Alright, honestly, I’m surprised why he hasn’t been proposed yet. I mean, he’s currently on the NPG wiki, but honestly, I don’t think his “prevention” holds up, so I’m gonna propose him here.
What’s the Work?[]
Danganronpa is a visual novel series with many games through the years and has a total of four games in the main series and even has an anime adaption based on the first game alongside an anime that takes place after Despair Girls. But we’re mostly focusing on the second game, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, which is the sequel to Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc. It focuses on Hajime Hinata, a student at Hope's Peak with 15 other students, the group first through they'd be entering their new home, but after a series of events, they find themselves in a tropical island led by a robot bunny named Usami for a bonding experience they would never forget. Unfortunately, the trip ends up ruined when Monokuma returns and takes over the island, demoting Usami and renaming her Monomi, and holding the students hostage to host a killing game, again. We are also including his actions from Danganronpa 3: The End of Hopes Peak High School, an anime that serves as the sequel to Despair Girls, specifically focusing on the Despair Arc, which shows how Class 77 before they fell into despair, and the Hope Arc, which wraps up the franchise.
Who’s the Candidate?[]
Nekomaru Nidai is one of the characters featured in Danganronpa 2. He has the title of the Ultimate Team Manager. He’s shown to be a supportive person, encouraging people to put their all into everything. He’s very protective of the people he cares about.
What has he done?[]
I’m gonna take actions from both the games and anime here, as I think their all important.
- After he duelled Akane and wrecked most of classroom, he helped clean up the mess.
- He and his class agreed to rescue their teacher, Chisa Yukizome, from Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba.
- While he is shocked by the Imposter's true identity, he came to accept them quickly.
- He and Gundham Tanaka battled Reserve Course Students to fend them off their class, but he also admits that he has nothing against the Reserve Course Students, showing he isn’t arrogant about being an ultimate.
- During Chiaki's execution, he expressed a desire to save her from her punishment, and is even brought to tears while he has to watch Chiaki's torturous and brutal execution.
- In the first trial, his testimony was the key into proving that Peko Pekoyama was not the culprit.
- He becomes nervous that Akane is appearing less in front of others, showing he has a lot of concern for her.
- When Monomi informs the group that Akane is duelling against Monokuma, he becomes angry with himself for not noticing this any sooner. When he arrives with his classmates and Akane is about to be killed by Monokuma, he immediately jumps in the way, sacrificing himself to save her. Had it not been for his treatment and becoming a robot, he would have died there.
- When everyone is stuck in the funhouse, after a while, he is confronted by Gundham at night, and the two agree to duel to the death to prevent the other students from having to starve to death. He ends up losing to Gundham and is killed, saving everyone else from starving.
- He, along with the rest of the former remnants of despair, rescued the brainwashed Future Foundation members from Ryota Mitirai.
- He helped convince Ryota to abandon his plan to brainwash the world with hope.
- He and his classmates accepted a reformed Ryota to join him and his classmates in atonement for their past accounts.
- He and his classmates shouldered the blame as the Ultimate Despair for the Final Killing Game so that the Future Foundation wouldn’t be blamed. After that, they all went back to Jabberwock Island to spend the rest of their lives there.
Admirable Standards?[]
While Danganronpa does have a high admirable standards, I’d say Nekomaru manages to stand out easily. Considering the fact he essentially sacrificed himself twice, once for Akane and once for all of his classmates, I’d say that that alone makes him stand out. But that’s not all he has, as he helped save the world from Ryota’s brainwashing, and even shouldered the blame for the final killing game with his classmates, so that the future foundations reputation wouldn’t have been ruined, which essentially wrecked his life as he was outcasted from society. His selfless and protective nature is clear throughout the series, and I’d say he’s easily one of the most admirable characters in the franchise.
Corrupting Factors?[]
Alright, let’s get this out the way. Yes, he was a Remnant of Despair in the past, aka a villain. HOWEVER! He was brainwashed into it, and it wasn’t his fault, so his actions as a remnant should not be held against him. Once he’s free, he and his classmates atone for their actions, showing he’s remorseful for them.
Ok, now onto his “prevention”. His apparent corrupting quality is that he worked with Kazuichi Soda to tie up Nagito and keep him confined in the old building near the hotel, afraid that Nagito might be dangerous if he's left unwatched. This is… Ok, not even close to a corrupting quality. He had every right to tie Nagito up, as he literally caused the deaths of TWO classmates by manipulating Teruteru into killing the Imposter, which got Teruteru executed. Of course he was going to be worried about Nagito pulling another scheme, as everyone literally thought that Nagito was crazy and dangerous, and they had every right to think that. I wouldn’t even call their actions excessive. So no, this “prevention” doesn’t hold up in the slightest.
In general, Nekomaru doesn’t really have any corrupting qualities. While he’s loud, he’s not rude, short tempered or arrogant, as he’s shown to be very good at supporting people, and is very selfless. While he does clash with Hajime in the first trial, he was only trying to help out with the case, and accepts that he was wrong once Hajime shows enough evidence.
Conclusion?[]
I’m giving Nekomaru an easy yes.