Some may know that Mahiru Koizumi has become my favorite SDR2 character, and I would like to tell you a story about why, what makes her great, and that many people fail to see that she isn't a men hating feminist who's nothing but rude and angry.
Long rant with screenshots from oren's LP under the cut; also spoilers!
First of all, look at how adorable Mahiru is. That precious, freckled face.. hnng.. okay, I stray from the point.
I would like to say beforehand, that a few things I am saying are based on what I imagine her earlier life to be like; sadly she doesn't make it far enough to provide us with much information, and I haven't read her free time events.
At first glance, Mahiru might indeed come off as a little rude; but in fact she is a girl that is not afraid to state her mind. She doesn't beat around the bush, is confident, and wants men to act properly. This is different!! from disliking them. Yes, she is harsher towards them, but she is not disliking the male cast!
Please keep in mind that she went to give Komaeda food in order to keep him alive, she cares for even Komaeda, who set shit up in chapter one. She just couldn't bear his attitude, which is why she sent Hinata to bring him the plate.
Mahiru Koizumi wants to help as many people as she can, she cares deeply, however, if you're being impolite, then she won't hesitate to either scold you, or let you suffer consequences. Mahiru hates people who lack manners, but it is never said that she hates men. She even begins to trust Hinata at some point a bit, because he proves himself.
I mean, we went from
to
She basically just has a problem with his attitude. If he doesn't want to come, he should not, but she is not excluding Hinata! She obviously doesn't mind it anymore if he would be joining Nanami and her at this point!
Yes, she revolted a little when Togami set himself up to be their leader, because she felt like Sonia should have to say a thing as well, and she had a huge problem with his attitude,
..however, she steps down once Komaeda states his opinion on the matter, and she even comes to agree
and!!! once Togami died, she was affected, too.
She appreciated him nonetheless, it's not as if she was happy he died, or as if she ever said anything of the "he deserved it" kind. She even stays at his side, because she cannot take well what has been going on.
Even if she disliked his attitude, she stays with his corpse in order to guard it! She's done with everything, and yet she decides to not leave. And even if she's not doing much during the investigation itself, she ends up to lend a hand during the trial itself. She's being very helpful, also she pointed out very often how much she hates their whole situation, and that she doesn't want to to this.
I am assuming that she is having some serious trust issues, which may result from an unhealthy family relationship. It is my personal headcanon that her father may be at fault, and that it was her mother who taught her about photography. And as there are only sad memories of her past, she wants to make pleasant memories in the present.
It's admirable how Mahiru tries to collect as many memories as she can, she wants people to be happy and takes pictures of happy stuff, especially smiles.
Overall, Mahiru is a very.. "normal" character compared to others. Her talent isn't very outstanding at first glance, but let us appreciate the way she makes use of it. It's for other people. She could go on and takes shots of whatever, but she choose to get everything on film that's worth being remembered.
Let's also not forget this moment.
What if her mother never left anything behind, and Mahiru wants to be different from her? What if she is afraid that she might be forgotten, which is why she captures the moment? Overall, we only get a very faint glimpse of her family life, we only know that..
.. she is worried.
Also! she mourns the death of Hanamura at this point. She keeps thinking about him, and we know that he has been.. a pervert. And it's most likely she did not approve of that either, yet, she cannot stop thinking about it
Can't stop thinking about it but doesn't want to bother Hinata with her worries; she may call Hanamura an idiot, but I guess that's just a defense mechanism at this point in order to strengthen herself
Sadly, there have not been much interaction seen between her and others; besides Hinata and Komaeda, there is Saionji whom she mostly is with. Hiyoko Saionji who is a little bitch most of the time and mean to everyone and actually does the thing Mahiru hates most ( being rude) has become a little sister figure for her! She pushes her beliefs aside in order to help Hiyoko tie her obi, and overall is being very sweet to her. All Mahiru needs it's a push to warm up to people.
We also get to know how she used to be during their school time - Mahiru strives for justice, and she feels horrible about what they witnessed. While the others' mindsets are focused on getting out of the mess, Mahiru keeps at it to uncover the truth. She cannot stand being part of it, and she is aware they made a mistake. The photographer comes to remember their past, and wants to set things right. She wants to make up, and to calmly talk about everything, which eventually leads to her death.
Mahiru dies because she wanted to set things right, she doesn't die because anyone particularly disliked her, she doesn't die because she tried to kill someone else first. Mahiru got along with them all, and she dies without a chance to know who even did it.
She's a little tsundere, too, which I think is cute as well. She has rough edges, but a very soft core. Mahiru does not hate men, and she is not going on about feminism. It upsets me when people see her as only that, and forget about her caring and sensitive side.
Plus, she can be a little sarcastic, too
Overall it is true that she is harsher towards men, yet she doesn't hate them, after all she even says herself that it's their "job" to protect the girls. Why should someone who disapproves of men want them to protect her? Doesn't make much sense, right?
That's it, I hope I made a point here. I could make even more screens to underline a few statements, and there could be more in depth stuff, but well.. I'm gonna cut it here. You can like or dislike her for her own attitude, she can be rude herself, but sometimes people won't listen otherwise. As I don't want to repeat myself, I'm just gonna place a huge thank you for reading here.
