My Ideal Cast for Big Brother 22

Hey everyone, today I'm going to be returning to my blogging roots by talking about one of my favorite reality TV competitions-- Big Brother!

Lately, the Big Brother fandom has been buzzing with the possibility of this summer's Big Brother season finally being the season of All-Stars that we've been begging for every year since BB7. Rumors like this spread pretty much every year, but this is the first time in a while that they've had any level of believability or credibility to them (especially with everything going on in the world right now). So, the hype is real, and it seems like BB All-Stars 2 might actually be in the cards.

Since everyone is speculating on who might be cast or who they want to be cast, I figured it would be fun to throw my own hat into the ring and create my own ideal cast of returning players for this season of Big Brother. 

An important note-- this is my ideal cast. I don't think this is in any way a realistic cast, and I think we'll get maybe three of these players on the season if we're lucky. This post is solely for my hopes and dreams and best-case scenario, all of which will definitely be crushed into tiny pieces when the real cast is released. 

In line with how production usually casts, I've chosen 8 male returnees and 8 female returnees. There are probably people on this list that you personally don't consider "All Stars," but I couldn't care less about that label, and I'm not going to argue over whether or not these players are "All Stars." These are simply the 16 returnees I'd like to see play again in a season together. OK? OK. On to the list. 

The Women

Danielle Reyes

Danielle Reyes is not only one of my favorite BB players of all time, but I also believe that she is one of the best players to never win the game. Danielle for me is the total package. She's a great strategic player, an entertaining character to watch, and gives fantastic DRs. BB3 is one of my favorite seasons of the show almost entirely because of Danielle and her alliance & gameplay with Jason. She's strategy and TV gold, and just having her alone is enough for a fun season.

Britney Godwin (Haynes)

While Britney isn't quite as great a strategist as Danielle, I also think that she's a very well rounded player and character for Big Brother to get back. Her DRs are possibly the best the show has ever seen, and she has a good head for strategy and especially for her social game. On top of all that, she went on the Amazing Race recently and has a really moving story about her daughter. She's in a totally different place in her life now than she was the previous times she played, and I think she'd be a great get for the season.

Vanessa Rousso

Obviously, she just had a baby and has 3 infants at home, so there's a 0% chance we get her back, but like I said, this is my little dream world here! Vanessa is one of the best strategists we've seen in recent seasons, and is a stock pick for many fans as someone they'd like to see back. She nearly won the game her first time, and she could definitely try again and possibly win this time. 

Nicole Anthony

I love Nicole, my mom loves Nicole, everyone who watched season 21 and their neighbor's cousin's cat love Nicole. With all of the frankly gross behavior in the house last season, the fandom rallied around Nicole in a way I personally have never seen before, and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I'd love to see her get a second chance. She's an extremely likable and rootable character, but on top of that, I think she's actually an underrated player who could do some serious damage, especially in a house this stacked with big, obvious threats. 

Da'Vonne Rogers

Historically, I haven't always been the biggest fan of Da'Vonne, because despite all the hype she's gotten (after being evicted second on her first season), she's not a great Big Brother player. She wants so badly to be a great player, and she plays really hard, but even she will admit that her mouth gets her in trouble. But she's great TV. She gives great DRs, she's really fun to watch, and she calls out people when they need to be called out. I've picked some strategically sound, but not interesting players, so it only makes sense to balance that out with Da'Vonne, who will play a really messy, but entertaining game. It's a thousand times better than someone who's just there to exist inside a house. 

Jun Song

I feel like a broken record at this point, but I think Jun is another that is good across the board. She gives great DRs, she's fun to watch, and she's a strong strategic player, no matter how much people want to complain about her floating strategy. I think it would be especially interesting to see her play now, 16 years after she won. I think she would be able to fly under the radar, especially in this cast, and I think that's when she'll be most dangerous.

 

Helen Kim

As much as I love entertaining and messy players, I'm a sucker for players like Helen, who may seem boring to some people, but provide a calm, rational, strategic voice in all of the chaos. Once again, I think Helen is someone who could be easily overlooked and underestimated and get herself into a good position quickly just by seeming amiable and non-threatening. Then again, I have cast another person who would probably be on to her, and was one of the reasons for her downfall in her original season, but maybe she could get out ahead of him and slit his throat before he could take her out again. 

Kemi Fakunle

Listen, CBS loved Da'Vonne and brought her back the following season despite being evicted second, and I NEED them to maintain that same energy for my girl Kemi. Kemi was my pre-season favorite. I loved her personality, I loved her mind for the game, and I was rooting so hard for her... and then she got screwed by Bella and stuck in a house with people who treated her horribly the entire time she was there. I truly believe that she didn't get a chance to thrive in the Big Brother house, and I think she could do some serious damage if given another chance and put into a less disgusting cast. I'd love to see her play again. PLEASE.

The Men

Dan Gheesling

Dan Gheesling is always #1 on my list for people I want back for any given all stars season. He's my favorite Big Brother player of all time, I think he's the best Big Brother player of all time, and he's already played 2 fantastic games, and in my opinion he should've won the game both times. He has nothing to prove, and he'll probably never return except for an all-winners or all-legends season, but I want him back at any chance I can get. 

 

Matt Hoffman

I just re-watched BB12, so Matt was one of the first people I wrote down for this because he was at the forefront of my mind. I already knew quite a bit about Matt before watching his season due to podcasts, and when I finally watched BB12, he actually didn't live up to the hype for me the first time around. Re-watches, however, have cemented him as someone I'd love to see play again, and his recent Sequester game only further confirmed that. He made some really dopey moves in BB12 but he's genuinely a really great strategist, and is also a type of character I tend to gravitate toward, so I'd love to see him back.

Johnny Mac

BB17 was the first season I watched live, and ever since then, Johnny Mac has been the #1 person I think deserves a second chance. He's known for being a character-- he gives really silly DRs, he's really funny, and he's entertaining to watch. But he's also an underrated gamer, and his strategic abilities have kinda been overshadowed and forgotten due to his personality. I think if we ever got him back, he could fly under the radar a bit due to that fact alone-- he's just the goofy DR guy! Forget that he's a superfan, snowed the entire house into believing he was a clueless recruit, and played a solid lowkey game that got him to F4! Nah, nah, nah, he's just goofy Johnny!

Tyler Crispen

Tyler is definitely the guy on everyone's mind when it comes to an All-Stars season, to the point that some people have said it isn't All Stars if they don't get Tyler. While I'm not that aggressive about wanting him back, I do think he has to be one of the first asks for the season. He's fresh on everyone's mind because he played only 2 years ago, and he was the first person to make final 2 and win America's Favorite Player. Once again, I think the majority of the fandom believes he should've won that season, and I agree. I'd love to see him play again and see how he could do on a second try. 

Eric Stein

RHAP did a podcast a few years ago where they ranked the best players to never win the game, and they put Eric at #1 on that list. I haven't made my own list, so I'm not sure whether or not I'd put him in 1st place, but he'd be pretty high up there for me, especially when you consider that he had such a huge handicap of being forced to bend to America's every whim. And yet still he managed to play a great game and get himself to final 5 before getting cut. If for no other reason, I'd just love to see him come back and play his own game this time and see how well he fares. And hey, it's been long enough that maybe people won't know who he is or how dangerous he is!

Andy Herren

I feel like there are two opinions and only two opinions when it comes to Andy Herren. 1- rat floater on a trash season, ew. & 2- a deserving winner who played one of the best games the show has seen.  It seems like almost everyone falls into one of these two camps. Obviously, I think that he played an incredible game in BB15, and I'd love to see him play again, to see if he really is up to the level that I personally think that he is. I've said this for a few people now, but I think that since his game isn't extremely respected, they could see him as a non-threat and he could fly under the radar again.

Ovi Kabir

Like with Kemi, I simply don't think Ovi got a very fair shake last season, and I really want to give him another chance because they were my top 2 pre-season and just got completely screwed over. For Ovi, I have even more reason to want him back, because he played Sequester recently and got himself all the way to Final 4 through a very back-stabby, villainous game, which is not at all how he's perceived by the BB fandom at large. I think bringing him back would give us a great opportunity to see him actually play for real this time, and maybe even see that more villainous side of him come out!

Paul Abrahamian

I know. I hear you groaning already, and I'm with you. If it's that painful, pretend I put BB21 David in this spot instead, because those were the two I was debating between, and I felt like I already had enough BB21 to go around. The only reason Paul ended up here is because I think if he was on a cast this stacked, he couldn't outshine everyone like he did in previous seasons. I really liked him in BB18, and I was still rooting for him in BB19, and I think it would be interesting to see him play in a house of all returnees that won't be stupid enough to bow to his every whim. 

So, that's my ideal cast of 16 returning players for Big Brother 22. Recent rumors claim that the season is officially ON and that a premiere date has been set, so hopefully we'll soon see who's returning for the season. I'm cautiously optimistic for the season, despite rumors circulating about Josh, Paul, and Christmas all being potentially contacted for/ on the season. And many other rumors that just make me sad. Regardless, I just hope that we get a few of these people for the season, or at least just an overall decent cast. Because that's about all we can ask for at this point.

Share some of the returnees you'd like to see back down in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Ranking all of Danganronpa 2's Cases/Trials

Hey everyone, time for another Danganronpa ranking!

In my last Danganronpa post, I ranked the cases in Trigger Happy Havoc, so now it's time to rank the cases in SDR2! I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say definitively that SDR2 has my favorite Danganronpa trials, but it definitely has the most competitive ranking. TBH I've considered putting at least half of these cases in first place.

If you have no idea what Danganronpa is, don't go any further, because this post will contain spoilers for the entire trilogy! (explicit spoilers for game #2, vague spoilers for the other 2)

I mentioned this in the last post, but I'll repeat it before jumping into the ranking:
I mostly see people talk about ranking the trials, which are definitely part of this, but in this ranking, I'm ranking the cases as a whole. So basically I'm focusing more on the mystery, how interesting it was to investigate and solve, how complicated it was, etc. Things like the trial being long/dragged out and the mechanics of the trial aren't things I have too much interest in discussing, so they're not things that will really come into play on this ranking.

Lastly, just something interesting that I wanted to note-- this ranking for me has 3 pairings (5th & 6th place, 3rd & 4th, 1st & 2nd) and within each pairing, I could really flip flop my placement and still be pretty content with the list. Seriously, I wasn't kidding when I said this was the most competitive list.

Without further ado, let's jump into the list!

6- Case #3- Ibuki & Hiyoko's Murders

Before I even start discussing this, I feel like I need to make this clear-- I DO understand this case and its motive. I've seen several people name this as their least favorite because they didn't get it, and that's not the case for me. I get it. I promise. That said, even though I totally understand that the despair disease caused Mikan to remember her true identity and her true love (Junko), that doesn't change the fact that it feels like lazy writing in order to make a usually meek character capable of murder. It just feels too transparently convenient as a way to off 3 characters who didn't (seem to) have the capacity to murder someone. 

The one positive that I'll give this case is the same thing I said for case 3 of game 1-- the aspect of the murderer confusing the timeline and forcing everyone to run around in confusion is always fun. The aspect of Hajime supposedly seeing the "suicide" occur so that he'll panic and run to discover the body is probably the most interesting part of the case. But logistically it's just such a mess, and even without Mikan being her bumbling self, it's hard to imagine that she'd be capable of pulling this whole thing off in the time we're presented with. Not to mention the fact that this murder removes any and all possibility of Hiyoko getting a redemption arc, which is just a really unsatisfying end to her story. 

5- Case #1- The Ultimate Impostor's Murder

Something that may be surprising to others is that when I sat down to figure out my ranking, this was actually the one I assumed I would put in last place. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it probably deserved to be placed above case 3. So here we are. 

When I think of this case, I'm left with the memory of it just being a bit dull and boring in comparison to the other fantastic trials in the game. However, when I really think about it, I'm reminded of the interesting twists and developments throughout it. In truth, it's really more of just a simpler, cleaner case rather than a boring case. Nagito flipping the switch on his personality wasn't necessarily mind-blowing, because I didn't really trust him from the start due to something feeling... off... but it adds an extra layer of interest to a case that otherwise would've been boring. 

4- Case #6- HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE

Like I mentioned in my previous trial ranking post, I tend to enjoy the final trials of each game, despite their flaws. I'd have to put more thought into this than I already have, but I think this is probably my favorite final trial. Which should say a lot about my opinion on both the trials in the last game and the trials in this game, since I vastly prefer this over my top-ranked case/trial from Trigger Happy Havoc. Like I said, I really, really like the cases and trials in this game. 

Overall, I don't love the investigation portion of the case. It was alright, and it was cool being back in Hope's Peak, but it definitely felt clunkier than in previous games. That, however, is made up for by the trial itself, which I really enjoyed. Hajime secretly being one of the villains in the real world and the island being virtual reality were both hinted at during the game pretty cleverly, so I thought their eventual reveal was actually really satisfying, especially in the way it ties back in to the first game. 

3- Case #2- Mahiru's Murder

Admittedly, this case gets up really high on this list largely on the strength of the character development it provides for my favorite Danganronpa character. Because although I enjoy the trial itself, the star of the show is the relationship between Fuyuhiko and Peko. I think some people don't really like how prominent the arcade game is in the trial, but I find it really interesting to see the way that their actual past comes into play after they've lost their memories. It adds a really cool extra layer to the story. 

On top of this, the trial is made really interesting and confusing due to Fuyuhiko and Peko simultaneously trying to constantly divert attention from each other and protect each other, with Peko trying to save her "young master" and Fuyuhiko trying desperately to keep the other students from discovering that she's the culprit so that she can survive. 

The end of this trial, as well as what is technically the post-trial, is by far the most emotional part of the entire trilogy for me. The way that Peko explains why she pretended to be Sparkling Justice, the moral dilemma this presents for Fuyuhiko, and the way that his hard exterior finally breaks when he realizes he can't save her. And don't even get me started on Peko's execution and how it emotionally wrecks me every single time I see it again. It's so well done.

2- Case #5- Nagito's... Murder?

OK, I know this is everyone's stock pick for their favorite trial-- not only in this game, but also across the entire trilogy. And I totally get that. Based just on technical aspects, it probably is the best case in the series. And as I mentioned at the beginning, these top 2 could easily be flipped and I wouldn't complain too much. But I put this one in 2nd place because although the mystery itself is really complex and the result is so clever, I didn't really enjoy its investigation or trial as much as I enjoyed solving the mystery of the trial that got first place. 

First off, my favorite aspect of this case is the eventual twist ending-- Nagito didn't just make the culprit random, he purposely trusted that with his luck, the person to throw the poisoned fire grenade would be the traitor, in the hopes that no one could figure out the traitor and thus only the traitor would survive. The way the game showed his actual lucky ability throughout the game, just for this eventual resolution-- brilliant. Regardless of the fact that it resulted in the death of one of my favorite characters, that's such a great twist. It's legitimately so brilliant. 

The rest of the case and trial is good, but it pales in comparison to that one singular moment. I mean, I kinda had it in the back of my mind the entire time that it was likely suicide. It seemed like something Nagito would do, and it was what made the most sense. I was only surprised once I realized that someone was legitimately the culprit and we needed to figure that out. That's the main problem with suicide cases for me-- if it's even mildly possible that the character might commit suicide, it's something I tend to take into consideration, so it's never a surprise to me when it ends up being the case.

1- Case #4- Nekomaru's Murder

It's unfortunate that the trope that lasted throughout all 3 games was the double-murder third trial rather than this one-- the new...world... trope? Is that what we're gonna call it? Anyway, a bit of a spoiler for my V3 trial ranking, but I love the two 4th cases where you have to use the mechanics of a new world to solve the mystery. Oddly, I actually really disliked the fact that the 4th chapter took place totally in the confines of the funhouse, but once we got into the investigation and trial, I loved how much the funhouse played into solving the case. 

Although playing as Nagito is kinda cool, it's actually not a huge factor for how much I liked the case. What was cooler is actually the element of time and how Nekomaru's internal clock plays into the case. TBH I think it's really just the element of something being tampered with (their location, time, etc) and the way that the culprit messes with everyone's perception of reality in order to control their understanding of the circumstances surrounding the murder. That aspect is really cool to me, and I love the way it's used in this case. 

And I haven't even talked about how Nekomaru and Gundham both essentially sacrificed themselves to save their friends. I think this chapter turned around a lot of people's opinions on Gundham overall, and as someone who already quite liked him, it just made me appreciate him even more. And his execution at the end of everything was especially sad, because of the way he looked after his hamsters and tried his hardest to survive. And then all the little animals taking him up to heaven despite him talking about being evil? Waterworks.

Even if I didn't love the free time living inside the funhouse, this entire chapter is just so unique, and from the investigation to the trial, to the eventual punishment time, every single aspect is really cool and really well done. 

So, those are my rankings for all 6 trials from Danganronpa 2! My plan is to do V3's rankings next. I still haven't decided if I'm going to rank all of the cases together after that, or if I'm going to do a 5 favorite/least favorite. idk. We'll see. V3's might be a bit of a wait again, because there are several great ones and I'm going to have a hard time choosing between them. We'll see.

Let me know which Trigger Happy Havoc case is your favorite down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Nancy Drew Games Tier Ranking [UPDATING]

Hey everyone! Today we're going to be pivoting a bit to discuss my current obsession- the Nancy Drew computer games.

While we're all doing our part to be safe and stay home, I got a bit nostalgic and started working my way through Nancy Drew games old & new, which of course led to me wanting to rank the games. Because duh, that's kinda my MO.

I'm going to be doing several posts relating to these games, but THIS ONE is special. This post will serve as my updating ranking/tier list of the Nancy Drew games, which will be updated whenever I finish a new one. I'll also include a brief note (as brief as I'm capable of being) about why it's placed where it is. However, I'll also be posting reviews/discussions for each individual game as I play them, so that I can discuss my opinions in more detail without clogging up this post. When I post a review, I'll update this post so that this post is as up to date as possible. I also plan to slowly start posting reviews/discussions of the games that are already on this tier list, so that I can talk about them in more detail.

Lastly, a couple of things before jumping into the tiers. Firstly, some of these games are ones I played recently, and others are ones I haven't re-played since childhood, so there are some I remember a lot better than others. Secondly, I tend to think of these tiers as if they're grades and treat them as such, so keep that in mind!

Unplayed Tier

As should probably be obvious, these are the ND games I haven't played yet, so feel free to make recommendations based on your own favorites as well as which ones you think I'll like based on my current opinions!

#6- Secret of the Scarlet Hand
#9- Danger on Deception Island
#15- Creature of Kapu Cave
#16- White Wolf of Icicle Creek
#18- Phantom of Venice
#20- Ransom of the Seven Ships
#22- Trail of the Twister
#25- Alibi in Ashes
#27- Deadly Device
#30- Shattered Medallion
#31- Labyrinth of Lies
#32- Sea of Darkness
#33- Midnight in Salem

F Tier- No Thanks

None of the Nancy Drew games are outright bad, but the ones in this tier are my least faves.

Haunted Carousel- I wanted so much more from this. More "Haunted," characters that were actually interesting, a compelling story, all of it. I honestly found it just kinda boring and didn't really love playing it. 

D Tier- Meh

The title says it all. Meh. I don't have strong opinions on them, but they're below average.

Secrets Can Kill- Frankly, I never finished this one because I got to a point where it stopped working on my computer. But until that point, I had very little opinion on it and decided to go ahead and put it on the tier list just because.

The Final Scene- This is one I only played years ago, but this is the least memorable of all the ones I played in the past. I don't remember much of the overall plot and only remember vague details of the culprit, and some of the locations. That's it. It didn't leave a lasting impression.

Danger by Design- The first half felt like it was holding your hand, but the second half felt like it kicked you out and left you there to die. The plot never fully came together for me, and I don't think it made amazing use of the location. I mean it's in PARIS. I just didn't find this one super compelling across the board.

Tomb of the Lost Queen- I just didn't really enjoy this one. I wasn't super into the premise, and didn't really enjoy a lot of my time playing the game. Also-- worst overall group of characters in any game. All of them were boring. However, I liked the way the tomb expanded as puzzles were solved.

C Tier- Average

Much like a C grade, it's average, passable, aight, but nothing special. Like a 7/10ish

Secret of the Old Clock- This is one I played when I was younger, and I remember liking it, but I don't have super detailed memories of it.

Ghost Dogs of Shadow Lake- Similarly, one I played when I was younger. I think a replay could move this one up, but even though I remember liking it, I don't have super detailed memories.

Shadow at Water's Edge- I wanted to love this one because the Japanese setting is great and it's billed as the most difficult and scariest ND game, but I found it frustrating and non-intuitive instead of difficult. It gets major points for the setting and scares, and some for the characters too, but loses points for many of the puzzles and the excessive sudoku and nonograms.

Legend of the Crystal Skull- Much like SAW, I wanted to love this one because of the setting and premise, but despite generally liking the puzzles, I found them easier but equally frustrating. I also didn't love the back and forth between Bess and Nancy.

B Tier- Really Like

Much like my grades in school, a B is pretty good, but not amazing. I could make an argument for some of these going into A tier, but this is where they've landed.

Ghost of Thornton Hall- I first played this one a few years back, so I've forgotten a few things, and although it's not going to be an all-time fave, I really enjoyed it. The setting is great, and I liked the overall mystery. Don't have a huge memory of the puzzles, but overall it's one of the spookiest ND games and I really like it.

Captive Curse- This is the one I'm most likely to move up. The maps are confusing, but I enjoy the premise and setting, the mini-games are my fave and I quite like the characters. It has several flaws, namely all the loose threads in the story, but it's just one of those games I find myself drawn to.

Stay Tuned for Danger- Now this is a throwback. I haven't played it in probably 15 years, but I have such a vivid memory of this game, the locations, and even some of the puzzles. Perhaps it's the nostalgia, but I remember quite enjoying this one.

Message in a Haunted Mansion- TBH, ditto what I said about Stay Tuned for Danger. I remember the mansion like the back of my hand, that's how vivid my memory of this game is. Once again, could be nostalgia, but I really enjoyed this one too.

A Tier- Love

We have one more tier left, so think of these as an A as in like... a 93% lol. They're some of the best ND games but not quite faves enough to get to the untouchable tier.

Secret at Shadow Ranch- This one was so hard to rank, because I played it when I was younger and obsessed with horses, and this was my favorite ND game. I don't think I'd be quite as in love now, so I've moved it down a tier, but couldn't move it much further given all of my fond memories with it.

Warnings at Waverly Academy- This is THE premise. Want to get my attention? Give me a boarding school and sabotage (preferably murder, but we don't get that here). The setting, premise, characters, and even mini-games are all on point. I wish it were a touch less linear, but otherwise it's a slam dunk. Justice for MEL.

Secret Spy- THE CHARACTERS. I enjoy spy stories, and this game has one of the strongest premises in the whole series, but Zoe and Alec (mostly Alec) really clench this. Alec's moral ambiguity is so fascinating, and I loved trying to figure him out. Furthermore, interesting puzzles and great mini-games round this one out really nicely.

Haunting of Castle Malloy- Despite a lackluster ending, I found this one largely really enjoyable for the sheer fact that every aspect of it was solid across the board. Great setting, interesting characters, fun mini-games, clever puzzles. I have some complaints but they're relatively minimal.

S Tier- the Untouchables

The best of the best, the creme de la creme. My favorite and IMO the best ND games.

Treasure in the Royal Tower- When I think of ND games, I think of TRT. I replayed this recently and although it's not as complex as some other high-tier games, it. holds. up. It deserves S tier on the power of the elevator shaft/library sneaking alone. That's the most iconic part of any ND game ever. Sure, there's some magic of nostalgia at work. But it's also very clever, enjoyable, and still incredibly memorable even today. ICONIC.

Curse of Blackmoor Manor- I haven't played it in many years, but I have fond memories of it, and it was probably my favorite as a kid. I love settings like this, and had a lot of fun playing it.

Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon- Brilliant. Rather than solving a series of unconnected puzzles, the whole train is one big puzzle that you're slowly piecing together. Everything fits together so logically and cleverly. This is truly the posterchild for how brilliant ND games are at their best.

So that's my full tier list ranking of all of the Nancy Drew games I've played! Like I mentioned at the beginning, I plan to update this whenever I post a review/discussion of a newly-played game. Hopefully in the near-ish future, I'll begin posting reviews/discussions for the games I've already played and finished, so if there's one where you're really curious about my detailed opinion, let me know! I'll make it a priority. 

Thanks for reading!

Ranking all of Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc's Cases/Trials

Hey everyone, time for another Danganronpa ranking!

After a bit of contemplation, I've decided that I'm going to rank Danganronpa cases within each game first, followed by a favorite and/or least favorite overall ranking. So, of course, we're starting with the cases of Trigger Happy Havoc.

If you have no idea what Danganronpa is, check out the video linked below, because this post will contain spoilers for the entire trilogy! (explicit spoilers for game #1, Trigger Happy Havoc, vague spoilers for the other 2)

Firstly, I mostly see people talk about ranking the trials, which are definitely part of this, but in this ranking, I'm ranking the cases as a whole. So basically I'm focusing more on the mystery, how interesting it was to investigate and solve, how complicated it was, etc. Things like the trial being long/dragged out and the mechanics of the trial aren't things I have too much interest in discussing, so they're not things that will really come into play on this ranking.

Without further ado, let's jump into the list!

6- Case #1- Sayaka's Murder

It only makes sense that this is last place-- its purpose is to be an introduction into the game, and therefore it's a pretty basic case. It's rare that I go into a class trial with a definite idea of who the culprit is, but with this one... well, the writing was literally on the wall.

Although it's in last place, I think it's actually a really good first case. It's easy to follow, easy to piece things together, and has an interesting twist in it to keep you from understanding everything. However, in the grand scheme of Danganronpa cases, it's pretty simple. The cases in Trigger Happy Havoc are the worst overall, and this is the least interesting of them all. Honestly, I think that the case might have been more interesting if Leon's name wasn't literally written on the wall behind Sayaka. We've solved cases based on much less definitive evidence, and I think there were plenty of other things that pointed toward him, such as the crystal ball. Literally anything other than his name being written on the wall would've been nice.

5- Case #2- Chihiro's Murder

This case might have placed higher on this list, if not for the fact that it always feels a little off to me. To jump right in the thick of it, I'm of course talking about the handling of Chihiro's gender. I'm still not quite sure what they were going for here. The game makes it clear that Chihiro is a boy who dressed as a girl. However, something about the way the game handles this piece of information always feels like they either A- don't have a great understanding of how to discuss gender as a complex topic or B- are hinting at it being more complex than just "he's a boy who dresses like a girl", without actually saying it. Basically, they handled the topic with the grace of a bull in a china shop. And Toko's "cross-dresser" comment is always a big yikes.

Setting that aside, however, I find this case to be one of the more clever cases within the first game, and one of the most interesting to piece together. We have the introduction of Genocide Jill and both Mondo and Byakuya messing with the crime scene to confuse the case. It adds several red herrings into the mix, and even though some of them are pretty obvious (AKA-- I never thought Toko did it, and thought it was clear the locker rooms had been swapped), others actually do complicate things further and confuse the player even more, and that's the complexity that I enjoy.

The actual murder itself has always felt a little half-baked to me. I mean, Mondo flies into a blind rage and kills Chihiro without even realizing it? It just seems kinda.... cheap. However, I do think Mondo is one of the more difficult killers to figure out, because the E-Handbook issue was my personal biggest hurdle in solving the case. How they were broken, how the killer could get into both locker rooms, etc. So IMO the E-Handbooks were the most clever aspect of the case. And as much as I enjoy the introduction of Genocide Jill, I definitely didn't enjoy the whole Byakuya/Jill red herring because I was already several steps ahead, trying to figure out what actually happened.

4- Case #3- Taka and Hifumi's Murders

I know that my placement of this case is pretty unpopular-- everyone tends to really dislike the third case in each game, especially this one. I tend to have a slightly more positive opinion of the third trials as a whole. Don't crucify me, though-- it's only slightly.

This case was one of the few I had almost completely solved before setting foot into the class trial. This one seemed very straightforward to me. Maybe I've read one too many mystery novels? But what I like about the third case in each game is that it adds some element of variety to the investigation, especially in Trigger Happy Havoc and V3. Rather than discovering a body and going into a straightforward investigation, there's always a little twist. In this one, it's the element of running all over the school, trying to figure out what's happening. Or, in reality, the murderers trying to obfuscate the events surrounding the deaths. There are so many odd twists and turns before you can even investigate, and then once you've started investigating, there are still more twists. That's always refreshing to me when it happens, and the main reason why I don't have a full-on distaste for the third chapters like many people do.

Even though I personally found it pretty easy to solve and I found the wild goose chase a bit frustrating, there's just something about the way that it all comes together that I actually quite like. I think my favorite aspect is the way they utilized the body discovery announcement to further conceal the deaths. I always think it's clever when a killer uses a rule of the game to confuse people further. Unfortunately, I think the biggest downside is that it is so easy to solve. Honestly, the trial could've been over with much more quickly. One of the first things they determine is that Hiro couldn't have committed the crime in the costume. This should immediately call into question the validity of the photo evidence & thus implicate both of the people involved in faking it-- Hifumi and Celeste. But that would be too easy. Then again, solving this case was... too easy.

3- Case #4- Sakura's Suicide

This is a case that I appreciate much more than I actually like it. Because something about this case has never really appealed to me. For some reason, I've never found it incredibly compelling or interesting, despite the fact that it's probably one of the more complex mysteries in the game. I think the real flaw is that I found it painfully obvious that Sakura committed suicide. It was a locked room mystery, people were talking about poison, it seemed like something she would do... it just all slid into place for me.

I didn't have the case solved, per se, and I think that the details surrounding the suicide do a decent job of obfuscating it, but I never found myself compelled enough by any evidence to sway my hunch that it was a suicide. I think that if I were to remove my hunch from the equation, this would actually be quite a complex case to piece together, especially given that Hina tampered with the crime scene.

However, I think that unless you're like Hiro, Toko, and Byakuya and haven't warmed to Sakura throughout the game, I think most players are likely to quickly either suspect that it's a suicide or at least consider it as an option. And honestly, even if you didn't know much about Sakura, if you've ever tried to figure out a locked room murder mystery, suicide is probably going to come to your mind as a consideration at some point. Personally, it's never a twist that I enjoy, because it's kinda gone from an unexpected twist to a twist that's been done enough that it's no longer unexpected, if that makes sense. And given that I already suspected it, the conclusion of this mystery is just never satisfying, especially given that Sakura is one of my favorite characters, and the last thing I wanted was to lose her by her own hand.

2- Case #5- Mukuro's Murder

This is one of the most polarizing cases in the series, and I've generally had a difficult time deciding whether or not I like it. In the end, as you can tell, I've ranked it pretty high. It won't rank as high in comparison to cases from other games (because the cases in this game are probably the weakest, IMO), but in terms of the cases within the first game, I think this is where it belongs.

I like the variety that this case adds to the mix. It's purposely cut short at every turn, because Monokuma knows he's cornered and is doing everything in his power to stop the students from getting enough information to suspect him. Everything about it is purposely rushed, and you don't really fully understand that until you near the end of the class trial.

I think the most frustrating aspect of the case for me is how the suspects are immediately narrowed down to Makoto and Kyoko, without any room for anyone else. I get why this was done, but it removes several layers of mystery that could have been there. It makes it a very simple back and forth, instead of what could have been a very complex game of finger-pointing at everyone. Given that none of them actually did it, it would have been really cool to see them all suspecting everyone, until it's ultimately narrowed down. But alas, what could have been.

And, of course, the most polarizing aspect of the case-- the ending. Pursue the lie, Kyoko dies, and you get a really weird, short ending. Let Kyoko's lie slide, and you get punished and get the full ending. I've seen people say that this was counter-intuitive and that's why they hated it, but tbh every time I've seen someone go through it, they trusted Kyoko enough to let the lie slide, thus leading to the correct ending. I'm honestly pretty neutral on it, although this would've fit much better into V3, where a lot of the point of the game hinges around whether or not to trust your friends.

1- Case #6- Mukuro's Murder... for real

Firstly, yes I realize I literally just ranked these in the order that they happened in the game, but I genuinely believe each trial got better throughout the game. I don't love that it's that straightforward of a ranking, but hey, I'm not gonna fake my ranking just to make it more interesting lol.

I don't really have a clear idea of the fandom's opinions on the trials, apart from one video I watched of someone ranking their 5 favorite and least favorite trials. In that video, he mentioned the fandom was pretty split on whether the final trials are great or awful. And as you can tell, I'm more in the former camp. I don't think they're perfect, but rather, I tend to love them despite their flaws.

I also talk about books on here and on YouTube, and one of my more unpopular opinions is that I don't mind info-dumping. If I find the subject interesting (for example... a mystery I've been trying to solve all game?), I really don't care if you throw ALL OF THE INFORMATION at me. So I kinda enjoy unraveling everything all at once during the final trial. That said, though, I do think that this is the weakest final trial, despite IMO also being the least info-dump-y final trial. I think a lot of the most important clues about the mystery surrounding the school were already there to be somewhat figured out before that final trial, so solving everything truly felt more like actually solving a puzzle than having a bunch of information dropped on you.

I also enjoy the complexity of the fact that the previous trial really backed Monokuma into a corner, so now they're doing the trial for real this time, with all of the information. Despite it being the same case, the trials feel completely separate because they finally have all the information now.

Overall, despite being my favorite case of the game, it's unlikely to get super high on any favorites list simply because the cases in other games are that good.



That's all for this post! My plan is that the next few posts are devoted to ranking cases/trials, and next up is of course SDR2's cases, followed by V3. I still haven't decided if I'm going to rank all of the cases together after that, or if I'm going to do a 5 favorite/least favorite. idk. We'll see. I'm very excited about SDR2's case ranking, though, because that game might have my favorite cases overall. We'll see.

Let me know which Trigger Happy Havoc case is your favorite down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Top 10 Least Favorite Danganronpa Characters [Main Trilogy]

Three posts in a row! I'm on a roll!

In the past 2 weeks, I've done 2 Danganronpa rankings, which will be linked here:
My 15 Favorite Danganronpa Characters (Main Trilogy)
My Favorite Danganronpa Character Designs (Main Trilogy)

If you have absolutely no clue what Danganronpa is, check out the video embedded below, or just click off the post because I will be discussing spoilers from all 3 Main Trilogy games!

So, now that I've done two rankings of some of my favorite things within Danganronpa, I think it's finally time to rank my least favorite things. Namely, my least favorite characters.

Since this is a ranking of my least favorite characters, remember: this is just my opinion. I think most, if not all, characters within the Danganronpa universe are really interesting, unique, and well-crafted. However, that doesn't mean I have to like all of them, and I definitely don't like all of them. For some, I have a detailed, complex reason for disliking them, but for many, they simply got on my nerves and pissed me off while I was playing the game, and that's as deep as it goes. If we disagree, cool. Differing opinions are fine. I respect yours, so please respect mine in return.

Lastly, for the other rankings, I've done 15, but for this list, I'm sticking with the standard 10 because I really don't have strong enough opinions on the characters that would place 11-15th to warrant discussion on this list.

Honorable (er... Dis-Honorable) Mentions

Tenko Chabashira- Her "degenerate males" schtick would be funny if it didn't feel a little like it was trying to make fun of feminists & if it wasn't so smotheringly overbearing. Certain characters feel like they have only a single personality trait because of how much the game beats you over the head with it, and she's one of them. However, she's grown on me a bit over time and does have a factor of likability that keeps her out of my personal top 10. 

Hiyoko Saionji- Again, her negative traits are obvious. She's a brat, and she's really mean for seemingly absolutely no reason. She dishes it, but she can't take it. Literally the only redeeming quality? At least she's entertaining. And she cares about Mahiru. 

Alright, now on to the actual list!

10- Monokubs (minus Monodam...probably)

I considered putting one of the students here, but I couldn't make this post without talking about the Monokubs. TBH, my biggest problem with them really isn't even their personalities. I actually (mostly) like Monodam, and the others each have a few funny moments here and there. My main issue with them is how much screen time they take away from Monokuma, who's one of my favorite characters. They've always been in varied tiers among my least favorite characters, but it wasn't until I watched a Let's Play that I realized that this is the biggest reason they're so frustrating.

Because... they're fine. But their fine-ness deprives us of the iconic, incomparable Monokuma. Throughout the game, we don't even really see him much outside of class trials. Meanwhile, we're being subjected to some weird incest plotline between Monotaro & Monophanie, and MonoKid screaming about his Rock Hard Rager. The entirety of their humor was already done better by Monokuma in previous games, so messing with perfection left a lot to be desired.

9- Yasuhiro Hagakure

Ultimate Con Artist 30% Success Rate Clairvoyant

I think that across the board, it's widely accepted that Hiro is, at the very least, one of the fandom's least favorite characters. If not the definitive least favorite. But I actually found myself debating whether or not to include him. Because at the end of the day, I still somewhat like him although he has practically no redeeming qualities.

The majority of my favorite characters tend to be the most logical, rational characters-- the ones who are helpful in class trials. AKA the absolute antithesis of Hiro, who forced us to argue about whether or not Kyoko was a ghost. UM. SIR. COULD YOU NOT. On top of this, his ultimate talent is basically absolute bs (70% of the time!) and he somehow manages to survive the killing game, taking a survivor spot that I really wish could have been Sakura's. I mean honestly... what. was. his. point. in the game? Why was he there? Did he do anything useful ever?

The one redeeming quality-- the reason he's lower on this list than he should be... is the so-bad-it's-good factor. He's idiotic and useless to the point that it's funny. Perhaps not in the moment, but in hindsight, it's a little endearing. But only a little lol.

8- Tsumugi Shirogane

Ultimate Plain Mastermind Cosplayer

Every time I re-experience Danganronpa V3, at some point, the same thought crosses my mind. "Y'know... Tsumugi's not so bad." And that thought stays in the back of my mind throughout most of the game. And then I re-experience the 6th class trial and am reminded why she's one of my least favorite characters. It's not necessarily the plot twist/reveal/etc itself, but rather the plot twist is just the last straw. Because at her best, even if she wasn't the villain, Tsumugi on her own is rather... wait for it... plain. Boring, unassuming, not extremely interesting. Also, she was one of the "devotees" to the Student Council, which is my least favorite thing from V3 (Given that she was the "mastermind," she was definitely faking, but still). More on that later. And then the 6th class trial comes and reminds me that there's really nothing at all to like about her. She's literally at her best when she was just plain Tsumugi. If you're at your best when you're boring... you're not a very interesting Danganronpa character. Add to that the fact that it's pretty certain many of her statements in that trial were lies, and I'm just done. Girlbye. No one wants you.

7- Sayaka Maizono

Ultimate Fake Best Girl Pop Sensation

Honestly, I was kinda glad she was the first victim. I was annoyed by her role in the game, I was annoyed by her personality, and I really just wanted her off my back.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was quickly sketched out by Sayaka, and I think that's the largest reason why she was so grating to me. I hated the way that she was so immediately... submissive?... to Makoto. Like, yes pls let me be your assistant, and also spend your first free time with me, and also let me follow you around everywhere. I mean, I get it-- a lot of that was fake just to get close to Makoto & pin a crime on him. But in order to create the plot that they wanted to for the game, they made Sayaka such an irritating, clingy, grating character. Never mind that I wanted to get to know Kyoko or "Junko." Nah, gotta hang out with Sayaka more!

The game makes it clear, both in Sayaka's reaction to her DVD and in the conclusion to the first class trial, that Sayaka had a darker side to her, willing to do really terrible things to get ahead. And I think if we'd gotten more of that first-hand rather than second-hand (her mentioning it, unraveling the case, etc), I would've enjoyed her character more. Instead, we just got sprites of her freaking out and not much more.

6- Nekomaru Nidai

Ultimate Scat Humor Team Manager

On my favorite characters list, I mentioned that I was initially not a fan of both him and Sakura because I really disliked their character designs, but unfortunately, he didn't end up growing too much in my estimation. I'd be remiss to ignore the fact that Gundham is one of my favorite characters while Nekomaru is one of my least favorites, even though they both essentially sacrificed themselves for the betterment of the group. I'm fully aware of that, and that's the main thing keeping him from being any higher on this list.

With Nekomaru, it's not that deep... I just don't really like him. Like with Tenko, his "I need to poop" schtick was alright the first couple of times, but eventually, it just felt like it overtook most of his personality. He felt pretty one-note throughout the game when he was just himself, and then he became Mechomaru and just....? IDK, I didn't dig it. I don't have some elaborate reasoning for him, I just really didn't enjoy him as a character, found him kinda annoying, and didn't really miss him much once he was gone.

5- "Byakuya Togami"

Ultimate Fake Byakuya Imposter

I feel like this shouldn't be a surprise, since Byakuya is one of my favorite characters, and the Ultimate Imposter essentially changed his personality entirely, reduced him to a walking, talking, fat joke, and did it all under the guise that this was definitely still Byakuya Togami. I hated every second of it. In this case, I can somewhat SOMEWHAT understand that they wanted to emphasize that Byakuya had gained weight, so this guy's personalization of him was mostly about food. But I really don't like when bigger characters are reduced to a joke about how much they eat, and I dislike it even more when you do that to a character with a pre-established personality that I already liked.

Even more than that, another thing that I really dislike in Danganronpa is when someone tries to overbearingly and overtly control or lead everyone. Not in the way that Kaito tried to inspire & lead everyone, or Kokichi made people do what he wanted through more subtle manipulation, but rather the overt-- "I'm the leader, everyone is going to listen to what I have to say." Yeah, that's annoying. Which we'll see even more in a bit. Real Byakuya just wants to tell you to stop being an idiot and be left alone to his books.

4- Mikan Tsumiki

Ultimate Fan Service Nurse

I know Mikan has a lot of fans, but clearly I'm not one of them. I'm not sure how exactly to word this, but in many ways, she plays into very old-fashioned, gender-norm stereotypes of what a female "should" be, and I think that's the biggest reason I don't like her. She's meek, subservient, and overly apologetic, to the point of being unable to even speak sometimes. On top of this, she's also the most blatantly "fan-service" character in SDR2 IMO, due to her clumsiness putting her into compromising situations (possibly on purpose & for attention) and the despair disease causing her to get overtly sexual with Hajime. While I understand that her character comes from a history of abuse, that still doesn't change the fact that she was written and created to be this hyper-stereotyped, fan-servicey character that plays into a bunch of tropes that I really dislike. Sure, I feel bad for her, and if she were a real human, I wouldn't have any of these criticisms. But I can't ignore the fact that she was written and created to be this way, which I really dislike. 

3- Hifumi Yamada

Ultimate 2D Fanboy Fanfic Creator

I feel like Hifumi is kinda a stock pick on lists like this, and here he is. I mean, the obvious thing is that he's creepy. The way he talks about women, his kinda incel-y complex, the constant sexual innuendos, just... no one wants that. It's creepy. Also, again, must we make every gross, creepy character also overweight? I see what you're doing here, and I don't like it. TBH I really just don't know what else to say about Hifumi. He's created to be the "pervert" of DR1's cast, and therefore, obviously, I dislike him. I know it's a super obvious choice, but there's a reason for that.

2- Angie Yonaga

Ultimate Cult Leader Brainwasher Con-Artist

Angie is the most frustrating character across the entire trilogy. There, I said it.

Angie drives me nuts. First, I will acknowledge the fact that I believe she had good intentions with the student council. However, that doesn't save it from being literally the most infuriating plot point of the entire trilogy. Idr where I saw it, but I saw someone complaining that Angie & Kokichi are viewed so differently despite "doing the same thing." Sorry, but lolno. While there are some similarities (both have very misguided ways of trying to reach their end goal), there's a clear massive difference for me.

The biggest thing for me is the god complex/brainwashing/cult aspect. People like this IRL annoy me. Cults, hive-minds, they equally fascinate and horrify me. Y'know who Angie reminds me of? HUNBOTS. Y'know, people from MLM companies who send you copy-pasted sales pitches full of emojis, trying to convince you that you're perfect for their business opportunity, even though MLMs are predatory pyramid scams that target vulnerable people. Oof I went off on a rant there, but I hope you see my point. Also, I saw someone point out that she doesn't have any sprites that aren't happy/positive/etc. Like none with true complex emotions. Another thing that I cannot stand? People who are constantly upbeat, positive, never show other emotions. It seems so fake and creepy to me.

On top of this, Atua is absolutely a figment of Angie's imagination. She uses "Atua" to convey messages that she wants to say, and make them seem more important. Just... everything about her screams SCAM! CULT! BRAINWASHED! FAKE! USED CAR SALESMAN! and those are the people IRL that I cannot stand, so clearly that's the type of person who's going to be my absolute least favorite in any game ever.

1- Teruteru Hanamura

Ultimate Sexual Predator Cook

Honestly, after going on that whole rant about Angie, I'm almost conflicted about putting Teruteru in first place. Because IMO he's (again), the most obvious worst character in the trilogy. He's disgusting. He's a perv. He's predatory. He sexually harasses the girls in the cast. He's so gross that even Nagito is offended by him. And that's essentially his only personality trait. So, yeah. Duh. Obviously he's the worst character. Because he absolutely disgusts me. But he's also so obviously terrible that it almost feels like a cop-out to put him at number one. But that's where he belongs, so I guess this is where he goes. TBH, I don't really have anything else to say about him. I mean... what else needs to be said? He's predatory and I don't like him. He wasn't funny, he wasn't entertaining, he added absolutely nothing good to the game at all. I'm just glad he was the first killer & therefore I didn't have to put up with a whole game of him.



So, there you go! My 10 least favorite characters in Danganronpa. Like I said, these are just my personal opinions, and I think many of them still serve important purposes within the game, on top of giving us people to root against, which makes the cast overall more interesting. These are just the ones I personally dislike, and it's fine if we disagree!

These 3 rankings that I've done so far are the ones that I really wanted to do, but I do have a few extras that I'd also like to do. Next up will probably be something to do with Class Trials. Not sure how I want to do it-- I think it'd be cool to talk about each individual game and then combine everything into either a full ranking or a 5 favorite/least favorite, but that might be a bit much. IDK, we'll see.

Let me know some of your least favorite Danganronpa characters down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!