Makoto Naegi
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kanji: 苗木 誠 Katakana: ナエギ マコト Hiragana: なえぎまこと Romaji: Naegi Makoto Latin Alphabet: Makoto Naegi |
| Occupation: | High School Student |
| Relationships: | Kyoko Kirigiri (partner; alive) Byakuya Togami (rival; alive) Kyoko Kirigiri and Byakuya Togami: (trio; all alive) |
| Fandom: | Dangan Ronpa |
| Other: | Talent: 超高校級の「幸運」lit. Super High School Level Good Luck Official English Translation: The Ultimate Lucky Student |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Makoto Naegi is a student in Dangan Ronpa. He is a prominent character within the series and popular with fans. Naegi debuted in Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as Dangan Ronpa's first protagonist and survived The Mastermind's Killing Game, along with Aoi Asahina, Byakuya Togami, Kyoko Kirigiri, Toko Fukawa and Yasuhiro Hagakure. He also played a significant role in Dangan Ronpa 3: End of Hope's Peak High School.
Canon Overview
Naegi comes from an ordinary household consisting of his parents and Komaru Naegi. One day, he is chosen in a lottery held by Hope's Peak Academy to enroll in their specialty school. Usually, only teenagers with promising skillsets are scouted to enroll in the school, so Naegi is a major outlier. In Japanese, he is a Super High School Level Good Luck. In English, he is the Ultimate Lucky Student.
Once the Killing Game begins, it's clear his talent may be for bad luck. He gets assigned to a room with a broken shower door, but often wins when it comes to the in-game gatcha mechanic, for example. Fans speculate his luck may be for inciting extremely low-probability events. Monokuma even pokes fun at this by registering him with Ultimate Lucky (Unlucky?) Student within the students' handbook. Unlike Nagito Komaeda, he has no control over his luck, or at least, never attempts to control it.
In Japanese, he refers to himself with "boku," which is reflected in his kind, positive and pacifist personality. Ikusaba, as Enoshima, even calls him a herbivore man. However, when in Dangan Ronpa's Class Trials, he is known to be confrontational so his classmates won't fail to find culprits, thus fail to survive Monokuma. He doesn't like doing that, though, something he shares with every other Dangan Ronpa protagonist.
Naegi's birthday is February 5th. On Twitter and Pixiv, art tagged with #苗木誠生誕祭[year value] are commonly released on his birthday. More birthday tag listings can be found on Dangan Ronpa Birthday and Anniversary Tag List.
Popular Tropes & Fanon
In order of how common they are:
- Confused Naegi Makoto
- Naegi Makoto is a Ray of Sunshine
- Trans!Naegi Makoto
- Naegi Makoto-centric
- Dork!Naegi Makoto
- Mastermind!Naegi Makoto
- Despair!Naegi Makoto
- Bottom!Naegi Makoto
- Bisexual!Naegi Makoto
- Top!Naegi Makoto
- Naegi Makoto Is a Little Shit
- Naegi Makoto Needs a Hug
- Assassin!Naegi Makoto
- Sad!Naegi Makoto
- Female!Naegi Makoto
- Out of Character Naegi Makoto
- Headmaster!Naegi Makoto
- Naegi Makoto Being an Idiot
- Gay!Naegi Makoto
- Autistic!Naegi Makoto
All of the above are wrangled tags on Archive of Our Own. On Pixiv, there are also some tags specific to Naegi:
- Blackened!Naegi, 「黒苗木」, referring to both works where Naegi ends up murdering to escape Hope's Peak and ones where he is the Mastermind instead of Enoshima.
- Naegi-kun is a Serious Heroine, 「苗木君マジ乙女」, referring to works that emphasize Naegi's effeminate qualities. This may be synonymous with Woobification.
Other places where fandom lives may portray Naegi with one or all of these attributes. Describing Naegi as a shota is also common, though more-so in Japanese-speaking DR fandom. Naegi is often in works involving the phrase specific to Dangan Ronpa: "No, That's Wrong!", which is a meme in Japanese-speaking DR fandom. Trans Male is his most common trans interpretation.
Naegi is also popular for whump and may be considered a woobie.
Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta
This article or section needs expansion. |
Naegi, the 2channel user?
Some Japanese Dangan Ronpa fans believe Naegi may have been a regular of 2channel. Unlike the protagonist of other DR games, Naegi had no partner with him during the initial character introduction phase of Trigger Happy Havoc's prologue, leading Kazutaka Kodaka to add that Naegi did prior research on messageboards of Hope's Peak's students before enrolling to save on in-game text. Fans made the messageboard connection[1].
Relationships
This is purposefully an incomplete list, as Naegi is shipped with much of Dangan Ronpa's cast. Please add any notable relationships in fanworks if they are missing.
In Kanji, Naegi is usually represented in a pairing names with 苗 (nae). In Hiragana, なえ (nae) is common.
The order seen should be what's most popular unless marked with "possibly." ENG portmanteaus are also subject to change. Relationships listed fall into GL, NL, BL, Poly, Combi or Cargo.
| With... | Full Label | Type | Portmanteau / Phrase | Kanji | Hiragana or Katakana | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyoko Kirigiri | Kirigiri x Naegi | NL | Naegiri | n/a | ナエギリ (Naegiri), なえぎり (Naegiri) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Byakuya Togami | Naegi x Togami | BL | Naegami | 十苗 (Tonae), 苗十 (Naeto) | となえ (Tonae) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Togami & Naegi & Kirigiri | Reasoning Trio | Combi | n/a | 推論三人組 (Reasoning Trio) | すいろんさんにんぐみ (Reasoning Trio) | The polyship of Kirigiri x Maizono x Naegi is also common, labelled various things by both Japanese-speaking and English-speaking DR fandom. |
| Sayaka Maizono | Maizono x Naegi | NL | Naezono | 苗舞 (Naemai) | なえまい (Naemai) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Yasuhiro Hagakure | Hagakure x Naegi | BL | Naekure | 苗葉 (Naeha) | なえは (Naeha) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Kiyotaka Ishimaru | Ishimaru x Naegi | BL | Naeishi | 苗石 (Naeishi) | なえいし (Naeishi) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Nagito Komaeda | Komaeda x Naegi | BL | Komaegi | 狛苗 (Komaenae) | こまなえ (Komaenae) | Both share a talent and may work well together. |
| Celestia Ludenberg | Celeste x Naegi | NL | Naeceles | 苗セレ (Naesere) | なえせれ (Naesere) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Aoi Asahina | Asahina x Naegi | NL | Naehina | 苗朝 (Naeasa) | なえあさ (Naeasa), ナエヒナ (Naeasa) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Hajime Hinata | Hinata x Naegi | BL | Hinaegi | 日苗 (Hinae) | ひななえ (Hinanae), はひなえ (Hinae) | Both are protagonists and ordinary characters compared to their classmates. |
| Hajime Hinata | Hope's Peak Protag Duo | Combi | n/a | n/a | ダンガン主人公コンビ (Dangan main character combi) and だんがんしゅじんこうこんび (Dangan main character combi) | Often are together in fanart. |
| Komaru Naegi | Naegi Siblings | Combi | n/a | 苗木兄妹 (Naegi Siblings) | なえぎきょうだい (Naegi Siblings) | Often are together in fanart. |
| Nagito Komaeda | Lucky Student Duo | Combi | n/a | 超高校級の幸運コンビ (SHSL Lucky Duo) | ちょうこうこうきゅうのこううんこんび (SHSL Lucky Duo) | Often are together in fanart. |
| Mukuro Ikusaba | Ikusaba x Naegi | NL | Naekusaba, Naekuro | 苗戦 (Naeiku) | なえいく (Naeiku) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Junko Enoshima | Enoshima x Naegi | NL | Naejunko | 絶望×希望 (Despair×Hope) | ぜつぼうかけるきぼう (Despair×Hope) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Leon Kuwata | Kuwata x Naegi | BL | Naeleon | 苗桑 (Naekuwa) | n/a | (Seen on its page.) |
| Izuru Kamukura | Kamukura x Naegi | BL | Kamuegi | n/a | n/a | Both can be considered the Ultimate/SHSL Hope. |
| Chihiro Fujisaki | Fujisaki x Naegi | BL | Naehiro | 超高校級の小動物 (SHSL Small 'n Cute Animals) | ちょうこうこうきゅうのしょうどうぶつ (SHSL Small 'n Cute Animals) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Toko Fukawa | Makoto x Toko | NL | Naekawa | 苗腐 (Naefu) | なえふ (Naefu) | (Seen on its page.) |
| Sakura Oogami | Naegi x Oogami | NL | Naesaku | 苗さく(Naesaku) | n/a | (Seen on its page.) |
| Mondo Oowada | Naegi x Oowada | BL | Naemondo | n/a | n/a | Naegi is a mutual friend of both Oowada and Ishimaru, thus possibly leading into this ship. |
| Hifumi Yamada | Naegi x Yamada | BL | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Example/Notable Fanac
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
[fanworks of all kinds, ask blogs, online communities, archives]
TBA