slash

– Heavy spoilers for the Danganronpa series (mainly 2), and Flower Sun and Rain –

Kazutaka Kodaka is a huge fan of Suda51 and his works, and most of his games are a direct response to The Silver Case series. How do I know this? Well, first of all, they follow each other on Twitter. However, this clearly doesn’t actually mean much, so let me convince you in other ways.

Danganronpa 2 is a direct response to Flower Sun and Rain. This is evident through many different details, specific wording, characters, as well as the game’s main motto. By the way, again, like always, this is just off the top of my head and is not meant to be a comprehensive collection of these connections ((However, get ready for the day I finally finish taking detailed notes on my third playthrough of Flower Sun and Rain, because I will have SO MUCH to say and it will all be directly cited 🙂 )). The game takes place on Jabberwock island. Flower Sun and Rain takes place on Lospass island. OK, now that’s one thing in common, but it’s more than just that. *The Jabberwock* is a nonsense poem included in *Through the Looking Glass*, the sequel book to *Alice in Wonderland*. In the book, Alice must put the Jabberwock poem up to a mirror, as it’s from the inverse world. The first puzzle in Flower Sun and Rain involves first giving your birth date, then inputting it again in reverse. In FSR this is very directly meant to imply rebirth. I would not be surprised if this was also the case in Danganronpa 2, considering that game is about a bunch of criminals being reborn into new people. WHICH is exactly the same as what FSR is about – Sumio Kodai facing his crimes and deciding to move on from his past. *Through the Looking Glass* is also meant to be a metaphor for rebirth and Alice transitioning into an adult. Some have theorized that *Through the Looking Glass* is also just meant to symbolize Alice facing her fears and anxieties, that have now taken shape into literal forms. AGAIN, this is exactly what happens to Sumio Mondo in FSR. At the end of Looking Glass, Alice escapes on a boat and the books hints at the fact that the events of the book may or may not have actually happened. This whole adventure could have been some sort of mental visualization of her experience. At the end of FSR, Sumio escapes on a plane, but Kusabi and Tokio are there, and you still aren’t sure about whether or not these events really happened. The ending of Danganronpa 2 admits that these events just took place in a virtual world, and the “players’” memories will be wiped again before they escape it – meaning that none of it would have really happened, BUT in the end, their memories, or at least their will, comes back and they are still reborn as good people. Well, I guess I actually did end up doing a bit of research for this since I didn’t know much about Lewis Carroll. The characters also live at the Hotel Mirai, meaning Hotel Future – just like Sumio Mondo stays at hotel Flower Sun and Rain in FSR.

Ok, now to be honest I don’t know much about the references or meanings behind the characters’ names in either game, but I can still theorize with what I know. Nagito Komaeda is an anagram of “Makoto Naegi Da” – which literally just means “I’m Makoto Naegi” (the main character from the first game). Makoto Naegi and Nagito Komaeda even share the same voice actor. Also, Naegi is meant to be the embodiment of hope, while Komaeda seems to have a more twisted and reckless perspective of hope. In FSR, the main character’s name is Sumio Mondo, which is slightly different than Sumio Kodai, (Mondo’s real identity) from The Silver Case. The word “Mondo” in Japanese refers to “question and answer” – more directly relates to a conversation between master and student in Buddhist teachings. By the way, it’s also more specifically meant to be a more indirect kind of conversation, rather than a debate or argument.

Around halfway through the game, the characters in Danganronpa 2 find a library. In this library, they find a guidebook for Jabberwock island. IT LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE THE GUIDEBOOK FROM FLOWER SUN AND RAIN. The guidebook tells them a lot about the island and explains their situation some, but I think this is mainly just a reference to the guidebook from FSR, since the graphic design is extremely similar.

Finally, I am going to talk about the most important part – Create the Future. This is pretty much Danganronpa 2’s thesis – it’s the center of the game’s ending and pretty much summarizes the rest of the game as well. The motto of The Silver Case trilogy is “Kill the Past.” “Create the Future” and “Kill the Past” are direct opposites from each other by definition. Create – Kill, Past – Future, I don’t need to explain how these phrases contradict each other. However, these two phrases are actually exactly the same – but actually very slightly different in my opinion. KTP is the main idea of the Silver Case trilogy. It encompasses several different ideas and concepts in one simple three word phrase. It means to slowly abandon tradition and allow for new ideas. It means to let go of your past and not let it define you. It means to awaken yourself and become a master – as only then will you be truly living free. CTF also means these things, but it also includes a new meaning. The main difference between Kill the Past and Create the Future is that Create the Future implies that you should just try things, and things will kind of work out in the end no matter what. This, also, combines the phrase Kill the Past with another phrase present in Flower Sun and Rain – La Vita Continua. La Vita Continua literally means “life goes on” or “life will go on.” This implicates that even when it seems like things are pretty bad, life will go on and things will work out someway and it won’t actually be that bad after all. This also means that you will have to accept what has happened and be able to move on – tying in again to Kill the Past. Really, kill the past and create the future mean so much more than just this, but I’ll have to wait until I finish my full third playthroughs of these games with detailed notetaking before I can figure that out.

Overall, I believe that Super Danganronpa 2 is a very direct response/inspiration from Flower Sun and Rain. This is apparent through small details in the plot, characters, story, and even the game’s main mantra. Also, again, Kaz and Suda follow each other on Twitter, so that’s gotta mean something, right?

kill the past

create the future

– slash