fucks. She is, in every moment, the person that Mondo and Tenko aspire to be. Bold and headstrong to a fault, Akane Owari is officially the Goggles Boy of this team.

Friendship: Kaito Momota. Junko is hahaha no. Her subversion of the Crest's values pretty much disqualify her. Gundham and Kaito are close. However, while Gundham has a wealth of animal friends, he struggles with direct human-to-human interpersonal contact which costs him.

Kaito, meanwhile, is able to embrace the values of Friendship with open arms. An incorrigible friend-maker and support system for every introvert he kidnapped into his orbit, Kaito is a friend to all and a pillar that can always be leaned on for support, through thick and thin.

Love: This was a close one. Sakura, Fuyuhiko, and Maki all have their strengths, and they all perform incredible feats of love. Honestly, they all deserve the Crest equally. I agonized over this choice. But if I have to have to pick one, then I'm going to go with Maki. Because it's funnier that way.

Purity/Sincerity: Miu Iruma, queen of the overshare. Hifumi and Hiyoko are in-your-face with their personalities and proclivities too, but I feel like Miu goes above and beyond in the field of shameless, unapologetic self-expression.

Knowledge: Kyoko Kirigiri. Though Shuichi's story revolves heavily around deconstructing the pursuit of knowledge, he is by design a pale and unwilling imitation of Kyoko. Sonia's boundless curiosity puts her closer to Kyoko, but there's simply no competing with the Ultimate Detective in the field of pursuing knowledge.

Sincerity/Reliability: Nekomaru Nidai. Ultimately, Taka and Kirumi both crack under pressure, but Nekomaru holds true to his values to the bitter end. This is a man who would give everything for his athletes, and he puts his money where his mouth is twice over.

Hope: Makoto Naegi. Ultimate Hope. Contrary to the way later entries treat him, Makoto did not singlehandedly defeat Junko by shooting lightning from his eyes and disintegrating her. But he was the inspiration at the eleventh hour that burned away despair and made her defeat possible.

A triumph the series has never managed to truly recapture, despite two separate attempts.

Light: Chiaki Nanami. As the conduit to a digital god, it's hard to find someone more appropriate than a humanoid AI. You might think that should disqualify her from being a Chosen Child but I support AI personhood and also something something DR3 retcon says there technically was a real Chiaki so AI Chiaki can just use her Partner and Digivice. Nyeh!

Kindness: Oh fuck me, this one's pretty evenly split too. Chihiro, Mikan, and Gonta all deserve this slot on the team. I can't decide between them. So... I'm going to choose....

Hm, we have three DR2 and three DRV3 to two DR1 in this group. Alright, I'll give this to Chihiro so the numbers can be even. I didn't plan on it being even. But this would make them even and that's pretty neat.

Alright, there we have it. Three teams of Chosen Children and one Avengers-style Ultimate Chosen Children team. Holy shit, that was a hell of a thing. ^_^

[cosmical-flowers]

Danganronpa: Violent Voices AU

Journal Entry 5 + 6

Taglist: @luvizna, @hypn0sssss, @mutsuowo, @yumetomiko, @dexterityz (If you would like to be added, send an ask!)

A/N: YIPPEE PROLOUGE COMPLETE!!! Journal 6 is meant to be chapter 1 as well! There should be ~5-10 journals per chapter. Anyways VOTE WHO YOU THINK SHOULD GET FREE TIME EVENTS TEE HEE. Half of the cast is available now and the other half will be after the free time event! Enjoy!

Journal Entry 5

XX - XX - XXXX

Theres only 4 people left. I guess they didn’t fit into any category I had already made. All of the entries are done now! Yet even though they are done, we don’t know whats next.

013 - WATARU HIBIKI

     Ultimate Thespian

     Birthday - 2/21

     Height - 180cm

     Weight - 63kg

     Likes - His mask collection

     Dislikes - ???

     Status - Alive

014 - HINATA AOI

     Ultimate Gardener

     Birthday - 3/5

     Height - 170cm

     Weight - 54kg

     Likes - Headphones, Sunflowers

     Dislikes - Spicy food

     Status - Alive

015 - SOUMA KANZAKI

     Ultimate Samurai

     Birthday - 4/20

     Height - 174cm

     Weight - 55kg

     Likes - Lush green places

     Dislikes - Liars

     Status - Alive

016 - IBARA SAEGUSA

     Ultimate Strategist

     Birthday - 11/14

     Height - 172cm

     Weight - 60kg

     Likes - Things he has stored up (?????)

     Dislikes - Incompetence

     Status - Alive

I have a feeling something bad is going to happen. Like someone gets injured, or worse. Everyone seems to get along well though. Subaru seems to be messing around with the camera settings and taking pictures of the gym / auditorium. Theres a raised stage and a basketball court. It’s really nice here. Let’s just hope nothing goes wrong.

Journal Entry 6

XX - XX - XXXX

A death game. Thats why we’re here.

When Subaru decided to take a picture of the stage, a small creature-robot-thingy decided to announce himself. It couldn’t have been taller than 3 feet. It also looked liked a cat? A robot cat?? Weird, but thats far from the oddest thing found out today. Monoshoji (Robot-cat-things name) announced that for our safety, we would be held inside Yumenosaki Academy. He mentioned that there are many facilities here for us to have happy lives, we could even go outside to the courtyard. We just couldn’t leave at all. Many people seem to make a fuss. Especially Leo, mentioning he had family and a younger sister as well. He didn’t like the robot at all, he almost fought it. But Monoshoji assured him that they would be safe inside Yumenosaki.

He then mentioned a way to get out. To kill someone. We all seemed shocked by this. Like, who would even kill!? Monoshoji then mentioned that was the only option for us to escape. Nothing else. He then gave us our room keys and a map so we could navigate around Yumenosaki easily. He wished us well and then he left.

SO WERE JUST MEANT TO KILL SOMEONE IF WE WANT TO LEAVE?!?!

WHAT THE HELL????

Hell no, im not gonna kill someone. There *has* to be a different way for us to escape. Seems Subaru thought the same thing as me because after the announcement he talked with me about how he doesn’t want to kill as well. I agreed with him, and he mentioned that he’s scared that someone is desperate enough to escape. I assured him that nothing would happen at all. But a part of me is still unsure of that. We then made a pact that we would help each other leave. Tomorrow, we decided we would go check for any areas that could be affected, like a trap door or something. But what should I do for now?

. . .

. .

.

[markerofthemidnight]

Danganronpa Settings And Why They Work

(and also an analysis on Blackened Skies and Project: Eden’s Garden’s settings because why not)

I’ve had a pretty long day today and I’m currently nursing a mental headache that’s slowly over time evolved into a physical headache. What better way that to try and help with that then to get my brain working in an analytical way?

So, Danganronpa settings are cool and interesting. There’s a lot of different ways you can take them, but- as we’ll soon see when we get into this analysis properly- most take the form of some kind of prestigious or fancy area that’s been twisted into a mockery of itself.

Another thing they have in common is that wether a school like in DR1 or a chain of islands like in DR2, Danganronpa settings are secluded places closed off from the outside world, naturally as the goal is to get out. If it would be possible to escape it in normal circumstances, it isn’t now.

So without further ado, let’s talk about them:

Hope’s Peak Academy - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Hope’s Peak is the main standard that all DR settings meet, as it is the first in the franchise. As to be expected from such, it’s rather straightforward when you get down to it, but there are a few interesting details:

Hope’s Peak is a prestigious academy for Ultimates that’s been turned and twisted by Monokuma into a frightening, almost claustrophobic nightmare.

And boy, is its appearance good at nailing that frightening feeling down and making it feel even more oppressive.

The school- specifically around the ground and first floors- is filled with these bright colours all over the walls and floors, in a way that, in any other case, would probably feel bright and happy, but now taken to such an gaudy extreme that it circles back around to being uncomfortable. It’s really dark, too. The shadows feel unnaturally strong.

Why, exactly? Well, if you ask me, that’s because we know that schools aren’t supposed to look like this. Colouring in real schools, to my experience anyways, tends to be quite muted. There might be a splash of colour here and there, but nowhere near like the way it is in Hope’s Peak where you’ve got countless colours being thrown at you and none seem any more overpowering than the other.

The best part about this effect is that, as I specified earlier, it’s most noticeable in the first two floors: ie, Chapter 1. The chapter where finding a way out of the school, no matter the cost, was at its most important: the rest of the game seemed to be more focused on why it was happening, and as soon as that was resolved, the issue of them being stuck there was fixed almost immediately after.

Also, is it just me, or do the rooms in Hope’s Peak either feel incredibly claustrophobic or incredibly agoraphobic?

The 2D rooms feel claustrophobic, since they all open up with the little cardboard cutout props appearing into the room, either popping up by themselves or scuttling in from offscreen.

The 3D rooms feel agoraphobic, since they’re rooms that, unlike the rest, you can move around in, and often tend to be incredibly big compared to all the rest.

Either way, there’s a sense of dread following you wherever you go in Hope’s Peak, and that does a lot to add to the overall feel of the game.

Setting Ranking: 8/10

Jabberwock Island - Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Now, Jabberwock is where things get interesting. This actually might be the most interesting setting on the list, now that I think about it: first of all, it’s the only entry on the list to be set outside rather than inside.

Secondly, and less obviously, getting off the island wasn’t really that… important in DR2? The game, at least the first few chapters, was more focused on getting it back from Monokuma.

However, there is one thing of interest about Jabberwock Island that I feel like I need to bring up: the sheer uncanniness of it.

It’s not as obvious as it was it Hope’s Peak, for multiple reasons (the game’s on an island so it feels more open, the sun’s almost always shining so there aren’t any strong shadows, and while there are still a lot of different colours, they don’t contrast each other and instead come together in a beautiful tropical aesthetic) but that’s all balanced out by Hajime repeatedly stressing, in the prologue, that something is wrong with the island.

And I have to say, I can’t blame him. Jabberwock, specifically the first island, feels almost… too perfect. The sky feels too blue, the beach too yellow, the whole situation is just too good to be true.

Rocketpunch has just about everything you could ever want, even if it shouldn’t realistically be found in a supermarket, like night-vision goggles. The hotel has personal cottages for everyone- all separate buildings no less, not different rooms in the same building- and its own restaurant.

Just like Hope’s Peak, there’s a sort of uncanniness to Jabberwock. An uncanniness that is repeatedly stressed by Hajime, specifically near the beginning of the game.

Admittedly, that uncanniness sort of… dies down after the first half of Chapter 1. I feel like SDR2 probably should have leaned harder into it, but I realise why it didn’t.

The uncanniness is replaced with a more desolate feeling in the 3rd and 5th islands, not to mention… you know what? This deserves its own section.

The Funhouse

Admittedly, there are times in the game where you come to appreciate the fun island aesthetic. The soundtrack, specifically Beautiful Ruin, really nails that feeling: it reminds you that, no matter what Monokuma and his killing game leads you to think, you were originally supposed to enjoy the school trip.

So naturally, the Funhouse segment says to you, “Hey, you know that fun feeling you’ve been appreciating while you can this whole game? Let me hold that for a second,” rips it straight out of your hands before you can even answer, and throws it out of the window for the rest of the chapter.

The Funhouse is everything I described earlier about Hope’s Peak but amplified to 11. The bright, eye-burning colours are back with a vengeance: but whereas Hope’s Peak at least had different sets of eye-burning colours, here, it’s just the same two dumbass patterns on bright lime green and pink wherever you go.

Also, since the Funhouse seems to consist mainly of 3D segments, you’d think it leans harder into Hope’s Peak’s agoraphobia, right? No, actually, it manages to flip that concept on its head: somehow, the 2D rooms seem too big and the 3D ones seem too small.

The fact that the entire cast are slowly starving whilst having to look at images of strawberries and grapes wherever they go just add to that feeling.

Setting Ranking: 7.5/10 (The Funhouse: 4/5)

The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles - Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Now, I’m probably gonna say this a lot in this analysis, but the Ultimate Academy is… interesting, because it doesn’t really feel like the first two.

It doesn’t have the same uncanny vibe that Jabberwock and Hope’s Peak have: rather, it feels more desolate. The sort of dreary aesthetic it has, and the overgrowth everywhere, adds to that feeling. That your life ends there.

But then, there’s the more futuristic aspects of it. The technology in the school feels high-end, like it takes place a few decades in the future.

Sure, it can be written off as the futuristic parts being Monokuma’s renovations and that the school itself is ancient… but you can never really tell.

And then there’s the Ultimate labs. I don’t know about you, but they’re probably my favourite part of the setting: they’re just so interesting!

We never got anything close to a talent lab in any of the other games… and for good reason, because I couldn’t see it working in any of the other ones.

I think we can all agree on this: if there wasn’t a Killing Game going on, and the place was cleaned up a little, the Ultimate Academy would be a really good place to stay, and the talent labs are part of the reason why this is, wouldn’t you agree?

The characters certainly seem to agree. The only ones who seemed to outright dislike their labs were Ryoma and Maki, who never liked their talents themselves to begin with.

All of the above come together to create a sort of… conflicting feeling about the Academy. Do you like it, or do you not? Is it futuristic, or is it from the past?

Which, I’d say, is quite fitting for a game about the relationship between truth and lies. It makes you question the reality around you…

And then there’s the End Wall. I… honestly don’t have much to say about it. It’s certainly interesting, but probably the most I could add to how it makes one feel is that really pins down the feeling of being trapped, and its sheer size makes you feel a part of something bigger than yourself.

Setting Ranking: 6.5/10

The Despair of the Seas - Blackened Skies (AO3)

(I’m including this because I think it’s a really good an interesting setting. If any of you would like to read it:)

The Despair of the Seas is much like the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles in that it’s unlike anything else we’ve seen in the list so far… but mainly because it’s actually a blend of the previous three, in its own ways.

The logic behind making it a cruise ship didn’t make much sense to me until starting this analysis, but now I start to realise: Blackened Skies takes characters from all three of the games, and what do you get when you take two prestigious schools and merge them with a tropical island? A cruise ship, obviously.

The Despair of the Seas, as described in the fic, is a very large ship. And, additionally, a ship with a very nonsensical layout. Now, it’s quite difficult to tell how this would make the player feel if it was a game, because it’s not, but… if I had to guess, I assume it would be similar to the feeling of uncanniness DR2 had.

The inconsistency of the ship, and the strange way it seems to be laid out, would make you feel almost… detached from it. Whereas Jabberwock Island felt simply odd in a way that was difficult to keep your mind off of, the Despair of the Seas would feel outright liminal.

Much like, say… purgatory.

It’s also interesting how the outside of the ship is described as just being a dreary ocean painted by grey clouds (or should I say, BLACKENED SKIES?!) It adds to the uncanniness the ship has, and amplifies the feeling of there being no escape.

And not to mention, when you start to think about it… it also highlights the themes of guilt and sin that the story has.

Rough seas are perfectly normal. Unpleasant, but common. And yet, despite your desperation to escape the ship, when you look out the window, suddenly you decide you want to stay?

Naturally, you would. Of course you would. And yet this feeling doesn’t do anything but make you feel worse about yourself.

It’s like you want to stay there, almost. The Despair of the Seas is an incredibly fancy ship, and not even in a gaudy or tasteless way: again, if they weren’t stuck there, the cast might actually want to stay.

But what I have to stress is that it’s like that on purpose. In just Chapter 3 of the story, it’s stressed that the protagonist feels as if the fanciful nature of the ship is Monokuma’s way of rewarding them all for killing.

So it makes you feel… tainted, almost. Like you’re in on the joke. Like you’ve been consumed by pride and greed, and the only reason why you want to leave is your weariness of all the other selfish murderers around you.

Of course, that’s just my interpretation of it. Anyways, the Despair of the Seas is cool and great and go read Blackened Skies if you haven’t already!

Setting Ranking: 9/10

Eden’s Garden Academy - Project: Eden’s Garden

Eden’s Garden Academy is… I dunno, it feels very down to earth in comparison to all the rest.

Of course, I can only go off of what little we’ve seen of the academy in the prologue, but… the best I can describe it is like a cross between the uncanniness of Hope’s Peak and the dreariness of the Ultimate Academy.

Hope’s Peak managed to feel both claustrophobic and agoraphobic depending on the area. Somehow, Eden’s Garden Academy manages to feel like both no matter where you are.

As soon as you wake up in the academy, it feels desolate. Like it’s been abandoned for a long time, and only recently renovated for the sake of the Killing Games: much like the Ultimate Academy except less obvious.

The entire school has a haunting feeling not made much better from the portraits scattered all over the walls. It feels almost like a horror game in that regard, like something’s going to jump out at you.

Another thing that adds to that feeling is how we’ve never actually seen the outside. We’ve been tricked into thinking we were outside, but we’ve never even encountered a window.

What results from that is a feeling of separation from the outside. You could be anywhere right now, and you have no way of figuring out where.

It also really adds to the feeling of being trapped. If the recent teaser is anything to go by, there’s also a fake exit somewhere in the new area, which if anything adds onto that feeling by a long shot.

I don’t really have much else to say since we’ve only seen so little of the academy so far, so… yeah.

Setting Ranking: 6.5/10 (but only because I haven’t seen enough of it)

Thanks for reading!

[northlight14]

Danganronpa trans things✨🏳️‍⚧️

Just a series of headcanon’s based on the characters I’ve decided are trans from this game. All the characters I headcanon as some form of genderqueer and what the specific headcanon is, is listed here

Hina walked in on Byakuya trying on a skirt one time. Byakuya yelled at her to get out and threatened her to keep her mouth shut. To their surprise though, she was really chill about it and asked if they wanted to borrow any of her skirts or dresses and even asked if they wanted her to do their makeup or anything like that. Byakuya came out to her that day and while Hina didn’t fully understand due to a lack of knowledge on the non-binary community, she was still supportive and came out in turn as a trans girl

Gundham wears trans tape and Kazuichi wears brightly coloured neon binders. Fuyuhiko wears plain black binders and generally doesn’t bind safely, Peko having to talk him into being more careful

Peko and Fuyuhiko chose each others new names

On bad dysphoria days, Taka will do everything in his power to make Mondo feel better and affirmed in his gender identity. This usually involves him telling Mondo how strong he thinks he is or complimenting him on his muscles or jawline etc. At first, bad dysphoria days were hard to spot but the longer they are together for, the easier it becomes for Taka to spot the warning signs and he will go into full on supportive boyfriend mode

Sonia gets so excited when she finds out that Gundham is also trans or, as he put it, “like you, this vessel I inhabit is not reflective of my true character and soul.”

Kokichi loves wearing skirts because A, they’re fun and swishy. And B, it pisses transphobes off that he can be ftm and still dress femme and he thinks annoying bigots is funny. While Shuichi doesn’t fully understand as he’s also trans ftm and gets really dysphoric in traditionally femme clothes, he’s still super supportive of how Kokichi presents himself and they always stick up for each other if anyone tries to make any comments

When Kaede and Shuichi came out to each other as bi and trans, it was literally just the pointing Spider-Man meme

Byakuya: Kyoko, you should know I’m non-binary. Kyoko: yeah I know. Me too. What pronouns? Also, wanna watch that new serial killer documentary?

Gonta will call Celeste “lady Celeste” or “pretty lady” and her soul just lights up every time

Nagito realised he likes it/it’s pronouns because someone was trying to bully them by calling him an “it” and it realised right away that he vibed with that

Fuyuhiko will ask Peko or Chiaki to go and buy him pads when he’s on his period because buying them himself gives him a lot of dysphoria. However, it gives the two trans queens in his life a lot of gender euphoria to buy them so it’s a win-win scenario

Peko, trying to be a supportive girlfriend to genderfluid partner: so do I have a boyfriend, girlfriend or partner today? Ibuki: you ate the last of my animal crackers. You have an enemy😡

[yours-the-author]

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Extended Zodiac: My Thoughts

Hey, I'm bored and want to do some analyzing, so I decided to look at the birthdays of some of the Danganronpa characters and figure out their extended zodiacs. I did something similar a couple months ago for RWBY, and I've been wanting to try it again with other characters from other fandoms I like. The only fandom that I know about that has birthdays is Danganronpa, though, so that's what we're going to go with! Also, I'm only going to do four of the characters: the protagonist, the assistant character, the "trouble maker", and my favorite character. I'd like to do this for 1, 2, and 3, but I'll start with 1 for today.

For those who don't know, Danganronpa is a video game series about teenagers getting trapped in a mysterious location (school, island, facility, etc) and being forced to kill each other (and get away with it) in order to escape. That's a very vague summary, but that's the gist. Trigger Happy Havoc is the first game in the series, so I'll be starting with the above mentioned character types today.

The other side of this, the Extended Zodiac, is an extension of Homestuck, in which some kids play a game together and nothing else. Yep. Definitely. Anyway, based on certain aspects of a character's personality, the characters have different traits/powers, represented by an alternative zodiac sign.

Okay, that's the basics, so let's get to it! Also, keep in mind, my knowledge of these characters is fairly limited, so don't expect me to get into the nitty gritty of the character's arcs. I'm just doing this for fun, and a lot of it is subjective, so yeah! Spoilers for the games/characters under the cut!

Makoto Naegi - February 5

Aquanius - Sign of the Magician (Aquarius, Prospit, Hope)

Makoto Naegi is the Ultimate Lucky Student of class 77, and his birthday means that he's an Aquarius!

...Given the reputation of Homestuck's Aquarius characters, this may seem pretty out of left field. They're typically considered "eccentric", "weird" and "bent toward contrariness". They can come across as "untoward", and "clingy", too, though they are known to be loyal and interested in humanitarian causes. This might not seem to match Makoto at all, but it's all in how you perceive things. Makoto's insistence on seeing the good in everyone, regardless of everyone else's opinions, has often been seen by other characters as "weird" (putting it lightly). His determination to have faith in the Remnants of Despair and help them recover in the Neo World Program gets him into great trouble with the Future Foundation. He is intensely loyal to his friends (and he's eager to befriend and get along with everyone), and inadvertently becomes heavily intertwined with saving the world from despair through the power of hope (if that's not a humanitarian cause, I don't know what is). His insistence on hope could be considered "contrary", given the extremes of despair that he faces, which makes his Aquarius nature a little more reasonable.

The next part of his Extended Zodiac is his Lunar Sway, and I think a lot of people will agree with me choosing Prospit as his dream moon. Flexibly optimistic, emotional, and instinctual, Makoto is the poster child of the light moon. This isn't all he is, though; he can be overly trusting and have trouble thinking things through. He gets a lot of help from his friends when solving murder trials and is quick to forgive people, even when they do objectively terrible things (like Byakuya messing with a crime scene and Koyuki throwing him under the bus for Mukuro's murder [which he only survived due to his friendship with Alter Ego]). These aren't inherently bad things, and in fact, they a big part of what makes him so likeable. It's all a matter of perspective.

Makoto's aspect was extremely difficult to settle on; it was a tie between Hope and Breath, but ultimately, I decided Hope was the better fit, and not just because he's considered the Ultimate Hope. Hope players are "driven first and foremost by their convictions", "doing right for right's sake" and "dreaming up a better and more beautiful future". Of course, his insistence on what is "good" and "bad" isn't always the generally accepted viewpoint. I again point to his decision to help the Remnants of Despair, despite the rest of the Future Foundation wanting to execute them to put an end to despair. He also knows when it's time to raze the status quo to make something better: he leaves Hope's Peak Academy with his friends in tow despite all the dangers they'll be facing, from bad air to murderous robots to despair ridden masses. Even if it's not as safe, even if his well being isn't guaranteed, Makoto knows that there's a better, more hopeful future in store for the people he loves if he works hard and stays determined.

There's also another reason I picked Aquanius as Makoto's zodiac: depending on the above three factors (zodiac sign, lunar sway, aspect), you're assigned a word to represent you. In this case, it's "the sign of the magician". Makoto never performs any literal magic or sleight of hand, but his miraculous ability to survive the un-survivable is practically a feat of magic in and of itself.

---

Kyoko Kirigiri- October 6

Libza - Sign of the Acute (Libra, Derse, Mind)

Fitting for the Ultimate Detective, Kyoko is a Libra! The concept of "right" and "wrong" is very obvious to Libras, and they are strong defenders of justice. At first glance, this might seem to be where the similarities end; Libras are described as "social and flirtatious" and being fascinated by fiction and roleplay. Kyoko certainly isn't those first two options, so what gives? It should be noted that the "games" Libras roleplay "often... will resemble the lives they want to be living". This one could easily be put up to debate, but given that the Kirigiri's bloodline is focused on detective work (something taken with extreme seriousness, to the point that both Kyoko and her father are considered outcasts for leaving/making their skills public), it might not be too far off to think that such ideals are the ultimate life goals for them. Libras also often long for a partner who can match their wit and charm (typically failing to do so, but that's neither here nor there). Whether you ship Kyoko with anyone or not, the survivors at the end of the game can easily be seen as partners that Kyoko works with to uncover the truth of everything that happens.

Next is her lunar sway, and I'm sure a lot of people will agree with my choice of Derse. Derse dreamers have a "distinct and restless skepticism", are "cerebral and self-aware", and "great problem solvers". They also tend to be introverted and rebellious, at least to some extent, which fits Kyoko very well; she's quick to bend and break certain rules of the killing game in order to uncover the truth, but she's also less eager to get chummy with just anyone, especially right off the bat. It takes a lot of time for her to open up to Makoto, but it's clear that her trust in him makes her a powerful ally.

Kyoko's aspect was quite easy to decide as well: Mind. Not only she smart and a great thinker, she is "very concerned about remaining rational". Logic and reasoning is the name of her game, and once she has a plan in place, she can execute it perfectly. She does have a tendency to be cold and inflexible, too; there are a few times throughout the game that it's her way or the highway, though over time she becomes more creative and willing to innovate her way towards results.

And, of course, her word: the acute; someone who is shrewd, perceptive, and intensely experienced. Only the best from the Ultimate Detective.

---

Byakuya Togami - May 5

Taurpia - Sign of the Aesthete (Taurus, Derse, Light)

Surprisingly, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny is on the "lower" end of the zodiac as a Taurus! His kingly nature seems like a complete slap in the face of the description for Taurus': while a Taurus is described as warm, generous, and a little bit needy, Byakuya prides himself on his cold, holier-than-thou attitude and his complete lack of dependence on others. On the other hand, though, it may be a facade: Taurus' can be withdrawn and slow to open up, arrogant and stubborn, which are definitely more in line with Byakuya's personality. Arrogance is practically his middle name, and though it takes until nearly the end of the game for him to come around to Makoto's good nature, he does show concern and even potential for growth when he's almost proven deadly wrong about the circumstances of the fourth case. Sometimes a slice of humble pie or two is what's needed to get a guy to come out of his shell. Also, being that rich fancy-pants boy he is, a love of beautiful things and rich decor is practically a given for him as a Taurus.

Byakuya's lunar sway is pretty predictable, given that there are only two options: an identity that's built on control and an almost strict understanding of his own mental landscape points directly at Derse. To Derse dreamers, and by extent Byakuya, there is "one true path among an infinite snarl of wrong ones"; yet another "my way or the highway" kind of guy, and he's very proud of it. Vulnerability isn't something he's skilled with, though, so that humble pie is very important to portion out every so often.

Lastly, the aspect, which was extremely easy: Light! Light players are knowledge seekers, and they aren't afraid to break rules to get that knowledge. Byakuya does a lot of morally questionable things in the game (and that's putting it lightly!) He claims that he does a lot of it because "it's interesting", and interest is the gateway to experimentation, and thus "learning". How easy would it be to manipulate a crime scene? The opportunity practically falls in his lap, and he's hardly a man to say no to his own curiosities.

These three traits combine to make him "the Aesthete", which lines up quite nicely with his affluent upbringing. Only the best and most beautiful things for our resident rich boy.

---

Lastly, I'm going to do my favorite character from the first game (because I do not have the time or energy to do every single character of every single game). That means for Trigger Happy Havoc, that character is:

Kiyotaka Ishimaru - August 31

Vircer - Sign of the Accountable

Yes, I'm a sucker for the goody-two shoes with a heart of gold and the emotional stability of paper mâché. The Ultimate Hall Monitor is a Virgo, plain and simple! Virgos are caretakers; intelligent, steady, and organized, and they take a lot of pride in their ability to do flawless work. Taka's life goal is to become the Prime Minister of Japan and right the wrongs of his grandfather, and that means being at the top of his game in all things and at all times! Virgos hold everyone to high standards, but no one is held to a higher standard than themselves; they are also loyal and loving, even if they're a bit slow to truly open up to people. Once you've earned a place in their hearts, though, a Virgo can be fiercely loyal, even becoming a bit destructive to protect the people they love. Once Taka opens up to Mondo and they share their brotherly bond (or if you ship them), he becomes willing to fight tooth and nail to see his bro safe, even offering up his own life in exchange for Mondo's (and in the stage play, he does actually die for Mondo! The stage play rules are different in that anyone who votes wrong is also executed. Taka refuses to vote for Mondo, so he's killed off at the same time).

Taka's lunar sway was a bit difficult to decide on, but I decided he fit best with being a Prospit dreamer. He's emotional, reactive, and intuitive, sometimes to his own detriment, and rebelling against authority is not even an option; he'll adapt and work with the rules he's given to create the best results. He's almost too honest about his goals and his "do good work and you'll get good rewards" nature, which can either be a point of contention or a point of admiration, depending on who's thinking of him and when.

Lastly, Taka's aspect. I was torn between Time and Blood, but after seeing each option's word, I decided Blood would be the best choice. As the class representative and a future world leader (in a better life), Taka is very much a leader, inspiring others through examples of his own hard work to be their best selves. He's also insanely stubborn, standing for his convictions no matter what danger it might get him in. He's not entirely closed off to learning and changing, though; his heart to heart with Mondo helps him grow and improve his abilities as both a friend and a leader, making him a better person overall. Taka can also be pretty charismatic; an essential trait for a future Prime Minister, yet his tendency to be set in his ways can be a little much for some people.

And, of course, his word: the Accountable. Someone who is responsible, justified, and liable in many ways like Taka makes this a near perfect fit!

---

...At least, those are my opinions, anyway.

I might do this again with Danganronpa 2 and 3 (probably not the anime/spin off mangas, though, I don't know much about that) but this was just a thing I was doing for fun. Feel free to share your thoughts/alternative zodiacs, too! I don't usually do Danganronpa stuff on this blog, but again, this was just for fun. I love analyzing characters! Thanks for reading!

[annadoglover1]

IT'S HUNGER GAMES SIMULATOR TIME!!!

For the new hyperfixation Danganronpa. I used the THH cast and UDG casts for this and also Daiya Owada, for funsies. The game starts under the cut!

My THH favs fighting to the death (like five seconds after the game started btw) and it is no surprise to me that the Ultimate Soldier won.

BRO KILLED HIS BRO'S BRO! Damn Daiya can't catch a break even in a simulation.

Literally how the fuck? His luck can even get him to kill the strongest woman ever?

Mukuro committing the first child murder tracks.

Yeah you fucking betrayed your Bro

Literally how? Maybe because Byakuya was injured... didn't have any other options. This becomes the best day of Toko's life.

Don't make a joke about his brains turning to butter, don't make a joke about his brains turning into butter, don't-

KOMARU!!!

Giving off Kiyotaka being the second mastermind AU vibes

Oh my god stalking led to love. Tale as old as time...

Aw she's even staying up to watch and protect her beloved Byakuya.

Okay his camp got raided twice and now he was killed for supplies. I gotta know... did he have the good kush? This is the dollar store how good could it be?

Am I surprised Byakuya committed the second child murder? No, not really.

Oh shit Ultimate Despair is teaming up once again. We are fucked.

SHE IS TRYING TO DOMESTICATE IN A HUNGER GAME SITUATION. BUILDING A LOVE SHACK FR FR

Does this count as the third child murder? Yuta is more like a preteen but to me his is also baby. But the point still stands child murder Celestia still tracks.

The first event has started and it's one with a high body count. It is... Acidic Rain!

Child murder four ig

You can't swim your way out of this one bestie

Mukuro I was rooting for you T-T

Attempted child murder turns into a double kill because Monaca said "Fuck you. If you kill Monaca we die together!" Queen shit

SHE DID EVERYTHING FOR HIM JUST TO BE BETRAYED! NOOOOO!!!

I am not really a Togafuka shipper but holy shit I am crying in the club

I didn't cover everyone but a shit ton of people died. Below is who is left at this point.

A depressing night after the rain leads to a betrayal the very next morning. Celeste is the only femme presenting character left in the game. Hope she can gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss her way out of this one.

Final child murder of the game and technically Celeste's second child murder.

Dumbasses could take care of themselves and died. AND BYAKUYA YOU LITERALLY HAD TOKO TAKING CARE OF YOU BITCHASS-

But you know what this means?

Celsetia Ludenberg is the winner! Yay!!!

Here are the final results. Can't belive Mr Daiya "I died off-screen for someone elses backstory" Owada was also the first kill in this game.

I want to do SDR2 and V3 at some point. Maybe tomorrow I am too eepy today.

[pizzacatdelight]

Flowers

So, this is my first fanfic that I have written (and completed) and it's based on my favorite shipping from Danganronpa Another.

It's mainly AU where's the Tragedy didn't happen or there's no killing games.

Warning: Despite this being a fluff, there's a medical scene. So, take care before reading.

Kakeru had a stressful day at work. The trial wasn’t going as planned. The witness on the stand won’t cooperate with him and his defense team. And the prosecutors added evidence that he and his team weren’t aware that even exist! At least on the plus side, the judge agreed on some of the statement that Kakeru made. Despite that, the judge thinks there not enough evidence to convict the defendant. So, the judge decides to end the trail for the day so both the defense and the prosecutors can investigate for the case.

By the time Kakeru left the law office for the day, it was close to 6pm. The sun was starting to set and the temperature was cool, but not cold enough to not have to wear a winter coat. Kakeru took a scroll down the city as he see people walking home from work, from running errands and saw students who were just got out of any after school extracurricular clubs that they were in.

 He walked by a floristry and saw some of the fresh flowers that were on displayed. One of the flowers that caught Kakeru’s eyes was some Pink Gerberas. He knows that it’s his wife, Kanata’s favorite flowers as he recalled the time she explained him the meaning of the flower and why she likes them.

That Pink Gerberas represent grace and gratitude. To remind that there is still beauty and kindness in the world and to show the person their appreciation just by being there for them. She likes them because not only from their meaning, which she likes, but it’s also pink, her favorite color.

This made him smile a bit as looking at them made him appreciate his job even though it can be tough and the law system in Japan are against him and the defense team unless they can find the defendant not guilty.

So, Kakeru went in the store and buy a bouquet of Pink Gerberas. His face turns red when the florists thanked him for his purchase before leaving. Even if he’s one of the best lawyers in Japan, he still gets nervous around people from time to time!

 Kakeru then headed to his house that he and Kanata live. He went inside, took off his shoes in the genkan before seeing a smaller pair of shoes that was next to his tennis shoes. This means that she’s here. Knowing this, he announces that he’s home from work and have something for her.

There’s nothing but silence in the house. He calls her name again and gets nothing from her.

He went to the living room and see that it’s nearly dark as the sun disappeared for the day and is replaced with the night sky. She’s not there either. He checked the kitchen, laundry room and the backyard to see that she isn’t there either. He gets annoyed and wondered where his wife could be!

Then he remembers that she had to work a 12 hour shift at the hospital today. This caused him to conclude that she must be in their bedroom, asleep from standing, moving around and operating on patients.

Kakeru went upstairs and opened the bedroom door open to see Kanata, sleeping in their large bed. Well, it’s large for her, but its bit small for him due to the fact he’s over 180cm tall and she’s 135cm tall. Then it doesn’t help that she looks young for her age and the two sometimes gets weird looks from strangers whenever they walk around, holding hands. Seeing her asleep makes him feel at ease…well before his stomach starts to growl. He thinks he should cook dinner as he had only an apple for lunch and guess that Kanata had a small meal at work too.

So, Kakeru slowly closes the door and heads downstairs to the kitchen to get a cup from a cabinet, fills it with water and puts the flowers in the cup. He then opens the refrigerator, grab some food and put them on the counter. He also grabs a cutting board, knife, a frying pan, spoon, some spices and oil, so he can start cooking dinner.

Kanata wakes up from sleeping as she too, had a hard day at work. She was in a 5 hour operation, performing surgery on a woman who had stab wounds from getting attacked by her ex-boyfriend. It didn’t help that the woman kept losing blood and her heartrate kept going down. At least the woman is expected to be okay and her ex-boyfriend was caught and charged with assault.

Later on, one of the patients woke up in the middle of an operation and they were forced to stop and tried to put them back to sleep so they can continue. Thankfully, the operation was a success and the patient stayed asleep for the rest of the operation.

Being a surgeon is hard work, but can be rewarding whenever lives can be saved and that the patients can get to go home after recovering from surgery. After all, it’s one of the reasons why she became one thanks to her adopted father saving her life when she got into a car crash when she was younger and nearly died from it.

Then she smells food. She smells the spices, the pork and the noodles that are being cooked on the stove in the kitchen.

“Kakeru must be cooking yakisoba for dinner”, Kanata thought to herself.

She then yawns and stretches before getting up and putting on her favorite green slippers. She leaves the bedroom, walks downstairs to the kitchen and sees that Kakeru is indeed, cooking yakisoba.

Then she notices a bouquet of Pink Gerberas on the dining table, which it wasn’t there this morning.

“Are those flowers supposed to be for me?” she asked breaking the silence in the kitchen, which startled Kakeru and nearly caused him to drop the spatula that he used to cook the vegetables.

He nervously turned around and said yes before turning back towards to stove.

Kanata walked to the dining table and looked at the flowers, seeing that they’re fresh as it was just recently been picked from a field.

“They looked very nice”

“Th-thanks”, said Kakeru who was trying to keep his posture and try not to drop the spatula.

Kanata looked at him and sees him shaking as he’s cooking.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him.

Kakeru’s shoulders dropped and sighed before telling her the truth.

“I had a stressful day at work”

“Well, I have a stressful day at work too”, said Kanata.

“At least you didn’t have the prosecutors’ present evidence that you weren’t aware that existed. Like, it nearly threw my case out of the window!”

Kakeru complain about the trial as he continued to cook. Kanata decided to help out by setting the table, pouring a pitcher of water from the sink to the table and cleaning up the counter as they talked about their day.

The two then sat down to eat dinner. Kanata normally doesn’t like unhealthy food, like yakisoba, as it’s fried and it’s too greasy. The one that Kakeru cooked however uses rice noodles and vegetarian oyster sauce, which makes this healthy.

“Why did you buy the flowers?” Kanata asked as she took a sip of water.

“I was walking home from work and walked by floristry, where I-I saw these flowers. And I re-remembered that you like this type of flowers. So I b-b-bought them for you!

“What, you don’t like them!?” Kakeru nervously told her, worried that she might not like them.

“No, no Kakeru, I do! It just, it’s not too common for you to get flowers. That’s all” Kanata calmly reassuring him that he didn’t upset her.

“I think they look nice anyways.”

Kakeru smiled that he did his job of making his wife happy, “I’m glad you liked them.”

“So, I’m off this Saturday…” Kanata said in changing the topic.        

“…and I’m planning to go to a museum, where there’s an exhibit on your favorite author. And I think you might like that.”

Kakeru smiled once more on what he heard and said that he would love doing that.

The two continued to talk as they ate their dinner and when they weren’t eating, Kanata looks at the Pink Gerberas that is in the center of the table and smiled on how appreciate her husband is to her and the jobs that they have.

Their jobs maybe stressful, but at least they have each other to relay on at the end of the day.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Makoto Naegi VS Phoenix Wright [Danganronpa VS Ace Attorney]

Leona: Ok, Ok, we're really doing this...! Phew...Alright, it's go time!

Hifumi: Ms Vasquez, is everything ok?

Leona: Yeah, yeah, everything's fine! I'm just...very excited to be working with you is all!

Hifumi: The pleasure is all mine! Thank you very much for inviting me

Leona: Well, as a fellow lover of fiction, and when compared to...that other person with the glasses, you're easily my most reliable and safest option! For all we know, she could very well end up on one of these battles someday...

Hifumi: I wouldn't put it past this. But regardless, I suppose we should introduce ourselves to our newfound audience!

Leona: Indeed we should! Hello everyone! I'm Leona Vasquez! Freedom Academy's Ultimate Mangaka, and proud founding member of the Freedom Foundation!

Hifumi: And I am Hifumi Yamada! Also known as...THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA! As well as the Ultimate Fanfic Creator!

Leona: As fellow writers, we dabble in the world of anime, games and fiction all around, and today, we're going to be bringing our reality...metaphorically speaking, to that world, and pit the people we know in fights to the death against them! You know, as good friends do!

Hifumi: Do not worry. These are merely simulations. No one was actually hurt during these proceedings. But yes, she is indeed correct! We know our fair share of powerful, capable people, and our fair share of powerful, capable characters. For example...

Leona: Makoto Naegi, plucky protagonist and Ultimate Lucky Student! A friend of my friend Hifumi and the current leader of Future Foundation's 14th Branch.

Hifumi: And Phoenix Wright, legendary lawyer, and Ace Attorney!

Leona: Two very quirky, kind, yet meticulous solvers of mystery, who put their lives on the line for their cases, be it willingly or unintentionally. Once again, he's Hifumi and I'm Leona!

Hifumi: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, talents and skills to see who would win...a DEATH BATTLE!

Leona: So...since this is a Danganronpa themed story, should we start with Makoto?

Hifumi: Yes, I believe we should. As is the case for most of our Danganronpa combatants, our story begins at Hope's Peak Academy. Aptly named, this school specializes in the fostering of gifted high school students. Like myself!

Leona: As we said before, Ultimate Academy's like Hope's Peak or Freedom Academy takes on high school students which they deem to be the best in their field, at least compared to a high school level. These kids are given Ultimate titles, like Hifumi and I. Aside from Ultimate Mangaka and Ultimate Fanfic Writer, you've also got Ultimate Swimming Pro, Ultimate Detective, Ultimate Programmer...

Hifumi: And in the case of Mr Naegi...Ultimate Lucky Student.

Leona: Hm...You know, I don't think I actually knew that before now...That's not a very eye-catching talent, is it?

Hifumi: You know as well as I do there is more to Mr Naegi than meets the eye. Ultimate Lucky Student, as a talent at it's base, is the title given to a random student who is invited to Hope's Peak Academy after being randomly picked from a lottery.

Leona: That...doesn't exactly help his case.

Hifumi: But the day Makoto Naegi arrived at the doors of Hope's Peak was the day his life would change dramatically. When entering the school, he would black out, and wake up to find himself locked inside the school with 14 other students, including myself.

Leona: This was the first ever broadcasted Mutual Killing Game, a historical event for humanity, even though the Kibougamine Gakuen Killing Game (Danganronpa: Another Despair Academy) was held as a test before. After that, several more would come, including the Freedom Academy Killing Game, the one that I was forced into.

Hifumi: In concept, the Killing Game's were quite simple. Kill one of your fellow captives, and you can leave, but you must not get caught in the process. When a body is found, a Class Trial is held, during which, the students are gathered together in a courtroom to work together and figure out who the murderer is. And if you kill someone and get found out...

Leona: You get forced into a horrible "punishment" that being a twisted execution based around your Ultimate Talent. Should you somehow survive, the same punishment awaits everybody else. The Mastermind behind this original twisted Killing Game was the Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima, who took the form of Monokuma, a sadistic, robotic black and white bear.

Hifumi: Regrettably, I wasn't around to see the Killing Game's end, but I know what happened after my death thanks to the stories of my peers. The killing was first started by Sayaka Maizono, who in an attempt to kill Leon Kuwata and frame Makoto for her crime, unfortunately...dare I say it...had the knife twisted on her. Then, Makoto would find himself becoming the suspect for HER murder.

Leona: But with Hope in his heart, Makoto solved this murder and proved his innocence. Then did the same for the next. Then the next. You get the idea.

Hifumi: Before we get into how he holds himself into a fight, it's here we should note one of Makoto Naegi's best traits and weapons when it comes to facing tough situations: his almost boundless optimism. He's capable of being put through the most horrific situations that would bring even the strongest and most capable to their knees in Despair...and he had to do this TWICE OVER!

Leona: Alongside the other surviving members of the first Killing Game, Makoto is one of the few people who had to go through a Killing Game TWICE. He was also a participant of the FINAL Killing Game, masterminded by Kazuo Tengan and set amongst the members of the Future Foundation. And one could argue that that Killing Game was even worse. Especially since Makoto lost the love of his life after she sacrificed herself to protect him.

Hifumi: To be fair, they didn't really start dating until years after, but your point stands. In fact, said person, the Ultimate Detective Kyoko Kirigiri, branded him the Ultimate Hope by the end of the First Killing Game. A title I believe he deserves, as I know that if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't be able to do what he's done.

Leona: I mean, that's pretty obvious. You died in the First Killing Game after being tricked into killing someone yourself, right?

Hifumi: Thank you for the...*ahem*...pleasant reminder

Leona: By the way, we should let you know now that there are two meanings to the title of Ultimate Hope. The first is the icon and symbol of peace and salvation that the Future Foundation survives on and lives by. The other is a term given to special people who through external means, have been provided the power of every Ultimate Talent known to man. For Makoto, we refer to the former. But speaking of Ultimate Titles, and going back to what we were saying earlier, are you sure he's the Ultimate Lucky Student? Being put through all this crap makes me think he might be the opposite...

Hifumi: Another one of Mr Naegi's innate abilities is his Ultimate Luck, which isn't just the power of being randomly picked in a lottery. Luck in our universe, as discovered by Hope's Peak, is actually a SUBSTANCE, that certain people possess to a certain degree. There are multiple Lucky Students across our universe, but we only really know two for comparison. Makoto Naegi, and Class 77's Nagito Komaeda.

Leona: Though it happens more for Nagito than it does Makoto, both guys possess a material luck that is both abnormal and supernatural in its practice. Makoto's Luck has saved his life on multiple occasions, such as when he slips on a piece of paper to avoid being concussed by a wrench thrown by Junko Enoshima.

Hifumi: Or more relevantly, when his luck saved him from his own execution, and gave the group the exact means they needed to take down Junko Enoshima in the Final Killing Game. Junko hatched a plan to set up a fake murder, so she could assassinate Kyoko and get away with it unknowingly, but a spanner fell in the works when Makoto steered the guilt towards himself. In a desperate bid to maintain the facade, Junko instead tried to execute Makoto, only for Chihiro Fujisaki's Alter Ego to come back to life, hack the execution, and save Makoto's life. Instead, he fell deep down into a garbage chute.

Leona: It's also worth noting that the drop into the garbage chute was a VERY LONG drop, and Makoto survived it too! So not only is he lucky, he's pretty damn durable too!

Hifumi: He also has an impressive memory, as well as excellent observation and analytical skills, which is what primarily allows him to solve the cases that he's presented with.

Leona: Ok, I see your point. He's certainly more impressive than he appears...But this is supposed to be a Death Battle, isn't it? What can he do in terms of a fight?

Hifumi: Admittedly, early on, Makoto wasn't one who was known for dishing out punishment, at least not the physical kind. If anything, he was the one taking it. First of all, like you said, one of his most impressive feats of survivability was how he lived the drop during his execution, like you just mentioned.

Leona: And he was bound to a chair at that time, so he couldn't even curl up into a ball to soften his fall, yet he still made it through. It couldn't have all been up to luck, could it? In fact, how deep even was that drop? Do we have exact numbers?

Hifumi: No, actually, we don't. The circumstances make it so that we can't calculate the height of the drop within reason, especially since the full scene of both the fall and the climb back up isn't shown. While we can't lock down an exact number however, we can assume that the drop was, in the very least, the height of a small skyscraper.

Leona: Is...Is that good?

Hifumi: Let's just say that your average human being wouldn't be able to survive a point blank impact like that. In summary, we can say that at the very beginning, Makoto Naegi's durability is equal to that of a small building at least.

Leona: Ok! Man, he's WAY more impressive than I gave him credit for! And he can deal a mean punch too, right!?

Hifumi: Well, not at first. Like I said already, Mr Naegi spent most of the early Despair days taking punishment instead of dishing it out. Aside from that ridiculous feat of surviving the drop he did, he's taken beatings from the likes of Mondo Owada, Kyosuke Munakata and Juzo Sakakura, but the beating that comes to mind as most important to the rest of our calculations, is the beating given to him by street thug, Eje Karma.

Leona: After the end of the Final Killing Game, Kyoko took Munakata's place as Chairwoman of the Foundation, and left her branch and it's people to Makoto. And it was early into his time as the boss that he came across this blue-haired bruiser.. While now a reluctant ally of the Future Foundation, Eje Karma was one of their first adversaries post the tragedy period. He became the leader of the Crazy Diamonds after Mondo Owada was captured into the Killing Game, and once the truth came to light about Mondo's involvement in his more respectable brothers' death, Karma retained some spiteful feelings towards the former biker leader.

Hifumi: So much so that he was unwilling to cooperate when he believed ex-Future Foundation Branch Leader, Koichi Kizakura, murdered one of his best men, when in actuality, the real killer was Ms Taeko Yasuhiro, AKA Celestia Ludenburg, who had previously gotten said victim to do illicit deeds for Organization Zetsubou, before silencing him...Hm...That sounds eerily familiar.

Leona: Guess she's got a track record. Anyway, to spite the Foundation and Mondo, Eje and his gang went out of their way to cover up evidence, like trying to steal resources and even kidnapping Kanon Nakajima, Leon Kuwata's cousin.

Hifumi: It should be noted that Ms Nakajima is a strong warrior in her own right, possibly stronger than Komaru, and by extension her brother Makoto. Yet Eje was able to subdue her easily. Then, during a spat over some camera film to prove Mr Kizakura innocent, Karma attacked Makoto and broke his arm.

Leona: So, what you're trying to say is that Makoto both survived a deadly drop while being barely scratched, but immediately has his arm broken by a random thug off the street?

Hifumi: Like I said, Karma isn't an average thug. But I suppose that's what I'm getting at, yes. Though, it should come with the turf that levels of power are never consistent. 

Leona: True dat. Anyway, that beating was the final straw for Makoto, and he came to a quick conclusion. He couldn't be the Ultimate Hope that the Foundation looked towards as a hero if he kept taking beating after beating, so he decided it was time to perk himself up, put on a couple pounds of muscle, and fight back!

Hifumi: He did this by asking his closest cohort in his branch, Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier and an ex-mercenary for the terrorist group Fenrir, to train him in the ways of military combat and self-defense. Coincidentally, Ms Ikusaba is the older twin sister of Junko Enoshima, Makoto's sworn enemy.

Leona: The irony is not lost on me. But Mukuro herself is also very powerful. We'll get to a more in depth analysis when her match comes around, but is it safe to say that Makoto can do most of what she can do?

Hifumi: Well you see, the difference lies in the years of experience they have. Of the Branch 14 trio, Makoto, Mukuro and Kuripa, Mukuro is by far the one who has the most experience training. She's been training in military warfare since she was a child, whereas Makoto has only been training for about 4 to 5 years at this point. Mukuro herself is capable of attacking at a nuclear force and moving at a blinding speed. For someone as normal as Makoto who aside from the Killing Game, had a fairly standard upbringing, that kind of ability is not easily gained, even with time.

Leona: But with that said, he is a very good student, and learned far quicker than Mukuro predicted he would. He might not scale much compared to Mukuro or even Kuripa, but he's still capable of superhuman feats, even after such a short time studying under her. I mean, the first opponent he really had to face by himself was Mr Kuma! AKA a brainwashed Gonta Gokuhara! And he won!

Hifumi: Technically speaking, he didn't WIN win. With how ridiculously strong Mr Gokuhara is, it's likely if the fight was dragged on for long enough, he would have been pummeled into a bloody paste. The goal was to pull the mind controlling helmet off of him, which he was able to do so successfully. In fact, in that very fight, Makoto states that Gokuhara outmatched him in both speed and power.

Leona: Oh...I see...

Hifumi: With all that being said though, it's undeniable that Mr Naegi pulled off some incredible feats during that confrontation. Forcefully pulling off the helmet alone was something to commend him on, but on top of that, despite Gokuhara's attack speed being almost subsonic, he was still able to dodge most of his attacks, and even BLOCK one.

Leona: Well, we did say he was durable!

Hifumi: And it's good that we did, because Gokuhara ALSO threw Mr Naegi straight through the ceiling of the room they were fighting in. This would have required a force of at least 326,800 newtons. And get this...He had to do this TWICE consecutively! Shortly after he was thrown through the ceiling, Gokuhara smashed him back down again!

Leona: Which is even more impressive than the impact of Makoto's fall down the chute! And he tanked that with minimal injuries too?

Hifumi: It definitely hurt him a lot more than the chute, but he was still able to stand and fight even afterwards. This proves that Mukuro's training worked to heighten his endurance even further than what it already was. Not only that, but it significantly increased his speed and reaction time, which was already pretty fast when scaled with that of his sister and classmate, Yasuhiro Hagakure.

Leona: Hiro? Why bring him up?

Hifumi: Believe it or not, though by no means a fighter, Mr Hagakure has performed some impressive feats of his own. He was able to avoid bullets fired from a military helicopter, and kept pace with Monokuma units. In terms of speed and reaction proficiency, Mr Naegi and Mr Hagakure at their base are about the same. HOWEVER, thanks to Ms Ikusaba's training, Mr Naegi is able to get over a puddle of electrocuted water by bouncing off of rubble MID-AIR, which means his athletic ability far surpasses even that.

Leona: So like Legolas in the Hobbit?

Hifumi: Similar, but not quite. Mr Naegi still has a notable mass, and while he is indeed quick on his feet, he can't defy gravity. It's a matter of two forces pushing against each other that allowed him to stay airborne, but if the gap had been any longer, he would have fallen into it very quickly.

Leona: Any other notable feats or fights we should consider.

Hifumi: The other big one that comes to mind is Makoto's final confrontation with Yukari Koime. Much like with his previous bouts, that confrontation resulted in him taking a beating from all sides, while also dishing out some big hits of his own. Then he immediately had to follow that by teaming up with Kuripa to take down both her and Mikihiko Koyasunaga with his powered up Petty Jr. Koime has a brain chip that connects her to the Alter Ego of Junko Enoshima, and as an AI, Junko can upload data into her brain almost exponentially. 

Leona: The woman effectively has a direct line to the internet in her brain, but most importantly, it gives her all Junko's data on her enemies at the Future Foundation, including Makoto and Mukuro. And because the original Junko Enoshima spent so much of her life with her twin sister, she has the data on all her techniques and fighting capabilities. Which as a reminder, are the same techniques Mukuro taught Makoto.

Hifumi: This puts Makoto and Yukari on the same fighting plane, which means anything one can do, the other is also capable of. Which by extension means that Mr Naegi is also capable of doing the same "throw-them-through-a-solid-wall" technique that Gokuhara used on him previously, as Koime easily does the same with Kuripa during Branch 14's fight with her at her Shikoku Mansion.

Leona: But not only that, in this rematch, Yukari dodges a punch from Makoto that when it impacts the wall behind it, the wall is left with a giant hole in it. A blow like that on a wall of that size and thickness would require a force of at least 145.617 Kilonewtons or in other words, 31.572 grams of TNT.

Hifumi: Grams of TNT doesn't sound too impressive, but bare in mind two things here. 1 - the hardest punch recorded in average history is a record held by Francis Ngannou, who's according to mathematics, dealt a blow of 69.233 Kilonewtons. Meaning Mr Naegi's punch is at least twice as powerful.

Leona: And 2 - this is a result after about 4 to 5 years of slow and heavy training. And I know by normal standards, it sounds completely ridiculous that a wimp like the plucky protag of the first game could go from this feat to that feat in just a short time, but crazier things have happened in the world of anime. I mean, Saitama supposedly did a basic training regime every day and that allowed him to kill things with a single punch.

Hifumi: I wonder if he'll ever appear here one day.

Leona: Better yet, who would he fight!?

Hifumi: We'll save that for another day I suppose. But to summarize, if he trained hard enough, at his maximum level of strength, Mr Naegi is more than capable of bringing a small building to the ground. Not only that, but he has almost incalculable durability and superhuman speed, reactions, and mental fortitude, and is naturally not lacking in any smarts.

Leona: Bet you didn't expect that from someone who looks and acts so docile...but regrettably, even the strongest heroes have their own brand of kryptonite.

Hifumi: Unlike his mentor and closest cohorts in his branch, Mukuro and Kuripa, Makoto is inexperienced when it comes to wielding weapons of any kind, choosing to fight with his fists instead of firearms or even a sword. This by extension, means that he lacks range with his attacks.

Leona: That is unless we're counting Truth Bullets. Are we counting Truth Bullets?

Hifumi: You know what? Yes! Yes we are! While they aren't necessarily a material matter, and we wouldn't count them in any other matchup, we're going to this time simply because Phoenix Wright has a very similar form of attacking. Truth Bullets are comprised of evidence, and this can range from people's accounts, to physical proof. So long as Makoto has reasonable evidence, he can fire them off as Truth Bullets. And he can get these bullets on the fly based on conversations that happen in the trials.

Leona: The MC's of Danganronpa all possess unique trial abilities, some of which are shared, and some of which are unique to specific characters. For example, Hajime is able to use his surfing Logic Dive power, while Kaede and Shuichi have Psyche Taxi instead. And unfortunately, compared to those three, as well as anyone else who may be capable of the Trial feats, his own set of abilities are by far the most limited. For example, he isn't able to utilize the power of Truth Blades or Lie Bullets. Guess that means he's just...unabashedly honest?

Hifumi: What he CAN do is fire smaller blasts made to shoot down white noise with his Silencer ability, which he doesn't need evidence for, absorb words from people's arguments to turn into his own ammunition, compose his mind using his own branch of Hangman's Gambit to prevent himself from freaking out, and keep pace with opponents in physical or verbal brawls using Bullet Time Battle. And his most powerful attack is the Hope Bullet, a bullet comprised of the raw power of the Hope Makoto stores up inside him, which he metaphorically used to take down Junko Enoshima.

Leona: Like we said, his abilities are unfortunately limited compared to the characters who come later. But speaking of that and going back to shortcomings, Makoto's relentless optimism, willpower and inner-strength is admirable and abundant, but it is still FINITE. Being the Ultimate Hope doesn't mean you are completely incapable of falling into Despair. This happened twice to Makoto once during the Final Killing Game when he was almost brainwashed into suicide after being forced to relive every death and traumatic memory at once, and the other when he lost his fight against Tsumugi Shirogane, resulting in Kuripa almost being killed, serving as the final nail in a slowly building coffin of tragedy since the fugitive incident first began.

Hifumi: Speaking of Celestia Ludenburg, it's worth noting that comparing their strengths, if Mr Naegi was to punch her at his maximum force, it would most likely kill her instantly. Ordinarily, he would naturally hold back as a result of not wanting to kill her. Their first fight was not the same way, as Mr Naegi attacked her with ferocity and bloodthirstiness.

Leona: We don't take morals into account with Death Battles. Makoto will be fighting to the death here, regardless of his kindness and moral standing, but that's not the point here. The point is that despite Makoto's unyielding fury, Celeste was still able to wear him down with t special dress augmentation, since it had everything she needed to wear him down until he cracked...and crack he did.

Hifumi: It was rather tragic, but as Leona said, it proves that Mr Naegi's Hope is indeed NOT unlimited. When faced with an immense enough amount of pressure, he breaks down and loses sight of himself, just as any other human would.

Leona: Still though, it's worth noting that the first instance of Despair was forced into him through brainwashing, wheras the second was built up over a lot of time. Even if this is one of his Ultimate weaknesses, it's unlikely any opponent would be able to crack him almost instantly, especially not with the abundance of emotional power he possesses.

Hifumi: And with the help of those close to him, Makoto was still able to come back to the light. He let go of his inner feelings and came to accept that he himself was not the perfect hero that he felt he needed to be. He was just a normal boy with overwhelming optimism...

Leona: And one hell of a right hook!

Hifumi: Through his acceptance of this fact, Makoto then became the exact person the world needed. The shining light of Hope, who with his friends by his side, finally put an end to the evil tyranny of Organization Zetsubou...

Leona: For now that is...Dun Dun DUUUN!

Hifumi: The story of our combatant this time around begins all the way back in the fourth grade. A young Phoenix Wright was accused by his classmates of stealing fellow student Miles Edgeworth's lunch money. Being unable to prove his innocent, the young spiky-haired boy was preparing to receive a guilty verdict.

Leona: That was until Miles Edgeworth himself, the victim of the theft, as well as fellow classmate Larry Butz, stepped in. They joined Phoenix's side and stated that with the absence of incriminating evidence, they could not force the blame onto him. The three of them immediately became the closest of friends following the incident.

Hifumi: Inspired by Edgeworth, after graduating from high school, Phoenix became a student of arts and law at Ivy University, where he became enamored with the enigmatic Dahlia Hawthorne. His fate was decided on the day he talked to her ex-boyfriend, who told him that Dahlia was crazy and should be avoided. Insulted, he shoved him to the ground and stormed away, but what he didn't realize was that by the time he hit the ground, he was dead. 

Leona: Of course, Phoenix himself was not the killer, but he was taken to court for the charge. As it turns out, that ex-boyfriend was right. Dahlia Hawthorne was a sadistic sociopath who was the real culprit. It was only thanks to the efforts of rookie attorney, Mia Fey, that Phoenix was acquitted of all charges and Dahlia was sent to death row. Inspired and pumped up by Mia's performance, Phoenix went back to university and completed his courses, earning himself a career in the law. He then went completed the bar exam and received his attorney's badge. And from that day forth...he was PHOENIX WRIGHT! ACE ATTORNEY!

Hifumi: Since I already went in depth about most of Mr Naegi's feats, I'm going to let Leona cover the majority of Mr Wright's, though I will step in occasionally.

Leona: In his home turf of the courtroom, Phoenix Wright is almost unstoppable. He's incredibly perceptive, brilliantly smart, and has a near unbreakable will...Sounds familiar? Eh? Eh?

Hifumi: Yes, yes, we get the connection. It is part of the point for our two combatants to have a lot in common. And the two certainly do have a lot in common.

Leona: Like having a courtroom as their home turf, always being able to turn bad things around, and their first girlfriends trying to pin a murder on them!

Hifumi: Do NOT let Mr Naegi hear you say that.

Leona: We've talked about Makoto though. Now it's all about PHOENIX! And in all seriousness, Phoenix's ability to turn cases around even when most dire, is the very thing that staples his reputation; always able to both defend his client, and prove the identity of the real culprit at the same time.

Hifumi: Though you wouldn't be able to tell from how much of a goofball he is sometimes, Wright's intellect has been complimented by the one and only Professor Layton, who as we know, is an intellectual genius. However, to be frank, Phoenix is probably less known for his capabilities and more known for his exclamations.

Leona: "OBJECTION!"

Hifumi: "HOLD IT!"

Leona: "TAKE THAT!" Haha! It never gets old!

Hifumi: No it doesn't!

Leona: As far as Japanese lawyers go, Phoenix's record is honestly incredible by all accounts. Over the course of his decade-long career, he has taken part in multiple cases, and has only ever lost TWICE! And those barely even counted because in BOTH cases, Phoenix's Clients, Matt Engarde and Paul Atishon-Wimperson, actually WERE guilty! So Phoenix gave up the win so that justice could be served.

Hifumi: That's all well and good, and we've established that he's pretty intelligent, but remember, this is a physical battle. How would Phoenix fare in fisticuffs or anything of the like?

Leona: I guess now is a good a time as any to let everyone know that for the sake of fairness in this battle, we WILL be taking into account Phoenix's feats from both the Ace Attorney series, AS WELL AS Marvel Vs Capcom.

Hifumi: I know everyone's probably thinking "We can't count that because it's technically not canon"...Well...Neither is Danganronpa Survivor, and the vast majority of Makoto's capabilities come from that source.

Leona: Phoenix is able to take his skills from the courtroom and apply them in a fight. Just like Daredevil, if a little less vigilante-esque. He can throw all sorts of evidence and use them as makeshift weapons, or stun his enemies by throwing paper in their faces and attacking with it. But his most impressive physical capability is probably that he can launch people into the air by SNEEZING!

Hifumi: That's impressive enough on it's own for a person of regular height, or at least the same height as Phoenix, but then you consider that the sneeze is capable of launching enemies like the Incredible Hulk, Juggernaut, Iron Man, Colossus, and most impressively, a titan like the Sentinel, or a hypder-dimensional being like Shuma-Gorath!

Leona: Granted, within the MvC universe, both of them are scaled a lot smaller, but realistically they should be just as heavy. While Shuma-Gorath is another thing entirely, the Sentinel's are reportedly around 18 feet tall and weigh approximately 4,800 lbs. Meaning the force required to knock them into the air would have to be at least, 27.6 Kilonewtons, or 30 Grams of TNT. For a SNEEZE!

Hifumi: Though he isn't predominantly a fighter, Phoenix still establishes his own style of fighting with three distinct forms or modes. The first is Investigation Mode.

Leona: In this mode, Phoenix can pick up pieces of evidence and produce items seemingly out of nowhere, stocking himself up on ammo.

Hifumi: The second is Trial Mode.

Leona: This mode allows him to fire off large Objection Bubbles, like those commonly featured in his trial exclamations.

Hifumi: And lastly is Turnabout Mode.

Leona: This mode is where Phoenix turns his lawyerly defense into a physical OFFENSE. From shooting out ghostly projections of his own hands, energy blasts from using the evidence he's picked up, and generally boosting his attacks, it all builds up until Phoenix has his opponent backed into a corner, physically AND literally, when he delivers the final verdict! He's also in possession of Maya Fey's special magatama. The magatama has the special ability to allow its possessor to see Psyche-Locks, which appear when someone is hiding information from the user. More deeply buried secrets have more Psyche-Locks on them. Once all of one's Psyche-Locks are broken, that person will finally admit to the truth and will reveal his or her secret in full.

Hifumi: And of course, there's the Order in the Court attack, which summons the powerful figure of the Judge to slam a gavel down on Phoenix and his opponent! Though, as powerful as these blows are, Phoenix is unfortunately limited as some of his most powerful abilities can only be used with the assistance of his...assistant, Maya Fey, as well as his dog, Missile. These count as outside help, and will not be able to be used here.

Leona: But to be honest, he doesn't really need Maya protecting him with how much punishment he's taken over his life. He once swallowed a necklace that was made of metal and glass, and ALSO might have contained fatal poisoning inside! Besides that, he's been assaulted by a variety of thugs and murderers, hit over the head with a FIRE EXTINGUISHER and suffering only temporary amnesia, has swiftly recovered after being shocked directly with a taser, and has survived being jumped on by a TIGER with barely any injuries!

Hifumi: And that's not even the surface level of what he goes through. The life of a Defense Lawyer in the world of Ace Attorney is a very difficult one. You have to put up with having scalding hot mugs of coffee thrown at your face, being pecked at by birds, attacked by a deranged samurai prosecutor, and CONSTANTLY SMACKED WITH A WHIP! And he's endured all of this without so much as any marks on him!

Leona: Perhaps Phoenix's two most impressive feats of survival is first his fall from the Dusky Bridge, which was set ablaze on the night Iris Hawthorne, Dahlia's sister, was supposedly seen stabbing someone. Fearing for Maya, who was training in the Inner Temple's Sacred Cavern on the other side of the bridge, he ran across, only for the bridge to break underneath him and drop into the Eagle River far below.

Hifumi: The drop measured to about 40 feet, which, by the way, was notoriously known for carrying its victims downstream never to be seen again. Wright climbed of that situation suffering only minor injuries and a cold!

Leona: And if THAT'S not enough for you, he was once hit by a speeding vehicle and thrown into a STEEL TELEPHONE POLE at FULL FORCE and walked away with only a SPRAINED ANKLE!

Hifumi: However, quite possibly Phoenix Wright's greatest shortcoming is his human limits. While definitely exhibiting some superhuman feats of survival and power, Phoenix is not a fighter, and isn't trained in any sort of martial arts or combat training. And while he may be able to tank powerful blows and other such damage, but it doesn't mean he is any less susceptible to injury or sickness. Furthermore, though his optimism is powerful, there is a breaking point to it.

Leona: Aside from the despair of being forced to fight for the losing side in two cases, Phoenix hasn't always been the headstrong lawyer people know him as. After being played by Kristoph Gavin, Phoenix was accused of forgery and his disbarment soon followed. Phoenix became a changed man, wallowing in misery while he looked for any evidence to prove his innocence, and marking off the well-known "Dark Age of the Law." It was tough times, but in the end, he was still able to pull through with the help of both old friends and new.

Hifumi: Like Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes, two aspiring lawyers who joined Phoenix's agency and studied under him, both as proficient, if not moreso, than he is. So not only is he a genius lawyer, but he's a damn good teacher too!

Leona: Phoenix Wright is a legend, not just behind the bench, but on the field too! His relentless mindset makes him an invaluable asset to the side of truth justice! No matter what comes your way, you can always count on the Ace Attorney!

Hifumi: And with that, the combatants are set! It's time we end this debate once and for all!

Leona: Oh boy, I've been waiting for this...!

IT'S TIME FOR A DEEAAATH BAAATTLLLLLLEEE!

Police vehicles and investigators crowd around the foot of an apartment building, where a rather egregious murder has taken place on the first floor. The building is closed off with yellow striped tape, and a man in a blue suit, Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright, carefully walks past the investigators into the crime scene.

Phoenix: What the-!?

He is surprised to see a young man with spiky brown hair looking down at a desk with a chalk outline of where the body was originally. He appeared to have already poked around the room a little bit, picking up some evidence that Phoenix has failed to collect the previous day. Makoto Naegi turns his head to see who just walked in on him.

Makoto: Huh? Oh, sorry...Am I in your way?

Phoenix: What are you doing here, this is MY crime scene!? You're tampering with evidence!

Makoto: What? No, I'm COLLECTING evidence! Sorry, just give me 5 minutes!

Phoenix: How do I know you're not trying to cover up the crime by taking away important clues? You're not supposed to BE here!

Phoenix tries to grab Makoto's shoulder, but Makoto spins around on him. As he does, some of the chalk from the outline gets caught on his arm and goes into Phoenix's face.

Makoto: Look, I don't know who YOU are, but I can only assume you're here in regards to the court case. I'M here on Future Foundation official business. If it's so important, I can share whatever evidence I find with you; or better yet we-

Phoenix: Aah...Aagh...!

Makoto: Huh?

Phoenix: *ACHOOOO!*

Makoto: WAAGH!

*CRAASH!*

The lawyer, as a result of the chalk, suddenly sneezes, the force of which knocks the plucky lucky student straight upwards, sending him crashing into the low ceiling. Phoenix wipes his nose and sighs.

Phoenix: Oh boy...THIS isn't gonna end well...!

Makoto: Tch...You TRY to be friendly...!

Makoto gets up from the room above and hops down through the hole that was made with his body, glaring at Phoenix with a furrowed brow.

Phoenix: Hey listen, I'm sorry about that, I didn't-AAGGH!

Before the Ace Attorney is able to finish his sentence, Makoto rushes forward and starts laying into him, first with a few strong punches, then with a few kicks, ending with one right in the stomach that sends him flying back, crashing into the wall. A crater is made with Phoenix's body, and he slumps to the ground, a single pebble bonking him on the head as he shakes off his fatigue.

Phoenix: I'm supposed to be a lawyer...! Why am I always getting beaten up...!?

Phoenix crawls to his feet in time to see Makoto running in for seconds. In an attempt to stop him, Phoenix grabs some evidence from his suit pocket and tosses them at his adversary.

Makoto: Hmph! Hup! Gagh! Haha!

Phoenix: Eh!?

*BANG!*

Phoenix: HEEEH!?

Makoto dodges the first two items Phoenix throws and then catches the third one. To the attorney's surprise, the evidence in his hand suddenly reshapes into a bullet, which Makoto then fires at him from his finger like a gun! Phoenix fortunately ducks in time to avoid being shot in the face, but Makoto continues his advance Phoenix quickly gets up and points a finger at him.

"HOLD IT!"

Just as he's about to land another blow with his fists, a giant speech bubble containing the words "HOLD IT!" appears out of thin air, knocking the Ultimate back! 

Makoto: Grrgh!

Phoenix: Hehaha! 

Makoto slides back, retaining his balance, but it only gets upset when Phoenix procures some papers from his pocket, smacks them with his hands a few times, then throws them into the boy's face! While Makoto is caught unawares, Phoenix lands a punch to Makoto's ribs. However, it does little to phase him.

Makoto: Is that all you...got...?

Phoenix: Uh oh...not a...aah...*ACHOOOO!*

Makoto: CRAP!

*CRAAASH!*

Phoenix sneezes again, launching Makoto backwards from his disadvantageous position. This sneeze sends him crashing through the wall into the streets outside. Phoenix swiftly climbs through the hole that was made, taking the fight to the streets.

Phoenix: Well, the crime scene is as good as wrecked! Thanks a lot!

Makoto: I'm sorry!? I'M not the one who sent someone crashing through the ceiling and walls! 

Phoenix: Only because YOU started FIGHTING ME! Now NEITHER of us are gonna get our evidence!

Makoto: Well MAYBE if you'd just LET ME INVESTIGATE, this wouldn't have happened!?

Phoenix: I can't! Future Foundation or whoever you work for doesn't have clearance on this case! Besides, this is already the second day of my investigation! You've thrown a real spanner in the works of my case!

Makoto: Huh? Is that right? Fine...Guess since we're already fighting, I'll have to take that evidence off your hands!

Phoenix: Guugh!?

Phoenix raises his arms to block Makoto as he rushes forward at a rapid speed, delivering a punch to him! He tries to hit him back wildly, but the smaller boy is clearly a more proficient fighter than he, and he's able to parry and block all attacks while dealing some of his own. Phoenix is forced to throw more paper at his face to stun him while he puts more distance between them, scurrying down the streets!

Phoenix: You want the evidence!? Fine!

"TAKE THAT!"

Makoto: Gegh...!

Phoenix began to throw a lot more evidence at Makoto, lots at once to scramble his vision. However, like before, Makoto aims his finger and starts shooting the incoming ammunition down with his silencer. The last item, a fire extinguisher, falls towards him. He grabs it and turns it into a truth bullet, pointing at Phoenix again.

Makoto: Why do I always use these things!?

Phoenix: How is he doing THAAT!?

He catches himself mid-thought as he dodges the incoming blast, which just nicks his shoulder. However, he is unable to straighten himself upright again as Makoto hurries forward and grabs him by the scruff of his neck!

Makoto: Let's see how YOU like it!

Phoenix: OOOF!

Phoenix's eyes cartoonishly pop out of his head as Makoto tosses him upwards and lands a hefty punch to his gut! The lawyer goes flying and crashing back into the lower wall of the apartment. In fact, the punch sends him crashing through two thinner walls, and he sprawls out on the ground, dizzy. He clutches his aching head as he climbs to his feet, Makoto walking through the wreckage to examine his opponent.

Makoto: Wow...You're still up?

Phoenix: Kid...You don't know the kind of things I've been put through, hehe...

Makoto: Preaching to the choir on THAT one...Look, I'm not a bad guy. Just give me the evidence and I'll stop-

"OBJECTION!"

Makoto: Guh!

Makoto is blown back out onto the streets as another speech bubble, bigger this time, appears and launches him! He flies back and rolls along the ground, while Phoenix scrambles out after him!

Phoenix: Not a bad guy!? Despite the crime you've committed!? No authority under the name "Future Foundation" has the permission to investigate this case!

Makoto: Ahagh!

Makoto spin kicks at Phoenix, only for the attorney to jump over him and kick him in the face.

Phoenix: It is noted that the suspect for the case is in league with the Foundation, so they were abstained from investigating under suspicion of this being an organized hit!

Makoto: RAGH!

The lucky student takes another swing at the ace attorney, which he dodges to the side to avoid.

Phoenix: Ergo, your actions fall under disregard for trespassing laws, and orders of restraint! 

Makoto: I'm JUST trying to help my friend! Is everyone in your agency THIS overly suspicious!?

Makoto lands a punch to Phoenix's shoulder, which prompts Phoenix to shove him back. As Makoto staggers, Phoenix leaps up and smashes Makoto backwards with his phantom hand, sending him crashing into the wall of the apartment building. He quickly pushes off and uses his silencer blasts to take down Phoenix's smaller shots using the evidence. It overwhelms him enough however, to let Phoenix get a little closer...Just close enough...!

Phoenix: I've got all I need! The culprit of the trespassing crime...IS YOU!

Makoto: GAGH!

Phoenix's shout freezes Makoto in place, and cockily, the lawyer starts smacking his papers again.

Phoenix: No alibi, no justice, no HOPE! It's time to pay for your crimes!

"TAKE THAT!"

Makoto: ...Heh...

*WARPWARPWARPWARP!*

Makoto: Thanks! I WILL!

Phoenix: Huh-WHAT!?

Just as Phoenix lands the final assertion, and the large speech bubble is about to grind Makoto into the dirt, the Ultimate student uses his copy ability to steal the words in the bubble, weakening it and causing what remains to simply brush against his body!

Makoto: "No hope?" That's where you're wrong...! There's ALWAYS hope! I'LL SHOW YOU!

The bullet Makoto creates using Phoenix's bubble grows to an immense size, and the Ultimate Hope raises his arm in the sky! Phoenix staggers back, panicking.

Phoenix: No...Not good, not good, not good!

With Makoto's Ultimate Attack overwhelming him, Phoenix, in a last ditch effort to turn the case around in his favor again, closes his eyes and focuses. The area around them turns dark, and above them, the nightmarish gigantic silhouette of the Judge looms over the both of them! Phoenix himself flies up into the air above the gavel, pointing defiantly down at Makoto.

Phoenix: This is the end of your trial, stranger!

The Judge raises his gavel, and yells the familiar words in its booming voice as he brings it down onto the Lucky Student.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!"

Makoto: Oh yeah? Well, I've got three words to say to that...!

Makoto, clenching his fist with determination, swings his arm around, and points back in kind, bearing a look of overwhelming Hope and power!

"NO! THAT'S WRONG!"

The Hope Bullet is let loose, and flies upwards, smashing straight into the demonic Judge's hammer! It's a strength struggle, with Phoenix and Makoto both gritting their teeth as the gavel and the bullet collide, each one trying to overpower the other, until...!

*CRACK!* *SMAAAASSH!*

Phoenix: Gagh! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHH!!!??

The struggle ultimately comes to an end as the Hope Bullet smashes straight through the gavel, blasts STRAIGHT THROUGH Phoenix Wright, and completely obliterates the head of the demonic Judge! As this happens, the area returns to normal, and Phoenix's cavitied body falls to the ground, smashing into a bloody pile on the floor!

Makoto: *pant...* *pant...* Don't worry Hiro...I promised I'd get you out of this and no self-assured attorney is gonna stop me...

Makoto takes a moment to catch his breath, but then becomes aware of the approaching sound of police sirens from the officers on the scene, who had already become aware of the struggle.

Makoto: Hah...Just my luck...

Leona: WOW! Talk about an intense battle right out of the gate! But I always knew Makoto would win! It was a foregone conclusion!

Hifumi: Actually, it REALLY wasn't! All things considered, this fight was actually pretty even! Both of them have exhibited incredible feats of survival, and both have exhibited powers, feats of strength and abilities that are beyond that of what they appear to be capable of. However, in a no holds barred battle like this, Mr Makoto Naegi had everything he needed to counter the Ace Attorney's defense!

Leona: Let the record say that if this wasn't a physical brawl, it's actually very unlikely that Makoto would be able to put out a win if this were on their home territory of the court. Intellectually, Makoto could give most lawyers and detectives the runaround, but Phoenix Wright is called the Ace Attorney for a reason. He only really lost once or twice over the course of his whole career. However, despite his ability to turn his cases on their head and achieve victory after victory, even in the most dire scenarios, it simply isn't possible for Phoenix Wright to "out-hope" Makoto Naegi.

Hifumi: Simply put, Mr Naegi's mental fortitude has just been shown to be better than Mr Wright's. The worst thing that Mr Phoenix Wright ever suffered through emotionally was Maya Fey being kidnapped and turned into a hostage to force an innocent verdict, as well as the case that made him lose his attorney's badge. On the other hand, it took 3 KILLING GAMES and TWO APOCALYPSE scenarios to properly break Mr Naegi! The Dark Age of the Law is NOTHING compared to the Tragedy, and Phoenix has never been able to outmatch an opponent as powerful as Junko Enoshima!

Leona: I mean, whoever has the better mental fortitude is subjective, but personally, we still believe Makoto had Phoenix outmatched. Nothing Phoenix has fought through and survived comes close to the kinds of hits Makoto Naegi has tanked. For example, both of them at some point in their lives fell down a very long fall, and came out of it barely unscathed. For Phoenix, that was the bridge, and for Makoto, that was the trash chute.

Hifumi: As we said before, we can't put down an exact figure on how deep the drop into the trash chute was, but based on how long Mr Naegi and Ms Kirigiri were climbing the ladder back up for, we know it must be longer than the 40 foot drop Phoenix survived.

Leona: And even if it wasn't, it doesn't really matter. Makoto has been able to completely tank hits from overpowered monsters like Mr Kuma, Yukari Koime, and Mikihiko's Petty Jr, all of which DEFINITELY hit harder than when Phoenix had his car accident. And with his almost non-existent level of training compared to Mr Naegi's combat training with the Ultimate Soldier, Phoenix was nowhere close to hitting as hard as ANY of these guys, even with his special abilities. So much so, it's not really clear if even the Order in the Court attack could take him out! 

Hifumi: And on that note, BECAUSE of the training with Ms Ikusaba, Mr Naegi was just far more powerful and far faster than he was. He can move with quick enough reaction time to practically defy gravity and jump on falling platforms, as well as avoid subsonic levels of attack speed. Phoenix has never been shown to possess superhuman levels of speed, so we can only assume that he's at the peak of a human level, which would be significantly slower.

Leona: So in short, if we compare all of Makoto's stats to all of Phoenix's stats, even if it is only a small difference, ALL of Makoto's are HIGHER. Speaking of special abilities though, it turns out a lot of what Makoto can do with his special powers serve as perfect counters to some of Phoenix's moves. As mentioned, so long as Makoto has evidence on hand, he can turn it into Truth Bullets, so that basically means Phoenix's standard way of defending himself was just providing Makoto ammo!

Hifumi: Mr Wright's Magatama would also have been useless since it's abilities aren't combat oriented, and wouldn't have worked anyway if Mr Naegi had nothing to hide. Even if Phoenix could somehow use it to get Mr Naegi to fess up the secrets of his training and his Truth Bullet powers, there's not much Mr Wright could do with that information. And though it's a risk, Mr Naegi could use his copy ability to create Truth Bullets from Mr Wright's exclamations. After all, those ARE large floating words, and very similar to the text in Class Trials. And as we mentioned, he definitely has the reaction time for it!

Leona: The last thing to consider is the Hope Bullet, and this was an interesting thing to think about. After all, Makoto was only able to pull this thing out the first time around because he was building it on the Hope of his friends around him. Assuming Makoto needed his friends to make the attack work, he wouldn't be able to use it here, just like how Phoenix couldn't make use of Maya or Missile.

Hifumi: But we know that's not how it works if we compare it to a similar ability shared by one of Mr Naegi's peers, Mr Hinata; the Future Bullet.

Leona: The Future Bullet is made of Hajime's innate desire to build a better future for himself, and take his life and his friends lives back into his own hands. At the time he first made it, his allies around him were falling into Despair. Assuming the Hope Bullet works on the same principles, the Hope of those around him would strengthen the bullet's power, but Makoto probably doesn't NEED that Hope to make it. He's got enough stored inside him as it is!

Hifumi: All in all, this fight was certainly a challenge for both sides, and Mr Phoenix Wright was certainly  but due to his stats being ever so slightly higher in all areas, as well as his own abilities cancelling his opponent's out, Mr Makoto Naegi was able to prevail and win THIS trial!

Leona: I guess you could say that for Makoto, everything went..."All Wright!"

THE WINNER IS MAKOTO NAEGI!

Next time:

[sarcastic-pasta-games]

Updates on Glitch:

Sushi and I came back to the team to talk about its future and what to do. With some rearranging of the events, we think we can simplify the game a lot while still telling the story we ultimately want to tell, but it’s possible it will be a trilogy, as finishing the game may mean making it a bit shorter. That being said, we will still give you time to get to know the new egos who come with this chapter and, of course, Sushi and I will be helping out with the writing and I have every intention of writing the finale myself exactly as I planned it.

Some new games have been added to chapter 3 (or what chapter 3 originally covered), which requires some time to set up, but that actually gave us time to program in some rather impressive Cuphead-like battles. Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to share any pictures right now, but it’s looking good so far.

Updates on Truth and Consequences:

I’ve made it to the first trial of the third case! I had to pause for a bit because this case required a sheepish face for Athena and I didn’t have one, but I plan to get right back into it. At this pace, I’m expecting it to be finished relatively soon, but these cases take a very long time to make and this is the first multi-day one I’ve ever done, so there’s a lot to consider.

Oh and you didn’t think I’d end this little update without showing you that sheepish Athena face, did you? This is edited into the first case, but you can rest assured that you will see it and one other custom facial expression in this case.

Final thoughts:

I noticed that a lot of people have unfollowed us on our platforms, and I suppose it makes sense if you’re not interested in Ace Attorney, but we are still working on Glitch. As I told someone today, I can’t control the dopamine. This is the project my heart needed to work on. But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to see Glitch through to the end. It’s just that the strain of directing such a large project was getting to me while T&C doesn’t require a major team. It’s very much my game, not quite a solo project but almost entirely written by me and I’m very pleased with it.

So if you enjoy games like Danganronpa or Zero Escape or Your Turn to Die, please give Ace Attorney a look! It’s well worth it, particularly the trilogy. Had Jack actually played the series, perhaps there’d be more interest, but he never got around to it (his loss) so I’m doing my best but I know there isn’t a huge overlap in audiences. I do want to hear from you guys though. What are your thoughts on this? Are you upset I’m working on a different game or because progress has been slow?

I don’t want to disappoint you all, but I also don’t want to put all my time and effort on something I don’t feel passionate about, and that was starting to stress me out.

~Dev Lily (Katie)