弐大猫丸

Nekomaru Nidai

Biography

Nekomaru Nidai (弐大 猫丸), is a student of Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B, and a participant of the Killing School Trip featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. His title is the Ultimate Team Manager (超高校級の「マネージャー」 lit. Super High School Level Coach).

He, along with Class 77-B, return in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School to explore their school life leading up to The Tragedy.

Personality

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, irritating Mahiru Koizumi, and causing him to apologize. 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 Masseuse, 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.

Though Nekomaru may appear scary and aggressive, he has a very kind heart. He cries quite easily and isn't afraid to show it. As a team manager, he can be quite strict, but he is very supportive and inspiring to his athletes and strives to improve them however he can. Teamwork and fighting spirit are very important to him.

Talents and Abilities

Many athletes become top-notch and set new records under Nekomaru's guidance. His talent, Ultimate Team Manager shouldn't be viewed as an insult, as Nekomaru states that there are no athletes who could've reached the top without a manager's help. He believes the bonds that are created between a manager and athlete are the secret of many athletes' winning.

In the past, Nekomaru had a baseball player who got an offer to join the major leagues while he was still in middle school, a figure skater who performed six and a half spins, and a tennis player who managed to win a thirty-six-hour long match.

Nekomaru has been working in the management profession for a quite long time. He could easily tell people who will have a good future as an athlete just by checking their body size. He suggested Hajime Hinata play rugby under his supervision. Even though Hajime thought that Nekomaru overestimated him, Nekomaru simply judged from Hajime's positive points such as his calm judgment skills, high degree of mobility, and knowing the importance of teamwork, which are all basic requirements to become a natural rugby player.

Nekomaru prepares different techniques to train his athletes for each sport, but he conducted that top athletes must have these three essential things including physical fitness, visual acuity, and willpower. After the athlete wishes to strengthen those three essentials, he gladly prepares a solid and effective training regiment for them. He supports each athlete to reach what they want to become and never allows himself to choose the available sports for his athletes. He said that it is a real challenge to bring out the maximum potential of each individual athlete.

Even though Nekomaru's training is a bit harsh, slowly but surely the trained athletes will get used to his principles and eventually win many competitions, as expected from athletes that are trained directly by Nekomaru.

What makes Nekomaru become a different manager from the others is his special massage. Using his talented fingers, he can instantly relax tense muscles and promote maximum blood circulation. He can push out intravenous toxins and restore fatigue in an instant; thus calling himself the Ultimate Masseuse.

Not just to train athletes to make them reach the top, but it's also a manager's duty to protect and support their athletes, as Nekomaru states in one of his Free Time Events. He wanted to become the official manager of the participants of the Killing School Trip and will support them until they “win” the match by working together to escape from the island.

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 二台, "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.
• In the English version of the game, Nekomaru proclaims himself the "Ultimate Masseuse", although it is the feminine form of "masseur".
• 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.
• 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.

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