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cracks knuckles okay here’s everything abt danganronpa i take issue with (LONG THREAD)!
i’ll trigger warn everything i can think of, but know that i’ll be talking about some sensitive topics, such as csa, incest, rape, and the like.
also: danganronpa is one of my special interests, ie it’s very dear to me. that said, i deeply loathe so many aspects of it and i feel responsible to address as many of them as i can think of. if i’ve left something out, let me know!!
starting with one of the more obvious issues: how literally no one on the writing team can depict mental health issues or trauma accurately and respectfully. for example: toko and genocide jack. toko has DID, and i cannot express how harmful of a stereotype it is for characters +
with DID, bipolar, empathy disorders, etc. to be written as sociopathic or villainous in some aspects. toko also has an anxiety disorder which causes her to feel like everyone hates her, which is constantly dismissed by everyone around her and treated as an annoying aspect of her
+ personality rather than something that needs empathy and compassion.
this is consistent for all the characters who are coded to have mental illness/coded to be neurodivergent, which is basically all of the main cast throughout the games. another example: there are so many characters who are neurodivergent, specifically autistic, coded. +
for example, chiaki. i honestly don’t think the way she’s written is as bad as it has been for other characters. however, a lot of the other characters were extremely dismissive of her interest in video games and sidelined her or ignored her altogether. +
. i think people treat himiko, who’s also autistic-coded, in a similar way. even more so, i would say, as even chiaki is oversexualized in many moments. however, i find that since himiko isn’t as exploitable necessarily regarding sexual fanservice, people belittle her even more +
in terms of other characters, i find it very obvious that kazuichi is autistic-coded, and that manifests for him as missing some social cues and being persistent in ways that could come off as obnoxious. he’s written as a womanizer to sonia when he obviously isn’t aware of her +
discomfort. i think he also has issues with confidence and thinking he’s not worthy of love and attention, as a result of his physically abusive home life. that said, a lot of ppl think he’s some perverted misogynist like teruteru and it makes me so angry.
// sexual harassment
SPEAKING OF TERUTERU: i fucking hate him. i literally don’t see the point of his character. i feel no sympathy for him when his entire purpose as a character is to be a peeping tom and make everyone around him feel uncomfortable. he’s fully aware of +
SPEAKING OF TERUTERU: i fucking hate him. i literally don’t see the point of his character. i feel no sympathy for him when his entire purpose as a character is to be a peeping tom and make everyone around him feel uncomfortable. he’s fully aware of +
how terrible his behavior is, and takes advantage of ppl, mostly the girls, for his own enjoyment. for example: when he first meets sonia and thinks she’s stupid and tries to convince her to suck his dick because it’s “full of poison.” OR that scene with the “aphrodisiac soup” +
where he and his UNDERAGE classmates all get so horny it’s implied that they want to sexually harass each other for their own gain. why why WHY would you write such a terrible character and have their disgusting actions never addressed by them or any of the other characters? +
he’s never held accountable for anything he does, and his actions are written off as part of his character. he only exists as a character for sexually invasive comic relief or to rope others into being sexually invasive comic relief and it makes me feel sick.
// sexual harrasment
along the lines of sexual perversion and invasive comic relief, OH MY FUCKING GOD. a HUGE portion of the jokes in all of danganronpa are related to sexualizing the UNDERAGE characters, mostly the girls. example: miu’s entire character. here you have +
along the lines of sexual perversion and invasive comic relief, OH MY FUCKING GOD. a HUGE portion of the jokes in all of danganronpa are related to sexualizing the UNDERAGE characters, mostly the girls. example: miu’s entire character. here you have +
// sexual harassment
a tech GENIUS whose brilliance constantly keeps her motivated and ecstatic to create. from her character design to her commentary, she’s constantly cracking sex jokes that add literally nothing to any part of the plot or character interactions. +
a tech GENIUS whose brilliance constantly keeps her motivated and ecstatic to create. from her character design to her commentary, she’s constantly cracking sex jokes that add literally nothing to any part of the plot or character interactions. +
// sexual harrasment
AND that whole scene where she stripped down to her underwear to make gonta too embarrassed to bring her to the bug meet and greet, or that fucking weird moment where she was adding new features to keebo and every line was an innuendo....
AND that whole scene where she stripped down to her underwear to make gonta too embarrassed to bring her to the bug meet and greet, or that fucking weird moment where she was adding new features to keebo and every line was an innuendo....
+ that’s basically sexual harassment. they completely washed out her character and it makes so angry. another example is mikan. mikan’s clumsiness and naïveté constantly being used as a ploy for suggestive poses or situations. circling back to how no one at spike chunsoft +
can write trauma, she’s very meek and nervous supposedly as a result of her trauma, yet that same nervousness is exploited for sexual fanservice. even her attraction to junko is highly sexualized to the point of borderline sapphic fetishization.
NOW ONTO THE TREATMENT OF LGBT+ CHARACTERS! oh my god has none of these people met a gay person ever? the only gay-coded character who i think is halfway well-written is nagito and his love for hajime. he doesn’t approach hajime in a sexually predatory or overbearing way +
and it feels more natural than basically every other relationship in the series. that said, while it’s essentially canon, it still feels like less than the bare minimum for decent lgbt+ rep, considering people still try to pair nagito with women when he’s very obviously gay coded
+ and only has eyes for hajime. there’s a similar dynamic between mondo and taka, who’s relationship is so obviously romantic and sexual, but wasn’t canonized, so it isn’t really enough for decent rep. the two of them are also obviously gay and only have feelings for each other+
so pairing them off with girls in the series is really tone deaf and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. now, moving onto the shittier rep unfortunately! tenko is obviously lesbian-coded and is written as an obnoxious man-hater. not that hating men is a bad thing lmao, but it plays +
into so many stereotypes of big mean angry lesbians who want to constantly start shit for no reason. also! toko’s feelings for byakuya. as a lesbian, this is one of the most obvious expressions of comphet (compulsory heterosexuality) i’ve ever seen. +
in her (unnecessarily sexualized, might i add) fantasies of byakuya, he doesn’t actually act like he would in real life. in reality, he treated toko just as badly as everyone else did, moreso, actually. he took advantage of her admiring him and made her do what he wanted her to +
or what was convenient for him. toko’s expedience of byakuya existed only in her fantasies, as he’s literally not capable of acting the way he did in those scenarios. even if she were actually attracted to him, and vice versa, their relationship would be terribly abusive. +
also, i wanted to discuss juzo and his unreciprocated attraction to his best friend, kyosuke. he’s outed by junko to kyosuke and the rest of the future foundation to drive a greater rift between them so they’d be easier to kill. he’s treated with so little respect in this aspect+
and the writing doesn’t even make it seem like him being outed is necessarily a bad thing. ALSO!! not only is teruteru a predator, he reinforces the stereotype of a sexually abusive bisexual who wants to sleep around with everyone regardless of how they feel. +
lastly, i want to highlight the relationship between kaito and shuichi, which is glaringly obvious to me. the writers had maki develop feelings for kaito, which didn’t feel genuine, considering she’s extremely guarded and dealing with her own trauma due to her nature +
as an assassin. to me, kaito and shuichi obviously had feelings for each other, and i feel that there was so much potential for their bond that was completely ignored in fair of pandering to straight audiences. also, maki’s character felt reduced to her attraction to kaito. +
which is a HUGE disservice to who she was as a person, and betrayed basically every ideal she held dear. it’s not fair to maki to make her defining personality trait an attraction to a guy who doesn’t have the awareness that she has feelings for him or reciprocate those feelings.
+ so many girls in the series are reduced to their attraction to a man that betrays their entire character.
this leads me to my next point, misogyny! from the very first murd3r in trigger happy havoc. sayaka, a traumatized girl with an anxiety pushed under intense scrutiny as an idol and distress from the kiIIng school life, acted on instinct to try to escape hope’s peak. her actions +
which are some of the most genuine responses to stress i’ve seen in the series, are dismissed to her purposefully trying to hurt makoto or killing leon because she didn’t care about him. neither of this things are true, yet she’s constantly under fire, which is obviously a +
product of misogyny. hifumi is a key example of a misogynistic character who treats women like shit. he’s written as an incel who only cares abt “2D” women. this leads him to dismiss all the women around him in favor of hypersexualized, unrealistic depictions of women that only +
exist in fiction. and with the women in fiction that he’s attracted to, he shows no respect for them as people, treating them instead as sexual gratification or trophies. essentially every girl character in the series who asserts herself is written off either in part or +
completely as a bitch who only thinks of herself. while her counterparts who are men pull the same shit and are seen as honorable and justified in their actions. for example, mikan, who kiIId people (just like everyone else did) and was then demonized and treated like a loose +
cannon for doing the SAME SHIT everyone else did. she obviously cracked under pressure in some aspects due to feeling hated by everyone and wanting desperately to please those around her and not ever give them a reason to dismiss or reject her. like toko, instead of her issues +
being treated with compassion and empathy, they treated her like she was crazy. in truth, she just wanted to help and care for everyone, even at the cost of her own peace of mind. she’s basically reduced to this stereotype of an insane girl who wants to make everyone suffer.
SPEAKING OF STEREOTYPES!
danganronpa has so many aspects of racism that maybe aren’t as obvious as its ableist or homophobic traits. for example, daisaku, the only canonically black character in the franchise. he’s a racist caricature of a black person +
danganronpa has so many aspects of racism that maybe aren’t as obvious as its ableist or homophobic traits. for example, daisaku, the only canonically black character in the franchise. he’s a racist caricature of a black person +
he has large overdrawn lips, a large nose, and his high school talent was “ultimate farmer.” he’s a minor character who d13s in the first few episodes of him being introduced, and is pretty much forgotten about by the rest of the cast. angie is also treated with extreme racism +
by the other characters. her character is polynesian, and she’s a devout follower of atua, who’s an actual polynesian god. because of her devotion to her native god, the other characters take her less seriously, and atua is the butt of a lot of jokes from fans. +
it’s mind-bogglingly insensitive to use an actual polynesian god as fodder for jokes, and to add insult to injury, the original japanese didn’t name atua specifically, not once. when angie speaks about her spiritual beliefs in the original japanese, she simply says “god.” +
i don’t know who localized it to atua, but they deserve the worst.
// csa incest rape
in addition, i wanted to talk about a lot of other things that make me deeply uncomfortable abt danganronpa. the treatment of korekiyo, a victim of csa and incest, is literally made out to not only be his fault, but is reduced to jokes and is not something +
in addition, i wanted to talk about a lot of other things that make me deeply uncomfortable abt danganronpa. the treatment of korekiyo, a victim of csa and incest, is literally made out to not only be his fault, but is reduced to jokes and is not something +
// csa incest rape
he ever gets the chance to process and recover from. his mental illness as a result of sexual trauma is, yet again, not handled with empathy, and is instead treated as something dangerous and despicable. to me, the writers pushing a romantic/sexual +
he ever gets the chance to process and recover from. his mental illness as a result of sexual trauma is, yet again, not handled with empathy, and is instead treated as something dangerous and despicable. to me, the writers pushing a romantic/sexual +
// incest
relationship between peko and fuyuhiko feels incestuous as well. they grew up together, under the same roof, raised by the same people. even though peko is fuyuhiko’s personal assassin, she, fuyuhiko, and natsumi were essentially adopted siblings. the sexualization +
relationship between peko and fuyuhiko feels incestuous as well. they grew up together, under the same roof, raised by the same people. even though peko is fuyuhiko’s personal assassin, she, fuyuhiko, and natsumi were essentially adopted siblings. the sexualization +
// incest
of their relationship feels disgusting and predatory, and reinforces the idea that adopted children are not really considered family. not to mention that peko was, like most girls in the series, boiled down to her relationship to a man, which made her personality +
of their relationship feels disgusting and predatory, and reinforces the idea that adopted children are not really considered family. not to mention that peko was, like most girls in the series, boiled down to her relationship to a man, which made her personality +
// csa rape sex trafficking
+ seem stiff and bland in many aspects. NOT TO MENTION the despair kids, specifically kotoko. her entire character is based around how she was was sexually exploited by her mother and trafficked to men in power for money. this is addressed +
+ seem stiff and bland in many aspects. NOT TO MENTION the despair kids, specifically kotoko. her entire character is based around how she was was sexually exploited by her mother and trafficked to men in power for money. this is addressed +
// csa rape sex trafficking
so flippantly, i would actually argue that it’s never even addressed. later on, she sexually attacks komaru in an attempt to make her feel what kotoko felt. this is monumentally fucked up and is absolutely irredeemable. coupled with the fact that +
so flippantly, i would actually argue that it’s never even addressed. later on, she sexually attacks komaru in an attempt to make her feel what kotoko felt. this is monumentally fucked up and is absolutely irredeemable. coupled with the fact that +
// csa rape pedophilia
haiji, monaca’s older brother, proudly admits that he’s a pedophile, makes me feel physically sick. the treatment of sakura also bothers me. she’s one of the strongest characters in the series, both physically and emotionally. she sacrifices herself for +
haiji, monaca’s older brother, proudly admits that he’s a pedophile, makes me feel physically sick. the treatment of sakura also bothers me. she’s one of the strongest characters in the series, both physically and emotionally. she sacrifices herself for +
a bunch of (so she thought) strangers who deeply mistrusted her and were ready to sell her out the moment they suspected her. her strong build is the center of jokes about her gender, when she’s very feminine to begin with. she’s treated like this brutish “man” of a girl when +
that is the opposite of her character. i’m not sure personally whether or not i would consider her to be trans-coded, but a huge portion of the criticism her character receives is a result of transmisogyny. on the topic of transmisogyny, we have one of the biggest failings +
of the series, the treatment of chihiro. chihiro is obviously written as a trans girl, who has an internal dialogue about what it means to be strong vs. weak, feminine vs. masculine, etc. she’s so terribly written, and her identity basically exists to produce debates online abt +
her gender. even in game, all of her classmates immediately dismiss her identity and begin deadnaming her as soon as it’s revealed that she’s trans. in some versions, hifumi even calls her the t slur, which is so fucking disgusting and harmful to trans women. ALSO in kokichi’s +
official splash art, his hat is literally a slightly tweaked version of one a nazi officer would wear. combine with the fact that hitler was called the “supreme leader,” the writers obviously knew what they were doing and it makes me so deeply angry.
in conclusion, danganronpa had the potential to be a fucking kickass series, but was written by people who have no social sensitivity and honestly aren’t very good at writing characters to begin with. i’m sure i’m forgetting things so pls reply with anything i might’ve missed.
