Danganronpa Despair Time - Blog Posts
ANALYSIS/SPECULATION/OPINION TIME! (again)
So I've been thinking about Despair Time (again), specifically Teruko's animosity for David. It got me thinking, since I haven't seen many people mention this.
Why exactly, does Teruko hate David?
(Spoilers for literally the whole fangan. This is gonna be kinda long, so hang in there.)
Quick disclaimer: Some of the stuff in this post is based purely on what I have observed, so let me know if I miss something somewhere. Thanks :)
There are 2 other reasons why I think Teruko hates David, so I will list those reasons before I mention the main reason.
David's "entire personality" (Teruko's words, not mine) is "fake".
I mean, Teruko says this almost verbatum in the 2nd trial, based on her first interaction with David.
To me, this is a weird (but valid) reason to hate somebody.
(I'm not putting the pictures for Teruko's first interaction with David because we've all seen that lol)
2. David throws Teruko under the bus in the first trial.
The whole cast does, really, but David starts it. This is a more valid reason to hate David, in my opinion. David is the first person to be suspicious of Teruko's testimony (because he's a Xander simp, obviously).
This comment sparked the whole idea that Teruko was the killer, and once David said this, the rest of the cast (except for Eden) jumped on the bandwagon.
And after everyone but Eden sided with David, he was the first to accuse Teruko of murder. I'm aware that they had been discussing this before the trial began, but David is the first person to outright say this.
Though both of these reasons are valid, I don't think either of these are the main reason.
So, what's the main reason then?
Teruko hates David because she doesn't understand why he puts on the "nice guy" facade.
Teruko, from what I've seen, has a hard time understanding why David does what he does. I also believe that Teruko is nearly incapable of understanding why David's "entire personality" is fake, and doesn't really see how he (seems to be, based on what I've observed) conditioned to do so.
Here are some possible reasons why she might have some trouble understanding David's perspective.
Teruko's background/lack of talent.
As we all know, the Ultimate Lucky Student talent isn't a real talent, rather this talent exists because of winning a special lottery (according to canon Danganronpa, but for this I'm assuming that it works the same in DRDT universe.)
Unlike Teruko, the rest of the cast are real Ultimates, meaning that a LOT of people are watching them closely, expecting nothing short of the best. This especially applies to people like David and J, who are (in J's case, was) in the public spotlight constantly. Because David has millions of fans, he feels he has to put on a fake persona to appease them, when in reality, that's not his real personality. It's possible that David, like J, has been in the spotlight since he was young, and was conditioned to hide who he really is to appease other people.
Teruko, on the other hand, is a nobody, and doesn't have to deal with any kind of social expectation/pressure. No pressure from parents (since she's an orphan), and because she was constantly on the run, there was most likely no time to make room to please people when there were more pressing things to worry about like food and shelter. This is part of the reason why I think she's so blunt.
2. Teruko lives under a rock. (I love her, but she does.)
Now now, I mean this in an endearing way. Teruko seems like the type of person who couldn't name a celebrity if she tried, because like I said previously, she had bigger fish to fry. What tells me this is her reaction to J's secret reveal in Chapter 2, as well as what Levi and Arturo said to her during that time.
Out of the entire cast, Teruko was the only one who didn't know who J was (as a celebrity).
Based on both Levi and Arturo's comments, I can assume that not knowing who Mariabella Rosales is is pretty similar to not knowing who Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or Beyonce are. So yeah, Teruko is 100% clueless about celebrities. Her own reaction says this too.
Yes Teruko, being a child celebrity is a big deal, and so is being revealed as the daughter of the most recognizable name in the nation.
Now, what does this have to do with Teruko understanding David?
Thing is, David is a celebrity just like J is, obviously. Biggest difference between them is that he is always in the public spotlight, while J successfully avoided the press. Like I've said previously, David puts on a fake persona because of his millions of fans that he needs to appease.
My point is, Teruko knows absolutely nothing about what celebrities have to deal with every day, so she doesn't think of their heavy influence on society and the constant pressure that they face. To her, being a celebrity isn't a big deal. This is great when it comes to treating celebrities like people, but not so much when understanding different perspectives.
Based on both of these reasons above, if David were to tell Teruko what he goes through as a celebrity, based on her background and limited knowledge of what celebrities go through, I'm not sure that she would understand. There would be a lot of questions in that area.
I don't think Teruko is dumb, but just not knowledgeable in that area. I honestly really hope Teruko and David's dynamic improves and that they can understand each other more (this is unlikely, but a girl can only hope.) Their dynamic is the most interesting to me, and I wanna see how it develops over time.
Tell me what y'all think. I totally did not spend 3 days on this (lol).
JUNKO FUCKIN ENOSHIMAAAAA
anyone else think that mai or could be a distant relative of junko enoshima?
these approximate heights are kinda funny
AREI (would've) SHRUNK 7 INCHES LMAOOOOO
and according to the dev i'd be the same height as ace so.....
i know these heights aren't canon but they are funny to me
OKAY THEORY TIME :D
Chapter 1 and 2 spoilers
I've been reminded of the vote for the first trial again (thanks Weeby Newz). If you don't remember the results, 13 people voted for Min as the culprit and 2 people voted for Teruko. But, who voted for Teruko? I'm late to the party, but I'm 95% sure the two people who did so are:
David
This one is purely circumstantial, but I really think David voted for Teruko out of spite. He was the main one refuting Teruko's claims during the trial, for no good reason at all. I guess David seems to hate Teruko just for existing.
This is especially prevalent with these quotes from episode 8, when David defends Xander, when it's so obvious that Teruko isn't the murderer.
I'm gonna rant for a second (you can skip this if you want).
David was SOOOO dumb in this trial. Like dude, Xander is DEAD, why are you defending him? There's no fucking way that Teruko killed Xander when XANDER is the one who stabbed her. Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of when Makoto defended Sayaka in Danganronpa 1, despite the fact that Sayaka framed him for murder. Even in that case, there wasn't a whole lot of evidence that didn't point to Makoto.
Anyway, moving on.
2. Teruko
Yeah, I think Teruko voted for herself. I suspected it for a while, but this quote from episode 12 sealed the deal.
Specifically the quote "You voted her as the blackened too, didn't you?" tells me that she's pointing fingers at everyone else, blaming them for something she didn't do, which is vote for Min. It also tells me that Teruko blames herself for Min's death.
I find it interesting that in this context, Teruko doesn't blame Xander for Min's death, since he's the one who tried to kill in the first place.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk :)
I love you Arei, but you were dumb for this. (Ch.1 mini analysis)
Do y'all remember that comment about a water leak that Arei made in the first trial?
I just realized how stupid her comment was (about the existence of a water leak, not the videos). If someone had debunked that comment right then and there (or if she hadn't said anything at all), the cast would've gotten through this trial much faster.
Here's why Arei's comment was dumb in the first place, and what it prevented the cast from figuring out. (Ch 1 spoilers)
Why was Arei's comment illogical?
When there's a water leak, there's typically evidence of one somewhere, and there was no evidence.
Normally when there's a water leak, there would be signs of that in the ceiling, the furniture, or the appliances in the room. There's not much furniture in the computer lab, but their are a bunch of appliances. The computers and the disc readers in the room show no signs of damage, and neither does the ceiling. If there was mold or damage of any kind, MonoTV would have noticed and took care of it (like it did with the gym in Ch. 2).
2. More importantly, a water leak doesn't explain why Xander's corpse was found soaking wet.
Not sure how Arei completely disregarded this, and how people took her comment at face-value.
These two reasons above prove that there was no water leak to begin with.
What did it prevent the cast from figuring out?
The existence of a third party.
The water alone proves that there was a third party. Xander was the one who was found soaked, so it's pretty clear that he didn't bring any water. He's also the one who originally orchestrated the murder plan. It wouldn't make any sense for him to bring water to a computer lab. Teruko didn't bring it either, since she was found completely dry. If she did bring water, there would be a vessel that holds water lying around somewhere. There's no evidence of either of them leaving the room to get water. The only option left is a third party (Min), who indeed had a vessel that holds water (a bucket) and splashed it on Xander, which is why he was wet, as y'all know.
2. Teruko's innocence.
The existence of said third party proves Teruko's innocence. There were plenty of other reasons that prove Teruko's innocence (LIKE XANDER STABBING HER), but somehow this is the one that proved her innocent.
I realize now that Teruko could've started with talking about the water on the floor first instead of the bloodstains, but it works either way. I really wish Arei hadn't said what she said, because it was beyond stupid. I also wish someone in the cast had noticed she said that sooner, and used a rebuttal against her statement.
Maybe I'll do more analysis in the future :)
IT'S BEST GIRL'S BIRTHDAY!!
Happy birthday to the best protag ever!!!
Here are three songs that remind me of Teruko!
Frankenstein by Rina Sawayama
Wonderland by AleXa
Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish
Okay um...... three questions because I've been thinking about this for like 30 minutes now.
Why are Teruko and Xander the only two cast members whose custom weapons are actual weapons, rather than objects that can be used as weapons? And the fact that their weapons are (kinda) opposite of each other is also interesting.
Why is Xander the only cast member with a fake weapon? Does that indicate that he's the traitor?
I feel like these things are important but I'm not sure why.
FOR THE DRDT DEVS
TO Y'ALL!! (spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched)
Thank you so, so much for creating the best fangan ever (and yes I'm saying it again I love this project so much!!) I got into it around 2 years ago while scrolling through the fangan Wiki page. Here's what I love about this project!
THE CAST!!
I fell in love with the cast (Teruko especially) so fast it ain't funny. They're all scream band kid energy and as a band kid, I could really vibe with all their goofy moments. I also related to all the not-so-goofy moments with the cast. It's intruiging to see how all of them handle trauma and hardship differently. Love this cast.
THE PLOT!!
Oh my goshhhh this plot is probably the best I've ever seen. Chapter 1's daily life was chock full of goofy, interesting, and wholesome moments that I keep coming back to. Deadly life though??? DAMN. I don't think I've ever watched something, paused in complete and utter shock, rewound it, and watched it again (and kept coming back.) Awesome plot (and I have so many more adjectives to describe this plot but I can't write them all here.)
THE SHOCK FACTOR!!
This probably goes in the plot category, but the amount of shocking things that happened is crazyyyy. I jumped out of my chair when Teruko pulled that knife on Charles in episode 3. Absolutely nothing else in media has shocked me that much. And that's not even the only moment. So many things have shocked me in this fangan. Thank you for keeping us on our toes.
THE REALISM!!
Arguably the most important part of a fangan, achieved beautifully!! Words can't describe how well this is done, thank you so much.
THE ART!!
I absolutely adore all of the character designs and the awesome CGs!! This is the first fangan I've seen that has animated CGs, and they're all awesome (Teruko running from MonoTV will forever crack me up). Absolutely stunning work!
Once again, thank you DRDT devs and everyone else involved for your dedication and hard work into making this happen!!
The audacity of some of y'all...
the confession. whoever posted that, i'm so disappointed. even if you are intimidated, that shouldn't have been posted. should've kept that to yourself, or at least talked to someone in real life about it.
to the drdt devs, i'm sorry that people keep harrassing y'all, it ain't right. i absolutely love this project and have been a fan for 2 years now. thanks for creating the best fangan ever. i hope your break goes well.
the ship teruvid should be called ChieWaki, i make the rules.
Teruko's favorite color
Found it strange that Teruko's favorite color is red due to association. Like, association to Xander or Mai? Or something (or someone) else entirely??? Not sure, but it is interesting.
NUMBER 16 IS INFURIATING
WHY CAN'T I SEE THE CLEFS IN THE MUSIC UGHHHH THAT WOULD HELP SO MUCH!!
All I know is that it's a band piece of some sort.
I FIGURED IT OUT YAYYY
spoilers ahead
why david isn't in here, idk. but this was so funnnn!!!
Number 14
The number of letters that spell out the words 256 are 18. Maybe that's referring to there being 18 cast members rather than 16? Not sure.
WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK JUST HAPPENED IN THAT MV??? I'M SO LOST
So if y'all didn't know, J's va (bblackroses) wrote a song called Mother May I that's kind of J-inspired. If y'all haven't heard it Y'ALL SHOULD cuz it's really good. Here's the link below if y'all wanna listen :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zur6ZFSN_Ls
why can i actually picture this
bimbofied charles
thats the whole post.
yeah idek if i'll ever actually finish my eden analysis atp :|
the entire despair time cast are a bunch of band kids (xander, hu, and whit especially) and nothing will convince me otherwise.
just realized something (chapter 2 spoilers)
not only is teruko being more harsh towards her peers in ch.2, she's also not fully listening to people either (especially in her convo with whit in episode 2).
in that conversation, whit tells teruko how everyone has good qualities, no matter how they treat others (and i quote, "...even if you're acting cold, there's still a part of you that's good-"). teruko IMMEDIATELY shuts him down and tells him she's not a good person (and i quote (again), "Don't say that I could be a good person, because all it'll do is make me feel bad that I'm not".)
i watched this a couple of times, thinking, "how did teruko misinterpret that? whit was crystal clear!" being a good person and having good qualities are two different things, and the former is what whit was talking about.
i love teruko so much but smh.
ain't nobody talkin about how charles's secret isn't worth killing for. like, it's the ONLY ONE. even eden's secret is worth killing over, and hers is the most tame. why would charles kill because of the motive? it's practically pointless to kill over someone who's already dead, over someone he doesn't even remember.
just a thought :)
drafting my eden analysis :)
update: i'm really procrastinating on it, it might be done by july, who knows.
anyone else think that xander is a twice stan? i just thought it would be a funny headcanon.
i wanna do an analysis of teruko calling eden naive but i need to do more research :)
it might happen, it might not.
HOLY SHIT?? THIS IS AWESOME OH MY GOD
“It is my fault?”
They’re so eeny ^3^
Still don’t have enough energy for an actual art piece, sorry fazgang😔😔