Okay here's the actual essay. I'm going to try and sound mature and take this seriously, but don't expect too much. It's me writing this thing after all.

*ahem*

Peko Pekoyama is a very interesting character with an even more interesting backstory. Abandoned by her family and taken in by one of the most influential yakuza's in Japan, and raised to be a tool for a heir that no one expected much from, she grew up with quite a lot. So obviously, we would have seen a lot of her, and would have been able to watch her grow from the trauma she endured, right?

Well no, she dies in the second trial. Most people probably shrugged it off and thought nothing of it, maybe they were a little bit sad, but personally, I was upset. We're given a character with so much potential and backstory, and not only does she hardly get any screen time, she's killed off almost immediately? Why? What was the point?

While yes, her death was the starting point of Fuyuhiko's character development, she had so much potential, and it was all wasted for the sake of Fuyuhiko's character development.

So because I am butthurt over her death and will most likely never stop crying, I present you an essay on why Peko Pekoyama should have lived.

The first reason would be that we could have seen her own character development. Classic reason, I know, but watching her grow and spread her wings on her own would be so sweet. Peko has been raised and groomed her whole life to believe she wasn't a person. She was a tool. Someone Fuyuhiko could use to his disposal. Her life surrounded on protecting him and him alone, and because of this she couldn't form bonds with anyone, she had to constantly train because if she was a moment too late in a dangerous situation, Fuyuhiko could die and her life would become meaningless. She had to become so serious and tough that even animals became afraid of her, leaving her craving that sort of "fluffiness" as she put it.

But if she had lived, we could see her slowly come out of her shell. She could have actually made friends with the others, she could have learned to loosen up and have fun, she could have even formed bonds with animals! She could have learned to see herself as an actual human being who was allowed to have emotions and bonds instead of a tool that could be used.

But she never got the chance for any of that. She only found out she wasn't a tool in her last moments alive, giving her hardly any time to grow or process it. She didn't have the time to, but she deserved the time.

Another reason would be that she could have been plot relevant. Look at this girl and tell me she couldn't have been useful to the plot. Peko is smart as hell, and that's a fact. She hardly had any time to cover up the murder and frame Hiyoko, but she did, and in limited time too. If she could think that quickly on her feet, especially in a situation where she just murdered someone, do you really think she would have been useless to the plot? No. She wouldn't have.

People seem to forget that her plan had layers to it. At first everyone thought she just wanted to frame Hiyoko, then it turned out her plan was to actually be caught and get voted to let Fuyuhiko escape. It was so complex and well thought out for the short amount of time she had, and she nearly got away with it as well. In the end the only reason she failed was because Fuyuhiko said she wasn't a tool. That one sentence could have changed everything, but no one pays any attention to it.

Honestly, the fandom sleeps on Peko in favor of characters like Ibuki, who in my opinion, has absolutely nothing on Peko. Peko has an interesting backstory to dive into, and has smaller perks to her character that made her fun to learn about, and what did Ibuki have in particular? Granted her backstory was more relatable (the peer pressure her band put on her for example) but there isn't much to dive into in my opinion.

(Ibuki fans please don't hurt me-)

But back to the topic, Peko is an amazing character who was done dirty, and deserves more love and attention. That's all. Goodbye