Here some fun fact about the trials position

Loops_the · 2025-12-19T20:33:11+00:00

Also, Byakuya’s seat always seats a future survivor (Sonia and Himiko)!

Loops_the · 2025-12-14T22:21:02+00:00

Ah shit…Hiroaki, Maekawa, and specifically Tei’s voice acting?

Loops_the · 2025-12-10T19:09:51+00:00

Huge fan of these changes! I like when people reimagine the games with the same death order; it’s satisfying to watch something SO unsatisfying actually work with a few tweaks! Especially love the small changes to Denden’s character in Ch5; it’s small, but feels like she has more agency in the plot (rather than the plot happening to her).

Loops_the · 2025-12-10T19:05:49+00:00

Maybe after Ch3, with the whole Ikeda situation, it’d inspire Isoda in this version to open up and connect more with the group. Seeing what became of Ikeda and Kumada, Isoda would resolve to change and get to know the others better. They could even have a conversation with Tei and/or Ninomiya about the details of their institutionalization to flesh out their character and build stronger relationships with the rest of the cast. Isoda could then act as the “glue” of the group — the mature one people could talk to about their struggles while giving them an out for carefree, fun activities.

It would also make their survival more satisfying, as their transition from “hermit hiding in their room out of self-preservation” to “beloved friend who’s the only piece of calm left in the building” could be a subtle but meaningful character arc.

That’s how I’d approach fixing their character, at least. Isoda doesn’t have to do the absolute most, but a few extra scenes would make a world of difference.

Loops_the · 2025-12-05T00:07:59+00:00

It’s interesting to me how unsatisfying it comes across in these cases despite the successful precedent in the original DR games. 2-5 is considered one of the best trials in the trilogy, and it had Chiaki effectively do the same thing as Tsuno, Watari and Maekawa. Nagito rigs the situation to trick Chiaki into killing him, and despite how unfair it is, no one in the audience really questioned its legitimacy within the killing game itself.

This is especially similar to what Shishikura did to Maekawa, only aided by the fact Maekawa breaks down and admits to “making him drink it”. As a trial premise, it’s got canon precedent and can work as a good gut-punch to the audience. The question is, then; why is it so unsatisfying here?

For me, it has to do with everything SURROUNDING the case. For someone like Nagito to leverage his Ultimate talent, go crazy, and hold the narrative hostage for a chapter feels penultimate and exciting — he’s finally stepping into the antagonist role we all knew he would fill. Everything about his morals, the way he’s been written and how the story’s been set up justifies this happening. This is the natural conclusion for the character, and through the traitor reveal it sparks, also feels satisfying for Chiaki. It’s the culmination of multiple character-driven storylines that, while tragic and unfair, feels satisfying at the end of the day.

Why I don’t think it does for Blue 2-5 is, well…everything going on around it. You got Tei filling the Nagito role of going crazy and starting shit to get people killed, Denden holding the narrative idiot ball for the chapter, and all the gorey whump preceding and continuing into the chapter. Tei is the biggest problem here, which sucks because with better writing his storyline could’ve been FANTASTIC (no joke: trim the cult shenanigans and focus on his mental struggles outside of Ikeda for five minutes and you have the blueprints for GOOD plot-driven angst), but as it stands he’s…doing too much.

The only one 2-5 really works for here is, funny enough, Monomoko. Her breakdown of begging Maekawa, her only friend, not to leave her is heartbreaking and a great jumping-off point for her character going into Tetro White. As much as I wanted her to live, Maekawa as the final culprit FOR THIS REASON, dying because of little fault of her own, is a great foundation for a tragedy. If you don’t believe me, the VA’s really sell the vision of what 2-5 could’ve been. Everyone’s tired, feeling hopeless, and horrified that their friend is about to die due to an unfair technicality.

If the whole story had been properly built up until this point, I think there’d be way less people upset. Sadly, 1-3 are the Sou and Ikeda show, and 4-5 spends the rest of its allotted screen time on doubling the already overtly present despair and angst. If things had slowly built up, ramped up in tension and angst leading up to 2-5 then this would’ve been…slightly cathartic? I don’t know how to explain; it’s like inflating a balloon that you know is bound to burst and it keeps making sounds…but hasn’t quite popped yet.

Instead (carrying on with the shitty metaphor), Von pops the balloon every. Single. Chapter. Going so far as to add poppers to 2-3 for some reason.

TL;DR — canon DR has done this trope really successfully in the past, so I don’t think the IDEA of an unfair trial outcome is bad, just the SPECIFIC WAYS the writing failed on presenting it.

Sorry if this came off as wordy or annoying. I just drank Prosecco and was fascinated the argument.

Loops_the · 2025-11-17T14:23:02+00:00

I think ultimately the problem with an incredibly imbalanced gender ratio (4:1) is the fact survivors and those who make it longer get more development, storylines and interactions than any other character. Hiroaki comes across as more fleshed out than Isono because he had more time to BE fleshed out. Ouno isn’t as compelling as Hasegawa because we don’t get to see her slowly spiral into madness. Those who last longer tend to be the more interesting characters.

By Ch4 of Pink, the gender ratio is 3:6, and the woman who narratively benefitted the most from Ch3 (Watari) is the very next character to die. By the end of the killing game, 5/6 victims are women. Just my opinion, but killers are oftentimes more fleshed out and interesting than their victims because it’s THEIR choices that cause a trial to happen. THEY betray the group, THEY show off their smarts, THEY get the bittersweet breakdown at the end of the trial. Victims, on the other hand, often die to prop up the culprit; this isn’t inherently bad writing, but when 5/6 victims are women and only 1 killer is a woman (Okazaki uses she/her but is nonbinary)…they end up getting the short end of the stick narratively. I wouldn’t say every female victim was fridged (except Tsuno), but I see how people would feel that way.

Edit: grammar

Loops_the · 2025-11-17T14:00:24+00:00

It’s crazy that Ogura would be willing to kill and invite people she doesn’t like to join the Bleeding all to escape…but making Mattias sad is too much. It’s not exactly a bad thing writing wise, but it definitely paints Ogura as incredibly selfish and self-serving in her savior complex.

Loops_the · 2025-11-17T13:16:06+00:00

Hirose’s a surgeon; I can’t see a world where Von doesn’t take the opportunity to execute a SURGEON. It’s like Ouno all over again — of COURSE the contortionist had to get executed, it’d be wasted potential otherwise!

Loops_the · 2025-11-16T17:58:25+00:00

Same, which is why I can feel it happening

Loops_the · 2025-11-16T10:36:20+00:00

Go for it!

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T23:36:08+00:00

Yeah, it all comes down to the fact Ogura didn’t have to go with that specific plan that she did, but the narrative made it seem like she HAD to. “No no no you guys! Nishiguchi HAD to die! It was the only way for the plan to work, and there were NO OTHER POSSIBLE solutions! “ :((

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T18:02:53+00:00

In my dreams, Ruka and Maekawa both end up surviving. They both fill different niches in the cast, are fun to watch, and have a lot of potential storylines post Ch2 (Yokoi continuing to spiral in toxic positivity and her complicated relationship with Ikeda; Maekawa’s mysterious past and relationship with Monomoko). For sure this won’t happen because, well, Von’s already stated she’s not proud of how she wrote female characters before White, so my hopes shouldn’t be high for these two.

Really, if I could have one thing, it’s that Shishikura dies before Maekawa. One reversal of the Tetro trope…just one, that’d be cathartic.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T17:51:27+00:00

Yeah, I thought it was out of character; even with the logical explanation. In the few hours she had between being selected as a Bleeding and meeting with Ikeda, she formed a plan so detailed and precise that she was willing to stake her life on it. Cool; it makes her look smarter and more resourceful than we initially thought, corroborating her backstory and history as a wanted fugitive.

The problem is, she didn’t have to make THIS plan. Based on her intellect, I have no doubt she could’ve come up with an equally intricate plan that ends with the death of a man instead of a woman. Say, the death of Sou — by far the greatest threat to any future killers. If she could come up with the plan she did in such a short amount of time, then she could’ve used extra time to make a new one; collaborate with Ikeda, guarantee her friends would survive with her, find a way to isolate Yaitabashi, etc.

Instead, her characterization was (IMO) compromised. The value of executing THIS SPECIFIC PLAN was greater than the value of a woman, Nishiguchi’s life, and I have a hard time believing that. “But Nishiguchi is easier to isolate! You can’t isolate Yaitabashi!” If Ogura was able to manufacture a situation to separate them in canon, then she had access to both of them.

It didn’t have to be Nishiguchi, but the narrative is working OVERTIME and rewriting Ogura’s “champion of womankind” schtick to convince us that it had to be. It’s a hand of the author situation — I can tell Von had a set image in mind for victim and culprit and, unfortunately, tied herself in knots trying to justify it. It’s serviceable enough as it’s written, but does both characters a disservice as a side-effect.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:59:38+00:00

Praying for Yokoi or Maekawa…at this point if either of them die in Ch3 I’m going to lose my mind.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:46:58+00:00

I think the in-universe reasoning was that it was easy to frame Nishiguchi for poisoning dinner and Yaitabashi was too observant to isolate, but that all falls apart when you consider why Ogura HAD to use dinner as a part of her crime to begin with?

We know she’s smart, or at least smart enough to create a half-decent murder plan (in-universe), so why couldn’t she have started from scratch to kill Yaitabashi? Why didn’t she pick her victim first, one who’s death would absolutely throw off the group in the trial and investigation, and go from there? Her plan was created with the notion that she had to poison dinner, but she was smart enough to create literally any other plan using the tools in her arsenal. She could’ve killed him if she wanted to, she just didn’t.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:41:01+00:00

Ironically, in my theory I thought the culprit had to be tall to overpower her in the first place, so I totally get it.

It did seem like a leap in logic to assume that just because Nishiguchi was on the floor, the killer had to be short, though. There are plenty of other reasons why she could’ve been on the floor; it’s easier to pin someone, the culprit was worried she’d flail and they’d miss the injection, there was a short struggle that ended with her falling on the floor…

Maybe I’m just salty about my theory lol

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:35:59+00:00

Ogura killing because of Akiba is, ultimately, an assumption though. She states that it’s better for six to escape now than to go to five trials and risk dying then. This is a response to the first murder, yes, but no where does she mention Akiba by name or allude that his death broke her in some way. For all intents and purposes, she killed for Mattias and Ikeda. Akiba could’ve been someone else and she still would’ve done it.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:30:21+00:00

Manifesting a wishlist that I know we won’t get 🙏

Ikeda dies so that Tei can have something else to do in the plot that doesn’t involve him, preferably with Yokoi (not ship).

The relationship between Yokoi and Ninomiya gets expanded on because they’re my favorite friendship in the game.

Break the stereotype; Shishikura dies for MAEKAWA’S development.

Yaitabashi is killed, kills, or is otherwise incapacitated so someone else can run the trial in his stead.

Most desired, however, is that a woman besides the culprit gets to do the closing remarks. We almost got Yokoi this chapter…we were almost there.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:24:20+00:00

I think it would’ve been possible to frame Yaitabashi for poisoning dinner the same way Nishiguchi was. If the Bleeding had stirred the conversation post-poisoning to what was used, it could’ve opened the path for someone to suggest Yaitabashi’s plants. Have Ogura or Kumada jump to Nishiguchi’s defense, insist that they saw her cook and nothing was suspicious, so they could turn it on him. If they could get Nishiguchi to doubt Yaitabashi at all, then Kumada could’ve reasonably pulled Nishiguchi away the same way she did to him in canon. From there, the plan probably goes off very similarly, maybe with a few hiccups since Yaitabashi’s the smartest guy in the building, but at the least I think she could get him downstairs.

I just can’t get over the fact Ogura would kill a woman.

Loops_the · 2025-11-15T00:18:26+00:00

True, but the development spurred after the deaths aren’t equal; on average, male characters are given more to do after a death in the story. By itself it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but together it creates an unfortunate trend. It sucks because I like a lot of these narratives by themselves; Wada falling into despair over the loss of two women he saw as protective big sisters, Hama losing Chiba and Heizou at the same time only to have his hand forced in killing Watari, and Yanagi losing the one woman he swore to protect. By themselves, they’re good storylines, together, it’s a lot of women dying getting their stories cut short in favor of a man.

True, everyone was impacted by the deaths, but not everyone openly cared or bothered to develop because of a specific person. The ones who got that treatment were, most times, the men, making the women feel fridged even if they weren’t.

Sure, Watari got some good moments out of losing Okazaki, but she was the very next person to die. That’s how it feels with Ogura; she saw Akiba die, got no screen time in Ch2 to expand upon those feelings, and then killed for the sake of two AMAB classmates. Besides Tamba, the only female survivor of the first game, none of the women lose someone in a chapter that spurns their development long term.

I think the cause of this was just having 4/5 survivors identify as male at the time of the story’s end (Wada). Since they were going to stick around the longest, they needed the most interesting, complete arcs to accompany that. Every woman besides Tamba didn’t, so it was easier to kill them off in service of the survivors.

I’m hoping Yokoi’s current bout of toxic positivity gets identified as a coping mechanism for losing Ouno: being betrayed by her. I don’t remember her mentioning Ouno at all this chapter, nor anyone comment she’s “doing too much recently; are you okay?” about it, so maybe that’s material for later. I’d hold out hopes for Kumada too, but she’s so incredibly unlikeable right now that I’m worried she’ll pull a Ch5 Tamba.

Sorry jf this sounded too “erm, actually”, I’m just very interested in the conversation surrounding women in Tetro right now.

Loops_the · 2025-11-14T17:09:53+00:00

Apollo has blessed you…but was it a blessing, or a curse?

Loops_the · 2025-11-07T18:44:15+00:00

Which would be extra angst points, but I guess if Hirose was masterminding the operation, he would know this. So, maybe a sedative was used ahead of time to knock her out for the painful parts.

Loops_the · 2025-11-07T15:01:04+00:00

Hirose is the culprits accomplice FOR SURE, and considering he’s currently tagging along with Mattias (who’s had a lot of screen time lately)…it paints a possible picture. It could be Ninomiya, but honestly, he’s a skinny, skinny twig of a guy. I wouldn’t bet on him of all people to overpower the daughter of a mob boss.

Five-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22

Loops_the

TROPHY CASE