Character Interview: Chihiro Fujisaki

(Good fiction requires good characters who promote inspiration and aspiration. To demonstrate this, we shall be looking at characters from multiple series and judging how deep their archetypes go. We shall be calling upon individuals who take on the personas of their favorite characters in order to establish these traits).

CHARACTER INTERVIEW!

Interviewee: Chihiro Fujisaki (Danganronpa)

Portrayed by: @MalkyKaren (Twitter)

Bio: We've already covered many facets of Chihiro's personality in an earlier blog post. This androgynous tech wizard became the SHSL Programmer though persistent development of a computer AI which could recognize voice commands. This character's work aided us by providing deeper insight into how computer AI can function. Today we are looking at them on a more personal level.

Danganronpa: THH - Celestia Lundenberg - On Wealth

The double-murder in the third chapter of "Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc" was pretty ridiculous from start to finish. Why did Celestia Lundenberg, a seemingly quaint and sophisticated young maiden, opt to kill not one, but two of her fellow classmates?

Well, if a mysterious puppet-bear were to walk up to you and offer you ten billion yen ($95.9 Million) for committing murder, what would you do? For you see, what she wanted more than anything was to spend the rest for days in a luxurious castle, surrounded by faithful servants. And for all you skeptics out there, this is totally a plausible dream.

Supposedly, at the start of the chapter, Ludenberg already had a total of more than a billion yen ($9.6 Million). That said, there are castles priced at half that, so wouldn't it seem like she had already met her goal to begin with? To find the answer, we have to see what nine million American, and ninety million American, can really buy.

Ballindooley Castle In Galway, Ireland, is the cheapest on the list and would only cut into Ludenberg's finances by 11.2%, leaving her with more than eight million left. Indentured servants would go for roughly $18,000 per year and be given free room and board. Twenty of them will set her back $360,000 a year, while fifty will set her back $900,000 a year. Food and amenities would tack on another $100,000-250,000 per year across the board. So at the very least, her lifestyle would need to be sustained at $460,000 a year, but likely closer to more than a million per year.

No matter what, Celestia Ludenberg would go broke in under two decades with a measily $10 Million. But what if she had ten times that amount? Wouldn't it last ten times as long? Not necessarily. It's a known trend that when income increases, so do frivilous expenditures.

Danganronpa: THH - Kiyotaka Ishimaru - On Uniforms and Insignia

The Super Duper High School Prefect, Kiyotaka Ishimaru is a man known for dedication to any and all responsibilities which fall into his sphere of influence. Never has he left room for error, never has he cut corners; everything attempted is done so with the utmost thoroughness. It is a shame, then, when he turns up as a victim in the third case of "Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc."

Ishimaru is a rather simple man to figure out: the things that matter most to him are hard work, academic pursuit, and perhaps most importantly, a professional demeanor at all times. This of course extends to his appearance; he's never seen out of his immaculately decorated school uniform, complete with Red Armband of Leadership. To westerners, this may seem a little weird, but to those in the east, uniforms are very much a way of life for those of school age and even those of working age.

There are, in fact, a plethora of articles on the internet surrounding this topic (two of which are referenced above). And though demographic groups differ, there are universal trends which persist across the board:

- Pride/Productivity: Whether at school or at work, identical styles of dress emblazoned with the communal logo instill a sense of pride and team spirit across all individuals. It promotes cohesion and unity.

- Maturity in the Workspace: Professional decorum begins with a professional attitude. A professional attitude begins with a professional demeanor, which is strengthened by a professional attire. In a school setting, this may allude to reduced disruption or reduced violence (to teachers, visitors and even other students). In a workplace setting, this may allude to reduced corporate disobedience and reduced workplace harassment.

There is a third reason, one that is not mentioned in the above but I feel deserves special consideration. In settings of the military variety, uniforms denote not only affiliation but also rank and hierarchy. Rarely will a civilian group bearing a uniform apply such qualities to their attire, though it isn't unheard of. For example, in some schools, a special emblem or clothing feature can be used to denote the grade level of a student, becoming more and more extravagant as the student advances toward the end of their curriculum.

More than that, it gives a student or worker something to strive toward. Symbolizing that one is a leader of a project, or that one has years of experiences behind them, helps to instill in them a sense of importance and self-worth. This translates into a need to self-actualize, and to make the most of their elevated position. In short, by offering a visible pedestal to reach toward, you empower those around you to aspire to something greater.

With all that laid out on the table, it boggles the mind that we have yet to adopt such standards in the civilian world, in schools and in workplaces. And while it could be argued that this emphasis on classification demoralizes those of lower standing, is that really the case? Is a Private First Class demoralized because they don't yet hold the rank of Corporal or Sergeant? Or does it inspire within them the need to follow through with their actions until they can one day earn their stripes?

I'll leave that one to you.

Danganronpa: THH - Hifumi Yamada - On Otaku Culture

Otaku: a Japanese adjective with which to describe the overly obsessive. In a 21st century context, such obsessions revolve around anime and manga. Such a word would perfectly describe Hifumi Yamada, one of the murder victims in the third case featured in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.

His claim to fame involved the successful sale of 10,000 copies of a doujin during a single school culture festival. His ability to dish out pop culture references blows the minds of everyone he meets. And above all, he prides himself in his love of two-dimensional romance (quite literally, in fact). He is, put simply, the embodiment of Japanese pop culture.

Otaku generally get a bad rep among Japanese citizens, however, and are often grouped with people described by the terms hikikomori (meaning shut-in) and NEET (an acronym which means "No Education, Experience, or Training).  Otaku are also known to be hoarders of pop culture items. With all that said, the interests which they obsess over are actually pretty popular with the more well-adjusted citizens of Japan; who partake in such activities in all forms, albeit while exercising moderation.

Perhaps more curious is that these activities have transcended the Japanese boundary. Nowadays, people from the Americas, Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world all partake in anime, manga, visual novels, collectible items, conventions, expos, and so on. It has become a global phenomenon; however, it is far from mainstream.

AMMUNITION: "Anime Becoming Mainstream?"

Those who consider themselves otaku in name only (usually living outside of Japan) often debate whether or not otaku culture should become popularized in the global media arena, and the effects which would result. For example, YouTube videographer Gigguk did a rant of sorts on this topic, in which he made two postulates:

1) Anime and manga consist of elements which inhibit their ability to reach a larger demographic. Notwithstanding the childish/less mature perception of animation in the west, the plethora of high school settings and moe (adorable/cute) attributes dampens the appeal by fans of more serious media.
2) If the elements that make up anime and manga were to change to reflect the larger demographic, larger firms could begin to churn out lower-quality content for the sake of profit, as apposed to delivering quality. This could alienate diehard fans of the genre.

Now granted, these are only the reasoned calculations of one individual, and you will find just as many alternate perspectives as there are people. Others might argue that the content would remain the same even if the medium were to be popularized, still preserving the compelling storytelling and character depth which have been in place for years.

But why is all of this important? How would anime and manga becoming mainstream change society? To tell the truth, a lot of the significance derives from the "reach" of anime and manga. As mentioned earlier in this article, it doesn't stop at these two forms of media; it continues on to visual novels, full-fledged soundtracks, drama CDs, collectible items, even conventions and expos. You don't normally see such variance in franchises of Western fame. You'll rarely, if ever, see a Walking Dead drama CD or a House MD visual novel. Nor would you see a convention or public market geared toward fans of the documentary genre (though would be incredibly interesting to attend).

For some reason, anime and manga have this unique ability to become larger than themselves with relative ease, and to provide an experience which ingrains itself on the individuals who come to watch. Each series grows to become something of a cultural movement among its united fans. More than a mere industry, it is an entire dimension of possibilities, and it is for that reason people wish to popularize it.

All that in mind, it is well within the realm of reason to suggest that such trends could in fact be applied to Western media, but it would take anime and manga being the catalyst before that would begin to happen. Only after the popularization of what is currently deemed "otaku" can other genres step in and try to emulate what's already been done, a case where what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

It may be a hard sell at first, but it would definitely be worth it for fan and creator alike.

Danganronpa: THH - Chihiro Fujisaki/Alter Ego - On Machine Observation

You may recall in my blog post on Machine Thinking the discussion on what would allow an artificial intelligence to act and think as a human would. Today's discussion aims to expand on that by focusing on the first step in the process: the observation phase. To do this, we need to look at the character profile of Chihiro Fujisaki, the second murder victim in "Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc."

The game allows you to spend time with the non-playable characters during open exploration segments. If you choose to spend time with Chihiro during these segments, you get to learn about her backstory. It is revealed that her legacy as the Super High School Level Programmer began at an early age with the creation of a question/answer program that uses voice recognition (a video of that scene is at the bottom of this article). The challenge for her, of course, was having the computer recognize the different speech patterns utilized in various alphabets, such as the Japanese language.

Danganronpa: THH - Mondo Oowada - On the Necessity of Lies

The Super Duper High School Gang Leader, Mondo Oowada is the former head of the Crazy Diamonds motorcycle group, the largest in Japan. He is the second person to commit a murder in the Danganronpa series, though because he was not in a right state of mind, Oowada could be construed as having only committed voluntary manslaughter. Nonetheless, he is punished by execution in a spectacular way: being churned into butter inside a motorcycle death cage.

At the conclusion of the Chihiro Fujisaki murder trial, it is revealed that the motive for the attack was to preserve Mondo Oowada's darkest secret - he had killed his older brother in a motorcycle challenge for control of the Crazy Diamonds. Worst of all, to preserve the unity of the gang, he was forced to cover it up for as long as he lived.

Danganronpa: THH - Leon Kuwata - On Expectations

In the Danganronpa series, Leon Kuwata has some of the worst circumstances applied to him. As the Super Duper High School All-Star, his talent becomes his undoing during the Sayaka Maizono murder case when it becomes the damning evidence.

Furthermore, it is revealed that he only murdered her after she attempted to kill him and frame Naegi. In a normal court of law, this could easily be construed as justifiable self-defense. However, in the class trial, he is treated as a hardened criminal and executed in one of the most spectacular and ironic ways of all: death by batting cage.

But perhaps the icing on the cake in all of this is that Leon Kuwata never wanted to become the Super Duper High School All-Star. That title had been thrust upon him by friends and family, and the boy had an entirely different dream altogether.

Danganronpa: THH - Sayaka Maizono - On Normalcy in Specialty

For the "Danganropa: Trigger Happy Havoc" series of articles, I am going to focus less on the progression of the overall story and more on how each individual character is tied to it.  To accomplish this, I will list a general synopsis of the character's actions, as well how the tropes which define them apply to the real world. However, to avoid spoilers, I will be writing about characters in order of storyline significance. As Sayaka Maizono is the victim in the first murder case in the game, it is only natural that we discuss her first.

The first character that protagonist Makoto Naegi becomes close friends with, the girl known as Sayaka Maizono comes off as a playful, energetic and highly outgoing young girl. Of course, as the Super Duper High School Idol, her life is far from ordinary. It is revealed that she lived a relatively lonely childhood, with no mother and a father who worked often. Watching singers perform on TV and seeing how many people they had the luxury of interacting with filled her with desires, so she fought her way to the top of the charts to achieve her dream, even doing things she'd rather not discuss in mixed company.

Danganronpa: THH - Prologue - On Conditioning

"Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc" is a game for the Playstation Portable which came out in 2010. It centers around the lives of more than a dozen high school children who are locked within a massive academy building and forced to murder one another if they want any hope of getting out. It is well marked for having interesting and spectacular gameplay mechanics, as well as a highly compelling storyline with a variety of plot twists.

Kibougamine Academy (known as Hope's Peak Academy) is a school for the talented and gifted - the "hope" of our generation. You play Makoto Naegi, a young boy who, despite having very few talents and being completely average, is granted the title "Super Duper High School Luckster" and granted admission. However, when he steps foot on the academy grounds, he passes out, and wakes up in an absolute hell on Earth.

One of the hallmarks of Hope's Peak Academy is that it claims to train students to graduate into the open arms of success. In fact, the promise of hope is the overarching theme of the entire game, and hope for a brighter future is discussed multiple times throughout the story (so many of these posts will go into an introspection thereof). Though as extravagant as it may seem, there is this uncanny feeling that we've heard all of this routine somewhere before...