Mahiru's not a particularly popular character, but I personally love her. I filled in a questionnaire about her a while ago, so here are my answers!
Why do you like or dislike this character?
Mahiru! Best girl! One of my favourite Danganronpa characters; I think she’s painfully underrated. Grounded and compassionate, spirited and fiery, slightly insecure but unafraid to assert herself. She feels very real to me.
Favourite canon thing about this character?
Her role as a grounding influence, which I think is very valuable. Danganronpa 2 is my favourite game in the series, but the cast is very wacky. Among all the larger-than-life characters, it felt like a breath of fresh air to meet someone as realistic and level-headed as Mahiru. I love that she refuses to be intimidated when Fuyuhiko starts throwing around murder threats, too.
Least favourite canon thing about this character?
The weird gender essentialism, and the fact that, if you have the Man’s Nut in your inventory, Hajime suddenly goes severely out-of-character and spies on her in the shower.
If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?
I think I’d put her in each of the other Danganronpa games and see how they play out with her there!
What’s something you have in common with this character?
We both struggle with a certain amount of imposter syndrome, I think.
What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?
Mahiru’s not a particularly popular character, so I’m not sure I see her depicted enough to get a strong impression of what the fandom tends to do with her! Sometimes people draw cute fanart of her, though; I like that.
What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?
I think Mahiru sometimes gets flattened into ‘hates men, the end’. I can understand why her attitude to gender rubs people the wrong way, but there’s a lot more to her than that!
Could you be roommates/best friends with this character?
I think so! She’s strict and has high standards, so we’d probably have occasional clashes when I disappointed her expectations, but for the most part I think we’d get along fine.
What’s a headcanon you have for this character?
Before Danganronpa 3 came out and contradicted me, I headcanoned that Mahiru fell into despair because she was dwelling uncontrollably on the deaths of Natsumi and Sato. I still like this more than the canonical explanation.
What’s your favourite ship for this character?
Mahiru/Hajime, by a long way! They’ve got good chemistry (to be fair, Hajime has good chemistry with everyone), and I think they would be extremely cute together. Deeply underrated ship.
What’s your least favourite ship for this character?
I’m really not a fan of Kazuichi, and I don’t like Mahiru/Kazuichi, so I’m mystified by the fact that I once had a dream about them having sex in a restaurant bathroom.
What’s a ship for this character that you’re fine with; you don’t hate it, but it’s not your favourite?
Mahiru/Sato. Makes a lot of sense! But I’m unlikely to seek it out, because I’m not particularly interested in Sato as a character.
Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character? The amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter.
I’d never really contemplated it before, but Mahiru and Ibuki could be really fun as best friends: the wild girl and the grounding influence.
If you’re a fic writer and have written for this character, what’s your favourite thing to do when you’re writing for this character? What’s something you don’t like?
I like writing Mahiru interacting with Hajime, and incorporating her love for photography into my fics. Her short-tempered, abrasive side can be fun to write, too! I struggle with capturing her gender essentialist side, though. I don’t want to ignore her flaws in my writing, but I find it hard to depict that particular flaw in a way that feels true to canon.
What was your first impression of this character? How about now?
My very first impression was 'huh, she looks a little like Mukuro’. When I actually started getting to know Mahiru, my impression quickly became 'huh, she seems sensible and bold; I like her,’ and that impression has remained much the same!
What’s something the character has done you can’t get over?
Died! In chapter two!! I was so sure she’d stick around for ages; she really felt to me like she’d be a lasting presence! We didn’t have nearly enough time with her.
If you could have this character meet another in another media, who would you have them meet?
Prompto from Final Fantasy XV! I think it would be fun to see Prompto’s blend of 'aaah this girl is scarily strict and thinks I should be more responsible??’ and 'omg I can nerd out over photography with her???’
Could you live as this character? Would you?
Would I be willing to take Mahiru’s place, you mean? In Danganronpa??? No. Absolutely not.