In Defense Of Mondo Owada

In Defense of Mondo Owada

Please be warned. The following rant/review contains heavy spoilers for case 2 of Trigger Happy Havoc. If you have not reached that point in your gameplay, please click away now.

This is a bit more of a rant/matter of opinions than a formal character analysis, but I still encourage readers to voice their disagreements.

Enjoy the little artwork I made to pass the time :)

Case 2 of Trigger Happy Havoc remains among one of the most controversial class trials ever conducted in the danganronpa series. Not for the quality of the trial itself or the death of a major character, but because the victim, Chihiro Fujisaki, was revealed to have been assigned male at birth and lived his life as a woman in order to avoid harassment and torment over his supposed weakness. His killer, Mondo Owada, accepted his fate and did his best to keep Chihiro's secret, even in death. Until relatively recently, Mondo was rarely acknowledged outside of Ishimondo and butter jokes, but as of late, I noticed that his character has been on the receiving end of quite a bit of backlash. Viewers are quick to label Mondo as "transphobic" for his behavior in chapter 2, if not, bash him for killing Chihiro because they felt as if Chihiro deserved a better fate. Furthermore, I noticed an increasing amount of individuals pitting Chihiro (and by extension, his fans) against Mondo (and by extension, his fans) often praising Chihiro for his courage, but demonizing Mondo for his behaviors.

As someone who adores both Mondo and Chihiro, I would like to refute the various accusations in regards to Mondo's character.

Point 1: Transphobia

One of the most common accusations I have seen levied at Mondo are claims that his murder of Chihiro was a hate crime of some sort. At surface value, this holds some water, as Mondo did technically kill Chihiro after revealing that he was a man who wanted to become stronger.

However, this claim is easily refuted in the trial itself. Mondo, in his confession, admitted that he did not remember killing Chihiro, but rather the moments leading up to it and the moments following the murder. This brief stint of amnesia is known as a blackout.

When a person becomes overwhelmed, particularly in instances of traumatic events, post traumatic stressors, or extreme anxiety, the mind often "protects" the individual by "blocking out" memories of the specific incident. An individual in a vehicular accident may not remember the impact itself, but is more likely to retain memories of the moments leading up to and following it.

Mondo did not necessarily kill Chihiro because he was a man, but rather because the revelation (by his own admission) reminded him of his own weaknesses, triggering memories of his brother's passing. Monokuma had already held this over Mondo's head,

Furthermore, it is strongly implied (if not outright stated) that had it not been for the killing games, Mondo's reaction to Chihiro's would have been wildly different. In the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, it is revealed that Mondo is aware of Chihiro's secret, and is currently training him so that he can become stronger. While Mondo is still somewhat envious of Chihiro's courage, he clearly admires Chihiro, and wishes to gain the same strength.

Point 2: Mondo's Remorse

In Trigger Happy Havoc, the killers were generally portrayed as cold, short-sighted, and unwilling to face the repercussions of their actions. In most trials, the Blackened has a minigame of some sort (Bullet Time Battle in THH). Mondo, however, confessed to his crime midway through the trial. Kiyotaka Ishimaru, left in a state of shock and disbelief, tried to prove the Blackened's innocence, even going as far as to vote for himself instead of Mondo. So why is it that the characters in the game (and by extension, the writers) portray Mondo as if he killed in cold blood when evidence in the trial itself contradicts this?

Mondo made it very clear that he was not conscious during Chihiro's murder. He was one of only four killers to confess to his crime amidst the trial. Mondo was also one of two killers who had no intention of killing their victim. Yet, the characters in the trial say otherwise. While this is expected of a character like Byakuya Togami or Monokuma, what makes Mondo's case stand out is the fact that Makoto Naegi, the protagonist, makes no effort to refute it, as he normally would.

The protagonist serves as a vessel between fiction and reality. In Danganronpa, the protagonist often acts as an audience surrogate, and possibly a "stand-in" for the general consensus. While later protagonists were far more distinct in personality and backstory, Makoto arguably played the role of an audience surrogate the best out of any protagonist in the series. He, for the most part, acted in good faith, and rarely allowed his personal biases to deter any decision. He felt sympathy for almost all of the killers, and grew enraged when Monokuma made a game of their lives and deaths.

Why is it that Makoto, who is clearly meant to portray justice, correctness, and mercy, essentially agreeing that Mondo is weak, killed in cold blood, and killed Daiya.

While Makoto negates Chihiro's fears (albeit after death), he affirms Mondo's fears in the moments immediately preceding his execution. He refers to Mondo as "cold blooded" after hearing his confession

Firstly, I find it very strange that Makoto says this as Mondo expresses remorse for his role in Chihiro's passing, with a clear look of schock and regret on his face. Additionally Mondo clearly states that he was not conscious at the time of Chihiro's murder. Secondly, Mondo, alongside his status as one of four killers who confessed and one of two killers that had no intention of committing murder, Mondo was the only killer in the franchise that at least tried to dignify his victim after death. Clearly feeling remorse, he placed Chihiro's body in the girl's locker room, and destroyed his e-handbook so that he wouldn't have his secret revealed against his will, seeing as it was made very clear that Chihiro wanted to reveal his secret on his own terms.

It was Byakuya who witnessed the incident, took no action, and crucified Chihiro's corpse after Mondo had placed him in the Girl's Locker Room. While I appreciate Byakuya's role as an antagonist, I find it hypocritical that fans are willing to label Mondo (alongside his fans) as transphobic, but rarely discuss Byakuya's part in all of this. While I recognize that Byakuya was clearly meant to be an unsympathetic character, one could argue that Mondo was also meant to be portrayed in an unsympathetic manner as well, seeing as damn near the entire class (including the player) agrees that he caused his brother's death, and refuse to acknowledge Mondo's remorse and struggles. If we as an audience are meant to see Mondo as a man who killed in cold blood because he was too "weak" to face his struggles, then why does the trial itself contradict this information? Why does everyone seem to agree that Mondo killed Daiya when it was made very clear that Daiya's choice to sacrifice his life for Mondo was made on his own volition? And why do the writers make an utter joke of his death after an incredibly emotional trial?

Point 3: Signs of a Trauma Disorder

As a person with mannerisms somewhat similar to Mondo's (ex: intense feelings of guilt/shame, survivor's guilt, hypervigilance), I firmly believe that Mondo suffers from a trauma disorder of some sort. It was stated that Daiya was Mondo's only family at the time of death, and based on context clues (mentioned in a previous post), it's highly likely that Mondo was raised in an abusive, or at the very least, unstable household. While Daiya had made the choice to sacrifice himself, Mondo evidently felt as if he was fully responsible for Daiya's passing, and that he needed to stay "strong." While he's very clearly in a state of mourning, he does his best to conceal it from the people closest to him, such as Taka, Takemichi, and his classmates/gang. Mondo carries with him a deep sense of shame, and almost lives as if any sort of "weakness" is disrespectful to Daiya's memory. Furthermore, Mondo is said to black out in moments of extreme stress, and describes what is clearly a moment of extreme anxiety during the trial. While this most certainly does not *excuse* his actions, I think it's important to consider that Mondo not only struggled, but did so alone. He truly believed that he needed to face this alone, and that he didn't deserve help, support, or mercy of any kind, which may explain why he was quick to turn himself in.

My Personal Thoughts

As a person who appreciated and related to Mondo's struggles, I was somewhat upset to see that the fans were quick to dismiss his character. While you are entitled to like or dislike Mondo (or any character) for whatever reasons you see fit, I noticed an influx of outright misinformation circulating about Mondo's character. It doesn't feel fair that this fandom seems quick to defend characters who commit morally ambiguous deeds, such as Byakuya Togami, Nagito Komaeda, and Kokichi Ouma (all of which fall into an archetype of some sort) but refuse to acknowledge characters who are also morally questionable (though on a far smaller scale), but don't fall into the same archetype as the aforementioned three. While it's impossible to achieve true impartiality, one should at least attempt to put their personal biases aside when making accusations such as these, and even going as far as to claim that his fans somehow support toxic behavior.

TL;DR I don't think Mondo is anywhere near as bad as the fandom portrays him, and I'm tired of seeing the blatant circulation of misinformation surrounding his character.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.