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[Sky Interloper]

She's the centrepiece of the Despair Arc, and that's certainly not changing. Ever.

We should have seen this coming the moment she was the final reveal before the PV and the series initial episodes.

It cemented the Despair arc as the Junko, Chisa and Chiaki show, featuring Nagito and Hajime-Izuru. I mean, even in the OP they are the predominant characters.

 

[KZXcellent]

This will be everlasting throughout Despair Arc, even if she dies.

1. If Chiaki dies, she will be made a martyr. Frequent flashbacks and people talking about how much Chiaki was important to their lives and their own personal development.

2. If Chiaki doesn't die, her role will only become more significant as Despair Arc goes on (and, possibly, Future Arc), especially now that she's seen the Big Bads.

3. If it's a crazy twist like Chiaki never existed or something, that will be a culmination point and subsequent reveals will focus around the twist involving Chiaki.

She's the centrepiece of the Despair Arc, and that's certainly not changing. Ever.

Yeah you're right. This is my only real disappointment with DR3. Making her so important just seemed unnecessary and a result of her being the more popular female in DR2.

 

[MiguelMexMIstery]

Despair 8

OH GOD wtf Mikan, just STOP with the fanservice but now we know Junko did edited the killing game thanks to Ryota's method as expected, Aaaand apparently Mikan fell into despair because of it and not because of her own problems of being accepted (tho to be fair it seems weird to me that Mikan didn't surpass her self-esteem problems at all since the 77th class pretty much acts like a family now thanks to Chiaki). And if they made that decision with Mikan (who was probably the easiest to influence/break), it seems like they're going that direction with the rest of the 77th class :/ -sigh-

Heeeey that was Matsuda right? Hopefully we get an Ultimate Bodyguard cameo since the security in Hope's Peak SUCKS so far. Gundham got more hamsters? xD Sweet, Nagito's back Yay at having the DR2 deuteragonists together. Lol at Nagito discovering the secret entrance by luck. Or did he knew about it?

Oh no no no no no, it's Junko's lair, something bad will happen to Chiaki no no no no no. Wow, Nagito got Peko to battle Mukuro, niiiice, so he did knew everything in advance. SORE WA CHIGAU YO. A gun to end Junko's life? Hopeman sure is prepared. Oh craaap, Izuru and his fabulous hair, so they did meet after all. And Chiaki recognizes Hajime that easy? Dun dun duuuun.

 

[MANUELF]

Chiaki dies next episode, True or False?

 

[The_Kid]

Honestly I never liked Mikan. The only time I had a hint of actually not hating her was during the trial when she went crazy.

I just love how Nagito is essentially smarter than everyone around him. He's on the up & up about everybody and if he actually had some sense he could probably have stopped everything. Even his comment to the ultimate imposter was just so great.

As for the poor writing... possibly? I rather enjoy it but then again I kind of just love we are getting more backstory instead of speculation. But all the events are kind of rushed and possibly they were backed into a corner with this story?

I mean, it's like any prequel. There are inherent problems when working towards a specific endpoint in an allotted time versus letting a story breathe naturally.

 

[Permanently A]

Chiaki dies next episode, True or False?

false

she's the 13th branch leader and the hajiru x chiaki reunion at the end of future will make it all worth it

 

[lazyproblems]

Has this theory been posted? Because it seems solid enough to be the big twist.

Whoah... This is pretty compelling. I've been leaning toward Chisa being guilty in at least some capacity ever since Kyosuke's freak out at the Tengan reveal, and this would be a cool twist. If true, hopefully Hina is-

Damn so Chisa and Hina switch places and then when Munakata drives his sword into Chisa's body he's really killing Hina?

Plz no.

Chiaki dies next episode, True or False?

False. She's probably the missing branch leader. Unless they pull another twin twist or use Killer Killer, I can't think of who they would use as the missing leader at this point. There's no sense in pulling out a new character this late in the game.

 

[Red Frost]

That Hina theory is blowing my mind. If true, that's some really good foreshadowing all over the place, yet nothing overt unless you're looking for it and/or have a tendency to analyze everything. That's the kind of thing that does make Kodaka a good mystery/thriller writer.

 

[The_Kid]

It's really hard for me to take the little inconsistencies like the eyes being slanted when we just had a ton of people saying this episode of Despair was lackluster because the animation sucked.

I mean, it's hard to know which is which.

 

[SephiZack]

If it wasn't for Izuru's "luck," he could have defeated Junko right then and there.

Hopeman might have saved the world.

Thanks Izuru.

I don't think Nagito would have been able to kill Junko. Even if he tried shooting Junko, he wouldn't have been able to kill her because he needed her to be the ultimate despair to make hope shine even brighter or something like that.

 

[sackboy2197]

Damn so Chisa and Hina switch places and then when Munakata drives his sword into Chisa's body he's really killing Hina?

If that's true, we first thought that Hina was dead, but then she wasn't, and now she will actually be dead. That's a nice turn of events.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Can someone remind me when this "missing branch leader" was referenced?

 

[Rich!]

Can someone remind me when this "missing branch leader" was referenced?

It's why Hina is there.

She's filling in for the missing branch leader.

 

[Red Frost]

False. She's probably the missing branch leader. Unless they pull another twin twist or use Killer Killer, I can't think of who they would use as the missing leader at this point. There's no sense in pulling out a new character this late in the game.

Killer Killer is 6th division.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I don't think Nagito would have been able to kill Junko. Even if he tried shooting Junko, he wouldn't have been able to kill her because he needed her to be the ultimate despair to make hope shine even brighter or something like that.

But that's the crux of what his monologue was against her, if you recall. It was essentially "If I'm able to kill you right now, that means you weren't the despair stepping stone towards hope I needed you to be." And, honestly, what DR has shown us thus far means that, if Izuru's "luck" hadn't cancelled out Nagito's (which the writers needed as an out to be able to actually nullify the fact that everything always goes his way), there's a high likelihood that she would have died right there.

Or, leaning towards what you're saying, maybe it would have been better for Nagito's goals that she lived right there. In which case, sure, he wouldn't have been able to kill her there anyways. I guess it depends on which future would have the brightest "hope" Nagito wishes.

 

[The Silver]

Celeste vs Nagito in a game of poker, who wins?

 

[FStubbs]

Nagito just gets things done. The man's gone for months, and within his first day back has ultimate disappear held at gunpoint.

Also, I find it somewhat funny that Chiaki still cares about Hajime even though, for all she knows, he's just been ditching/avoiding her for a year.

Yep, and she's about to discover Chisa lied. And, assuming Chiaki lives long enough, look who's coming in.

Celeste vs Nagito in a game of poker, who wins?

Celeste. Then she walks off happy she won and while Nagito is glum about losing, a rich sucker sits down at the table and Nagito cleans him out.

little did Hajime no but he actually was the super high school level player. one conversation and he can get thirst that lasts for over a year.

also, Izuru is the win button for whomever he sides with. on top of everything, he has luck that rivals Nagito. half expecting all the weapons of Munakata's faction are going to malfunction allowing Izuru to escape and save the ones who saved him and the other remnants.

I still don't understand how they engineered luck. How does that work?

I got the impression Chiaki and Hajime were dating (though the two of them wouldn't call it that) for awhile. Chiaki may not be Ultimate Waifu (that would be Chisa) but she's pretty devoted. I'm thinking there has to be something on Izuru's end too. He just tosses the gun and stares at her, and Chiaki was who was mostly on his mind before Hajime went under. I like how Junko is in silly mode and then sees the two of them and goes "huh ..."

Thoughts:

If Chiaki survives the next episode, I think it's 50/50 for her to survive the series. But that's a huge if because I have no idea what Izuru will do, or Junko. She's as vulnerable as can be. Junko has every motivation to kill her, because she's a witness who isn't insane, and Junko probably quickly sees this is Izuru's weakness. Up until now she didn't know he had any.

And as I said, Chisa is coming. That will be an interesting development as well. Munakata will care more about Chisa meeting Izuru, though. And yeah, I expect the Junko standing over a wasted Juzo scene to happen next ep too. Things are moving fast.

Class 77 are mostly side characters. Likeable, but true. Junko said this in the last trial and the series is showing this. They've been sidelined mostly as the important characters take the stage. And I'm sure they'll be brainwashed by anime. And Mitarai is not out of the clear as far as being Despair.

We're up for some interesting developments next episode of Despair. I'm thinking Future arc will shift to Izuru and Jabberwock island.

EDIT: And for the records, I never knew I wanted to see Peko vs Mukuro but wow.

 

[h0tp0ck3t]

It's why Hina is there.

She's filling in for the missing branch leader.

Filling in for her boss who's on jabberwok island overseeing the recovery of their former classmates

 

[Tecl0n]

Nagito got outlucked? What in the fuck.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Celeste vs Nagito in a game of poker, who wins?

Going by Case 3 of DR1 Celeste is actually a gigantic idiot and a shit liar so Nagito

 

[NEO0MJ]

Nagito got outlucked? What in the fuck.

Who knows, maybe this is better for his personal goals. Not like he died after all.
And don't forget that with his extreme good luck comes extreme bad luck at times.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

I still don't understand how they engineered luck. How does that work?

It's not like genetically engineering most of the hopes peak talents in to someone makes sense at all, luck or otherwise.

 

[striferser]

Celeste vs Nagito in a game of poker, who wins?

There's an official poster depicting Celeste, Naegi, Nagito, and Jin Kirigiri playing mahjong.

Based on the picture, it seem that Jin got ron'd at the same time by the three of them

Celeste won using 13 orphan, Naegi presumably with daisangen (since not all tiles are shown), and Nagito with pure nine gate. Based on luck alone, Nagito win hand down since his hand is one of the rarest yakuman.

So yeah, if it's a poker game with joker allowed, Celeste will be having royal straight flush, while Nagito will have 5 of a kind.

 

[Puruzi]

Has this theory been posted? Because it seems solid enough to be the big twist.

Holy fuck.

 

[Rich!]

The answer to "how did they do that" regarding anything danganronpa is basically that the series lore is now as batshit insane as Metal Gear's.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

It's not like genetically engineering most of the hopes peak talents in to someone makes sense at all, luck or otherwise.

I don't think he literally has every talent. The translated documents for episode 6 just says he has the ability to master all talents, which makes sense to me. They made him stronger, faster, and smarter than everyone else so he could quickly learn to be the Ultimate Baseball Star, Ultimate Idol, or Ultimate Male Escort but he probably never will.

The only talents we've really seen him use are Analysis and Luck, talents people are born with, so who knows if he's even formally learned any talents beyond his passive gifts.

 

[The Creator]

Yes.

LOL.


Very interesting episodes. I really like how the first despair one's were kind of boring and now they are fucking awesome and future did the exact opposite.


Also, guys GUYS did no one think that the mastermind, in The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Despair Move™, could in fact be

Spoiler

Chiaki?. Think about it, they tease the whole fucking season she's going to die only to reveal that at the end not only she survived but she actually is the bad guy. They would give us what we want (Chiaki alive and "well") and yet completely fuck us over because she's not the Chiaki we love.

She could be doing that whole thing to get the attention of Izuru because she wants Hajime back. If she actually despaired it would properly fit into the whole Dangan thing.

 

[pbayne]

Despair 8

Junko's brain washing turned out to be a bit lamer than i thought it would be.

Lol where does Junko get jigsaws with Monakuma faces on them? What company is making that shit? Are they hand-crafted?

Any scene with Nagito is still A+ stuff.

 

[lazyproblems]

Killer Killer is 6th division.

I know, but it's not necessarily impossible for him to get a promotion. Granted, he's not an Ultimate so I'm not sure if they'd even give him the position.

I'm not really counting on it being him anyway. I was just thinking of characters who are big enough and that are potentially alive who could be in the position.

 

[FStubbs]

I know, but it's not necessarily impossible for him to get a promotion. Granted, he's not an Ultimate so I'm not sure if they'd even give him the position.

I'm not really counting on it being him anyway. I was just thinking of characters who are big enough and that are potentially alive who could be in the position.

If that's what you want, Ultimate Makeup Artist is unaccounted for.

Given she can make fake dead bodies and has worked with Juzo ... yeah.

 

[lazyproblems]

If that's what you want, Ultimate Makeup Artist is unaccounted for.

Given she can make fake dead bodies and has worked with Juzo ... yeah.

I don't think she's a big enough character, although I guess it is possible.

 

[Akibared]

Yes.

Holy shit hahahahahahahahaha

 

[Reptars Revenge]

They inserted a rabbit foot wrapped in a 4 leaf clover right up his rectum during surgery. Boom instant Ultimate luck.

I like that Reddit theory but I will file it under theories that are better than what actually will happen.

 

[dakkumauji]

i dunno what to think of everyone's first reaction to the real mitari is have you lost weight?

 

[FluxWaveZ]

i dunno what to think of everyone's first reaction to the real mitari is have you lost weight?

Every player's reaction to seeing "Byakuya" in DR2 was pretty much "Did he... gain weight?" So that checks out.

 

[R_thanatos]

Despair 8

Junko's brain washing turned out to be a bit lamer than i thought it would be.

Lol where does Junko get jigsaws with Monakuma faces on them? What company is making that shit? Are they hand-crafted?

Any scene with Nagito is still A+ stuff.

Monaca probably made those based on junko design

 

[Permanently A]

Every player's reaction to seeing "Byakuya" in DR2 was pretty much "Did he... gain weight?" So that checks out.

You can see my reaction in the community thread, I was fucking scared dude. I thought the DR1 survivors got captured and mind fucked. That would explain why Byakuya didn't remember the killing game and why Nagito looked so much like Makoto.

 

[Funyarinpa]

Every player's reaction to seeing "Byakuya" in DR2 was pretty much "Did he... gain weight?" So that checks out.

There is a difference, though- we didn't know the chronology between DR1 and DR2, how much time there was between them, etc.

With DR3, isn't it a literally 30-minute change? Imposter went to look for Mikan as well, and Ryota was found afterwards.

 

[Luigi87]

But that's the crux of what his monologue was against her, if you recall. It was essentially "If I'm able to kill you right now, that means you weren't the despair stepping stone towards hope I needed you to be." And, honestly, what DR has shown us thus far means that, if Izuru's "luck" hadn't cancelled out Nagito's (which the writers needed as an out to be able to actually nullify the fact that everything always goes his way), there's a high likelihood that she would have died right there.

Or, leaning towards what you're saying, maybe it would have been better for Nagito's goals that she lived right there. In which case, sure, he wouldn't have been able to kill her there anyways. I guess it depends on which future would have the brightest "hope" Nagito wishes.

Holy crap, this completely turns my thinking around @_@

Izuru didn't out-luck Nagito, but instead Nagito's luck brought Izuru there in order to stop him, so that Junko would become everything Nagito hoped she would be.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

There is a difference, though- we didn't know the chronology between DR1 and DR2, how much time there was between them, etc.

With DR3, isn't it a literally 30-minute change? Imposter went to look for Mikan as well, and Ryota was found afterwards.

Heh, that's true. It'd be a hell of a diet for him to have lost weight in that time frame.

However, I think it's more of a testament to impostor's skill. Like, seeing someone and going, "Did you do something to your hair?" The characters have a vague idea that something about who they're seeing changed and subconsciously have a hint of what that might be, but can't pinpoint it due to his Ultimate talent.

You can see my reaction in the community thread, I was fucking scared dude. I thought the DR1 survivors got captured and mind fucked. That would explain why Byakuya didn't remember the killing game and why Nagito looked so much like Makoto.

My feelings are still split on that red herring in DR2. From Nagito, to Byakuya, to the set-up, to even characters like Akane (who I thought was a direct analogue to Asahina). It was all a way to make someone think that there might have been some kind of weird time skip or alternate universe stuff from DR1 going on. I suppose it served to make the ways DR2 diverges stand out more.

 

[The Silver]

is there any hope for this? I need some ultimate luck.

 

[lazyproblems]

I thought the Ryota weight thing was a funny gag that also helped highlight Impostor's skill. Maybe a bit much, but it shows just how skilled he is, even with his weight differences from his targets.

You can see my reaction in the community thread, I was fucking scared dude. I thought the DR1 survivors got captured and mind fucked. That would explain why Byakuya didn't remember the killing game and why Nagito looked so much like Makoto.

IIRC "Byakuya" spoke vaguely enough that you could think he knew he was participating for a second time. That was part of the reason the player could believe that he so drastically changed his approach from the first time and took a leadership position.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

is there any hope for this? I need some ultimate luck.

Seems like that's been straight up retconned, unfortunately. The reasoning some are using for it now is like you said:

Remember everyone, Junko warned us the DR2 cast were just two bit side characters.

Which makes sense considering who Junko is. Why would she have gone out of her way to recruit the DR2 characters when she really couldn't care less about them? But then, it also doesn't really make sense with the importance that was placed on the "Remnants of Despair" until now.

It's weird. With 3 real episodes left for Despair, I'm not sure how they're going to handle it. I guess it really will have to be mass brainwashing with all of them staring at a monitor in a room or something.

 

[Eumi]

is there any hope for this? I need some ultimate luck.

I mean, the game uses the term 'brainwashed' more than anything else to describe their fall to despair so I think people are just reading too much into stuff like that. The videos probably do take advantage of their insecurities but I wouldn't expect some huge individual takedown of each character.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is no reason aside from outright brainwashing that could explain half the dr2 casts fall to despair that would be even slightly believable.

Spoiler

Which is why it was a stupid idea to make an anime detailing it but oh well.

 

[FStubbs]

I thought the Ryota weight thing was a funny gag that also helped highlight Impostor's skill. Maybe a bit much, but it shows just how skilled he is, even with his weight differences from his targets.



IIRC "Byakuya" spoke vaguely enough that you could think he knew he was participating for a second time. That was part of the reason the player could believe that he so drastically changed his approach from the first time and took a leadership position.

Wasn't there a killing game involving Togami and Twogami in "DR Togami"? If so then this WAS his second time.

is there any hope for this? I need some ultimate luck.

It says "slammed right into their minds" so I guess ... anime.

I rewatched the first episode. Trying to decipher where the Monokuma gas grenade comes from, but at the least, given where it ended up, I suspect Gozu and Aoi a whole lot less now.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I mean, the game uses the term 'brainwashed' more than anything else to describe their fall to despair so I think people are just reading too much into stuff like that. The videos probably do take advantage of their insecurities but I wouldn't expect some huge individual takedown of each character.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is no reason aside from outright brainwashing that could explain half the dr2 casts fall to despair that would be even slightly believable.

Spoiler

Which is why it was a stupid idea to make an anime detailing it but oh well.

Note how it states "one by one..." Multiple times, it was described that Junko individually sought after each member of the Despair crew, recruiting them to her cause and brainwashing them by exploiting their weaknesses. This is an actual contradiction to what is being set up to potentially happen. I don't really see how the killing game video took advantage of any of Mikan's vulnerabilities, either. As PK Gaming stated in a previous post, none of what Mikan implied in DR2 was reflected in how she fell to despair in the latest episode.

 

[Eumi]

Note how it states "one by one..." Multiple times, it was described that Junko individually sought after each member of the Despair crew, recruiting them to her cause and brainwashing them by exploiting their weaknesses. This is an actual contradiction to what is being set up to potentially happen.

But so far it's totally been one by one. She did Izuru, then Mikan, is currently attempting to do Mitarai. She has Nagito now so he'll probably be next.

But that's not really the retcon that's irritating people, it's the fact that DR2 makes a huge deal about Junko being some mastermind who could just break people like that, and now we're being shown that it was kinda a lot more dull than that.

I still think people are care way more about this than they should though. Why they fell to despair isn't important at all. The whole point in them being Ultimate Despair was so that could be their past, and so that they could ultimatly choose the future at the end of the game. In a way, people dwelling on the specifics of the DR2 casts past goes against the core theme of DR2 itself, which was all about looking towards the future.

But again, of course people are going to start to care about the past when you make an anime all about the pasts of these characters, so either way they fucked up. I hope whatever they ultimately go with for the despair-inducing isn't terrible, but I'm not sure there was any real way to do this without messing up somewhere.

 

[lazyproblems]

is there any hope for this? I need some ultimate luck.

With just 3-4 episodes left, almost no hope. If they went brainwashing anime route with Mikan, I'm not sure they'll do any different for the rest.

It's weird. With 3 real episodes left for Despair, I'm not sure how they're going to handle it.

Was it confirmed that Despair 12 was a VO special? That got mentioned in here at some point.

Wasn't there a killing game involving Togami and Twogami in "DR Togami"? If so then this WAS his second time.

Hm, I haven't read Togami so maybe. Do we know if it's canon? I wasn't a fan of some stuff I heard about it, but I should just go find some translations and try to read it at some point.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

But so far it's totally been one by one. She did Izuru, then Mikan, is currently attempting to do Mitarai. She has Nagito now so he'll probably be next.

I still think people are care way more about this than they should though. Why they fell to despair isn't important at all. The whole point in them being Ultimate Despair was so that could be their past, and so that they could ultimatly choose the future at the end of the game. In a way, people dwelling on the specifics of the DR2 casts past goes against the core theme of DR2 itself, which was all about looking towards the future.

I didn't really count Izuru, but yes, so far she's had an individual process. The thing is that a lot of these reactions are driven by what the anime's leading us to believe will happen. Aside from Hajime and Mikan, none of the DR2 cast have mentally changed at all since the beginning (even Fuyuhiko, whose sister was killed), and we only have 3 more episodes to operate with.

But the method behind the DR2 cast's despair is very important; as important as the end result. If what they suffered was "forced brainwashing against their will," they will be made redeemable characters. Characters who weren't in control of their own actions. This fundamentally changes the message of DR2's ending and how they decided that they would still exit the VR simulation, facing whatever future awaited them despite who they actually were.

Was it confirmed that Despair 12 was a VO special? That got mentioned in here at some point.

I remember that being mentioned, but I have no idea. Either way, though, I feel like since the last episode of Despair happens after the last episode of Future, it'd have to be something special. I suppose the series plot could end with Future and the last episode of Despair could still be set in the past, though.

 

[The Silver]

I mean, the game uses the term 'brainwashed' more than anything else to describe their fall to despair so I think people are just reading too much into stuff like that. The videos probably do take advantage of their insecurities but I wouldn't expect some huge individual takedown of each character.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there is no reason aside from outright brainwashing that could explain half the dr2 casts fall to despair that would be even slightly believable.

Spoiler

Which is why it was a stupid idea to make an anime detailing it but oh well.

there were also lines in DR2 like Byakuya saying it was their fault that they fell into despair, this anime thing completely removes that personal responsibility. "brainwashing"(indoctrination/coercion,etc) is an actual real thing, it isn't magic, it completely fits in with the notion she targeted their insecurities cause....that's literally part of what real "brainwashing" is.

and many people figured the whole point of this anime was to explain how Junko could break somone like Nekomaru. You can't say "there is no reason", they can make up anything, they just didn't want to write one.