Pedestrian At Best | Danganronpa Despair Time | animatic/pmv

Narratives, the concept of change, and David Chiem.

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song: Pedestrian At Best by Courtney Barnett
   • Courtney Barnett – Pedestrian At Best  

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SOMEHOW. SOMEHOW. I MADE AN ANIMATIC IN A MONTH

this idea had been in my head since April and yet I decided to make this in the same month that I started college. to be fair I have a surprising amount of free time, but to be unfair I'm supposed to be using that time for homework. so,

grips David by the shoulders. what is up with you. I think about the theme of change and regression and stasis in DRDT a normal amount (lie). I also started storyboarding this shortly after rewatching Utena, so some imagery from there bleeds into and mixes with the symbolism I've decided to toss in for fun !

if you're watching this animatic with no idea who this guy is, here's the youtube account for DRDT+ the playlist containing all the episodes so far, it's all on youtube. please watch danganronpa despair time I beg of you:

channel: https://youtube.com/@danganronpadespa...
series:    • DRDT All Episodes  


below contains artist commentary ! have fun

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0:11 diatribe definition: a bitter speech, a satirical criticism. I am deeply fascinated with the parallels going on between these four. I'm sorry for the person I will become when we get more pre-killing-game lore about Mai Akasaki. (Also I gave David shorter hair in this bit to show how long its been)

0:17 I do subscribe to the theory that David did care about Arei and Xander at least a little, so expect to see more of this as we go along

0:23 this is the clock from the Literature Girl Insane MV that was released a while back ! the clock doesn't have hands, so it can't go forward. it stays the exact same no matter what. despite what David tries to sell as an inspirational speaker, he's not truly so sanctimonious. I think it's interesting that, so far, the two victims who believed in change/redemption were also significant to David in some way. gives you something to think about

0:25 something something Killing off the manifestation of your career with your own hands to keep your pride

0:28 you ever think about how it's confirmed in the LGI MV that David doesn't even see himself as a human. I do. I do

0:32 he's a Leo actually ! August 9th babeyyyy

0:35 XANDER AND DAVID MAKE SO SADDD they're so. the LGI MV did so much for me what do you MEAN David sees him as a main character. what do you MEAN "if something's important it'll break and disappear". I think if Xander was alive he'd punch David in the face. and I think it would hurt David on More than just a physical level. aughghhh

0:48 that one tumblr post by QueenSparkleKitten that goes ""oh no we're all doomed by the narrative" maybe you are. I'm the narrative's favourite" / "update: turns out this is not a good thing for me"

0:52 you may notice that the hand points to the note. is this saying David gave it to Xander. or is it pointing because it mentions Teruko. who knows !

0:54 I'm genuinely really happy with these two frames !! Min my girl Min I love you so much waughhghghhhh

1:00 this wasn't intentional but I do like the effect of Min shrinking as she's surrounded by the set equipment

1:03 drawing the sketch for these made me realise that David, who doesn't believe change is real, became enemies with Hu, who has a butterfly motif. I think that's a really neat detail

1:10 this is genuinely one of my favourite frames in this which makes me laugh because. this is a David PMV. this video is meant to focus on David. and yet the One frame that focuses on Whit is my favourite one

1:24 do NOT fucking get me started on Teruko and David I will never never never shut up. they hate each other. they share ideologies. they both grieve someone who has red hair and gold eyes. they both see themselves as the protagonist of the story. they both believe that they bring nothing but harm to those around them. they fucking HATE each other. but they're aso so similar. there is something wrong with you that is also wrong with me. as a sidenote, I think that David lied about who's secret he got and that he actually got Teruko's. I think about them a lot. someone hold me back

1:30 I changed the colouring style here mostly to make it easier on myself because choosing the right flats for this pmv was tedious as hell. but I also think you could make up a meaning that fits

1:34 I will never stop putting coffins in everything ever. Teruko and David both see themselves as dead. and yet they can't die (at least in Teruko's case). the coffin is a state of stasis, they cannot grow or change. it's inherently isolating as it traps you away from the rest of the world. yeah utena left an impact on me how can you tell

1:38 also. Teruko jumpscare. this moment where she fades away but her eyes remain is half of the reason why I put an "eye contact" warning bcus that could skeve some people out