Danganronpa: Despair Avenue
is a trilogy of Danganronpa fanfiction, written by liveelectrix on Wattpad which was initially started in 2019
Broadly, it follows the general Danganronpa formula, with a bunch of talented students (or, wait, are they young adults?) stuck in a place or series of places and forced to kill each other. Innovative!
It is comprised of three stories as following:
- Danganronpa: Despair Avenue
- This story follows Fuyuko Shirota, an amnesiac who can only remember her Ultimate Talent and name.
- Danganronpa: Take Two
- This story follows Nycas, also an amnesiac, who this time cannot remember anything about himself. He isn’t even sure if that’s his real name.
- Final Danganronpa: Curse III
- This story follows Chiyo Sakakibara, a quiet genius who isn’t really bothered, actually.
The Danganronpa: Despair Avenue trilogy contains examples of:
Warning! This section contains unmarked spoilers for the Danganronpa series and the trilogy itself!
General
Recurring Tropes in the Trilogy.
- Artefact Name: Oft-mentioned Flashback Lights are this, called so because in Danganronpa V3 they are presented as being used to recover lost memories. However, by the time Take Two roles around, it is very VERY clear that this is not what they are used for at all.
- Amnesia Missed a Spot: Characters in this trilogy have a problem with remembering things they shouldn’t.
- Kimika Takahashi, for example, actually remembered everything the whole time!
- Fuyuko’s full-on amnesia compared to her friends is caused because she wouldn’t stop remembering things the mastermind didn’t want her to remember.
- Mei Himura built up a natural immunity to the flashback lights while working on them.
- Asshole Victim:
- Jiro was planning on killing Fuyuko before he got got.
- Subverted with Yoshi. Initially he comes across as an asshole victim who was planning on killing the innocent Chikako, until it is revealed that Chikako is the mastermind and he actually was trying to save everyone
- Yukie dies after threatening everyone with a gun and her would-be victim turns the tables on her.
- Junpei was planning on killing Akari, who had other plans.
- Big Bad:
- Monokuma, broadly
- Chikako Arai is revealed as the Mastermind of the first killing game during the final trial. She also returns as an AI in the sequel.
- Black Blood: As is standard for Danganronpa, all blood is neon pink.
- Averted in Curse III, where the blood is red.
- Bury Your Gays: As a large portion of the cast are LGBT, this happens a lot.
- Kimika is an example of an LGBT character in a relationship who is killed off. Hiroyuki also fits this criteria.
- Subverted in Take Two, wherein all of the survivors bar one are explicitly queer. Go Gays!
- Deadly Game: Monokuma (or Monomeiko and Monoissei in Take Two) hold the cast of each installment hostage in an enclosed area with the promise of escape if a murder is committed and gotten away with.
- Dwindling Party: Each chapter, someone dies. This continues in every chapter for every installment until there are only a fee people left.
- Hiding the Handicap: Fuyuko wears her hair in bangs to hide her missing eye in Despair Avenue. Her not having the hairstyle during Curse III indicates that something isn't quite right.
- Identity Amnesia:
- Subverted. Since usually amnesiac characters in danganronpa stories cannot remember their talent, it’s a change of pace that Fuyuko can ONLY remember her talent.
- Then played straight with Nycas in the sequel.
- Finally, it is averted with Chiyo, who has all her memories intact!
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: General amnesia hijinks ensue as is standard.
- Specifically in Take Two, the characters forget they went to school together, but remember getting their talent certifications.
Danganronpa: Despair Avenue
Tropes invoked in Danganronpa: Despair Avenue.
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn:
- Taeko’s beauty to Fuyuko’s brain and Genki’s brawn.
- Big Bad: Monokuma and Chikako Arai.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Downplayed. Chikako Arai, Issei Nagata, and Meiko Iragashi are the group of masterminds who set up this particular killing game, but Issei dies before it’s even obvious that there are multiple masterminds and by the time Meiko even appears onscreen, she’s already decided that she wants no part of it anymore.
- Eyes Out of Sight: Ari's eyes are always hidden by her bangs, adding to her whole emo aesthetic.
- The Corpse Stops Here: Fuyuko is accused of killing Jiro by Issei just because she was the first to find the body. It turns out Issei knew she wasn’t the killer and just wanted to cause trouble. Because he’s an asshole.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: In Sumiko’s “execution” (although it’s hardly a traditional execution to begin with) she is thrown about by a crazed elevator, and ultimately cut in half when trying to jump out of it. Made even worse by the fact that this is the only instance in the trilogy of wrongful execution.
- Obvious Villian Secret Villian: Meiko and Chikako.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Genki having to hold Fuyuko back after she punches a 15 year old girl in the face.
Danganronpa: Take Two
Tropes invoked in Danganronpa: Take Two
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: After Nycas “dies” in chapter 6, we are briefly treated to a Hannah POV. Her inner monologue is as delightfully sarcastic as you’d expect.
- Chapter 0.
- The Alcoholic: Played for Laughs with Hannah.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Kotomi initially appears as a nice enough person, only to be revealed as a traitor to the group.
- Brains and Brawn: Nycas’ brain to Hannah’s brawn.
- They are also Headbutting Heroes
- Came Back Strong: Chikako returns and is actually more of a threat this time, getting dangerously close to actually winning.
- High-Voltage Death: Haruto in chapter 3 and Hiroyuki in chapter 4.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Hiroyuki and Ryuji.
- Kick the Dog: Mayumi does this to Teruko after the latter had spent the chapter wallowing in self-hatred for being part of a murder plan. She goes far with it too, torturing her to death. Dark.
- Russian Roulette: Yukie and Kotomi play this game in Chapter 5, to mixed results for the former.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Hannah and the others at the end of the 5th trial when Nycas is revealed as the mastermind.
Final Danganronpa: Curse III
Tropes invoked in Final Danganronpa: Curse III.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: The latter part of Chapter 3, and again in Chapter 4.
- The intermission segments all feature the perspective or the chapter’s victim.
- Buffy Speak: Akari.
Akari: If we look at the height of the metal pole thingy that impaled her, it’s at around stomach height.
Fuyuko, later: That “metal pole thingy” is called a crossbow bolt, FYI.
- Devil in Plain Sight: Given that we see the story from Chiyo’s perspective, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise when she descends into..uh..what she descends into.
- Everybody Knew Already: In Chapter 4, Monokuma reveals that the leader of the Fangan Group is within the numbers of the participants, which a good number of them figured was the case anyways.
- Fake Period Excuse: Used by Fuyuko in Chapter 1. Well, she never actually says it, Lada just assumes and fills in the blanks for her. Thanks Lada.
- Inn of No Return: Otoha is revealed as a serial killer who kills her hotel patrons.
- Moe Greene Special: Shin is shot through the eye and killed as punishment for committing violence against Monokuma. He actually wanted this to happen.
- Multiple Identity IDs: Hidemi has many, including a fake talent certificate, much to the annoyance of Chiyo.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Harmony and Dissonance, with the latter even being human enough to understand complex ideas of gender identity.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: In Chapter 4:
Akari: The culprit tried to hide the crossbows under the rubble in the warehouse.
Makena: What’s that got to do with me?!
Akari: Um...nothing. Weird that you assumed that, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Everyone’s reactions to most of Chiyo’s actions post chapter 2. Especially when she attempts to poison Makena and Fuyuko.
