Nekomaru Nidai

Nekomaru Nidai, also known as Ultimate Team Manager and Mechamaru, is a character from the Danganronpa series.
== Charactah Account ==
A legendary coach with a knack for taking terrible teams and turning them into champions. Though he looks more like an athlete than a coach, Nekomaru burns with intensity and passion, and has a massive voice to match his massive stature. He is gravely wounded after protecting Akane from an attack by Monokuma, and remade into a cyborg. However, his new metal body does not prevent him from becoming the victim of Chapter 4 when he is killed by Gundham in their death pact.
Nekomaru is a vigorous, boisterous, openhearted student who is passionate about supporting athletes, but suffers from dyspepsia. He frequently shouts when speaking, being a team manager. He is very optimistic and his willpower is immeasurable, but he isn't very smart and he's very bad at lying. He also really appears to enjoy fighting, often in the form of very serious training.
Nekomaru sees no shame in talking about certain things that could make others feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. For example, he never misses a chance to loudly proclaim when he needs to go to the restroom. He also tends to get too close to other people's personal space, though he does this just to check their potential as athletes. Furthermore, as the self-proclaimed Ultimate Masseur, he frequently offers his special massage to the others to the point that he forces them to receive his massage, as shown in his first and fifth Free Time Events with Hajime. He states that his massage is his own ultimate weapon that can relieve fatigue in an instant, but it also appears to be highly addictive to the receiver. 
== Appearance ==
=== Anime ===
* Danganronpa 3 Picture Drama
* Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc
* Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc
* Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Hope Arc
=== Manga ===
* Danganronpa 2: Ultimate Luck and Hope and Despair
* Super Danganronpa 2: Chiaki Nanami's Goodbye Despair Quest
* Super Danganronpa 2: Dangan Island Heart Everlasting Summer, Here Ronpa
* Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Academy - 4 Frames KINGS
=== Video Games ===
* Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
* Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
* Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp
* Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
* Danganronpa: Unlimited Battle
== Trivia ==
* His first name literally means "round cat", something he was often teased about as a child.
** Nidai means "two" and "big". His full name may translate to "Two big round cats".
** When written as "Nidai" means "two machines". This could be a reference to how, over the course of Danganronpa 2, Nekomaru gets turned into two machines - first Mechamaru, then Minimaru.
* Nekomaru's birthday, February 22, falls on Cat Day, in Japan, most likely a nodoff to his name.
* Nekomaru's hair and clothing is probably a reference to Jotaro Kujo from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
** Also, in comparison to the characteristic drawing style of the Danganronpa franchise, some of Nekomaru's features (i.e. relatively small eyes, a very defined muscular, bulky physique and the "angular" shape the scars running over his eyes give his face) seem to be inspired by the distinctive drawing style of Hirohiko Araki, the creator of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
** During a secret event involving Akane in chapter 3, he is heard yelling "Atatatatatata", which is known as Kenshiro's war cry on the Fist of the North Star series.
* Nekomaru calls himself the Ultimate Masseur because of his addictive special massage technique for athletes that enables them to work impossible tasks for long periods of time.
** It is uncertain whether or not he is officially recognized as the "Ultimate Masseur" by Hope's Peak Academy.
** It should be noted that in the English version of the game Nekomaru actually calls himself "Ultimate Masseuse"; a title that is grammatically wrong considering "masseur" and "masseuse" are male- and female-exclusive nouns, respectively.
* When Hajime first meets Nekomaru, it is implied that he used to train Leon Kuwata, as Nagito says that "he used to train that famous Japanese baseball player", which is later stated by Nekomaru himself in one of his Free Time Events by saying that he's been with various athletes; one of them being "a baseball player who got an offer to join the major leagues while he was still in middle school."
* Nekomaru is the only killing game participant to be completely absent from one of the class trials while still being alive, as he sustained critical injuries in chapter 3.
* The morning after Nekomaru sustains fatal injuries while protecting Akane from an attack by Monokuma, the other students ask the latter where he is. Monokuma acts as if he has forgotten who Nekomaru is in response, and asks if he's "the boy who turns into a girl when splashed with cold water" - making a reference to the Ranma ½ manga series.
* Nekomaru, like Nagito Komaeda, has had a fatal disease that would prevent them from living no longer than 20. Seeing however that they would be 22 by the events of Danganronpa 3, it has shown that both surpassed the illness.
** In Nekomaru's case, it could be due to him maintaining a healthy physique, following his start in becoming the Ultimate Team Manager.
* Nekomaru's high school, First Yokoyama High School is a possible reference to the many athletes with the last name Yokoyama.
* Kazutaka Kodaka states that he liked Nekomaru's fierce face and crotch bulge, but requested not to show the bulge too much.
* Minimaru is shown occasionally in Ultra Despair Girls - Danganronpa Another Episode, appearing to Komaru Naegi in a small UFO.
* Nekomaru's English voice actor, Patrick Seitz, also voiced Monokid.
== Gallery ==
File:Nekomaru Nidai Render 01.png
File:Nekomaru Nidai Render 02.png
File:Nekomaru Nidai Render 03.png
File:Nekomaru Nidai Render 04.png
File:Nekomaru Nidai Render 05.png
File:Nekomaru Nidai Render 06.png
File:Nekomaru Nidai Fan Art 01.png
== External Links ==
* Nekomaru Nidai at Danganronpa Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Danganronpa