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numberoneanika · 8 months

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The Whit Culprit Theory

Hello everyone and welcome back to Anika Theories Based Off Little to Nothing except this time i actually have things. This is basically just me explaining to @accirax the Whit culprit theory. Spoilers for Chapter 2 Episode 11.

The Evidence

We’re gonna start off by saying that the time of death is actually this morning.

The jugs in the trash could be used to keep water around and stored in the minifridge in the gym, thus making the murder able to be committed during nighttime.

The marks on Arei’s wrists look too new to be made last night. They would’ve faded away by now if they were made last night.

Her body was also still moving when we found it, implying it was hanged recently.

Charles’s rebuttal crosses through “time of death”.

This then makes everyone who had an alibi for that time period suspicious. Granted, you could argue that the people without alibis were planning to have one but got caught up, but going through, Levi was doing his laundry which he could’ve simply left at any time, Ace was working out which he again could’ve left, Nico was wandering around, Rose was sleeping, and David was in the relaxation room. Any of these could’ve just watched a movie with Veronika or hung out with Eden and Hu, and yet they didn’t.

Side note: if you want to say they used the evening to prepare for next morning, they could’ve simply prepared an hour or so after nighttime, as getting the fish and clothes takes barely ten minutes. In any case, having an alibi would benefit them, and it doesn’t make much sense for them to not have an alibi for the fake time of death.

By the way, I probably won’t be making a whole entire murder theory on how it happened, cause this doc is really long already. Maybe later.

So, the people with alibis are Whit, Charles, J, Arturo, Eden, Hu, Teruko, and Veronika. We can obviously rule out Teruko and Charles, so this leaves us with Whit, J, Arturo, Eden, Hu, and Veronika. Let’s do some process of elimination. We know Arei’s death was initially framed as a sewerslide, from the cause of death, so the culprit had to see the rope being put in storage and know, at the very least, about the people who sent Arei ropes.

Veronika wouldn’t want to kill, as she wants to stick around and see the chaos unfold. She also defended Arturo and went on a very creepy tangent. While she was in the cafeteria to hear Arei’s hanging line, she didn’t seem to have any reaction to it. And knowing Veronika, she would’ve thrown away everything to hear about this backstory, so I think I can rule her out.

Hu wasn’t even there to see Arei’s rope getting put in storage, and she didn’t hear Arei’s line about being told to ykw. She got a new outfit, so the creator had to redraw every single one of her sprites - for one singular chapter? Seems unlikely.

For J I have some of the same reasoning as Veronika. She was busy fighting with Arturo, and she didn’t seem to have any reaction to the hanging line - and if she had heard it, she would DEFINITELY have a reaction. She doesn’t have a motive to kill Arei, either, so I don’t think she did this.

This leaves us with Arturo, Whit, and Eden. Arturo was so focused on J, he wouldn’t notice anybody else unless they butted in to his conversation (like Eden), and he doesn’t really have a motive? If he wanted to protect his secret, he’d have to kill Eden too. He’s also way too antagonistic to just kill off now. Also don’t see why he’d make a note in direct reference to his secret.

Eden. I’m not even going to try and argue against her, you guys already have a theory that is like twenty freakin acts but I still don’t think it’s her for reasons

Anyway, what we’re here for is Whit. He wasn’t breaking up any fights or in a fight, and was presumably just watching Charles make cucumber flowers. It’s not out of the question to think he might’ve heard that line.

I’d also like to bring up how involved Whit is in this chapter for so far seeming irrelevant? It’s like a little circle. Whit sends David to the relaxation room where he meets up with Arei*, Whit has David’s secret, David knows Arei’s secret, Arei knows David’s secret by looking over Whit’s shoulder… and you’re telling me Whit is just A Guy in this chapter?

*Side note: This is also a major reason for suspecting him. If you want to argue that Whit couldn’t have known Arei and Ace would be there, he didn’t really need to? David being in the relaxation room, a place directly opposite from the playground, could easily frame him, and connect him to the fish. Though it’s possible that since Arei was looking for David, Whit told her where David was.

He also wouldn’t feel bad framing David, compared to someone like Hu, because of a lot of factors-

He knows David’s secret is that he’s a master manipulator

He saw David lie about his secret in front of everyone

He saw David suggest a plan that was most likely dangerous and could get someone killed.

His intuition.

Take a look at this screenshot from Chapter 1, Episode 8 (i think) when Whit is defending Charles.

From the screenshot, it can be inferred that Whit knows when people are acting. That means Whit knew from the start that David’s whole optimistic persona was fake. Combined with David lying about his secret and making a dangerous plan, Whit could, guilt-free, frame David, knowing that it would be likely that he would break down and reveal his true colors when accused, only serving to incriminate him further.

There’s also the fact that he was literally in the room when Teruko and Hu got their new outfits, so he would know where the clothes were. Also, his redesign had three changes, and you can’t even see one of them unless you’re looking at his full-body sprites, so it doesn’t make him less suspicious in the way it makes Hu less suspicious.

His special weapon is stationary, which includes fancy pens and stuff, which could help him make the note and disguise his handwriting.

He also willingly helped construct the note with the fake time of death, and unlike Rose, this benefits him. He was also the one telling Charles to ‘relax’ during the investigation.

There's also that godforsaken hanging line right before we find the body. I'm not going to say this is evidence, necessarily, but it's possible that this was a Freudian slip (when you say something that gives away what you're thinking).

And now you may be thinking, "Didn't he literally discover the body? The BDA went off, it couldn't be him!" And to this, I want to direct your attention to one of the rules -

I could've sworn one of the rules was "rules can be waived in the case of murder" but it seems that's only for property damage. I think.

This relates to the complicated murder system. Why did the culprit go to such lengths to make a pulley system instead of just hanging her normally?

One answer is to use this rule. Technically, if they are looking away when the murder happens, then they don't count as someone who witnessed the body. Also, I don't know why he didn't want to check in the playground, considering he wasn't that close to Arei, unless he was scared the BDA wouldn't ring.

Another answer is that someone else discovered the body first. And who would be the most likely to do that? David Chiem, who's already trying to kill us all. Not to mention, he tried to stop MonoTV from revealing the secrets because Arei was missing.

Considering he probably isn't the culprit, it seems like he already knew someone was dead.

Another option that ties into this is that they weren't strong enough to pick her up just like that. There are also marks near the swingset, which could be marks of dragging Arei's body. And, if we take a look at the strength chart...

Whit (along with many others, of course) is near the bottom, so he would need this pulley system.

In conclusion, a lot of this evidence seems to point to him, but there's more to talk about.

Whit’s Motive

You may argue that Whit has no motive and that he readily confessed his secret. However, remember that Rose didn’t see her slip of paper, and she knows neither the owner or the contents.

After this, David, Arturo, and Hu all say a couple sentences (you can check for yourself), and only *after* this…

Take a note of the wording here. He doesn’t say the contents of the secret - just that the secret Rose has is his.

Also note the only two people left after Hu are J and Eden, and their secrets were already revealed. (Also, if Whit listened to the Arturo-Eden confrontation, he would know the secret Eden received as well.)

Remember that this is before MonoTV puts up its own board, and the logic it leads by is…

What you all agree on, not what is correct. This is the logic many people use to say David lied about the secret he received, but who’s to say it doesn’t apply to Whit as well?

It’s a little strange how Whit jumped on Rose’s secret, seeing how he was saying he led such a normal life before and didn’t know what his secret was, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for now. (Not to mention, if he was “omitting the truth”, as the secret says, it seems unlikely that he’d just change his mind all of a sudden and confess it so casually.)

Let’s do a little logic here. Whit, Eden, and Rose were all putting the note together, and never got to see the secret board, no? Rose wouldn’t be able to tell him - or anyone - because she didn’t see who had the secret. The only way he could know his secret was if he found the paper slip, but that’s also impossible - last evening he said he still didn’t know, and even if he had found out this morning somehow, he would’ve confessed it on his turn or Rose’s, more likely than not.

Granted, there is a hole in this logic. Before MonoTV’s board is revealed, J (who was guarding the crime scene) remarks that “hang on, was one of those secrets about murder? One of you was a murderer before this killing game?” and Charles remarks “some of these secrets seem to be about sewerslide,” so that. Might be a hole. I still think it’s rather suspicious that they specifically made Whit the only one who confirms his own secret - if they just wanted to give it to them, why did they make Rose not look at it?

There’s also a rather big deal made out of the fact that Whit “doesn’t know what his secret is” and him asking for someone to reveal it.

Let’s go off-track for a bit - if we assume Whit doesn’t have the dead mother secret, then that leaves the murderer secret (that Arei received), s///h secret (that Hu received), hopeless child secret, (that Veronika received), and cause of the killing game (that David received). His wrists are fully visible, so I don’t think he has the s///h one (apologies if this is insensitive). If this was a Whit mastermind theory, I’d say killing game, but it’s not. The hopeless child… I mean, maybe? There was that thing Hu said that was “you can’t tell how someone feels just by looking at them”.

For this theory, let’s assume Whit has the murderer secret**. I know it seems pretty obvious that Levi has it, but there have been more than a couple times they’ve faked us out with a seemingly obvious secret, and considering the victim was Arei, it does seem the most likely.

**If you want to argue there’s too much evidence for Whit having the dead mother theory, it’s entirely possible that the person Whit killed was his mother, for one reason or another. There’s plenty of theories that say Whit’s mother wasn’t the best person. Also, this entire motive section is mostly speculation, if we’re being honest, and it’s possible Whit does have the dead mother secret and the motive for killing Arei is something else entirely, but I’m trying to make a more convincing motive.

Now, you might have a rebuttal - Arei received the murderer secret. Wouldn’t she have called him out on it?

And to this, I say - remember, this is Arei before her redemption, before David gives her a speech. She’d take the chance to blackmail Whit easily, just like how she was planning to blackmail David before the speech. And remember, Whit went off with Charles a little bit later after that, so she wouldn’t have a chance to get him alone, and so she went to confront David instead.

During the Trial

Now, you may be asking, “Didn’t Whit deflect the topic when the note was brought up? Why would he do that?”

There’s an old argument I made that is still relevant, which is that “It comes down to Teruko's nature. She's distrusting, blunt, and won't leave any issue that could help solve the murder alone. If Whit was the culprit, he could safely assume that Teruko would eventually get the note out of Eden, so he could derail the topic while knowing it would eventually come up and make his "alibi" and look less suspicious at the same time.” However, I also have new reasoning. What does Whit deflect the topic to?

That’s right - alibis. And this directly leads Teruko to conclude that the murder happened before nighttime thanks to the fish. Whit laid out the groundwork for this fake time of death, along with

He was also trying to ‘help’ by asking out for any accomplices, and also really wanted to keep talking about accomplices for some reason?

Which… strange?? Really strange?? Why do you wanna talk about it so much??

He also didn’t agree with Teruko about sharing the secrets, suggesting that she simply solve the murder without them.

There aren’t any particularly suspicious moments in episode 10, but boy oh boy do I have content for episode 11.

(Apologies if some of these screenshots are low-quality, I took them on my phone) We know Whit delayed revealing David's secret, but once Charles backed Ace's testimony up, he was quick to withdraw. Not to mention, the wording here puts him in a good light - according to him, he was only trying to "protect David's career" and deeefinetely not trying to drag out suspicion towards David. Deeefintely not.

When David goes on a tangent about how Arei meant nothing in his or the others lives and that they shouldn't care that she's dead, here's Whit's reaction.

David goes on a tangent on how Arei meant nothing really and he's just like "oh yeah this lines up with what I know about him and they're DEFINITELY gonna vote for him now"

He doesn't have a terribly large reaction to David's reveal, and that could be because he knew it would happen (again, thanks to his intuition). If he wanted to frame David, everything is going as it should.

The Godforsaken Tape

In episode 2, we learn that Whit is a light sleeper.

So, knowing this… How did he not wake up when Ace was banging on the door and yelling??? I sincerely believe he would not have just brushed off someone yelling outside, and yet the only new person who shows up is Levi.

To answer this, I also want to bring up another thing that happens. When Teruko goes to find her new clothes, Eden says this before she realizes it’s Teruko:

Someone has been following Eden, according to her. And it’s a really weird thing to make up on the spot, to be honest, so I think she’s telling the truth.

So, naturally, I’m suspecting Whit for this because it seems like he wasn’t in his room. And after I Hashtag Researched, I found this:

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen (and others) - Whit can canonically sneak up on people, just like Eden. You can’t see it in this screenshot, but you can check it out for yourself - he just pops up out of nowhere. Boo. Hi. (To be clear, I don’t think Whit tried to kill Ace - I’m sure that was Nico.)

The freaking tape, man - I don't even know. It seems like a very inconsequential detail, hidden behind a textbox, not even in the background where you can see it. But let's consider it for a second - Teruko would certainly notice either Eden or Ace picking up the tape, though I suppose Ace might be a little less suspicious if he grabbed it right while getting up. Eden, I think she would definitely notice, because Teruko already doesn't really trust her terribly, and Teruko is very attentive anyway. Rather, I think it's possible that Ace might've kicked it behind something when getting up (I didn't come up with this, but I don't remember who did) and MonoTV, while cleaning up, simply put it in storage.

Other option - if you're bleeding at the neck, on the verge of collapsing, and your only goal is killing the person who tried to kill you, are you really gonna notice someone quietly slipping the tape out of your hand and/or into the trash for later? Also, knowing MonoTV, it probably wouldn’t object if someone was just like “sooo heyyy you got any tape in there can i have it please haha” so Whit could’ve easily acquired the needed tape.

Conclusion

So, that’s why I think Whit is a really likely person to be the culprit this chapter, though there definitely is space for to me to be wrong. Imagine Whit is just on our side during the scrum debate and boom entire theory in the trash. That'd be funny. There’s probably more I could say, but I don’t have the energy to, so if you find any weak points or anything to talk about, feel free to let me know. Thanks.

#danganronpa despair time #kai's multifandom blog #kai's ramblings/obsessions #drdt #whit young #drdt spoilers #drdt theory #drdtheory #long dramatic sigh. i am going to disintegrate

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weightedblankettt · 10 months

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An Analysis on the Literature Girl Insane MV!

Hey! You might not know me that much, as I’m not active in the DRDTheory community, as I’ve dubbed it, but my name is Blanket! Technically, this is a work of collaboration between the majority of DRDT Twitter, but it’s mainly just an analysis of stuff I couldn’t do by myself.

Okay, and now, onto the video!

So we start off with the spoiler warning. Pretty standard stuff, of course.

Many of my theories beginning here will be based on the colors and what I, personally, associate them with. Of course, the actual MV’s contents will be looked at further down the line.

As a bonus, take note of what pops up right after that. It’s a question: Do you want to forgive... someone? We’ll answer this question later on in the theories section.

These are mainly just lyrics, but the “final verdict” part catches my eye, as I believe it isn’t in the lyrics further down the line. Perhaps it’s about the current trial? As many people believe, David did not kill Arei. His reasons for lying about doing so are unknown, but we can assume that the singer is calling the listeners idiots, because of their incorrect final verdict. Whatever David wants to do, it’s certainly not leading them to the right one.

Next, these lyrics. While I believe it’s fairly obvious that the pink is meant to represent the typical Danganronpa-esque color of their blood, the color that the word “game” is in is probably relates to David. After all, his hair clips and star eyes, both prominent features of his “facade”, are in the same color.

Here is where the most prominent part of the MV is, to me. The text that flashes across the screen during transition points. The first one, in white text, is an excerpt from Osamu Dazai’s “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” The book, while I’ll spare you the greater details, greatly describes themes of suicide. The story’s main protagonist, Yozo Oba, can be described as so: “-But the narrator, a self-conscious writer, makes frequent first-person asides, breaking the fourth wall as he comments on the quality or believability of the novel he is writing.”

Something especially telling is this line, from an analysis of Yozo’s character. “Yozo is a person characterized by shame. Although I pretend to be someone who is confident and unabashedly themselves, that is not really true. I have always been ashamed of who I really am. I created a whole persona to interact with others because I believed my true self would never be enough.”

David’s character is someone very similar to that. Someone who has created a false persona to interact with others. Yozo is someone who feels resentful of other people, simply because he is forced to make them happy. “Yozo Oba is the tortured author and unreliable narrator of the three notebooks that comprise the bulk of No Longer Human. [That is the sequel to The Flowers of Buffoonery.] His appearance is depicted in three photographs examined by an unnamed narrator in the Prologue. These three photographs correspond to his appearance in each of the three notebooks. As a child, Yozo is precocious by design—an impish child who uses his antics to hide his fear, shame, and inability to relate to humanity. These fundamental flaws carry over into young adulthood; in the second notebook, he is a handsome young man whose smiling photograph lacks humanity, betraying the depth of terror and isolation that his comical persona seeks to hide. In the third photograph and notebook, he is only 27, but his gray hair and forgettable appearance prevent him from being labeled an ordinary human being.”

The quotes in yellow are from Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express.” The full quote reads as follows. "If you confront anyone who has lied with the truth, they usually admit it – often out of sheer surprise. It is only necessary to guess right to produce your effect." I think the relevancy of this line in terms of David can be explained with his actions so far. Fun fact: Similarly to Danganronpa, “Murder on the Orient Express” is a murder mystery.

This is just a rickroll. DRDTDev thinks that they are FUNNY!? (They are.)

The “an archaic personal pronoun rarely used in real life, but popularized in fiction by the book” is most likely referring to thou/thy/etc. I’m not sure what this correlates to, but it’s probably important. I couldn’t find the green text, but from what I can tell, the green text probably relates to David’s nihilistic point of view towards humanity. Update: Bleuflower on Tumblr has located the source to be I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki, so go check her out for that! If I had to say anything about that, it’d probably be relating to MonoTV, however, there’s also a continuation of David’s nihilism towards humanity that was also found in the Osamu Dazai references. The book itself is described as a “mordantly comic evocation of Sōseki's deep pessimism about his own humanity and indeed about humankind in general.”

The white text here is an excerpt from Osamu Dazai’s “No Longer Human,” which follows the same protagonist as “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” I’m sure you can all gather what that means in relation to David, but the main point is that he seems detached from his view of “normalcy.” @shidoutism on Twitter had this to say, as they’ve read the book itself: “OKOK so basically this first excerpt is from 'no longer human' by osamu dazai (its his last finished work because dazai sadly took his own life after publication of the book) now from the limited knowledge i have of david the meaning and message of the book might help in whatever analysis ur doing?? no longer human is about a man who never felt like he understood humans. like the title suggests, he never felt like a person. its revealed the protag was pretty sheltered and rich in childhood but experienced trauma from the familys housekeepers, but he never reported it. thats basically the start of it all as the protag grows up, he finds fear in communicating with humans. so he ends up either isolating himself and/or destroying all of his relationships with people. he's scared of people seeing the real him, so ever since he was a child he started putting up a happy, cheerful front. but it just creeped some ppl out bc it didn't feel genuine, it was more like a clown wanting to so badly entertain others. the protag starts resorting to bad coping mechanisms such as dr/gs and alc/hol and has many relationships with women to drown his sorrows and feel closer to being 'a human'. aaand the end of the book is kinda unsettling as the protag is sent to a rehab center and then when released, isolated himself somewhere far away without people, stating "everything passes. thats the one thing i learned in this living hell [somewhere along those lines]" and the book ends numbly like it feels like nothing”

I don’t know about you, but this sounds rather similar to our “protagonist.”

This quote is from “The Setting Sun”, by, you guessed it, Osamu Dazai. It tells a similar story, albeit with a different protagonist, but I feel like this ties in more with his facade, and how his inspirational speaking comes off to other people. Considering he is in his facade at this time of the MV, it’s safe to say that that’s what this is referring to.

And now, this all falls into place. These are the names of the Osamu Dazai books referenced in the text beforehand. The (I’m), next to No Longer Human, however, could signify how David views himself. Someone so sunken into depravity that they don’t register themselves as human anymore.

The faded text here is the first sentence of Yasunari Kawabata’s “Snow Country”. I don’t know what this refers to in terms of David, but this also seems important.

David still views himself as manipulative. Even if he does love people, even if he does have a semblance of care for those in his life, he views himself as an evil, irredeemable sack of shit, incapable of any emotion other than selfishness and cruelty.

This part is especially intriguing to me. David still wants to live, as anyone else does, but he can’t bring himself to find a reason to leave. His career is dead. He’s worthless, and nobody needs him around. Where would he go? There’s no room for him anywhere, even if he escaped, he’d just be shunned for good now that his entire life has been thrown away.

The excerpt from “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, describes someone losing motivation to leave the island. The island is a metaphor for the building, that the students are trapped inside, and David has lost the will to leave in the first place. He doesn’t want to leave, because there’s nowhere else for him to even go. He doesn’t have a home. He doesn’t have a fanbase. There’s nothing left.

The text here reads: “If you’re Hythlodaeus, then I must be Morus.” This refers to the work “Utopia”, written by Thomas More. The book follows Raphael Hythlodaeus, a man who claims to be from Utopia, a perfect place for everyone. His surname quite literally means “Bringer of Nonsense,” or something along those lines. While this may be a stretch, I believe that “Hythlodaeus” is referring to Pre-Reveal David, and “Morus” could possibly be either Post-Reveal David or someone affected by his speeches, for example Xander.

Also, I find it interesting how the girl in this frame, most likely David’s “sister,” Diana, and David himself are both tilting their heads at similar angles. It’s possible that their relation is hinted at through this, but I’m not sure.

The excerpt right here is from Kajii Motojiro’s entry in the Kyoto Journal, entitled “Lemon”. While some of the text has been altered, the main story is about a man who finds himself suffering, and walks through his neighbourhood only to find a greengrocer selling lemons. He goes home, and finds himself happier than before. I’m not sure what this means when it comes to David, however if you’d like, you can analyze for yourself and let me know.

https://www.kyotojournal.org/fiction-poetry/lemon/

This part doesn’t have any external references, but I believe that the lyrics here reinforce David’s worldview, that no matter what you do and how hard you try, “nobody ever changes.”

The star imagery here is a direct reference to David. Stars are representative of his happy facade, and when he loses the stars, he quits the bullshit.

…And this frame. Alright, let’s start from the top. The electrocution definition is a callback to Xander, who’s referenced quite a few times in the video. The yellow text, which is from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”, is possibly a reference to David’s view on other people or himself- That nobody is special unless you were born special. However, the end of the text describes that if the boy were to tame the fox, the speaker, that they would need each other. I’m not sure if this is a description of manipulation, or a codependent relationship, but the David parallels are there. That, and the title of a “little prince” probably refers to David and how he’s idolized by many. The green text is, again, from “The Flowers of Buffoonery.” The full text is as follows. “A man crushed by reality puts on a show of endurance. If that's beyond your comprehension, dear reader, then you and I will never understand each other. Life's a farce, so we might as well make it a good one. But real life is a realm that I may never reach. The best that I can hope for is to loiter in the memory of these four days, so steeped with empathy. Four days that count more than

five or ten years of my life. Four days that count more than a lifetime.”

In reference to David, this is more representative of his true feelings. Not the asshole persona or the facade, but the genuine feelings he has. He already feels far too gone by his own standards, and constantly puts on a “show” for other people in the form of his speeches.

The red text is possibly a person dealing with depression speaking on one of their symptoms. There’s no way I could find a source for such a short quote. A common symptom of depression is losing interest in things you previously found enjoyable.

The white text on the side describes someone who finds pleasure in solitude as opposed to being bossed around by other people. It’s a reference to David’s backstory, as someone who was pressured into putting on a performance for others, finding comfort in being alone rather than having to play pretend whenever around other people.

The white text at the bottom is a continuation of the white text at the top.

The only theory I can think of for this is that it’s a foreshadowing to either gaps in their memory or the amount of survivors left in the killing game being four. Not sure.

Update: I don’t know how I missed this, but the “11” next to the suspicious gaps refers to this. It’s possible that the suspicious gaps are gaps in their memory now, being as he doesn’t remember having an older sister, but her existence is most likely confirmed, as we saw her.

This part here is referring to “Catch 22,” when the main character realizes that without a soul, humans are just… matter, if you will. Empty husks.

For this part, I had to call upon my not-so-trustworthy old friend, Google Translate! The translation of this from Latin is “I think, therefore I am (not.)” That’s what makes the most sense to me. We’ll refer back to this part later, for I have a different intention for it in my mind than David himself.

The dark blue text is another excerpt from “The Little Prince.” The prince in question is talking to a castaway, and the main takeaway of his words is that only your heart can tell you what you really need. If you were to simply look with your eyes, then what you truly need would be drowned out by the blinding light of superficial desires. I’m pretty sure that’s what that means. David is looking through his eyes, seeing a cruel world where nobody changes unless they were born to.

Now, let’s get into the next big part of the MV: The crossword puzzle. You might be wondering how this relates to David, but its moreso his own commentary on his classmates. Let’s go back to the latin. Pay attention to this reference of the solved crossword by raspbeyes on Tumblr. It will be very important for you to follow along.

Notice how there’s roman numerals in some of David’s lyrics? For example, this that we established earlier meant “I think therefore I am (not.)” This is referring to Rose. Her photographic memory can be linked to the description of “thinking.” The context of this may become clearer in future parts of the story.

III. That’s Charles. “If you doubt brittle things are broken.” Is, in my mind, referring to his memories. He has a recurring element of not remembering things, but he doesn’t seem to be aware of this until Chapter 2. For example, his secret- “Your older brother died, but you don’t remember him at all.”

IV. Arei. Her breakdown sequence should be all you need to associate this with her.

V. This is Ace. He’s going insane, obviously, because of the paranoia and failed murder attempt against him. That, and he’s become more disheveled as the game progressed.

XIV. Veronika, correct? Substance to the arts relates to her talent as a Horror Fanatic. Naturally, she’d be related to things like that.

XV. Whit’s refusal to accept his mother’s death, staying ignorant to the tragedies around him, is one of the “happiest” members of the cast.

XI. Mai Akasaki is not mentioned in the current story, and all of her quotes hidden amongst the cast members describe her in past tense. She was someone everyone viewed as reliable, trustworthy, and perhaps, if you exaggerated it, as God.

These two walls of text are both from the same source: Hamlet’s Solliloquy of “To Be, or Not to Be?”

This is what the thing actually means, in case you aren’t aware, which even I wasn’t until just now. It represents David’s suicidal ideology, from what we can assume with the way he’s trying to get everyone to vote wrong in the trial for Arei, quite well. Whether he wants to live, or die, is most likely a constant struggle for David to answer.

Which is why he leaves it up to… whoever can answer.

This is an absolute reference to the trial. The class trial rules are overlaid over the death portrait texture, which is “conveniently” covering David’s face. The seventeen here is also telling, considering what the description has to say about it!

This is what I believe is David’s end goal. To get everyone executed as a result of his own hopelessness. By pretending to be the killer and antagonizing the class, he believes he can easily sway the votes by “manipulating the public” as he always believes he’s done. By getting everyone to vote for him, he can end the killing game and his own “pathetic life” in one fell swoop.

After all, it’s not like he believes they have a chance of winning and escaping in the first place.

And here, is where we left off in Episode 11. David completely drops his facade in order to effectively kill himself, along with everyone else. After realizing the hopelessness of his situation, he makes a drastic turn to accept it readily. Someone who self-sabotages continues to do so because they develop a warped perspective of having control.

And again referring to the description, the 12 near the “Tallying Votes” caption refers to this. It’s David’s way of justifying his selfishness, with a diluted form of justice serving as an “ultimately fair verdict to the trial.”

However, David has always wanted to be loved. It’s why he even bothers with his facade, because he’s been putting it up for so long that disregarding his persona would effectively ruin everything he’s worked so hard to maintain in the first place. The repeated imagery of applause could also be a callback to his status as a celebrity, especially with how he reacted to Xander and Arei’s reliance on him.

While this does have a small fade of text pointing out that the “degraded copy” is the cover, which is not true because the MV is amazing, but. I believe this–

Oh. That’s literally it. Well, that makes one mystery solved!

Hey, look, we’re already halfway through! nice! Eden’s optimistic personality can be referenced here. She wants to live with everyone, together, and make sure that nobody gets hurt.

This is another reference to David’s rambling on about how attempting to change is utterly futile, and that nobody changes.

The yellow text is the definition of a television show, I believe. The blue text is an excerpt from “And Then There Were None,” by Agatha Christie. The full quote is this: “Breakfast was a curious meal. Everyone was very polite…. Six people, all outwardly self-possessed and normal. And within? Thoughts that ran round in a circle like squirrels in a cage…. ‘What next? What next? Who? Which?’...” …Do you get it? It’s a parallel to the killing game. Or, rather, how David views it. Everyone is terrified and scared for their lives, but they still greet eachother with mock kindness.

The blue text on the side is an excerpt from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”, and it goes like this: “I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er.” A critical analysis of the original work reads as follows: Shakespeare is saying here that Macbeth has involved himself in so many murders that it is as easy for him to carry on than to turn back. Macbeth compares his course of action with wading across a river of blood, creating a vivid image of his bloody reign. The word 'tedious' reveals the hardening of Macbeth's heart.

And now, the moment I’m sure most of you have been waiting for. Xander. Something I took notice of was that the cracks line up directly with his left eye, while his right eye is the one that’s actually missing in the game. Nonetheless, Xander clearly did mean something to David. Whether it be through his idolization of David, or if he inspired David in some way, his death had an impact on him. Manipulative persona or not.

XVI translates to Hu from the crossword puzzle. He’s taunting her, similarly to how he did in the trial, although the ??? makes me wonder if it actually IS David…

XII, that’s Eden. I assume it’s because of her optimistic persona that she is standing in someone’s way, although we’re not sure who.

For the next part, let’s say we take this at face value. It could definitely be referencing David allegedly pushing Arei to commit suicide, although this could also be something he internalizes, with the themes of suicide and wishing to be dead explored previously.

These are all repeats of the previous works included in the MV, like The Little Prince, Ozamu Dazai’s series, Agatha Christie’s works, etc etc.

Now, this is code, I’m assuming, but I tried translating it and couldn’t find anything. It’s a common encryption language. In case you want to translate it, it’s: 3aqxw97pktc8uki458fbdpfoacllex2f07bf8mg24b4mpfx2adc6v3f5yhxjd8i7sf11312zaj5lazet47jod5jczec5mvb6bz2o59r143sf2pe916sczcn7emvbl55ehe9iqb2708tt83482c8tw3c77gn47ojca634gbcfz0016s647wwlakcn46brcle0eam9

NOTE: @glorywelpchild on Twitter says… “For this, it may have been encrypted multiple times by different engines? I'm not a programmer so I'm not really familiar lmao. Another thing, it could be a type of programming the dev knows/commonly uses.”

The VI here is Arturo, but I don’t know what this means. Perhaps the description can give us some insight?

Hmm… Well, I don’t mind. Whatever you say.

Nico’s number is VIII, and this is referring to the defense they put up when asked about their intentions against Ace’s life. They claim they never thought about it, and “even if they try to think, they don’t know.”

This is Levi’s, as per the IX.

I actually managed to find the original image in the background. It’s a study on Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s orbit around Jupiter for several years before crashing into the planet. While the name, Shoemaker Levy, may be a play on Levi’s name, I believe this is also referencing that he may die soon. Maybe this is a stretch, but the symbolism of a comet named “Shoemaker Levy” crashing into Jupiter being right under a symbol that represents Levi, our prime suspect in a game where being caught results in death, is too far to be a coincidence. Part of my theory for Chapter 2 is that Levi is the blackened, after all, but that is in a previous post. Nonetheless, we can move on.

This is “Enterance of the Gladiators.” While it is now associated with silly things like clowns, it was originally a military march song. Hmm, where have I heard this description before?

Ah, that’s right! In the description!

These two are relatively straightforward. The David we meet in the prologue is his facade, and it serves as an introduction. However, we are re-introduced to him with a whole personality change, and that comes delayed from all the others.

This is a direct reference to MonoTV and the throne in the trial room.

The truth bullets. Typical Danganronpa symbolism, and it’s also a neat little reference to Xander’s custom weapon.

References to some of the students. The dresser is Levi, the bowl of fruit is Rose, the gun is Xander, the teapot is Hu, and the candle is maybe J?

The clock is Eden, the portrait, maybe a reference to the game? The stupid kid’s toy might be Whit.

Teruko and Mai. Teruko’s misfortune and Mai’s idealization are both key parts of their characters.

The gavel, another reference. The kitchen knife, Min. The skull, Veronika. The mirror… Possibly Xander because we’ve seen him with broken glass earlier in the MV, but it might be David and his personas making another reference.

The mastermind, sitting atop their comfortable chair.

The noose is Arei, the gas mask is Charles, the mouse is Nico, the theater mask… Perhaps the mastermind again, or Veronika again. The safe is David’s locked away and suppressed emotions. These are all mainly theories based on observation, don’t take it as the wholehearted truth.

David being mentioned again with the hair clips. The lemon has been brought up beforehand, it’s a callback to the journal entry. The dummies represent David’s detachment from his humanity, and the television is a callback to the fact that they’re on a television show.

David views himself as a snake, a liar, a murderer. Snakes are common imagery to use when referring to the Devil as well. The blood is a callback to the killing game itself.

Either a reference to Min, or the fact that all the books are empty could be visual dramatization of David’s feelings. There’s supposed to be something in them, but the books are empty. The “various kinds” could also be how many personas he puts on, if that’s a prominent part of his backstory.

The killing game is being broadcasted, so that counts as terrorist iconography, if nothing else. Dandelions, while beautiful in their own way, don’t belong in a garden. The megaphone is David’s custom weapon, and it’s a way for him to broadcast his speeches to those around the world.

The letters are from the joke comic that the dev released. You know the one, where Xander writes a letter for David and he accidentally throws it away thinking that it’s garbage. The popular toy refers to the commercializing of the Tragedy, as Veronika explained on the first day of Chapter 2. How horror movies will put black-and-white designs in their films to up the fear factor because of the subliminal/primal fear of the design back in the days of the Tragedy. The flowers… No idea.

This is cleverly disguised, but it’s a reference to the debate between continuing to live and killing yourself. To be or not to be, to stop or to keep going, but they’re both lit up. How are you to do both at the same time? You have to make a choice.

Main Roles are David and Xander. It makes sense, considering they both have full-body moments and we know who they are. The crossed out name is Mai Akasaki, but the cut off name is a bit harder to decipher. Thanks to some inspiration and help, I’ve come to my final conclusion regarding this.

They are related to Arei, 100%. The letters match perfectly.

Even in comparison to Arei, the “N” in her name starts only a bit earlier, but that’s because the first word is probably only two or three letters, in comparison to the four letters in Arei.

Originally, I couldn’t translate any of these. All I could make out was that the first hand was Xander and the second hand was Min or Mai. However. @MAHIRUMILGRAM on twitter managed to translate them! They are as follows:

After this point, the truth bullet breaks through David’s words, similarly to how Teruko is fighting against David, despite the truth bullet being in agreement towards David’s idea.

There’s also this, which could be David trying to deflect us from the truth, or that the lyrics genuinely don’t relate to him. I’m leaning towards the former.

The white text at the top here is from a story, entitled “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” It is about a beautiful city where everyone is happy. However, their city is not as beautiful as it seems. They tell the story of how the townspeople have locked a child in a basement, and left it to suffer. Their happiness, as they’ve been told, requires a sacrifice. “Inside the room, which is behind a locked door, there are a couple of dirty mops, a bucket, and a young child. The child is ten years old, but looks younger. The child is scared and completely miserable. It is never allowed to leave the room. Occasionally, someone opens the door and kicks the child to make it stand up. The person fills the food bowl halfway with corn meal and grease, fills the water jug, and leaves. The child can remember what the outside world looks like and begs and pleads to be let out. The child is naked and covered in sores, and it wails at night in its misery. The people of Omelas all know about the child in the basement. They all understand that everything good about Omelas, from their abundance of food to the good weather, depends upon the suffering of the child. They all understand this because when children are between the ages of eight and twelve, they are brought to see the child, and this tradeoff is explained to them. During this experience, the children of Omelas are disgusted. They want to help, but they are told they can’t. If anyone helps the child by clothing, feeding, or otherwise caring for it, then the perfect happiness of Omelas and its abundance would die. Therefore, no one may even speak kindly to the child.” I wanted to include this because it describes David so well. Someone who has been cast away because they’re deemed useless to society, someone who’s happiness would destroy the happiness of anyone else. I find the story truly fascinating, as it might describe David’s suppressed emotions and the depressive tendencies he indulges himself in.

“Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it. Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of the splendor of their lives. Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free.”

“How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was—such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth [alēthēs]. But many as their falsehoods were, there was one of them which quite amazed me—I mean when they told you to be upon your guard, and not to let yourselves be deceived by the force of my eloquence. They ought to have been ashamed of saying this, because they were sure to be detected as soon as I opened my lips and displayed my deficiency; they certainly did appear to be most shameless in saying this, unless by the force of eloquence they mean the force of truth [alēthēs]; for then I do indeed admit that I am eloquent. But in how different a way from theirs! Well, as I was saying, they have hardly uttered a word, or not more than a word, of truth [alēthēs]; but you shall hear from me the whole truth [alēthēs]: not, however, delivered after their manner, in a set oration duly ornamented with words and phrases.”

Do you remember, in the prologue, where Xander describes the “rumors” against David’s positive front? This is a direct parallel. Here, Socrates denounces the words of his attackers, similarly to how nobody truly believes the rumors except for the critics themselves. Even Xander was fooled by his charisma.

“Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet: If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away, And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes, 240 Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. Who does it, then? His madness: if't be so, Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd; His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.”

Hamlet blames his own insanity for the death of Laertes’ father. Just like David tries to get everyone killed, and blames himself for murdering Arei, because of his own insanity.

This is a line from the poem “Be Not Defeated by The Rain,” by Kenji Miyazawa. It describes a man wishing to become someone strong, someone who cannot be bested. I believe this is exactly what David wants, too. To be as strong and as hopeful as he is forced to pretend to be, instead of a hopeless mess who would rather die than be seen as worthless.

David reaches the height of his insanity, before finally quieting down after being basked in green light. I don’t know if this was intentional, but I believe that it represents how he’s given up on even death after the students manage to vote correctly, hence the green coloring.

And now, number 19.

I severely doubt that David will actually die in Chapter 3. That is not “foreshadowing,” that is just giving out the answer, and DRDTDev is much more careful than that. I believe this is a final representation of David’s suicidal ideologies. He says he will forget, he says guilt will not weigh him down, but he’s lying to himself. That’s why the stars are still behind him, because he’s still lying. He says he is satisfied, he says he’s okay with death, but when has David ever been truthful with us?

And he leaves an empty throne behind. Not because he is dead, but because he has relinquished his career and his reputation for nothing.

Even though he is missing, nothing else has changed. That is how he views his life.

And that concludes the main analysis of David’s MV! It’s such a beautiful thing, really, I don’t know how to phrase any of it properly. Thank you to everyone who’s read this far, and everyone who helped me out. The decoding and puzzles? Ah, I’ll let you all do that… But, maybe I can help a little! Blanket, out~! See you all next time!

#danganronpa despair time #david chiem #dr #mv analysis #WOOH THAT TOOK ME 6 HOURS.#levi fontana #nico hakobyan #mai akasaki #ace markey #veronika grebenshchikova #eden tobisa #teruko tawaki #hu jing #arei nageishi #whit young #charles cuevas #rose lacroix

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