DanganDisappointment

I’ve been excited about Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony every since I finished the second game in the series last year. An internet friend introduced me to them, and I immediately fell in love. That love soon had to be taken with a grain of salt, as I saw the portions that clearly dealt with gender roles in a problematic way. At least with these instances, I could see the defense people had given for Kanji in Persona 4 (link to that dude’s article about it) even if I didn’t exactly agree. Then I saw the marketing for v3 and was even more excited; they were creating a game that wasn’t supposed to be a direct sequel and were changing up the formula, even including a woman protagonist! I should have known better.

***Warning: Spoilers below. Also, apologies in advance for the photos. I couldn’t screenshot most of these during the game so I had to improvise and use my phone***

In chapter 1, you play as Kaede, the Ultimate Pianist. After some locker-related shenanigans and the usual memory loss, you and the Ultimate Detective, Shuichi become friends and decide to get out together. Through this opening, Kaede is characterized as being full of hope, and completely unwilling to back down, much like the previous protagonists we’ve seen. Her bond with Shuichi seems borderline romantic (again, similar to the previous games) but we never get to see that relationship advance, because at the end of the trial, it turns out that Kaede was the killer and dies for her crime, leaving you to play as the distraught Shuichi.

This reveal made me absolutely livid. I actually had to put my Vita down and walk away for a few minutes because I was so angry. Here’s the thing: if gender inequality weren’t a thing (especially in a series that’s already had issues with transphobia and gender norms), the plot twist in chapter 1 of Danganronpa v3 would be amazing murder mystery storytelling, and that’s it. But in the world we live in, promising a female player character (finally) only to have her end up being the easily disposed of foil for the awkward boy detective just feels like stereotypical, formulaic bullshit.

Kaede “trusted [Shuichi’s] detective skills” and that’s why she fails. She’s a martyr and a lesson for Shuichi to become better. Shuichi gets to cry and be ‘woe as me’ before making a vow to try harder and “face the truth, no matter what”. Just when you think the series is going to change up the formula a bit from the usual male protagonist with a girl side kick who ultimately gets hurt to protect him, the game screams “gotcha!” and continues the same old schtick. Using some weird moral high ground (embracing the truth, for example) doesn’t work here, as it’s still sacrificing a woman for a man’s development with a thin, non-compellling reason.

Shuichi’s backstory is bizarre and problematic, not one that I feel should be highlighted over Kaede’s. His “search/embracing of the truth” is ultimately more important than the nuanced reality of what that truth entails. He is constantly haunted by the look of hatred given by the man he put away for murder, even though that murder was in defense of an abuse victim. I can’t speak to the justice system in Japan, but that hits hauntingly close to home for issues here in the US (Bresha Meadows, and CeCe McDonald are prime examples of this kind of injustice). Of course it’s a detective’s job to find the truth, but there should also be a level of nuance to what happens because of that truth. Holding a monolithic ideal of the truth and its implications is dangerously black and white.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the murder doesn’t make sense when you really think about it. Kaede is the ultimate pianist; how did she come up with such an elaborate plan to kill the mastermind? So much thought and foresight would have gone into a kill like this, and it just doesn’t make sense based on Kaede’s skill set. The trap would have made sense if it had been Miu, since she’s the Ultimate Inventor, but having the Ultimate Pianist construct an elaborate book ramp that accounted for the physics of a shot put ball rolling down an air vent seems like a bit of a stretch. It feels like a cheap way to throw another plot twist into the game by having you become attached to a female lead just to take her away.

I realize that there’s a real culture difference between the US and Japan, but this game clearly has a sense of contemporary issues in the west, specifically the US. This makes it hard to accept the age old “well, it’s just different in Japan” excuse. Maybe this is all the magic of localization, but in the internet age, I find it a bit hard to believe that these kinds of conversations aren’t happening on a global scale.

Looking back, I’m really not sure why I was so surprised and angry about this. I should have known better, honestly. I guess I just actually thought the developers had taken note of the feedback they had received and were leaning into the supposed differences v3 was going to have. But that’s all just marketing spin. It’s the same formula it’s always been, right down to the extraordinary girls being stepping stones for their ordinary boy companions. At least this one has an actual talent, I guess. In my heart of hearts, I still begrudgingly love this series as a murder mystery/visual novel fan. I just have to accept that the formula will never change; there will always be weird, oversexed moments, the girls will always serve as plot devices for the boys, and I’m sure Junko Enoshima will always find a way to make an appearance. It’s a bummer, but I’ll try not to fall too deep into despair.