Damon Maitsu (Killer's Research)

## *Damon Maitsu

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> *"In fact, I've spent my entire life training to be accepted. Because I knew being the Ultimate Debater was my destiny. Hearing all these people say they discovered their skills by chance... somehow garners pity out of me. Not that I think I am better for putting effort into it instead of having it handed straight to me. It's just that I **know** I'm better for putting effort into it instead of having it handed straight to me."*
> - Damon talking up his talent.
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***Damon Maitsu*** is a participant in the Killing Experiment featured in ***Danganronpa: K1LLER'S RESEARCH***. He holds the title of *Ultimate Debater.* If Killer's Research was not cancelled, it is confirmed by James that Damon would have been a survivor.

## Personality

Damon is a stern and argumentative individual who takes his talent extremely seriously, and will almost always push those who try to befriend him away. He can come off as unnegotiable or standoffish due to his supposed focus on himself and honing his talent as a debater rather than on how his actions or words might affect other people's feelings. Damon is also rather pompous, self-centered, and entitled, as he believes he is owed respect and praise just because he is an Ultimate. He doesn't often make conversation unless provoked into doing so or if he's promised a productive discussion, and even then, Damon is grouchy and gives those he speaks with the cold shoulder.

When Damon feels he must take a side, he takes it FIRMLY, and will argue passionately and ruthlessly on that side for as long as he sees fit. The more intense side of his personality really shines when he is in a debate, and he will not tolerate any stupidity or bullshitting while in said debate. Damon grows quickly agitated and annoyed at pandering, incompetent people, oxymoronic or contradicting statements, and people who try to dig too deep into his business.

Even though he pushes others away and states that all he wants is respect and admiration, something in him longs for more emotional love, appreciation, and acceptance. Yet, it seems even he himself doesn't realize or acknowledge this. He shows hints of this softer side in various conversations, most notably with Kynoi. When others (usually *also* Kynoi) point out his brief moments of emotional vulnerability, he grows embarrassed and refers to it as "expressing a healthy amount of concern". Due to his mindset of treating unfavorable things with denial, he's jokingly called a *tsundere* out-of-character, and even in-character at one point thanks to Kynoi.

Damon doesn't trust people very easily. Whether it's a product of paranoia or of some sort of minor superiority delusion is unclear. He also tends to overwork himself sometimes. While he can run on lack of sleep for a little while, usually he succumbs to the consequences his bad habits in the end. He always insists it's for the sake of his skills, and grows confused or agitated when others voice their concerns about it.

He (according to fan analysis) seems to have a pretty severe fear of public humiliation and failing in front of other people. Any type of failure will affect his emotional and mental state quite negatively, and when he senses he is beginning to spiral or show weakness as a result, he will hurry to move the conversation along or eradicate the issue in some way. Damon is undoubtedly extremely insecure, and seems to define himself and his worth solely based on what he can accomplish and excel at. In certain situations, he can quickly lose his confidence and freeze up when he senses he's failed in some way, and will immediately resort to berating himself to "do better" and quit making a fool out of himself.

Damon reacts particularly strongly in Chapter 2 when the accusatory hallucinations begin to get to him, causing him to spiral into a panic attack in the kitchen - and he even begins to full-on cry at one point near the end of Chapter 2's Daily Life. Since his hallucinations seem to prey on his insecurities and fears regarding losing his value, it's no wonder he provided such an emotionally-charged response to them.

## History

### Early Life

Even as a young child, Damon knew it was his destiny to become the Ultimate Debater. In order to chase this destiny, Damon would be argumentative with any who opposed him or confronted him, and learned to argue from any side on any topic through these experiences. It did extremely well to sharpen his skills as a debater. However, it didn't bode well with the people around him, and Damon began to develop a negative reputation.

As he was cast out and isolated from his peers due to his aggressive confrontational nature, Damon began to manually distance himself, believing it would be more efficient for him to ignore any who tried to interfere with him following his destiny. And so, decided to train himself all alone instead. Lack of casual commerce left Damon cold, unforgiving, and easily put off by other people who tried to interact with him unprofessionally.

Damon longs to be admired for his skills more than anything else, and one day hopes to meet people who are on the same level as him. This hyperfixation with gaining recognition and respect has left Damon susceptible to a phobia of public failure and humiliation.

All his work seemed to pay off in the end, as Damon was eventually scouted as the Ultimate Debater, just like he knew he was fated to be. However, he believes his work is never really done, and he must continue to hone his abilities so he can become a near perfect debater, and gain admiration all across the world.

## Relationships

### Kynoi Da'mére

> *"...he's fine. As a person. Annoying, but...fine. For what I assume the rest of my time here, I won't be able to get rid of him. So in this situation, the optimal thing to do would be to adapt to his constant presence. So, we're close, whether I like it or not." - Killer's Research Relationship Chart*
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Damon hated Kynoi at first, due to Kynoi constantly pestering and teasing him, and he especially disliked Kynoi after he briefly triggered Damon's phobia of humiliation. Despite their consistently rocky relationship, they seem to be on decent terms by the time Killer's Research was cancelled. Damon seems to care enough about Kynoi to remember seemingly insignificant things he says; during Chapter 2, he makes Kynoi soup after he recalled him mentioning that soup was one of the few things he could keep down, and he even apologizes to Kynoi after realizing that he had unintentionally made him upset and promises not to mention anything about his physique to be safe.

Damon trusts Kynoi with the juvenile apple tree as well - Damon's trust isn't an easy thing to come by, so the fact that he'd allow someone that he had a conflicted view on to take care of their possible future lifeline is a pretty incredible feat.

During their final conversation before the second class trial, Damon claims it was an honor to meet another Ultimate that was deserving of their talent, showing that Damon has some level of respect for Kynoi. The scene quickly turns humorous after others accuse him of being friends with Kynoi, an idea he hastily attempts to debunk. Damon is ashamed to admit he has begun to enjoy Kynoi's company, a fact that is implied on the in-character tier list, where he put Kynoi in a tier labeled *"..."* second from the top.

They tend to "argue like a divorced couple" a lot.

### Mark Kobayashi

> *"Manageable...doesn't like eating, though. Can you believe that?"* - Killer's Research Relationship Chart
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Mark and Damon had a brief conversation regarding Mark's first killing game. Damon appeared to express silent pity for Mark's trauma. Though he didn't quite have all the details, he chose to stay silent about it for Mark's comfort. It seems Damon doesn't want to hurt Mark further, at least not purposefully.

Their relationship got a bit shaky after Damon scolded Mark for not eating a healthy amount of food, though Damon's anger was rooted in sleep deprivation rather than any sort of hatred or malice towards Mark. By the time Killer's Research got cancelled, Damon was cautious of Mark, but still showed respect for his troubled past.

In the Chapter 4 trial, Damon's view on Mark would have changed entirely. After Mark practically forces Damon to solve his murder case, Mark would have likely become the first cast member that Damon was truly terrified of, and the first murderer that he wouldn't have the gall to talk back to. The trial would definitely have been traumatizing for Damon, and he'd credit his newfound anxiousness to Mark's relentless insanity, but also to the humiliation caused by Mark practically pushing him around the whole time. Almost all the respect he once had for Mark would likely have soured and shriveled because of this.

### Azami Rin

> *"...you...are an obstacle."* - Killer's Research Relationship Chart
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It was planned for Damon to have a one-sided petty rivalry with Azami in the future of Killer's Research. He is, quote, "salty that Azami led the first trial and he didn't", and generally just does not like Azami's attitude. Despite Azami not really caring about him, Damon would have viewed Azami as a hurdle to overcome in his journey to acquiring his destiny.

### Hibiki Otonokoji

> *"Trying to offer me support... ... ...annoying. Leave me alone."* - Killer's Research Relationship Chart
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Damon apparently finds Hibiki irritating, especially after her promise to support Damon. He seems to fear becoming reliant on someone, especially a person with Hibiki's attitude, so he curtly rejected her offer. Like with many people, however, he does have a level of respect for her as an Ultimate, and doesn't seem to display any desire to harm or demean her. He's intrigued by her surprisingly adequate analysis skills when it comes to the other participants.

He seems to believe she has "cooties", based on an off comment he made after Hibiki hugged him.

### Sayori

> *"Kind, I suppose. I've never seen her without a smile."* - Killer's Research Relationship Chart
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While her cheery attitude does tend to get on his nerves, overall, Damon is at peace with Sayori. He won't admit it, but he is very grateful for her assistance and comfort when he was having a meltdown in the kitchen during Chapter 2.

### Caracal

> *"...you make me **sick**."* - Killer's Research Relationship Chart
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Prior to the second trial, Damon didn't acknowledge Caracal much, but like with Sayori, he was thankful for her help during his kitchen panic attack.

However, after she was exposed as Nikei's killer, and she admits she attempted to frame Damon for the murder, Damon is overcome with intense rage. He shouts at her and calls out her hypocrisy, even seeming to derive some kind of joy from exposing her selfishness at first. In the final moments of Killer's Research before its cancellation, it is very obvious that Damon held a vendetta against Caracal.

It was planned for him to eventually feel extremely awful for lashing out at Caracal, despite him never truly forgiving her completely.

### Corpse

Damon makes it very clear that he does not like Corpse. Within 10 minutes of them first meeting, Corpse attempted to set him ablaze - an event he will constantly bring up to justify his dislike of them. However, he has displayed a twinge of tolerance for them when they're not being chaotic.

## Quotes

*"If you're expecting me to introduce in a welcoming, warm manner - don't forget, we're all strangers. This is only for informational purposes, and it doesn't make us close. Thank you."* - During his introduction in Chapter 1

*"Why are you like this."* - A phrase commonly said by Damon.

*“Respected…? RESPECTED? I haven’t been respected at ALL! And it’s people like YOU who’re stopping me from working so I can actually ACHIEVE THAT respect as an Ultimate! So perhaps, if you quit jeering at me around every turn, then one day, that just might be something you CAN be correct about!”* - After Kynoi calls him a "respected Ultimate".

*"I... understand. But if it's something I apparently need professional help for, then I'm not going to get therapy while trapped like a lab rat in an experimental facility. While I'm here, I'm going to continue to do what I do best. And I'll worry about everything else when we don't have nihilistic scientists breathing down our necks and noting everything we do or say."* - Talking to Kynoi

*"I can't say there's room in my heart to feel any sympathy for criminals. But you've really befallen a terrible fate, haven't you? If you were dragged by your hair kicking and screaming into a life of crime, then maybe you can be excused. But if you've ended up unhappy like this because of your own actions, then I'm sorry to say that your circumstances are deserved to an extent."* - To Jack

*"...open and shut. Cut and dry. Other various words. Sure you didn't have control... but you killed and ate an innocent girl, Jadyl. And yet, instead of telling us instantly so we could get this over with, what did you do? You yelled, and you shouted aimless NONSENSE to get us to believe you didn't. **This is why I can't feel ANY sympathy for you**. Thank you. There is nothing left for me to argue, so my job here is done. If you'd like to tell us how it really went down, be our guest. That doesn't change the fact that you did it, and it sure as hell doesn't change my opinion on you."* - Said before voting Jadyl as Dedf1sh's killer. (1)

*"...so. You did have a sense of conscious choice in your desperation. ...hhaha. Haha... if anything, that makes it worse, knowing you had some semblance of an idea of what exactly you were doing, and how bad it was. Are you trying to garner more sympathy? Because if you are, you are doing a terrifically awful job. ...it's not like it matters. We were right from the beginning, you knew we were right, and you... all you did was make it more needlessly difficult. That is ALL I have to say to you, Jadyl Hestia."* - Said before voting Jadyl as Dedf1sh's killer. (2)

*"And... yes. I'm aware of how serious I am. It's because I knew, ever since I could think for myself, that I was, without a shadow of a doubt, going to become the Ultimate Debater. And that is an ambition that I've not given up on. It's one that I can't give up on, after I've gone my whole life chasing it. And sure, I have the title, but I've yet to really do much with it. That's why I'm so serious. Since, if I wasn't, I wouldn't be nearly as far into the process of sharpening my skills as I am now."* - Talking to Kynoi after the first trial.

*"...are you feral? Do you need to be locked up?"* - Said to Hibiki after she jokingly threatened Corpse.

*"I AM SANE. I would, in fact, go as far as to say I am the most sane one here. Have you seen the other ones? Azami has stolen an entire microwave, I have never seen Karasu or Sayori frown once, Hibiki thinks it's okay to engage in affectionate contact without asking first, Kynoi is Kynoi, Mark doesn't like EATING, and YOU tried to set me on fire. Have I done anything like that? NO! Heavens no. I have been doing my best here. And everyone else is treating it like it's nothing to worry about. Do you see how concerning that is?"* - Talking to Corpse in the cafeteria.

*"At least in the trials. I'd like to speak more next time. Azami took the reigns before, and as much as he did a fine job, I can't let him keep doing that. If I want my Ultimate respected, I have to promise myself to be more proactive next time, so I can show everyone the results of what I've been training for were absolutely worth it."* - Said to Corpse during Corpse and Hibiki's "house party" in Damon's room.

*"Salmon can't even run. Terrible name."* - After Corpse proposed that they play "Salmon Run".

*“It’s unclear whether we’ll have a chance to talk again. Today is the last day we’ll be able to stomach the hallucinations before our brains collapse in upon themselves. If a murder does not occur, then, just in case, I think I would… like to spend my final moments in self-reflection. I hope you can understand. … …it was… …it was an honor to meet another Ultimate as deserving of their talent as I was."* - During his "final conversation" with Kynoi.

*"What's my PROBLEM?! Are you even asking that right now? This is EVERYONE'S PROBLEM! I swear to god, I knew that I shoul-..."* - Prior to finding Nikei's body, realizing he could have stopped the murder the previous night.

*"Anger or manic-induced outbursts are likely. Though, thinking of the killer simply being depraved isn't out of question. Either is viable, considering the...colorful assortment of mental hospital patients that we share this facility with."* - Judging everyone during the second trial.

*“CLEARLY, if you have the nerve to say you weren’t thinking straight then, surely you’re implying that you’re of a sounder mind right now. If that was the case, and you truly wanted us to survive, why didn’t you just admit to your crime at the very start? Instead you denied evidence, stayed quiet, and let us run around in circles.”* - Chastising Caracal at the end of the second trial. (1)

*“You tore open a man’s guts, framed me for it, didn’t say a goddamn word about it, jeopardized our lives as a result, and you expect us to believe you’re a SAVIOR?! ...I’m sorry to break it to you. But… as it stands, you’re nothing except selfish, Caracal."* - Chastising Caracal at the end of the second trial. (2)

*"I hate it here."* - the funny.

## Gallery

Damon in the Killer's Research Board Game meme.A drawing of Damon in Mark's notebook.Damon's tier list of all the characters post-Chapter 2.Art of Kynoi and Damon by Suburbiia.A doodle of Damon done by Sayori.
## Trivia

* Damon can't swim.
* His headcanoned sexuality is Demirose, though his attraction pool only exists of male/masculine-presenting individuals.
* Damon's favorite area in the experiment facility was the amphitheater, but he was too scared to go there again after Corpse almost set him on fire there.
* Damon has said that he "hates it here" a total of 8 times throughout the 1 and a half chapters he was a part of.
* At some point later in the longterm, Damon was actually going to cave and drink the bottle of alcohol Kynoi had given him.