Characters / Dangan Ronpa: The Courage of Hope and The Strength of Despair

Characters

Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked. It's impossible to list tropes for these characters without spoilers or creating Self Fulfilling Spoilers because of the amount of reveals and murderer/victim exclusive tropes this fanfic contains.

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Tropes for the characters collectively

• Crash-Into Hello: Hello Megumi Tsuji, how ar-! Smash! Ow. Anyways, Yuuta meets Megumi like this, causing her to remark that she thinks he’s broken her nose.
• Genre Blind: Most of the students try to remain hopeful that there won't be any murders — or any more murders — in a mystery horror fanfic. Of course, they're trying to avoid falling into despair like Monokuma wants, but most of them will fail.
• A House Divided: Monokuma's game has this effect, as you can't know who's going to try to graduate, especially with people like Yevan, who immediately takes charge after the introduction sequence therefore further alienating the group.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Yevan and Tetsu try to do this to Monokuma, but it all goes horribly wrong..

• Meaningful Name: Most of the cast has them.
  • Fujiwara's surname Taiki means Large/brilliant in reference to his talent.
  • Yuuta's name can mean Big/thick hero, which is fitting, considering he's the protagonist.
  • Yevan's real name, Yên-Vân Lý. Roughly translates to Safety of reason in Vietnamese, considering her role as self-appointed leader, it seems intended.
  • Tetsu's name could be roughly seen as Masterful strong one which is accurate as he's tall person and his actions during chapter 3.
  • Kuno means A honest advisor in German, something that is very similar to his role in chapter 3, when he warns Tetsu about Monokuma. Later in the same chapter, he takes on this role again, this time with Yuuta.
  • Child without equal, fitting for Kimiko as she's SHSL Hollywood Star.
  • The name 'Akiko Takumi' could roughly be translated into Sparkling, skilled child of truth, also fitting because both her talent and the theme of truth used in this fanfic.

• Akio's is Bright male, fitting according to his talent. As he's knowledgeable with the occult.
• Megumi Tsuji roughly translates to Blessed Crossroad in Japanese, ironic considering the reader first learns about her when they are standing on one the paths of a crossroad.
• Makoto means sincere, also fitting as she seems hold nothing back when talking to people.

• Sibling Team: Hibiki and Tsubasa are this, well... Hibiki is the one who puts 'Team' in the Team.

• Wacky Homeroom: With all their super high school specialties, the cast is certainly quirky — and homicidal. Not to mention some of their eccentric personalities, especially Akiko and Ryoka.
• You All Meet in a Cell: Since the Yuuta was one of the last to arrive, it isn't clear if everyone necessarily met at the school entrance, but the spirit of the trope is still in effect.

Yuuta Hirota

Yuuta Hirota. SHSL Marksman. Token normal student.

Super High School Level Marksman

• Amateur Sleuth: As our protagonist he is certainly one of these, with some help from his fellow classmates, mostly Ryoka, Kuno and Megumi.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Yuuta struggles to point out that Kenta murdered Hibiki thanks to this, luckily he perseveres despite his obvious hesitation.
• Borrowed Catch Phrase: From Makoto Naegi and Hajime Hinata, the actual protagonists of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
  • "No that's wrong!" when he points out a contradiction in court, just like Makoto in the original game.
  • To a lesser extent, "I agree with that!" when he agrees with someone else's statement in court.
  • There's also "I'll cut that claim to pieces!" when he wins a Rebuttal Showdown.
• Captain Obvious: In chapter 2. Really Yuuta? What gave it away?
  Megumi: Yeap. That's right. It's Hope's Peak's Academy logo.
  Yuuta: I think it's safe to say this is Hope's Peak Academy.
• Crush Blush: Shipping intensifies! He does this around Megumi, of course.
• The Everyman: Despite his knowledge of guns and his talent, he mostly falls into this area, due to being rather physically unremarkable and saner than the other students.
• The Generic Guy: He's physically unremarkable for the most part, especially compared to the other students.
• Gun Nut: His talent is the major indicator for this, though he often monologues or speaks in gun language.
  Yuuta: It was then when I heard the distinctively familiar 'click' I've hear at the shooting range.
• The Kirk: Is frequently able to act as a unifying force amongst his classmates, bridging logic with heart to lead everyone to the truth and a calm daily life, even though he kinda doesn't want to.
  Yuuta: Why do I always end up in situations like this.
• Meaningful Name: His name references the theme of hero, which adds to his protagonist role in the fanfic.
• Nice Guy: He’s a friendly guy who seems to be able to get along with just about anyone. As expected of a Danganronpa protagonist.
• The Protagonist: Since the second chapter Yuuta has been narrating the events that befall the characters that surround him.
• Quip to Black: Though it doesn't fade into an opening sequence, it does end a scene in Chapter 4.
  Yuuta: this Fuh (Phở) is Fuh-reaking good!
• Scars Are Forever: Apparently Yuuta obtained a scar somewhere before his memory wipe.
• Straight Man: Somewhat. He's usually the one musing about others' bizarre personality quirks.

Megumi Tsuji

Megumi Tsuji. SHSL Artificer. Watch out for her finger banging technique.

Super High School Level Artificer

• Deuteragonist: Though not certain, the writer seems to be heading towards putting her in this role alongside Yuuta, especially since she's also the second one to be introduced in the story.
• Finger Gun: When meeting your potential love interest, make sure you point your finger at him and pull the trigger. I guess you can say that she... fingerbanged him.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Her talent, paired with the fact that she outranks her own dad when it comes to engineering.
• Implied Love Interest: Yuuta seems clearly interested in her, but Megumi is hard to read and therefore it's uncertain if she even sees him that way. It doesn't help that Akiko ships them too.
• The Medic: Due to her expertise in microscopic gadget engineering, she takes on the role as the improvised surgeon of the cast.
• The Smart Guy: Have you seen her title? It means she’s well experienced with technology, apparently even outranking her own father.
  Megumi: I mostly just tinker with military equipment.

Yevan

Yên-Vân Lý. SHSL Escrimador. Death-glaring leader wannabe.

Super High School Level Escrimador

• Action Girl: With a title like Escrimador, you know she can kick some mighty butt if she ever feels the need to.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Downplayed, most of the time. If she isn't kicking ass she's usually staring others to death with intimidating looks, and she seems to have appointed herself leader of the students, though few agree with this.
• Death Glare: Usually everyone backs off when they see this, except for Tsubasa. According to Yuuta, her stare even gets stronger the more she uses it.
• Hot-Blooded: She even dashes off the very moment she hears Akiko's scream. Too bad her efforts go by unnoticed to most of her peers.
• Leader Wannabe: Before she outright appoints herself as leader in chapter 3, she already shows her commanding nature during the 2nd chapter.
  • Chapter 2.
    Yevan: Hey, can't you read? Get over here and get your ElectroID.
  • Chapter 3.
    Yevan: In times of great duress one should be appointed so everyone can act as one. I volunteer myself for the job.
    Tsubasa: Yeah? Well, you're the one who went guns-blazing on Monokuma and nearly turned into swiss cheese if it weren't for Kuno.
    Kuno: Oh no please. I would like to accept Yevan as our leader as I don't like to placed in such an open position anyways.
    Yevan: See? He already agrees to my leadership. I don't see the point of debating this any longer.
• Passionate Sports Girl: Escrima isn't a sport you just do without having any heart in it, if you didn't have the discipline for it, it would be not possible to do it for long periods of time.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Well, the tall part is unconfirmed, but Yevan is certainly snarky enough to qualify, and for the dark part, she and Tetsu are the only characters whose tans border on a brown colour, and she has dark brown hair.
• Token Minority: She's the only actual foreigner within the 79th class of Hope's Peak.
• Tsurime Eyes: Yuuta frequently mentions that she has a sharp gaze, which flows well with this trope.
• The Unfettered: Downplayed due to being slightly reluctant to head into the despair dormitory because of a fear of potential exploding bombs, but she outright trumps everyone in the bravery department by stepping in first voluntarily. It makes you wonder if she even thought that through.
• The Unpronounceable: Yên-Vân Lý. Luckily she knows that it is a mind bendingly hard name to pronounce for non-Vietnamese people and coined the nickname Yevan.

Akiko Takumi

Akiko Takumi. SHSL Billiards Player. The adorkable Genre Savvy funny chick.

Super High School Level Billiards Player

• Cloud Cuckoo Lander:
  • One of her highpoints is when she screams her lungs out when she spots a pool table in the rec room, whilst everyone thought she was being killed.
  • In chapter 3, she says this:
    Akiko: Wha- Are you throwing a dance party? Hey, that's a great idea. C'mon guys lets move some hips! (starts dancing)
• Genre Savvy: From time to time. Like in Chapter 3;
  Akiko: Oh no! Splitting up in situations like these is bad! It's the most common horror trope!
• [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Does this a lot. In chapter 2:
  Yuuta: (Starts to blush after Megumi compliments him.)
  Akiko: Well I think I've found out which character route Yuuta is going for.
• The Matchmaker: She exhibits this trait during the early and later parts of chapter 2, when trying to set Yuuta and Megumi up.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Fills the role of the token funny chick, with her plucky and goofy nature.
• Plucky Girl: Due to her her optimistic and trusting nature, shown when defending Ryoka from Seijun who accused her of being in league with Monokuma.

Kuno Okura

Kuno Okura. SHSL Espionage. Quick! Cover your butts, everyone.

Super High School Level Espionage

• Big Damn Heroes: Kuno, when he saves both Yevan and Tetsu from Monokuma's Arrows of Orion, at the same time, while a mini gun was just about to fire.
• Combat Medic: Due to the kind of work he does as a spy he has quite the knowledge on how to treat certain types of injuries.
• The Conscience: Acts mostly as a moral compass to the group, even Monokuma calls him out for it.
  Monokuma: Aww, you're no fun! Why couldn't you be the first victim? Ugh, voice of reason characters are so annoying.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager: Love knows no bounds, not even gender~! Courtesy of Kuno, the guy who kissed the hands of everyone in the gymnasium, cover your butts everyone.
• Humble Hero: Expresses this mindset. In Chapter 3, after Yuuta is impressed by him saving Yevan and Tetsu.
  Kuno: All in a days work, Yuuta.
  • He opts out of leading the group for this reason.
• I Kiss Your Hand: This guy holds nothing back; he presumably kissed every hand in the whole gymnasium, which amounts to 16 people. It does get a funny reaction out of Yuuta and Kenta.
• The Profiler: He was accurately able to deduce that Monokuma had a trick card up his sleeve, in the form of a minigun.
• Teen Superspy: What he is, as an espionage, and a damn good one too.

Fujiwara Taiki

Fujiwara Taiki. SHSL Memorizer. The memorizer who got memory-wiped.

Super High School Level Memorizer

• Cannot Spit It Out: Fujiwara suffers greatly from this trope during the first class trial, where he doesn't want to admit who killed Hibiki in order to protect her innocence as a human being.
• Heroic BSoD: Fujiwara when he finds out that his precious talent was easily manipulated and therefore useless.
• Photographic Memory: His talent. It's also pretty ironic that the memorizer lost his memory thanks to laser-guided amnesia, too bad Tsubasa just can't cut him some slack.
• Real Men Cook: Despite the fact Fujiwara hasn't touched a pan or a pot in his life, he quickly demonstrates that he could very well be a chef equal to the SHSL Chef in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, thanks to his overly large memory.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: His title as SHSL Memorizer, he's bound to be smart if he can memorize everything.

Kenta Shintaka

Kenta Shintaka. SHSL Martial Artist. The social linking Bruce Lee clone.

Super High School Level Martial Artist

• Accidental Murder: The fact that he killed Hibiki is a classic "wrong place, wrong time, wrong action" scenario.
• Bruce Lee Clone: Kenta wears something yellow and makes a signature Bruce Lee pose. He’s also a martial artist.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: His body was beaten to a bloody pulp of muscles, flesh, teeth and hair. If that isn't unnecessarily cruel then nothing is.

• Idiot Hair: His is even pointier and larger than Makoto Naegi's ahoge.
• Muscles Are Meaningful: Have you seen that guy, he's Huge! His muscles at least...
• No Kill like Overkill: How does Kenta go out? He is beaten to a horrible, putrid pulp of flesh while simultaneously suffering from a Heroic BSoD due to the fact he accidentally destroyed the Hibiki dummy.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Kenta definitely affirms this trope, especially since he wears two sleeveless pairs of clothing at once.
• Sympathetic Murderer:
  • Can't get more sympathetic than being the murderer because you tried to catch a falling box in order to save Hibiki from a miserable headache, inadvertently driving her murder weapon up her throat.
  • It should also be noted that the only reason that he didn't up and confess to the others that he murdered Hibiki is due to the fact he wanted to see his little sister Ayako one more time.

Hibiki Yukata

Hibiki Yukata. SHSL Hair Dresser. Oh god! The obvious is multiplying.

Super High School Level Hair Dresser

• Captain Obvious: Oh god, they're multiplying! After Monokuma tells the students that they’ll have to someone to get out:
  Hibiki: Kill.. Like a.. Murder?
  Everyone else (most likely Tsubasa): Is there any other kind?
• Character Tic: Hibiki often places her hand under her chin when she's deep in thought or distressed. An action that unknowingly caused her to die.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Our first victim, poor gal. May she rest in peace.

Tsubasa Yukata

Tsubasa Yukata. SHSL Finger Painter. Obnoxious Jerkass of the first class.

Super High School Level Finger Painter

• Berserk Button: Despite being as snarky as he is, he can completely flip if you put his sister in a negative spotlight in any way, shape or form.
• Break the Haughty: Cue the first victim's death and he starts losing his oppressive temperament.
• Character Tic: Similar to Hibiki, Tsubasa also places his hand underneath his chin when he's deeply in thought or distressed, perhaps it's a family thing.
• Jerkass: He’s rude, snarky, smug and oppressive. He cares for his sister though.
• Smug Snake: He's a jerk and he has this holier-than-thou attitude that constantly grinds the gears of the other characters, even when he’s wrong. He does not take being wrong well…

Kotone Oshiro

Kotone Oshiro. SHSL Make-Up Artist. Enticing men since her birth.

Super High School Level Make-Up Artist

Kimiko Sanazawa

Kimiko Sanazawa. SHSL Hollywood Star. A genuinely nice person, wow, that was hard to find.

Super High School Level Hollywood Star

• But Not Too Foreign: Half Japanese, half American.
• Nice Guy: Easily the friendliest person in the main cast, which is surprising. Considering her talent, one would expect she'd be more haughty and arrogant.
• You Can Talk?: Kimiko's response to Monokuma Breaking a certain wall.

Tetsu Mastada

Tetsu Mastada. SHSL Blacksmith. White knighting action film extra.

Super High School Level Blacksmith

• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: If Tetsu's fearless fool tactics didn't convince you of this, then this statement when he sees Monokuma probably will:
  Tetsu: I don't care what it is. It better start talking, or I'll pummel it to pieces!
• Knight in Shining Armor: Behaves as one towards Kimiko most of the time, but it's more akin to white-knighting really.
• Scars Are Forever: Have you seen those massive burn scars on him? Those won't be going away anytime soon, nor will the other various scars on his body.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Wears a tank-top and is very fight-happy. Even Yuuta states that Tetsu could basically roll as an extra in a action movie.

Makoto Shirogane

Makoto Shirogane. SHSL Sukeban. Takes no rubbish whatsoever, be warned simple men.

Super High School Level Sukeban

• Action Girl: If leading an all-girls gang wasn't enough of a clue, then her threats to Seijun make it pretty clear that she takes little rubbish.
• Brutal Honesty: Her name already gives off a clue to this, her dialogue confirms it, as she’s rather blunt.
• Honor Among Thieves: Makoto literally preaches this when Monokuma explains that if they fail to point out the correct culprit they will die and the culprit will "graduate".
• Japanese Delinquents: A first class example of delinquentness in its finest. She’s the SHSL Sukeban after all.
• Rule-Abiding Rebel: For some reason, Makoto is completely fine under Yevan's rule, something that goes against her already established rebellious character.
• Scars Are Forever: Most notably the one on her eye and chest area.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Has zero qualms about swearing.
• Tomboy: See her title, she’s a type of delinquent, therefore she’s pretty much expected to be tough and manly. If that’s not accurate enough, see her rows with Seijun.
  Seijun: With all due respect, you treat us like psychopathic criminals with an unsatisfied drive for blood lust. We are a group of extraordinary teenagers, however. I don't see any of us committing such a heinous crime, save for a few. (looks at Makoto accusingly)
  Makoto: Hey! I saw that asshole. You better keep those eyes to yourself, or else I'll rip 'em out of their sockets!

Seijun Higashi

Seijun Higashi. SHSL Prosecutor. Defying the laws of genetics 'til this day.

Super High School Level Prosecutor

• Badass Longcoat: He sports one in white.
• Implausible Hair Color: He calls Makoto out on the fact that she dyed her hair pink, but his hair is purple.

Akio Komiya

Akio Komiya. SHSL Occult Club Member. A conspiracy theorist who tempted his undoing.

Super High School Level Occult Club Member

• Conspiracy Theorist: Shows signs of this. He even gets excited when Tetsu says that the whole Mutual Killing Event is nothing but an elaborate kidnapping.
• Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: See the picture. He’s got some pretty big bags.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: Got these under each eye.
• Jerkass: He shows elements of this, especially when he berates people for being too mundane.
• Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here: This loathing of the mundane attitude he displays also extends to people, and by further extension, Yuuta.
• One-Note Cook: Can only make himself some cereal.
• Tempting Fate: You want more excitement in your life, Akio? Here, have this knife and kill your classmates. He wanted his life to be more exciting… And now, he’s in a life-or-death game. Be careful with what you wish for.

Ryoka Nakami

Ryoka Nakami. SHSL Chess Player. Color coded smart girl for your convenience.

Super High School Level Chess Player

• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: She is dressed in white and black like a chessboard, donning gloves that even have king and queen pieces stitched on them.
• Nerves of Steel: Just like Kyouko Kirigiri of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, she hardly ever loses her calm personality, even under intense pressure. Even during class trials.
• The Smart Guy: Fits this role perfectly. The girl plays chess after all.
• Smart People Play Chess: She often brings little trivia into the conversation no one knows about except her. Heck, even Monokuma praises her for it.
  Ryoka: You have no goal. Not yet anyway. There's no need to make a move if you don't know who your target is.
  Monokuma: Upupu.. I see why they call you the SHSL Chess Player, Sweetcheeks.