#yui samidare

[yui-samidare-reborn]

Rebirth Year II

Yui's living room

The detective finished putting up the old portraits of her family. She sighs as she looks out the window, snow slowly falling onto the ground from the green stained sky.

Like Aurora Borealis....

She mused to herself as she moved towards the window. Yui could feel a mental tug towards the past where she came from but chose to ignore it. Wafting from the kitchen was the smell of hot chocolate being made on her stove; she reaches for her phone and scrolled through her contact list until she hovers over a certain name.

It's been a long time...i don't know if i should go through with it.

Yui sighs and sits down on her chair, taking her ruby red glasses off of her face and rubbing her temple gripped with indecisiveness.

Two year blog anniversary, yay!

@hopes-memorials (Botan) @mystery-orphans-club, @human-monokuma, @dead-or-lie (Whomever)

[hopeymchope]

The entire "Danganronpa Kirigiri" series is now available in English.

I don't do Reddit much, which is probably why I only just learned yesterday (courtesy of @vampietears) that Danganronpa Kirigiri Volumes 1-7 have all been translated into English and made available as PDF versions in the past year.

I searched Tumblr for any mention of this and found absolutely none, so I feel confident that I'm far from the only person who didn't know these were available.

CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES, DR fans! It's definitely going to take me some time to work through the whole series, but I hope (eh? eeeehhh?) to enjoy the process.

[woesunf]

Celesgiri fans be like: “OMG THEIR FILES ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER ITS NOT A COINCIDENCE”

It’s me I’m the fan.

[aparticularbandit]

I think what I don't like about the Makoto cameo is that he incidentally and accidentally saves Kyoko's life through his luck.

He trips her and they both fall and Kyoko subsequently does not get her head smashed in by a shot put that Sakura has thrown like a baseball.

Because I know Makoto is being set up as the person who takes over Yui's spot in Kyoko's life. Who gets her to trust people again and emotions and etc.

So we have Makoto immediately saving Kyoko just like Yui literally just died saving Kyoko.

Except that Makoto. doesn't have a choice here. He does in THH, and he canonically makes that choice, and that parallel is important, that Makoto unintentionally sacrifices himself for Kyoko.

But that's the thing - both of these are unintentional.

In his cameo, Makoto saves Kyoko by accident.

In THH, Makoto intentionally saves Kyoko, but he's not aware that will put his own head on the executioner's block.

Yui walked directly into putting her life on the line for Kyoko full-stop, constantly, not looking back, until she died doing it.

That's not the same.

And the closest parallel we get to it isn't Makoto for Kyoko, it's Kyoko in DR3 saying that if she has to choose between herself and Makoto, she will choose keeping Makoto alive. Full-stop. And then sacrifices herself in that pursuit.

(She gets better because she found an antidote for poison, but she had no certainty that would work or that anyone would even notice she wasn't really dead. Bless Mikan, actually, because none of the others noticed. Kyoko out here literally teaching Makoto how to investigate, and boy has learned NOTHING.)

And this is not, like, anti-Naegiri or anything like that. Clearly, canon sees the appeal here.

But Makoto is not the Yui parallel that canon wants him to be as entirely as it wants him to be.

Kyoko is.

[fugitive-detective]

*she is shuffling into the room, nervous af and holding her book* H-hola?

Hello.

[zetsubobu]

Happy Halloween guys!

A fanart of a novel that barely anyone has read

[funishment-time]

in other news

i saw that in the game Passpartout 2 you could use a custom VRoid model.

this made me giddy with Absolute Glee and i did the Obvious thing.

[mimyo-mao]

finally got to color this sketch from last year! not 100% happy with it but its nice to see that i can somewhat color now :)

[shockersalvage]

Danganronpa Kirigiri - List of Detective Library members & their monster reps

In Danganronpa Kirigiri, the Triple Zero detectives of the Detective Library were based upon/referenced four types of monsters in fiction: ghost, werewolf, vampire and doppleganger. I always thought that was a pretty cool choice for Kitayama to go down and go to thinking what other types of monsters the other detectives would represent.

Which is basically what below is - a list of every named Detective Library member and monster would best fit them, in book order. As well as who represents the four monsters I mentioned above.

Main Duo:

Kyoko Kirigiri - Angel of Death (Now for Kyoko's monster I wanted something that best represents Kyoko's relation with Death and, ultimately her benevolent nature behind her stonefaced mask. So I chose her as the metaphorical Angel of Death - someone who brings about the end of those who have Fallen by uncovering the truth behind their misdeeds. Yet, in doing so, is also saving lives of those that were in danger because of the Fallen's actions. She also attends a religious school so it ties back well with those origins.

Yui Samidare - Powers (A type of angel in Christian theology and apart of the Middle Order of angels. Her whole thing is being a detective to protect others from evil and Powers are types of angels that hold the power to dispel or defeat evil. Also calls back to Yui being from a religious school. If I had to choose something else, I'd make Yui a guardian angel to match Kyoko being an angel of death. But, for reasons below, decided to forego it to complete another set )

DRK1:

Kou Inuzuka - Hellhound (Kou surname 'Inuzaka' contains the word for dog in Japanese, and Kou himself is an arsonist. Of the reps, I think this is one of the most fitting I've come up with)

Eigo Amino - Robot (Eigo is said to have zero presence or stands out, and he's a detective that poses as a businessman AKA a cog in a machine of office life. So I figured a robot was the best thing to compare him to)

Shiita Enbi - Zombie (Based upon the whole deal with him being dead all along, and also Tadashi's deal with having no legs, so kind of shambling about, reminds me of those types of zombies in horror games or shows)

Johnny Arp - Werewolf (From DRK Vol 6 - referred to heavily with wolfish traits or personality)

Gekka Ryuzoji - Vampire (From his design & titles; he's heavily based upon Count Dracula from the titular novel)

Rei Mikagami - Ghost (Comes from his epithet of 'Ghost in the Mirror' and his own ghostly ability to seemingly disappear from the scene with ease. Honorary mention goes to 'unicorn' given that's what his alias, Licorne, means in French).

DRK2:

Taehime Uozumi - Mermaid (Made her mermaid given her surname, Uozumi, is literally 'sleeping with the fishes'...and, okay, the pun with her fake profession was too tempting to pass up)

Suisei Nanamura - Father Time (Suisei is obsessed with time and managing it, so making him Father Time seemed pretty natural

Mikado Shinsen - Doppleganger (From his epithet, the Variationist, and skills as a master of disguise. Honorary mention goes to him being referred to as a Shinigami/Reaper by Chage and the connection he does have with the dead)

DRK 3

Hajiki Yaki - Devil (His DSC card is 666 which is considered a devilish number in Abrahamic religon, and his own thing is being a detective that goes against gambling - a type of deal with the devil?)

Salvador Yadorigi Fukuro - Gorgon (Okay, now, admittedly, this one is one of my weakest, but was inspired to call him a gorgon due to his own whole thing with his special eyes, and how he stunned Keisuke from DRK4 with the look of them. Stunning? Turning people to stone? A stretch? Kind of, but I still think it also kind of works so...)

Sachi Mizuiyama - Elf (Okay, beyond her getting an elf because she's short, was also inspried to give it to her based upon elves appearing young when they're actually older - something that's been pointed out about Sachi - and how elves/fairy-ish folk tend to have skewed moralities. Something that skewed me towards Sachi and her whole deal)

Korisu Kakitsubata - Succubus (Also one of my weakest, yet this one just feels so fitting. She dresses provocatively and acts seemingly benevolent, but that's hiding a malicious front to get away with claiming a soul. Plus, another case of her being related to fire and Succubi being from Hell - it just kind makes itself work out)

Suntetsu Shirasu - Underworld Gatekeeper (Chose this after a lot of internal debating, but decided this might be the most fitting? Like Gozu & Mezu or Cerberus, Suntetsu's actions decided who remains in the living and who has to remain in the afterlife. If there was a more fitting word for this type of monster, I'll gladly hear it out)

DRK4:

Tsukiyo Nada & Nazuna Toakitsu - Dominion & Virtue (Types of Angels in Christian theology and apart of the Middle Order set of angels with the Powers. Tsukiyo is Dominion given they govern celestial bodies & Tsukiyo's name refers to the night sky itself - ok that and her domineering personality. Naz is Virtue since one of its job is to bolster faith, and Naz is the most supportive of the duo in terms of helping out Yui to Salvador to Tsukiyo as well. Plus, they round out Yui being Power and also coming from a religious school)

DRK5:

Tatsutora Oboro - Bakaneko (Ok, the weakest one out of the lot, but also didn't really want to spend too much time on a minor guy like Oboro. As such, with part of his name, 'Tora', meaning tiger the idea that came to mind was a simple monster cat!)

DRK 6:

Motosuke Suzuyari - Yeti (He's in the icy mountains, described as being kind of wild looking. It writes itself)

Ayako Saiko - Witch (@drmedicsgamesurgery holds credit for the intiial placeholder as being a 'Mad Scientist'. However, mad scientists aren't technically monsters, I decided to swap it with the mad scientist of monster: a witch)

DRK 7:

Shiroko Yukimura - Yuki-onna (I got this based upon her part of her name 'Shiro' meaning white and the fact she appeared in a snowy setting)

Senshi Kadomi - Giant (Big guy with a knack for violence to get what he wants? Yeah, Senshi was pretty much hardlocked into being a giant from early on)

Kanji Yuhain - The 1st Horseman/Conquest/Pestilence/White Rider (I went with the 1st Horseman of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, after being inspired from Yuhain riding to Sirius on top of a white horse which symbolizes conquest or pestilence in the modern age. Both fit Yuhain as a guy who seeks to conquer the detective world as the King of Detectives and given his corrupt nature, he can very much be considered a pestilence.)

[danganronpa-shipping-galore]

Like or reblog if you ship Yui/Kyoko!

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

//Birthday cards I missed because I'm a dumbass

[yui-samidare-reborn]

*Yui hears the loud sounds of combat and destruction nearby. It was coming from the monofamily's home. Are they in trouble? Maybe it's best to check on them before it's too late.* @human-monokuma

Eh?!

She says as she rushes towards the home. Naturally she was in a very panicked state.

[hopeymchope]

Having finally finished reading the DR Kirigiri light novels, here are my closing thoughts and questions.

(For background, I read these translations. Which - as I previously discussed in the first bullet of this post here - may have some small issues throughout.)

I've previously given y'all my report on how I felt / what I was thinking about this series just after passing the halfway point of the light novels, so now it's time for me to bring this whole thing home and offer some closing thoughts.

My first, dominating thought is that this would be so good to see adapted as an anime. I can easily imagine how many episodes it'd take to do each light novel and where you'd logically cut off the story... even more easy, though, would be a manga. It's definitely crying out for that kind of treatment.

Regardless of the (relatively minor) gripes I raise below? This is definitely a great series to read. You get a number of twisty, gripping mysteries, an easy-to-like lead duo, an imposingly powerful enemy force, new background on our favorite lavender-hued detective, and you even get some great new characters added to the mythos — what more do you want?

Okay, but now I'll get into the griping stuff :P For starters: Isn't it... kind of LAME to have Kirigiri repeatedly experience something so similar to the basic setup of DR1 (or any mainline Danganronpa game, really) on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS prior to DR1 ever happening??? But then she just never remotely reference any fo that experience? And YESs, of course I realize she never even obliquely references these events because these prequels weren't actually written by the time of DR1, nor even completed by DR3. But that's the kind of thing you typically want to avoid with prequels, right? ...... Even so, I guess this does take us farther into these stories deserving to be called "Danganronpa" than any other spinoff. And it's not hard to come up with excuses for why she never remotely hinted at these things; she's intentionally acting withdrawn and keeping info to herself throughout DR1 and DR3, after all. So it's not the WORST crime. It's just, like I said: kind of lame.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, let me clarify: Although the cases in DRK don't include a "mutual killing" element, you still get at least three cases where she's [1] trapped in a specific building alongside a group of people who include a killer/"mastermind," the cast subsequently being picked off one by one, and [2] said experiences are also broadcast to a viewing audience. In fact, you even get two cases where [3] the trapped participants are expected to take specific bedrooms to lock themselves in during the nighttime! And even [4] one case where there's a weird, automated "host character" overseeing the whole thing, which is being operated around a specific set of rules. That's a helluva thing, isn't it?

I've previously expressed GREAT TREPIDATION about one specific element of this series: I was told that supposedly, these light novels included evidence that Fuhito was manipulating Kyoko into hating her father, her dad was always a victim, and Kyoko never realized that she was basically molded from birth by someone who was manipulating her feelings and actions. It all made Kyoko considering Fuhito her "most imporant person" (per DR1 and UDG's captives) come off as this tragic tale where our supposed "master detective" never realized she's been a victim of gaslighting and manipulation for many years, which would change SO MUCH CONTEXT behind her life's work and her relationships with both Jin and Fuhito. HOWEVER, GUESS WHAT? None of that shit was even true! HUZZAH!!!! NOTHING in these light novels goes against what we already knew about Kyoko, Jin, Fuhito, or their relationship(s) with one another... though there is some minor new insight provided into a couple of details. We get a new look at how Jin actually cared about Kyoko from afar (via the "Jin Ex Machina" business I mentioned in the previous post), which is in line with the hints of his lingering love for her we tasted in both DR1 and DR3 without either exonerating him for his choices OR making him 100% correct. We repeatedly watch Kyoko questioning/doubting her grandfather's/family's longstanding "detective work must come above and before personal concerns" rules. And we also get a taste of Fuhito being protective of Kyoko when he learns of the kind of danger she's in — yet simultaneously having complete trust in her talent and ability to overcome said danger. Fuhito seems to even gently help Kyoko understand Samidare's actions near of the end of the final volume... although we only get a taste of his help via Kyoko's internal thoughts, so we don't know exactly what he said to her. TL/DR? My point is simply this: The DRK light novels keep the overall morality / goodness of Kyoko's family dynamics in the same place we already understood them from the games: Kyoko and Fuhito are very close and care about each other without being overtly emotional about it, there is a rift between Jin and the rest of his family over Fuhito priortizing case work above visiting his dying daughter on her deathbed, Jin clearly still concerns/cares that linger for his daughter, etc.

What's with so many scenes of "Black Challenges" or "Duel Noirs" having signs defaced to include the word "DESPAIR"? Is that just some extra branding for the main franchise's themes? Feels out of place.

I feel bad for all those orphans who adored this dude.

General thoughts on numerous new-to-DR characters: As I said in my last post about this series, Samidare is likeable but spends most of the series very thinly defined — plus she's pretty slow on the uptake. Thankfully, by Volume 4 she starts finally pulling her weight, and she gets some much-needed expansion of her background in Volume 7 (just in time for her to make some dumb decisions). Licorne is probably the second-most important new character, and he's an asshole. An interesting one, though! And he does some heroic things! .... even if he isn't really all that morally invested in helping people. He's a self-centered asshole for most of the series, frankly, and I don't care much whether he's around or not. Salvadore Yadorigi Fukuro is awesome; a straight-up superb character with a very "DR" kind of skill/talent. Yaki Hajiki is a character who's also hard to dislike, and I wish he got more "screen time," because he's very intriguing. Johnny Arp is a fascinating one, though he definitely shares some dickish behavior with Lico. Still, I'm always engaged when he's on the page. And... look, I'm fond of Meruko "Pumpkinhead" Mifune. She's fun, sure, but I also see real potential for depth that isn't explored herin.

My remaining observations/thoughts contain some spoilers for the Danganronpa Kirigiri series, so I'm putting the rest UNDER THE BELOW CUT... although I still avoid mentioning the identities of any culprits or masterminds so as to keep the primary case mysteries intact.

Yadorigi = Intelligent, quiet dude in sunglasses who looks like the answer to "What if Munakata found his chill?"

What, exactly, is the state of Yadorigi's eyesight by the end of the series? Initially, we learn that his unique eyesight is very important to his work in uncovering fraud. Later, after a blow to the head, we're told that his eyesight will never be the same as it previously was. In the final volume, he visits Kyoko while wielding a white cane. So uh... does that cane imply that SYF is now blind or very close to it? Or am I reading too much into a walking stick here?

Nothing infuriates me quite as much as when major problems in a story could be easily resolved via basic fucking communication, and a failure to communicate on a base level is absolutely CORE to why things go south in the seventh and final volume. By the time Kyoko and Yui are heading out to the case, the situation is this: Without Kyoko's knowledge, our redacted overarching mastermind (henceforth referred to as "ROM") tried to get Samidare to agree to be the culprit in this final Black Challenge. She refused. ROM then said their organization (the Crime Victim's Relief Committee) will eliminate Kyoko if Samidare doesn't play along. And then, right after saying this? ROM pretty clearly DIED right in front of Samidare, before she can ever express any intention of changing her mind or not. She is then confronted by the enigmatic Tokichiro Endo, who is basically the go-between for culprits and the organization, who demands her final answer. Based on what happens in the case immediately after this, it appears that this conversation somehow ended with Samidare refusing to be the true culprit in this case but ALSO accepting that she would be framed for the murders and take the fall. So now Samidare has a choice to make: Does she (A) trust the Crime Victims' Relief Committee to keep their promise and leave Kyoko alone so long as she keeps her mouth shut...... even though Samidare refused to meet their demands and become the case's culprit? OOOORRR does Yui (B) realize that the Committee has already broken their supposed "rules" by forcibly coercing her into being the culpri — not to mention the fact that they're routinely aiding and abetting murders — which adds up to mean that she can't trust their word and must warn Kyoko of the danger she's in now that the committee has threatened her life directly? Any thinking person should choose (B), but Samidare of course chooses (A) so the plot will happen. *FACEPALM*

The worst part of this is that EVEN when our two heroines have just barely escaped from a burning building and fled out into freezing conditions, leaving them on the razor's edge between two possible methods of death with everyone else from the case seemingly already being dead? Samidare STILL won't outright deny being the case's culprit when accused. With literally NO REASON LEFT not to come clean, she never says jack shit. And then she dies!

During the denouement, the conclusion Kyoko reaches after leaving the hospital and revisiting the scene is... murky, and I think this might be something caused by the translation methods used. It currently reads as though Kyoko reaches the correct conclusion about the case, accurately determining Samidare's innocent AND identifying the true culprit(s). However... she doesn't seem to be 100% confident in her decision? It sounds like Kiri still harbors some lingering doubts about Samidare possibly being guilty?..... Even though she sounds really confident in her (correct) conclusions immediately before that. So it's left ambiguous. Which, I suppose, is one way to maintain Kiri being the Best Detective while simultaneously leaving room for her line in DR1 about how her burns happened because she "trusted the wrong person." She almost entirely knows that she didn't actually trust the wrong person, but they have to leave some doubt so that line can exist? ...... IF this translation is even accurate on this part.

Say... why did Samidare believe she'd die on this mission? It wasn't actually any more inherently dangerous than any other mission her and Kyoko had gone on... LESS dangerous than some, I'd argue! But she prepares this whole letter for her eventual death, so she clearly thought it was a strong possibility. My only guess is that she believed Kyoko was going to be targeted for death, and she planned to fulfill her oft-promised role as Kyoko's human shield. But if that was REALLY something Samidare thought was going to happen, then she had NO REASON to not tell Kyoko the truth about everything. If they're already out to kill Kiri, then OF COURSE it's smartest to warn her about it! So: Why the "last letter"? What made you think you were fucked, Yui?

In the end, ROM's overarching mission is both a success and a failure. Do they take away Kyoko's main emotional attachment, making her withdraw even further into pure logic so she'll avoid getting hurt? Yes. Do they make her deny the value of such attachments in the first place, resulting in her staying isolated forever after? No. She 95% knows she's right about Samidare's innocence in spite of ROM's attempts to frame her; it's just the pain of the loss that makes Kyoko withdraw, not some grander conclusion about distrusting everyone. In fact? I'd argue that Kyoko's speech in DR1's Chapter 4 about accounting for emotions is a strong rebuke of ROM's entire view of the world.

....by the way, does ROM have their own copy of Junko's talent??! It sure seems like they're another "Ultimate Analyst," essentially; able to see patterns of behavior so clearly that they can essentially predict most future events.

[woesunf]

My toxic trait is that in my world and my brain, the despair never happened, as a matter of fact Kyoko lives her best life with her two GF’s (Sayaka and Celeste) and if we REALLY want nothing bad to have ever happened EVER, she never went to hopes peak, and actually, Yui IS still alive and well and thriving and breathing and and and

[aparticularbandit]

Also like.

The sheer tragedy of the last volume and how it is written.

Because Yui is in a spot where she has to play the perpetrator. She either does the thing (and gets revenge for her kidnapped/murdered younger sister!) or Kyoko gets kidnapped and murdered.

These are the stakes.

And Yui knows that Kyoko will catch her and knows that she's probably not going to make it back when they leave to go to the Black Challenge (because if the detective catches you, then you die unless you have some other way to pay the Crime Victims' Relief Committee back).

So you get so many scenes of Yui just. knowing. and having these last moments with Kyoko. knowing. but doing it anyway because she is going to protect Kyoko even if it kills her, and it literally does.

And even while Kyoko has figured everything out and having the conversation with Yui about everything she's figured out and very clearly Yui, I know you did it, please tell me you didn't do it, because you couldn't have done it and then returning to that moment later like Yui didn't do it, she absolutely did not do it, and here's why she could not have done it, but I told myself that my thinking that was only because I was emotionally attached to her and I had to throw that out the window because LOGIC but even doing that was an emotional response--

And the book leaves it like that because we don't see Yui say yes and we don't see Yui say no but it's highly implied that she said yes but also maybe Kyoko is right about certain things that prove Yui didn't do it but also Yui out here making it very clear that Kyoko is coming to the right conclusions in thinking she did it and like.

The last book hurts so much.

[trubbishrubbish]

Wait, so like Kyoko had that on her head the entire book without noticing? Or just that one scene?

She had the Santa hat put on her head early in the first chapter and was removed at the end of the same chapter.

I should also mention that while Kyoko was still wearing this hat, this happened.

Yui got her ass served by a middle schooler in a Santa hat.