Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.

It's virtually impossible to list tropes for this game without spoiling everything or creating Self-Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of twists and Murder Mystery-related tropes it contains.

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Students:

Shared Tropes

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/new_danganronpa_v3_09_20_16_001.png

From left to right: Korekiyo Shinguji, Angie Yonaga, Kirumi Tojo, Kokichi Oma, Tsumugi Shirogane, Keebo, Tenko Chabashira, Kaede Akamatsu, Kaito Momota, Maki Harukawa, Shuichi Saihara, Ryoma Hoshi, Rantaro Amami, Himiko Yumeno, Gonta Gokuhara, and Miu Iruma

All Love Is Unrequited: No romantic couples in the game really work out.
- Kaito and Maki come the closest, but before things can become official, Kaito gets executed.
- Tenko has an obvious crush on Himiko, who mostly ignores her and only really starts to take her seriously after Tenko dies saving her.
- There is a significant amount of Ship Tease between Keebo and Miu, and the two are seen together in later chapters (it helps that Keebo is Miu's Only Friend, at least barring the Free Time Events). In addition, if Shuichi completes his Free Time Events with her, Miu falls in love with Shuichi and arranges a date with him should they escape the Academy. Before anything develops further, Miu gets killed off.
And Now for Someone Completely Different: After Kaede is seemingly revealed as the blackened in the first trial, Saihara takes over as the main character. Then, during the final class trial, Keebo, Himiko, and Maki all become temporary playable characters.
Ascended Fanboy: They were all huge fans of Danganronpa who supposedly auditioned for the show, and were willing to give up their lives for it.
Attention Whore: While it's indicated that all of them signed up for the game out of love for the Danganronpa franchise, Kaito's audition video proves that at least some of them came for the fame and fortune.
Breaking Old Trends: Unlike the previous two mainline games, this group of students did not know each other previously, they're not Older Than They Look, and none of them attended Hope's Peak Academy.
Color-Coded Characters:
- All of the playable characters in this game have their UI be changed into certain colors:
  - Kaede - Purple
  - Shuichi - Blue
  - Keebo - White
  - Himiko - Neon Blue
  - Maki - Red
- In addition, each character has a menu interface theme with their own color associated with it:
  - Shuichi Saihara - True Blue
  - Kaito Momota - Cosmic Violet
  - Ryoma Hoshi - Prison Navy
  - Rantarou Amami - Mysterious Lime
  - Korekiyo Shinguji - Folklore Brown
  - Gonta Gokuhara - Insect Green
  - Kokichi Oma - Supreme Purple
  - Keebo - Electric Blue
  - Kirumi Tojo - Bespoke Grey
  - Himiko Yumeno - Magical Turquoise
  - Maki Harukawa - Assassin Madder
  - Tenko Chabashira - Neo-Aikido Mint
  - Tsumugi Shirogane - Metamorphosis Azure
  - Angie Yonaga - Divine Yellow
  - Miu Iruma - Flash Magenta
  - Kaede Akamatsu - Rhythmic Pink
Clothing Damage: An odd example happens to a student every trial, as the "Argument Armament" segments features the person you are arguing against is shown in a symbolic outfit you gradually strip away which can leave them in suggestive states of undress. This happens with the murderers themselves in the first three trials, Kaito in the fourth, and Maki in the fifth. The last trial subverts this with Keebo's appearance, since technically he's never had any "clothing" to start with.
Death of Personality: According to the mastermind, exposure to a Flashback Light can't be undone, which means that the outsiders who entered the killing game and were transformed into Ultimate Students have no way to recover their previous identities.
"Aoi Asahina": Huh? I told you guys already. You can't get rid of memories with Flashback Lights.
"Kyoko Kirigiri": Flashback Lights can only override old memories with new ones.
Monokuma: But if you're absolutely serious, then use a Flashback Light to become a different fictional character instead.
Death Seeker: All of them tried to escape the Gopher Plan by throwing away their talent-related memories. Later Subverted when the final trial reveals the Gopher Plan was entirely fake.
Deconstruction: Many of the characters take a grim look at the archetypes they embody.
- Kaede deconstructs The Leader trope. When Monokuma threatens to kill everybody if a murder is not committed in 48 hours, she feels that she needs to lead the group and protect everybody. So, she sets a trap in order to kill the mastermind but the mastermind uses that trap to kill somebody else and successfully blame her for the crime.
- Shuichi deconstructs the Great Detective trope. As a detective, he has been primarily tasked with finding the truth even if the truth is so terrible that nobody wants to know it.
- Kokichi is a deconstruction of The Friend Nobody Likes trope. After none of the other students like or trust him and blame him for Gonta's death, he decides Then Let Me Be Evil. He also deconstructs the adorkable trope as he knows he is adorable and as a result, he manipulates others with Crocodile Tears.
- Maki deconstructs the Violently Protective Girlfriend trope. After Kokichi kidnaps Kaito, she attempts to rescue him and kill his kidnapper. However, after she tries to shoot Kokichi with a poison-tipped crossbow bolt, Kaito takes the shot instead, leading her to believe that she killed Kaito and making her a primary suspect in the fifth trial.
- Kaito deconstructs the Power of Friendship trope. In Chapter 4, the sole reason why he believes Gonta is not the killer is because of this, despite the mountain of evidence against him, which Kokichi even calls him out on.
- Rantaro deconstructs the Action Survivor trope. Because of the fact that he survived a previous killing game and wants to end this one, Team Danganronpa wants him dead. As a result, he loses his memories after the first Flashback Light transformation and becomes the first one to die.
- Ryoma deconstructs the Death Row trope. After killing mafia members, he was put on death row and because of that, he became quite suicidal, believing that his life was worth less than anyone.
- Korekiyo deconstructs the Knight Templar Big Brother trope to a terrifying degree. His obvious adoration for his older sister is first presented in his free times as being typically humanizing and "cute" since he talks about her in a way that hides the fact she's dead and the Death Glare he gives at being jokingly accused of being a "sister complex" type character is Played for Laughs. Then comes Chapter 3 and the cast learns just how much he "loves" his Sister, his obsession with her lead to him honestly believing he's been possessed by her spirit, and that he's killed nearly 100 women (and only women that he feels are "admirable" enough) just to give her ghost some "friends" so she won't be lonely.
Evil Duo: It was revealed that Tsumugi Shirogane is the Mastermind of the Killing Game and is working for Team Danganronpa. Keebo is revealed to be the Unwitting Pawn and first-person camera for the Danganronpa TV Show.
Fake Memories: All of them have their entire history, personality, and talent fabricated for the killing game. However, Shuichi questions the full extent of the memory manipulation and theorizes that their personalities may not have been fully altered.
Fighter, Mage, Thief: The three remaining survivors match these archetypes.
- Maki: Fighter— She is a strong, stoic Action Girl and the Ultimate Assassin with the most experience out of the group when it comes to killing people. Maki is physically the strongest and most athletic.
- Himiko: Mage— She is the Ultimate Magician and even prefers to be called the Ultimate Mage. Himiko is physically the weakest of the three.
- Shuichi: Thief — He is the Ultimate Detective and the problem-solver of the group that isn't above using trickery and lies to find the truth. Physically, Shuichi is quite squishier than Maki, though not as much as Himiko.
Foil: Has its own subpage.
Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The four main characters of the game can be fit into one of each category.
- Kokichi Ouma is The Cynic. He has a very hard time trusting people as he knows that somebody among the group is the Mastermind planning the killing game.
- Kaito Momota is The Optimist. He believes in The Power of Friendship and he is very big on trusting people, refusing to believe that certain people are the culprits in class trials. Even in the fourth trial where all the evidence points at Gonta being the culprit, he still votes for Ouma since he refuses to believe the truth.
- Shuichi Saihara is The Realist. Compared to the other students, he prefers not to jump to conclusions in class trials. For example, when Kokichi becomes a major suspect in the fourth and fifth cases, Shuichi is sure that he isn't the culprit. Later on, during the final trial, he decides not to side with hope nor despair, realizing that if he chose either one, the viewers would get their desired ending and the "Truman Show" Plot would continue.
- Maki Harukawa is The Apathetic. She is very aloof in the first two chapters, preferring to keep her distance from the other students and having trouble cooperating with others. Even after she Took a Level in Kindness, she goes against everybody else's wishes of rescuing Kaito in a non-lethal matter and attempts to kill Kokichi.
Freudian Trio: A major case can be made for Shuichi being the Ego, Kaito being the Id, and Kokichi (or Maki) being the Superego.
Gender-Equal Ensemble: As with the previous two games, we have eight males and eight females. Later played with in that Tenko and Shuichi question Keebo's gender (since he's a robot), but Keebo's "never thought about it before" and has no issues with being treated as a guy by the rest of the cast, and it's later revealed that Korekiyo has two personalities, one male and one female based on his sister that may involve a Gender Bender.
Iconic Item: Each of the students possess one as part of their Iconic Outfit, but this is highlighted particularly by the depiction of the culprit in the Closing Arguments of the first, second, fifth and sixth cases, where they wear Kaede's backpack, Kirumi's gloves, Kaito's coat and Tsumugi's glasses, respectively. This is done most likely because the items are essential on the crime or how to solve it (e.g Kaede hid the murder weapon in her backpack, a scrap of Kirumi's gloves is found at the crime scene).
Last of Their Kind: In the storyline for the 53rd season of Danganronpa, they're the last survivors of the human species following a meteor shower that destroyed the Earth.
The Lost Lenore: Both Maki and Shuichi each have a confirmed Love Interest, only for them to be killed off over the course of the game. Korekiyo and Ryoma also had their own before the killing games even started, though both may have been entirely made up by Team Danganronpa. Korekiyo's obsession with his dead sister is shown to be his motive for his murders both in the killing game and outside of it, while the murder of Ryoma's lover despite leaving her out of fear this would happen is part of what led him to kill the mafia responsible and landed him on death row.
Morality Kitchen Sink: Beyond the fact that all the students are allegedly huge fans of the In-Universe Danganronpa franchise and dreamed of being in a Deadly Game, which reeks of sociopathy and sadism, this game’s cast has arguably the most unambiguously evil students since Junko in Korekiyo, a Serial Killer with a sister complex that doesn’t seem to consider consent to be all that important if the bonus modes are to be believed, and Tsumugi, who gleefully accepted her role as the mastermind, successfully got away with murder by framing another student, and took pleasure in revealing that the students’ relationships and identities were all fabricated for the sake of entertainment. On the other hand, there’s Himiko, Keebo, and Shuichi, who are the only true Nice Guys. Despite Himiko’s laziness and Keebo not being human, all 3 of them display kindness towards their classmates. Throughout the killing school semester, they work together to get through the trials and end Danganronpa in chapter 6.
- Several students are clearly on the gray area morally by being a mix of good and evil, with Kokichi being the biggest example due to constantly wreaking havoc with his antics and even leading two characters to their demise, all in a paranoid attempt to end the killing game. Other notable characters are Maki, whose talent is literally being a professional murderer but is unintentionally good with kids and makes it clear that she didn’t want to have the life she currently has, Angie, who zealously brainwashes half the surviving cast into joining a cult in an attempt to make the Ultimate Academy safe, Tenko, an aggressive and airheaded aikido girl who hates “degenerate males”, Miu, who is a vulgar and arrogant failed murderer, but specifically targeted the most openly antagonistic character and her actions were only a desperate attempt to get back to a disastrous outside world that might have needed her inventions, Kirumi, a polite and noble maid with superb skills with a hidden determined side that motivated her to kill Ryoma to fulfill her duties and save her country, Ryoma himself being a cold, lonely, suicidal guy after murdering a mafia and being put on death row, but is overall a chill guy.
- Rantaro is generally neutral, as he’s just a relaxed, yet mysterious man who has some eerie tendencies but promises he isn’t a bad guy.
- Even some nicer students have darker sides, whether they are the product of a Dark and Troubled Past or not. Kaede and Kaito are two of the most proactive and optimistic characters in the game, and they end up being culprits. Sure, Kaede was framed by the mastermind after specifically targeting them, and Kaito only killed Kokichi to prevent Maki’s execution and because he felt his illness made his own impeding death inevitable, but they still had the will to kill, unlike the previous games’ Nice Guys. Then, the final trial seemingly reveals that prior to their brainwashing, Kaede was a cheerfully misanthropic cynic, while Kaito was a fame-hungry bully. On the other hand, Gonta is a sweet and strong young man who’s a friend to all creatures and genuinely trusts all his other classmates, even willing to take Kirumi’s punishment. However, he killed Miu with toilet paper and wanted to get the rest of the students killed as well, even if he wanted to save them from facing the outside world.
Power Trio: Out of everyone in the cast, Kaito and Maki help out Shuichi the most during the investigations and trials. At the end of the game, Himiko takes Kaito's place as the last one standing.
The Protagonist: Three characters are revealed to be as such in different ways:
- Kaede Akamatsu is the initial viewpoint character, and is treated as the protagonist by all promotional material. However, Kaede is actually a Decoy Protagonist who gets executed at the end of the first chapter, and the point of view passes on to Shuichi Saihara.
- Shuichi Saihara is introduced as a deuteragonist who would help Kaede during the killing game, but he becomes the true protagonist of the game after Kaede is executed in Chapter 1.
- Keebo was the first person revealed in the promo and was thought to be a protagonist until Kaede arrived, but then it took another turn when it was revealed she wasn't the real protagonist and the role was passed on to Shuichi. That is, until chapter 6, when Shuichi succumbs to the Despair Event Horizon and nearly causes the game itself to lead to a 'Bad End'. Once the player gets past this roadblock, the P.O.V is switched to that of Keebo's. It is eventually revealed that Keebo was actually the In-Universe protagonist of the Danganronpa Television Show, so in a way the pre-release promo art was right about him being the protagonist.
Ship Tease: Invoked. Tsumugi claims that Maki's love for Kaito was part of her character setting all along to help boost the show's ratings.
Teen Genius: Basically everyone, in one way or another. They are Ultimates for a reason. Though this gets subverted when in actuality, none of them originally had talents before becoming characters for the show. Only Rantaro's talent of Survivor actually applies to him, but it's similar to the Ultimate Lucky Student seat from the previous games where it's technically just a mark of circumstance (Rantaro already survived at least one killing game) as opposed to an indicator of talent.
Token Evil Teammate: Both genders have one genuinely evil student and one who can come across as such. For the guys Korekiyo Shinguji is the genuine threat while Kokichi Oma invokes the trope at every opportunity but isn't as malicious as he tries to present himself. The girls have Tsumugi Shirogane, the game's mastermind who breaks even her own rules, and Angie Yonaga who is just genuinely trying to help the others.
Tomato in the Mirror: A special case compared to other installments in the franchise, in that pretty much everyone bar Tsumugi and Rantaro (due to being a survivor of a previous game In-Universe) is an alternate identity given to them via the Flashback Light (or unwittingly The Mole like Keebo) while their true selves as Ordinary High-School Students in the prologue were completely erased.
Ungrateful Bastard: While it came at the expense of Rantaro (whom Tsumugi actually killed, not Kaede), the students care little that Kaede still saved the students from the time limit to getting mauled by Monokumas in Chapter 1 because they already accepted their fate. There are few exceptions, such as Gonta and Kirumi, but they generally don't care for Kaede's intentions.
Vague Age: As per usual for Danganronpa, it's hard to tell how old any of these high schoolers are meant to be, but it’s assumed they are between 16 and 18. The sole exception is Ryoma, as international law requires you to be at least 18 when you commit a capital crime in order to get the death sentence.

Antagonists:

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!"

Voiced by: TARAKO (Japanese) Brian Beacock (English)

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.

See his page for more info

The Mastermind

Team Danganronpa

The Producers of the killing game. Despite playing the mastermind role for the show, Tsumugi isn't really in charge — she's just another staff member of the Danganronpa Producers, the creative team behind the reality TV show that Danganronpa exists as in this game.

They are the ones who took the students and brainwashed them into becoming completely different from their base personalities and setting up the killing game. They never appear, but their presence is made known for the first time at the Chapter 6 Trial.

Chekhov's Gunman: Their logo appears in the game's opening video. First-time players will likely assume that it's simply the name of a development team within Spike Chunsoft. Only at the very end they're revealed to have been an in-universe entity all along.
The Conscience: Via the audience's interactive poll survey, they are the "Inner Voice" of Keebo throughout the game.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: They have the ability to implant memories and talents into people, and created Keebo, a (relatively) lightweight and highly advanced robot with strong AI, but there's no indication these things are used for anything but a TV show. Though according to Tsumugi, there's no need because the world is too peaceful.
Evil, Inc.: One of the twists is that the current Mutual Killing Games were set up by a media company dedicated to replicating the fictional-in-this-universe Danganronpa games into an actual Sadistic Game Show for a viewing audience, and are willing to brainwash and pit students against each other in a death competition just to entertain a bored public. But it's okay; the kids signed a waiver.
The Ghost: They never make an onscreen appearance throughout the game, despite the last portion of the final trial revolving around their existence.
Greater-Scope Villain: They are the ones who made every character the way they are in the present. They're also responsible for the Danganronpa TV Show existing in the first place and will do anything to keeping it afloat.
Hate Sink: From what can be told of their characterization, the viewers are not supposed to like the real villains behind the Danganronpa franchise In-Universe. With little characterization beyond "wanting to continue the killing game for the sake of sadistic pleasure", they are clearly supposed to be hated, and unlike Junko Enoshima who has a similar mindset, Team Danganronpa have no self-justification or comedic characterization, and easily make enemies with their own participants once the truth is exposed.
Hoist by His Own Petard: They put Kokichi, Shuichi, and Keebo on the 53rd season of Danganronpa. All three of those men contributed to ending the show.
- Kokichi ended up leaving a bunch of clues behind in order for the surviving students to defeat the mastermind.
- Keebo (a robot they created) ended up threatening to destroy the school causing everybody else to do a final investigation for the mastermind, and he helped open up rooms that the mastermind didn't want open.
- It's also noteworthy that Keebo was the audience, thus Shuichi was able to convince the audience to give up on the Danganronpa show.
Indirect Serial Killer: As far as we know, they've never actually killed anyone directly.
Lack of Empathy: They will do anything for the public's enjoyment. Anything. The students just serve as cannon fodder for them; according to Monokuma, the students are not as irreplaceable as they think they are.
The Man Behind the Woman: They turned Tsumugi into the mastermind.
Self-Insert Fic: They are based on the real-life Danganronpa team, only far more willing to cross moral lines for the sake of profit and to satisfy their audience.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: They can be seen as one to the Steering Committee from the original Hope's Peak Academy Saga. Both groups are made up of amoral, influential people that act as the Greater-Scope Villain for the series that do not actually appear in the game. Both are willing to use, brainwash, and sacrifice talented high school students to achieve their goals.
Walking Spoiler: Their mere existence is evidence that the game is set in a TV show and not a conventional killing game like previous installments. The same applies to the audience.

The Enablers

The Danganronpa Audience

The audience of the killing game and fans of the Danganronpa franchise; they are the ones enabling the Killing Game, as well as every entry in the franchise. They are later integrated into the final Class Trial through floating messages, and later taking control of Keebo.

Breaking Old Trends: Previous games had a Captive Audience who were forced by the Mastermind to see the events of the game to inflict them despair, but this time not only is the audience completely willing to watch, they are the primary fuel for the Killing Game in the first place.
Big Bad Duumvirate: While Tsumugi, Monokuma and Team Danganronpa are the ones directly putting the students in the killing game, it's the audience's ravenous consumption of the Danganronpa franchise that fuels the Killing Games and makes them create new ones. It's only by making the audience uninterested in Danganronpa that the franchise, and the Killing Games along with then, finally come to an end.
Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: Inverted. In-universe, the students are real people who had their memories and personality removed and replaced with a constructed, fictional identity - the audience doesn't care about this detail, and treats the students as if they were fictional characters with no relation to reality.
Desperation Attack: In the final phase of their Argument Armament, their attack cycle ends with a cacophony of statements that demand that a lot of Button Mashing to push through.
The Dividual: As they represent the entire fanbase of Danganronpa as a whole, the audience contains likely thousands of people.
Final Boss: While they use Keebo as their physical avatar, they're the real last opponent in the last Armament Arguement.
Greater-Scope Villain: For the most part, they are not directly involved in the story's events whatsoever, as it's Tsumugi and Team Danganronpa who actually control the game. However, as the show is only still running and using real people to be its "characters" to kill or be killed due to popular demand from them, they are considered to be "the true mastermind" behind all the Killing Games up to this point.
Lack of Empathy: Played With. It's not that they enjoy Danganronpa BECAUSE of the death and despair - they just enjoy the drama and conflict. In fact, most of them want 'hope' to win out in the end, they just don't care about the suffering this causes the characters since they don't consider them real people.
Loony Fan: They don't care that real people are dying so long as Danganronpa keeps going - and regard the 'real fiction' characters in the Killing Game as completely fictional characters. When they're introduced they make various inappropriate or fanboy-esque comments regarding the various characters - but when the characters start to go off script and rail against the narrative, their comments turn very petty and malicious.
Take That, Audience!: Both in-universe and without: Shuichi and the other survivors' intent is to refuse to give the audience what they want and instead opt for an unsatisfying ending that refuses to play along with their rules. It works, and causes the viewers to 'disconnect' metaphorically and literally from the show. Out of universe, the Audience is a direct analogue to the real-life Danganronpa fanbase.
Villainous Breakdown: They absolutely lose it in the final Arguement Armament and at the thought that Danganronpa would finally end, using Keebo to voice out their complaints, and a few of the sections are just them screaming "HOPE!" "DESPAIR!" on loop
"This guy should have died instead of Kaede!"
"Do you realize how much I've given to the show?!"
"I don't like twists like this!"

The Monokubs:

In General

The Monokubs

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monokumakubs.png

From left to right: Monodam, Monosuke, Monotaro, Monophanie, and Monokid.

"Rise and shine, ursine!"

Voiced in Japanese by: Kōichi Yamadera^note

Five robot bears who call themselves Monokuma's children. Working under Monokuma, they oversee the killing game taking place at the Prison School for the Gifted. Because their personalities are so different, they don’t work together very well.

Adaptational Heroism: While in the Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony they are mostly motivated to be evil due to fearing their father and wanting to make him proud, in Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp the Kubs want to prove they are useful and have a big part in actually helping the students with the Summer Camp project, and they're shocked and scared when Monokuma tries to use it to create despair, to the point that they are willing to destroy their father to stop him from causing trouble.
Back for the Finale: At the end of Chapter 5, they're all briefly brought back from the dead only to be killed off again during the sixth trial before the Wham Episode hits.
Blush Sticker: To make them look more child-like.
Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: During trials, the Kubs often act as the Tsukkomi for Monokuma's Boke. Generally, the Kubs interchangeably change roles amongst themselves.
Character Catchphrase: They say "Rise and shine, ursine!" when they arrive and "So long! Bear well!" when they disappear, though they do sometimes say different entrance phrases.
Color-Coded Characters: Red for Monotaro, pink for Monophanie, blue for Monokid, yellow for Monosuke and green for Monodam.
Cousin Oliver: Unlike Usami/Monomi in the previous game, the Monokubs don't have any reason to exist other than to be Monokuma's kids and they are always irrelevant to the plot, as, unlike Monomi, nothing of what they do or say has any impact on the story whatsoever. In The Reveal of the final chapter, the In-Universe audience of Danganronpa finds the Monokubs to be Scrappies. Lampshaded by Monokuma at the end of Chapter 4.
Monokuma: "But the more I think about it... Why did those kids even exist?"
Dwindling Party: One of them is destroyed every execution, with the exception of Monophanie and Monotaro, who are both destroyed in Chapter 4's execution. Repeated rapid-fire throughout the first part of the final trial, too.
"Everybody Dies" Ending: By the end of the game, every single one of them has been destroyed by way of the executions, brought back, and then destroyed again.
Expy: As Monokuma can be said to be an Evil Counterpart of Doraemon, the Monokubs can be thought of as the evil counterparts to Doraemon's teammates in the Doraemons.
Five-Man Band: A group of five villains that are set up with the traditional "heroic" roles since they just aren't competent enough to fit their villainous counterparts and instead parody a standard Sentai team. We have The Leader Monotaro (who's simply too forgetful and flaky to fit as a Big Bad), The Heart Monophanie, Monodam as The Lancer who ends up taking control of the group for a while (hardly fits as The Dragon given his genuine desire for everyone to get along), Monokid as the tough talking and aggressive Big Guy and only one who does fit the needs for The Brute, and Monosuke being a mostly invoked The Smart Guy as it is (lacking the intelligence for an Evil Genius though he has the right drive for it). The Nanokumas also function as the Sixth Ranger.
Humongous Mecha: Each one of them pilots a giant robot monkey named Exisal to enforce discipline.
Idle Animation: In a sense. During the Class Trials, they jump around and shift stills while everyone else discusses murders.
Inconsistent Spelling: They are called either Monokuma Cubs, Monocubs, Monokuma Kubs, or Monokubs in the English version. The pre-release information listed it as the two word variations, but in the game itself they just use both of the one word spellings for the group instead.
Killed Off for Real: Notably, unlike their father, they don't appear to have any backup units to allow them to keep coming back to life at their leisure; the moment they're destroyed, it's over for them. Subverted when Monokuma just nonchalantly decided to bring them Back for the Finale (albeit without their original memories), and then Double Subverted when he ends up killing them all off again. It's unknown if they are capable of producing more backups or not.
Leitmotif: "Rise and Shine, Ursine!"
Parental Title Characterization: All of them refer to Monokuma in a different way. Monotaro and Monodam use "Father", Monokid uses "Papa Kuma", Monosuke uses "Pops" and Monophanie uses "Daddy".
Quirky Mini Boss Squad: Their purpose is mostly to antagonize the cast with the threat of the Exisals while Monokuma deals with the trials and executions as usual. In the final chapter, they briefly participate during the class trial to support Monokuma.
Sentai: Seems to be their motif.
Shoo Out the Clowns: They're systematically destroyed as the story gets more serious, and when they're brought Back for the Finale, Monokuma detonates them gradually throughout the trial, destroying the last two right before The Reveal.
Shoo Out the New Guy: Parodied. Monokuma states that the Monokubs were added to increase the ratings. Given how he ended up detonating them in the final trial with no mercy, they could very well be in-universe Scrappy characters.
Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Obviously not actual children, but are meant to be very young based on their pacifiers. Yet they help run a killing game, call the students "you bastards," Monokid constantly swears and talks about having a "rock-hard rager", and Monotaro and Monophanie have an incestuous relationship that results in Monophanie apparently getting pregnant.
Villains Want Mercy: The penultimate Rebuttal Showdown mostly consists of them begging Shuichi to let them win, so Monokuma won't make them explode by his detonator.

Monotaro

The Leader of the Monokubs

"It's my time to shine!"

Voiced in English by: Sean Chiplock

A member of the Monokubs and also its leader. He controls the Gifted Inmates Academy and initiates the new Killing Game. Despite his supposed authority role, he is remarkably forgetful and ineffective.

Achievement In Ignorance: He suddenly becomes a brilliant hacker and computer wiz in Chapter 4 simply because he forgot that he isn't good with computers.
Affably Evil: While he is an antagonistic figure due to being associated with Monokuma, Monotaro is much less hostile when you compare him to Monokid or Monosuke. It also helps that he's very ditzy and scatterbrained and isn't great at upholding his leadership position.
Badass Armfold: He does one in some of his sprites.
Brother–Sister Incest: Develops this with Monophanie in Chapter 4 since he forgets that they’re related. Looks like Korekiyo influenced him a little...too much.
The Ditz: His defining characteristic. He's far from smart and outright admits he doesn't pay attention sometimes.
Easy Amnesia: Played for Laughs. Chapter 4 has his memory getting worse, to the point he forgets who he is and makes amusing assumptions, like Keebo and Miu being his parents. Keebo tells him that he is not his father, but Miu plays along.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He dubs Miu to be his mommy in chapter 4. When she is killed shortly after, he is genuinely heartbroken and works with the students to investigate her murder.
Expy: His description sounds a lot like Masaru Daimon.
Forgetful Jones: He's prone to forgetting just about anything at the drop of a hat, like the existence of his now-dead siblings or that Monokuma is his "father". The only way he can remember anything is by forgetting that he forgot it.
Half the Man He Used to Be: He's sliced in half by the giant insect monster that bursts out of Monophanie's chest.
Heel–Face Door-Slam: Thanks to issues brought about by his mounting memory problems, he decides to cast the rules aside and join the investigation during Chapter 4. He's reprogrammed back to "normal" by the time of the class trial, though.
Insane Troll Logic: His explanation for how he of all bears was able to hack into the supercomputer? He forgot that he was bad with computers, therefore making him good with computers!
The Leader: Of the Monokuma Kubs. Thing is, he doesn't really act like one.
Meaningful Name: The Japanese name Tarō literally means "eldest son". Fittingly, Monotaro is the leader of the siblings.
Parental Substitute: In Chapter 4, an amnesiac Monotaro invokes this by finding Keebo and Miu and trying to dub them his parents. Keebo defies this by flatly telling him that he is not his father, but Miu takes this and runs with it.
Red Is Heroic: Inverted for most of the game, as he serves as one of the Monokubs. He does play it straight somewhat when Miu dies, helping the survivors investigate the murderer.
Remembered I Could Fly: Inverted, oddly enough. He provides key evidence during Chapter 4 by accessing the supercomputer. How? By forgetting he was bad with computers.
Shout-Out: Monotaro's name may be based on Momotarō, the hero of a popular Japanese folktale. Much like Momotaro, Monotaro is the leader of his own group.
Scarf of Asskicking: He possesses a long gray scarf with a silver star pinned to it.
Shipper on Deck: Apparently for Keebo and Miu, as he tries to designate them to be his "new parents" in Chapter 4. Keebo bluntly tells him that he isn't his father, while Miu plays along with Monotaro as she finds being called "mom" to be oddly heartwarming.
Toilet Humor: He seems to have an odd fixation on his butthole. He's also weirdly interested when Tsumugi says she went to the restroom, asking whether she took a firm or a soft dump.
Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Just like Monophanie, he sometimes pukes. Specifically, when Monosuke dies for the first time and Monodam for the second time.

Monokid

"HELL YEAH!"

Voiced in English by: Patrick Seitz

A violent bear with a bad mouth and a short temper. Since he does things like say incoherent stuff without listening to anybody, he’s the main cause of conversations getting derailed.

Asshole Victim: The first of the Monokubs to be destroyed, courtesy of Monodam shoving him into the line of fire during Kaede's execution in Chapter 1. As an unrepentant hellraiser who was loud and obnoxious to everyone, it's safe to say that he won't be missed by anyone. Even his siblings don't really seem upset to see him gone in chapter 2, regarding him as this and just seeming glad Monodam is expressing himself more.
The Bully: To Monodam. Monodam pays him back for it later...
Character Catchphrase: "HELL YEAH!"
The Ditz: Seemingly the least intelligent of the Monokubs, and is either too stupid or too out of it to do anything other than screaming, swearing and picking on Monodam.
Drunk on Milk: Throughout most of Chapter 1, he gets drunk on honey.
The Friend No One Likes: All of the other Monokubs show some amount of annoyance with his behavior at one point or another. Naturally, none of them seem to mourn him at all after his death, with Monophanie straight up saying "screw" him.
Hate Sink: While some may find him amusing in a Love to Hate kind of way, Monokid is an obnoxious asshole who does little to endear himself to the player and dies rather quickly to close to no fanfare as a result.
Kick the Dog: Many, many moments. Especially towards Monodam.
Laser-Guided Karma: It's really hard to feel sorry for him when he is destroyed by Monodam during the first execution, the same Monocub who he frequently targets with his bullying.
The Load: Doesn't really contribute in any meaningful capacity in or out of the trials, to the annoyance of his siblings. Even being brought Back from the Dead under the threat of instantly being killed again if he doesn't help out does nothing to dissuade him from acting out, which causes him to die once again shortly afterward.
Malaproper: Frequently gets sayings wrong, such as saying "shimmy down" instead of "simmer down".
Nightmare Fetishist: Played for Laughs. He claims to get a boner for blood, guts, brains, and Monophanie puking.
Off with His Head!: Gets decapitated by the giant iron maiden that finishes off Kaede, though ironically his head survives while the rest of his body gets obliterated.
Overly-Long Tongue: He can get a really long one when he's aroused.
Pet the Dog: According to Monotaro, he has a soft spot for abandoned kitties.
Raging Stiffie: Likes to shout about his "rock-hard rager".
The Rock Star: Is shown holding a guitar in his official art and some of his sprites.
Sir Swears-a-Lot: The most vulgar and rude of the Monokubs.
Snot Bubble: He has one when he sleeps, and it looks like he is rolling a ball on his nose, like a seal.

Monosuke

"It's getting interesting!"

Voiced in English by: Brian Beacock

A member of the Monokubs who speaks in Kansai dialect. He’s the calmest of the bunch, always playing the Straight Man. However, this doesn’t mean that he’s docile; his terrible mouth could rival even Monokid. He often displays affirmative behavior even in the middle of an argument between members.

Asshole Victim: Like Monokid before him, he really wasn't a very pleasant bear. Unlike him, though, his destruction leads directly into the other bears being terrified of Monodam and his Hostile Show Takeover.
Blind Without Them: He gets smashed by Kirumi's falling body mostly because he's searching for his glasses.
Greed: As per the Kansai stereotypes. Frequently suggests ways of making money, such as making merchandise of the Exisals. Holds an abacus in one sprite and yen bills in another.
Guyliner: Apart from Monophanie, he's the only Monokub with visible eyelashes.
Hypocrite: During the penultimate Rebuttal Showdown, he tries to defend Tsumugi by saying that bad guys never wear glasses.
Ignored Epiphany: Monodam repeatedly defends him from the verbal lashings of the other Monokubs and their father during the second trial after his slip-up provides the class with critical information. By the end he doubles down on his belief that the kubs are better off fighting, and you know the rest.
It's Raining Men: How Monosuke is destroyed in Chapter 2's execution; Monodam shoves him right under where Kirumi is going to land, and the impact of her body is enough to completely destroy Monosuke's body.
Joisey: He speaks with a very Jersey-like accent in the English version.
Meaningful Name: Monosuke's name could come from the ancient title of Kokushi, often said as "no suke" when addressing an official with the title.
Saying Too Much: He slips up during the second trial, revealing that someone had already asked if stepping on the windowsill between the pool and gym would break the rule against entering the gym after dark. Confirming Shuich's theory that the killer used a ropeway to plant the body, and upsetting Monokuma greatly.
Shout-Out: The fact that he speaks with Osakan dialect and has tiger stripes is a reference of the most famous baseball club in Japan. He even namedrops during the second trial.
Smart People Wear Glasses: Possibly invoked, though really he's not much smarter than his siblings.
Straight Man: Acts like this for the group. He always corrects the rest when they say something stupid.
Ungrateful Bastard: Really doesn't appreciate Monodam defending him for his slip-ups. This results in his destruction.

Monophanie

"Leave it to me!"

Voiced in English by: Natalie Hoover

The sole girl among the Monokubs. She isn’t good with gory stuff and has a gentle side to her. When the other members start their in-fighting she often plays the mediator, but in the end, she always ends up joining in the fight. She has a cute side where she does things like try to solve the killing game via rock-paper-scissors, or suddenly fall asleep.

Afraid of Blood: As stated above, Monophanie can't handle blood or gore and pukes after a corpse is found or a student is executed.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She is seemingly the nicest and most even tempered of the Monokubs, and apparently dislikes violence and gore, often suggesting that the killing game be changed to something more peaceful. Despite this, she still cooperates to keep the game going and makes no real effort to stop it.
Chest Burster: She is destroyed in Chapter 4's execution by having a massive insect monster burst out of her as opposed to having a more "normal" case of Death by Childbirth.
Corrupted Character Copy: Her color scheme, use of a girly ear decoration to further stress her gender, and disposition make her come across as very similar to Monomi, without the latter's honest good nature and intentions.
Double Standard: As much as she doesn't like the other students dying, she finds ripping apart Keebo okay since violence against robots isn't seen as gory. Note that she does have the same gut reaction when seeing her similarly robotic brothers die (and thus technically also "not gory") that she does when the students do so the standard isn't even "robots are more expendable" as much as it is "doing this to Keebo in particular is okay".
Flowers of Femininity: She has a flower on her ear to indicate how cutesy she is.
Frying Pan of Doom: Whacks Monotaro on the head with a frying pan to try to make him recover his memory.
Larynx Dissonance: Monophanie is female, yet like the other Monokubs, she's voiced by a male voice actor. Though this only applies to the Japanese version, not in the English one.
No Periods, Period: Averted since she apparently has a menstrual cycle, at least according to Monokuma's words in Chapter 4. How this even works is a huge question due to her being robotic in nature and not having any internal organs (but she still seems to have a blood-like substance within her, if Gonta's execution is anything to go by).
Pink Means Feminine: Half her fur is striped pink and easily the softest and most girly of the cubs.
The Smurfette Principle: The only girl that is with the Monokubs.
Snot Bubble: She has a small one when she pretends to sleep.
Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: She has long eyelashes, is pink, wears a bikini top, and has a flower motif.
Vomit Indiscretion Shot: She tends to puke a lot, mostly when it comes to the sight of corpses and gore. It even comes in multiple colors depending on the situation.
Villainous Incest: Of all the Monokubs, while she may play nice, she's still helping to keep the Killing Game going and has the most "interest" in the topic of incest. It first comes up when Monokuma, her father, is licking all of his cubs where she complains more about worrying it will "awaken" something in her and is shown to be the only cub who starts licking back whenever it happens. Then Monotaro starts forgetting who he is, and thus forgot her relation to him, which leads to their Brother–Sister Incest even though she certainly remembers he's her brother. During said relationship she's the more emotionally invested of the two of them, even when it dissolves into domestic abuse. Himiko also mentions the possibly of her "pregnancy" being from one of her other brothers instead of him as per soap opera drama twists.

Monodam

"THAT'S-WONDERFUL."

Voiced in English by: Jason Wishnov

The member of the Monokubs who closed his heart because of Monokid’s bullying. For the most part, he doesn’t speak to his fellow siblings/members. His unique point is his robotic-looking body.

Berserk Button: Infighting, especially between the Monokubs. Monokid and Monosuke are killed by him for it, and his other siblings spend chapter 3 in fear of accidentally coming across as such in front of him.
Beware the Nice Ones: He just wants everyone to get along... and is willing to kill to make that happen.
The Dog Bites Back: Gets revenge on Monokid by shoving him into the execution of Chapter 1's culprit, crushing his body and decapitating him. Also proceeds to shove Monosuke into the way of Kirumi's body just before it falls, crushing him in Chapter 2.
Driven to Suicide: After Monokuma derails him from being the headmaster, he destroys himself during the execution in Chapter 3 by running into the flames, causing them to become stronger.
Happiness Is Mandatory: His attitude towards friendship during his rule.
Heroic Sacrifice: In the Talent Development Plan mode, one random event has Monodam swallowing a letter bomb sent to the player and exploding.
Hostile Show Takeover: For the span of Chapter 3.
A Lighter Shade of Black: His Love Freak tendencies described below aside, he genuinely wants the Monokubs and the students to get along. He agrees to hand back everyone their Motive Videos after Shuichi asks him, he was hoping the students were working together to figure out how to unlock the new locations in Chapter 3 and the motive during his Hostile Show Takeover was about bringing one of their deceased friends back (regardless of whether it would be possible or not). It also works on meta-level: collecting Monodam in Casino games will give you the biggest boost and is essential to obtain S-rank, and he'll give you the most Monocoins in Love Across the Universe (Monophanie usually gives the most - 100 coins, but on one day Monodam will give you 300). Both of those meta examples imply he's more on the students' side than any other kub, aside from Monotaro after his memory loss.
Love Freak: He's all for love and friendship to the point of Knight Templar. His reason of killing Monokid and Monosuke is mostly because they bully him, and threatens Monotaro and Monophanie into obedience with violence if they do the same. His "let's all get along" is usually followed with "if not, I won't forgive you" after Chapter 2.
Machine Monotone: Being the one who is visibly a robot, he speaks like this. In the final chapter, his text in Nonstop Debates is rendered as if it was being typed on a DOS-style computer.
The Quiet One: He doesn't seem to talk a lot. Starts speaking up a lot more starting with his murder of Monokid.
Robo Speak: HE-SPEAKS-LIKE-THIS-IN-THE-ENGLISH-VERSION.
The Starscream: After killing Monokid and Monosuke, he wrestles the Killer Game Master role from Monokuma for awhile, even as the host of the Monodam Theatre. Unfortunately for him, the Monokuma that was in a frozen state turned out to be a fake and quickly loses his title.

The Sixth Monokub

Nanokumas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nanokuma11037.png

Small mechanical bugs with Monokuma's likeness, they record footage of events that happen and transfer them to the evil bear.

Dub Name Change: Monochicchi to Nanokuma.
Hive Mind: Collectively act as the sixth Monokub.
Literal Surveillance Bug: To the point they were first foreshadowed by Gonta barely glimpsing them and mistaking it for one of his "bug friends" and are caught in a bug catcher.
Last Episode, New Character: Sorta. They exist from the beginning of the killing game, but only truly appear in Chapter 6.
Shout-Out: Their Japanese name is based on Monchhichis.

Other:

D.I.C.E.

The name of Kokichi's organization. While Kokichi claimed that they were a large Nebulous Evil Organization, they turn out to actually be a group consisting of ten clowns including himself who go around causing mild pranks, vandalism, and petty theft For the Lulz but have a Thou Shall Not Kill policy.

Ambiguous Situation: The group is last seen locked up and bloody, with Monokuma stating something bad happened to them. It's never clarified what their fate is. Or whether they're even real.
For the Lulz: Their primary motive for whatever they do.
Laughably Evil: They commit "laughable crimes".
Monster Clown: Their motif, though their actions are hardly monstrous.
Nebulous Evil Organization: Kokichi stated they were this, but in actuality, they were a group of clowns that commit "laughable crimes".
Thou Shall Not Kill: Despite being a criminal organization, they have a rule against killing. It ties in with Kokichi's hatred for murderers and the killing game.

Korekiyo Shinguji's sister

Korekiyo's sister and the reason he ended up becoming a Serial Killer to get her 100 friends in the afterlife. She also acts as the basis for something akin to a Split Personality or Tulpa for Korekiyo when he's stressed.

Ambiguous Situation: Since all we really know about her comes from Korekiyo, who's far from a reliable narrator. Did she really care about him? Would she have approved of his murders? Is her ghost actually possessing him? Korekiyo's answer to all three is "yes", but then again, he's a delusional serial killer.
Brother–Sister Incest: With her younger brother Korekiyo, to the point he's still obsessed with her long after her death.
Determinator: Makes her appearance with "I will not fear. I will not back down."
Domestic Abuse: There is the implication that what happened is that she was grooming Kiyo and that she was actually controlling and abusive.
Even Evil Has Standards: A possible explanation for her participation in Korekiyo's execution; she was controlling to him when alive, but she never wanted him to go so far as murder for her sake, so she helps Monokuma give him his just desserts.
Jerkass: Comes off as one when she's being channeled by Korekiyo. In addition to being fine with him killing girls to give her "friends" in the afterlife, she's extremely condescending toward the others. She also joins Monokuma in salting her brother's ghost during his execution, and her serene smile as she does so makes it clear that she's doing it by choice (though that might be because she never wanted him to go far as murder for her sake).
The Lost Lenore: To Korekiyo, regardless of if what he says about the nature of their relationship is true or part of his delusions, as her death is what motivated him to become a Serial Killer.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: As far as the "sister" we see goes, the game leaves ambiguous whether she's a ghost possessing Korekiyo or just a coping mechanism his mind created to help deal with his grief. The execution, which shows her as happily helping Monokuma "banish" his spirit despite his persona coming across as rather involved with the atrocities he commits, and the slight physical changes Kiyo undergoes whenever "she" takes over, only makes this harder to judge.
Multi-Gendered Split Personalities: This is indicated to be why other characters often comment on Korekiyo being unusually feminine.
No Name Given: Her name is never mentioned, since Kiyo prefers just addressing her as "Sister" with a capital S.
Onee-sama: Actually Nee-san, but the trope is still there. Serves as one to her younger brother, to the point in English Korekiyo often capitalizes the word "Sister" to show how much he respects her, which can sometimes make it seem like he's talking about a nun rather than his actual sister. Considering how much further their "relationship" went than respect the exact type being used here is a bit less clear.
Posthumous Character: Died just before the events of this game, and what serves as Korekiyo's motivation to kill.
Split Personality: One to Korekiyo in a sense, but much less accurately depicted than Toko's condition. Possibly justified considering all the cast's personalities may have been artificial and crafted specifically for the killing game.
Tulpa: Korekiyo seems to believe he's actually possessed by her spirit, and given how the two can interact whatever "she" is can come across more like this than a case of dissociative identity disorder.

Makoto

An extremely normal boy in an elite school with no talents or anything... Sounds like someone? Nope, it's not Makoto Naegi, but a completely new character.

Bait-and-Switch: When the game starts talking about a normal teenager named Makoto, it seems they'll be talking about the protagonist of the first Danganronpa... but no, it's actually someone completely different.
Color Motif: Dull grey.
Escapism: He wants to escape his boring, stressful life. Danganronpa is his only reason to live, and he even hopes to be in the show one day.
Foil: To his namesake. While both are generic high schoolers without talent, Makoto Naegi is a relatively decent person who stops the killing game he was trapped in and tries to help others. This Makoto, on the other hand, enjoys watching killing games and aspires to be in one someday.
The Generic Guy: Even more so than his namesake Naegi, and he hates it.
Last Episode, New Character: Only appears in Chapter 6.
This Loser Is You: He's a massive Danganronpa fanboy, and the way he's presented is far from favorable.

Junko Enoshima

See her separate page.

Characters / Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.

It's virtually impossible to list tropes for this game without spoiling everything or creating Self-Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of twists and Murder Mystery-related tropes it contains.

Students:

Antagonists:

The Headmaster of Gifted Inmates Academy

The Monokubs:

The Leader of the Monokubs

Other:

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Edit Locked

Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.

It's virtually impossible to list tropes for this game without spoiling everything or creating Self-Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of twists and Murder Mystery-related tropes it contains.

Students:

Antagonists:

The Headmaster of Gifted Inmates Academy

The Monokubs:

The Leader of the Monokubs

Other:

Previous

Index

Next