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* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: ''Side:Despair'' is one for Hajime Hinata and the rest of class 77.
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* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: ''Side:Despair'' is one for [[SupportingProtagonist Chisa Yukizome]], Hajime Hinata Hinata, and the rest of class 77.
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Hundred Percent Adoration Rating is a redirect to Universally Beloved Leader; example isn't clear on whether Chiaki is a leader.
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* HundredPercentAdorationRating: ''Everyone'' loves Chiaki. [[spoiler: Junko knows this, and forces them to watch her execution to push them into Ultimate Despair.]]
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* OffModel: The anime is quite shaky in the animation department, especially later on. It's most obvious when you compare character heights; Yukizome is listed officially as being 161 cm, but is drawn as being nearly a head taller than both Nanami and Mitarai (both only a centimeter shorter), while Satou is rendered noticeably taller than Koizumi despite the profiles noting her as being a good inch shorter.
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** Enoshima can be seen doodling in a notebook throughout Episode 5, likely the same notebook she has [[LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero as Ryouko]].
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** Enoshima can be seen doodling in a notebook throughout Episode 5, likely the same notebook she has [[LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero [[Literature/DanganronpaZero as Ryouko]].
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* FantasticCasteSystem: As described in ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero'', Hope's Peak's student body is divided between the main course, who are scouted by the school for their talents, and the reserve course, [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary students]] who have to pay colossal entrance fees for the chance to attend. The two courses have adjacent, but separate campuses, and it appears that main course students can freely wander the reserve course campus, but not the other way around.
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* FantasticCasteSystem: As described in ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero'', ''Literature/DanganronpaZero'', Hope's Peak's student body is divided between the main course, who are scouted by the school for their talents, and the reserve course, [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary students]] who have to pay colossal entrance fees for the chance to attend. The two courses have adjacent, but separate campuses, and it appears that main course students can freely wander the reserve course campus, but not the other way around.
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* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the radically different environment, most of the major relationships from the second game remain intact. This makes sense since, as ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' insinuated, the students' lost memories didn't affect their subconscious memories of each other, so the original bonds reformed quite quickly.
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* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the radically different environment, most of the major relationships from the second game remain intact. This makes sense since, as ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' ''Literature/DanganronpaZero'' insinuated, the students' lost memories didn't affect their subconscious memories of each other, so the original bonds reformed quite quickly.
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* RefugeInAudacity: Nagito manages to get away with the stunt he pulls in Episode 4 partially because the sheer amount of luck it required was the perfect display of his talent. [[spoiler:''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' suggests that this same attitude will backfire horribly on the staff of Hope's Peak later on when Junko starts putting her plan into motion.]]
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* RefugeInAudacity: Nagito manages to get away with the stunt he pulls in Episode 4 partially because the sheer amount of luck it required was the perfect display of his talent. [[spoiler:''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' [[spoiler:''Literature/DanganronpaZero'' suggests that this same attitude will backfire horribly on the staff of Hope's Peak later on when Junko starts putting her plan into motion.]]
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* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Side:Despair'' is more or less a (much expanded) successor to ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero''. Both are prequels that connect to the latest main series instalment, both have a romance between the main characters (Ryouko/Matsuda and Hinata/Nanami respectively) forming the backbone of the narrative and both heavily spotlight exploring the BigBad of the prior instalments.
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* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Side:Despair'' is more or less a (much expanded) successor to ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero''.''Literature/DanganronpaZero''. Both are prequels that connect to the latest main series instalment, both have a romance between the main characters (Ryouko/Matsuda and Hinata/Nanami respectively) forming the backbone of the narrative and both heavily spotlight exploring the BigBad of the prior instalments.
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** It's implied that another one of unknown length happens in between Episodes 10 and 11, since [[spoiler: Junko knows how to erase memories, suggesting that the events of ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' have already taken place.]]
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** It's implied that another one of unknown length happens in between Episodes 10 and 11, since [[spoiler: Junko knows how to erase memories, suggesting that the events of ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' ''Literature/DanganronpaZero'' have already taken place.]]
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Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
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* WackyHomeroom: Class 77-B basically takes the wackiness UpToEleven.
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* WackyHomeroom: Class 77-B basically takes the wackiness UpToEleven.up to eleven.
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Changed line(s) 114 (click to see context) from:
* {{Retcon}}: The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. In fact, in ''2'', Nagito pressed Monokuma on the authenticity of the dossier on his fellow students he had received as a reward for winning the Russian Roulette challenge. Monokuma stated that the contents of the dossier were entirely truthful, except for the fact that he had created a fake student profile for the traitor (who later turned out to be Chiaki), because they ''didn't have one'' due to never having been a student at Hope Peak's Academy, and this absence of a paper trail would have given the traitor's identity away far too early. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
to:
* {{Retcon}}: The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. In fact, in ''2'', Nagito pressed Monokuma on the authenticity of the dossier on his fellow students he had received as a reward for winning the Russian Roulette challenge. Monokuma stated that the contents of the dossier were entirely truthful, except for the fact that he had created a fake student profile for the traitor (who later turned out to be Chiaki), because they ''didn't have one'' due to never having been a student at Hope Peak's Academy, and this absence of a paper trail would have given the traitor's identity away far too early. ''3'' reveals In ''3'', the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, who was a fully-fleged student at Hope Peak's Academy, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
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There is a contradiction there.
* {{Retcon}}: The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. In fact, in ''2'', Nagito pressed Monokuma on the authenticity of the dossier on his fellow students he had received as a reward for winning the Russian Roulette challenge. Monokuma stated that the contents of the dossier were entirely truthful, except for the fact that he had created a fake student profile for the traitor (who later turned out to be Chiaki), because they ''didn't have one'' due to never having been a student at Hope Peak's Academy, and this absence of a paper trail would have given the traitor's identity away far too early. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
Deleted line(s) 116 (click to see context) :
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. In fact, in ''2'', Nagito pressed Monokuma on the authenticity of the dossier on his fellow students he had received as a reward for winning the Russian Roulette challenge. Monokuma stated that the contents of the dossier were entirely truthful, except for the fact that he had created a fake student profile for the traitor (who later turned out to be Chiaki), because they ''didn't have one'' due to never having been a student at Hope Peak's Academy, and this absence of a paper trail would have given the traitor's identity away far too early. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
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** Absolutely nothing in [=SDR2=] implied that Natsumi and Sato were Reserve Course students and not just regular HPA students. Natsumi's talent of Little Sister is turned into one she used for herself as a way of avoiding continuity errors.
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
to:
** Absolutely nothing in [=SDR2=] ''[=SDR2=]'' implied that Natsumi and Sato were Reserve Course students and not just regular HPA students. Natsumi's talent of Little Sister is turned into one she used for herself as a way of avoiding continuity errors.
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. In fact, in ''2'', Nagito pressed Monokuma on the authenticity of the dossier on his fellow students he had received as a reward for winning the Russian Roulette challenge. Monokuma stated that the contents of the dossier were entirely truthful, except for the fact that he had created a fake student profile for the traitor (who later turned out to be Chiaki), because they ''didn't have one'' due to never having been a student at Hope Peak's Academy, and this absence of a paper trail would have given the traitor's identity away far too early. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. In fact, in ''2'', Nagito pressed Monokuma on the authenticity of the dossier on his fellow students he had received as a reward for winning the Russian Roulette challenge. Monokuma stated that the contents of the dossier were entirely truthful, except for the fact that he had created a fake student profile for the traitor (who later turned out to be Chiaki), because they ''didn't have one'' due to never having been a student at Hope Peak's Academy, and this absence of a paper trail would have given the traitor's identity away far too early. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
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This has been disambiguated.
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* {{Flanderization}}: Due to LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the necessity to cover a large amount of plot points in a fairly small amount of episodes ''and'' explore the backstories for the new characters, this hits much of the [=SDR2=] cast ''hard''. Soda especially gets it bad.
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* {{Flanderization}}: Due to LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the size of the cast, the necessity to cover a large amount of plot points in a fairly small amount of episodes ''and'' explore the backstories for the new characters, this hits much of the [=SDR2=] cast ''hard''. Soda especially gets it bad.
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Moving the Wham entries to the new pages.
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* WhamShot: At the end of Episode 10, [[spoiler: the camera pans up to show ''[[TheStoic Izuru]]'' crying over Chiaki's death, with the next episode confirming this is what turned him against Junko.]]
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Moving the Wham entries to the new pages.
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* WhamLine: At the end of episode 2. [[spoiler: "Hello. I am Natsumi Kuzuryu."]]
** The end of Episode 9. [[spoiler: "Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile"]]
** The very end of Episode 11, "continued to the hope side", confirming the existence of a combined GrandFinale.
** The end of Episode 9. [[spoiler: "Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile"]]
** The very end of Episode 11, "continued to the hope side", confirming the existence of a combined GrandFinale.
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Moving the Wham Episode entries to the anime's new page.
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* WhamEpisode: Episode 5 has the 78th class joining Hope's Peak, and Hajime undergoing the transformation into Izuru Kamukura.
** Episode 6 - [[spoiler: Junko and Izuru meet and Izuru seems to take up her offer of spreading despair together. She also meets Mitarai and believes it to be a destined event.]]
** '''''Episode 7'''''. [[spoiler: The first killing game begins... and we get to see the student council kill each other in various brutal ways, all to the tune of Mukuro singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Give Me Wings".]] Junko fabricates a story in which Izuru killed them all, sending it to the reserve course and claiming that this is what their money is being spent on. The last scene has the reserve course rioting, and the 77th class watching in fear.]]
** Episode 8: Mama mia. [[spoiler: It's indeed confirmed that Mitarai's brainwashing techniques are being used by Enoshima to drive the school to despair, as she uses it to make Tsumiki go BrainwashedAndCrazy. Komaeda returns, and the entire class goes off to find Tsumiki. Komaeda and Nanami proceed to break into where Enoshima is keeping Mitarai, only for Kamukura to shoot Komaeda in the chest while Mitarai escapes. The episode then ends with Nanami realising Kamukura is Hinata.]]
** Episode 9: [[spoiler: Enoshima captures Yukizome, with the final scene heavily implying she's now under her influence.]]
** Episode 10: Holy shit. [[spoiler: Chiaki is forced into a deadly maze by Chisa and Junko, with the members of class 77 being forced to watch. Her death is what finally pushes them into becoming Ultimate Despair. Not only that, but see WhamShot for the final scene]].
** Episode 6 - [[spoiler: Junko and Izuru meet and Izuru seems to take up her offer of spreading despair together. She also meets Mitarai and believes it to be a destined event.]]
** '''''Episode 7'''''. [[spoiler: The first killing game begins... and we get to see the student council kill each other in various brutal ways, all to the tune of Mukuro singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Give Me Wings".]] Junko fabricates a story in which Izuru killed them all, sending it to the reserve course and claiming that this is what their money is being spent on. The last scene has the reserve course rioting, and the 77th class watching in fear.]]
** Episode 8: Mama mia. [[spoiler: It's indeed confirmed that Mitarai's brainwashing techniques are being used by Enoshima to drive the school to despair, as she uses it to make Tsumiki go BrainwashedAndCrazy. Komaeda returns, and the entire class goes off to find Tsumiki. Komaeda and Nanami proceed to break into where Enoshima is keeping Mitarai, only for Kamukura to shoot Komaeda in the chest while Mitarai escapes. The episode then ends with Nanami realising Kamukura is Hinata.]]
** Episode 9: [[spoiler: Enoshima captures Yukizome, with the final scene heavily implying she's now under her influence.]]
** Episode 10: Holy shit. [[spoiler: Chiaki is forced into a deadly maze by Chisa and Junko, with the members of class 77 being forced to watch. Her death is what finally pushes them into becoming Ultimate Despair. Not only that, but see WhamShot for the final scene]].
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Moving the Foreshadowing entries to the anime's new page.
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* {{Foreshadowing}}: In every shot of the classroom, there is always one seat left unfilled. Episode 5 reveals that seat belongs to Mitarai, who is staying couped up in his room working while the Ultimate Imposter uses his identity.
** Juzo, irritated that Chisa stopped him from beating up Hinata, says that she's becoming too absorbed in her false identity as a teacher. [[spoiler:Several episodes later, she [[BecomingTheMask becomes the mask.]]]]
** The reveal in Side:Hope that [[spoiler:AI Chiaki in her role as observer was made by combining everyone's memories]] was foreshadowed by the ending credits; the [[spoiler:Chiaki made from memories is holding a Hope Fragment crystal]].
** Juzo, irritated that Chisa stopped him from beating up Hinata, says that she's becoming too absorbed in her false identity as a teacher. [[spoiler:Several episodes later, she [[BecomingTheMask becomes the mask.]]]]
** The reveal in Side:Hope that [[spoiler:AI Chiaki in her role as observer was made by combining everyone's memories]] was foreshadowed by the ending credits; the [[spoiler:Chiaki made from memories is holding a Hope Fragment crystal]].
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[[WMG:[[center:[-''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' '''Trope Examples'''\\
[[Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool/TropesGeneral General Tropes]] | [[Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool/TropesFutureArc Future Arc]] | '''Despair Arc''' | [[Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool/TropesHopeArc Hope Arc]]-]]]]]
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[[Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool/TropesGeneral General Tropes]] | [[Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool/TropesFutureArc Future Arc]] | '''Despair Arc''' | [[Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool/TropesHopeArc Hope Arc]]-]]]]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:#-L]]
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: ''Everyone'' loves Chiaki. [[spoiler: Junko knows this, and forces them to watch her execution to push them into Ultimate Despair.]]
* AdvertisedExtra: The anime heavily promoted the return of the entire cast of [=SDR2=]. In reality however, everyone besides Hinata, Nanami and Komaeda end up with relatively minor roles after the first two episodes.
* AStormIsComing: Seems to be the case in episode 8, knowing what's likely going to happen afterwards.
* BattleInTheRain: [[spoiler: Peko vs. Mukuro]] in episode 8. [[spoiler:Juzo and Kyousuke fighting off the reserve course students]] also applies.
* BlandNameProduct:
** In the first episode, Nagito's luck gets him several cans of "Dr Hopper" and Chiaki plays [[VideoGame/{{Galaga}} Gala Omega]] on her [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Nantendo]] [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Game Girl Advance]].
** While Ryota is working on his anime in a new location in episode 7, Junko gives him a mini-fridge filled with a Red Bull knockoff, replacing the bulls with bulldogs for its logo. She also references the real life product's CatchPhrase.
-->'''Junko:''' Have you got wings?
* BlatantLies: Even as Hajime is put under for the surgery, a scientist/doctor tells him that he may feel a bit confused when he wakes up, but he'll soon be back to normal. Apparently they didn't see fit to mention that little DeathOfPersonality / GrandTheftMe issue. And worse, poor Hajime has no idea that this is their intent.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the second part of episode 5, [[spoiler: Junko]] looks to the camera and says: [[spoiler: "Alright! In the B-Part, it's the Enoshima time you've all been looking for!"]].
* CallForward: Being a prequel, this is to be expected.
** The building that Munakata is building in the first episode is the headquarters of the Future Foundation and the setting of Side:Future.
** In a picture during the ending song, Peko is shown with a Sparkling Justice mask.
** A picture in the ending song shows Chiaki, Ibuki, and Hiyoko having a session together, which is a special event in [=SDR2=].
** Episode two has Kizakura referencing Celestia as a potential student he's scouting.
** Episode two also has Nekomaru playing as a [[WeCanRebuildHim robot]] in a fighting game. For an extra kick in the gut, his opponent, Gundham, notes that he is a worthy and determined opponent, and declares that they will fall together. This is exactly what happens in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': trapped and deprived of food, Gundham sends Nekomaru plunging to his death in the full knowledge that he himself is likely to be executed, in the hope that their deaths will save the others in the group. The idea of these two being the protectors of the class is revisited again in Episode 9, where they stay behind to fend off the angry (and [[spoiler:probably brainwashed]]) Reserve Course students to buy the others time to complete their rescue mission.
** Nagito is singled out in the Despair opening, floating in front of the silhouette of a gun barrel that holds six bullets -- likely the barrel of the handgun that he used to play Russian Roulette in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''.
** Nagito also specifically mentions the term "fragment of hope" when the class are socializing together. The Neo World Program set the students the task of collecting "hope fragments" by bonding with each other.
** Enoshima can be seen doodling in a notebook throughout Episode 5, likely the same notebook she has [[LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero as Ryouko]].
** During The Tragedy of Hope's Peak, Kamukura receives a graze on his cheek from a bullet, identical to the one he receives as Hinata early into [=SDR2=].
** A less obvious example is Ibuki's leggings. In the second game, she wore a pair of ripped thigh-highs, one blue and one pink, but one of the photos from Twilight Syndrome Murder Case showed her wearing a pair of leggings with bone designs on them. Exactly what she wears here.
** [[spoiler: The way Chiaki dies, being brutally impaled with numerous spears, will be the same death Ikusaba will receive in the second killing game, which is kind of karmic]].
** Episode 10 of ''Side:Despair'' is titled "Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope". This is a reference to the fifth chapter of ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': "Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair.". [[spoiler:In both episodes, Chiaki is viciously killed in a video game-like scenario after a HopeSpot where she reaches an exit/goal. The poor girl was murdered twice in the same manner]].
** It isn't very noticeable at first, but if you look closely at the collage of Chiaki in the ending song, you could see that she's holding up a star which has the same shape as the star that the hope fragments in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' form.
** Episode 11 of ''Side:Despair'' is titled "Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy", a deliberate parallel to the [[LostInTranslation (original)]] subtitle of ''Super Danganronpa 2'' - "Goodbye, Despair Academy".
** When Mukuro asked Junko if they should have Makoto killed, knowing that his luck would ruin her plan, Junko decides to let him live knowing that if someone like him ruined her plan it would be very despairful for her. She has no idea how right she is.
* CensorShadow: Used in [[spoiler:the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy]] very liberally, as well as the scene in Episode 9 in which [[spoiler:a Reserve Course student decapitates himself with a hacksaw]]. [[TooHotForTV The Blu-ray and DVD releases removed them.]]
* CerebusSyndrome: Intentionally invoked with ''Side:Despair'' being a much LighterAndSofter contrast to ''Side:Future'', with the first few episodes largely consisting of humorous SliceOfLife moments in the 77th class. And then [[KnightOfCerebus Junko]] shows up.
* ContinuityNod: Several of the expressions and poses Chiaki makes echo [[http://imgur.com/a/GZ7dI the ones her AI makes]] in the second game.
* CrapsaccharineWorld:
** Compared to ''Side:Future'', the art style of this arc is full of vibrant pastel colors. This doesn't make this arc any lighter than the other one.
** In-universe, Hope's Peak sells itself as not only the pinnacle of education, but as a symbol of human potential and achievement. It has a very fancy campus, its students are allowed a lot of freedom and practically guaranteed success upon leaving school, and it's renowned across the world. In reality, the teachers really don't care about education, the whole school is a glorified laboratory for research on talent, they treat their Ultimate students like performing animals, and the whole thing is bankrolled by the badly-treated Reserve Students, who are inadvertently providing plenty of data on what happens when your FantasticCasteSystem is allowed to rampage unchecked. And that's before we get into what's happening in the shadows.
* CripplingOverspecialization: The Academy outright ''encourages'' this. It doesn't even require that their students attend classes to broaden their knowledge -- they're free to go off and work on their talents instead (and no-one, aside from Chisa, will make too much noise if they're just goofing off instead). Chiaki mentions this to Hajime, when she notes that the Ultimates are trapped and limited by their own talents.
* CutAndPasteNote: In episode 4, Komaeda posts a threat letter like this saying "POSTPONE THE PRACTICAL EXAM OR BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN."
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** Episode 4 functions as one for Komaeda, who had been more of a background character until that point.
** Episode 5 served as one for the Ultimate Imposter and Ryota, the latter of whom becomes a main character from there on.
* DealWithTheDevil: Hajime's deal with Hope's Peak: he can attend the Academy for free (the substandard Reserve Course, of [[IncrediblyLamePun course]], not the actual Ultimate-exclusive school)...but Hope's Peak require his participation in a certain project in return. At the start of the series, it's clear that they've kept him in the dark as to exactly ''what'' that project entails.
* DecoyProtagonist: Most of Class 77. While the ''Side:Despair'' trailers and posters tout ''Side:Despair'' as their story, they mostly serve as catalysts (or comic relief) in the backstories of ''Side:Future'''s cast, at least in the initial episodes. Nanami is the only one with a truly signifigant role in the narrative.
* DespairEventHorizon: Junko's whole M.O. involves throwing people over this at the speed of light. [[spoiler:Chisa and Mikan]] cross it via torture and brainwashing, and [[spoiler:the rest of Class 77-B]] cross it via brainwashing and trauma, as [[spoiler:they're forced to watch Chiaki's gruesome, agonizing death, trapped in a torture-maze with no escape]]. Special mention to Hajime too, who crosses it when the last of his self-esteem is shattered, pushing him into becoming Izuru.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: It seems everyone is doing this in Episode 9. [[spoiler:Yukizome going through with rescuing Chiaki without any backup, Class 77-B going to go rescue Yukizome without telling anyone and not considering the fact that Junko is very prepared for their arrival, and Sakakura confronting and planning to fight Junko by himself and while being surrounded by brainwashed Reserve Course students. The next episode shows just how badly they screwed up for their lack of planning as it leads to Yukizome being confirmed as brainwashed, Chiaki's death and Class 77-B being brainwashed after watching her being tortured and then killed, and Sakaura being blackmailed into lying to Munakata about Junko's involvement with the First Killing Game]].
* DivideAndConquer: How Junko kick starts the first Killing Game, as per usual. [[spoiler:A threat to a Student Council member's mother gets the ball rolling]].
* DividedWeFall: Initially looks to be the way Junko gets her claws into the 77th class. [[spoiler:Nagito is separated from his class early on, but it really starts when Junko hijacks Mitarai, then kidnaps Mikan when the Ultimate Nurse comes to his house to check his wellbeing. The rest of the class become nervous when one of their number simply vanishes...]] The final classmate to be separated from the pack is [[spoiler:Chiaki. Junko then nabs the others in one fell swoop as she forces them to watch the murder of their beloved class rep]].
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Enforced. Notice all these examples are common in some of the more extreme hentai:
** [[spoiler: After the murder of his crush, Sousuke Ichino decides to kill a couple attempting a lovers' suicide by repeatedly ramming a large, hard metal object into them while the boy is lying on top of the girl. What's more, after the boy dies, Sousuke keeps doing it while we're treated to a shot of the girl screaming in agony as she begs the attacker to stop, stating it hurts.]]
** A girl half-undressed while having an ahegao and letting out orgasmic sounds is unsettling even for some hentai watchers, and having Mikan doing all these while Junko stomps on her butt with the heel of Junko's pump at a certain area becomes a whole new level of squick.
** Chisa's literal mind rape. The orgasmic sound she let out as the camera focused on her [[FanDisservice gainaxing chest and crotch]] does not help.
** While Junko is clearly a villain, the ways she bullies Mitarai and Juzo are too realistic for comfort. Both feature the victim surrounded by other students as Junko looks down and mocks them. Her bullying of Juzo is cruelly, uncomfortably close to a brutal form of school bullying: not only does she out him as a closeted homosexual, she also stomps on him and humiliates him, with a lot of students laughing at him when she reveals the object of his affection. This is made worse by the fact that this situation is all too common even in real life 2016, when the show aired.
** Episode 11 showcases a pretty "interesting" scene of Junko slapping her sister's ass, knocking Mukuro on the ground and repeatedly stomping on her butt, with the heel of Junko's pump seemingly positioned in a particular area. We then get a close up of Mukuro as she is blushing, with her body moving in a rather suggestive manner in response to Junko's stomping. The fact Mukuro seemed to be out of breath after Junko was done doesn't help with the implication.
*** In fact, Junko's treatment towards her sister (IE the constant attempts at killing, the physical abuse, the mental abuse, the emotional abuse), combined with Mukuro's apparent addiction and pleasure at this, is heavily remnicent of a combination of DomesticAbuse and StockholmSyndrome (Which sadly gets worse in other materials like ''[=DanganRonpa=] IF'').
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Creator/MegumiOgata sings ''Side:Despair'''s ending theme.
* DoomedByCanon: Everyone in class 77 is going to fall into despair (with the exception of Chiaki). All we can do is watch it happen.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Averted, [[spoiler: Mitarai's AttemptedRape by a BrainwashedAndCrazy Tsumiki]] is played for all the horror it entails.
* DownerEnding: As the description above says: "This is a tale of hope that ends in despair." Sure enough, [[ForegoneConclusion Class 77-B falls into despair]], [[spoiler: Nanami dies, Yukizome becomes despair and is already on her way to corrupting her lover into it, and Mitarai is left a depressed, guilt-ridden wreck.]] It does however end on something of an optimistic note, as [[spoiler: his anger over Nanami's death]] leads Kamukura to start plotting against Junko in {{Revenge}}, leading to the events of ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' and ''Side:Hope''.
* EasterEgg: The official website changes based on key events.
** Junko, physically incapable of subtlety, is the first thing you see upon going to the website as of [[spoiler:Episode 5]]. She takes up the whole page!
** By contrast, after [[spoiler:Episode 5]], where he is transformed into Izuru, Hajime vanished from his place front-and center of the ''Side:Despair'' image, on the right hand side of the official website, giving us a better look at his ominous alter-ego in the background. Poor guy got erased in the real world as well as the story...
** As of [[spoiler:Episode 6]] Hajime's empty spot has been filled by Izuru.
** Since [[spoiler:Episode 10]] every character but [[spoiler: Chiaki]] now has red eyes.
** After [[spoiler: Episode 12 of Future]] everything went back to normal, Izuru has been replaced by Hajime and all the red eyes are gone.
* EyeAwaken: [[spoiler:Hajime/Izuru]] at the end of Episode 5.
* FacelessMasses: Non-notable characters have unique designs, but have vague features and are colored a translucent blue.
* FairWeatherMentor: The whole school system, for the Ultimates. Hope's Peak laps up the credit for what their talented students go on to achieve, and is even willing to cover up atrocities if it means protecting the school's reputation. However, you're on your own if you get caught before they can hide the evidence, and Chisa tells her students that failing to perform impressively enough in the end of year exams could cost them their place in the school.
* FanDisservice:
** [[spoiler: Mikan's AttemptedRape of Mitarai and sadomasochistic love of Junko]] are absolutely played for horror.
** Episode 9 graces us with a [[SarcasmMode lovely]] shot of Chisa's breasts and groin [[spoiler:as she's being {{Mind Rape}}d, tortured, and forced to orgasm.]]
* {{Fanservice}}:
** Komaeda's appearance in Episode 7 gives the audience a [[FemaleGaze generous shot]] of his naked behind while he's [[WaterfallShower singing under a waterfall]].
** Junko in the same episode, with specific emphasis on her breasts, ass, and lips. [[LampshadeHanging While Mitarai talks about how his anime induces the viewer's eye movement]].
* FanserviceExtra: When Teruteru held up the magazine featuring Sayaka Maizono, she was wearing a very revealing swimsuit which shows off a rather shapely body.
* FantasticCasteSystem: As described in ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero'', Hope's Peak's student body is divided between the main course, who are scouted by the school for their talents, and the reserve course, [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary students]] who have to pay colossal entrance fees for the chance to attend. The two courses have adjacent, but separate campuses, and it appears that main course students can freely wander the reserve course campus, but not the other way around.
* {{Flanderization}}: Due to LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the necessity to cover a large amount of plot points in a fairly small amount of episodes ''and'' explore the backstories for the new characters, this hits much of the [=SDR2=] cast ''hard''. Soda especially gets it bad.
* ForegoneConclusion: We know that, by the end of Side:Despair, Hajime will become Izuru Kamukura, and everyone in Class 77, with the potential exception of Chiaki, will fall into despair.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In every shot of the classroom, there is always one seat left unfilled. Episode 5 reveals that seat belongs to Mitarai, who is staying couped up in his room working while the Ultimate Imposter uses his identity.
** Juzo, irritated that Chisa stopped him from beating up Hinata, says that she's becoming too absorbed in her false identity as a teacher. [[spoiler:Several episodes later, she [[BecomingTheMask becomes the mask.]]]]
** The reveal in Side:Hope that [[spoiler:AI Chiaki in her role as observer was made by combining everyone's memories]] was foreshadowed by the ending credits; the [[spoiler:Chiaki made from memories is holding a Hope Fragment crystal]].
* {{Frameup}}: [[spoiler:Junko frames Izuru for killing all the student council members during the first mutual killing game to convince the Reserve Course students that Hope's Peak has been using their money to fund the experiments that created him, meaning they're all accomplices]].
* FreezeFrameBonus: In Episode 4, student profiles for Komaeda and the 76th year trio are briefly shown. While it requires one to pause to read, it reveals [[ContinuityNod the hijacking incident that killed Komaeda's parents]], that Andou, Izayoi and Kimura are all ChildhoodFriends and explicitly confirms that Andou and Izayoi are an OfficialCouple.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In Episode 2, for most of the huge fight sequence that is demolishing the classroom, Chiaki continues to play her game and does not react until a bit of debris bounces off her head and breaks her concentration.
** Just as funny; Nagito is also just sitting there watching. But while Chiaki leaves after getting hit by something he continues to sit there as debre magicly just misses him.
* GettingSuspendedIsAwesome: Played with; instead of being expelled after blowing up the school gym in a ploy to postpone exams, Nagito is merely suspended because the school deems him too valuable to lose, and several students and faculty are scapegoated and given much harsher punishments. Not much is known about what happened during the ''year-long'' suspension, though the teachers theorize Nagito went on vacation, and he was, once again, the sole survivor of a plane crash and wound up in an island paradise.
* ImCryingButIDontKnowWhy: Izuru doesn't understand why he starts crying [[spoiler: after Chiaki dies in front of him.]] It's a sign that Hajime's personality wasn't entirely wiped out during the transformation.
* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the radically different environment, most of the major relationships from the second game remain intact. This makes sense since, as ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' insinuated, the students' lost memories didn't affect their subconscious memories of each other, so the original bonds reformed quite quickly.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: ''Side:Despair'' is set before both games, with characters like Jin Kirigiri, murdered in the first moments of the very first game, and Yukizome, [[spoiler: murdered at the end of Episode 1 in ''Side:Future'']], very much alive and well. The arc begins with a much brighter and more cheerful atmosphere than the oppressive darkness of all other installments, although this doesn't last beyond the first quarter.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:M-Z]]
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: During Episode 9, you can see Izuru [[http://imgur.com/a/vaIOh continuing]] [[http://imgur.com/a/PLFZD to]] [[http://imgur.com/a/qw45E stare]] at Chiaki after Junko and later Chisa interrupt them. This is meaningful because it hints at his piqued interest in her, which is vital to [[spoiler:his motivations for turning on Junko.]]
* MindScrew:
** The first scene of ''Side:Despair'' is [[spoiler: Yukizome in a movie theater ''watching her own death''. Her own death, which is, for reference, something that happens ''three years'' from that point.]]
** Ryota's experimental [[spoiler:(brainwashing)]] animation techniques being displayed on ''our screen'' as he's discussing them, implying that ''Danganronpa 3'' can [[spoiler:affect our mind]] similarly.
* MindRape: [[spoiler: An exceptionally horrific example, overlapping with ColdBloodedTorture, is given to Yukizome in Episode 9.]]
* MoodWhiplash:
** Episode 3 has a complete change in atmosphere from the previous two.
** Played even harder in Episode 4, which seems to revert to the lighter tone, only to end in a massive DownerEnding as [[spoiler: Andou and Kimura's already unstable friendship falls apart, they along with Izayoi get expelled and Yukizome is separated from her students.]]
** Episode 7 is ''vicious'', and it's obvious from the start that bad things will happen, but it still takes some time out to show us...[[spoiler: [[MrFanservice a naked Nagito singing in a waterfall]] after being in yet another plane crash (he never learns)]]. The Ultimate Lucky student once again skirts the borderline between disturbing and hilarious.
* MythologyGag:
** One of the images of Class 77-B in the ''Side:Despair'' ED is a track photo identical in composition to the one of Class 78 from [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]].
** Hinata's former school is given the name of Kodaka High, an obvious reference to series creator Kazutaka Kodaka.
** As Junko [[spoiler:leaks the details of the Izuru Kamukura project to the Reserve Course]], the sequence of events is illustrated in a manner akin to a complete Climax Inference, right down to the background music.
** In Episode 10, Junko kicks off [[spoiler: Chiaki's execution]] by declaring "It's Punishment Time!" and playing a variation of the 8-bit execution intro from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''. We then see a brief shot of [[spoiler:Chiaki]] with the same art style as the executions cutscenes before going to a break.
*** And after it's done, the wheels of the Monokuma Vote slot machine briefly appear,
*** Of course, this all works because [[spoiler: Class 77-B ends up in the first Class Trial room from [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]].]]
* NoOneShouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler:According to the newspapers reporting the practical exam building bombing, ''not a single person died''.]]
* OffModel: The anime is quite shaky in the animation department, especially later on. It's most obvious when you compare character heights; Yukizome is listed officially as being 161 cm, but is drawn as being nearly a head taller than both Nanami and Mitarai (both only a centimeter shorter), while Satou is rendered noticeably taller than Koizumi despite the profiles noting her as being a good inch shorter.
* OriginsEpisode: The entirety of ''Side:Despair'', which details how Ultimate Despair came to be.
* OurFounder: Hope's Peak Academy has a statue of Izuru Kamukura to this effect. [[spoiler: It conceals a hidden room.]]
* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Chisa easily opens a protected file about the Kamukura Project. Not only is the password simply the PC owner's favorite food in plain text ("curry rice"), but it's written on a post-it note attached to the monitor. This is unfortunately an ''extremely'' common thing to do in offices, but when that password is protecting detailed notes on ''illegal human experimentation'', maybe you should just try to remember that you like curry rice. ''Or'' pick a better password, of course.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: ''Side:Despair'' is one for Hajime Hinata and the rest of class 77.
* RefugeInAudacity: Nagito manages to get away with the stunt he pulls in Episode 4 partially because the sheer amount of luck it required was the perfect display of his talent. [[spoiler:''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' suggests that this same attitude will backfire horribly on the staff of Hope's Peak later on when Junko starts putting her plan into motion.]]
* {{Revision}}:
** Absolutely nothing in [=SDR2=] implied that Natsumi and Sato were Reserve Course students and not just regular HPA students. Natsumi's talent of Little Sister is turned into one she used for herself as a way of avoiding continuity errors.
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
** The way Class-77 was corrupted by Junko. [[spoiler:In the game, [[UnreliableExpositor Monokuma]] claims that she used MoreThanMindControl and recruited them one-by-one, whereas in the anime, they all get brainwashed at once by watching Chiaki's death. This might not actually be a revision, however: in the game, Makoto ''does'' say they were brainwashed, but it wasn't assumed he meant it literally because of Monokuma's previous statement.]]
** It's said in [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the game]] that Izuru Kamukura killed the entire student council in the first killing game. In the anime, he only killed the last guy standing, and only after said guy [[CrimeOfSelfDefense charged at him with a chainsaw]]. The other students picked each other apart. The "inconsistency" is explained as Junko [[FrameUp framing Izuru]] for the rest of the deaths, and given that she was attempting to break Hajime's spirit when she told him this, it's very likely she [[UnreliableExpositor was lying then too]].
* ScaryShinyGlasses: The scientists during Hajime's conversion to Izuru Kamukura. Also, [[spoiler:during the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, Karen Kisaragi just before murdering her classmate with a chainsaw.]]
* SchoolOfNoStudying: Deliberately employed: Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate students are free to spend time working on their talent rather than attending class (presumably because the school is actually performing research using the students -- educating them is a much less important concern). Even Chisa's attempts to round up her students are more of an effort to get them to socialize rather than to learn.
* SchoolForScheming: Hope's Peak is horribly corrupt, and is more interested in exploiting its students as test subjects rather than actually teaching them. This is reflected in their general education policy, which essentially boils down to "let the Ultimates do whatever they want", which only furthers their CripplingOverspecialization and lays the groundwork for their fall into despair. In addition, the school quickly and ruthlessly covers up any event that could get them negative press, such as Natsumi and Sato's deaths, and Sakakura implies that the school would even resort to ''murder'' to silence any student that knows too much.
* SeriesContinuityError: A ContinuityNod in Episode 4 occurs when Komaeda's school profile notes the deaths of his parents in a hijacking incident. Only problem is that the profile says he was in junior-high when they died, despite every reference to the event before placing him in elementary school.
* ShipTease: The interactions with Hinata [[spoiler:and later Izuru]] and Nanami are about as subtle as a rock to the face. The Imposter and Tsumiki also get this come Episode 5. Akane and Nekomaru also had their moment in Episode 2.
* SlaveToPR: Hope's Peak will only discipline its students if they actually get caught by the wider public. They can cover up murder and human experimentation quite comfortably, but when a bomb goes off during the widely publicized exams, they have to be seen to be doing something...and promptly punish all the wrong people, as the scapegoats were the ones ''seen'' to be involved with incident, not the ones that masterminded it.
* SoundtrackDissonance: [[spoiler:Enforced by Junko when she makes Mukuro sing "Give Me Wings", a sad yet beautiful ballad, as the student council members kill each other during the killing game.]]
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Side:Despair'' is more or less a (much expanded) successor to ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero''. Both are prequels that connect to the latest main series instalment, both have a romance between the main characters (Ryouko/Matsuda and Hinata/Nanami respectively) forming the backbone of the narrative and both heavily spotlight exploring the BigBad of the prior instalments.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Nanami wasn't advertised at all until the week prior to premier, and has gone on to have more screentime than almost all of Class 77-B.
** Once the real Ryota is introduced, he and his anime proceed to become absolutely central to Junko's plans and thus the plot, shoving nearly everyone else in Class 77-B to the side in the process. Only Chiaki, Nagito, the Imposter and Mikan continue to have any real relevance after episode 5.
* StartOfDarkness: ''Side:Despair'' serves as a prequel to the events of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', ''VideoGame/UltraDespairGirls'', and ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair,'' showing how Hajime/Izuru and the others became members of Ultimate Despair. [[spoiler: As Episode 9 reveals, it is also one for Yukizome, and ''Side:Future'' Episode 12 reveals it to be one for [[WellIntentionedExtremist Mitarai]] as well.]]
* TheStinger:
** The first episode of ''Side:Despair'' ends with [[spoiler:a meeting in which one of the members present looks at a file containing information on Hajime.]]
** In the second episode, [[spoiler:Hajime is introduced to a new transfer student named Natsumi Kuzuryu.]]
** The third episode has [[spoiler:Hajime turning down a new game from Chiaki then arriving at the meeting.]]
** The fourth episode has a rather sad one, with Yukizome talking to Munakata on the phone about [[spoiler:how she was transferred to teach the Reserve Course, and while this will help her investigation, she's quite sad about leaving the 77th class behind.]]
** The fifth episode ends with a smash cut right after [[spoiler: Hajime's transformation]].
** The seventh episode has [[spoiler: Junko spreading word about the massacre that occurred among the Student Council, followed by the Reserve Course setting up a rebellion against the school.]]
** The eighth episode has [[spoiler: Chiaki recognizing that Izuru Kamukura is Hajime Hinata.]]
** The eleventh episode (and with it the arc) ends on [[spoiler: Hinata and Nanami reuniting [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair in the Neo World Program]]. This is soon followed by the words, "[[ToBeContinued Continued to the hope side]]".]]
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Zig-zagged: nobody pays much attention when Akane and Nekomaru destroy classrooms and their destruction is PlayedForLaughs, but Komaeda's bombing of school property is taken extremely seriously. Justified in that the practical exams had a massive amount of media scrutiny, as pointed out by the Headmaster, meaning zero chance for cover-ups for what was caught live on camera.
* TemptingFate: Chisa, the housekeeper, is mocked by Hiyoko when she proclaims that she's teaching the class. What she says specifically before Chisa deploys her insurance leaflets: "Which do you think will go first; her health, her sanity, or her social life?" [[BrainwashedAndCrazy How about all of the above, Hiyoko?]]
* TimeSkip: Six months pass at the beginning of Episode 5, exemplified by the changing seasons and [[spoiler: Hiyoko's growth spurt]].
** And another six months pass in Episode 6, as the seasons change around Chiaki waiting at the Reserve Course gate for Hajime [[spoiler: who's already been converted into Izuru.]]
** It's implied that another one of unknown length happens in between Episodes 10 and 11, since [[spoiler: Junko knows how to erase memories, suggesting that the events of ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' have already taken place.]]
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The advertising presented the arc as a straight prequel, when in reality it functions more as the backstory to ''Side:Future''. Consequently, Nanami (whose inclusion was unexpected to say the least despite her being a main character) and the ''Side:Future'' characters were completely excluded from most advertising until the series started.
** In much of the advertising, Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda continue to appear together/mirror each other, usually dressed in their old school uniforms, suggesting that they are main players and that Nagito's role as deuteragonist will be continued. In the show itself, Nagito is DemotedToExtra and PutOnABus in the first half, while Hajime only really becomes a main player post-Izuru Kamukura. Moreover, ''these two never interact'' while Hajime is still himself -- according to the show, their entire relationship, whatever it may be, begins only when they're put into the Neo World Program, unlike the other students who lapse into their old relationships.
* TruthInTelevision: Some curriculums (mostly those involving "special needs" kids) really do have classes meant to teach their students social skills and/or teamwork.
* UnfazedEveryman: Chiaki has shades of this, in that she literally plays her way through all her scenes. Even when the classroom is in ruins around her.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Ryota Mitarai's talent is used by Enoshima to brainwash the students of Hope's Peak. Also applies to Chiaki and Nagito in episode 9, when Junko purposely allows them to escape to get the rest of Class 77-B to rescue Yukizome so she can easily capture them all at once.]]
* WackyHomeroom: Class 77-B basically takes the wackiness UpToEleven.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 5 has the 78th class joining Hope's Peak, and Hajime undergoing the transformation into Izuru Kamukura.
** Episode 6 - [[spoiler: Junko and Izuru meet and Izuru seems to take up her offer of spreading despair together. She also meets Mitarai and believes it to be a destined event.]]
** '''''Episode 7'''''. [[spoiler: The first killing game begins... and we get to see the student council kill each other in various brutal ways, all to the tune of Mukuro singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Give Me Wings".]] Junko fabricates a story in which Izuru killed them all, sending it to the reserve course and claiming that this is what their money is being spent on. The last scene has the reserve course rioting, and the 77th class watching in fear.]]
** Episode 8: Mama mia. [[spoiler: It's indeed confirmed that Mitarai's brainwashing techniques are being used by Enoshima to drive the school to despair, as she uses it to make Tsumiki go BrainwashedAndCrazy. Komaeda returns, and the entire class goes off to find Tsumiki. Komaeda and Nanami proceed to break into where Enoshima is keeping Mitarai, only for Kamukura to shoot Komaeda in the chest while Mitarai escapes. The episode then ends with Nanami realising Kamukura is Hinata.]]
** Episode 9: [[spoiler: Enoshima captures Yukizome, with the final scene heavily implying she's now under her influence.]]
** Episode 10: Holy shit. [[spoiler: Chiaki is forced into a deadly maze by Chisa and Junko, with the members of class 77 being forced to watch. Her death is what finally pushes them into becoming Ultimate Despair. Not only that, but see WhamShot for the final scene]].
* WhamLine: At the end of episode 2. [[spoiler: "Hello. I am Natsumi Kuzuryu."]]
** The end of Episode 9. [[spoiler: "Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile"]]
** The very end of Episode 11, "continued to the hope side", confirming the existence of a combined GrandFinale.
* WhamShot: At the end of Episode 10, [[spoiler: the camera pans up to show ''[[TheStoic Izuru]]'' crying over Chiaki's death, with the next episode confirming this is what turned him against Junko.]]
[[/folder]]
----
[[folder:#-L]]
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: ''Everyone'' loves Chiaki. [[spoiler: Junko knows this, and forces them to watch her execution to push them into Ultimate Despair.]]
* AdvertisedExtra: The anime heavily promoted the return of the entire cast of [=SDR2=]. In reality however, everyone besides Hinata, Nanami and Komaeda end up with relatively minor roles after the first two episodes.
* AStormIsComing: Seems to be the case in episode 8, knowing what's likely going to happen afterwards.
* BattleInTheRain: [[spoiler: Peko vs. Mukuro]] in episode 8. [[spoiler:Juzo and Kyousuke fighting off the reserve course students]] also applies.
* BlandNameProduct:
** In the first episode, Nagito's luck gets him several cans of "Dr Hopper" and Chiaki plays [[VideoGame/{{Galaga}} Gala Omega]] on her [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} Nantendo]] [[UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance Game Girl Advance]].
** While Ryota is working on his anime in a new location in episode 7, Junko gives him a mini-fridge filled with a Red Bull knockoff, replacing the bulls with bulldogs for its logo. She also references the real life product's CatchPhrase.
-->'''Junko:''' Have you got wings?
* BlatantLies: Even as Hajime is put under for the surgery, a scientist/doctor tells him that he may feel a bit confused when he wakes up, but he'll soon be back to normal. Apparently they didn't see fit to mention that little DeathOfPersonality / GrandTheftMe issue. And worse, poor Hajime has no idea that this is their intent.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the second part of episode 5, [[spoiler: Junko]] looks to the camera and says: [[spoiler: "Alright! In the B-Part, it's the Enoshima time you've all been looking for!"]].
* CallForward: Being a prequel, this is to be expected.
** The building that Munakata is building in the first episode is the headquarters of the Future Foundation and the setting of Side:Future.
** In a picture during the ending song, Peko is shown with a Sparkling Justice mask.
** A picture in the ending song shows Chiaki, Ibuki, and Hiyoko having a session together, which is a special event in [=SDR2=].
** Episode two has Kizakura referencing Celestia as a potential student he's scouting.
** Episode two also has Nekomaru playing as a [[WeCanRebuildHim robot]] in a fighting game. For an extra kick in the gut, his opponent, Gundham, notes that he is a worthy and determined opponent, and declares that they will fall together. This is exactly what happens in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': trapped and deprived of food, Gundham sends Nekomaru plunging to his death in the full knowledge that he himself is likely to be executed, in the hope that their deaths will save the others in the group. The idea of these two being the protectors of the class is revisited again in Episode 9, where they stay behind to fend off the angry (and [[spoiler:probably brainwashed]]) Reserve Course students to buy the others time to complete their rescue mission.
** Nagito is singled out in the Despair opening, floating in front of the silhouette of a gun barrel that holds six bullets -- likely the barrel of the handgun that he used to play Russian Roulette in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''.
** Nagito also specifically mentions the term "fragment of hope" when the class are socializing together. The Neo World Program set the students the task of collecting "hope fragments" by bonding with each other.
** Enoshima can be seen doodling in a notebook throughout Episode 5, likely the same notebook she has [[LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero as Ryouko]].
** During The Tragedy of Hope's Peak, Kamukura receives a graze on his cheek from a bullet, identical to the one he receives as Hinata early into [=SDR2=].
** A less obvious example is Ibuki's leggings. In the second game, she wore a pair of ripped thigh-highs, one blue and one pink, but one of the photos from Twilight Syndrome Murder Case showed her wearing a pair of leggings with bone designs on them. Exactly what she wears here.
** [[spoiler: The way Chiaki dies, being brutally impaled with numerous spears, will be the same death Ikusaba will receive in the second killing game, which is kind of karmic]].
** Episode 10 of ''Side:Despair'' is titled "Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope". This is a reference to the fifth chapter of ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': "Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair.". [[spoiler:In both episodes, Chiaki is viciously killed in a video game-like scenario after a HopeSpot where she reaches an exit/goal. The poor girl was murdered twice in the same manner]].
** It isn't very noticeable at first, but if you look closely at the collage of Chiaki in the ending song, you could see that she's holding up a star which has the same shape as the star that the hope fragments in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' form.
** Episode 11 of ''Side:Despair'' is titled "Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy", a deliberate parallel to the [[LostInTranslation (original)]] subtitle of ''Super Danganronpa 2'' - "Goodbye, Despair Academy".
** When Mukuro asked Junko if they should have Makoto killed, knowing that his luck would ruin her plan, Junko decides to let him live knowing that if someone like him ruined her plan it would be very despairful for her. She has no idea how right she is.
* CensorShadow: Used in [[spoiler:the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy]] very liberally, as well as the scene in Episode 9 in which [[spoiler:a Reserve Course student decapitates himself with a hacksaw]]. [[TooHotForTV The Blu-ray and DVD releases removed them.]]
* CerebusSyndrome: Intentionally invoked with ''Side:Despair'' being a much LighterAndSofter contrast to ''Side:Future'', with the first few episodes largely consisting of humorous SliceOfLife moments in the 77th class. And then [[KnightOfCerebus Junko]] shows up.
* ContinuityNod: Several of the expressions and poses Chiaki makes echo [[http://imgur.com/a/GZ7dI the ones her AI makes]] in the second game.
* CrapsaccharineWorld:
** Compared to ''Side:Future'', the art style of this arc is full of vibrant pastel colors. This doesn't make this arc any lighter than the other one.
** In-universe, Hope's Peak sells itself as not only the pinnacle of education, but as a symbol of human potential and achievement. It has a very fancy campus, its students are allowed a lot of freedom and practically guaranteed success upon leaving school, and it's renowned across the world. In reality, the teachers really don't care about education, the whole school is a glorified laboratory for research on talent, they treat their Ultimate students like performing animals, and the whole thing is bankrolled by the badly-treated Reserve Students, who are inadvertently providing plenty of data on what happens when your FantasticCasteSystem is allowed to rampage unchecked. And that's before we get into what's happening in the shadows.
* CripplingOverspecialization: The Academy outright ''encourages'' this. It doesn't even require that their students attend classes to broaden their knowledge -- they're free to go off and work on their talents instead (and no-one, aside from Chisa, will make too much noise if they're just goofing off instead). Chiaki mentions this to Hajime, when she notes that the Ultimates are trapped and limited by their own talents.
* CutAndPasteNote: In episode 4, Komaeda posts a threat letter like this saying "POSTPONE THE PRACTICAL EXAM OR BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN."
* ADayInTheLimelight:
** Episode 4 functions as one for Komaeda, who had been more of a background character until that point.
** Episode 5 served as one for the Ultimate Imposter and Ryota, the latter of whom becomes a main character from there on.
* DealWithTheDevil: Hajime's deal with Hope's Peak: he can attend the Academy for free (the substandard Reserve Course, of [[IncrediblyLamePun course]], not the actual Ultimate-exclusive school)...but Hope's Peak require his participation in a certain project in return. At the start of the series, it's clear that they've kept him in the dark as to exactly ''what'' that project entails.
* DecoyProtagonist: Most of Class 77. While the ''Side:Despair'' trailers and posters tout ''Side:Despair'' as their story, they mostly serve as catalysts (or comic relief) in the backstories of ''Side:Future'''s cast, at least in the initial episodes. Nanami is the only one with a truly signifigant role in the narrative.
* DespairEventHorizon: Junko's whole M.O. involves throwing people over this at the speed of light. [[spoiler:Chisa and Mikan]] cross it via torture and brainwashing, and [[spoiler:the rest of Class 77-B]] cross it via brainwashing and trauma, as [[spoiler:they're forced to watch Chiaki's gruesome, agonizing death, trapped in a torture-maze with no escape]]. Special mention to Hajime too, who crosses it when the last of his self-esteem is shattered, pushing him into becoming Izuru.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: It seems everyone is doing this in Episode 9. [[spoiler:Yukizome going through with rescuing Chiaki without any backup, Class 77-B going to go rescue Yukizome without telling anyone and not considering the fact that Junko is very prepared for their arrival, and Sakakura confronting and planning to fight Junko by himself and while being surrounded by brainwashed Reserve Course students. The next episode shows just how badly they screwed up for their lack of planning as it leads to Yukizome being confirmed as brainwashed, Chiaki's death and Class 77-B being brainwashed after watching her being tortured and then killed, and Sakaura being blackmailed into lying to Munakata about Junko's involvement with the First Killing Game]].
* DivideAndConquer: How Junko kick starts the first Killing Game, as per usual. [[spoiler:A threat to a Student Council member's mother gets the ball rolling]].
* DividedWeFall: Initially looks to be the way Junko gets her claws into the 77th class. [[spoiler:Nagito is separated from his class early on, but it really starts when Junko hijacks Mitarai, then kidnaps Mikan when the Ultimate Nurse comes to his house to check his wellbeing. The rest of the class become nervous when one of their number simply vanishes...]] The final classmate to be separated from the pack is [[spoiler:Chiaki. Junko then nabs the others in one fell swoop as she forces them to watch the murder of their beloved class rep]].
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Enforced. Notice all these examples are common in some of the more extreme hentai:
** [[spoiler: After the murder of his crush, Sousuke Ichino decides to kill a couple attempting a lovers' suicide by repeatedly ramming a large, hard metal object into them while the boy is lying on top of the girl. What's more, after the boy dies, Sousuke keeps doing it while we're treated to a shot of the girl screaming in agony as she begs the attacker to stop, stating it hurts.]]
** A girl half-undressed while having an ahegao and letting out orgasmic sounds is unsettling even for some hentai watchers, and having Mikan doing all these while Junko stomps on her butt with the heel of Junko's pump at a certain area becomes a whole new level of squick.
** Chisa's literal mind rape. The orgasmic sound she let out as the camera focused on her [[FanDisservice gainaxing chest and crotch]] does not help.
** While Junko is clearly a villain, the ways she bullies Mitarai and Juzo are too realistic for comfort. Both feature the victim surrounded by other students as Junko looks down and mocks them. Her bullying of Juzo is cruelly, uncomfortably close to a brutal form of school bullying: not only does she out him as a closeted homosexual, she also stomps on him and humiliates him, with a lot of students laughing at him when she reveals the object of his affection. This is made worse by the fact that this situation is all too common even in real life 2016, when the show aired.
** Episode 11 showcases a pretty "interesting" scene of Junko slapping her sister's ass, knocking Mukuro on the ground and repeatedly stomping on her butt, with the heel of Junko's pump seemingly positioned in a particular area. We then get a close up of Mukuro as she is blushing, with her body moving in a rather suggestive manner in response to Junko's stomping. The fact Mukuro seemed to be out of breath after Junko was done doesn't help with the implication.
*** In fact, Junko's treatment towards her sister (IE the constant attempts at killing, the physical abuse, the mental abuse, the emotional abuse), combined with Mukuro's apparent addiction and pleasure at this, is heavily remnicent of a combination of DomesticAbuse and StockholmSyndrome (Which sadly gets worse in other materials like ''[=DanganRonpa=] IF'').
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Creator/MegumiOgata sings ''Side:Despair'''s ending theme.
* DoomedByCanon: Everyone in class 77 is going to fall into despair (with the exception of Chiaki). All we can do is watch it happen.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Averted, [[spoiler: Mitarai's AttemptedRape by a BrainwashedAndCrazy Tsumiki]] is played for all the horror it entails.
* DownerEnding: As the description above says: "This is a tale of hope that ends in despair." Sure enough, [[ForegoneConclusion Class 77-B falls into despair]], [[spoiler: Nanami dies, Yukizome becomes despair and is already on her way to corrupting her lover into it, and Mitarai is left a depressed, guilt-ridden wreck.]] It does however end on something of an optimistic note, as [[spoiler: his anger over Nanami's death]] leads Kamukura to start plotting against Junko in {{Revenge}}, leading to the events of ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' and ''Side:Hope''.
* EasterEgg: The official website changes based on key events.
** Junko, physically incapable of subtlety, is the first thing you see upon going to the website as of [[spoiler:Episode 5]]. She takes up the whole page!
** By contrast, after [[spoiler:Episode 5]], where he is transformed into Izuru, Hajime vanished from his place front-and center of the ''Side:Despair'' image, on the right hand side of the official website, giving us a better look at his ominous alter-ego in the background. Poor guy got erased in the real world as well as the story...
** As of [[spoiler:Episode 6]] Hajime's empty spot has been filled by Izuru.
** Since [[spoiler:Episode 10]] every character but [[spoiler: Chiaki]] now has red eyes.
** After [[spoiler: Episode 12 of Future]] everything went back to normal, Izuru has been replaced by Hajime and all the red eyes are gone.
* EyeAwaken: [[spoiler:Hajime/Izuru]] at the end of Episode 5.
* FacelessMasses: Non-notable characters have unique designs, but have vague features and are colored a translucent blue.
* FairWeatherMentor: The whole school system, for the Ultimates. Hope's Peak laps up the credit for what their talented students go on to achieve, and is even willing to cover up atrocities if it means protecting the school's reputation. However, you're on your own if you get caught before they can hide the evidence, and Chisa tells her students that failing to perform impressively enough in the end of year exams could cost them their place in the school.
* FanDisservice:
** [[spoiler: Mikan's AttemptedRape of Mitarai and sadomasochistic love of Junko]] are absolutely played for horror.
** Episode 9 graces us with a [[SarcasmMode lovely]] shot of Chisa's breasts and groin [[spoiler:as she's being {{Mind Rape}}d, tortured, and forced to orgasm.]]
* {{Fanservice}}:
** Komaeda's appearance in Episode 7 gives the audience a [[FemaleGaze generous shot]] of his naked behind while he's [[WaterfallShower singing under a waterfall]].
** Junko in the same episode, with specific emphasis on her breasts, ass, and lips. [[LampshadeHanging While Mitarai talks about how his anime induces the viewer's eye movement]].
* FanserviceExtra: When Teruteru held up the magazine featuring Sayaka Maizono, she was wearing a very revealing swimsuit which shows off a rather shapely body.
* FantasticCasteSystem: As described in ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero'', Hope's Peak's student body is divided between the main course, who are scouted by the school for their talents, and the reserve course, [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent ordinary students]] who have to pay colossal entrance fees for the chance to attend. The two courses have adjacent, but separate campuses, and it appears that main course students can freely wander the reserve course campus, but not the other way around.
* {{Flanderization}}: Due to LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the necessity to cover a large amount of plot points in a fairly small amount of episodes ''and'' explore the backstories for the new characters, this hits much of the [=SDR2=] cast ''hard''. Soda especially gets it bad.
* ForegoneConclusion: We know that, by the end of Side:Despair, Hajime will become Izuru Kamukura, and everyone in Class 77, with the potential exception of Chiaki, will fall into despair.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In every shot of the classroom, there is always one seat left unfilled. Episode 5 reveals that seat belongs to Mitarai, who is staying couped up in his room working while the Ultimate Imposter uses his identity.
** Juzo, irritated that Chisa stopped him from beating up Hinata, says that she's becoming too absorbed in her false identity as a teacher. [[spoiler:Several episodes later, she [[BecomingTheMask becomes the mask.]]]]
** The reveal in Side:Hope that [[spoiler:AI Chiaki in her role as observer was made by combining everyone's memories]] was foreshadowed by the ending credits; the [[spoiler:Chiaki made from memories is holding a Hope Fragment crystal]].
* {{Frameup}}: [[spoiler:Junko frames Izuru for killing all the student council members during the first mutual killing game to convince the Reserve Course students that Hope's Peak has been using their money to fund the experiments that created him, meaning they're all accomplices]].
* FreezeFrameBonus: In Episode 4, student profiles for Komaeda and the 76th year trio are briefly shown. While it requires one to pause to read, it reveals [[ContinuityNod the hijacking incident that killed Komaeda's parents]], that Andou, Izayoi and Kimura are all ChildhoodFriends and explicitly confirms that Andou and Izayoi are an OfficialCouple.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In Episode 2, for most of the huge fight sequence that is demolishing the classroom, Chiaki continues to play her game and does not react until a bit of debris bounces off her head and breaks her concentration.
** Just as funny; Nagito is also just sitting there watching. But while Chiaki leaves after getting hit by something he continues to sit there as debre magicly just misses him.
* GettingSuspendedIsAwesome: Played with; instead of being expelled after blowing up the school gym in a ploy to postpone exams, Nagito is merely suspended because the school deems him too valuable to lose, and several students and faculty are scapegoated and given much harsher punishments. Not much is known about what happened during the ''year-long'' suspension, though the teachers theorize Nagito went on vacation, and he was, once again, the sole survivor of a plane crash and wound up in an island paradise.
* ImCryingButIDontKnowWhy: Izuru doesn't understand why he starts crying [[spoiler: after Chiaki dies in front of him.]] It's a sign that Hajime's personality wasn't entirely wiped out during the transformation.
* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the radically different environment, most of the major relationships from the second game remain intact. This makes sense since, as ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' insinuated, the students' lost memories didn't affect their subconscious memories of each other, so the original bonds reformed quite quickly.
* JustBeforeTheEnd: ''Side:Despair'' is set before both games, with characters like Jin Kirigiri, murdered in the first moments of the very first game, and Yukizome, [[spoiler: murdered at the end of Episode 1 in ''Side:Future'']], very much alive and well. The arc begins with a much brighter and more cheerful atmosphere than the oppressive darkness of all other installments, although this doesn't last beyond the first quarter.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:M-Z]]
* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: During Episode 9, you can see Izuru [[http://imgur.com/a/vaIOh continuing]] [[http://imgur.com/a/PLFZD to]] [[http://imgur.com/a/qw45E stare]] at Chiaki after Junko and later Chisa interrupt them. This is meaningful because it hints at his piqued interest in her, which is vital to [[spoiler:his motivations for turning on Junko.]]
* MindScrew:
** The first scene of ''Side:Despair'' is [[spoiler: Yukizome in a movie theater ''watching her own death''. Her own death, which is, for reference, something that happens ''three years'' from that point.]]
** Ryota's experimental [[spoiler:(brainwashing)]] animation techniques being displayed on ''our screen'' as he's discussing them, implying that ''Danganronpa 3'' can [[spoiler:affect our mind]] similarly.
* MindRape: [[spoiler: An exceptionally horrific example, overlapping with ColdBloodedTorture, is given to Yukizome in Episode 9.]]
* MoodWhiplash:
** Episode 3 has a complete change in atmosphere from the previous two.
** Played even harder in Episode 4, which seems to revert to the lighter tone, only to end in a massive DownerEnding as [[spoiler: Andou and Kimura's already unstable friendship falls apart, they along with Izayoi get expelled and Yukizome is separated from her students.]]
** Episode 7 is ''vicious'', and it's obvious from the start that bad things will happen, but it still takes some time out to show us...[[spoiler: [[MrFanservice a naked Nagito singing in a waterfall]] after being in yet another plane crash (he never learns)]]. The Ultimate Lucky student once again skirts the borderline between disturbing and hilarious.
* MythologyGag:
** One of the images of Class 77-B in the ''Side:Despair'' ED is a track photo identical in composition to the one of Class 78 from [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]].
** Hinata's former school is given the name of Kodaka High, an obvious reference to series creator Kazutaka Kodaka.
** As Junko [[spoiler:leaks the details of the Izuru Kamukura project to the Reserve Course]], the sequence of events is illustrated in a manner akin to a complete Climax Inference, right down to the background music.
** In Episode 10, Junko kicks off [[spoiler: Chiaki's execution]] by declaring "It's Punishment Time!" and playing a variation of the 8-bit execution intro from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''. We then see a brief shot of [[spoiler:Chiaki]] with the same art style as the executions cutscenes before going to a break.
*** And after it's done, the wheels of the Monokuma Vote slot machine briefly appear,
*** Of course, this all works because [[spoiler: Class 77-B ends up in the first Class Trial room from [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]].]]
* NoOneShouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler:According to the newspapers reporting the practical exam building bombing, ''not a single person died''.]]
* OffModel: The anime is quite shaky in the animation department, especially later on. It's most obvious when you compare character heights; Yukizome is listed officially as being 161 cm, but is drawn as being nearly a head taller than both Nanami and Mitarai (both only a centimeter shorter), while Satou is rendered noticeably taller than Koizumi despite the profiles noting her as being a good inch shorter.
* OriginsEpisode: The entirety of ''Side:Despair'', which details how Ultimate Despair came to be.
* OurFounder: Hope's Peak Academy has a statue of Izuru Kamukura to this effect. [[spoiler: It conceals a hidden room.]]
* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: Chisa easily opens a protected file about the Kamukura Project. Not only is the password simply the PC owner's favorite food in plain text ("curry rice"), but it's written on a post-it note attached to the monitor. This is unfortunately an ''extremely'' common thing to do in offices, but when that password is protecting detailed notes on ''illegal human experimentation'', maybe you should just try to remember that you like curry rice. ''Or'' pick a better password, of course.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: ''Side:Despair'' is one for Hajime Hinata and the rest of class 77.
* RefugeInAudacity: Nagito manages to get away with the stunt he pulls in Episode 4 partially because the sheer amount of luck it required was the perfect display of his talent. [[spoiler:''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' suggests that this same attitude will backfire horribly on the staff of Hope's Peak later on when Junko starts putting her plan into motion.]]
* {{Revision}}:
** Absolutely nothing in [=SDR2=] implied that Natsumi and Sato were Reserve Course students and not just regular HPA students. Natsumi's talent of Little Sister is turned into one she used for herself as a way of avoiding continuity errors.
** The Chiaki who appeared in ''2'' was an AI built by [[VisualNovel Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego]]; with her strong resemblance to Chihiro and referring to him as her "father", nothing indicated she was based off a real person. ''3'' reveals the AI built for the Neo World Program was really a gestalt who took the form of the human Chiaki, formed from the Remnants' memories of her. Her resemblance to Chihiro just happens to be coincidence.
** The way Class-77 was corrupted by Junko. [[spoiler:In the game, [[UnreliableExpositor Monokuma]] claims that she used MoreThanMindControl and recruited them one-by-one, whereas in the anime, they all get brainwashed at once by watching Chiaki's death. This might not actually be a revision, however: in the game, Makoto ''does'' say they were brainwashed, but it wasn't assumed he meant it literally because of Monokuma's previous statement.]]
** It's said in [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the game]] that Izuru Kamukura killed the entire student council in the first killing game. In the anime, he only killed the last guy standing, and only after said guy [[CrimeOfSelfDefense charged at him with a chainsaw]]. The other students picked each other apart. The "inconsistency" is explained as Junko [[FrameUp framing Izuru]] for the rest of the deaths, and given that she was attempting to break Hajime's spirit when she told him this, it's very likely she [[UnreliableExpositor was lying then too]].
* ScaryShinyGlasses: The scientists during Hajime's conversion to Izuru Kamukura. Also, [[spoiler:during the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, Karen Kisaragi just before murdering her classmate with a chainsaw.]]
* SchoolOfNoStudying: Deliberately employed: Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate students are free to spend time working on their talent rather than attending class (presumably because the school is actually performing research using the students -- educating them is a much less important concern). Even Chisa's attempts to round up her students are more of an effort to get them to socialize rather than to learn.
* SchoolForScheming: Hope's Peak is horribly corrupt, and is more interested in exploiting its students as test subjects rather than actually teaching them. This is reflected in their general education policy, which essentially boils down to "let the Ultimates do whatever they want", which only furthers their CripplingOverspecialization and lays the groundwork for their fall into despair. In addition, the school quickly and ruthlessly covers up any event that could get them negative press, such as Natsumi and Sato's deaths, and Sakakura implies that the school would even resort to ''murder'' to silence any student that knows too much.
* SeriesContinuityError: A ContinuityNod in Episode 4 occurs when Komaeda's school profile notes the deaths of his parents in a hijacking incident. Only problem is that the profile says he was in junior-high when they died, despite every reference to the event before placing him in elementary school.
* ShipTease: The interactions with Hinata [[spoiler:and later Izuru]] and Nanami are about as subtle as a rock to the face. The Imposter and Tsumiki also get this come Episode 5. Akane and Nekomaru also had their moment in Episode 2.
* SlaveToPR: Hope's Peak will only discipline its students if they actually get caught by the wider public. They can cover up murder and human experimentation quite comfortably, but when a bomb goes off during the widely publicized exams, they have to be seen to be doing something...and promptly punish all the wrong people, as the scapegoats were the ones ''seen'' to be involved with incident, not the ones that masterminded it.
* SoundtrackDissonance: [[spoiler:Enforced by Junko when she makes Mukuro sing "Give Me Wings", a sad yet beautiful ballad, as the student council members kill each other during the killing game.]]
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Side:Despair'' is more or less a (much expanded) successor to ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero''. Both are prequels that connect to the latest main series instalment, both have a romance between the main characters (Ryouko/Matsuda and Hinata/Nanami respectively) forming the backbone of the narrative and both heavily spotlight exploring the BigBad of the prior instalments.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Nanami wasn't advertised at all until the week prior to premier, and has gone on to have more screentime than almost all of Class 77-B.
** Once the real Ryota is introduced, he and his anime proceed to become absolutely central to Junko's plans and thus the plot, shoving nearly everyone else in Class 77-B to the side in the process. Only Chiaki, Nagito, the Imposter and Mikan continue to have any real relevance after episode 5.
* StartOfDarkness: ''Side:Despair'' serves as a prequel to the events of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', ''VideoGame/UltraDespairGirls'', and ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair,'' showing how Hajime/Izuru and the others became members of Ultimate Despair. [[spoiler: As Episode 9 reveals, it is also one for Yukizome, and ''Side:Future'' Episode 12 reveals it to be one for [[WellIntentionedExtremist Mitarai]] as well.]]
* TheStinger:
** The first episode of ''Side:Despair'' ends with [[spoiler:a meeting in which one of the members present looks at a file containing information on Hajime.]]
** In the second episode, [[spoiler:Hajime is introduced to a new transfer student named Natsumi Kuzuryu.]]
** The third episode has [[spoiler:Hajime turning down a new game from Chiaki then arriving at the meeting.]]
** The fourth episode has a rather sad one, with Yukizome talking to Munakata on the phone about [[spoiler:how she was transferred to teach the Reserve Course, and while this will help her investigation, she's quite sad about leaving the 77th class behind.]]
** The fifth episode ends with a smash cut right after [[spoiler: Hajime's transformation]].
** The seventh episode has [[spoiler: Junko spreading word about the massacre that occurred among the Student Council, followed by the Reserve Course setting up a rebellion against the school.]]
** The eighth episode has [[spoiler: Chiaki recognizing that Izuru Kamukura is Hajime Hinata.]]
** The eleventh episode (and with it the arc) ends on [[spoiler: Hinata and Nanami reuniting [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair in the Neo World Program]]. This is soon followed by the words, "[[ToBeContinued Continued to the hope side]]".]]
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Zig-zagged: nobody pays much attention when Akane and Nekomaru destroy classrooms and their destruction is PlayedForLaughs, but Komaeda's bombing of school property is taken extremely seriously. Justified in that the practical exams had a massive amount of media scrutiny, as pointed out by the Headmaster, meaning zero chance for cover-ups for what was caught live on camera.
* TemptingFate: Chisa, the housekeeper, is mocked by Hiyoko when she proclaims that she's teaching the class. What she says specifically before Chisa deploys her insurance leaflets: "Which do you think will go first; her health, her sanity, or her social life?" [[BrainwashedAndCrazy How about all of the above, Hiyoko?]]
* TimeSkip: Six months pass at the beginning of Episode 5, exemplified by the changing seasons and [[spoiler: Hiyoko's growth spurt]].
** And another six months pass in Episode 6, as the seasons change around Chiaki waiting at the Reserve Course gate for Hajime [[spoiler: who's already been converted into Izuru.]]
** It's implied that another one of unknown length happens in between Episodes 10 and 11, since [[spoiler: Junko knows how to erase memories, suggesting that the events of ''LightNovel/DanganRonpaZero'' have already taken place.]]
* TrailersAlwaysLie: The advertising presented the arc as a straight prequel, when in reality it functions more as the backstory to ''Side:Future''. Consequently, Nanami (whose inclusion was unexpected to say the least despite her being a main character) and the ''Side:Future'' characters were completely excluded from most advertising until the series started.
** In much of the advertising, Hajime Hinata and Nagito Komaeda continue to appear together/mirror each other, usually dressed in their old school uniforms, suggesting that they are main players and that Nagito's role as deuteragonist will be continued. In the show itself, Nagito is DemotedToExtra and PutOnABus in the first half, while Hajime only really becomes a main player post-Izuru Kamukura. Moreover, ''these two never interact'' while Hajime is still himself -- according to the show, their entire relationship, whatever it may be, begins only when they're put into the Neo World Program, unlike the other students who lapse into their old relationships.
* TruthInTelevision: Some curriculums (mostly those involving "special needs" kids) really do have classes meant to teach their students social skills and/or teamwork.
* UnfazedEveryman: Chiaki has shades of this, in that she literally plays her way through all her scenes. Even when the classroom is in ruins around her.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Ryota Mitarai's talent is used by Enoshima to brainwash the students of Hope's Peak. Also applies to Chiaki and Nagito in episode 9, when Junko purposely allows them to escape to get the rest of Class 77-B to rescue Yukizome so she can easily capture them all at once.]]
* WackyHomeroom: Class 77-B basically takes the wackiness UpToEleven.
* WhamEpisode: Episode 5 has the 78th class joining Hope's Peak, and Hajime undergoing the transformation into Izuru Kamukura.
** Episode 6 - [[spoiler: Junko and Izuru meet and Izuru seems to take up her offer of spreading despair together. She also meets Mitarai and believes it to be a destined event.]]
** '''''Episode 7'''''. [[spoiler: The first killing game begins... and we get to see the student council kill each other in various brutal ways, all to the tune of Mukuro singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Give Me Wings".]] Junko fabricates a story in which Izuru killed them all, sending it to the reserve course and claiming that this is what their money is being spent on. The last scene has the reserve course rioting, and the 77th class watching in fear.]]
** Episode 8: Mama mia. [[spoiler: It's indeed confirmed that Mitarai's brainwashing techniques are being used by Enoshima to drive the school to despair, as she uses it to make Tsumiki go BrainwashedAndCrazy. Komaeda returns, and the entire class goes off to find Tsumiki. Komaeda and Nanami proceed to break into where Enoshima is keeping Mitarai, only for Kamukura to shoot Komaeda in the chest while Mitarai escapes. The episode then ends with Nanami realising Kamukura is Hinata.]]
** Episode 9: [[spoiler: Enoshima captures Yukizome, with the final scene heavily implying she's now under her influence.]]
** Episode 10: Holy shit. [[spoiler: Chiaki is forced into a deadly maze by Chisa and Junko, with the members of class 77 being forced to watch. Her death is what finally pushes them into becoming Ultimate Despair. Not only that, but see WhamShot for the final scene]].
* WhamLine: At the end of episode 2. [[spoiler: "Hello. I am Natsumi Kuzuryu."]]
** The end of Episode 9. [[spoiler: "Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile"]]
** The very end of Episode 11, "continued to the hope side", confirming the existence of a combined GrandFinale.
* WhamShot: At the end of Episode 10, [[spoiler: the camera pans up to show ''[[TheStoic Izuru]]'' crying over Chiaki's death, with the next episode confirming this is what turned him against Junko.]]
[[/folder]]
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