LogFAQs > #926855121

#8 Junko Enoshima

This was a hard one. Positions #4 to #8 were hard to sort out. Those are the characters who are really good for some reason, but still are missing something that makes them the objectively great characters of the game.

Junko joins the game at the near end, after you find out she is the murderer. Actually, that is an unfair assessment. She joins in the beginning, acting as Monokuma. That's right, I've decided to judge her and Monokuma as the same character (even though it seems Monokuma exists beyond the scope of DG1, but she was the one playing him so she deserves the credit).

Turns out that doesn't make a big difference to her character. Junko as a character is random, emotional and hard to figure out if she is being serious or not. She seems very mentally unstable but also kind of troll. She is fun to interact with in court. The same applies to Monokuma, which is just one of the roles she acts as.

Both Junko and Monokuma have strong presences in the game. In a way, they are Danganronpa. They made the game, conducted it and were responsibe for most of its major events. Monokuma is a very effective villain, even if it's usually too silly to connect to. He is fun to hate and most of his jokes are great.

But that is Junko's problem. Connection. I still don't know what her deal is. She wears a multitude of masks, but we never know who the real Junko is. She killed her sister and we don't know if it was an elaborate act of trolling or if it came from a previous resentment (as it is implied). She wants to be executed because she apparently loves despair that much. I guess the most likely interpretation is that she is an extremely depressed person and she did all of this to just escape from her life. She destroyed everything because she hates everything, then killed herself because she hates herself. But that's an interpretation, it could have been spelled out in the game.

Junko seems interesting but she came a bit too late and a bit too fast, and left without answering all questions. She is similar to Mukuro, who could also use some more characterization. So she stays below all the other characters who got more complete arcs.