This article talks about characters from the video game Danganronpa and explores what could drive them to murder. -- Daisha WIlliams 10th grade
Danganronpa is a video game series with an ever growing fan base. It consists of three main games called Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. These games are in 2D visual novel style, and there is an anime adaptation for the first game. In addition, there are also many shorter games such as Danganronpa: Unlimited Battle and Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. However, the premise of the three main games are what we will be talking about today.
Each game has a cast of characters who are students that attend a high school called Hope's Peak Academy. Students from this school are called Untimates. This means that a student is so incredibly skilled at something, that they are better than anyone else at their age could possibly be. Some examples of ultimate talents are ultimate swimmer, ultimate pianist, and ultimate mechanic. These students are trapped against their will. They have food, comfortable sleeping quarters, and everything else they may need to live—but they are trapped here by Monokuma, a deadly stuffed bear who wants our characters to participate in a killing game.
Once a murder happens, there is an investigation period, and then a trial. During the trial, the characters discuss the murder and the evidence they have found. At the end they vote on who they think the murderer is. If they get it right, the murderer is executed and the game continues. If they get it wrong then everyone except the murderer is executed and the murderer is released into the outside world.
To ensure that someone does get killed, Monokuma sets up what he thinks to be the perfect circumstances to drive normal teenagers to murder. He does this in many ways, but the most obviously effective one is through motives. He creates a motive, sometimes generalized, sometimes personalized, to prompt the characters to plan a murder. And many people do kill due to the motive that is given to them. But something that also happens frequently is that the main or underlying motive for the killing, is that they just want to go outside.
~ From this point on there will be major spoilers for the deaths, killers, and motives for all three main games.
One of the first examples that comes to mind is the murder committed by Teruteru Hanamura, who is the Ultimate Chef. This takes place in Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 2. Monokuma makes it known that there is a traitor amongst their group, which is the motive for this chapter. However, Teruteru kills another student because of a piece of information that makes him want nothing more than to go back home. Monokuma also tells our characters that they have lost memories, and have already lived through their high school years together. Because of this, Teruteru remembers that he promised his sickly mother that he would come back as soon as he could to take care of her and tend to the family restaurant. He wants to leave so much that he kills for it. Once it becomes obvious that he was the one who committed the murder, he starts crying saying that he just wanted to leave. So although Monokuma´s motive did influence him, the true thing that drives him to murder is his desire to leave.
Once a murder happens, there is an investigation period, and then a trial. During the trial, the characters discuss the murder and the evidence they have found. At the end they vote on who they think the murderer is. If they get it right, the murderer is executed and the game continues. If they get it wrong then everyone except the murderer is executed and the murderer is released into the outside world.
To ensure that someone does get killed, Monokuma sets up what he thinks to be the perfect circumstances to drive normal teenagers to murder. He does this in many ways, but the most obviously effective one is through motives. He creates a motive, sometimes generalized, sometimes personalized, to prompt the characters to plan a murder. And many people do kill due to the motive that is given to them. But something that also happens frequently is that the main or underlying motive for the killing, is that they just want to go outside.
~ From this point on there will be major spoilers for the deaths, killers, and motives for all three main games.
One of the first examples that comes to mind is the murder committed by Teruteru Hanamura, who is the Ultimate Chef. This takes place in Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 2. Monokuma makes it known that there is a traitor amongst their group, which is the motive for this chapter. However, Teruteru kills another student because of a piece of information that makes him want nothing more than to go back home. Monokuma also tells our characters that they have lost memories, and have already lived through their high school years together. Because of this, Teruteru remembers that he promised his sickly mother that he would come back as soon as he could to take care of her and tend to the family restaurant. He wants to leave so much that he kills for it. Once it becomes obvious that he was the one who committed the murder, he starts crying saying that he just wanted to leave. So although Monokuma´s motive did influence him, the true thing that drives him to murder is his desire to leave.
With one of my personal favorite motives, during Chapter 2 of Danganronpa V3, Monokuma delivers a tablet to each student with the people that they need to escape for. He used their desire to leave as the motive itself, and undoubtedly it worked. When Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid, kills, none of the characters can imagine why. But it turned out that her video reminded her of her old life and responsibilities. Such an unexpected and detailed reminder of that is what made her willing to kill.
Another way this motive affected someone is shown through Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro. He has been stuck inside the same amount of time as Kirumi but when reminded of what mattered to him in his old life, he found that there was nothing. I feel like a lot of people right now can share that sentiment. Especially people who, like Ryoma, made a mistake and then waited for the next good thing to come along. These are the kind of people who are always going to change their life, tomorrow. But now, similar to Ryoma, tomorrow means staying inside just like today and yesterday, and everyday for the foreseeable future. And that is no way to realise a dream. Because of this, Ryoma fell into depression. Kirumi and him were in the same situation, but because of their life experiences, their reactions were two different extremes. Kirumi is not valuing other people's life anymore, and Ryoma is not valuing his. A murderer and a victim.
Video games aside, mental health struggles are very real, and circumstances like these can definitely make those worse. If you are struggling please talk to a loved one and/or a professional.
Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler, is an unique example of this. The motive for when she killed someone, during Chapter 3 of the first Danganronpa game, was a large sum of money. Had she won, she would have been rewarded with this money as well as her escape. This money would have funded her life dream. And that dream having so much potential to become a reality once she escaped is what drove her to murder. In reality, her dream was never further away from her grasp. Similarly to now, when it seems as if we should be able to go out and realize our dreams, after all we have been stuck for so many months already. Right now is the worst time to do that. If Celeste had simply bided her time, she might have been one of the characters to survive.
Although the situation of the characters in the Danganronpa series is much more complicated and intense than ours is at the moment, there are definitely similarities. And although most of us (hopefully) wouldnt murder under theres circumstances, there are things we should remember. Just because we miss someone, or what our life was like before, or working towards our goal, does now mean that we can go outside without our masks. It does not give us the right to ignore social distance guidelines. Because then, just like the characters, we are risking others and our own lives. Even if it isn’t a planned murder, people can still die because of our choices.
Although the situation of the characters in the Danganronpa series is much more complicated and intense than ours is at the moment, there are definitely similarities. And although most of us (hopefully) wouldnt murder under theres circumstances, there are things we should remember. Just because we miss someone, or what our life was like before, or working towards our goal, does now mean that we can go outside without our masks. It does not give us the right to ignore social distance guidelines. Because then, just like the characters, we are risking others and our own lives. Even if it isn’t a planned murder, people can still die because of our choices.
