recently i started thinking about danganronpa v3 again, which is kind of a cyclical thing for me based on where the brainworms decide to wriggle around next, and, as usual, this largely boils down to me being completely insane about the ending.

drv3 has definitely the most controversial ending out of all the games among fans of the series (barring maybe udg but let's continue acting like that one doesn't exist), and it feels like even a large subset of drv3 fans don't like the ending either. i do understand why this is the case, because it is quite transparently an ending that is meant to shock you on some level, but i also don't think that most people are fair to it, so this post is really going to be me explaining the ending, why i think it is so phenomenal, and why it specifically resonates with me.

below is a recap of a bunch of stuff. if you're already familiar with danganronpa and drv3, you can skip ahead to this section.

recap

danganronpa is a video game (or multimedia if you want to include the completely garbage anime) series where 16 students are trapped in some situation and forced to participate in a killing game, where the only way to leave is to kill another classmate without any of your classmates figuring out that you did it. the stories are generally pretty unhinged, and characters are very anime or act pretty unbelievably sometimes, but most characters usually have some (or a lot) of depth to them and are likeable in at least some manner. the endings are known for being insane, completely flipping the story on its head, and containing some manner of sci-fi element to it, and the themes and resolutions generally focus on the dichotomy between hope and despair, and finding hope in hopeless situations.

danganronpa v3, however, is fairly different, in that hope and despair don't really play that much of a large role in the story for the most part, and the themes are not really focused on hope and despair. drv3 instead focuses on the dichotomy of truth and lies. this is reinforced in a lot of different ways: the main "trickster" archetype character's main thing is that he loves to lie all the time, and in the class trials, you have the ability to lie/falsify evidence, and you're required to do this at least once per trial.

additionally, the unbelievability of characters is played up a bit more, and characters generally fall more neatly into some type of archetype (whether that's a general-media archetype or a danganronpa-specific archetype). in spite of this, a lot of characters still manage to be very relatable at least in some ways - characters grow and change, and the main trio that you follow have particularly compelling arcs; shuichi learns to trust in his abilities and become more confident following the death of kaede, kaito learns to be less selfish and impulsive, and maki finds a purpose beyond being an assassin, and opens up and even learns to love.

all of this is important to the last stretch of the story: first, it's revealed that the students were the last remaining survivors of humanity, and the killing game was started by a malicious actor who was determined to kill the last few people left in the name of despair.

then, in the actual final chapter, it's revealed that that's all bullshit. none of that was true. actually, nothing was true. 15/16 of the participants of the killing game had false memories implanted into them, and the game was being broadcast to the whole world, which did not end. essentially, danganronpa became such a big franchise that eventually it moved onto reality tv where they gave people fake memories and made them do danganronpa irl. naturally, this makes the remaining characters completely lose their minds because they just watched a lot of people die and it wasn't even real, and they all fall into despair, and so the mastermind gleefully declares that the killing game will keep going forever and ever.

^ that's the part a lot of people don't like if it wasn't obvious.

anyway, shuichi and the gang find hope by the fact that their experiences, even if fiction, meant something to them.

^ this is the part that i like that i'll get into later

(and then a robot blows the place up and only the three remaining people get out but that's not important. though it is also semi-important to note that it's an open ending; it doesn't show what happens when they leave)

meaning in fiction

wow that was a lot to take in. did you get all that. anyway, first let's explore why people don't like the ending.

first: it states that all of danganronpa 1 and 2 was fiction.

second: it states that all of danganronpa v3 was just orchestrated (and basically fiction).

i feel like that's pretty self explanatory as to why people don't like that, so i'm just going to go straight into explaining why i think the ending is so good.

i would really be surprised if the writers were not expecting the reception that the ending got, partly because it's pretty clear that those points that people don't like about it are intentional, and meant to challenge you to think about why you don't like those things.

why would it feel bad to hear that danganronpa is fiction? it's not like it's really a surprise. danganronpa 1 and 2 are video games that you play, and drv3 telling you this isn't going to be blowing your mind. drv3 telling you that what you just played through was a story written by someone isn't surprising.

ok, so why does it feel bad for a story to tell you that it's fake? that it never happened?

when you're reading through a story, generally you're connecting with the characters, sympathising with their struggles, and hoping they'll succeed in spite of it all. it's only natural that it would feel kind of upsetting to be told that none of it was real, that none of it mattered.

but what if it did matter? isn't that why it feels bad to hear that it's fake? because it mattered, not to some fictional characters, but to you?

this is the crux of drv3 - the message, and the themes of truth and lies made manifest: it doesn't matter if something is fiction if it matters to you. drv3 is a story made to show appreciation to stories, and to those who appreciate stories.

that's really why it matters so much to me and resonates with me so much. when i like a story hard, i am literally obsessed with it. it's not an exaggeration to say that i am who i am at least partly because of the various stories i've connected with.

i got into homestuck when i was a lonely kid whose best friends were all internet friends, and it made me feel less alone. i got into kekkai sensen during covid lockdown and it made me start dressing better and feel more hopeful that things will get better (also it helped me finally realise i was gay because klaus von reinherz is hot). there's also more examples but i think 2 gets the point across and i don't want to keep exposing myself.

anyway, the point is that i've felt this before - such a deep love for and connection to a story that it doesn't matter to me that it's just a story, because it feels almost dismissive or wrong to call it "just a story", because it is so important to me.

the conclusion of danganronpa v3 has the characters resolve that it doesn't matter if everything that happened was fake, because it felt real to them. the words spoken to them by their friends and the feelings of joy and fear they felt were all real to them in the moment, and in a way, still are real to them now, and that's why they can keep going.

and that's really why i love danganronpa v3.

addendum 1: the end of danganronpa?

you can pretend that the following 2 sections don't exist if you want! this is also just me thinking about other aspects of the ending that i think are interesting.

it feels like drv3 was definitely made to be the end of the danganronpa franchise, at least for a while. i think that the devs have also said that in interviews, but also there's some interesting things in the ending that definitely feels like it ties into that (while still being pretty relevant to the themes).

in the ending, it's revealed that danganronpa was an extremely long franchise with 53 entries (thus the v3 part lol), and that danganronpa is basically constantly pumped out. also, the ending has a bunch of stuff with hope and despair crammed into it and a character is given the moniker of "ultimate hope" which is kind of a staple of the franchise; this, in particular, is definitely meant to intentionally feel forced and obligatory, like it's only happening because it's danganronpa.

and in a sense, it is only happening because it's danganronpa: the writers are pretty much all but saying "we don't want to have to keep writing hope and despair and other danganronpaisms into stuff just so it's part of danganronpa." it's their way of saying that danganronpa is over without necessarily ruling out the possibility of it coming back.

they don't want danganronpa to become an unkillable franchise that just keeps pumping out new games, even if they aren't good or full of heart. they brought back drv3 because they had something to say, and they said it, and they didn't leave anything unsaid.

i wouldn't mind if danganronpa gets another game, but i also don't mind if it never does. the ending has definitely made me reasonably sure that, if it does come back, it's because it has a good reason to, and it'll be a good time.

addendum 2: is the ending even real?

this is an aspect of the ending that i liked a lot more before, but which i don't care as much for anymore, but i do still think it's interesting, and so i want to mention it so as to not leave anything unsaid.

the ending does also very much leave open the door to the possibility that the ending itself was a lie - i.e., that maybe danganronpa 1 and 2 WEREN'T fake, and their memories and WEREN'T manipulated, or at least not in the ways that they were told they were.

the post-ending scene where shuichi and them are talking about it kind of states this, but also there's some good evidence in the story itself too. there's probably more that i'm just not thinking of right now, but there's two i know off the top of my head:

first: everyone allegedly volunteered to participate in danganronpa, but the prologue mentions and shows that everyone was kidnapped. which kind of makes the whole part where they were kidnapped strange and questionable.

second: the floor in the audition tapes seem identical to one of the sets in tsumugi's ultimate room (i might be misremembering and it might be the gym actually). this kind of feels less like random bullshit just because the auditions are like them looking up at a camera from a wooden floor which is like. why would the auditions be here.

anyway, this is all interesting more from a story point of view and from a thematic point of view, but doesn't really matter to the message of the ending of "fiction is awesome", so i don't really care for it much anymore. still interesting though!

that's all i have to say i think! if you've read this far: thanks & also damn! anyway i still need to play rain code sometime. i'll probably pick it up when i re-enter my employment era. hope you're doing well dear reader xoxo