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Chapter 1 Analysis: On Komaeda, Hinata and the lead-up to the “betrayal” (an interpretation of their relationship at that point)

When it comes to why Komaeda gets attached to Hinata from the get-go, something he brings up in his interactions with Hinata on a regular basis is how he feels they’re similar to each other. This is partly because Komaeda views himself as effectively talentless and worthless, and he can somehow sense that Hinata doesn’t have the aura of someone with talent, even if he’s only subconsciously aware of it at the beginning.

This is why when he meets the boy who cannot remember anything about his talent or why he was accepted into Hope’s Peak, Komaeda feels a special connection with him, one that he cannot feel with any of the other Ultimates, because he perceives them as his superiors and feels like an outsider amongst them. But Hinata is different from everyone else. Komaeda knows as much, deep down, and that’s why he’s so attracted to Hinata.

However, there’s another reason Komaeda feels Hinata is similar to himself, which is their views on talent. Komaeda is able to tell that Hinata is also someone who reveres talent and Hope’s Peak, and it’s because of all those similarities that Komaeda is able to recongize either on a conscious or subconscious level that he’s so drawn to Hinata from the start. Komaeda is a person who’s spent his entire life alone and is so lonely as a result, and despite the fact that he thinks he deserves it and every other terrible thing that happened to him, he’s still desperate to connect with someone. And there’s no better candidate that Hinata with whom Komaeda feels a profound connection.

In other words, Komaeda is attracted to Hinata so much because he believes he understands Hinata on a deeper level, and he believes that Hinata can understand him in a similar way in return. Komaeda believes all this from the bottom of his heart and that’s why he feels a unique bond with Hinata that he doesn’t with anyone else.

There’s also the fact that Hinata is a soothing presence for Komaeda. Hinata was perceptive enough to somehow sense that Komaeda’s carefree and easy-going attitude in the face of the exceedingly bizarre situation they were abruptly thrown into, by a ridiculous talking rabbit mascot, on their first day at Hope’s Peak, was a result of some past trauma, and while this conclusion may seem entirely correct retrospectively, this isn’t all there’s to it.

We find out in one of Komaeda’s Island Mode events, particularly one of the amusement park ones, that he’s always feeling afraid, and that he’s always feeling anxious, giving him no compelling reasons whatsoever to want to enter a haunted house when fear is a feeling he’s more than used to in his daily life because of his luck cycle.

And generally, Island Mode illustrates how Komaeda is constantly anxious while he’s experiencing good luck, because he perceives it as preparation for the bad luck that’s going to follow and therefore he cannot find it in himself to relax when he knows something terrible is going to happen soon enough to balance the good luck as opposed to when he’s experiencing bad luck and can look forward to the good luck that’s going to follow (basically the killing game as a whole). This is all because of his weird talent, when something bad happens to Komaeda, something good always happens next, and the other way around.

With all that in mind, it’s worth noting that one of his first reactions to being transported to the island from the classroom at the very start, right after Usami made it clear that the place is an uninhabited one, was to frighteningly ask if she brought them there to force them to kill each other. This is evidence that he was indeed scared and he did find their circumstances rather worrying, perhaps to a greater extent than anyone else.

Moreoever, in hindsight Komaeda shouldn’t have been able to stay so calm during the prologue considering it’d appear to him like good luck that’s going to be followed by bad luck sooner or later just like Island Mode, yet he somehow was despite all odds and this is all because of Hinata.

This is exactly where Komaeda’s first FTE comes in to re-contextualize his behavior throughout the prologue. When Komaeda was trying to help Hinata remember the talent he allegedly possesses, yet completely forgot about for reasons that were unknown at the time, the first title Komaeda assigned Hinata with, before anything else, was “Ultimate Serenity”. When Hinata wondered what part of him made him think up something like that, Komaeda said that ability to bring someone serenity simply by being there is an amazing one.

Behind this veil of casualness, a hidden message begins to reveal itself. Hinata’s sheer presence was more than enough for Komaeda to remain optimistic and constantly reassure Hinata that everything will be alright in return. The fact that Hinata was there, around him and by his side, being who he is, calmed Komaeda’s anxiety and helped him think more positively of the situation at hand.

This is equally significant for Hinata, who has internalized what society perpetuates about being talented deciding one’s worth, so for him to be able to do something so special simply by existing and being himself is really special. It also reinforces that Komaeda truly loved Hinata for who he is, purely for personality and drive alone, and gave him the unconditional love he needed through that seemingly innocuous title, even if they were both unaware of all of that at the time.

One exchange that further supports this conclusion is the one that takes place the morning after the first motive’s reveal. We see that Komaeda is down, but a venting to Hinata is enough to make him feel self-assured once again.

That and if you approach Komaeda during the second FTE slot, when he’s hanging out at Jabberwock Park where Sonia also happens to be, you get optional dialogue in which Komaeda tells Hinata that he feels so calm around him.

As for Hinata’s side, at the start of the prologue when he had a panic attack and collapsed on the beach, Komaeda was the only one who stayed by his side and called out to him, when literally everyone else left to explore the rest of the island without a care. On top of that, even after Hinata woke up and told Komaeda to leave him alone, Komaeda still refused to do so out of concern because Hinata was looking so pale at the time.

When the two of them exchanged introductions Hinata blanked when he was asked about his talent by Komaeda and couldn’t quite remember certain things in his confusion, but Komaeda was compassionate about it and made sure to reassure him by telling him that it’s not his fault and that it’s only a matter of time before he starts remembering everything again.

Once all that was done, Komaeda offered to tag along with Hinata in order to help him explore the island and introduce himself to the other students. Throughout all that he used the research he had done before coming to provide Hinata with valuable information about each and every one of the students and their respective talents, tried to reassure Hinata on multiple occasions (such as when Monomi turned the chicken in the farm into a cow and he calmed Hinata down by telling him that it’s most likely magic trick that was prepared beforehand for the purpose of cheering them up), and was really helpful in general.

During the entirety of the prologue Hinata didn’t quite warm up to the majority of his classmates and thought they were just a bunch of weirdos, yet on one occasion he speculated that Komaeda’s oddly laid-back attitude was because he’s been through so much trauma in the past. He was only this sympathetic and perceptive with Komaeda and they’ve only known each other for like, what, an hour at that point? How much Hinata came to care about Komaeda in the short amount of time they knew each other is already evident.

Regarding a poorly translated line, I have a little thing to add about something that further proves how much Hinata cared about Komaeda from the start:

During Fuyuhiko’s introduction Komaeda warned Hinata to not mention anything related to his babyface, and Hinata said in response “Nagito, you’re like… my savior or something”. In the original text it was “狛枝、きっとお前は俺の命の恩人だな”. Hinata’s expression here can mean ‘to be one’s savior/lifesaver’ and he says it without the hesitation present in the localization. It basically translates into “Komaeda… you surely are my savior” because he used the word きっと which means ‘surely, undoubtedly’ and (俺の)命の恩人 which is practically the equivalent to ‘I owe you my life/you saved my life’. It’s a pretty strong and bold expression of gratitude but the localization made it the complete opposite by toning down his certainty.

Moreover, when everyone was gathered at the beach where they first arrived after being called there by Usami once they were done exploring the island, Hinata expressed his concerns over their situation, but everything he attempted to say, no matter how legitimate, was brushed off as too paranoid by almost everyone with the exception of Komaeda, Komaeda alone understood how Hinata felt and tried to calm him down without being dismissive.

And when Usami gave out the swimsuits and the majority of the students went to swim with Hinata left there, shocked at how unconcerned everyone is being, Komaeda was again the only person who went out of his way to let Hinata know that he understood where he was coming from and would be happy if he came along if he felt like it.

The first FTE is quite significant in how it makes Hinata’s otherwise subtle and not-in-your-face feelings about Komaeda in the main story more explicit, so in a sense it is as much about Hinata as it is about Komaeda himself and are arguably crucial to understanding Hinata’s feelings towards Komaeda at this point in the main story.

And really, it’s quite palpable how much Hinata cares about Komaeda, how much Komaeda’s smile puts him at ease, how grateful he is for Komaeda being there as someone who genuinely understands him and helps him in all sorts of ways, how much Komaeda’s unwavering belief in him makes him believe in himself, how he’s able to realize that Komaeda was messing him with him to lighten the mood which did wonders, how much he wants to get to know Komaeda better and reach a mutual understanding with him, and Komaeda himself is happy to be thanked by Hinata for similar reasons.

A few things to note about certain things in Komaeda’s first FTE:

At some point during Komaeda’s first FTE Hinata went “Nagito is laughing in a carefree way. But seeing him laugh like that was enough to distract me from my worries”. However, in the original text Hinata said “狛枝は呑気に笑っている。でも、その笑顔を見ていると… なんとなく気が紛れる気がした” which roughly translates into “Komaeda smiles without a care. But, when I look at that smile… for some reason, it calms me down”. Although Hinata used the expression 気が紛れる which means ‘to be distracted from feelings of depression, boredom, tension, etc.’ and it could be interpreted as romantic (something further reinforced by that being an almost copypaste of a line Makoto says about Sayaka).

One of Hinata’s biggest regrets was that he never got the chance to say “thank you” to Chiaki and he gravely lamented his irresolution twice throughout the game. However, he successfully said “thank you” to Komaeda in his first FTE.

Towards the end of the first FTE, while Komaeda was sharing a pure-hearted exchange with Hinata, instead of “Ultimate Spiky hair”, he actually teased him with “超高校級のツンツンヘアー/Ultimate Tsun Tsun Hair” which is a play on “tsundere” (a character archetype Hinata falls under despite being a fairly mild example) and Hinata’s spiky hair. Komaeda (and Monokuma later on) mentioning that Hinata is a tsundere is important.

Hinata was initially reluctant to consider friendship and camaraderie until Komaeda brought it.

Before the party during 2-1, after Hinata learnt about Komaeda’s preparations for the party and pondered upon how he could undergo this much trouble, he told Komaeda “Nagito, you’re commendable.” Despite being a genuine compliment, something about it feels distant and inorganic. In the original text it was “さすがだな、狛枝” which roughly translates into “It’s as to be expected from you, Komaeda”, which carries the subtle subtext that Hinata already had a high opinion of Komaeda.

During the 2-1 investigation, after listening to Ibuki’s account in regards to what happened during the blackout, Hinata noticed that Komaeda was lost in his own thoughts and after hearing out what Komaeda had to say and inquiring further by asking what exactly he meant, Komaeda said he wasn’t sure and that it might be a better idea to discuss it after investigating some more. In response to that, Hinata went “Well, it’s not like I really care…” which frankly sounds weirdly brash and dismissive. Meanwhile in the original text he goes “まぁ, 別に構わないけど“ which roughly translates into “Well, I don’t mind”. The localization really sucks at keeping Hinata’s tone consistent for some reason.

During the 2-1 investigation when Komaeda said it’s better to die believing in others than to doubt them, Hinata reprimanded him for talking like that because they were investigating to live and in response to that Komaeda complimented him for being a “strong person and a chosen one–chosen by Hope’s Peak”. In response to that Hinata went “I don’t know why, but… everytime we talk, I don’t really know how I’m supposed to react”.

The expression Hinata uses here is “調子が狂う’’ and it does correspond to “not sure how to react”, but it is considerably stronger. A more accurate translation would be “whenever I talk to this guy, I’m thrown off balance”. While not inherently romantic this expression could be interpreted as such depending on the context. It’s basically like saying being around someone you’re crushing on makes you feel like you’re going crazy and given the context here is Hinata being complimented and validated on something he’s deeply insecure about, it’s not a stretch at all to say that Hinata might be developing such feelings for Komaeda (I even found a couple of Japanese threads where it’s used this way, here and here).

During the 2-1 investigation, after they finished investigating Togami’s cottage Komaeda left with a pale face because he needed some time alone to collect his thoughts. Hinata was worried about him due to that but also probably disappointed because Komaeda couldn’t stay with him until the start of the trial.

And this entire chapter culminates into the shitshow that is the 2-1 trial. Putting together everything we’ve gathered thus far, it’s pretty clear how much Hinata liked and grew to trust and care for Komaeda. The trial took a turn for the worst and fucked everything up between them, and the “so kind” boy who was his investigation buddy, who brought him a sense of security and comfort and gave him the attention and validation he needed at the time, turned out to be something he didn’t expect in the slightest and he was incredibly distraught about having to accuse him despite only having known him for a few days. This is why he takes his perceived betrayal so personally later on.

I say “perceived” but don’t get me wrong, Komaeda definitely betrayed his classmates by kick-starting the killing game, just not to the extent Hinata thought he did. Hinata had his own version of Komaeda that he believed was the “true Komaeda” until that point, but when Komaeda showed a new side Hinata interpreted that as a betrayal of his trust when in reality there was neither an intent to hide anything on Komaeda’s part nor did he make any false promises to Hinata.

Komaeda never bothers to hide his issues or true nature from people after all, his self-deprecating nature is clearly visible from the start and he does seem to be more fixated on hope than most people are.

There’s no doubt kick-starting the killing game was an act of betrayal to the group at large, however, he never sold himself as anything other than what he is, despite Hinata believing otherwise. It’s not that pre-trial and trial Komaeda are two distinct individuals because they are one in the same and it’s just Komaeda reacting to different circumstances. Hinata couldn’t realize how deep his issues, insecurities and complexes went until Komaeda made the decision to act on them due to the pressure of the killing game.

During the 2-1 trial just before Komaeda’s twist, when Hinata was forced to implicate Komaeda, in English he reminisced about Komaeda’s company, “We investigated together, you were so kind…” Meanwhile in the original text he went “一緒に捜査したお前が…あんなに優しいお前が…” which basically translates into “You that investigated together with me, you that were so kind…”. While both convey Hinata’s emotion that he was conflicted and heartbroken, the extra emphasis on “you” in the original implies it’s not just the memory of Komaeda’s company, but Komaeda himself that Hinata treasured greatly before the trial.

When Komaeda had his “epic villain breakdown” and revealed his involvement with the murder as well as his motive, Hinata was in disbelief. In the original Japanese he asked himself the question: “本当に…あの狛枝あのか?”, which roughly translates into “Is he really… that Komaeda?” The emphasis on “that Komaeda” possibly implies that he couldn’t quite associate this manic person with a demented thought process standing in front of him with that reliable friend he spent time with. He was in denial and wasn’t quite ready to move on from his image of “that Komaeda” yet. On the other hand, in English it was “is he…is he the real Nagito?” as if he’s acknowledging that trial Komaeda is the real deal, easily ditching his original perception of pre-trial Komaeda. The localization completely erases Hinata’s denial and reluctance to move on.

At the end of the first part of the trial Hinata goes on an internal monologue in which he wonders if trial Komaeda is truly “that Komaeda” like he does in the earlier instance yet it’s poorly conveyed once again. This ends with Hinata deciding to shove those feelings into a box and pushing it to the back of his mind so he can concentrate on finding the blackened and suriving the trial, but he arguably never moves on and that becomes clear in later chapters (but that’s also for a later write-up), because pre-trial Komaeda was that important for Hinata.

TL;DR: Hinata receives the validation and attention he so deeply desires, yet never gets from society due to being talentless, from Komaeda, and Komaeda feels most at ease with Hinata and gets the normalcy he’s always wanted because of his talent essentially ruining his life. Hinata likes Komaeda probably more than he’s aware, enjoys spending time with him, and is happy to investigate with him too, and Komaeda feels the same way about Hinata. They’re well on their way to becoming best friends until everything is fucked up so badly by the events of the first trial. If you’re familiar with Evangelion, their dynamic at the beginning shares so many similarities with Kawoshin’s before their “break-up” that turns it into a rivals’ one.

Credit for some translation bits.

#long post #really fucking long post #AND I ENJOYED EVERY BIT OF IT #komahina #danganronpa #reblog #they make me hbtgrrg.egegergeg #hhhhhhhhh

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