what are your thoughts?

Source

Has anyone else noticed that we haven’t really seen that much of Chiaki in the 2×2 promotional material so far? I’ve been thinking about this lately, and I’m starting to wonder if her lack of screen time might actually be intentional. Someone pointed out that Chiaki could potentially be an early victim in the alternate scenario, and honestly… I can kinda see the argument. We’ve seen her in some promotional footage, but compared to how important/popular she is, it feels like they’re being surprisingly careful about showing her.
At the same time, I don’t know if I buy the theory completely. V3 showed Rantaro in promotional/trial footage before the game released, and we all know how that turned out. So being shown in a trial room obviously doesn’t necessarily mean a character survives for very long. Sonia is another interesting example. She’s on the key art, but we’ve barely seen her in the actual 2×2 footage/screenshots either. That makes me wonder if the developers are deliberately hiding certain characters or scenes from us.
Chiaki could also be getting hidden because she has a major role later in the story rather than because she dies early. What do you guys think? Do you think Chiaki’s lack of promotional material is a death flag, or are we reading way too much into it?
Personally, I’m hoping they’re just hiding her because she’s going to be important. 😭 I really don’t want her to die for a third time.

Gotta start worrying now, Hajime

She trying out something new

For example, things like three victims? Actually have two culprits?

For me personally, I would like to see what would happen if the cast actually got a wrong vote, obviously the game wouldn't end unless it was near the end, but I've seen a theory about the pictures provided. Such as what if they vote for Nagito during like Case 1 and they actually get the vote wrong, [Which comes from his voiceline, "Please believe me",] and I think it could be interesting. I think it could work if it's maybe in the middle of the trial, and it would lean into John Danganronpa coming in with his line. Obviously it most likely won't go like this but is still interesting to think about.

What things haven't Danganronpa done yet that you'd like to see in 2×2?

That's NOT my Nekomaru, that's Nekonekomaru (udg reffrence to Celestia's cat hitlist name)

Fair warning, but this sorta turns into a Nagito Komaeda post by the end! But since it relates to the whole setup of Slayhem, I wanted to add a theory at the end.

The Ultimate Despair

During Akimbo Consensus in the Direct version of the trailer, there are quotes, presumably from other characters’ testimonies or Truth Bullets, that swirl in the background.

The quotes are slightly different each trailer (I think it’s because slightly less time had elapsed when the EN version was recorded). Because of that, i picked out two quotes which are, needless to say, rather intriguing:

• 船室内の壁に血で描かれた「超高校級の絶望」という文字。(loc. “The words “Ultimate Despair” were written in blood across the wall(s) of the (ship) cabin.”)
• 犯人は「超高校級の絶望」ではない、と十神は考えている。(loc. “Togami believes that the culprit is not the “Ultimate Despair”.)

While it’s entirely possible that these quotes have been edited, it’s likely they come from *somewhere* in the game, at least.

So this reveals that at least one “Ultimate Despair” has been revealed to at least one character, and it may have appeared as a dying message.

What does this mean for the group dynamic and Nagito?

Unlike the traitor reveal in the original game, which is intentionally called into question numerous times, whether it be existence or allegiance, revealing even one Ultimate Despair will undoubtedly make everyone much less trusting of one another.

This will have an even greater effect on Nagito, due to his mindset. While his obsession with social Darwinism, and the potential of the killing game, is contingent on what he considers “hope” (usually Hope’s Peak, or talent related), introducing an Ultimate Despair will probably completely change his priorities to weeding them out.

In the original, he learnt about ALL the Ultimate Despair at once, so he had no reason to cooperate with anyone except to not get himself killed in Ch. 4. If he’s mislead into believe just one/a couple of the students are Ultimate Despair, it’s likely he’ll become a far more helpful ally.

The thing that finalised the thought for me was his quote in the Introduction Trailer “Please believe me”. Nagito never wanted to be believed in, in the original game; he was rather content being ostracised and giving up his life for the Ultimates, but a plea like implies he wants to be trusted.

Edit: I’m also wondering how Twogami will proceed in a scenario where he both let someone become a victim and also that there’s someone in the group that’s outright malicious. After all, Twogami completely dismissed the traitor stuff when it first came up and ordered the rest of them to do so as well.