Danganronpa — Monokuma / Characters

Monokuma

Voiced by: Nobuyo Ōyama (Japanese, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc-Ultra Despair Girls), TARAKO (Japanese, Danganronpa The Stage 2016-2024) , Brian Beacock (game), Greg Ayres (anime) (English)

"I'm not a teddy bear! I...am...Monokuma! And I am this school's headmaster!"

Appearances: Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc | Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls | Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School | Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

The self-proclaimed headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy and series antagonist. He's very eager to see society's biggest hopefuls start killing each other, so he heaps psychological torture on the students at every turn. He is in love with despair and wants nothing but to see the entire world engulfed in it. There's actually more than one Monokuma: he's a series of highly-advanced robots, and can be instantly replaced if destroyed.

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In General

Absence of Evidence: All information in the Monokuma Files is truthful, but since Monokuma has a vested interest in screwing with investigators, it's usually the things he didn't put in the files that are the important part — for example, he fails to list the time of Ishimaru, Hifumi, and Mukuro's deaths when the fact that they weren't killed when everyone thought they were was a major component of the culprits' plan (Celeste wanted to prop up her false timeline, and Junko wanted everyone to think there was a murder). Chiaki directly calls him out on it in the trial about Nagito's death, noting that the fact that the file didn't state the cause of death meant that it probably wasn't the stab wounds — if it have been so obvious, he wouldn't have bothered to leave it out.
Action Bomb: If Monokuma is damaged, he'll explode. That's not the only way he can protect himself, either...
Actually Four Mooks: One of Monokuma's more clever tricks is making the students think he's just one individual that can randomly appear anywhere and only has more of himself as backup bodies. It's revealed during the final investigation that there are actually multiple active Monokumas at once that the Mastermind can simply deploy almost anywhere in the school.
Author Avatar: In-Universe, Monokuma is one for Junko Enoshima, being her mascot and the one she speaks through during the first two games. They act exactly the same way, all things considered, except Monokuma hides how Ax-Crazy Junko really is and doesn't capture her true level of madness; Monokuma's sociopathy is actually Played for Laughs, while Junko's is absolutely not.
Big Bad: Of the series as the host of all the Mutual Killing Games.
Bears Are Bad News: Considering he's a bear, and is the only true consistency throughout the franchise, you better believe it! He even throws out a bunch of bear puns late in Trigger Happy Havoc while negotiating with Kyoko.
Break Them by Talking: Monokuma continually uses this to keep driving his students to further despair, picking at any weaknesses he can find and trying to push the blame for the murders onto them.
Cloudcuckoolander: Particularly during the Monokuma Theater segments, Monokuma tends to say a lot of bizarre things. It's almost disarming until you remember that he's trying to convince a bunch of teenagers to kill each other.
Comedic Sociopathy: Monokuma's Kick the Dog moments are Played for Laughs pretty much all the time.
The Corrupter: The point of his dispensing of "motives" at the start of each chapter is to drive one of the students to murder another.
Covert Pervert: He'll accuse the students of having dirty motives in the most inappropriate situations and go into way too much detail about his suspicions. At times he even seems to be egging them on, which is really creepy considering that there are cameras everywhere.
Dissonant Serenity: They normally sound rather lighthearted about all the despair they want the students to suffer. If you are familiar with his Japanese voice actress it gets even worse; see the "Trivia" tab for details.
The Dreaded: His role as a harbinger of despair strikes fear in others when he appears, as everyone knows that him popping up out of nowhere is pretty much a prophecy that people shall suffer by his command.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: If he thinks something is funny you don't want to know and if he has a joke in store for you then you're basically doomed.
Evil Is Hammy: Despite his small stature, his presence is grandiose. He speaks with a theatrical cadence and is prone to making large gestures (well, as large as his little body will allow).
Evil Is Petty: While trapping a bunch of teenager in a killing game for the sole purpose of making them fall into despair is already very evil, Monokuma always takes time to also throw a comparatively insignificant but still unpleasant Kick the Dog moment just to be a dick.
Evil Laugh: Japanese: "Upupupu...Daaahahaha!!" English:"Puhuhuhu...Ah-hahahaha!!"
Evil Principal: He calls himself the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy (and in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, of Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles), and since there are no adults present, he effectively is one. Maintaining a friendly and comedic demeanor, he blackmails students into killing each other and isn't above getting his hands dirty when threatened. For the majority of the game, one of the ongoing mysteries is if the Killer Game Master and the school's real headmaster are the same person. They are not, though Jin Kirigiri played a role in Junko's rise as the Steering Committee forced him to let her get away with murder.
The Executioner: Monokuma is an example of a Psychopath Executioner. He is responsible for executing the students who have been found guilty of killing another student or that have broken his rules. He outright loves having the chance of executing someone.
Fair-Play Villain: Monokuma prides himself on always following the rules, because he knows that if he doesn't, the students won't either. When he does resort to outright rulebreaking (framing Sakura's suicide as due to despair and framing Kyoko in THH and framing Kaede for Rantaro's murder in V3), it's pointed out as a sign that he's getting really desperate and the game is breaking up on him. And even then, he'll allow a retrial if confronted with his lies on the grounds that the audience wouldn't be satisfied with the false verdict.
Faux Affably Evil: He speaks in a very easygoing manner (but still refers to the students very rudely), makes a lot of puns, and generally acts like an obnoxiously saccharine principal. It just underscores how incredibly screwed-up his entire game is.
The Gadfly: Villainous example. Monokuma frequently mocks the killing game participants in every game so he can shift the blame for the suffering he causes onto the students so he doesn't have to take responsibility for anything he does.
Giggling Villain: His trademark.
Good Colors, Evil Colors: His right side is white and looks generally harmless, while the left one is black and features an evil-looking red eye and a Slasher Smile. Of course, Monokuma is a bastard through and through, so this is instead used symbolically regarding the 8-bit sequences before an execution in the first game.
Hanging Judge: If you kill somebody, regardless of mental state or circumstances, then he executes you. End of story. Mondo is executed in the first game despite his crime being manslaughter instead of murder, and Chiaki gets executed despite the victim having manipulated her into doing it and having no more responsibility for the death than, say, a train operator who has someone throw themselves in front of his train to commit suicide.
Jerkass: A part of the point in being as annoying as he tries to be.
Indirect Serial Killer: He only kills people directly via executions, and prefers to manipulate other people to kill for the sake of entertaining himself via the killing game.
Kick the Dog: Almost everything he does.
Killer Teddy Bear: A killer, robotic, exploding teddy bear that tries to drive people to murder.
Laughably Evil: Evil bastard for sure, but equally hilarious, which is a major reason why he's so well liked by viewers.
Leitmotif: "Mr. Monokuma's Lesson" and "Mr. Monokuma's Extracurricular Lesson". Notably, "Mr. Monokuma's Lesson" and many of the Execution Soundtracks (which Monokuma carries out) feature a sample of West African chant "O'She Baba", making this something of a secondary leitmotif for him.
Mascot's Name Goes Unchanged: Monokuma's name is left untranslated in official English releases, in spite of having a fairly clear English alternative ("Monobear"). This was at the request of Spike Chunsoft, the game's original developers, to preserve the name's similarity to the word "monochrome."
Mascot Villain: The central figure frequently unifying the franchise, and probably the character with the most merchandise of anyone. He likes to Lampshade his own status as the Series Mascot quite a bit as well. He's also this in-universe, seeing as he's a character who was created by Junko to serve as the mascot of Ultimate Despair.
Moral Myopia: Always blames the students for killing each other in the first place rather than on himself driving them to do it; it's practically tradition throughout the series. His creator, Junko, does not do this, however, though she outwardly seems willing to pass the blame like her avatar.
Narcissist: While it's a little hard to tell if he's deliberately putting this act on to be funny, he otherwise lives and breathes his own fumes. He constantly talks about his own personality and lore (frequently going into Blatant Lies but that's another subject), and loves to remodel parts of the world into his own aesthetic. He also frequently acts like the students adore him in spite of his malicious games, though this is almost certainly just a bit.
Pragmatic Villainy: He abides by the rules of the Killing Games he oversees because he wants the students to kill each other to properly drive them to despair. If he just started cheating willy-nilly, the students wouldn't bother to play his game either and focus all their efforts on defeating him. TTH and V3 even have him being convinced to allow a retrial when the protagonists argue that a previous trial broke his rules. Indeed, when he starts cheating in Trigger Happy Havoc (by planting a fake suicide note and framing Kyoko), it's a sign that the Mastermind is getting desperate and the students rally against him.
Punny Name: His name is a combination of "monochrome" ("monokuroomu") and "bear" ("kuma") in Japanese.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Invoked with the red eye on his black half with the Slasher Smile.
Robotic Psychopath: Zig-Zagged. In the first two games, while he's still an AI, he's used as Junko's mouthpiece, essentially meaning that Junko is Monokuma. However, the end of the first game reveals the Junko AI was inside Monokuma the entire time in the event that Junko died, making it ambiguous as to whether Junko or the AI is really controlling him. In the second game, he's a virus, and in the third game, he's an AI robot completely independent from Junko.
Samus Is a Girl: Despite the Monokuma mascot being male, his controller is iconically the female Junko Enoshima, in the first and second game.
Sealed Evil in a Teddy Bear: Of course; this is Monokuma we're talking about, after all.
Series Mascot: Even with a new school and different cast, it's just not Danganronpa without Monokuma.
Signature Laugh: Upupupupu... The game's official dub turns this into a slightly-less awkward sounding "puhuhuhu" while the anime's dub converts it to a more cartoonish "nyuknyuknyuk."
Slasher Smile: The left side of his face, which would be the right side when you look at him.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: He speaks with the goofy voice of a cartoon character and describes ways the students can kill each other in visceral detail.
Torture Technician: See the execution methods he chooses to use.
Trademark Favorite Food: Following the anime having him occasionally carrying one around as a prop, salmon has been associated with him more and more.
Villain-Based Franchise: As mentioned, his presence is the only true constant so far since he is always the one who starts the killing games.
Vocal Dissonance: His voice sounds like something from a children's show, which fits with his design but makes his role as the antagonist much more weird and unsettling.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Monokuma

The Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy

Monokuma makes his debut as the host of the first Mutual Killing Game and self-proclaimed Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. He imprisons Makoto and the other students in the school and demands they start killing each other for his amusement, and only the one who gets away with murder will be allowed to leave. He states that he's actually bound by the rules like everyone else, but he's willing to bend them for his own benefit to try to get rid of Kyoko, by setting up a sham trial regarding the murder of Mukuro Ikusaba. When that doesn't work, Kyoko gets him to allow the students to redo of the trial. During the final trial, the true mastermind behind Monokuma is revealed—Junko Enoshima. He's destroyed during her execution, but reawakens in The Stinger.

Angrish: After Kyoko and Makoto force him into a final trial in Chapter 6, he shows up in the Dining Hall only to speak in random letters and symbols, as if Junko is mashing on the keyboard.
Apple of Discord: A favorite tool of his to throw at the group, particularly in Chapter 4 when everyone is fighting because Sakura turned out to be The Mole.
Big Bad: By extension, since he's Junko's robot avatar who runs the Mutual Killing Game and Hope's Peak Academy.
Big Brother Is Watching: And he uses this to seemingly teleport. Sweet dreams!
Disc-One Final Boss: He is really just a proxy for the real mastermind: Junko Enoshima, and is also one of the personalities that she can take on a whim. You also have to beat him in two Bullet Time Battles before you face Junko herself.
Dub Name Change: The Let's Play refers to him as "Monobear".^noteKuma means bear The localization chooses to keep his name as Monokuma instead to stay closer to the "Monochrome" pun (due to a special request from Spike Chunsoft).
Emoticon: Monokuma learns how to speak in these prior to Chapter 4's Class Trial. He never does so again.
Establishing Character Moment: Monokuma is introduced laughing after he kills a captive in the outlandish "Blast Off!" sequence, establishing him as a sadist who kills in an elaborate way.
Exact Words: Loves using this, claiming that he never ever lies. By the end of the game, he starts lying regularly and abandons this.
Eye Awaken: In The Stinger.
Foreshadowing: At the end of the first trial, he comments that he knows all about those crazy people in show business.
Horrifying the Horror: In The Animation, even he's visibly frightened by Celeste's Villainous Breakdown.
I'm a Humanitarian: Does this with the Mondo butter after his execution.
Insane Troll Logic: His claims that he isn't at all morally responsible for any murders that occur (logically dubious from the start) cross into pure insanity when he says at the end of the Chapter 4 trial that leaving a fake suicide note next to the scene of a crime (turns out it was indeed a suicide, but not for the reasons Monokuma's fake note implied) doesn't qualify as planting false evidence or misleading anyone trying to find the killer. It's worth pointing out that this is the point, since Monokuma interfering in crime scenes is a sign that the Mastermind is getting desperate.
Klingon Promotion: He executes the true headmaster in the prologue to take over Hope's Peak Academy.
Medium Awareness: In some of his lines.
"The story of the murder this time... is the sad story of two men. Oh, but for anyone who doesn't really wanna hear it, you can hit the O button to fast-forward the text!"
Meta Guy: The source of most fourth-wall breakage — in addition to the above line, he censors a particularly explicit bit of dialogue in order to preserve the game's rating. Then there's the School Mode, where he has the students build backup versions of himself because he both explodes in the prologue and has them dissect him in Chapter 5. Then there's the ending, where Usami comes to life and he freaks out, saying she isn't supposed to appear now and that the timeline will be ruined by her appearance — and, after their fight, remarks "This wasn't supposed to happen until the sequel..."
Metaphorically True: Monokuma insists he never lies, relying on this and Exact Words frequently. This breaks down completely in Chapter 5, when he lies outright about either Kyoko or Makoto being responsible for the murder of Mukuro Ikusaba. If she survives, Kyoko uses this against him.
Mouth of Sauron: Of Junko, specifically.
Never My Fault: No student is ever able to call him out on his insanity without him finding a way to turn it back on them in some way.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When Monokuma reads Sakura's suicide note to the students, he does so with the intent to instill more despair and to create a new motive for a murder, but it backfires on him, as it instead instills the surviving students with the determination to no longer turn their angers on each other.
The Nicknamer: Some translations turn him into this.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- He loves to insist that the students are the real villains: according to his logic, if they just quietly lived out the rest of their lives in their Gilded Cage and didn't try to 'graduate', then nobody would get hurt. And when they solve the trials, aren't they only doing so to protect their own measly lives...? Like everything else Monokuma says, it's technically true because he's relying on an extremely narrow concept of what it means to be responsible for one's actions. The logic behind that speech is that if you make a choice to cause someone's death (by killing someone or convicting a murderer so he/she will be executed) and you had another option available, you're responsible for that person's death. What he leaves out is that a) the school is still a prison no matter how comfy, and b) if murders don't occur, he'll change the situation until they do. His 'motives' are specifically calculated to push certain students over the breaking point, and he can and will bend the truth to ensure this. Junko even had to erase the students' school memories because she knew none of them would ever kill their friends, and her Awesomeness by Analysis meant that she knew beforehand what each student's breaking point was.
  Monokuma: What happened, happened because more than one of you decided you wanted to get out, right? No matter how much time passes, you can't cut free of your regrets from the outside world. You're to blame!
- Subverted in the fourth class trial. Monokuma gives a nasty one to Aoi, but Makoto correctly points out that Aoi's behavior was due to a fake suicide note Monokuma wrote, and their fellow survivors decide they were wrong to be angry at Makoto in the first place. They all decide to rally behind Aoi so they can all take Monokuma down.
Revenge: He exposes Sakura as The Mole in Chapter 4 as vengeance for her resisting his control over her as means to cause discord among the remaining students.
Rules Lawyer: And he states that he's actually bound by the rules as well. When he tries to bend the rules for his own benefit in Chapter 5, Kyoko uses this against him so that the students can redo the trial regarding who murdered Mukuro.
Sissy Villain: Seemingly the intent behind his mannerisms and high-pitched voice. It makes sense upon finding out that he's controlled by a teenage girl.
Stronger Than They Look: Despite being rather plump and having stubby legs and arms, he can go head to head with Sakura and injure her. This is made even more terrifying by the fact there's lots of him and that he has full control of the school's security systems.
Villainous Breakdown: One that can be seen toward the end of the fifth class trial, and is entirely present during the sixth class trial. In the former, he rigs the case with misinformation and imposes a sudden time limit on it, while in the latter, he childishly yells to shut Makoto up and pauses for long lengths of time when the students have him figured out.
Villain Teleportation: He seems able to appear anywhere in the school at any time. Ultimately a Subverted Trope however, as Asahina and Makoto's digging around the Data Center and Monokuma Room in the final investigation reveals that his "teleportation" is actually more of the Mastermind watching the cameras for an opportunity and then deploying one of the multiple Monokumas throughout the school.
Will Not Tell a Lie: Technically he doesn't lie, although he heavily abuses Exact Words and often withholds information. When he starts lying in the 5th and 6th Trials, it is a telltale sign that things aren't going so hot for him.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Crossed with Xanatos Gambit. Junko plays up Monokuma's freakout over his 'true self' (her) being exposed in chapter 6 to get the students more determined to find her out, because while she would've liked the killing game to continue to the bitter end, she also knows that if she encourages the students to find out the school's mysteries and escape on their own, she gets to spring the Awful Truth of the Tragedy she caused to bring them even more despair.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Monokuma

"Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy"

The self-proclaimed "Headmaster of Despair Academy," who is Back from the Dead. Monokuma is very eager to see society's biggest hopefuls start killing each other once more, so he hijacks Usami's "field trip," mutilates her into his "little sister" Monomi, and imposes the "School Life of Mutual Killing" rules on the Jabberwock archipelago—thus initiating the "Killing School Trip." In reality, he is once again the puppet of Junko Enoshima, who hijacked the observer position in the New World Program from Usami.

All Crimes Are Equal: Upon hearing that someone might have broken the rules by changing clothes in the beach house shower room (which no one actually did), Monokuma quickly shows up on the scene toting a machine gun.
Artificial Intelligence: He's a virtual AI rather than a series of robots like he was in the first game.
Big Bad Ensemble: He's back to antagonize a group of students yet again by taking over Jabberwock Island and forcing the new students into the second Mutual Killing Game, but Nagito Komaeda and Izuru Kamukura have their own plans which threaten him as much as the other students.
Big Brother Is Watching: Much like in the first game. Only this time, his surveillance extends beyond the security cameras. Makes sense once he reveals that "he" is an AI of Junko who took his form for most of the game and hijacked the "observer" role in the program from Usami.
Body Backup Drive: Monokuma can't be killed because he has a lot of these. When Monomi tries to finally eliminate him by repeatedly self-destructing, he claims to have 10^60 copies.
…But He Sounds Handsome: In Chapter 6, while the students are investigating the deconstructing virtual Hope's Peak Academy, Monokuma tells them about Junko... while singing his praises and calling her "Lady Junko Enoshima". We eventually find out that Monokuma was also Junko and she was actually praising herself.
Curb-Stomp Battle: How he usurps Usami's position. He shows up and beats Usami in a fight by breaking Usami's magical staff so she's powerless against him, and then uses a friggin' giant robot with a machine gun to repeatedly shoot Usami into defeat.
Darker and Edgier: Instead of just psychologically abusing the players of the killing game, this time around Monokuma actively tries to get them to kill each other, all so Junko can have more bodies to possess. In Chapter 4, he even outright tortures the students through starvation until they commit a murder. Justified in that the killing game only has a limited timer due to it taking place within the temporary Neo World Program, so the killing game couldn't go on as long as possible and Monokuma has to give stronger motivations for the students to commit a murder.
Depraved Bisexual: He aims perverted comments and jokes at boys and girls alike. He's also clearly a sadistic sociopath.
Dub Name Change: As before, the LP calls him Monobear.
Faux Affably Evil: As before. He acts like a humorous "teacher" to the students, but his end goal is still to watch them kill each other.
Genghis Gambit: During the Killing School Trip, he sets up Chiaki Nanami and Monomi, who are actually in a Big Good Triumvirate with Makoto Naegi, as the students' enemies so that the Remnants of Despair will distrust each other easier and therefore kill each other quicker too. The end result is Nagito trying to kill the remaining students in Chapter 5 by setting Chiaki up as a killer when he discovers the students' true identities, as Nagito's intends for his luck to spare Chiaki as the "traitor", what with he himself believing that Chiaki is a traitor at all because of Monokuma manipulating him into thinking such.
Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue": In "Wizard of Monomi", Monokuma cons old people out of their money, and kills expies of The Wizard of Oz cast with Monomi's likeness.
Hypocritical Humor:
- He claims that younger siblings who are smarter than their older siblings only exist in fiction, as another excuse to put down Monomi. In the previous game, Junko described herself as the genius little sister who dominated her older twin.
- During his comedy routine, he claims "only a total hack would wait until the end of the story to reveal a cliched twist" like the fact that all of the students had actually gone to Hope's Peak Academy before getting their memories wiped. Of course, such a cliched twist was one of the major plot twists Junko unveiled at the end of the first game.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: This version of Monokuma adheres strictly to the rules and ensures they always are enforced, down to actually saving characters when their death would go against them (as seen with both Fuyuhiko and Nekomaru), making you think he does have standards to an extent, albeit twisted ones. Comes the final trial, however, it's revealed he was adhering to these rules only because the programming of the Island left him unable to delete them or go against them, and the death game was a Loophole Abuse to get around that problem; if not for this restriction, he would have gladly killed them all right away.
Kick the Dog: Like in the first game, he frequently indulges in this, particularly mocking murdered or executed students.
Knight of Cerebus: Minor example since it happens early. At the beginning of Super Dangan Ronpa 2, the students are led to the island because Usami is taking them on a "class trip" to help them develop their friendships, complete with things to collect to make the "game" complete. Then Monokuma shows up and sends everything straight to hell, back to the "murder" format because he thinks Usami's game is boring.
Leitmotif: Mr. Monokuma's Lesson, yet again.
Meta Guy: True to form. He consistently refers to the simulation the main cast find themselves in as a "game", and at one point he says that even if bringing them back to Hope's Peak Academy probably won't invoke any nostalgic feelings in them, he is still sure that someone is feeling nostalgic right now.
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Parodied with his "Doctor Killgood" persona.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- Trapping the students in the Funhouse so he can kill them all through starvation all at once, since they're unwilling members of Junko's Ultimate Despair cult and she's trying to usurp their avatars, leads to Gundham and Nekomaru's Suicide Pact, which in turn ends up uniting the students against the mastermind when Gundham is exposed as the case's culprit and he gives them the encouragement to keep living. Downplayed in that Monokuma manipulated Nagito to commit his Suicide by Cop to kill the remaining students in Chapter 5 just after Gundham had completed the murder, however.
- It only appears in the sequel's culmination and is very subtle, but with him starting and controlling the Killing Game for the Ultimate Despairs, and then expositioning the possibly fatal exact function of the Neo World Program's hard reset in the final trial as Junko Enoshima, he unintentionally causes events that give Hajime Hinata the Heroic BSoD to make for everyone involved in the Killing Game the decision to create their own future instead of succumb to Junko Enoshima's manipulation and causing a "Junko Utopia".
The Omnipotent: More than ever before, Monokuma knows all, sees all, and is capable of doing almost anything he wants, even bending reality at times. Defying his will is a futile effort.
Rules Lawyer: Because he took over Usami's observer role in the simulation, he is bound to the same rules as her. He can introduce new rules, but he can't change existing ones. This screws him over at two major turning points:
- The rules force him to save Fuyuhiko's life in Chapter 2 because the rules state that only the blackened can be punished. After this, Fuyuhiko undergoes a complete Heel–Face Turn, becoming one of the most proactive students in solving the murders and trying to protect the others, and he ultimately survives the killing game.
- The rule about having a maximum of 2 murders at a time also prevents him from assisting Nagito's plan to kill everyone except for Chiaki (which, if Nagito had succeeded, would have meant Junko could take over all the students's bodies and easily destroy the world's remaining hope), which leads to Chiaki pulling a Heroic Sacrifice and ensuring that the five remaining students survive the killing game, causing Hajime being able to stand up to and stop Junko in the final trial.
Series Mascot: And the villain of the story.
Something Only They Would Say: In Chapter 6, Monokuma describes the true Ultimate Despair in the exact same way that the Ultimate Despair describes herself during the finale of the first game. He also describes the recruited Ultimate Despairs as if they're being manipulated and used, as if Monokuma is not one of them.
Stealth Hi/Bye: As usual, he can appear and disappear at random, spontaneous times.
Temporary Bulk Change: When Fuyuhiko's late to one of the trials, Monokuma is so angry that he hulks out◊.
Took a Level in Badass: Due to Jabberwock Island being a simulation, Monokuma has a variety of abilities that would normally be impossible. In addition, due to only being restricted by what he can cook up in the simulator and not by the limited resources he had in Hope's Peak back in the first game, he's much more creative and over the top with his executions.
Unreliable Narrator: The Monokuma Archive in Chapter 4 has a shelf that suggests Monokuma was once a rapper and honest salaryman among other things before becoming the bear we know. The legitimacy of the archive is questionable at best.
Villain Respect: The fourth chapter features a statue of Sakura Ogami, referred to as an orge. Sakura's decision to commit Heroic Suicide started the downward spiral of his and Junko's plans in the first game, and as such she has been immortalized.
Villains Out Shopping: He frequently goofs off at times in between murder cases occurring, especially for antics with Monomi. This is particularly true on the fourth island at the amusement park before he locks everyone up in the funhouse to possibly starve to death.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School

Monokuma

The self-proclaimed "Headmaster of Despair Academy," Back from the Dead. Again.

...Or at least, that's what everyone thought. In truth, Monokuma actually isn't involved in this killing game in any capacity whatsoever; his likeness was only used by Tengan as part of a False Flag Operation to get Ryota to start using his brainwashing anime.

Arch-Enemy: To Makoto. He especially calls out Makoto in the first episode of Side:Future saying this battle will be the end to their story.
As Long as There Is Evil: "As long as there's despair in people's hearts... Monokuma will always come back!"
- This is actually Foreshadowing of the mastermind, Tengan's true motivations, as he believes the Remnants of Depair will never truly be defeated until people are incapable of feeling despair.
Big Bad: Once again, the scourge of anyone associated with Hope's Peak, and this time traps the members of the Future Foundation into a final killing game. Until it's revealed that he's actually a recording made by Tengan and was never really back at all.
Demoted to Extra: Hit with this hard thanks to Side:Future having a radically different set-up. As of Episode 4, his appearances have been limited to playing Mr. Exposition at the beginning and providing the recap. His appearance is actually a False Flag Operation created by Tengan to force Ryota to use his latest anime to brainwash the masses into not feeling despair anymore.
Orcus on His Throne: Compared to the previous installments in the franchise, Monokuma isn't physically present in the killing game in Side: Future. In Episode 11, he is actually revealed to be just a recording created by Tengan.
Sealed Evil in a Teddy Bear: It's Monokuma, what did you expect?
The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Possibly when he first appeared (how else did he "hack" Usami?), attempted before the Gloomy Sunday video play.
Unreliable Expositor: As always, Monokuma lies. The first one exposed is that the Final Killing Game is even being broadcast.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Monokuma

The Headmaster of Gifted Inmates Academy

"I am the god of this new world...and the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy! The one, the only...Monokuma!"

The self-proclaimed headmaster of Gifted Inmates Academy. He's very eager to see society's biggest hopefuls start killing each other, so he heaps psychological torture on the students at every turn.

Abusive Parents: He's not all that loving towards the Monokubs, treating them as expendable and even viewing them as inferior because he claims that unlike him, they can't be replicated (this claim is proven false when they're all brought Back from the Dead before Kaito's execution.) He's even worse during the final trial, placing bombs in them and threatening to press a button that causes the bomb to detonate if they either piss him off or get too off-track. As their numbers start to thin, he gets more and more impatient, ultimately leading to them begging for their lives. He destroys them anyway. To be fair, they of course aren't really his children since they're robots.
Attention Whore: Implied to be one given how he was jealous towards a certain famous hedgehog.
Monokuma: "Just like that hedgehog who loses all his rings whenever he crashes into stuff... I... I hate that guy and his worldwide fame and his stupid games and... I! Hate! That! Hedgehog!"
Berserk Button: Anything related to Sonic the Hedgehog.
Big Bad Duumvirate: Still up to his usual tricks, driving a new class of students to murder, but he's working with the mastermind, Tsumugi Shirogane, as opposed to being controlled by them as usual. Surprisingly enough, this Monokuma bears no relation to the mastermind of the previous games, only being present due to being a symbol of the franchise.
Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: During class trials, Monokuma often acts as the Boke, with his Kubs acting as his Tsukkomis.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: While just as sadistic and evil as other iteration of Monokuma, this one has a few key differences: for once, it's a fully autonomous AI instead of being another one of Junko's personas, and he's less interested in spreading despair as he is maintaining his status as the Mascot Villain of Danganronpa.
Disney Death: During chapter 1, he pulls one over on everyone by convincing his children he, too, doesn't have any backups after being crushed by their Humongous Mecha. He commits to the joke for a full day.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- He feels bad for Ryoma for having nobody in the world important to him.
- Even he finds Korekiyo's motive to kill Angie and Tenko, as well as his Brother–Sister Incest, to be disgusting.
- During the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, the only student willing to attend his and Monomi's talk show is Junko and he refuses her, saying she's too crazy even for him.
Guest-Star Party Member: He decides to contribute to the discussion in Chapter 5, as he has no idea who the culprit is.
Monokuma: "...Monokuma joins your party."
He's Back!: After being regulated to not appearing at all, only being a template for the Mooks in Ultra Despair Girls and technically having nothing to do with the Final Killing Game at all, Monokuma finally returns to his traditional position as the primary antagonist.
Hypocritical Humor: He's disgusted over Korekiyo's relationship with his sister. However, he seems to allow it when an amnesic Monotaro starts a relationship with Monophanie.
Killed Off for Real: He's killed alongside Tsumugi when the rubble of the academy falls on top of them at the end of the game. With Motherkuma destroyed and the in-universe Danganronpa franchise at an end, it seems to be the true end of this iteration of the monochrome bear.
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: A lot of Monokuma's humor this time around comes from leaning on the fourth wall and making comments relating to the franchise, his status as a mascot and referencing past games - while the player will likely just assume these are Monokuma's usual nonsequiturs, it turns out that no, he is actually winking at the actual, in-universe audience of the 'fictional' killing game he's presenting.
Motive Decay: Not that inflicting despair upon the world is a particularly noble motive, but it's more romantic than this Monokuma's true goal of keeping his high-paying job.
Overly-Long Tongue: Yes, Monokuma has a tongue now. Yes, it's very disturbing. Especially when he starts licking things.
Parental Obliviousness: He's not exactly a great father. Monokuma neglects to watch over his kids, which seems to be a factor to all five of them getting destroyed during each execution.
Sarcastic Confession: Before the Chapter 2 trial, when Kokichi and Kirumi suggest that the killing game is being shown to the people outside, Monokuma says that the 13 remaining students are the only ones left in the world. Subverted in that this is only true within the "Truman Show" Plot.
Sore Loser: By the end of the final trial, he keeps bringing in incredibly easy minigames on Shuichi so that he can continue the killing game. After Shuichi states that he won't continue the killing game, doing so only makes Monokuma look like he won't give up and accept his defeat.
Villain-Based Franchise: The reason he managed to return is because he's one of the main aspects of the Danganronpa franchise. He even lampshades it in the final trial:
Monokuma: Danganronpa! You noticed way too late, there's no Danganronpa without Monokuma! Since I'm here, that means this is Danganronpa!
Villainous Breakdown: Late in the game, Monokuma goes through some legitimate ones.
- When Kokichi's plan to create a murder that Monokuma himself was unable to solve was successful, Monokuma seems visibly distressed and completely drops his usual mocking tone when questioned about it.
- Kaito keeping true to his word of dying on his own terms instead of dying to his execution left Monokuma seething. Downplayed, and soon implied to be subverted, when it's revealed that Kaito didn't really die on his own terms, since his illness was personally given to him as part of his character by the mastermind, Tsumugi.
- Then in the finale, when Shuichi and the others have decided to abstain from voting, Monokuma repeatedly forces incredibly easy minigames on Shuichi in a desperate attempt to get him to side with hope so the franchise can continue. He gets increasingly frustrated as Shuichi refuses to play along.
- In a more humorous and ultimately subverted example, at the start of Chapter 3 after Monodam says that he's taking over the show, Monokuma blows his coat and just stands there staring into the distance. He stays like this until a murder is committed, but then appears out of nowhere and reveals it was a dummy and he was just taking a vacation.
Vocal Evolution: In the English dub, anyway; It's pretty evident that Brian Beacock's Monokuma voice has gotten a little rusty after so long — for a good portion of the game, he sounds less like the Monokuma of the previous games and more like an evil Mickey Mouse Expy, but eventually slips back into his normal cadence.

"Puhuhu!"

Characters / Danganronpa — Monokuma

Monokuma