History ShipTease / DanganRonpa

** The [=AU=] light novel ''Danganronpa IF'' teases Sayaka and Leon a lot towards the end, with Leon protecting Sayaka from Monokuma and Sayaka then tearfully preparing to confess and apologise to Leon for planning to kill him. Leon clearly thinks she's on the verge of making a LoveConfession and is rather eager to resume the conversation later.

* ...oh, man. There's no question that Fuyuhiko and Peko love each other very much. The real question is if the love is [[ChildhoodFriendRomance romantic]] or [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] in nature. Peko, Fuyuhiko's bodyguard, is loyal to him to the point where she kills Mahiru and tries to condemn the others, including herself, to death just to get him off the island, and encourages him to use her to any means he desires. Fuyuhiko, normally a chilly jerkass, breaks down crying at Peko's sentencing and risks his life in a futile attempt to save her from her execution. Plus, he actually refuses to treat her like a tool and sees her as a beloved companion, which is in marked contrast to his behavior towards his other classmates. It may be the [[TearJerker emotionally charged]] atmosphere of Chapter 2's trial, but there are a lot of fans who believe there's something romantic going on there. In particular, it's probably harder ''not'' to interpret Fuyuhiko's heartbroken exclamation of "I only wanted ''you''!" to Peko as an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove.

* Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada develop a seriously intense bond. Of course, this could be interpreted as a bond of "brotherhood" as they claim, but there's plenty to support the interpretation that they're actually attracted to one another. For starters, both (but Taka in particular) frequently descend into suggestive DoubleEntendre when they interact at length or even just talk about one another, something which notably begins even while they still vocally dislike each other. The implications really ramp up once they make friends, when they become openly complimentary of one another, inventing any opportunity to flatter the other's physical appearance as well as personality. Then during the second trial, Taka is willing to ''condemn everyone -- including himself'' to spare Mondo's life, which is definitely indicative of ''something''.[[note]]Taken even further in the stage play version, where Taka [[DrivenToSuicide deliberately gets himself executed alongside Mondo]] rather than live without him. Tellingly, the only time this happens in canon is in the second game, when the closest thing the Hope's Peak arc has to an OfficialCouple attempt to do the same thing (although it becomes a case of InterruptedSuicide for the non-guilty party in that case).[[/note]] Taka then completely shuts down after Mondo's execution, wandering around aimlessly and not responding when prior to this he has been extremely vocal and driven. Upon being snapped out of his fugue state by speaking to Alter Ego's simulation of Mondo, Taka [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane takes on a persona that is a fusion of both his own and Mondo's personalities]] and makes yet ''more'' suggestive statements on the theme of them sharing a body, which might be darkly comical if not for the absolutely heartbreaking part where he expresses gratitude that he's finally "got [his] soul back".

* Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada develop a seriously intense bond. Of course, this could be interpreted as a bond of "brotherhood" as they claim, but there's plenty to support the interpretation that they're actually attracted to one another. For starters, both (but Taka in particular) frequently descend into suggestive DoubleEntendre when they interact at length or even just talk about one another, something which notably begins even while they still vocally dislike each other. The implications really ramp up once they make friends, when they become openly complimentary of one another, inventing any opportunity to flatter the other's physical appearance as well as personality. Then during the second trial, Taka is willing to ''condemn everyone -- including himself'' to spare Mondo's life, which is definitely indicative of ''something''.[[note]]Taken even further in the stage play version, where Taka [[DrivenToSuicide deliberately gets himself executed alongside Mondo]] rather than live without him. Tellingly, the time this happens in canon is in the second game, when the closest thing the Hope's Peak arc has to an OfficialCouple attempt to do the same thing (although it becomes a case of InterruptedSuicide for the non-guilty party in that case).[[/note]] Taka then completely shuts down after Mondo's execution, wandering around aimlessly and not responding when prior to this he has been extremely vocal and driven. Upon being snapped out of his fugue state by speaking to Alter Ego's simulation of Mondo, Taka [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane takes on a persona that is a fusion of both his own and Mondo's personalities]] and makes yet ''more'' suggestive statements on the theme of them sharing a body, which might be darkly comical if not for the absolutely heartbreaking part where he expresses gratitude that he's finally "got [his] soul back".

* Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada develop a seriously intense bond. Of course, this could be interpreted as a bond of "brotherhood" as they claim, but there's plenty to support the interpretation that they're actually attracted to one another. For starters, both (but Taka in particular) frequently descend into suggestive DoubleEntendre when they interact at length or even just talk about one another, something which notably begins even while they still vocally dislike each other. The implications really ramp up once they make friends, when they become openly complimentary of one another, inventing any opportunity to flatter the other's physical appearance as well as personality. Then during the second trial, Taka is willing to ''condemn everyone -- including himself'' to spare Mondo's life, which is definitely indicative of ''something''.[[note]]Taken even further in the stage play version, where Taka [[DrivenToSuicide deliberately gets himself executed alongside Mondo]] rather than live without him. Tellingly, the only other time this happens is in the second game, when the closest thing the Hope's Peak arc has to an OfficialCouple attempt to do the same thing (although it becomes a case of InterruptedSuicide for the non-guilty party in that case).[[/note]] Taka then completely shuts down after Mondo's execution, wandering around aimlessly and not responding when prior to this he has been extremely vocal and driven. Upon being snapped out of his fugue state by speaking to Alter Ego's simulation of Mondo, Taka [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane takes on a persona that is a fusion of both his own and Mondo's personalities]] and makes yet ''more'' suggestive statements on the theme of them sharing a body, which might be darkly comical if not for the absolutely heartbreaking part where he expresses gratitude that he's finally "got [his] soul back".

* ...oh, man. There's no question that Fuyuhiko and Peko love each other very much. The real question is if the love is [[ChildhoodFriendRomance romantic]] or [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] in nature. Peko, Fuyuhiko's bodyguard, is loyal to him to the point where she kills Mahiru and tries to condemn the others, including herself, to death just to get him off the island, and encourages him to use her to any means he desires. Fuyuhiko, normally a chilly jerkass, breaks down crying at Peko's sentencing and risks his life in a futile attempt to save her from her execution. Plus, he actually refuses to treat her like a tool and sees her as a beloved companion, which is in marked contrast to his behavior towards his other classmates. It may be the [[TearJerker emotionally charged]] atmosphere of Chapter 2's trial, but there are a lot of fans who believe there's something romantic going on there. In particular, it's probably harder not to interpret Fuyuhiko's heartbroken exclamation of "I only wanted ''you''!" to Peko as an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove.

** Junko, who claims to have such extraordinarily good reads on every member of the group that she can replicate their behaviours exactly, suggests (with obvious sexual undertones) that she could simulate a version of Peko who's even more to Fuyuhiko's tastes than the real thing. Given that, as already stated, she supposedly knows exactly what each person wants, it basically seems to confirm that Fuyuhiko was definitely attracted to Peko, at the very least.

* Hiyoko and Mahiru's relationship mostly reads as a sisterly bond (Hajime even {{Lampshades}} it as such) with undertones of PseudoRomanticFriendship, but Hiyoko is ''very'' insistent that they take a bath together, which notably surpasses ordinary sisterly and/or platonic behaviour at that age.[[note]]For the avoidance of doubt, it's clear that they're not going to a communal baths together (which would be considered quite commonplace in Japan), but to the bathroom in Hiyoko's cabin, which visibly contains only a small, single-occupancy tub.[[/note]] Mahiru is obviously reluctant at first, but it's later revealed that they continue to bathe together on a regular basis from then on.

** After Mahiru's death, Hiyoko takes over a whole section of the dining room to construct a shrine in her memory. Being an art project by Hiyoko it's naturally total NightmareFuel, but when the other characters criticise it as such, her utter distress makes it apparent that the effort was genuinely born out of love and a desire to remember her particular friend, to the point where the others all agree to pretend it's nice for her sake.

* Hiyoko and Mahiru's relationship mostly reads as a sisterly bond (Hajime even {{Lampshades}} it as such) with undertones of PseudoRomanticFriendship, but Hiyoko is ''very'' insistent that they take a bath together, which notably surpasses ordinary sisterly and/or platonic behaviour at that age.[[note]]For the avoidance of doubt, it's clear that they're not going to a communal baths (which would be quite commonplace given that they're both Japanese), but to the bathroom in Hiyoko's cabin, which visibly contains only a small, single-occupancy tub.[[/note]] Mahiru is obviously reluctant at first, but it's later revealed that they continue to bathe together on a regular basis from then on.

* Hiyoko and Mahiru's relationship mostly reads as a sisterly bond (Hajime even {{Lampshades}} it as such) with undertones of PseudoRomanticFriendship, but Hiyoko is ''very'' insistent that they take a bath together, which notably surpasses ordinary sisterly and/or platonic behaviour at that age. Mahiru is obviously reluctant at first, but it's later revealed that they continue to bathe together on a regular basis from then on.

* ...oh, man. There's no question that Fuyuhiko and Peko love each other very much. The real question is if the love is [[ChildhoodFriendRomance romantic]] or [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] in nature. Peko, Fuyuhiko's bodyguard, is loyal to him to the point where she kills Mahiru and tries to condemn the others, including herself, to death just to get him off the island, and encourages him to use her to any means he desires. Fuyuhiko, normally a chilly jerkass, breaks down crying at Peko's sentencing and risks his life in a futile attempt to save her from her execution. Plus, he actually refuses to treat her like a tool and sees her as a beloved companion, which is in marked contrast to his behavior towards his other classmates. It may be the [[TearJerker emotionally charged]] atmosphere of Chapter 2's trial, but there are a lot of fans who believe there's something romantic going on there.

* Gundham and Sonia get probably the most ship tease second to Peko and Fuyuhiko. Not only is Sonia the one character to make Gundham blush on more than one occasion, she is also the only one he doesn't refer to in a demeaning manner and clearly respects her the most out of the class. It goes as far as him referring to her as his "Dark Queen" and in one of his free time events, he tells Hajime about his fantastical image of her. On Sonia's end, she greatly admires Gundham (and his hamsters) and even joins in on his antics from time to time, seeming to be the only person who not only accepts his fantasies but also understands and believes them.
** The most apparent ship tease occurs in Chapter 4, where Sonia makes an uncharacteristically direct and suggestive response to Gundham's proposal to use her as a VirginSacrifice in one of his (obviously entirely made-up) rituals. From that point on she's insistent about pairing up with Gundham whenever the group split up — something Gundham notably has no complaints about — with the two of them showing great team work and deduction, and obviously being very content in one another's company. During the trial, Sonia defends Gundham to the bitter end when he's accused of Nekomaru's murder, and his final words before leaving for his execution are an attempt to comfort and rally her, which she receives with a TearfulSmile. For the remaining two chapters, Sonia frequently references Gundham's sacrifice as her motivation for carrying on, becomes visibly upset when someone speaks negatively about him, and even mentions that she retrieved his hamsters in order to take care of them herself (something that's not reflected in any of her sprites, sadly).

* Gundham and Sonia get probably the most ship tease second to Peko and Fuyuhiko. Not only is Sonia the one character to make Gundham blush on more than one occasion, she is also the only one he doesn't refer to in a demeaning manner and clearly respects her the most out of the class. It goes as far as him referring to her as his "Dark Queen" and in one of his free time events, he tells Hajime about his fantastical image of her. On Sonia's end, she greatly admires Gundham (and his hamsters), and even joins in on his antics from time to time. It's to the point where it seems that she's the only person who not only accepts Gundham's fantasies but also understands and believes them.

** Subtly, Sonia's sparkly-eyed happy sprite only reappears once after Gundham's execution. And it's at the moment during the final trial when she first deduces that since the island is a simulation, it might be possible to reunite with their dead classmates back in the real world. Granted, she's a NiceGirl who is genuinely happy at the prospect of having ''everyone'' back, but it's hard not to read meaning into the fact that it's the first time since his death that she appears to get back to her former enthusiastic self.

** Subtly, Sonia's sparkly-eyed happy sprite only reappears once after Gundham's execution. And it's at the moment during the final trial when she first deduces that since the island is a simulation, it might be possible to reunite with their dead classmates back in the real world. Granted, she's a NiceGirl who is genuinely happy at the prospect of having ''everyone'' back, but it's hard not to read meaning into the fact that it's the first time since his death that she appears truly happy.

** Official artwork also shows Kiyotaka and Mondo together in "peculiar" situations. For instance, Taka nitpicking Mondo's messy eating habits and tying his scarf for him, Mondo cheering Taka on during an athletic competition, Taka putting his small white jacket on Mondo while the biker is asleep, and etc. In fact, practically all official images pair them together; while they might occasionally be accompanied by a third character (interchangeable, though it's often Chihiro), it's rare to see one without the other, and full-group shots will almost invariably have them standing in proximity. To underscore the point, WordOfGod actually states that they were probably in love but didn't realise it in time, and asserts with surprisingly certainty that they would have ended up together eventually if they'd lived.

** Official artwork also shows Kiyotaka and Mondo together in "peculiar" situations. For instance, Taka nitpicking Mondo's messy eating habits and tying his scarf for him, Mondo cheering Taka on during an athletic competition, Taka putting his small white jacket on Mondo while the biker is asleep, and etc. Heck, WordOfGod even states that they were probably in love but didn't realise it in time, and asserts with surprisingly certainty that they would have ended up together eventually if they'd lived.

** While most of this can easily be read as one-sided on Taka's side, Mondo gets his share of moments suggesting that the feeling is mutual. Most notably, right before his execution, he seems to go out of his way to ensure that his final words are addressed to Taka, apologising for everything that's happened and for being unable to keep a promise to him. (The exact nature of said promise is never specified; one might assume it was a pledge not to get involved in the killing game, but it's left ambiguous, quite possibly as a deliberate nod to this trope.)

** While most of this can easily be read as one-sided on Taka's side, Mondo gets his share of moments suggesting that the feeling is mutual. Most notably, right before his execution, he seems to go out of his way to ensure that his final words are addressed to Taka, apologising for letting him down and for being unable to keep a promise to him. (The exact nature of said promise is never specified; one might assume it was a pledge not to get involved in the killing game, but it's left ambiguous, quite possibly as a deliberate nod to this trope.)

** The most apparent ship tease occurs in Chapter 4, where Sonia makes an uncharacteristically direct and suggestive response to Gundham's proposal to use her as a VirginSacrifice in one of his (obviously entirely made-up) rituals. From that point on she's insistent about pairing up with Gundham whenever the group split up — something Gundham notably has no complaints about — and the two of them show great team work and deduction, and are obviously very content in one another's company. During the trial, Sonia defends Gundham to the bitter end when he's accused of Nekomaru's murder, and his final words before leaving for his execution are an attempt to comfort and rally her, which she receives with a TearfulSmile. For the remaining two chapters, Sonia frequently references Gundham's sacrifice as her motivation for carrying on, becomes visibly upset when someone speaks negatively about him, and even mentions that she retrieved his hamsters in order to take care of them herself (something that's not reflected in any of her sprites, sadly).

** The most apparent ship tease occurs in Chapter 4, where Sonia makes an uncharacteristically direct and suggestive response to Gundham's proposal to use her as a virgin sacrifice in one of his (obviously entirely made-up) rituals. From that point on she's insistent about pairing up with Gundham whenever the group split up — something Gundham notably has no complaints about — and the two of them show great team work and deduction, and are obviously very content in one another's company. During the trial, Sonia defends Gundham to the bitter end when he's accused of Nekomaru's murder, and his final words before leaving for his execution are an attempt to comfort and rally her, which she receives with a TearfulSmile. For the remaining two chapters, Sonia frequently references Gundham's sacrifice as her motivation for carrying on, becomes visibly upset when someone speaks negatively about him, and even mentions that she retrieved his hamsters in order to take care of them herself (something that's not reflected in any of her sprites, sadly).

** The most apparent ship tease occurs in Chapter 4, where Sonia makes an uncharacteristically direct and suggestive response to Gundham's proposal to use her as a virgin sacrifice in one of his (obviously entirely made-up) rituals. From that point on she's insistent about pairing up with Gundham whenever the group split up — something Gundham notably has no complaints about — and the two of them show great team work and deduction, and are obviously very content in one another's company. During the trial, Sonia defends Gundham to the bitter end when he's accused of Nekomaru's murder, and his final words before leaving for his execution are an attempt to comfort and rally her, which she receives with a TearfulSmile. For the remaining two chapters, Sonia frequently references Gundham's sacrifice as her motivation for carrying on, becomes visibly upset when someone speaks negatively about him, and even goes to retrieve his hamsters in order to take care of them herself (something that's not reflected in any of her sprites, sadly).

** It's also interesting to note that, taking both Kiyotaka's own FriendlessBackground and the events of the manga's fourth chapter, Mondo might be ''[[TearJerker Taka's first real, close friend]]''. Kiyotaka also isn't fully aware of how to make friends as seen from his free time events, so to Taka, these are what he believes are normal signs of affection. Which, of course, does nothing to negate the interpretation that he was in love with Mondo without understanding the nuances of friendship and romance, and might even be seen to lend support to that reading.

** It's also interesting to note that, taking both Kiyotaka's own FriendlessBackground and the events of the manga's fourth chapter, Mondo might be ''[[TearJerker Taka's first real, close friend]]''. Kiyotaka also isn't fully aware of how to make friends as seen from his free time events, so to Taka, these are what he believes are normal signs of affection. And of course, [[TakeAThirdOption there's nothing to say that both things aren't equally true]].

** It's also interesting to note that, taking both Kiyotaka's own FriendlessBackground and the events of the manga's fourth chapter, Mondo might be ''[[TearJerker Taka's first real, close friend]]''. Kiyotaka also isn't fully aware of how to make friends as seen from his free time events, so to Taka, these are what he believes are normal signs of affection.

* Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Owada develop a seriously intense bond. Of course, this could be interpreted as a bond of "brotherhood" as they claim, but there's plenty to support the interpretation that they're actually attracted to one another. For starters, both (but Taka in particular) frequently descend into suggestive DoubleEntendre when they interact at length or even just talk about one another, something which notably begins even while they still vocally dislike each other. The implications really ramp up once they make friends, when they become openly complimentary of one another, inventing any opportunity to flatter the other's physical appearance as well as personality. Then during the second trial, Taka is willing to ''condemn everyone -- including himself'' to spare Mondo's life, which is definitely indicative of ''something''.[[note]]Taken even further in the stage play version, where Taka [[DrivenToSuicide deliberately gets himself executed alongside Mondo]] rather than live without him. Interestingly, the only other time this happens is in the second game, when the closest thing the Hope's Peak arc has to an OfficialCouple attempt to do the same thing (although it becomes a case of InterruptedSuicide for the non-guilty party in that case).[[/note]] Taka then completely shuts down after Mondo's execution, wandering around aimlessly and not responding when prior to this he has been extremely vocal and driven. Upon being snapped out of his fugue state by speaking to Alter Ego's simulation of Mondo, Taka [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane takes on a persona that is a fusion of both his own and Mondo's personalities]] and makes yet ''more'' suggestive statements on the theme of them sharing a body, which might be darkly comical if not for the absolutely heartbreaking part where he expresses gratitude that he's finally "got [his] soul back".