Fridge Brilliance
- The decks and card choices of the Danganronpa characters serve as reflection of their personalities and/or talents.
- Hajime runs a Fusion-centric deck which reflects him being the subject of the Kamukura project however due to his poor financial background, he uses Fusion Substitute monsters to fill in for the rare and expensive monsters that make up some of his Fusions. At first it sounds like this severely cripples Hajime, but in terms of application; his Fusion Substitute monsters actually make his deck function better by having more freedom to be used in more Fusions than they would be if they were the actual monsters they were substituting which reflects Chiaki's words that while he may not reach the level of the other Ultimates; he has far more choices and freedom with his path compared to Ultimates who are stuck within their field of expertise.
- Likewise, his duel with the Stern Mystic serves as a microcosm of his arc in canon: he's so focused on what he doesn't have (rare cards, an Ultimate talent) that he misses what he already has (a versatile deck, a growing relationship with a girl who doesn't care about talent), and ends up suffering for it (losing the duel, becoming a identity-less shell called Izuru Kamukura).
- Chiaki runs a "Counter-Meta" deck which focuses more on monster effects and disruption compared to the majority of duelists who favor beatsitcks. Being the Ultimate Gamer, Chiaki would be no stranger to the concept of "metagaming" in competitive gaming so instead of going for what the majority favor, she goes for the opposite to mix things up. Her unorthodox card choices and strategies also reflect her Spirited Competitor nature in that she plays games for fun and not solely for winning.
- Nagito runs an Exodia/Ritual deck that is supported by several high-DEF monsters to protect him until he reaches either one of his main playmakers. This goes in line with his Blue-and-Orange Morality regarding hope, as well as makes his "stepping stone" metaphors almost literal when you consider how his regular monsters are stone walls themselves stat-wise.
- Gundham uses a Beast/Fiend deck. The Beast monsters in his deck reflect his talent as the Ultimate Breeder while the use of Fiends reflect his chuunibyou persona that he always conveys.
- Sonia's Monster Types of choice include Fairies and Warriors (mainly those with a knight asthetic), befitting of her talent of Ultimate Princess. Her Darklord monsters also serve as a reflection to her interest in the occult and supernatural.
- Much like Kaiba, Byakuya's first deck is a Power Deck that focuses on highly-expensive and highly-powerful monsters that can easily overwhelm common monsters, befitting Byakuya's belief that a Togami must rise above all the rest. This trend continues later on with his Monarch deck after his training under Solomon Muto.
- While Celeste starts with a Winged Beast deck, likely to set her up as a sort of foil to Mai, it's her second deck that really showcases her identity: Vampires. As it ties in with her dream to own her own castle surrounded by vampire butlers.
- Hajime runs a Fusion-centric deck which reflects him being the subject of the Kamukura project however due to his poor financial background, he uses Fusion Substitute monsters to fill in for the rare and expensive monsters that make up some of his Fusions. At first it sounds like this severely cripples Hajime, but in terms of application; his Fusion Substitute monsters actually make his deck function better by having more freedom to be used in more Fusions than they would be if they were the actual monsters they were substituting which reflects Chiaki's words that while he may not reach the level of the other Ultimates; he has far more choices and freedom with his path compared to Ultimates who are stuck within their field of expertise.
- Chiaki losing to Nagito (and thus her soul) during the Orichalcos arc in such an anti-climactic and unceremonious fashion is considered a huge slap in the face and disrespect especially for a duelist of Chiaki's calibur. That is until you realize that this is exactly the point. When Nagito challenged her, he fully expected her to awaken one of the legendary dragons, or even if she wasn't a wielder; still be able to overcome all the odds and defeat him or at least go down fighting. The fact that neither happens causes even Nagito to be in utter disbelief and disappointment considering the real reason he wanted to challenged Chiaki and that he didn't even expect or intend to win in the first place. In other words: Nagito's reaction to Chiaki's anticlimactic defeat reflects that of the readers' shock and disappointment.
- Once Junko finally decides to settle on an archetype, what does she use? Frightfurs. Fuzzy animal creatures possessed by imps that are absolutely horrifying to look at. You know, because that's similar to Monokuma's entire existence.
- It seems crazy that Sakura can't sense Junko's evil nature at all, when she can somehow sense Yami. But considering that real life psychopaths are excellent at hiding their true motives and even good enough to fool brain scans and polygraphs, it is actually completely realistic that Sakura doesn't have a clue. As a test, Junko deliberately badly fakes some killing intent, keeping her body completely calm, and Sakura naturally can tell it's not even real in the slightest, and brushes it off. She does realize that something was strange, but without psychological training, has no clue that only a psychopath could actually do what Junko just did, and is distracted before she can ponder it more.
- As Word of God states in Chapter 61, the wiki states that Ishizu is both a diplomat and an ambassador. Now take into considering what Junko does with her in that very same chapter, you realize that Junko now has an ally with diplomatic immunity on her side...
- Chapter 87 makes a moment in canon seem chilling if you consider the possibilities. When Seiko, Izayoi and Ruruka all get expelled, Munakata is there to get them to join the Future Foundation. However, this chapter invokes another possibility: what if Junko found them first? And this is what happens to poor Ruruka and only Ruruka. Just the very thought can send shivers down your spine.
