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  • Locked thread
lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
I have to admit, I kind of like how Hanamura sort of defied expectations with his introduction. He's kind of a prick, but I'm pretty sure it's more of a dumb teenage boy thing. They ARE high school students, so the behavior might be bad but kind of expected.

Sonia more or less turned out exactly as I thought she would, but I'm glad she's more of a "sheltered naive" type than the "snooty rich girl" type of princess. The latter I think is seen a lot more than the former in media and we already have one rich bastard in Togami (and Kuzuryuu sort of) so having an heiress who isn't laughing about how poor everyone is compared to her is nice.

Actually on the topic of Sonia, it kind of makes me wonder. In DR1 we sort of had a very defined love interest from the get go. Granted it turned out to be a red herring, but Maizono was still sort of pegged for what could have been a blooming love interest had things not gone to hell. In DR2 I don't think any character has given off that same "obvious love interest" vibe. I thought it would be Sonia, who reminded of Maizono earlier on with her refined pretty girl design and even has a couple poses that are reminiscent of the SHSL Idol, but I don't get that vibe here anymore with her introduction. Same with all the other introduced girls (I think there are like two more not yet seen)

She has some weird interests for a SHSL Princess too. I can understand an interest in Japan from a foreign perspective of a girl who may have never left her native country, but the occult? Huh. Was not expecting that at all. I'm looking forward to seeing if that interest makes an appearance, if she isn't horribly killed off. Maybe she'll suddenly become a SHSL Occultist and sacrifice someone to the devil :v:

As for her language (which oren mentioned above) I think it's just a sort of speaking style for a foreign noble. She's likely the only student who isn't Japanese, so I like how the dialogue reflects that in the way she talks.

lotus circle fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Dec 26, 2012

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lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Devil Ed posted:

I think he's more likely to get framed for killing someone then to do it himself. Maybe Sonia's trying to pull something on him like Maizono did to Naegi.

Possible, but doubtful. I'm pretty sure that is what the game creators are trying to do. Create and fuel expectations based on what happened in the first game, then turn around and do something completely different. If Sonia dies first or we find out she tried to frame someone like Hanamura or Hajime, it'll just be a sort of "oh so she's just like Maizono!" sort of deal. That's what we're expecting, but it's more likely we're going to see a lot of the parallels to DR1 subverted. I think it would be pretty boring to rehash the first game and make the obvious suspects the culprits. If Sonia turns out to be a murderer I think it would be a disappointing and boring twist, because we've already seen it with Maizono before.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Anatharon posted:

Maizono never killed anyone. :colbert:

She plotted to and would have succeeded if Leon wasn't faster and it was pretty clear she wanted to frame Naegi for it :v: Heck the game even tried to paint Leon as a victim of the situation, until Celes pointed out that he could have just left Maizono in the bathroom alive. I'm hoping this time the first murder won't be "oh someone had to kill due to a situation" and we actually get someone who would be ok with getting rid of everyone else just to escape.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
Making some characters look like other characters is very deliberate on the part of the creator, is what I think should be the final word on this. It makes us generate expectations for the character immediately, even before they are introduced. In some cases it is subtle (Nagito's name partly being an anagram of Naegi's name, Sonia's poses being similar to some of Maizono's) to very blatant (Akane looking like Asahina). They also give characters personality traits that remind us of previous characters (Peko being similar to Sakura) and titles as well (Kuzuryuu being a Gangster, while Mondo was the leader of a Biker Gang). These similiarities might lead to something, but it's more likely that the creator wanted previous players to create wild speculations as to how these characters will be. Then later on they will either subvert the expectations or affirm them.

My point is if we go around pointing out how DR2 Character X is similar to DR 1 Character Y, we'll be here all day with nothing but a load of expectations and speculation that is purely based off what the creator intended to do by making the characters so similar to previous characters in various ways. It's nice to point out as a "hey look it's X!" kind of deal, but it gets old and ultimately goes nowhere because we still haven't even gotten past the introductions. Thankfully it should be ending soon since we only seem to have three characters left to be introduced if the count is right.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
I have to say, I don't quite get where all the "Saionji is crazy, she'll definitely kill" is coming from. She was squashing ants. Most people have a time in their life when they like to play God and kill tiny insects. It's just a thing that happens more often than not. It isn't the same as Fukawa, who literally had a serial killer personality in her that murdered men she was attracted to. I highly doubt she'll be a killer for that reason. It's way too obvious.

But it does make me wonder if she maybe skipped a couple grades and got into Hope Peak's a little early because she was such a proficient dancer. Maybe she had to practice her dancing so much, she never got a chance to go through regular childhood development. Hence the bug squishing.

Akane I think is going to be pretty interesting. I wonder if the game is going to have her pull out some serious character development like they did for Asahina. I'm guessing Asahina and Sakura were really popular characters, enough for the creators to want to make a character that incorporates a little bit of both in them. I look forward to seeing her more.

Fatgami is Fatgami and he's great. Nothing more to say. But I still don't buy it being absolutely confirmed that he's Togami from DR1.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

CandyCrazy posted:

It's the expressions. If she used one of her "cutesy" poses while talking about ant-killing, I could buy that she was simply naive, but:


Those are not the expressions of anyone that could be classified as naive, good, or innocent. Those are the expressions of a complete sociopath. There is simply no way those poses could be used in a not-evil context.

The art style loves coloring faces red for anger and blue/purple for despair/fear, but I think this might be the first time it has used black, presumably for malice.
Kids are cruel. The idea of being able to squash anything tiny like an ant is something that most everyone experiences at a young age, so it isn't surprising she treats it as a "If I can do it, why shouldn't I? :devil:" and even calls Hajime a coward for not taking part in the act. It seems more stylistic to me than anything, but you do have a point. Those expression are really drat creepy. I just think it's way too obvious for my liking.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Zeeco posted:

Am I missing something? Why is everyone assuming this is the same Togami and not one of his descendants?
Do you have any theory as to why this would be a Togami descendant? We don't know the timespan between DR1 and DR2, nor the circumstances of why Togami is there and doesn't seem to be saying "Monobear is back again?!"

We are way too early in the game to speculate if this is the real Togami or not, so for now it's just easier to assume that he is actually Togami + a couple hundred pounds. He has the same name, the same SHSL title and similar mannerisms. Random mass guessing gets people nowhere, so why make things more complicated when we have no proof?

Really the "X is actually Y" or the "X is not actually X but someone else!" random guessing are the worst because it's based on flimsy evidence. Do you have any reasonable theory as to why this isn't Togami? If not, then don't act like people shouldn't assume that he is the real Togami.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Falls Down Stairs posted:

I don't know whether grade skipping is a thing in Japan, but if it is (or if it is in the DR universe) and there are students talented enough to skip grades, they'd probably be talented enough to draw Hope Peak's researchers' attention when they reach high-school. I would think that the high-school requirement would be more about academic level than age and if that requirement is fulfilled then interest in the students' abilities would trump all else.

Whatever the case is, we now have at least two students in the DR universe who seem younger than they should be for high-school.
I think talent ultimately trumps age and academics in DR when it comes to Hope Peak's Academy. Just look at Hagakure. He was 20 when he entered Hope Peak's Academy and openly admits to Naegi in his intro that he got held back a couple years. Despite that his talents (however debatable they are) were good enough to get him admission into the school. Mondo, being the standard teenage delinquent, probably didn't have stellar grades either but he also got in. If you're in high school at the very least then I think the general conclusion is that Hope Peak's will look at your talents.

That and this is an anime inspired game series. People looking younger than they are, or even acting younger than they are, is hardly a new thing as far as anime tropes go.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

kvltmanifesto posted:

can I just ask where this "Junko has pink hair" thing came from? I've heard it all throughout the last thread even though all her sprites and concept arts are blatantly blonde.
It's just the odd coloration of the original sprites. Her hair is technically a very light pink, but the color makes it come out as blond. Meanwhile some CG images show her hair as more blond than pink (like the magazine covers). I just see her hair as blond with a very light tint of pink, possibly coming from dying her hair. But hey, who knows? Maizono has blue hair and Kirigiri has light purple hair, so it's perfectly normal in the world to have odd hair colors.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Gotta love that callback to DR1. I like how the characters are even positioned in similar poses reminiscent to the original (Fukawa and Mikan, Nekomaru and Hagakure). The only glaring difference is that Togami is in the center instead of our protagonist.


Anyway I don't know Usagi/Monomi is gone for good. If she's similar to Monobear then she probably has spare bodies somewhere just in case of an emergency. But I do think whoever is controlling her is different from the person controlling Monobear. The whole "she's secretly evil thing" doesn't make a whole lot of sense after Monobear beat her up and then shot her down.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
Ok I have to be honest here - I think I'm liking Hinata as a protagonist way more than Naegi. He actually seems to show personality right from the start, whereas Naegi took a little while to show some. Not that Naegi was a bad protagonist, but he was just sort of the generic lead character. A nice guy who always wants everyone to stay friends and doesn't give up no matter what the odds are.

Hinata on the other hand is not nearly as collected and while I wouldn't say he isn't nice, he does seem more skeptical and a cynic to boot. He immediately goes into panic mode over everything that is happening and it makes him a lot more realistic as a character that even he would get a thought to murder to escape. Usually the standard protagonist would never think of betraying anyone or doing anything that would separate the group, so it adds a certain charm to him. Can't wait until the inevitable trial scenes to see how he measures up compared to Naegi.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Brannock posted:

It seems I'm the only one so far who's completely unimpressed by Hiyoko. She's been utterly one-note so far: "Cute! But is actually dangerously creepy and unsettling?!" The joke wore thin the very first time she did it, and she's still doing it. The "snark poses" don't help either, they just hammer home an already blindingly obvious personality.

I hope she dies first - I can't see any real way she'd contribute to the story other than being an irritating red herring. At least the other one-note characters are amusing and don't grate on you.
I think a lot of people find her entertaining for similar reasons why Nidai is entertaining. She's out of this world and silly, only instead of shouting motivational lines she goes around acting like an obvious suspect. It reminds me a little of Celes in that regard, only she's not as eloquent or refined. Fact is that there are some characters that will definitely not end up contributing anything other than acting as the clueless spectators that the protagonist must convince. It happens all the time in games like this and happened even in the first Dangan Ronpa. We're still early in the game, so there's no telling how one-note some characters are.

But I do agree that Hiyoko is just a blatant red herring. Like how we found out Fukawa had a serial killer personality and in the end she never murdered anyone and only attempted when she thought Sakura was going to kill her. But the game could throw us for a loop and make the obvious killer the killer. Celes from the get-go seemed like someone who would be ok with murder and the expectations for that came true halfway into the game.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

TKMobile posted:

Okay, something's bothering me here. I can understand apprehension to Togami being the leader (and not just because dude's all but posted a "MURDER ME" sign on his back with his posturing to protect everybody in the role of being the boss,) but ...Why the hell did Koizumi forcibly try to elect Sonia? Just cause she's a princess?
I think a lot of things about Koizumi are interesting in this regard. She has a lot of views on ingrained society roles and that people should act as expected of them. She thinks the men should act like men and berates them when they act weak. When Togami decides to be the leader she declares him as too aggressive and says Sonia should be leader because she has the highest role in society of everyone (princess easily trumps heir to a corporation). So when Sonia denies wanting to lead, Koizumi thinks it's wrong because she should want to lead everyone as the highest authority from a societal point.

I might just be looking into it too much of course, but that is what I've taken from her actions and dialogue so far.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
Yikes this thread goes fast when voting periods come up. It's a little daunting actually. Good luck counting all those votes :shepface: I don't have the energy to go through dozens of pages of votes to see who is in the lead or not, so I'll toss in votes for my current favorites.

Gundam and Akane for Free Time.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

lotus circle posted:

Yikes this thread goes fast when voting periods come up. It's a little daunting actually. Good luck counting all those votes :shepface: I don't have the energy to go through dozens of pages of votes to see who is in the lead or not, so I'll toss in votes for my current favorites.

Gundam and Akane for Free Time.

I'm going to retract my vote for Akane and give it to Sonia instead, now that I have a better idea of who is leading and not.

Togami I think is important enough to the plot (seeing as he is a returning character) that he will be given a lot of screen time anyway. Same with Nagito. We're going to learn things about them one way or another, so giving the vote to the characters who are less obviously plot involved seems like the better route to get to know them more. Gundam is cool, but he's a huge gag character. Sonia has potential and we have less of an idea how that potential will play out than we do for Nagito and Togami, who will almost definitely become big plot characters (1% chance that they don't in my opinion).

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

SWMadness posted:

I was going to vote for Gundam and Togami, although there's a lot of characters I really like and would like to get around to talking to. I hope they don't get killed off before we get to know them better. :ohdear:
Even if they die I'm sure orenronen is going to do the characters we don't get to later on after the main game is over, much like how he's doing free time events for the first Dangan Ronpa. Free time events are just for fun and to see a little more about the character, but honestly I'd be disappointed in the game if the character development is put into optional segments (which free time events are, as you can opt to not do them). There shouldn't be a need to rely on free time events to see a character develop and any free time you spend with a character doesn't factor into the main story (like characters you spent free time with shouldn't ever mention spending time with Hinata during the actual story, like how no characters mentioned spending free time with Naegi.)

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
In regards to the Dangan Ronpa manga: it is a very, very fast paced version of the game from what I saw of the first game's. To give you an idea here is how the first case of the first game is handled.

For starters, it doesn't even have the characters meeting in front of the vault area at all for the first time. It jumps immediately to the gym with Monobear telling everyone about the communion life style, murder to get out and Oowada punching Naegi. Five or six pages later it has Naegi agreeing to switch rooms with Maizono and she goes about how she plans to frame him. It then goes to Maizono attempting to kill Leon, failing and then...well here is the odd thing. In the manga they show Maizono's death as completely accidental. In manga Leon gets his tool kit to open the door so he can reason with Maizono about what happened, not to kill her. They fight over the knife and he accidentally stabs her. This is all of chapter one.

Chapter two deals with discovery, investigation and trial. Junko's death is also covered in about two pages. The trial is ridiculously fast. Naegi and Kirigiri immediately notice and point out the bloody letters, go on to talk about the crystal ball being used and how Leon burned his bloodied shirt. If you think that is bad, the second case is even worse - it doesn't even bother to include Fukawa's storyline or make mention that she's Genocider Syo and the trial is completely cut out.

To put it short, the DR manga is really only for people who have played the games and know the material. Without it, the manga is incredibly fast, improperly paced and not very gripping. It is pretty though.

lotus circle fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jan 24, 2013

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
...Super High School Level Willpower? That seems to be the only thing that makes sense. The will to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Still I don't get how she never even thought to look at the start of the notebook and find her talent explained there. Or maybe she did and completely forgot it, but you still think she would think to look at the beginning every now and then even after forgetting.

Also I think chapter sold me on Junko officially. She's completely ridiculous and wacky, but very entertaining in that sense. Not the average "I killed because I was bored" villain at all.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Jeek posted:

I agree that the Junko we see over here is too over the top to be Mukuro, but if she wasn't that crazy, I will guess her to be Mukuro as well since Ryouko would not have remembered how Junko is supposed to look like.
Thing is, there's no reason for this to be Mukuro. We know that Mukuro only disguised herself as Junko because she was asked to as part of their plan. This is long before all of that ever happens and Junko knows Ryouko is likely to forget everything so there's no need to worry so much.

Really I see no reason to doubt that the Junko we see is the real Junko Enoshima. Looking at how Mukuro pretended to be Junko and how Junko is really like from the class trial, I say the latter fits more than the former by far in this situation. Thinking it to be Mukuro seems like unnecessary over-complication.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

orenronen posted:

I think any attempt at analyzing Junko's character (as well as the social commentary DR is trying to make with her) should come after understanding what Japan's 'gyaru' subculture is all about. Junko is very specifically a SHSL Gyaru, and not a SHSL Model, and this is important. If you're interested, by all means go research the subject - there's plenty of interesting material written about it on the web and elsewhere.

Specifically, the previous Zero chapter confirmed Junko is a dokusha model (lit. 'reader model', but I translated it as 'amateur model' for lack of a better alternative). You can read a bit about that phenomenon here and here, and I suggest you do.
Very interesting reads. I'm especially surprised to know that the industry relies on oligopolies to sell their models (an oligopoly is an exclusive market with few competitors whose individual decisions affect every firm competing in the market) when the result of making an It Girl means the monopolistic market (where many firms sell slightly differentiated products and the market isn't affected by individual firm decisions) can be affected by companies being able to sell different promoted items through the model like make up and clothes. What's more the model doesn't need to be paid much and can possibly be a walking bill board to create new trends at a cheap cost.

Thanks for linking them, I think I might do a little bit of more reading (though I admit I'm interested mainly from an economics point of view).

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

alcharagia posted:

Or Hinata's theoretical SHSL talent could be revealed after you can no longer spend time with people/specifically Togami.

See: Kirigiri.
I think the game is treating Hinata's amnesia toward his skill with a lot more ambiguity and not really hinting on it at all. That way it becomes all the more surprising when we do find out his skill. Some authors do like hinting on hidden stuff, but other times they give no hints or only give hints very late into the reading.

Kirigiri, on the other hand, was pegged as a SHSL Detective right away after Maizono's death because of how she investigated the room so thoroughly. It wasn't really a shocking twist when we found out her talent because it was so blatantly obvious right from the first chapter of the game. Finding it out was more of a "well yeah no duh" kind of moment.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
The memory stealing would be a little more shocking if that wasn't already pretty obvious by now. No one remembered how they got to the classroom, then suddenly she shows up and transports them to an island.

I'm still not sure about Togami, but I think this convinced me more that he's the one from the first game and not some other person. It fits right with his development at the end of the game, assuming DR2 takes place after the end of the first. Kuzuryuu unsurprisingly is willing to kill anyone he needs to. It makes me wonder why Hope Peak Academy even let him into the school. Super High School Level or not, he's still a gangster who grew up in a world of death and bloodshed. Even Mondo, who was a biker gang leader, never talked about wanting to murder people and seemed like a genuinely good guy who just badly hosed up.

...Then again it is an anime styled game and really anything goes when you factor that in. The logic of this setting can be pretty baffling :v:

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Commandant posted:

Also I didn't see anyone say anything on this yet, but isn't going out and proclaiming that you won't hesistate to kill anyone kind of like painting a huge target on your back? Like in a "I should kill him before he kills me" sort of way. Togami seems to have neutralized the thread but to one of the more on-edge kids (i.e. Souda or Mikan) the threat could easily still feel very much there. Togami still has way more going for him to be the first kill though.
I'm pretty sure that was generally assumed. If anything Kuzuryuu is the least to die now, if we're following along with what happened to Togami in the first game (declaring how he will be fine with killing anyone he has to, then changing his mind and surviving to the end) but that's drawing on pointless meta discussion. Honestly most of the students are not equipped to be killers. The ones most equipped to kill, judging by their skills, are small for the most part. Peko, Nidai, Akane and Kuzuryuu are possibly the strongest from a physical standpoint and are therefore the biggest targets for people wanting to take down those who would stop them. Teruteru can kill by poisoning food (unless Monobear continues to serve food, which would complicate that) and Mikan would have knowledge on the human body that others don't. That's about it.

I do like Falls Down Stairs idea about everyone being a mind wiped SHSL Despair. A reverse situation of the first game, where the mindwiper is actually a good guy trying to prevent the group from continuing their efforts. The skills they have under that assumption are pretty scary when you think about it from that point of view. Sonia is a princess who could have a lot of international influence, Kuzuryuu being the heir to a mob family can easily supply manpower and even the rational Mahiru could use her photographs to spread propaganda of their efforts. It's an interesting possibility to keep in mind.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Jeek posted:

While the "Togami is mastermind against SHSL Despair goons" theory is interesting, I don't think the other DR1 survivors would approve of such a plan.

As an aside, does anyone find the joke for Monomi's favourite fruit doesn't flow well verbally? The first syllables of "carrot" and "cadavar" sound different, after all.
I can see it passing. I've heard some people pronounce it "ca-rot" instead of "care-ot" personally.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Fedule posted:

Oren also suggested that maybe "carrion" isn't a word we could rely on non-native English speakers recognizing. I wouldn't know, of course.
I think it's more that "carrion" is a less common word to describe corpses than "cadavers" are. I don't think carrion is even a word most native speakers would recognizes off the bat because the two words used most often are "corpses" and "cadavers".

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

a spooky ghost posted:

Has a sprite pack like that DR1 been posted in this thread yet? I don't remember seeing one, but going out searching seems like a bad idea.
A spritepack is out there, but it obviously contains many sprites not yet seen in the game. I wouldn't touch it with a 40 foot pole if you're avoiding spoilers.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

RefinedUndefined posted:

I wonder if we'll ever find out why Mukuro always does as Junko tells her to, because judging from her free-time events from the previous game, she seems to desire a change in life style, so it doesn't seem to be a mutual desire for despair.
It could be out of guilt? Mukuro joined Fenrir for who knows how long and came back just as suddenly. It could be that Junko made Mukuro feel guilty for leaving in the first place. Junko never was in Fenrir with her.

orenronen posted:

However, according to my own calculations, it was not possible for Mukuro Ikusaba to fill that role.
The reason is that she was a very pitiful sister.
A very pitiful sister who went and joined a mercenary group all by herself.

It could just be that Junko made Mukuro feel very guilty and got her to agree with the plan. Mukuro went along with it, but I can imagine her having some doubts if the free time events indicate anything.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

TheGreatGildersneeze posted:

Nothing? She's wearing color-mismatched thigh-high tights, one cyan, one magenta (just like the dyed streaks in her hair, now that I look at it). They have holes in them because they're cool and punk rock.
I think they were referring to the stitches on her left leg. It's probably there for cool effect (stitches can sometimes be a mark of how badass you are) and we may or may not get an explanation for it. Asking what's up with it is a pointless question when no one can answer it.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
I'm tempted to pick Kuzuryuu, but I'm worried that we may get a situation like in DR1 where the character isn't available for free time being they're off being loners. No point wasting a vote on someone who we may not even be able to talk with.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

RefinedUndefined posted:

Moving on, am I the only one seeing a possible friendship, or more considering what this game is like compared to the first one, between Kuzuryuu and Peko. Afterall she is the only one who, outside of free-time events with Hinata, is interacting with him in a way that's, to the event of our knowledge, neither hostile nor fearful, barring that one threat earlier, but she could have said that to anyone who said what he said.
I can see it happening. Peko seems to be the most patient of all the students and exhibits a great deal of calmness, with maybe some smaller tense moments. If she can tolerate Kuzuryuu then I think that he could find her good company to some degree. It would be nice to see something along the lines of an Aoi-Sakura friendship in this game, as their friendship was one of the strongest parts of both characters, only where one of them is a bastard and not a nice person like Aoi was. Of course it could swing the opposite way and go along the lines of Togami-Fukawa, where one person is using the other to their advantage.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
So I was reading through past updates out of boredom and noticed something odd. Take a look at the monitors where Usagi/Monomi and Monobear show up.



The rooms are different if the background is any indication. Not just the chairs, but even the rooms have different furnishing. Monobear looks like he's behind a pool and Usagi is in a room. Now go back to this part that the thread mentioned before.

orenronen posted:

I mean, what are those surveillance cameras for? Are they for Monobear's exclusive use?

............

What if Usagi/Monomi has her own monitoring system separate from Monobear's? That's how she keeps popping up at just the right time whenever she pleases. If the above monitor images are any proof, it's that she is located in an entirely different area than Monobear is.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Teddles posted:

Perhaps I'm sperging overmuch, but maybe a rule that prevents the same character from going twice in a row? Frankly the game is much more interesting if you know at least a little about each character, and I doubt that dropping all our free-time eggs in the Togami basket will make him step out of his fat suit and reveal his master plan.
Yeah no, that sounds silly. First off we're due to see someone being offed within updates if the pattern with DR1 remains constant in DR2. When characters start dying that means the number of people that can be voted for will lower down. Second, we'll see everyone at the end anyway so there's no need to put a limit.

Let people vote for who they want to vote. I think it's kind of ridiculous that the poll seems to be swayed more by the opinions of people off the site than on the site, but it's better than dozens of low content posts.

(That said, I am hoping Sonia takes the lead since she's the closest to Togami for second.)

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Vincent Van Goatse posted:

Not that it matters what I think, but personally I want the free time events to give us as many glimpses into different characters as possible instead of focusing on one or two favorites. The DR1 thread pretty much missed out on Asahina's entire character by ignoring her during free time events in them, and she was hilarious, especially her donut obsession.

Also personally I'm paranoid about the idea that there won't be a murder any time soon so we'll lose out on character development via character interaction dumps like the ones in the DR1 thread.
I don't see how we missed out on her entire character because of the free time events. Asahina's free time events focused on her wanting to become a more carefree person, less focused on her sports, and her possible crush on Naegi. We got to see plenty of her character in the main storyline and the free time events added to that, but weren't all of her character.

Free time events are optional. We're doing them because why wouldn't we, but the game says you don't have to if you don't want to. Anything unimportant to the main game goes in there. It gives us a glimpse into the characters, but they shouldn't be the end all be all for characters and understanding how they're like. People who voted for Fatgami for example should not expect him to tell us about his connection to Monobear and how he has been through all of this before, because something that important would be mentioned in the main story and not in optional portions.

I'm sure the less important characters to the story won't get many interesting scenes in the game and that sucks, but any free time events missed are going to be covered after the game ends anyway.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
Not too surprised that Nagito would be unavailable. I was thinking yesterday how he, Hanamura and Togami may not be available for free time, though I guess I was wrong on Togami. Those poor 650 voters have been left in horrible despair.

In regards to Sonia, I think I know why I like her so much now. She's everything I wanted Maizono to be in the last game. A character who was kind, but made clear she was willing to do what it took to protect herself. The only difference is Maizono took that to the extreme and attempted to commit murder, whereas Sonia seems to say that she doesn't want to die but also isn't willing to kill. Both characters are similar in design and personality to a degree, but that distinction sets them apart by a good measure. I feel like if Maizono lived to the end she may have become more like Sonia is now and that idea makes me like Sonia. I'm really rooting for her to live to the end now.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

Arleneth posted:

The lack of Kuzuryuu is really making me think on the ramifications of rule 9, especially on this much more open island. If the alert goes off only when three people discover a body, then it's possible to murder someone and stash then somewhere remote. Of course, the downside to this method is that you can't graduate off a hidden body, since you require a trial in order to graduate (of course, you could use this as method to make a case grow cold, though "coincidentally" finding the body later would be mighty suspicious).

However, if someone was dangerous to the communal lifestyle and had to be "removed", then one person could just kill them, stash them, and life continued as normal. The threat of anyone else dying due to a trial would only occur if more people found the body.

It also makes me wonder what would happen during a trial if someone was killed covertly before hand, stashed, and then later a more overt murder occurred. Would Monobear admit someone is missing? We know he'll drag people into the courtroom if necessary.

orenronen, is it possible to find Kuzuryuu doing the free time before the party? If not, I think it's time to start being suspicious of Peko here.

Or maybe it's just me being paranoid during the murder game.
Here's the thing with the "Kuzuryuu murdered" idea. To graduate you need to win the trial. Winning the trial means the body has to be discovered. It would be pointless to kill someone, hide their body and make sure no one would find it. Plus if the others saw someone not around for a long period of time, I can't imagine them just twiddling their thumbs and do nothing.

If graduating means not being caught, Peko would be a huge idiot to kill Kuzuryuu because she would immediately be the obvious suspect because she declared her intention to inform him on the party. Unless the murder killed Kuzuryuu and then made it their intention to frame Peko, I think it is just easier to assume for now that he's alive and just avoiding the party because he's a brat.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
Watch us over-complicate this and it'll end up being like that one cliffhanger that ended with Mikan on the ground. :v:

Really if oren said he just split up the content because it was too long for one update then it's better to just wait and see how it resolves itself.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry
So I see a lot of people accusing Kuzuryuu and I don't understand why. Yes he made a declaration saying he would be ok with killing. But think about the facts:

1) Everyone knows he's avoiding the party (or under the assumption of that, if you want to go down that route) so if someone dies he will be easily suspicious because he has no alibi that can be affirmed by more than one person (Peko being the only one who went to him ahead of time and told everyone he wouldn't show up). If he was going to kill and get away with it, doing it now would be stupid because he is the most suspicious on account of having no one able to account for his timeline during the party. I expect this to come up during the trial for sure.

2) Togami made him mad and that makes him killing Togami a horrible idea. Kuzuryuu already has a motive because of their argument and Togami saying he was going to protect everyone. You don't want to have an obvious motive for murder if you're going to murder and get away with it.

If Kuzuryuu was plotting murder it would be smarter for him to actually be in the lodge with everyone else, so he could have an accounted timeline during the murder. Away from the group he is without alibi and is the easiest target for accusation because he could move around freely without anyone being able to say "I saw Kuzuryuu in X place, five minutes before the murder." We also have Nanami to account for, who was in front of the lodge while the party was going on with Monomi. There's no reason to think she's lying from what was seen in my opinion.

I do like the theory of Hanamura and Nagito both plotting murder and getting their plans intertwined accidentally. Nagito put the knife under the table and Hanamura went under the floor somehow during the murder. Nagito goes under the table trying to get the knife, but Togami with his night vision goggles spots him and tries to stop him (hence the "what are you doing" soundclip). But Hanamura gets him from underneath, sneaks out of the floor and makes it back in time to rejoin the group. The only issue I see with it are the lights going off at a certain time and how the floor could be accessed.

lotus circle fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Feb 21, 2013

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

DaveWoo posted:

Speaking of searching the crime scene... I wonder who's going to lead the investigation? There's no obvious Kirigiri-type character in the group, and pretty much everyone is a potential suspect.
Hinata is going to be one, as the protagonist always leads the story along somehow. I can see Nagito taking the reigns as he's a pretty obviously important character and I don't think he's going to be a throwaway like Maizono was.

lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

SingerOfW posted:

And I totally forgot about the Monobear files while considering Mikan's possible contribution to the investigation. Who needs a doctor to perform the body check when it's always been done by our omniscient mascot principal?
Monobear only gives a very quick analysis, which I imagine he picks from the cameras. But Mikan can physically examine a body and give a lot more information as a trained professional. It's like you have two people, a regular joe and a medical examiner. The average joe can look at a body with a gunshot wound and say "yeah he was shot in the chest". The examiner can expand on that to a greater detail.

Also I'm thinking the multiple wounds gives a lot more credence to the "murderer under the floor" theory. If the weapon was coming from under Togami it would be easier to do several quick stabs through the floor than it would in close proximity under a table, especially considering Togami's size.

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lotus circle
Dec 25, 2012

Jushure Iburu
So don't worry

TCat posted:

I have a much better reason- if she did kill someone it probably wouldn't be with anything besides that sword of hers and it's kind of obvious the weapon used was the missing skewer.
Why would she kill with her sword? The idea of the game is to kill and not be caught. Killing someone with her sword (which she said before is a wooden practice sword by the way and not a real one) would be a stupid thing to do.

I don't disagree in that Peko would likely be a character to deliver a fast kill and not make multiple wounds, but the idea to discount her because the murder doesn't involve a sword is silly.

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