Women In Danganronpa (A Writer's Perspective)

[@Kirbysuperstar44]

In defense of Genocide Jack, while she is a victim of an offensive trope her actual character is done really well to subvert that trope. She's introduced in a killing game but she doesn't kill anyone, plus she's helpful to the group a few times like during the last trial where her preserved memory was used as evidence. She is also really funny.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@Kirbysuperstar44 I completely agree. Ignoring the bad stuff, she is an interesting character. Ngl her sense of humour isn’t my thing but she’s definitely an interesting character to have in the cast! I just feel like most of the time she’s treated more like a sideshow spectacle than a person which with the crazy design choice with the tongue, is probably what the writers were going for

[@Kirbysuperstar44]

@@KyokaXiavon Genocide Jack has free time events of her own that delve a bit into her character so I don't really agree that she is a just a spectacle.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@Kirbysuperstar44 Yeah, It’s nice that they did give Syo her own as yeah most gag characters they just don’t really care about. Thanks for letting me know your thoughts, while I’m not a big fan of Syo I definitely appreciate her more now! :)

[@SimSim-ej5qx]

I guess when comes to bad characters, there a line where they're believable enough to enjoyable, and trying to make sense of their behaviour, and still there is a enjoyment. I guess my biggest issue with Genocide Jack, is related to her restrain at killing, and what it says about Toko's attempts at relationship, because she is mostly a spectacle. But she is, reflects Toko's Insecurities, Meek Behaviour, Lewd Tendencies, Agressions, but she lacks...the projection of Toko. ...It's a offensive trope, but sincerely it's a world building piece of Danganronpa, where "Talented People" can get away from murdering, but also a interesting character the way others writers user her, specially with her relation with Toko. A Product of it's time, but actually better than it could've been, and those who managed to use her cleverly deserve my congratulations.

[@Cishki]

Genocide(r) Jack/Jill/Syo is my second favorite character in Danganronpa THH, first is Celeste but Genocide(r) Jack/Jill/Syo is very close to overthrowing her, who knows. I'll decide once I finish watching somebody's UDG playthrough.

[@ProfessorNilo]

Watching this reminded me how simplicity can sometimes be a great thing, because this game is simple, but I fully agree that the female cast of this game is great and stands out among the DR games in a meaningful way. And I think I finally know why. Looking at this video made me realize just how each of them feel like wholy unique characters that all fit a specific part of the story. This may seem obvious but I think no other DR game really gives the same amount of care into representing such a wide variety of characters. For example I think DR2 feels way too much like every girl fits a waifu bait trope in my opinion while in DR1 they weren't trying to market these characters to you but represent them as real people that have a part in this story and it doesn't matter if you like them or not. In a way this gave me a new found appreciation for DR1 and I thank you very much for that.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@ProfessorNilo noo ty for watching! :D THH has always been my favourite for that reason. While I think the other games did certain things better such as V3 having the best executions, I think THH sets the foundations for the series in such a great way and all the characters are pretty great. It’s a great game that’s overlooked a lot as the other two games are even more over the top and flashy. Thanks for letting me know ur thoughts! :)

[@akirahimurakinakiyama99]

Chihiro I saw him more of a cross-dresser with insecurity of his own gender because that’s how the story portrays it and he’s a perfect symbolism how what it means to be masculine for men versus toxic masculinity from Mondo on how he portray it and I love both characters myself as a male who is gay

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@akirahimurakinakiyama99 yeah they definitely mirror each other really well. Tbh I was on the fence about including Chihiro in the video but as it was about how women in dr are presented, and Chihiro is presented as a woman for pretty much their whole screentime, I decided to include them. Mondo has always been a favourite of mine but I tend to like the rough but actually sweet kind of characters. Thanks for letting me know ur thoughts! :)

[@akirahimurakinakiyama99]

@@KyokaXiavon well in a perspective a character, pretending to be a woman might be important, especially for the viewers that were on the outside before they knew what was going on

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@akirahimurakinakiyama99 Yeah exactly!

[@akirahimurakinakiyama99]

@@KyokaXiavon but than again Chihiro never explicitly call himself a woman

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@akirahimurakinakiyama99Mhm :)

[@TheMonotonePuppet]

There were far fewer gripes about how the women were written in Danganronpa than I expected. This video was a far more balanced view of the strengths and weaknesses of the characters from a literary standpoint as well as the reader's standpoint than I thought it would be. Quite enjoyable! Personally, I share a few of the same iffy vibes towards how Chihiro and Toko Fukawa were handled. They weren't handled flawlessly by any means, which holds me back from perfect enjoyment of the show. I still love Danganronpa. Its wacky pitting of hope vs despair, as well as the later themes of truth vs lies, will always stay with me. But yeah, all of your points are, well, on point.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@TheMonotonePuppet Tysm! Honestly me too LOL it made me realise that the first game is pretty balanced and that it only starts to get really bad in the sequels with characters like Mikan and Iruma. It is really unfortunate how Chihiro and Fukawa were treated but thankfully they’re the only characters who have these problems. Ty for watching my vid I’m glad you liked it!! :)

[@PhantomOfficial07]

How was Chihiro treated badly ? I didn't notice any Chihiro criticism in the video...

[@IAARPOTI]

@@PhantomOfficial07 there is detective nyx criticism video about how to make Danganronpa first game chapter 2 better

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

​@@KyokaXiavonfigures you dont like iruma XD shes controversial as hell They have to be strong independent and helpful Even though miu does alot of stuff to help out through out the game like make the cameras for the first trail as well as expose the way the books were stacked Also mikan introduced us to the hint that these guys are not what they seem since she was hit by the remembering sickness

[@aleajohnson3669]

Sakura is the best character in the first game

[@kalkuttadrop6371]

Chihiro is a guy because who the heck programs their own AI to misgender them? Ok Miu probably would, but not Chihiro. Chiaki also calls Chihiro a guy (her father) and embellishes in his favor a bit

[@kiera6326]

I think the idea is that Chihiro themselves wasn’t sure about their own gender, but I agree their behaviour seems more consistent with a boy who’s just comfortable wearing a dress, and feels they don’t match the standards of masculinity, however, if THH was conceived today, the writers may have intended something different with Chihiro

[@kalkuttadrop6371]

@@kiera6326 They seemed sure. Alter Ego considered themselves a boy after being heavily based on Chihiro and called Chihiro a guy. Chiaki calls Alter Ego "Big Brother" and Chihiro her father "who she heard was pretty manly at his computer". Chihiro's arc was about toxic cultural standards for men in Japan and was meant to juxtapose against Mondo as they're both massive extremes on both sides. People are reading it from a 2020s western lens rather than a late 2000s Japanese lens.

[@annsh.6487]

@ pov you think trans people didn't exist in 2000s japan

[@keven8951]

Great video, can’t wait to see the follow up regarding the Danganronpa 2 women

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@keven8951 Tysm! I’m glad you liked it! :D

[@corryjamieson3909]

You know, in another world, I want Toko as a Protagonist, deducing cliches, the obvious and so on, all thanks to being a writer. Like a witty dry humoured version, definitely wouldn't exist in our reality due to not being over-the-top/waifu bait.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@corryjamieson3909 She’s super interesting, she would make a great protagonist!

[@StrawberryCocoaPowder]

If it makes you feel better, she kinda is in Ultra Despair Girls. Unfortunately that game is the weaker side of the series…t_t

[@corryjamieson3909]

@@StrawberryCocoaPowder Oh yes, that one. A fun but unfortunately bumpy ride, oh we could've had something far greater.

[@axelvinicius3365]

@@StrawberryCocoaPowder ​ I think the plot is on the stronger side though! The story is really engaging, and Komaru and Toko are phenomenal characters that we see grow up in a really beliavable pace, and due to not having too much characters we get really attached to them.

[@corryjamieson3909]

@@axelvinicius3365 It's very cool, but I want a class trial Toko, when there's no detective, the one who is literate is the best option.

[@jameskowanko7574]

Danganronpa 1 has the best cast in my opinion, while they’re simpler than later games, find them much more nuanced and compelling than later casts. Every character in THH has a very overt core personality, which is balanced and given depth too by subtle characterization. Like how Aoi is both the most upbeat and the one who takes the losses of the killing game the hardest. How Yasuhiro is the dumbest and the most cowardly, but also the one who takes up a leadership position when Taka can’t.

[@Taylor.165]

IM SO HAPPY THIS FANDOM IS STILL ALIVE!!

[@theshinypeliper8813]

Chapter 4 of THH actually fucking broke me

[@theshinypeliper8813]

Honestly there aren’t any other characters in the series that left me as overly emotional as Sakura. She was one of the more levelheaded and down to earth characters and honestly one of the most likable because of that. She was empathetic and selfless to a fault, her greatest strength was what killed her and honestly that just made her more interesting.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@theshinypeliper8813 fr, it’s so sad that she had to do what she did but as a result, she single-handedly ended the killing game, which no one else has ever done in the series. Such a tragic but compelling character

[@theshinypeliper8813]

@@KyokaXiavon exactly, tbh I cannot trust anyone who actively dislikes her. I’m making my own fangan which serves as a sequel to the first two games (while also being my rewrite of the events in the Danganronpa 3 anime which was really bad) and while I’m playing with ideas that the series never fully explored before, I don’t think I can do anything new with a storyline like Sakura’s because of how well handled it was. The series has many flaws and when it’s bad it’s really bad… but when it’s good, it’s probably some of the best storytelling I’ve seen in visual novels.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@theshinypeliper8813 oo that sounds awesome! And that last part describes danganronpa perfectly. It can have incredibly hard-hitting moments but then it’ll have the most ickiest writing and it’s such a shame cuz it takes away from the moments where the writing is amazing

[@theshinypeliper8813]

@@KyokaXiavon agreed, I’m hoping mine won’t have that problem but so far everything is going smoothly.

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

Leaving the time stamp for the sensible fans that can read and understand chihiro refers to HIM SELF as a guy and made and ai that calls HIM MASTER not MISTRESS She talks about chihiro for some odd reason from 4:41 - 6:17

[@rando9449]

Eh, he’s close enough.

[@IAARPOTI]

Btw I have some video suggestions for you to make if you want or not. The contrast between Detectives in first danganronpa and the last one. And Comparison on Danganronpa official series and Danganronpa another fan series. Tbh if you ask me which danganronpa series is better, I would say Danganronpa another. The writing in the fan series is so good that I can rewatch or replay it.

[@KyokaXiavon]

Ooo those are some great suggestions, ty!! I’m actually thinking of covering the another fangan in a separate video as I love them sm. thanks for watching my vid!! :D

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

17:00 Its almost like the antagonist isnt supposed to be likable and do good things or something

[@Ja7nD03]

The female characters always annoyed me, Mikan especially. They could've done so much with her character but decided to just...not. Mikan, and Miu really don't have personalities anymore. Fanservice first, character second. That's how they feel to me. I think a majority of the girl characters in V3 and DR2 were way too like, underwhelming, and it's so frustrating because they all had potential to do so much. I love Danganronpa, but there are so many issues it gets hard to replay lol

[@KyokaXiavon]

omg fr i have so much to say about how poorly they were written/treated but i'll be discussing them in a future video. Honestly when I think of poorly written characters in DR they're the first ones I think of :,)

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

Id agree with you if you replace mikan with akane or sonia Mikan served her purpose And miu is literally the smartest fking female in DR If you only see they ass boobs then thats you

[@evamosch_]

I'm not even into danganronpa anymore, but wow am I excited to see the sequel to this video! I do agree that THH has the best cast out of all mainline danganronpa games. SDR2 in particular is a trainwreck, so I'm sure your video will be glorious. Revisiting SDR2 will be like scratching a wound haha. You are very unbiased and insightful in your analysis! Much love!

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@evamosch_ Tysm! Yeah I’ve almost finished the script and it’s been a doozy LOL and I’m the same, I was really into danganronpa back in the mid 2010s and now that I’ve returned to it, I almost feel like I’m back in 2016 LOL

[@mintyyukime]

I pretty much agree with everything you said, and I really loved this video!!! It’s so well done, you deserve soooo much attention on something this high quality!!! I look forward to future videos about the other entries c:

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@mintyyukime Tysm!! ♡ ♡

[@the.axolotlgirl]

For me the only bad written women are the fan service characters Mui is alright and is at least able to make herself a little funny Aoi not really a fan service character but is the closest we have in daganrompa 1 doesn’t have much personality but her Sakura character arc is good though Mikan is creepy and is the worst out of the bunch

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@the.axolotlgirl Yeahh I’m gonna talk about them in a future video but they’re definitely not great, I was going to talk about the Asahina fanservice in this video but I forgot lol but my general feelings towards it is that it’s unfortunate and creepy cuz she’s a minor but as we see with Iruma and Mikan it gets wayyyy worse so it’s definitely not the worst fanservice in the series

[@omenafro]

​@KyokaXiavon actually danganronpa 1&2's cast are all 19+ since they believed they were 17 but 2 years passed. I find Miu's funny (mostly by what she says, not so much what she does). Hina is fine I guess, there's only one scene of her crying. But mikan is just a no and don't even get me started with the anime's version 😖

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@omenafro Oh yeah i forgot about that. It's still a bit iffy though as emotionally and mentally she's still her 16 year old self. Omg the anime for Mikan was ROUGH

[@mysmallnoman]

Saying that miu and mikan are just fanservice character is stupid and it just makes you a snowflake who gets offended at seeing tits

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

​@@KyokaXiavon"EMOiT0N@lLy and m3N+aLLY they are minors" Are you hearing yourself? This is pathetic

[@sugarrmoon]

I!!!!!!! LOVE!!!!!!!!!! KYOKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'd love to see you cover her novels sometime because those things destroyed me. this poor girl

[@KyokaXiavon]

FR! I love her sm

[@TenderheartOfficial]

I cant wait for the other parts, I hope you eventually get to the girls of V3

[@DuyceStarMusic]

This was so interesting woah!

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@DuyceStarMusic I’m glad you liked it! :D

[@ladyweirdo6035]

I always had mixed feelings on the female characters of this series. On one hand, they're leagues above the ladies in other media. Most of them are competitent, many of them are important, and for the fighter characters like Sakura, Mukuro, Akane, and Tenko, their strength and capabilities are never underplayed. That being said, many have pointed out how oversexualized they are and how disrespectful it is in the cases of the characters who have gone through sexual trauma, most notably the little girl in UDG.

[@mysmallnoman]

Pov : you were raised by catholics

[@ladyweirdo6035]

@@mysmallnoman Am I being puritanical? How so?

[@mysmallnoman]

@@ladyweirdo6035 " oh no!! The fictional characters are sexualized "

[@Hinapawz]

​@@mysmallnomanyeah and one of the fictional characters that are being sexualized is a little girl who suffered through s/a. 😐 I wasn't raised by Catholics or whatever but this just rubs me off the wrong way. I have no real problem with sexualization if the character is of age and the sexualizing doesn't become a character trait.

[@mysmallnoman]

@@Hinapawz age doesn't matter It's a fictional character, in fact if we take your logic seriously then she's no longer a minor considering that the game is 8 years old and she was 11, which makes her 19

[@Elis0611]

You mentioned that you may do extra content in a separate video and that got me thinking. Have you read Danganronpa 0? Because from what I understand, it adds A LOT to Junko's character.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@Elis0611 I did a very long time ago but from what I remember, it was super interesting! Maybe I’ll do a bonus part where I cover 0, danganronpa if etc!

[@Elis0611]

@KyokaXiavon Omg, thank you for replying!

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@Elis0611 No worries!

[@roachewy]

What are your thoughts on Kaede? Just wondering

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@roachewy glad you asked! I’m actually making a V3 video atm so I won’t go into tooo much detail but I really liked Kaede, didn’t like how she was treated in the story ♡

[@idonthavealife1232]

peak video fr

[@IAARPOTI]

For me *almost* girls in danganronpa is written pretty well. and Danganronpa chapter 2 is the worst chapter for neuro diverge people and queer people. Thank you for reminding me that Togami is absolutely disgusting at chapter 2. OMG that dude is worse than Kokichi and Nagito combined.

[@KyokaXiavon]

I agree, I didn’t bring it up in the video (cuz I forgot) but the way Asahina is sexualised in this game is also really weird. Yeah I feel like people talk about Ouma and Komaeda a lot but never mention the messed up things that Togami did!

[@IAARPOTI]

@@KyokaXiavon i feel like akane is also sexualized too in super danganronpa 2. Do you think if it is a coincidence or just racist and sexist trope? Not to mention that Angie is wearing beach suits and slapped her design with jacket. Ok, I think I am starting to hate more to official danganronpa now.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@IAARPOTI yeah, that’s something I want to address in my next video. Unfortunately it’s probably a mix of the two. Yeahh Angie is also a very strange character, I like her talent and her design even though it doesn’t match her talent much, but everything else about her is a bit messy

[@psychonautmaddy7409]

What Byakuya did was *definitely* messed up, but there's no way what he did was any worse than what Nagito/Servant has done xD Also, Byakuya at least redeems himself by the end of the series and saves many people's lives during his time in the Future Foundation. So that gets a pass for him in my book. HOWEVER, what *does* bother me is the fact that what Byakuya did in chapter 2 was pretty much never brought up again. As someone who likes Byakuya (mostly post-DR1 at least), I personally think he could have been written and handled a *lot* better in the first game, especially involving his consequences for what he's done.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@psychonautmaddy7409 Yeah, while the three of them are all pretty problematic, Togami did the least bad things out of the three, but he definitely doesn’t take accountability for his actions LOL I do feel like the game glazes over his actions in chapter 2 then it’s never brought up again LOL

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

The bath scene is optional and some people dont even see it. Are you gonna getting pissy over optional content now You gonna throw a fit over the two boardgames and their weird interactions?

[@ms.adorasong]

Chihiro is a trans story but in reverse.

[@Mewvally]

were the video chapter names supposed to not be the character names? (sorry for asking if it is)

[@KyokaXiavon]

Oops, didn't realise that automatic chapters were on, thanks for letting me know! :D

[@Mewvally]

@@KyokaXiavon No problem, i was just super confused when I saw Chihiro Jiro...

[@hondaaccord1399]

In defense of women, man

[@Bunni89]

Honestly when I saw the thumbnail and title I thought this was gonna be about how absolutely awful this series got with the crass fanservice later on. And the recurring "haha funny EVIL FEMINIST who HATES MEN" characters. It was refreshing to see this retrospective on how the first game's female characters were free of all that shit! I wonder what happened to cause such a drastic change in direction?

[@momalaxyacc.4863]

I wholeheartedly believe this is what most danganronpa commentaries would be like... if half the audience of the game/anime WEREN'T somewhere from the U.S. Now I'm not saying danganronpa handled everything perfectly(I mean the biggest example is the whole Genocide Syo thing)that would be way more biased than what I'm abt to say, however there are a lot of scenes that someone from the West wouldn't understand unless they looked at it from a Eastern perspective vice versa an Eastern not comprehending Western views. But if there's one thing both sides can agree on, it's that they did a TERRIBLE job with writing Mikan's character and really all of chapter three

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@momalaxyacc.4863 yep that’s definitely something important to consider when analysing media from different cultures. I’m working on part 2 right now and believe me, I am simultaneously ready and not ready to cover Mikan :,)

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

I dont agree. Mikan served her purpose. Wish she had a better death but thats really all i think was poorly handled

[@ThePariahDark]

I liked this game/series once, but no longer. The fanbase is horrible, the "colorful" characters lure in obsessive insane worshippers. For a time DR fandom was seen as the worst in the world, that was before MHA came out / people obsessed over Steven Universe. There are real people out there thinking they are dating DR characters, or pretend to be them and run sex cults. Don't believe me? Go looking, the rabbit hole is terribly deep.

[@KyokaXiavon]

Yeah internet fandoms are pretty rough, I tend to avoid them most of the time LOL

[@Super-7327]

The franchise having no new games since forever helped everything mellowing down

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

The fanbase hates its own game and its kinda tiring

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

15:10 Im pretty sure its explained that when toko took her first life it traumatized her to the point where jill had to come out and take over because she couldnt handle the stress she broke in two How is that hard to understand?

[@1m_N0t_CrAzY]

15:40 JILL DIDNT FKING KILL HIM TOKO KILLED HIM WHICH CREATED JILL

[@MrConredsX]

Westerners should try to analyze Japanese characters. They had different mentality than you so either enjoy it or skip it.

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@MrConredsX Thats definitely true, characters will be perceived differently depending on the culture of the audience. I find it interesting to delve into characters and series from other cultures to see the similarities and differences compared to my own

[@raincloud891]

Who's your favorite character from each of the mainline games which character is your favorite in the entire series which is your favorite class trial who's your favorite male and female character in the entire game on a scale to 1 to 10 how much do you love this franchise as a whole how did you feel knowing that every single of the characters in V3 characters was voiced by the same voice actors who voiced another Danganronpa character for me to the different installments did you like the ending of the V3 did you develop any crush on any of the characters if so which ones if you ship which is your favorite ship in the franchise if you would meet the creator of the Danganronpa franchise what would you say to him say to him do you know he created a new game called Master detective archive rain code and do you plan on playing that game who's your least favorite character from each of the installments of the franchise who's your least favorite character in general which class trial what's your least favorite have you ever been in the fandom or communicated with them have you ever got that one character that is very popular but you don't like it which protagonist is your favorite which antagonist is your favorite who's your least favorite protagonist and antagonist what would make you love the series more and make you a full fan of it and not a love and hate relationship dynamic what is your favorite execution in the game I would ask you which one is your least favorite but I already know which one you would pick because it's not that hard as someone who's been in the in the fan base so which game has your favorite bunch of executions and which game had You released favorite bunch of executions name something popular like a character or ship for a ship that is like my others but you just don't like for some reason if you have one that is do you ever been in the Danganronpa subreddit I really wish you were a fan of it more so I can see you communicating with the fan base and I wish you come to the subreddit the subreddit is pretty fun you can answer me if you want and I plan on asking you more if that's ok okay

[@IAARPOTI]

Ok that sounds pretty demanding

[@raincloud891]

@@IAARPOTI who are you and can you answers my questions?

[@Rainbowkraken720]

I think you like danganronpa a little too much, lol.

[@mysmallnoman]

" the fanservice makes me uncomfortable and and This game is problematic because of their portrayal of DID!! " God i hate Tumblr clowns so much

[@vaniillazilla]

same

[@SillyGoobyWasTaken]

She doesn't have a tumblr though???????

[@mysmallnoman]

@@SillyGoobyWasTaken i was mocking her

[@roromimii]

Oh no, such sensitive snowflake you are. Stay mad~ 😊💖

[@Hinapawz]

Let me guess... You also use "woke" as an insult?

[@vannieness]

20:27 Sorry this is such a small detail, I'm not trying to nitpick or anything, but Kyoko's family is not famous. She specifically tells Makoto otherwise in chapter 6. The scene where they are climbing the ladder Makoto: "Then...is your family famous?" - Kyoko: "Quite the opposite, actually. Even among actual detectives, many people haven't heard of us." - Makoto: "Huh? But...how come? It's like your family tradition, right? So..." - Kyoko: "Because we take pride in it."

[@KyokaXiavon]

@@vannieness No worries, I probably should’ve said ‘infamous’ instead of ‘famous’ as their work is well-known but they themselves are hidden from the spotlight