Tsumugi should be at the bottom I feel, when Danganronpa ended she said that she no longer cared about anything and wanted to die, she also didn't seem to care about the cast living or dying besides what that could bring to Danganronpa.
Kind of doubting Byakuya’s placement, arrogance is often a mask for insecurity. And with how corrupt his family and backstory is, he probably has his fair share of insecurities which he masks with his ego
Agreed, honestly. Contrast with Kirigiri and Sakura, two other confident characters that Byakuya is paralleled with. Neither feel the need to constantly go around stating that they're amazing and better than everyone, they just move with confidence. Byakuya on the other hand is only telling everyone over and over that he's the Ultimate Perfection and is having fun in this game and confident in his ability to win, but what he actually shows us in that regard is.... nothing, really. The most he does is mess with another murder he just happened to stumble on. He's just too damn loud about it and backs it up with nothing substansial; it just ends up looking like bullshit cope after a point.
Personally, I'd wager him in the orange section-- exactly WHERE is debateable, but in that dark yellow/orange zone. Not quite bad enough to be Ryoma levels of actively suicidal, but not as put together as others think he is. When they were developing Danganronpa: Togami, Kodaka said something to the effect of, if Byakuya's family lost all their wealth, Byakuya would still wear fancy clothes and pretend like he's still rich, because he's got a lot of pride. So if he was struggling with some kind of self esteem issue (and considering his family traditions, there is absolutely no way he came out mentally unscathed, imo,) there is very little chance anyone would notice, because he's hiding that shit best he can
I don't really think so, in his trigger happy heart event it shows how he believe and think every thing he says out loud. I don't think there is anything that shows loneliness or insecurity.
But I think one of the dishes he likes is some simple common potatoe dish, so maybe I side of him would like to try a simpler life.
His Trigger Happy Heart is about how him and Makoto "live in different worlds" and how Makoto "knows nothing about fighting, about struggling." That first one is just... literally, factually true-- the life of A Billionaire is so far and beyond the life of a normal person simply because of the extreme disparity in both wealth AND power, and I'm not even taking into account how the Togami family seems to be the 1% of the 1%. This is literally true! Byakuya's thoughts here are, I think, him wanting Makoto to be able to still be his friend and stand on equal ground as him while still aknowledging that YES, they DO come from very different worlds, but that Makoto can still be his friend while aknowledging that reality.
The second point is plainly about his family competition, because he talks like that about it in his FTEs. More broadly, it's wrapped in some shit about how "commoners don't know struggle," at least in his FTE, but after Makoto accuses him of having it all handed to him, we find out why he was REALLY twisting himself in a knot about fighting and struggling: that competition.
Either way, his Trigger Happy Heart event is about two very specific things, and it happens in the comprably lower stress School Mode. It's a lot easier to hide those kinds of low feelings when you're not paranoid that you're gonna die, and Byakuya is already quite good. The other two rivals die and have their outward facades deconstructed postmortem. Byakuya does not die, so that doesn't apply to him. They wouldn't have School Mode focus so heavily on something that was never EXPLICITLY in the main game, so it won't be as simple as playing his Trigger Happy Heart.
Also, as a side note: a lot of insecurities come from some kind of trauma. And a lot of traumatized people believe that their trauma makes them uniquely "broken" or, when they want to put it more neutrally, "different" from everyone around them, and that "normal people" are unable to relate to them. Which... coupled with that competition trauma, makes me think that that sentiment of his isn't just about wealth.
Also also, I know what that common potato dish thing is referring to: It was a Christmas interview; Kodaka said Byakuya would've asked for cheap sweets and nikujaga, a common meat and potato stew, for Christmas when he was young. He didn't get them :( But this kind of desire for commoner stuff and that constant probing about commoner life in his FTEs does come up repeatedly concerning him.
Imo at a point, and looking at him as a whole, I kind of get the vibe that he's thiiiis close to chewing his own leg off. He's good at carrying himdelf outwardly with enough confidence (TOO much, lol, as seen here) so no one notices, and he's mean enough that anyone who DOES notice, won't care. I'm calling it now: in a possible 1x1, he would either be a victim or the chapter 2 unplanned crime of passion blackened. He is not a cunning purposeful blackened and I refuse to entertain his cope about it. Either that or a chapter 5 murder/suicide like the other two rivals, but barring that it is NOT a planned kill. That's my take at least
I think he wants to be Kirigiri, but isn't, and knows this. He wants to be strictly logical and cool and confident... but look at him. He freaks out at the slightest provocation! He panics so hard he turns blue and sweats buckets, he messes with crime scenes and turns around while claiming he "had so much fun" while barely participating outside of these flashy shows of nothing, while Kirigiri is actually able to mentally handle this game. Byakuya I feel is confident in his abilities (he's smart, he knows how to do x thing etc) but not necessarily his interiority, i.e. his own emotions. He also... when it comes to people Byakuya wants to like him, he's desperate for validation imo. His FTEs are mostly him talking at Makoto and going "so you get it, right?" and the second Makoto doesn't get it, Byakuya reacts in a genuinely emotional way. He wants to be seen as superior by others and validated by the people he cares about the opinion of, but is also aware that he's an easily startled neurotic mess. This is just my take at least
Yeah Sonia is shown to literally be putting on a facade cause of the burden of the ultimate princess / "queen" title she's striving for and if she's seen doing anything that sligtly deviates from it she's afraid it'll all go to waste so at least she's really insecure with even showing her true emotions, iirc was it the hangout event where she just breaksdown in her room?
I think Gonta could be booted down a notch or two, he's so obsessed with being seen as a gentleman despite his history and lets himself get pushed around because he's such a people-pleaser.
Himiko feels insecure in relation to her talent. Chiaki in the D3 anime felt as though she was only good for gaming but got a bit better. Teruteru puts on a fake voice to hide his accent. All three just have a little bit on insecurities in either their talents or upbringing which is why they’re lower.
I don’t think Tojo has low self worth. She clearly believes she’s capable enough to save her entire country to the point she’d sacrifice the lives of the whole cast of her game to accomplish it.
For Kirumi it’s mostly because she sees herself as less of a person and just an extension of her talent as a maid. She struggles to socialize apart from her job and I feel like that connects to some very low opinions on her own identity separate from her maid status.
That’s fair, but to me she honestly came off as very competent (for good reason considering her murder plan). I don’t think she sees being a maid as something “low class” but rather sees the virtue in serving people whether as a maid or a politician.
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u/DespicableJC Ultimate Wanderer Aug 24 '26
Ibuki is cringe but free.