LogFAQs > #888044057

Unnecessary recap:

Box of Tissues
48. Hiyoko Saionji
47. Leon Kuwata

Monkey Paw
46. Mahiru Koizumi
45. Celestia von Ludenberg
44. Korekiyo Shinguji
43. Teruteru Hanamura
42. Ultimate Imposter
41. Sayaka Maizono.

New Tier Unlocked: Secret Boots

40. Tsumugi Shirogane
Appears in: Danganronpa V3
Ultimate Identity: Cosplayer
Endearing Character Trait: Occasionally, but rarely, makes a reference that I get

Last chance. If you haven't finished ALL of V3, get out now.

For 5 out of 6 chapters, Tsumugi is the worst character of all time. She's not helpful, she's not funny, she's not (very) fan service-y. She's plain. That's the whole point of her, to be the ironically plain cosplayer. Okay, whatever, she's Sonia except not funny. Next.

Then in the last chapter, we find out that she's the mastermind (I told you to leave). That our beloved Kaede actually failed to kill Rantaro and that she actually finished the job. It's a great reveal that should be one of the defining moments of the series. Except, it isn't - for reasons that can only be explained by getting into a long, drawn-out debate over the ending twist of DRV3.

I really don't want to get into the V3 ending, because I honestly don't care about it too much. People are either going to like it or they're going to hate it. It is what it is. Personally, I don't like it, because I really don't like anything that goes overtly meta. All that I'll say here is that instead of having a satisfying character arc for Tsumugi, we get a deconstruction of the series itself. Tsumugi is abruptly replaced with a stand-in for Team Danganronpa. Great job writers! You took what was a pretty good story and skipped over writing a satisfying ending in favor of a metafictional gesture. I'm so glad you were here to remind me that I was playing a fictional story.

Tsumugi uses her cosplay skills to great effect in the final act, and that's kind of cool, but again... where is Tsumugi herself? What is her character? Ironically, in making her "real," Team DR essentially replaced her character with a philosophical debate that really isn't as interesting as they think it is. Therefore, there's some weird disconnect between the Tsumugi "pre-Junko cosplay" and the Tsumugi afterwards, who ends up getting crushed by debris in the most anti-climactic death scene in the series.

Imagine this alternative scenario: you reveal Tsumugi as Rantaro's true killer. There's an abrupt break. You assume the role of Rantaro in DRV2. You reach the same sort of conclusion there, where Rantaro and Tsumugi become sacrifices. You return to Shuichi and reach the same sort of "abstain" solution that the current ending reaches. This makes Tsumugi seem like more of a villain and is less preachy.

Tl;dr: Boring for 5 cases, still boring despite being the mastermind.

Next: "Mr. Naegi!"