Danganronpa - Speculations and Theories (First time anime viewers only)

[Crashmaking Zoomatic]

Aah, alright, alright. I knew he made the supplemental rule later, hence the confusion, but I didn't realize that he said they needed to murder without being caught -before- Maizono's death. It makes sense why they'd go to such lengths. I thought that, at that point, they believed they just needed to kill someone.

[Deathscyther]

It's a good thing this thread was made. I was afraid that the game spoilers would start flying around.

Anyways, we've got quite a lot of evidence to solve our first murder case.

Spoiler for evidence:

• Maizono was murdered in Naegi's bathroom. How did the murderer enter the room? Maizono locked the door and she told Naegi that she wouldn't open the door for anyone, not even Naegi himself. So I guess this means that Maizono must have opened the door herself for some reason.

• The lock of the door to the bathroom seems to have been destroyed. Since it looks like everyone got a set with a screwdriver, I guess that's what been used to get rid of the lock.

• Kyouko noticed that the roomplates of Naegi and Maizono have been switched. But when Naegi entered Maizono's room before sleeping, Maizono's own nameplate was still there. So it must have happened after Naegi entered Maizono's room.

• Maizono was murdered with a knife. Since everyone's own stuff mysteriously disappeared when they came here (see episode 1), it has to be a knife from the kitchen.

• Maizono has a fractured wrist with golden stuff on it. The sword in Naegi's room, which seems to have been used to make slash marks on the floor/walls/door, is gold as well.

• Maizono had blood on her finger and seems to have written a dying message with it: 11037.

• Kyouko saw something like a notebook/book and a pen on Naegi's table. The last time we saw Maizono, we got a close-up with her and the notebook/book and the pen as well. Maizono looked quite serious at that time as well. Did she write down something?

• Then there's the burnt shirt remnant they found in the trashroom. Since it was burnt, I'm guessing that there's some kind of incinerator in the trashroom. Does that mean that the murderer tried to destroy the evidence? It seems to be locked normally though. I wonder if everyone has a key to this place or just Yamada who opened it this time? Also, there are glass sphere fragments there as well.

I think it isn't very difficult to find out who the murderer is, mostly because of the dying message, although this could be a trap as well. I have a theory, but I have the feeling that I'm missing something to make it complete.

Spoiler for Theory:

I think that Leon is the murderer. Maizono's dying message is 11037. However, when you looks closely, it looks like the two 11's seem to be something else. There are thin lines that seem to hint towards the two 11's being meant to be connected by a line. That would make the two 11's a 'N'. Furthermore, if you turn these number/letters upsidedown, then you get 'LEON'.

My theory for how it happened: Maizono was actually the one planning to kill Leon, but she messed up and got killed instead. Why do I think this? Since nobody but Maizono could open the door to her room, I'm guessing that she has to be the one who let someone else in. She took the initiative and invited Leon to her room. This is probably the role of the notebook/book and pen. She must have written down an invitation to her room. Since she was planning to kill someone, she decided to switch rooms with Naegi, so that she could put the blame on him. Maybe she switched the nameplates to make sure that Leon would come to her and not to Naegi who was in her room at the time?

Maizono was probably planning to kill Leon with the knife. Since Maizono's fractured wrist had golden stuff on it, Leon probably used the golden sword that was in Naegi's room to hit her hand, so that she'd let go of the knife. Leon probably managed to overpower Maizono and stole the knife. After this Maizono was forced to flee into the bathroom. She knew about the problem with the door, so she probably thought that she was safe there. Leon then used a screwdriver to open the door and killed Maizono with the knife. Maizono then used her last strength to write the name of the murderer on the wall: 'LEON'.

Leon got blood on his shirt and decided to burn his shirt, but somehow a small piece of the shirt managed to survive. I wonder why he made such a mistake? I'm sure this has something to do with the glass shards and the lock to the trashroom.

I wonder how they're going to prove that Leon is the murderer though. We only have the dying message for now. But I'm sure that the anime is saving some important information for next episode. For now Leon could say that the murderer used Maizono's hand to write Leon's name there to frame him. In order to prove it, some questions will have to be answered: What did Kyouko see when she looked towards the notebook? Was something written down? What are those glass shards (glass ball of Hagakure?) and why are they there? Why didn't Leon make sure to burn the entire shirt (maybe because he didn't have the key to the trashroom?)? Did everyone get a screwdriver or are the gifts different? If everyone indeed got the same set, is it sealed and is there proof that you have opened it?

[Klashikari]

^

Only male students received a tool kit. Female students received a sewing kit. Furthermore, Makoto's kit was left untouched as it is still sealed.
For further clues that have been brushed over by the anime, please click on the link in my signature.

[hamazura]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

^

Only male students received a tool kit. Female students received a sewing kit. Furthermore, Makoto's kit was left untouched as it is still sealed.
For further clues that have been brushed over by the anime, please click on the link in my signature.

I think you forgot to write down hagakure testimony regarding crystal ball...

[Deathscyther]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

^

Only male students received a tool kit. Female students received a sewing kit. Furthermore, Makoto's kit was left untouched as it is still sealed.
For further clues that have been brushed over by the anime, please click on the link in my signature.

Ah okay, this makes it even more clear then. If the tool kits are indeed sealed, then the murderer is probably the only one with an opened kit. And since the murderer must have believed that he was in Maizono's room because of the changed nameplate, he didn't even think about using Naegi's screwdriver.

Also, thanks for the missing clues. They seem to have left out a great deal of information. I wonder if they're saving it for the trial?

Originally Posted by Klashikari

-For safety measure in case an eventual culprit would try disposing evidence, the trash room shutter is always locked, and only the student designated as the janitor has the key.
-Yamada Hifumi is the janitor of the week, hence why he had the key of the trash room.
-In the trash room, Makoto notices that some bloody dress shirt piece was next to the incinerator as well as some shards for a crystal ball.
-Makoto finds out the incinerator is still on, but Hifumi claims he made sure the incinerator was turned off before he closed the shutter.
-Upon discovery of the fragments of a glass ball, Makoto talks with Yasuhiro. Nevermind his story that it is supposed to be a genuine mystical crystal ball, Yasuhiro explains that he forgot his crystal ball in the laundry room last night, so he suspects that it was stolen from there. Makoto thinks that due to the timeframe, anyone could take it.

So there indeed is an incinerator in the trashroom. There is only one key and Yamada was the one who had it at the time of the murder. So somehow the murderer turned it on without opening the shutter? Ah, I think I understand why the broken crystal ball is there now. Even more reason to suspect Leon. His speciality really came in handy here. Too bad he messed up with the shirt in the end.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

They both noted that the entierety of the sword (hilt, blade, scabbard) is decorated by many gilded leaves, although a single touch would leave gilded traces on your skin.

I guess I was right when I said that Maizono wasn't the one who faught with the sword. If Maizono would have been the one to hold the sword, there should be traces on her hands.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

-Kirigiri Kyouko has realized that the ground was a tad too "clean" despite Makoto not being a clean freak (Kyouko found out the cleaning tool, the lint roller was used recently). No strand of hair was found at the crime scene, including Sayaka's.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

-A kitchen knife has been missing in the cafeteria.
-Late at night, Asahina Aoi was at the cafeteria. Aoi can testify Makoto didn't go to the cafeteria.

I guess these facts are important for Naegi to prove his innocence. I'm guessing that Aoi did see Maizono at the cafeteria.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

When Makoto woke up, Monokuma showed up and explained that they will proceed with a class trial. If the survivors find out the culprit, the latter will be executed.

To be more specific on this, the verdict is decided by majority vote. Even if a few people correctly identified the culprit, they will still be executed if they are in the minority.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by hamazura

I think you forgot to write down hagakure testimony regarding crystal ball...

Fixing it now. Also added some points such like the sound proof parts.

[Kirito]

Originally Posted by Deathscyther

Ah okay, this makes it even more clear then. If the tool kits are indeed sealed, then the murderer is probably the only one with an opened kit. And since the murderer must have believed that he was in Maizono's room because of the changed nameplate, he didn't even think about using Naegi's screwdriver.

That will definitely not work out for the killer in this case. The name tag switch and the fact that a dead body was found in Makoto's room was enough to point the finger at the MC, but the unopened tool box will probably relief Makoto of some doubts and suspicion if someone points that out during the trial.

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

To be more specific on this, the verdict is decided by majority vote. Even if a few people correctly identified the culprit, they will still be executed if they are in the minority.

I'm sure since it's basically like a real court case, I think that all the votes will have to be unanimous before a real conclusion can be drawn. So if there's a point where one or two people disagree on something, it's possible that the case will continue to draw on until their claims are refuted or accepted as fact etc.

If the trial itself is given a specific time to reach a conclusion than that will be a different story, but at the same time it'll add the dramatic impact of the "race against time" element just to give scenery a more serious form of context. There's also the fact that MonoBear seems to have an impatient personally and would like to see things end quickly rather than things draw out pointlessly.

ie. The DVD's used to get people "motivated" to graduate after no murder hadn't happened during the few days the 15 characters first arrived at the time.

[DragoonKain3]

Trolololol. I thought Maizono would've been the first murderer, but instead she becomes the first victim. XD

Spoiler for who dunnit:

I dunno how he did it, but it HAS to be Leon. Having played numerous sort of these detective puzzles before, the one thing that stuck to my mind was how frigging neat the number was written, and yet the second 'one' is written the wrong way. Yeah, blaring sirens that's an important clue if it's like that.

Now trying to think like the victim, the dying Maizono must have been lying on her back dying, as that was how she was found. As such, to HER POINT OF VIEW, she would've written the name with the floor being the 'top'. As such, Naegi should've read the clue UPSIDE DOWN. And what does it read? LEON. (Damn that was too easy... but then again it's just a variant of the 'mirror dying message' so I guess I have previous experience with it )

Now how the murder was commited, I don't have a formal rundown how it happened because I'm too lazy to examine all the clues. BUT the anime is basically slapping you in the face with the 'wrong nameplate' clue, which means Maizono MUST have been the one who put her nameplate on top of Naegi's. Which in turn means that it was premeditated and that it was Maizono who lured Leon into the room? WTF, but wasn't she the victim? So she planned to kill Leon but it backfired on her or something?

The motive? Heck if I know. Maybe Maizono and Leon were a former couple before lol. I really don't think it's as simple as Maizon and/or Leon tried to kill each other just because it was a way out of that hellhole. XD

[jeroz]

It got me thinking, why is it that the detective always 100% believe in the blood letters that's being left behind? Not saying that this is a red herring consider multiple other factors that agree with it, but technically speaking those type of clues don't carry much weight.

In regards to the motive, I feel like whoever wants to kill just want to find the most vulnerable target to carry out the task. Since Naegi saw Maizono's nameplate on her room, it's hard to tell whether the swap happens before or after the murder. If before, then there's a reason why Maizono wants to be in Naegi's room for a particular reason, either for the sword or other tools that she can't obtain in her own room. If after, then the killer wants to hide the evidence that he was targetting Naegi. The killer broke, and that's just that.

In regards to how. The cuts on the sword, the yellow paint on Maizono's broken hand, and the confiscated evidence by the killer, showed that initially they both fought with weapons. Maizono might've be able to put some damage on the killer before the culprit overcame her, grabbed her knife, and broke into the bathroom after her. The fact that the lock was broken is a decent alibi for Naegi really. The crystal ball may be used to have enough momentum to reach the distance since the door is locked for the trash room. As to how the killer was able to get into the room in the first place? I feel like there are still a few missing clues that we haven't discover yet.



===OT===
I know it's impossible in this setting, but what happens if there are multiple killers for one victim? Moreover, what if the majority of the people remaining killed one hapless chap and overcome the trial with majority power?

[lildevilinhell]

Originally Posted by jeroz

It got me thinking, why is it that the detective always 100% believe in the blood letters that's being left behind?

===OT===
I know it's impossible in this setting, but what happens if there are multiple killers for one victim? Moreover, what if the majority of the people remaining killed one hapless chap and overcome the trial with majority power?

Not so much as 100% believe... but more like take it into consideration and sees how it matches up with the rest of the evidence. If it conflicts, they will probably reconsider whether the dying message is real or not.

The one who deals the death blow is considered the culprit.

[LightningZERO]

Spoiler:

The dying message basically confirmed Leon as the killer and since this is only the first case, there should not be any twist with a fake message, I think. The white hair girl telling Naeki to find out the truth or he will have difficulty believing it also confirmed the theory that Maizono set up the murder and tried to pin it on Naeki, something that Naeki will find it hard to believe.

When the students first gathered after Maizono was killed, I saw blood stain on Leon's shirt and wondered why no one questioned him about it. Then I found that it was part of his shirt design and it was red, not pink

[zRichard]

Red blood? In Danganronpa? Blasphemy!

[Kirito]

Makes me wonder if they'll change the blood color to red in the BD's just to give it a more "mature" feel to it. Who knows but anything can change when something gets adapted from the original source material.

[Dengar]

I doubt it. The pink blood is part of what makes Danganronpa Danganronpa.

[don_Durandal]

Well, here's my amateur detective attempt for episode 2.
Note that I didn't read the rest of this thread before posting, so if I'm writing something that has already been debunked please don't skewer me.

Spoiler for anim episode 1&2 only:

My speculation is that the killer is Leon Kuwata, the "Super duper highschool baseballer", but that the murder attempt was done by Sayaka Maizono.

Clues:
- first off the death message on the wall can be read as "Leon" once you complete the middle bar of the first letter and reverse it to take in account that Sayaka wrote the message with her left hand (right hand was broken, so presumably she had to use her weak hand)
- the crystal ball was found at the end of the trash room, despite the shutters being closed. As a baseballer Leon would have the best chance at throwing the ball there (I still don't know why though: either to get rid of the shirt or to activate the incinerator).
- the name plates were swapped.
- the murder was committed at 1:30am, and despite coming late in the morning Leon was visibly the most sleep-deprived.

What happened:
- Sayaka swapped room with Naegi (using "someone tried to open my door" as a pretext), and then changed the name plates. She used the bloc-note to write a message inviting Leon to her room later in the night. To commit the murder she stole the kitchen knife. She then planned to swap the name plates again so that the murder would be charged on Naegi.
- the murder attempt was a failure as Leon managed to defend himself with the gilded sword, breaking Sayaka's wrist in the process, forcing her to drop the knife. She took refuge in the toilet.
- unable to open the toilet, Leon used the tools to open the door and then stabbed Sayaka with the knife.
- not knowing that this was not her room, Leon left the false name plate on (despite this being the best way to charge someone else).
- the key to Naegi's room was of course left there as it would be incriminating evidence. Note that since the door was opened by Sayaka herself (to invite her target in) there is no need to look for the murderer as someone who opened the door.


One step further:
- what if I'm wrong? It's also possible that Sayaka was fatally wounded in the struggle and took refuge in the toilet. The culprit then opened the door with the tools and used Sayaka's hand to write the message, incriminating a (thus) innocent Leon.

Also I somewhat cheated as I used the additional clues from Klashikari's post. I included those in a different spoiler in case there are purists.

Spoiler for with additional clues from Klashikari's post:

- the room was cleaned with a lint remover. As Leon is the only red hair in the cast, any find of his hair would have been incriminating.
- the crystal ball was easily stolen as it was left in the laundry room. It was either used to activate the incinerator (no idea how it is activated, so that part is shaky at best) or as an additional weight to throw away evidence. The shirt leftover might or might not be a clue as it could have been used to wrap the ball to muffle sound.
- Naegi's tools were not used, so it has to be another male.

There you have it. Now can some Sherlock tell me if I'm on a Lestrade or a Watson level?

[Dengar]

How about you watch the next episode and decide your level based on that?

[don_Durandal]

Meh, even Watson would have been able to figure that one out anyway.

I guess that was just the introduction and the difficulty will crank up from now on.

[AC-Phoenix]

Well DR is definitely sherlock holmes level.
Just that the mysteries are not easy because the detective has uber-deduction skills but because the mystery itself is easy to see through.
Thats just my opinion though, others might think differently.

[HandofFate]

I don't get why in episode 2, for the message that

Spoiler for message:

Maizono wrote it upside down, or backwards, whatever it was.

Also, I think this is the first time in a while, that a dying message actually named the culprit and wasn't just a fakeout.

Since in Detective Conan and Kindaichi Files and other detective series I read/watched, the dying message naming someone is usually always NOT the killer.