History Danganronpa / TropesEToM

* KickTheDog: A common practice of the Chapter 3 culprits is killing a second person for an unnecessary or cynical reason. The first two culprits (Celestia and Mikan) kill Hifumi and Hiyoko, when their main targets are Kiyotaka and Ibuki, respectively, because [[HeKnowsTooMuch they observed the crime in detail and would be able to tell the spotless the truth of what happened]]. As for the third, Korekiyo, he kills Angie for the same reason as the former two, but she wasn't his intended target to send to his sister; that was the girl he was planning to use his seesaw trap on, which would've likely been Tenko, due to her HeroicSpirit, but as Tenko was his ''second'' murder, him killing her as well is admittedly just him doing it ForTheEvulz.

** Averted in general. For all its focus on high school students committing murder and gruesome executions, the series is filled with [[MoralityKitchenSink some]] genuinely good, moral people. Those who do kill are only driven to do so thanks to Monokuma's manipulations and are often [[SympatheticMurderer remorseful about their actions]]. Even the Remnants of Despair, who've committed some of the worst crimes in the franchise, are given a second chance through rehabilitation.

* HumansAreFlawed: A number of the murders committed in the series are the result of desperation, characters being at their lowest point, or simply irrational acts. There are genuinely good and evil characters, however when pressed into terrible circumstances, even the most well-intentioned people see their worst traits surface with fatal consequences. It's also worth taking in account that they're attending high school and going through puberty, which can be a very difficult time as it is.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: The series' overarching conflict is wholly caused by [[StrawNihilist Junko Enoshima]], who is reportedly biologically human. Junko is prideful, impulsive, hedonistic, and apathetic, only wishing to sow despair for the sake of it, but it all stems from the fact that she is a human being and represents humanity's worst vices. It is also worth noting that there aren't any ''real'' non-human antagonists, or at least none that stem from Junko's will, with every antagonist in the series actually being human.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: The series' ovearching conflict is wholly caused by [[StrawNihilist Junko Enoshima]], who is reportedly biologically human. Junko is prideful, impulsive, hedonistic, and apathetic, only wishing to sow despair for the sake of it, but it all stems from the fact that she is a human being and represents humanity's worst vices.

* HeroKiller: Of the IndirectSerialKiller variety, [[BigBad Monokuma/Junko Enoshima]] (and her fanatical replacement [[{{Otaku}} Tsumugi Shirogane]] later on) manipulates countless protagonists and innocents into killing themselves or each other through FlawExploitation, the few times she directly kills being during execution setups.

* HeroKiller: Of the IndirectSerialKiller variety, [[BigBad Monokuma/Junko Enoshima]] manipulates countless protagonists and innocents into killing themselves or each other through FlawExploitation, the few times she directly kills being during execution setups.

** Every murder culprit serves as an antagonist within each chapter, but they either have a Duress defense or are lesser of an evil by comparison in some way that makes them seem more humane than the BigBad, this including Korekiyo, who despite everything is at least not a killing game mastermind.

** In ''Side:Future'', Kazuo Tengan is a KnightTemplar who genuinely believes brainwashing the world will save it from despair, and Chisa Yukziome is a NiceGirl who was [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed by Junko]] to be a SycophanticServant of despair.

** In ''Side:Future'', Kazuo Tengan is a KnightTemplar who genuinely believes brainwashing the world will save it from despair.

** In ''Killing Harmony'', the trope is deconstructed over the course of the game, as the Flashback Lights give the students memories about their talents, the Gofer Project, and the remaining students their status as the new students of Hope's Peak Academy, and then subverted when the last trial reveals that these memories are all [[InUniverseFactoidFailure fake due to inaccuracy with the History of Hope's Peak]].

** In the second game, Nagito is a WellIntentionedExtremist who desires to spread hope, and Izuru Kamukura is a TragicVillain who is bored of the world around him and had his inhibitions forcibly removed by Hope's Peak Academy, and Junko taking advantage of him led to a burning desire for revenge, which comes up in the form of the second game's events.

** Every murder culprit serves as an antagonist within each chapter, but they either have a Duress defense or are lesser of an evil by comparison, this including Korekiyo.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Monokuma, controlled by Junko in the main saga and Team Danganronpa in the retool, are plainly evil and sadistic with nothing to really redeem them of it, but there are other villainous characters who have a sense of morality or a reason for their actions.

** While Mukuro Ikusaba is Junko's assistant, she is driven by a familial love (that isn't returned) than the actual drive for despair, and unlike Junko, is capable of caring about others. However, she also cares little about the amorality of Junko's desires in the process, and willingly gives into Junko's every desire.