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Ultimate Despair
The End
Junko Enoshima
The Big Bad, mastermind of the Tragedy, and a world-famous fashionista. While she's far from the front lines for the most part, her influence is still felt all the way in Japan.
- Cruel to Be Kind: According to Dr. Shirogane, Junko assigned the Enlightening Thief to kill her sister Ryoko as to spare her from her suffering as an amnesiac.
- The Dreaded: Given her reputation as the Queen of Despair, Ultimate Analyst and the destroyer of humanity, Hajime and friends are fearful of her imminent appearance and how she'll interact with them.
- Family Drama: Ryoko, and later Yasuke, would confess that her parents constantly fought over every little thing which made living at home stressful.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Her actions are what set off the plot of the story.
- Hidden Depths: She considers The Nightmare Before Christmas her favorite holiday classic.
- One Degree of Separation: She and Emma have known each other for a few years and got along swimmingly.
- Orcus on His Throne: Junko is still touring through Europe for most of the story, so she's yet to actually interact with the Quantum Crew. However, she's still pulling strings thanks to her underlings and is having a great time watching the events of the series unfold.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Along with her image as a famous fashion designer, she's also participated in charity events for child abuse victims alongside Emma. In reality, she is a deranged terrorist intentionally seeking to turn human society into a hellhole filled with suffering.
The Corrupt Crusader
Commissioner Juu Kinjo
The head commissioner of Tokyo's police department and Tsurugi's father. He's also a member of Ultimate Despair, already involved with Junko Enoshima.
- Archnemesis Dad: To Tsurugi. In the original timeline, his son finding out about his corruption would lead the Ultimate Police Officer to kill his father and become a heartless authority figure.
- Ascended Extra: He was only mentioned by his son in the Another fangame, but here he makes a live appearance and is treated as a credible threat.
- Black-and-White Insanity: He categorizes people into two types. The first, such as himself and his son, are righteous and will change the future for the better. The second are broken cogs in the machine who only get in the way and deserve to be eradicated for the "greater good".
- Boom, Headshot!: Megumi executes him this way, deciding that it's too dangerous to keep him alive and imprisoned.
- The Corruptor: He's slowly but surely grooming his son to become a Knight Templar cop, eventually bringing him under Junko's sway as well.
- Crusading Widower: A dark example. He mentions during his big speech that the death of his wife via mugging was the stepping stone he needed to embrace the power of despair.
- Dirty Cop: He's an underling for the Queen of Despair and is willing to undermine the public's safety on her behalf.
- Face–Heel Turn: It's revealed that at one point, he was a heroic officer devoted to justice and fought against terrorism, before something happened that caused him to side with Junko.
- Fingore: Tsurugi manages to shoot his hand to stop him from shooting his colleagues.
- I'm a Humanitarian: In the original timeline, he and other corrupted members of the police department ate Kouhei Sasaki's body to complete their transition to Ultimate Despair.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: He tries to talk his way out of instant execution before being silenced by Megumi.Juu: C’mon, I know how Kasugano operates. This was one of his too, wasn’t it? You really think he’d let you get away w- (killed via bullet to the head)
- Non-Action Big Bad: He purposefully organized various terrorist events to either exterminate those that would jeopardize his reputation or to push his son deeper into the path of despair. All events were organized from behind the scenes.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He confesses at the climax of the Die Free or Live Hard Arc that he views himself as a hero of justice who intends to carve the cancer out of Japan for the sake of a brighter future. But his manner of action involve orchestrating elaborate terrorist schemes that put multiple innocent lives at risk. Not to mention he's working with the literal Queen of Despair, who wants to bring an unprecedented era of crime and death to the entire world.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Despite being apprehended by the good guys, Kyoko notes that Juu didn't display the same level of masochism that Ultimate Despairs normally displayed after losing. He was rather upset and felt genuine displeasure from having his hand shot.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: He has dull red eyes and is working with the enemy.
- We Can Rule Together: As a last stand against the heroes, he tries to convince his son to join him by shooting his colleagues after his true colors are exposed. Thankfully, his son declines his offer.
The Enlightening Thief
Dr. Tsumugi Shirogane
Click here to see her in disguise SPOILERS
A deceptive scientist who's made multiple achievements in optogenetics and brain manipulation. She's also in league with Ultimate Despair and will one day become the Ultimate Cosplayer.
- A God Am I: She hasn't said the g-word yet, but she thinks highly of herself for achieving immortality with her optogenetic science.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: The Tsumugi Shirogane from Danganronpa V3? This is her. Specifically, the original consciousness, which in the Tragedy timeline had a history of being transferred across multiple bodies. The blue-haired girl was only the latest victim of this.
- Adaptational Villainy: According to the 2030 kids, she's the most dangerous of Junko's followers.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She pretended to be Dr. Masayoshi Okamoto, the kind and thoughtful head of the DLTA, in order to win the Crew's trust and plot out Ryoko Otonashi's assassination.
- Break Them by Talking: She tries to psychologically torment Ryoko by reminding her of her cursed existence as an amnesiac and how miserable her life is for always forgetting everything.
- Child Hater: She openly expresses how much she hates young people after being cornered by Ryoko and the Quantum Crew.
- Crazy-Prepared: Despite the Crew being able to unravel her assassination ploy and discover her true identity, Dr. Shirogane already had a few plans to keep her ahead of the game. Such as setting off bombs that can wipe out the entire facility to ensure Ryoko's death while also giving herself muscle memories of various martial artists to make her exceptionally deadly in combat. Too bad the latter didn't work too well on Harumi.
- Cruel Mercy: The despicable doctor claims that killing Ryoko is a kinder fate rather then letting her live to forget everything for the rest of her life.
- Dirty Old Woman: Given that she's stated to become the same Tsumugi Shirogane from the 53rd Killing Game, and thus would be approaching a hundred years old at the time, she is this due to her creating the Love Hotel event to act out her perverted fantasies. And with teenagers of all people...
- Evil Genius: She's an expert in optogenetics, the science of using DNA from things like algae to make neurons sensitive to light. Using this, according to Kyoji, she can do everything from erasing memories to implanting fake ones to completely duplicating her consciousness.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Her eyes turn cybernetic blue after the Quantum Crew sees through her ruse and foil her scheme.
- Grand Theft Me: One of the reasons why she's so dangerous is that she can transfer her memories and personality onto any unsuspecting chump which would allow her to take over their body without ever having to worry about being caught by the authorities. One of her victims is revealed to be the head doctor of the DLTA, Dr. Okamoto.
- Karma Houdini: She likely escaped justice in the Tragedy timeline and would go on to form Team Danganronpa, hosting dozens of underground killing games for decades and managing to live for nearly a century before finally being defeated in V3. It turns out this isn't exclusive to the Tragedy timeline, either, and if left unchecked she will eventually do the same thing even if Junko is defeated.
- Light Is Not Good: A member of Ultimate Despair whose specialty involves light and genetic engineering.
- Really 700 Years Old: Not in the present, but it's mentioned Tsumugi was about 93 years old by the time V3 would occur, which was apparently long enough for her to convince everyone that the Tragedy was just fiction.
- Strong, but Unskilled: As Harumi points out, just because she gives herself memories to improve her physical strength doesn't guarantee that she knows how to put that power into action.
- Villain with Good Publicity: She's recognized for her extensive research involving optogenetics and research into brain structures. And she's been able to do this while becoming a follower of Junko.
- We Will Meet Again: Before killing her Dr. Okamoto vessel, she assures the Crew members that she will return and take vengeance on them.
Solo Villains
The Human Traffickers
Junya Utsugi
Kotoko Utsugi's abusive father. A disgusting man who exploits his daughter and is the main villain for most of Season 1.
- Abusive Parents: He traffics her daughter to pedophilic clients to the point that she was diagnosed as HIV-positive and forces her to comply with his demands.
- Adaptational Villainy: We only got hints of how vile Kotoko's father was in Ultra Despair Girls. Here? We get to see it on full display here.
- Bad Liar: Once he goes on the news to report Kotoko missing, nearly everyone who sees the broadcast can tell that he is lying about both being worried about Kotoko and that he didn't know what was going on at Hope's Peak Elementary. An anon lampshades this in the rant that's broadcasted by Sora saying everyone saw through it.
- Big Bad: He stands out as the main antagonist for most of the first season.
- Groin Attack: On the receiving end of this from Hiyoko, who kicks him in the crotch with steel-toed boots an anon provided her.
- Hypocrite: Calls other people selfish while indulging his own desires and fantasies, even if it means selling his own daughter into sex slavery.
- Never My Fault: He refuses to accept responsibility for any of his misdeeds and shortcomings, whether it's forcing his underage daughter into prostitution or blaming society for putting him in a position in which he'd have to do it in the first place. Before the Quantum Crew turns him over to the police, Kotoko makes it clear he has nobody to blame but himself.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He mainly relies on trafficking grunts to do his dirty work, and flees after being intimidated by Mikan.
- Not Worth Killing: When he's finally taken down, Kotoko decides that no matter how many times she could kill him, it wouldn't be enough to make up for the pain he's caused her. Instead, she opts to let him rot in jail with the knowledge he'll have no one to blame but himself while she lives a better life, also disowning him in the process.
- Oh, Crap!: Way too many times to count but especially towards the end when he's disowned by Kotoko, Sora broadcasts a rant by an anon about all the bad things Junya's done and that he's going to jail and no one's going to help him and when Hiyoko Groin Attacks him with steel-toed boots.
- Small Name, Big Ego: The man aspires to be something worthwhile, like a brain surgeon.
- Slut-Shaming: He claims that Mikan's dress style makes her a slut. Chisa isn't amused.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: His treatment of Kotoko often boils down to this, albeit more verbally than physically.
Haiji Towa
The heir of the Towa Corporation. A depraved pedophile who is secretly part of an underground human trafficking ring.
- Adaptational Villainy: If you thought this monster was bad in the UDG game, he gets to show his true colors during the final arcs of Season 1.
- Arc Villain: Shares this role with Kotoko's father during the Oncoming Storm and Storm Arc.
- Big Brother Bully: Verbally abuses and looks down on his sister Monaca.
- I Have No Son!: His imprisonment for helping organize the trafficking rings results in his father disowning him. Most likely to save his company's reputation.
- Laser-Guided Karma: His involvement in the trafficking ring, along with his ongoing abuse towards Monaca for getting in the way of him owning Towa Corporation, result in him not only being arrested and imprisoned but also being disowned by his father.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He doesn't partake in fighting the Quantum Crew as he's instantly subdued by Kyoji.
- Would Hurt a Child: Along with being a pedophile, he also works with traffickers that kidnap and sell teenage girls. He would have done the same to his sister if it wasn't for Monaca pretending to be sick in a medical chamber.
The Yandere Idol
Kanade Otonokoji
Click here to see SPOILERS
The guitarist of the popular idol band "Melody Rhythm". In truth, she's a Yandere Serial Killer who has been killing anyone who gets close to her twin sister Hibiki in the hopes of mentally breaking her.
Tropes applying to Kanade pre-Twisted Aftermath:
- Adaptational Villainy: While it's never outright confirmed, it's heavily implied that Kanade used Hibiki's puppet state as an opportunity to violate her.
- Awesome by Analysis: Given her serial killer nature and her personal interest in crime cases, Kanade is exceptionally brilliant with analyzing a given killer's habits or mode of operation.
- Ax-Crazy: After her twisted nature is exposed, Kanade lets go of any safety precautions and charges after Hajime with an actual axe. She would do this again during her killing spree in the Twisted Sister Arc.
- Bad People Abuse Animals: Her first victim was Hibiki's childhood dog named "Shiro" whom she killed out of jealousy.
- Big Bad: The main villain of the Concert and Twisted Sister Arcs.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She purposefully acted like a timid Nice Girl so no one would suspect her true, dark nature.
- Cain and Abel: The "Cain" to Hibiki's "Abel".
- Death by Irony: Of a mental variety. Kanade openly boasted how she would be forever remembered now that everyone, even her sister, knew of her crimes and the deaths she's caused. During the Twisted Sister Aftermath Arc, her memories of her Serial Killer identity are erased and she no longer remembers her "glamorized" history.
- Death of Personality: After the Twisted Sister Aftermath arc, all her memories of being a killer and her incestuous lust for Hibiki are erased, resulting in her becoming the soft-spoken girl she'd pretended to be for so long.
- Dirty Coward: Hajime deduces that a lot of her killings were done via "hit and run" methods, meaning that Kanade prefers to attack by surprise rather than facing someone head on. He decides to exploit this by taunting the yandere into chasing him around a parking structure; this would tire her out leaving her too weak to fight or escape from her true opponent. Sonia Nevermind.
- Faux Affably Evil: She acts like this to those who are fully aware of her criminal history.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She gets fiercely jealous whenever people get too close to Hibiki, which gives her more reason to kill them.
- Hero Killer:
- During the Concert Arc, she tricks Hajime and Chiaki into eating chocolate laced with cyanide and brutally taunts them as they perish. This gets averted when Hajime gets sent back a few hours via Reset Button.
- In the Twisted Sister Arc, she goes to Hope's Peak and manages to kill/severely wound various members of the Quantum Crew along with the kids from Class 77-B. This is also averted when Hajime resets the timeline and comes up with a plan to ambush her before she can kill anyone.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: After she's beautifully beaten by Sonia and handcuffed to a metal pole while a horde of police officers surround her, she sighs in defeat and accepts her upcoming arrest.
- Master Poisoner: Her main method of assassination involves using poisons and other lethal chemicals on her victims which would kill them or render them weak enough to dispose of.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: In the Twisted Sister Arc, the upgrades from her mysterious sponsor making her unreasonably durable as she can endure most injuries and is able to push forward thanks to her drive for vengeance. It takes Hajime having to throw each other off the top of Hope's Peak in order to finally kill her.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-Universe. While initially outraged, she later has no problem being exposed as a monster since it guarantees that she'll be remembered for generations.
- Serial Killer: She has a kill count of more than 60 people. And the number goes higher when she goes on a Hope's Peak killing spree during the Twisted Sister Arc.
- Took a Level in Badass: Through means unknown, Kanade was gifted with advanced technology and weaponry that makes her significantly stronger and deadlier than before.
- Unwitting Pawn: She and Maverick are both part of some greater mastermind's scheme, the two having received sponsorship from them.
- Yandere: To her sister. The whole reason she kills was to emotionally traumatize her sister so she could be completely dependent on her.
Tropes applying to Kanade post-Twisted Aftermath:
- Amnesiacs are Innocent: Subverted. While Kanade is considerably kinder and friendly after her memories are wiped, she still retains some feelings of jealousy and possessiveness without knowing exactly why. Kyoji works to help her understand that just having feelings doesn't make her a bad person and she promises not to let them get the better of her.
- Awesome by Analysis: While she may no longer be a serial killer, her brilliance and intelligence in regards to analyzing a killer's habits or modus operandi remain intact. This is best shown during the Let the Dogs Out Arc where she assists Sonia and the Imposter track down the Copycat Killer.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: She starts to develop feelings of appreciation for Kyoji thanks to the kind geneticist looking after her along with helping her during her weaker moments. Her sister Monaca is worried that Kanade's feelings could turn into romantic ones which can make things complicated for everyone.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: After undergoing Death of Personality and being taken in by Kyoji and Monaca, most of the group has accepted she's no longer a threat, but still aren't really comfortable around her.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Even after being rendered virtually harmless, she admits to feeling jealous whenever anyone gets to close to her caretaker Kyoji.
- Happily Adopted: After her memories were erased, she was going to be sent to a care facility, but instead she's taken in by Kyoji and Monaca.
- Heel–Face Brainwashing: Thanks to receiving a mind-wiping procedure from Yasuke, along with being adopted by Kyoji, Kanade ends up becoming one of the good guys.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: And they're notable gaps that even Kanade herself doesn't fully understand.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: She breaks down in tears when Kyoji suggests the idea of having her go to a medical facility to help with her memories and trauma. Given that Kyoji was one of the only people to attend to her needs after her Heel–Face Brainwashing, Kanade was worried about being abandoned by one of the few people who genuinely cares about her.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Due to the effects of the mindwipe, she truly is the kind shy girl she pretended to be before losing her memories.
- Walking Spoiler: The mere fact something incredibly significant managed to spark a drastic change in someone like Kanade Otonokoji is enough for it to be considered such.
The Puppetmaster
Maverick Storm
Class 75's Former Ultimate Social Expert and Token Evil Teammate who delighted in tormenting his classmates. A master of manipulation and regarded as one of the most dangerous criminals by Hope's Peak and the Quantum Crew, he was arrested after bombing a section of the school, but would unfortunately escape later on.
- An Arm and a Leg: In his final confrontation, he attempts to kill Chiaki and Kana, the latter of whom still has the gun she stole from him. She makes good on her promise not to kill Storm; she instead shoots him through the shoulder, leaving his right arm permanently disabled.
- Batman Gambit: He set up the narrative that Kana and her fellow managers were being tortured and that he hid said torture chamber in plain sight as a way to goad Hajime and Chiaki into an act of heroism, which also very nearly got them to bring several of their allies to the island. Some last minute skepticism courtesy of Hajime managed to keep a bad situation from getting worse.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the Puppetmaster Arc in Season 2.
- Break Them by Talking: This is how he gets into people's minds.
- Dirty Coward: Kyoji claims that Maverick is this. He prefers to work behind the scenes and manipulate others to perform his schemes. Direct confrontation is the one thing he sucks at and will most definitely lose if pitted in such a situation. Best shown that, when he confronts Kana and Damien, they easily manage to shove him down a flight of stairs and he only manages to regain control by pointing a gun at them. Even then, they still manage to overpower him.
- The Dreaded: Second only to Junko, the heroes regard him as a devil of a man on account of his ability to manipulate others and how much danger he puts others. Even before he makes his big move, the Quantum Crew was afraid of having to face him.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Storm cannot understand that some people really are nice and selfless, thinking that they are just deluding themselves into believing they are better than the rest.
- Fashion-Victim Villain: In-Universe. Despite being a dangerous criminal, his wardrobe is described as unbelievably tacky. It's almost as bad as the state of the world post-Tragedy, but at least the world can be saved.
- Foil: To Junko Enoshima. The two are professional sociopaths who enjoy manipulating others for twisted schemes that promise great suffering. The main differences are that Junko breaks down her victims through the power of despair and suffering, while Maverick gets through to people by encouraging them to indulge in whatever makes them happy or at peace. And while Junko is known to place herself into the fray and get her hands dirty when needed, Maverick is a coward who would prefer to stay far away from potential danger. Also, Junko is a professional gyaru (fashion designer), while Maverick is known for his hideous fashion sense.
- Foster Kid: Maverick was revealed to have been in the foster care system and used to live under more than 10 families. It's revealed that all of them committed suicide and that he was responsible for each of their deaths. Although Kyoji deduces that Maverick only claims this as a way of coping with the trauma of losing each family.
- Gaslighting: One of his methods to get Kana to turn against Chiaki was convince her that her memories are wrong, her mother wasn't being honest and that Chiaki's father cheated with her mother and abandoned her. He also tries to drill it into her head that anyone being kind to her just wants to manipulate her.
- Hidden Depths: When an anon rick-rolls him, he admits that he actually likes the song.
- Hostage Situation: Thanks to obtaining a decent number of citizens to stay at his island resort, Maverick gives Kasugno and the Japanese public a Sadistic Choice: Kasugano has until October 2nd to publicly reveal and then either kill themselves or allow someone else to kill them. Fail to meet that deadline and Maverick will kill one hostage every two hours until he complies. He estimates that leaves them 220 hours- about 9 days- until everyone is dead.
- Humans Are Bastards: Storm firmly believes people are inherently violent, selfish, greedy and survival-oriented. People who claim to be otherwise, he believes, are just deceiving themselves to convince themselves they're better than the rest.
- Karma Houdini: He was able to get away with countless crimes his whole life thanks to his skills in manipulating people, even getting Ted Chikatilo to set off his fireworks in Hope's Peak and injure people countless times. This came to an end when he went too far and blew up a good portion of a classroom, which lead to his expulsion and subsequent arrest.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He initially got Kana to side with him by meeting her at the studio she worked at, pretending to be a new employee with a broken arm. During the final battle, she uses the gun she stole from him to shoot him through the shoulder, permanently crippling his arm.
- More than Mind Control: Maverick's ability to manipulate others is by learning about their darkest instincts or weaknesses and twisting it to his advantage. As shown in the Connection Arc, his Sunny Days video involved him encouraging those that felt hopeless, depressed or suffering to give up their lives and come live in his tropical paradise forever.
- Never My Fault: During his trial, Maverick and his lawyer try to plea that the cult leader was being manipulated by someone else and it was their fault for the hostage situation. Given his record as a monster and manipulator, no one is buying it. Technically he was funded by the Basilisk, but otherwise operated on his own accord.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Kyoji mentions that Storm purposefully used his Korean lineage to bully and torment him.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Deep down, all he really is is an immature man who wants everyone to bow to him and throws violent tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants or when someone outwits him.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: His main shirt is red, he has black hair, and is one of the worst villains imaginable.
- Redemption Rejection: After Kyoji reveals that an ex-girlfriend he believed he paralyzed and caused to have a miscarriage actually did have a child, he offers him a second chance and says that it's not too late for him to change and it seems like Maverick is considering it... only for him to shoot Kyoji the second he thinks his guard is down.
- Robot Master: He employs a variety of killer robots to serve as his muscle during the final stages of his story arc.
- Sinister Shades: The man calls to mind Jim Jones with his aesthetic choices.
- The Social Expert: His main talent and he's horribly good at it.
- The Sociopath: Maverick isn't bound by the laws of society or morality. All he cares about is messing with others and exploiting their weaknesses for his own amusement.
- Straw Nihilist: He knows that the world is going to end soon, but claims that due to humans being terrible people, what's the point in trying to stop it? It's this reason that he hates Kasugano so much.
- Unwitting Pawn: He and Kanade are both seemingly part of some greater mastermind's scheme, both having received sponsorship from them.
- Villainous Breakdown: During the climax of the Puppetmaster Arc, due to his plans falling apart thanks to Chiaki and the Quantum Crew along with Kyoji revealing that Maverick has a child with an ex-girlfriend whom he'll never see makes him unstable and panicked.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Once he has people cornered, Maverick has a tendency to go for Break Them by Talking instead of just killing them. Justified in that any earlier attempts to kill Chiaki early would've failed courtesy of her Divine Luck, and his plan required tricking Kana and Damian into stealing a fake laptop.
- Would Hurt a Child: Along with manipulating teenagers using their traumas, he isn't above using physical abuse on them.
- Worthy Opponent: In spite of dismissing her earlier in the arc, Maverick comes to see Chiaki as someone with much stronger morals and mental strength then anyone else he'd ever met.
The Creature From Cyberspace
The Basilisk
A mysterious hyper-intelligent artificial creation based on Roko's Basilisk experiment. Motivated to ensure its existence, it becomes a core participant in the Quantum Crew's time travel adventures by creating all sorts of problems in the past and future.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: An artificial intelligence who is motivated to destroy or terrorize anyone who would stand in it's way. Itsuki even claims that the monster has virtual access to any person's personal information and can use it to make their life a living hell.
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: While it has it's eyes set on the Quantum Crew, it's speculated that the creature will also target anyone, whether friend or family member, who is close to the Crew in order to make them suffer.
- Breaking Old Trends: The first antagonist who isn't human, not counting flashbacks to the Tragedy.
- Greater-Scope Villain: It's the one responsible for the prison break that freed Kanade and Storm, and also financed Storm's island, making it directly responsible for the events of the Twisted Sister and The Puppetmaster Arcs.
- The Minion Master: To enact their will, the Basilisk can create terminator-esque monsters to hunt down anyone that it perceives as a threat.
- With Us or Against Us: According to Itsuki, the Basilisk categorizes humans into two categories: those that would help to promote its existence and those who would not. For the latter group, the creature will do everything in its power to punish them for their refusal.
The Parasite
The Copycat Killer
A low-profile serial killer known for assassinating their victims and taking on their identity afterwards. They become a target of interest when Hajime learns from Nagi that they will go after Kinu Hiroshima in Season 2.
- Break Them by Talking: They try to do this to Hibiki when they identify her voice. They point out how she holds responsibility for her sister's 60 victim kill count and has no right to have the high ground when she gets to walk away with her hands dirty.
- Evil Counterpart: To the Ultimate Imposter. The Copycat takes pride in stealing the lives of any person they come across while enjoying the successes of their new host. Unlike the friendly neighborhood Imposter who only takes on identities with prior consent (in Mitarai's case) and isn't very fond of taking them for the thrill of it.
- Foil: To Dr. Shirogane. Both of them are serial killers known for taking on the identities of unfortunate souls. The main difference is that the bad doctor uses optogenetic technology to transfer her personality onto an unsuspecting victim. The CK, on the other hand, uses the old fashioned method of killing their victims before taking their identity. And while the doctor is notorious among the medical community, the Copycat Killer doesn't have much fame to their original name whatever it may be.
- It Amused Me: They admit that killing innocent people and taking over their lives is quite thrilling.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: They've been able to kill random people and take over their lives without anyone catching him. But thanks to the Quantum Crew and Nagi's assistance, they manage to stop the Copycat from claiming their latest target and even get them arrested.
- Kill and Replace: Their MO. To kill their victim and take over their identity to avoid suspicion.
- Lone Wolf Boss: In a sense, the Copycat Killer stands out as an antagonist who isn't directly related to Ultimate Despair, Hope's Peak or anyone related to the cast.
- Never Found the Body: The killer is exceptionally brilliant when disposing of their victim's bodies.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Their eyes turn sinister red whenever they express their true self.
- Serial Killer: Another homicidal monster. Hajime and the anons even express exasperation over how many serial killers are residing in Japan alone.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: They can't be reasoned or shamed for their crimes as they are aware of how public figures get away with worse crimes everyday.
- Slasher Smile: Prone to doing this according to Nagi's flashbacks, and does this at points after he gets exposed .
- The Social Darwinist: They justify them claiming the lives and successes of their victims by stating that them killing them is an act of competition which only means that they earned their victim's livelihood.
- The Spook: They pride themselves in being so discrete with their ability to Kill and Replace that no one should have learned of their existence.
- Spotting the Thread: In Nagi's timeline, the survivors discovered the killer's true identity as they spoke fluent Japanese despite Kinu, the girl they were impersonating, being a novice at speaking the language.
The Blue Blood Artists
Ayato and Emina Nijiue
Iroha's Abusive Parents. Along with their reputation as powerful and influential artists, they've also had a heavy hand in inflicting various forms of child abuse onto their children.
Tropes applying to both:
- Abusive Parents: They can put the parents of the Warriors of Hope to shame with their bad parenting.
- Arranged Marriage: Mahiru reveals that both of them were arranged to be wed before they entered Hope's Peak.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: For the All Eyes On Me Arc.
- Hate Sink: Selfish, cold, heartless, sadistic monsters who put Iroha and her siblings through hell for the sake of their own success.
Tropes applying to Ayato Nijiue
- Beard of Evil: Ayato has a long beard that some of the anons think is invoking this trope.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Hitoshi suggests that Ayato was too lazy to do his own creations and often commissioned other artists to do them on his behalf. Later, he would force his children to become successful artists to maintain their legacy.
- Graceful Loser: At first, he goes after his kids after being exposed, but after being beaten he admits defeat. He even tries to convince Emina it's over to no avail. He also shows some signs of remorse for his actions (at least enough to acknowledge he was wrong), while she remained in denial and had to be cornered trying to escape.
- It Runs in the Family: Apparently any artistic talent that his children have came from him and not Emina.
- Testosterone Poisoning: Ayato has toxic masculinity as he forces his son to live up to his high expectations of manhood.
Tropes applying to Emina Nijiue
- Dirty Coward: In a flashback, Emina insults Harumi without a care in the world to Tenmei and Shinji. When said Reserve Course girl s appears and threatens to beat her up, Emina runs away like a total wuss, begging Harumi not to damage her face. After being exposed for her abuse, she tries to escape before being cornered by Kasumi.
- Establishing Character Moment: Tenmei's flashback reveals that, not only are Iroha's descriptions of her family accurate, Emina was just as nasty in high school. She reprimands him and Shinji for skipping class, insults his love of games and dismisses Harumi due to her being a reserve course student.
- Everyone Has Standards: Emina actually doesn't like Mai Shingetsu and requested that she not be invited.
- Hated by All: She was the least popular student among all of Hope's Peak during her time there because of her classist and arrogant nature -even the other mean girls didn't like her. When the idea of stopping her is presented to some of her former classmates, all of them agree without a second thought due to how much of a bitch she was.
- Offing the Offspring: Kyoko warns Iroha that her mother will eventually kill her sister Akemi in a fit of rage during a charity event.
- Rich Bitch: Emina is a very wealthy woman and one of the worst people to be around. Apparently she hails from a wealthy background which influenced her snooty personality.
- Shared Family Quirks: Iroha seems to have inherited her cowardly tendencies from her mother.
- Shed the Family Name: She married into the Nijiue family and forsake her maiden name, Sato. She even managed to get all Hope's Peak documentation to erase her maiden name making it look like she was always a Nijiue.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Tenmei admits that, while she was already pretty nasty in school, her time at Hope's Peak and success as an adult seems to have actually made her worse.
The Vile Vamp
Tsukasa Tsumiki
A wretched woman who gave birth to Mikan Tsumiki. Along with abusing Mikan all her childhood, she's also revealed to have committed several other atrocities with the help of some corrupt higher ups. It's because of this that the Quantum Crew decide to hunt her down in the Old Ghosts Arc.
- Abusive Parents: She's guilty of emotionally abusing her daughter, forcing her to partake in sexual videos and then selling such pornography to perverted monsters for profit.
- Alliterative Name: Tsukasa Tsumiki.
- Ephebophile: She personally targets teenage boys for the fun of it.
- Graceful Loser: Despite being cornered by her daughter's friends and chewed out for her failings as a mother, Tsukasa barely shows any restraint and accepts her destiny behind bars.
- Greed: Tsukasa is willing to do anything if it earns her a large sum of money to burn later on.
- Harmless Villain: Despite her reputation as an abusive predator with connections to the police, Mikan assures everyone that she isn't a high level threat like the other members of their Rogues Gallery.
- I Did What I Had to Do: She justifies herself as a prostitute stating that women in the 1990s had a harder time finding a decent job, so all Tsukasa could do was sleep with others to provide for herself.
- Really Gets Around: She willingly sleeps with anyone she deems worthy, from wealthy men to unsuspecting teenagers.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: The prime reason why she's been able to get away with her sins is because she has the support of multiple police officers who share her similar "interests".
- Shadow Archetype: Mikan admits that she sees Tsukasa as what she could have become if she decided to give in to her worst vices while blaming everyone around her for her miserable existence.
- You're Not My Father: Mikan has officially disowned Tsukasa as her mother and only sees her as a monster that she needs to confront to move on with her life.
The Church for Utilizing Lost Teenagers
Holy Salvation Society
A malevolent cult that organizes and funds orphanages across Japan for the sake of harvesting orphans and brainwashing them into subservient assassins to support their goals. Though they have yet to directly face the Quantum Crew in the present, they will antagonize their descendants decades later.
- Cult: A so-called religious organization that funds orphanages and uses the children for criminal purposes.
- The Ghost: None of the official members have appeared in the story, but their grim presence is acknowledged by the Crew.
- Psycho for Hire: The Live Hard and Die Free Arc reveals that several of the Society's subordinates were hired to organize the hostage situation that would drive Tsurugi to despair. And if that wasn't enough, it's speculated that Junko would hire them to murder two Class 78-A students so she and Mukuro can take their places.
- Would Hurt a Child: Their mode of operations involve taking in orphans and grooming them to be perfect killing machines. One of which would be Maki Harukawa who will one day become the Ultimate Assassin.
