All spoilers will be unmarked ahead. You Have Been Warned!
Danganronpa is no stranger to having likeable characters, but among the fans there are always a select group of characters that stand out more than others despite their small role.
open/close all folders
Main installments:
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
- Kiyotaka Ishimaru is the definition of an Unpopular Popular Character. While most of his classmates find him to be an irritating Determinator, he has earned a spot in the hearts of many players for being a Woobie with Adorkable tendencies (such as the "Forget Beam" or mistaking Sakura for a boy in the first Class Trial). The effort he makes to try and keep the group united during the Deadly Game is something that is also highly appreciated by fans. His Mr. Fanservice moment is not ignored by some of his fans either, as he's shown to be quite muscular under his school uniform. Another factor is his Odd Friendship with Mondo Owada, which has a lot of Ho Yay thrown in and has made him attract the attention of yaoi artists. It is not a stretch to say that people feel disappointed with his death at the hands of Hifumi and Celeste, which seems to come out of nowhere (and right after it seemed like he would be getting some Character Development). His fans also do not take well the fact that no one seems to care much when he is killed (Heck, Hina cries over Hifumi's dead body but completely ignores Taka, who is lying dead a few centimeters away from Hifumi) and that the rest of the students act like he never even existed in the first place after the third trial. This has surprised the writers themselves, who have stated that Ishimaru was meant to come off as an unlikeable character, provided that the player didn't do his Free Time Events.
- Chihiro Fujisaki is also one of the most popular characters in the first game thanks to his status as a Moe Wholesome Crossdresser, being one of the smartest students next to Kyoko, and having a Small Role, Big Impact, because even if he dies early in the story (in chapter 2) his creation Alter Ego is one of the reasons why the surviving students were able to escape, and because it also saves Makoto from being wrongfully executed for a murder he did not commit. His role even extends to Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair where he was one of the people who created the Neo World Program (a.k.a. where the game took place at), and the "father" of Usami and AI Chiaki. His Hidden Depths are also something to take into account: even if he knows that he is physically weak, he is determined to make a change for the better if necessary, all of this coming from the guy who wouldn't hurt a mosquito because it may have a family.
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
- Peko Pekoyama is rather well liked in her own right, mainly for having one of the most badass talents in the series, her relationship with Fuyuhiko, as well as her backstory, which reveals that she doesn't even think of herself as a person. Once she is caught for Mahiru's murder, and her plan to get Fuyuhiko out fails, she doesn't fight her upcoming death, just tells everyone that she is sorry that Mahiru had to die and requests for there to be no more murders, something that very few culprits actually do. Her execution is widely regarded as one of saddest in the series as it both plays into her view of herself as a tool, but she also ends up maiming Fuyuhiko, and it's implied that she spent her final moments shielding Fuyuhiko from the robots. In addition, her personality is surprisingly very sweet and polite, making for a unique contrast between her very badass talent and her soft gentle heart, and her love for fluffy animals is downright adorable.
- Fuyuhiko's sister (who is only ever mentioned, only actually being seen dead in a picture during Chapter 2) has people who roleplay her as well as a decent amount of fanart. There's also the somewhat-popular fanon of her given name being Fuyuki (to match her brother), although Danganronpa 3 revealed her name to be Natsumi.
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School
- Seiko Kimura is absolutely loved by fans. This is all thanks to her Creepy Cute design, her tragic backstory and being one of the most useful characters in Future Arc, as it is thanks to her cure medicine that Kyoko was able to survive, and although despite being received with a Broken Base and a bit of an Ass Pull, people were glad it was Seiko of all people who allowed Kyoko to survive. The fact that Ruruka Ando constantly antagonizes her has contributed into increasing the hate towards Ruruka big time. It is safe to say that Seiko is one of the few things in Danganronpa 3 that has been universally acclaimed by the fanbase, if not the only one.
- The Great Gozu saw a fair increase in popularity after being revealed as a Gentle Giant. Many fans love his design gimmick as well. The first episode only increased his popularity, as he showed himself to be not only supportive of Makoto, but also a colossal badass. Not to mention that in Episode 2, he fought Sakakura and essentially won.
- Koichi Kizakura. Although he appears in majority of episodes, almost all of his appearances are short, even having only a couple of seconds per episode. Even his Character Focus episode focuses on him only during its first half. However, he became one of the most popular new characters for a number of reasons. He was one of the calmer and nicer members of the Future Foundation who not only did not accuse Makoto of being the traitor, but also made a good guess on who it is. He guessed Miaya just "on a hunch" and was right that she was suspicious since she was really a robot from Monaca. His moments with Kyoko, being Good All Along, and Episode 8 establishing he was quite the badass really solidified this trope. So when he died in a Heroic Sacrifice, it was naturally met with tears and uproar like the deaths of the other examples of this trope.
- While still being a complete enigma, the Ultimate Impostor has gained more popularity after episode 5 of Side:Despair showed that he's actually a nice person more explicitly than in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, as demonstrated when he helped out Mitarai and was nice to Mikan. Even fans who otherwise hate the arc agree that his development was a positive.
- Aiko Umesawa in episode 7 of Side:Despair was an instant favorite for her cute appearance and many were upset once she was almost instantly killed off in the killing game, especially since her death was a really cruel Yank the Dog's Chain. She even makes an appearence in the OVA Super Danganronpa 2.5: Nagito Komaeda and the Destroyer of the World, possibly due to her popularity.
- Although to a lesser extent than Aiko, Ryota Someya is another victim of the first killing game who gets some appreciation for being the only one to make the very reasonable suggestion of attacking Junko and Mukuro instead of each other. It also helps that he has a fairly cute design, and the fact that it's implied that his talent is making plush toys endeared him to many fans.
- Some of the members of the Future Foundation's Ultimate Task Force have captured the fans' eyes and interest due to their notable appearances and talents (despite no explicit explanation of what said talents are until Volume 4's release). Particular examples include the girl with the long nails who was after Saionjinote , the man with the fan and game piecesnote , and the lanky guy who breathed fire at Akanenote .
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
- Even if she is a Decoy Protagonist and overall only has one chapter focused on her, Kaede Akamatsu is one of the most beloved characters in this entry of the series, being Loved by All both in and out of universe. These reasons include her being a much more straight forward protagonist than Makoto and Hajime as she actually attempts to lead the group throughout the Killing Game and try to make sure that they all stay as friends ever after, even going as far as to try to kill the Mastermind since the beginning, only for her plan to fail due to the mastermind already having knowledge of her plan, and said Mastermind also using it to her advantage to murder Rantaro and incriminate Kaede of a Murder by Mistake, having her executed. Kaede also has a Small Role, Big Impact in the plot of Danganronpa V3, as her death is what motivates Shuichi Saihara, the real protagonist, to be more confident in himself. The love people have for Kaede often lead to some fans seeing Shuichi as a Replacement Scrappy of her and stating they'd rather have had Kaede as the true protagonist, which seems to be the case in-universe ("This guy should have died instead of Kaede").
- The same goes for Rantaro Amami. In spite of being only present in one chapter and being even more Out of Focus than most other first victims, he's surprisingly well-liked by fans for his mysteriousness and being a Cool Big Bro, having managed to beat out several characters who have bigger roles (such as K1-B0, who's no slouch in the popularity polls either), placing 6th place in the popularity poll. Fans have been clamoring for a spin-off starring him because of his interesting backstory, and it would appear fans will get their wish, as Kodaka has mentioned plans for a spin-off starring Rantaro in an interview.
- Ryoma Hoshi is this especially to western audiences. He has definitely been way better received than the past Non-Standard Character Design characters Hifumi and Teruteru (both of whom were received as The Scrappy in their respective games due to their characterization as perverts, something what Ryoma lacks entirely), because he has a way more serious personality than either of them, is a Kindhearted Cat Lover, and is a Badass Adorable with a Dark and Troubled Past who was able to take out Yakuza members with a custom-made steel tennis ball all by himself. Most fans felt like They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character by having him as the victim of Chapter 2, and plenty of fan works depict him as a survivor alongside Kaede.
- While most of the Monokubs are some of the most hated characters both in and out of universe, mainly Monokid and Monophanie, Monodam is the exception to the rule. Reasons for this include him not talking as much as his siblings do, resulting in him being less of an annoyance, killing both Monokid and Monosuke during the first and second executions respectively (With Monokid being as a form of revenge of him being bullied by him) and him taking over Monokuma's role as the headmaster in chapter 3, which even includes the "Monokuma Theater" segments! Unfortunately, Monokuma regains his position and his remaining siblings begin bullying him, which causes him to destroy himself in the third trial's culprit's execution.
Spin-offs:
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
- Hiroko Hagakure became very popular after she was first announced. In game, she does very little important to the story, but her attitude and helpfulness makes her very endearing. She's also the only adult character from the game to be present in Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp, with new sprites, to boot.
- Of the Hit List targets, Mondo's right-hand man Takemichi Yukimaru seems to have gained some noticeable popularity, mostly due to a large amount of fans who speculate that he's gay or asexual.
Danganronpa Kirigiri
- Copycat, a minor character featured in Volume 3 is surprisingly well-liked by fans despite never speaking any actual dialogue, thanks to her interesting design, gimmick and implied characterization.
