So, welcome to my first time writing on my IPad! I unfortunately was dragged away from my precious PC before I could write any of the things I had scheduled for today. Hiro's birthday, Leon's late meeting, and this chapter. This chapter may be late, BUT I STRESS THIS VERY MUCH! I have NOT seen the new episode yet! It is currently out, I think, but I have not watched it! I shall stay true to my promise and theorize with and for you guys. With credit of course.

Now, let's go down the list of discussion topics and theories. Let's start with a big one.

The Tarot Card Theory

The following information comes from "komanami-universe" on tumblr.

I HAVE A DANGANRONPA 3 THEORY OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.
SO WE KNOW HOW KIRIGIRI IS BEING HUNG IN THE OPENING, RIGHT?

IN TAROT, THE HANGING MAN CARD DEPICTS A TRAITOR BEING HUNG.
FROM WIKIPEDIA:  It depicts a pittura infamante (pronounced [pitˈtuːra iɱfaˈmante]), a shameful image of a traitor being punished in a manner common at the time for traitors in Italy. Some versions portray Judas, and include the bags of silver in his hands.
THE CARD USUALLY DEPICTS THE PERSON BEING HUNG UPSIDE DOWN, BUT ON THE LEFT SHE'S UPSIDE DOWN SO MAYBE
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE PICKED UP ON THIS BUT?!?!
THIS CAN'T BE CONFIRMED BUT SERIOUSLY I JUST REALIZED THAT AND I'M FREAKING OUT
I'M PROBABLY WRONG BUT STILL

I thought it might be able to apply because of some of the other symbolism that they've shown in the opening, such as Izayoi burning on a cross, Munakata and Naegi shooting themselves, Sakakura being sliced in half with katanas around him, and Hagakure being wrapped in thorny vines. A lot of these symbolize martyrdom and betrayal (Izayoi will most likely die defending Andou, Sakakura will most likely be betrayed by Munakata, Naegi and Munakata are both intensely devoted to their sides, possibly to the point of self-sacrifice, and with Hagakure, that's another symbol of martyrdom) so I believe the opening gives us some foreshadowing to what's going to happen.

Now: Specifically back to the tarot connection.

This is a nice image I found that says what the card means in the Rider Waite deck, aka the most common deck. Please look at it, because I will be referring directly to it.
First is the Tau Cross, which up there says is associated with Omega, which is the end, and Danganronpa 3 is the end of Danganronpa, and the end of the story with our protagonists. Also, it has the contrasting Alpha, which is the beginning, and throughout the opening, we see Naegi and Kirigiri interacting, and even being the different sides of Monokuma, so Naegi could be represented through Alpha, and Kirigiri Omega. And it also states that they both are different perspectives, and throughout Danganronpa 1, we see mainly through Naegi's (Alpha) perspective, but during class trials, we get Kirigiri's (Omega) perspective. And the image, we mainly see through the Alpha perspective, and seeing it upside down would be Omega perspective. It says that there are two sides to everything, and, like it says, you have to see through more than one side to be fulfilled.
Second is the rope. The rope is an anchor, and as the image says, 'It is assumption and beliefs that supports the process of seeing the world from different perspective.' Kirigiri has always been the voice of reason, and an anchor to the rest of the cast. She has always destroyed the foolish logic and beliefs of the others during trials, and keeps everyone from getting off track. She always provides a different perspective, and thus keeps the trial afloat and keeps it from getting stuck in a rut. And then it says, 'To see things differently, you must be willing.' If my theory holds any actual ground, this would represent Kirigiri's given reasons for betrayal.
Next, and finally, we have the pose. (I'm not going to be covering the radiating crown because it doesn't apply) 'The man's pose is an inverted 4.The number stands for stability and foundation. To have it inversed means stability and foundation must be put aside inorder to experience turbulence and changes to gain a new perspective.'  As I have preciously said, Kirigiri is an anchor, the stability, and the foundation for new breakthroughs in thought. If Kirigiri is the traitor, then she will be putting aside the stability of her usual routine, and not have the stability and routine of the first killing game. I believe Kirigiri would do this to save Naegi, because yes, he harbored the Remnants of Despair, but he did successfully rehabilitate some of them. Kirigiri would be one of the people Naegi confides in, so she would know about this, and she knows that Naegi was doing this for the best, and is willing to sacrifice others for what she knows is right, even if she ends up being killed in the process.

I know there were some slight jumps of logic here, but still, it's just a theory. So many things are open for speculation and interpretation, and I don't believe I'm 100% right. We won't see until it happens, after all, but this is my theory, and the evidence behind it. As I previously said, I'm probably wrong, but who cares!
So, in conclusion, enjoy my theory, and have a nice day!

The following information comes from "ari-the-magical-girl" on tumblr.

Hagakure's role in Mirai-Hen speculation/analysis:
- Since they changed the opening, I have a lot more to work with when it comes to analyzing now. Well, I could just be pulling all this out of nowhere and overanalyzing, but in Danganronpa, the signs are ALWAYS there. We just don't notice them when we see them the first time.
- Anyways, I noticed that Hagakure's the only person in the opening who's not technically dead. I mean, sure, he's wrapped in thorns, but it doesn't look like he's bleeding out or anything.
This is probably because he's the only one out of the 16 in the opening that isn't part of the killing game taking place inside (although this doesn't mean he's one of the 16 in the survivor count)
- Note that I'm using a lot of references from the Tarot, for obvious reasons since Hagakure has been known to use them for his fortune telling.
- I'd first like to touch on the rose petals and thorns included in the shot of him in the opening.
From http://www.whats-your-sign.com/rose-meaning.html:
Seeking symbolic meaning of the rose from an esoteric perspective, we can look at the Tarot, in which the rose is considered a symbol of balance. Here the beauty of the rose expresses promise, new beginnings, hope.
- Starting off with the rose petals, it should be noted that they seem to be falling (though this could be for artistic appeal). What happens to a petal when it falls off a flower? It eventually wilts and dies after a period of time. This could mean that Hagakure only has a certain amount of time to try to help out the Future Foundation members before they all die.
- The rose is said to symbolize new beginnings and hope, right? I said a while ago that Hagakure's probably going to try and call in help from Togami, Fukawa, Kanon, and/or the cast of SDR2. It's fairly obvious that Hagakure won't be able to do anything of much use by himself (sorry Hiro), so trying to get outside help would be the smartest option.
- By ending the final killing game with their help, he could bring a new beginning to the world and spread hope that the Future Foundation will remain intact even after a horrible murder fest.
- The rose is also regarded as a symbol of balance. What are the two forces most prominent in the Danganronpa universe? Hope and despair. By acting as a mediator between the two (the Future Foundation and Junko Enoshima & her followers), Hagakure could be a decisive factor in which one comes out on top.
-Also, there are 13 rose petals in total. At first I thought it meant that 13 of them die, but only having 3 survivors (including Hagakure) seems unlikely (though this is Danganronpa, so you can't just jump to conclusions).
From http://www.whats-your-sign.com/number-thirteen.html:
In the language of the Tarot, the number thirteen is represented in the Death card, which is symbolic of:
• Transition
• Change
• Beginnings
(*when the card is upright; Yasuhiro's "death" picture depicts him upright. However, on the other side, he's depicted upside down. When reversed, Death now represents resistance to change and the inability to move on.)
- All these things indicate the final killing game, where the Future Foundation has already undergone major losses with the deaths of two of their branch leaders and the death of a survivor from the second killing game.
- It could also indicate that the mastermind is trying to prevent the Future Foundation from transitioning the world into an era of peace by forcing them to kill each other. To counter this, Hagakure is trying to end the last killing game in order to bring a stop to the reign of despair.
Moving onto the thorns:
This beauty (of the rose's flower) is contrasted with its thorns which represents defense, physicality, loss, thoughtlessness. The rose is seen in the major arcana as: Magician, Strength, Death and Fool cards. All of these cards hold strong meanings of balance and equilibrium.
- In the opening shot, Hagakure's getting strangled by the thorns, though they don't seem to be hurting him to the point where he's going to die.
- Right now, he's probably in a panicked state of mind and desperate to save his friends. Though he currently doesn't know what's going on inside (unless he manages to come across a TV broadcasting it), I can imagine he can guess that whatever it is, it's not good.
- Point being, those thorns possibly represent despair. It's strangling him and trying to keep him tied down so that he can't move forward.
Onto Hagakure himself, he's colored purple. What does that mean?
From http://www.bourncreative.com/meaning-of-the-color-purple/:
Purple is associated spirituality, the sacred, higher self, passion, third eye, fulfillment, and vitality. Purple helps align oneself with the whole of the universe. Different shades, tints, and hues of purple have different meanings. Light purple hues represent feminine energy and delicacy, as well as romantic and nostalgic feelings. Dark purple hues evoke feelings of gloom, sadness, and frustration. Bright purple hues suggest riches and royalty.
- Hagakure is colored in with a darker hue of purple, definitely not bright or light in color. This, of course, symbolizes gloom, sadness, and frustration, which are all symptoms of despair.
EDIT: I also found a reference from another site that says:
When Purple is seen on a Tarot card it implies that guidance and assistance from the highest realm will be available. It also sometimes intimates a karmic situation and/or vital life lesson.
We know what that means, right? I don't know about the "highest realm" part, but when you're friends and allies are being forced to kill each other in an allotted amount of time, you can't be extremely picky with who you want to help you out.
- I'd say that based on all this, Hagakure is probably going to face a lot of despair, but despite that, he's going to try to keep hope alive and help out the Future Foundation somehow (by getting the help of others).
Hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any comments, thoughts, or questions, please tell me. I'd love to see more speculation on the topic.

アーリ
- Currently obsessing over DR3-

Welcome to the blog of a random magical girl living in a far off kingdom. I mainly post about anime and video games or whatever seems interesting, I guess.

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Juzo Sakakura- Opening Shot Analysis
- Some people seemed to like my post on Hagakure (where I used Tarot cards as a reference for symbolism), so here I am at it again!
- The swords shown in the opening all resemble Munakata's katana (except for the black and red one). His cause of death is getting bisected by said swords.
- Many people have already said this, but it appears that Munakata and Sakakura are going to have a falling-out that might lead to Sakakura getting killed by Munakata.

- Note that Sakakura is the fifth to appear in the opening, and the murder weapon used is a sword.
- From the Tarot deck, I interpreted it as corresponding to the five of swords card, which symbolizes: Conflict, tension, loss, defeat, win at all costs, betrayal (when upright, since his death pose depicts him upright)
I feel that this card actually suits Sakakura pretty well. He's usually the instigator of almost all the internal conflict that's happened (ex. punching & trying to kill Naegi, threatening Asahina, kneeing Mitarai, etc.). Because of this, the sense of tension in the group is high, since everyone is always suspicious and on edge about the others.
Loss can be symbolized by the deaths of the Future Foundation members (and the ones to come), which includes Yukizome, his former classmate and friend. And of course, if all the Future Foundation members die, then Monokuma wins the game, meaning that hope has been defeated.
The "win at all costs" part is self-explanatory. Sakakura shares Munakata's belief that despair should be snuffed out at all costs, even if it means killing your allies.
Now, the best part: betrayal. Somehow, one of them is going to betray the other and they'll become enemies. This will lead to them fighting and even killing each other.
- I interpreted Sakakura's character himself to be the knight of swords. He serves as Munakata's right-hand man (similar to a knight, no?) and follows him faithfully. When upright, the knight of swords symbolizes: Opinionated, hasty, action-oriented, communicative. However, when reversed (his position in the opening shot), it symbolizes: Scattered thought, disregard for consequences
All of these also seem to fit Sakakura accurately. He's hot-headed and doesn't think before he acts, only following Munakata. Since he's upside down, it symbolizes him having scattered thoughts and disregard for consequences. These things could be what leads to the betrayal between him and Munakata and what comes after.
- Unlike Hagakure, the colors used for Sakakura don't have a clear meaning that directly relates to him. However, there are a few connections I see within them.
Firstly, green:
"When Green is seen within the Tarot deck, it is an indication that growth is taking place on many levels, and that through this growth, abundant harvests will be reaped."
This could mean that Sakakura is going to go through some character development (hopefully) and learn how to function separately from Munakata.
Or, as Komaeda puts it, he could become a "stepping stone for hope" for Munakata. Perhaps they break out into a fight and Munakata ends up killing Sakakura. I imagine even Munakata would be guilty and torn up over killing his best friend, and maybe he'll have some sort of epiphany. In other words, Sakakura (and/or his death) could be a catalyst for Munakata's character development.
As for orange:
"When the colour Orange is seen on within the Tarot cards, it often indicates a time or situation that will require action, intuition and courage."
Also, I noticed that it's more of an orangey-brown color, and brown is "an earthy, practical color that is sincere and honest in nature."
Sakakura seems to be the type of person who isn't mindful of how others see him; all that matters is that he accomplishes his (Munakata's) goals, no matter what he has to do to fulfill them. In this sense, you could see him as sincere and honest, although those words are a little too nice-sounding for him. The orange also indicates that he's the one who acts first, which is shown to be true. He doesn't seem to be especially intuitive, but he's courageous in the sense that he hasn't broken down at all from the murders that have happened (especially Yukizome's). No matter what happens, he just keeps going in order to serve Munakata.
- All in all, from this analysis I feel like we'll definitely see something go on between Sakakura and Munakata and see some character growth with at least one of them. The alleged "betrayal" could lead to Munakata killing Sakakura and then feeling extreme remorse for it, leading him to have second thoughts about his whole "I'll kill anyone in order to snuff out despair" attitude. That, or he could just go the unchanging villain role and decide to keep killing Naegi and the others until the game is over. We'll just have to see!
Hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any comments, questions, or thoughts, please tell me!

These three theories don't have much in common, aside from the tarot card connection, but I believe they should all be addressed at once. So, let's start with Kyoko. Here's more information and my thoughts on...

The Kyoko Kirigiri Traitor Theory

The following information comes from "l-a-v-i-n-r-a-c" on tumblr.

Calling it now
Naegi and Kirigiri are both "the attacker," and they somehow took part of AI Junko with them into their minds when they left the Neo World Program (which is why Junko wanted to lure them, to enact the next stage of the plan in case her graduation plot fails).

This is why the opening shows their faces split with Monokuma's two sides.

I have a sort of unfounded sub-theory that, if my theory is true, the attacker "cycles"

As in, first Kirigiri!Junko killed Chisa, then Naegi!Junko killed Aoi, now Kirigiri!Junko will kill another.

If it's true, the mastermind (who I think might be distinct from the junko AIs hijacking Naegi and Kirigiri. Maybe Miaya? She worked on the New World Program.)  might have done this (potentially through the bangles, making it so that only one Junko can be active at once) so that it's harder for the group to properly "game clear" and defeat the traitor, furthering the despair.

Now, multiple people have pointed this out, so I can't give credit to just one person, so I'll just say it.

The traitor sprite from the rules explanation very much resembles Kyoko. Also...

The traitor wakes up in the same position Kyoko is in when everyone wakes up.

Now, this is a surplus of damning evidence against Detective Waifu, saying she's the traitor. Do I agree? Possibly.
I think there is room for doubt, specifically calling attention to her sprite's similarity to the traitor's in the rules explanation. Now, I think this is important. You know why? Because Monokuma is explaining the rules. You know what this sounds like?

Danganronpa 1. Chapter 5.

In this chapter, Monokuma sets a trap to attempt to frame Kyoko and have her executed by the vote for Mukuro Ikusaba's "death". But, Makoto is there to save her, but ends up framed himself.

This could also explain the connection to Makoto being the attacker/traitor too. Monokuma could be trying to frame them both, but Makoto's evidence comes from the opening, so we can't count on that one too much.

Aside from that, I believe the tarot card theory is actually very possibly correct. But in a different way.

Yes, I believe Yasuhiro will be facing and fighting despair, and that Juzo and Kyosuke having a falling out or betrayal or kill is inevitable, Kyoko may have another meaning.

If she is the traitor or attacker, this all makes sense. But if she isn't, this could also make sense.
It's possible like I said that she is being framed again by Monokuma/the one controlling him. If THIS is true, however, that brings up another big question.

If this is connected to her being framed in the first DR game, then the person controlling Monkuma KNOWS about that. And who could that be?

It's possible it couldn't be the obvious answer, but I think we all know who it could be.

Junko fucking Enoshima.

Why you say? She's dead right? And her AI is gone too right?

Wrong.

Think back to Ultra Despair Girls. Specifically the ending.

Izuru pulls the Junko AI out of Shirokuma and Kurokuma. Of course, he puts this AI into the New World Program, but that begs the question.

Since each bear had 1 AI, Izuru had 2 copies. If the first went into the Neo World Program...

Where'd the second one go?

If it's true that Junko's behind it again, then this will be, what, the fourth time mastermind or final boss?

Also, if this is true, that explains why Monokuma said "This will be OUR final chapter." This is Junko's final chapter because she's dead, and this is her last AI copy. After this, no more Junko Enoshima.

After that it's just "Who's controlling Monokuma in DRV3?" But that's for much later.

Speaking of the traitor, let's move onto the last theory I have prepared for this time.

The Gas Bomb Theory

The following information comes from "ari-the-magical-girl" on tumblr.

(On a side note, Hina's got some sexy ass legs in this picture. This is Emerald-kun speaking. I won't speak again on this post,)

Theory on who threw the gas bombs in the first episode
So I made a drawing (pardon the messiness lol I'm no artist) of everyone's positions *before* the gas bombs went off. My primary goal here was to find out who could have possibly thrown the bombs.
This actually turned out to be pretty tricky, since we didn't see the bombs that were by Asahina being thrown. Also, the bomb that rolled by Gozu came from his left side. The main suspect I have in mind is:
Miaya Gekkougahara.
Disregarding the speculation surrounding her, I believe she would be the only person who could deploy the gas bombs without people pinpointing that she was the one who did it.
- She could have released the bombs from her electronic wheelchair (Hey, she has electric shock cables in that thing. Who's to say she can't fit a few golf ball-sized gas bombs in there too?) and let them roll under the table until they reached the other side. Some of them might have been under the table, too.
- The gas bombs probably had a set timer before they released the gas. That, or she had some sort of remote control panel that could let the bombs quietly roll under the table and make their way to the others before she detonated them.
Now, why do I think it was Miaya? Couldn't it have been Kizakura or Andou?
- Starting off with Kizakura, he was facing forward (towards the table) in the last shot we saw him in. It would be hard for him to drop a bomb in that direction without Gozu noticing. There's also another point I'd like to bring up about him regarding why I don't think he did it, but I'll talk about that later.
- As for Andou, I definitely think that she could have thrown those bombs. However, Kimura was nearby (a lot closer than the drawing implies in some shots; she, Andou, and Izayoi were literally right next to each other in some shots). Izayoi probably would have kept quiet if he knew, but since Andou and Kimura are basically enemies, she would have called her out for it if she had seen it. Also, I can't think of a way that Andou could use to roll the bombs quietly. If she just threw them, they would have made noise and drawn attention to her. I also don't know if she could aim under the table through the chairs. Miaya, on the other hand, could have calculated the trajectory or something like that and sent them in the exact path she wanted them to go (or, like I said, she could have just remote-controlled them to do so). The angle also just seems to fit better if it came from Miaya's spot than Andou's.
The final reason I have for thinking she did it, besides the drawing, is because Kizakura said he had a hunch that she's the traitor. I mentioned that he was facing the table before the bombs went off, right? That means that Miaya was in his line of sight at that time. He probably noticed where the bomb rolled from (under the table and towards Gozu) and deduced that it had come from where Miaya was.
So what do you guys think?
I hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any comments, questions, or theories, please share them!
Also, I'm planning on opening up my ask box soon, since I have gained more followers recently. Feel free to drop an ask if you'd like. 😄

Now, a lot of people are suspicious of Miaya. Also of Ryota, Ruruka, Great Gozu, and a bit of Kazuo.

In my opinion, I don't know if I believe Miaya is the traitor of attacker yet. She is too suspicious right from the start. During SDR2, the traitor was someone very close to the protagonist and completely unexpected, as we all loved this character, but Chiaki turned out to be a good guy, so that's okay. I don't think Kodaka would make the attacker or traitor so obviously suspicious. Miaya is a mystery and I do think she's suspicious, but I don't think she's the attacker. The traitor, maybe, but not the attacker. Unless they are the same person.

Now, before I go, I want to explain one more thing.

This.

So, some may have noticed that Mikan looked really upset after Chisa called the class rotten oranges.

"Mikan" is Japanese for orange, so Mikan thought Chisa was calling her rotten. Just a joke that was lost in translation a bit. Or I guess, tripped in translation, but some Japanese buffs helped it out.

Either way, the person I learned this from and I both agree that we want "rotten oranges" to be the next DR meme.

First donuts, the bagels, then green Satan. Now I think rotten oranges should join the crowd.

Also, OBJECTION! That's all I could think about during this scene. Ace Attorney, man. It's addicting as fuck. I'm listening to the Apollo Justice soundtrack right now as I'm typing this. For those curious, it's "Pressing Pursuit ~ Cornered".

Also, can we take a moment to appreciate how glorious Chiaki's boobs are in this picture?

Anyway, I won't be able to watch the new episode until much later today, so sorry, you'll have to wait for that chapter.

But, I ended up getting minor spoilers for the first episode. Someone said something vague, saying the beginning was crazy or something, then they said a spoiler about a character that I will mention in the chapter. I'm sorry guys.

Anyway, this is Emerald-kun, signing out. Peace!