The moral dilemma in Danganronpa 1 is wild regarding the first death and trial when Leon killed Sayaka when *SHE* tried to kill him first. Like, was Leon justified or not? It's not like Sayaka was innocent, she tricked him and tried to murder him and only failed because she sucks at murdering. Had she succeeded, she would have blamed Makoto as she switched nameplates from his room to her own.
*BUT* there's also the key detail that Leon disabled Sayaka after breaking her wrist with the saya of the katana, with Sayaka then retreating into the bathroom. But instead of getting help or letting it go, Leon purposely went to get his tools to break open the door because he didn't know that Makoto's door was broken. And after getting it to open, he fatally stabbed her with her own knife as he did his best to destroy the evidence.
And of course, you have to consider the context of the situation. Sayaka and Leon are just two scared teenagers locked in Hope's Peak Academy with no hope of escape or rescue, and just witnessed the videos by Monokuma to serve as motivation when they witnessed their families being hurt. They had no idea if they were okay or even what the state of the outside world was in.
And we haven't even gotten into the Class Trial, where it was the needs of the few versus the needs of the many when Leon had to lie in order to survive, and the class had to choose him as the killer, or they would all die. Someone was going to die no matter what.
But even if Leon had gone to get help, it's possible Sayaka could still have blamed Leon because let's be honest, the Halo Effect is a real thing. She's a girl, pretty, and popular. Leon isn't hated, but isn't particularly well-liked or looked up to, so the group would be against him. And Makoto, being the helpless simp, would probably side with Sayaka because she would sweet-talk him. The only person who would side with Leon would probably be Kyoko, and not because she likes him, but simply because of her desire to find the truth.
Not to mention, without Leon's death, they never would have advanced onwards to the other floors in the Academy and eventually escaped, so in a cruel way, Leon's death, along with the others, was necessary to escape and defeat Monokuma, Junko, and despair itself. Because in the real world, sacrifices are necessary to do anything.
The only thing that really bothers me is not so much the in-universe situation but what happens in our world regarding the fandom. Everyone always sides with Sayaka or just blatantly shits all over Leon when he was just a scared kid thrust into a shitty situation where it was either do or die. I swear it's just because she's a cute waifu who helped the player out at the beginning of the game, despite literally betraying you only a few moments later.
Like, come on, guys, Leon made a mistake, sure, but Sayaka is far from innocent either! After all, she's the one who LITERALLY TRIED TO MURDER HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE!!! None of this would have happened if it weren't for her own actions! And people say Leon sucks at hiding/disposing of evidence which to be fair is true, but Sayaka is far more pathetic when you consider she fumbled the bag so badly when she had every advantage!
- She had the home-field advantage
- She had a WEAPON!!!
- Leon had no idea he was about to be attacked
AND SHE STILL LOST!
And what was she even thinking about choosing the literal ULTIMATE Baseball Star anyway?! Doesn't she know that men are naturally stronger than women? If she wanted to kill someone and escape, she should have picked Chihiro. But I guess *she* was too cute... The Halo Effect strikes again! Leon's only fault was thinking with his little head instead of his big one! He should have questioned why Sayaka wanted to talk in private anyway, especially during the night and in their rooms when no one can fucking hear through the walls, no matter how loudly you scream! But still, he's a guy and Sayaka is pretty, so he can't be blamed too badly...
But all in all, this is just a fucked up situation all around, but if I had to pick a side I'm definitely with Leon. Screw Sayaka the snake attempting murder bitch! I don't care how cute of a waifu she is! But that's just me. She also didn’t write Leon’s name in her own blood to help everyone out, despite what Kyoko and Makoto believe, that's pure COPIUM! She did that out of a sense of vengeance and petty bitterness just to screw with Leon once last time posthumously to get him fucked over with a punishment. (Also how the fuck did no one except for Kyoko and Makoto OF ALL PEOPLE not realize they were letters and NOT NUMBERS?!)
Like seriously, he suffered the most brutal punishment in the form of "The 1,000 Blows" for the most justifiable killing. This wasn't like Mondo literally killing the most wholesome character in the form of Chihiro in the most needless death of the whole series because he was envious and full of self-loathing. And he didn't pull a fucking scumbag move like Byakuya and manipulated the Chihiro’s fucking corpse in the same way as Genocide Jack for no reason other than his own amusement to make the game more "interesting"! Or Celestia murdering not just because she wanted to live or escape, but for her selfish dream of being a European LARPER. He didn't fucking throw Makoto under the buss like Kyoko in order to solve and find the truth about their situation kek. (Like seriously, there was NO WAY Kyoko could have known that Alter Ego had sent a virus before he was destroyed!!!)
And he sure as shit didn't murder his own sister like Junko did just to feel some despair!
He literally killed out of a sense of self-defense. Did he go too far? Sure, once again, yeah. But still, he wasn't thinking straight. This cute girl who just called him over for a private chat literally betrayed him and tried to MURDER HIM! This wasn't a normal situation in the slightest! Give the poor guy a little break, for crying out loud!
Leon did nothing wrong! Except for well, breaking down the door and murdering Sayaka … and maybe sucking ass at destroying evidence and lying at the Class Trial… But aside from that, NOTHING! Bring some justice for my poor boy Leon, who never wanted to be a Baseball Star but a rockstar! His one true dream, which he never got to achieve… And what about his poor cousin who loved him?! She’ll never get to see him again! Poor, poor Leon and Kanon… RIP, my man. Rest in peace.
