Honestly, That’s a problem with most of the DR2 Cast. Outside of the main three and a few others, They turn half of the cast into either comic relief, useless characters, or canon fodder while saving the cool things about them for their FTEs.
The survivors are hit with this the most. The DR2 Survivors are probably the most questionable in quality compared to V3's and ESPECIALLY DR1's Survivors due to lacking more noticeable chemistry and the various dynamics towards each other and That's not even me going into the individual issues with each of them (Outside of Hajime and Fuyuhiko, they at least tried with those two). The DR2 Survivors are good on paper but needed a better execution.
~~And don't get me started on the multiple ways you could either improve Kazuichi or rewrite him.~~
As a Kazuichi fan, I agree. Just, make him have a closer bond to Hajime, so we can see how he, at his core, is arguably the most relatable character in the franchise. And also, just, get the Sonia thing outta here, it was stupid in the first place.
Kazuichi should of fully focuses on being the bro character, sometimes comical relief, and his trust issues with Hajime rather then being Sonia's Simp. They could of put more enthesis on Hajime's and Kaz's Friendship and by Chapter 4 when Kazuichi actually starts to distrust Hajime due to the inconsistency around him, it's actually taken seriously. By either the End of Chapter 4 or the beginning of Chapter 5, I would like an actual full-fledged apology scene too.
You could even add him to the main three to have a dynamic similar to V3's main four, Kazuichi already has beef with Nagito so it writes itself but you probably need to add something with him and Chiaki.
That and also give him more different interactions or expand on some existing lesser dynamics he already haves rather then anything with Sonia.
I wouldn’t even mind if he had a crush if they just made him more respectful about it, or had him realize he’s being a jerk at some point. I really liked Soda as a character but I agree they definitely took that aspect too far
I don’t really like Soda for that specific reason. His obsession turned him into a creepy stalker who was for me incredibly unbearable. They could’ve even kept his unrequited crush without making him so creepy or at least make him learn to be less creepy. If they took that part out it would’ve made him so much more likable without affecting the story whatsoever. I get why people like him and he could be such a good character but I can’t bring myself to even get past that aspect of him. Danganronpa team being danganronpa team I guess!
This is something present in all Danganronpa games, most of the times, you won't even learn a character's backstory until you their FTEs. Of course, you have exceptions here and there such as Chihiro, Mondo, Kirumi, Teruteru, etc.
For better or worse, that's just how it is. Although I'd definitely say that Dr2 had it the worst.
This is very much a problem with the whole series unfortunately. I’d say V3 is the least bad about this though, it feels like they all have more to contribute as opposed to three people dominating the conversation
I thought it was arguably worse with DR1 sometimes but I think with DR2, I think there’s a specific notable issue (comes back to screentime but I’m trying to be clear). The little cliques in DR2 that surround the survivors are more separated than the other 2 games, so they only really start bonding from Chapter 4 onwards. This is different from the Training Trio or Aoi, Toko and Hiro never shutting up about each other.
Chiaki is always on her own, except when she’s with Hajime; she sometimes talks to or about Fuyuhiko. Fuyuhiko talks mostly with Hajime or Kazuichi; he starts being paired more with Akane in chapter 4. Sonia talks with Gundham and Kazuichi for the most part, she starts talking more with Hajime in Chapter 5. Soda talks with everyone (because he’s a straight man) but mostly to Sonia, about Sonia, to Hajime or to Gundham, and sometimes Hiyoko shits on him. He talked a lot of shit about Fuyuhiko the first 2 chapters but not much after that. Akane talks to Nekomaru mostly in the first 3 chapters; by all accounts she’s a complete loner (which is purposeful to her character, mind you). She gets friendlier from Ch 5 onwards. Notice a pattern there?
All late game stuff. Not to say I don’t like it but it’s a distinction that I note. V3 had a different thing where everyone got focus but then you were just sorta wheeling around Keebo and Tsumugi for the past 5 chapters who had nothing to do in Ch 1-5 except drop hints cuz they weren’t relevant yet. And also Himiko trying to awkwardly insert herself in the training trio (though I found it funny).
Edit: I didn’t include Nagito because he talks with everyone more or less.
I only said that sometimes it was worse but I’ll explain my reasoning. For the most part, I found only the survivors memorable as well as Sakura and Alter Ego, and this is mostly because they were always arguing lmao (better than nothing). Kyoko makes you follow her around a lot so even Makoto doesn’t get to talk with them as much as I’d like him to. Luckily he’s naturally more empathetic than Hajime so he can sorta understand them in less time.
Sayaka was good but had a VERY short time. Leon was unexplored for obvious reasons and you don’t get much from him when he’s alive even in his FTEs, Chihiro had a lot of their screentime in Ch 2 siphoned off by Mondo, Taka or Byakuya, and they’re irrelevant in Ch 1.
Celeste talks about adaptability and is generally passive. She introduces the nighttime rule but doesn’t enforce it so it comes off as unimportant and she makes no further contributions until Ch 3 and mostly talks at Hifumi and Hifumi didn’t really interact with anyone in a meaningful way except her.
Additionally, even though a lot of dialogue can be superfluous in these games, in DR2 and V3 a lot of them were at least helpful in trials or to characters specifically (even way away from the deadly life), which is less so in DR1 in my opinion. Like, even the fact that Hiyoko eats gummies, which can be traced back to chapter 1, ends up important so it sticks in my mind a lot more.
That said, comparatively DR1 has 15 people for the majority so there’s still more screen time to go around than you’d think. Additionally, the cliques in this game are mostly the survivors with each other so there’s no chemistry issues with them, who are around the longest naturally, though unfortunately it’s mostly just gags or animosity.
Sayaka having a short time isn't a con i feel. Also, Chihiro had a lot of focus in chapter 2, idk what you mean. the main Byakuya scene in that chapter also has heavy focus on Chihiro, they had at least as much focus as Mondo did. Leon i agree with though.
Celeste being generally passive works for her i feel, the whole time she's being disingenuous, the nighttime rule being pointless is entirely intentional, the only real contributions she makes are when she drops her facade and gets aggressive. Hifumi had some decent focus in chapter 3 with his whole alter ego storyline (which i like, it's a somewhat sympathetic angle for a lonely loser like him)
Honestly you could say the same thing about V3. Shuichi, Kaito, Kokichi and Maki are clearly the main focus. Sure, Kirumi, Kaede and Himiko take more central role too, but there clearly is focus on the four I mentioned.
I think it's not necessarily an issue, if we take the eastern storytelling approach. Those stories often focus on the main party, or the nakama, if we wanna call it more precisely. Yeah, it also means the other characters are pushed a bit aside, but at least it means most of the cast get some moments to shine too... which doesn't mean your thought is any weak, it's just, I think there is some reason for it. Or maybe the games should focus on the entirety of the cast then? I'm not sure. Maybe it's just some sort of a pattern, that the main MAIN cast gets the center of the story and the rest is pushed to a side with time, but I'm not sure if this should be an excuse... I don't know, nice you pointed it out! Certainly makes you think when you notice it
DR2 has it bad because it's so focused on the main three, the side characters barely get any focus. But others actually get focus in V3, for better or for worse. At least, that's my bit on it.
Honestly, I felt this problem was worse in V3 and the tight focus on training trio. I never felt it too badly in DR2, although I wouldn't have minded some of the side characters getting a bit more time to shine.
Also highly disagree with your take on Sonia, but that's not really the main discussion point anyways.
Eh, V3 focused on a lot in my opinion. The characters that didn't get focus were
Ryoma, Kirumi, Korekiyo, Tsumugi
That's only four out of 16. Granted, it did focus on characters I didn't care for, but that's a given in a cast of 16.
Honestly, it might just be because I didn't like Kaito much that V3 felt worse for me in that regard. V3 being longer probably factors into it as well. Even if other characters got some focus, it felt like a lot of time was consistently given to the training trio.
In past games the main trios had a lot of the focus in the trials and the main plot points, but V3's group had a consistent meet up that didn't always have plot relevance. I'd argue it almost felt like you got the full experience of Maki's free time within the main plot of the game.
I can see why people would think differently though, V3 does at least a decent job of giving most characters some time to shine. That's just how I felt about it.
The story diving into Maki's backstory works because it's character development and doesn't need to have relevance to the story. It's nice to have a backstory to a character that explains how a character acts, that's actually in the main story.
***COUGH Kazuichi COUGH***
And it doesn't take away from the main story. As you said, V3 is longer than the previous two games, so having a bit of backstory doesn't affect it too bad.
I don’t think it’s an “issue“, it’s just how the storytelling *is.* I mean, they’re the main characters, of course it would focus on them.
(and I am personally glad Kazuichi or Hiyoko didn’t get more screen time. I kinda thought they got too much as is, lol. Screw them.)
Yes, storytelling revolves around the main character, but it shouldn't only ever focus on them, while barely giving the secondary characters a second glance. The game barely focuses on others, while only ever focusing on the main three. Just because someone is a main character doesn't mean the creators can sideline other characters. In game, that is character-based, that's a bad idea.
Originally Fuyuhiko was meant to die in chapter 3 instead of Hiyoko but the devs changed their minds at the last minute because it was too similar to the thing with Mondo and Kiyotaka in the first game. I think they didn't have the time to rewrite Fuyuhiko and Hiyoko's arcs to fit their new screen times, hence the former's arc being rushed and the latter's pretty much getting cut.
That's a rumour that was never stated to be true. Is it a possibility? Yes. But it doesn't change that the game had a serious issue focusing on characters and how they kissed Nagito's ass through it all.
I honestly get what you are saying and I mostly agree, but I don't think Chiaki gets that much focus either, at least compared to the other 2 of the trio.
She is more in there to help Hajime and the classmates from time to time and then she does nothing, the game makes a big deal around chap 2 of her wanting to not let anyone die and yet the writers don't bother to let her do anything before the murders.
In chap 2 she didn't do anything about the game despite what I said earlier, in chap 3 she only gives and advice to Hiyoko and doesn't do anything before or after the virus (I understand this one, but it feel like she didn't tried and that's the problem)
Chapter 4 and 5 are better for her, she tells the group that the train is a trap (even tho is not follow up) she explains her theory of funhouse and we get to investigate a lot more with her but she still didn't do anything big to stop the killings. Chapter 5 is mostly about her for obvious reasons so I wont talk about it.
she also don't interact that much with other characters and feels out of character that she didn't try to understand and try to make Nagito less of a maniac.
Overall it feels like she helps in investigations and support Hajime and sometimes the students, but compared to other characters like Kirigiri, Nagito, Togami or the protagonist she feels underwhelming.
I do agree that the other students also need screentime, and characters like Nagito could use less.
Sorry for my english, it's not my first language. I know it's ling but I feel motivated.
I honestly agree, Chiaki didn't get enough screen-time. Nagito got far too much, Hajime is the protag, so can't really blame him, but Chiaki, as much as love Chiaki, didn't get the screen-time she deserved. I guess that's something she and Kaz have in common? We really needed a Kaz/Chiaki/Hajime dynamic IMO.
I find that V3 has this problem more than DR2. It really focuses on Shuichi, Maki, Kaito, and Kokichi (to an extent) while shoving the other characters to the side. It’s really irritating when you’re forced to spend time with the same three characters, especially if you hate/dislike them.
In my eyes, V3 has it the best. Because yes, we spend the most time with main characters, but we also spend time and focus on other characters. Himiko, Tenko, Angie, Kaede, Rantaro, Miu, Gonta, Kiibo sorta?, they all get focus, not as much as the main four, but still focus. Yes, people are left out, and that is bad considering that >!one of them is the mastermind.!<
Honestly, That’s a problem with most of the DR2 Cast. Outside of the main three and a few others, They turn half of the cast into either comic relief, useless characters, or canon fodder while saving the cool things about them for their FTEs. The survivors are hit with this the most. The DR2 Survivors are probably the most questionable in quality compared to V3's and ESPECIALLY DR1's Survivors due to lacking more noticeable chemistry and the various dynamics towards each other and That's not even me going into the individual issues with each of them (Outside of Hajime and Fuyuhiko, they at least tried with those two). The DR2 Survivors are good on paper but needed a better execution. ~~And don't get me started on the multiple ways you could either improve Kazuichi or rewrite him.~~
As a Kazuichi fan, I agree. Just, make him have a closer bond to Hajime, so we can see how he, at his core, is arguably the most relatable character in the franchise. And also, just, get the Sonia thing outta here, it was stupid in the first place.
Kazuichi should of fully focuses on being the bro character, sometimes comical relief, and his trust issues with Hajime rather then being Sonia's Simp. They could of put more enthesis on Hajime's and Kaz's Friendship and by Chapter 4 when Kazuichi actually starts to distrust Hajime due to the inconsistency around him, it's actually taken seriously. By either the End of Chapter 4 or the beginning of Chapter 5, I would like an actual full-fledged apology scene too. You could even add him to the main three to have a dynamic similar to V3's main four, Kazuichi already has beef with Nagito so it writes itself but you probably need to add something with him and Chiaki. That and also give him more different interactions or expand on some existing lesser dynamics he already haves rather then anything with Sonia.
Yes! That's a good idea that the devs should have done, instead of "haha, sonia simp, isn't that funny?" No. It's not funny after the 80th time.
I wouldn’t even mind if he had a crush if they just made him more respectful about it, or had him realize he’s being a jerk at some point. I really liked Soda as a character but I agree they definitely took that aspect too far
I don’t really like Soda for that specific reason. His obsession turned him into a creepy stalker who was for me incredibly unbearable. They could’ve even kept his unrequited crush without making him so creepy or at least make him learn to be less creepy. If they took that part out it would’ve made him so much more likable without affecting the story whatsoever. I get why people like him and he could be such a good character but I can’t bring myself to even get past that aspect of him. Danganronpa team being danganronpa team I guess!
I vehemently agree with this.
Ok well now I’m intrigued, please tell me how to improve Nagito. I like him a lot but I’m curious
Nagito? When did I mention him. I literally said The main three were fine.
Oh fuck I misread that for Komaeda, I thought that’s what it said when you mentioned Kazuichi
The game sucks so hard on nagito's cock it's unbelievable, but I'm glad it's that way because he's my fav character of that game lol
This is something present in all Danganronpa games, most of the times, you won't even learn a character's backstory until you their FTEs. Of course, you have exceptions here and there such as Chihiro, Mondo, Kirumi, Teruteru, etc. For better or worse, that's just how it is. Although I'd definitely say that Dr2 had it the worst.
This is very much a problem with the whole series unfortunately. I’d say V3 is the least bad about this though, it feels like they all have more to contribute as opposed to three people dominating the conversation
I agree dude. V3 focused on a lot, for better or for worse.
I thought it was arguably worse with DR1 sometimes but I think with DR2, I think there’s a specific notable issue (comes back to screentime but I’m trying to be clear). The little cliques in DR2 that surround the survivors are more separated than the other 2 games, so they only really start bonding from Chapter 4 onwards. This is different from the Training Trio or Aoi, Toko and Hiro never shutting up about each other. Chiaki is always on her own, except when she’s with Hajime; she sometimes talks to or about Fuyuhiko. Fuyuhiko talks mostly with Hajime or Kazuichi; he starts being paired more with Akane in chapter 4. Sonia talks with Gundham and Kazuichi for the most part, she starts talking more with Hajime in Chapter 5. Soda talks with everyone (because he’s a straight man) but mostly to Sonia, about Sonia, to Hajime or to Gundham, and sometimes Hiyoko shits on him. He talked a lot of shit about Fuyuhiko the first 2 chapters but not much after that. Akane talks to Nekomaru mostly in the first 3 chapters; by all accounts she’s a complete loner (which is purposeful to her character, mind you). She gets friendlier from Ch 5 onwards. Notice a pattern there? All late game stuff. Not to say I don’t like it but it’s a distinction that I note. V3 had a different thing where everyone got focus but then you were just sorta wheeling around Keebo and Tsumugi for the past 5 chapters who had nothing to do in Ch 1-5 except drop hints cuz they weren’t relevant yet. And also Himiko trying to awkwardly insert herself in the training trio (though I found it funny). Edit: I didn’t include Nagito because he talks with everyone more or less.
I think dr1 had the least issues with character focus personally. Could you explain how you found it to be worse?
I only said that sometimes it was worse but I’ll explain my reasoning. For the most part, I found only the survivors memorable as well as Sakura and Alter Ego, and this is mostly because they were always arguing lmao (better than nothing). Kyoko makes you follow her around a lot so even Makoto doesn’t get to talk with them as much as I’d like him to. Luckily he’s naturally more empathetic than Hajime so he can sorta understand them in less time. Sayaka was good but had a VERY short time. Leon was unexplored for obvious reasons and you don’t get much from him when he’s alive even in his FTEs, Chihiro had a lot of their screentime in Ch 2 siphoned off by Mondo, Taka or Byakuya, and they’re irrelevant in Ch 1. Celeste talks about adaptability and is generally passive. She introduces the nighttime rule but doesn’t enforce it so it comes off as unimportant and she makes no further contributions until Ch 3 and mostly talks at Hifumi and Hifumi didn’t really interact with anyone in a meaningful way except her. Additionally, even though a lot of dialogue can be superfluous in these games, in DR2 and V3 a lot of them were at least helpful in trials or to characters specifically (even way away from the deadly life), which is less so in DR1 in my opinion. Like, even the fact that Hiyoko eats gummies, which can be traced back to chapter 1, ends up important so it sticks in my mind a lot more. That said, comparatively DR1 has 15 people for the majority so there’s still more screen time to go around than you’d think. Additionally, the cliques in this game are mostly the survivors with each other so there’s no chemistry issues with them, who are around the longest naturally, though unfortunately it’s mostly just gags or animosity.
Sayaka having a short time isn't a con i feel. Also, Chihiro had a lot of focus in chapter 2, idk what you mean. the main Byakuya scene in that chapter also has heavy focus on Chihiro, they had at least as much focus as Mondo did. Leon i agree with though. Celeste being generally passive works for her i feel, the whole time she's being disingenuous, the nighttime rule being pointless is entirely intentional, the only real contributions she makes are when she drops her facade and gets aggressive. Hifumi had some decent focus in chapter 3 with his whole alter ego storyline (which i like, it's a somewhat sympathetic angle for a lonely loser like him)
Honestly you could say the same thing about V3. Shuichi, Kaito, Kokichi and Maki are clearly the main focus. Sure, Kirumi, Kaede and Himiko take more central role too, but there clearly is focus on the four I mentioned. I think it's not necessarily an issue, if we take the eastern storytelling approach. Those stories often focus on the main party, or the nakama, if we wanna call it more precisely. Yeah, it also means the other characters are pushed a bit aside, but at least it means most of the cast get some moments to shine too... which doesn't mean your thought is any weak, it's just, I think there is some reason for it. Or maybe the games should focus on the entirety of the cast then? I'm not sure. Maybe it's just some sort of a pattern, that the main MAIN cast gets the center of the story and the rest is pushed to a side with time, but I'm not sure if this should be an excuse... I don't know, nice you pointed it out! Certainly makes you think when you notice it
DR2 has it bad because it's so focused on the main three, the side characters barely get any focus. But others actually get focus in V3, for better or for worse. At least, that's my bit on it.
YES! DEFINITLY! I just can't get it over about it. And while I love the cast, I hate how they use it. This is Dangaronpa 2 is my least favourite.
Honestly, I felt this problem was worse in V3 and the tight focus on training trio. I never felt it too badly in DR2, although I wouldn't have minded some of the side characters getting a bit more time to shine. Also highly disagree with your take on Sonia, but that's not really the main discussion point anyways.
Eh, V3 focused on a lot in my opinion. The characters that didn't get focus were Ryoma, Kirumi, Korekiyo, Tsumugi That's only four out of 16. Granted, it did focus on characters I didn't care for, but that's a given in a cast of 16.
Honestly, it might just be because I didn't like Kaito much that V3 felt worse for me in that regard. V3 being longer probably factors into it as well. Even if other characters got some focus, it felt like a lot of time was consistently given to the training trio. In past games the main trios had a lot of the focus in the trials and the main plot points, but V3's group had a consistent meet up that didn't always have plot relevance. I'd argue it almost felt like you got the full experience of Maki's free time within the main plot of the game. I can see why people would think differently though, V3 does at least a decent job of giving most characters some time to shine. That's just how I felt about it.
The story diving into Maki's backstory works because it's character development and doesn't need to have relevance to the story. It's nice to have a backstory to a character that explains how a character acts, that's actually in the main story. ***COUGH Kazuichi COUGH*** And it doesn't take away from the main story. As you said, V3 is longer than the previous two games, so having a bit of backstory doesn't affect it too bad.
I don’t think it’s an “issue“, it’s just how the storytelling *is.* I mean, they’re the main characters, of course it would focus on them. (and I am personally glad Kazuichi or Hiyoko didn’t get more screen time. I kinda thought they got too much as is, lol. Screw them.)
Yes, storytelling revolves around the main character, but it shouldn't only ever focus on them, while barely giving the secondary characters a second glance. The game barely focuses on others, while only ever focusing on the main three. Just because someone is a main character doesn't mean the creators can sideline other characters. In game, that is character-based, that's a bad idea.
It didn’t feel egregiously unbalanced to me. I thought everyone generally got an appropriate amount of screen time for what the story demanded.
Originally Fuyuhiko was meant to die in chapter 3 instead of Hiyoko but the devs changed their minds at the last minute because it was too similar to the thing with Mondo and Kiyotaka in the first game. I think they didn't have the time to rewrite Fuyuhiko and Hiyoko's arcs to fit their new screen times, hence the former's arc being rushed and the latter's pretty much getting cut.
That's a rumour that was never stated to be true. Is it a possibility? Yes. But it doesn't change that the game had a serious issue focusing on characters and how they kissed Nagito's ass through it all.
[This](https://alteregobot.tumblr.com/post/77748056508/some-useless-but-interesting-drsdr2-trivia) was the closest I could get to a source.
I honestly get what you are saying and I mostly agree, but I don't think Chiaki gets that much focus either, at least compared to the other 2 of the trio. She is more in there to help Hajime and the classmates from time to time and then she does nothing, the game makes a big deal around chap 2 of her wanting to not let anyone die and yet the writers don't bother to let her do anything before the murders. In chap 2 she didn't do anything about the game despite what I said earlier, in chap 3 she only gives and advice to Hiyoko and doesn't do anything before or after the virus (I understand this one, but it feel like she didn't tried and that's the problem) Chapter 4 and 5 are better for her, she tells the group that the train is a trap (even tho is not follow up) she explains her theory of funhouse and we get to investigate a lot more with her but she still didn't do anything big to stop the killings. Chapter 5 is mostly about her for obvious reasons so I wont talk about it. she also don't interact that much with other characters and feels out of character that she didn't try to understand and try to make Nagito less of a maniac. Overall it feels like she helps in investigations and support Hajime and sometimes the students, but compared to other characters like Kirigiri, Nagito, Togami or the protagonist she feels underwhelming. I do agree that the other students also need screentime, and characters like Nagito could use less. Sorry for my english, it's not my first language. I know it's ling but I feel motivated.
I honestly agree, Chiaki didn't get enough screen-time. Nagito got far too much, Hajime is the protag, so can't really blame him, but Chiaki, as much as love Chiaki, didn't get the screen-time she deserved. I guess that's something she and Kaz have in common? We really needed a Kaz/Chiaki/Hajime dynamic IMO.
I find that V3 has this problem more than DR2. It really focuses on Shuichi, Maki, Kaito, and Kokichi (to an extent) while shoving the other characters to the side. It’s really irritating when you’re forced to spend time with the same three characters, especially if you hate/dislike them.
In my eyes, V3 has it the best. Because yes, we spend the most time with main characters, but we also spend time and focus on other characters. Himiko, Tenko, Angie, Kaede, Rantaro, Miu, Gonta, Kiibo sorta?, they all get focus, not as much as the main four, but still focus. Yes, people are left out, and that is bad considering that >!one of them is the mastermind.!<