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[ScherzoPrime]

Riffing off that Junko as the Ultimate Analyst bit, which I think is a great theory, I think it feeds into this idea that she has a fundamentally cynical/nihilistic view of human nature, though she tends not to express it in a dour way. And I think that ties into what Hope and Despair really 'mean'. Hope, more than just a belief or feeling, is the recognition that things can get better, that we're not trapped in the situations we appear to be but can be delivered or otherwise overcome them. Contrawise, Despair is the recognition that your desires will never be fulfilled, that you can never get better no matter how much you may desire it. I think an Ultimate Despair would view humans as absurd creatures who desire far more than they'll ever truly be capable of, and therefore the only logical conclusion is to wallow in their animalistic inadequacy. And I think furthermore Hope's Peak is a perversion of Hope in many ways because it buys into ability as being preordained, not obtainable, and seems to be selling Hope as an 'Opiate for the masses' type deal.

The only reason I'm skeptical of Matsuda is wouldn't he have been introduced by now?

 

[DrunkShogun]

That happens between the first killing game with Izuru and company and the 2nd one. She takes on the Ryoko Otonashi persona to test out the memory-wiping process that would be inflicted upon the 78th class prior to their game.

No memory wipe was needed for the first game. Junko just had to incite that one.

Did not know that ryoko appears between the two killing game. That's the unfortunate outcome when i only have the games to work off from. Guess no ryoko unless we start having time jumps to experience key events.

 

[Ludger Kresnik]

I wonder if Chisa show her talent when teaching reserve class (as in, wearing her apron when teaching)

Probably not, given how she didn't seem to care about them at all.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Nagito is interesting in that interpretation of hope/despair; he yearns for hope (progress) but serves despair (regress).

nagito is already known so I can't see much of a focus. he never truly became despair. he followed Junko cause he wanted her to die so that an ultimate hope could rise.

See, I disagree there; I think that it is very possible that Nagito fell to despair. Nagito, after all, is not some perfect being; he mutilates himself, and in the Izuru flashback in DR2, he demonstrates that his feelings on Junko are very conflicted. He seems kind of like a Knight's Templar for despair and the opposite side of Munakata's hope coin; both are going to extremes to create hope, with one trying to strengthen despair and the other trying to strengthen hope in order to accomplish that.

Speaking of Munakata, I am going to be incredibly saddened if they end up resorting to reforming Munakata by the end of the Future arc. Munakata needs to die with regrets as a villain who fell to despair because he yearned for hope (which would serve as a great parallel to Hajime/Izuru).

 

[ScherzoPrime]

Probably not, given how she didn't seem to care about them at all.

You know if that's the case, why was she encouraging Nagito to 'be himself'? Or was that a poison pill, like many are suspecting Tengan's words to be?

Nagito is interesting in that interpretation of hope/despair; he yearns for hope (progress) but serves despair (regress).

Well in practice his idea of Hope is fucked up. He doesn't really believe people can change, if anything his outlook is essentially conservative; he believes Great Men shape the world, and the afterglow of their Greatnesss is what keeps the talentless masses going. His goal is to Make Hope Great Again, not benefit all of humanity directly.

 

[Ludger Kresnik]

Speaking of Munakata, I am going to be incredibly saddened if they end up resorting to reforming Munakata by the end of the Future arc. Munakata needs to die with regrets as a villain who fell to despair because he yearned for hope (which would serve as a great parallel to Hajime/Izuru).

Totally. Just in that last episode he established himself as way past the point of no return. They'd have to resort to some seriously massively disappointingly hokey writing to try and make him a good guy.

You know if that's the case, why was she encouraging Nagito to 'be himself'? Or was that a poison pill, like many are suspecting Tengan's words to be?

Another piece in the puzzle that is Chisa Yukizome. The easy explanation is that she was just in a bad place from being stuck in what we've seen so far to be a very glum place for six months, away from the more vibrant and individualistic class she's grown attached to. Of course, the Reserve Course looking as monochrome and bland as it does vs the brighter and more colourful Ultimates class is probably a stylistic choice, but it could be that as an Ultimate herself she sees it the exact same way. As for Hajime, maybe she just saw how down and not at peace with himself he was and offered support because she's usually pretty nice and he happened to be hanging around at the right time. Maybe she detected future protagonist vibes radiating from him and got interested. It's kinda hard to tell with the information we have right now, and there's definitely more to Chisa than what we've seen so far.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

nagito is already known so I can't see much of a focus. he never truly became despair. he followed Junko cause he wanted her to die so that an ultimate hope could rise.

Dude had Junko's arm replace his own. His obsession with her goes far beyond simply wanting to kill her to become the Ultimate Hope. He wasn't raising Monaca to become Junko's replacement so he could then proceed to kill her.

Just watched it. Man, Mukuro is so fucked up in the head. Still, glad to see her back. Was always my favorite character from DR1 for some reason.

It goes to show the kind of rabid obsession the Ultimate Despair incited in people. As it goes on, Mukuro shouldn't be the only one who is 100% in love with Junko.

Did not know that ryoko appears between the two killing game. That's the unfortunate outcome when i only have the games to work off from. Guess no ryoko unless we start having time jumps to experience key events.

We'll likely be seeing the first killing game, so I don't see why we for sure wouldn't be seeing Ryoko while it's going on.

 

[h0tp0ck3t]

Perhaps we'll actually see Chiaki crack for once and not have this "it's all under control" complexion when she's forced into the killing game.

As much as I don't want it to happen it'd be pretty interesting if say she snaps and actually kills one or more people. Then Izuru's despair results from him having to put her down basically instead of straight up murdering her

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

The Souda bullying never ends

Aoi dual wielding hammers.

Best girl confirmed.

 

[Luigi87]

Let's appreciate how great every scene with these two were.

I find it funny how I got so excited seeing them, despite that I know that they're the reason this will all end in despair.

 

[UberTag]

Another piece in the puzzle that is Chisa Yukizome. The easy explanation is that she was just in a bad place from being stuck in what we've seen so far to be a very glum place for six months, away from the more vibrant and individualistic class she's grown attached to. Of course, the Reserve Course looking as monochrome and bland as it does vs the brighter and more colourful Ultimates class is probably a stylistic choice, but it could be that as an Ultimate herself she sees it the exact same way. As for Hajime, maybe she just saw how down and not at peace with himself he was and offered support because she's usually pretty nice and he happened to be hanging around at the right time. Maybe she detected future protagonist vibes radiating from him and got interested. It's kinda hard to tell with the information we have right now, and there's definitely more to Chisa than what we've seen so far.

Incidentally, I need to point that I absolutely LOVE that Chisa remains so much of an enigma and mystery despite the fact that she has been paraded out in front of us front and center as a protagonist since early July. We should know more about her than just about any of the new D3 characters and yet there's still so much being teased underneath the surface despite the fact that she's presented to us as a "wears her heart on her sleeve" educator. That takes quite a great deal of finesse and they're pulling it off.

 

[ScherzoPrime]

You know, going off that hypothesis that Koichi or Kirigiri is an 'Objectivist', that reminded me that the way Hope's Peak was portrayed in DR2 gave off serious Rapture vibes. A place where the 'Great shall not be constrained by the small'.

 

[Rich!]

The imposter needs to show Jin Kirigiri how to eat properly or I bet he'll end up a bag of bones

 

[Thud]

The imposter needs to show Jin Kirigiri how to eat properly or I bet he'll end up a bag of bones

Nice.

 

[Luigi87]

I just realized it was clever to have Mukuro wear gloves in her design. That way they don't have to animate her with the Fenrir tattoo.

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

You know, going off that hypothesis that Koichi or Kirigiri is an 'Objectivist', that reminded me that the way Hope's Peak was portrayed in DR2 gave off serious Rapture vibes. A place where the 'Great shall not be constrained by the small'.

Izuru pretty much states that in Chapter 0.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Izuru pretty much states that in Chapter 0.

Yeah the reserve course is meant to hold up and support the main course. Hope's Peak's methodology is everything for the sake of the main course.

I could see the Scout allowing people like Mukuro, Junko and Toko in despite the obvious dangers they pose because TALENT

 

[A Link to the Past]

What if Koichi set up Class 77 for the purposes of despair

I mean you look at it, and a lot of characters have felt despair well before meeting Junko.

1. Mahiru has father issues
2. Mikan is bullied
3. Peko's unresolved feelings for Fuyuhiko
4. Fuyuhiko's unresolved feelings for Peko
5. Teruteru is concerned for his mother
6. Gundham has complexes
7. Akane comes from a VERY broken family
8. Kazuichi has an abusive father(?)
9. Nagito's family is dead
10. Sonia has been routinely captured by terrorists
11. Ryota's crippling desire to create hope (that is slowly destroying him)

The only ones I can't think of having any especially desperate pasts are Hiyoko, Ibuki, Nekomaru, and Chiaki. But yeah, that's my theory - Koichi is the chessmaster and brought this class and Junko/Mukuro to Hope's Peak.

 

[Ludger Kresnik]

Let's appreciate how great every scene with these two were.

I find it funny how I got so excited seeing them, despite that I know that they're the reason this will all end in despair.

Terrible people

Spoiler

Mukuro is debatable

, amazing characters. Also, just a thought, isn't this the first time we see Junko in a (at the moment) relaxed and casual setting? Up until now she only appeared in DR 1 and 2's final trials and mostly as Ryoko in Zero. It's really cool just seeing her and Mukuro being their daily selves.

 

[FStubbs]

What if Koichi set up Class 77 for the purposes of despair

I mean you look at it, and a lot of characters have felt despair well before meeting Junko.

1. Mahiru has father issues
2. Mikan is bullied
3. Peko's unresolved feelings for Fuyuhiko
4. Fuyuhiko's unresolved feelings for Peko
5. Teruteru is concerned for his mother
6. Gundham has complexes
7. Akane comes from a VERY broken family
8. Kazuichi has an abusive father(?)
9. Nagito's family is dead
10. Sonia has been routinely captured by terrorists
11. Ryota's crippling desire to create hope (that is slowly destroying him)

The only ones I can't think of having any especially desperate pasts are Hiyoko, Ibuki, Nekomaru, and Chiaki. But yeah, that's my theory - Koichi is the chessmaster and brought this class and Junko/Mukuro to Hope's Peak.

Yep. Right now Chiaki is the lynchpin to their sanity. They're completely dependent on her at this point.

 

[Breads]

Yeah the reserve course is meant to hold up and support the main course. Hope's Peak's methodology is everything for the sake of the main course.

I could see the Scout allowing people like Mukuro, Junko and Toko in despite the obvious dangers they pose because TALENT

Did they really know about Junko and Toko though? Mukuro I get but unless I missed something in the backstory Junko and Toko were not so obvious.

 

[ScherzoPrime]

Did they really know about Junko and Toko though? Mukuro I get but unless I missed something in the backstory Junko and Toko were not so obvious.

The school knew about Junko being the Ultimate Despair, if I'm remembering DR0 right. Genocide Jack is a student as well, she's the Ultimate Serial Killer.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Did they really know about Junko and Toko though? Mukuro I get but unless I missed something in the backstory Junko and Toko were not so obvious.

Even if it wasn't demonstrated, it can certainly be inferred; a place like Hope's Peak puts the best people in charge where they should be in charge. Koichi logically would be in that position because he's that good, and as such is able to detect certain talents.

Also, is it a fair thing to assume that Koichi, before becoming the talent scout, had an Ultimate talent himself? If I recall, Chisa's talent in Despair arc was only revealed when she chose to reveal it; before that, she was just an employee. Perhaps he is the Ultimate Talent Scout and the

Spoiler

Ultimate Despair

But then again, she's given an ultimate talent in Future and he isn't. At that point, maybe it is that his only talent is Ultimate Despair. At which point - I'm going to go off the rails a bit - it would stand to reason that his talent is not to find the most talented individuals, but instead to find those with the most despair. As Chiaki notes, being talented is a burden, whereas being normal allows you to be free to be whomever you want. As such, despair simply flourishes more solidly in the talented than in the untalented (with exceptions such as Hajime for instance).

So that's my theory: Hope's Peak was infiltrated from day one by Koichi, and since the very beginning, he has been making a point of finding the people with the most despair possible. And his plan would have worked too, if it was anyone other than Makoto who was the Ultimate Lucky Student. This ties into his comment on Nagito's luck being scary - it's an unpredictable variable in his plan.

 

[Luigi87]

Finished my DR1 replay yesterday, so started my DR2 replay.
Just gives me such a different perspectvie now compared to two years ago.

 

[Permanently A]

What if Koichi set up Class 77 for the purposes of despair

I mean you look at it, and a lot of characters have felt despair well before meeting Junko.

1. Mahiru has father issues
2. Mikan is bullied
3. Peko's unresolved feelings for Fuyuhiko
4. Fuyuhiko's unresolved feelings for Peko
5. Teruteru is concerned for his mother
6. Gundham has complexes
7. Akane comes from a VERY broken family
8. Kazuichi has an abusive father(?)
9. Nagito's family is dead
10. Sonia has been routinely captured by terrorists
11. Ryota's crippling desire to create hope (that is slowly destroying him)

The only ones I can't think of having any especially desperate pasts are Hiyoko, Ibuki, Nekomaru, and Chiaki. But yeah, that's my theory - Koichi is the chessmaster and brought this class and Junko/Mukuro to Hope's Peak.

Hiyoko's FTE mentions her dancing clan is apparently super serious and she has to live with her grandmother and was separated from her parents because people were trying to kill her. (something like that? its been a while) Ibuki was having trouble with the direction of her band.

 

[Verelios]

I just had a thought. Could Mitarai be animating the scenes in the ED after everyone fell into despair and he's left behind?

 

[NeonZ]

Totally. Just in that last episode he established himself as way past the point of no return. They'd have to resort to some seriously massively disappointingly hokey writing to try and make him a good guy.

They'd just need to throw a dark shade on Tengan's motives, confirming Munakata's accusation or at least something close to it (maybe he wasn't collaborating with despair directly, but still intended to push forward the Kamukura project and so needed them to gain backing to push forward the project again) and then Munakata easily could be redeemed.

 

[Gvitor]

All caught up on this and just now discovered that this will be the end of DG1-2-UDG storyline. On one hand I'm glad they can start from scratch with V3, but it really sucks to end it all in anime. Even more so with the last game being that shitty UDG, but I disgress.

I'm thinking Tengen told Kyosuke that the attacker is either the boxer dude or Yukizome. And I'm betting Yukizome, we'll probably see her become a remnant of despair alongside her class in the Despair side, but will go unnoticed and infiltrate Future Foundation. That body may be fake, and that's what Kirigiri was investigating.

I just hope we can get rid of the fights and the supernatural stuff like the monster state-inducing pills and go back to what matters: killing Monaca.

Repeatedly.

 

[jonjonaug]

What if Koichi set up Class 77 for the purposes of despair

I mean you look at it, and a lot of characters have felt despair well before meeting Junko.

1. Mahiru has father issues
2. Mikan is bullied
3. Peko's unresolved feelings for Fuyuhiko
4. Fuyuhiko's unresolved feelings for Peko
5. Teruteru is concerned for his mother
6. Gundham has complexes
7. Akane comes from a VERY broken family
8. Kazuichi has an abusive father(?)
9. Nagito's family is dead
10. Sonia has been routinely captured by terrorists
11. Ryota's crippling desire to create hope (that is slowly destroying him)

The only ones I can't think of having any especially desperate pasts are Hiyoko, Ibuki, Nekomaru, and Chiaki. But yeah, that's my theory - Koichi is the chessmaster and brought this class and Junko/Mukuro to Hope's Peak.

Nekomaru has an illness that will cause him to die young, Hiyoko has severe family issues, and Ibuki's band broke up because of the direction she wanted to go in with her music (that everyone else also thinks is way too weird).

 

[Ludger Kresnik]

They'd just need to throw a dark shade on Tengan's motives, confirming Munakata's accusation or at least something close to it (maybe he wasn't collaborating with despair directly, but still intended to push forward the Kamukura project and so needed them to gain backing to push forward the project again) and then Munakata easily could be redeemed.

It'd be so lame, though. He's been very clearly antagonistic since the very beginning and has always been totally ready to kill everyone present because he's that much of an extremist. I'd sooner think they'd try to redeem Juzo by having him oppose Narukami after seeing what a mess he turned out to be. We at least know his heart is sort of in the right place, sometimes? Though his methods are... questionable. He was trying to protect Hajime when he beat him up and spit on him and really cemented his decision to go through with the project, but to be fair he didn't know that and is also a big fucking moron.

Narukami directly conflicts with Naegi. To redeem him as a good guy you'd have to either go back on DR1 establishing Naegi as the ideal version of Ultimate Hope, one that seeks to eliminate despair not with despair but with hope, or have Narukami embrace a less radical way of thinking, which would go against his whole character up until now. Neither of them seems like someone willing to meet the other halfway. Naegi doesn't want to sacrifice anyone. Narukami has no problems sacrificing anyone... apart from the very specific people he cares about, which Tengan called out as being hypocritical. This will probably come into play later, which makes me think that if Narukami is redeeming himself at all, it'll probably be through him sacrificing his life towards the end. I don't think he's making it out of this alive, but his death will come late and it'll be dramatic as all hell.

 

[Thoraxes]

I think i'm going to secretly hope that we get a 24-minute episode that's just a Junko monologue to herself.

 

[A Link to the Past]

One has to consider too that at this point, Munakata is targeting everyone. The Future arci s going to get really, really intense with the next episode. Juzo vs. Munakata and Izayoi vs. Munakata.

Juzo will heel-face turn to work alongside Makoto, Miaya, Asahina, Kyoko, and Ryota (maybe Ando will have joined the group too by now), and Izayoi will fight Munakata, be pretty cool, but ultimately lose and die (but not before giving someone, likely Ando, information that he obtains from the secret room).

EDIT: Also, much thanks for the reminders on Nekomaru, Hiyoko, and Ibuki. Now I am convinced that Koichi is the villain of the entire franchise who is trying to get people who have the seeds of despair planted in them into the school. You can even see it in 78:

1. Sayaka is terrified of losing her status
2. Leon is dissatisfied with his talent
3. Mukuro is Despair
4. Junko is Despair
5. Chiaki has a secret that he finds shameful
6. Mondo got his brother killed
7. Kiyotaka has no friends and a lot of pressure
8. Celestia has a bog-standard name (and possibly life?)
9. Kyoko has father issues
10. Hiro has financial issues
11. Toko is a serial killer
12. Byakuya participated in a killing game before

The only ones I can't think of having a "seed of despair" are Hina, Sakura, and Hifumi (Makoto I left out because he wasn't scouted by Koichi).

It'd be so lame, though. He's been very clearly antagonistic since the very beginning and has always been totally ready to kill everyone present because he's that much of an extremist. I'd sooner think they'd try to redeem Juzo by having him oppose Narukami after seeing what a mess he turned out to be. We at least know his heart is sort of in the right place, sometimes? Though his methods are... questionable. He was trying to protect Hajime when he beat him up and spit on him and really cemented his decision to go through with the project, but to be fair he didn't know that and is also a big fucking moron.

Narukami directly conflicts with Naegi. To redeem him as a good guy you'd have to either go back on DR1 establishing Naegi as the ideal version of Ultimate Hope, one that seeks to eliminate despair not with despair but with hope, or have Narukami embrace a less radical way of thinking, which would go against his whole character up until now. Neither of them seems like someone willing to meet the other halfway. Naegi doesn't want to sacrifice anyone. Narukami has no problems sacrificing anyone... apart from the very specific people he cares about, which Tengan called out as being hypocritical. This will probably come into play later, which makes me think that if Narukami is redeeming himself at all, it'll probably be through him sacrificing his life towards the end. I don't think he's making it out of this alive, but his death will come late and it'll be dramatic as all hell.

Yup. Munakata is either dying a hero or a villain. Killing Tengan was a Despair Event Horizon moment for me so I doubt it's the former.

 

[Luigi87]

Hm, I never really thought about it before, but Hajime and Nagito really are designed as opposites meant to detest the other.

Hajime admired Hope's Peak, and wanted more than anything to attend, and the only way he could was through the Reserve Course, as he had no talent. This ultimately ends up with him going through the Izuru Kamukura Project.

Nagito views those with talents to be better than everyone else, himself included. He got into Hope's Peak by not having any specific talent, but by pure luck instead. While luck itself is indeed a powerful talent in the DR universe, getting in via luck is essentially something Hajime would only be able to view with envy.

 

[Permanently A]

Wait what? Byakuya was in a killing game prior to DR1? When?

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Wait what? Byakuya was in a killing game prior to DR1? When?

I think he's talking about the Togami succession power struggle

 

[Breads]

Hmm.

My vote goes to Munakata's intention for the future foundation being twisted and realizing his mistakes moments before becoming a martyr in some way, the future foundation finally being revealed as a long standing organization of despair consisting of, at least in part, by people who intentionally facilitated the events that created Junko/ Izuru in the first place in a bizarre plot to elevate humanity by bringing talent together and eliminating the talentless.

As for who the main bad will be among the survivors, who really knows. The writing has always been aware of tropes and foreshadowing queues and subverting them so it's hard to say whether or not we have enough information to make an educated guess. As for Dangan Ronpa's own tropes the obvious picks are always too obvious so definitely not Munakata or Izayoi, and as far as big picture goes not Monaka. These are the red herrings - Monaka being an agent of destruction (as far as this specific death game goes) but not the mastermind themself. I'll go ahead and say Hiro's in the clear too. Just because there is no way they would take this joke so far as to double back, making him the architect. As for the rest - ask yourself how much you like the character. Odds are the more you like them the more likely they are either going to die or be the main culprit and for me, if I were to make a guess anyway, I would say it's Kirigiri and it would involve her discovering something about her father which lead to an objective but ultimately flawed conclusion that put her on the path to despair.

 

[jonjonaug]

Hmm.

My vote goes to Munakata's intention for the future foundation being twisted and realizing his mistakes moments before becoming a martyr in some way, the future foundation either finally being revealed as a long standing organization of despair consisting of, at least in part, by people who intentionally facilitated the events that created Junko/ Izuru in the first place in a bizarre plot to elevate humanity by bringing talent together and eliminating the talentless.

As for who the main bad will be among the survivors, who really knows. The writing has always been aware of tropes and foreshadowing queues and subverting them so it's hard to say whether or not we have enough information to make an educated guess. As for Dangan Ronpa's own tropes the obvious picks are always too obvious so definitely not Munakata or Izayoi, and as far as big picture goes not Monaka. These are the red herrings - Monaka being an agent of destruction (as far as this specific death game goes) butnot the mastermind themself. I'll go ahead and say Hiro's in the clear too. Just because there is no way they would take this joke so far as to double back and making him the architect. As for the rest - ask yourself how much you like the character. Odds are the more you like them the more likely they are either going to die or be the main culprit and for me, if I were to make a guess anyway, I would say it's Kirigiri and it would involve her discovering something about her father which lead to an objective but ultimately flawed conclusion that put her on the path to despair.

I think it's Juzo or Kizakura. Juzo because everyone has made a deal about his NG code OBVIOUSLY being that he can't punch someone to the point that I think that he's just pretending he can't punch people to eliminate suspicion on himself. Kizakura because after bringing in two terrorists and a serial killer it's like "how do you even do this on accident", plus hanging around Kirigiri could be with the intent of keeping abreast of whether she's a threat.

 

[A Link to the Past]

His behavior is also pretty mastermindy. He hasn't done a single thing in the story really, and the most noteworthy things he's done is stick near Kyoko and identify Miaya. I'm not sure if he knew that Miaya was Monaca, that Miaya was a robot at all, or that Miaya was simply Ultimate Despair/controlled by Ultimate Despair.

Two reasons further why Koichi as the villain would be interesting:

1. Koichi was closer to Jin than anyone else really (except for his daughter), so if he was complicit in destroying Hope's Peak Academy, he was also complicit in killing Kyoko's father.
2. Kyoko seems to be hanging around with Koichi a lot, which could ultimately prove very interesting - especially if the investigation (which she can't reveal any information for due to her NG) has already given her adequate evidence to reveal him as the killer. God, how horrible would it be if she died because she eventually could not stand to keep in the truth? Maybe Koichi is accompanying her for that very reason - to not only make a character like Kyoko show intense emotions, but to also kill her.

Going back to the idea of him only being able to scout Despair, would he also be able to scout Hope? Would he be able to determine a lack of Despair? He did not scout Makoto, but if he could detect Hope/lack of Despair, it begs the question whether he would have tried to get Makoto expelled (or worse), or if he, like Junko and Mukuro, relish in the idea of having a hopeful variable in the situation in order to create the potential for despair by failure.

I have been kind of feeling that Koichi would not be one to kill - rather, he enjoys making others kill, like Junko. I've shifted on that while connecting him with Munakata. At this point, I am really certain that Koichi is the mastermind AND that he killed Chisa. We can see that Munakata's hope is filled with despair after Chisa's death, and Koichi - if he could detect despair - would be very, very happy to pull it out of him. Koichi (well, villain Koichi) would want to have someone like Munakata fall to despair, and if Munakata's supposition of the mastermind's plan is correct, having Makoto survive and Munakata die would make Makoto's hope even stronger - but that hope would only exist to serve despair. Thus, he killed Chisa to turn Munakata - an Ultimate Hope in his own right - into a villain.

 

[UberTag]

I'm thinking Tengen told Kyosuke that the attacker is either the boxer dude or Yukizome. And I'm betting Yukizome, we'll probably see her become a remnant of despair alongside her class in the Despair side, but will go unnoticed and infiltrate Future Foundation. That body may be fake, and that's what Kirigiri was investigating.

A fake body doesn't make much sense... it would be sussed out by Kyoko quickly although she likely has an NG code that prevents her from sharing said observation.

It's certainly interesting. Chisa's class is entirely dependent on Chiaki for emotional and mental stability (the exception, of course, being Nagito) and this wasn't fostered by Junko at all but by Chisa's forced absence as a result of Nagito's luck.

Presumably, once Chiaki is removed from the equation - possibly by the one individual who is obsessed with her (Izuru) - the class will be in a vulnerable state that will facilitate Junko to swoop in and corrupt them. Although it's quite likely she'll be setting up the dominoes before that happens and may have already started doing so prior to her arrival on campus with Mukuro.

But Chisa being driven to despair simply because her class was or because Chiaki dies/goes missing? I don't necessarily buy that. Chisa is wholly devoted to Munakata and so long as that element remains in play I can't see her succumbing to whatever Junko unleashes. Unless...

I keep coming back to the confrontation Munakata and Tengan had in last week's Future arc episode and the implication Tengan repeatedly threw in Munakata's face about sacrificing Chisa. The audience is supposed to take this at face value - Chisa died in Episode 1, Tengan's big reveal is that he knows who the attacker is - so the sacrifice refers to that. But I think "the sacrifice of Chisa" portends to something else. Something that happens during Despair arc that Munakata has a guilty conscience about and Tengan was aware of.

The Chisa-Munakata dynamic is at the root of both of these arcs. Chisa was removed from the equation in the Future arc and that has literally driven Munakata to the brink of despair and madness. Presumably the only way Chisa would go there herself would be for Munakata to be removed from HER equation. And perhaps that happens during the Despair arc... possibly because Munakata needs the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history to unfold in order to realize his end goals with the Future Foundation. That doesn't happen without Junko unleashed and doesn't happen without Chisa's class corrupted. And - if Chisa were an obstacle to that happening - then perhaps Munakata removes himself. And perhaps THAT is the sacrifice that was being referred to.

And why would Munakata want all of this to unfold when he's the sworn enemy of stomping out any and all despair in the world? Well, to bring it all to the surface, of course. If despair is mobilized and has a face (Junko), a symbol (Monokuma), an event (the Tragedy) and a target (the remnants of Despair that Chisa taught), you can rally all of the world's avatars of hope together under one banner (Future Foundation) and crusade against it. In much the same way the US government fans the flames of terrorism and makes ISIS into a boogeyman so they can justify huge military budgets and campaigns in the name of peace.

And perhaps what's going down in Future arc is Chisa's way of turning what Munakata did to her and throwing it right back at him in order to realize a true, genuine hope... the kind that's pure and drives Makoto... and the only way that happens is for Munakata to be driven to despair and lose control and that doesn't happen if she's around.

1. Koichi was closer to Jin than anyone else really (except for his daughter), so if he was complicit in destroying Hope's Peak Academy, he was also complicit in killing Kyoko's father.
2. Kyoko seems to be hanging around with Koichi a lot, which could ultimately prove very interesting - especially if the investigation (which she can't reveal any information for due to her NG) has already given her adequate evidence to reveal him as the killer. God, how horrible would it be if she died because she eventually could not stand to keep in the truth? Maybe Koichi is accompanying her for that very reason - to not only make a character like Kyoko show intense emotions, but to also kill her.

I like that you called attention to the dynamic of Kizakura being attached to the hip of both Kirigiris - Jin in Despair arc, Kyoko in Future arc - because that's a correlation that hasn't had much time devoted to it. Although it likely will once more of the Future arc spotlight is shone on her group. Koichi is arguably more aware of what Kyoko brings to the table than just about anyone aside from Makoto.

I do have a hard time buying into the Koichi as mastermind theory - unless he's Daddy Despair, of course (aka Junko's Dad). But I don't necessarily perceive that what's going down in Future arc as the work of despair so much as a purification of the Future Foundation of a fundamentally broken ideology.

 

[FStubbs]

Wait what? Byakuya was in a killing game prior to DR1? When?

Given what Sayaka said about life as an idol, and the fact she starts the killing game going, I always got the idea that she'd killed a rival once or twice.

if I were to make a guess anyway, I would say it's Kirigiri and it would involve her discovering something about her father which lead to an objective but ultimately flawed conclusion that put her on the path to despair.

Kirigiri as the end game villain? Weird, but I'll give you this point: one could argue in the episodes so far that Makoto's female lead in this series is Hina, not Kyoko.

 

[A Link to the Past]

I like that you called attention to the dynamic of Kizakura being attached to the hip of both Kirigiris - Jin in Despair arc, Kyoko in Future arc - because that's a correlation that hasn't had much time devoted to it. Although it likely will once more of the Future arc spotlight is shone on her group. Koichi is arguably more aware of what Kyoko brings to the table than just about anyone aside from Makoto.

I do have a hard time buying into the Koichi as mastermind theory - unless he's Daddy Despair, of course (aka Junko's Dad). But I don't necessarily perceive that what's going down in Future arc as the work of despair so much as a purification of the Future Foundation of a fundamentally broken ideology.

On the other hand, we could also argue that Koichi's goal in Future arc is for Munakata to die a villain and for the Future Foundation to survive as a vessel for despair

 

[Breads]

In much the same way the US government fans the flames of terrorism and makes ISIS into a boogeyman so they can justify huge military budgets and campaigns in the name of peace.

Boy did I not see that coming. I was certain you were going to liken it to Ozymandias's plan.

 

[ScherzoPrime]

...yeeeeah I may have sone pretty strong 'objections' to that characterization of American FP but prooooobably shouldn't turn this into a political discussipn.

 

[Permanently A]

I hope the best track makes an appearance on DR3 sometime. C'mon Nagito, what have you been up to during suspension?

 

[Rich!]

I hope the best track makes an appearance on DR3 sometime. C'mon Nagito, what have you been up to during suspension?

I dunno about that...but I think it's a guarantee, due to the inclusion of both Izuru and Junko that we are going to hear this:

https://youtu.be/yLaiZTOGTkA?list=PLU4ktq2pWONvsyBd_LrTVX8Et-gp0th4a

the chanting literally contains the word "Enoshima" at the start. fucking disturbing shit, I hate this music. And seeing into Mukuro's inner thoughts was terrifying:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JfKsO8DXM4

 

[Permanently A]

I dunno about that...but I think it's a guarantee, due to the inclusion of both Izuru and Junko that we are going to hear this:

https://youtu.be/yLaiZTOGTkA?list=PLU4ktq2pWONvsyBd_LrTVX8Et-gp0th4a

the chanting literally contains the word "Enoshima" at the start. fucking disturbing shit, I hate this music. And seeing into Mukuro's inner thoughts was terrifying:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JfKsO8DXM4

shiiiiit I never realized that

 

[Rich!]

shiiiiit I never realized that

Now you always will.

EN NO SHIIII MAAA

despair. Case 5 is so fucking messed up.

 

[Rich!]

wait a minute

who voiced imposter as byakuya in despair 5? was it Akira Ishida as Togami or Akira Ishida as mitarai? I'm pretty certain it was Ishida.

 

[ScherzoPrime]

Hmm, might go back and replay the games for all the freetime content. Do you have any advice for getting the best scenes out of characters?

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Hmm, might go back and replay the games for all the freetime content. Do you have any advice for getting the best scenes out of characters?

Do the school mode in both games and just ignore the building aspect and talk to characters. Make sure you give them the right gifts. It's pretty easy to figure out which items they will like but you can just google the best.

If you played the games before they were put on the Vita and don't have access to the school mode, just youtube it i guess