History YMMV / DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony

** Even before TheReveal, Korekiyo comes off as a very intelligent and observant young man, but extremely aloof with [[BlueAndOrangeMorality an odd moral code]] who thinks the situation he's put in is an interesting form of 'fieldwork' to observe humanity. When he's distressed, his panic attacks are so severe that he's barely coherent and almost knocks himself out with hyperventilating. His split personality is less like Toko's disassociative identity disorder, and more like a personal delusion being used as a coping mechanism for stressful situations. He feels little discomfort at being seen as strange and even less remorse about his murders, maintaining that his actions are motivated by love for his sister, and seems to see no contradictions between his actions and his claims that he does see all of his classmates as his "friends". He also mentions experiencing sensory overload in the Salmon Team bonus game.
*** Korekiyo also seems to be an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lust_murder erotophonophiliac]] as he feels aroused by the behaviour of the blackened, and is unfazed by the four corpses, and two executions he watches, simply showing no emotion or showing explicit arousal.

** Himiko displays a few symptoms of autism. She has difficulty communicating her feelings to others, she's completely obsessed with one thing - her magic - and generally acts very spaced out, not really emoting to any of the events that occur around the start of the game. She also acts like a little kid when she's supposed to be a high schooler, is incompetent at day-to-day duties (she states that she can't even tell rice from termites), and she seems to have a lot of difficulties connecting with someone using something not connected to magic in some way. However, unlike most Autistic people, Himiko seems to have some kind of learning disability and Maki even outright states that Himiko is kind of slow.
** Given how "tired" she often is, easily exhausted or emotionally drained by even minor activities, and her startling tendency to just give up and tell the class to just formally accuse her of murders she ''knows'' she had no hand in committing it can also come across as if she's clinically depressed, but the issue never directly comes up. Even her attempts to "change herself" as per Tenko's advice can't really help her get past all of her issues on this front.

* DiagnosedByTheFandom:

** Kokichi/Himiko was popular pre-release because those two were the youngest looking characters in the game. Post-release, it has largely since been dropped in favor of the likes of Shuichi/Kokichi and Himiko/Tenko, both of which are at the least heavily implied to have one-sided romantic feelings involved. For an added punch, Himiko actively dislikes Kokichi for his actions, though Kokichi does teasingly joke about having a crush on her on a few occasions and it still has a fanbase.

** While certainly not without his fans, Korekiyo Shinguji is an undeniably controversial and unpopular character in many circles. However, with TheReveal he, like everyone else in the cast, had his personality implanted for the sake of the show and how radically it would effect him in particular, some fans find themselves able to look past his apparent heinous actions, even if said reveal's implications themselves are up for debate.

** Gonta/Kokichi is popular in the JP fanbase due to their close relationship, Gonta being one of the few characters to not actively avoid Kokichi and [[PairTheSpares not intruding on any other popular ships]], but is far more controversial in the Western fandom due to Kokichi's often manipulative and abusive treatment of Gonta.

*** While Miu came in 4th place of the Japanese poll, she dropped 5 places in the Reddit poll.

* ArcFatigue: It's noticeable that the chapters and specially the trials are way longer than previous titles, with chapter 6 (which has been sort of a recurring thing) being the worst example of trope. The chapter is long, dragged out, filled with anti-climatic reveals that some players could figure out as early as chapter 4, not to mention having a GuideDangIt way to get to the TrueEnding.

** Some had criticisms for the deaths of Kiyotaka and Hiyoko in the first and second games respectively, as they unceremoniously happen literally the chapter after the deaths of the characters they form a bond with, negating any chances of further CharacterDevelopment. Here, Tenko posthumously convinces Himiko to be more expressive with her emotions. Unlike Taka and Hiyoko, Himiko not only survives the following chapter after Tenko's death, she survives the entire game.
*** On a similar note, some survivors from the past games (such as Yasuhiro, Kazuichi, Akane, and Sonia) were criticized for having their character stay the same throughout the whole entire game without any CharacterDevelopment. Here, all three survivors ended up receiving a fair amount of CharacterDevelopment. In fact, you can guess the mastermind near the end by noticing which of the only students hasn't received any.

** Chapter 5. First of all, you do not have an idea of who the victim was coming into the trial so not only you have to figure out the culprit but the victim as well. There is one of the most emotional aftermaths of the trial with the killer sacrificing himself to save Maki from getting executed (despite her plead to have him stop) with the victim's permission to kill him. Also, while the victim was a bit antagonistic to the other students, he ended up having a DeathEqualsRedemption moment.

** The other fake spoilers regarding an AlternateTimeline where Mukuro was the original Ultimate Despair was also well received, especially since fan-favorites like Chihiro and Chiaki were said to be alive in it, although others saw it as pandering.

* ContestedSequel: While the game received praise for its upgrades to the gameplay, extras and Bonus Modes, the plot itself has come under a considerable amount of fire. The general reception of the first five chapters is largely positive, but common complaints against the game include a variety of controversial plot twists, a backstory many found utterly nonsensical even compared to previous installments, the Monokuma Kubs coming off as an [[TheScrappy unnecessary nuisance]], and [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks a general inability to break away or subvert the traditions set by the first two games]]. And that's ''not'' getting into the ending and backlash the game got hit by given the twists that show up in [[WhamEpisode Chapter Six]].
* CreepyAwesome: Both Korekiyo and Kokichi. Kiyo for his design full with CoolMask and official art portraying him with yet another even creepier mask, rose thorns and a thick rope behind him. Kokichi for being a TinySchoolBoy dictator.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Regardless of your opinion on the plot-twist, Chapter 6 is one of the worst cases in the entire series due to its many issues: the addition of a time-limit during the investigation phase, the return of the much disliked Monokubs, the {{padding}} during the Class Trial (including the segments where you have to lose every minigame on purpose) and a weak mastermind who easily give up and is replaced by a hacked Keebo as the FinalBoss.

* EndingFatigue: In addition to [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot many of the other]] [[TrumanShowPlot issues people]] [[AntiClimaxBoss have with]] [[TheChrisCarterEffect the ending]], it also suffers from just dragging ''on'' and '''on''' after the Mastermind is exposed. Being even longer than ''[[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair Danganronpa 2's]]'' ending doesn't exactly help (the final trial of ''Danganronpa V3'' clocks in at around ''three hours and fifty minutes'', and that's without counting the additional ten-minute epilogue, making the ending last a grand total of ''four hours'', which is the longest ending of '''ANY''' Danganronpa game to date!). Even when the narrative relents and gameplay finally decides to turn up, it's mostly restricted to only using one Truth Bullet, and even then you aren't really doing a whole lot of sleuthing. But the most infamous example this - and arguably where the fatigue really begins to set in - is during the segments of gameplay where you ''must'' [[GuideDangIt lose most of the trial minigames to progress]], and during the point where you start [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent playing as every character who has survived]] (which is nice to be able to do after two games, but it quickly wears out its welcome when they don't control any different that Shuichi).

** Towards the end of the game, it's mentioned that Kaede has a twin sister. Who is that sister, where she is, what she is doing and her role in the plot for this saga of the DR games are all points fans can question themselves about. It's even worse, since this adds to the already convoluted amount of parallels between Kaede and the previous Saga's BigBad Junko. Particularly, several fans started speculating the possibility that said sister will be the next game's protagonist and that this mention was actually {{Foreshadowing}} hinting of [[SequelHook what is to come next]]. Although it's ultimately left ambiguous whether that sister actually exists or it was a bait planted by Tsumugi to throw Shuichi off.
*** Some fans have, due to the similarities, started believing that said twin sister is actually Miu Iruma. To a lesser degree, some thinks that it's actually Maki.
* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: The ending is subject to a ''lot'' of different symbolic interpretations, one of them being that [[CreatorBacklash Kodaka geniuenly thought that Danganronpa was going for too long]]. The ending can be interpreted as not only him declaring that Danganronpa is over, but essentially forcing the ''player'' to pull the plug on the series.

** A bunch of fans were expecting a tragic backstory for why Tenko DoesNotLikeMen. Instead, the reason for why Tenko DoesNotLikeMen comes from a misunderstanding from her mentor (a person who jokes around a lot, but Tenko manages to take his jokes literally due to her being SuperGullible). While Tenko was RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap for some during the game, a lot of fans felt disappointed by this explanation. Others feel that not every character needs a tragic backstory, and think that there are enough of those in the current and previous cast of characters already.
** For some fans of Korekiyo who were okay about the reveal he was a SerialKiller and how it tied into his double murder in chapter three, the reasoning behind it can be this. Even the "making friends for his beloved dead sister" motive is more accepted than the VillainousIncest element, since at least the former renders a significant amount of his quotes (such as in his Free Time Events with Kaede) FridgeHorror and a uniquely sinister quality even among other characters in the franchise, whereas some feel the latter adds little beyond Squick. Giving him a not-really-SplitPersonality in the form of "Sister" can also be seen as making him too similar to Genocide Jack to a few, since it ''only'' comes up during that trial, and some feel the "{{foreshadowing}}" for it was rather clumsy since even when [[InTouchWithHisFeminineSide his "femininity"]] came up it sounded like he was in control, and there were already enough parallels between the two.

** The fake spoilers, which still have a lot of support, have been subjected to this, with people starting to writing stories based on them.

** Prior to the game's release, some fans theorized that time travel would be involved, which had lead to several writers applying an "Ultimate Time Traveler" talent to Rantaro and writing around how such a talent could be used in a killing game.
** Fanfiction authors would also create a fanfic involving the characters being in a virtual simulation of the game all along and the characters who were dead in game and still got their pre game memories intact were actually alive. It would also give more tackling about the topic of Team Danganronpa and its so called "reality shows".

* {{Fanon}}: Among the ''also'' sizable chunk of fans that refuses to ignore the thing stated below in FanonDiscontinuity, there's a lot of speculation over what the cast was like without their implanted memories. While we get a good idea that Kaito was a {{Jerkass}}, and Shuichi wanted to be a detective in order to pull off a cool murder, all we see of Kaede's true personality is her admitting that she doesn't trust people, which has been interpreted as by fans as being a full BitchInSheepsClothing. While we don't see his interview, it's assumed that Shinguji really ''did'' have an older sister, but a living one who he had a [[BrotherSisterIncest non-incestuous]] relationship with... who proceeded to watch the broadcast killing game. Expanding on it a bit, quite a few fans depict pre-game Shinguji outright ''hating'' his sister (usually for [[BigSisterBully abusing him]]) and humanity on the whole as an extension of that--he either requested the "Ultimate Anthropologist" title so he can understand why humanity would be so cruel or had the title thrust upon him by Team Danganronpa ForTheEvulz.

** Himiko stated she hated Kokichi only for Kokichi to respond back by stating he "loves" her in which Himiko ended up blushing afterwords.

** Kokichi and Miu's interactions as the trials go on, especially with Kokichi insulting and SlutShaming Miu near-constantly and Miu [[TheImmodestOrgasm really enjoying it]], and there's no way an intelligent character like Kokichi wouldn't notice the reaction she has to his insults. Plus there's the fact that much of the items Kokichi uses to pull of his plan in Chapter 5 were built for him by Miu, leading you to wonder just how he managed to persuade her to do that for him, especially considering she was terrified of defying Monokuma. Miu's death also plays a significant part in Kokichi's downfall, as even though she tried to kill him first and he seems to feel more bad about Gonta, being responsible for killing Miu clearly did not sit right with Kokichi at all.

** Everything regarding Korekiyo and his role in Chapter Three has became quite memetic. Especially the seesaw effect.

** Himiko's skill Abracadabra shows which truth bullet/truth blade is right after one rotation of the debate. Removing the need to suss out the right clues to progress in class trials is very overpowering in a murder mystery game, even if said skill costs an exorbitant 24 skill points. This is probably the reason why you can't use it until Chapter Four on a first playthrough.

** Kaito is by far the biggest one, scoring a measly 11th place in Japan among the students, he sky rocketed to fourth place in the west due to his AwesomeEgo and playing as the team's [[TheHeart emotional center]]. This may be partially due to how the localization also removed some of his more politically incorrect comments that he made in the Japanese version.
** Ryoma isn't very popular with the Japanese fandom, scoring 15th place, losing even to [[SerialKiller Korekiyo]] and [[PreacherMan Angie]]. In the west, he gotten a better reception for being a character with a NonStandardCharacterDesign that is not a pervert unlike [[TheScrappy Teruteru and Hifumi]] and not entirely written OutOfFocus in comparison to [[Anime/Danganronpa3 Daisaku Bandai]]. Fans also like him for tear-jerking story arc and his surprising badassery.
** Gonta is also more popular in the west, where he is known as a EnsembleDarkhorse. He went from the 12th place to 7th. In addition, it also worth mentioning that the top six ended up including all of the "protagonist" characters (aka Kaede, Shuichi, and Keebo) and all of "deuteragonist" characters (aka Kokichi, Maki, and Kaito) making him the highest ranking non-main character of the Reddit poll.

* HesJustHiding: Between the FakeKillScare and characters being NotQuiteDead in previous installments, its understandable why several fans would believe that some of their favorite characters aren't truly dead and will make a return. Notable examples include:

** Due to the fake spoilers during the pre-release, many believed that this would be the case for either, or even both, Rantaro and Kaede. Even after their fate was largely spoiled, fans believed that they somehow survived their murder and execution, and would return at the end of the game. However, after the game came out it was proven this wasn't case. There are still some stubborn fans that are not willing to believe that they actually died (despite Kaede being literally crushed under a giant, spiked piano cover), and believe the two will somehow return in a sequel.
** Due to the game being a show in-universe, Angie's theory that the "revival" motive indicated that no students in the game ever actually died (given how "Atua's" insights have turned out accurate in other cases), and the amount of wasted potential with this cast such as anything with Rantaro or to confirm or deny the implications of the "audition" videos some fans have taken to suspecting that, much like how [=DR2's=] cast turned out and the way the Monokubs all briefly came back despite Monokuma's supposed distain for the DeathIsCheap trope, this may end up applying for the entire cast here too barring maybe the mastermind.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Pre-release of the game, many fans would ship the V3 characters to anyone they seem to speculate a possible chemistry for them. By the time the game released and being played, people still ship some characters beyond the most popular pairings.

** Tenko's characterization and developing feelings towards [[TokenMiniMoe Himiko]] has made her beloved by lesbian fans.

** Maki, Kaito, and Shuichi seems to be going this direction. They always seem to be hanging out together performing push-ups. Both Kaito and Shuichi tend to be HeterosexualLifePartners and there was numerous ShipTease between Kaito and Maki to the point where Maki was begging Kaito to stop right before he could get executed in Chapter Five.

** Surprisingly, Kokichi, Keebo, and Miu are a pretty popular threesome. Keebo and Miu have become a popular ship due to their strong chemistry and many ShipTease moments in-game. However, despite (or possibly because of) Kokichi's antagonizing relationship with Keebo and Miu in the game, their are still plenty of post-release fan art that still ships him with the both of them. So naturally there are fans that ship the three of them together.
** And finally, some people ship the final survivor trio consisting of Shuichi, Himiko and Maki. It helps there are some interesting dynamics at work and huge potential for angst/comfort.

* PreemptiveShipping: Before the game was properly released, fans had a field day with shipping characters together, with very little to go on aside from their names, looks, and Ultimate Talents. Kokichi/Himiko was popular because those two were the youngest looking characters in the game, and Kaede and Maki were paired based on [[https://i.imgur.com/K7UGwuN.jpg a shippy piece of official art]]. While Kokichi/Himiko and Kaede/Maki still have a following, it's dwarfed by Kokichi/Shuichi and Kaito/Maki.

** Angie's reveal of what her island's coming of age ceremony entails: a public orgy.

** Angie's reveal of what her island's coming of age ceremony entails a public orgy.

* UnfortunateImplications: [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/danganronpa-v3/ This review]] complains that killing off Kaede "[[DisposableWoman falls into the unfortunate trope of 'fridging' a female character by introducing them, only to kill them off to further the character development of the male]]."

*** Kokichi already proves himself to be rather unpleasant when he both [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslights]] Kaede and [[FantasticRacism mocks Keebo's status as a robot]], but it's when he manipulates Gonta (who doesn't remember anything about what he did) into [[KicktheSonofaBitch killing]] Miu out of self-defense and then throws him under the bus to save himself that he crosses the horizon.
*** Double Subverted for Miu Iruma, She she spends her entire time, [[KicktheDog sexually and verbally abusing her classmates]], and then attempting to kill Kokichi, who manipulated Gonta into killing her. It's unknown if she's ever a bad person since everyone's memories are fabricated, however, in the opening scene, Pregame Miu spoke one sentence that sounds exactly like her killing game counterpart, showing that not everyone's personalities are fabricated and that Miu has been a [[TheBully bully]] and a bad person her whole life.
*** [[spoiler: Korekiyo]] crossed the MEH long before the killing game even started, [[spoiler: murdering close to one hundred girls so his dead sister can have friends in the afterlife.]] And even if that wasn't enough, there is [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil what he did in his Love Hotel scene]].
*** [[spoiler: Tsumugi and Monokuma basically crossed the MEH by having 53 previous killing games. If we assume that each killing games has about 15 or 16 characters, then about ''800 lives'' were lost all for the sake of good television.]]
*** In relation to this, [[spoiler:the masterminds rewrote the participants' memories to make for better drama, which possibly subverts all of the aforementioned's since there's no telling what they were like before the killing game]].

** The mastermind of the killing game, Tsumugi Shirogane, crosses it when she frames Kaede for killing Rantaro and has her executed on false charges, while she was Rantaro’s real killer. This action ended up proving that the killing game is illegitimate, thanks to her breaking the rules for her own selfish gain.
** Korekiyo Shinguuji has ''multiple'' such moments, to the point where it's like his field of study is in unrepentant villainy.
*** The non-canon Love Hotel event is the earliest possible, and it shows that Korekiyo's BDSM fantasies go so far as implicit rape, as he stops Shuichi from running away.
*** His murder of Tenko is quite possibly the only kill (well, by someone who isn't the Mastermind) done ''entirely'' ForTheEvulz. In previous third chapters, the second victim was killed out of necessity- Celeste killed Hifumi because it was actually ''Hifumi'' who killed Kiyotaka (thus she couldn't graduate without this murder), and Mikan had to kill Hiyoko because Hiyoko witnessed her killing Ibuki. In Korekiyo's case, since the witness was killed ''first'', he didn't have to do anything to Tenko as he already had the required murder. He just went ahead with it anyway because he thought the trap was cool.
** Kokichi's manipulation of Gonta into murdering Miu is interesting in that although it doesn't fit the trope from a viewer's perspective (as it's pretty clear Kokichi heavily regrets it and has a DeathEqualsRedemption moment later) ''Kokichi himself'' seems to take it as crossing his own moral event horizon. His breakdown and subsequent reckless acts in chapter 5 (claiming to be the Mastermind is a great way to get killed, especially with [[ProfessionalKiller Maki]] still alive) point to Kokichi having decided that he is no longer worthy to escape because he broke D.I.C.E.'s ThouShaltNotKill rule and must die himself in order to make up for it.

* TooCoolToLive: While the franchise has had its share of students who fans wish had lived for a variety of reasons, this particular entry has [[UpToEleven a]] '''[[UpToEleven ton]]''' [[UpToEleven of characters]] many fans lament the loss of. Of particular note:

** The Monokuma Kubs for Usami/Monomi as the second-fiddle mascots to Monokuma (as described just below).

* HilariousInHindsight: Kokichi in the game continuously cause discord between the other characters. It becomes hilarious if you have played ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'', where an antagonist is part an organization whose objective is to spread chaos. And the name of this organization is Ouma.

* MoralEventHorizon: Korekiyo Shinguuji spends the entirety of Chapter 3 crossing it, but he even crosses it in his LoveHotel event by preventing Shuichi from running away from his sexual fantasy after giving him permission to do so, meaning that he was ready to ''[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]] Shuichi'' and was just toying with him to see how he'd react.
%%Do not add Kokichi's actions in Chapter 4 to this list. While what he did is very clearly wrong, this trope is about being irredeemable. Kokichi's actions had a DeathEqualsRedemption moment in Chapter 5, as his death in that chapter was shown to be sympathetic.

* UnintentionalUncannyValley: The statues of the earlier deceased students that Angie was making before she got killed, which look even creepier at night.

* UncannyValley: The statues of the earlier deceased students that Angie was making before she got killed, which look even creepier at night.

** Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, is shown holding a bottle of Fanta (looking closely, the bottle is labeled ''[[BlandNameProduct Panta]]'') in his official character artwork. Amusing, since Fanta was invented in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany.

** Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Ruler, is shown holding a bottle of Fanta (looking closely at his character artwork, the bottle is labeled ''[[BlandNameProduct Panta]]'') in his official artwork. Amusing, since Fanta was invented in [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi Germany]].
** In the English Dub, Angie's god is referred to as Atua (in which that word means a Polynesian supernatural being or spirit).
** Kirumi's execution thematically seems out of place for the Ultimate Maid compared to the other talents, but those familiar with Japanese Literature would realize it's an entire reference to ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spider%27s_Thread The Spider's Thread]]'' - a story about a cold-hearted criminal who's one good deed in life moved Buddha enough to give him a golden string to climb up on to salvation. Keep in mind what Kirumi's [[TheNeedsOfTheMany "good deed"]] is and [[HopeSpot how the execution ends]]. Monokuma was basically ''mocking'' [[FridgeBrilliance Kirumi's desire to save the nation at the expense of the group]].

* MoralEventHorizon: Korekiyo Shinguuji spends the entirety of Chapter Three crossing it, but he even crosses it in his LoveHotel event by preventing Shuichi from running away from Korekiyo's sexual fantasy after giving him permission to do so, meaning that he was ready to ''[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]] Shuichi'' and was just toying with him to see how he'd react.
%%Do not add Kokichi's actions in Chapter Four to this list. While what he did is very clearly wrong, this trope about being irredeemable. Kokichi's actions had a DeathEqualsRedemption moment in Chapter Five as his death in that chapter was shown to be sympathetic.

* OlderThanTheyThink: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]. People have said that Kaede is the first playable female character in Danganronpa, excluding Komaru (and Toko/Genocider) in [[VideoGame/UltraDespairGirls the spinoff]]. What most people forget is that Mikan from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' was playable in the [[ShowWithinAShow Twilight Syndrome Murder Case minigame]] as Girl B. Ultimately, though, Kaede '''is''' the first female main character in the mainstream games. ...For one chapter.

* UncannyValley: The statues Angie was making before she got killed, which look even creepier at night.

** Although the Scrum Debates are very well-liked, some of them can be viewed as this. The ones of Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 deserve special mentions, as [[RightForTheWrongReasons the opposing side was actually correct all along]], but Shuichi doesn't believe they have the evidence to prove their case. In addition, some FridgeLogic happened with the Chapter 5 Scrum Debate, as literally nobody believes Kaito was alive before it.

* AbandonShipping: In general, with fans being relatively unsure about the relationships between characters pre-release causing fans to GottaShipEmAll, a lot of ships significantly decreased in popularity in favor for ships with more chemistry, especially pairings with heavy ShipTease (Kaede/Shuichi and Kaito/Maki) alongside [[FanPreferredCouple Miu/Keebo, Himiko/Tenko, and Kokichi/Shuichi]]. Honorable mentions go to:

** Similarly, Korekiyo and Angie is a FanPreferredCouple in Japan but due to the events of Chapter Three and TheReveal, it became a very controversial ship for Western fans.

* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Pre-release of the game, many fans would ship the V3 characters to anyone they seem to speculate a possible chemistry for them. By the time the game released and being played, people still ship some characters beyond the FanPreferredCouple.

** Surprisingly, Kokichi, Keebo, and Miu are a pretty popular threesome. Keebo and Miu have become a FanPreferredCouple due to their strong chemistry and many ShipTease moments in-game. However, despite (or possibly because of) Kokichi's antagonizing relationship with Keebo and Miu in the game, their are still plenty of post-release fan art that still ships him with the both of them. So naturally there are fans that ship the three of them together.

* TheChrisCarterEffect: A criticism of the story is how certain plot points remained unresolved by the end of the game such as the state of the outside world, in which the only explanation we got from it was from Kokichi ([[ConsummateLiar who isn't exactly the most trustworthy source of information]]), and even then said explanation proved to be a little too vague to fully understand, as well as how many of the reveals [[UnreliableExpositor Tsumugi]] brought up were true. However, this ambiguity is likely a parallel to that of the first game's ending back when ''Danganronpa'' was the first and only entry in the series, where no one knew what the state of the outside world ''really'' was.

** Although the Scrum Debates are very well-liked, some of them can be viewed as this. The ones of Chapter 3 and Chapter 5 deserve special mentions, as the opposing side was actually correct all along, but Shuichi believes that he doesn't have the evidence to prove those facts. In addition, some FridgeLogic happened with the Chapter 5 Scrum Debate, as literally nobody believes Kaito was alive before it.

** While the ending ended up being very controversial, Tsumugi's cosplay impersonations of the past characters received positive reception.
** The Exisal that ended up representing "the culprit" in Chapter Five for pretty much being one of the most hilarious and over-the-top moments in the game.
** The outfits that the characters wore at the start of the game and their possible appearances before the killing game has received a bunch of fan art from fans.

* ThatOnePuzzle: The Chapter Two Hangman's Gambit involves the word "Ropeway". With many people having never heard that word before, it eventually caused this trope to happen.

** {{Invoked}} with the ''[[PlatformHell Death Road of Despair]]'' minigame in the first chapter. It was made so intentionally hard that Kokichi Oma suggested for everybody to not play that mini-game.
** Finding the Hidden Monokumas is harder than in [=DR2=], since now they also show up during the Class Trial minigames.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Oh boy. If you thought this series was already a little too dark, this game's climactic reveals are something else. Danganronpa V3's ProsceniumReveal depicts the events of the past installments of the series as works of fiction, and the events of ''V3'' are actually the [=53rd=] entry of the series (the 'V' in 'V3' being the roman numeral for 5), which turned into a reality show at some unknown point. The students were brainwashed into "real fictional characters" for the show and have no way of reclaiming their original identities. On top of that, only three students survive the game, and now have to somehow reintegrate into a world that was ''enthralled'' with 53 iterations of a killing game between teenagers. On top of that, all of that might not even be true. One of the game's central themes is lies, which by this point in the game mainly manifests as the villain constantly contradicting herself--presumably this is to create ambiguity but quickly just becomes ''irritating''. This was one dark twist too much for much of the fanbase, who argue that it makes the entire series pointless. Ironically, this might have been ''intentional'', since the story's climax hinges on the main characters ending the in-universe ''Danganronpa'' franchise by making the audience apathetic toward it so that they no longer care if hope or despair triumphs in the end.
** On a milder scale, it can be difficult to become invested in or care much about Ryoma, since he ''volunteers'' to die during the first chapter, is stated to be clinically depressed and keeps telling Shuichi not to get close to a killer like him. The fact his motive video is empty and he allowed Kirumi to kill him is sad, but it's almost like the game agrees that he doesn't have much to live for anyway.

** The ''Voting Time'' could have been an innovative feature if your vote could influence the outcome of the trial (as in a tie-breaker) or, at the very least, it could have been used to get some extra dialogue, like a reaction from one of the innocent students (or from the mastermind) if you vote for them. However your vote doesn't matter (except when you have to abstain from voting) because everyone else (except Kirumi and Kaito on two occasions) will vote correctly and the outcome won't change.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Just look at the FranchiseOriginalSin entry and you will see that almost no RecurringElement of the franchise was welcomed by the fans. The worst offender is the fact that having Kaede as the protagonist even if just a decoy, sparked in fans the belief that this installment would be the start of new things for the franchise. When fans were met with more of the same, to say it was disappointing would be a '''huge''' understatement.

* ContestedSequel: While the game received praise for its upgrades to the gameplay, extras and Bonus Modes, the plot itself has come under a considerable amount of fire. The general reception of the first five chapters is largely positive, but common complaints against the game include a variety of controversial plot twists, a backstory many found utterly nonsensical even compared to previous installments, the Monokuma Kubs coming off as an [[TheScrappy unnecessary nuisance]], and [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks a general inability to break away or subvert the traditions set by the first two games]]. And that's ''not'' getting into the ending and backlash the game got hit by given the twists that show up in [[WhamEpisode Chapter Six]].

* ItsTheSameSoItSucks: Just look at the FranchiseOriginalSin entry and you will see that almost no RecurringElement of the franchise was welcomed by the fans. The worst offender is the fact that having Kaede as the protagonist even if just a decoy, sparked in fans the belief that this installment would be the start of new things for the franchise. When fans were met with more of the same, to say it was disappointing would be a '''huge''' understatement.