#erisou

The scene “In Memoriam” requires a bit of background to understand; it takes place after Yaitabashi has taken multiple torturous punishments as directed by the motive. These punishments, prolonged over the course of the chapter, were all taken voluntarily, however Yaitabashi eventually reaches his breaking point when next punishment is stated to be lobotomy and expresses a fervent desire to die to avoid further pain, both out of self-hatred and fear of the punishments. While this happens, Kumada has spent the entire chapter searching for an escape route that doesn't involve the game even at the risk of her own life, continuously claiming she's going to die in the killing game if she continues to participate. The morning before the scene takes place, Kumada states that if she does not escape by that night, she will die in the killing game.

The scene begins with Kumada knocking on Yaitabashi’s door, checking in on him after his breakdown earlier that day. Yaitabashi, who has again isolated himself in his room, initially claims he's alright, but can't seem to hold back when pressed and begins to cry and rant about the motive, saying he doesn't know what to do, and revealing that his motivation for volunteering for the past punishments were to protect Kumada and Ikeda. However, when faced with the current punishment, he desperately wants an escape–torn between a desire to keep his classmates from voting the two, and not wanting to endure any more pain. Kumada comforts him by reminding him of their friend, Mutsuko, who would have wanted him to live, and assuring him everything will work out, before making him promise to stay alive and be present the next morning. Yaitabashi promises, and Kumada leaves with a request that if the two don't see each other again, Yaitabashi should take care of and prioritise his own life before any others.

Beginning with the obvious, this scene displays a care both Kumada and Yaitabashi hold for each other even after they've become estranged. Throughout the scene Yaitabashi refers to Kumada as ‘Erina’ multiple times, something he hasn't done since she participated in Nishiguchi’s death. He chose to take punishments in an effort to protect her despite her past actions and his inability to forgive her, going so far as to consider taking a lobotomy to prevent her from suffering the same fate; though he did ultimately break down at this point and reach his limit. On the other hand, Kumada’s care is much less dramatically shown but no less relevant. After Yaitabashi breaks down in front of multiple people and expresses suicidal sentiments, he’s implied to have been left alone in his room for hours. Despite having a growing friendship with Ikeda and being liked by the entire cast, he is nonetheless isolated from them without any close or trusted friends. The only person who checked in on him or successfully comforted him was Kumada, making him promise not to follow through on his statements and wanting him to protect himself. Even though Kumada has continuously pushed people away and been irritable throughout the chapter, she's incredibly soft and empathetic towards Yaitabashi in this scene, showing a side of her unseen since the first chapter. Yaitabashi’s willingness to open up to Kumada and Kumada’s desire to comfort him after the fact suggest that in spite of everything, they likely remain the most important people to each other in the wake of Nishiguchi's death.

This is also relevant to Yaitabashi’s individual character. As someone with a deep sense of pride and independence, it's been shown that he dislikes being coddled and is very capable, especially at his age. This scene shows the other side of that coin–Yaitabashi’s habit of isolating when faced with intolerable stress. This was shown when he isolated inside his room after Nishiguchi’s death, only leaving when faced with Tei’s disappearance and refusing to talk about his feelings, and again in chapter three when he tried to get Kumada to leave and insisted he was fine despite undoubtedly needing someone to talk to. Yaitabashi is a very independent character, and it shows both in his capability and his struggle to be vulnerable with others.

Moving on, while Yaitabashi states his motivations openly in this scene, Kumada does not. However, that doesn't mean her motivations aren't relevant or notable–in fact, they likely shape the chapter. As stated previously, Kumada has set an odd deadline for herself in escaping the building– if she doesn't escape by that night, she won't escape at all. Furthermore, she nearly died multiple times trying to find an exit both in the elevator and the vent, so it's not like she's become unmotivated or suddenly afraid of getting killed any more than if she stays. With this mindset, her actions in the scene become much more distressing.

Kumada comforts Yaitabashi at first by insisting that he cant allow himself to die, invoking Nishiguchi to stress her point. She goes on to promise him everything will work out, and asks him to stay alive until the next morning, not leaving until he promises despite not making any promises herself. As she's leaving, she outright suggests she won't be alive the next morning and asks Yaitabashi to protect himself, and only himself. These events, while odd in isolation, paint a rather alarming picture; Kumada is going to kill herself.

This might seem out of character, but it actually makes a decent amount of sense.

Firstly, Kumada has been slowly losing hope throughout the chapter. She can't find an escape route and seems confident she's going to die as a result. She says this herself multiples times the day before, and has at this point reached her self-imposed deadline on escape. It's incredibly unlikely she’d accept either being voted for or Yaitabashi being voted for again given how she asked him to prioritize himself; which can only mean she either needs someone else to get voted, or someone to die.

Secondly, Kumada's statements in the scene are incredibly concerning when viewed with objectivity. She first seems to struggle with a reason Yaitabashi can't kill himself, simply repeating “you can't just die”. When she does find a reason for him to live in Nishiguchi, she insists he doesn't want to meet Nishiguchi in the afterlife with a tentative tone– an incredibly odd statement, unless she was projecting her own thoughts in this moment. Kumada has expressed extreme guilt over her role in Nishiguchi's death, and stated repeatedly that she considered Nishiguchi a genuine friend, so it's not unlikely she herself might wish for a chance to apologize to Nishiguchi. She even continues to call her Mutsuko in this scene, Nishiguchi's first name.

Third, Yaitabashi’s promise to Kumada, where she insists he promise her he'll be alive in the morning but doesn't make the same promise herself. Why would she insist he promise to ‘be there’ in the morning, rather than staying by his side until then or promising to see him again in the morning?

Leading to her parting statement, asking Yaitabashi to take care of himself “in case I don't see you again.” While she claims it's just a gut feeling, it's very obvious she’s saying this because she expects to die. This is Kumada saying goodbye, but she has no reason to do that unless she is both expecting and willing to die. If Kumada only feared dying, she would not make that statement with the casualness she did.

The final nail in the coffin is the manner of her death. Many people have claimed that Kumada dying in a knife-fight to Shishikura doesn't make sense, considering the difference in strength between the two. Even if he caught her by surprise and somehow managed to stab her without her shoving him away and fighting back, even if she somehow forgot to lock the door despite her extreme paranoia, she would still likely do serious damage to him before he could take her out. So how did he kill her? The easiest explanation is that she didn't fight back. The most likely answer; Kumada, when faced with a way to die in a relatively quick manner and protect her friend, didn't put effort into stopping it.

In the end, this is all just speculation. Kumada could truly have been plain murdered by shishikura, no suicidal intentions involved, given he was fully recovered from his prior illness and a few inches taller than her. Yaitabashi’s vulnerability and sacrifices, while rather telling, don’t automatically mean that he still liked Kumada so much as he still felt loyal to her. However, these are my takeaways on the released episode “In Memoriam” from tetro danganronpa. What do you think?

Signed,