Final thoughts and musing before moving on to a hopefully better Case 3: Ok. First thing. Why the hell was Peko so wet? I get that she washed herself off. But the timeline here is crazy. She kills Mahiru and has Fuyuhiko run off at like 2:30. She washes off in the shower. She hides in the surfboard case and waits for Hiyoko to wake up. Hiyoko runs off. She finishes setting up the crime scene and escapes through the window. She walks over to the diner. I think this happens at like 3. That is half an hour. I'd get her hair being wet, but the picture they kept showing had her entirely drenched. Like there was water coating her body. HOW MUCH WATER DID YOU USE.
Was she completely nude during the murder? It is Danganronpa so I mean yeah I could see it, but if she got blood on her swimsuit, I cannot imagine that would come off with just bottles of water. Have you ever tried to get a blood stain out of something? Peko was clearly hiding some detergent somewhere too.
Fuyuhiko is now above the ranks of complete trash for me. The ending here really was excellent and I don't quite hate him as much as I did going in.
I don't quite know where to rank this one yet. Like up until the end this was easily my least favorite case in the entire series. I loved the Porky's style shenanagins with Kazuichi and Hajime and that whole set up was fun. The ending was great and Fuyuhiko and Peko crying hit hard. That execution scene was excellent. But the case itself was...kinda dumb? Peko's plan...er Fuyuhiko's plan...er...whatever that was just doesn't make a lot of sense. The whole Twilight Mystery aside was awful and I hated it. The trial was kind of a mess, and like I said I feel like half of the segments were obvious multiple choice questions. And the motive was the worst in the series by a mile and was basically a motive for literally one person. That isn't fun and Monokuma needs to do better. Lot of ups and downs on this one.
One final thing about the murder from the past. Did they explain what the hell happened and I just wasn't paying attention or was this whole thing kind of a mess? The window and fish tank are both broken, but that wasn't the breaking noise they heard? Sure ok so the vase was the distraction I get that. But why was the window broken? Why was the fish tank broken? Why didn't any one hear that but they heard the vase? Did Girl E break the fish tank to get the gravel?
And also A SWIMSUIT FULL OF GRAVEL WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? She choked a girl to the point of unconsciousness, but then was like "oh no I have to kill her now better stop asphyxiating her (which is working) and fill this swimsuit full of gravel because it is the most logical choice for a bludgeoning object"? What kind of absolute nonsense is that? I'm on board for nonsense in this series, but this isn't fun nonsense.
I don't have exact ranking right now, but so far 1-1>2-1 and 1-2>2-2. What is saving the game for me so far is the characters, who are leagues better than the first game, and I still like nonstop debates even if this case wasn't always a great example of them. Agreeing with statements and pulling out statements to use as clues both have a lot of potential (as does logic drive, honestly) so I'm hoping things get better from here!
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Oh and I lucked out a bit here based on my last rankings of characters in terms of how much I liked them! Peko was the absolute bottom of the cast for me outside of Fuyuhiko, and she is who I'd miss the least. She just didn't have any real personality, which maybe was a part of her "lol I'm just a tool" defense, but I remember almost nothing about her from the first case other than the fact she got hit by diarrhea. Bottom tier character for me this game for sure.
Characters I really like and would be sad to see go: Hiyoko, Sonia, Gundham, Nagito, Mikan, Chiaki Good characters who aren't top tier but I still don't want to die: Ibuki, Hajime, Nekomaru, Kazuichi Eh I guess these would be fine to make an exit: Akane, Fuyuhiko
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
I was one fragment away from maxing out Peko's heart before she went and killed someone. I wasn't happy about that! If only I hadn't split time with Byakuya this wouldn't have happened.
Peko Pekodeadya Post Trial 2 Power Rankings 16. Byakuya
15. Teruteru
14. Mahiru
13. Peko Peko joins the ranks of the fallen as the second executee. I really thought shed get killed, not be the killer due to her whole Ultimate Swordsman thing, but at least she got to go out in style. I was somewhat ambivalent about her character until this final courtroom segment, but she came through strong here. And her execution was top notch, too! Farewell, swordswoman. Maybe you wouldve lasted longer if you could have been bothered to talk once in a while.
12. Nekomaru Going through all the characters, I feel like he doesn't have a lot of characterization compared to most of the rest of the cast. I know the game is good about surprising me about victims being important up until now, but I really dont know where Nekomaru can go from here. Loudly yelling about bowel movements isnt a thing that you can really build a character around so unless he gets something else added to his character I cant imagine hes going to be around much longer.
11. Hiyoko Ive got a feeling she might snap now that Mahiru was murdered. And, not only was she murdered, everyone else here was way too oh no my poor Peko and Fuyuhiko sob sob while she seemed to be glaring at everyone like UH SHE MURDERED MAHIRU YALL REMEMBER THAT RIGHT. She already was calling everyone pig vomit fart sniffers, and now the only person she liked was murdered and everyone was throwing a pity party for the murderers. WATCH OUT MIKAN SHES GUNNING FOR YOU
10. Sonia Definitely the most adorable of the cast, and her weird random fangirl reactions to certain dumb things are some of the high points of each cases. Shes also this perfect level of smart enough to push the case forward but not quite smart enough to solve things for you, so you would think she might last a long while since shes very easy to write into the class trails. BUT theres been a weird Kazuichi/Sonia side story going on that I can definitely see the game doing something with in terms of MURDER MOST FOUL. They keep pointing out how obsessed with Sonia Kazuichi is, and I just think theres this chance the game does something with this coming up.
10. Kazuichi I like him and all, but Im running out of characters that seem like killers. Hiyoko for sure. Shes probably already killed someone by the time Ive finished writing this up. But then everyone else seems to just not have it in them. Kazuichi at least looks evil, even if he keeps acting like a gigantic coward. Hes another guy that could snap depending on what the motivation for the chapter is. Although after this last chapter, who knows. Monokuma seems to be getting lazy on his incentives this game.
8. Nagito Nagito is going to be permanently slotted in here for the rest of the game, I dont even care what happens from here on out. He will not be a killer, but hes going to be the final victim. Hes going to have some super absurd crazy complex thing that he set up. I have no idea whos going to take him up on the bait probably some secret psycho thats been hiding so far. But every single case hes like hey guys I will help you do it just kill me KILL ME KILLLLL ME I WANT YOU TO DO IT like the Joker in The Dark Night. There is no way he doesnt help the secret big bad orchestrate something in the final case.
7. Gundham Again Im just guessing at killers at this point because I have no clue. Fuyuhiko is getting a redemption arc, Akane is too dumb, Ibuki is too silly, Chiaki is too sleepy, and Mikan is too naked. That just leaves Hajime (outside chance of being big bad since he doesnt even know what or who he really is yet) and Gundham. I dont think the dude with the hamsters really strikes me as anything other than guy whos house smells really, really bad but hes my best option at this point. I did like his passive aggressive hissy fit about not being invited to the beach party this chapter though. Hajime is a straight up jerk for not inviting Gundham and his hamster friends.
6. Akane I am actually somewhat confident in my top six all surviving at this point, which probably means all of them around going to die next chapter in a tragic car crash. I suppose Akane is the one Im least sure of since she is pretty much the least defined character left outside of Nekomura. But she sort of has this niche that is half Hina due to her design and half Hiro due to her constantly saying dumb things. I dont think her and Nekomaru are both surviving this because they kind of have overlapping character traits, and I give her the edge on account of her personality.
5. Ibuki There really isnt a great reason for me to have her ranked this high, as most of the other characters I have here have various reasons for it, but I just sort of like her character. The first game also liked to keep around weirdos that werent TOO weird, and Ibuki fits that niche perfectly.
4. Fuyuhiko He seemed like the kind of character who would get a redemption arc, and were definitely seeing it now. Hell probably become better buds with everyone now that Peko has been sliced and diced into Peko cubes. Maybe hell stop being such a little dork now, but who knows. His personality has been ridiculously annoying until this last trial, but I have a feeling hes in it until the end now. The whole Peko thing seems like a good turning point for him, and well likely get a Byakuya-lite kind of character here when the game wraps up.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
3. Chiaki Shes really the only helpful person besides Nagito in the trials so she most likely isnt going to die. Who would push things along if we get stuck? Shes sort of Kyoko-lite in that she serves as the smart, explain-y role that keeps things moving, but does so in a way that isnt nearly as intrusive as Kyoko. Sleepy gamer girl will be playing Pong on the flight home after she survives all this.
2. Hajime Hajime makes for a fairly good protagonist this far. One of my big problems with the last game was generic guy whose name I'll keep pretending to not remember never really did much on his own. He inspired those around him, but when it came time to figure out something, Kyoko basically did all the heavy lifting. It wasnt even a gentle nudge in the right direction, frequently she just sort of solved things for you if it got too tricky. So far, the game does a better job letting you figure things out on your own and Hajime really seems to be holding his own in the trial segments. Nice upgrade! Weird his special talent still hasnt been revealed, but well probably get that twist at the end.
1. Mikan Her this is my medical report clue is pretty much guaranteed to keep her around for the entire game now. Who else is going to fill that role? Im not convinced like half of these remaining people even have a full grasp of how the human body works, and certainly not enough to give a working opinion on how someone died. Mahiru dead due to a single blow to the head with a blunt object. No one else in the cast is going to get nearly that specific. Uhso it looks like her head is leaking some sort of juice and my professional opinion is that we should drink it. Thats the sort of thing that would replace it. Going through the characters I think will survive, there is actually a kind of strong comparison to those that survived in the first game. Akane is fake Hina, Hajime is fake whatever his name is, Chiaki is fake Kyoko, and Fuyuhiko is fake Byakuya. Those parallels are obvious. Ibuki serves as a pretty good Hiro stand in, since they are both kind of weird goofball dummies, so Mikan/Genocide Jill are really the only two that dont have a strong parallel. Mikan is more of a Chihiro what with all the extreme timidness than our girl GJ unless she has some crazy split personality shes been hiding so far. (I actually realized just writing this up that Sonia is probably a better comparison for Hina as the real heart of the group and maybe Akane OR Ibuki is the Hiro as a dumb comic relief. Whatever though this whole aside was kind of a stretch but Im not rewriting this list now but Ill remember it for the next POWER RANKINGS.)
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
One final thing I've been toying with as i was writing things up. Is there some sort of weird parallel going on with the first game?
1-1 has Sakura trying to kill Leon, but then Sakura ends up getting killed instead. 2-1 has Nagito trying to kill someone BUT Byakuya stops him and gets killed instead by accident.
1-2 has the introduction of a serial killer who is revealed during the trial to have been part of the group all along, and 2-2 has the introduction of a serial killer who Peko pretends to be as part of her misdirect.
Like...not exactly the same thing for either scenario but some of the same beats. Is this a clue to something? Is there a parallel here I'm suppose to be seeing that means something? 1-3 was a double murder and 1-4 was a suicide so I guess I'll see where the game goes from here. Maybe I'm just seeing things that aren't there, but I do think the cases are mirroring the first game cases somewhat so far.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Was she completely nude during the murder? It is Danganronpa so I mean yeah I could see it, but if she got blood on her swimsuit, I cannot imagine that would come off with just bottles of water. Have you ever tried to get a blood stain out of something? Peko was clearly hiding some detergent somewhere too.
Her swimsuit was completely black. Why would there be noticeable bloodstains?
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Agent Triple Zero at your service! This line reserved for the true greatone, azuarc, winner of Game of the Decade!
Chapter 3 Daily Life Thoughts, Concerns, and Takes So Hot They'll Melt Your Face
Hiyoko is planning something weird in the kitchen. Oh cool she waited all of five minutes after Mahirus death to snap. I expect to see Mikans head on a platter when we arrive for breakfast the next morning.
Oh its actually something even more unsettling. Hiyoko has built a horrific shrine to Mahiru complete with her pictures and cow skulls. So, uhwhere did you get those cow skulls from, Hiyoko? Dont think thats something they stock in the supermarket.
Hiyoko is like isnt it cuuuuuuuuuute I dont know who made it but they are sure awesome. Everyone else has a slightly different reaction that involves urine and their pants.
There is some sort of weird black energy emanating from the skulls so it is possible Hiyoko unintentionally summoned a demon. Or maybe all those candles were placed too close to the tablecloth. This is definitely not up to code.
Hiyoko tearfully reveals she did and that she just wanted to make sure Mahiru understood she wasnt alone even if she was up in heaven. OH HIYOKO STOP TUGGING AT MY HEARTSTRINGS.
I really hope Hiyoko doesnt turn crazy because I am becoming quite attached to her. This would be a much more interesting character arc than Fuyuhiko literally murdered someone and was about to murder a second person whateverhislastnameis.
Chiaki says were all splendid and is happy were all finding the best in each other. THANKS MOM.
Hajime apparently read ahead in the script and says a situation was brewing that will be the trigger for a truly horrible and atrocious incident. Hopefully its just Hiyokos BO again and not murder.
Monomi shows up to brag about how she defeated another Monobeast. Awesome, Monomi, I cant wait to see what things await for us on this new island that will somehow lead to our death this time.
Lets all get along and live peacefully as friends Monomi says, still covered in blood from the last execution. Yeah, Monomi, I think that ship sailed after Byakuya got shish kebobD to death.
Hey guys, uh, why are we just letting Nagito wander around? He hasnt turned un-crazy yet and it would make me feel much better if we found another closet to stuff him into.
We all go and explore the new third island. The first building I see is called Titty Typhoon. Oh cool found the strip club. Im worried were going to run into the male equivalent Cock Cyclone just down the street.
The ambience is completely different compared to the previous islands Hajime says, staring directly at Titty Typhoon. Yeah, could be hill. Or maybe its all the houses. Or I suppose it could be the giant neon TITTY staring you in the face.
First building I check is the abandoned hospital. Mikan sprouts up from the ground to yell HAJIME in an effort to make me pee my pants. She apparently needed to tell me this hospital is WEIRD. Why? Well, theres no doctors, nurses, or patients. Wow that is weird. Its almost like this island might be abandoned or something.
There are weird ghostly handprints all over the hospital windows and Im a little worried this third island might be Silent Hill.
Time to check out Titty Typhoon, which claims to be a music venue. Yeah, sure. My favorite music venue around my house is called Strip Club. Great tunes.
I try to enter but it takes me to a parking lot first. Clearly this is going to be where the murder occurs if it takes two full screens to get inside.
Ibuki is waiting inside and is so excited to see a music venue that she starts repeating all her lines of dialogue twice. This isnt annoying at all! This isnt annoying at all!
Behind the bar are neon signs saying Beer Tequilla and Titty. Yeah, Ill take a shot of tequila and a round of titties, please.
This must be the fabled disco! Sonia yells. Apparently her kingdom is the 1970s.
It is where hip youngsters wear feather fans and tight clothes as they dance their go-gos and lambada! Oh, Sonia. You please dont die either, youre too adorable.
There is a storage room here too and theres like twenty things inside I can inspect. Oh, so this actually is where the murder is taking place this chapter, huh?
There is something that controls the baton lighting that I can inspect too. Cool, now I just need to figure out what the hell baton lighting is and Ill be set.
Next we check out a dirty old hotel, which Hiyoko says looks like my house. OH YEAH WELL THE JERK STORE CALLED, AND THEYRE RUNNING OUT OF YOU.
Hiyoko tricks Akane to check out the inside of the hotel and then tells us the age-old phrase Praise a fool, and you may make him useful. Ah yes, I think Benjamin Franklin said that. Right after Nothing beats a good French hoooker and my name is Benjamin Franklin.
This has an empty parking lot that you have to go to first as well, so maybe I was too quick on my whole Titty Typhoon parking lot theory. Island 3 is just the empty lot leading to a building island, apparently.
There is a weird alleyway full of old electronic devices. One of the stores here contains a bunch of stuff for secret recordings. Man, oh, man are we lucky Teruteru is dead or hed have the place emptied out by now.
Kazuichi knows a creepy amount about them, then makes things even more creepy by complaining how lucky Monokuma is that he gets to see Sonia in secret. Ok, time to hide all the recording equipment, everybody.
After Hajime asks Kazuichi if wanting to take electronics apart is normal: Hell yeah! Its like, if you have the hots for a chick, you want to take off her clothes, right? Werid anaology but ok, I guess- And you wanna check out her bone structure, right? Um, not really what are you even talking- Like her ribs? Danger. Or where parts of her bones stick out, right?! DANGER DANGER DANGER DANGER
Kazuichi has killed before and likely will have killed again by the time I finish typing out this sentence.
Theres a file on one of the laptops here that is basically called Danganronpa 1 plot summary.exe and details the events of the first game. Apparently the whole tragic most terrible event in human history originated when the reserve students at Hopes Peak were tired of being treated differently than the primary department. Who the hell even makes up the reserve department? They already let in people like Ultimate Fanfic Author and Ultimate Gamer. Are the reserves like Ultimate Cat Petter and Ultimate Carrying All The Grocies In One Trip-er?
Monokuma shows up and is like Weird you dont remember the reserves you specifically should remember hint hint. Aw heck am I the Ultimate Reserve Student? Was Hajime the riot starter that wound up ending the world? DONT LEAVE ME HANGING MONOKUMA.
He leaves me hanging. Jerk.
I go to the theater and now he has a movie he wants to show me which DEFINITELY is not the next motive. Oh, well if it isnt the next motive Ill-HEY WAIT JUST A MINUTE, YOU. Not falling for that one, no sir.
Hajime figures out a way around it by just refusing to watch it. Monokuma says thats cool as long as I buy his special sticker for 1.5 million dollars and Hajime agrees. Ultimate terrible consumer, am I right?
Nagito bursts out of the theater and goes on a rant about how its the worst thing hes ever seen. Monokuma must be showing Cats.
Sonia runs over to tell me there is something URGENT I need to see in the hospital, and then goes on a two minute aside about her favorite Japanese medical drama. Guess it wasnt that urgent.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
In the hospital we findFuyuhiko! It isnt clear if his insurance will cover injuries from evil stuffed teddy bears so he's kinda stressed.
Fuyuhiko is a little mopey about his friend being dead and barely talks to us. Well, at least he didnt call us bastards a hundred times, so its a step in the right direction.
Akane keeps talking about beating up Monokuma which Im sure will go well. Nekomaura says he wont do it to her again if she follows through on her threat. Apparently Nekomaru went to the U.S. Gymnastics school of Team Managers.
Akane has a panic attack over it being taken away and her body is getting all hot just thinking about it. Then Nekomaru says it must come to an end and storms out. What the hell are you two weirdos talking about?
Also every time someone says it here it appears in quotes like that, so Im just imagining everyone doing air quotes all the time during this conversation.
Hiyoko spends this whole time glaring at Fuyuhiko. Apparently she didnt quite get over the whole getting her best friend murdered and planning to frame her for it thing just yet. I actually really like Hiyokos characterization this chapter so far because it feels authentic and not forced.
I talk to Kazuichi and accidentally inspire him to go and peak on whatever Nekomaru and Ikane are doing. Oops. Dont you hate it when you talk to someone, say the wrong thing, and inspire them to commit a sex crime?
Kazuichi drags me along too because the last time we tried to sneak away and peak at women in naughty positions went so well.
Uh, maybe they are actually doing it it. Hajime peaks and doesnt see anything, but hears something that sounds distinctly like sex noises. UH OH. Also Hajime you fool, this isnt what peaking is. This is just listening.
Phew. Its just a massage. A massage so good that electricity is coming out of Akanes back and shes drooling all over the place.
Uh, so, Nekomaru, do you usually make the women take off their bra when you give them a massage? Ive tried this trick before and it never worked for me, so good on you, man.
I show Ibuki some garbage CD and she wants to hang out with me at night. RAWR. I show Hiyoko a toy camera and she wants to hang out with me this afternoon. RAWR. Please ladies, save some of me for the other classmates. I knew buying 200 pieces of garbage from the Monokuma machine would pay off.
We meet for breakfast andWHY IS NAGITO HERE?! Everyone is acting like hes just a mild annoyance. He is trying to get someone to kill him so they can escape the island and you all die, you fools. If a wild bear walked in, theyd just roll their eyes passive aggressively and go back to eating their oatmeal while they were being mauled.
After breakfast I meet up with Hiyoko with my camera and she has Ibuki and Chiaki with her. DEAR PENTHOUSE.
Oh she wants to hold some sort of memorial for Mahiru. NEVERMIND PENTHOUSE I AM SORRY TO KEEP WRITING YOU.
Awww the memorial service is kind of cute. I do like this whole thread of this chapter where Hiyoko is trying to mourn Mahiru in her own Hiyoko way. It feels like that death had an impact and wasnt just something that was localized to that one case now.
Yawn another boring wake-up announcement. I dont know why AHHHH IBUKI. Ibuki pops up in my room out of nowhere to finish the wakeup announcement and it is legitimately creepy. Remind me to lock my doors next time.
Oh apparently I did lock my door. She just broke it. Ok so Ibuki wont be a murderer this game since she could just break into someones room and murk them in the middle of the night if she wanted.
She broke into my room to tell me to go to the restaurant. Which is the place Ive gone every morning of every day since the game started. Cool, yeah, good thing you destroyed my lock to tell me that.
We go to the restaurant and see. Fuyuhiko, standing like a crazy person. Seriousky, his character art looks like a monkey trying to give someone a low five. I dont know why hes standing like this but its creeping me out.
So he introduces himself to us and spends time pronouncing his first name. Oh, cool, he has a concussion. Shortly after he wets himself and starts petting a cat that isnt there.
Justwhat the hell was that? Gundham. Do you know how weird you have to act for Gundham to call you a weirdo. This is a guy who thinks getting hamsters to have sex with each other is a real talent and not just a thing that hamsters wont stop doing under any circumstances.
I do agree with Fuyuhiko that he looks cooler with the eyepatch. Less like a baby now. More likea baby with an eyepatch. Like hes still a baby, but hes seen some shit.
Fuyuhiko is all like hey guys I want to be friends and HIyoko responds hey dum dum Mahiru and Peko are both dead because of you. Why is Hiyoko the only one thinking logically here?
Fuyuhiko drops to the fetal position. Either because he is really, genuinely sorry, or because he is a baby and the fetal position was all he knew until roughly four months ago.
OH WHAT THE HELL HES BLEEDING EVERYWHERE. WHAT THE HELL FUYUHIKO? WE EAT HERE YOU JACKASS
He sliced his own stomach to show how genuine he was about his apology. Yo, maybe next time try a fruit basket, you lunatic.
Nekomaru, Kazuichi, and Mikan all help Fuyuhikos dumb ass to the hospital. He weighs like ten pounds guys, just find some sort of baby bjorn and Mikan can carry him there herself.
Chiaki notices Akane is missing and is worried because shes been acting so weird the past couple of days. Shes always weird Gundham says, which isnt so much the pot calling the kettle black as it is the pot calling the kettle a fucking pot.
If this is some sort of setup for a murder where Akane is dead and Fuyuhiko is trying to pull some sort of trick, I just want points for calling it now.
Hiyoko looks conflicted as we leave breakfast and I think were about to get some major Hiyoko/Fuyuhiko character development.
Akane is immediately available during the next free time though, so oops there goes that mystery. Lets wipe my previous calling it now from the record as an obvious joke. Haha guys, fooled you.
We go through some free time, and at night Ibuki breaks into my cabin again to yell crazy things at me. Next morning my first trip is to the market to find some reinforced locks.
Shes dropping off an invitation that apparently everyone got to the Titty Typhoon that is definitely just a WEIRD MYSTERY and not Ibuki shamelessly trying to get me to go to her next show.
Oh wait, thats really what it is. Hajime figures it out like a sentence later than I did and she just basically admits it.
The show is in like 30 minutes. Ibuki invited everyone and runs ahead. Welp, shes 100% dead by the time I get there. Sorry, Ibuki.
We get there and everyone is inside (strangely Ibuki is nowhere to be seenHMMM). Even, uh, Fuyuhiko. Werent you bleeding out like two hours ago?
Hm. Neither Hiyoko or Akane showed up either. HMMMM. *takes out clues notebook and starts furiously scribbling*
Oh wait Ibuki isnt dead. Shes rocking out on her guitar. *tears up notebook in frustration*
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
MY SPECIALTY IS MAKING BEEF STEW Not exactly the kind of opening I expect from rock shows. I think Ibuki might be accidentally reading from a cook book and not the set list.
Wow her actual song is even worse. It is just screaming and monster noises. This is the ultimate musician? It would be like if the ultimate cook showed up and microwaved us a hot pocket.
Everyone freaks out. S-such overwhelming baleful resonance! Even my Four Dark Devas of Destruction look less lively than usual. Damn. Have you ever made music so shitty that it killed a hamster? Because Ibuki just did.
Hiyokos here! And she liked the song! Well, that makes one person at least. Gundhams hamsters are still probably dead though.
AwwwHiyoko kind of sort of makes a temporary peace with Fuyuhiko. Shes rapidly moving up my favorite character list this game. Shes like crazy and weird enough to stand out, but like shes almost like a person almost too which is pretty cool.
Thanks for waiting! Lets go right ahead to the next song! NO IBUKI YOU MONSTER DONT YOU HAVE ENOUGH HAMSTER BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS ALREADY
ngh. Theres still more? Nagito. Wow even Nagito cant find a way to go into a crazy rant about hope with this. Youve finally done it Ibuki. Youve made Nagito give into despair. I hope youre happy.
The next song is called I Squeezed Out The Baby But I Have No Idea Who The Father Is and Im like 99% sure its just going to be the Maury Povich show theme song
Monomi shows up and tells us we cant party anymore. Aw, jeez, way to like totally kill the vibe, man. Apparently Akane is dueling Monokuma. WAIT WHAT? NO AKANE HES GOING TO KILL YOU.
Everyone runs off including Nekomaru who makes several I HAVE TO POOP type sound effects. I wonder if they told the voice actor to say everything like he was dangerously constipated because, if so, good work.
Ibuki sulks behind for a moment and is sad that everyone ran off from her show. Like, we were about to do that anyway since it sounded like you were torturing a cat with another, even more in pain cat. Whats the opposite of a musician? Because Ibuki is the Ultimate Whatever You Call That.
We get there in time to see Akane apparently getting her ass handed to her by Monokuma. But shes not dead yet! Sohooray?
Monokuma pulls out an enormous gun to shoot Akane with, but Nekomaru jumps in to save her crotch first. No, seriously, we see the energy ball closing in on Akane and then the next frame is a close up on Nekomarus dick.
Nekomaru TANKS A SHOT FROM A BAZOOKA. Like, hes dying, but he didnt immediately die. Thats impressive, man. Even the bazooka was creeped out by Nekomarus dong apparently and detonated a bit early or something, because he should be dead.
The camera pans down andthe shot just ripped his shirt a bit. Apparently his MASSIVE PECS saved him from the blast Superman style.
Oops, nope, hes definitely dead. Akane gives a heartfelt NEKOMARRRRRRRRRRU and the game gets a little less happy for a little bit.
Even Monokuma doesnt know what to do. Im half expecting him to quickly look in both directions and then run away before we start a class trial on him. YOU DID SAY EVEN ACCIDENTS COUNTED YOU MONSTER. Im making a citizens arrest.
But wait! Nekomaru isnt dead because his leather jacket gave him +5 defense to bazooka based attacks. Akane says she can feel a faint heartbeat.
The Monokuma ambulance shows up and whisks him away to save him. Hey, uh, evil mastermind running this thing. Any chance you can go like 24 hours before mortally wounding someone you shouldnt?
The next morning I run into Fuyuhiko in front of the restaurant. Hes confused about what Nekomaru did, so Hajime points out that Peko did the same thing and Fuyuhiko storms off. Smooth, Hajime. REMEMBER YOUR DEAD FRIEND? HOW SHES DEAD AND NEVER COMING BACK? THAT MIGHT BE THE DEADEST FRIEND IVE EVER SEEN.
Akane is also like full on sobbing in the restaurant over Nekomaru. Its a touching moment, undone somewhat by the fact that the artist had to draw glistening tears all over Akanes breasts. I feel bad for Akane, but worse for the artist who had to stay late one night because the design lead yelled there were too few visible tears on Akanes breasts.
Akane is like fully broken now, scared and begging to go home. Hey, actual character development!
Nagito apparently told Hiyoko that Mahiru was alive and he saw her at the movie theater. Seems like a pretty pointless lie there, Nagito. UnlessMahiru is actually the Ultimate Twin and her sister is a major cinephile!
Welp, Nagito is broken now too. Hes just rambling crazy stuff. Well, extra crazy stuff. Crazy in comparison to the stuff he usually says. He says Fuyuhiko is a clone and Byakuya is alive and in charge of World Ender! I think he may actually be Ultimate Rejected Danganronpa Script Writer.
Ibuki the shows up and starts acting super proper. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON ALL YOU WEIRDOS.
Nagito tells Ibuki that I want to kill and eat her. Damn, he figured me out.
Mikan shows up and points out the three crazy people all have extremely high fevers. Damn apparently being the Ultimate Nurse means you can gauge body heat just by walking into a room.
Monokuma now summons everyone so he can explain what is going on and probably apologize for accidentally feeding us contaminated pork. Monomi comes with him and I still have no clue what the hell her point in the story is. Shes far and away my least favorite character, and the cast includes the ultimate tool who had like six lines in two cases and ultimate pervert chef with a terrible accent.
Apparently the fever is the motive. wait, what?
Its the despair disease! OoOoOoOo. It infects people with despair and makes them act in different ways. Yo, this is a pretty dumb motive and I already dont like where this chapter is going.
Are you saying the killing will occur soon, after everyone falls into a crazy state? Yeah, Monokuma, that really doesnt prove how everyone can succumb to despair. That proves people act differently when you fundamentally alter and change their personalities through chemical warfare. So, uh, showed us. I guess?
Nagito passes out and starts foaming at the mouth. Ive never even seen foam that color before! Hiyoko. Uh, what color exacting is he foaming? And how many different mouth foam colors are there?
We rush them to the hospital and Akane refuses to change clothes because shes now afraid of changing clothes. Well, thats a first from a female character in this game so Ill give her points for novelty at least.
Makan goes to change them and Kazumi raises an objection because thats kind of weird. Yeah, thats weird. A nurse changing her patient. THATS weird. Nevermind the weird not at all realistic despair giving secret insects. Its the changing patients thats the weird part.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Wow her actual song is even worse. It is just screaming and monster noises. This is the ultimate musician? It would be like if the ultimate cook showed up and microwaved us a hot pocket.
look at suprak the ultimate critic over here
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Gundham says its cool and not to worry because Even Iattend to the needs of my Four Dark Devas of Destruction. Yo. Gundham. Respectfully. What the fuck does that mean?
Like he just admitted to masturbating hamsters I think?
Hiyoko: Hey, is this stupid conversation going to last much longer? Hiyoko, once again, you are my voice this game.
Kazuichi: Is Mikangonna attend to *all* of Nagitos need!? Kazuichi apparently has only seen nurses in porn and thinks everyone there gets handjobs on demand.
Hiyoko suggests quarantining the sickees in the hospital and Hajime acts like shes talking about incinerating all of them. I thought this was going to be the plan from the beginning. Like, duh, guys. Its contagious and makes people go crazy.
It is decided that Fuyuhiko and Hajime will stay at the hospital while Hiyoko, Chiaki, Sonia, Gundham and Kazuichi go to stay at the hotel. Im writing all that down because a killing is absolutely going to happen soon and who is where is going to be important.
I guess Im not entirely clear what were doing at the hospital. Like, I get why we shoved the sick people here. But what are we going to do with them? We cant cure them because this is a made up pretend super disease that doesnt make sense. So were just waiting for a killing to happen maybe?
Hajime wakes up and Mikan is cuddling him in bed and her skirt is hiked up to her chest. Phew. Mikan is still showing off her butt at every opportunity. Shes acting normal, at least.
Apparently there wasnt another bed which is why Mikan climbed in with Hajime. That doesnt mean you can climb on top of me! ThenIll be on bottom next time! HAJIME DONT YOU MESS THIS UP WITH YOUR AWKWARDNESS SHE HAS A CLEAR LADY BONER FOR YOU
Fuyuhiko shows up all sweaty to yell at us. I really hope he wasnt masturbating in the hallway.
Apparently Nagto is in trouble! He may not be breathing! Gasp! Ohhok! Fuyuhiko you go down there and check on him! Well be right behind you! So hey Mikan where were we baby?
Nagito is barely breathing and now Monokuma shows up all sweaty. Either hes worried Nagito might die or he was also peeping on Mikan and Hajime.
We leave Mikan to tend to Nagito because the goods arrived. I wonder if Fuyuhiko is running some cocaine on the side. Itd explain Gundhams personality, at least.
The goods are actually video chat system Kazuichi put together. Cool! They even have a little picture show up for it when theyre describing it to me so I know this is going to be a clue somehow coming up. They also set up all these rules for how it only reaches the music venue and how people will come and check on it thirty minutes after every Monokuma announcement. Ok, item with a big flashing neon clue sign, I will remember all these things.
Apparently, there is some rule that only one person can stay for every person in urgent care. What kind of stupid arbitrary rule is this, Monokuma? If Mikan gets killed because of this Im going to lose my shit. THIS IS GARBAGE MONOKUMA DONT KILL MY GIRLFRIEND
The next day Nagito is even closer to death. Stop. Dont. Come back.
The communication system is still working, and even Monomi is chilling on the other side because shes afraid of the disease. Which is dumb because she is some sort of animatronic rabbit from Chuck-e-Cheese and not a person that can catch an illness. Every time Monomi talks, someone somewhere gives into despair.
The entire day is literally skipped and Fuyuhiko comments It feels likea lot of stuff got skipped over and now its nighttime already ITS FUNNY BECAUSE ITS TRUE
Hajime goes to check on Nagito and scares Mikan by accident. Please dont surprise me! I almost got wet! "Yes, Ican have that effect on women", Hajime says, slicking back his hair. "Maybe we can talk about that...back at my place", Hajime says, pouring a class of wine.
Hajime and Mikan flirt a little bit more and Im a bit worried theyre going to start making out over Nagitos corpse.
Hajime returns to his cabin to go to sleep and has a dream where he is in some classroom and a bunch of shadowy figure comment on how someone doesnt deserve to be there and makes it sound like that someones parents are just paying the academy. Hajime is apparently the Ultimate Entitled Brat Whose Parents Buy Him Everything.
Hajime listens to all of this and goes "Gee WHO could they POSSIBLY be talking about wonder wonder think think ponder ponder." You. You idiot, they're talking about you.
YAWN. Time to wake up and oh hey half naked Mikan again. Damn, Hajime, your magnetism literally drew Mikan from the hospital for some late night cuddles. I hope we get back to the hospital and Nagito is dead and we have to explain to everyone how my sex appeal literally killed a man.
Hajime again kicks Mikan out of bed beause hes a LAME and is having a hard time breathing with Mikans tatas covering his face.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Hajimes gone limp! I can assure you that I think hes having the opposite problem.
Mikan claims she came to wake me but accidentally fell asleep. No need to hide your feelings from Hajime, baby. Hes a love machine that can handle multiple midnight boob suffocations.
Nagito has been successfully nursed back to health. Oh. Yay
Well, nursed back to health. I go to check on him and hes muttering something crazy about two Ibukis forming a band called the Veronicas. It still makes more sense than 95% of the things hes said this game.
The transmission light is on. Apparently someone got there early and WAIT WAIT WHAT IS THIS.
It looks like the scene from a snuff film, and the camera kicks on to show a rope and a stepladder. A person wearing a bag over their head and a hospital gown wanders on to the stage and slowly climbs the ladder up to the noose. Hey, game, tone it down a bit. This is fucking dark, even for you.
Speaking of dark, literally the next sentence after I typed that the lights go out and Hajime cant see whats going on. GAME GET OUT OF MY HEAD.
Hajime runs out to go to the music venue, but as soon as he leaves the hospital the body announcement alarm goes off. WELP. Oh wait it was just the normal morning announcement and Im a big dumb dumb. Its not my fault! They sound similar!
Double welp, nevermind. I get to the music venue and there is a body hanging from the rafters. WHO IS IT? DONT BE ONE OF THE CHARACTERS I LIKE PLEASE
Hajime notices it is unnaturally hot in the Titty Typhoon. This will be a clue later. Someone must be farting continuously behind the counter.
We run to get help from the motel, and Gunham starts acting weird and telling Chiaki I am just making the thing about the body up. I cant tell if this is normal Gundham weird or SUSPICIOUS murderer Gundham weird yet though. Chiaki ignores the crazy person and follows me anyway.
We run into Mikan and Fuyuhiko who tell us that Ibuki is missing from the hospital. Uhso we got a good news bad news type of situation here guys. The good news is I found Ibuki. I dont want to tell you the bad news just yet but come with me to Titty Typhoon.
HAHAHA I was joking about that whole hey guys just follow me to the Titty Typhoon I want to show you something but that is literally what Hajime does. Everyone is standing outside like what is inside and is Ibuki in there and "why does it smell like hot air and corpse" and rather than telling HIS FRIENDS hey guys you need to prepare yourself for the limp hanging body of one of our friends, he kicks the door open and holds their eyes open Bird Box style. Like, dude, give them some warning so no one faints at least.
The door to the music venue is locked. Thatis weird. It wasnt locked like a minute ago. Unless Hajime locked it behind him so the corpse wouldnt escape.
Fuyuhiko wants to break down the door and Chiaki says that might not work because two of them are girls. Im more concerned about the baby sized man with a still bleeding stomach wound, but sure, Chiaki. Its the girls thing holding us back.
The door budges the first time they all charge. Fuyuhiko is like oh hey maybe this will be easy and Chiaki adds yeah even with two girls here! Wow shes really caught up on that. We get it, Chiaki, you think women are weak and suck, but we dont have time to listen to your MRA podcast we have a door to open.
WHAT? HIYOKO? HIYOOOOOOOOOOOOOKO
No seriously that sucks. I liked her. And she definitely was not there like two minutes ago. Right? Hajime wouldnt miss a second corpse in the room?
If she wasnt though, what kind of super speed serial killer had the chance to murder her and duct tape her body to that pole? Like I was gone for a minute! Either Hajime is blind or the killer is Sonic.
Oh wait. OH WAIT. A DOUBLE MURDER
Holy shit I called this guys. I CALLED THIS. This game is mirroring the first game for some reason. I...don't know what this means. Hold me give me a second to think. This means something though. This is past the point of coincidence now. We're replaying some sort of mirrored version of the first game.
...but why? What is going on? I HAVE NO CLUE BUT I'M EXCITED TO FIND OUT.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
She started playing and I no joke went to her bio to make sure she was actually the ultimate musician and not something else. Because everyone here hated her music and told her so TO HER FACE.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Post Chapter 3 Daily Life Power Rankings 16. Byakuya
15. Teruteru
14. Mahiru
13. Peko
12. Hiyoko NOOOO MY FAVORITE PETITE PSYCHOPATH. They had her sort of turn a corner in soft forgiving Fuyuhiko and I thought they were setting her up for an interesting character arc but now shes DEAD SHES DEAD. This straight up sucks because Hiyoko was awesome and was better than mid game murder fodder tbqh. There really arent any characters left Id be happy about seeing here, except Fuyuhiko and maybe Akane so it is gonna be tough from here on out all around. I might wind up switching 12 and 11 since I dunno for sure who died in which order, but shes tentatively locked in at 12. I shall miss your ham hand references most of all.
11. Ibuki Probably Ibuki right? They havent showed the person under the bag yet, but likewho else could it be? Ibuki went missing, there is a body hanging here, likeI think I just cracked this case. Jeez game, you cant take out both of my favorite weirdos back to back like this! IT JUST ISNT FAIR! I DONT LIKE FUYUHIKO CAN'T YOU JUST KILL HIM INSTEAD? Maybe someone killed her for putting on such a shitty concert earlier in this chapter.
10. Kazuichi I legit have no clue who the murderer is. Like, no leads. Maybe one of them killed the other but then who killed the second? Im just guessing here. I dont think it was any of the girls since we just lost two and if we too another wed suddenly be down to three which would be weird for a game that likes showing off tatas every chance they can. It wasnt me. I dont think it was Nagito. Nekomaru isnt even around and literally threw himself in front of a bazooka to stop someone from dying. Gundham was standing around in front of the hotel while someone had to be tying Hiyoko up. That leaves Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko and I feel like Fuyuhiko is more important.
9. Fuyuhiko Everything I said about Kazuichi, but now add in the fact that Fuyuhiko has had some pretty serious character development recently and seems to be trying to right his life. UNLESS IT WAS ALL A TRICK. I wouldnt put it past the game, but for now I give him the edge over Kazuichi.
8. Akane She was having some sort of mental breakdown and could have theoretically snuck over I guess. I feel like Mikan would probably have noticed if both people under her care were gone. So maybe she has an alibi? Unless she doesnt and Mikan only checked one person before running off.
7. Nekomaru He could have snuck back I guess? And then killed multiple people, surely resulting in Akanes death if he got away with it becauseuhwait. Nevermind, hes not the killer. He might die at some point considering the bazooka wound hes suffering from though.
6. Nagito Jeez is no one going to take up this guys offer to help you kill him? Poor Nagito. He just wants to help, people! Everyone is just going around and committing murder without him. Hes going to feel left out!
5. Sonia Shes currently snuck into the whole survivor range if Ibuki is dead like I think. Shes a fun sort of weird character with a bit more personality. Ive been waiting for the game to kill her/have her kill someone because it would be so unexpected, but maybe the game knows I know it is unexpected and will keep her around to actually be unexpected! How tricky, gamebecause now I clearly cant drink the wine in front of me.
4. Gundham He had a super weird reaction when I ran to the hotel to tell him about the body, and I don't know if that was a clue or just Gundham Gundham-ing it up. I feel like the latter. Him being the killer doesn't explain how Hiyoko got tied up. She was likely killed earlier unless this was the quickest murder turnaround time ever, but someone still had to get her tied up which Gundham has a tight alibi for. I feel like he's safe as a lot of the fun quirky characters have died and it is just sort of Gundham left filling that niche now.
3. Chiaki Sneaky girl has sneakily snuck her way into the role of helpful tag-a-long without getting annoying or intrusive. Extra gold star for you! Now help me figure this out, Im a bit stuck.
2. Hajime There is certainly something weird going on with me. Like, Im pretty sure Im secretly a bad guy or something, but whatever. Like, he's almost certainly a member of the reserve students because of how strongly Monokuma hinted at it and that weird dream I had when I was dying from too much sleep motorboating. He might've been the one to lead the uprising against the school, but I feel like this chapter hinted at that too hard for that to be the case. But, whatever, secret bad guy or not, I need your power to avenge Hiyoko and Ibuki! LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH
1. Mikan Back to her whole scantly clad nurse role. I like how she keeps climbing into bed with me like OH IS THIS NOT NORMAL BEHAVIOR CUDDLE CUDDLE CUDDLE and Hajime is somehow ignorant to what is going on. Hajime, Im going to wingman you the rest of this game so you wind up with the girl who is clearly in love with you.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Gotta say, you're reactions to the deaths in this chapter are...fairly reversed from the norm!
I will try to go into my next DR2 playthrough with more of an open mind about her. As it stands I think your are only the second DR2 player on this board who doesn't hate Hiyoko, lol.
Quick Summary of Thoughts and Big Picture Stuff Before I Start Deadly Life I have to admit I'm kinda...disappointed? So far. I think? I really love the characters this time around and it is still fun but I had heard this game was great and so far the cases have all been less interesting than their game one counterparts. Improved mechanics and characters, yes, but the cases themselves have all been varying levels of dumb.
The "despair disease" or whatever this motive is sucks. Like crazy sucks. It makes people act differently than they normally would. That isn't a fucking motive. That is mind controlling people into behaving badly. Like Nagito almost died unrelated to anyone in the class killing him because of whatever this stupid motive is. A disease that can do whatever it needs to for the convenience of the plot is bs. I don't know what happened here yet so I'm willing to let it play out, but this kind of motive cuts at the heart of one of the things I loved about the first game. In that game, anyone could be the killer because the motives targeted anyone. Uh oh, here's what life is like on the outside. Uh oh, I'm going to let a secret out. Uh oh, I'm going to give someone a ton of money. Universal motivators. Here it is like "ok so case 2 I'm targeting Fuyuhiko and case 3 I'm targeting person x and let's just go from there". That isn't as interesting a motive, honestly. AND I DON'T LIKE IT.
Also this despair disease is DUMB in general and weird even by the very lenient standards I hold the game to. I'm willing to believe Junko had some sort of insane AI system in the first game and amazing technology or whatever. But "mosquitos carrying a disease that does random things to people" is just straight up dumb. DUMB.
Ok, I'm done being a grump about the motive. I did like the rest of the set up to this chapter. The communication is an interesting way to set up part of this murder and I'm really curious to see where it goes. The dialogue and characters continue to be fun and I'm still super interested to keep on playing. I know I'm complaining a lot about some aspects of the game so far, but overall I'm definitely still enjoying it. Assume I like everything I'm not complaining about and go from there!
DOUBLE MURDER. WHAT IS GOING ON. Ok, case 1 in both games: someone tries to kill someone else, but a second person fights them off and someone else dies instead. Case 2: reference made to a super serial killer being a person that was in the school the entire time. Somewhat impromptu crime of passion occurs. Case 3: DOUBLE MURDER. Case 4 is definitely going to be a suicide, right? Am I reading too far into this? It was a half theory before but then I was right about a double murder occurring this case. So...this means something! Right? Maybe? But what?
I'm struggling at the what. Ok so each case has some sort of parallel to its corresponding case in the first game. So what? Is that coincidence, lazy writing, or is there something bigger at play here? Is there some reason these cases have to be mirroring each other? I cannot think of anything but that doesn't mean I'm wrong! ...does it? I dunno. But it is interesting I said "oh a double murder would happen" and then a double murder happens. I feel like Charlie from IASIP with the PEPE SILVA board in the background right now, but I don't think I'm wrong!
Also, double murders suuuuuuuuuuuck. It cuts down on the cast which sucks because I very much like this cast! Next chapter is when the daily lives stop being so much fun, I think. I like it when the cast is big and fun and interesting and when they get cut down and you're going around on free time and realizing you only have like seven choices left to pick from...there's something sad about that.
Can I say one more time how bummed I am Hiyoko died? She was legit one of my favorite characters and I really thought she was going to have some sort of character arc with forgiving Fuyuhiko. I'm legit bummed at this one. And Ibuki too. She was cool, but just less cool than Hiyoko.
Hajime is weirdly...asexual so far? Mikan is throwing herself at him and he's just sort of awkwardly pretending not to notice. He hasn't expressed any sort of sexual interest one way or another, which is weird because I've had Mikan climb into bed with me twice and Nekomaru try to do "it" to me during a free time. You think one of those two things would elicit some sort of positive response. Hajime must not be able to get excited when murders are happening around him. What a weirdo.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Gotta say, you're reactions to the deaths in this chapter are...fairly reversed from the norm!
I will try to go into my next DR2 playthrough with more of an open mind about her. As it stands I think your are only the second DR2 player on this board who doesn't hate Hiyoko, lol.
Ibuki, though, love of my life best girl ;_;
Really?!?!
She had me at "ham hands" and she's been one of my favs ever since! I do like Ibuki a lot too, but I just preferred Hiyoko. As I said, the only characters I really haven't liked this game were Teruteru and Peko. Fuyuhiko too, although he was much better this chapter. And I don't have much of an opinion on Akane yet either. Overall I'm loving the cast and it is pretty much my favorite part of the game so far.
But yeah shocked Hiyoko hasn't gotten more love. She's fun and I thought she absolutely had relatable reactions to Fuyuhiko this chapter.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Obviously I can't give full character rankings because it may spoil character survivability moving forward, but pretty confident that Hiyoko would be pretty far down the female character rankings for the main entries of the franchise on average, if not potentially even in last place across the 3 games (Ultra Despair Girls has several characters at the bottom of the list, so excluding that). I don't think that's DESERVED myself, even if I have her pretty low, but that seems to be where the fanbase has fallen.
EDIT: just double checked my list, and she's 8th from the bottom (#41) , in last place for the girls. Honestly that's too low, and the bottom of my list is pretty whatever as far as order goes other than the bottom 4. I could see her moving up to #35 at best, jumping ahead of one, maybe two girls. I hadn't played DR2 in a while when I actually made the list.
Obviously I can't give full character rankings because it may spoil character survivability moving forward, but pretty confident that Hiyoko would be pretty far down the female character rankings for the main entries of the franchise on average, if not potentially even in last place across the 3 games (Ultra Despair Girls has several characters at the bottom of the list, so excluding that). I don't think that's DESERVED myself, even if I have her pretty low, but that seems to be where the fanbase has fallen.
EDIT: just double checked my list, and she's 8th from the bottom (#41) , in last place for the girls. Honestly that's too low, and the bottom of my list is pretty whatever as far as order goes other than the bottom 4. I could see her moving up to #35 at best, jumping ahead of one, maybe two girls. I hadn't played DR2 in a while when I actually made the list.
I still have half the game left so rankings are obviously in flux and there might be some changes depending on what happens from the free time I've missed with some characters.
But at least at this point for the girls she is absolutely above Peko and around the same as Ibuki. If I was ending now she'd be above Akane too. And from the first game she is 1000% above Toko who is one of my least favorite characters in the entire series so far. After that it gets a bit cloudy and I can't rank until I'm done and have seen everything but I can't imagine her dropping below Peko or Toko at the absolute least.
---
Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Toko would be below Hiyoko for me if I had not played Ultra Despair Girls. It rocketed her up pretty high, not to the top tier but way higher than she was.
It's a bit unfair because she gets an entire extra game and a leading role to add to her character.
Chapter 3 Deadly Life Thoughts and...OH NO OH NO NO NO NO I THOUGHT TOO MUCH
We get a body discovery announcement, immediately followed by a second body discovery announcement. What the hell, Monkuma? Are these things pre-recorded? Couldnt you just say two bodies have been discovered? You have the power to make a super virus that does literally whatever you want but you cant change your body discovery announcement by a single word?
Could it betwo victims? OH GEE WHAT GAVE THAT AWAY? Alright Chiaki, I'm taking away your "token smart person card" for now.
We want to get the body down and Monomi tells us how to operate the baton at the top of the stage. You sure know a lot about how everything here works, Monomi. Or, should I say, MURDER-omi?
Second corpse is Ibuki. Which, of course it was. Still sad. Good nom-nom-noming to you in the afterlife, you horrendous musician, you.
Akane and Nagito are cured now becausereasons. Apparently Monokuma magically cured them because he can do that too. I know this series pretty much requires you to suspend your disbelief, but this is just lazy writing that doesnt make any sense. Like diseases that can come and go because Monokuma says and does whatever the plot needs them to are just kind dumb tbqh.
Monomi says shes going to go fix Nekomaru while we all investigate. I half expect her to return with an obviously dead Nekomaru that shes propping up Weekend At Bernies style.
We need to finish thisonce and for all. Hey hate to burst your bubble guys but theres still like three more chapters left so, uh, you might not be quite there yet.
Investigation time! Monokuma file says Hiyokos cause of death was her throat being slit and also that her death was instant. That isnt how throat slitting works but ok.
Chiaki loudly questions why they killed two people instead of one because that would leave more clues and it doesnt make sense. Jeez, Chiaki, spoilers.
Shes got a point though. Im trying to figure out if there is some Danganronpa 1 type thing going on where one of the corpses killed one person and then a second person killed them. Like maybe Hiyoko killed Ibuki but then got murdered herself? Is there any way she immobilized herself? Nah, that doesnt make sense. Hm hm hm.
Apparently the thing holding the door shut was a drumstick. Damn that must be one sturdy ass drumstick if four people smashing against the door at one time didnt break it at first (or cause it to fall out).
Wait, but does that mean that the killer was inside the room when we broke in? We were specifically told there wasnt a second entrance when we were trying to find our way in. But then who did it? There was no one else in the room when we got in there. Hm hm hm. I feel very confused so far, which is a good thing, I suppose.
There is a flashback showing the whole scene of us trying to break in. Yeah, game, I remember that part. It was literally five minutes ago. You dont need to flashback to something that recent. Like five more lines and we would flashback to the flashback and be caught in a recursive loop.
The doors here apparently dont even have a lock. Probably not the best choice of door for a bar or business or any sort of structure you keep things in, really. No wonder the Titty Typhoon went under.
Fuyuhiko thinks maybe someone was hiding inside when we broke down the door. That thought had crossed my mind but that eliminates like half of the potential suspects right off the bat. And I feel like that's too dumb because we could peak behind the bar and be like "Kazuichi?!? What are you doing back there?" and the case would be solved.
Chiaki notices some green globby substance on the sides of the door. She tests what it is by eating some. Turns out to be workshop chemicals. Hey, Mikan, can you get over here and pump this morons stomach before she eats any more clues.
The sticky glob is added to the clue list but not the broken drumsticks. Thatsinteresting.
Mikan asks why I wasnt in the lobby then has a mild panic attack. Th-theres no way Id doubt you. Causeweve been togethersince this morning. Oh, weve BEEN TOGETHER all right. Hey everyone, get over here and listen how together Ive been with Mikan!
Oh wait Mikans testimony of us being together got added to my truth bullets. Maybe someone is going to accuse Hajime of being a lame virgin because I dont see what else this evidence has to do with anything.
Hm. The last thing in her testimony is that she met up with Fuyuhiko in front of the hospital. I wonder if that is going to mean something. *scribbles down negative points for Fuyuhiko*
Someone smashed Kazuichis machine. It was either the killer or the island has been invaded by a hostile group of Luddites.
There is a mystery smudge on the floor that is clearly half cleaned up blood. Why did the killer try to clean this up? Chiaki wonders. I dunno, man, Im still trying to figure out the locked door thing. We can work on the killers OCD later.
There is some sort of thick piece of paper stuck to the baton lighting. AHA! That clearly meansnothing to me at the moment. Seriously, Im at a bit of a loss here what some of these clues are. This is the first chapter in the game where I have had no clue whats going on for a lot of these clues, which is pretty cool.
The building's temperature was set to 86 degrees for some reason. This is the second A/C related clue in three cases. I think one of the writers mightve been an A/C repair person in their previous line of work.
Hiyokos body is all weird. First off, Nagito notices a weird bulge in her kimono and tries to make me fish around in there to see what It is. Akane eventually agrees to do it and finds a key to a hotel room. For some reason this is added to the truth bullets even though she probably would have her hotel key with her anyway. It was buried so deep in her kimono it was hard to retrieve, making me question how the hell Nagito saw it from across the room in the first place.
Her kimono also looks like it mightve been put on backwards? And the killer mightve put duct tape around her neck to stop it from bleeding so much. So was Hiyoko nude at some point? Or at least kimono-less? Why was naked Hiyoko wandering around the music venue. Maybe she did kill Ibuki and took off her kimono because it was so hot in there and she didnt want to look all sweaty. Butthen who killed her?
Theres a candle at the front of the stage and Hajime tells me like three times how they couldve just used stage lighting because he's a lighting snob. Jeez, Hajime, learn a bit about AMBIANCE okay? Candle light is much spookier than concert venue light. Every killer knows this, man.
Oh wait, theres a big ol bloodstain on the side of the stepladder. AHA. This is actually useful. Because that means it likely came from Hiyoko. Which meansIbuki killed Hiyoko? BUT THEN WHO KILLED IBUKI? I dont think the killer wouldve gotten Hiyokos blood on their hands, and then lazily touched the stepladder just for the purpose of knocking it over and leaving evidence behind.
Okay, so Ibuki kills Hiyoko. Is there any way for Hiyoko to kill Ibuki? Like Ibuki was super suggestive so maybe Ibuki is killing Hiyoko, Hiyoko tells Ibuki to kill herself, and then Ibuki does so? Does that make sense? No, because Ibuki was dead when we got there and Hiyoko wasnt. But wait, what the hell, Im like 95% sure Ibuki killed Hiyoko based on the ladder bloodstain. KILLER HOW DID YOU DO THIS?
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Toko would be below Hiyoko for me if I had not played Ultra Despair Girls. It rocketed her up pretty high, not to the top tier but way higher than she was.
It's a bit unfair because she gets an entire extra game and a leading role to add to her character.
Oh I didn't even know she had a role in that game!
It is on my list to play sometime soon so yeah that might change my rankings around for her some too.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Make sure you play Ultra Despair Girls after beating DR2, but before watching DR3 or playing V3. Or don't play it at all; it's not really required like the others, but it is mildly fun and it almost completely redeems Toko as a character.
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Not changing this sig until I decide to change this sig. Started: July 6, 2005
They keep showing the stepladder from a flashback where Ibuki is climbing on it and there is no blood on the side. Hey, lazy artist, would it kill you to keep things consistent?
Ok, so the black curtain at the back here was specifically brought over by someone since it was found at the supermarket and doesnt really fit the stage. So the killer is someone who is also obsessed with interior design but not very good at it. That should narrow it down a bit
Nagito is really super weird about the rope, and calls Mikan over to confirm Ibuki hung herself. Mikan says yes and then Nagito is like oh jeez guess I was wrong tee hee never mind silly ol me. I dont know what the hell that is supposed to mean, but that is some negative points for Mikan, I think. The clue itself says oh MIKAN says for sure this is the murder weapon while the Monokuma file is a bit less specific and says the cause of death was a crushed windpipe from choking. But Mikan is Hajimes boo so I hope this isnt true. I dont know what else Nagito could be getting at though.
There is blood all over Ibukis shoes. So, she 100% was the second to die. And she very likely killed Hiyoko? Maybe under the orders of someone else? But then where the hell was Hiyoko? Stashed somewhere? They did duct tape the neck to stop the bleeding.
Fuyuhiko comes over and talks about what I saw when I first arrived and says oh ok so Ibuki died first mm hmm WRONG. Hes clearly not following along in my notes, the fool.
I go to inspect the storage room and creepy Nagito is there being creepy. He claims not to be on the killers side, and always sides with whoever is on the side of hope. Which is what makes this case so special. what the hell does THAT mean?
Seriously what kind of weird clue is that? He goes on to say he cant ignore this case this time. Why? TELL ME WHY YOU VAGUE BASTARD
Can I just take another moment to say what a cool antagonist Nagito is for this kind of game? Hes over the top and all, but he works so well in a mystery game like this because you dont know what sort of weird bullshit is just him messing with you.
Now he wants me to meet him at the movie theater. I guess were going to have to watch Monokumas terrible movie for clues again.
There are stickers on the chair (which Hajime loudly points out is smaller than the stack of stickers the last time he was there) and some thick black wallpaper with stickers all over it in the storage room. And the paper has a rip in the corner. Oh. OH! Oh wait, so this was maybe covering up Hiyokos body. Which is why I didnt see it when I first ran in. And the someone tore it down and hid it in this room right after I left.
Ok, so that clears Gunham and Chiaki 100%. Since they were outside the motel when I got there. That could leave Mikan or Fuyuhiko as suspects still though, since Fuyuhiko wasnt there to see the video in the morning and Mikan was outside of the hospital clearly when she was trying to find the rest of us. Although unless she was running behind Hajime and he didn't notice it on this big empty island, that seems a bit unlikely. It is more likely (to me) that the killer was hiding in there, waited for me to leave, and then tore down the covering. So...Fuyuhiko?
Now that I think about it the game made a point to show that Fuyuhiko was there early for the video the day before. I wonder if that was meant to hint at something. Like he wasn't early this morning because he was setting stuff up. Hm hm hm.
Mikan now says she cant give much info on the autopsy. The heat of the venue makes it too hard to estimate the time of death. Is that true? If Ibuki was dead for like five minutes I dont think heat could mess things up that muchcould it? IVE GOT MY EYE ON YOU NURSE.
That explains the heat though. So it has to either be Mikan faking it or someone who is smart enough to know the heat could mess with the autopsy reports. So once again Im still looking at Fuyuhiko and Mikan.
Apparently this is all a imitation of the movie Monokuma made people watch. Was I the only person that skipped out on the film? Apparently even on death island no one wants to go into debt.
Sonia: Excuse me, if this was really an imitation of that moviethen is it possible that one more person might have been killed? *looks around at cast* Well considering everyone else is still here, aliveIm going to say no, Sonia. No it isnt.
Monokuma shows up to make an additional rule that the blackened can only kill two people so they just dont go around murdering everyone at once. Yeah, good rule. Probably shouldve put that in place like ten days ago. Im glad the killer didnt just Air Bud their way off the island before this while Monokuma flips through the rulebook and the killer says well, the rules didnt SAY I couldnt kill everyone.
Monokuma also clarifies that only one killer can be a killer at a time, and he would stop two kills from two different people from occupying simultaneously. Which means either Ibuki didnt kill Hiyoko or there was some mastermind she was working for.
To the theater! Monokuma gives me a ticket that he stamps, Nagito tells me it is SUPER IMPORTANT I hold on to that, and it gets immediately added to the truth bullets section of my notebook. Ok then. Maybe someone is going to falsely accuse me of doing it and I can go NUH UH I DIDNT EVEN SEE THE MOVIE UNTIL RIGHT NOW JERK. Im trying to think who wasnt around when I said I didnt see the movie that would be caught off guard by this. Kazuichi made a weird point to storm out because it was too hot so maybe him?
I look at the goods counter and Monokuma accidentally lets it slip the killer bought the bag. And then tells me there are actually two bags the killer has that look exactly identical. Im beginning to think Monokuma WANTS us to catch the killer at this rate.
The two identical bags thing is a clue. BUT WHY? Why is it important a second bag was made? HMMM.
I have no clue what the hell this movie was supposed to tell us about the killing. Unless it was that someone told Ibuki to kill herself and she did because that was explicitly stated in the movie? But that was pretty obvious so I dunnow hat I am supposed to have learned from this.
They flash back to Ibuki hanging herself and they show the column Hiyoko was tied to and it is huge and thick compared to the really think one at the scene now. I took note of the size before I left because I thought they showed this column before. So thats one mystery solved at least! Hiyoko killed and hidden under the mat.
Hiyokos suspended body matches the lions death too No it doesnt you dummy, he was shot by arrows. Were you even watching or were you just checking your phone?
I legit thought her death was supposed to be the tin man's death because he was hacked to pieces. Terrible imitation killing if it isn't even obvious what killing you're imitating, imho.
I just check my map and it turns out Sonia isnt anywhere. HMMMM. Wonder where shes off at?
Fuyuhiko is acting very weird in front of the hotel. Hes like oh so Sonia and Kazuchi dont have alibis HOW WEIRD HUH and then proceeds to go my alibi is air tight I was with Mikan the entire time, I couldnt have strung Hiyoko up. Yeah, except I already figured out SHE WAS ALREADY DEAD AND ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS PULL THE CARPET OFF. Boom. It is like 99% either Mikan or Fuyuhiko, before they met up with each other in front of the hospital. Hopefully Fuyuhiko because Mikan is awesome.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
So I have something like ALL of the Vita games and haven't looked at that cover in years. I'm sure I knew it at some point! But yeah, didn't know Toko gets a redemption arc from terrible character land, but that's pretty cool!
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Even if you doubt me, I dont plan on dismermbering you and encasing you in concrete. Well those are definitely words of an innocent person, Fuyuhiko, so my suspicion is gone.
Fuyuhikos account is added to the truth bullets and I think the important part is he claims Mikan and he were only separated for a short time. Thats going to come back at some point.
So, my current theory for how it happened just so I can get my thoughts down and make sure this makes sense: whoever the killer is gives Ibuki a knife. Tells them to kill themselves at exactly this time, and to kill anyone that gets in their way or tries to stop them. Hiyoko wanders in forsome reason? Ibuki kills her, hides her according to the plan, doesnt notice the blood and hangs herself as planned. The real killer shows up, takes off the carpet and goes about their business.
I think that makes sense? The only thing that is confusing is why Hiyoko is there. They make a huge point the day before to say something like Hiyoko is refusing to come out until the disease is cured so why is she there? You knowmaybe Hiyoko is the killer? She tells Ibuki what to do, tells her to kill anyone that gets in her way, changes her mind at the last minute and the Ibuki murders her according to her previous orders. That would explain random Hiyoko being there. OH! You know what, that would also explain why her kimono was so messed up! Like, shes sleeping, has a change of heart and quickly gets dressed to run to the venue, tries to stop things and gets murdered! I think I like this plan and is my SUPRAK GUT lock.
Oh no wait, right after typing that up I realized I dumb because someone has to take the carpet off. Also it was probably too much for the killer to give explicit details on how to hide a body so they could go there and uncover it later on. Someone had to have hidden Hiyoko and that obviously cant be HIyoko and likely wasnt Ibuki since someone un-hid her. Damn. So that cant be right. I should probably delete those two previous paragraphs so you guys dont think Im an idiot but whatever. Whatever the twist actually is I think the aforementioned one would be pretty cool tbqh.
You know typing that up makes me kind of bummed that isn't the case because 1) it sounds pretty cool and TWISTY and 2) no one else would have to die this chapter and we could all be friends and skip into chapter 4 together.
OH! Sonia is in Hiyokos room. Why wasnt she on the map? Or did I just miss her. Either way, hi Sonia!
Sonia says she thinks this is her fault. Uh, did you happen to go hey Ibuki you should murder Hiyoko and then kill yourself because then yes this might be your fault and you probably shouldnt have done that.
AHA. So Sonia saw Hiyoko struggling with her kimono sash the day before. She showered, took it off, and couldnt get it back on. So maybe Hiyoko did make a panicked sprint to the music venue! But why? Sonia also mentions that she refused to leave her room because of the despair disease so something is up.
AHA AHA. Sonia told Hiyoko to go use the mirror in the storage room so she could get dressed. So thats why Hiyoko was there. Ok, so that completely kills my Hiyoko is the secret killer theory (which was dead anyway at this point) and also probably exonerates Sonia. Doubt killer Sonia tells us she was the one who told Hiyoko to get to the spot where she got murdered if she was the one who actually did the murdering. UNLESS thats just what she wants me to thinkso clearly I cannot drink the wine in front of me!
Sonia: Shutting yourself in your room like this may be bad for your health. HAHAHA what a terrible last thing to say to someone who you are sending off to get murdered. Damn, Sonia, maybe that part out in future tellings of this story.
So maybe Hiyoko was killed because she was discovered at the venue? But why would the killer accompany Ibuki there when they couldve just told her go kill yourself and not wind up placing themselves at the scene of the crime?
Again, this has to be Fuyuhiko or Mikan, right? One of those two had to get Ibuki out of her room, and no one else was going to the hospital. Nagito was dying and Akane was crying over the season finale of the bachelor, so that just leaves those two. But Mikan was with me. SoFuyuhiko? Is it that easy? He was very HEY I HAVE AN ALIBI I PROMISE NOT TO SHOOT YOU AND ENCASE YOU IN CONCRETE like five minutes ago.
Something still doesnt make sense. Im still confused by the timing of this. Hiyoko dies before Ibuki. Ibuki or killer hides the body. Ibuki kills herself with Hajime watching. Nowwhy kill Ibuki at all? If you already killed Hiyoko to make your escape, why would you also kill Ibuki? Sonia was very clear no one else knew Hiyoko would be there, so this wasnt a hey Ibuki go kill Hiyoko at this time and then hang yourself at this time kind of plan. Hiyoko was likely an accident because they went there to kill Ibuki right? Oh, you know what, nevermind. Hiyoko gets killed by accident, then the killer pretty much has to have Ibuki kill herself since she witnessed the murder, disease or not. I'm playing right now at like 3 AM my time because I want to see how this investigation ends so forgive stupid points I might be making I'm tired, dangit.
I realize Im rambling a lot here, please forgive me. This case is way more complicated than the last two.
Akane: Hajime, help me out with my recovery! You can touch my boobs if you win. Sorry, Akane, I already have a girlfriend and she may or may not be a secret psychopath so I really gotta figure that out first.
The conference room upstairs is pitch black, and Chiaki tells me not to turn the lights back on. if you turn on the light, its gonna be fully exposed. Itd be embarrassing. If one of the female characters could keep their damn panties on for two seconds, I swear. THERE HAVE BEEN TWO MURDERS HERE PEOPLE.
Chiaki is also being super weird about investigating and Hajime keeps talking about how shes angry about something and hes confused why. Maybe shes mad about her friends being murdered, dingus.
Chiaki is making a big deal about the curtains here blocking out all the light. I dont know what this has to do with anything, or why she was being all weird and pretending to be naked.
Oh. OH. OHHHHHHH. Did something happen in this room? Is that what theyre getting at? The feed Hajime was watching went pitch black before we could see Ibuki hang herself, which is really weird and pointless unless that was some sort of fake out. And the Chiaki hammers home here just how pitch black this room gets with the curtain closed. Could someone stage the murder? Does that make sense? Is that what theyre getting at?
No, wait, but then how did they record it and send it to Hajime to see? The camera was at the venue and they told me multiple times that the monitor was linked to that camera and only that camera. But then why the hell are they making me investigate this random room at the hospital? IT HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING.
Oh shit, hold on. The two bags. Monokuma made a big deal about there being two identical bags that he gave out. That seemed pointless, but that makes a whole lot of sense if someone staged the video to look like Ibuki was hanging herself when maybe she was already hung some time ago. I bet thats what it is! CASE CLOSED. I dont quite understand how just yet, but I bet thats what it is!
But wait. There was only one person who had access to the upstairs conference room at that time. Which means.which means
:(
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Post Chapter 3 Deadly Life Power Rankings of Infinite Sadness 16. Byakuya
15. Teruteru
14. Mahiru
13. Peko
12. Hiyoko Im 99% sure Hiyokko died first due to the bloody slippers, so Im leaving her here now. Sadly, this means this is the last thing Ill likely say about Hiyoko now until I rank all the characters at the end. RIP tiny psychopath I will avenge you.
11. Ibuki Yeah, figured she was under the bag because nothing else made sense. It kind of sucks she gets killed not because of any mistake she made, but because hey you have a disease that will make you commit suicide if anyone tells you to. Thats pretty bs, imo. Like, thats just Monokuma singling out someone and marking them for death, basically. I kind of miss Danganronpa 1s cases in that regards. Compare case two/case three in that game (motives being Ill reveal an embarrassing secret about all of you and a huge pile of cash) vs. case two/three in this game (here is one guys sister getting murdered and one girl helping to cover it up AND these three people are going to get sick and one of them is going to commit suicide because of this stupid variation of the disease she got). Like it felt like anything could happen in the first game, while in this one it is increasingly feeling like Monokuma is just picking out characters he doesnt like and making the motive affect them specifically. Tl;dr IBUKI SHOULDNT BE DEAD THIS WHOLE THING IS RIGGED
10. Mikan - Repeating my: :(. Im kind of torn here, because I have two theories. One of them is based on the evidence (Mikan) and the other is based on what makes sense storywise (Fuyuhiko). Im 99.99% sure its one of these two. Nagito/Akane were incapacitated, Gundham/Chiaki have air tight alibis since they were with me, Nekomaru may or may not already be dead, Sonia/Kazuichi had no real way to get into the hospital to get Ibuki. So it needs to be Mikan or Fuyuhiko. I feel like the upstairs room is where the video was recorded even though I dont quite get the how of it just yet. Which would strongly point to Mikan since she literally went up there. But it makes no sense with her character, so Im torn. Plus, she is Hajimes bae and one of my favorite characters so far so I dont want to see her leave.
9. Fuyuhiko My brain is telling me Mikan, but my heart is telling me Fuyuhiko. Itd be a much cooler twist, I think. Peko dies last chapter, and he loses any connection he has to the rest of the group. He acts like he wants to be friends and has turned a new leaf, but he secretly plots against everyone. He gets himself thrown back in the hospital with a self-inflicted injury so he can scout the place, and then even volunteers himself to help Hajime look after things so he can have access to the facility. He also is very quick to accuse Kazuichi/Sonia since they have no alibi while he was a very good alibi yep yep dont look at it too much. I could see him going crazy and killing two people (he said hed do it before) while it doesnt make as much sense and would be a total departure of everything weve seen from Mikan so far. Theres no real evidence for this though unless Im missing something. But Im holding out hope for my girl Mikan that Fuyuhiko is the real murderer here.
8. Nekomaru Im still not sure this dude is actually alive. Im half hoping Monokuma screwed up and accidentally killed him but doesnt want to admit he broke the rules. So next chapter Monokuma shows up in a leather jacket talking about HEALTHY BOWEL MOVEMENTS and PANTS THAT ARE TOO TIGHT in an effort to convince us Nekomaru isnt actually a corpse. At least two of the remaining students would 100% believe it.
7. Kazuichi It isnt him, but hes really the only other guy it could be at all. He did set up the monitors, so Im trying to think of a way he could mess with them somehow. He was also totally useless during this investigation and all I remember him doing is yelling IM HOT and leaving the murder scene immediately. Im trying to think what kind of mindset Id have to be in to see the corpses of two of my friends and say hey, who the hell is messing with the thermostat?
6. Nagito Definitely not the killer. But also definitely not surviving to the end. Hes been walking around begging for someone to kill him on murder island for like two and a half chapters now. Someone is going to take him up on that.
5. Gundham There is something increasingly funny to me about the image of a series of increasingly brutal murders occurring in the background while one of the supporting characters sits around and talks to hamsters. He does get some points this chapter for actually helping me find a clue, though!
4. Akane I really have no strong feelings on Akane at all so far which is weird. Maybe that means shell be a victim at some point because she has waaaaay less characterization than everyone else so far, but I think it is super unlikely shes a killer. Shes too dumb. Wed find her snacking with blood on her hands and the corpse jammed under her shirt.
3. Sonia Dont blame yourself for Hiyokos death, Sonia! You only were the one that got her out of her room! And sent her to the murder scene! And put her in the one place where she could possibly be in danger at that time and hey why are you crying? I really like Sonia and shes in that nice middle ground of well written/smart/quirky that I think she has a good shot of making it all the way to the end. Shes sort of the heart of the group at this point, so hopefully that doesnt mean she gets ripped out and stomped to pieces any time soon.
2. Hajime Still our adorable hero. Still way better than the last games hero. Still possibly the big bad traitor theyve been talking about every chapter so far.
1. Chiaki Chiaki is a top tier character so far and actually helpful in the court cases. Of course, based on how my predictions have gone so far, this probably means shell die in the next chapter. She was likesuper into this case. Her and Nagito both. I have no idea what the hell that is about, so Im looking forward to Chiaki revealing her ULTIMATE FORM and going Super Saiyan on the murderer in the trial.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Final Chapter 3 Deadly Life Thoughts Before I Move On To What Is Going To Be A Very Sad Trial I don't know how to fix this, but this is setting up to be a very good case with one somewhat major flaw: the culprit was made obvious by what I had to investigate. Meaning, it wasn't the clues themselves that tipped me off, but the fact that Chiaki went to the conference room, erected a giant glowing sign that said "THIS IS IMPORTANT", and then sort of winked at me kind of gave me too much info as to what was going on. I always love going into the actual trials surprised, but I haven't had that yet here. Going to the conference room just wasn't subtle, but then again I guess I don't quite know how it could be.
And, hey, what the hell Mikan? I thought we were bed buddies? WAS THIS ALL A RUSE TO GET ME TO LIKE YOU?!?! She is so far off from the kind of character you think would commit a murder it almost feels incongruous with the character that's been established. When someone like Celeste snaps and kills two people, yeah, of course, duh. Your guys' fault for not noticing it earlier tbqh. But Mikan? WHY MIKAN?
I am holding out hope that I'm wrong though. Like I know it should be Mikan based on the conference room, but maybe I am misinterpreting something. I see so many good story reasons for why it should be Fuyuhiko. He volunteered himself to stay at the hospital when he didn't need to and then seemed annoyed when Monokuma had that "one guardian" limit enacted. I would love for that whole "sorry guys" thing to be a clever ruse and an excuse to get himself in the hospital by himself for some time. And, I'm still not certain how they got the covering around Hiyoko down. If it was Fuyuhiko, he couldn't been hiding in the building in wait. If it was Mikan, she would literally have had to sprint behind me as I went over there, not be seen by anyone, tear it down, sprint back to the hospital, and she is going to risk being caught at any step of that plan.
(Please be Fuyuhiko is what I'm getting at here, game. You took HIyoko and Ibuki. The least you could do is take Fuyuhiko on the way out.)
I did like the complexity of this case. It was the first one where I felt like things weren't very obvious from the start and there were a lot of times I'd get a clue and just sort of stare at it like "what the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
Something strange is going on this chapter and I don't know what. But both of the very helpful characters, Chiaki and Nagito, were clear that THIS IS DIFFERENT and PERSONAL and PAY ATTENTION THERE ARE IMPORTANT STORY RAMIFICATIONS TO COME. I kinda wanted to marathon through the trial but I was super tired so I'm going to start tonight.
Also, was Chiaki mad at Hajime because he was sleeping with Mikan? Hajime says several times something along the lines of "Chiaki is acting strangely and is mad at me" but I had no clue why. This is just a guess as I don't know what else she'd be grumpy at me about.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Just so you know, it's universally agreed that DR1's motives > DR2's motives.
(And yes this motive was bonkers awful but I'm trying to not complain about that again since I've done it several times now and I'm sure it is getting old by this point)
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Monookuma we dont need to listen to the damn rules again. Hurry up here, I need to find out if Hajimes girlfriend is a secret psycho.
Akane: The emptier your head, the more dreams you can stuff inside it, yknow! Hey someone, quick, Im going to need this on a motivational cat poster.
Akane and Nagito take turns announcing theyll both be useless because they were sick in the hospital. As opposed to past cases, where they were useless because they were Akane and Nagito.
Fuyuhiko now just sounds sad all the time when he talks. I guess this is better than his fake tough guy persona but not much.
Mikan: After I rested for a bit, I started counting everyone at the hospital Yeah I just realized this means she took like a two minute nap since that was basically all the time that passed between us splitting up and Hajime running to get help. That's not helping my "jeez I really hope this wasn't Mikan" theory
Nagito points out that since I was the only one to see the video and the first to go to the music venue, I could just be lying. Hesuh, well hes totally right. Oh shoot maybe I did kill her. Hey, the rest of you dumb dumbs, why werent you treating me as a suspect?
L-Lie!? Why would I lie?! total scum response ##vote: Hajime
Oh wait thats right Hajime never saw the movie. And also I was in his perspective and knew he didnt do it. Right right right right. Right. ##unvote
Nagito says he never thought I did and was just making sure everyone believed my testimony by proving how I couldnt be the killer. Yeah, uh, cool, but you couldve just said hey he has this ticket that was never punched and saved us like five minutes.
Hajime says he was only gone around ten minutes. Ten minutes? TEN MINUTES?! NEW YORK CITY?! Just how far away is the music venue from the hotel? I thought he was gone like a minute, tops.
Fuyuhiko is going with the theory that when we broke down the music venue door, the killer was still inside, thus giving them a bit more time to plan out the murder. AHA! The ol invisible killer trick. Oldest trick in the book, invisible killer. Which meanswhich means! It was you all along, Harry Potter under his invisible cloak! Mischief managed, indeed.
Dang, Fuyuhiko is going crazy hard on this hey I had an alibi it mustve been Sonia and Kazuichi line of attack. Is Fuyuhiko just a dummy or is he the killer? Find out next time on everyones favorite Danganronpa themed game show: Dummy or Killer!?
Theres another person who doesnt have an alibi. You knowNekomaru. Uh, pretty sure his alibi is slowly bleeding to death in a hospital somewhere.
Hajime throws out the idea that the door was glued shut by the green glue. Chiaki confirms this. It had a firm, gel-like chewinessand I could smell workshop chemicals the moment I put it in my mouth. Also I vomited profusely and am currently dying I really shouldnt have done that.
Didnt that drumstick we found seem really obvious? Almost unnaturally so? I mean I guess Id argue the fluorescent bright green glue coating both edges of the doors was more obvious but sure.
Boy the killer mustve moved fast everyone says. Awww...what unimaginable speed for a slowpoke like me! increasingly likely killer Mikan responds.
Dang Nagito is actually pushing the trail forward and being smart. He might be useful. You know, if he wasnt a total psychopath.
This logic drive thing isnt half bad. Like, its not as good as the normal debate segments but it isnt nearly as bad as some other the other minigames they force you to do.
Monomi didnt know her likeness was used in Monokumas stupid movie. COPYRIGHT CLAIM! COPYRIGHT CLAIM! TAKE IT ALL DOWN!
Chiaki is now openly mocking Gundham because hes trying to cover up the fact he doesnt understand how everyone else already knows that Hiyoko was killed first. Sassy Chiaki is new best girl. Sorry Mikan. Youre too murder-y.
A shepherd dressed in his Sundays finest still reeks of lamb! Gundham has been kept getting even better since his no I didnt want to go to your stupid beach party anyway Ill have my own party with hookers and blackjack case 2 chat, and this line is pretty cool all things considered.
Ok, I sort of get the point of the rebuttal showdown. I was frantically trying to find the right piece of evidence while swiping away the arguments, and it was definitely more intense than some of the standard nonstop debates. I still think it is a step down because you wind up missing some of the arguments since you need to break the lines quickly, but I at least dont hate it.
HmChiaki says the killer taped Hiyoko to stop the bleeding, but Mikan points out that bleeding stops after the heart stops beating. Sois she not the killer? Who would it be then? Fuyuhiko is the only other choice I think. HM HM HMMMMMM.
Ok cool we all agree Hiyoko was killed first. It only took like a quarter of the trial, so not a great start here guys. Monokuma were going to need more time on this one.
Its possible Ibuki killed Hiyoko and then commited suicide due to a guilty conscience, right? Uh, NO, Nagito. IDIOT. (*quickly goes back through playthrough topic and deletes post where he had the same theory*)
Nagitos theory is so dumb and so impossible I dont get to even do anything to disprove it. Everyone else just yells at him for me for a little while and we go on to the next topic. I dont think Ive ever seen an argument so bad the game taps me on the shoulder and goes we got this, champ before.
We now go around trying to decide who all has alibis. Hajime interrupts this non-stop to debate to loudly tell everyone that Mikan and he were SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED. It has nothing to do with the debate, he just wanted to make sure everyone knew.
Ok so it also supposedly clears Mikan and Hajime from suspicion. I keep going back and forth between Mikan and Fuyuhiko. Well, actually I'm like 99% sure it's Mikan but I dont want it to be so I keep secretly hoping its Fuyuhiko somehow.
Nagito thinks there is another reason for falsifying the murder sequence and staging it like the Wizard of Monomi. You know, you really would be quite useful if you werent a total psychopath.
This leads Chiaki to believe that Hiyokos murder wasnt planned! AHA! AHAAAA! Aha? Wait what? Why is that again?
Chiaki surmised this because Hiyokos body wasnt held up by arrows like the movie. Or it could just be evidence that it is really hard to impale a human body with enough arrows to get them to hold up to a pillar. Or that duct tape is easier to lug around than a bow and fifty arrows. Or like twenty other things. Chiaki what the hell are you talking about?
Ok, so we figure out Hiyoko went to the venue of her own free will because of how she locked the door behind her and where the key was hidden, combined with Sonia accidentally telling her to use the mirror at the music venue. Okay, Chiaki, I apologize, your theory makes sense.
Akane interjects and says Chiaki must be wrong because shes afraid this wouldve been the only important thing she had to say all trial. OH GOSH SHES BECOME SELF AWARE
Oh have I been doing this duel debate thing whatever the hell its called wrong the entire time? I was having a hard time getting past one part, but then I slashed diagonally one time by mistake and it hit all the targets at once. Cool. Great job explaining this to me, game. Lot of fun to figure that out myself accidentally like three cases in!
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
Oh have I been doing this duel debate thing whatever the hell its called wrong the entire time? I was having a hard time getting past one part, but then I slashed diagonally one time by mistake and it hit all the targets at once. Cool. Great job explaining this to me, game. Lot of fun to figure that out myself accidentally like three cases in!
You think that's bad, I beat the entire game not knowing you could slow down time in Improved Hangman's Gambit.
Akane finally believes us that the reason Hiyoko went to the music venue was because Sonia told her about the full length mirror there. THATS RIGHT EVERYONE, SONIA BASICALLY MURDERED HIYOKO WITH HER OWN HANDS NOW CAN WE PLEASE JUST MOVE oh hey Sonia why are you sobbing uncontrollably?
Akane accepts defeats. I lost. Boil me, burn me, take off my clothesdo whatever ya want to me! Im beginning to think Akane has just been trying to get naked again this whole time.
Hajime, nows your chance! Make heradmit defeator better yet, make her do a little somethin-somethin! Kazuichi Hey yeah I know two of our friends are dead and we have like five minutes left to figure this all out or were going to die too, but I motion to adjourn to see some titties please. also Kazuichi, probably
Thenthe killer probably couldnt have assumed that Hiyoko would go to the music venue I mean unless the killer was Sonia who just admitted she was the one who told Hiyoko to go there, Chiaki. I know you know the script and all but please no spoilers for the rest of us, jeez.
Though that may not apply to Sonia, since she provided Hiyoko with that information WHAT? GUNDHAM DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS?
Gundham then threatens to burn Kazuichi alive when he scolds him for doubting Sonia. Hey man, can you be cool for like five minutes I was just going to vouch for you for everyone else here and then you start yelling about murder.
Honestly are we even sure Hiyoko was meant to be an imitation murder? They seem to say it was because she was taped to the pole like the one guy was impaled with arrows but 1) tape isnt arrows 2) the tape was used to keep her against the pole so she wouldnt knock over the covering 3) the tape also was meant to stop the bleeding. Couldnt this just be a normal murder guys?
We ask Nagito for help (?) and he tells us hes convinced Ibuki didnt commit suicide. Cool, thanks for that. ALSO he is positive Byakuya is definitely dead. ALSO the Junko was actually Mukaro and the real Junko was in hiding. ALSO SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE AHHHHHH
Hey wait a minute! He was being secretly helpful! The fact that there werent bloody footprints on the stepstool is a huge clue. Wow, thanks Nagito! Youre not all bad! Maybe keep on spoiling stuff for us we already knew and well find even more clues.
Ok were finally getting to the video being staged, like I expected. Again, that pretty much points exclusively at Mikan since other possible suspect Fuyuhiko doesnt exactly have the same body type. Mikan or Sonia are pretty much the only two that could pull this off.
Everyone decides to leave it to me to figure out what was going on in the video. Either its about to be a logic drive or a non-stop debate ala Gollum vs. Smeagle.
Oh never mind its just a point out the strange thing on this image puzzle. No blood on the hand rail. TOO EASY. Good thing Hajime has photographic memory recollection and isnt just forgetting exactly what the two second clip of his friend murdering herself looking like to the smallest detail. Oh and the whole thing was illuminated by a single candle. Sure hope your memory is good here, Hajime
Chiaki deduces the blood on the stepladder PROVES there are two stepladders and two crime scenes. Probably right! But, uh, guys, we know the killer removed that huge carpet thing, isnt it possible that she also got blood on it after the suicide since she was literally changing details about the crime scene?
Whats the difference between the video I saw and crime scene. The answer is filming location. I had to spell that all out. That is not a fun puzzle, game. You cant give me something that vague and that long and know what the hell youre talking about. Its like playing a guessing game with a four year old.
Also it took like three minutes for me to even get the random letters I needed. I imagine everyone just staring at me while I'm like "sorry guys we can't proceed yet I've gotten like six 'o's' in a row WHERE IS THE DAMN 'N' AT MONOKUMA YOU BASTARD"
Logic drive is much better and fortunately follows up the hangman travesty. Hajime finally figures out the killer took the camera with them to stage it somewhere else. He does this through LOGIC and not because Chiaki was super weird about that one room at the very end of the investigation.
Ok, so through the logic drive we prove that the camera was actually just stolen and then the hanging staged, meaning it occurred earlier on and what Hajime saw was a re-enactment to throw off the timeline. Ok. Right. Ok. So. Um, hey. Ms. Killer. Excuse me. Why couldnt you just give Ibuki a clock and say at this time kill yourself? Why the need for the theatrics? What is WRONG with you?
Oh no not another Hangmans Gambit. GAME WHY DONT YOU WANT ME TO HAVE FUN.
Where were they recording from? AHA I KNOW THIS ONE. Hospital. Bam. Woops this is like seventeen letters nevermind.
Since the camera only reaches the hospital and the music venue, the video mustve been staged in the hospital. The similar curtains and floor prove the room it was staged in was the conference room. And the only person who had access to that room to film the fake video was
MIKAN. I knew it. Well, I pretty much knew it. Probably wish you didnt make a fake suicide video that implicated you and only you, huh?
Hajime says it was beause they were the only ones who had an alibi, and since the killer did all of this to establish an alibi, CLEARLY the killer was Mikan. I mean, I thought it was because she was the only one with access to the room since it was on the second floor of the hospital. But, sure, lets go with your less logical explanation.
Oh, ok, nevermind, that was Hajimes second argument. Might want to rearrange those two there. I KNOW youre the killer because of your purple socks and also youre holding the murder weapon
They go through the rigmarole of showing that since Hajime was in the conference room, it couldnt have been someone from outside and blah blah blah. Couldnt you just say hey we know it was you because only you have the right body type? I guess maybe Sonia would fit too, but really since she decided to try and pretend to be the victim it eliminates most of the possible suspects on account of their being dudes.
It is truly difficult to believe someone could be killed by such a slow-witted woman. Hey Gundham I dont like that extra stink you put on the word woman, bud. Seriously. He was like such a slow-wittedWOMUNN. Like dude, cool it. Work out your lady issues another time, we got a killer to catch.
Mikan breaks down sobbing and tells us she cant be the killer she wouldnt do something like that shes telling the truth why wont you believe me. And, uh, maybe Im a dummy but she sounds kind of sincere? Is there another super extra special twist coming?
OH SNAP. Nagito is getting super serious this time. Something about how he thought it was suspicious all along and knew it from the very beginning. WHAT IS IT MAN? TELL ME THE TWIST SO MIKAN CAN STOP SOBBING AND MAKING ME FEEL BAD.
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Moops? "I thought you were making up diseases? That's spontaneous dental hydroplosion."
