Here is the character page for Where Talent Goes on Vacation. Be warned- all spoilers are unmarked
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Female Students
Akira Azuki
Ultimate Actress
A talented young actress who was recruited to Talent High School. She stays in Cabin F4 with Nagato.
She is the third culprit, having accidentally activated the trap that would kill Mihama. She is executed in a recreation of the death scene from Julius Caesar, with the senators being played by a group of Monokumas wearing masks with her classmates' faces.
- Accidental Murder/Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her accidentally stepping on the pressure plate on the prison ground floor triggered the dart trap in the second floor office as Mihama was examining it, resulting in her death.
- Alliterative Name: Akira Azuki.
- At Least I Admit It: She accuses some of her classmates of not caring whether Taiga or Tatsuki was executed, as long as they got to live. She admits that she doesn't care enough about the others that she'd kill for them or hesitate to have them executed, although she doesn't want all the spotless to be executed, either.
- Brutal Honesty: Azuki doesn't mince words when she speaks, particularly when it comes to Higurashi's leadership or various people she doesn't like.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: She isn't completely fond of being famous, since it gets her the attention of "asshats like Kojima."
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Akira Azuki is this to Kaori Miura. While Miura was a mild-mannered Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak who only swears once in the entire fic, Azuki is a tomboyish Jerk with a Heart of Gold with a foul mouth. Miura had a "talent" she wasn't particularly proud of and looked up to Edogawa, eventually falling in love with her (a feeling Edogawa reciprocated). Azuki, however, has the highly desirable Ultimate Actress talent, and has two admirers- Nagato, whose feelings for her are platonic, and Kojima, who has an unrequited and unwanted crush on her. While Miura was quite uncomfortable with the notion of executing the blackened, Azuki has no qualms against it, being willing to sacrifice anyone who'd let the others die just to save themselves. While Miura eventually becomes The Leader in Chapter III, Azuki admits she has no talent for that. While Miura serves as an Expy of Makoto Naegi, Azuki serves more of one to Kaede Akamatsu, being a Decoy Protagonist who gets executed as a blackened while providing Character Development for the true protagonist (Shuichi for Kaede, Nagato for Azuki).
- Decoy Protagonist: Though she lasts longer than Akamatsu did.
- Disappeared Dad: Azuki mentions losing her father at a young age. In Nagato's Free Time events with her, she reveals that he was killed in a car accident that he caused when he travelled too far into oncoming traffic at an intersection which also killed the other driver as well.
- Entertainingly Wrong: After Himemiya comes out of the closet, Azuki wonders if the reason why Nagato seems surprisingly reserved around other is because she is a lesbian and she's worried what others might think.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Does this right before figuring out that she set off the trap that killed Mihama.
- Face Death with Dignity: After being convicted, she willingly accepts the punishment Monokuma's got planned, not willing to give him the pleasure of seeing her in fear before her death. Azuki even smiles during her execution, knowing that thanks to Monokuma giving her executors the faces of her classmates, she won't be dying alone.
- First-Name Basis: Over time, she starts calling Sayuri, Himeno and Chiyuri by their first names.
- Good Is Not Nice: Despite being a highly moral person who doesn't want to see her classmates come to harm, that doesn't mean Azuki likes all of her classmates, and can be quite open with that fact.
- Good Is Not Soft: Unlike Miura, Azuki has no compassion or mercy for the blackened, although she does gradually come to sympathize with them. The latter part ends up becoming Foreshadowing for her own arc of inadvertently becoming a blackened herself.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She willingly names herself as the blackened in order to ensure the safety of her fellow students.
- Hidden Depths:
- She respects her classmates' accomplishments, even if they are not in a field she's interested in. While this would seem to be more characteristic of a normal person like Naegi or Miura, she knows that it takes a lot of people's talents to make a movie, including many she does not possess.
- Unlike Akamatsu, who relied on Saihara to reveal her crime, once she realizes that she's Mihama's killer, she willingly reveals herself as the only one who could have done it, explaining exactly how the death went, not willing to sacrifice her fellow classmates to save herself.
- Honest Advisor: She serves this role to Higurashi, offering constructive criticism of his leadership.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: While she's fairly critical of Higurashi, she gets offended when Karita implies that he's a charlatan. While Azuki may criticize Higurashi for his idealism, she never doubts his sincerity.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Azuki can be blunt, rude and cynical, but nevertheless doesn't want to see anyone die on the killing school trip, even the people she doesn't like.
- The Kirk: She stands somewhere between Higurashi's idealism and Kirishima's pragmatism. She gradually starts to respect Higurashi's ideals if she doesn't always agree with him, and while she shares Kirishima's skepticism, she finds him somewhat callous.
- The Lad-ette: She's an unabashed tomboy with a distaste for dressing or acting feminine.
- Secret-Keeper: Is entrusted with Chiyuri's status as the illegitimate daughter of the head of the Talent High board as well as Himemiya's crush on Sasaki shortly before her death.
- Significant Birth Date: She, a fan of Julius Caesar, was born on March 15, the Ides of March. Naturally, Monokuma's execution for her is titled "The Ides of March".
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Her dialogue and narration are fairly coarse, and she uses profanity fairly often.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Nagato's Girly Girl.
- Tomboyish Name: "Akira" is commonly a boys' name, but some girls can be named Akira, too.
- Western Zodiac: Aries.
- What the Hell, Hero?: She calls out some of the students for judging Tatsuki, saying that their attitudes are self-righteous, hypocritical and oblivious to Kojima and Taiga's actions.
Chiyuri Nagato
Ultimate Tech Support
A girl who has a knack for helping others with technology, as well as the teacher's daughter. She stays in Cabin F4 with Azuki.
Nagato survives and escapes the simulation.
- Bastard Angst: She's been ostracized as a result of her not having a father, which led to her being reserved and distant from others to some extent.
- Break the Cutie: The third trial and Azuki's conviction do not go easy on her. By the end, she's begging Monokuma not to go through with the execution.
- Catholic Schoolgirls Rule: Averted. She wears her uniform properly, and not at all in a fanservice-like manner.
- Clear My Name: Is framed by Kirishima as Kumakura's killer, but manages to prove her innocence while exposing him in the process.
- Connected All Along: Her status as the chairman's illegitimate granddaughter makes her cousins with Reiko Mitamura.
- Disappeared Dad: Nagato never knew her father, but the reasons for this are unknown. Azuki, however, notices that Yukari has never referred to Chiyuri's father as her husband, and does not seem to be wearing a wedding ring.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Does this upon first realizing her mother's the traitor during the final investigation while investigating the Neo World Program login pod activations with Tatsuki.
- Fangirl: She's a fan of Azuki's. Much to Azuki's dismay, she most likes Magical Girl Sakura.
- First-Name Basis: In Chapter III, she starts calling Azuki "Akira-san," which is a fairly significant step for her.
- She manages to go even further when Azuki is brought Back from the Dead the final morning of the cruise, calling her "Akira" before she and the remaining survivors embark on the final investigation.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: Despite her soft-spoken and reserved personality, Nagato enjoys wearing jeans and overalls while dressing casually.
- Heroic Bastard: She's the illegitimate child of the son of the chairman of Talent High School's board. In order to keep this quiet, she was offered a spot inside the school.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: She often engages in this, particularly when she expresses that she doesn't think she can meaningfully contribute to the investigation.
- Japanese Christian: Nagato and her mother are Catholics.
- Japanese Politeness: Nagato's a well-mannered girl who uses last names and "-san" on all her classmates, and tends to be excessively polite when she's first meeting someone. That being said, she has dropped the "-san" from Asakura's name when speaking with Azuki, simply because she can't stand him.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: The strain of the Despair Disease she's infected with prevents her from making new memories.
- Nepotism: Played with. While Asakura assumes that Nagato got into high school due to being the teacher's daughter, Nagato and her mother insist that the latter's job played no role in Chiyuri getting in. However she is the illegitimate granddaughter of the chairman of the board via her father's side and was let into Talent High School in order to keep quiet about the scandal.
- Nice Girl: Played with. Nagato is outwardly polite and pleasant to a fault, but while she gets along with most people, she can't stand Asakura. Part of her politeness is simply a façade, out of a desire to be accepted.
- Number Two: She's chosen as Higurashi's vice leader, who will take over in case of his death. The latter part finally ends up happening when Higurashi offers himself up to be executed during the fifth trial.
- Parental Title Characterization: While Chiyuri usually calls her mother "Mom," she has to call her "Nagato-sensei" while in class, to show her respect as a teacher. Chiyuri doesn't mind, though, respecting her teacher's impartial treatment of her students and appreciating being treated as part of the class.
- Precision F-Strike: Calls Monokuma a "son of a bitch" who "(doesn't) give a rat's ass about being fair" during the fifth trial when he demands the surviving students to offer one of themselves up to be executed as per his Rule 16.
- Proper Tights with a Skirt: She wears white pantyhose with her uniform.
- Skewed Priorities: Downplayed. During the first investigation, she goes to the ship to find evidence, but confesses that the trip was also so that she could see her mother one last time in case the trial went badly.
- Take Up My Sword: Azuki entrusts her to continue solving the mysteries and find the truth of the Killing Game following her execution.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Azuki's Tomboy.
- Token Religious Teammate: Nagato is a Christian who has gone to Catholic schools in the past and says her prayers every night before bed.
- Western Zodiac: Libra.
Sayuri Sasaki
Ultimate Manga Artist
A talented manga artist who's published "Breakneck Canyon," a gay love story. She stays in Cabin F2 with Mihama.
Sasaki survives and escapes the simulation.
- Alliterative Name: Sayuri Sasaki.
- Cool Aunt: Sayuri's paternal aunt is highly supportive of her niece's attempts to pursue her dream of becoming a manga artist, having put off her dream of becoming an actress until it was too late.
- Cool Big Sis: She plays this role to Mihama, the youngest of the group.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": She dislikes being called anything more formal than "Sasaki-san," except for being called "sensei" by her fans.
- First-Name Basis: Upon becoming acquainted with her peers, Sasaki generally asks permission to use first names. If they say no, like Himemiya did, then Sasaki generally uses last names with -kun for boys and -san for girls, but if they say yes, she uses first names with -kun for boys and -chan for girls.
- Mistaken Identity/Recognition Failure: Her strain of the Despair Disease causes her to mistake people she sees for someone else, with the person she sees them as changing intermittently.
- Nice Girl: She comes off as a pleasant and friendly individual.
- The Perfectionist: Similar to Mitamura, Sasaki is determined to achieve perfection, but in manga art rather than academics. Unlike Mitamura, Sasaki realizes that she'll never be completely perfect, and instead continually strives to improve herself..
- Relationship Upgrade: Becomes an Official Couple with Himemiya following the fifth trial.
- Sailor Fuku: She wears one as her uniform.
- Western Zodiac: Cancer.
- Young and in Charge: As the manga artist, she's essentially her assistants' boss, even though they're significantly older than she is.
Miharu Mihama
Ultimate Legal Expert
A young girl with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Japan's laws. She stays in Cabin F2 with Sasaki.She is the third victim, having been killed by one of the booby-trap darts at the prison the students are camping at.
- Alliterative Name: Miharu Mihama.
- The Baby of the Bunch: She's the youngest in her class and is somewhat sensitive about it, resulting in her treating the others quite formally.
- Child Prodigy: Not only is she exceptionally knowledgeable about Japanese law, but she's intelligent enough to skip several grades.
- Eye Scream: She's found with a dart in her eye.
- Grade Skipper: She's skipped several grades, and got to high school at 10.
- Sailor Fuku: Like Sasaki, she wears a sailor fuku.
- Western Zodiac: Capricorn.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Despite being the youngest member of the class, she's also one of the most collected and mature.
Himeno Himemiya
Ultimate Archer
A talented archer from an extremely wealthy family. She stays in Cabin F3 with Tsukimura.
Himemiya survives and escapes the simulation.
- Armor-Piercing Question: She asks one of Yamazaki after he apologizes for Tsukimura's death."Are you saying this because Kanae's dead... or because you're about to die?"
- Brutal Honesty: She comes off as fairly blunt and outspoken, but is often polite about it.
- Childhood Friend: She and Tsukimura have known each other since they were young.
- Decomposite Character: She and Tatsuki represent two aspects of Fuyuhiko from the second game. In Himeno's case, she represents Fuyuhiko's close bond with a Childhood Friend who is duty-bound to serve him.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": She's not fond of Tsukimura using "-sama" on her, but tolerates it, since Tsukimura is expected to show her that level of respect.
- First-Name Basis: She calls Tsukimura by her first name without honorifics, indicating that they're close. Eventually, she starts calling Akira by her first name, too.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In Chapter III, she volunteers to kill Tatsuki and be executed so the others can escape the island.
- Human Pincushion: In her execution in the "Desperate Measures" side story, she's repeatedly shot with crossbow bolts.
- Incompatible Orientation: She's a lesbian while Tsukimura is heterosexual.
- Japanese Politeness: Played with. She uses polite speech on her classmates, but can be fairly blunt and outspoken.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Which part of her is most evident depends on who she's interacting with. Her heart of gold comes out when she's with Tsukimura and Azuki, but she's somewhat more distant from Sasaki and Nagato, and dislikes Asakura.
- Maid and Maiden: The Maiden to Tsukimura's Maid.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After Azuki is convicted as Mihama's killer, Himeno apologizes for not being able to do anything for her. Since Himeno tends to view apologies as hollow and insincere, Azuki immediately takes note of it.
- Rejected Apology: She rejects Yamazaki's apology for killing Tsukimura, considering it a hollow and insincere gesture that cannot make up for killing her best friend.
- Relationship Upgrade: Becomes an Official Couple with Sasaki following the fifth trial.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Subverted. She chastises Azuki for not using honorifics on her, but it turns out that she wasn't serious.
- Unequal Pairing: Defied. She realizes that if she were to get into a relationship with Tsukimura, there would be a severe power imbalance. The fact that Tsukimura is heterosexual doesn't help.
- Western Zodiac: Sagittarius.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Nagato for not voting for Azuki as the blackened during the third trial, feeling that Nagato not trusting Azuki when she was trying to ensure the other students wouldn't die for her mistake makes Himeno unable to trust Nagato to make the right decision when the next trial comes around.
- William Telling: In her execution in the "Desperate Measures" side story, an apple is placed on her head. She's turned into a Human Pincushion by Monokumas wielding crossbows, who shoot everywhere except the apple. After she's dead, the last Monokuma shoots the apple.
Kanae Tsukimura
Ultimate Handmaiden
A young maid who works for the Himemiya family, and has known Himeno since childhood. The two share Cabin F3.
She is the first murder victim, having walked in on Yamazaki's setup for the murder attempt.
- Berserk Button: Badmouthing Himemiya, especially accusing her of being the traitor, is an easy way to get on Tsukimura's bad side.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She's one of the nicest characters in the cast, but it's implied that even she has limits. She despises Asakura, and in the omake for her Free Time Events, gets annoyed when Azuki tries to troll her by giving deliberately wrong answers to her question.
- Childhood Friend: She has known Himemiya since they were young.
- First-Name Basis:
- She calls Himemiya "Himeno-sama." At the end of her Free Time Events, as well as just before her murder, she succeeds in switching to calling her "Himeno," without honorifics. She also eventually starts calling Sasaki "Sayuri-chan," and switches to calling Azuki "Akira-chan" at the end of her Free Time Events.
- The White Day chapter of Where Talent Went to School reveals that she had also gotten around to just calling Himemiya "Himeno" by the time of the Tragedy.
- Lady-In-Waiting: She's served as Himemiya's personal maid since they were young.
- Legacy of Service: The Tsukimura family has served the Himemiya family for generations.
- Maid and Maiden: The Maiden to Himemiya's Maid. Unusually, they're roughly the same age.
- Meido: As you might expect from her title, but her duties are more down-to-earth and mundane than Kirumi's. She even wears a traditional Japanese maid outfit.
- Nice Girl: A good-natured and friendly individual.
- Parental Abandonment: Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father died of an illness when she was young.
- Secret-Keeper: For a long time, she was the only person who knew that Himemiya was a lesbian.
- She Knows Too Much: Yamazaki ended up hitting her on the head because she ended up witnessing his attempt to set up a trap for Karita.
- Spanner in the Works: The fact that she headed to the south boys' room on her own without the killer's knowledge helped derail the plot to kill Karita… and resulted in her own death.
- Western Zodiac: Aquarius.
Tatsuki and Taiga Tachibana
Ultimate Guitarist and Ultimate Songwriter
A pair of twins who are the force behind the musical sensation "Dragon Girl." They share Cabin F1.
Tatsuki is the second murderer, having killed Kojima to save Taiga, but Taiga ends up sacrificing herself in Tatsuki's place. Taiga is killed by being burned alive.
Tatsuki survives and escapes the simulation.
- Always Identical Twins: They look almost identical, save for a birthmark on Taiga's neck.
- Broken Bird: Tatsuki is utterly broken after losing Taiga.
- Death Seeker: Tatsuki becomes this after her sister dies for her, afraid of dying but hoping to die in some way that has meaning for the group.
- Decomposite Character: Tatsuki and Himemiya represent different aspects of Fuyuhiko. In Tatsuki's case, she, like Fuyuhiko, kills someone for her younger sister's sake, resulting in the person she values most being executed.
- Dressing to Die: They change out of their costumes and back into their uniforms, supposedly to look nicer if they end up getting executed. It turns out that this is to disguise their Twin Switch.
- Fatal Flaw: Taiga's is her poor self-esteem and her belief that she can't do much without her sister, which prevents her from realizing how much Tatsuki appreciates her.
- First-Name Basis: They ask that their classmates call them by their first names to keep them separate.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Taiga takes her Tatsuki's place and allows herself to be executed to save her sister's life.
- Tatsuki offers to be killed in order to allow the others to escape the island. She accepts this fate in the "Desperate Measures" omake.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Taiga has fairly low self-esteem, and generally sometimes believes that her sister only has her write their songs out of pity, a notion that Azuki and Tatsuki try to dispel.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: Taiga has a birthmark on her neck, which is covered by the collar of her uniform.
- Memetic Mutation: In-Universe, Tatsuki's fans remind everyone of Taiga's contributions by saying "There's no Dragon without the Taiga!"
- Moment of Weakness: Tatsuki, afraid of what might happen to Taiga if she were allowed to remain in the killing game, agrees to her sister's proposal for a Twin Switch with the intent of graduating together. Unfortunately for her, Tatsuki is caught and Taiga dies in her stead, possibly having intended to sacrifice herself all along, leaving Tatsuki alive, wracked by guilt and distrusted by her classmates.
- Neck Snap: When Tatsuki is hanged in "Desperate Measures," the noose breaks her neck.
- Nose Bleed: Taiga suffers one while exploring the ship.
- Performance Anxiety: Tatsuki says that while Taiga was just as good with the guitar as she was, but an attack of stage fright prevented her from passing her audition to the talent show.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Tatsuki's more outgoing and a confident performer, while Taiga is relatively shy.
- Survivor Guilt: Tatsuki suffers this as a result of Taiga dying in her stead, partly because she knows that she's the one who was supposed to have died.
- Sympathetic Murderer: Tatsuki killed Kojima in order to prevent him from killing Taiga. She was prepared to accept her fate, and only the realization that Taiga would be left by herself, heartbroken and in danger of death caused her to reconsider.
- Take Me Instead: After Azuki's conviction in the third trial, Tatsuki offers herself up to be executed in Azuki's place, but Monokuma and Azuki refuse to allow it.
- Technician Versus Performer: Taiga is described as the technician, having a good grasp of musical theory and being able to write songs. Tatsuki is the Performer, having a talent for the guitar and the ability to play in front of large crowds.
- Tiger Versus Dragon: Tatsuki's name has the word for "Dragon," and Taiga's name sounds like "Tiger." In-universe, their fans have a saying, "There's no Dragon without the Taiga!"
- Twin Switch:
- They apparently pulled this off while in middle school one day, and even their mother didn't notice.
- This ends up being the key to Taiga's Heroic Sacrifice. She convinces Tatsuki to switch places with her, and Tatsuki accepts, believing that if Monokuma is lying about the graduate being able to select a "plus one," Taiga will live.
- Unreliable Expositor: While both of their Free Time Events talk about similar things- how Tatsuki succeeded where Taiga didn't, and how Taiga ended up becoming a songwriter- there are some differences in their accounts. For example, Tatsuki claims that Taiga only failed her audition because of stage fright, while Taiga claims that she was that much worse than her sister.
- Western Zodiac: Gemini.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Since Taiga often underestimates her own importance, Tatsuki and Azuki do what they can to bolster her self-esteem.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Tatsuki's strain of the Despair Disease will kill her in 72 hours (three days) unless a murder has been committed by then, at which point it passes to another student. This ends up being subverted as Kumakura is killed before she can succumb to the disease.
Male Students
Hide Yamazaki
Ultimate Trivia Champion
A student who has won many trivia contests and participated on game shows. He stays in Cabin M1 with Kumakura.
He is the first culprit, having killed Tsukimura when she walked in on his attempt to set a death trap to kill Karita. He is executed by being pelted with stones, strangled, then being drawn and quartered while set on fire.
- Armor-Piercing Question: After Higurashi tries to argue that working together will help them prevail, Yamazaki shuts him up with one word- "How?!"
- Book Dumb: Despite his skill at memorizing trivia, he does poorly in school, since he can't memorize the material as easily as odd bits of trivia.
- Complexity Addiction: His plot to create a death trap that would kill Karita without leaving any evidence as to when it was set up seems like a decent way to obfuscate his involvement, but in reality, it's implied that the trap wouldn't have worked anyway, and ended up only being a ruse to Tsukimura's actual cause of death.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He gets stoned, strangled, drawn and quartered and burned alive.
- Doomed Defeatist: Yamazaki makes it clear that he doesn't have much faith in the group's ability to conquer problems together, or his own ability to contribute, which he expresses by refusing to vote for Higurashi, and in a discussion with Azuki. Fear of his own uselessness drives him to try to kill the mastermind on his own.
- Skewed Priorities: During the first murder investigation, he spends much of his time waiting outside his cabin for his laundry to get back. Azuki lampshades it, saying that unless Monokuma's delivering a signed confession, it's not worth waiting around for. Played with in that he was waiting for his yukata to come back, worried that someone else would find it and realize it was his, although the fact that he did so proved that he never intended to help out.
- Tragic Dream: He once wanted to be an actor, and to that end, studied how other actors had made it big. Unfortunately, he didn't have the talent to realize his goal.
- Western Zodiac: Leo.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: He laments that his talent isn't much good for establishing a career or for the killing game.
Kotaro Kumakura
Ultimate Weightlifter
An exceptional weight lifter. He stays in Cabin M1 with Yamazaki.
He is the fourth victim, having been smothered by a pillow at Kirishima's hands while being treated for his strain of the Despair Disease at the fourth island's hospital
- Does Not Like Spam: He hates spicy foods.
- Genius Bruiser: He's not only very strong, but also intelligent.
- Handicapped Badass: His strain of the Despair Disease causes him to lose one of his senses, with the sense in question changing each day.
- Hidden Depths: He's far more intelligent than one would expect of a bodybuilder, and has an intellectual fascination in how people learn their crafts.
- Nice Guy: A rather pleasant and humble individual.
- Western Zodiac: Taurus.
Nobuhiro Higurashi
Ultimate Public Speaker
A gifted public speaker who helped the student council candidate he supported win the election, and leads the class. He stays in Cabin M3 with Kirishima.
Once it becomes clear during the fifth trial that Asakura and Karita ended up killing each other, he offers himself up to be executed as per Monokuma's Rule 16. He is killed by getting impaled with falling spikes.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Offers himself up to be executed in order to assure the continued survival of the remaining students.
- The Leader: He's elected to lead the students, but has somewhat more difficulty securing a mandate than Mitamura did.
- The McCoy: He's idealistic and passionate, albeit with some sound arguments for why the group needs to work together.
- Nice Guy: He's an honest and upstanding individual who cares for his classmates. As much as Azuki doubts Higurashi's ability to lead, she's willing to accept that he has good intentions.
- Western Zodiac: Aries.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Downplayed. He has quite a few sensible arguments in favor of cooperation, and the only unrealistic aspects of his pitch are his belief that everyone will trust him and cooperate.
Seita Kirishima
Ultimate Geneticist
A talented geneticist who has a calm and rational mindset. He stays in Cabin M3 with Higurashi.
He is the fourth culprit, having smothered Kumakura with a pillow after paralyzing him with muscle relaxants. He is executed by being bombarded with massive doses of radiation.
- Doomed Defeatist: Like Hoshino in the previous fic, this turns out to be his reason for committing murder, as the increasing number of deaths convinced him that the only way to save himself was to attempt to graduate.
- Frame-Up: Attempts to frame Nagato for Kumakura's death by taking advantage of her strain of the Despair Disease to chloroform her and leave her at the crime scene with no memory of how she got there while also taking advantage of Sasaki's strain by having her see him as Nagato and placing her at the scene and faking a checklist on how to kill Kumakura using the missing pages from Nagato's notebook.
- Hypocrite: When Nagato names him as Kumakura's murderer, he states that Azuki was more graceful facing her death than she'd ever be after previously dismissing Azuki's sacrifice as meaningless.
- Lab Coat Of Science And Medicine: He wears a lab coat with a shirt and tie.
- Lack of Empathy: As time goes on, Azuki notices that Kirishima is surprisingly detached from the killing game, even callous, and becomes increasingly wary of him.
- Pet the Dog: Gives Nagato his journal of his personal observations from his time on the cruise before his execution in the hope that she'll be able to make use of them.
- Secretly Selfish: In his Free Time Events, it's hinted that he may not be in science out of a desire to improve humankind, but in order to leave his won mark on history. It's this selfishness that causes him to attempt to graduate by killing Kumakura, as he feels that as a scientist, he's the one who would benefit the human race the most by his survival.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: Dismisses Azuki's sacrifice as "utterly meaningless" since all she's done is ensure that the Killing Game goes on until the next island.
- The Spock: He's cool-headed and rational, often to the point of seeming uncaring.
- Western Zodiac: Virgo.
Shigeru Kojima
Ultimate Game Designer
A high schooler who made a hit indie RPG and has an intense crush on Azuki. He stays in Cabin M2 with Kurogane.
He is the second murder victim. During the party, he tries to murder Taiga, only to die when Tatsuki stabs him in the back.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Azuki. He's fairly forward with his unwelcome advances.
- Asshole Victim: Zig-zagged. He was planning on killing Taiga in order to graduate and possibly take Azuki with him, which causes Azuki to lose what little respect she had for him. That said, Kurogane suggests that Kojima was also motivated by concern for his friends and his family, so while Azuki doesn't fully forgive him, she does concede that he might not be a completely bad person.
- Broken Pedestal:
- To Kurogane. Kurogane had an unrequited crush on him, and trusted him as a friend, so he's shocked that Kojima would try to kill someone.
- The pedestal breaks down a bit further for Kurogane after Monokuma reveals that Kojima got into Talent High School via Nepotism.
- Commonality Connection: He often spends time with Sasaki due to their common background as creators of content- Sasaki draws manga, while Kojima makes video games.
- Didn't Think This Through: His plan has several holes in it, particularly when it comes to disposing of his bloody costume, and Azuki realizes that he probably would have failed even if Tatsuki hadn't killed him.
- Dogged Nice Guy: His general MO when it comes to winning Azuki over. He's outwardly pleasant, but with the end goal of getting Azuki to like him.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite his unabashed interest in Azuki, he argues that he'd never consider peeping on her while she's naked.
- Foil: To Kaori Miura. Miura is a genuinely Nice Girl who generally doesn't have any ulterior motives for acting nice to others, unlike Kojima, who comes off as a Dogged Nice Guy. While Kojima is quite forward in pursuing Azuki, Miura is content with Edogawa's friendship, and only realizes that she loves Edogawa in Chapter V. Similarly, while Kojima is relatively quick to plot a murder after hearing that his family and friends might be in danger, Miura refuses to kill anyone, even when told that her parents will be killed if someone doesn't commit murder.
- In the Back: Tatsuki stabs him in the back with a sword, killing him.
- Nepotism: He was able to get into Talent High School because his mother's cousin was part of the board of directors.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The day before the costume party, he inexplicably starts avoiding Azuki, causing everyone to realize that something's up.
- Secret-Keeper: He was the first person Kurogane told about being gay, and Kurogane appreciates his willingness to keep the secret.
- Western Zodiac: Taurus.
Hikaru Kurogane
Ultimate Go Player
A child prodigy at go and the older cousin of Shiro Kurogane from Where Talent Goes to Die. He stays in Cabin M2 with Kojima.
Kurogane survives and escapes the simulation.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: It's implied that the extended Kurogane family competes with each other to become shogi champions.
- Can't Catch Up: Hikaru was unable to surpass his relatives, including his cousin Shiro, in shogi, which is part of the reason why he switched to go. On the other end, he can't help but feel bad for all the go friends whom he ultimately surpassed and left in the dust.
- Cool Big Bro: He's like an older brother to his younger cousin, Shiro.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Downplayed. When Azuki wishes that Kojima would be interested in Kurogane, Kurogane politely tells Azuki that he's come to terms with Kojima being heterosexual, and that he wouldn't have a chance even if Kojima weren't interested in Azuki.
- Dramatic Irony: The second day of the cruise, he discusses his cousin with Azuki and the possibility that he might get recruited to Talent High School and end up in a Killing Game himself. As readers of the first story know, not only did both of these happen, the younger Kurogane was the first to end up getting killed in his Killing Game.
- Incompatible Orientation: He's gay, but Kojima, the guy he likes, is heterosexual, meaning that Kurogane wouldn't have a shot even if Kojima were not infatuated with Azuki.
- Irony: His cousin ended up being the first student to die in the first story, while he ends up surviving here.
- Nice Guy: In stark contrast to his cousin, Hikaru is quite pleasant and easy to get along with.
- The Smurfette Principle: Gender-inverted. He's the only male among the survivors.
- Western Zodiac: Pisces.
Satoshi Karita
Ultimate Con Artist
A young con artist who is a master of pulling off various scams. He stays in Cabin M4 with Asakura.
He is the first culprit and second victim of Chapter V, having shot Asakura with a poisoned arrow before getting electrocuted by the Spear of Gungnir being embedded in a nearby machine.
- Affably Evil: He's surprisingly well-mannered despite his untrustworthy personality.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: He got caught attempting to con a Talent High School employee, and was given an offer- attend the school as the Ultimate Con Artist or be turned over to the police. He accepted, and Azuki wryly notes that this worked out very well for him.
- This later turns out to be subverted as Nagato discovers a message from him after his death where he confesses that he actually managed to trick the recruiter into thinking that he was a con artist in order to display his talent.
- Armor-Piercing Question: After Himemiya takes umbrage at the execution of Yamazaki, who'd killed her best friend, Karita asks her this."How compassionate of you, Himemiya-san, but is that your conscience talking, or your stomach?"
- Brutal Honesty: He occasionally practices this trope when it comes to the class trials, such as confronting Himemiya with the fact that she wouldn't care as much if he'd been the one who'd died the night they stayed at the inn.
- Can Not Tell A Lie: His strain of the Despair Disease causes him to do this, though if he wrongly believes something to be true or doesn't know the answer to the question he's asked, he can still be wrong in his answer.
- Con Men Hate Guns: Guns are listed as his personal dislike in his character bio.
- Deadly Dodging/Shock and Awe: Dodges the Spear of Gungnir thrown at him by Asakura only for it to embed itself in a nearby machine and fatally electrocute him when he accidentally touches it.
- Freudian Excuse: He claims that because a con man ruined his life, he became one to hunt down the man responsible, but took on his name when he realized he'd become that person.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Because of his untrustworthy nature and talent, hardly anyone can stand to be around him.
- Heel Realization: After planning on conning a woman who had a husband and young son, he realized he'd become the very person he hated so much.
- I Lied: After revealing his backstory, he suddenly claims that all this was a lie. As much as Azuki distrusts him, and can imagine him lying, she can't fathom why he would admit to the lie so easily.
- Mutual Kill: His and Asakura's attempts to kill each other end up getting them both killed.
- Parental Abandonment: After his mother lost the family's life savings, his father killed her, and then himself.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He tries to stay on at least passable terms with the other students, to lessen the possibility that someone will kill him.
- Red Herring: When Nagato finds Karita's written confession while investigating his death that he faked his Ultimate Con Artist talent, one might think that Karita is the traitor, since Monokuma had stated that the traitor was someone who wasn't actually part of the Talent High class. However, after the trial, Monokuma reveals that the traitor is still alive.
- Shout-Out: His backstory is one to that of James "Sawyer" Ford from Lost.
- Token Evil Teammate: In addition to being the only one in the class with a crime-related talent, he's a cynical and shady individual.
- Western Zodiac: Cancer.
Yuichi Asakura
Ultimate Tech Support
A rude and foul-mannered boy who also happens to be the Ultimate Tech Support. He stays in Cabin M4 with Karita.
He is the second culprit and first victim of Chapter V, having electrocuted Karita with the Spear of Gungnir before succumbing to the poison from the arrow Karita shot him with.
- Asshole Victim: With all the stuff mentioned below, it's surprising he wasn't killed any sooner.
- Berserk Button: He really doesn't like anyone implying that he didn't earn his title.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: As a result of his unpleasant personality, no one can stand talking with him.
- Hate Sink: As easily the rudest and most petty individual, he's the most unlikeable character, blackened or spotless alike.
- Humiliation Conga: After all his Jerkass behavior throughout the story, Chapter V has him hit with Laser-Guided Karma hard. First he's beaten up by Nagato for insulting Azuki in front of her, then Monokuma reveals that he got into Talent High School through Nepotism via his uncle, and finally his attempt to graduate by killing Karita ends up backfiring and getting him killed as well.
- Hypocrite: For all his complaining about Nagato getting into Talent High School through Nepotism, in the White Day chapter for Where Talent Went to School, Miura reveals that Asakura benefited from it as well, as his mother was the headmistress' secretary while his uncle was on the school board.
- Jerkass: He's rude, foul-tempered and easily gets on others' bad sides.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- He has a reasonable concern about the mastermind gleaning information from the group's conversations, one that even Azuki, who hates him, privately acknowledges.
- He also happens to be right about Nagato benefiting from Nepotism, since her father's the reason why she got into Talent High School.
- Jerkass to One: A Crueler To One example. He's rude and standoffish to the rest of the class, but especially hates Nagato, since he doesn't want to share his Ultimate title with her.
- Mutual Kill: His and Karita's attempts to kill each other end up getting them both killed.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Azuki discovers that while Asakura was right about Nagato getting her position by way of familial connections, she actually got in through her father's connections, rather than her mother's like Asakura believes.
- Western Zodiac: Scorpio.
Other Characters
Yukari Nagato
Class 32's homeroom teacher, as well as Chiyuri's mother.
She is the traitor behind the Killing Game, having been brainwashed into becoming part of Ultimate Despair during the tragedy. She survives and escapes the simulation with her sanity restored, but is arrested by Miura as part of Future Foundation's orders regarding Ultimate Despair.
- Ambiguous Situation: Is arrested and taken to stand trial at the end of the story. However, the Final Killing Game takes place while she's being taken to the Future Foundation headquarters, leaving her final fate in question.
- Amnesiacs are Innocent: Doesn't remember being a part of Ultimate Despair until her daughter reveals it to her during the final trial.
- Brainwashed: Like so many of Ultimate Despair, she fell victim to this, leading her to become part of Enoshima's movement. It's implied during the epilogue that the brainwashing was done by Chisa Yukizome.
- Damsel in Distress: Monokuma imprisons her in a cell in the lower levels of the ship, and warns the students that she'll also be executed if they fail to find the blackened in a class trial.
- Future Me Scares Me: Is noticeably unnerved by her Despair-loving Alter Ego counterpart.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Served this role in the Talent High School Killing Game, being the one who leaked the plans to have Kagami steal the Hope's Peak air purifier to Junko and thus allowing her to capture him and provide him with the means to set up the Killing Game.
- Hopeless with Tech: Downplayed. According to her daughter, she struggles with new technology, such as smartphones, but can get the hang of using it with some help.
- I Did What I Had to Do: She acknowledges that recommending her daughter to be chosen for Talent High School may have cost someone else a spot, but believes that she deserves to be recognized for what she has done, rather than judged for her parentage.
- Japanese Christian: Like her daughter, she's a Catholic.
- Last-Name Basis: She calls the entire class by their last names and "-san," and is exclusively addressed as "Nagato-sensei." Her daughter is not exempt from this while Yukari is acting as a teacher.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Upon awakening from the Neo World Program, the shock of her memories there combined with the realization of her actions as part of Ultimate Despair manages to shock her into sanity.
- Parents in Distress: She's kept as a prisoner in the lower levels of the Ursa Major, and the class is told that if someone graduates, their teacher will be executed with the rest of the spotless.
- Proper Tights with a Skirt: She wears dark pantyhose.
- Sharp Dressed Woman: She wears a dark skirt suit.
- Stern Teacher: She's reasonably serious and professional, and Chiyuri mentions that she believe in the importance of staying respectable.
- They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: She insists on being called "Nagato-sensei" while class is in session, and her daughter is no exception. She only waives this expectation when Monokuma takes over, and she's unseated as the chaperone of the trip.
- Token Adult: While most of the cast is high school age, and Mihama is 11, Yukari is a teacher and a mother.
- Western Zodiac: Pisces.
Monokuma
The "captain" of the Ursa Major and the overseer of the killing school trip.
- Because I Said So: He utters this phrase verbatim, while acting like an exasperated parent, in order to discourage Nagato from going after her mother.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist and overseer of the killing game.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Doesn't understand why Azuki would willingly sacrifice herself as the blackened in order to save her fellow students.
- Faux Affably Evil: While outwardly somewhat more polite than his other incarnations, he's no less sadistic or dangerous.
- Hijacked by Ganon: Averted. He is not controlled by Junko Enoshima or her AI.
- Malicious Misnaming: After Taiga and Tatsuki's Twin Switch allows the former to be executed in the latter's place, Monokuma begins to start referring to Tatsuki as "Taiga-san."
- Unreliable Expositor: He engages in several Blatant Lies during his lectures on the Hope's Peak and Talent High killing games- namely the canon one about Kamukura being the one who killed the Hope's Peak student council when it was actually Junko, that Mukuro was executed for attempting to betray Junko when she was actually loyal to Junko the entire time and was the one betrayed by her sister, that Kagami was a member of Ultimate Despair when he was actually just using Junko's philosophies for revenge against the Talent High staff, and that the survivors of both games slaughtered their respective masterminds.
Kaori Miura
Ultimate Beginner's Luck
The former protagonist of Where Talent Goes to Die, she and her fellow survivors have joined up with the Future Foundation since escaping from Talent High School.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: Brings the rest of her fellow Talent High School killing game survivors into the final trial in order to help the remaining killing school trip survivors activate the Forced Shutdown.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Arrests the elder Nagato during the epilogue as part of the Future Foundation's policy regarding Ultimate Despair, but still feels sympathy towards her former teacher and promises her and Chiyuri that she'll do everything in her power to secure leniency for her.
Alter-Ego Yukari Nagato
Monokuma's true form and the true mastermind of the killing school trip, a virtual avatar based off of Yukari's time as a member of Ultimate Despair.
- Archnemesis Mom: To Chiyuri.
- Big Bad: Of the killing school trip.
- Sadistic Choice: Forces one onto the surviving students and the Talent High killing game survivors: Either choose Repeat and remain trapped in the Neo World Program or Graduate and escape while Alter-Ego Nagato turns the dead students into copies of herself. Or they could activate the Forced Shutdown, allowing everyone to be free to leave at the cost of the dead students being trapped in a vegetative state while the real Yukari is arrested by the Future Foundation and likely executed for her crimes as a member of Ultimate Despair.
- Sore Loser: Played with. Though like Junko herself, she relishes the despair of having her own plans being thwarted, she still hangs herself after being defeated as one final taunt to Chiyuri and the real Yukari about the fate that awaits the latter.
