hello archsimp i'm new here but i've been a komaeda fan for quite a few years now 🫡 i was wondering (and im not sure if this has been asked before so sorry if it has...) but this is something ive been thinking about randomly is what do you think would make nagito laugh? we get to see him giggle and cackle a few times in game, but those are more him being like "haha ^^" all friendly or. his crazy laugh thing he does. i dont even know if there's much canon material for this but im wondering what REALLY tickles his funny bone. like what would get a genuine laugh out of him... please ponder with me if you'd like 🙏🙏🙏
aaaaaa henlo!! It's okay because by only having played the games in 2025 I will always feel like a new lil Komaeda enjoyer and I yap all over the place anyway! In that sense you have the Komaeda enjoyer seniority 😳Also I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've been asked this specifically so that's also okay! If anything, thank you for going out of your way to ask <3
Anyway when it comes to Nagito laughing, I have also thought about that! Though, the general consensus for me when it comes to things for which I have no samples for ends up always being, "I don't know! It could be anything!" Since there's truly a world of possibility and I'd have a hard time saying something that would be certain about this.
Still, though, extrapolating possibilities from it is still possible and free for all in fandom so let's see... I feel like Nagito generally is shown to have a sense of humour and that he seems to enjoy teasing people, and I think as a result of that I've seen instances of people making Nagito absolutely laugh out loud if something really out there is happening to someone else. I think it's a valid interpretation, where maybe Nagito could be the type of person to see someone in a very strange situation and think it's funny. At the same time, I've seen Nagito also take something that's really bizarre and more like think it over while commenting how bizarre it is, so we can consider that maybe this isn't the type of humour that nets him the biggest laughs. Nagito laughs a bunch of times in-game, though usually the most iconic are the maniacal laughing you're describing, which like you say are also in different categories to me... So then, when it comes to like Nagito okay laughter, this instance was the first to pop to mind:
From his first free time event, where Nagito is going out of his way to cheer Hajime up from his situation by assigning him weird talents and joking around with him. Or at least, it's Hajime's theory, and I enjoy his theory too. In this instance, Nagito wasn't hated yet and the situation wasn't quite as dire because though the killing game was announced, no dead body had shown up yet and Nagito was still just a kind lil guy who because of this could afford to have these types of conversations. It's also most likely the reason this free time event can only occur before a murder happens or otherwise you get locked out of Nagito's free time events forever, since there's no way for this to happen when Nagito's true nature is revealed. Either way, this instance is probably what I'd most take as reference in terms of pure and innocent Nagito laughter, but there's also another one that occurs while Nagito is watching everybody midway into the game, let me try to fetch it...
this part from the start of Chapter 4! It follows off in an interesting way too:
Then Nagito's going to talk about Mikan's words from the end of Chapter 3 and it'll develop into the idea that Hajime is the traitor but that's for a whole other day... The point here is that these antics with robot Nekomaru and Kazuichi were enough that Nagito burst out laughing despite potentially Nagito trying his best not to have these things happen as he pointedly doesn't feel involved or that he belongs in the group, a sentiment he also expresses in Chapter 3. Now, Nagito being amused at his own silly stuff, and then also at the silly stuff happening in the game about Mechamaru and Kazuichi and the dynamic where Kazuichi wants to open him up... What does it mean? Honestly, it doesn't mean anything that's very concrete and so can only be processed at a subconscious level for me, where Nagito's sense of humour, excepting the point where he can look at tragedy and be amused at it like the plot unfolding before him, might just be fairly normal. The issue is, normal is just a brain shortcut for a type of common observation. In other words, it's kind of terrible to explain actively for someone's reference, but as it's also two samples, it doesn't necessarily lead to a conclusion. It does regardless serve as reference because Nagito is being amused and for things which are fairly harmless and silly. He seems to be amused at his own antics, as well as amused at other people's antics. It would also seem he's self-conscious about showing himself amused at what's going on with the group here, probably because he's aware he's hated and that he doesn't belong. That could have potentially held him back from other reactions, but there's truthfully also the overall killing game factor to consider as to why the samples aren't a lot. Though, Nagito is technically doing better off compared to other people in-game when it comes to amusement, from how he can get excited at developments related to people's deaths.
Anyway, I'd say this would make me more comfortable with the idea of depicting Nagito laughing in situations where something that would be pretty widely regarded as silly could be happening in front of his eyes, or in moments of banter. In that sense, maybe he could also be the type to be amused in a sort of space where there's banter going on that only him and someone else knows? I also sometimes consider if Nagito is also the type to enjoy watching people having fun and maybe feeling at ease when that happens since it means he doesn't have to be self-conscious when it comes to contributing socially to that situation. I think we could technically bet on something "safe"(r) where we can have an established ridiculous meme situation that is like a running gag and that Nagito could think it's funny every time. There's also this instance of Nagito from Chapter 5:
What's notable about it is that the original Japanese script had Nagito say that Kazuichi is as funny "as always", implying that Nagito's thought Kazuichi was funny from before this moment. In other words, to contemplate Nagito's funny bone, the best starting point is Kazuichi...? 🤨🔎
Of course, the context has Nagito essentially be amused at Kazuichi saying this because it's so wrong, but in that sense maybe Nagito can find such degrees of stupidity which doesn't get in his way to be amusing, like how there is humour that comes from being comically dumb? I think there's more we could potentially extrapolate from Kazuichi that maybe Nagito would find funny, and in that sense, the fact that Kazuichi is in the simulation in the OVA closely could be telling of how maybe Nagito would have found it fun to be near a guy like Kazuichi, but yeah! Otherwiseeeeeeee
there's also this part from Island Mode:
I think about it because Hajime wants to study here, and Nagito is very amused at Hajime wanting to be diligent and studying in this survival situation, and it seems to be that it's further amusing to Nagito if Hajime turns out to be serious about it. Like, that this level of earnest behaviour is amusing? Like that Hajime is being a lil silly by being this earnest, and this is funny to Nagito, because it's out-of-place and potentially also because it's technically a good thing that is being done. And I think it's also interesting that Nagito doesn't mind accompanying Hajime here: it does imply that Nagito in general doesn't mind studying, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that that's what Nagito would like to be doing in Jabberwock Island. At least, I end up seeing it as Nagito doing it not just because it's not that painful for him, but also for the meme of it, as in, because the thought is amusing.
Anyway, I guess the most tldr I could give when it comes to what might make Nagito absolutely wheezing on the floor is we plop in Kazuichi in the wild being really dumb about doing something that is well-intentioned in poor timing while other characters are telling him to stop.
Anyway thank youuuuu for your time and I love to ponder Nagito so there's no need to hesitate! I suppose the only issue is that I don't really have answers as much as I have references hahaha There's technically the chance I'm missing something if it comes from any of the manga or material that's been published but isn't canon, or maybe I just have let Nagito's absolute roflmao moment slip from my memory too who knows... I think it will also depend on what people define as that, on which instances of laughter would be included for Nagito, but yeah! That's the fun that I expect my cool comments section to bring to the table ✨