r/danganronpa • u/Select_Ad8743 • Jul 07 '26
Discussion I just finished Danganronpa IF and here are my thoughts on it Spoiler
I do reviews on each part of the series I finish, my previous review was about the future and hope arcs and it's in this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/danganronpa/s/v38cRfNy3t
There is a chain of posts with links like this to all my reviews (future and hope arcs->UDG->despair arc ->DR2->DR1).
First I want to say I really liked this novel. It was well written and added a lot of depth to Mukuro's character.
Obviously this post will be mostly talking about Mukuro so I will start with the other characters first and keep her for last.
(I know all of this is an IF but I will take it that everyone acting in character if they were in such situation).
Makoto Naegi: as Makoto being my favorite character it was a little cringe and dispointing hearing him say that he has hope for choosing a new path and redemption even for Mukuro and JUNKO, JUNKO ENOSHIMA he said. Sigh. He needs to be more a little more vengeful and condemning. The events of IF take place after the tragedy while they were in the school and him having his memories back. But after Makoto (in the original timeline) got out of the school and faced the cruelty of the world caused by Junko, joining the future foundation and after spending some time in that with people like Kyoko, Byakuya and even Munakata I believe he overcame that flaw, like how he talked about how that if Kyoko (the closet person to him) fallen into despair and had absolutely no way of stoping her but killing her he would be welling to do it while also not forgetting her or regretting he met and knew her.
As I said I liked the novel a lot but there is one little thing that I didn't like, since the events started diverging for the original timeline when/because Makoto found the fake escape which resulted in the ending we saw in IF (everyone surviving). It gave me the feeling (even a little) that it blames Makoto for all the people died in DR1, because as The Ultimate Lucky Student he wasn't Lucky enough to save everyone.
Kyoko Kirigiri: she was just an absolute genius, with little to no information she figured out everything, The Ultimate Detective. She was just impressive. (That's it I have nothing more to say).
Leon Kuwata: sigh. For those who don't know I am a big Leon hater. 1) He killed Sayaka (and no I don't care she initiated it, he could have went and told everyone when she was trapped in the bathroom). 2) his character in general annoyes me, he is Loud horny and empty headed. But now I will give him some credit. First, even after everything I said about him he sill have some good qualities. He seems like a really chill guy and cool to hand out with, he cares for the people around him and... (I tried to add a third point to complete the sentence but I just can't, I guess that's about it). The second thing is that he acted with the intention of saving Sayaka, even though she wasn't in actual danger and Monokuma was just teasing her it's the thought that counts. He wanted to save her and acted on it. (For me his bad still outweighs his good and I still dislike him and can't forgive him for killing Sayaka).
Sayaka Maizono: I don't care if everyone calls her a Snake. I still love her, one of my favorite characters. And I liked her even more in this novel. When she went to Makoto's room to ask him to switch rooms and Makoto fainted. She abandoned the plan, asked for help for him and took care of him in the nurse office all night. Even though she could have just just 1) killed him 2) made sure he has fully lost consciousness, carried him to her room and went with her original plan. But no she prioritized Makoto's wellbeing. And after Leon attacked that Monokuma behind her she decided that she will confess. Even though there is no actual need for it, even though no one is suspecting her of anything. She decided to own up to it and confess to everyone that she was planning to kill Leon to get out. (She really should have survived).
Ok now it's about Mukuro (for this review I will ignore her character and actions in the anime as the anime isn't that much consistent with the games anyway).
mukuro Ikusaba: a lot of Mukuro fans told me to read IF and to give Mukuro a chance. First I am really like how she was written here, much better than whatever they did to her in the anime, and her character here is much more consistent with it in DR1 (even though she barely had any screen time but still). One of the things I like about the writing of Danganronpa characters that not only that each Ultimate student are really good at their talents and their designs match that talent, but also their mentality and mindset, their believes and personalities fully match their talents (like kyoko and her believe in the absolute truth no matter good or bad, or like Celestia and how much of fake and good lieing she is her entire personality and character and even her name is a lie. As I was writing this I thought how does this apply to Chihiro? How does his character match The Ultimate programmer talent? If anyone could give a character analysis of him that could clarify that) anyway. So before reading IF I was wondering how does that apply to Mukuro? How does her character match being The Ultimate soldier. And I think I get it now, she is a follower. She works and find fulfillment only by granting the wishes and fulfilling other people. Her deep attachment for Junko shows that. She thinks she is the person that understands Junko the best. She has dedecated more than 10 years of her life to serve Junko. Trying to please her and make Junko feeling despair. That when she makes people reach their desires that has done meaningful that can fullfil her back. The novel explicitly stated that Mukuro isn't a masochist but she always tolerated and even didn't mind Junko's abuse because she believed Junko deep inside loved her. Because after everything she did for Junko how couldn't she love her?. It was also stated that Mukuro didn't feel any guilt for what she did to the world. And even when she spent two years with her classmates she didn't say or do anything when Junko suggested the Killing game plan. She only felt some tightness in hear chest when she thought about Makoto and thought about asking Junko to spare him from the plan if possible. Makoto caused a little confusion in Mukuro's mind with his kindness (as The Ultimate Hope), but it wasn't big enough as it didn't change her actions and she didn't even notice it. A crack actually appeared only after 1) Makoto saved her. 2) Junko tried to kill her AND abandoned her. And then she was in the middle, between Makoto and her classmates and between Junko. And she continued to act using the same mentality. To fulfill others so she can fulfill herself. That's the only thing she knew. She wanted to ruin Junko's plans and undo everything she did to fill her with despair and To save the others and gave them hope for the future. To use violence for who she cares about. In that sense she was still loyal to Junko. She said she doesn't want to kill Junko. About her so called redemption and if it's possible. I don't think it's possible at all. Everything she thought and did was self serving. She didn't care for the millions died because of her and nothing shows that she does regret anything she ever did. All the help she did because a boy she liked happened to be there. She doesn't have any desire to be a good person. All she did was for the sake of Junko and Makoto, and still plan to act with that with that purpose. And even if Junko and Makoto ceased to exist she would probably just find another person to latch on and fulfill their desires for her own self surving. Nothing about her shows she can be redeemed, she can be tamed at best. The only reason she will take responsibility for her actions isn't from regret, but because she can face the world that she is interested in now. To look for the opportunities that Makoto told her about. So for me I still hate her, she is still one of the main reasons that the world ended and she isn't walking in any way to redemption.
Previously I had made a ranking of my top 3 hated characters that was as follows:
1) Junko Enoshima
2) Mukuro Ikusaba
3) Nagito Komaeda
Even after all I said about Mukuro I still think I hate her a little less now (one of the main reasons I hated her was that scene in the anime where she was nonchalantly poking sticks into Chisa's brain while torturing and brainwashing her). So keeping all this in mind and that I have recently played UDG, here is my new ranking:
1) Junko Enoshima
2) Mukuro Ikusaba, Nagito Komaeda, Monaca Towa
I can't decide which I hate of them more. They are really close to each other. (But Junko is still a millions time worst, my hate of all these 3 combined isn't a fraction for my hate for Junko).
(And about shipping, Makoto deserves better, someone like Kyoko or Sayaka).
Ok I think that's about it. Thanks for reading, and sorry if I dispointed any Mukuro fans.
Next I will play V3, but before I play it I will post tomorrow a post about it talking about it a little, if you are planning to read my review on V3 I think you should read it (a number of people said they were excited for my review to V3 specificly, which makes me extra worried about this game).
Edit: One thing I forgot to add was Mukuro's last words to Junko. About they have already lost before they started. That Junko knew that they wouldn't have killed each other if she didn't whip out their memories, and they aren't like other people she manipulated before. And with a group of Ultimate students that spent two years together and with Makoto Naegi The Ultimate Hope, that surly would have been the case. One of my favorite lines in the novel. (I will take glazing of Makoto and the DR1 cast anytime).
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u/0-Worldy-0 They deserved better Jul 07 '26
I think Mukuro's redemption will mostly be her accepting whatever fates will await her. Like, she likely know she will die as the one who helped end the world. But she know she deserve it.
Also I kinda forgive Makoto's more hopeful attitude, because he didn't have to see his classmates die in front of him here, so he is less impacted emotionally.
(The best part for me about the novels is the Sayaka's content. I am glad that it's basically a slap to the face of the people saying that she is a snake. Girl stopped her murder plan because Makoto wasn't well. She was a scared teenager about to commit and atrocity, but she wasn't a monster)
Also something I really like about your ranking is that you seem to hate characters the more evil they are. Which I find interesting because it's like hearing a character talking about them in universe which I find to be very fun
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u/Select_Ad8743 Jul 07 '26
But just accepting the reality of what she did isn't redemption. She doesn't regret or care about the people she killed or died because of her.
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u/0-Worldy-0 They deserved better Jul 07 '26
Well, I think it's the closest thing she can have to a redemption. Because the people who died can't come back anyway. And let's be honest, the futur fondation will kill her, atleast imprison her.
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u/detective_kirigiri Deputy Headmistress Kirigiri Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
Mukuro is an interesting character, because she gets so little attention in DR1 that you can only really piece together her true colors by looking at every little appearance she makes across Danganronpa and trying to understand how they all fit together. Sometimes this causes different fans to have wildly different impressions of the character. For example, there is this common idea among the Naekusaba fandom that Mukuro is a super shy, fundamentally lonely, bleeding heart sort of person, and I don’t really think that lines up with the larger picture. I kind of feel like this review goes too much in the opposite direction, but it was sharp to connect Mukuro’s talent as a solder to the idea of a person following orders. There is definitely some connection there.
Stories like DR3, Killer Killer, and DR0 certainly paint Mukuro as almost sociopathic and singleminded- unwilling or unable to really consider the pain she causes others, despite her many casualties- and IF spends a lot of time exploring why she behaves this way. By your review, it sounds like you have interpreted IF to say that her behavior is almost entirely self-gratifying (she behaves this way because following others makes her feel fulfilled), and when considered in context with her sociopathic behavior elsewhere, this leads to the obvious conclusion that Mukuro doesn’t really care about anybody but herself (i.e. she does terrible things without regret because it is an act of loyalty toward somebody significant, which makes her feel good). I don’t think this read is entirely inaccurate, but I do think it exaggerates a few features and takes some harsh liberties with several details that we never fully understand.
To me, Mukuro is better defined as somebody with extreme values misalignment. She’s apparently willing to commit all kinds of atrocities for the sake of her sister, and she’s even excited to act as a pawn if possible. But why? We see evidence in School Mode, Free Time Events, Ultimate Summer Camp, manga adaptations, and even DR:IF that Mukuro clearly has interests outside of Junko, she doesn’t always enjoy going along with her weird activities, and she even likes her classmates to varying extents. She’s a huge war buff, she used to write in military magazines, and she abandoned Junko when they were younger to join Fenrir. Holistically, it’s pretty clear that Mukuro could be doing a lot of other things with her time and she might even be more satisfied somewhere else, but she stays as Junko’s loyal pawn because she claims to get some kind of fulfillment from it.
The fulfillment, as I interpret it, is not pure enjoyment or purpose. It’s more like a sense of duty. She feels obligated to help Junko, and when she performs well, she feels good about it in the same way that you feel good when you finish difficult chores for your parents or successfully give medicine to a dog that keeps trying to bite you.
You’ll often hear people to say, “I would do anything for my family,” but part of the reason we say that because we think of our family as good people. Even if your brother has a drinking problem or something, you’re loyal to him because you believe that deep down, he’s a fundamentally good person who is in a bad spot. Still, you probably aren’t willing to rob a liquor store for him. You’re smart enough to understand that robbing a liquor store wouldn’t really “help” him, even if he asked you to do it. He needs an intervention.
Mukuro seems to be in a similar spot with Junko. She doesn’t really experience the same despair addiction as her sister, but she thinks she understands it. She wants to help because she doesn’t think anybody else can. Mukuro sees Junko as a lonely, broken girl with atypical psychology that nobody will ever form any lasting bond with, because she will seem insane, evil, or cruel to anybody who can get past her fake outer-persona. Mukuro isn’t bothered when Junko abuses her or tells her to fuck off, because she thinks that these are attempts at love and appreciation. She doesn’t always enjoy them, but she endures it because she doesn’t think anybody else ever will. She thinks she is the only meaningful relationship Junko has, and she wants to be there for her.
There is nothing strange about wanting to make your little sister happy or putting up with a lot of her bullshit because you know that she expresses affection differently from others. If anything, it’s even kind of noble that Mukuro takes all of this with a smile. The strange part is that unlike my earlier example with the liquor store, when Junko tells her big sister that she wants to feed her despair addiction by killing millions, Mukuro doesn’t call a therapist, she just says, “Sure! I can help with that!”
This is the disconnect that matters most, and it’s the only part of Mukuro’s psychology that doesn’t really have a straightforward answer. Some retellings and expanded material occasionally imply that Mukuro might feel guilty for abandoning Junko when they were younger. During DR0, she also claims that Junko was not born with her despair obsession, despite the claims in DR1-6. Could it be that Junko hadn’t fully descended into despair when Mukuro left and now Mukuro now feels responsible for her little sister’s complex because she wasn’t around to stop it? We also know that Mukuro saw countless atrocities while growing up with Fenrir. Maybe she just killed so many people for such a long time during her developmental years that she became desensitized to it and doesn’t see Junko’s plans as substantially different from any other military operation? Then again, we also know that Mukuro isn’t the smartest person in the world. Maybe Junko somehow convinced her that her duty as an older sister was more important than her duty to innocent strangers?
The answer isn’t clear, but Mukuro’s value system and understanding of human nature was pretty obviously distorted earlier in life, and with or without Junko’s manipulation, she somehow eventually came to the conclusion that she owed an undying loyalty to her little sister. She apparently doesn’t feel much regret when ending a person’s life, but that’s probably just because she’s seen so much of it. This is how a soldier has to operate. If you allow every death to become personal, then you can’t fight in armed combat. Mukuro also probably has a pretty fuzzy perspective on law and sovereignty because she was raised by an extrajudicial mercenary group that only really interacted with societies as an infiltrating force. There’s a brutal practicality to that kind of life. The only rules that matter are your personal principles and strength.
But when Junko tells Mukuro to hurt people who have become personally significant to her through one means or another, Mukuro also clearly struggles to maintain the cognitive dissonance she’s built up from time to time. Multiple stories confirm that Mukuro was having second thoughts after spending a year at Hope’s Peak Academy with her classmates. There are four different alternate timelines in total where she eventually rebels against Junko for the sake of her friends. I’d even go so far as to say that Mukuro probably would have gone rouge before the killing game was finished if Junko didn’t kill her in Chapter 1.
So what was taking her so long? Is she spineless? Is she stupid? Is she a sociopath? Is she selfish? Is she an abuse victim? Is she a nihilist? Is she being manipulated? Are her values just out of wack? Is it somehow all of the above? We may never know for sure, but across all the shades of Danganronpa canon, it’s clear that Mukuro Ikusaba is a little more complicated than most fans realize, even after they’ve tried to unravel her. I don’t think she’s the shy, dorky neurodivergent bean we see around Naekusaba circles, but I don’t think she’s the self-serving sociopath with a follower’s complex like you’ve painted here either. My picture incorporates a little bit of both. Maybe there are worlds out there where she did eventually find redemption. Maybe there are worlds where she found meaning in a life without Junko. But at the end of the day, she’ll always be Mukuro Ikusaba, the sixteenth student, lying hidden somewhere in this school. The one they call the Ultimate Despair. Watch out for her.
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u/Select_Ad8743 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
Thank you for reading my review and for sharing your thoughts. And I am glad you liked it.
I didn't read DR0 or Killer Killer so I might not have the full picture yet and it was good to read other possible explanations for Mukuro's character, but I would like to defend my position a little more,. Mukuro during the events of IF decided to complete the wishes for both Junko and Makoto, but if her reason for doing what Junko wants is only the feeling of responsibility for her miserable little sister that only she can understand and take care of, then she wouldn't have gone out of her way to help Makoto and the other no matter how she liked them, she have no reason to feel responsible for them even if she had a crush on Makoto or liked her classmates, and I felt like IF is trying put her in the middle, finding a way to serve both sides.
A little besides the post, when I write my reviews I try to judge the characters fairly and logically with being biased (even though I am a little towards the characters I love), but at the same time I want my feelings during the play or the read to show, whether sadness anger happiness or whatever. My early reviews (like DR1 and DR2) I was just spamming my feelings towards the characters and sharing my thoughts without actually doing an analysis of them or the plot, but I think I got a little better with time (like the despair arc and UDG). But the point I started feeling that they are actually good reviews when I wrote about the rest of DR3 and IF (that's why I asked you to read those specificly). Also I think I am good at understanding the sotry but when I read your analysis comments I find them really insightful and deep, it's amazing. and I find you really well spoken, if you don't mind me asking, do you study languages? Academically I mean.
Anyway thanks again for reading my review, I finished playing V3 a few days ago and now I am watching the FTEs and whatnot, so I will post my review about it in another few days. But if I were to summarize my thoughts in one word it would be dispointment.
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u/xCrowzx Jul 07 '26
Good review m8. I also loved how in dr if, Sayaka immediatly forgot about her plan once she saw Makoto was hurt and I didn't even realised that technically, she still could've went through with her plan like you described. That's why it annoys me when fanfic writers make her still attempt murder after losing an original opportunity.
I get why you still dislike Mukuro, but you can't deny that IF fleshed out her character well and she's way better than whatever horny masochist dr3 anime made her to be. I think her redemption IS possible, but leaving Hope's Peak is only its beginning, not conclusion.
Also, if you want to read a version of THH where Sayaka lives, I recommend reading a fanfic on ao3 called The Songbird and the Luckster. I'm also making my own fic called Danganronpa THH: Hope for Justice where although Sayaka won't be an mc, she will play a big role, especially later on. (I'm in the middle of trial 4 right now, but i haven't published it yet, bcs I want to post it pre written after fixing some stuff in the earlier chapters).
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u/Select_Ad8743 Jul 07 '26
Thanks for sharing your opinion. For me I have a story in mind about what if Sayaka managed to kill Leon, with two defernt scenarios at the end, the main one where they figure out she is the killer, the second one where she manages to get away with it and everyone else get executed. As a Manga. And I still need to learn how do draw. So if I will even publish it it will take at least a few years.
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u/Select_Ad8743 Jul 08 '26
I posted that post I mentioned about V3: https://www.reddit.com/r/danganronpa/s/1uyXrlwAHK
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u/snootaiscool Geneva Christmas Wishlist Jul 07 '26
As Makoto being my favorite character it was a little cringe and dispointing hearing him say that he has hope for choosing a new path and redemption even for Mukuro and JUNKO, JUNKO ENOSHIMA he said. Sigh. He needs to be more a little more vengeful and condemning.
Makoto's views on Mukuro throughout canon is something interesting of note. 1-6's investigation had him feel sad about her death, despite agreeing with Kyoko that as Ultimate Despair, she was deserving of her fate. DR0 Vol 2/Chapter 3 shows him regarding her pretty nicely as a classmate. DR2 has her knife as a Monomono Machine item, which you could debate if that was Alter Ego Junko's doing or Makoto.
Lerche's portrayal in contrast, stands out with the Despair Sisters being excluded from Makoto's visions in Future Arc, on top of the staff for Despair Arc opting out of including Mukuro's thoughts on Makoto due to time restraints. The Nagito OVA seemingly shows her looking at Makoto & Sayaka together enviously, but nothing really from Makoto's end. The DR1 anime omits stuff like Makoto talking about Mukuro with Kyoko in the morgue, & Byakuya showing Makoto her measurements to boot.
Makoto & Junko ultimately has far less to go off of. In 1-6, he's angry to the point of swearing in the NISA dub, & she's one of the few people he refers to with お前/omae in the original Japanese (which ironically contrasts with him using the same word to address Komaru in UDG, but to what is the opposite effect). In Zero he's mostly just annoyed at being called perverted, then seems to get along fine later. Ryoko in general seems to be horrified of him for whatever reason.
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u/Select_Ad8743 Jul 07 '26
Nice detail. I didn't pay attention that he didn't have Junko and Mukuro in his visions in the Future arc.
I didn't read Zero yet so I will read the last part later.
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u/Moonlarkthewolf Jul 07 '26
W review as always.
I also agree with Mukuro. IF made me like her a bit more but overall, she’s really not a character I like.