Danganronpa V3 and Gender

Ok, so today I want to talk about something a little more… cultural? Dunno exactly what it fall under, but today I want to talk about Danganronpa V3 and gender.

Spoilers for Danganronpa 1, 2, and V3 follow.

No like I’m spoiling a ton seriously get out if you’re not done all 3.

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Danganronpa as a series has historically been, if not brilliant, at least ok with gender roles in plot. Girls in media have a bad habit of being passive, or revolving around another person, or maybe being taken out of the story/killed off to further a guy’s character development. It’s not exactly a good precedent to always follow, y’know?
 

Danganronpa usually gets around this, surprisingly. When the girls of the cast are killed, it’s usually not just like exclusively for the sake of another person, like Ibuki or Celeste. In cases where it does influence another strongly (See: Sayaka to Makoto or Peko to Fuyuhiko) it’s important to note that the characters have a ton of agency, like Sayaka trying to use Makoto as a scapegoat to escape. As well, all the characters are, well, their own characters, never really tied to one person unless that’s important backstory. One final note is that Danganronpa is rather “everyone’s fair game” too; it does this to the guys as well and the entire point of the story is that people are gonna die eventually. You’d be a fool to cry foul simply on the basis of someone dying in a killing game.

This isn’t to say Danganronpa is totally 100% great with gender roles, far from it. There’s plenty of issues (especially with the female cast) in their character designs and the scenarios they’re put into. But by and large, in the actual plot, Danganronpa is actually pretty good about gender!

...And then we get to V3. More specifically, the first case of Danganronpa V3, and the bait and switch we got with Kaede Akamatsu. Now, don’t get me wrong, for the most part I think V3 upholds the fine plot roles of previous games. Characters like Miu, Himiko, and Maki are written well in the plot and while I certainly have issues with their characters like I always have, most of the female cast works well in the plot… except for Kaede. 

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See, the issue with Kaede is that she’s the only character in the game who doesn’t quite feel like a full character - more specifically, she feels like a character made completely and 100% in reference to and for Shuichi at the end of it all. For pretty much the entire end chapter 1 I was thinking: “Holy shit, are they actually doing this”, which was then followed by “I’m… not sure I like this.”

I’d honestly love to live in a world where V3’s twist as is is great as I’d like it to be, because for all intents and purposes, I should love this twist unconditionally. It plays into the central theme of lies, it’s a fantastic way to show nobody is truly safe from death, and, y’know, holy heck a game in 2017 pulled a Metal Gear Solid 2. But there’s a really nasty edge to this, because quite frankly, killing off a female protagonist for a male one to take her place plays into some really uncomfortable tropes.
 

While not a highly researched source or anything, T.V Tropes has a fine page on the subject. Kaede is a textbook case of a sacrificial lamb: a character that only exists to die. If you look a bit closer at her it’s painfully obvious. She’s the one trying to keep the group together, in particular she helps soon-to-be-protagonist Shuichi quite a bit, and she’s overall probably the most pleasant and friendly person there is. So of course she’d get axed off.

This is a twofold issue: there is a very well documented history of women being killed off for the sake of a guy’s character advancement, and also a history of female characters revolving around those men.

To those points: yeah, pretty much. Kaede does nothing for the story except to die. I think they brought her up like less than ten times after chapter 1. Her entire purpose and character is built around being nice for the group (so it’s sad when she dies) and to help Shuichi. That is it. Kaede doesn’t feel like a full character, which is honestly shocking. Even the earliest deaths in the other games gave them specific motivations, and made them feel like real people, independant of the role they’ll need to play. Kaede feels totally hand crafted to fit the group dynamic, and also feels like her purpose in story is Shuichi.

(Note: I am well aware that may have been the point, considering the revelations at the end. However, I’m not to concerned with that, in all honesty. The fact was that a character was written this way in and out of universe.)

Stories cannot exist in a vacuum. I would love for this twist to be amazing, because in all but characters, it absolutely is. The problem is that, no, V3 does not exist in a vacuum, and you’re a fool if you think it can be that way. In playing this occurrence, this trope of the girl who only exists to die, 100% straight, the game plays into cultural norms that aren’t very comfortable. Maybe, in a couple hundred years, if we somehow get past all this, maybe we can then look at V3 without this baggage. 

But not now. Almost certainly unintentionally, it’s still a harsh reminder of these issues. If there even is another game, I hope they put more thought into these roles.

The ending of Danganronpa V3

Danganronpa V3 is one of the few stories in years that has left me absolutely dumbfounded. When the credits rolled, I was left staring and just awestruck by the audacity and sheer insanity that had just unfolded. But in a good way, y’know?

Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers

So, to recap in case you were unclear on anything: this game is revealed to take place in a universe that is not the same as the original games. Rather, Danganronpa as a franchise also exists in this world, and became incredibly popular, with fans all over the world. Thus, the series kept going and going on and on, as audiences couldn’t get enough of the killing games. People would volunteer to take part in the game, with their memories changed to make them into ultimate students for the show. This is exactly what happened for this game, the 53rd season so far. Rejecting being told that they’re not real, the survivors reject choosing hope or despair (which would keep people engaged and the show going) and destroy the entire false world they’re in, ending the show and choosing to face the outside world.

Whew

So this was… quite a revelation, to be sure. If you told me this is how it would all shake out before going in, I would have said you were crazy, but I guess Kazutaka Kodaka is crazier than I gave him credit for. In fact, many people think this game was him going way too far, saying that the series should end, that he hates the players, blames everyone, and tried to burn it all to the ground.

And I’m sorry, but if that’s what you got from the game, you’re wrong.

But, to back up, let’s examine this argument in a little more depth. Essentially, this argument takes the view that Kodaka (as the requisite figurehead writer) wrote this ending as a sort of “screw you” to the fans, as it casts the mastermind (of sorts) as all the people who keep demanding more Danganronpa in-universe. It then follows that the end of the game is him trying to put an end to the franchise, with it being metaphorically and literally destroyed. Nothing matters, we’re all awful for enjoying it, the end…

But wait. That’s not really what it’s about.

Let’s take this one step at a time. First, is the point of this a screw you to the fans, and does Kodaka really hate us all? No. The point of the game is the dangers of being consumed by media like this. People get really, really into the killing game in this universe, and they lose sight of everything but the killing, the blood, the raw engagement. People simply demand more Danganronpa for the sake of it, not because they get something deep out of it. Everyone’s just focusing on “who will die first”, “who’s going to survive”, “who’s my waifu”. The point is that this is all shallow, the point is that this is all vain by itself, and to make that point, he warped the killing game into a gross and off putting concept. Genuine fan passion is not being shamed, in fact, the loss of that passion is what is being shamed.

Fan passion is in fact something the game shows as a good thing. It shows us a kid who is genuinely inspired and has his life enriched by this show, even. One of the central points of the final trial is ultimately that, while fiction is a lie, it has the ability to heavily impact us and change our lives. That doesn’t seem like something you’d write in a story hating fans, does it? The character asset that they matter, despite the fact that they’re all lies. It’s told that, no, you’re not dumb for caring, and yes, your opinions and feelings and how the games affect you matter.

The people who care, the people who make all the fanart, the people who dissect the stories, they are not shown as the villain. The people who just obsess over hope or despair winning, those who focus on the blood, and the people that care more about the game continuing than the story, those are the villains. During the final “battle” of sorts, you never fight the cosplayers, you never fight the fanfic writers, you never fight the forum creators. You fight the people demanding more. Those people who think they deserve more. Those people who just want you to pick a side so they can have more.

Obviously, we’re all at least a little like that. Hell, I’d like Danganronpa to keep going. However, the point of the game isn’t to point at everyone and say “you’re bad”. It’s a critique of killing game obsession, and the dangers of giving the fans exactly what they want. It’s telling that when the game is talking about the fake Junko reveal, it basically says “What? She’s the most popular villain in the series. Isn’t this what the fans would want?”. Only, that would make for a much worse story. The killing game in this universe became exactly what people wanted; and eventually it became a true reality show, because that’s what people wanted. More. That more twisted it into something vile. And that part of everyone that just wants more is the true enemy of Danganronpa V3.

Danganronpa's Scrum Debates and Musical Feel

Scrums debates in V3 are absolutely awesome. Though I wish they were used more, thematically they make perfect sense, visually they’re a spectacle, storywise they have some nice debating, and music wise, ohhhhhh baby. It’s amazing.

This article is spoiler free. I promise.

As an avid consumer of game music, what I love about it is that it breaks absolutely all the rules that other music follows. Conventional music has to have a structure to it, with verses and choruses and the like (this is good for music by itself, by the by. Not trashing it). Soundtracks to things like movies have to sync up with the movie itself and usually don’t stand on their own as much. Game soundtracks don’t get to sync up to anything, as the player has control, and they have to serve the tone more than anything, as the typical musical progression would make it feel choppy as you play. Essentially, they’ve gotta be background music that sets the tone consistently, and that will still sound good on repeat. Tough order, for sure, but songs like the V3 Scrum theme make it all worth it.

The song starts with a sound pitched down and stretched out, alongside a crash cymbal slowly fading out alongside it, to give us a nice musical kickstart to the song. The next bit is all about building up the debate, with every part of the song working to get more intense as it goes. Listen to the synths in the background for this earlier part first. For the first 30 seconds or so, they slowly start to get more high pitched and distorted while not actually speeding up. This maintains a consistent flow while also at the same time making the song feel like it’s speeding up, building to a pitch, getting more intense. Helping this is the drums, which start off at a slow, steady beat, and then suddenly shift to be twice as fast, boosting this feeling.

To transition into the song proper, we first have the drums double in speed again, twice, until they’re a blur, preparing to make the quick drop into the song more notable. For context, this song’s intro is meant to fit into a cutscene going into the debate proper, and that little pause right before the song really gets going plays the moment before you gain control. It’s just a nice little touch that makes it flow from non interactivity to interactivity well.

OK, so the rest of the song’s melody is mostly just synths and the like. Good stuff, no doubt, with ebb and flow and pitch variance and all that. However, I want to focus in on the drums now. The drum beat is more interesting than you might think at first.

Listen in on the bass drum first (the heavy thuds if you don’t know what I mean). You’ll notice that they will always and absolutely stay constant in the song, no matter what’s going on (besides a quick drum fill once or twice). This is a common sign that you’re listening to a disco beat, which is actually exactly what beat this song is using. This serves to keep the rhythm flowing and constant while letting the song around it do whatever it wants in pitch and style.

Next, listen to the hi hats (the quick taps in the background). It’s really hard to discern if you’re not a drummer, honestly, but there’s a tap tssh tap tshh going on in there, which is a signifier of the hi hat being hit while it repeatedly opens and closes. Video example if you’re confused. This is the 2nd big indicator of a disco type beat.

This beat serves to keep an ebb and flow going constantly, with little variance. It’s intended for dance floors and clubs typically, but here it’s smartly used to add to the flow and back and forth of a debate, and more importantly, to keep the energy up. These types of songs and beats were designed to keep a sustained level of energy up throughout the song, never letting it wane until the song is over. It’s a smart and cool move to apply that to a game, ensuring that the scrum debates stick out in your head as always being intense and memorable.

This entire song is just designed super tightly to evoke a specific feel. Rather than just being cool music, the composers tried to make cool music that slots into how you should be feeling for this moment. I’m always a fan of choosing your genres carefully, and Danganronpa V3’s scrum debate theme nails it completely.

Danganronpa V3's Pink Lies

Danganronpa V3 spoilers below. I’m seriously spoiling like, everything. You’ve been warned.

Colour theming is fun, isn’t it? Pick a colour, any colour, and find clever ways to integrate it into a story, and boom. You’ve got some good theming and meaning behind the basic designs of anything you desire. Danganronpa V3 is absolutely no different. Pink is the colour of lies, deadly lies, in this game, and I wanna look into the clever ways this colour is used. Lies are slathered, no, bathed pink in this murder mystery.

You might be wondering, first and foremost; why pink? Out of all the colours that could be chosen? Pink isn’t really a real colour. Well I mean obviously we see pink, but there’s no such thing as a “pink” wavelength or anything of the sort, our brain just interprets a mix of other wavelengths as pink. Pink doesn’t technically exist, making it the perfect colour to theme lies off of. So with an appropriate colour choice, let’s dive right into the lies.

One of the primary ways lying is incorporated into the game is in the very gameplay. Lying is an option in your nonstop debates now, and whenever you change your truth bullet to a lie bullet, the bullet becomes pink. This is obviously the most direct representation of lies in the game, but we can go deeper.

So, flashback to the opening of the game for a sec. It’s pretty obvious as a glance that all the characters have silhouettes during the character cards. The key point here is that all their eyes are pink. Obviously, keeping with the colour theming, it implies some sort of deceit with the characters, and well, that’s a major plot point. All the characters are lies, fabrications for a long running reality series. The pink eyes are there to point out that none of this is actually real, and these characters are completely made up, in and out of universe.

You wanna get crazy? All the marketing material for the game showed Kaede as the game’s protagonist. As anyone who’s completed chapter 1 knows, that was all a bold faced lie, as Kaede is revealed to be the culprit and axed off soon after. If you’d been paying attention to the colour theming thus far, however, this reveal would have been seen a mile away, because Kaede’s main colour scheme is pink. Her status as the protagonist is a lie, and thus she is dressed accordingly. Her UI is even pink.

Basically, colour theming is hella cool, people. It shows a lot of thought and care going into the aesthetics. Rather than just looking cool, they use the visuals of the game to supplement the very themes and ideals. At the end of the day, the point of V3 is that fiction isn’t real, but it still matters. Shuichi, Maki, Himiko, they all make the decision that while they are technically “fake” characters, what they went through, and who they are now, is very real. It’s in the same way that while pink isn’t “real”, we still appreciate the colour for what it is. And I think that’s a very cool thing to do.   

A Look at Danganronpa V3's Gameplay

So, I haven’t quite finished V3 at the time of writing this (At time of posting I've finished). Undoubtedly, I say you should absolutely not be hesitating to pick this game up if you’re a fan of the series. Until I’m done, however, I still want to say something about it, so why don’t we dive right into non spoiler topics and discuss the raw, hard gameplay. Well, what gameplay there is.

No spoilers for V3 ahead. Mild spoiler for one thing in DGR 1.

Danganronpa’s never really truly been about the gameplay, even when you’re playing it. The entire point of the minigames was basically to create context and specific feelings in you while you play. Nonstop debates evoke a feeling of chaos, while things like hangman’s gambit and mind dive were meant to make you slow down and feel like you’re thinking deeply. Basically, when I’m looking at the minigames, I’m looking for how well it upholds that principle while also making sure the actual gameplay doesn’t bog it down.

The core of the game’s Nonstop debates have been touched up a bit, in all the right places. The text is a lot more inventive and moving, which is visually cool. “V” spots have been added, basically a “get a better score by hitting this specific spot” mechanic. Never disrupts the gameplay if you don’t wanna bother, so it’s a fine addition. And finally, you can now commit perjury and lie. While highly contextual, it’s a great way to flip the whole thing on its head and is a wonderful addition to the flow of trials. All around, it’s just as chaotic and crazy as ever.

Nonstop debates have also been adapted into mass panic debates. It’s the most simple concept: just run 3 nonstop debates at once and keep your eye on all 3!

Wait, that’s actually insane.

Regardless, these feel like the most chaotic Danganronpa has ever been, bolstered by how sometimes one person shouting can shut you out from the other 2. It’s good stuff.

Next, the sword cross arguments. They’ve been changed you you can slash in any direction rather than 1 of 4, and there’s more of an emphasis on hitting as many statements at once. Really makes it feel more precise and considered, fitting the whole idea of a duel much better. All in all, good good good.

At last, Argument Armament, which are essentially the B.T.A events from the last 2 games. My only complaint with these is that the timing is super, super strict, with no leeway for if you hit it even slightly before, but quite a bit if you hit it after. Overall, a nice way to cap off an argument, if a bit finicky and awkward if you’ve played rhythm games before.

So, the core of Danganronpa is as good as it’s ever been, so like 80% of it is very good. However, the rest of it is, well. Eh. At best they’re OK, at worst they’re just a slog. It feels like much of the time, new stuff was just being tried for the sake of being new, and the results are spotty at best.

Hangman’s Gambit is back, with a pretty much totally different feel to it. While, thank god, the nightmare of 2’s gambit is no longer with us, we instead get a weird version of it which is like 1, but you have to shine a light on the usually hidden letters. It’s a bit slow, not really intense like the first 2 versions, and overall is just kinda there. At least we don’t have the awkward translation nightmare of 1 where you had to guess the *exact* uncommon word (See: schizo).

Mind mine is just sorta… there as well? Every time I played it I went in with no strategy and just kinda clicked away until I got the answer. There’s not much thought you need to put into it. It’s not really *bad*, though, is all. It just kind of exists.

And at last, we get to Psyche Taxi. Hahaha, this minigame sucks. Imagine Mind Dive, but much less challenging, with many annoying delays, and that takes forever. Psyche taxi asks super basic questions that often you just established an answer to, but you need to play through a 4 minute minigame to even be able to answer them. It’s tedious, slow, so boring, and the worst part of V3. No question. Psyche Taxi is just awful...

...Oh yeah. There is one last thing I haven’t mentioned yet. Scrum debates. I’ve saved the best for last, and this is absolutely the best thing V3 brings to the table. It’s just…. wow these are so good. In a lot of ways, they take the same principles from nonstop debates, but instead the objective is now to use other’s statements as truth bullets, instead of evidence. It’s framed so beautifully and directly, and having to find the correct statements to pit against each other really makes it feel like a more focused, considered plan of attack. And they’ve got an amazing theme. Just… good. Very good.

So that’s Danganronpa V3 as a game. While you’re probably not playing Danganronpa for the gameplay, all in all it’s a mostly faithful way to move the series forward. I certainly enjoyed it for the most part.