Oh my Me, please stay the same.

>All of Mikoto's victims seem to live around either his commute or his apartment building, meaning he's likely seen them a few times. I believe he may have had these victim cards in his head because he was either shown them, or knew these people personally. Maybe it was all pure envy, or maybe he knew things about some of the people that we the audience don't.... that said, it almost definitely wasn't random attacks entirely.

>I'd wager that Mikoto convinced himself that they all "deserved it" somehow. After all, these people had no idea what he went through to get into that company, only for his own "success" to make him Miserable! With all the stress buildup, it seems he began to hate to world around him. "John" soon carried the hate so Mikoto could relax, but I believe it was mainly Mikoto's deaire for control that led them here; grasping for control any way possible is a common trauma symptom. Also while we're on this topic, just because other ego states aren't mentioned/noticed, doesn't mean they don't exist. Mikoto was unaware that such shifts in consciousness were even real until MILGRAM.

>Mikoto seems to go after people who are either more successful than him (especially if they're younger than him, like the 17-yo influencer for example), or those who seem to "have it easier" (the homeless guy and the dude who gets to hang out with friends regularly, because despite having almost nothing they have their free time.)

>multiple single mothers attacked kinda suggests a grudge against his own mother, but I could be reaching here. Still, i again hope he knew smthn about them the audience doesn't. Tho it's kinda looking likely he was just sick of it all.

Idk just spitballing theories.

Tbh Mikoto is the nightmare scenario of succumbing to some of the worst impulses one can possibly have, and the results being, in a typical scenario, "Unforgivable." But we in MILGRAM know the context, and big companies not caring about their employees is the true villain here as usual, imho.

Trauma and Anger are not shown to be inherently dangerous. Bottling it up is what killed all those people and nearly killed Mikoto. I think that's entirely Yamanaka's point. Because if Mikoto had been repressing all his life, how was he supposed to know the danger he was approaching? Imo, Forgiving him is the ONLY possible way to save Mikoto and MAYBE those people (or at least their restless souls).

Because maybe if Mikoto knows there are those out there who know what's going on and can help him, he'll choose a different path before it gets that bad. Better yet, "John" can help manage the emotions better too, since the other parts had time in MILGRAM to Just Exist. That's me really banking on him waking up before his crime after MILGRAM though.

Even if that's not how it works, I sincerely believe that Mikoto was put on this path because Yamanaka wanted to show the true danger that repressing all your trauma and anger poses to all society. If Kazui's repression help show how it caused problems for individuals, Mikoto's predicament is about how repression can affect society at large.

This is hilariously ironic for Kayano "I'm going to contribute and be the best I can for everyone around me" Mikoto; he didn't choose that standard, he just fell prey to it in the worst way. I think 5 years in Mental Torture Prison and probably a lot of professional help will genuinely make him never do this again. Professional help is Not nonexistent in Japan, far from it, but Mikoto likely convinced himself over and over that he didn't need it, possibly didn't want to explain it to anyone out of fear/stigma or shame, and couldn't go anywhere anyway because work overtook his life.

All this to say that I believe his resentment for himself bled into the people he killed specifically because he felt they were making less of an effort, and were happier or more successful than him anyway. That undoubtedly would get to him if he saw it every day.

Furthermore, he would never have a reason to notice anything mentally wrong if he hadn't done this, because imo that's what'll trigger serious amnesia and more defined switiching: heavy stress and bloodshed. He likely would have kept going like that til he died. Maybe MILGRAM can give Mikoto's selves a chance to fix that; whether they can/will is up to them, but I forgive the crime because it's a demonstration of how mental health stigma and priorities areanged by profit margin can endanger Everyone. Forgiving isn't saying "it's ok that you did that," it's a chance at redeeming oneself. Or multiple selves.

> story centers on how the condition affects his daily life BEFORE it reveals the "horror," making Mikoto a well-rounded and popular character by showing both his genuine side and emotional baggage to a sympathetic audience; he was literally designed to be looked at past the surface level.

>the ambiguity of "who committed the crime" is so muddy and vague that even Es (character) pins it on the one who showed overt traits of violence/anger as they calm Mikoto down. This shows how outside people tend to pick and choose parts and box them into categories. It's MIKOTO HIMSELF, the one speaking to Es, whoever he "is" "inside," taking direct responsibility for his actions. The muddiness of "who's who" in Mikoto's system is VERY REALISTIC and imo likely intentional.

>Mikoto's fear and remorse are legitimate. They put extra effort into showing how he swore it was all a bad dream, how hard his brain tried to forget. He really is a normal guy who gave in to a crazy impulsr; yes he's accountable, but he's rightfully frightened nonetheless.

> the point is not "DID makes this guy kill people and forget, how scary!!!" The point is, in my opinion, "working class people are routinely put in danger by a system that rewards shoving aside health and wellness for success and notoriety, making people seek pain relief in more and more extreme ways; no one is guaranteed to be safe from the tidal wave of a sick human beings with nowhere to aim their frustration."

> "if it's about work culture then maybe don't put DID in." Millions, if not billions, of people are growing up until hostile, dangerous environments, and have been for generations. The working class is gonna have a pool of people with DID. The story would be less interesting if Mikoto remembered snappping; also, I imagine that the truth would have got him triple-guilty'd IMMEDIATELY if we didn't know Mikoto like we do now. That's my last point: the amnesia and presence of other self-states is explicitly used to elevate the narrative and add complexity, not just for shock value.

if mikoto hadn't had his violent outbursts, and hadn't killed people – if he'd died by overwork – he would not have been considered mentally ill. his livelong emotional suppression, questionable self-esteem and substance abuse, and total disconnection from sides of himself that are shameful? they would not have been pathological, they would have been personality traits that had helped him serve and function, at the end of the day, as a model citizen.

if mikoto had had his violent outbursts and/or killed people, but never recieved a psychiatric diagnosis afterwards through milgram or otherwise, he also would not have been considered mentally ill [read: habouring some sort of disease that warps his mind and behaviour]. his violent outbursts, dissociative amnesia, independent streams of consciousness, and every other surrounding personality trait, would have been chalked up to his acute circumstances (including 100+ days of sleep deprivation, social isolation, and prolonged substance abuse) and general flawed and unfortunate character.

because at the end of the day, mental illness is not an intrinsic characteristic and it is not a neutral label. it is, historically, a way of labelling the root cause of criminal and dangerous and dysfunctional behaviour in inner irrationality, as opposed to external social circumstance. it is a label often given to criminals and antisocials, specifically to denote that they are criminals and antisocials by nature, so that wider society is not held accountable for the people (vulnerable by circumstance, by neurodiverse development, or both) that they abuse and then fail to support.

like literally. severe sleep deprivation can easily push you into psychosis. your priorities are completely fucked and you're in constant survival mode just trying to keep going without passing out or going fucking crazy. there's a reason it's a torture method!!!!! pretty sure i've actually seen somewhere a former POW or something saying that they preferred the physical torture over the forced sleep deprivation. i was forced to stay awake for over 40 hours once, and at around hour 30 i was literally debating on running away and going to an ER and threatening to kill myself just to get a chance to sleep FNDKLNFKDNF.