hello komaedology phd holder! this might be a weirder question but i really want to know the thoughts of more people on this, since ive got no irl komaeda liker to bounce this off of, haha. ive always wondered what kind of "type" komaeda would be for some stuff
like, what kinda element (powers) komaeda would have! fire, water, earth or air (avatar the last airbender feels) but I also wanted to extend it to the genshin elements too haha - which essentially adds ice, electricity/thunder, and nature/plants. since in both pieces of media whatever element the character yields tends to match their personality and values :] im kinda desperate for this one ngl,,, i was leaning towards water/air for him
I also wanted to know your thoughts on a harry potter house if youre familiar with it? if not thats fine!! i just tend to see people tend to lean toward slytherin for komaeda which seems to fit really well! but i was wondering if aspects of ravenclaw or hufflepuff would somehow be possible for him hehe. ive seen gryffindor for hinata very often too!
anyways thank you for checking this out if you did, its a fun curiosity when thinking about komaeda that ive always wondered about :')) hope you have a good day!
note for anon before I begin, I’m sorry it’s taken me a bit to get to this ask i’ve admittedly been playing tomodachi life LOL…. Well, obviously that’s not all i’ve been doing, but Tomodachi Life has definitely the bulk of it. Err, If it’s any condolence here’s Nagito mii for forgetting and letting it sit in my inbox for a few days.
I was definitely really happy when you sent your ask in though, Nagito related flattery is always kind, I love seeing the “komaedoligist” or “komaeda phd haver” statements they’re so funny, but paired with two genuinely interesting questions to ponder about him too? Wow, what a treat! :D
I do have to note I’m not very familiar with genshin so for this question unfortunately I’m not exactly experienced on it or how the elements reflect the characters and their personality, so I’ll just make an internal note of what you say here about the elements. Luckily I am familiar with avatar the last airbender, and luckily, at least as far as this question is concerned, I am familiar with Harry Potter and its houses.
Personally my mind first thing goes to plant type fantasy elements when we’re talking symbolism for Nagito, at least imagery wise. It goes with his color scheme, he’s often compared to clovers as a symbol of luck, he’s compared to cherry blossoms and more specifically the branch that holds the blossoms within one of the songs written with his character in mind, it makes sense to me to think Nagito = Plant symbolism so then I think “yeah! plant element abilities for Nagito sounds good!”
Although I have to preface I don’t think Nagito would ever have wind as an element ability. Even though wind is a bit closely related to plant usage within element classes within fantasy sometimes, I wouldn’t assign it to him because narratively wind is often used for symbolism, metaphors, or even in extreme cases a literal embodiment of free will or freedom and those aren’t things I’d describe Nagito with at all, haha.
In my head I see Nagito having an element in a general fantasy world that gives him trouble. If he was a witch his magic would look ugly but be beautiful in some ways too, it would kill everything around it. Or maybe he can do plant magic but at the expense of when he touches actual plants they die. The impermanence of plants, the beauty of them, and the potential imagery of them always bring me back to being a good element in my head for Nagito, Hanahaki’s fun for him visually too, but that’s a totally different conversation haha. Plant elements would be good for him visually, but there has to be a catch, a consequence, something to reference tragedy or be a hindrance for him to really get the proper symbolism. Because truly elemental abilities with characters when it comes to analysis is all in the symbolism or comparisons, without potential symbolism, comparisons, or a statement about the character and their ability it’s like a sandwich with only two pieces of bread white bread only. I’m not eating that, that’s boring!
Ice could also be a choice? Ice could symbolize how he’s in denial with his own opinions towards talent due to his coping mechanism and trapping himself in that cycle freezing himself in the same mindset? Specifically referring to how he hates talent subconsciously and his coping mechanism leads him to be frozen, never acting for himself always hoping for those “worthy” to do it because he loves to see life have meaning, perpetually being an observer even though he values a life that can have meaning more than anything. I don’t think Ice is reflective of quite enough ideas for him if I were to “assign” it to him though, or at least not enough ideas that it would be my favorite but it’s one of the options I think of that have potential. Ice characters more often than not from what I’ve seen have a joke played on them for having “emotional coldness,” something that does not fit Nagito, really at all. It is an option, just not my favorite lol, It’s not dangerous or destructive enough for him I feel. For Nagito I like elements that can represent his tragedy, look beautiful or interesting, and highlights his danger and destructive nature despite his good intentions. I like plants for him to highlight tragedy and reference to the song but Fire works for what I state here too.
If I were to place Nagito Komaeda in Avatar the Last Airbender I would give him fire. Fire is often associated with passion, and he has a lot of it, and his passion is towards a hierarchy that harms his self esteem and a coping mechanism that’s perpetually debilitating which is tied very closely to that hierarchy which only intensifies his low self esteem. What has the worst hierarchy in Avatar the Last Airbender? Yup, the Fire Nation! The harms of fire would do well to display his both willingness to be self destructive tendencies if he has an intention and sees himself as an expendable resource or potential stepping stone, but also his unintentional outward harm that happens despite his, in his warped mind, good intentions. I mostly used fire as an example for what I’d put him as in the world of Avatar the Last Airbender, but most of the reasons why fire are a a decant option for him are stated here. I prefer it more to Ice for him.
Electric for him is like, it’s alright? It has the potential harmful aspects and danger already mentioned with fire just without the passion statement and instead replaced with general emotional intensity so it boils down to what you like more visually if that’s what you want to focus on. Either that or being a chaotic force of nature?
If I were to choose an element to highlight Nagito’s chaos I’d probably choose water. I stated before I like beautiful imagery relating to Nagito and I think water is quite beautiful and calm in a way that can fit Nagito or be unsettling with drowning or blood bending depictions if you want to reference Avatar the Last Airbender again. I still think if he were in a ATLA au it would be most fun to see him struggle within the fire nation and have that act as hierarchy for him, but water is a decent choice as well just element wise. It’s calm but deadly, highlights one’s emotional subconscious which could relate to Nagito’s subconscious hatred for talent in ways. And since water is so closely related to Ice if you double it with the Ice as an option as one element it becomes more fun. Visually water is a fun element for Nagito, I see a lot of potential within it. You could utilize the deadliness found with fire or electric and transfer it to water, albeit it won’t be as dangerous or destructive unfortunately. But water can be destructive in unexpected ways, and I think that would fit too.
I’m sorry if this isn’t an exact “what element is best for Nagito” for this section, there’s definitely a lot to choose and play with when it comes to elements and his multifaceted character. I really visually enjoy a bunch of imagery with Nagito, honestly Nagito artwork with symbolism or any metaphor or range of expressions for him are always my favorites. My take is that fire, water, and plants are my favorites for him given different interpretations. I would portray him with a fantasy fire that is blue or a different color than red to really highlight his calm yet deadly vibe or just morally grey nature instead of just a burning red fire full of the heat of a heart, I think that really meets a beautiful middle ground. Perhaps a fire that’s Danganronpa blood pink if you want to be extra on the nose, haha! Anything can work really if you get the symbolism right regardless of my personal opinion but these are my thoughts.
For Harry Potter, want to preface firstly fuck JK rowling and her political stance and if I’m wrong on something I apologize cause I haven’t touched it in a long time and I don’t plan to maybe when she dies only maybe. What first cane to mind for Nagito is Ravenclaw because he’s so so undeniably intelligent, but Slytherin tries to highlight both intelligence and moral grayness I think. Or rather ruthlessness or own goal orientated mindset by any means. I think his willingness towards hope may get him into Slytherin, but he’s also not one to act very much, his primary act and cry out to give his life meaning alongside his own awful feelings was killing himself and setting up the plan. It took him to that point finding out the ultimates around him were not who he believed they were to be to finally himself because he views himself as so low. Harry Potter houses aren’t really multifaceted enough for a good perfect fit for Nagito Komaeda. I think both Slytherin or Ravenclaw would do, perhaps more leaning towards Slytherin.
Thank you so much for your Ask!
This post is not proofread, if there are any typos I apologize, feel free to inform me id there’s a part of this post that is intelligible
