If anyone has ever encountered Makoto on the streets, they'll be quick to notice that there's only one thing about him that really sticks out; that he's as average as anyone can get. His grades are average, he has no special skills, his interests are always the most popular thing around, he doesn't exceed in any sports, he doesn't really have any life goals, his personality is Mr. Nice Guy... There really is nothing that stands out, besides maybe how short he is (at 160 cm...). He truly is just another face in the crowd, and even he states himself that there's nothing very special about himself and that his only saving grace and redeeming trait is that he's “little more optimistic than most people”. However, as the game progresses and eventually finishes, it's clear that he doesn't give himself enough credit for all of his other notable characteristics.
As the game starts, it quickly becomes apparent that he's truly a kind person at heart. He attempts to make friends or at least be on friendly terms with others, even with the rudest students. While he does take care and watch his words a little more around students such as the Super High-School Level Wrestler and Super High-School Level Gang Leader, he still offers to lend a hand when needed and treats them with the same kindness he shows to others. Even with students with those kind of titles, he doesn't stray away or keep his distance from them; he treats them like anyone else. This shows the best with how he was with Mukuro Ikusaba in Dangan Ronpa: If. It's revealed that he was the first one to ever smile at her at school while others were too concerned about their own safety to be around a Super High-School Level Soldier. He spends time with his classmates, and he's willing to listen to whatever might be on their mind, offering advice if asked. He's extremely understanding, and while he does sometimes judge someone, it's nothing enough to insult them. Think more of Phoenix Wright and his snarky remarks- just something funny without any kind of bitterness. Makoto's kindness sticks, and it's not very surprising that he's also a little passive. He's even called a “herbivore”, which is pretty much summed up as a passive man who waits and goes with the flow rather than initiating. Besides that, saying that he's a friend to all living things may not be too far off the mark, because not only does he like other people, but he also likes animals as well. Before the game has started, he once owned a dog as a child, became apart of the animal-rearing club in junior high, and even managing to capture a crane on school grounds to take back to the woods. Heck, when he's asked what his favourite animal is, one of his choices is a bear. Talk about someone who really likes a variety of animals.
Furthermore, as expected from someone as kind as Makoto, he's extremely trusting. Compared to Super Dangan Ronpa 2's main character, Hajime Hinata, their first thoughts after being told of the murder game are completely different. Makoto believes that no one will do such a thing, while Hajime actually wonders if someone really will. Makoto trusts his classmates to spend time with them after this, and even if he does take a self defence weapon for himself at the insistence of Sayaka, he doesn't want to believe that someone would actually do something like murder another classmate. He also extends his trust enough to allow someone to keep on a lie, instead of exposing it, and to exchange rooms with someone. However, with this amount of trust, there's bound to be a downfall to it. One of the characters, Sayaka Maizono, clearly realizes this and uses him to her advantage. She twists his trust around to make him a good enough candidate to frame him for murder after easily convincing him to switch rooms for the night. While it's up to speculation whether Sayaka actually cared about Makoto or just used his kindness and trust against him, it's clear that Makoto is not a stranger to naïveté by trusting others so easily.
Unsurprisingly, Makoto isn't someone who pushes the blame onto someone or hold grudges, especially in a situation like the one he's put in. He doesn't suddenly start calling Leon a ruthless murderer or blame Kirigiri after his “execution” in chapter four. He insults Sayaka after the first chapter nor does he angrily think of the murderers. Instead, he feels more sympathetic towards them as he feels that in a normal situation, they would never have done such a thing. He places the blame on Monobear, the one who gave them such strong motives and the push for everything to happen. He gives blame where it's deserved and not onto people who have been pushed into a corner and eventually bite back.
Despite all this kindness and trusting nature he has, this doesn't mean that he's incapable of getting angry and, rarely, downright furious. This is most commonly shown with Monobear. After Monobear attempts to shift the blame onto the students, and he just angrily remarks that only the bear is at fault. He also dislikes the idea of his every move being watched all the time, saying that it “sickens” him and if he wasn't bound by the rules, he would have probably tried to either cover up or even take down the cameras in his room. However, he keeps by the rules and tries to move on, despite how much it bothers him.
As the game progresses and the chapter begins its “abnormal days” and trials, it's revealed that Makoto can be quite perceptive at times. This isn't to say that he notices every single clue, as Kirigiri sometimes has to direct his attention to something, but he does find clues on his own at times and proves to have quite a good memory, even if he does need to jog it up a bit. This is best shown when he enters the school's morgue and he points out the number of lights for how many bodies are being stored. While he didn't expect this to be very relevant at the time, it turned out to be an extremely important clue, and he even manages to correctly recall how many lights there were. This makes him very useful during the investigations, and while he can be downright dense at times (for example, he doesn't even considering flipping 11037 upside down to make out the name of the murderer), he has a good enough memory and common sense to contribute and eventually, help him throughout the trials, even if he does need some hand holding from Kirigiri.
Not only does his perceptiveness helps him during these cases, but he also shows that he's one of the few who doesn't actually jump to conclusions, which is one of the reasons why they've managed to find out the murderer at the end of every case. He'd rather not completely decide something when just one coincidental piece of evidence points its finger towards someone. He sorts out his thoughts and brings up counterarguments. He can tell when something doesn't add up, and he points out these contradictions. With Kirigiri backing him up, they normally find the contradictions in a case to help them lead to the right path to find out the truth.
Speaking about the truth, there's a reason why the creators named him Makoto. One of the meanings of his first name can be "truth" and Makoto is the kind of person who rather face the truth over running away and hiding behind a lie. Near the ending of the game when it's revealed that there's nothing out there in the real world besides chaos, he refuses to stay in the school and ignore the world outside. He's ready to face the truth, no matter how hard it is. He's not ready to run away, and he'll put his feet down firmly to stand for it.
Finally, the last important characteristic about Makoto is the one that he mentioned himself: that he's 'a little more optimistic than most people' and what stems out of it. This shows throughout the whole game, and he's one of the few who manages to stay calm throughout. He believes that there'll be someone coming for them and that they'll manage to find a way out- a way that doesn't end with murdering someone else. He tries his best to think on the positive side and think better of people. With this optimism, this leads to hope, and it's the best thing about him. He never loses hope and make sure he keeps sight of it. This is how he managed to get through the trials, even if it looked like they were hitting a dead end, and eventually, defeat the mastermind at the end of the game, battling his hope against the mastermind's despair, showing that hope overcomes despair. He even installs hope back into his remaining classmates' hearts, binding them together so they can finally put an end to this murderous game. While he originally thought his optimism and hope weren't such a big deal, it proved to be the most important thing about him. Because of it, he managed make it throughout the game and lead his friends out. Eventually, this is why Kirigiri has deemed him to be more fitting to be Super High-School Level Hope. This is because he was the one who kept everyone together and helped lead them out of the school, back into their world and finally saying goodbye to the school behind them.
Despite thinking of himself as someone so ordinary and normal, he has proved that he's more than just that. Sure, he is pretty average when he's surrounded by such amazing people, but he's much more than that. He's a kind and understanding, who trusts others a bit too easily for his own good, but most importantly, he's a person of hope.
Super High-School Level Hope, indeed.
Abilities/Powers:
He really doesn't have any special abilities or powers, besides maybe his good luck. He manages to escape some pretty tight situations and has even won the lottery to come to Hope's Peak, which is why he's deemed as Super High-School Level Good Luck. Despite that, he's still not entirely too sure if it's completely good luck. He mentions sometimes that he thinks it might rather be bad luck, but either way, he does have a tendency for having things working out in the end and being saved by the skin of his teeth.
Also, despite his scrawny appearance, it looks like he can at least take a pipe to the head or fall great distances without dying. Sure, he may pass out every time and even when he gets punched (though this is by a gang leader), but he still manages to live throughout.
Items/Weapons:
The clothes on his back, a Monobear coin, and his electronic student ID.
At first, he didn't know what he was expecting. Was the outside world really as bad as those pictures were? Did Junko really not exaggerate by saying how much the world was destroyed? He didn't have any of his memories from time the disaster struck so he couldn't be entirely sure. However, he knew it was still his world out there and if he managed to overcome everything in this school, he would be able to overcome everything out there as well, especially with his friends.
With a deep breath, he pressed the button and he watched the heavy bulk doors finally open, ensuring their leave from the school. Quickly, he looked to his left and then his right, reassuring himself that this really was happening and that he still had his friends. They may have lost so many people, but they had to continue moving forward and he felt the smile on his face grow as the doors finally fully opened for them to pass. With a nod, he took his very first few steps back out into the world- the real world, where everyone else was. He almost couldn't believe it and he blinked a few times to make sure it was real.
However, he soon came to regret doing that as it proved to be a very bad idea. Why? Because as soon as he opened his eyes again, he no longer found himself standing with his friends but rather lying down in a bed.
“...huh?”
Confused, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around. What the hell just happened? He could have sworn-- no, he knew that he was on his way to leave the school, so what was he doing in a bed, especially one that he had no recollection of ever sleeping in? Was it one of Junko’s tricks again? That couldn't be possible; he saw her getting crushed and dying with his very own eyes. There was no one left to possibly gas them or drag them off somewhere, so what happened? Did someone knock him unconscious as soon as he walked out? Was it a supporter of Junko?
With the same confused expression, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, taking notice of the other five beds in the same room. That would mean that there were six beds in total and that was just the right amount for all the survivors, including himself. Maybe they arrived here with him?
“Kirigiri-san...?” He called out, starting with Kirigiri's name first, then calling out everyone else's names. Despite that there was nowhere that someone could hide in a small room, especially when he had a view like this, he still tried, hoping that maybe they were hiding under the bed or something. When he got back no reply, he let out a frustrated sigh and pushed himself up. What kind of mess did he get into now? He was so close to finishing and this just had to happen...
He put a hand through his hair in frustration but he tried to think of what was positive. On the bright side, at least he woke up in one piece and nothing hurt, because God knows that 95% of the time when he wakes up somewhere new, something is in pain. He had that to be thankful for, at least, and as he stood up from the bed, he thought back to the other times he found himself in a situation like this. They all worked out for him in the past so it should work out again. He managed to survive Hope's Peak, so waking up somewhere new wasn't all that bad when all things considered. He rather take this over a murder game any day.
Pushing himself out of bed, he decided that it was best not to just sit around here and to go out exploring himself to find everyone. It was a little worrisome that they weren't with him but he was sure that they were all fine and probably just went out searching without him. He certainly wouldn't want to slow them down, so he would just need to catch up. With his new determination, he quickly left the room and began searching for his missing classmates, remembering that he should never lose hope and knowing that he would find everyone else again.
Makoto Naegi ♔ Dangan Ronpa ♔ Reserved
Personality:
If anyone has ever encountered Makoto on the streets, they'll be quick to notice that there's only one thing about him that really sticks out; that he's as average as anyone can get. His grades are average, he has no special skills, his interests are always the most popular thing around, he doesn't exceed in any sports, he doesn't really have any life goals, his personality is Mr. Nice Guy... There really is nothing that stands out, besides maybe how short he is (at 160 cm...). He truly is just another face in the crowd, and even he states himself that there's nothing very special about himself and that his only saving grace and redeeming trait is that he's “little more optimistic than most people”. However, as the game progresses and eventually finishes, it's clear that he doesn't give himself enough credit for all of his other notable characteristics.
As the game starts, it quickly becomes apparent that he's truly a kind person at heart. He attempts to make friends or at least be on friendly terms with others, even with the rudest students. While he does take care and watch his words a little more around students such as the Super High-School Level Wrestler and Super High-School Level Gang Leader, he still offers to lend a hand when needed and treats them with the same kindness he shows to others. Even with students with those kind of titles, he doesn't stray away or keep his distance from them; he treats them like anyone else. This shows the best with how he was with Mukuro Ikusaba in Dangan Ronpa: If. It's revealed that he was the first one to ever smile at her at school while others were too concerned about their own safety to be around a Super High-School Level Soldier. He spends time with his classmates, and he's willing to listen to whatever might be on their mind, offering advice if asked. He's extremely understanding, and while he does sometimes judge someone, it's nothing enough to insult them. Think more of Phoenix Wright and his snarky remarks- just something funny without any kind of bitterness. Makoto's kindness sticks, and it's not very surprising that he's also a little passive. He's even called a “herbivore”, which is pretty much summed up as a passive man who waits and goes with the flow rather than initiating. Besides that, saying that he's a friend to all living things may not be too far off the mark, because not only does he like other people, but he also likes animals as well. Before the game has started, he once owned a dog as a child, became apart of the animal-rearing club in junior high, and even managing to capture a crane on school grounds to take back to the woods. Heck, when he's asked what his favourite animal is, one of his choices is a bear. Talk about someone who really likes a variety of animals.
Furthermore, as expected from someone as kind as Makoto, he's extremely trusting. Compared to Super Dangan Ronpa 2's main character, Hajime Hinata, their first thoughts after being told of the murder game are completely different. Makoto believes that no one will do such a thing, while Hajime actually wonders if someone really will. Makoto trusts his classmates to spend time with them after this, and even if he does take a self defence weapon for himself at the insistence of Sayaka, he doesn't want to believe that someone would actually do something like murder another classmate. He also extends his trust enough to allow someone to keep on a lie, instead of exposing it, and to exchange rooms with someone. However, with this amount of trust, there's bound to be a downfall to it. One of the characters, Sayaka Maizono, clearly realizes this and uses him to her advantage. She twists his trust around to make him a good enough candidate to frame him for murder after easily convincing him to switch rooms for the night. While it's up to speculation whether Sayaka actually cared about Makoto or just used his kindness and trust against him, it's clear that Makoto is not a stranger to naïveté by trusting others so easily.
Unsurprisingly, Makoto isn't someone who pushes the blame onto someone or hold grudges, especially in a situation like the one he's put in. He doesn't suddenly start calling Leon a ruthless murderer or blame Kirigiri after his “execution” in chapter four. He insults Sayaka after the first chapter nor does he angrily think of the murderers. Instead, he feels more sympathetic towards them as he feels that in a normal situation, they would never have done such a thing. He places the blame on Monobear, the one who gave them such strong motives and the push for everything to happen. He gives blame where it's deserved and not onto people who have been pushed into a corner and eventually bite back.
Despite all this kindness and trusting nature he has, this doesn't mean that he's incapable of getting angry and, rarely, downright furious. This is most commonly shown with Monobear. After Monobear attempts to shift the blame onto the students, and he just angrily remarks that only the bear is at fault. He also dislikes the idea of his every move being watched all the time, saying that it “sickens” him and if he wasn't bound by the rules, he would have probably tried to either cover up or even take down the cameras in his room. However, he keeps by the rules and tries to move on, despite how much it bothers him.
As the game progresses and the chapter begins its “abnormal days” and trials, it's revealed that Makoto can be quite perceptive at times. This isn't to say that he notices every single clue, as Kirigiri sometimes has to direct his attention to something, but he does find clues on his own at times and proves to have quite a good memory, even if he does need to jog it up a bit. This is best shown when he enters the school's morgue and he points out the number of lights for how many bodies are being stored. While he didn't expect this to be very relevant at the time, it turned out to be an extremely important clue, and he even manages to correctly recall how many lights there were. This makes him very useful during the investigations, and while he can be downright dense at times (for example, he doesn't even considering flipping 11037 upside down to make out the name of the murderer), he has a good enough memory and common sense to contribute and eventually, help him throughout the trials, even if he does need some hand holding from Kirigiri.
Not only does his perceptiveness helps him during these cases, but he also shows that he's one of the few who doesn't actually jump to conclusions, which is one of the reasons why they've managed to find out the murderer at the end of every case. He'd rather not completely decide something when just one coincidental piece of evidence points its finger towards someone. He sorts out his thoughts and brings up counterarguments. He can tell when something doesn't add up, and he points out these contradictions. With Kirigiri backing him up, they normally find the contradictions in a case to help them lead to the right path to find out the truth.
Speaking about the truth, there's a reason why the creators named him Makoto. One of the meanings of his first name can be "truth" and Makoto is the kind of person who rather face the truth over running away and hiding behind a lie. Near the ending of the game when it's revealed that there's nothing out there in the real world besides chaos, he refuses to stay in the school and ignore the world outside. He's ready to face the truth, no matter how hard it is. He's not ready to run away, and he'll put his feet down firmly to stand for it.
Finally, the last important characteristic about Makoto is the one that he mentioned himself: that he's 'a little more optimistic than most people' and what stems out of it. This shows throughout the whole game, and he's one of the few who manages to stay calm throughout. He believes that there'll be someone coming for them and that they'll manage to find a way out- a way that doesn't end with murdering someone else. He tries his best to think on the positive side and think better of people. With this optimism, this leads to hope, and it's the best thing about him. He never loses hope and make sure he keeps sight of it. This is how he managed to get through the trials, even if it looked like they were hitting a dead end, and eventually, defeat the mastermind at the end of the game, battling his hope against the mastermind's despair, showing that hope overcomes despair. He even installs hope back into his remaining classmates' hearts, binding them together so they can finally put an end to this murderous game. While he originally thought his optimism and hope weren't such a big deal, it proved to be the most important thing about him. Because of it, he managed make it throughout the game and lead his friends out. Eventually, this is why Kirigiri has deemed him to be more fitting to be Super High-School Level Hope. This is because he was the one who kept everyone together and helped lead them out of the school, back into their world and finally saying goodbye to the school behind them.
Despite thinking of himself as someone so ordinary and normal, he has proved that he's more than just that. Sure, he is pretty average when he's surrounded by such amazing people, but he's much more than that. He's a kind and understanding, who trusts others a bit too easily for his own good, but most importantly, he's a person of hope.
Super High-School Level Hope, indeed.
Abilities/Powers:
He really doesn't have any special abilities or powers, besides maybe his good luck. He manages to escape some pretty tight situations and has even won the lottery to come to Hope's Peak, which is why he's deemed as Super High-School Level Good Luck. Despite that, he's still not entirely too sure if it's completely good luck. He mentions sometimes that he thinks it might rather be bad luck, but either way, he does have a tendency for having things working out in the end and being saved by the skin of his teeth.
Also, despite his scrawny appearance, it looks like he can at least take a pipe to the head or fall great distances without dying. Sure, he may pass out every time and even when he gets punched (though this is by a gang leader), but he still manages to live throughout.
Items/Weapons:
The clothes on his back, a Monobear coin, and his electronic student ID.
Sample Entry:
sample thread!
Sample Entry Two:
At first, he didn't know what he was expecting. Was the outside world really as bad as those pictures were? Did Junko really not exaggerate by saying how much the world was destroyed? He didn't have any of his memories from time the disaster struck so he couldn't be entirely sure. However, he knew it was still his world out there and if he managed to overcome everything in this school, he would be able to overcome everything out there as well, especially with his friends.
With a deep breath, he pressed the button and he watched the heavy bulk doors finally open, ensuring their leave from the school. Quickly, he looked to his left and then his right, reassuring himself that this really was happening and that he still had his friends. They may have lost so many people, but they had to continue moving forward and he felt the smile on his face grow as the doors finally fully opened for them to pass. With a nod, he took his very first few steps back out into the world- the real world, where everyone else was. He almost couldn't believe it and he blinked a few times to make sure it was real.
However, he soon came to regret doing that as it proved to be a very bad idea. Why? Because as soon as he opened his eyes again, he no longer found himself standing with his friends but rather lying down in a bed.
“...huh?”
Confused, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around. What the hell just happened? He could have sworn-- no, he knew that he was on his way to leave the school, so what was he doing in a bed, especially one that he had no recollection of ever sleeping in? Was it one of Junko’s tricks again? That couldn't be possible; he saw her getting crushed and dying with his very own eyes. There was no one left to possibly gas them or drag them off somewhere, so what happened? Did someone knock him unconscious as soon as he walked out? Was it a supporter of Junko?
With the same confused expression, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, taking notice of the other five beds in the same room. That would mean that there were six beds in total and that was just the right amount for all the survivors, including himself. Maybe they arrived here with him?
“Kirigiri-san...?” He called out, starting with Kirigiri's name first, then calling out everyone else's names. Despite that there was nowhere that someone could hide in a small room, especially when he had a view like this, he still tried, hoping that maybe they were hiding under the bed or something. When he got back no reply, he let out a frustrated sigh and pushed himself up. What kind of mess did he get into now? He was so close to finishing and this just had to happen...
He put a hand through his hair in frustration but he tried to think of what was positive. On the bright side, at least he woke up in one piece and nothing hurt, because God knows that 95% of the time when he wakes up somewhere new, something is in pain. He had that to be thankful for, at least, and as he stood up from the bed, he thought back to the other times he found himself in a situation like this. They all worked out for him in the past so it should work out again. He managed to survive Hope's Peak, so waking up somewhere new wasn't all that bad when all things considered. He rather take this over a murder game any day.
Pushing himself out of bed, he decided that it was best not to just sit around here and to go out exploring himself to find everyone. It was a little worrisome that they weren't with him but he was sure that they were all fine and probably just went out searching without him. He certainly wouldn't want to slow them down, so he would just need to catch up. With his new determination, he quickly left the room and began searching for his missing classmates, remembering that he should never lose hope and knowing that he would find everyone else again.