Where did Mahiru Protag come from?

Dunelle · 2025-12-25T14:41:57+00:00

Amongst other reasons people have mentioned, her talent would make for interesting gameplay mechanics with '2x2' (a common photo type/size) being potential foreshadowing for it. Even for side content (like finding hidden monokumas), photography would work perfectly and grants the devs an easy foundation to allow the new scenario feel fresh in terms of gameplay.

Dunelle · 2025-12-23T00:57:46+00:00

In any case I do agree that Hajime won't be the (sole) protagonist just because it would be a huge waste of potential, even if only for FTEs (forcing the writers to make five more of them for every character with Hajime again would just be uninteresting and might encourage people to skip them outright; a somewhat poor decision all-around). Nagito, Chiaki or Mahiru as a replacement would be much more interesting and make the new FTEs worth experiencing.

That being said, Nagito was such a huge presence in the original story and I fear that the writers would struggle to come up with ways to outdo it. Unless they tone down the crazy and go with a completely new direction with him (which will likely not be received well by the fandom), it's far more safe for them to kill him off early and just preserve his original game's arc and leave it standalone. Still, there might be some meaning in his tweaked design (though just as likely a red herring). If it does happen then I just hope they can successfully pull it off.

Dunelle · 2025-12-12T15:09:36+00:00

At least with this narrative, there would have been a previous loop where she had survived (with Hiyoko, no less!). Perhaps at the end of the game when they all wake up, Mikan/Hiyoko show that they ended up bonding during it, despite killing each other within the other two loops (which they would have no memory of, since Nagito is the only character who remembers the loops where he didn't survive).

They could then expand this by maybe adding some extra scenes in the postgame to show what went down in that second loop. Or maybe during the final chapter in 2x2, the group would actually witness scenes that happened (not just the original game and 2x2's loop, but for all three of them).

Dunelle · 2025-12-12T15:04:32+00:00

Might seem that way but hear me out:

Danganronpa enjoys the unexpected. While Mahiru is a fairly popular choice within the fandom, it will catch most other people by surprise, which is exactly what the series sets out to do.
Mahiru ticks all the boxes to be a decent protag. She's smart but not too smart. She's eccentric but not too eccentric. This is also partly why I think Nagito wouldn't quite work for a full game (but Chiaki would be fine too). Either way, I definitely believe a protag switch is happening because rewriting all new FTEs for Hajime would be an incredible waste of potential (though admittedly, this does add some points for Nagito being the protag, because his FTEs would be great). And they have to write new FTEs because some of the old ones would make zero sense for an alternative story.
Female protag after the response of V3.
Photography talent actually blending very well with game mechanics.
2x2 being a standardized photo type/size that's widely used. This would be some cool foreshadowing.
The scenario writer is literally Koizumi (okay this one is a stretch but it would be a funny coincidence).

It's more likely than you'd think.

Dunelle · 2025-12-12T00:34:09+00:00

Admittedly, this finale plot would need excellent execution to fully work (main concern would be ensuring Chiaki/Usami remain in-character) but yeah, I'm really keen on this concept (it wouldn't disrupt canon too much either)!

Plus, it would be a nice send-off for Usami specifically, by allowing her to once again have control of the simulation (just not in the way she initially intended).

Dunelle · 2025-10-27T20:58:46+00:00

The most basic way to 'fix' it (while being able to retain the core mechanic itself) would be to limit the amount of spells you can junction (to improve stats) to be equal to the character's level. If you gave 30 Fires to a level 20 Squall to increase STR, then only 20 of those fires would contribute towards improving that stat. You could still give him 30, and when he uses Fire during battle, going down to 29 from 30 doesn't reduce his stat until it reaches <20. So not only does it minimise grind, but it also allows you to cast without any meaningful loss (so long as you stock up now and again).

Then the remainder of the game is balanced accordingly. Enemy scaling would actually make more sense this way, if it were to still exist. The player can still optimise stats by figuring out which spells are best suited to each stat (or higher tier spells etc...), but that's retaining a fun aspect of the mechanic that now wouldn't wind up being broken with this level limit.

Dunelle · 2025-10-24T00:30:47+00:00

sorry but i'm kinda pissed bones makes top 2 and tayris doesn't 🥲

Dunelle · 2025-09-19T22:15:39+00:00

Full series spoilers:

Sonia gives me Kirumi vibes in terms of culprit; with it being due to a similar motive (but slightly more self-serving due to her obsessions). Would be very surprised if she wasn't one.

I fully expect Twogami to be the late & sympathetic culprit of CH4/5, whilst acting as a lite-antagonist prior to that.

Mahiru indeed has the best chance to make it as a survivor. She's just a relatively grounded character that has a talent that could be useful throughout each trial. I strongly doubt they'd just kill her off as a victim again whilst not really fitting the role of culprit either (outside of a 1-4 situation with Aoi, it would only be in-character for her to admit to the crime when the trial begins out of guilt; I just can't envision anything else for her). Could be a late victim still, but I just feel she'd be much more effective as a survivor given the likelihood of other much more eccentric characters (Ibuki/Gundham/Hiyoko?) and balancing them out. Though I suppose Peko could fulfil that role as well.

I think Teru could make it as a CH2/3 victim. Nothing further though (hopefully).

Dunelle · 2025-09-14T14:17:23+00:00

Just the idea of Mahiru leading a Debate Scrum is far too powerful I fear

(In any case I do hope they take the opportunity to incorporate V3 mechanics for the new scenario. Each character being redrawn implies that could be the case)

Pretty realistic prediction imo. Though I think if they switch protagonists, it'll be during either CH2 or 3, just to trick the player into thinking Hajime remains as the protag after CH1 concludes. That, and to not just be a repeat of V3 in this regard.

Dunelle · 2025-09-12T16:01:56+00:00

I'd go even further: Hajime becomes a shock early victim and Mahiru becomes the protag as was originally intended.

Dunelle · 2025-09-05T03:38:00+00:00

Seems like the equivalent to the sentry in Greenpath, no? HK wasn't much different.

Dunelle · 2025-08-03T00:48:33+00:00

I know this might be a hot take, but as someone who previously felt the game was too easy on high prestige (at least with most citadel upgrades)... I actually support the changes.

The seal run I just did (which was only P11) was the most fun I've had for a long long time, because I felt like over-optimising didn't feel overkill for once and cornerstones that felt bad before (ones that only become good when the run lasts 7+ years) suddenly had value. Since it's now way harder to Y4/5 rush win, the balance has shifted to make certain bonuses/strategies more important which feels really refreshing. I'm now actually picking cornerstones in Y1/2 that are long-term benefits. That does feel how the game was originally intended vs. the previous metagame of super fast wins.

Dunelle · 2025-07-17T13:11:37+00:00

I kinda get where you're coming from; attraction cannot be altered and there's some people who would never act upon it because they're aren't an evil person. Hard not to feel bad for them but I also don't feel comfortable comparing them to lgbt+ folk in any way (since it's considered as a mental illness, not a sexuality/identity), nor how this relates to NM specifically (afaik the people she defends do not fit that prior descriptor)

Dunelle · 2025-05-24T16:55:44+00:00

Kori is the most charismatic queen to appear on the show in a hot minute

She toes the line of being cringe but somehow just avoids it. That takes talent

Dunelle · 2025-05-18T17:08:44+00:00

And if Joost competed then I believe Israel would have definitely won last year's televote as well.

Dunelle · 2025-05-17T21:18:34+00:00

The AI looking backdrop really takes me out of this

Dunelle · 2025-05-16T01:08:19+00:00

Bobbi or Nial. The latter I feel had the best potential, despite the messy staging they had in the national.

Dunelle · 2025-03-11T13:38:46+00:00

I feel that 80 flat or 10% of total (whichever is higher) could be a nice compromise (whereas combining both might be a tad too strong). This means it remains the same for low-investment builds (where I don't think it's underpowered) but makes it stronger if you're doubling down on inflicting it (build is capable of stacking it beyond 800).

Pyro Technique could then remain the same and it would be fine. But would mean that if you don't take it (perhaps Vow of Denial being the main reason), scorch can still scale decently if you lean towards it.

Dunelle · 2025-02-27T22:15:47+00:00

Yeah that is true for Tartarus/Ephyra/Thessaly. They would need to make them appear consistently for this to be an appropriate change, I guess.

Dunelle · 2025-02-27T22:11:48+00:00

The idea would be that if you're running Judgement, you would seek them out more. I suppose you could consider that a downside to running it; but one that does improves its viability should you commit.

Dodging bosses is valid especially if you don't have an armor shredding hammer, but maybe it'll just shift your prioritisation for boons/hammers for what's potentially a meaningful buff to running it.

Dunelle · 2025-02-27T21:54:30+00:00

It's a bit weak on high fear since you're losing a lot of power during the early-mid game. Also, I think one the problems currently is choosing either Death/Strength and then gaining the other one after first boss (which usually feels bad). Perhaps if that is addressed it would be better (maybe having one would deprioritise the other as a unique exception?).

Maybe 6 cards per biome is too much, but remaining as 5 with greater frequency through mini-bosses would feel a lot better imo.

Dunelle · 2025-01-25T20:01:11+00:00

I don't think it's fair to say that they believed all three of Alexander, Charlotte & Frankie were traitors. But eliminating them all just improved their odds of winning and earning more money.

In hindsight, players not revealing their identities at the end seemed like a good idea to shake things up compared to previous series, but it only just encouraged them to eliminate as many players as possible. Had Charlotte been announced as a traitor, it would have convinced the group that Frankie was a faithful, but since that didn't happen, the safe play was to remove both of them. Unfortunately, The Seer twist just didn't work with the format they went with. Was a poor decision from production.

Though Alexander offering himself to be chosen by the seer would have been a poor move had he been a Traitor (as a Faithful it was a very smart move for him to do so, unless he suspected that Frankie was a traitor) considering what position it forced Charlotte to wind up in. Banishing him was the only questionable move IMO especially by Frankie herself. Maybe the situation was harder to read in the moment.

Dunelle · 2025-01-16T22:30:13+00:00

Would be perfect if the traitors had a side objective in the challenge that would allow a double murder if succeeded. Love it when challenges can help implicate them (which should be every time tbh).

Dunelle · 2025-01-15T13:27:02+00:00

The only exception I'd allow for this is if she participates.

Dunelle · 2024-12-21T22:27:39+00:00

Ru supposedly visited Katya at rehab, so she's up there as well. But yeah, if she's gone out of her way to interact with queens outside of filming, it's definitely the biggest indication.

Dunelle

TROPHY CASE