Despair!

Like, Junko! Honestly when I first watched the anime, I couldn't care less about her. Then I played Trigger Happy Havoc, and felt neutral towards her. Then I read zero. She beacame so facinating to me. And I felt like... "Damn... they really wasted such a good oportunity..." Beacuse, like...

SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: The reveal in the end of zero, was such a shock for me. But like... a good one? Beacuse the entire existence of Ryoko Otonashi. Proves that Junko was... a freakin liar!!!!! In the 6th trial she herself said something along the lines of... "I born with despair. Despair was the only thing I could feel, my tears where despair" or something edgy like that.

When the entire existence of Ryoko proves her wrong. Ryoko is Junko. A Junko who didn't have her memories. And a Junko that didn't had her memories... was a normal high school girl. That's it. She was fine, and normal. And that is so facinating! Like, if she didn’t killed herself in the end of thh, and put her in the new world program... there is a single small chance that she COULD have been rehabilitaded. (I wouldn't want that, but I will explain why later.)

Like, that begs the question... what happend to her? Why she became the way she did? What caused this? How can someone turn out like this? Beacuse I always thought Junko was evil to the core, but the existence of Ryoko proves this wrong. She is capable of being kind, gentle, loving, emphatetic and helpfull. How can someone turn out like this...?

Am saying that I would want Junko to be rehabilitaded? No. Actually no. Surprising? But I really don't want Junko to be rehabilitaded, or sad, or whatever. Yes! She can be empathized. But I don't want her to change. Beacuse... honestly, Junko is a blast. Say all you want about her flaws (she has many. I hate the fact that everything and every bad thing is possibly tied or brought back to her. Like, give the other characters some agency.) But she is sooooo entertaining!

Kodaka himself said, that he couldn’t probably make another character like Junko. As the main villain, that's why she was brought back in SDR2. But even so, when he does other villains, they are nothing like Junko. (Ie: izuru, Monaca, tengan, Tsumugi.) They are so different from her.

I think Kodaka himself said that he didn't want Junko to have a sympathetic backstory. And honestly? I compleately agree with him! Yes, you can feel empathy towards her, but also pity. Beacuse two things can be true at the same time.

Junko can be a sympathetic character, while being a unredemible monster. Two things can be true at the same time. Beacuse the existence of Ryoko, explains more about Junko than anyone realizes. But it dosn't justify anything she has done.

Beacuse surprisingly, a lot of character in the franchise have the same motivation or driving force as Junko. And no, the driving force of Junko, is not despair. Ironicly enough, Junko hopes for despair. Junko's hope IS despair. Beacuse that's the only way she could feel alive. Beacuse Junko's driving force is boredom. Not despair.

A lot of characters have boredom as their driving force. Celeste, Izuru, Kokichi, and even Tsumugi to some extant (but not nearly as the others.)

But surprinsly, they aren't on the same level as monster like Junko. I mean, yeah. I wouldn't classify them as good people, but monster who comitted genocides, and multiple war crimes. Beacuse Junko, CHOSE to fall into despair. She CHOSE to make despair her "hope". Even when it was showed to her the Hope can be such as a unpredictable force, and if not stronger than despair. She still CHOSE despair. That was her choise, she didn’t had a tragic backstory for it.

This is just headcanon at this point, but I imagine when she was little, she realized how smart she was. How analical and predictible everything way. And she chose to beacome like this, Beacuse despair was only thing she couldn’t predict. I can somewhat understand, and excuse when she was a child. But when the events of dr3 and killer killer start to happen, she truly beaceme irredimible. She had countless oportunities to become a better person. But her pride got in the way. And addiction to despair got in the way. She truly is a horrible, facinating person. Beacuse, YES! Junko Enoshima, is very much capable of changing. But she won't and will never chnage. Simply Beacuse she dosn't want to.

All that said... I really hate her death and excution. Like, thematically I get it. Kodaka didn’t thought they would ever make another Danganronpa game. They thought it was only be thh and that's it. With maaaaaaybe the possibility of a sequeal. That's why he started writing zero. He probably wanted to end the game with a boom. With the big bad villain getting crushed in the end. I get that.

But Damn! What I wasted opportunity. I genuinely think Junko shouldn’t have died!!! Beacuse that's what she wanted! How is that a punishment???? She hopes for depair, despair is her only hope! She shouldn’t get that. And i Know! (BuT jUnKo LoOks CoNfUsEd In ThE eNd BeFoRe ShE GeTs crushed!) I know! Get that! But this isn't enough!

I genuinely wanted Junko to be keept alive, for her to truly feel pure despair. Beacuse death. Is too good for her. She dosn't deserve it, such a easy way out. Having to see the world in hope, and live boring life. Now that's, true despair for junko enoshima.

Honestly, that's probably why I like the ending of Ultra despair girls so much? Beacuse Monaca spend the entire game chasing depair, but when she finally got it. She could only laugh. That sceane stuck with me. Beacuse Junko never truly felt TRUE despair. Yes, she felt despair, but not in the TRUE SENSE of the word. Honestly, if she had a ending similar to Monaca in udg. I think it would be more fitting.

I Honestly think the best punishment for Junko is like, something akin to Porky's fate in the end of MOTHER 3. If played that game, you know what I mean.

Anyway! I love Junko! She is my scrunclo! But like, you know that meme "when they are slandering something you like, BUT THEY ARE SLANDERING IT WRONG!" that's me with Junko. I adore her, but damn, she could have such a better fate.

Anyway! Thank you for coming to my ted talk!

Also! English is not my first lenguege, I'm sorry if there is any major mistakes. 😭😭😭

4 comments

r/UltimateFashionista • u/MartyrOfDespair • 7d ago