Drv3 has taken over my life! Tuturu~

Carelessness...

Crucial oversights...

Little mistakes that cost them the whole case...

Okay, I know that this game really does love shoving the fact that Saihara is the Ultimate Detective in almost every opportunity it gets, but in this particular moment, I’m getting a sense that this was a backhanded comment from Kirumi in some form. … Maybe.

Something along the lines of, “ Oh you can’t say for certain? Well that’s something a detective would say. Because detectives always do work with half-baked reasoning and deductions, surely! ” (HINT HINT NOT REALLY)

But I mean, it’s not totally impossible, right? Considering that when she said this, she had the same sprite on from before when the results showed that one person, most likely Kirumi, voted for Saihara to get executed. If that is so, it would make sense that she would do that out of spite. (Either that or it was Ouma or Tenko but it is highly unlikely)

Looking back at her breakdown from earlier, we initially thought this was just Kirumi showing an incredibly petty side for the first time when she was losing against Saihara’s arguments and was being cornered. While she was still obviously guilty for murdering someone, I don’t think that’s all we should take out of this reaction. 

Clearly, Shuichi is taking the reins on the technical side of things. But okay, let’s suppose that he was suspicious Miu might be the mastermind, and selective about what to tell her. It’s still rather odd to suggest that extremely basic cameras will do much to ‘keep Monokuma under surveillance’…

In any event, his behaviour regarding the warehouse alone is… suspect.

Firstly, the fact that he went to the back of the warehouse without Kaede - thus, scrutinising that area without our viewpoint - and the second time-

-saw Kaede, standing in front of the shotput balls he already breezed past. 

It’s odd enough for a detective, and one accustomed to keeping an eye out for possible crime to… not take notice of them when he was out there on his own for business (as opposed to when they were together for introductions, in the Prologue). Yet being there another time, and then seeing someone loiter around these heavy balls, noting this without further thought…?

On top of this, he omits the issue of the interval times from Kaede, saying he didn’t think much of it. Making himself extremely suspicious when called out.

This is bad enough on its own, though it’s dismissed by Kaede’s suggestion that there was ‘too much going on’ and it’s possible that he forgot. Setting aside that Kaede is known to dismiss or deny genuine issues, and the interval times were by no means a trivial detail or under his control, there’s also-

-a video camera being present in the warehouse. Shuichi doubtlessly would have seen more variations of cameras than just disposable ones, and the Ultimate Inventor of all people would have no issues modifying any of them.

If I was being generous, I’d surmise he thought it would take too long to modify more complex devices, that digital data could be deleted accidentally, or that his capability with electronic devices is lacking. Still, we barely know what was even going through his head nigh the entire chapter, and since even Kaede hid her part in the plot from us, I’d say that’s more than enough cause for concern. Especially when the plot was engineered and motivated by Shuichi himself.

Setting aside that Shuichi is schooled in psychology, enough to suggest that he probably would realise, if he considered it, that Ouma’s joke was done in a poor mental state, you know what he actually, legitimately *IS* obligated to do?

Confirm for his damn self that he’s not screwing around. Get a whiff of the blood on his head before denouncing him. You know, the blood that was dripping down his face and couldn’t have been faked whatsoever.

Ryoma pointing out the absurdity of the ‘coffee stain’ analogy is curious, considering how Shuichi begins this talking about burdens. And on a reread, it certainly does sound… strange. If you’re talking about a burden clinging to you - in the sense of an obligation - then it would be more appropriate to use more ‘weighty’ imagery. Doubly so considering the phrasing he uses for ‘carrying on one’s back’, since in the Japanese text, he [uses 背負 to describe it].

Here’s where the problem lies: the root of the coffee stain analogy. Shuichi isn’t using his own motto here; he’s taking his uncle’s words, and putting his own interpretation on it. But there’s no way a coffee stain would be anything of a ‘weight’ to a person, so why is he using it in this kind of way?

It’s possible he doesn’t actually know the true intention of the words. While a weight would constitute a burden, a stain is like a blemish, a mark of guilt. Searching out such a thing, would lead a detective to a “decisive conviction”. But that leaves the question of whether the ‘stain’ that is seen, is truly someone’s objective guilt, or merely something perceived as guilt.

The phrasing of the second-last line in Japanese, makes this even more concerning…

依頼者の求める真実 : the truth the client wants

Decidedly more… specific, than seeking out the truth for truth’s sake…

Sadly Kaede, not only does the follow up not even come from Shuichi’s core values - rather, [a policy his uncle has], that he interpreted his own way - the ‘destined to be a detective’ is troubling considering he was [led into this position]. Not to mention reaching out your hand isn’t a guarantee that the person will trust you, either. Saying it that way, is like an expectation for the person to trust you. 

If you reached out your hand, what do they stand to gain from grasping it?

…………What. What. How in the *WORLD* would you think that the interval timers wouldn’t affect the plan? It’s to do with the camera’s function.

Ouma’s reaction isn’t helping matters, either… what’s more, Kaede was pretty damn skeptical before she backtracked.

…..

……

‘Cover her tracks’, indeed. Implying there was 

no

opportunity

for Shuichi to see

what she was driving at.

……………….

Oh boy, that sounds… too familiar. Combine that with a clue in yellow - and this Monokuma Theatre being in the same chapter as this Freetime Event - it’s no doubt referring to this very commentary.

Speaking of using people with gratitude…

…the same is true of the expectation given to Shuichi as a detective, in the first place. It’s not like he had the position to say no, either.

 DR2 had that one where Monokuma was talking about a guy showing off his luxury to distract how painfully sad his life is and that was tied to Nekomaru trying to make the best with his robot body in that chapter. 

And in TTH, Monokuma did have one where he was talking about Sakura’s circumstances, seeing how she was regretful of her betrayal towards everyone.

Owing to Shuichi’s [confidence in the cases of the runaways], they likely weren’t scrutinised by naysayers; if he was following the guideline of his uncle to the letter, he would have no ‘just cause’ to doubt in the outcome, if it happened that no one else took issue with it either. Thus, it was a job well done. 

It only became a conscious matter AFTER things had escalated in one case, when people tried to tell him that the situation was insurmountable, and that the victim deserved what he got. This means that the guideline Shuichi goes by had been thrown into conflict, which he then personalised- people are not liking his judgement, ergo, this must be why the culprit is full of rage towards him, too.

It’s not a logical judgement to make, because Shuichi is basing it off of peoples’ reactions first and foremost. But due to not paying enough attention to begin with, his own earlier actions had slipped under his radar.

His unwise moves are directly paralleled in chapter 1, where he would have no reason to doubt in his detective work, as his unconscious mechanism is the desire to be relied on and to do it well. His thoughts while helping Kaede were not consciously leading her into a trap, but they were still [driven by an ulterior motive] which directly affected his intuition, meaning he was completely failing to notice the red flags that Kaede was leaving left and right.

Possible spoilers to some, so–