Story 5: An Organization From "Another" World
//Now we can get to this one. I was in the middle of typing this one out because I realized “Oh shit, I skipped the order, Melody Rhythm National Tour is next.” But now we can get to this Onmake at long last and in terms of tone it’s the polar opposite to the previous one.
//This Onmake seems to take place during the DRA IF that LINUJ’s friend made a while back, in that scenario everyone from Class 79 escape from the Killing Game alive and they all form the Kisagari Foundation. Well to be more precise it was always there, but it was just remodelled so it’s a general peacekeeping organization then a tech company.
//So this is just a nice fluffy What If in a Golden Ending where nobody died? Well…. at first glance it seems to be but as we will soon see, a twist occurs which puts that into doubt but we will get there, when we get there.
//As always we go below the cut for this one.
//This Onmake is told from the POV of Tsurugi Kinjo, who in this timeline is the Deputy Head of the Kisagari Foundation. Now this surprises me. I knew Tsurugi was close with the Kisaragi Siblings, and he would have a high ranking position in a scenario where everyone lives, but I always suspected he would be like Head of Security or something like that not Deputy Head, wouldn’t Mikako be Deputy Head instead? Well there could be a few reasons why she isn’t Deputy Head, maybe the position didn’t suit her, or maybe Yamato was worried about nepotism even though the Kisagari Foundation is a family-run business, or something else could be going on. What I like you guys to do is take note as we go through this scenario is there’s various details that something is off here. Little titbits that make you tilt your head and wonder what is going on. I want you to keep that mind as we go through here, because whilst on a first viewing it seems odd, when you view it a second or third time you will pick these details up and realize just how genius this Onmake really is. Tsurugi’s position is just one.
//As you would expect, Yamato is in charge of the organization and due to this been a Golden Ending, we get to see at long last, what the adult appearances of everyone in Class 79 would look like. There has been guesses as people have made sprite edits for them over the years, but its nice for LINUJ to finally confirm these appearances at long last. Its early days now, but I suspect over the years, we will get Adult sprite edits of Class 79, ones that myself alongside other Askbloggers will be using very well over the years. So going to Yamato appearance wise he doesn’t change much but it would make sense his appearance remains unchanged since he’s the head honcho of the Kisagari Foundation, so him having a unchanged appearance would make sense. I think the only difference is that his t-shirt is blue rather then grey, but that’s really the only change I could see. That should make things easy for sprite editors as its literally just one change. Here he is talking about Tsurugi working too hard and he needs a break as he’s not cashed in on his vacation days. But he knows that Tsurugi won’t just tell him to take a break because he said so, as a way to get Tsurugi to relax and because its been a while since the heads have gotten together for something, for them to all have a massive company holiday somewhere, as a means to unwind and get to spend time with each other. Tsurugi argues about the logistics of such a feat, but Yamato is confident there’s enough capable personal to keep the Foundation running while the heads are off on a beach in Jabberwock or something.
//Thus Yamato’s assignment for Tsurugi is to go around and ask everyone what their preferences for a holiday destination would be. This is of course the segway so we get to see what all the various adult Class 79 designs would look like and how everyone would operate in a fully Class 79 run Kisgarai Foundation, because as someone who indeed has a AU where the Proto Killing Game didn’t happen and everyone in Class 79 is involved in the Kisagari Foundation, this would be handy intel to have. With Tsurugi understanding the assignment and knowing this is some convoluted way from Yamato to get him to relax, as the Tragedy is dying down and society is being restored, he goes on this massive investigation to see where everyone would like to relax.
//The first people we get to see are Mikako and Kinji, who according to the Onmake are in charge of the HR department. Now it kinda makes sense for these two to be involved in human resources, as they are both compassionate people who can empathize with what employees might be struggling with. Mikako was always the more hopeful one of the Kisagari siblings as while Yamato was considering killing Akane and Utsuro once he discovered that they were working with Ultimate Despair, Mikako urged him to reconsider as she believed there might be goodness in them. In a canon setting I feel it might have payed off but in the Another series not so much. Plus many Askblogs and AUs would often have Mikako go into psychology or become a therapist later on in life. Appearance wise Mikako just swaps her brown coat for a white one, and if anything she looks a lot like her mother if she wasn’t wearing the prayer beads. Its actually fairly similar to some sprite edits of what adult Mikako looks like. Of course the main difference in them is Mikako was wearing glasses and didn’t have her prayer beads but well we can’t get them all right. I suppose with the official designs we will get them in the future. Again I question why Mikako isn’t Deputy Head instead of Tsurugi but maybe she’s just better in HR? Who knows.
//As for Kinji his hair is tied up in a ponytail and he’s wearing a more professional suit. The cross he was wearing in his original design is not there but I suppose he still has it, its just under the coat. The priest outfit isn’t there but I suppose seeing as Kinji is working in a company, it makes sense he looks like this. Also I just noticed that the two characters who are openly religious are in charge of HR. I wonder why that is, though it could be a coincidence since again, Mikako and Kinji have strong people skills and capable of dealing with the various woes that employees go through.
//Kinji suggests going to the USA which takes Tsurugi back because he didn’t think that air travel was operational. Even if not, remember that Haruhiko can just fly a plane himself to the States. As it turns out the airports are operational now so they can go overseas if they want to but Mikako exposes Kinji for just wanting to go to Las Vegas and gamble. Which is so funny as in Chapter 3 of DRA there’s a bonus event for when you go and participate in a arcade gaming area, and you have a CGI where Yuki is playing on a machine and among the crowd is Kinji.
//Bro really took just one arcade machine to be addicted to gambling its nuts. Of course Kinji tries to backpedal by saying he just wants to look at St. Patrick’s Cathedral but this lie is very easily debunked due to the fact that is located in New York and well let me just bring up this map here to show the location of New York and Las Vegas.
//Yeahhhhh you ain’t gonna be doing both in the same trip Kinji nice try. Anyway turns out Mikako doesn’t work in HR after all, she is a counsellor which makes sense, after all like I said many people for their AUs often have Mikako as a therapist so she would be the ones in charge of mental health, in addition most exorcists today are trained to spot mental illness since demonic possessions can easily be confused for them, so they know the difference between if someone is actually possessed or if they have depression or something. Kinji was just slacking off in the counselling department because he doesn’t have much work to do at the moment. And Mikako likewise is chilling out as she’s got little work to do. Yamato and Mikako while great people, aren’t exactly known for their work ethic as they prefer to relax and have a good time, so Tsurugi is often the one doing the paper work. This actually could be the real reason why he’s Deputy Head as Tsurugi is who keeps the lights going in the Kisaragi Foundation, paperwork is horrible but someone has to do it. Anyway to answer Tsurugi’s question, she would go whenever Yamato goes so she doesn’t really mind the choice of location.
//There’s also a heartwarming exchange between the trio where they say Tsurugi is a dear friend and a valuable part of the Foundation, that Yamato can only do what he does because Tsurugi is there to support him. Given how the last noteworthy exchange between Tsurugi and Kinji had the latter tear into the former for his morals and how they’re not so different which really rattled Tsurugi, and Mikako and Tsurugi didn’t get much chances to interact in the games, its nice to see everyone getting along. This is why we like Non-Tragedy AUs as everyone gets to become friends and its awesome. Well the Tragedy is still a thing here but Class 79 is alive and solving it so let’s move on.
//Our next batch of Class 79 people we see are Kizuna, Mitch and Kiyoka. They are all working as field agents, well Mitch and Kiyoka are field agents, Kizuna is a receptionist who coordinates all of the missions. Given how these three are very physically active, it makes sense for them to be involved in the main missions. Likewise Kizuna being mission control suits her well for her skills as a cheerleader as she is cheering on the field agents still in her own way. Now as for the designs. I’m starting with one of Carol’s girls Kizuna. I have to say Kizuna REALLY resembles her mother Minako in her adult design as minus the lollipop and star tattoo the two are very similar in dress code. This makes me wonder if Minako is also mission control within the actual Kisagari Foundation if that’s what her daughter would eventually do. Besides we know that Kizuna adopts a lot of her behaviour from her mother, so it would make sense for her to have a similar adult dress code to her. Like mother, like daughter they say.
//Now as for Mitch, not only do I not envy WeebyNewz when she inevitably has to react to this and the 10 million Meeby jokes go her direction now her “husband” has a new design, but it seems he’s starting to grow a bit of a beard, I never thought a beard would work well on Mitch but LINUJ proved me wrong. Also dem shades. Once again the Meeby fans will be eating well tonight as while I won’t say Mitch has a total glow up, as I imagine his personality is still as rotten as ever, but it does give us some ideas what he would look like when he’s older.
//And finally Kiyoka also is looking good. Interesting to see that her design is very different to what Ryutaro would have since he doesn’t have a communicator like what Kiyoka has and she also has shorter hair. I guess she cut her hair because it doesn’t work well on missions or something, it’s a weird design take but oddly endearing. Certainly very different from the adult Kiyoka designs fans have come up with, that’s for sure. Overall these designs look quite good and its very amusing to see how the official designs work very differently to the fandom designs.
//Kizuna is the first to also suggest to go to America, but her state of choice is different from Kinji’s as no going to the mainland; Kizuna wants to go to Hawaii. Now while logistically Hawaii would be easier then the mainland as its closer to Japan, remember this is Kizuna we are talking about. Her motives are simple; Hawaii has lots of brilliant beaches and plenty of chances for her to see if she can score a hunk of a man. Kiyoka is quick to expose what Kizuna is trying to do and Mitch says there’s no need to go to Hawaii; if she wants a tall muscular handsome man, she could just ask him out, and Kizuna’s reaction is borderline comedic as she rejected him so hard, you can hear the scream from where I am and the UK is the opposite side of the world from Japan! Tsurugi’s reaction to everyone wanting to go to America is hilarious as it seems Tsurugi doesn’t like the States, I wonder why? Hmmmmm it’s a mystery.
//Kiyoka doesn’t want to go to America as she suggests Oita which is a city in the Kyushu region, which for a Pokémon fan like me is the basis of the Hoenn Region! Sooo using my supreme Pokémon knowledge Ota is based offf….Fallarbor Town! Oh interesting that was not what I was expecting, but seems like Kiyoka wants to be local then. Its also got lots of Western themed attractions so its cheaper alternative for the likes of Kinji and Kizuna who want to go to the States. Mitch also agreed to stay local since he doesn’t like travelling abroad due to having to do it when he was a footballer. Which makes sense, Japan doesn’t have that big of a league when it comes to football, and the major nations that do it are in Europe and South America. Not to mention if Mitch was involved in any World Cup teams which he most likely was but this more or less confirms that Mitch is retired from footballing which makes sense as it being a athletic sport, you are only in peak condition for so long and eventually you do have to retire. But he’s still in a physical job due to being a field agent, so those skills are translated over quite well. We also find that the field agents are also relaxing since with the Tragedy calming down, they don’t have to be deployed nearly as much, not to mention Kizuna being exposed as sucking up to Tsurugi for better treatment, never change Kizuna. Never change.
//Moving onto, our next batch of Class 79 students is Haruhiko and Satsuki who are in a deep argument over what Tsurugi asked. Before we unpack that, let’s look at their designs. For Haruhiko he’s wearing a scarf similar to what Teruya wears, but there is a notable difference as SDRA2 Teruya’s scarf is blue yet Adult Haruhiko’s scarf is red, which aside from the colour contrast, does really sell the whole pilot look he has, so its a natural upgrade of his teenage design. As for Satsuki aside from the fact she’s in a non-clown costume for once, but I have remark that she looks almost identical to Fukumi from DTFA. Now obviously this is a coincidence and Fukumi IS supposed to be Satsuki’s older sister, but this is a case where Poi’s OC family members actually mesh really well with canon and I love Fukumi’s design so naturally I’m gonna like Satsuki’s design here. In addition Satsuki has tied her hair into a bun as well. I have to say, the major highlight aside from seeing everyone alive and healthy, is seeing what all the adult designs would look like and none have been misses so far, they have all been absolute bangers.
//So what are these two lovebirds squabbling about? Well Haruhiko is wanting for the class to go to the beach, whilst Satsuki wants them to go to the mountains. This by the way, is actually a common argument that Japanese couples have when it comes to going away on holidays, so Haruhiko and Satsuki really are talking like a old married couple. That being said, while there is clearly sparks of love between the two, Haruhiko has never officially proposed to Satsuki yet because he’s too nervous to and is waiting for the right time to pop the question. That and the fact there’s a literal apocalypse going on and that takes priority. I also want to point out Satsuki’s nickname for Haruhiko. See its no secret that the original translation of DRA was god awful and it got many, many details wrong spuch as Mikako’s cause of death, the fact that Kinji was adopted and even Mitch having a nickname since that’s not canon. What is kinda canon though is Satsuki nicknaming Haruhiko but it won’t be Kozabang since that’s tied to the OG translation. When the remake comes out which among the massive gameplay improvement, custom tracks and VAs would also have a cleaner translation which is more truthful to the source material so many issues that have been lost in translation will be fixed up. So we will have to say goodbye to Kozabang but we will get a new nickname to replace it. Mitch will probably remain Mitch though since that’s ingrained into the fandom by this point.
//Anyway back to the argument, Satsuki accuses Haruhiko of wanting to go to the beach because he wants to see women in their swimsuits and he’s being a pervert. Haruhiko tries to dodge the question by claiming he’s recently gotten into fishing and so he just wants to try sea fishing, but this is a clear excuse. So yeah Haru is being a pervert here, as for Satsuki the reason she wants everyone to go mountain climbing is because Haru has been complaining how bad his stamina is so she selected mountains so that Haruhiko can get better stamina for climbing a mountain, she went for that option for his sake. Haruhiko is shocked by that and also confesses the reason he wants to go to the beach is to see people in swimsuits yes but not other girls, just Satsuki, he wants to see her in a swimsuit. Awwww, so in the end the reason they got into an argument is because they care about each other and want the other to be happy.
//Tsurugi is getting irritated with the argument though so in the end they decide to settle the matter with a game and if Haruhiko wins, they will suggest going to the beach and if Satsuki wins they will suggest going to the mountains. Unfortunately we do cut to black and don’t get a answer who wins this tie breaking game, but I like to say they did a draw and so you have one vote for the beach and one vote for the mountain. It was a pleasure to see this couple again and the fact that their love for each other hasn’t died in all these years. DRA Chapter 4 is one of the best Another chapters period as it’s a really tragic love story and one with so much emotional impact from it, other Fangans have tried to emulate its success and failed miserably because you cannot replicate what these two have. But one thing I’m noticing is that despite this being a post Tragedy world, things seem to be peaceful as everyone is relaxing and having a good time, even around Danganronpa 3 time, the Future Foundation noted that it’s a good day when there’s less then 100 terrorist attacks a day. So they should be on their toes and working yet they aren’t. Why is that? Hmmm interesting. We also don’t find out what division these two work in which isn’t helpful as well.
//We move onto the seemly swamped with work administrative department and here we meet Kakeru and Kanata. This is a interesting choice as while I don't despite that Kakeru works well in this department Kanata being here is an odd choice, shouldn't medical people be doing medical stuff? But enough about that, let’s talk designs. Now with Kanata its hard to tell if she’s had a growth spurt or not, since I know a lot of adult fan designs for Kanata picture her with a growth spurt. The fact she’s standing next to Kakeru, who’s a tall person anyway, doesn’t help but Kanata does look slightly taller then she does in DRA so maybe she does have a growth spurt? I like to think she does. She also seems to have grown her hair out and is wearing a ponytail…however there’s something interesting about her scrunchy, it seems to be similar to what Akane would wear so maybe she gave Kanata one of her spare hair scrunchies? Either way I love Kanata’s adult look and she looks very professional.
//Now as for Kakeru, he’s wearing glasses and looks like atypical salaryman here. Then again given he’s a lawyer by trade, maybe this is so he looks more accurate to a lawyer. The funny thing here is that someone on the Askblog Discord server pointed out how Adult Kakeru looks very similar to Ippei Hanato, Carol’s OC design for Ayame’s father, and Carol even admits she used Kakeru as a base when designing his sprites so it’s a very weird coincidence. Regardless both of their designs are simple but effective.
//Of course when hearing the news, both want to go but they are also concerned about work since Kakeru and Kanata are in the very busy administrative department where they are constantly working, to the point that Tsurugi says their work ethic is the only thing holding the Foundation together. Kanata also worries about what Tsurugi was asking, that if all 16 heads go on a holiday, who would run the Kisagari Foundation in their place. Anyway as for their choices they don’t have a preference as they would go with what the group goes for and when Tsurugi is asked for his preference he also agrees, seems like these three have similar mentalities. With Kanata even admitting that her father keeps saying she needs to be a bit more selfish as she always just goes with whatever the group wants and she needs to indulge in her own activities once in a while. Hikaru’s words echoing, Tsurugi decides that rather then no preference his choice is somewhere peaceful. Because deep down, this is what Tsurugi desires; a peaceful crime-free world where nobody has to suffer.
//It’s a interesting though that Tsurugi has, that he wants peace above all else. So far this entire Onmake has been a extremely happy and pleasant where we see what everyone’s adult designs are and what they are doing in the Foundation. But there’s also the sense that something is…off, too many questions are being asked. The world is said to be peaceful, yet this is a Post-Tragedy world where there should be incidents occurring. The positioning of various Class 79 members has been odd, and Kakeru and Kanata seem to mirror what Tsurugi’s values are, even though we know those two do object to what Tsurugi has to say in DRA.
//Another thing to note is we have not see Tsurugi himself, we are in his POV but he’s not shown up, furthermore Teruya and Rei don’t show up either as apparently they are away on a mission. Now the straightforward answer could be we know what they look like as adults so we don’t need to see them, but realistically while I doubt Rei would change design wise, Teruya would as he wouldn’t be wearing the googles and clown badge that he has in SDRA2 since those are taken from his friends, who are alive. And then there’s the fact we have only 3 people left; Ayame, Akane and Yuki. And for some reason when Tsurugi is recounting who’s left to ask, he hesitates before saying Yuki’s name. Now why is that?: If this is a AU where nobody has died, then should Yuki be fine as there is no Utsuro? So what is going on?
//The clues that something is wrong have been subtle so far, but its around here, the details become more obvious and harder to ignore when we encounter the final three.
//So as expected the next lot we encounter are Ayame and Akane. And before you ask, yes local Ayame fangirl Carol was VERY delighted to see what adult Ayame would look like design wise. So let’s start with her and not because a certain hyena has a gun placed on my head. Most of Ayame’s design I do like, I like the scarf she has and the red coat she has on which really does go with her aesthetics but I’m not a fan of the fact that Ayame’s breasts are what’s showing the most in this design. That being said they are a lot smaller then they were in DRA and its confirmed that Ayame does get breast reduction surgery, possibly done by Kanata, in order to reduce them to becoming more manageable as large breasts do come with a lot of health issues including back injuries. So aside from how she’s positioned, I’m okay with Ayame’s design as an adult…but I LOVE what Akane’s design is like. Its so brilliant it has her maid outfit but its not as sexualized as it was in DRA and her hair is down like she is in her despair outfit and she has a cute bow in it as well, so I really do dig Akane’s design.
//…Okay I’m ignoring the obvious elephant in the room, Akane’s face is crossed out like it was in the pictures in SDRA2 which makes zero sense when you consider this is supposed to be a non Killing Game AU, so Akane doing the crimes she did in canon shouldn’t have occurred so why is Tsurugi censoring Akane’s face, its odd. And something even the two ladies find odd because it seems that Akane’s face is supposed to be normal and its just what Tsurugi is seeing…. Hmmm I have a theory but we need to find Yuki first and if his face is crossed out like Akane’s then it should be obvious what is happening. What is it? Well you have to wait and see but let’s just say I have used certain words in this write-up for a reason and if you have been paying attention you should see why.
//Turns out Ayame and Akane are recently back from a holiday they had to Osaka, a major city in Japan. The fact they took it together means the two are very close as friends and LINUJ confirmed that if Ayame lived past Chapter 2, she would have been able to fix Akane and make her go down the path of redemption, so even when she regained her memories as a Mastermind, Ayame’s presence would have made her back down and turn herself in. We already know that the mere memory of Ayame was enough for Akane to deflect in canon so having her physically there would have made the drive to do mastermind things even harder then before. Ayame hasn’t had many chances to explore Japan whilst Akane due to her job knows many places in Japan so she acted as Ayame’s tour guide, so because of that she thinks it might be nice to go abroad, though she doesn’t know any foreign languages. Which is interesting since it means that Divine Luck doesn’t give you polyglot skills or maybe Akane hasn’t had the need to do so, so maybe if she invested time into doing so, she could pick up a language super fast. And this also confirms that Rei and Kinji are the ones who speak multiple languages since its confirmed in addition to Japanese, both can speak English and Kinji is also fluent in Italian. That being said they aren’t the only cast members who can speak other languages its just they have the most skill in doing so. All interesting details to consider for potential world-building and headcanons later on.
//Its all nice to hear this but once again we don’t know what division Akane and Ayame are in, and it seems looking at Akane is making Tsurugi have a headache which makes them concerned for obvious reasons but why is Akane having a censored face, and why does it make Tsurugi’s head hurt? Well to answer those questions we need to see the final adult design and it’s the main character of DRA himself; Yuki Maeda.
//So yeah Yuki’s design is very basic but with him being the plain Lucky Student he wasn’t gonna have much besides wearing the Kisagari Foundation outfit and it seems we do have a idea what his job is, as he’s the personal assistant to Tsurugi. Which makes sense since Yuki and Tsurugi got along extremely well in DRA, as Yuki was the only one who tolerated Tsurugi and when everyone started to turn on both of them, they had a connection there as Yuki would often hear out what Tsurugi has to say, and Tsurugi appreciates the company, especially as its not so subtle that Tsurugi is seeing his old dead friend Sasaki in Yuki. Plus you could also apply this what Yuki in SDRA2 has design wise as well!
//But once again we get the censored face, and the fact that Tsurugi is getting headaches and getting a sense of dread and danger from Yuki, which should be ridiculous as they are close friends here, so what is going on? Simple; this is NOT a AU. There was no Golden Ending where everyone escapes and is happy, because this all takes place within the canon timeline. And its also very clear when this occurs; its during SDRA2 Chapter 6.
//At some point in the Class Trial when Alter Ego Utsuro gets brought into reality and Mikado is on the verge of getting what he wants, to prevent anyone from stopping him, he traps all the others within a personal utopia where their wants and desires are fulfilled. Sora with some encouragement from Akane manages to break out of it and with some effort gets Yuki, Iroha and Yoruko out of their own simulations as well. Tsurugi and Rei are also trapped in these utopias but they didn’t require Sora’s help to busting them out, they broke free on their own accord. In the case of Rei, due to her having a logical mind, she would be able to break free by noticing how unrealistic everything is. But then how does Tsurugi break out? The answer is here since this entire Onmake is Tsurugi’s utopia. Its his deepest desire, for everyone from his class to not be dead and the world to be peaceful and crime-free. This does show that despite everything that Tsurugi says and does, he cares for his classmates deep down and sees them as friends, which is probably why sacrificing Teruya and Rei abandoning him in Funeral affected him so much, to the point he went to do some soul searching.
//So if this what Tsurugi wants, why are Akane’s and Yuki’s faces blacked out? The answer is that Tsurugi knows they are the masterminds, the ones who turned his entire world upside down, the worst of criminals and despite everything he cannot forgive them deep down. Which is when the simulation starts to break apart when Yuki first starts talking in Doki Doki Literature Club text and then he turns back into Utsuro.
//In addition Utsuro is speaking in red text which is never a good sign. During all of this Tsurugi notes that ever since he ran into Akane and then Yuki his head has been hurting, almost as if the memories of what they did were coming through and when Utsuro appears a glass shattering sound appears almost as if the illusion has been shattered.
//Surprise! You thought this was a happy go lucky Onmake but its now turned into full blown horror! I already had a sense that something was wrong with everything going on, but this is when, if you haven’t caught on when the facade of this apparent AU is completely blown off and its revealed plain as day that no; we are not in a AU, we are still in the canon timeline. And the reason Tsurugi cannot see Akane and Yuki’s faces is because he remembers what she and Utsuro did, and above all else he can never forgive them.
//Now the illusion has been broken we are back into reality, the world is burning from the Tragedy and Yamato’s face is blocked out. However its very clear this isn’t Yamato who’s talking, its Alter Ego Yamato who’s speaking to Tsurugi. He reveals the reason why the simulation broke was because Tsurugi’s mind is full of contradictions. He desires a peaceful world but he also wants all criminals to pay in blood with methods that are extreme. He wants his friends back, but he cannot forgive Akane and Utsuro for what they’ve done. One thing that has been apparent is that before Chapter 6, Tsurugi was on the verge of redeeming himself, he has been given several knocks to his psyche and he’s slowly rebuilding himself as someone who hates and opposes evil but is willing to protect his friends. Even when he remembers Akane as the mastermind, he was still stalwart in his new goals of protecting everyone and the feeling he can be changed.
//But then its revealed that Yuki, the one person he trusted above all else, who he cared for deeply, and possibly had romantic attractions to, was never a real person, instead he was the face worn by the second and true mastermind of their Killing Game; Utsuro. That plus Utsuro revealing what his father had done, had completely shattered everything Tsurugi thought and it snapped him back to square one, or less then square one as he’s far more extreme then he was before had. And part of this is because Alter Ego Yamato told him to get mad and upset because it was the only thing he could say to Tsurugi, but now he’s realizing he’s made a grave mistake as he said those words to encourage Tsurugi to move forward but all he’s done is made Tsurugi fall to depths even lower then he did in the past. Basically this is LINUJ saying “Oops, I made Tsurugi too evil in SDRA2, my bad!”
//This is how Tsurugi broke out of the utopia spell Mikado put him under, it wasn’t like with Sora who had help from Akane, it wasn’t like with Rei who realized on her own something was up and broke out. In Tsurugi’s case he was deeply in the utopia but the cognitive dissonance within his mind is so massive that the simulation broke on its own as Tsurugi’s ideals and wants clashed and resulted in this. Alter Ego Yamato also remarks how Tsurugi’s grown weak since the last time he saw him, which implies how far Tsurugi has fallen for the Alter Ego of his old friend to no longer recognize him.
//Why was Tsurugi Deputy Head and the only competent person? That’s because its how he saw himself. Why was the world peaceful? Because Tsurugi desired a peaceful world. Why did Kanata and Kakeru behave so alike Tsurugi even though we knew they opposed him in the real world? Tsurugi is seeing those two, innocent victims in his mind, in a idealistic rose-filled view, the odd behaviour quirks various characters showed could be easily explained as Tsurugi’s views on them bleeding through. Kinji being in HR could also be explained like this as Kinji was the only person to actually challenge Tsurugi’s views and make him reconsider, so Tsurugi might hold some respect for Kinji on that regard. This makes this Onmake so genius because every bit of detail that’s off, is on purpose by it being all an utopia Tsurugi was in, and those odd details are there for eagle eyed viewers to notice. When a story gets enhanced on repeated viewings as you pick up on more details then before, that’s the sign of a brilliant story there.
//With this, Tsurugi accepts that his fantasy is impossible, that his mind is too conflicted for a ideal utopia to be made, but there is one thing he can do, which is to seize reality, no matter how hard it is, Tsurugi has to accept what reality is and move forward and with this new goal in mind and the plan to server the last bonds he has, he manages to break out of the utopia and shoot Mikado dead. This could lead to darker interpretations within Funeral after he leaves the Kisagari Foundation but again its open ended for a reason and up to you.
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//And that is this Onmake done. So what did I think? I think this is a FANTASTIC Onmake. I love the adult designs of everyone for the most part and its nice to see a setting where everyone is alive and healthy and its good to see Class 79 again. The first half was a nice fluffy happy AU like setting where we got to see our Class 79 friends good and well, but the second half when its revealed this isn’t a AU but rather Tsurugi’s utopia that Mikado trapped him in during Chapter 6, and that his own mind broke the simulation due to how conflicted it is, is also brilliant as it gives us a massive deep dive into Tsurugi’s psyche and understand what makes him tick. A lot of people have been deeply disappointed in how Tsurugi has regressed in SDRA2 so seeing this and Funeral probably has redeemed the character in their eyes since now we have more nuance and reason for why Tsurugi’s mind went the way it did and how deeply conflicted and troubled the former Police Officer really is.
//I really love this take, especially because during the Onmake you get the sense something is off and maybe it’s a mistake from LINUJ, but it wasn’t. That odd feeling you got was on purpose as its your mind telling you something is indeed off and when the twist is revealed you feel so vindicated for feeling those thoughts as all those little details which are off, are done on purpose so you know the twist is coming. And it gives us so much insight to Tsurugi as a whole, on how conflicted he is, how he cannot forgive Akane and Utsuro no matter what, and how his own ideals are self-destructive and even a all-knowing AI cannot bring them to reality as they are impossible to do so. The fact all of this is occurring at the same time Sora is having a heart-to-heart with Akane, makes this just that much better as you now know HOW Tsurugi and Rei got out without Sora having to help them, they did so on their own.
//My scoring for An Organization from “Another World” is a solid S. Yes I loved this Onmake that much and it’s a massive jump from the previous one I did which I said degraded the story, but this ENHANCES the story and makes it even better! It also saves a character who has not been done well in SDRA2 so that is a massive bonus there since while Tsurugi is still horrible for what he did in SDRA2, at the very least, now we have more of an explanation for his actions. Not to mention the adult designs of everyone is so good, and I can’t wait to see sprites of them made by the fans.
//So what do we have tomorrow? Well…from a what we thought was an AU but not exactly to an actual bad ending as we explore SDRA2’s bad ending if Mikado had won and well…buckle up as its gonna be dark. See you then!
