Of Sin, Salt and Slack : A SDR2 Critical Walkthrough, Day 3
…Early day 3. This is actually still day 2 but I’m bored and I want to procrastinate doing laundry.
Back to Scene 1! Hajime finally finished his CHKDSK run and figured out his memory sector isn’t completely fucked!
{Scene 1 Extended - Prologue, Beach. An albino octopus, and more protag pacifiers. (20:00)}
Nagito:"Hey, are you sure you’re okay?"
You never asked Hajime, nor did he answer you. Why are you saying it like you’re double-checking?
Hajime: "…Leave me alone."
Wow, way to be an asshat, Hajime! You just tumbled for dramatic effect and someone who suddenly regained his braincells realised that implies you’re in bad condition! You’re like a kid that threw a tantrum and is now sitting in a corner sulking when you fainted and they were kind enough to watch over you.
Are you mad because you can’t attend Hope’s Peak?
Nagito: "There’s no way I can leave someone alone when they look that pale…"
Looks like they reversed the lobotomy. Was that classroom scene before a fever dream? Should’ve been one.
Either way, is paleness Hajime’s default skin or is his personality colour-changing to match his Ramune-soiled bedsheets? And Nagito seems to be genuinely concerned for his health. At least right now it's not complete 'protag needs to be bottle-fed exposition' like before.
But if I had self-respect I'd already be gone. And we all know Nagito has none of that.
And Hajime ignores him again. Wow, you sure are a sunny personality!
Hajime: "…"
Hajime: (White sandy beach… Crystal blue ocean…)
Oh no he’s running the startup script from before again… And doing more redundancy.
Hajime: (The sun’s rays beaming down on me…)
I hope you get a tan because that’d be the only thing that could make you attractive enough to vaguely warrant the later harem.
Hajime: (This soft, tropical wind brushing my skin.)
This island has PALM TREES, SEAGULLS, SAND AND HIBISCI, OF COURSE IT’S TROPICAL!
The ‘tropical’ in this already is implied and tells us nothing. No ocean salt on his lips, no, heat warbling off the sand, no nothing.
Hajime: (I… definitely don’t know what’s going on.)
We elaborated on that before. At this point, you’re a pet urchin washed up on Chandler Beach. Are your sneakers burning yet or did you get sand into them? That'll sure remind you this isn't a joke.
Hajime: (I was supposed to attend Hope’s Peak Academy. Why did this…?)
I called it lmao. And no, Hajime, you wouldn’t be able to enter the main building after 2016 because the anime decided the Reserve course has a separate building and destroy continuity!
Hajime: (Why… am I here at a place like this?)
Hey Nagito, can you talk please? I’m stuck in the monologue of this perpetually oblivious urchin otherwise. Hajime’s also ignoring you in favour of his tragic underdog yammering and wasting your time. Not to mention he’s suddenly rude after he was a wallflower for most of the classroom mayhem.
Hajime: "That rabbit thing said we’re… on a tropical island."
*yawn* You sure are perceptive, Hajime! Let me just fall asleep on my desk.
Nagito: "…Yeah, you’re right."
I can read two options out of this 1) Nagito wants to be polite even if Hajime is stupid, or 2) redundancy.
Hajime retreats into himself again! Maybe I should reframe him as a mollusc or a hermit crab. The latter sounds really compelling because he sure is setting himself up to be left behind!
Hajime: "…"
Hajime: (I have no idea what’s going on.)
Seriously, who in the editing team went over this and said ‘wow, that’s a compelling protagonist’! So far, I only see why you’d feel superior to him because the bar is in the Mariana Trench.
Hajime: (That’s the only thing I can say with absolute certainty.)
Oh, you forgot your name? Can I give you a new one? I’d call you Larry for sport.
*Meta controls explanation I don’t care about cuz' I’m watching the walkthrough*
Hajime: *selects monitor* (Why is there a monitor in a place like this? The screen is blank… What is this being used for?)
When you click on Nagito before investigating everything else, Hajime goes ‘I should first understand the situation I’m in’.
Hajime, there’s nothing to understand except that you’re slow and pretty dense, now hurry up before you get red like a crab thrown into boiling water unless the Neo World Program gives you unlimited UV protection preloaded into your Student handbook.
This is the actual day 3 of doing this analysis. I’ve slept more. Time for more hermit crab side-running in the story!
Nagito: "Well, it’s a waste of time to think about it. Best not to worry!"
This is the same person that constantly worries whether his luck kills people and runs self-depreciation in his kernel like it’s SELinux? No it isn’t, shut the fuck up.
Hajime… excuse me, Larry: (What’s with this guy…? How can he be so calm in a situation like this?)
Because I overestimated the narrative and assumed they’d given up on giving you pacifier characters but apparently Nagito was the victim.
And if they would have asked for basic comprehension and continuity he’d be just as wound-up as you are. Cmon Larry do some stretches! You must’ve been standing for quite a while!
Oh and also, he isn’t calm, he’s lobotomised. Don’t take him seriously. I don’t take you seriously either but you demand that.
Larry: (…Maybe he’s just a chill guy.)
That’s a side-effect of bad plot syndrome. Did you know smarter people get depressed easier?
*selects ocean*
Larry: (The crystal clear, shining blue sea… It’s perfect for a tropical island..)
Someone fucked up the ellipses again. I told you no one likes those. Are you reaching your limit on noise ammo for the later trial?
Either way… Perfect? How do you know? Have you ever seen other beaches? Or did you read it from the pamphlet they beamed into your brain?
Larry: (Just what is going on here?)
We had that before. You have the object permanence of a newborn and even that one recognises when they’re with their parents.
Larry: (I never wanted anything like this at all…)
…Are you sulking about being far from Hope’s Peak AGAIN? Bro seriously, you got a free (if suspicious) trip to a tropical island and are crying about it? Ungrateful. I’d drink and eat fresh coconuts until I’d be sick.
Nagito: "So, how are you feeling? Are you calmed down now?"
Larry might’ve infected you with stupidity so I’ve got to say I’m in a terrible mood.
Nagito: "Um… I understand your confusion after everything that’s happened."
No, not after everything that’s happened. Larry’s always confused. He’s probably powered by a hamster wheel but said hamster prefers to sleep or got yeeted out of it so hard they died.
And you’re implying you understand the situation. Did you ask Togami?
Nagito: "But, why don’t we start with an introduction?"
Oh yes, after laying on the blistering sand for god knows how long, I sure want to stand in the scorching heat, no water, no food, no nothing. Nagito, you SUNBURN EASY, get your vampire ass into the next building. Then again you're masochistic. You gonna turn that into a tangent about how the sun hates you, too?
Larry: "Introduction…?"
If your parents didn’t already buy you a dictionary, I’d get you one, my treat. How did you pass Elementary school? By stabbing your supervisors with your ahoge?
Nagito: "…I’m Nagito Komaeda. Nice to meet you."
Currently, you’re not Nagito and I’m suspicious of anything you say. Did he get infected by the Liar disease at the beginning of the game? Because that’s the only in-universe explanation I can find for his character shifting like river houses during floodings.
Ah yes, spinny logo, Lucky Student, I get it. NEXT.
Nagito: "Ah, along with my introduction… I guess I’ll also tell you about my talent so you know why Hope’s Peak Academy chose me."
Ok, I think he was unlobotomised again. Only normal Nagito would pick talent and Hope’s Peak as a conversation starter with someone he just met. I’m guessing it’s gonna cycle through all the characters out of obligation, but in this case it’s in-character.
Nagito: "Well, even if I tell you, in my case, it’s a pretty disappointing talent…"
You know what’s disappointing? That the game spoiled it for me already so your line lost the tension it could’ve had.
Larry: "A disappointing talent…? What do you mean?"
He clearly communicated he’s gonna tell you in the next line. Surprise Larry, talents can be disappointing. Imagine if you had a talent as a motorcyclist in a family of bakers. That click?
Nagito: "I’m lucky."
…Which was inferred by the spinny logo before. God this game is a waste of time.
Larry: "What are you talking about?"
If you cared about the school as much as you claim you’d know there’s a Lucky Student in every class since the school has existed. But that enforces it’s just a status symbol to you.
Nagito: "It’s not a joke or anything… That’s my actual talent."
Characters hate to take others’ words upfront, huh. Everything is taken as a joke.
I like Nagito’s softened text lines. It’s similar to what he’s doing in the Japanese version. And then there’s Bryce Papenbrook’s voice work which I have a problem with in this game. Can you tell I obsessed about this exploded soap for eight years?
Beautiful Ruin has been playing since Larry woke up. They’re trying so hard to make this chill when their setup ruins it for anyone who has two braincells. Oh and I wanted to go back to Usami’s Theme… a sec.
…They’re spoiling Monokuma. I’m crying and laughing. During the first scene on the beach the theme that’s played is called ‘Mr. Monokuma’s Practical Lesson’. Good to know Usami never had any merit beyond a red herring, but that'd be too generous. If they'd taken her seriously she'd have her own theme at least. She's just narrative padding... or stuffing. The plot feels like they wanted to make a red velvet plushie, forgot they had just two handful of good cotton and used moldy textile shredding to fill it in. Did no one QC this? Who allowed this to release? Most importantly, WHY'D IT GET SO POPULAR?!
Nagito: "I’m the (Ultimate) SHSL Lucky Student… At least, that’s what I’m called anyway."
Ok, this taps into him not believing that his luck is a talent because it is awful. Mood.
More on Bryce, he killed it in Another Episode as Servant, so I assume it must have been bad direction in SDR2. It’s still annoying because it shelves Nagito straight into a ‘hope nutcase’ box and everyone’s still harping on about bagel jokes. Has everyone forgotten he eats toast… like a shoujo anime lead, actually…
Please wash this out of my head.
Larry: "(Ultimate) SHSL Lucky Student?"
Where’s my screwdriver so I can rewind Larry’s brain tape?
Nagito: "Through a country-wide lottery, apparently only one ordinary student is selected at random to attend..."
…Which is what Hajime should’ve said both to elevate his character and the worldbuilding, but he needs to be babied constantly.
Nagito: "…Hope’s Peak Academy as the (Ultimate) SHSL Lucky Student."
This line needs to overflow into another textbox and I hate it. I needed to go back to read this properly. Most people will click through it so fast it’s negligible though.
Nagito: "And that lucky winner just so happened to be me."
"Just so happened", you know you’re a walking disaster but you’re good at downplaying it. I don’t blame you. You’ve seen some shit.
Notice how I’m taking him up-front? Because there’s some personality in there. And he’ll be there for most of the game.
I’ll have to be super careful though. I made my own personality documentation for him that I inferred through the game, which means I have an analysis bias. So a) this analysis reinforces that it’s rock-solid or b) I correct it and you’ll all benefit from it later. You’re welcome. I've already got to squeeze it around the lobotomy just seconds ago, but I'd take it as that Nagito seems like a chill guy if you were to meet him on the street... or on a school trip, that the game plays as 'relaxing'. Makes sense for someone this traumatised and sockpuppeted by a... god? Spirit? Curse?
Has anyone in the universe ever nailed down what 'Luck' is? How did they get it into Kamukura in DR3? Did they do some kind of kegare ritual to get the gods angry or injected him with omamori extract?
Larry: (Chosen by a lottery… Is that really okay?)
…Did YOU apply for the lottery? Because you should have unless you’re a trust fund baby that’s got money in excess. Also you sure seem to be questioning the ‘easy’ way. Are you upset you needed to pay your way in and this mf didn’t?
Larry: (I mean… is luck even a real talent in the first place?)
You should’ve asked the (Ultimate) SHSL Hall Monitor. Being a teacher’s pet and yelling at people for running all your life doesn’t seem fun or talented, just stuck-up.
This sentence is a poster for filler adjectives. The ‘real’ in ‘real talent’ devalues the ‘talent, because why’d you say it’s real? Any unreal talents out there you know of?
Larry: (…How strange.)
I’m surprised how you survived to high school, Larry. You feel like if you were dropped somewhere and received directions, you’d err over half the globe before reaching your destination. And you’d turn into a pig if tossed into cold water. However, you don't get the mercy of being OP and somewhat attractive... Come to think of it I still have to settle a score with THAT annoyance of an anime. Akane is an asshole that’s painted as endearing Tsundere.
Nagito: "Your face looks… troubled."
For one, why ‘your face’ specifically? Saying ‘You look… troubled.’ would’ve flowed better. For two, Nagito, you’re like a voluntary helper reminding someone with permanent brain damage that they wanted to put that puzzle piece there.
Larry: "Oh, no… I’m not troubled or anything."
LIARRRRR
Nagito: "No, it’s fine. I have mixed feelings about this, too."
Nagito calls out his bullshit and patches out the awkward lie with some empathy… I wished we had a better protagonist.
Nagito: "I never thought an average, talentless high school student like me would ever enter Hope’s Peak Academy…"
Oh, SELinux kicked in and got to the surface. Good, good.
Nagito: "At first… I declined. I told them I didn’t deserve it. But they told me they really wanted me to attend."
This is excellent show-off for his self hatred and how little he values his talent… and himself, really. He’s average, talentless, despairing. Him, in an Academy of Hope? Nah, even if it’s his biggest dream. And then he gave in… I think it was because they told him because they wanted to research it. Which makes sense because the Kamukura Project needed it.
DING DING DING!
Nagito: "Apparently this so-called luck of mine is a talent that even the school doesn’t fully understand…"
And by extension, the writers of this world. Interesting he frames it as a recontextualisation. What did he call his luck before Hope’s Peak? A curse?
Nagito: "To research it, the school picks the (Ultimate) SHSL Lucky Student every year through an annual lottery."
If they’re still researching it after decades of this school’s existence, good luck figuring it out until the sun burns out.
(Edit: They somehow figured it out when creating Kamukura but never elaborated on the mechanics. I’m guessing luck is their magic narrative convenience button, explaining it would require them to abide by the rules.)
Nagito:"Hope’s Peak Academy is amazing if they can actually research something as vague as "luck".
…The guy with ‘boku’ pronouns, a black storm of self hatred and dementia has less ellipses than Larry. Is that a protagonist privilege?
Ok, Nagito. I’m gonna give you a sea animal too. An octopus, pretty smart, good at adapting to situations, AND THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO PULL LARRY OUT OF HIS SHELL. I get a strong feeling he’ll be the biggest, if not only voice of reason in this cast. Now, DON’T DISAPPOINT ME. But I’ll probably never need to roast you about it sooo… just in case?
Nagito: "Well, thanks to that luck, a guy like me was able to attend Hope’s Peak Academy, so for that I’m grateful…"
…That makes it sound like it was the first good thing you got out of your luck.
On the UI - did you know the beta had an FM radio in the top right corner that was replaced by the guitar? I loved that. Even now I think that more of a retro overlay/washed out photo texture would’ve kicked the ‘tropical/holiday’ feel into second gear.
Nagito: "But on the other hand… I feel a little out of place here."
Notice how Larry just… absorbs what he’s saying and never contributes? That’ll be important later.
But yep, on point, he feels like an imposter because to him, luck is not a talent. I’m impressed it stayed consistent for this long.
Nagito: "Ah, sorry. I have a bad habit of viewing most things through a pessimistic lens."
Yeah, cuz his luck never lets him rest. Even good luck ends in a tragedy waiting room. Still… you should be WAY MORE SKEPTICAL ABOUT THE CAMERAS. Watch that never happen because it went against someone’s interests during production. Because technically, his luck could 'accidentally' snipe a camera with a coconut and Usami would be none the wiser. Bonus level if even Usami can't fix it.
Nagito: "Um, yeah, I guess that’s it for my introduction."
Nothing to say here.
Larry: (Hmm… Nagito Komaeda, huh…)
Oh, did you realise his name is also a lame meta joke because that’s apparently this game series' pre-order bait and switch? Nagito Komaeda transliterates into ‘Makoto Naegi da’ which is ‘I’m Makoto Naegi’ and then they forget about it. It’s an absolutely obscure name and I’m sure they pulled the kanji out of nowhere. When does the trailer 'foreshadowing' ever pay off?
Larry: (He doesn’t seem like the most reliable guy, but he doesn’t strike to me as a bad person either.)
You’re projecting. At least you’re doing something though. Why do you call the guy who waited for you to bumble around on the beach and rate palm trees unreliable? Nagito’s got more patience than me.
Nagito: "Now then, it’s your turn."
*Larry.exe crashed, please ask a system administrator for help*
Larry: "Yeah… I’m Hajime Hinata."
No, you’re Larry. You’re being inconsistent again.
Nagito: "Then, let me ask you a question: what is your (Ultimate talent) Super High School Level Title?"
It’s SHSL Trust Fund Kid, but that’s been done in THH already so he’s not special.
Larry: "Um, I… I… I…"
Larry: (I opened my mouth but the words would not form. I felt my thoughts stalling in my head.)
This analogy is ass again. If you have retrograde amnesia that’s heavily implied in Larry that’d be like reaching into a shelf where your favourite cup sits and feeling strange emptiness. It’s usually caused by trauma to the brain. The other option is repressed memory because the idea that Larry is a normie was too traumatic for him, which would be like hitting a wall that’s bouncing back. The ‘I felt’ is redundant. ‘My thoughts stalled.’ would be crisp and to the point.
Larry: (As if I opened a book expecting to find words, and instead found blank pages.)
I don’t know about you, but I like my metaphor better. It's more personal. I think there's uneasier things in this word than blank books... Like... finding your favourite pencil under a chair you vacuumed under for four years to where you thought it warped into another dimension and respawned here. Idk, maybe it had its fun time in Minecraft.
DAY 3 END (24:31). I don’t want to stay up for that long again, but I’m pretty happy! I was worried that I was just projecting personality on Nagito but his consistency is a glimmer of… hope. Watch me choke on that because this is DanganRonpa and they can’t go two seconds without it later.
NEXT DAY.