Okay. I’m feeling crappy today. So, why not! Let’s talk about TeruTeru Hanamura.
I wanna talk about how well TeruTeru is written and how much I genuinely like him as a balanced character.
And you know, I never really noticed just HOW MUCH I really appreciated TeruTeru in his initial role in the second game of Danganronpa. In my first playthrough, I really was expecting a horrible pervert character that every anime has… and he was! But he was more than that on the immediate surface to me when he offers to run everyone down with oil on the beach in the prologue and Nekomaru chimes in that he would be grateful for it. To which, I was honestly expecting TeruTeru to react with disgust but he joyfully thinks it over and then says “Yeah sure, I’ll give it a go.”
You have to understand. That’s the funniest shit to me. I laughed for a good three minutes at that and made jokes. Like… I related to an actual anime pervert for his curious and dirty nature. I can’t help it.
That being said, is TeruTeru a terrible person? *shrugs* Yup. The guy is a sex monster and reprehensible. I do not approve.
But that never meant I couldn’t like him or that I couldn’t find him amusing or look past that to see some of the other depths of his character. And you know what? TeruTeru is kinda bursting with character.
On the one hand, he’s an utter pervert and constantly sticks his foot in his mouth, creeping out men and women alike even to the point that Kazuichi the renowned Simp can’t help but to feel embarrassed that he talks like that. He’s genuinely cheerful and takes so much pride in his food. Like… so much pride.
“Yummy? Put it this way. My cooking would make dishes that are simply said to be yummy taste like utter shit.”
However, on the other hand, it’s clear that his poor background really do show in his bigger insecurities. He insists and boasts that he’s fancy, that he should be called a chef instead of a cook, quickly proclaims that he’s from fancier neighborhoods. But he’ll also say that great food should never be kept from poor people and on the side, he’s constantly stressed out about a mother at home who’s probably the only one who believed in his abilities and dreams.
You see, the true redeeming feature in TeruTeru is that he’s emotional to his core. He’s scared, but proud so he retreats inward to try and keep things together. His mutters of denial when he finds out his memories have been messed with are easily missable by the audience and the rest of the cast because they’re seemingly played for laughs. But on the inside, he was tearing himself apart to try and find a way to get home and return to his mother. It’s similar to Sayaka’s horrific realization of the first chapter in DR1. “What happened to my home? What happened to my family? And what will happen to me?”
My friend really put this well. The class trials are amazing because it stars two people. Usually the victim and their killer. It puts them onstage. The Imposter takes a secondary seat in the first trial until a bit of the end and for his big reveal in the fifth chapter as to being an Imposter, so our actual two big stars of Class Trial One are Nagito and TeruTeru. Namely the way Nagito tormented a very flawed human being like TeruTeru into becoming a murderer.
And it’s honestly such a good introduction to the game. While Nagito does steal the spotlight, I think people forget TeruTeru’s moral complication and his contribution to this ending. Because on all ends, TeruTeru did bad. He did so very wrong. He lost himself and in the moment, gave in to murder. And he thinks of every way in the book to rationalize it as well.
“I had to stop Nagito.” No. You could have told your classmates what he would do. TeruTeru took advantage of the situation Nagito created. It would have been nice if Nagito was the victim but everyone else would still have died.
“It was an accident.” That can’t fly either. Everything he did, he did on his own with telling no one and still went through the trial not trying to get caught.
And then he explains his situation. How he was so desperate to leave and get off the island. And that situation is dire. It’s something he had to bear alone, isolated, drowning in the fear of not knowing what had happened to his entire life.
“I’m sorry, you guys… I think I’m the one who went a little crazy in the end…”
My heart utterly broke when I heard that. It’s so emotional. So quiet. So accepting before he screams.
His motive of denial and loss is what drives the first trial. He becomes a victim and a killer.
I don’t thing TeruTeru was ever meant to be a likable character. I don’t. I’m fully confident Kodaka (especially after the reaction to Hifumi) knee people would dislike him and would bank on the same people despising him all throughout his trial before he got his flashes of true humanity and empathy.
And we’re left with the truth honestly.
TeruTeru Hanamura is a horrible person, but a person nonetheless. One who loves, cares, and feels very deeply about what he cares about. And even while he may be horrible, he never deserved that or what Nagito and the Killing Game did to him.
And that’s fucking brilliant writing.
I think it’s very important we talk about characters like Teruteru. Me personally I like him a lot. About 70% of the art I post on here currently is him haha. I think he’s very well written as well. I think it’s a more personal liking to him that I have. There are parts of myself that I see in him like his love for his mom and how emotional he can be, it makes me more empathetic to him.
He’s not for everyone and I completely get that, because he does have some iffy traits to him and it’s important they aren’t overlooked. But I also think they allow his better parts of his personality to shine, and I think it makes him a whole person and character and I absolutely adore him for it. ❤
I live for this character analysis! Definitely following! :)
i gave characters matching kandi bracelets! ibuki’s has mikan’s colors, mikan’s has ibuki’s colors, and hajime’s is green because nagito’s color scheme did not look good together on a bracelet.
