Character Appreciation – Week 3: Celestia Ludenberg

Welcome to **Danganronpa Character Appreciation**, a blog series in which we'll look at one **Danganronpa** character, what we like and dislike about them, how they've grown, and how much we love them. I'm Raised By Wolves, and this week, we'll be looking at the Super High School Level Gambler, Celestia Ludenberg!

## Overview

Celestia Ludenberg is part of the 78th class of Hope's Peak Academy. She debuts in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as a student. She immediately establishes herself as a powerful character to Makoto Naegi, who states that Celeste is not someone who he would want as an enemy. It is also hinted that "Celestia Ludenberg" may not be her real name. She is also established to be wrapped in a thick veil of lies, which she uses to her advantage for her gambling. When the Killing School Life begins, Celeste insists that everyone needs to learn to adapt to the situation, or else they will be killed. This is reaffirmed upon the death of Mukuro Ikusaba, where Celeste believes Mukuro deserved death for not managing to adapt. She also takes somewhat of a leadership role, establishing a rule that states that no one should go out after the 10 PM curfew.

Celeste continues to be one of the coldest members of the class, even stating that she wouldn't mind class trials due to the facilities unlocked once the class passes one. Celeste's love of royal milk tea is put on display for everyone one day when she demands her new servant, Hifumi Yamada, to make tea for her. When he brews the tea incorrectly, Celeste shows a new part of her personality that no one had seen before, when she rages at him intensely, forcing him to remake the tea properly, abandoning her calm composure. Celeste's participation in chapter 2 is minimal aside from this, as her only contribution to the class trial was a small yet important detail in which she accounts that she briefly met Chihiro Fujisaki, the victim of the chapter 2 case, in the warehouse holding a duffle bag.

Celeste finally gives into Monokuma's motives in Chapter 3, when he offers them a large sum of ten million dollars for committing a murder. In order to commit her murder, Celeste kidnaps Alter Ego and lies to Hifumi that Kiyotaka Ishimaru physically abused her and blackmailed her with inappropriate pictures of her, along with stealing Alter Ego. This enrages Hifumi, and Celeste manages to orchestrate Kiyotaka's death. After putting on a complicated show to confuse the others, Celeste murders Hifumi so that she could be the blackened and earn the money. This makes Celeste the first blackened in Danganronpa history to be responsible for two murders. Unfortunately for Celeste, a slip of the tongue during the murdering causes her downfall, as Makoto Naegi and the others discover what she did. Celeste's rage causes her to slip out of Celestia Ludenberg persona, and into her real self: Taeko Yasuhiro, her real name and personality. She reveals that she needed the money for her dream, living in a European castle, surrounded by men that live to serve her. Celeste returns the key to Alter Ego to Kyoko, and is executed by being burned at the stake, then being hit by a firetruck.

## Opinions

Celestia Ludenberg is by far one of my favorite characters in the entire Danganronpa franchise. For a character that only lasts three chapters, she left a huge impact on me and is definitely one of the most memorable characters in the cast. The thick veil of fakeness that she constructed for herself is by far one of the most appealing things about her. I relate to her Celestia Ludenberg persona a lot, along with her tendency to give an image of herself that is grander than what she truly is. Celeste's character fascinates me. There's so much mystery to her that even all the backstory we are given still leaves so many questions – and that's part of the appeal, I think. I also give Celeste a lot of credit for her chapter 3 gamble, the unconventional way in which she played the game. Though she was the obvious murderer, she still put on an amazing show and made chapter 3 very unique and interesting. Her arrogant, elitist personality is easily one of the most appealing things about her and makes her stand out as a character very well.

**Best Moment:** Snapping and revealing her true colors in the chapter 3 class trial.

**Best Chapter:** Chapter 3

## Comments

What about you? Despite the title, this blog is open to all opinions! Share your thoughts about Celestia Ludenberg in the comments. Don't forget to share your Best Moment and Best Chapter of Celeste! Next week, Cody will be analyzing and giving his opinions on the Super High School Level Programmer, Chihiro Fujisaki.

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