I remember loving and relating heavily to gundham when I first played the game and about a year later I was diagnosed with autism. I love this headcanon because gundham honestly helped me discover my own autism
I’m glad to hear Gundham had that kind of power for you! Also, heck yeah, autism buddies! In all seriousness, this is such a sweet comment. Thanks for sharing your experience!
@@pikohere hey i feel like you should know this i think the rocking chair in gundams room was supposed to imply that he reads to his hamsters and also sonia has some of the traits you listed so following that logic she could also have autism
@@feliciabaxter6423 so sorry for the late response but yes, i’m aware the rocking chair was supposed to imply that he reads to his hamsters! could still be a stim for him though! also someone else here also let me know that sonia shares a lot of the same traits and i’m really thinking about making a video about it sometime!!
i love the ship of gundham and sonia because i headcanon both as autistic (with sonia sometimes not understanding social situations and having an obvious special interest of serial killers). they understand each other and never think of the other as weird for their neurogivergent traits, the way most of the other characters do. i just find them super sweet and also good representation
Fellow Sondham shipper here! I’ve also thought of Sonia to be autistic as well!! Might be something I dive in to later down the road, but yeah, if anything, that’d for sure make their bond stronger!
Unfamiliarity with surroundings (though moreso because she is an exchange student though she didn't follow the customs of her own homeworld either with the Skongs), fanaticism around the occult and thriller aspects, desire to have friends the same age as her, I don't want to give odd vocal patterns to her for that because we do not know if that is just because she is royal, we would have to compare her against others of her family or homeland.) Potential masking that came naturally with royalty, complex intellectual prowess (militarily and by being able to speak, read, and write 30 languages by HIGH SCHOOL) with naive behaviors, lack of friends in her home country. Yeah there is a bit there to talk about. EDIT: If anything, it seems like her case is better masked than Gundhams, for if it is a case of masking, there was a lot of royal pressure to do so.
Autistic or not, Gundham is still one of my favorite characters of all time. I think this head cannon is interesting and applaud you for taking the time to make such a wonderful video
One year comment, I know, but Gundham is legitimately and consistently one of the smartest characters in the game, everything in the 4th chapter being prime example of that
Seeing you with Miu as an avatar is kinda weird, since it's "Miu breaks down why Gundham is autistic in the most wholesome way she can" vs. The usual "Miu drops a cluster strike of F-bombs and finishes off with a mean-spirited sex joke"
I think it's amazing how not only did Gundham kill nekomaru for the people he cared about but he also killed the one character who wouldn't feel pain upon their death because nekomaru wouldn't have had any pain receptors in his robot body
And Nekomaru actually sort of signed off on it- he also wanted to end the hunger motive, so he and Gundham made the pact that one of them must die so the rest could live.
@@zorasmith4880and nekomaru most likely wouldn't have wanted to get away with murder, I seriously dount he would get akane killed after taking a bazooka for her
I loved the video, if I can add something, Autistic people tend to have a greater and stronger sens of justice. In my opinion, Tanaka sacrifice was made because of this sens of justice. It's not fair to see your (only) friends died of starvation. It's not fair that Nekomaru was the only one to be bring back to life by Monokuma when others died because of that little evil bear. what it's fair, is sacrifice the "life" of a dead man for the survival of the others. He had the choice of killing anybody, but he chose the robot. He did what seem to be just and fair. In my opinion, Tanaka didn't even consider his own life when he kill Nekomaru. Also his genius plan, was not only genius, it was honest. He didn't try to frame anyone for the kill, he had acces to both houses and didn't try to implicate anyone else. It would have been unfaire and unjust if someone innocent was accused.
Absolutely! That’s one thing I actually really liked about his trial compared to the others - that he didn’t try to blame or frame anyone else for his actions other than himself. He even kinda gave himself away mid-trial by referring to himself as “The Ultimate Weapon”, not to mention the lack-luster excuses he gave that even if weren’t good, he still never tried to pin anyone as the culprit other than himself. I do think though that he went for Mechamaru not just because he was already technically dead, but because he’s the only one that would’ve agreed to such a plan to begin with. If he tried that with anyone else, it definitely wouldn’t have been so perfect as it was with Mechamaru, who dueled him to see who would make it out on top. I also think it’s kinda ironic that Gundham literally battled a robot, despite the fact that his name is a clear reference to the mech-anime Gundam. Just a cool little detail.
That's pretty subjective. I'd say we're more likely to question what we're taught as "the proper way" if it conflicts with what we're taught about the Golden rule. The part about Nekomaru still fits, but it's more about "Why should this bear tell me that no life matters, while everybody tells me that sacrificing a life is impossible?" We're more likely to question arbitrary social constraints, which is why so many trans people are autistic, but the idea of "justice" is tangled up in so many webs, the only thing you can drag out of it is some sense of peace
I don't think he has strong justice because he's autistic. I think that's just him. Cuz autistic people either have hyper empathy, or low empathy. I'm on the low empathy spectrum. No, I'm not a sociopathic asshole, but you still won't see me being like "C'MON GUYS! We gotta take revenge on the ones that hurt you!!"
I have to say I never thought about the possibility of Gundam being autistic, and even though it's but a headcanon, it's one of those things that just instantly 'clicked' with me when I saw the thumbnail and title. I didn't even need the video to convince me honestly, it just makes perfect sense once you think about it, no? Also yeah, I totally get the simping aspect. When I first experienced the story, I have to say I developed a little bit of a crush on him throughout which of course made trial number 4 a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me 🥲 And also also, the YT algorithm seems to have discovered the fact that I'm autistic, because it keeps recommending me more and more videos from content creators on the spectrum lately, which is nice. The other corners of the internet feel so hectic sometimes, compared to this little bubble where I can just take a breath every once in a while
As an Autistic lad myself,I can honestly vibe with this headcannon. While I don't believe Gundham is meant to be Autistic,it is a nice thing to include when writing his character in things like fanfics. One things for sure,he'll always be my favourite character in the series,he really is perfect
I agree - I don’t think the writers intended for Gundham to be autistic-coded, but yeah! I think even if he wasn’t autistic-coded, he’d still be my favorite, just like you.
He's not just awesome because of the "We'll both die, so let us face off" scenario, but because he did his best to win. He knew that Monokuma's execution would be more painful than anything he could do to Nekomaru, and he did that to save his friends.
Man, I KNEW there was another reason I liked him so much - I've only seen him in the main story (no free time events) but like some part of my (fellow autistic) brain went "yes this one, I vibe with this one, I get him" - mans just wanted to vibe with his devas and have someone care about him (from a respected distance) and y'know what? good for him
Animal lovers are people I trust on a different level. Even if someone will say strange things like Gundham does there’s a difference between people like him and Hiyoko who is a bully although she seems nice at first but she crushes ants for fun while Gundham values the lives of his animal friends (and human friends) above everything else.
the way gundham feels about food feels very similar to my eating disorder. and since ARFID is commonly associated with autism (not in my case) I'm gonna headcanon gundham as autistic and with ARFID.
Thanks for this. Gundham is my favorite male character of Dangan 2. I thought Gundham might have chunnibyou, which is the Japanese term for someone that has middle school syndrome. They think they have powers and such. Part of me also took him seriously though especially after the real magic he actually performed during his execution. However you brought up a lot of good points that add up. Either way is fine with me cause' he's the GOAT regardless. P.S. I love that you used my favorite female of V3 as an avatar when you were talking.
I find this so funny becouse just an hour or so ago I drew a drawing of Gundham with text: "when your doctor diagnoses you with autism and not the supreme overlord of ice and ruler of world" even funnier is that I have recenntly been diagnosed with aspergers, so it was sorta a drawing to clebrate that
Awesome (both in terms of bringing up great potential autism rep, and giving me ideas on how to write a wholesome friendship between Kazuichi and Gundham that we were honestly robbed off)!
I have a lot of respect for hifumi yamada he Is not a fanfic writer he’s a manga writer and he doesn’t have a team so he writes illustration published and produces the manga that’s why I have respect for him and gundham is the best character ever in anything I love him
27:54 that's actually...not a stimming rocking chair. The reason why Gundham has that is even sweeter. He uses that chair to read to his hampsters some stories, hence the books to the side of it.
Okay but like... isn't EVERYONE in damganronpa literally autistic? You can't tell me those guys who master one and just one skill in a very specific field and dedicate their entire lives to it are neurotypical. They are at least gifted but tge impression I had while playing it for the first time was "wow... that's what it is like to be trapped a bunch of autitstic people feels like". And I don't even say it in a demeaning way because I too am autistic lol
That would explain a lot. They aren't necessarily all autistic, but one could argue quite a few are and most can be argued to have at least one disorder or neuroatypical diagnosis. Though, one should also remember that the level of specialization alone is not enough to argue this. Plenty of people are skilled in something to an abnormal degree but aren't necessarily autistic or gifted. This is some supporting evidence, but its more in how certain characters personalities come across. The vast majority have abnormal psychologies, interests, personality traits, or life outlooks. Though quite a bit of that is also just due to being so skilled giving them more unique perspectives and less of a connection with normal people. This happens with real life celebrities and billionaires all the time. Regardless, it's all unintentional anyways except when explicitly stated otherwise.
i wrapped up DR2 a couple days back and gundham's existence is so surreal to me because he IS me. my first hyperfixation was hamsters - i'd rent out every hamster related book in the elementary school library & study em like my life depended on it. oh, and I've got the same birthday as him and now i find this video and it's even more surreal - i never considered the possibility he's on the spectrum, but thinking about it now, it makes total since. i absolutely kin this madman & his four dark devas
Fun fact. Gundam is probably not referring to pandemonium as its common meaning, he’s probably referring to it as the palace of the fallen angels in hell.
Well as an autistic person myself I saw a lot of my personal traits in gundham he was honestly not only my favourite character in the series due to how funny and badass, yet surprisingly heartwarming he was especially in his free time events and with Sonia #sondham is the best ship, but he was also relatable to me as I felt a lot like a gundham throughout my high school life due to me being really dramatic not knowing how to talk people and being really isolated and went through some troubling issues but I had some decent company with trusted friends and I was hyperbolising moments of my life to seem more interesting and I honestly was rooting for him to be a survivor but I knew he would get killed off but the way he was killed off was so respectful I can't be mad at it, his final moments in the trial still get me even today two years after I completed the game and inspired me to take a new perspective on life overcoming issues in my life which still helps me now
This headcannon is…. Amazing, actually. When getting into dr2, I instantly loved gundham. I find him highly amusing and reminds me of my childhood, being the over exaggerated villain of the games I played with my friends. Lately, I’ve had people tell me I show a lot of traits of autism, so I’ve been seeing some people about that. It’s nice to think that my favourite character of dr2 is similar to me in a way. I knew he was the best, but this made it even better 😎
Aww, how sweet! I hope you can get that diagnosis nice and easy, or at least have the answers you’ve been looking for! It’s nice to see other autistic people relate so much to Gundham, and I’m glad my headcannon can kinda do that for you!
I do love Gundam. And I think his relationship with Sonia is really sweet, because where a lot of his classmates, especially people like Kazuichi, are quick to make assumptions about the two of them which usually lead to Gundam getting written off, Sonia cares a great deal about trying to see things from others' perspectives, and must have realised that they had a lot in common. So even if it was a little late it made me happy to see that they found each other in Chapter 4. They seem to understand each other and appreciate each other's eccentricities more than anyone else does, whether that's because they're potentially on the spectrum or just misunderstood by others. In Sonia's case, the fact that she's a foreigner does add to her difficulties in behaving appropriately and making herself understood. At least, this is how I interpret their relationship. Great video, by the way. It's clear you're really passionate about this topic.
Really late but a strong sense of justice is also a prominent trait in autistic people, and Gundham most DEFINITELY exhibits that trait in chapter 4 (I have autism too + aforementioned sense of justice)
Even though this was just a headcannon, a lot of the autistic characteristics kinda fit Gundham quite well, so yeah this headcannon was very interesting! And yeah autistic or not Gundham's is an awesome character and we ALL love him to the core, and why he's called best boy! X3
I never really read Gundham Tanaka as an autistic person and after watching this video, I still don’t. But man, it’s really intriguing to see how other people interpret this character and in some ways, it makes a lot of sense for the character. He’s an outcast with a very unique way of speaking and he’s endlessly entertaining to listen to in the debates with some occasional smart insights. Maybe not the BEST character in the series, but definitely one of the most fun characters!
Gundham has always been my favourite DR character, and in fact my favourite character of any media ever. I would generally react like “oh, cool!” when I’d see autistic Gundham headcanons in the past, but since I was recently diagnosed, it’s even more special to me now. Thank you for making this! 10/10, flapped very hard. Also, it’s cool to see some love for Miu. I’m very fond of her but I tend to keep that to myself since people in the spaces I’ve poked my head in often don’t feel very…positively towards her…so it’s exciting for me to see her here. Anyway! Excellent video, made my day :3
Gundham's absolutely my favorite fictional character (as of now) and to be honest, while his execution brought me to tears, and the lead-up to his death (which I was spoiled about) gave me some of the WORST anxiety I've ever had (not eating much for a few days), I'd be down to see him battered and bruised (as I, too, am a bit of a sadist towards characters I love lol). Also, I'd like to mention that during Island Mode, if you use a travel ticket and go to the theater with him, if you choose the "caramel" option (if you get the snack prompt) he clearly shows he does NOT like caramel. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of the texture.
I can't help but despise when people ascribe real life medical conditions to characters who exist in a completely different world than our own. However, I love Gundham, and if this is how an autistic fan of his expresses love, I'm in support of it.
Despise is a bit of a strong word. Especially when it comes to cases like this where the characters are human, and the setting is close enough to our own reality that such conditions almost certainly still exist there. And where there isn't a fictional alternative we are given to explain a character's behaviors. Unlike, for instance, Junko, whose behaviour is a unique result of her talent, which is, in her case, essentially a superpower that doesn't exist in real life. Though even then one could parallel different aspects of it to different real life conditions to understand the brain chemistry better, because in her case it does line up with how an actual human, from both a logical and a neurophysiological standpoint, would act if they did have her talent. Sorry I got off track there. Point is there's a big difference I think, between diagnosing a human character because it lines up perfectly and there is no explanation given, than doing so if there is an explanation that just doesn't happen in real life and/or is unique to the setting, and/or if the character is not human. And even then it depends, since some characters in certain works will be inhuman but still mentally exactly the same as a human would be, and thus presumably able to have the same kinds of of disorders. And that's without getting into "coded" characters, which I agree can be kind of annoying because some people take it way too far and insist it is literally true when it's clearly at most allegorical or symbolic. But other times it is actually the creators intent, so it really depends. Sorry if I came off as overly aggressive btw. "Despise" is just a really strong word, especially to use about a vague group of individuals who may be doing wildly different things, with different intents, different levels of understanding of the topic at hand, different intensity levels, and in different contexts.
Gundham is one of my favorite characters in fiction because as an autistic person who doesn’t always hit the stereotypes, I see a lot of myself in him, and you even brought up things I connected with that I didn’t realize were autistic traits, like the large vocabulary. A friend actually shared this with me saying it felt like a video I would make and I gotta say I’m flattered cause you did an amazing job on this!! Thank you for making this and keep up the great work c:
Honestly, what I like about Gundham is that there is quite a bit about his past you could hypothesize and head cannon, and most would be completely understandable. Is he a kid with Autism? Is a bastard son like Weeby hypothesized? Or is he just a socially awkward kid who's more comfortable around animals and puts on a villain facade to feel more comfortable? Who knows. All we do know gundham ain't giving straight answer. And unlike some characters it isn't annoying *cough* Kokichi *cough*
As an autistic person who loves gundham… this makes so much sense. My favorite characters always end up being autistic (Mabel from GF, Marcy from Amphibia, and now Gundham)
I quite love this video, you couldn't have send it better! I personally thought Gundam wasn't a neurotypical person while playing but I didn't know what I would hc him as, but with video I now fully believe that your correct! I probably should have seen this coming when thinking about it lol. Welp, I'm just oblivious at times! Video like this make me want to make videos like these because do I know way to much about characters at times- (Also as a fellow Gundam stan, I do believe the execution could of been more brutal, but I still sobbed)
You calling Gundham autistic finally makes it click to me why I love him so much. He’s my favorite character in the series, and just the premise of this video made it click for me why.
Lol this is crazy, Gundham is also my favorite character in all of media, Kokichi is my second favorite character, and I used to run a Danganronpa fan account with Miu being my self representation for the account. You have very good taste.
I know this video was about gundham BUT WHEN YOU SAID OEN OF YOUR FAV CHARACTERS WAS MIU I SWEAR I SUBBED INSTANTLY AND THEN ONTOP OF THAT YOU USED HER AS YOUR SPRITE WHILE TALKING I LOVE HER SMMMMMMMM also this video was so good i watched all of it
I should also point out that maybe with the exception of Hajime, he's likely the most powerful character. He moved Nekomaru's 300-pound body to the elevator after two days of starvation and malnourishment! Then he tanked a buffalo headbutt without instantly going unconscious!
Ah yes, my favorite in the Danganronpa 2. I was slightly spoiled he somehow killed Nekomaru by the internet but kept most of it hidden. Chapter 4 trial was a bitch to complete but damn was it fun. His aesthetic, his voice, his personality I enjoy so much and made me gravitate towards him (and Peko) the most and I suppose it makes sense also being on the spectrum
As an autistic person myself, I can personally relate to Gundham in almost everything. Add to how cool he really is, Gundham is without a doubt one of the greatest and one of my favorite Danganronpa characters of all time.
huh... i actually have most of these symptoms and just realized i'm definitely autistic. though the other symptoms i don't have are ones i used to have but overcame recently during collage. funny i only got to know that at 23 of age.
As someone with with stage 1 autism thank you so much you are so much I have some hyper fixations I love you (In a platonic way) thanks people don’t think I have it thanks!!!!!
salutation ! i am glad you talk about Gundham as autistic because,, well i was never accepted as an autistic person by the psychologist because im "too intelligent and colored to be autistic",, basically my masking is about being super over the top with a really intense fake accent and moving weird and being somewhat threatening,, using this to put people away,, and,, i just dont know any other masking,, actually i just know that this is masking because of my multiple autist friends who actually see me as autistic,, but yeah,,, basically Gundham is similar to me and so,,, yeah im happy hes seen as autistic by some
I'm much (*much*) more in the V3 fandom so despite playing the game, I've never heard this hc! It does make a lot of sense though, I'm definitely here for it Merry Christmas, love the video! I'll have to check yoir channel out some more ❤
Yeah, sometimes I forget when autism awareness month is because it’s sadly not like we get better treatment than any other month. Thanks though!! Worked real hard on it!! Also, my biggest apologies for how late this is!
as a (self diagnosed but with suspicion of autism from professionals) autistic persom myself, i love love love autistic headcanons so much, specially if it's a character i really enjoy like gundham, for some reason hadcanons can influence my opinion on a character so much, gender and neurodivergent headcanons always has me fixating on a character way more
Gundham is so mmmmmmm like he’s one of my favorite characters (along with Kokichi and Kazuichi) because 1. He’s so dramatic (like me) and 2. He’s so autistic (like me). I love this headcanon
i personally don't agree with this headcanon i don't really do headcanons about stuff like this but if it is canon then that'd be cool because i'm mildly autistic and have a lot of the things you listed off in the article such as the fixating on an object and comfort items which i express by carrying around random s**t at first it was one of those cloths hangers made for pants but it broke so i replaced it with a paintbrush even though i don't paint 11:00 HAHAHAAA!!! oohhh i like you already! also sondam is otp also i think the whole rocking chair thing was supposed to imply that he reads to his hamsters
The 2 sides of Autism: I have a mental condición that makes my social skills and reacciones to be something that dosen't fall into what is considerd normal. The silly blep go rant for show while holding their oversised plushie
Fun fact/not so fun fact gundham has his "evil" persona because no one except his mom actually appreciated him so he wanted to be appreciated and became "evil" so he could be popular (or something along those lines)
Actually, I’m gonna have to politely disagree here! If you go through Gundham’s Island Mode events, more specifically his “Shot Through the Heart” event where Hajime can read his mind, you can see that this persona isn’t just how he acts - it’s also how he thinks! I don’t think he’s doing it for popularity since with this persona he was still cast off as an outcast by virtually everyone aside from Hajime and Sonia, so yeah!
Ive seen this many times and ill give a bigger comment soon but this brings me joy as an autistic woman on my way to college. Hes always been one of my favorites.
Hey, person with autism here. Honestly Danganronpa is still one of my fixations all these years later. And like everyone else, I love Gundam. And i love this video, thanks for making it.
I really like Gundham as a character, he must be like almost my second favorite character in Danganronpa (I can’t pick between him and Kazuichi so I always say that they’re both my favorite) so him being so Autistic coded makes me kin him even more
