Monokuma
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc | Male Students (Makoto Naegi | Byakuya Togami) | Female Students (Kyoko Kirigiri | Toko Fukawa | Celestia Ludenberg | Junko Enoshima)
Danganronpa Zero
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | Male Students (Hajime Hinata | Nagito Komaeda) | Female Students (Peko Pekoyama)
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Killer Killer
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School | Future Arc | Despair Arc
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony | Male Students (Kokichi Oma) | Female Students (Miu Iruma)
Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.
- It's virtually impossible to list tropes for these characters without spoiling everything or creating Self Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of surprising reveals and murderer/victim exclusive tropes this two-volume novel contains. Additionally, since this novel is a prequel to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, there will be spoilers for both games here.
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Introduced in Volume 1:
Ryoko Otonashi
Ultimate Forgetful Girl/Ultimate Analyst
- All There in the Manual: Her talent of "Ultimate Forgetful Girl" isn't actually given in the book itself, but rather in her character sketch at the back of the first volume. Mostly because it isn't actually a talent and is just a label.
- Amnesiac Dissonance: It's a rather horrifying implication that this is the amnesiac mind of a fashionista who has not only orchestrated the deaths of Hope's Peak's student council, but also one whose experiences and analytical talent led her to become a murderous mastermind with a fetish for despair.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Ryoko's talent. During the few times she remembers she has it, she can easily curbstomp trained assassins and "read" people's emotional flaws to an almost precognitive degree.
- Blessed with Suck: Subverted. "Ultimate Forgetful Girl" seems like an absolutely terrible talent with zero benefits... and that's because it's not a talent.
- The Cameo: Ryoko appears briefly in Super Danganronpa 2.5 alongside Matsuda and Madarai.
- Casual Kink: After it's explained to Ryoko why she's tied to a bed, her fear dissipates and she actually starts feeling a little excited about the experience.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Even factoring in her condition, Ryoko doesn't think much like a normal person. At one point she even dreams about going to America with Matsuda to start a corn farm... on the moon.
- The Ditz: Acts like a scatterbrain much of the time. Though, for all intents and purposes, it's her memory loss doing it.
- Enemy Within: It is implied that Ryoko temporarily regains her memories as Junko in certain scenes.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: She must have dyed her hair twice, once shortly prior to her memory loss and once again after her memory recovery. Changing her hair from blond to red is one of the things that catches Makoto off-guard.
- Evil Redhead: It's implied red is the natural color of Junko's hair and that she dyes it blonde.
- Fiery Redhead: A... rather eccentric one.
- Forgetful Jones: Her "talent," for better or for worse. She forgets almost everything she learns and she has to rely on her notebook to remember stuff.
- Full-Name Basis: If the narration refers to her by her name, it will always be her full name. Even when she refers to herself, she does it internally... and also by her full name. This oddly sterile quality of the narration and Ryoko's inner voice is probably part of the foreshadowing that her "name" is an alias.
- Genki Girl: Most of the time anyway. She's a cheerful girl, but she's not the plucky type.
- He Knows Too Much: Madarai goes after her because of this. Ironically, she doesn't know much, and he just assumes she does.
- Hey, You!: Whenever she introduces herself by her name, she just points at her notebook and people read "Ryoko Otonashi." However, neither the other characters call her by that name (regardless if it's the first, the last or the full name) nor does she vocally call herself by that name, which foreshadows that "Ryoko" isn't her real name. This becomes a plot point, as neither Kyoko nor Makoto call her by any name in spite of knowing she's Junko.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Matsuda theorizes that Ryoko's obsession with him is how she copes with the loneliness induced by her condition, although Ryoko herself refuses to hear it.
- It's All About Me: It isn't overt, but at times, Ryoko is shown to barely care about anything that doesn't concern her or Matsuda. Justified given that she can't remember anything besides Matsuda and thus treats it as irrelevant.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Her connection to Junko Enoshima. Certain scenes suggest she hallucinates seeing her when she begins to regain her memories.
- Lack of Empathy: Played with. Her amnesia affects her to the point where she doesn't even care about missing out on a normal life, since she'll just forget her interactions with other people. As such, she decides that pretty much the entire rest of the world "has nothing to do with me", making it very difficult for her to demonstrate compassion or sympathy for most anyone. However, she does go to great lengths to protect Matsuda, the one person whose name she can actually remember.
- Never My Fault: She has a habit of saying "that has nothing to do with me." The most blatant example is when Makoto is taken hostage by Madarai, with Ryoko refusing to help him because she insists on being uninvolved and blaming Makoto's bad luck for his situation.
- Note to Self: The function of her notebook. It contains most of her memories she has experienced during her amnesiac time.
- The Power of Love: A strong believer of this in regards to Matsuda.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Assuming her eyes are really the same color as her hair. Not only may she have killed one of the Madarai brothers in self-defense with Home Alone inspired traps. In addition, moments after she reverts to being Junko, she stabs Matsuda in a fit of despair and then kicks his corpse repeatedly until it's unrecognizable. The accompanying image even gives her an overlay of Monokuma's red eye over her left eye.
- Remember the New Guy?: Given that she's seemingly a new character, we learn that Makoto has already met her in the past. It's subverted, as it turns out that the reason why Makoto remembers her is because she is Junko.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Matsuda, and that's putting it mildly. There almost isn't a single moment where she isn't thinking about him.
- Supporting Protagonist: About half of the story is narrated from her perspective, and yet Ryoko takes an almost entirely passive approach to the events. she'll eventually forget about them. Somewhat fittingly, Ryoko lacks an Idiot Hair (a characteristic of main characters in the franchise) while Matsuda has one.
- Third-Person Person: An odd variation. There are a couple of times where she internally refers to herself by her full name as if Ryoko Otonashi is a different person. This is a hint that "Ryoko" isn't her true identity.
- Throwing Off the Disability: Played with. While Ryoko does lose her condition at the end, she didn't actually have anterograde amnesia, with her memory condition being a side effect of the memory wipe Matsuda had her undergo.
- Tomato in the Mirror: In the climax of the second volume, Ryoko finally manages to regain her lost memories... unveiling her as having been the real Junko Enoshima the whole time.
- Unreliable Narrator: Comes with her condition. Notably, chapters from her perspective are narrated in first person whereas the others aren't.
- Villain Protagonist: She is not a villain, but Junko certainly is, and this story is primarily concerned with the "two" of them.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: She snaps into a fit of blind rage when she finds out that one of Enoshima's goals is to kill Matsuda. She vows to do whatever it takes to protect him and their world... and then we find out she is Junko.
- The Watson: Picks up on a lot of the exposition of the other characters. Granted, she tends to forget about it...
- Wrong Genre Savvy: When she snaps at Kyoko, she believes to awaken hidden Psychic Powers when the glass on the door is breaking. She tries to use Telekinesis on Kyoko's head to kill her, but it obviously doesn't work and it's just her wild imagination. Why was the glass breaking? It's because Madarai broke it.
Yasuke Matsuda
Ultimate Neurologist
- All for Nothing: Aided Junko and killed two innocent people in hope of curing Junko's despair obsession. Instead, he just prevents two people who might have stopped the Ultimate Despair from being able do so, provides Junko with an essential element of her killing games (memory wiping), and dies while Junko rubs his face in his failure.
- Anti-Villain: While the fact that Junko has been using him without him knowing may make him sympathetic, he is still not one of the "good" guys.
- The Atoner: He eventually realizes that his attempt to salvage Junko's sanity has failed and he must kill her to protect humanity (having personally killed everyone else who tried). He's too late.
- The Cameo: Matsuda briefly appears in Episode 8 of Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc and in Super Danganronpa 2.5 alongside Ryoko and Madarai.
- Character Death: He is fatally stabbed by Ryoko, who is actually Junko.
- Childhood Friend Romance: It is implied and eventually confirmed that he and Ryoko were childhood friends. Ryoko is very much in love with him, while he seems at best annoyed by her. He actually does care about her a lot, and those feelings form the backbone of the true story.
- Conveniently an Orphan: It's mentioned in the flashback dealing with his mother's death that he has no other friends or family. Convenient since it allows the school's committee to blackmail him without repercussions and no one will notice that he's working with a mass murderer.
- Deadpan Snarker: To contrast our ditzy and... unusual heroine.
- Deuteragonist: One could say Matsuda is the actual main character of the book, despite only getting major focus halfway through.
- Dr. Jerk: Rarely nice to anyone even if it is A) his fellow student, B) his patient, and C) openly head-over-heels for him.
- Friendless Background: Even in the present point in the story, he cuts himself off from people.
- The Ghost: Is mentioned (albeit not by name), in Ultimate Talent Development Plan, when Junko is disappointed that his graduation was so uneventful.
- Heel–Face Door-Slam: Is killed just after realizing that Junko was using him as an Unwitting Pawn.
- He Knows Too Much: Murders Murasame for this reason.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Just because he bad mouths Ryoko whenever he can doesn't mean he will let anyone else do the same, even if they are part of the Steering Committee.
- Idiot Hair: Has one per franchise tradition, though he's far from stupid. Interesting, as within the franchise they tend to be a marker of A) being a protagonist and B) having Hope.
- I'm Going to Hell for This: He acknowledges in a monologue that his murders were completely unjustified and he's a horrible person.
- Improbable Age: Even when you factor in the sort of people that go to the academy, Matsuda is either 17 or 18 years old... yet he's skilled at one of the hardest fields in medical science. A flashback outright implies he's been studying to become a neurologist since elementary school.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite Matsuda's mercilessly sharp tongue and rudeness, he sure does love Junko. More under Tragic Villain below and The Atoner above, but it's also implied that he began to study neurology out of bitterness regarding doctors being unable to save his mother's life; he didn't want anyone else to go through what he did.
- Kill the Ones You Love: Attempts this on Ryoko, having decided it to be his only option left. It earns him a knife to the gut and his corpse getting repeatedly kicked until it can't be recognized.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: It's stated by Mukuro at the end that Ryoko's appearance was based on Matsuda's late mother.
- Loving a Shadow: He's despised Junko ever since she fell into despair. Realizing this is what really causes him to break.
- Missing Mom: His mother's death by an unspecified brain condition is what led him to become a neurologist. As he's dying, Junko claims to have orchestrated her death, though how truthful she was is left ambiguous. Given the circumstances, she was probably lying in an attempt to drive him further into despair before he died.
- Morality Pet: Like Mukuro, he is proof that Junko Enoshima is capable of love, but also like Mukuro, he is proof that said love is twisted and vile because she manipulates him and then kills him personally.
- No Kill like Overkill: After he's stabbed to death, Junko kicks his corpse so badly it's described as barely looking human.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Betrays Hope's Peak to help Junko, and she rewards him by murdering him so to get her despair fix.
- Stronger Than They Look: Despite his talent having nothing to do with sports and him having a fairly average build, he's somehow strong enough to twist Kamishiro's head to face the opposide direction of his body.
- Teen Genius: He got into the school because he is a neurology-based one.
- Tragic Villain: He never wanted to hurt anyone or even cause despair—all he was actually trying to do was protect his childhood friend, the only emotional support he had since his mother died. For it, he got used as a pawn, killed two of his fellow students, tried to kill said friend after realizing it was the only option he had left, and ended up stabbed, dying under the belief that she might have actually been responsible for his mother's death. For a kicker, Junko repeatedly kicks his corpse until it's unrecognizable before stealing his research. Ouch.
- Unreliable Narrator: Knows almost everything that's going on, which the narration goes to great lengths to hide.
- Unwitting Pawn: To Junko. He doesn't take realizing her manipulation well.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Was a very reliable and decent child prior to his mother's death.
- Walking Spoiler: Big time. Despite being a main character, much of what we know about Matsuda is only given in connection to most of the novel's plot twists.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: He considers Ryoko a mere role that Junko is playing, and talks to her as he would Junko (for example, his comment that Ryoko has an "ugly heart"). Despite this, he still feels disappointed when Ryoko "dies."
Junko Enoshima
Ultimate Fashionista/Ultimate Despair
Junko Enoshima in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
The mastermind behind a scheme to spread despair across the globe, Junko orchestrated The Worst Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History as part of that scheme. She claims to have stolen Ryoko's memories and then declares that her Evil Plan now includes murdering Matsuda. Near the second volume's end, Ryoko realizes that this Junko is a disguised Mukuro.- Action Fashionista: She's the Ultimate Fashionista and quite an asskicker whenever situations call for it. It's a big hint to her true identity.
- Alpha Bitch: The first time she meets Ryoko, she establishes herself as this. Junko's also the kind of attractive, influential, and rich girl who loves seeing others fall into despair."...oh? Why are you ignoring me? Or maybe your default mode is being one of those mute characters?"
- Ax-Crazy: Junko is way more than crazed enough to want everyone on Earth drowning in despair. There's also how she scratched Ryoko's tongue just because she showed her name instead of saying it.
- Bad Is Good and Good Is Bad: As always, she hates hope and loves despair.
- Big Bad: Of Danganronpa Zero, as it's her scheme for global despair which leads to everything that happens in the novel. However, Mukuro's a decoy Big Bad.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Ryoko narrates how Junko has "deep dark eyes" that could potentially swallow "even the darkness of the night."
- Break Them by Talking: She makes Ryoko feel sick by explaining what she thinks about everyone who isn't her."I think you misunderstand the situation, don't you agree?" Enoshima-san crouched down and peered into my exhausted eyes. Alarms went off everywhere inside my head – I mustn't look into her eyes. Nevertheless, I couldn't avert my gaze. "I should've let you known beforehand. Your intentions are irrelevant. What's relevant is Junko Enoshima's purposes. That is all. That's why even thinking about escaping from Junko Enoshima is nonsense. The world itself is Junko Enoshima's playground, and everyone in it is merely living on borrowed time. I'm not talking 'everything you own is mine' – I'm talking, 'you yourself are mine.' The entire world and all humanity are for Junko Enoshima to do with as she pleases."– What?It was the most evil, extraordinary, egotistical doctrine. The kind that causes you to feel sick. If she really means all that, I have to resent my own lack of luck for meeting that girl.
- Character Exaggeration: Junko's already over-the-top personality is turned up to eleven, and it makes sense because she's not the real Junko Enoshima.
- Dark Action Girl: Puts up a very good fight against Madarai. This is mostly because it's Mukuro who's fighting.
- Evil Laugh: As she scratches Ryoko's tongue, she breaks down into a fit of disturbing laughter.".......heh."Suddenly, I heard a laughing voice."Heh... aha... ahahaha!" With an ecstatic expression on her face, her cheeks painted red, she laughed a bizarre, mad, overwhelming laugh."AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"When that merciless, savage roar of laughter came to a stop, she finally removed her fingers from my mouth.
- Evil Plan: She wants To Create a Playground for Evil ruled by every form of despair there is.
- The Fashionista: Junko's official talent.
- Flash Step: Uses this against Ryoko when she tries to run away from her.
- Forceful Kiss: She temporarily immobilizes Yasuke by violently kissing him with an immobilizing poison on her lips.
- Hope Crusher: Including Ryoko, only a few people are aware she's the Ultimate Despair. Look no further than what she has to say right after she's through with scratching her tongue."I bet you're wondering why I'd do such an odd thing, don't you? Well, to answer simply, I really wanted to see your face full of despair. Y'see, for me, this is the best kind of introduction you can give!"
- It's All About Me: Junko not only believes she's the only person who matters, but also that thinking about escaping her is "nonsense." Geez...
- Laughably Evil: Even more so than before.
- Mood-Swinger: Junko rapidly changes whatever she's talking about along with her facial expressions.
- Obviously Evil: Ryoko quickly realizes how sinister Junko is.At first glance, she seemed like a normal cute girl. Her eyes alone were a million light years divorced from "normal." Those deep dark eyes were like a bottomless swamp, and it almost seemed even the darkness of the night could easily be swallowed inside them.The moment I saw those eyes, danger signals started flashing violently inside my brain. Every fiber in my body screamed at me to run away, but at the same time I was captured by the despair-inducing idea that resistance was futile. In the end, I just stood there, transfixed, unable to move.
- Out-of-Character Moment: She seems quite offended by Ryoko’s large bust, and insists that it will sag horribly as she ages. An odd thing for someone as well-endowed as Junko to comment on.
- Slasher Smile: She has a penchant for this.
- Talkative Loon: Junko's an Ax-Crazy mastermind who loves to talk."Wait, now I remember! We were talking about boob obsession! Y'know, I hate being pushy, but you should really drop that boob obsession of yours. Dropchez cet obséssion, if you prefer en Français. If you don't drop it, you're going to get in trouble when you're older. Do you get it? The larger they are the more they sag. Or maybe you're one of them? Do you think you can win against the forces of gravity? Do you have superpowers? Should I expect Magneto
to come scouting for you?" - They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Ryoko notes how Junko appears to be just another "normal cute girl" at first.
- To Create a Playground for Evil: She essentially says this is the goal of her Evil Plan.
- Twin Switch: Just like in Trigger Happy Havoc.I remembered the face of the girl standing in front of me.This face I've been seeing was not Junko Enoshima, but someone else. That's right; that would be Mukuro Ikusaba's face......but at the same time, another question floated up in my head. If the me right now was able to recognize Mukuro Ikusaba, what about past forgetful me? Showy makeup, blonde hair, popped open uniform, insanely short skirt—if I saw that disguised girl, would I be able to connect things together and realize it's Mukuro Ikusaba?
Yuto Kamishiro
Ultimate Spy
- Big Eater: Is always seen eating.
- The Cameo: He briefly appears in Episode 5 of Despair Arc, and his Hansel & Gretel bread bag is a potential gift in Goodbye Despair.
- Cloudcuckoolander: An odd, outgoing boy with a perverted personality and a mild obsession with solving mysteries right out of a spy thriller. Ryoko's narration even says he has an "innocent madness" to him.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Despite his eccentric behavior, Kamishiro was right about Junko being the mastermind behind The Worst Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History.
- Establishing Character Moment: Subtle, but it's noted in his first conversation with Ryoko that he spends the whole discussion staring at her skirt. Less subtle is his official art as you can see here. If you don't already see it you may want to not look too closely.
- He Knows Too Much:
- Which is why Matsuda killed him. Also, he's only character who figures out that Junko orchestrated the deaths of the academy's student council.
- He is aware of how dangerous this trope is, so he doesn't share any information that his junior agent — implied to be Chihiro Fujisaki — doesn't need to know.
- Hidden Depths: When he meets up with Ryoko near the end of Zero, Kamishiro shows a different side of himself; that being of someone who simply wishes to be seen and noticed.
- Keet: Helped by the fact that he looks like an ordinary little boy.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: His profile notes him as having "uncontrollable sexual desire" and it shows. His official artwork is even visibly sporting an erection. His last scene suggests it might partially be a way of making people notice him.
- Meaningful Name: "Yūto" is spelled with the characters for "actor" and "rabbit" which is very fitting since his primary traits are looking like an adorable and harmless child, his ability to blend into almost any situation (whether he wants to or not), and his uncontrollable sex drive.
- Neck Snap: It's snapped by his head being turned all the way around. is looking up at the ceiling despite his body facing the ground.
- The Nondescript: He is described as being so average it is hard to remember him or even notice him in the first place, which is why he makes a great spy, but he hates being seen (or, indeed, not seen) like this.
- Older Than He Looks: Around 17-18 years old and yet looks 10. Has the voice to match as well.
- Plucky Comic Relief: His antics provide much of the comedy in an otherwise extremely bleak story.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: At the end of the story, he gets his neck snapped in a swift and unceremonious fashion to set the dark tone of The Reveal.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He is prone to praise himself and making everything he says as dramatic as possible, even though he's a very forgettable and unnoticeable person.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Without the bye-part; he often appears out of nowhere due to his lack of presence.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: Ryoko takes a while to notice that based on his unnatural pose he was murdered and it happened without her noticing despite having a conversation with him at the time.
- Teen Super Spy: His Ultimate talent. He's the Ultimate Spy.
- Trademark Favorite Food: A seemingly endless supply of bread he gets from his "Hänsel and Gretel" bag or even his coat pockets.
- Tuxedo and Martini: Parodied. He certainly fancies himself to be this, complete with the flirty personality, but he looks like a ten-year-old boy and is clearly in WAY over his head.
- Wham Line: While Kyoko has already told her about it, Kamishiro delivers one to Ryoko by confirming that Matsuda is Murasame's murderer.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: He thinks the mystery surrounding Hope's Peak Academy is an elaborate espionage plot akin to a Bond flick... but he's in Danganronpa, where Anyone Can Die, and his investigations come back to bite him. Fatally.
Isshiki Madarai
Ultimate Bodyguard/Ultimate Octuplets
Isshiki is the first one to be introduced, confronting Ryoko and "Junko" (who is actually Mukuro) at the school's central fountain, and he pursues the former relentlessly until he's trapped by her in a shed. Nisshiki assaults her right after she has defeated Isshiki, but he's killed by Mukuro on the spot. Misshiki appears in Matsuda's laboratory where he takes Makoto hostage, but he's overwhelmed by Mukuro's fighting skills. Later on, Yosshiki and Gosshiki corner Ryoko and Kyoko in Matsuda's laboratory, with Rosshiki backing them up. After Ryoko jumps from the building to escape, she's cornered by Shisshiki, Yasshiki, Yosshiki, and Gosshiki—all while Rosshiki is busy fighting Kirigiri. The four brothers ganging up on Ryoko are then mercilessly defeated by Ikusaba at once.
- Animal Motifs: Is frequently compared to a snake both in appearance and behavior. The fact that there are eight of them also makes them a reference to the Orochi, a legendary eight-headed serpent.
- Always Identical Twins: Exaggerated trope. Despite being octuplets, they are all identical.
- Backup Twin: And plenty of them.
- The Cameo: Madarai appears briefly in Super Danganronpa 2.5, along with Matsuda and Ryoko.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: They were absent when The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy happened, which led them to surviving the incident.
- Custom Uniform: A traditional Japanese boy's uniform, instead of the blazer that the other students wear.
- The Dividual: An exaggerated example of Twindividual since either in order to keep up the illusion of Isshiki being alive (and immortal as they put it) or as a part of their normal MO as the Ultimate Bodyguard/Octuplets they all act and tend to be treated as one character instead of eight.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: A rather sinister example.
- Expy: Visually of Orochimaru, which makes sense since his design is using the same motifs.
- Face of a Thug: Downplayed. He looks incredibly sinister, but he's actually quite polite and incredibly loyal to the academy. This doesn't stop him from being ruthless when he needs to be, however.
- Finishing Each Other's Sentences: And they do it so well other people only notice that there really are more than one by them saying different names or that there is more than appears by the sentence being said three times instead of two.
- Hive Mind: It's suggested that the Madarai brothers have this to a degree a la Twin Telepathy taken up to eleven, like many of their Twin Tropes are.
- It's Personal: They were not there when The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy occurred. Aside from their guilt of having failed to do their job as the Student Council's bodyguards, they weren't even targeted by the criminals, as they didn't consider them as a real member of the Student Council. Feeling humiliated by that, they now want revenge.
- Jerkass Has a Point: In the end, Madarai is not completely off with his belief of Ryoko Otonashi being involved with the massacre of the student council, as it's later revaled she's the amnesiac Junko, the true mastermind behind the incident.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: When they attempt to kill Kyoko, the headmaster's daughter, in order to prevent her discovering the details behind the Incident.
- Meaningful Name: "Madarai" is spelled with the characters for "uneven" and "Well" (as in where you get water from) and plays off the Madara/"Murderer" pun.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: He is elected as a Student Council "member" to be the council's bodyguard.. but neither the council nor the criminals behind The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy's consider them an actual member.
- Mythical Motifs: In addition to the snake motif, they also have Orochi and onryō motifs based on Japanese Mythology.
- Neck Snap: How one of them dies.
- Numerical Theme Naming: The brothers' first names are all spelled with the characters for one to eight, followed by -shiki (or "ceremony").
- Overly-Long Tongue: He is depicted as having a very long tongue.
- Revenge Before Reason: His Fatal Flaw, as his determination to avenge the academy leads him to pursue Ryoko—a frightened girl with no idea what's going on—with the intent to torture her for information.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: While they are not a traditional example, being several living males who dress in black, they clearly have the core traits of onryō—long black hair, very pale skin, an overpowering desire to avenge wrongful deaths which affects everyone around them, and the targets of their revenge are never really punished for what they did.
- Tsurime Eyes: Barely extend beyond slits.
- Undying Loyalty: To Hope's Peak Academy.
- Walking Spoiler: Yup, another one... well, another eight, which is part of what makes them this.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Killed by Junko in the first volume shortly after Ryoko escapes. Subverted when it turns out he, or rather they, aren't quite finished yet.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: To a rather blatant extent. His obsession with avenging The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy is what drags everyone down.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: One has their neck broken by "Junko" (Nisshiki), the one Ryoko knocked out in the shed (Isshiki) is implied to have been killed, one was curb-stomped in Matsuda's laboratory (Misshiki) and four are defeated in combat by Mukuro (Yoshiki, Gosshiki, Shisshiki and Yasshiki) before being killed by her. What happened to Rosshiki is never explained or shown, even though it's implied in the epilogue that all the brothers died since he/they were "expelled."
- Younger Than He Looks: Looks like a giant in comparison to the others going by a piece of group art.
Jin Kirigiri
Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy
- Absurdly Youthful Father: Has a teenage daughter despite only being in his mid-to-late thirties.
- Break Her Heart to Save Her: Threatens his daughter with expulsion should she continue investigating The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, doing so in order to save her life.
- Disappeared Dad: To Kyoko. Jin left his family and detective duties to pursue his job.
- Doomed by Canon: Since Zero takes place around a year before the events of Trigger Happy Havoc (where he's executed early on).
- Hair Color Dissonance: His hair appears dark purple in promotional art, but is black in Danganronpa 3.
- Love Freak: Well, "talent freak." It's not obvious, but he really likes talent. The ending spells out that Jin outright let Junko go through with her plans until it was too late to stop her because he saw despair as a viable talent.
- Older Than He Looks: Noted by Matsuda when they meet.
- Parental Neglect: He left his daughter to pursue his job.
- Puppet King: While he's officially the headmaster, the novel establishes him to be little more than a pawn for the Steering Committee.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He just wants to keep his students and the academy safe.
- Too Dumb to Live: Yes, Jin. Letting a famous fashionista with a paradoxical fetish for despair go about her business because you think despair, the very thing your school was made to combat, is viable as an Ultimate talent is going to end swimmingly.
- Unwitting Pawn: Just like everyone else.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He did some pretty terrible things, including shielding a murderer and approving of the way Izuru was raised (made worse when Danganronpa 2 revealed just how Kamukura was created)... but he did it all out of his sincere love of the academy.
Kyoko Kirigiri
Ultimate Detective
Click here to see her page
Izuru Kamukura
"Ultimate Hope"
Click here to see Kamukura in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.
A mysterious student who is believed to be the culprit behind The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy.
Click here to read about him.
Introduced in Volume 2:
Makoto Naegi
Ultimate Lucky Student
Click here to read about him.
Mukuro Ikusaba
Ultimate Soldier
- Action Girl: Especially since she's a female soldier. Once she becomes Junko's accomplice, she becomes a Dark Action Girl.
- Ax-Crazy: She has no problem with being either a murderous criminal or a member of Ultimate Despair. During a small mental breakdown, she is described as having eyes with swirls and spirals in them much like Junko did before she was executed. It also brings to mind other characters in the franchise who have fallen into despair.
- Big Damn Heroes: Saves Ryoko and Makoto from Madarai with a single knife throw.
- Child Soldier: Her talent.
- Dark Action Girl: Her undying alignment with her younger twin sister makes her this.
- Doomed by Canon: Since Zero takes place around a year before the events of Trigger Happy Havoc (where she's murdered by Junko).
- The Dragon: To her sister, Junko Enoshima.
- First-Name Basis: Being her older twin sister, Mukuro calls Junko Enoshima "Junko-chan."
- I Was Just Passing Through: She uses this as an excuse to justify why she happens to be at the scene when she saves Makoto from Madarai.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: This is invoked when and how she saves Makoto from Madarai.
- Ship Tease: She seemingly has a crush on Makoto, which is made far more obvious in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF.
- Super-Speed: Shows this during her fights with the eight Madarai brothers. It's a big hint to how she's disguised as Junko.
- Tsundere: Her "I Was Just Passing Through" excuse towards Makoto and her little embarrassment indicate that she's this.
- Twin Switch: Turns out that as part of Enoshima's plan, she impersonated her.
- Yandere: Sibling-based feelings. Everything she does—from perpetrating murders to allowing for her sanity's destruction—is out of her devotion to Junko.
Soshun Murasame
Ultimate Student Council President
Murasame in Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc.
The president of Hope's Peak Academy's student council and one of the two survivors of The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, having been rendered comatose by a head wound. He actually recovered a while ago, but has faked being comatose out of shell shock and trauma. Matsuda eventually manages to get a reaction out of him and chokes him to death upon realizing what he knows.- The Faceless: His face isn't shown in the illustrations, which contrasts with the other students who appear. Murasame's face is eventually revealed in Danganronpa 3.
- He Knows Too Much: Why Matsuda killed him.
- Madness Mantra: Starts screaming for Junko to be killed over and over before he dies.
- Obfuscating Disability: He isn't actually in a coma, though he still can barely think.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: So much so that after coming to, he's only referred to as "that thing."
- Sole Survivor: The only surviving member of the student council after The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy... though it doesn't last thanks to Matsuda.
- Student Council President: His talent.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Timeline-wise. In Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc, he's shown to have survived The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy (which happens in Episode 7), only to not be mentioned in any later episodes. Danganronpa Zero happens between Episodes 10 and 11.
- Walking Spoiler: His role reveals not only what The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy is, but also Matsuda's true motives.
The True Mastermind
