I am-a Mario, the true self

Lately I've been so frustrated that I just didn't have the energy to draw during the week at ALL, so I pushed myself to stat and finish ONE freaking drawing at least.

Technically used a base as inspo but went my own way lmao.

I think that's because I kind of see him as a healthier Heat, who's not as obsessed with Sera, or who at least was able to move past his obsession in death. I also really like the contrast between his role as a doctor and his other self's lack of self-control and impulsivity.

While watching DDS2 cutscenes in Japanese on youtube I stumbled upon pretty interesting differences with the English localisation in the Vritra pre-boss cutscene. (English reference, Japanese reference)

DISCLAIMER: I am still learning Japanese and it's completely possible I made mistakes! I'll only speak of things I am reasonably certain I got right.

English Heat says "I told you I was strong, Sera", while Japanese Heat (Hito) simply says that he's acquired "the greatest power".

When Sera asks that he let her talk to God, Heat responds with "Talk to ME!" while Hito claims that he is God.

Those are small differences but they make the scene read very differently to me. In English, Heat flaunts his newfound strength in Sera's face, but he is clearly still bitter about her choosing Serph over him; the first line is a direct callback to his words in DDS1: "Serph can't protect you! Can't you see that I'm stronger than him!?". In Japanese, there's no reference to that scene being made, as far as I can tell, and Hito is just on a MASSIVE power trip.

His response to Sera asking to talk to God is somewhat incoherent in both versions: Japanese Heat is kind of delusional, English Heat doesn't actually answer her at all. But again the English localization emphasizes Heat's affection for Sera. Both lines convey the same idea - that Sera should talk to him and not to God - but for different reasons: Hito is so gorged off his own strength that he thinks he is on the same level as God, while English Heat doesn't suggest anything of the sort; he's throwing a tamper tantrum that she could want to talk to anyone but him. Again, he's still hurt that she chose Serph over him, he wants her all to himself, and his jealousy and anger surface in this incredibly possessive expression of his affection.

I wanna hear what some of you all think. But i belive the core idea of digital devil saga is about redeeming one's mistakes and regrets .

Out of our main cast only Cielo and Gale haven't done anything they could regret either in this current life or carry over from their past lives.

Argilla and Serph original self directly intervened in the tragedy from 5 years ago and while them not being the same person, you could see how they carry the karma from their past. And while Argilla does die before learning this, Serph has to come to terms with this fact.

Heat both affected the course of what happen 5 years ago as well as killed Serph. Wich he ends up regretting and it directly affects how the rest of the games plays out, as the cast slowly dies to prevent the fallout from this event.

Roland blames himself for the death of Greg. Regardless of how true this blame is as who don't actually know what happened Roland needs to come to terms about what happen and he ends amending his mistake by sacrificing himself.

Here is a controversial one: While sera is not one you could blame for what happened to her, you can see how she could regret what happens in the game after all.

This can also be seen in more secondary characters such as Jenna who ends up regretting what she did.

And in that super cheese ending of the game where the clear idea is to forgive humanities mistake and try to make a new better world from what we have.

@yurashimadepot is right that sometimes people lose the forest for the trees and give the Buddhist stuff more importance than it actually has within the story. I don't think the game is offering any thought on specific Buddhist ideas, and it is completely enjoyable without having a drop of knowledge about them.

The ideas of karma and being re-incarnated into a lower realm and needing to make your way out of it to earn your shot at enlightenment are present but I would say it's moooostly a setpiece for a Cool Sci-Fi story, and a lot of characters have done no specific wrong to end up there; David Gale, past life Cielo, and Heat O' Brien I would argue as well

Answering the question, I am not sure I can identify like the One Main Theme of the games, but some key ones for sure are:

Guilt and sin, accepting them, growing from them, forgiving them from others. This is Serph's thing mostly with the other two Varnas, but also of course humanity's sin that Brahman wants to erase the world over. Sera shoulders unending loathing from everyone else and blames herself constantly (for the state of the world, but also for stuff like making Heat suffer: "Devour me, if that's what you really want!"), Roland also ("We all have sins to atone for"), but also Angel, who is ultimately unable to overcome Gale's death and loses her way.

Camaraderie and found families. Bat and the Trihbvana are antagonists who are defined by their lack of loyalty to their comrades, and that is ultimately what undoes them. Trihbvana: Earth has a little of the above as well; he is explicitly left alive to deal with his murder of his comrades. This is Cielo's thing primarily

The power of romantic love. Feels kinda dumb to say LOL but Angel, Heat and Serph/Sera are all driven by (unrequited) love, and Seraph/Ardha I cannot read as anything but a celebration of love

The morality of devouring others to survive. It kinda disappears in DDS2, but it was still a fairly prominent part of DDS1 I would say, particularly for Argilla

Honor, of course. This is a Lupa/Gale/Roland thing, mostly: Lupa sees the honor in Gale's eyes in DDS1, and Gale sees the honor in Roland's in DDS2.