Analysis Blog: The Executions of Danganronpa V3 Part One

Before I analyse the executions of Danganronpa V3 I will say this right now. MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA V3

Introduction:

Ahh, Danganronpa V3 - what an odd, odd game you have been for the fanbase. Thanks to a certain twist you have pissed off your entire fanbase. While I could make a blog on the ending twist and why it’s less than ideal I decided to talk about something that Danganronpa V3 does extremely well - the executions. For those who don’t know the Danganronpa Series - The main mechanic of the Danganronpa Series that once every chapter 1 or 2 character are found dead and then the rest of the cast who are still alive must find out who done it. Once they find the culprit and explain how they did the murderer the murderer is treated to an execution by Monokuma. Personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the executions in Super Danganronpa 2 because they were too much on the goofy side but with Danganronpa V3 they really did the right balance between goofy and painful and they all have at least some symbolism that is worth taking a look at (I won’t be doing Chapter 6’s execution because there’s little to analyse about it). So, I am The Gaming News Guy and I will analyse the executions of Danganronpa V3

Execution 1 - Kaede Akamatsu: The Ultimate Pianist. - I Had Stepped on A Cat

Well...this is a surprise. For those who don’t know Kaede was promoted in the advertising heavily as the main protagonist of Danganronpa V3 but that was all a lie made by Kodaka - Saihara the Ultimate Detective is the true protagonist of Danganronpa V3. In the middle of the first chapter - Kaede realizes that she is the culprit behind the death of Rantararo - The Ultimate ??? and you switch to Saihara who has to prove Kaede is the true culprit. Once you prove it was Kaede that did it - she is proven guilty of the murderer and Kaede herself says a tearful goodbye to the rest of her cast as her execution starts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71sxROWTdqk

Description:

It starts off very similar to Leon and Teruteru's executions (who were the first executions of D1,SD2) in that she is dragged off by a chain that goes around her neck. Unlike Teruteru and Leon she is dragged upwards with Saihara desperately trying to grab her - then it cuts to her falling onto a piano killing machine. Turns out that Monokuma has set up an orchestra arena complete with giant clock in the background, stage equipment and even viewers consisting of an army of Monokumas. The Stage is all set for Kaede’s final performance. Monokuma and the Monocubs hang Kaede by the neck. The Monokuma cubs use a pulley system to force her to play the song Flea Waltz on the Piano with her feet constantly swinging her around all the while the rope gets tighter and tighter around her neck. Kaede is struggling trying desperately to breath until face goes redder and redder. Monokuma doesn’t try to have her get a quick death - he wants to make her suffer. The Audience then starts throwing rocks at Kaede and the music gets faster and faster. Monokuma then does his final motion and Kaede’s body is not moving - likely died from having no air to breath. Once the show is over and, the iron maiden style keyboard cover slams shut on her and Monokid, reducing her body to unrecognizable paste with all her blood bleeding out of the keyboard and getting rid of Monokuma thanks to the efforts of Monodam one of the Mono Cubs and to play the scene out the song that was used in Leon’s first execution was used.

Analysis:

First thing to analyse is the Piano Killing Machine that Kaede is put on - The Piano symbolises her talent - that being the Ultimate Pianist as well as Monokuma’s love for twisting things that bring great happiness and joy to people and making them sinister - combining:

A Piano:

The Iron Maiden Execution Device:

So basically, Kaede is on an Iron Maiden Piano. So..what about the Thorns and the Rose and why the Hanging. Well the Thorns and why Kaede was hanged is twofold - the first thing that this is referring to which should be very familiar to people who play the Persona Series or have watched Stardust Crusaders - The Hanged Man Arcana:

Let’s get the obvious thing out of the way - Kaede is getting hanged - looks like she is more the Hanged Women then the Hanged Man..haha, get it. In all seriousness, there is a reason why I believe that Kaede’s Execution is referencing the Hanged Man. Other than the whole Hanged Man thing - often the Hanged Man Arcana has having buses and thorns on the tree and if you notice on the piano there are thorns and roses which based on their appearance look like the White Camellia Flower as well as the Rose - The White Camellia Flower also known as the Tsubaki symbolizes death and grief in Japan.

While the Rose is usually a rather positive image thanks to the fact that there are thorns all over it could have a different meaning. I feel like the roses with the thorns represents loss which makes sense considering what is about to happen to Kaede. But the reason why i feel the Hanged Man Arcana represents Kaede’s execution is the symbol meaning of the Hanged Man.The Hanged Man Arcana is associated with self-sacrifice for the sake of enlightenment, the bindings that makes one free, paradoxes and hanging between heaven and earth and that very much fits Kaede. Kaede isn’t truly sure if she was the one that killed Amami but she tries to put up not much resistance the reason why is because she is willing to sacrifice herself for the group to move forward even though she is the team leader of the group. The Hanged Man Arcana is also very fitting in a meta sort of way as Kaede through her death broke her binding to the Danganronpa TV Show.

While this one I am less sure about - i think Kaede’s execution is also somewhat a reference to an execution that was commonly used in the olden times - that being hung on a tree and then stoned to death. When the Monokumas are throwing things at Kaede originally, it’s tomatos but as the song goes if you notice those tomatoes slowly turn into rocks. Like the old punishment Kaede was hung and stoned.

What about the clock imagery - well there’s a big giant clock in Kaede’s execution as well as several clock gears. What I think the giant clock is referencing is the Edgar Allan Poe’s story The Masque of the Red Death - In the story there is a big clock that is symbolic of death - as well as being a symbol of “time that flies” and the inevitability of death. How does this relate to Kaede’s execution you may ask well notice as the execution goes on the clock gets faster and faster as Kaede gets closer and closer to death. The clock represents the fact that Kaede’s time is running out and when she dead the clock stops completely since Kaede is already deceased. Kaede’s death was inevitable - she had no way to escape and Monokuma was prolonging her suffering. Finally there are a bunch of musical references in the execution which makes sense considering Kaede’s talent of the SHSL Pianist.

The first is the song that Kaede is trying to play with her feet and that song being Der Flohwalzer otherwise known as Flea Waltz. It is one of the simplest piano pieces you can learn and often one of the first for beginners which plays into Monokuma’s ironic sense of humor - The SHSL Pianist known for her skill on the Piano is being forced to play one of the simplest and easiest songs to learn on the piano. The second musical reference is the outfit Monokuma is wearing during the execution is based on a Conductor's Outfit:

Which makes sense considering Monokuma is trying to conduct a symphony complete with baton. Music Notes are constantly played throughout the execution and they match to the actual notes used in the song Flea Waltz. The stage that Monokuma is conducting the execution is based on the 18th Century Musical Arenas complete with large room for the viewers and upper areas that people can watch the execution from above. Finally, there’s the name of the execution itself - “I Stepped On a Cat”. At first this name may seem dumb but “I Stepped on a Cat” is actually a piece of music. Der Flohwalzer is known in Japan as Neko Funjatta( I Stepped on the Cat).

Overall Thoughts:

Personally, this is one of my personal favourite executions in the series not only because it contains a ton of references that you pay not originally get but it also pays fitting tribute to a classical piece of music while also having elements of Monokuma’s dark humor. The execution itself is easily one of the most brutal the series has to offer and i think it’s up there with Leon. Leon’s may have been brutal but being slowly choked to death is a much more slow and painful demise personally especially considering that Kaede really didn’t deserve that brutal of an execution (along with Chapter 4’s murderer which we will get into later). Overall this execution is my new favourite execution and honestly I think it will end up staying that way.

Rest in Peace - Kaede Akamatsu – you were truly were best waifu

Execution 2 - Kirumi Tojo: The Ultimate Maid - Thread of Agony

Most of the Danganronpa Fans who had kept up with V3 correctly assumed that Kirumi would be the culprit in the case considering her name symbolises "slicing/beheading beauty". So most of the Danganronpa Fans weren’t really surprised that she was up for the chopping block. What we were surprising was the execution - a lot of people assumed that this execution would go the next culprit but nope it terms out the Spider’s Thread Execution was for Kirumi. So, let’s take a look at it and see if it has symbolic meaning.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4toyDcDUgQ

Description:

Kirumi tried to escape away from Monokuma and her fate. Kirumi gets surrounded by an angry mob who are telling her to quit her job because of her actions. She is then is given the option of climbing a rope to safety but in typical Monokuma fashion the rope is actually a thorny vine that cuts her hand everything she tries grabbing it. Monokuma has something special planned for her - giant buzzsaws that whirl around the rope. These Buzzsaws shred her clothes as well as make several deep cuts on her body. Barely holding on she escapes except the rope is a thorny vine that cuts her hands every time she grabs it. And that's not even getting into the buzzsaws whirling around the rope, shredding her clothes and her body as she climbs. Kirumi narrowly survives the experience and just nearly reaches the escape hole - only to realize she never had a chance of making it out alive. Turns out the hole was just a childish drawing taped to the ceiling. The rope snaps and Kirumi falls several stories to her death crushing Monosuke.

Analysis:

While at first this execution may not seem that symbolic - there is a bunch of references to both her talent and a certain famous Japanese story.

First of all, Kirumi is chased by an angry job - this represents the shame of her actions putting her own selfish actions over others. In a lot of fiction Maids are meant to help others as well as their masters at all cost and prioritise others over themselves. Kirumi’s motivation for killing is the most selfish - driven by revenge against Ryoma so it makes sense that the mob is telling her to quit for her actions.

Then a thorny vine comes down - the thorny vine is often seen as a symbol of both beauty and death which makes sense considering Kirumi is a beauty but also has a darker side to her considering she expresses little remorse for the actions she has done.

She then climbs up the vine, which hurt her hands in the process. Something very noticeable is the spider motif in both the execution along with the thorn theme.

This was intentional by Spike Chunsoft as Kirumi’s execution references the "The Spider's Thread" is a 1918 short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. I won’t go into extremely detail about it but basically - a sinful man named Kandata who is currently in hell for the actions he committed the Buddha takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell. Kandata grabs the thread with all his might and climbs up it Kandata quickly tires and glances downwards realizing how far he had come. However, this was short-lived as others started to climb the thread. Fearing that the thread will break from the weight of the others, he shouts that the spider's thread is his and his alone. It is at this moment that the thread breaks, and he and all the other sinners are cast back down into the Pool of Blood.  In the end, Kandata condemned himself by being concerned other himself rather than others. Fun Fact - this story was referenced in the Legend of Zelda Game: The Skyward Sword through the four dungeons of the game - the Ancient Cistern.

This story is very much referenced in Kirumi’s execution though twisted in typical Danganronpa fashion. Kirumi tries climbing up into freedom on the thorny vine which Monokuma “offers” to her. This is likely a reference to the fact that Buddha gave Kirumi the chance to escape. As she climbs up the rope she thinks that she may finally get to freedom like Kandata first but unlike Buddha who gave no room for salvation for Kandata - Monokuma tricks Kirumi into thinking there is freedom. During all of this she is attacked by buzzsaws which could be a reference to her battle maid personality as well as in terms of personality she is an extremely sharp person.

The childish drawing that Monokuma uses to block a reference may be symbolic of Ryoma considering his main motive had been to help a children’s orphanage so it’s almost like Ryoma has come back from the grave to give Kirumi her due. The thorn then snaps which makes Kirumi fall like Kandata did in the story and she falls to her death unlike Kandata who simply fell back into hell. She smacks to the ground - her body beaten and broken and roses (which is often seen as a symbol of death) all around her as well as a spider’s web completing the execution.

Overall Thoughts:

While I don’t think, this is quite as good as Chapter 1,3,4’s executions this is definitely in the top tier of Danganronpa executions - containing a good amount of symbolic references as well as being extremely brutal which is a theme for this game. Kirumi is one of the most least sympathetic murderers in the series so honestly I feel getting an execution as brutal as this one was very fitting for someone who prioritized their own selfish desires over everyone else. So overall great execution but I feel like there are other ones that are better.

Rest in Peace - Kirumi Tojo

Execution 3 - Korekiyo Shinguji: Ultimate Anthropologist -Past and Present Execution Photo Scroll

Everyone’s favourite sisterfucker (wait..what). Most people accurately guessed that he would be one of the killers in this game but a lot of people thought that his execution would be the Spider’s Thread Execution which turned out to be for Kirumi. Alongside Kaede - Korekiyo’s execution has the most symbolism in it and is glazed with Japanese Lore and Culture which is appropriate considering that his talent is basically Japanese Folklorist. Personally, I am a huge fan of this execution so let’s take a look at it and see what info we can get from it.

https://youtu.be/C3pVwd_2Aq8?t=3m49s

Description:

Korekiyo is spun around by both after being spun around really fast by Monotaro and Monofunny, a samurai slices the rope that binds him - Korekiyo falls from a great height and drops into a large cauldron that starts to boil - Monokuma and Monofunny throw in more logs in order to make the boiling pot boil quicker. As it goes quicker and quicker - Korekiyo’s face starts heating up and up as he sinks further into the boiling pot. Monodam decides to kill himself by running into the fire surprising both Monodam and Monofunny. As Korekiyo goes deeper into the burning pot he dies from being boiled alive. As his spirit flies up into the sky reaching towards his sister Miyadera the one whom his whole entire murderer plan was dedicated for, as he wanted to murder people to please her deceased sister. Before these two star crossed lovers can reunite Monokuma pulls a fast one of Korekiyo denying him the chance to be reunited with the one by spraying salt on him - this makes sense considering the theory that Ghost do not mix well with salt - Then the his sister starts to sprinkle salt on him which causes him to melt - erasing him from this world entirely - both spirit and body. There’s one final shot of the Fake Sister and Monokuma overlooking a Pagonta.

Analysis:

It is clear by both the method of the execution and the theming that Korekiyo’s execution is drenched in Japanese Mythology and Lore so let’s put on our Japanese Hates and take a dive into this thing.

The Art Style that the Samurai Man and the Women are depicted in greatly resemble ancient Japanese Paintings such as this one:

  

Which makes sense considering Folklorist. The rope that types up Korekiyo is known as a Shrimp Tie

The reason behind why Monokuma uses a Shrimp Tie to tie up Korekiyo is clear. Turns out that - In Japan the Shrimp Tie was used as a form of torture as well as making people suffer in order to force them to tell secrets. The reason why the Shrimp Tie worked so well as an effective torturing method is because many victims of this torture would feel a extremely painful burning sensation which is pretty appropriate considering what’s going to happen to Korekiyo. But this method of torture may have an interesting meaning as this method is used by people today who practise BDSM (short for Bondage Dominance Sato-Masochism). Considering how messed up/sexual his relationship with his sister is I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a reference to his sister and the things he wanted to do with his sister.  

Even the way that Korekiyo’s rope is cut (via a Samurai with a Katana) is reflective of something. Another torture killing method that you may have heard of - Seppuku, specifically after the victim has already died as usually there will be someone with a Samurai sword who will cut the dead body’s head off as part of this Ancient Japanese Ritual as shown here.

What about the method of death itself - death by boiling - well that’s another reference. Death by Boiling was an actual execution method used by the Japanese (it was state approved). People would be boiled alive as they wanted to make people suffer as long as possible - it was used at the Edo Period and the most famous example of when death by boiling was the extremely notable outlaw samurai Ishikawa Goemon who was executed via boiling. The Samurai in the opening section of the execution may be a reference to Goemon. Since Korekiyo deals with ancient Japanese legends and tales this makes sense.

Finally, after Korekiyo dies by boiling his spirit ascends to the heaven. This is probably a reference to the fact that the Japanese place a great importance on the sprit and after a spirit dies it ascends to heaven. Korekiyo is finally reunited with the one he loves so much - his sister. This references to his obsessive love towards his sister (so much so that he gained a split personality that was based on his sister) but it was all a trick by Monokuma as Monokuma throws salt at him. If you have watched Mob Psycho or are knowledgable when it comes to Japanese Folklore - Throwing handfuls of salt as a means for expelling evil spirits (considering Korekiyo’s motive for method and his actions he would classify as an evil spirit) is a tradition in Japan originating in ancient history effectively erasing his existence. The outfit that Monokuma wears is based on the Onmyōji which were Japanese cosmology, who are traditionally said to have been capable of communicating with and controlling spirits.

The final shot is Monokuma and Korekiyo's sister overlooking a city with a Pagoda - the city that they are overlooking is Ancient Kyoto which was the capital of Imperial Japan until 1869.

Thoughts:

This is absolutely one of my favorite executions in the series - while it’s personally not my favorite execution in the series that still goes to Kaede’s Flea Waltz I still love how they put so many references in it from old school Japanese Torture Methods to ancient Japanese Folklore. This is probably the most reference heavy execution and it’s perfect for someone like Korekiyo who deals with Japanese Folklorist. I really like the method of execution as while fire based executions have been used before with Celes - this makes the suffering of the execution even worse as Korekiyo is literally being boiled alive. I also like the small amount of Black Comedy used in this execution and i especially like how Monokuma denied Korekiyo the one thing he wanted most - to reunite with his sister lover in the afterlife so overall this is easily in my Top 5 maybe Top 3 of favorite executions. This absolutely redeemed Super Danganronpa 2 Chapter 3’s execution - Mikan which was terrible.

Rest in Peace - Korekiyo Shinguji - You Beautiful Sister Fucking Bastard

I have decided to split this into two parts. In the next part, we will be covering Executions 4,5,6 and my final thoughts on which executions I think are the best. Bugs will die, a Hero goes to Space the place they most wanted to go, A Traitor who dresses as others will be executed and Robot will save everyone but I will cover that in the next part.

Top 10 Healers

Introduction:

If there is one class/character type i would consider to be extremely underrated it would be the healer - in an RPG like Final Fantasy or an FPS like Overwatch you will definitely need a healer in order to keep your buddies alive so they can hit hard. To pay tribute to one of my favourite character archetypes i have decided to compile a list of in my opinion some of the best healers around. I will be including all media for this list not just video games. It’s time to bring out your mediguns,call out your Crazy Diamonds it’s the Top Ten Healers. (No Healers from Bleach will appear on the list)

Number 10:

Princess Peach from Super Mario RPG

Oh, boy it’s time for The Gaming News Guy’s Unpopular Opinion statement - I am not a huge fan of Super Mario RPG, while i don’t think it’s a bad game by any means i wasn’t a huge fan of it. However, i can say without a doubt that Princess Peach absolutely rocks as a healer in this game. While Mallow admittedly is an okay healer at the start of the game - Peach is better in every way once you get her. First, she has restored HP and cure status effects (more HP with timing) with Therapy meaning if you have an itty-bitty scratch on Mario’s lovely moustache then Therapy will heal it right back up. Like any good healer, she can heal multiple allies with Group Hug with Group Hug which restores all allies but heals less than Therapy but if you have a damaged party then she can heal a good chunk of the team’s health. She’s even got a revive move which will bring back anyone who has fainted.

Finally, she has some status inflicting moves such as a Sleepy Time which sends down a giant sheep (In Scotland Sheep are more likely to be flattened) and Mute which makes the enemy unable to use special attacks. In Super Princess Peach she even can heal herself with the Calm Ability. Peach does have a few downsides - she only has one special attack that can damage and overall her damage sucks but as a good support character she more than fits the job of the party healer. Now if only she was as useful in other games as this one.

Number 9:

Sharla from Xenoblade Chronicles

 

Xenoblade Chronicles, what a game you are - easily in my Top 20 Favourite Games of all time soooo looks like picking a healer from that game is inevitable so which one to pick..well you probably already know but I think it’s fitting to introduce her. It’s the Sharpshooting Sniper Media Sharla - say that 4 times fast. Anyway, Sharla while not being one of my favourite party members is still very useful and a medic i would like to have on my team.

Prior to the start of the story, Sharla and her younger brother Juju lived in Colony 6. Sharla was due to marry a member of Colony 6's Defence Force, named Gadolt. Unfortunately, the Mechon attacked, led by Xord , and destroyed Colony 6. Sharla and Juju were tasked with helping the young and elderly flee the Colony. It is at the Refugee Camp that Sharla meets Shulk and Reyn. She almost immediately takes a liking to Reyn but has trouble believing that Shulk can witness the future. They eventually reach Juju, who has been captured by a Mechon M71, and defeat it.

Unfortunately for Sharla, their victory is short-lived as Xord appears and terrorizes the group. He kidnaps Juju, causing Sharla to faint from the ordeal for about four hours. The crew later encounters Xord and after the battle, she is asked to accompany Shulk on his journey.

Sharla brings more than her “assets” to combat. Sharla possess a Rifle that can heal her allies as well as do damage. She has healing moves such as Healing Bullet which restores some HP to a single party member, Heal Blast which restores a large amount of HP to a single party member, Healer Round - restores a medium amount of HP to all party members, Healer Encounter - restores HP to the targeted party member each time he/she gets attacked. Sharla also has buff/debuff bullets such as: Cure Bullet - removes debuffs from a single target and grants temporary debuff immunity, Tranquilizer - puts an enemy to sleep, HeadStaker - dazes a Toppled enemy. She even has some damaging spells such as Thunder Bullet,Metal Bullet and Headshot which is her instant kill (i presume she is taking lessons from the TF2 Sniper). Overall Sharla’s a great healer able to healer allies and debuff foes for quick kills - don’t underestimate her rifle or you might find that your head is blown off - or healed depending if you’re her ally. If you’re her enemy pray to God because once she has you in her sights - you will be 6 feet under.

Number 8:

Soraka from League of Legends:

While i don’t play it anyone - I do admit there was once a time where i played a considerable amount of League of Legends and due to me being a huge fan of support characters i took a natural liking to certain characters Soraka not only because she was a healer but i also really liked her backstory. For those who don’t know:

Soraka lived for centuries in an enchanted grove - she healed the wounded and sick that sought her out. One man named Warwick called came to her grove and begged her to heal his wife. While she could not save her she offered a chance to alleviate his pain. Unwilling to let go of his grief Warwick ran from the grove. Warwick would return and eventually Soraka grew attached to Warwick. Eventually Warwick left the grove wanting to get revenge on the people who murdered his wife. Soraka decided to follow him despite the warnings tells her not to. She would later find Warwick who was desperately trying to fight off a group of men. She tried to help him but these group of men were extremely strong so she decided to save him by using all her celestial power. A shining light appeared from Soraka's staff and after the light had vanished she realized the price she had paid she was now mortal for her crime against the stars. She took comfort in Warwick's safety but the man betrayed her and stabbed her in the back. Soraka had been fooled. She called on the power of the stars, searing his flesh and cursing his cruelty and he retreated - Soraka dedicated herself to heal the wounded and protect the helpless.

Soraka is an extremely helpful healer. With her first ability is a passive ability called Salvation - which gives Soraka 70% bonus movement speed when moving towards allied champions below 40% of their maximum health. Her first ability and her main ability is called Starcall where Soraka calls down a star which deals magic damage. She also has an ability called Rejuvenation which activates when Starcall hits an enemy foe - she heals herself every half-second, gains 10% bonus movement speed when not moving towards enemy champions. She can heal her allies with Astral Infusion which heals her allies but she cannot use it when she is under 5% health. Soraka can create a zone called Equinox which deals magic damage to all enemy champions in an area and silences enemy champions that are in the zone. Finally, there’s her ultimate - Wish which the Ultimate Healing Ability aka healing all allied champions, including targetable allies, and herself meaning she will be able to keep her allies in the fight. Due to Soraka’s huge Mana bar and good Mana Regen - Soraka is the perfect healer to keep her allies alive while causing her foes much needed trouble.

Overall Soraka is a fun character with an interesting backstory and a playstyle that personally caters to my personal states. I mean she was one of the main characters i used in League of Legends for a reason.

Number 7:

Raine Sage from Tales of Symphonia

In the Tales Series there are multiple healers such as Estelle, Iria, Tear, Rutee but my personal favourite healer in the series goes to Raine Sage from Tales of Symphonia hands down. While Tales of Symphonia is not my favourite game in the series (That goes to Tales of Vesperia) it has great gameplay and great characters - one of the best being Raine Sage. Raine and her younger brother Genis (Who are Half-Elves) were born in Tethe'alla. Their parents “abandoned them” at the Otherworldly Gate, one of the two poles between the two words, when Genis was an infant. The reason why Raine and Genis’s parents did this was because to escape from the racism towards half-elves in Tethe'alla.Due to being all along Raine decided to take care of her younger brother. Five to 6 years later the pair would arrive in Village of Iselia. Raine is Iselia schoolteacher, and she leaves to accompany Colette on her journey before Lloyd and Genis do.

In terms of personality she is one of the most interesting characters in the game - due to not having a good childhood - Raine grew up very cynical compared to her younger brother and would often give sarcastic remarks to those she doesn’t like especially do Fab King Himself Zelos. Contrary to most healers in video games she is cold, calculating and has a very practical and self-sacrificing approach to situations compared to most of her other more reckless teammates. Though underneath she does have a softer side as shown with her interactions with her younger brother Genis and Lloyd acting like the mom of the group - always encouraging the group to move forward and telling people off when they make mistakes. Though her personality is probably due to her having to grow up extremely fast compared to other people her age.

In terms of combat Raine specializes in healing and supportive magic with little offensive magic potential. Raine also has extremely good magical defence meaning she takes less damage from magic based attacks and has an extremely large TP (Which is basically this game’s equivalent to HP). She starts off with First Aid heals just one person but as she levels up her healing ability. Raine's spells have variations depending on whether she is focused on the "Technical" or "Strike" branch of arte progression. In her "Technical" arte progression, she is able to learn Nurse which gives Raine the ability to heal all of her party members, Healing Circle which is a more powerful version of Nurse, and Revitalize which is her most powerful healing ability as it heals a large amount of her party’s health. Though her "Strike" arte progression, she can learn healing spells that greatly affect one ally such as Heal and Cure and she can revive her allies back from the dead with Revive. She can even resurrect multiple allies at once with Resurrection. Raine is the only playable character who uses support magic such as Barrier and light spells such as Ray or Holy Lance

Overall Raine is an extremely potent healer force and a great character who may start off as cold and calculating but throughout the journey the player finds out what she has gone through and why she does so much to protect her friends. Personally, she’s my favourite female character in Tales of Symphonia and my healer in the series.

Number 6:

Yukari Takeba From Persona 3

Honestly this was a pretty tough pick for me as I had two potential choices for which Persona Healer i would choose for this list - Yukari Takeba from Persona 3 or Yukiko Amagi from Persona 4. After looking at both and considering my options I decided to go with Yukari (I used both in my main P3 and P4 Team so I am familiar with both). There are two reasons why I decided to go with Yukari - the first is because I felt she did a better job as a healer in Persona 3 Portable. Secondly this may get a bit on the controversial side but I really liked the direction they took Yukari in Persona 3 - The Answer (I could make an entire blog on that story) but for now let’s talk Yukari’s Backstory and Personality.

Yukari's deceased father, Eiichiro Takeba, worked for the Kirijo Grou’s Shadow Research Department. Apposed to Mitsuru’s grandfather’s plan to bring about the Fall he released the Shadows which caused him to be killed by Mitsuru's grandfather. These events of the past caused the Dark Hour which is the main issue that the SEES  is forced to overcome. After Eiichiro’s death - Yukari's mother dealt with the pain from the loss of her husband by dating numerous boyfriends and essentially abandoned her daughter as such Yukari grew up an extremely unhappy child not only due to the boyfriends her mother debated but to get away from the backlash and blame towards Eiichiro as people believed he was responsible for the deaths of many Kirijo Group researchers even though it was all rumours. Yukari ends up alone having no friends coupled with the pain of losing her father caused her to become introverted not caring about herself and others. When Yukari enrolled at Gekkoukan High School, she finally received the letter her father wrote 10 years ago. Finding out about that her father truly loved a her as well as the wishes he had. Yukari decides to join SEES to learn about the truth about the events that caused her father's death. She becomes one of the first party members of the game and held most people at a distance and while she has a clear dislike of Mitsuru at the start of the game due to her family’s role in her father’s death she grows to care about the group.

In terms of personality Yukari is extremely strong willed and determined constantly focusing on her task of finding about her father’s death. She has somewhat of an Oedipus complex; her love for her father reaches the point of idolization but she has an extremely poor relationship with her mother due to her throwing herself at numerous shallow boyfriends. However, what Yukari doesn’t understand is that that her mother is simply trying to move on which is her greatest flaw - she fails to understand the feelings of others which causes her a lot of issues in both Persona 3 - The Journey and The Answer.

In terms of combat she is easily the character that is most focused on supporting and healing her allies as well as wind magic. When her Persona is in its initial stage it can learn healing spells such as Dia (which slightly restores a party member’s HP), Media (which slightly restores a party’s HP), Diarama (Which moderately restores 1 ally's HP, Recram (which revives an ally, restoring 50% of HP.).Medirama (which moderately restores party's HP). Diarahan (Which fully restores a Party Member’s HP), Samarecram (Which revives an ally, fully restoring HP) and Mediarahan (which fully restores the party’s HP). Due to Yukari’s extremely high SP she can make use of these healing spells to heal her allies in case they get injured. Unlike some healers, she can also do a decent amount of damage which wind spells such as Garu (which deals wind damage), Garula (which does Medium Wind Damage), Magarula (which deals medium Wind damage to all foes) and Magarudyne (which deals heavy Wind damage to all foes). She even has some dispelling spells such as Me Patra (which dispels Panic,Fear and Distress) to the part as well as Charmdi (which dispels Charm).

Overall Yukari is an extremely interesting character (personally i consider her to be one of the most underrated characters in the Persona Series as well as the character that gets waaay too much hate) as well as being a very useful party member (no way would i have been able to beat the final boss without her). She’s not in my Top 5 Favorite Persona Characters but she’s definitely one of my favourite female characters in the series.

Number 5:

Rosa Joanna Farrell from Final Fantasy 4

The White Mage, a Final Fantasy Staple - we have had Final Fantasy White Mages since the beginning so which one is the best? I could have gone with Garnet,Yuna,Aerith or Celes but in the end i decided to go with the Wife of Cecil Harvey and the White Mage of Final Fantasy 4 as well as the supreme waifu of the Final Fantasy Series.

Rosa became a White Mage because her mother, Joanna, was a White Mage who fought alongside her father who was a Dragoon. One of her main motivations for training to become a White Mage is because she wanted to fight alongside her lover Cecil like her mother did with her father.Rosa first appears worrying about Cecil’s trip to the Mist Village. She worries for and tries to encourage Cecil, who has doubts about the King of Baron. She speaks about the goodness she sees in him, that he needs to follow his heart. Finally, she wishes Cecil luck on his mission to the Mist. When Cecil does not return from his mission to the Mist Village and lastly wishes Cecil luck on his mission to Mist. When Cecil does not return, and after learning of the new plans of the Red Wings, Rosa starts searching for him. While she is searching for her love she eventually gets inflicted with Desert Fever and collapses on the outskirts of Kaipo. An elderly couple tends to Rosa during her malady, and when Cecil and Rydia visit her, they vow to find the Sand Pearl so they can cure her. After obtaining the Sand Pearl they return to Kaipo and use it on Rosa, who recovers and the lovers are finally reunited. Rosa tells Cecil about what had happened since he left Baron and revealed that Golbez has taken control of the Red Wings. She joins Cecil on his adventures to stop the Baron as the team’s mage and encounters many hardships. One such incident is her reuniting with her own mother who laments permitting Rosa to study White Magic since it put her in harm's way, demanding that Rosa remain home. Rosa reminds her mother that it is her duty to help others in need. Rosa's mother admits the value of her daughter's choices and entrusts Rosa's safety to Cecil. After the adventure is over Rosa and Cecil have a son named Ceodore.

Rosa is the white mage of the group and thus is the most adept at healing her allies in a pinch. Rosa uses staffs/bows and has her stats focused on her magical ability. She learns every White Magic spell in the game. She has non-White Magic Abilities such as Aim which charges up a slightly stronger attack that never misses it is only usable while Rosa is equipped with a bow. Pray restores a small amount of HP to allies if successful - the amount of healing is similar to a Cure spell. In terms of magical abilities she has Cure - which restores a small amount of HP as well as Cura, Curaga and Curaja which is her Cure Spell at its maximum and restores all of a party member’s HP. She has reviving spells such as Raise (which restores an ally and some of their HP) as well as Arise (which restores an ally and all of their HP).She has debuff/status affecting moves such as Hold (which causes paralysis to foes), Slow (which slows foes down), Silence (which prevents enemies from using magical attacks), Berserk (which inflicts Berserk on Foes), Confusion (which inflicts confusion on foes), Mini (which inflicts Mini on foes). She also has some buffing magical abilities such as Protect (Which halves physical damage dealt to targets), Dispels (which remove status enhancements and ailments),Haste (Which increases the speed of her allies) and  Reflect (which avoids traps and earth based damage). She has some unconventional spells such as Teleport (which allows her to escape battles) and Sight (Which brings up the map). Her strongest spell is Holy ( a very powerful spell made up of pure holy energy and as such deals holy-elemental damage (and thus is good against zombies).

Due to Rosa’s extremely good magic status and high MP statues she can certainly get work done with a bow or a staff. While she might not be my favourite character in the game there’s no denying just how useful she is in combat (which is why she is the Top Medic RPG Character on this list).

Number 4:

Tsunade from the Naruto Series

Look at who it is - the first anime character on the list and it won’t be the last (hint at next entry). This one was a very tough call between Sakura and Tsunade but I decided to go with the better character so I decided to go with Tsunade - looks like luck finally payed off for her. Tsunade is the 5th Hokage and one of the most powerful female characters in the series so let’s take a look at her (and not in that way you pervs)

Tsunade is the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki. After she graduated from Konoha's Academy, Tsunade was teamed with Orochimaru and Jiraiya under the leadership of Hiruzen Sarutobi who would later become the Third Hokage. Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki dreamed of someday becoming Hokage so that he could protect Konoha, On Nawaki's twelfth birthday, Tsunade gave him Hashirama's necklace in the hopes that it would help him achieve his dream. He died in battle the next day in the Second Shinobi World War.Because of her brother’s death Tsunade began to advocate from the inclusion of medical-nin. Hiruzen, the Third Hokage could not dedicate resources but agreed with her. Dan Kato a Shinobi in her village agreed with her and their relationship developed and later the two would fall in love with Tsunade giving Dan her necklace. Tsunade would later gain the title of the Legendary Sanin along with Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.Tsunade would go on to heavily contribute to the war though was unable to prevent Dan's death and the experience caused her to develop haemophobia.

Tsunade became convinced that achieving one's dreams was impossible and that to be Hokage was a fool's job. She left Konoha with Dan’s Niece Shizune. Jiraiya with his new apprentice Naruto decided to find her to ask her to become the next Hokage after Hiruzen’s death. She rejected the idea but later decided to become the 5th Hokage thanks to Naruto and Jiraiya's efforts of fighting Orochimaru. She would later contribute heavily to the Third Shinobi World War and became a hero to the Shinobi Village.

Tsunade is extremely headstrong, blunt and yet short tempered - prone to striking Naruto. She drinks constantly, sometimes sleeps on the job, and tries as much as she can to have other people do her work for her and her gambling addiction has led her into trouble. However, despite her many flaws she is willing protect Konoha at any cost and while she may have rejected the notion of dreams once before now is extremely optimistic about the future generation of Ninja.

Tsunade is one of the strongest Female Ninja in the series and while some of that is due to her physical power as she has been shown to be extremely powerful easily able to break through Susano’s Absolute Défense, her true power lies in her healing abilities. She has extensive knowledge in healing so much so she can perform miracles that no one else would have thought possible for example fix the damage to Rock Lee's spine. She can very easily heal herself and her allies and due to her large amount of Chakra she can keep herself and her allies alive in combat. But her magnum opus is the Creation Rebirth, which draws on her vast amounts of chakra supplies to instantaneously heal any wounds she receives no matter how bad - though the amount she can heal depends on her chakra. It is almost like she is immortal - however it has a massive double edged sword - whenever Tsunade uses the technique she shortens her lifespan. Because of this, she only uses it in very desperate situations. She is an extremely powerful medical ninja who has extensive knowledge in biology and even used White Zetsu to make prosthetic limbs. She is an extremely capable medic.

Overall Tsunade is one tough cookie - not only is she extremely strong but she is a genius at medical knowledge and her Creation Rebirth Technique is extremely overpowered despite it’s massive weaknesses. While she is not one of my personal favourite Naruto characters it is clear her skill in healing and medical knowledge more than earns her spot on this list.

Number 3:

Josuke Higashikata from JoJo's Bizzare Adventure

What is this, The Gaming News Guy discussing a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure character - he’s never done that before. In all seriousness despite my love for the series I believe I am not that bias when I made my decision to put the Pompadour Healing Protagonist of Diamond is Unbreakable on the List of the Best Healers (His Healing does have some downsides). I have a difficult time debating if I should Josuke or use the two other Healers that being Giorno and Foo Fighters. At the end of the day I decided to go with Josuke because his Stand’s Main Ability is Restoration Aka Healing so yeah. Time for backstory.

Josuke Higashikata is the bastard child of Joseph Joestar (Who is the main protagonist of JoJo Part 2: Battle Tendency) and a Japanese Woman by the name of Tomoko Higashikata (Whom Joseph had an affair with). Josuke despite having no father figure grew up a relatively normal child. However, during the events of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3: Stardust Crusaders Josuke developed his Stand. The reason for this is that is that the main villain of part 3 - DIO pierced himself with the Arrow that Grants Stands, Josuke, having Joestar Blood that runs in Jonathan's body, develops a Stand but due to being just a child and being too weak to control his new power -  suffers a fever not unlike that of his half-sister Holy Kujo. He is then saved by a high school student with a pompadour who throws his coat under his mother's car to allow their car to plow through the snow. This then inspires Josuke's admiration for the man with the pompadour and protect his town against those who would destroy it. Later Josuke would meet his Nephew Jotaro Kujo who not only inform him of his father but also inform him of a Serial Killer in Morioh named Angelo. During this time, he meets his best friend Koichi Hiorse. Eventually Josuke encounters Anjuro stand but then Anjuro’s Stand kills Josuke’s Grandfather - Ryohei Higashikata. Eventually Josuke beats Aqua Necklace. Josuke then encounters various Stand Users including the Nijimaru Brothers - Keicho Nijimaru and Okuyasu but the truth thread was a man named Yoshikage Kira who killed one of Josuke’s friends. Now Josuke with the help of his friends has to hunt down Kira and bring him to justice

Josuke’s main characteristic is his kindness which is reflected in his Stand’s Ability to repair and heal. After a teenager with a pompadour saved him and his mom his desire to help others and his town grows. Josuke is not as violent as other JoJos and can even calmly tolerate bullying by upperclassmen or Shigechi's selfish acts but when his buttons are pushed he gets angry and i mean angry. He does possess a trickster side and is not above pulling dirty tricks or tricking someone to get some money. Overall, he is an extremely reliable individual and truly best Husbando.

Nooooowwww why would I put Josuke on a list of the best healers - let me explain. Josuke’s stand is known as Crazy Diamond - it is extremely fast and strong comparable on the level of Star Platinum but that’s not Crazy Diamond’s main ability. Its main ability is Restoration.

What makes Crazy Diamond one of the most useful Stands in the series is its main ability which is Restoration. Basically, what Crazy Diamond does is that it can restore or revert objects or organisms to any previous state in their history. It can repair damage. Even if people receive fatal damage - for example Koichi getting punched through the chest by Killer Queen, Okuyasu getting his side blown off by Killer Queen’s Bombs and one of the most important Josuke feats. When Hayato touched Okuyasu’s body he exploded in an instant (keep in mind that Killer Queen completely atomizes the body), Josuke still managed to heal him in time before he could die. Honestly Josuke’s Crazy Diamond is debatably the strongest sole healing ability on this list as unless the person is already dead - Josuke can literally heal any injure extremely quickly without much problem to himself it is literally the perfect healing ability if it wasn’t for two very clear flaws - the first flaw is that Crazy Diamond cannot heal Josuke himself and it can’t restore life to an organism meaning once something is dead - there is no way CD can bring it back. Despite those two obvious weaknesses Crazy Diamond is still extremely strong in the healing department as he can restore anyone instantaneously but his flaws keep him off the top two despite Crazy Diamond’s restoration ability.  

Despite this I hope I’ve made it very clear that Josuke deserves to be on this list due to not only the strength of his healing ability but also the creative ways he uses it to bet his foes. Josuke truly lives up to the legacy of the Joestar Name.

Number 2:

Mercy from Overwatch:

Ahhh Overwatch - what a great game you are besides the community (in all seriousness the community is not that bad).” sigh” Do I have to choose which healer to make it on this list - my beautiful supports - i just love them all I mean most of my playtime on Overwatch is spent on just the Supports since most people go DPS or tank. Sooo out of the supports in this game which one is the best healer - well admittedly I could have picked Zen and Lucio who are two characters that i main especially Lucio who is the character I have spent the most time on but i have to let go of some of my personal bias and pick who I believe to be the best healer and honestly i have to go with Mercy. Before I go into why I think Mercy is the best healer in the game let’s go over her backstory.

Dr Angela Ziegler rose to become the head of surgery at a prominent Swiss hospital before pioneering a breakthrough in the field of applied nanobiology that improved the treatment of life-threatening illnesses and injuries - the drew Overwatch’s attention. Due to her parent’s deaths in the way - Dr Angela Zieger opposed Overwatch’s militaristic approach to keeping global peace. However, she decided to join Overwatch as its head of medical research. Angela decided to create a suit that would allow her to heal allies on the front lines - the result was the Valkyrie swift-response suit. She contributed to many Overwatch missions but she was often at odds with her superiors due to her more pacific approach. Eventually it all fell apart when the United Nations conducted multiple hearings due to the allegations directed towards Overwatch in light with a fight between Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes which took both of their lives allegedly which was in part due to the rift between the two ever since Jack got the position of Strike Commander. After Overwatch was disbanded Ziegler dedicated herself to helping those affected by war especially in areas where crime is most common. She desires to make a peaceful world.

Dr Angela Zingler has revolutionized modern medicine and healing thanks to her Valkyrie suit which contains a Caduceus Staff and wings for added healing and flight. Her first main ability is the Caduceus Staff’s healing ability - the Caduceus Staff shoots out a healing beam that heals the target for 60 health per second making it a wonderful tool to heal any low health tanks nearby but it also has the added benefit of a secondary mode that rather than increases damage (by 30%) rather than health which is extremely powerful in the right hands. Mercy also has a Caduceus Blaster which she uses to defend herself - it shoots out a fast-moving projectile that does 20 damage. In terms of her manoeuvrability options - Mercy is able to fly with the Guardian Angel Ability allowing her to get to Pharah as well as other teammates quickly. Along with her flight she has the Angelic Descent which allows her to safely descent to the ground and regen 20 health after not taking damage for 1 second. But this is just the cake - the true icing on the top is Mercy’s Ultimate - Her Resurrection Ability, Mercy revives nearby dead allies at full health and grants a 2.25 seconds of invulnerability to herself and those resurrected. Resurrect has a short cast time during which Mercy can still move. This is an extremely useful ability.

Mercy is an extremely powerful healer that heals her teammates and keeps them alive thanks to her healing and resurrecting power. She is an extremely stronger healer and due to how useful she is on team she more than deserves her high place on this list but there could be only one and i am pretty sure you all know who the Number 1 position goes to.

Number 1:

The Medic from Team Fortress 2

This should not be a surprise for anyone - The Medic is debate-ably one of the most iconic healers ever and he more than deserves his position on this list. The Medic is the lifeblood of Team Fortress 2 and perfect for Heavy his sworn brother in asskickery. Before i explain just how strong the Medic truly is in the medical field. Let’s look at his backstory “He doesn’t have a backstory”. Oh, come on...well here’s The Medic’s TF2 Bio (He doesn’t have a backstory but we do know his name is Ludwig).

“What he lacks in compassion for the sick, respect for human dignity, and any sort of verifiable formal training in medicine, the Medic more than makes up for with a bottomless supply of giant needles and a trembling enthusiasm for plunging them into exposed flesh. Raised in Rottenburg, Germany during an era when the Hippocratic oath had been downgraded to an optional Hippocratic suggestion, the Medic considers healing a generally unintended side effect of satisfying his own morbid curiosity.”

Now let’s talk about The Medic’s abilities. The Medic has an ability called Health Regeneration - he can regenerate 3 3 HP per second and his Healing rate can increase the longer he is not taking damage and it can go up to 6 HP per second. The Medic has tons of different weapons that make him a deadly force in the medical department such as: The Syringe Gun which is his default primary weapon for the Medic and fires 10 Syringes per second and has a base damage of 10. The Blutsauger which gains 3 HP on hit but health is drained by 2 HP.The Overdose which increases the Medic’s movement speed depending on the Ubercharge percentage.Max speed increase is 20% for a full Ubercharge but it’s downside is a -15% damage penalty. The Crusader Crossbow which is my personal favourite Primary Weapon for the Medic. The Crusader's Crossbow can fire out bolts that can heal allies and damage enemies from a distance but it cannot headshot foes and has a -75% primary ammo.

But the thing that makes The Medic extremely powerful is his Medi-Guns. His default secondary weapon is the Medi-Gun,it was invented by The Medic Himself and can heal any wounds that his allies have taken and it matches the same speed of his target.Medi-Gun also gives The Medic Ubercharge which when full grants the Medic and his target invulnerability. The Medic also has different forms of Medi-Gun including the Quick Fix which gives the Medic a ton benefits - for example the Quick Fix gives the Medic’s target a 40% heel rate and has a 15% Ubercharge build rate. It also allows The Medic to follow Soldiers and Demomen when they rocket and sticky jump respectively. It’s only downside is that - 50% Overheal.

The Medic also has some Melee Weapons. For example, The Bonesaw which is the default weapon for the Medic and does 65 damage in-game. It was designed by the Medic for cutting through bones. The Vita-Saw retains Medic 20% of the Ubercharge he's built on death but has a 10-point reduction on his health. The Ubersaw gives The Medic 25% of Ubercharge but has slower attack speed. The Amputator that gives the Medic a +3 heel rate when this weapon is active but does 20% less damage. Finally, there is a Solemn Vow which allows the Medic to see enemies health but has a 10% slower speed.

The Medic is an extremely powerful team player - easily able to heal his allies quickly and then Ubercharge them with increased invulnerability and his melee weapons and primary weapons allow him to do a considerable amount of damage but his medi-gun is amazing tool for both defense and offense which is why he is Number One on this list. The Medic is an awesome character and I am more than happy to give him the title of the Best Healer.

I am The Gaming News Guy - Signing Out.