Makoto Naegi

Makoto Naegi
Danganronpa character
Promotional artwork for Makoto Naegi in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
First appearance	Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010)
Created by	Kazutaka Kodaka
Designed by	Rui Komatsuzaki
Portrayed by	Kanata Hongō (stage play) Reina Fujie (stage play) Sumire Satō (stage play)
Voiced by	English: Bryce Papenbrook Japanese: Megumi Ogata
In-universe information
Species	Human
Occupation	Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy Agent of the Future Foundation Student of Hope's Peak Academy (formerly)
Affiliation	Future Foundation 14th Division
Family	Komaru Naegi (younger sister) Unnamed parents
Significant others	Kyoko Kirigiri Aoi Asahina (alternate ending)
Children	Unnamed son (alternate ending)
Talent	Ultimate Lucky Student Ultimate Hope

Makoto Naegi (Japanese: 苗木 誠, Hepburn: Naegi Makoto) is a fictional character introduced in the 2010 visual novel Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc by Spike. Makoto Naegi, a fairly optimistic but otherwise average student, is selected in a raffle and chosen to enroll into the academy as the "Ultimate Lucky Student". However, when Makoto arrives at the Academy, a sadistic, remote-controlled bear named Monokuma appears before his and fellow stutdents, telling them they will be imprisoned in the academy for the rest of their lives unless they murder somebody. Makoto returns in the game's sequels as well as multiple adapations featuring him in new story arcs.

Writer Kazutaka Kodaka created Makoto to be more different from previous visual novel protagonists as he aimed to be a more active character in the narrative. Megumi Ogata voices him in Japanese while Bryce Papenbrook provides his voice for the English dub.

Critical response to Makoto's character has been generally positive for his role in the series as a detective as well as the deliveries from his voice actors. His role in the anime sequels Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School was also the subject of attraction due to how his values are discussed and the relationships he is part of.

Creation and development

Early unused artwork of Makoto Naegi by Rui Komatsuzaki.

Writer Kazutaka Kodaka from Spike Chunsoft said in an interview that he did not aim players to project themselves upon Makoto Naegi, a common method of writing in visual novels. Kazutaka said that the main purpose of Makoto's interactions with the rest of the cast was making sure how different was the cast of Danganronpa from Makoto. As he kept, writing, "Makoto started to grow through the story and forced him to eventually act". As a result, Makoto became a more active character in the first game of the series. As time passed, Kazutaka thought of Makoto as a strong main character who can solve cases on his own, something he wanted to change for future games. Producer Yoshinori Terasawa aimed to balance the cast but to connect with the audience. This was mostly done with Makoto. Since Makoto does not share the unique attributes the other students have, Terasawa aimed to make Makoto stand out in the story so that players will connect with him.

In developing Makoto's characterization, Kodaka wanted to impress gamers with the early twist of Sayaka Maizano's death who was promoted as the game's heroine. Following Sayaka's death, it is revealed that the young girl wanted to frame Makoto for a murder she would cause. Makoto would then confront the killer behind Sayaka's death, Leon Kuwata, and move on with his life after seeing the idea of death so close to him. The fact that Sayaka wanted to frame Makoto was written in order to generate a major impact in not only the player but also the character, resulting in the main character suffering bad feelings for how he would be treated.

Makoto and Nagito from the same sequel are considered as opposites based on what each of them thinks about the idea of "hope". In order to surprise the gamers and infer the characters to potentially be the same person, both Makoto and Nagito share the same voice actress, Megumi Ogata, while "Nagito Komaeda" is an anagram for "Naegi Makoto da" ("I am Makoto Naegi"). Localization member Robert Schiotis felt that finding a voice actor for the latter proved too challenging as is meant to clash with Makoto's ideals. In the end both ended sharing the same actor, Bryce Papenbrook, making the connections between both of them more interesting.

The character's design was made by artist Rui Komatsuzaki. From the planning stages, the team wanted a protagonist lacking individuality. This proved difficult in order to make a contrast with the more outstanding designs. Originally, the team intended for the adventure part of the game to be seen from a third-person perspective (which would later be adopted for Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, so Komatsuzaki designed he character to wear a hoodie to complement his look, thinking the player was going to see his back a lot. After that, the artist added some character to his hair by adding an "antenna", and highlighted his "herbivore nature" by making him short. His coloring is subdued, but Komtatsuzaki used a color palette he enjoyed.

Appearances

Danganronpa video games

The protagonist of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Makoto Naegi is an ordinary high school student who was accepted to Hope's Peak Academy via a lottery. He has no spectacular talents, aside from his belief that he is a bit more optimistic than most people, and was given the title of Ultimate Lucky Student (超高校級の「幸運」, Chō-kōkō-kyū no "Kōun", Super High School Level Good Luck). His talent also proves instrumental in undoing the mastermind's plans, as his bizarre luck completely throws off her analytical abilities. While having the tendency to panic or let his emotions get the better of him, he can remain focused under pressure and shows a keen logic when piecing together mysteries. He is instrumental in solving all of the murder mysteries, and foils Monokuma's plot, earning the title of Ultimate Hope (超高校級の「希望」, Chō-kōkō-kyū no "Kibō", Super High School Level Hope). He manages to escape from the academy alive and joins an organization called the Future Foundation, dedicated to rebuilding society and fighting Junko's legacy, who rescue his sister Komaru in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. In an alternate ending to Trigger Happy Havoc in which Kyoko Kirigiri is executed, Makoto spends the rest of his life living within the walls of Hope's Peak Academy, establishing a polyamorous relationship with Byakuya Togami, Yasuhiro Hagakure and Aoi Asahina, the latter of whom Makoto of which has a child with.

During the events of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Makoto and the other survivors attempt to forcibly rehabilitate the Remnants of Despair by placing them inside a virtual world which would rewrite their memories of being terrorist members of Ultimate Despair and remove their motivation to continue spreading despair. However, because of a virus containing Junko's Alter Ego inserted by Izuru Kamukura, the world is turned into another killing game, prompting Makoto, Kyoko and Byakuya to eventually enter the virtual world themselves to help the surviving students activate a shutdown sequence to stop Junko once and for all. Ultimate Despair member and former Ultimate Lucky Student Nagito Komaeda is additionally initially presented to potentially be an amnesiac Makoto, with his name being an anagram for "I am Makoto Naegi" (だ 苗木 誠, Naegi Makoto Da), with the characters sharing the same voice actors/actresses and initial physical designs.

Makoto appears throughout Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony in apparent flashbacks to the lives of the new participants of the new killing game, and as a supporting character in the game demo.

Danganronpa anime

Makoto returns as the protagonist of the "Despair Arc" of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, confirmed to be in a relationship with Kyoko, where he becomes involved in the new Monokuma's "Monokuma Hunter" game. His forbidden action is "running in the hallway." After surviving the game, Makoto becomes the headmaster of the rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy.

Danganrona novels

Makoto makes minor cameo appearances in the light novel series Danganronpa Zero, Danganronpa Kirigiri and Danganronpa Togami, as well as in the manga series Killer Killer. A short story booklet titled Danganronpa: Makoto Naegi Secret File – The Worst Day Ever (ダンガンロンパ Makoto Naegi Secret File 苗木誠、人生最悪の日, Naegi Makoto, Jinsei Saiaku no Hi), written by Kazutaka Kodaka, was included with special editions of the first Japanese Blu-ray and DVD release of Danganronpa: The Animation, an anime adaptation of Trigger Happy Havoc, serving as an origin story for how Makoto became selected as the "Ultimate Lucky Student" of Hope's Peak Academy, in that his luck led to the original female candidate intended for the role being replaced by unknowingly destroying her acceptance letter, leading to a new lottery being held, in that his bad luck is so powerful that it cancels the good luck of anyone around him, and that when his good luck rarely manifests, it is immensely powerful in its own right, allowing outcomes that are nearly statistically impossible to occur, such as getting the Escape Switch from the item machine in the non-canonical alternate universe short story Danganronpa IF and surviving his near-execution in the first game.

Other appearances

Makoto Naegi appears in the Spike Chunsoft game Mystery Chronicle: One Way Heroics along with Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls protagonist Komaru Naegi, where they are designs available for the game's Ultimate Student class. Makoto additionally appears in Crypt of the NecroDancer and Identity V as alternative costumes for the main character, along with characters from series developed by Spike Chunsoft such as Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer and Kenka Bancho.

Reception

Bryce Papenbrook's work as Makoto Naegi's English voice was praised

Critical response to the character has been favorable. GameSpot regarded Makoto as a relatable character due to how an early twist in regards to a character might fool both the player and Makoto at the same time. His actions in the game were compared with the character of Phoenix Wright, a character from Capcom's visual novel Ace Attorney. Meristation enjoyed Makoto's actions when solving murder cases thanks to the options provided. US Gamer enjoyed Makoto's characterization as does not suffer from too much grief when losing friends, making the pacing of the first game enjoyable. Vandal liked how the player must use Makoto to get respect from the rest of the cast across the narrative, especially while solving trials. Gaming Age found the character likable enough to make people worry whether or he would be one of the characters to be murdered in the school, thus making his actions more important. In regards to the manga adaptation of the first game, Manga News enjoyed how Makoto's relationship with Kyoko continuously improved the more time they worked together to investigate the culprits from each murder. His appearances in the anime adaptation were mixed due to how properly were Makoto's game mechanics were adapted in the form of investigations by the main character.

Makoto's role in the second series was also the source of positive reaction. Manga.Tokyo also praised Makoto's appearances in the anime and his connection with Komaru in the anime sequel. Manga.Tokyo describes his introduction in the Future Arc as "The Downfall of the Hero" due to how the anime's narrative treated Makoto in the first episodes of this story arc. Anime News Network expressed shock by the way Makoto was treated in the series in general following multiple events in the original Danganronpa series as it would affect the audience who played the game or watched the original anime. In a following review, the site commented on Makoto's hope values as how they rivaled Munakata. The reviewer claimed "Makoto's optimistic faith is laudable, and he is technically in yet another game with concrete rules that can be won". His relationship with Kyoko was also compared with Romeo and Juliet based on the romantical tragedy that occurs with apparent death of Kyoko. David Lynn from the Fandom Post discussed the themes employed in the writing of Makoto during the Future Arc involving his "inclusive, idealistic hope" which contrasted with Kyosuke's "pragmatic, goal-driven hope" giving a reason to make these two characters clash in the anime adaptation of Future Arc. Chris Beveridge from the same site felt that Makoto's setting of being arrested caused a major distrust this causes to the Foundation and eventual development within most of the major cast members.

The voice actors behind Makoto were also well received. In an "Anime! Anime!" poll, he was rated as the 5th most popular character voiced by Megumi Ogata. Anime News Network praised Bryce Papenbrook's work as Makoto, finding him fitting for the character. Makoto and Hajime Hinata's actors kept being praised by the same site for their work in the Danganronpa 3 anime. Kotaku praised Ogata's work and Makoto's work in the series as he "gets the time to shine". The Gamer listed him as the second best Danganronpa character behind Monokuma based on his skills with finding culprits and his growth into a stronger person despite his average traits. Yuzuru Hanyu's performance in the 2014 Winter Olympics led to an illustration of the athlete skating alongside a parody of Monokuma. Ogata enjoyed the reference to Makoto and claimed that "He's an Ultimate-class figure skater!"