History NightmareFuel / Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool

* It's presented as a joke, but there's how Junko and Mukuro casually bomb cars and kill numerous people—firmly cementing how they are the "Despair Sisters." In a meta way, it's ''spine-chilling'' how the audience cheers on a murderous mastermind with an unstoppable desire for despair just because she is entertaining, pretty, and cool... all while the earliest onscreen victims of her and her sister's antics have no faces. It's made worse by how human life is usually valued in the franchise.
** Just the sheer fucked up relationship between Junko and Mukuro. Junko repeatedly attempts to kill Mukuro while insulting everything about her, and Mukuro is actually shown getting pleasure from it in a rather disturbingly masochistic way. As ''Side:Despair'' progresses, Junko just continues to treat Mukuro worse than dirt. Their sisterly relationship comes across as some horrific combination of DomesticAbuse and StockholmSyndrome.

** Seeing the way the Miaya robot moves can be very [[UncannyValley unsettling]], especially the part where it reattaches its severed head using the scarf as arms.

** Just the sheer fucked up relationship between Junko and Mukuro. Junko repeatedly attempts to kill Mukuro while insulting everything about her, and Mukuro is actually shown getting pleasure from it in a rather disturbingly masochistic way. As ''Despair Arc'' progresses, Junko just continues to treat Mukuro worse than dirt. Their sisterly relationship comes across as some horrific combination of DomesticAbuse and StockholmSyndrome.

* The ending of Episode 5. Hajime Hinata is gone, Izuru Kamukura has been born, and just as its title says... it's the beginning of the end.

!![[AC:Episode 7: The Biggest, Most Atrocious Incident in Hope's Peak High School's History]]
!![[AC:Episode 8: The Worst Reunion By Chance]]
!![[AC:Episode 9: Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile]]
!![[AC:Episode 10: Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope]]
!![[AC:Episode 11: Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy]]

** One of the Hope Project's backers complains that Hajime was "too distraught" to be the Ultimate Hope, whereupon he is assured that this is because "some" of Hajime's old personality remained, and that they have since destroyed those remnants of Hajime Hinata...which makes it clear that they have spent the last six months ''gradually deleting Hajime'' and that he was cognizant (and still "himself") enough to realize this and be upset about it. It presents the possibility that he may have withdrawn his consent at some point in the project, but they weren't about to let him back out. He didn't wake up transformed--it was a long, grueling process where he was waking up as a different person each time. If anything, that's scarier than the single-hit destruction of self that was indicated by Junko--Hajime would have known something unsettling was going to happen every time they put him into that pod. Plus, he's spent half a year as a lab rat in isolation--that would do a number on anyone's psyche in and out of itself.

** At one point, you hear the execution music beginning to play in the background, signaling that someone's about to have the worst--and last--day of their life. Junko is [[FauxAffablyEvil "kind enough"]] to explain her methods to a 43-year-old trustee, though this is probably old news to anyone who knows the games already: torturing someone with everyday objects is far more traumatic than the standard hard-objects-and-pointy-things approach. This time, her execution involves curry rice... spoons... '''and [[EyeScream eyes]]'''. Later, she carries his eye around in a container of takoyaki, which kind of makes you wonder about the contents of the rest of them...

*** Junko, however, has the last laugh. While underneath Izuru's heel, she delivers a chilling HannibalLecture about despair that causes the hitherto unemotional Izuru to react with subtle surprise.
---->'''Junko''': Aww! You really don't get it. Guess when it comes to "cold, hard reasoning," not all roads lead to Rome. You see, despair is the great unknown. A girl can only be this smart for so long before anomie sets in; that's the curse of being bright. Everyone goes on and on about "hope," but what they ''really'' mean is "status '''quo!'''" ''Ah'', but despair is a big old mystery box! There's nothing like it to get the blood pumping, the synapses firing, ''the senses tingling!'' It straight up shatters the status quo and paves the way for chaos! Think about it—when a single assassin's bullet can plunge humanity into world war, ''none'' of us are as far from the abyss as we'd like to tell ourselves! Embrace that simple fact, and voilà! You're in for the ride of your life! Look at me; every nerve ending is on eleven! '' '''Despair''' did that!'' Come on, pumpkin pie! Some part of you has to understand. They call you the "world's hope," Izuru Kamakura, and who am I to say you're not the savior? Therein lies the rub—hope only gets us as far as what we ''think'' we want. Safety, tranquility, ''boredom''. Come on! Nirvana looks great on paper, but for someone with your intelligence... it's more like purgatory. You're better than ''that!''

** Izuru is actually injured during this. Not badly, but he gets a small cut on his cheek because of a bullet fired from Asukasei Hino's gun. Seeing Izuru get hurt is a bit unnerving.

* Ryota's anime. It uses very subtle changes in color, eye movement, and sound to directly influence the viewer's brain. He freely admits to using every technique he could think of, including forms of ''brainwashing.'' While he created it [[WellIntentionedExtremist with the intent of filling the world with hope]], he also gave Junko some ideas.

* A very minor, trajectory-based case of this: Peko reacts to Chisa's sudden appearance by nearly smacking her with a kendo stick. What makes this a terror to behold is how the wind longingly resonates on her hair to emphasize the speed the weaponry was held to her neck at.

* TheStinger for Episode 1 shows the Steering Committee looking over Hajime's file. It seems he's already been selected for the Hope Cultivation Plan.
* TheStinger for Episode 2 shows Natsumi Kuzuryu transferring into Hajime's class and the words "The Start of Twilight" appear afterwards.
* While it's more TearJerker then NightmareFuel, seeing Peko punch a wall so hard her hand bleeds is unsettling.
* Episode 4 reminds us just shows terrifying Nagito's supernatural luck can be... to the point where it seems like it has a mind of its own, which Nagito himself cannot fully control. As if him getting caught up in a plane hijacking and then being saved by the arrival of ''a meteorite'' wasn't already indicative of its dangerous absurdity...

* It's presented as a joke, but there's how Junko and Mukuro casually bomb cars and kill numerous people—firmly cementing how they are the "despair sisters." In a meta way, it's ''spine-chilling'' how the audience cheers on a murderous mastermind with an unstoppable desire for despair just because she is entertaining, pretty, and cool... all while the earliest onscreen victims of her and her sister's antics have no faces. It's made worse by how human life is usually valued in the franchise.

*** The kicker? The injury Izuru got wasn't necessarily caused by Asukasei, but rather his decapitated body. No wonder Izuru was caught off guard.

DarkerAndEdgier than the ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' franchise's previous installments, ''Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School'' shows plenty of other ways to inflict horror and despair onto others.

!!Per wiki policy, Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.

* AdultFear sets in when it is revealed that Yukizome and Kizakura were teachers of the 77th class. Imagine seeing your former students destroying the world and being powerless to stop either it or Junko's corruption of them.

* Another AdultFear on Chisa's part. Imagine finding your whole class gone to find their missing classmate just as the surroundings become dangerous because of the Parade... ''then'' imagine one of your students bumping into you and panicking as they say that another student is going to be murdered.

'''''Main installments:''''' ''NightmareFuel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' | ''NightmareFuel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' | '''''Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School''''' | ''NightmareFuel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony''\\

DarkerAndEdgier than the franchise's previous installments, ''Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School'' shows plenty of other ways to inflict horror and despair onto others.

[[folder:Side: Future]]

[[folder:Side: Despair]]

[[folder:Side: Hope]]

** Dear god, ''Chiaki Nanami's execution''. The chronologically first execution in the franchise manages to be the most horrific of them all. She's forced to make her way through a labyrinth filled with death traps, boulders, spikes, projectiles, and who-knows-what-else... all while we hear Chiaki letting out pained cries and screams with each injury she gets. The final two-part trap is activated after she walks into a room whose door is marked "GOAL." An illusion makes it seem as though her classmates are waiting for her alongside Chisa. [[HopeSpot Chiaki reaches out for Chisa's right hand]]... [[AttackOnTheHeart only for a spear to be fired through her chest]], causing her to fall backwards right before [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice she's impaled by]] '''[[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice seventeen spikes]]'''. It makes her AI self's execution in ''Danganronpa 2'' look like a ''MercyKill in comparison!''

** The page image shows Junko with a petrifying look in her eyes moments after Izuru was shot by Asukasei's gun. In her head, she declares that despair will "rock [his] world," adding that "once [they've] had [their] second date," the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy will "seem like ''nothing''."

[[caption-width-right:350:[[KillTheCutie GA]][[CruelAndUnusualDeath ME]] [[BloodierAndGorier OV]][[DespairEventHorizon ER]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_konachancom_230913_dangan_ronpa_3_death_nanami_chiaki_silhouette_spikes.png]]

** Mitarai's final solution to end despair for good is to use a brainwashing video to fill people with hope... which will undoubtedly also rob everyone of their emotions in the process and in thirty minutes, the effects will be ''permanent''. He knows what he's doing is essentially just like what Junko did to his friends, but he's so broken at this point that he doesn't care anymore. The victims include Touko Fukawa, Komaru Naegi, and even a space-bound Monaka Towa.

** As she looks outside a classroom's window while the Tragedy happens, Junko picks up a Monokuma plushie and talks about despair while in her Monokuma personality. The final seconds of the brief scene feature Junko with ''quite'' an unsettling SlasherSmile on her face as she [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou looks directly into the audience's eyes]] and belts out a version of [[EvilLaugh her Monokuma laugh]]. It's this folder's image.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nightmare_68.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[SarcasmMode Sweet dreams, Kyoko Kirigiri fans]].]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/junkos_face.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou from [[BigBad Junko]] [[HopeCrusher Enoshima]]...]]

!Per wiki policy, Administrivia/SpoilersOff applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.

%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1640195334029822300&page=1
%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:350:[[Recap/TheTragedyOfHopesPeakAcademy https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/junko_enoshima_danganronpa_3.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Buddy, you ain't seen nothing yet. Despair is gonna rock your world! Once we've had our second date, this'll seem like ''nothing''."]]

*** Furthermore, it was ''Monaca'' that was creeped out by Nagito there. Yes, you read that name right -- this was basically a HateSink character that has no qualms backstabbing or inducing all sorts of monstrosities, friend or foe alike and was a voluntary, feverent adorer of Junko Enoshima, yet when Nagito, an ''actual'' person Junko did brainwash tried to mold her into Junko's successor, this was all it took to make her give up her whole deal altogether. When you make even Monaca of all people throw up in front of you with your insane lectures of hope and despair, this is not a good sign to begin with.

*** Furthermore, it was ''Monaca'' that was creeped out by Nagito there. Yes, you read that name right -- this was basically a HateSink character that has no qualms backstabbing or inducing all sorts of monstrosities, friend or foe alike and was a voluntary, feverent adorer of Junko Enoshima, yet when she witnesses Nagito, an ''actual'' person Junko did brainwash, this was all it took to make her give up her whole deal altogether. When you make even Monaca of all people throw up in front of you with your insane lectures of hope and despair, this is not a good sign to begin with.

** As she looks outside a classroom's window while the Tragedy happens, Junko picks up a Monokuma plushie and talks about despair while in her Monokuma personality. The final seconds of the brief scene feature Junko with ''quite'' a creepy SlasherSmile on her face as she [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou looks directly into the audience's eyes]] and belts out a version of [[EvilLaugh her Monokuma laugh]]. It's this folder's image.

** Keep in mind that this event is what kickstarted the revolt of the Reserve Course, leading to the events of ''Danganronpa Zero''... the precursor to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the Tragedy]].

* Put yourself in Ryota's shoes for a moment in Episode 8. He was alone in a room with Junko, Mukuro, and a completely deranged Mikan, who became insane by a mere prototype of Junko's despair video. No matter how scary Mikan could ever act, she wasn't the scariest thing in the room, Junko was, and she blackmailed him into ''perfecting'' that video—which went on to help ''destroy the world''. No wonder the poor kid simply couldn't take it anymore and ran away in tears the moment he had a chance.

** Chisa's brainwashing, full stop: she is forced to watch the despair video while being strapped to a chair, with her bloodshot eyes being forced open in a configuration nearly identical to the one of ''Film/AClockworkOrange''. The thing is, she ''resists'' the brainwashing, forcing Mukuro to tamper with her brain directly with needles. Bluntly put, we are subjected to an onscreen lobotomy. This is all made even worse by the fact that while being tortured, Chisa sounds like [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence she is about to have an orgasm any minute]], especially after Mukuro lobotomizes her. The sequence also includes some close-ups of Chisa's breasts and groin, including one after she's presumably "broken" which shows her legs twitching, further implying that she is being made to feel sexual pleasure from despair... and then you remember Mikan's behavior in the previous episode...

*** Overall, aside from the brainwashing, there are '''no''' fancy traps or tricks--just utter humiliation, covertly-taken photos, blackmail, and a ruthless tormentor putting one of their feet on their victim's head... which is a tactic that real-life schoolyard bullies use. There's no "It's too silly and exaggerated to be real!" get-out clause here.

** Junko's brainwashing is so efficient that she just has to order someone to kill himself for him to do just that. By sawing off his own head. He did it slowly, pleading for his life the whole time, and Chisa was forced to watch the whole thing. (Junko ''herself'' calls it "Grade A Nightmare Fuel.")

*** Nagito continues rambling about hope despite being an Ultimate Despair, meaning his entire existence is now a walking contradiction. He will now actively increase despair so that he can ''forcibly'' create hope instead of eliminating despair to do so.

** As she looks outside a classroom's window while the Tragedy happens outside, Junko picks up a Monokuma plushie and briefly talks about despair while in her Monokuma personality. The final seconds of the scene feature Junko with ''quite'' a NightmareFace as she [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou looks directly into the audience's eyes]] and belts out a version of her Monokuma laugh. It's this folder's image.
--->'''Junko''': ''Potential''. That's what it's about, really—despair as an adventure of the ''SPIRIT!'' If it wasn't already a thing, we'd have to '''invent''' it! Nyaknyaknyaknyaknyaknyaknyaknyak!

* A very minor, trajectory-based case of this: Peko Pekoyama reacting to Chisa's sudden appearance by nearly smacking her with a kendo stick. What makes this a terror to behold is how the wind longingly resonates on her hair to emphasize the speed the weaponry was held to her neck at.

** One of the Hope Project's backers complains that Hajime was "too distraught" to be the Ultimate Hope, whereupon he is assured that this is because "some" of Hajime's old personality remained, and that they have since destroyed those remnants of Hajime Hinata...which makes it clear that they have spent the last six months ''gradually deleting Hajime'' and that he was cognizant (and still "himself") enough to realize this and be upset about it. It presents the possibility that he may have withdrawn his consent at some point in the project, but they weren't about to let him back out. He didn't wake up transformed--it was a long, grueling process where he was waking up as a different person each time. If anything, that's scarier than the single-hit destruction of self that was indicated by Junko--Hajime would have known something unsettling was going to happen every time they put him into that pod. Plus, he's spent half a year as a lab rat in isolation -- that would do a number on anyone's psyche in and out of itself.
** Later on, we see Hajime strapped down and bolted in as the experiments are carried out, as Chisa searches the files. For added chills, none of the files talk about Hajime--just "[[ItIsDehumanising the subject]]." We also finally get confirmation that the erasure of Hajime's personality erasure and Izuru's ensuing apathy were entirely intentional, not just an unfortunate side effect. As Munakata pointed out, Hope's Peak was never trying to create "hope" as much as they were creating a weapon to do their bidding and follow its agenda, so all of Hajime's moral hangups and ideals had to go.

* In Episode 7, we finally get to see the very first mutual killing game. By lord... the first killing game. In the killing games that were previously shown, the sight of the character's corpses was bad enough even with the pink blood. Here? We get to see the student council of Hope's Peak Academy run around and murder each other in a classroom, Battle Royale style. They're either begging each other to stop, going mad with laughter, or breaking down after murdering their former friends. And the kicker? It was to relieve Izuru's boredom and show him "the wonder of despair on an epic scale." It's made more disturbing by Mukuro singing "[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Tsubasa wo Kudasai]] [[SoundtrackDissonance (Give Me Wings)]]" over it all.

*** He almost seems disturbed by all the carnage. Think about it. Izuru Kamakura, who has, in his minimal appearances seen so far, seemed bored by everything. For him to show even the smallest hint of emotion...
*** The kicker? The injury Izuru got wasn't necessarily caused by Asukasei, but rather his briefly still moving decapitated body. No wonder Izuru was caught off guard.