Danganronpa 2 — Male Students / Characters

Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.

It's virtually impossible to list tropes for these characters without spoiling everything or creating Self Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of surprising reveals and murderer/victim exclusive tropes this game contains just like its predecessor.

Subjectives and audience reactions should go on the YMMV page. For the tropes related to them in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, see here, but keep in mind that this page does contain spoilers for the anime!

open/close all folders

Hajime Hinata

Ultimate ??? (as himself, actually a reserve course student)/Ultimate Hope (as Izuru)

"Right now, I'm more focused on what I'm supposed to do."

Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
Played by: Ryusei Yokohama (Stage)

The Player Character. A young man who has always admired Hope's Peak Academy and finally achieved his dream of attending the school. Unfortunately, he has forgotten his past and the Ultimate talent that he was selected for. Hajime is a decent guy, but his personality is rough around the edges and very sceptical.

The truth is that he has no Ultimate talent, but his obsession with Hope's Peak led him to become the subject of the "Ultimate Hope Project", in which his identity would be completely erased and rebuilt as "Izuru Kamukura", the multi-talented "Ultimate Hope". Unfortunately, Izuru fell under the thrall of Junko Enoshima and triggered "The Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Event In Human History" by his participation in the first "School Life of Mutual Killing", causing the death of the student council. During the final trial, he is faced with the dilemma of remaining as "Hajime Hinata" and letting AI Junko win, or reverting back to "Izuru Kamukura". He ultimately chooses the latter, accepting responsibility for his bloodied past and resolving to create a new future for himself and his classmates, but as a result, is indicated to retain his old self.

Click here to see his page |

Nagito Komaeda

Ultimate Lucky Student

Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (Japanese), Bryce Papenbrook (English)

Played by: Hiroki Suzuki (Stage)

For tropes related to Nagito, see his separate page.

Byakuya Togami/The Ultimate Imposter

"Byakuya Togami"

Ultimate Affluent Progeny (Ultimate Imposter)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twogami.png

"A person like me has a responsibility to watch over you weaklings."

Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese), Jason Wishnov (English)

Played by: Yosuke Nishi (Stage)

Byakuya is the scion of the wealthy Togami family, and one groomed to become a success since childhood... but this ain't him. As Hajime discovers fairly late in the game, this is a student known only by their talent, the Ultimate Imposter: A person without a home, relatives, gender, or even a name, who could only live by assuming the guise of another person.

Disguised as Byakuya, the Imposter immediately takes the position of leader amongst the group, claiming that he will use his superiority to lead them all to safety. Intelligent, calculating and utterly ruthless, Byakuya is a force to be reckoned with, which the Imposter does a decent job replicating — though his true personality as a far nicer and more compassionate person shows through the facade. Also, he really likes food. He attempts to prevent a murder in Chapter 1, and although he manages to foil Nagito, he is accidentally killed by Teruteru (who was gunning for Nagito).

Acrofatic: Hajime notes that he moves surprisingly fast for a person of his size. He also had to pull off some incredibly fast-moving during the blackout, being on the opposite side of the room from where Nagito hid the knife.
Ambiguous Gender: The Ultimate Imposter's true gender is listed as "???" on his file, though this appears to be more intended to underscore his mysterious nature than anything else.
Back for the Dead: Subverted. He seems to be a returning character from the first game who acts as the first casualty of the second, but then it turns out he's an imposter and the real Togami is fine and dandy.
Be Yourself: His last Free Time event has him promising to start forging his own identity rather than impersonating others if he makes it off the island.
Big Beautiful Man:
- Unlike Hifumi and Teruteru, the Imposter is visually just Byakuya with some extra weight added to him, and retains his boyish good looks as a result.
- His final Free Time event implies that he would be more handsome than the real Byakuya if he dropped his disguise, meaning this likely applies to his natural appearance as well, in his own mind at least.
Big Eater: Byakuya seems to have developed an obsession with food since the last game, which might explain his weight problem... but in reality, this is a trait particular to the Imposter. In one of his Free Time events, he tells Hajime that he finds comfort in eating fast food, as no matter where he goes it always tastes the same — and implies that it's one of the only consistent things in his life.
Big Fun: Played with. While the Imposter does have quirks such as being a Big Eater, leading to some funny moments, he mainly plays the part of a serious and stern, yet caring leader within the group. During the first trial, Akane claims that Byakuya was this in an attempt to justify why he went under the table during the party, only to be met with a rebuttal from Kazuichi.
Birds of a Feather:
- He bonds with Akane thanks to their Big Eater tendencies and Obsessed with Food.
- He also gets along well with Kiyotaka due to their leadership tendencies, though he's uncomfortable at the fact that he's basically "living a lie" as the Ultimate Imposter.
- Unsurprisingly the Imposter gets along well with Ultimate Cosplayer Tsumugi in Ultimate Summer Camp.
- Surprisingly, the real Byakuya gets decently with them, he considers it flattering that the Imposter took on his identity.
Blue Blood: As the heir to the Togami family...or not.
Character Development: As compared to the real Byakuya. In Chapter 1 of Danganronpa 2, when the game gets switched back to the "murder" format, this Byakuya instantly decides to invite everyone to a party on the pretext of strengthening their bonds, when really he's trying to arrange to do away with all the murder weapons and have everyone where he can see them. That he's thinking of the others at all is a stark contrast to "his" selfish desire to graduate by winning the game in the previous Danganronpa, so it looks like Byakuya's undergone a lot of character development since then. In reality, it's just the Imposter's Nice Guy personality shining through.
Comfort Food: Fast food. Since he is The Drifter, he enjoys the fact that everywhere he goes, he will find the exact same restaurants serving the exact same menu items and takes comfort in the familiarity.
Crazy-Prepared: He really took pretty much every thinkable precaution to prevent any murders from taking place during the party. He enforced a strict policy of confiscating anything that can be used as a weapon at the door, had a variable arsenal of non-lethal weapons, such as a pepperspray and a taser, at hand so he could quickly subdue any would be attackers. He even brought nightvision goggles, in case someone would mess with the lights in the room. Ironically, he is ultimately killed because the precautions he took leads him to successfully interfere in one plan (Nagito's plan), only to be the unintended victim of another (Teruteru's plan to kill Nagito).
Dark and Troubled Past: He implies that there was a time in the past when he couldn't trust anyone and no one could trust him, which is why he's taking precautions regarding the party. Turns out he was born with no name, no home and no family, and felt like he didn't actually exist, and as such began impersonating "real" people.
The Drifter: The Imposter has no real home and makes mention of moving from place to place frequently as a result.
Does Not Like Spam: Civet Coffee is one of the worst gifts to give him. Another hint he's not the real Byakuya since it was one of the best gifts to give him.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": When not being called by the name of the person he's disguised as he's usually referred to as "The Ultimate Imposter" or simply "The Imposter", the closest thing he has to a real name.
Fat and Proud: He has no insecurities with his weight and even talks down to his skinnier peers and pities them for being so thin, especially since he's still faster than them despite moving fast being about the only thing he thinks thin people are good for. In his Free Time Events, he is outraged that Hajime has no interest in learning his own body fat percentage, and in Chapter 1, he claims to have spent a fortune intentionally "sculpting his physique". In Ultimate Summer Camp, he's slightly envious of Hifumi, who is heavier than him, but notes their fat is of a different quality. Hiyoko then says "Ooh, if Byakuya is Ham Hands, then Hifumi would be pork belly that's almost entirely fat.", which "Byakuya" agrees with and tells him to be proud of how fat he is.
Fat Bastard: Subverted. The Imposter is occasionally somewhat of a jerk, but it is strongly hinted that is just a result of him attempting to stay in-character as Byakuya. Whenever the Imposter's real personality shines through, he tends to be generally nice, modest, and polite.
Foil: To Mukuro Ikusaba, another student who impersonates someone else and is one of the first ones to die. While Mukuro was The Dragon who impersonated Junko to obfuscate the latter's role in the killing game and was far more important to the story than she seemed at first glance, the Imposter is firmly an ally of the heroes, impersonates someone else because he personally has no sense of self, and is far less important to the story than he seems at first glance.
Formerly Fit: Subverted, since as it turns out, that's not actually the real Byakuya.
Good Counterpart: With the revelation that the "Byakuya" in this game is actually an imposter, his role as The Leader of the group and his Hidden Heart of Gold visibly contrasts the insufferably smug and cold-hearted Byakuya from the start of Trigger Happy Havoc.
Hate at First Sight: Unsurprisingly, Genocide Jack doesn't like him taking Byakuya's identity, so they don't get along at all in Ultimate Talent Development Project and Ultimate Summer Camp.
Heroic Sacrifice: Evidence during the first class trial suggests that the reason why the Imposter shoved Nagito out of the way was that he saw Teruteru with the skewer underneath the floorboards thanks to his night-vision goggles and took the fatal blow instead.
Hidden Heart of Gold: It's hinted that the Imposter, very much unlike the actual Byakuya, is a nice and polite person and his occasional stand-offish and arrogant behavior is him trying to stay somewhat in-character as Byakuya. This is especially noticeable and eventually confirmed in his Free Time Events.
Horrible Judge of Character: The Imposter grievously overestimates Byakuya's character, assuming that he would step up, take charge, and try to save everyone when his real reaction to the situation was to sit back and enjoy the killing game while making plans to eventually kill someone and graduate.
I Have This Friend: In his final Free Time event, he talks about being the Ultimate Imposter this way. Hajime suggests that he's talking about himself, but leaves it up to him to decide whether to tell him.
I Just Want to Be You: Part of the reason he is impersonating Byakuya specifically seems to be out of admiration for his achievements.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Teruteru accidentally stabs him to death while trying to kill Nagito.
Intentional Weight Gain: While the primary reason he's fat is from eating fast food for comfort, he seems to imply that he purposely "sculpted his physique" to stay warm in the cold, since he tells the skinny Hajime that he is lucky they're stranded on a tropical island, else he would freeze to death. He also considers pork to be the best meat because it's highest in vitamin B1, which assists in converting glucose to energy, and is best at packing on weight with.
Jerkass Façade: He's only acting like an asshole so he can believably play the part of Byakuya Togami. The Imposter is far more selfless and kind deep down than Byakuya ever was in the first game.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The "jerk" part comes from imitating Byakuya, while the "heart of gold" part is very much his own.
Large and in Charge: The heaviest of the cast and the second tallest, he appoints himself as the leader early in the game.
The Leader: A level-headed type who immediately steps up to take charge after Monokuma takes over.
Massive Numbered Siblings: In the first game, Byakuya tells Makoto that he was the youngest of the fifteen children of the Togami family head; here, the Imposter claims that he is one of 108 half-siblings.
Master of Disguise: His true talent and the closest thing he has to an "identity".
Mentor Archetype: He becomes this to Tenko during the Ultimate Summer Camp where she asks him to teach her to tolerate men better. At the end, they have made "some" progress.
Mock Millionaire: Or multi-billionaire as the case may be, either way, he's not Byakuya.
Never Given a Name: Neither Hajime nor the audience learns his real name. His final Free Time event reveals that he doesn't have one at all. His "My Future" event in ''Ultimate Summer Camp" even revolves around what he'll call himself.
Nice Guy: The few times we see the Imposter's real personality shine though he is shown to be very polite and modest. In other words: absolutely nothing like the real Byakuya. Even when he's in-character, he generally acts as nice and as protective towards the other students as he can reasonably justify within Byakuya's persona, doing things like invoking Byakuya's pride and his responsibilities towards "lessers" to look out for others.
"Not So Different" Remark: Compares Fuyuhiko to how he used to act, though if he means himself or the real Byakuya is unclear and seems very amused by that. Fuyuhiko doesn't appreciate that.
Obsessed with Food: When not bragging about his superiority, conversations with him tends to lead to food. The best presents for him are the food options.
Odd Friendship:
- He gets along well with the loud and energetic Ibuki and it's implied she has a crush on him. He has a headbanging contest with her in Ultimate Summer Camp.
- He also gets along with Shuichi and he offers his help in fraud cases
Parental Abandonment: Has no family to speak of, and apparently was somehow born that way.
Properly Paranoid: He is convinced the iron skewers Teruteru cooked with were dangerous while everyone else is dismissive. One of the skewers ends up being what kills him.
The Proud Elite: While still acting arrogant, he's very quick to declare that he will ensure everyone's survival, and is equally quick to recognize Hajime's potential and try to recruit him as his assistant.
Red Herring: Doubly so. It initially seems that Byakuya will be an important character, and he has insight into what is really occurring on the island. Then he becomes the first murder victim. Then it turns out he wasn't really Byakuya but an imposter...but the reveal is treated as something unimportant. In fact, the imposter is so unimportant that he literally has no identity of his own. In short, he seems like he'll be relevant to the plot, then he gets killed, then he turns out to have never been relevant. And that was probably the point.
Sacrificial Lion: Survived the first game, only to become the first to die here. Subverted however, since he is not the real Byakuya, though his death still makes him qualify.
Spanner in the Works: Ruins Nagito's plan by bringing night-vision goggles to the party, allowing him to see Nagito reaching for the knife and shove him away.
Serious Business: During Free Time events, Hajime learns that the "body mass index" and the qualities (or lack thereof) of various kinds of meats is this trope to him.
Small Role, Big Impact: He's in the game for about half a chapter, but his actions end up letting Nagito survive for most of the game, which in turn causes many of events of the latter half of the game to transpire.
Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Surviving the first despair game doesn't mean he'll survive the second... though ultimately subverted when the real Byakuya survives.
Taking the Bullet: Chiaki suggests the possibility that he saw Teruteru moving under the floor with his night scope and actually moved to shield Nagito from him with his own body. Nagito laments the irony of this, as his Spinoff manga chooses to make this theory true there.
Team Dad: Quickly takes up this position, trying to become the leader of the group and showing them overall a friendly, protective side to himself.
Tempting Fate: Declares that there will not be a single victim under his watch. Guess who the first victim is?
Took a Level in Kindness: Subverted. It seems at first glance that the self-centered asshole from the first game has become a more kindhearted man who wants to lead everyone to safety, but then it turns out that this guy is an impostor and was always far nicer than Byakuya, and any affectation to the contrary is just him staying in-character.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Subverted because he came back in Danganronpa 3, but after The Reveal that he wasn't the real Byakuya Togami he falls under this. The impostor spends most of his time trying to ensure the class's safety and prevent a killing from happening quickly becoming a well-loved leader of the group, he then dies trying to save Nagito even though Nagito was trying to reach for a knife. The first victim of the killing game was the person who tried to prevent it from starting in the first place.
Trademark Favorite Food: Junk food of all kinds, which stems from the fact that no matter where he goes or who he impersonates, he can count on large fast-food chains to always serve the same thing, this being the only real constant in his life.
Walking Spoiler: In more ways than one. While the fact that his presence gives away Byakuya surviving isn't massive, given the sheer amount of Late-Arrival Spoiler the franchise is known for, the fact that he is an imposter is only revealed in the Chapter 5 investigation, well after he died.
The World's Expert (on Getting Killed): Byakuya Togami, a man who survived the previous killing game and is nothing less than Crazy-Prepared to prevent any more murders, becomes the very first person to die in spite of all his experience and preparation. Subverted when it turns out that he wasn't the real Byakuya, meaning the "expert" part was a lie.

Gundham Tanaka

Ultimate Breeder

"You may call me...Gundham Tanaka! Remember it well, for it is the name that will one day rule this world!"

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Chris Tergliafera (English)

Played by: Masahiro Inoue (Stage)

A highly eccentric individual who is rumored to be able to speak to animals. Gundham talks like a cartoon supervillain and aspires to use the dark arts to rule the world. He keeps a colony of hamsters, who he has dubbed the "Four Dark Devas of Destruction", under his scarf. He is the culprit of Chapter 4, emerging victorious in the Duel to the Death he challenged Nekomaru to due to being unwilling to simply give up and die when faced with choosing between committing murder or starving to death as a result of Monokuma's "motive". He is found guilty and executed by Monokuma, trampled to death by a stampede of animals.

Adorable Evil Minions: He treats his pet hamsters, the "Four Dark Devas of Destruction", like his Mooks. He uses them to attack Nekomaru from behind.
Animal Stampede: The means of his execution.
Antiquated Linguistics: He talks in the manner of a stereotypical "evil-overlord-to-be," which is why it comes as a shock to Hajime when his special skill turns out to be "Animal Breeder."
Archnemesis Dad: Implied, during his final Free Time Event, he refers to himself as the "offspring of an angel and a devil". As the "angel" is all but stated to be his mother, this infers that Gundham has a very low opinion of his father. Why this is the case is never stated, though it is heavily implied that it relates to him being born out of wedlock.
Badass Adorable: Naturally, the Four Dark Devas of Destruction themselves qualify as this for being able to do that alone.
Badass Arm-Fold: Does this a lot.
Badass Boast: His last words include "I shall fill Hell with true hell!"
Barely-Changed Dub Name: Most official sources give his name as Gandamu, probably due to it being written in kanji (眼蛇夢) rather than katakana (ガンダム). In the English localization, it's romanized as "Gundham" (the H is silent) for copyright reasons.
Berserk Button: When he's exposed as the murderer, he doesn't put up much of a defense, but when Nagito suggests that he took Nekomaru from behind with a surprise attack, he is infuriated. He confronted Nekomaru face-to-face and challenged him to an honourable Duel to the Death, giving him the opportunity to decline and flee if he desired, but he accepted.
Better with Non-Human Company: It's highly implied that his overlord persona was solely created in order to scare off people and some of his ramblings may indicate that he might've been victim of betrayal in the past. That said, he gets along with animals really well and is even rumored to be able to talk with them.
Beware the Silly Ones: You'd be forgiven for thinking his ridiculous overlord persona and exaggerated boasts are completely for show, and he's played as a comic relief character for the most part and ultimately has a good heart, but he puts his proficiency with animals to good use when he successfully kills Mechamaru through using his pet hamsters.
Birds of a Feather: In Ultimate Summer Camp, he gets along well with Masaru, with Masaru acting like the hero of a RPG and Gundham like it's final boss.
Black Magic: He claims to be a practitioner of the dark arts, and that his "Animal Breeder" title is just a front.
Blasé Boast: Calls his round of Russian roulette "child's play."
Blasphemous Boast: Frequently claims the gods themselves fear his power.
Blatant Lies: His self-proclaimed motive for killing Nekomaru. When asked if he intended to sacrifice himself and Nekomaru in order to satisfy the murder requirement for leaving the Fun House, he denies it and attempts to push his Evil Overlord image (as usual) by claiming he just did it For the Evulz...before giving a rousing speech about the importance of hope and not giving up on life even in the face of despair. Needless to say, nobody is convinced by his declared motive.
Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: He gradually forms a duo with Sonia, as she's the only other classmate that actually humors his antics and Evil Overlord persona, and tries to understand him.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Specifically, Gundham's "bunny ears" part of this trope is his chuunibyou condition. Since middle school, he has been deluded into thinking he may be above ordinary humans, and yet, he earned his Ultimate Breeder status for a reason.
Calling Your Attacks: "INFINITY UNLIMITED FLAME!!"
Card-Carrying Villain: He'd certainly like people to think he's one, especially himself, but you don't have to look very hard to see that underneath the hammy Evil Overlord persona he's really a good person. The Ultimate Despair version of him, on the other hand, was possibly one to rival even Junko.
Character Catchphrase:
- "That's a nice line" when someone else says something he deems cool.
- He likes to throw around the word "pandemonium" a lot when describing his motivations.
Chuunibyou: He fabricates a bizarre super villain-like persona for himself, treating his collection of pets like evil minions.
Clark Kent Outfit: Similarly to Hinata, his chest size is 37 in, the third largest among the males.
Cloudcuckoolander: Half the time he seems to be stuck in his own world and not paying as much attention to the events around him as he should. It comes part and parcel with how he's a chuunibyou.
- He can have a rather interesting "conversation" with fellow Cloudcuckoolanders Hifumi and Angie in Ultimate Summer Camp. As all three are off in their own little worlds, it's rather disjointed.
Combat Pragmatist: He opts to have his hamsters knock Nekomaru by pushing his buttons rather than take him on head-to-head. Considering Nekomaru had every conceivable physical advantage between the two, it's hard to blame him.
Deathbringer the Adorable: His hamsters are called the Four Dark Devas of Destruction. They're not completely harmless, though: one of them makes it possible for Gundham to murder Nekomaru by sneaking up and pressing a button to shut Nekomaru off until Gundham can tie him up in a place where a struggle will get him killed. The bandages on Tanaka's arms were also caused by all of the hamsters getting into each other's territories.
Department of Redundancy Department: One of his supposed attacks/spells is called "Infinity Unlimited Flame", which he teaches to Hajime as a skill in his final Free Time Event and calls out the name of when instigating a Rebuttal Showdown in Chapter 4.
Determinator:
- In Chapter 1, Gundham refuses to give up on recovering his earring (which he claims is instrumental to the fate of the world), even if it has fallen under the floorboards. Hajime wishes he'd use his determination for something more constructive to the investigation, though. Ultimately, it does prove to be relevant, since if Gundham could find a way under the floorboards, so could the killer...
- An extremely rare negative example of this trope, since this is his motivation for being the culprit in Chapter 4. Specifically, to provide Chapter 4's "motive", Monokuma trapped all the remaining students in a building, then cut off their food so they'd be in danger of starving unless a murder occurred. Gundham didn't want to just give up, roll over and die... which is why he murders Nekomaru in a mutual pact, which normally have lead to a typical sacrifice. However, since he wanted to do whatever he could to move forward, Tanaka makes every attempt to survive until he's properly cornered. Since Hajime manages to figure out the culprit was him, however, his determination didn't help him.
Dies Differently In The Adaptation: It's still Monokuma who kills him, but because the stage play skips chapter 4, he dies earlier, fighting alongside Nekomaru and Akane rather than being executed.
Disproportionate Retribution: He threatens to basically burn Kazuichi alive for annoying him, though it's Played for Laughs since it's clear he's not going to actually follow through.
EmPHAsis On The Wrong SylLAble: He has a very strange way of enunciating in the English version.
Empathy Pet: His hamsters count as this. When he's smiling with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, his hamsters (if they are part of the sprite) also mimic him. If he's in his thinking sprite, his hamsters also reflect that mood, too.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Gundham isn't evil or even bad, but his sensitivity towards his mother seems a little out of place given his callous Overlord persona. Apparently he used to eat the terrible food she made when he was a kid just to avoid making her cry, and it's strongly implied that it's his mother he's referring to when he talks about an "angel" in his fantasy scenarios.
Even Evil Has Standards:
- While he's more-so pretending to be evil than actually being evil, during Trial Four, he admits that he still finds disgust in Nagito’s justification for murdering for the sake of “Hope”, and says that even one as "diabolical" as he would never kill solely for personal gain. He responds with “murder is simply murder”. He's also just as freaked out as the other students by Peko Pekoyama's Knight Templar philosophy as Sparkling Justice.
- He's furious when it's suggested he attacked the unsuspecting Nekomaru, instead making it clear that they both knew they were in a fight to the death, and Nekomaru knew exactly what might happen.
Evil Laugh: A ridiculously exaggerated one that leaves Hajime speechless.
Evil Is Deathly Cold: One of Gundham's self-proclaimed titles is "the Supreme Overlord of Ice", making it clear he wants to be this trope.
Evil Is Hammy: Invoked. Gundham is one of the hammiest characters in the entire franchise, but it's all a part of his Evil Overlord persona.
Evil Overlord: Subverted. He looks, talks, and acts like a dark lord, frequently boasting about his dark powers, addressing the others as "mere humans" and "mortals", and treating his hamsters as his loyal minions. It's mostly for show though, as Gundham isn't actually an evil or even a bad person.
Expository Pronoun: In the Japanese version, he uses the very antagonistic and threatening "kisama" ("fiend" in the English localization) to refer to all his classmates, befitting his self-proclaimed "Dark Lord" persona. The sole exception is Sonia, whom he takes to using comparatively more polite language towards.
Face Death with Dignity: He's the fourth culprit, but accepts his fate, even giving the others a Rousing Speech about not giving up and egging Monokuma on to bring on the punishment. Monokuma drives a stampede of animals towards him, and he takes a moment to place his hamsters out of harm's way, and then is one of the few people in the series who actually has somewhat of a fighting chance against his execution: he draws a huge "magic circle" meant to stop the stampede...but it doesn't work and the animals crush him to death, though he dies with a smile while being carried to heaven by his past pets.
Foil: To Kazuichi, as expanded upon in the latter's entry on this page. He also is one to Celeste from the previous game, as both are people with a bad case of Chuunibyou stemming from a lack of self-esteem and social skills due to troubled backgrounds. But whereas Celeste got into her feigned persona too deep and became a morally bankrupt person as a result, Gundham maintains his good nature in spite of his feigned persona being all about how "evil" he is. Meanwhile, Celeste would actually be a better person if her memories hadn't been forcibly tampered with, while Gundham would be a much worse one if his memories hadn't been forcibly tampered with.
For the Evulz: Bragged that he had no reason for killing Nekomaru, citing himself as senselessly cruel and sinister. Evidence, however, suggests his actual purpose was noble.
Friend to All Living Things: He loves animals and vice versa. During his first Free Time event, Hajime learns that Gundham even runs his own blog advising others how to properly care for animals (well, according to him it's a blog dedicated to his magical research, and the Glamour spell he applied to it causes Muggles to merely perceive it as a blog about raising animals, but still). In the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, he bonds with Gonta over this.
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, he helps make a lost pet finding service with Shuichi and Gonta.
Going Commando: When the player receives his underwear for clearing his Free Time events, it's transparent, which may indicate this... though the description claims that his underwear is just invisible to those with "low astral level eyesight." In Ultimate Talent Development Mode, Miu tries to use a gun that teleports underwear on Gundham after they annoy each other and... It does nothing.
Go Out with a Smile: In a way similar to Sakura Ogami. As he dies, he smiles to his Four Dark Devas of Destruction.
Graceful Loser: He only puts up flimsy defenses once fingered as the killer, and commands Hajime finish him off with his closing argument. Once the closing argument is finished, he's nothing but complimentary.
Gratuitous English: At times, such as "INFINITY UNLIMITED FLAME!"
Half-Human Hybrid: He claims to have been born from a torrid affair between a human and a demon, unwelcome on either side of the family. This may or may not be Gundham-ese for being born out of wedlock.
Handwraps of Awesome: He wears these to protect himself from bites and scratches from his hamsters getting into fights over territory. He apparently removes them to make a contract with Hajime, but this doesn't get reflected in his sprites.
Hate at First Sight: He can't stand Kokichi in Ultimate Talent Development Plan, though Kokichi claims to want to get along with him.
Hates Being Touched: By human hands at least. At the end of his Free Time Events, he makes an exception for Hajime.
Head Pet: Keeps hamsters in his scarf.
Heroic Bastard: During chapter 4 and his final Free Time event, he mentions that he was born of a "torrid affair" between a demon and a human/angel. Since Gundham often filters real events through his fantastical worldview, and he only ever speaks fondly of his mother, this implies he was born out of wedlock. This is indicated to have been what lead to his isolation described in his backstory, as bastard children are heavily discriminated against in Japanese society.
Heroic Sacrifice / Hesitant Sacrifice: Complicated. Gundam did everything in his power to succeed as a blackened, from manufacturing two alibis (one of which backfires) to derailing and rebutting the trial as much as possible. Even with Sonia among the spotless, Gundam gives every indication that he was willing to "trample" their lives underfoot, as he compels the class to do to him once he is caught beyond all doubt, though it did take Sonia's desperation for him to start fighting back once accused. Indeed, Gundam lived and died absolutely by his philosophy: giving up on life is a blasphemy against life itself! And he proved it by being willing to sacrifice his class and by being willing to be sacrificed by his class. In his view, anyone surviving will always be preferable to no one surviving. One can even infer that Gundam did not chain the door to the Final Dead Room to give the spotless a chance to succeed, if anyone had the drive to survive like he did, similar to how he challenged Nekomaru openly and gave him a chance to murder Gundam in turn.
Hypocritical Humor: While arguing with Hajime in the third trial, he states Hajime's opinion is proof he is suffering from a "childish delusion", which the others quickly lampshade is a bit rich coming from a guy who believes he's an Sorcerous Overlord in a fantasy novel.
Hypocrisy Nod: In the fourth trial, he states a murder, no matter the reason, is still murder. This is all with the knowledge that he himself murdered Nekomaru. Although he is truthful in saying even he wouldn't kill just for personal gain, as his motives run deeper than that.
I Did What I Had to Do: Downplayed. He accepts his fate, and doesn't try to justify his actions, but has this to say about murdering Nekomaru.
Gundham: I have betrayed you all... That is the absolute truth... But... even so... Isn't this a better alternative to slowly starving to death here...?
I Just Want to Have Friends: Implied in Chapter 2, when Hajime notices he's probably sulking due to his not being invited to go on the beach trip. His Free Time Events make explicit the fact that he has an easier time dealing with animals than people.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: Very much so. He was bullied as a child, and copes with it by saying he's better than everybody.
Insane Troll Logic: He tries to reason he can hear through soundproof walls because he has his pet hamsters, therefore he has 5 pairs of ears total, which makes his hearing 5x better than a human's. No one buys it. Although considering Gundham is labelled as an "Ultimate", as in a young superpowered entity of intelligence for Hope's Peak Academy, being able to use his hamsters' hearing abilities in unison with one another to hear past soundproof walls seems like a plausible idea in retrospect. Even though sound dampening walls are created for the human race's benefit, we don't actually know if they would work against hamsters that a prodigal animal breeder decided to mentor and can converse with.
Irony: Despite talking openly about going to Hell before his execution, at the end of it, his body is lifted and carried to Heaven by the angels of animals he presumably cared for in life. Although, Heaven could be seen as a form of Ironic Hell for someone who proudly boasts about being a diabolical villain.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his...prickly persona and evil overlord shtick, he has a soft spot for animals, and even though he puts up a fight after killing Nekomaru, he challenged him accepting the possible fate of dying as a sacrifice, and the lack of resistance during his trial indicates he still intended to let himself become one.
Large Ham: Gundham is relentlessly bombastic. When he's not talking like a super villain, he's yelling out his words. He's called Gundham in the dub for a reason.
Lesser of Two Evils: He ultimately decides murder and risking his and his friends' lives is better than EVERYONE definitely dying of starvation.
Lethal Chef: Not him, but apparently his mother. He goes so far as to claim her cooking poisoned his entire body, which is why during his Free Time Events, he starts off by telling Hajime to stay away or to not touch him.
Loners Are Freaks: There are hints that Gundham is desperately lonely, which is why he seems to live in his own little world and why his best friends are (literally) his pets.
Hajime: (After learning that Gundham actually wanted to be invited to the beach party) I never took him for... the lonely type.
Luminescent Blush: Which he tries to hide behind his scarf. Happened a couple times when Sonia takes his Overlord persona seriously, implying he doesn't normally expect people to do that, plus when she coos over his hamsters.
Mark of the Supernatural: Gundham has a few noticeable features that fit this trope, such as his mismatched eyes, his black and gray hair, and the scar over his left eye. Of course, these features are most likely not natural - Dangan Island even reveals that the red eye is the result of a colored contact lens while the "scar" is labeled as a tattoo (Though if they mean a "true" tattoo or a "temporary" one is unclear) in the art book - so all of these are really Gundham's attempts to invoke this trope and look like a practitioner of the dark arts.
Miles Gloriosus: Seems like he would be this - with all the bravado he displays, he certainly qualifies - but possibly subverted when he becomes the fourth murderer.
Morality Pet: A light example. While Gundham isn't truly evil or villainous, his hamsters play this very straight, showing that despite his Overlord persona and his near-complete lack of social skills, he's ultimately a good person.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: "Gundham" is spelled with the kanji (眼蛇夢 gandamu), which literally translates to "eye snake dream". Fitting for a self-proclaimed Evil Overlord.
The Nicknamer: While he usually refers to people by their surnames, he'll sometimes call the other students by monikers such as "the pretentious one" (Teruteru), "the substantial one" (Byakuya), or "the thoughtful one" (Chiaki).
- V3's Ultimate Talent Development Plan shows that Gundham likes to come up with fantastical titles for some of his schoolmates, like "Queen of the Dark" (Sonia), "She Who Commands Asura" (Peko), "God's Colossus" (Gonta), "Epitome of charlatanry" (Yasuhiro) and "Clown Prince of Lies" (Kokichi).
Noble Demon: Looks and talks like an Evil Overlord, and that's about the extent of how evil he is. His Establishing Character Moment is launching into a histrionic speech... asking if Hajime owns pets.
No Social Skills: Since he's constantly in "Evil Overlord" mode, Gundham is a difficult person to talk to. People conversing with him often have to piece together what he's actually trying to say since he rarely delivers any lines in a straightforward manner.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Gundham isn't a villain or even a bad guy, but his Large Ham personality was pretty much Played for Laughs during the majority of the story. In Chapter 4, he's not only the culprit but sets up a very tricky crime scene and Fuyuhiko being a Spanner in the Works is a major reason that he got caught.
Obviously Evil: Very subverted in that his conception of being a powerful, mythological overlord who should be feared by everyone else is something of a coping mechanism. He's never willing to physically harm anyone collectively until the remainder of the cast is given a prisoner's dilemma (fatally starve, or kill) on top of the one they currently have (kill, or be killed) by Monokuma, where he tests everyone's will to live in the extreme.
Odd Friendship:
- With Sonia, the foreign European princess. He refers to her as his "dark queen", and she's the only person to take his Evil Overlord persona seriously. It helps that Sonia is a minor Nightmare Fetishist.
- V3's Ultimate Talent Development Plan has him forming a natural connection with entomologist Gonta from their shared interest and talent that deals with animals.
- With The Stoic Peko, thanks to her love of animals. They often watch animals playing together.
- He also gets along well with Himiko, due to her status as the Ultimate Magician ("It's Mage!"), and her use of animals in her acts, though she repeatedly gets annoyed by being unable to understand him.
Only Friend: Downplayed; he's cordial with all the other students, but Sonia seems to be the only person he makes a true friendship/meaningful connection with on the island, possibly because she's the only person who fully plays along with his Evil Overlord shtick.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When his penultimate defense in Chapter 4's trial is refuted, his speech becomes much less eloquent. (After regaining some composure, he resumes his melodramatic antics like nothing happened.)
The Perfect Crime: Gundham sets up his murder of Nekomaru with an automated system using the Funhouse's elevator system. Due to this, there was absolutely no evidence to trace him as the one responsible for setting it up (barring how he would've caught Nekomaru off-guard, the only answer being his hamsters), and if he had his alibi set up like he was supposed to without Fuyuhiko interfering, it would most certainly have been impossible to discover his guilt. The only reason that the spotless realize he's the culprit is solely because he showed up to the sound of an alarm setting off when he literally wasn't supposed to, which is because of Fuyuhiko's interference and the fact that he coincidentally chose to sleep in a soundproof room where he wasn't supposed to hear anything outside. His method is also found out only because Nagito went into the Final Dead Room after he did, seeing the exterior of the Funhouse building just like he did before, and Nagito was in fact the only other person to visit that room.
Pet the Dog:
- Well, obviously, despite him talking like a future evil overlord, he's nice to his hamsters (as you'd expect from a Ultimate "Breeder"). But even as he's being executed for murder in Chapter 4, he takes the trouble to place his hamsters out of harm's way... and when the stampede Monokuma's using to execute him finally tramples him to death, animal angels come down from heaven to retrieve Gundham while his hamsters watch.
- In Ultimate Talent Development Plan, he lets Chihiro pet the Four Dark Devas of Destruction because "she" is so pure-hearted.
  - When Mikan is worried about animals being afraid of her, he lets her also pet the Four Dark Devas of Destruction.
- He's nothing but complimentary towards Nekomaru despite murdering him. Gundham also made sure that Nekomaru had every opportunity to back out of their duel if he wasn't comfortable with it. The mere suggestion that Nekomaru was killed unceremoniously by Gundham actually enrages him.
Poisonous Person: Claims he is this, as a result of his mother's vile cooking over the years.
Rousing Speech: Gives one to the other seven surviving members of the group right before his execution, in which he insists that giving up on life (as the others seemed to be doing while locked in the Funhouse) is a blasphemy to life itself, and encourages them to continue to fight to live. It's clear after his execution that the other students have taken his words to heart, especially seeing that Hajime and Akane—both of whom declared, upon going into the trial, that they would never forgive Nekomaru's killer—do, in fact, forgive him, understanding the intent behind his and Nekomaru's sacrifice and resolving along with the rest of the students to keep fighting to survive.
Scarf of Asskicking: Though he's more prone to hide the fact he's blushing when he gets embarrassed than kicking ass.
Secret Test of Character: He reveals that his murder of Nekomaru being set up so he could win, while also counting as a Heroic Sacrifice to release the other students from the Funhouse, was partially a test of his classmates' will to live after Monokuma trapped them there and Hajime decided it'd be better for everyone to starve to death than fight back.
See You in Hell: Right before his execution in the original transcript - To give up on living is nothing but shameful. And with this sacrifice, I, Tanaka Gundam, shall see you all in Hell! In the English translation, he instead announces his intention to "fill hell with true hell!". Though, ironically, after all of that, he ascends to Heaven in his execution.
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Parodied. Gundham usually speaks with longer versions of particular terminology as part of his Evil Overlord persona.
Ship Tease: Gets a fair amount with Sonia throughout the game, with him blushing radiantly whenever she compliments him and his hamsters and referring to her as the "Dark Queen" and her taking interest in both his talent with animals and dark persona. It becomes especially prominent in Chapter 4, with her choosing to explore the Funhouse with him, both defending and praising him during the trial, and being reduced to tears and begging Monokuma to spare him when he's finally found guilty. Unsurprisingly, Kazuichi is blatantly jealous of this.
Shout-Out:
- His first name is a very obvious reference to a certain long-running franchise, though in Japanese it's written in kanji rather than katakana and the English localization writes it as "Gundham" with a silent H. Despite that, the Shout-Out is definitely still intentional, as proven by his execution being named after the first episode of Mobile Suit Gundam ("Gundham Falls to the Earth" and "Gundam Rises Upon the Earth" respectively).
- Individually, his hamsters are all named after the four biggest-selling Shōnen manga magazines: "Mirage Silver Falcon" Jum-P (Shonen Jump), "Star-destroyer Grey Fox" Sun-D (Shonen Sunday), "Invading Black Dragon" Cham-P (Shonen Champion) and "Steel Red Elephant" Maga-Z (Shōnen Magazine). They also borrow from the Ham-Chat language of Hamtaro.
The Social Darwinist: While he uses much terminology to dance around the idea of being this, ultimately, him being one is his motivation for his murder in Chapter 4. Without Fuyuhiko getting in the way, it would've been impossible to call him the culprit besides the use of his hamsters since his fake alibi would've been impenetrable, which would've actually led to the deaths of everyone else in the cast besides himself and allowed him to win the killing game. At the same time, he was also banking on the spotless cast working out he was the culprit and getting him executed instead, the outcome of which actually ended up happening. Despite him commending Hajime for working it out, it was only really luck of the draw that there was any evidence whatsoever pointing to Gundham, and it's not like he was going to confess to the truth at the last second considering he would've "given up on life" if he did.
Speaks Fluent Animal: He's rumored to be able to do this, since he already has a way with animals. He bonds with Gonta over this, as the big guy is the first person he has ever met that shares his ability to speak with animals.
Stars Are Souls: At the end of his execution, his hamsters (and Monokuma) look up to a star shining in the sky with his face transposed in front of it.
Stunned Silence: One interpretation of why Gundham refuses to speak so often during his trial; Sonia actually has to ask him at one point to respond to Hajime's deductions! (Another possibility is that Gundham wanted to be caught.)
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Jataro in Ultimate Summer Camp points out the Devas most likely leave their "dookie" in Gundham's clothes and then points out a bunch of sunflower seed husks fell out of Gundham's clothes. Gundham then has to change his clothes after Cham-P "made a mess". He then lets Jataro pet the Devas.
Sympathetic Murderer: So much so that he gets taken to heaven at the end of his execution. Gundham tries to convince the others that he didn't engage in a death pact with Nekomaru in order to save the others from starvation, but Hajime doesn't buy it for second.
This Bear Was Framed: He tries to shift the blame for his murder of Nekomaru on the Four Dark Devas of Destruction (his well-trained superpowered hamsters) as his illogical proof of his innocence. No one believes him, since his hamsters are only able to act under his command.
Tom the Dark Lord: Tanaka is a rather common surname in Japan, which is Lampshaded during the second trial. On the other hand, "Gundham" is a very, very unusual name.
Trademark Favorite Food: Orange squash marked with the face of the devil (translation: pumpkins).
Tragic Villain: Not truly a villain, but he is one of the culprits, having successfully pulled off a premeditated murder of Nekomaru. However, his motivations were strongly implied to be noble, as he and Nekomaru both agreed to engage in a fight to the death (which would doom them both, regardless of who won, thanks to Monokuma's trials and executions, as they were well aware) in order to save the rest of the group from starving to death. After being found out, he calmly accepts his execution, all while giving the rest of the group a Rousing Speech encouraging them to continue to fight to live.
Unreliable Expositor: Not necessarily because he often lies but due to everything being filtered through his distinctive way of looking at the world.
Verbal Tic: He always uses more eloquent adjectives with strong annunciation, such as "wonderful" or "splendid" when reacting to others.
Xanatos Gambit: His trial. If his plan succeeded, Gundham would survive and get to escape and live. If he failed, Gundham would die, but his friends would at least be saved from starvation.
Worthy Opponent: Absolutely sees Nekomaru as this which is why he chose to fight him due to their similar belief in living on, and their fighting abilities. Notably, he gets extremely pissed off when Nagito smugly suggests they didn't battle, the only real rebuttal he gives in the trial and spends a good amount of the post-trial talking about his respect for Nekomaru.

Kazuichi Soda

Ultimate Mechanic

"At this rate, I'll take anything! A go-cart, RC toys, a baby carriage! Just let me tinker with something!"

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)

Played by: Issei Ishida (Stage)

A mechanical genius with the ability to fix anything. In spite of his scary appearance, Kazuichi is actually rather timid and is prone to freaking out at the drop of a hat, he's also a Stalker with a Crush and spends a large amount of his screen time trying and failing to win Sonia's attention. Though in spite of this he can be friendly and laid back. He survives the final trial and returns to the real world with the other survivors.

Abhorrent Admirer: A gender-flipped personality based example to Sonia. At first she just tries to completely ignore him and his behavior towards her, but as he keeps getting worse she even is quite disappointed that he's not the culprit of Chapter 4 (and this is before finding out that Gundham, the guy she does like, is the murderer). From that point on, she shows more open hostility towards him.
Abusive Parent: His father beat the hell out of him after finding out he was skipping class trips. Oddly, he didn't actually care if Kazuichi skipped his regular classes, and provided no support to deal with his school bullies other than letting him stay home and work in their bike shop.
Ambiguously Bi: Kazuichi's obession with Sonia is no secret, however his behaviour towards Hajime in Dangan Island, such as seeming to get excited then questions that reaction when Hajime suggests taking their clothes off while at the beach, worrying that he'll dream of having a date with Hajime after he jokes about it, and then thinking that Hajime will ridicule him if he confesses something to him, which he then after encouragment tells Hajime he's attracted to tanks, leaves an open question to if he's also interested in his Soul Friend.
Audience Surrogate: His purpose in the story is essentially to show how a more realistic teenager would react to being put in a sadistic death game; constantly freaking out, making random accusations out of paranoia, and obsessively focusing on trivial things such as his crush on Sonia to distract himself from the situation.
Author Avatar: Word of God states his personality is very similar to series writer Kazutaka Kodaka.
Bad Liar: Tends to fall very quickly into Implausible Deniability when he tries, such as when Nekomaru reveals they tied up Nagito or when trying to get invited to the girls' beach party.
Barely-Changed Dub Name: "Souda" in the Japanese version, "Soda" in the localization.
Big Brother Instinct: Towards the younger kids from Ultra Despair Girls. He's friends with Jataro and encourages him with his dioramas and inventing. He also has an interaction where he talks with Fuyuhiko about worrying over them and questioning Hope's Peak sending a group of elementary school kids with a bunch of high schoolers.
Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: In Chapter 4 Kazuichi becomes paranoid that Hajime is a traitor and distances himself, even favoring Nagito over him. Kazuichi later apologizes.
Beneath the Mask: Kazuichi tries at times to act more like the image his physical appearance would suggest, with little success. His Free Times eventually reveal it's a deliberate act he's trying to assume in hopes of becoming better liked.
Bromantic Foil: The perverted, foolhardy friend to contrast Hajime's mild-mannered maturity.
Brutal Honesty: He's not very tactful, and tends to blurt out things.
Butt-Monkey: A common target for Monokuma, Hiyoko, and later Sonia, as his tendency to end up the butt of jokes and having horrible things escalate to the point that in Chapter 5, he flat-out gets Blown Across the Room by an explosion. Deconstructed in how badly this affects him: he gets very upset very easily, and in Chapter 4 completely melts down when the stress of Monokuma's latest motive combined with all his latest problems get to be too much. Ultimate Summer Camp makes him much less of a butt-monkey and several characters point out his skill as the Ultimate Mechanic and how everyone goes to him to fix things, with Kokichi even pointing out he's the far less abrasive choice than with fellow Gadgeteer Genius Miu.
Character Development: While his overall personality does not drastically change, over the course of the game Kazuichi learns to let go of his old trust issues and believe in his friends, allowing him to work together with the survivors and survive the killing game.
Compressed Hair: That wild mane in his official art is normally hidden under a simple black cap.
Covert Pervert: In Chapter 2, the girls decide to have a girls-only "beach party", and Kazuichi goes to quite a lot of trouble to figure out a way to get himself and Hajime invited to the party as well since the girls will all be in swimsuits. In Sonia's case he's disappointed, however, because she shows up in a wet suit instead, and a wet suit covers the entire body except the head. He's surprised for like two seconds before deciding he's totally okay with this, undoubtedly because the wet suit is skin tight.
Curtains Match the Window: Has bright pink eyes to match his hair. They're prescription contacts.
Dark and Troubled Past: Comes from a poor background, and was heavily bullied in middle school. Casually refers to his father beating him for not going on class trips. Someone he thought was a friend was actually exploiting his trust to get good grades. This led to him drastically changing his image to try and fit in better, and he hoped Hope's Peak would give him a fresh start.
Delinquent Hair: Partially shaved but growing back, other parts going a bit past his shoulders, a braid opposite the buzz cut side and it all forms an almost shark-like fin... Not that you see it all that much due to the hat. His extravagant pink hair is also a dye-job, adding to the image.
Ditzy Genius: Kazuichi is legitimately brilliant when it comes to technology and mechanics, but his common sense and intelligence outside of that field is pretty questionable; his deduction skills are rather hopeless and he's usually one of the most irrational students at the class trials.
Dogged Nice Guy: Poor Kazuichi, Sonia just isn't that into you.
Endearingly Dorky: Often when talking about mechanics and Sonia. Can be borderline creepy when he's too clingy to Sonia or talking about messing with Nekomaru's robotic parts.
The Engineer: Technically he's actually a mechanic, but this trope is essentially his role in the game.
Everyone Has Standards: While he admits he finds Miu hot, her bitchy personality completely negates her looks.
Face of a Thug: He might look like a punk, with his narrow eyes and shark's smile, but that doesn't match his personality at all.
Fangs Are Evil: As a member of Ultimate Despair, now either a subversion or a toned down version with being creepy or a jerk instead of evil. Possibly invoked if he filed them himself to further mimic his prior bullies.
Fashionable Asymmetry: Keeps his sleeves and pant cuffs rolled up at different lengths. Wears a braid over his left ear while the right side looks like it's growing back from being partly shaved, along with a massive 'fin' over the top and growing out long on the other side and back. Even his earrings are like this, since his right one is based on a Philips head screw while his left is based on a slotted screw.
Foil: With Gundham as while they both have similar roots (roots they both seem to share with Celeste of the previous game in fact) they have branched out in very different ways, both prone to telling unbelievable lies, and have very opposite interests and talents. While Gundham embraced his oddities and plays them up despite being aware it drives others away and has a a lot of online friends/followers, Kazuichi is trying to suppress his in favor of traits he thinks would make him more liked since his only previous friend left him. Fittingly this reflects both in their main color schemes (Yellow and purple are opposite colors in addition to Kazuichi having a bright and colorful pallet while Gundham's is more subdued) and how Kazuichi ends up clashing with Gundham over Sonia's affections.
Freak Out: Does this a lot after Monokuma shows up.
Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind: Though apparently this is a recent development for him to try and be more popular since originally he had normal black hair and glasses instead of his pink hair and matching prescription contacts, which was more in line with his shy and nerdy personality.
Friendless Background: Thanks to being a bullied Shrinking Violet growing and he really wants to change that. He did have one friend for a while until that friend used him to cheat on a test, got caught doing so (though Kazuichi willingly took the brunt of the fallout from it), and abandoning him shortly after. While the abandonment may have been a result from the friend feeling too guilty about what happened it still left a pretty big impact on him, since it helped lead to his massive image change.
Gadgeteer Genius: As the Ultimate Mechanic, if it can be fixed, he'll fix it. He builds a two-way communicator and extends the range when Hajime, Mikan and Fuyuhiko are quarantined with the Despair Disease patients. Later, he builds a miniature robot version of Mechamaru called "Minimaru" that can say phrases and give massages.
The Glasses Gotta Go: Invoked this on himself as part of his self-makeover.
Green-Eyed Monster: Played for Laughs. His massive crush on Sonia leads to him being extremely jealous of the affection she shows Gundham and his hamsters instead.
Heroic BSoD: Upon finding out that not only are he and his classmates the remnants of Ultimate Despair, but that if he pulls the plug as Makoto intends for them to do, Hajime Hinata will revert to the much less pleasant Izuru Kamukura. More so than the others, Kazuichi is terrified that they might be killed by the Future Foundation if they return to the real world.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: Latches onto Hajime, calling him his 'Soul Friend'. Includes a brief break-up when he blames Hajime for 'leading them' into Monokuma's trap and turns to Nagito instead. Hilarity Ensues.
Hidden Heart of Gold: He was often bullied, and came away with the mistaken assumption that was what it meant to be strong.
Hopeless Suitor: For Sonia, who in the game proper has a lot more Ship Tease with Gundham (most often stressed when using Gundham to avoid Kazuichi) and can end up with Hajime if he pursues her in Dangan Island.
Hormone-Addled Teenager:
- In Chapter 2, the girls decide to have a girls-only "beach party", and Kazuichi goes to quite a lot of trouble to figure out a way to get himself and Hajime invited to the party as well since the girls will all be in swimsuits. In Sonia's case he's disappointed, however, because she shows up in a wet suit instead, and a wet suit covers the entire body except the head. He's surprised for like two seconds before deciding he's totally okay with this due to it being skin tight.
- Talking to him with the right item at a certain point in Chapter 3 will lead to him deciding to spy on Akane and Nekomaru with Hajime, believing, as a result of a suspiciously worded argument in front of a few others in Fuyuhiko's hospital room, that they're going to do it. It turns out to be... a massage.
- After Akane loses an argument to Hajime in Chapter 4's trial, she melodramatically suggests that he use her sexually. Kazuichi is vocally in favour of the idea.
- His interactions with Miu show that he has limits to this, admitting that he thinks she's hot while simultaneously getting turned off by her personality.
Hypocritical Humor:
- He acts like a Sore Loser when playing against Chiaki, and calls her immature for not letting him win.
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, in an interaction with Miu and Usami, he admits he finds Miu hot, but her crass personality turns the beauty gauge back to zero, and says plenty of people would say she's hot if she chilled a bit, when his inability to be chill with Sonia causes her to constantly turn him down, which Usami points out.
Idiot Ball: One very specific example of having one of these for the sake of the first mystery plot: You see that thing that looks like a spark plug he always has on one of his belt loops? According to the art book it's a mini-light. How much simpler the first case would have been if he remembered to use that during the black-out instead of stumbling in the dark to get to the breaker.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Which is why he tried to change himself (Both in appearance and personality) to accomplish this, with mixed results.
Inelegant Blubbering: Is driven to tears very, very quickly and easily.
Innocently Insensitive: Kazuichi is aware of how poorly he used to be received as he was bullied for being a shy, nerdy kid and is trying to emulate the behavior of his former tormentors, but he doesn't understand that his copied behavior is also not the best way to go about making friends.
Irony: He loves vehicles, but due to his motion sickness he can't enjoy riding in them.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: On the jerk side, he's often jealous, harsh when stressed to classmates who don't necessarily deserve it, and somewhat creepy in his affections toward Sonia. On the heart of gold side, he's a nicer person than he seems at first glance, is one of the more empathetic ones when it comes to the deaths of their classmates, and has a few Pet the Dog moments. In Ultimate Summer Camp, he's also protective of the kids from Ultra Despair Girls, including being the Only Friend of Jataro and encouraging him with his wanting to build things.
Kick the Dog: He’s not a bad person at heart, but at worst he can be rather insensitive towards the other students, such as telling Akane at the beginning of the 3rd Trial that she's so stupid that even explaining to her what happened at the murder scene would be a waste of time, or trying to convince the others to avoid Hajime at the Funhouse for no reason other than his own paranoia.
Lovable Coward: Tends to freak out at the slightest implication of a threat.
Loving a Shadow: Sees "Sonia-san" as an utterly perfect Princess Classic, and is continually surprised by other facets of her personality. It really doesn't help his chances with Sonia, since she doesn't want to be put on a pedestal and repeatedly tries to ignore him. It reaches its nadir in Chapter 5 when he flirts with Sonia right after Gundham's death, to which Sonia responds in a very passive-aggressive way towards Kazuichi.
Malaproper: Misquotes a few sayings, and in one Easter Egg repeatedly uses a phrase that he later admits he doesn't know the meaning of. Often overlaps with Gratuitous English.
Mood-Swinger: He's not very good at hiding how he feels. At all.
Mr. Fixit: As a very talented mechanic he claims he can fix almost anything, and from what is seen in game he's right.
Must Have Caffeine: He can pull an all-nighter working on a project while subsisting mostly on cola. He even spends the last several days of the game without sleep thanks to this.
Nervous Wreck: After Monokuma hijacks the trip, if he's around you can pretty much bet there's gonna be screaming and crying.
Odd Friendship:
- With Chihiro in Ultimate Talent Development Mode, after he fixes "her" PDA. In Chihiro's playthrough, he builds a robot for Chihiro to put his AI into and they plan on later building something better than Keebo or Monokuma.
- Combined with Only Friend, in Ultimate Summer Camp, he's one of the few teens who gets along well with Jataro.
- He's also friends with Mondo, since Mondo wants to become a carpenter after he graduates and Kazuichi also helps mod his bike so it can break the sound barrier.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: You know things are bad in Chapter 5 when the group starts splitting up with Sonia leaving first and Kazuichi leaving second... in the opposite direction of her.
Pet the Dog:
- After the fourth chapter's trial, he uses what's left of Mechamaru (who was the victim of that chapter) to make a miniature Mechamaru for Akane.
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, after Jataro declares he hit the Despair Event Horizon, Kazuichi cheers him up.
Punny Name: His last name is Soda and he certainly drinks a lot of it.
Red Herring: His primary purpose at times. He looks like a dangerous punk: He isn't, and then he seems like a pretty friendly non-threatening guy... Then his jealousy of Gundham and his obsession with Sonia keep getting worse. Clearly this triangle is being played up for something: Nope, Sonia does end up accusing him during Nekomaru's case (which is ironically the one Gundham committed for unrelated reasons) but otherwise nothing comes of it. His pink color scheme of his hair, eyes and the symbol on his jumpsuit is also the color of the blood in the franchise... But he has nothing to do with any of the murders, as either the perpetrator or victim and survives the game.
Rose-Haired Sweetie: Largely subverted. Despite trying his best to invoke the connotations it has by dying his hair pink specifically when changing himself to make people like him more, Kazuichi isn't especially nice, often being outright rude and insulting towards the others. It's telling in that the main times he does seem to really play it straight is when he is pushing himself to try finding ways to help other students (typically by trying to make or fix something) without any prompting, like the game system for Chiaki, the communication set up to deal with the fever outbreak, or Minimaru to help deal with Nekomaru's death (and for Akane in particular by including a feature he only knew about from a special event with her), though his delivery after the fact does tend to bungle those up too.
Sacrificial Lamb: Hiyoko teases Kazuichi by calling him a 'background character' who's doomed to suffer an early death. His profile on the official Japanese site even implies the exact same thing. Subverted, because he's not! He survives the entire game, while Hiyoko herself gets killed in Chapter 3.
Sad Clown: He mentions in his final Free Time a lot of his positivity and more amusing antics are being forced to try and hide how scared he is.
Scary Teeth: His teeth are sharp and pointed like a shark's. It's not clear if he sharpened them himself or if he was just born with them.
School Bullying Is Harmless: Nope. Many of his issues stem from being severely bullied, and internalizing the idea that acting like a bully was acceptable behavior/made you look 'stronger'.
Screams Like a Little Girl: Which he is rather prone to doing, which isn't surprising considering the situation.
Shipper on Deck: Ships Hajime/Chiaki.
- In Chapter 2, when Chiaki first shows up in her bikini, Kazuichi asks Hajime what his thoughts are about her appearance in a way that implies he thinks Hajime is attracted to her.
- During the fifth trial, after Chiaki confirms one of Hajime's arguments.
  Kazuichi: Why are you always on Hajime's side...!? Do you like him or something?
- He also is in favor of Hajime/Akane, as he vocally approves of it when Akane offers to let Hajime feel her up when she loses an argument in the 4th trial.
Shrinking Violet: In middle school, and something he's been trying to change.
Slasher Smile: Likely unintentional, but due to the above efforts to change his image. He is not a culprit however, and ultimately survives the entire ordeal.
Spear Counterpart: To the first game's Toko Fukawa. They share many of the same issues with bullying and isolation at their old schools, unsupporting parents, and developing stalkerish behavior towards a high-class blonde classmate that they idolize. Regardless of how said classmate rejects them, they continue to idolize and seek to please them, hoping to finally get their attention and into the relationship they long for. While Toko developed the Split Personality of the Serial Killer Genocide Jack, Kazuichi instead openly adopted the negative behavior of those who mistreated him, mistaking that for strength.
Straight Man: He often plays a tsukkomi-type who accordingly reacts with shock to his classmates' surreal antics or when they start making absurd declarations.
Stunned Silence: When Monokuma reveals there are only toy ship parts in the funhouse.
Sweet Tooth: To go with a hefty cola addiction, he apparently hates anything that doesn't have sugar in it.
Throw the Dog a Bone: Like Yasuhiro Hagakure before him, he overcomes his Butt-Monkey status and leaves the island with his life.
Unknown Rival: He latches onto Gundham as a rival simply because Sonia likes him. They proceed to spend quite a bit of the later trials arguing, although the aggression is completely from Kazuichi's side.
Villainous Widow's Peak: As an Ultimate Despair member, but subverted by the end of the game.
Vitriolic Best Buds: In Ultimate Talent Development Program and Ultimate Summer Camp, his interactions with fellow Gadgeteer Genius Miu Iruma is complicated, to say the least. They work well together with mechanical stuff, and he admits he finds her hot, and defends her when Kokichi talks shit about her, but they also butt heads over her crass nature and her frequently calling him a "virgin".

Teruteru Hanamura

Ultimate Cook

"On the streets, I'm known as the Ultimate Cook... But, could you guys call me the Ultimate Chef instead? It has more of a...big-city flavor to it, you know?"

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English)

Played by: TEAM Kondo, Shohei Nichogi (Stage)

A master of the culinary arts, who prefers to be called an "Ultimate Chef" because he thinks it sounds more sophisticated. Teruteru has as much passion for romance as he does for his cooking, and spends most of his time on the island chasing skirts. He becomes the culprit of Chapter 1 after he figures out that Nagito is plotting murder and tries to kill him first, accidentally killing Byakuya instead. He is found guilty and executed by being turned into a snack and "deep fried" in a volcano.

Absence of Evidence: This is what screws him over in Chapter 1's trial: Mikan trips and makes a fanservice pose while doing it, and he doesn't comment on it despite supposedly being in the room to see it. He of all people should be able to remember that, as Mahiru points out.
Accent Slip-Up: When put on the spot, he slips into a "rural" dialect so impenetrable that Monomi needs to translate for him. In the English localization, it's an equally impenetrable Cajun accent.
Accidental Murder: Of a sort, he planned to kill Nagito to prevent him from committing a murder, he didn't intend to hit Byakuya, who got in the way at the last moment.
Adaptational Attractiveness: The manga presents a downplayed example, as his features are noticeably relaxed, making him appear more normal next to the others.
And You Thought It Was a Game: At first, Teruteru refuses to believe that Monokuma's game is real. However, when he finds out that Nagito is planning a murder, he hatches a plot of his own.
Asshole Victim: While he does have a sympathetic excuse for committing murder (he was worried about his sickly mother and wanted to see if she was alright) and the other students are genuinely horrified by his execution, his perverted nature and tendency to make people (particularly his female classmates) uncomfortable while he was alive result in the others not particularly mourning him, ironically he is mourned by Peko despite his creepy behaviour towards her.
Bait-and-Switch: Offers to lotion anyone willing at the beginning of the game, seemingly hoping one of the girls will accept. When Nekomaru takes him up on his offer, he's a bit surprised... and he goes for it anyway.
Beware the Silly Ones: He has a cartoonish appearance and a comical personality, but he's the first person in the cast to successfully commit a murder.
Birds of a Feather: A platonic version of this trope with Miu Iruma, due to both of them being massive perverts.
Black Bead Eyes: Has these, in contrast to the other characters. They do get bigger if he's acting especially perverse, and the only time we can see any of his sclera is when his eyes go wide when he gets mad and starts ranting in court.
Call-Back:
- To the first murder in the original game. In both cases, the victim was not the original target of the murder, and the executions share some similarities in set-up (if not execution, thanks to a Bait-and-Switch).
- He shares some notable similarities to the culprits of the third case in the first game. Like Hifumi, he is a pervert with a Non-Standard Character Design and meets his end due to suffering a severe detachment from reality (albeit a more willful one than Hifumi's since he desperately doesn't want to believe reality) and like Celeste, he puts on the act of being Sophisticated as Hell to conceal his true rustic roots, only for them to be exposed in his Villainous Breakdown.
The Chikan: Mentions that he's snuck into women's train cars in drag.
Chubby Chef: He's the Ultimate Cook and is visibly overweight, though he's not otherwise implied to be a Big Eater.
Cruel and Unusual Death: His execution involves him being bound to a pole, pelted with missiles containing whisked egg and breadcrumbs by Monokuma, before being dragged off above an active volcano and dropped into it; deep-frying him alive.
Depraved Bisexual: Subverted. Teruteru makes it clear that he has wide enough tastes that include both men and women. During his trial he is painted as gleefully and maliciously planning Byakuya's murder. However, at the end of his trial, we find out that his killing of Byakuya had the much more sympathetic motive of wanting to return home to ensure his sickly mother wasn't working herself to death at their poor family restaurant and that Nagito partially manipulated him into committing the act. His Ultimate Despair self plays it straight.
Early-Bird Cameo: The Ultimate Cook was actually mentioned back in Danganronpa Zero as a worker at the cafeteria Kamishiro meets Ryoko. This actually leads to a subtle Continuity Nod, as Ryoko mentioned that it's rumored the food served had drugs in it. Teruteru's final Free Time has him giving Hajime drugged food.
Everyone Has Standards:
- Teruteru may be a shameless pervert who is likened to pigs, but he draws the line at pretending to be one. At one point in Ultimate Talent Development Plan, Miu Iruma gives Teruteru some of her inventions as a Christmas gift, which he happily accepts. Teruteru tells Miu to find him if she had made another perverted invention, and Miu, who is comparing him to a pig throughout, offers him to become her pet pig if he oinks for her. To her surprise, Teruteru declines, saying that he doesn't need to see her inventions that badly.
- Kotoko also says when Mahiru tells her to tell her, or someone else if he creeps on her in Ultimate Summer Camp that he's not into kids.
- He also implores the Imposter Byakuya to eat healthier as having too much fat poses serious health risks and successfully persuades him to follow Mikan's diet also in Ultimate Summer Camp.
Evil Chef: Played with. While he's the first person to successfully commit murder (and unlike Leon, did it pre-meditated and knew in advance that he'd also have to get everybody else killed to escape), he's portrayed sympathetically and seems to regret his actions. His Ultimate Despair self, however, definitely qualifies.
Expy: Of Yuto Kamishiro from Danganronpa Zero, sharing the same basic design concept, as well as their status of relentless perverts and tendency to fake details about themselves. There's even official art of the two standing next to each other in a group shot, eyeing Mikan. Word of God confirms this as intentional, as Teruteru is the series' second attempt at the same archetype (with Kamishiro being considered a failure).
Extreme Omnisexual: He may be a creep, but he's an equal-opportunity creep: he'll go after the guys with as much gusto as he does with the girls.
Face Death with Despair: He takes his impending execution about as well as Leon did. The last words out of his mouth are crying out for his mother.
Gonk: While his design is sort of cute, especially his haircut, the massive contrast it has with the rest of the cast pushes it into this territory due to him being quite stout, as he's meant to be quite weird looking in-universe.
Gratuitous English: Along with Gratuitous French. He even uses gratuitous English during the final Machine Talk Battle; Hinata has to shoot down arguments like "NONSENSE!" to break Teruteru.
He Who Fights Monsters: Deconstructed and subverted. He attempts to kill someone who's also attempting to kill someone (Nagito), which is what screws him over as he ends up accidentally targeting "Byakuya" instead of Nagito, which was his misguided attempt to stop Nagito from creating further chaos by actually killing someone. Then it turns out that part of the reason he tried to commit a murder was so he could escape the island and check on his mother, not so much that he was trying to stop someone from committing a murder by murdering them before they had a chance to.
Hate at First Sight: Unsurprisingly Tenko hates his guts and does Neo-Aikido throws on him on a regular basis in Ultimate Summer Camp, though he doesn't mind it as he gets to be nursed by Mikan afterwards...
Hormone-Addled Teenager: Unlike most examples of this trope, however, he gets hormone-addled over pretty much anybody, girl or boy.
I Want My Mommy!: He desperately screams for his mother as he is about to be executed.
Implausible Deniability: He's the most fervently in denial about the mutual killing game, since he's the most desperate to believe that it's not true.
Inelegant Blubbering: His reaction to Hajime managing to figure out that he's the one who murdered Byakuya.
Insistent Terminology: He prefers to be called the Ultimate Chef as opposed to the Ultimate Cook, because the former sounds more sophisticated.
Last Request: After his motive to get back to his mother is exposed, he begs Monokuma to confirm what happened to her. Monokuma refuses to tell him, instead hurrying Teruteru's execution along as if he never even heard the boy's question.
Lovable Sex Maniac: He considers himself one.
Teruteru: Hoh hoh... I may be a pervert, but I'm the lovable type of pervert that people just can’t bring themselves to hate!
Manslaughter Provocation: He tries to claim this because he knew that Nagito was planning murder. However, the other characters immediately point out that he could have told anyone else when he found out, and worked with everyone to neutralize Nagito in a non-lethal manner.
Momma's Boy: It's even stated so in his profile, where his favorite thing is simply "mother". After being revealed as Chapter 1's culprit, his motive is explained to be worry over his mother. He remembers that she was in ill health and maintained their family restaurant pretty much all alone on the day he left for school, and filled with guilt over seeing her like that, he promised her that he would come back to her as soon as he possibly could. When it was revealed to him and the others their memories had been tampered with, Teruteru immediately realized to his horror that it meant he had no real idea how long his mother had been left on her own to wait for him, and if her already fragile health had further deteriorated while he had been away, and thus he became desperate to come back to she was even alive at all. Finally, he screams for her just before Monokuma starts the execution.
Murder by Mistake: His intended target was Nagito, but he got Byakuya instead.
Non-Standard Character Design: Even more so than Hifumi, Teruteru looks like something from an old cartoon.
Nosebleed: A fairly common expression, combined with a minor Art Shift where he gets bigger, determined eyes. Like the rest of the blood in the game, his nosebleeds are pink.
Perverted Pig: Downplayed, as his character model (short, chubby, notably pinker skin tone than the other students, small black beady eyes, and an off-model circular round nose) more suggests the characteristics of a pig rather than outright evokes them and he isn't directly compared to a pig in-game. Add this to his Lovable Sex Maniac and The Chikan nature and he fits the bill. That said, Ultimate Talent Development Plan has Miu calling him a series of pig-related nicknames, like "pig face" and "piggy".
Pet the Dog:
- He's presented as a pervert who keeps hitting on people, and he's Chapter 1's murderer when his plan goes wrong and he ends up stabbing Byakuya instead of Nagito. But just before he's executed, we get treated to a flashback of him worrying over his beloved mother (who, appearance-wise, he strongly resembles). He really seems to love and appreciate her, which makes him more sympathetic when he screams out to her just before Monokuma executes him.
- While he can be a real pervert, especially towards the girls, he shows moments he truly does care about them as friends. The best example is in Ultimate Talent Development Plan, when he makes a soup for a depressed Himiko to help cheer her up. Needless to say, it works.
- At one point in Ultimate Summer Camp, he finds Hiyoko in a bad mood because Monokuma just told her that her fans are on the decline. Teruteru assures her that everyone has their own reasons to watch her dance and that it's not necessarily a bad thing. He points out that not every customer he serves eats his food exclusively to appreciate his cooking; some of them go to a restaurant for the atmosphere or to spend time with friends.
Ragin' Cajun: In the localization, the unintelligible country dialect he slips into during his Villainous Breakdown is rendered as a thick Cajun accent.
Repetitive Name: With the term "Teru", which when repeated means "shining". (like a "Teruteru bozu" weather charm, named for their bald head)
Screams Like a Little Girl: When Hajime figures out he's the murderer of Chapter 1.
Slipping a Mickey:
- He slips one to Hajime in their final Free Time together, though Hajime makes it back to his cottage before he loses consciousness.
- Strongly implied to have tried this in Ultimate Talent Development Plan with Maki, but Maki asks him to taste the food first, which he plays off. She then tells him to take a sip again and asks if he wants to die, which he at first brushes off, but then she glowers at him and says she's serious. Naturally, he gets pretty afraid and says he's going to go remake the soup.
- He also tried it in ''Ultimate Summer Camp", where he says drugs probably don't have any effect in their virtual world, to which Genocide Jack asks if he knows from experience and he admits he tried adding some "special seasoning" to a rice ball.
Smarter Than You Look: His goofy design and perverted personality may give off the impression that he's a Fat Idiot, but he's an accomplished chef and has a surprisingly clever murder plan.
Starter Villain: The culprit of the first class trial.
Stealth Pun: His nosebleeds are the game's first occurrence of the series' iconic hot-pink blood. He ends up drawing first blood as the first culprit.
Strong Family Resemblance: We get a flashback of Teruteru with his mother. He looks almost exactly like her, because she happens to be cutely chubby and has an identical facial structure.
Supreme Chef: He's the Ultimate Cook. Of course, he prefers to be called a Chef. He prefers to be called a "Chef" because he's trying to pretend he grew up in a sophisticated urban neighborhood, in order to hide the fact that he actually grew up in a rural area. Most telling is the fact that he’s earned his 3 stars by high school. For comparison, celebrity chef Marco Pierre White was the youngest 3-star chef in history at 33. In Ultimate Summer Camp several people note that, despite the fact he grosses most of them out with his perviness, even Mahiru and others that dislike him keep coming back for his food.
Sympathetic Murderer: Since the person he was really trying to kill was already planning to murder someone else and he only wants to go home to find out if his ill mother is okay.
Team Chef: Naturally.
Tiny Schoolboy: He's the shortest male and 2nd shortest overall, at 133cm (4'4") in the Japanese version and 4'3" (130cm) in the English version. Only Hiyoko is shorter, who is 3cm shorter than him in the Japanese version and 1" shorter in the English version.
Undignified Death: His execution stands out as more humiliating than the others in the game, starting out with a claw passing over all of the other characters before dragging him out of the trial room, and ending with him being covered in batter and dropped into a volcano.
The Unintelligible: When he's particularly riled up, his speech becomes impossible to understand for everyone except Monomi.
Unusual Euphemism: He tends to invoke celebrities' names as some sort of minced oath; the other are suitably confounded by this.
Teruteru: [when he's starting to look guilty at the first trial] AVRILLAVIGNNNNNNNNE!
Monomi: …Avril Lavigne?
Ibuki: Huh!? Did he really just say that!?
Fuyuhiko: He's just saying random shit to fuck with us!
Unwitting Pawn: Turns out his attempt to kill Nagito was what Nagito was banking on. The only reason Byakuya got killed instead was that Byakuya pushed Komaeda out of the way.
Villainous Breakdown: As he becomes clearer he was responsible for the first murder, he becomes so agitated his accent starts coming through stronger and stronger, to the point only Monomi can understand him. Lampshaded by Nagito.
Vocal Dissonance: In both versions, his deep, sultry and sophisticated voice is contrasted by his goofy appearance and weird personality. This is even referenced in-universe, where Ibuki describes him as "Weird-looking but his voice sounds handsome." Of course, this is justified since he's putting on the voice intentionally and his real voice is something more suitable.
Wake-Up Call Boss: Compared to Leon from the first game, his murder is considerably more clever and complicated, requiring more effort and thinking to solve. His Panic Talk Action segment in particular can trip players up at first, due to the specific wording you need to use for the final statement.
What the Hell Is That Accent?: When he gets upset, his accent becomes so thick he's all but unintelligible. It's somewhat easier to understand in the official English localization, though. In the translation, It's an exaggerated Cajun accent, similar to the late chef Justin Wilson (known for having a cooking show on PBS).
Weirdness Censor: During the first chapter of the game, he denies everything happening as real despite it actually happening right in front of him. Monokuma takes advantage of this and leads Teruteru into the first murder.
Wingding Eyes: His eyes are swirling after being coated in whisked egg during his execution.

Nekomaru Nidai

Ultimate Team Manager

"Listen up. The secret to being healthy is a good appetite, a good night's sleep, and a good shit!"

^{Click here to see Mechamaru}

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)

Played by: Kunihiro Kawashima (Stage)

A legendary coach with a knack for taking terrible teams and turning them into champions. Though he looks more like an athlete than a coach, Nekomaru burns with intensity and passion, and has a massive voice to match his massive stature. He is gravely wounded after protecting Akane from an attack by Monokuma, and remade into a cyborg - christened by Chiaki as Mechamaru. However, his new metal body does not prevent him from becoming the victim of Chapter 4 when he is killed by Gundham in their death pact.

Alliterative Name: Nekomaru Nidai.
Ambiguously Bi: He has some pretty arguable Ship Tease with Akane, but he also has no problem with Teruteru lotioning his body up when the offer comes. Not to mention referring to Hajime's invitations to hang out in Dangan Island as dates and when Nekomaru asks Hajime if he knows what he found in him, Hajime can incorrectly say love, making Nekomaru flustered and thinking he did have feelings for him, though Hajime attempts to clarify that he was joking and didn't know what he was saying anymore. He also has no problem feeling up a protesting Hajime to see his body's athletic potential.
Antiquated Linguistics: In the Japanese version, he speaks using an archaic dialect, and like a professor on top of that.
An Arm and a Leg: Falling from several stories after his roboticisation caused his right arm and ankle to snap off his body once he hit the ground.
Battle Aura: Always has one, including lightning from his eyes. Given his Ultimate title, it might symbolize his passion. Interestingly, when Nekomaru is turned into a cyborg, he stops having a battle aura for every single sprite, he only has it for three sprites (and two of them are subdued compared to before), and no lightning comes from his eyes. When Gundham recounts the battle leading up to his murder, both he and Nekomaru are shrouded in a dark aura.
Beyond the Impossible: As the Ultimate Team Manager, Nekomaru states its his duty to make his pupils do the impossible. Just as an example, a tennis player he trained managed to win a 36-hour match.
Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: He's killed as the fifth victim by Gundham in a Duel to the Death. He also previously attempted a Heroic Sacrifice to protect Akane from being executed by Monokuma.
Big Ol' Eyebrows: Nekomaru already sports a big pair, but prior to becoming a robot they're adorned with long strands that resemble lightning bolts.
Birds of a Feather:
- He gets along well with Kiyotaka, due to their Hot-Blooded natures in Danganronpa S: Development Mode.
- He also gets along well with fellow muscular Gentle Giant Sakura, due to their introspectiveness and skill at fighting.
Blessed with Suck: For the most part, he really likes being a robot, since he's even stronger and tougher than before and has some cool abilities. However, it robs him of simple human pleasures such as eating... and simple Nekomaru pleasures such as shitting.
Blood Knight: He seems to love fighting as much as team managing. He also hints that fighting was his greatest passion before deciding to train others.
Boisterous Bruiser: As a musclebound Manly Man with No Indoor Voice and a passion for fighting, he qualifies.
Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: There's few things he likes as much as taking a good shit, and he will loudly proclaim whenever he needs to do so. Being turned into a cyborg deprives him of his ability to defecate, much to his despair.
Chained by Fashion: Wears a giant chain draped over his shoulders. He uses it to hold his coach whistle.
Combo Platter Powers: As "Mechamaru," he has a nearly invulnerable body, enhanced strength, never needs to eat or sleep... and can also produce soda from his eyes.
Cruel and Unusual Death: After being released from the wire Gundham hung him on the doorknob from, he falls onto the pillar directly below him. This results in him getting decapitated; specificaly, his right arm and ankle are disconnected, and his right kneecap is bent in an unrecognizable position, all retreating from his original skeletal structure. This would be considered the most visibly gory bereavement in the series if not for him being in his robotic form. Thankfully his death was instant so he didn't suffer at the very least.
Cyborg: Gets turned into one after his Heroic Sacrifice to protect Akane.
Death by Disfigurement: After coming back from his injury with a radically different design, he's the very next character to die, barely half a chapter later.
Determinator: His will power is immeasurable. Nekomaru actually has a heart condition that could have killed him in his youth, but he has remained strong through dedicated training and sheer force of will.
Dies Differently In The Adaptation: Sort of. In both the game and the stage play, he is "killed" protecting Akane from Monokuma. In the game, Monokuma saves him by giving him a robot body because letting him die would have gone against the school trip rules. The stage play, however, imposes no such restriction on Monokuma, leaving him under no obligation to save Nekomaru the first time.
Disney Villain Death: He dies as a result of falling from about three stories high onto a solid stone pillar. Oof.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Due to his lack of context, Nekomaru's description of his massages can easily sound like something else entirely. The effects of his massages and the reactions they garner also add to the confusion.
Expy: Of Franky from One Piece. Both are big, burly men with tendencies to shout at the top of their lungs, while also bursting into Manly Tears at times. The similarities only grow once Nekomaru becomes a cyborg, same as Franky, and also having powers related to cola. To add to it even more, they're voiced by the same English voice actor.
Face Death with Dignity: He gladly enters his sacrifice pact with Gundham, and when checking his cabin in Chapter 6, it's revealed that his final thoughts (after a brief moment of panic) were him mentally telling Gundham to "do it"... and laughing.
Gag Penis: It's heavily implied by the conspicuous bulge in his pants in his sprites as a human. Monokuma even almost makes a joke about it while talking about how he died, he was "hung", before Monomi cuts him off.
Gentle Giant: Is tied with Gonta as the tallest character in the series at 1.98ms, is also a massive sweetie who doesn't have a mean bone in his body and is always helping others out.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has symmetrical scars on both of his eyes.
Heroic Sacrifice:
- Protects Akane without any reason to believe he'd survive being hit by a bazooka shot.
- And pulls this again when he and Gundham make a mutual sacrifice pact so that the others wouldn't starve to death. Gundham had even given him the opportunity to run away, but he chose not to, knowing that they'd both need to die in order to save everyone else.
Hidden Depths:
- Aside from Team Managing, Nekomaru is also the self-proclaimed Ultimate Masseur. Furthermore, part of the reason he became a sports manager was to emulate his friend Daisuke, who died before his own team could reach victory.
- Nekomaru says good morning really loudly so that his voice can reach everyone, including those who died, throughout 2 Nekomaru is deeply affected by the deaths of his friends, weeping very Manly Tears over Twogami, Teruteru, Mahiru and Peko (he wasn't around for the loss of the trial 3 girls). He even remembers the beauty of Mahiru's photos and gets Fuyuhiko to realise the importance of Peko giving him a second chance. For all his loudness Nekomaru was actually very wise for his age.
- Throughout chapter 3 he tries to get Akane to realise fighting Monokuma is a suicide mission, although Nekomaru seems brash and not exactly the smartest person ever, he's actually very level headed.
- He had no issues being turned into a robot because he was still alive after all meaning he could fight alongside and spend time with his friends, a very positive and wise way at looking at his situation.
Hollywood Cyborg: Gets turned into one as a result of Taking the Bullet for Akane.
Hot-Blooded: So Hot-Blooded that he's constantly shooting lightning from his eyes.
Hot Blooded Sideburns: An intense dude with intense sideburns.
Hunk: A big, handsome, muscular, masculine guy, so he fits this trope to a T.
In-Series Nickname: After he gets turned into a robot, Chiaki dubs him "Mecha-Nidai" in the Japanese version, and "Mechamaru" in the English version.
Large and in Charge: He's the "Ultimate Team Manager" and is the tallest character at 198cm (6'6") in the Japanese version and 6'4" (193cm) in the English version. He's the 2nd heaviest at 268lb/122Kg, second only to "Byakuya's" 286lbs/130Kg. However, he doesn't do much leading in-game.
Large Ham: He's larger than life in almost every possible way. One of his arguments in a Nonstop Debate is several times the size of all the other text. He's only rivalled in hamminess by Gundham.
The Last Dance: He knows his duel with Gundham will be his last fight ever, whether he wins or loses, but goes all out anyway.
Love Freak: Well, "Spirit" freak. Teamwork and passion are very important to him.
Made of Iron: Once he's turned into a cyborg, he can withstand Monokuma's bazooka. However, this doesn't help him avoid being killed in Chapter 4 by Gundham.
- It should be noted that he took a bazooka blast from Monokuma in his human form as well, and not only wasn't reduced to Ludicrous Gibs, but managed to hold on long enough to be turned into a cyborg.
Manly Man: A muscle-bound manly man who isn't afraid to fight, lead or cry.
Manly Tears: He weeps openly for Byakuya's death, and also for a defeated Teruteru. Later on, he cries when he recalls Mahiru's photos and Peko's sacrifice further confirming what an utterly Nice Guy Nekomaru is.
Meaningful Name: "Ni" is Japanese for "two". His stats as listed in his profile include a lot of 2s, and he starts with a 2 in the Gathering stat in Dangan Island. Also, he has two bodies over the course of the main story, one human and one robot, both of which are killed.
Mentor Archetype: Becomes this to Akane during their high school years. In Ultimate Summer Camp, he takes Sakura, Tenko and Masaru under his wing as well. He also goes out of his way to train Mondo and Chihiro and give Kaito training tips.
- Also during Ultimate Summer Camp, he's willing to train the non athletic students as well to help them with their talents. As well as Chihiro, he's also takes Makoto, Chiaki and Mikan under his wing (and is pleased to see them enjoying their sessions with him) and is even able to give the right motivation to Kiyotaka and Himiko for their talents.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Specifically tries to mentor and help Akane, up until his death.
Nice Guy: While he's very crude, he's also very supportive, very protective of those he takes under his wing, and won't hesitate to sacrifice himself for the good of those he cares for. He also openly weeps for his fallen friends and vows to remember them. Even someone like Tenko Chabashira can hardly think of much bad to say about him, only that he shouts too much. Masaru's route shows that Tenko also trains with him, though it's probably helped/alleviated that he also trains with Akane and Sakura, as well as Peko sometimes. In Monomi's path in Ultimate Summer Camp, her "With Swimsuits" event has her asking him if she can ride on his shoulder while he's in the ocean, because she's afraid of it, which he happily accepts. When Monokuma starts bickering with her, he offers to let Monokuma ride on his other shoulder.
No Indoor Voice: To an absurd degree.
Not the Fall That Kills You…: After Gundham chains him up in the funhouse elevator, he falls three floors and is decapitated when he hits the pillar at the bottom.
Out of Focus: Has the somewhat embarrassing distinction of being the only character in the entire series to be entirely left out of a class trial while still alive, being entirely absent from both the investigation and the trial of Chapter 3. Not helping things is that by the time he does return, he's only around for about a half chapter before he's killed off.
Pet the Dog: In Ultimate Summer Camp, when Chihiro worries his workouts with Mondo aren't helping, that he's basically still "skin and bones", Nekomaru encourages "her", saying that his posture is improved and that his walk is more confident. When Chihiro mentions that he's working out with Mondo, Nekomaru encourages Chihiro to bring Mondo to him and he'll help work out training regimens for them.
Potty Emergency: Played for laughs in Chapter 1 during the party hosted by Byakuya. Nekomaru needs to use the restroom, but cannot because Peko is already inside, suffering from stomach problems. Then, given his Hot-Blooded tendencies, he apparently decides that his inability to "hold it" is something he needs to SHOUUUUUUT ABOOOOOOOUUT!
Nekomaru: If I don't go now...it would shame me as a man. Shitting my pants would totally shame me as a MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!
The Power of Friendship: Nekomaru believes understanding his pupils on a personal level is the key to their mutual success.
Save Our Team: Nekomaru's specialty, which is why he got the title of Ultimate Team Manager. In his backstory he's frequently taken teams of terrible players and used his superior management skills to take them to national tournaments.
Saying Too Much: In Chapter 2, he insists that the traitor is tied up and can't move at the moment, implicating himself as the one who kidnapped and tied up Nagito (who isn't the traitor, though). He then asks Kazuichi what to do, implicating Kazuichi as his accomplice much to Hiyoko's amusement.
Ship Tease: He starts "training" Akane as a pet project, and his talents as an Ultimate Masseur lead to a number of highly suspicious conversations between them. When he perishes, both times, Akane is devastated with grief, despite her unwillingness to admit it to anyone, even herself.
Shoo Out the Clowns: Dies in Chapter 4, right before the game gets underway for the big finale, when he is in his robot form. Like Ibuki, his personality helped lift the tone of various scenes.
Shout-Out: Nekomaru's entire character is a shout out to Dragon Ball, or is at least a love letter to fighting based "Shonen" series in general. He loves to train, constantly has a Battle Aura around him, and tends to have some rather long shouts and screams to punctuate his actions. Heck, his Taking the Bullet for Akane, specifically mirrors Piccolo's Heroic Sacrifice to save Gohan.
Taking the Bullet: For Akane, once she tries to attack Monokuma in Chapter 3. This causes him to be hospitalized and eventually turned into a cyborg, though this helps avert the trope when he tries it again in Chapter 4.
Team Dad: Despite his quirks, can be quite effective at playing this when things get serious.
Team Spirit: Confidently states passion and team effort are the key to victory when he manages his teams.
Toilet Humor: He often declares that some great life rules to follow are to "EAT WELL, AND SHIT WELL!" with many characters being mystified at why he gets so fired up about his bodily functions. Additionally, around the time the first murder occurs, he desperately has to go to the bathroom, but Peko is occupying it. NintendoCapriSun would be proud (and very much was when he played the game). Arin Hanson of the Game Grumps was also similarly proud when Nekomaru declared his ideals of "A good appetite, a good night's sleep and a good shit!!!". When he and Hajime briefly team up in Chapter 4, Mechamaru always pauses in front of bathrooms to stare unhappily and also mentions that the inability to poop is one of the few things he regrets about his robotic condition.
Nekomaru: Which means the answers are: A good appetite, a good night's sleep and a good shit!!!
Arin: That's a guy right after my own heart, right there.
Dan: I was about to say, Arin, that's like your philosophy.
Training from Hell: Nekomaru's starting work out routine for Hajime would be 10 laps around the island, 20 push-ups and 20 sit-ups... 50 sets of each and followed by a 12 mile swim.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Subverted due to him surviving in hope arc. Nekomaru is a gentle giant who looks out for everyone in the game, doesn't have a mean or malicious bone in his body and is fully willing to put himself in harms way to save his friends, he dies after a noble fight to the death with Gundham to save the enire class and everyone (in particular Akane and Fuyuhiko) is completely torn up about losing him just after he returned to the group.
Unfortunate Names: His full name (read family name first) translates to, "Two big round cats". He was teased about this often as a child.
Weaksauce Weakness: As Mechamaru, he's even stronger and tougher than he was as a human, but pressing a button on the back of his neck will instantly force him to go into sleep mode until either it is pressed again or his built-in alarm clock goes off. Gundham just so happens to have trained the Four Dark Devas of Destruction in the dreaded Skyline Lamentation Art of the Demon Mouse (a.k.a. pressing buttons).
We Can Rebuild Him: At one point, upon being severely injured, he's upgraded into a robot. Unfortunately it doesn't help him avoid being murdered in Chapter 4, because the culprit, Gundham, uses one of his hamsters to press a button on Nekomaru to knock him out in order to set up his murder. Kazuichi eventually uses parts of cyborg Nekomaru to build a miniature robot version of him with his voice, to cheer up Akane.
What Measure Is a Non-Human?:
- After Monokuma 'fixes' him, he reacts very poorly whenever the others treat him differently over it. Averted in that what Gundham does to him is still considered murder, even if it was in a death pact to save the others.
- However, the trope is also used metafictionally. When the other students find Nekomaru's body, not only is his head bashed in and separated from his neck, but one arm has come off at the shoulder and he's lost the lower half of his leg. There is no way they would've been able to show this if he was still a flesh-and-blood human.
Worthy Opponent: Or in his case, Worthy Student. He only gives "It" and does serious training with those he deems worthy. In the original game, he only sees Akane and later Hajime when in Free Time as potential students.
- During the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, he deems Sakura, Aoi, Ryoma, Gonta and Tenko as worthy students and takes them under his wing. He also attempts to take Izuru in to but unsurprisingly, has no luck.
- During the Ultimate Summer Camp, he takes Masaru, Chihiro, Mondo and Kaito under his wing.
- He and Gundham see each other as this, during their final battle there's a clear air of respect between the two and after Nekomaru's death, Gundham's only real rebuttal in his trial is to Nagito's assertion that he and Nekomaru didn't battle, during the post-trial Gundham talks about his respect for Nekomaru.
Younger Than They Look: Yes, he really is apparently supposed to be around the same age as the others.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

Ultimate Yakuza

"What's up with that face? You got a problem with me?!"

Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio (Japanese), Derek Stephen Prince (English)

Played by: Taizo Shiina, Ryujiro Izaki (Stage)

The baby-faced successor to the infamous Kuzuryu family, the largest criminal enterprise in Japan. Fuyuhiko's small stature and youthful looks hide a powerful temper and a large chip on his shoulder, and he has no interest in making friends with his classmates. In Chapter 2, he discovers that Mahiru was involved in the cover-up of his sister's murder, and Peko (his loyal hit-woman/bodyguard) kills her on his behalf after he plans her murder. However, after Peko is voted guilty he is unable to claim responsibility as the "true culprit" because it would confirm Peko's (incorrect) assumption that she was nothing but a tool to him. He tries to save Peko during her execution and loses an eye for his efforts. Between the loss of his eye and Peko as well as realising how cruel his actions towards Mahiru were, this humbles him greatly with him ending up a reliable(if still abrasive) young man, and he goes on to survive the final trial.

Abusive Parents: He grew up in a destructive violent home life where he was used to his father's hot-temper and was encouraged to be fine with killing someone you love if it means to get your point across. His parents' fights of attempting to kill each other have also nearly killed him a few times had it not been for Peko stepping in. Psychologically it also screwed him up by making him think that violence was the answer to every problem resulting in the events of chapter 2, thankfully he grows out of that mindset.
Accidental Pervert: Presumably unintentionally, his "staring pensively to his right" sprite makes it look like he's staring at Akane's breasts during trials.
Affably Evil: After his arc anyway, while not evil, he's a yakuza heir and expert in things like murder. He's also reliable, friendly (to those who don't annoy him) and has a genuine desire to protect innocent civilians from the killing game.
Always Save the Girl: Was willing to get himself and the rest of the class killed in order to save Peko.
Anguished Declaration of Love: Towards Peko before her execution, tearfully proclaiming he never wanted a tool, he wanted her. It's hard to not interpret it as romantic.
Fuyuhiko: I... I never wanted a tool! I just wanted you! Only you!
Anti-Hero: Deep down he has a good heart at least after the events of chapter 2, but keep in mind he is heir to a Yakuza clan and caused 2 deaths while in the killing game.
Asshole Victim: A living version of the trope since he survives what could have been his death. While it's hard not to feel sorry for him when he confesses his love to Peko and gets badly wounded trying to save her, everything prior to this doesn't help him from his bratty violent attitude, malicious planning of Mahiru's death, and trying to kill her after she calls him out and then being willing to sacrifice the class to save Peko who only did what she did to save him. He also helps frame Hiyoko, and shows little to no remorse over Mahiru's murder referring to her "that bitch", only caring once Peko gets hurt. Afterwards, thankfully he stops being like this but it's hard to argue he didn't deserve the Break the Haughty he went through after causing so much pain and arguably got off easy compared to Mahiru and Peko both of who were far less malicious than he was yet died because of his actions.
The Atoner: From Chapter 3 onward. He actively makes an effort to help out the group whenever he can and genuinely apologizes to Hiyoko for the pain he caused her. In his fourth Free Time event, he resolves to help the group survive and get out so that the deaths he caused will not be meaningless, and resolves to hold a funeral for Mahiru and Peko and visit Natsumi's grave with Hajime. Ironically, he took away Mahiru's chance of atonement from her by getting her beaten to death which jumpstarted his own chance at this, but she'd be the first to accept his attempts to change. He was probably the first to apologize to her for what he did when the students started waking up from their comatose states after the game and before Side: Hope.
Ax-Crazy: Borders on this during the first two chapters, instantly jumping to death threats at the smallest of inconveniences, and fully embraces it during his revenge plot when he tries to cruelly beat Mahiru to death for pissing him off and spending most of the second trial almost frothing at the mouth, getting increasingly angry and making increasingly weak arguments as Peko's guilt and what that would mean becomes more and more evident. However, he completely moves past this in Chapter 3 after realizing how much pain he caused to himself and others, ironically becoming one of the most level-headed people in the class.
Bash Brothers: With Hajime after Peko's death.
Berserk Button:
- Don't bring up his height or how cute he looks if you know what's good for you. He understandably doesn't take Kokichi calling him "Boss Baby"^{Original Japanese}"Kuzuryuu-chan" in the Ultimate Talent Development Plan very well. He seems more chill about it after chapter 2 however, seeming only mildly annoyed when Akane calls him "baby gangsta".
- Also, mentioning milk, since he's concerned about his height and he's lactose intolerant. He retains this Berserk Button, even making one of his rare post-Heel–Face Turn threats when Hajime mentions milk during his 2nd Free Time event.
- Junko telling Fuyuhiko that she can "make a version of Peko better than the original" if her AI is implanted in Peko's body leads to a rare moment where post-development Fuyuhiko seems completely and rightly pissed off. Also Hajime bringing up Peko's death in chapter 3 leads to him getting heated for around a second until he instantly cools down and shows remorse for getting angry again, walking away in shame. Showing that Peko's death and the events of chapter 2 in general will understandably enrage him, particularly if it's mocked.
Big Brother Instinct: Upon learning that his little sister was murdered, he finds out Sato is the killer and kills her in reprisal. In the game, upon learning it also and that Mahiru may have helped try and cover up Natsumi's murder (Dangangronpa 3 shows this is a lie by Monokuma), he sends Mahiru the pictures he got upon winning the Twilight Syndrome game and then confronts her at the beach house with the intent to kill her, though he says he had misgivings and thought about backing out of it. However, when she makes a remark about him killing Sato and that revenge is wrong, this angers him, causing him to go for a bat, but Peko grabs it first and kills Mahiru.
Birds of a Feather:
- After his Character Development, he get along with fellow cynical Knight in Sour Armor Hajime so well that if you complete his Free Time Events, they become Sworn Brothers in a sakazuki ritual.
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, he has an interesting bonding moment when he talks about getting a souvenir for Natsumi (who is still alive in that timeline) with Rantaro (whose sisters are still missing) and Korekiyo (whose sister is still dead). He accidentally gets Innocently Insensitive with them when they say they should also get their sisters souvenirs and Fuyuhiko says he expected their sisters to be swimming in souvenirs with as much traveling as they do. Korekiyo notes his sister refuses gifts and Rantaro says it'll be a while before he sees his sister.
Blaming the Victim: Initially anyway. He claims that its Mahiru's fault for pissing him off enough to enact his plan to kill her, ignoring that he started the argument and actually lured her to the beach house so he could kill her in the first place claiming that he wanted to back out though its unclear how genuine his claim is. Its averted completely however when he commits seppuku after saying that everything that happened is his fault, showing that he no longer blames Mahiru.
Blunt "Yes": In the first trial.
Fuyuhiko: Didn't that Byakuya bastard get killed in the dining hall, huh? Then everyone there is a fuckin' suspect.
Mahiru: Yeah, yeah. What you're really trying to say is that you're not the killer, right?
Fuyuhiko: No shit... You guys went off on your own and started killing each other. This has nothing to do with me...
Blush Sticker: To drive his childish-looks home. They make quite the contrast being present on someone with an attitude like Fuyuhiko. Although as he becomes a nicer person they begin to suit him particularly when he smiles.
Break the Cutie: He really doesn't take the events of chapter 6 well, particularly when some false hope about the dead actually being alive gets shattered in front of his face when Makoto (Junko in disguise) and Monokuma tell him that in the outside world, the dead are braindead and will never wake up, meaning he'll never get to see Peko again nor apologize to Mahiru and Hiyoko. It gets worse for him when Junko happily mocks Peko's death, and he worries that if they escape the world then they'll be sacrificing the others. Thankfully he breaks out of this when he hears Peko's voice, and the final image of him in the game is him smiling after hearing it. Side: Hope reveals that the "brain-dead" were able to be brought back to normal, thankfully, so he can reunite with Peko and make it up to Mahiru and Hiyoko for what he did to them.
Break the Haughty: The aftermath of Chapter 2's trial. He learned his sister is probably dead, which he didn't even remember thanks to having his memories erased, and his revenge plays right into Monokuma's paws, leading to losing Peko and knowing it's completely his fault. He also has to deal with the fact that he (indirectly) took Mahiru's life and ruined Hiyoko's. This does allow him to redeem himself after realizing what pain he caused.
Brutal Honesty: Extremely blunt and will say whatever is on his mind, in a similar vein to Mahiru after his development he will call out bad behaviour partially by pointing out how stupid it is to act that way (like telling Soda off for creeping out Sonia by saying it's weird), also is extremely vocal about how tired he is regarding Monokuma and Nagito's antics.
The Bully: Is this prior to his Heel–Face Turn though a less onscreen one than Hiyoko due to generally staying away from the group. He threatens to sell Mikan to a "fucking whorehouse" during the first trial if she screwed up her autopsy. In general most of his pre-chapter 3 screentime is dedicated to him hurling insults at people and smirking whenever he gets a reaction. He even ends up causing the death of Mahiru, who was the main target of his venom, though granted Mahiru absolutely didn't take his insults and threats lying down, and generally won their verbal battles. After his arc he moves away from this trope completely and is even very nice to past target Mikan, and apologizes over the way he treated Mahiru.
invokedCaptain Obvious Reveal: In-Universe. In Chapter 2's trial, Hiyoko accuses Fuyuhiko of being the culprit by connecting the metal bat with Mahiru and Girl E. At first, no one believes her despite technically being correct, but Peko lampshades that the conclusion would be too obvious. It turns out that Hiyoko was correct...in a way. Peko herself is actually the one responsible for murdering Mahiru directly.
Catchphrase Insult: He's prone to calling people "bastard". It's even one of his voice clips!, the meaning of bastard changes, initially starting out as its intended use as an insult but actually becoming a friendly term, such as when he says "Can you bastards walk?" to the infected.
Character Development: Starts off angry and distant, but after suffering hardship and realizing his mistakes, he gradually allows his kind heart to shine through, ultimately becoming reliable and even friendly.
Character Shilling: A lot of chapter 2's post-trial is dedicated to exposition about Fuyuhiko's childhood and how he has a good heart deep down. Considering he spent most of the trial (and the rest of the game until now) spitting insults and threats when he was forced to interact with others and avoiding them when he wasn't, not to mention planning and attempting to kill Mahiru and frame Hiyoko, you're basically asked to believe that Fuyuhiko is a fundamentally good person with very little evidence to support it beyond the word of Monokuma and Peko. The rest of the class (save Hiyoko) also forgives him very easily for his actions, rushing to his aid when he's dangerously wounded and accepting his apology during chapter 3 without really holding any of his former actions against him. Granted, being wounded almost to the point of death and losing his closest friend probably seemed like punishment enough, and it doesn't hurt that Peko had pleaded with everyone to give him a second chance before she died. However, even Hiyoko ends up forgiving him when he attempts seppuku in apology and out of grief for having caused Mahiru and Peko's deaths.
The Chain of Harm: Fuyuhiko's parents often solved their problems with violence and even involved him in their fights nearly killing him if not for Peko, which in turn turned Fuyuhiko into a very wary and violent person who used violence and threats to deal with issues even though deep down he hated this. It all comes to a head when his violent temper and ruthless planning of Mahiru's murder leads to not only Mahiru's death but Peko's. Horrified by this, and realising he needed to change, Fuyuhiko then broke out of this cycle, becoming a genuinely easy going and approachable person who atoned for his past actions.
Childhood Friends: With Peko — though, due to the nature of their relationship and Peko being unable to see Fuyuhiko as her equal, their status as friends is complicated, to say the least. Fuyuhiko wanted to make things right, but his revenge plan ultimately got in his own way in that regard. It's telling that he's willing to die for Peko, as he tries his best to defend her and deflect suspicion off of her and onto Hiyoko in the second trial. If he succeeded, it would have killed him and the rest of the class, as he certainly didn't see her as his "tool". He then tries to interfere with her execution to try and save her, but doesn't succeed and loses his right eye in the process.
Childhood Friend Romance: A romantic interpretation of his relationship with Peko is quite popular, but they never got around getting close to admitting any feelings of this sort — or even cementing a proper friendship, away from their titles — until it's far, far too late.
Cynicism Catalyst: The murder of his sister, and Mahiru being accused of covering for the murderer, which leads to him seeking revenge...
Dare to Be Badass: Does this to himself in his ending in "Dangan Island", insisting that he won't run from his weakness or from being compared to his sister, and he'll definitely continue the gangster line and reap the earth with his own hands.
Dark and Troubled Past: His parents were downright abusive and often fought to the death over minor disagreements and involved him in those fights, only Peko stopped them from killing him. Although he hides it, its implied he despises having to grow up in a world of violence and crime.
Death Seeker: Becomes this after Mahiru and Peko's deaths, believing he deserved to die for causing them. He attempts seppuku in order to show his genuine remorse over what he did to Mahiru and Hiyoko and also attempts to take Akane's place when Monokuma tries to execute her, saying that he doesn't want to feel the same way he felt after chapter 2s events again. Thankfully, Nekomaru very much snaps him out of this by making him realise that Peko wouldn't want him to throw his life away. He decides to live on in Peko and Mahiru's honour, instead becoming The Atoner.
Did Not Think This Through: His plot to kill Mahiru for attempting to cover up Natsumi's murder reeks of this. If he succeeds, Peko, his Childhood Friend - slash - Implied Love Interest would also be killed if he were to become a successful Blackened, not to mention everyone else, and if he failed in the trial, he'd be killed for killing someone who failed to hide the actual killer of his sister, who he had already got his revenge on, by killing Sato. As it happens, Peko ends up sacrificing herself to save him from the consequences of his rash plan, becoming the Blackened in his place and facing execution. Danganronpa 3 eventually showed the whole Twilight Syndrome game was a lie and Mahiru had nothing to do with covering up Natsumi's murder. The Twilight Syndrome game even makes him the most likely suspect, too. He even outright and very regretfully admits this in his fourth Free Time event:
Fuyuhiko: I blindly rushed into revenge...without thinking things through, with no concern for anything else... And in the end...I can't take back the consequences of that decision.
Disproportionate Retribution: The entirety of his actions in chapter 2 falls under this. Even if the game was telling the truth, Mahiru at worst moved a piece of vase and disposed of photographic evidence of the crime, but never helped Sato to kill Natsumi and was clearly horrified by Sato's actions and only moved the evidence to protect her (Fuyuhiko hypocritically covered up Peko's crime for the same reason). Yet he was more than willing to lure her to the beach house so he could cave her head in, completely ignoring her desire to make amends. Not only that but he was aware of the execution rule, so he was willing to let the entire class (Peko included) or himself die for a rather petty reason and ultimately goes through with the plan, because Mahiru annoyed him during their argument. While his grief over Natsumi and even his murder of Sato is completely understandable his actions are dumb at best and downright cruel at worst. By the time he realised that he completely overreacted, Mahiru was sitting in a pool of her own blood, Peko was ripped to shreds, Hiyoko was mentally destroyed by her grief, and he was down an eye.
Does Not Like Spam: The game states that he hates milk. This is because of the notion that milk helps you grow taller, and he was never able to drink it because he is lactose intolerant, combined with the fact that he hates how short he is. Even the very mention of the word milk pisses him off.
The Don: Is the heir to one. He's next in line to become the leader of the Kuzuryu yakuza clan.
Dragons Up the Yin Yang: Has a dragon on his eye-patch and his family name means "nine-headed dragon".
Easily Forgiven: This is both played straight and averted. The class except for Hiyoko basically ignore what he did to Mahiru and accepts him into the group before he's even apologized, Fuyuhiko comes across as borderline remorseless about Mahiru's murder in the second trial yet the class don't even attempt to ensure he's actually sorry. That being said Fuyuhiko makes an extremely drastic effort to apologize for Mahiru's murder to the point of attempting seppuku and Hiyoko forgives him afterwards. In a sense he earned his forgiveness through the seppuku and his development into a nice person, but the class again except Hiyoko forgave him before he even apologized, but it isn't at all his fault considering he did apologize with or without the class asking him to.
Eye Scream:
- When Fuyuhiko forces his way through the samurai Peko is fighting during her execution in Chapter 2, Peko ends up slicing him in the eye. He wanted "eye for an eye" and he sure got it.
- It's speculated that, based on the hairstyle and circumstances, the person who transplanted Junko's eye into themselves was Fuyuhiko, since the eye that person replaced is the same one Fuyuhiko lost in the game. This is supported by Danganronpa 3, which shows that he did indeed lose that eye in real life.
Eyepatch of Power: He starts wearing an eyepatch following the eye injury he sustained while trying to stop Peko's execution. It's debatable whether it makes him more "badass", though he was the first student in the series to attempt to interfere with an execution in progress and eyepatch Fuyuhiko is significantly cooler than two eyes Fuyuhiko as the former is a level-headed badass who looks out for everyone and the latter is an abusive bully without any cool features. For his part, Fuyuhiko likes the eyepatch for making him look like he's "gained some prestige," in his words. Also the dragon design of the eyepatch certainly helps him look powerful and is presumably a reference to his family name meaning "Nine-headed dragon".
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: He looks cute, but his title is Ultimate Yakuza for a reason. This becomes subverted over time, however, as he gradually opens up to the group and becomes nicer to the point of near aversion.
Family-Values Villain: Fuyuhiko doesn't bat an eye to criminal activities and killings going on in his family's yakuza syndicate, and has personally killed someone at least once in the past (or at least made Peko do it). However, underage drinking, high schoolers sleeping together, and driving without a license is a big no-no, which makes sense considering as a criminal heir, he doesn't want his minions to be getting arrested for petty crimes.
Fedora of Asskicking: Showcased in his official art, alas doesn't wear it in game.
Fire-Forged Friends: He's dismissive of everyone at first, but tries to make amends after Chapter 2, and can even become best friends with Hajime through their Free Time events.
First-Name Basis: In the Japanese version, he calls Peko by her first name after his relationship with her is revealed, signifying their closeness.
Foreshadowing: During the first trial, he steps in and makes an argument when Peko is accused of murder, despite originally having planned on not getting involved. He questions whether her stomach issues were a coincidence or not, before explaining that maybe someone slipped her some laxatives. While it doesn't go anywhere in game, it's a strong hint towards the revelation of their past. She's also the one to tell the rest of the group that he's not joining them or saying that she'll tell him of the rest's plans for the party.
- When Peko expresses guilt, assuming her absence from the room with the breaker box possibly played indirect role in the murder, Fuyuhiko also jumps in and reassures her it's not her fault, in a rather uncharacteristic display of kindness; that further hints that there might be something more going on between them than Peko just informing the group about Fuyuhiko's whereabouts.
- In addition the fact that he is subtly implied to have some interest in joining the group, foreshadows the fact that he does end up joining them after his development.
Good Is Not Soft: Fuyuhiko becomes a genuinely good-natured and noble person after his Heel–Face Turn, that doesn't mean he loses his past abrasive features although unlike before he's very justified in this, he's still rightly very hostile towards both Monokuma and Nagito for hurting his friends and angrily calls out Soda for his behaviour towards Sonia. Finally at one point he outright threatens to kill Junko after she mocks Peko's death. Fuyuhiko might have a good sense of honour, but even after his arc its not a good idea to piss him off.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Averted in the first two chapters, where he seemed almost to fit the White Hair, Black Heart trope, but played straight starting in Chapter 3, when his Hidden Heart of Gold comes out. He works with the rest of the students to help them and to try and prevent another killing as best as he can.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Spends the first two chapters violently blowing his stack and threatening everyone around him, this ends up killing Mahiru and leading to Peko's death. He mellows out considerably after his Heel–Face Turn as a result of this, though.
Hate at First Sight: He and Kokichi don't get along in Ultimate Talent Development Mode, as he really doesn't like his teasing or antics.
Hated by All: A reverse case of this too as he also starts out hating everyone else in the cast. Due to his constant threatening and petty insults, practically none of the students actually like him, and merely only tolerate him. Hajime even tries to find him personally during Chapter 2's Daily Life segment but has a little argument in the diner that makes him wonder why he even came to find him at all... Hiyoko especially hates him too, at that, though granted, she shows that behavior to everyone. Then when he develops sympathetic traits following Chapter 2's trial, said hatred is toned down and the surviving students actually try to make an effort to become his real friend; doesn't change them hating him before, though.
Heel–Face Turn: After Chapter 2's trial he starts opening up more and tries to be more helpful and friendly to the group. He also apologizes over his past actions and easily becomes one of the most reliable members of the group.
Heroic BSoD: Upon finding out that not only are he and his classmates the remnants of Ultimate Despair, but that if he pulls the plug as Makoto intends for them to do, Hajime Hinata will revert to the much less pleasant Izuru Kamukura. Unlike the others, however, this is more due to his conflict over whether he wants to meet Peko again.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: He's always had self-esteem issues, and does not believe he deserves the title of Ultimate Yakuza. His self-loathing only gets worse after Peko's death and his belief that he deserved to die for what he did to Mahiru. His Free Time events with Hajime can help him overcome this.
Hey, You!: He seemingly goes out of his way not to refer to Peko by name in the first two chapters, as a way of distancing himself from her, calling her at one point "that girl".
Hidden Depths:
- He actually has strangely strict morals such as objecting to driving without a license, lecturing Hajime about how high school students should act when he finds Mikan sharing his bed, and does not condone underage drinking.
- After his development he openly expresses his hatred of the killing game and Monokuma for hurting innocent civilians, seeing them as above the yakuza and himself. This makes his attempts to apologize for Mahiru's murder more significant as by getting Mahiru a kind-hearted civilian brutally murdered he broke his own code.
- He tells off Kazuichi for being rude to Chiaki by saying "If Mahiru were here she would have beaten you up", he also tells Hajime he doesn't want Mahiru and Peko's death to be in vain. Even though he despised Mahiru while she was alive, after her death he grew to respect and like her as a person and wanted to honour her ideals regarding atonement and second chances, he also took over her role as the team parent by helping out the team but ensuring they weren't messing around. In a sense, his attempts to change weren't just in honour of Peko but Mahiru too.
- Fuyuhiko really loves cookies and is afraid that he might be seen as weak for his food habits.
- His final Free Time event shows a very philosophical side of him as he tells Hajime to find something to live for and keep searching for it.
Hypocrite: Fuyuhiko embodies this a lot prior to his development arc, especially in chapter 2.
- He refuses to attend Byakuya's party, but shows up anyway, just to tell Chiaki he definitely wants to be left alone. It's later made clear that he did actually want to participate, but couldn't bring himself to drop the tough guy act.
- He criticizes the others for ganging up on Nagito, but later enlists Peko to ambush and frame Hiyoko.
- He's furious over Mahiru's alleged coverup of his sister's murder, not caring that she did it to protect Sato from being punished. Hours later, he's doing the exact same thing, trying to hide the evidence of Mahiru's murder in order to protect Peko.
- He doesn't care that killing Mahiru took Hiyoko's closest friend away from her and even mocks her grief, but at the end of that very same trial he's reduced to sobbing and pleading for Peko to stay with him.
- He refuses to forgive Mahiru for her alleged coverup of Sato's crime, yet later wants to atone for indirectly killing her. Granted he says he'll understand if Hiyoko doesn't forgive him.
  - During chapter 3, he makes up for most of his hypocrisy by attempting seppuku out of the pure guilt he felt, and vowing to change his behavior when he doesn't succeed in killing himself. He remains morally consistent for the rest of the game.
Hypocritical Humor:
- Calls Hiyoko a midget, despite being vertically challenged himself. Of course, Hiyoko instantly throws it back at him.
- He has oddly strict morals when it comes to things like underage drinking or driving without a license, at one point notably getting angry at Hajime when he thinks he's caught him sleeping with Mikan... but is the heir to the biggest yakuza clan in the country.
I Did What I Had to Do: Spends most of chapter 2's post trial justifying luring Mahiru to her death as "the only thing I could do to avenge my sister" even though he already avenged Natsumi by killing Sato, although he completely drops this justification after his development.
I Just Want to Have Friends: It's strongly hinted all the way back in Chapter 1 that he actually does want to befriend the other students but his stubborn sense of pride keeps him from doing so. After Peko's execution at the end of Chapter 2, he starts making genuine efforts to connect to the others and it's in Chapter 4 that he becomes available for Free Time events.
I'll Kill You!: Constantly makes death threats toward others so much the line "I will fucking kill you!" may as well be his Character Catchphrase. He especially loves saying it to Mahiru, which goes from pathetic Paper Tiger threats that Mahiru easily shoots down to downright horrifying when he actually does kill her (indirectly but still). He stops saying this after his Character Development although justifiably says it once to Junko when she mocks Peko's death.
I'm Not Here to Make Friends: He is even worse about it than Byakuya was in the first game, to the point that even Byakuya himself (albeit an imposter who is considerably nicer than the real Byakuya) scolds him about this. His behavior actually suggests the exact opposite of this trope, but he keeps everyone at arm's length before opening up later in the story.
Idiot Ball: Clutches it firmly when he enacts his plan to "avenge" Natsumi's murder (Natsumi had already been avenged when he killed Sato and Mahiru's getting rid of the vase and photos, which never actually happened according to Danganronpa 3, didn't prevent that). There was no path that would have ended well for him or Peko if he wanted Peko to survive, as either way, he or Peko would die and would mourn the other's death.
If We Survive This: He says that if they make it off the island, he'd like to hold a funeral for Peko and Mahiru and visit Natsumi's grave with Hajime in his 4th Free Time Event.
Inadequate Inheritor: What he worries he will be for the Kuzuryu clan. Some in the clan felt his sister would be the better choice. To make it clearer how galling it would be to him, women are rarely, if ever, in a position of power in the yakuza, and some felt her the better choice. This angst is also what causes him to embark on his plot to kill Mahiru, as he felt it's what he should do. Instead, he only manages to get Peko killed when she kills Mahiru under what she thinks is what he wants her to do. His growth from this failure has him end up facing his fears and grief over causing their deaths, realizing it didn't help one bit. Completing his Island Mode has him resolving to face his weaknesses and claim his birthright.
It's All My Fault: Says this word for word after Hiyoko confronts him over Mahiru and Peko's death, accepting that his rage over Mahiru's words and triggering Peko to kill her was his responsibility, a clear change from his blatant victim blaming of the former during the second trial.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Falls squarely into this after Chapter 3. He's still hot-tempered and fairly rude, but he's also extremely loyal to the other students and determined to stop the killing game. And he only tends to get angry at those who deserve it (such as Soda creeping out Sonia or Nagito messing with the class). For the most part after his arc he's polite, reliable, and level headed, and tries his best to help others even if he seems annoyed most of the time. Prior to chapter 3 he's more of a straight-up Jerkass who spent most of his time insulting the class and bragging about killing them. However he's more of a Nice Guy than a Jerkass after his Heel–Face Turn.
Jerkass to One:
- Prior to his development he hates everyone but particularly seems to dislike Mahiru due to her feisty nature and tendency to talk back to him, he generally gets verbally curb stomped every time they argue. The rivalry goes from funny snark fest to extremely dark rather quickly when his hatred towards her ultimately causes him to snap and try to kill her after Monokuma exploits it with Twilight Syndrome. Ironically he regards her as a friend and decent person after her death.
- After his development he's friendly to most of the class but is rather sharp when it comes to Kazuichi due to his perverted and rude tendencies. He also understandably despises Nagito because Nagito constantly tries to manipulate and hurt his new group of friends. In addition out of everyone in class 77 he is the most openly hostile towards Monokuma for manipulating him into the events of chapter 2, and hurting innocent civilians by forcing them into the game. Making it a wholesome example of this trope.
Karma Houdini: Somewhat averted. Fuyuhiko intended to kill Mahiru, but it was Peko who actually committed the murder, and under the class trial rules, Fuyuhiko can't be executed for it. This makes him one of the only people in the series, if not the only person, to intentionally cause a death and yet escape punishment. The trope would have been played entirely straight, had it not been for the fact that it turns out Peko meant far more to him than he'd been letting on, and losing her was still enough to crush him. He even attempts to stop the execution, and is near-fatally wounded in the process, losing an eye. Unlike a lot of Karma Houdinis, he's truly regretful for his actions, mentioning that when they escape the island he wants to hold a funeral for both Peko and Mahiru in Free Time. He also openly acknowledges the second chance he's been given despite the terrible things he did, and resolves to make sure it isn't wasted by completely changing his behavior towards the others for the rest of the game. Considering her beliefs in atonement, Mahiru probably would have wanted him to have that second chance.
- He's also one in a wider sense, due to the events of the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case game. The game shows that he killed Sato, another Hope's Peak student, out of revenge and entirely got away with it. Naturally, once his role in the atrocity is uncovered the earlier murder gets rather overshadowed, but bear in mind that this was a decision he made before he was recruited into the Ultimate Despair. Though, it's also somewhat subverted as shown in the Danganronpa 3 anime, his killing of Sato did semi-directly cause himself and the rest of class 77-B to become Ultimate Despair when Hajime tried to investigate her and Natsumi's murders, he got a vicious verbal and physical beatdown from Juzo Sakakura that broke his spirit and caused him to go through with the Izuru project.
Kick the Dog:
- In this case it's kick the corpse- Fuyuhiko asks why he should care about Byakuya's death, referring to him as "that fat bastard" despite Byakuya's attempts to protect him along with the rest of the class. Later in chapter 2's trial, he cruelly refers to Mahiru as "that bitch" right in front of her grieving best friend. He later makes up for the second instance by attempting seppuku due to his guilt over causing Mahiru's death, as well as Peko's.
- It's usually nice to see Hiyoko get a taste of her own medicine, but it's hard not to feel sorry for her during Fuyuhiko's framing attempt in chapter 2. For all he later claims to regret Mahiru's murder, he's almost sadistic here, smirking as a grieving and terrified Hiyoko breaks down in tears, and even suggesting she's faking (knowing full well she isn't). However, although it doesn't excuse his actions during the trial, some of this may have been an act- at the beginning of chapter 3, Fuyuhiko genuinely apologizes to Hiyoko, saying he understands why she hates him so much.
- While not quite as frequent as Hiyoko in this regard, he's still extremely nasty to Mikan to the point of threatening to "sell her to a whorehouse" (while he makes violent threats to everyone, he never brings up sexual violence with anyone else). He drops this entirely after she heals his injuries, and even helps her out with her patients during chapter 3.
Knight in Sour Armor: Becomes this after his Heel–Face Turn. Fuyuhiko is a very tough and somewhat sour and cynical person as a result of growing up in a violent world, and it's only enhanced by his sorrow and guilt over causing Mahiru and Peko's deaths as well as losing his sister. Despite this he still has a genuine sense of honour and a desire to protect others, and he becomes more light-hearted after Nekomaru helps him realise Peko wanted him to have a second chance. Fuyuhiko believes that the yakuza are below ordinary people, coinciding with his own self-hatred, and as a result he decides to protect the class to ensure no one has to die like Mahiru and Peko did ever again.
The Lancer: After Peko's execution, Fuyuhiko becomes completely devoted to trying to help everyone survive on the island and is generally the first to volunteer to help Hajime. He's also notable for being the only character in the series that might have gotten away with being the culprit, but refused because it would mean claiming he only saw Peko as a tool as well as killing the rest of the class.
Laser-Guided Karma:
- Fuyuhiko brushes off Hiyoko's tears over Mahiru and suggests that she could be faking them, hours later he's reduced to tears over Peko's imminent death. He gets about as much sympathy from Monokuma as he showed to Hiyoko.
- After planning and causing Mahiru's death when Peko grabbed the bat that he was going for in his place, he ends up losing his childhood friend and possible Love Interest and he loses his right eye.
- As a lighter example, he calls Hiyoko a midget despite not winning any height contests himself. Predictably, she throws it right back at him.
Little Big Brother: A minor example, but Natsumi is 5cm (2") taller and 2kg (4.5lbs) heavier than him. This fact probably doesn't help his Napoleon complex.
Lonely Rich Kid: He's the heir to the Kuzuryu clan. His childhood wasn't very happy because his strict parents viewed him as the weakest Yakuza and always put a lot of pressure on him. The only people he was close to were Peko and his younger sister, Natsumi. After both of their deaths, he learned to open up to everyone, understanding Peko would want him to be happy.
Loner-Turned-Friend: Isolated himself from the group initially, but eventually comes around and becomes one of the group's most loyal and steadfast members.
Love Hurts: For Peko, big time - whether you choose to interpret it as platonic or romantic. Junko even mocks him over it in the final trial.
The Man Behind the Man: More specifically, behind the Peko, being her "master" and the one she was trained to submit to. This only applies to Chapter 2, of course. However, in the chapter where she did do something "on his behalf", it wasn't under his orders, leading to Peko and Mahiru needlessly dying.
Men Are Tough: A Deconstructed version of this. Fuyuhiko postures a lot in a bid to prove that he is a worthy successor of the Kuzuryu family. His refusal to show any weakness leads to the events of Mahiru's brutal murder and his Poor Communication Kills with Peko. After this he becomes more open with others and trades in his anger for kindness,
Misplaced Retribution: He views Mahiru as partially causing his sister's death. While Mahiru did have a role in covering up Sato's crime after the fact (at least according to the game, which is their only source of information), she had nothing to do with the murder itself and didn't even know it had happened until they found the body. It's likely Fuyuhiko is taking out his "eye for an eye" vengeance on Mahiru because he has no way to confront Sato directly. Considering how far he goes to atone for Mahiru's murder after chapter 2, it appears he acknowledged that his anger towards her was mostly this.
Mister Big: A junior version.
Morton's Fork: At the end of the second trial, it's pointed out that regardless of whether he claims that Peko was his tool, or if she acted alone, he will live and Peko will die. Meaning that his choice is between saving himself and sacrificing the class, or staying in the killing game, but keeping the class alive. He chooses the latter partially out of his newfound concern for the class and mainly because he didn't see Peko as a tool.
My God, What Have I Done?: An offscreen version of this. While initially remorseless over Mahiru's murder, during his time in the hospital he comes to realise that the only thing his revenge plot achieved was robbing a kind-hearted photographer of her entire life and ruining Hiyoko's life as well and that it won't fix the Natsumi shaped hole in his heart. In addition, his revenge is what killed Peko, his childhood friend and Implied Love Interest after it made her murder a girl she deeply cared about. This tears him apart to the point of attempting seppuku. Thankfully he resolves to atone in honour of Mahiru and Peko instead of dying.
- It's implied he also had this realization after Peko killed Mahiru, which also helps explain how on edge and freaked out he was during the trial and before it. He knew that if he was successful in defending Peko, he would die and if he wasn't, his Implied Love Interest Peko would die and that his own hot-headed mistake caused the whole situation.
My Greatest Failure: His hot-headed impulsiveness over Mahiru making a remark about his possible revenge on Sato ended with him going for a bat, but Peko grabbing it instead, and the end result was the death of an innocent girl, who was attempting to atone for her possible cover-up of his sister's death^note, the death of his childhood friend and Implied Love Interest, Hiyoko being emotionally distraught, and the loss of his right eye. However, it does open him up to his redemption arc.
The Napoleon: While Teruteru is even shorter than him, he has no complexes about his lack of height. Fuyuhiko, however, very much does.
Neighborhood-Friendly Gangsters: Post-Character Development, he changes from a hotheaded thug to a more respectable kind of mobster who is very protective of his friends, has a strong sense of justice and is repulsed by the very idea of innocent people getting killed, which explains why he went so far to atone for Mahiru's death.
Nice Guy:
- A unique example considering how he's a yakuza heir who starts out the game as unlikeable and rude, and even after his arc he's still rather abrasive, but by chapter 3 he falls into this as he always tries to help out his classmates, helping Mikan and Hajime with the infected, and even trying to comfort Akane about Nekomaru and understands why Hiyoko hates him so much, choosing to be patient with her instead of getting angry.
- His nice guy tendencies really come out during Free Time as he shows how wise and noble he is, expressing his hatred for those who would hurt civilians and wanting to hold a funeral for Mahiru and Peko. He also forms a brotherly bond with Hajime and vows to protect him, in addition his cuter features are showcased such as his love for cookies, nothing shows that the ultimate yakuza is actually a sweetie better than Free Time.
- UTDP and S showcase that Fuyuhiko in a normal situation that isn't a killing game is actually just as nice as he is post chapter 3, implying that his toxicity in the first two chapters was partially a result of being in the middle of a life or death situation heightening his paranoia and desire not to look weak, even getting along well with Mahiru, who he butted heads with constantly in the first two chapters and eventually caused her death. He even offers to help Izuru escape Hope's Peak, if he wanted to in Ultimate Summer Camp. Not because he wanted to have Izuru in the Kuzuryu clan's employ, as Izuru expected, but because he didn't like seeing a classmate basically in shackles, never able to leave Hope's Peak. Himiko and some others note in USC that he started out prickly and distant, but grew closer to the class over his three years there.
Not Helping Your Case: In the first trial, when it's pointed out that he was the only one not at the party, making him a likely suspect. However, he's not a suspect for long, since circumstances showed he's one of the few who couldn't be the killer.
Fuyuhiko: Wh-What the fuck are you saying!? I'm not the killer!
Mahiru: Oh really...? What happened to the tough guy who was saying stuff like, "I can do it"?
Fuyuhiko: Don't mess with me! I'll fuckin' kill you!
Mahiru: See? You're making threats again!
Not-So-Harmless Villain: Fuyuhiko starts off the game as its most antagonistic character (after Monokuma) but still comes across as rather unthreatening because of his baby face, this isn't helped by him being replaced by the far more dangerous Nagito as the main threat in the class during chapter 1's trial. Although his temper is certainly frightening, he is mostly presented as just a loudmouth who screams threats at everyone yet can't back them up, to the point where most of the class except Mahiru, Mikan and Hajime just laugh them off. However, he's anything but harmless during the events of chapter 2 where he ruthlessly lures Mahiru (the main target of his threats) to the beach house so he can beat her to death, but Peko beats him to it and kills her in his place. He then tries to get the entire class, including himself, killed to protect Peko. However, after his malice gets both Mahiru and Peko killed, he realizes how heinous his actions were and his guilt from their deaths causes him to drop the villain part altogether.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Immediately before his attempt at seppuku, he greets the students in an oddly formal manner. Hajime mentally notes that he doesn't usually say "hi" to people. This friendly personality ends up completely replacing his old one.
Odd Friendship:
- Strikes up one with Akane, of all people, in Chapter 4, bonding over how they are still alive because others sacrificed themselves. He also forms a close bond with Nekomaru and outside of Akane is by far the saddest out of the class when he dies. Finally despite his dislike of Soda's treatment of Sonia and having polar opposite personalities, he clearly does care about Soda and vice versa, constantly looking out for him.
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, he gets along well with Chihiro, due to their desires to become stronger people, and he offers to "work it out for ya... nice and quietly." if someone steals Chihiro's work.
- He gets along well with Celeste, and he offers to take her out to eat after she had bankrupted a rival gang's online casino.
Older Than They Look: He's noted to have a baby-face, and his short stature doesn't do him any favors although after his character development he has a highly mature and wise personality that almost makes him seem older than he is.
One Head Shorter: Is this to Peko, who is 15cm/6" taller than him.
Organ Theft: He threatens to "sell your fucking organs" during the PTA in the second trial. It's unknown if he was just making an idle threat or if this is something his family actually participated in. In the official What If?, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF, Yasuhiro had tried to extort money from "that girl related to the Kuzuryu clan", which may be Fuyuhiko's sister or mother or another member, with Yasuhiro trying to sell them Makoto's organs as a payment, so it is a possibility.
Perpetual Frowner: Even after his Heel–Face Turn he's never really seen without an angsty-looking scowl. Which only makes it all the cuter when he actually does break out into a smile.
Pet the Dog:
- In the Chapter 1 trial, where he's at his most antagonistic, he still reassures Peko that it wasn't her fault she couldn't end the blackout before Togami was killed. This also doubles as foreshadowing that the two have been connected for far longer than it seems at first glance.
- At the end of chapter 2 he refuses to go along with Peko's plan and as a result, saving the entire class in the first sign of kindness he's shown towards them.
- In Chapter 3, he volunteers to help Mikan and Hajime look after the Despair Disease patients. He also berates only Hajime when he finds her in bed with Hajime for what looks like them sleeping with each other. They were sleeping together, but not "sleeping" together, since she crawled on top of Hajime to sleep as he was asleep.
- Also in chapter 3 he refuses to fight back against Hiyoko's insults towards him because he knows that he ruined her life and understands that like him, she lost someone she truly loved. Instead of arguing back, he tries to atone to show her he's truly sorry about hurting her and taking Mahiru's life.
- Although she was ultimately guilty, it's pretty sweet how Fuyuhiko at first refuses to doubt Mikan considering she nursed him back to health.
- He's one of the first to accept Nekomaru's new robotic form and happily welcomes him back into the group.
- In Chapter 4, he talks with Akane, who feels guilty over Nekomaru jumping in to save her and ending up as a cyborg, mentioning how Peko protected him in her final moments, and tries to help her work through her guilt.
- In chapter 5 he tells off Soda for being rude to Chiaki, not only that but he tells Soda that Mahiru would have beaten him up for his bad manners showing that he holds her in high regards, it can even be implied somewhat that his Team Dad role is in honour of her.
- He helps comfort Hajime when he reveals he has no talent by saying "Is that all?".
- During Free Time he pledges to hold a funeral not only for Peko, but for Mahiru, too, despite his past hatred for her, clearly showing that he's not only remorseful about her death but genuinely respects and likes her now, but knows it's too late.
Platonic Life-Partners: If you don't choose to interpret Fuyuhiko and Peko's relationship as potentially romantic, they would be this.
Poor Communication Kills: Towards Peko. Peko believes that Fuyuhiko only views her as a tool and because of that was willing to kill Mahiru in his place in a bid to allow him to escape the island. Fuyuhiko deeply cares about her and views her as his equal, but his inability to properly vocalizing it and keeping her at arms length, led to Peko taking matters into her own hands rather than trying to talk him out of his rage.
- To a lesser extent this is also what killed Mahiru, Fuyuhiko claims he wanted to back out of the plan but becomes instantly hostile when she asks him about Sato's death making her more angry which in turn pissed him off enough to go for the bat. If he was calm and accepted that he killed Sato instead of trying to brush things off, Mahiru and Peko wouldn't have died.
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: "I. Will. Not. Hesitate. To. Kill. You." Aimed at Junko after she jokes about his grief over Peko's death (Who she killed).
Pyrrhic Victory: Avenges the cover-up of his sister's murder... at the cost of Peko's life, his right eye, the knowledge that Peko did the exact same thing for him and realising that his actions towards Mahiru were extremely and needlessly cruel, as DR3 would go on to show that Mahiru really had nothing much to do with Natsumi's death and even if she did, his actions were far worse than Mahiru trying to protect her friend by moving the vase.
Real Men Hate Sugar: Staunchly believes this, as seen in his second Free Time Event, when he goes out of his way to make sure nobody spots him as he approaches the market to stock up on sweets. Hajime tries to convince him of otherwise, but accidentally sets off his Berserk Button upon mentioning milk.
Redemption Equals Life: He was an asshole through-and-through prior to Chapter 3 and is responsible for Mahiru and Peko's deaths, to a lesser extent he's also responsible for throwing Hiyoko into a state of grief that killed her. However, his grief over Peko's death and realizing how cruel he was to Mahiru caused him to try to work to help the group and try to prevent any more murders and he survives the game.
Reformed Bully: Starting in Chapter 3, he regrets his past bullying and threats and resolves to help the rest of the group in Peko and Mahiru's memories, he is generally level-headed and friendly to the class. However:
Reformed, but Not Tamed: He's still pretty abrasive and hot-headed particularly towards Soda and Nagito granted because of the former's behaviour towards Sonia and latter constantly messing with the class, and don't expect him to curse any less.
Revenge Before Reason: Fuyuhiko's revenge against Mahiru is the definition of this. The game showed that he already killed his sister's direct murderer so he should have already gotten his "eye for an eye" but decides to also go after Mahiru who wasn't shown to be Natsumi's killer. In fact, Mahiru was shown to be horrified by Sato's actions and uninvolved in the actual murder and only moved a piece of vase which didn't prevent Sato from being killed anyway, can't remember anything and was trying to make things right. And why? Because she wanted to protect her friend from being killed, Fuyuhiko gets Mahiru killed for this reason and then covers up her murder to protect his only friend. To make things even worse, he blindly believes an unreliable game created by Monokuma, a notable liar, and despite his love for Peko seemed to neglect the execution rule that would mean that if he got away with Mahiru's murder Peko would have died too. He completely failed to realise the only way he'd get his happy ever after ending with Peko was by not killing Mahiru.
Seppuku: Attempts this while apologizing to his classmates for his previous actions. Remarkably does it without anyone even noticing until blood leaks out onto the floor and even tells Nekomaru and Soda after the fact that he can walk to the hospital, talk about pain tolerance.
Sharp-Dressed Man: He's always seen in his professional suit and tie, being heir to the yakuza. In his official art he's seen wearing a classy hat and pair of very yakuza-looking sunglasses, although they aren't seen in his sprite (the hat wouldn't be a good idea on a sunny island, the sunglasses would be though). Even his eyepatch is highly fashionable.
Ship Tease: He gets a lot with Peko in their final conversation together. In her final Free Time and her Island Mode ending, the "childhood friend" she wants to ask out is all but stated to be Fuyuhiko. His grief over his mistake causing her (and Mahiru) to die causes him to be a Death Seeker for part of Chapter 3 until Nekomaru snaps him out of it. He mourns her for the rest of the game, gets extremely enraged when Junko mocks her death, and, similar to Hajime being snapped out of his Heroic BSoD in the final trial by Chiaki, Fuyuhiko gets snapped out of his by hearing Peko's voice. In Ultimate Summer Camp, seeing each other having friends and having fun on the beach gives them joy. When Fuyuhiko says that she doesn't need to report to him daily, she insists because she enjoys the time together and offers to tell him about her dinner with Kaede and Komaru after she has it, and he says he'll look forward to it, with a smile. His "My Future" even has him saying the "Peko...I need you." and this time she's not facing an imminent execution and follows it up with "Please, share your strength with me."
Sir Swears-a-Lot: He's quite foul-mouthed, and drops a Cluster F-Bomb from time to time. It's rare, even post Heel–Face Turn, that he has a sentence where he doesn't curse in some way, he also really likes calling people bastards, at first as an insult but after his development, it is almost used as a term of endearment for his new friends.
Slasher Smile: Fuyuhiko has a smirking sprite that at least prior to his Heel–Face Turn comes across as rather unnerving and cruel, particularly during the second trial when he's framing Hiyoko while sporting this sprite. However after his development it seems less sadistic and more like a cheeky smirk (helped by the fact that it comes up either when he's happy or playfully insulting someone), reflecting how different his personality is at this point.
Smarter Than You Look: Fuyuhiko initially comes across as a delinquent stereotype as he's brash and prone to acting before thinking at times but he's actually shown to be one of the most intelligent students in the second game, particularly after his arc when he becomes far more level headed and analytical about the situations he's in.
Spanner in the Works: In the fourth case, his food-deprived self just happens to randomly space out in the lounge after seeing Nekomaru head downstairs. This turns out to be pretty much the only reason Gundham is caught as Nekomaru's killer, since it prevented him from returning to his room and pretending to be asleep, which would have been the perfect alibi for his time-delayed murder method. Instead, Gundham had to pretend he left his room along with everyone else to investigate the ringing alarm clock in the lounge, which exposes him as the killer since his Deluxe Room was soundproof.
Speak Ill of the Dead: Firstly he asks the class why he should care about the death of "that fat bastard" when Togami dies. Worse still, he refers to Mahiru as a bitch as he talks about his role in her death. Like every other unlikeable feature Fuyuhiko had prior to chapter 3, it is fully dropped, as he grows to be full of sorrow over causing Mahiru's death and admire her. In addition he's horrified and saddened by all the other deaths (especially Hiyoko's and Nekomaru's considering his relationship with those two).
Sweet Tooth: Despite his tough front, Fuyuhiko likes sweets, though this is something of an Unmanly Secret for him. His favorite is fried cookie dough.
Sworn Brothers: He becomes sworn brothers with Hajime in his final Free Time event, when they perform the sakazuki ritual together.
Taking the Heat:
- He offers to do this for Peko after she kills Mahiru, and his attempts to deflect suspicion away from Peko, such as facing Hajime in the P.T.A. battle, are done with the goal of preventing her from being convicted.
- He also tries to take Akane's place in chapter 3 when Monokuma has a rocket pointed at her saying that he doesn't want anyone else except him to die, or feel the same way he did when Peko and Mahiru died, but Nekomaru steps in instead.
Taking You with Me: What would have happened, had he succeeded in defending Peko in the 2nd Trial. He would have been executed with the rest of the students to save Peko.
Team Dad: Falls into this role after his Heel–Face Turn and the deaths of team parents Togami, Nekomaru and Mahiru, Fuyuhiko becomes the most responsible member of the group and is stern yet very fair with everyone and ensures that they are focused on trying to escape instead of messing around. A far cry from his initial role as a loner and the Token Evil Teammate.
Tears of Remorse: Happens twice in-game:
- The first time is right before Peko's execution when he realises that his revenge plot has led to him losing the girl he loves and that he confessed his feelings too late.
- The second time is after he commits seppuku to atone to a grief-stricken and angry Hiyoko when she calls him out for Mahiru's murder. While these tears were also out of pain (after all, sticking a knife in your stomach isn't exactly painless), Fuyuhiko is shown to be absolutely guilt ridden over getting Mahiru murdered and ruining Hiyoko's life in the process, putting her through the same pain that Monokuma inflicted on him.
The Teetotaler: He's quick to remind Hajime that underage drinking is against the rules — and on a personal level, he claims that just the smell of alcohol is enough to make him pass out.
Thin-Skinned Bully: While he doesn't exactly break down into tears when called out, it's clear that he isn't happy with being insulted back as shown by his utter hatred towards Mahiru for snarking back at his comments. After his development he grows a thicker skin when he faces the wrath of Hiyoko who insults him but he doesn't try to fight back, knowing that she hates him for what he did to her and Mahiru, since he also now hates what he did to Mahiru and Peko, as well.
Tiny Guy, Huge Girl:
- When 5'2" Fuyuhiko teams up with 5'9" Akane in the Funhouse in Chapter 4, Nagito points this trope out, with an annoyed Fuyuhiko telling him to "Drop it, bastard!"
- With his Implied Love Interest, Peko, at 5'8" to his 5'2".
Tiny Schoolboy: The second shortest male at 5'1" in the English version and 157cm (5'2") in the Japanese version, third shortest overall.
Token Evil Teammate: Fills in this role (and shares it with Nagito during chapter 2) until his development in Chapter 3. This is because of his horrible behaviour, a tendency to threaten others with death, being the ultimate yakuza, and his openly stated desire to betray the class and escape. Chapter 2 turns it up a notch when he gets Mahiru murdered but its averted in chapter 3 when he becomes far nicer. It's occasionally played for laughs after his Heel–Face Turn as Akane refers to him as "baby gangsta" and at one point he tells Hajime that he "won't drop him in the river with cement shoes", although these jokes aside the class sees him as reliable and decent.
Took a Level in Badass: Fuyuhiko initially starts out the game as a very vile person who, while angry and extremely tough, can't really be described as cool especially considering his actions in the second chapter, however at the end of the trial he runs into Peko's execution, reckless, yes, but certainly brave. It's only enhanced in the third chapter when he commits Seppuku in order to apologise for Mahiru's murder and tries to jump in to save Akane during her execution, although Nekomaru takes his place after convincing him not to throw his life away. His development turned him into a genuinely honorable young man who even put his life at risk to protect his new friends. Even after this he puts himself at risk of the Despair Disease to help Mikan and Hajime out, and joins in on the plan to capture Nagito even after its been clearly established how dangerous Nagito is.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: While it only really shows up in his Free Time events, he starts to become less aggressive and gloomy the more Hajime talks to him. During his later Free Time talks with Hajime, he'll start to make jokes and even laugh, culminating in him declaring Hajime as his First Friend.
Took a Level in Jerkass: While Fuyuhiko is not remotely pleasant or kind during chapter 1, chapter 2 turns his negative traits up to 11 after he plays Twilight Syndrome and learns of his sister's murder. This causes him to lure Mahiru to her death and spend the trial smugly helping frame Hiyoko and undergoing a Villainous Breakdown as it becomes more and more obvious that Peko is the guilty party. However it doesn't last when he finally faces consequences for acting like this.
Took a Level in Kindness: As a result of his Break the Haughty after Peko's death and indirectly murdering Mahiru. Fuyuhiko goes from outright cruel towards his classmates to genuinely friendly and selfless.
Tritagonist: Could be considered one, as he arguably has the most character development of the side characters and gradually becomes The Lancer to Hajime. He also always had some sort of notable role each chapter, like being the only one who wasn't involved with the party in Chapter 1, the one ultimately responsible for Chapter 2's class trial, one of the students who volunteered to try keep the Despair Disease in control during Chapter 3, inadvertently thwarted Gundham's chance for a fake alibi in Chapter 4, giving a good amount of arguments in Chapter 5's class trial, almost to the point of filling Nagito's role in prevalence, and being one of the students to escape the simulation at the end of Chapter 6 and the game.
Troubled Abuser: At least prior to chapter 3, Fuyuhiko is volatile, cruel, and extremely prone to threatening others in particular Mahiru because of her tendency to call him out. This gets worse when he tries to kill Mahiru with a baseball bat for pissing him off and being accused of having a role in Natsumi's death. However after his development, his past behaviour is explained, Fuyuhiko was abusive and wary towards everyone because he grew up in an abusive household where violence was common, it doesn't excuse this but it makes sense why he'd end up violent when he knew nothing else. It's shown that he deeply hated himself for acting like this and for the pain he caused with his past abusive actions which is why he makes such an effort to become level-headed and kind so that no one else would get hurt.
Tsundere: A male version towards the rest of the group. It's painfully clear that he wants to be involved in the group activities, but furiously denies it because he has his "hardass mob boss" image to maintain. Chiaki makes this observation about him when asked about the time she saw him walking by the party, and how he responded to her questions by claiming he was just taking a walk.
Undying Loyalty:
- Prior to Chapter 3, what is about his only redeeming feature is his loyalty to Peko, despite her being his bodyguard/personal hitwoman. He was willing to get himself and the rest of the class killed if meant saving her life, as he didn't think of her as his "tool". He then risks his life trying to interfere in her execution and gets badly wounded and loses his right eye. After her death he's clearly still loyal to both Peko and her ideals (particuarly her hatred of senseless killing).
- Starting in Chapter 3, he has this towards the rest of the students to make up for what he had done in the first two chapters, but especially Chapter 2, in Free Time he talks about how disgusted he is at Monokuma for causing innocent civilians (who he sees as being above the yakuza) to die.
The Unfavorite: Fuyuhiko states that his family preferred for his considerably more ruthless younger sister Natsumi to inherit leadership of the clan over him, thinking he was too soft for the role. She turned it down due to her respect for him.
Unmanly Secret: In his Free Time events, he is embarrassed of his love for sweets because he feels that it damages his hardened yakuza image.
Vengeance Feels Empty: He gets his revenge on the girl that attempted to cover up his sister's murder... At the cost of his Childhood Friend / Implied Love Interest being killed and realizing that Mahiru didn't deserve that at all, which tears him up early in Chapter 3. He becomes a Death Seeker, first attempting seppuku when Hiyoko confronts him on what he did and then attempting to take Akane's place when she's about to be executed by Monokuma.
Villainous Breakdown: He becomes increasingly unhinged and makes increasingly weak arguments as Peko's guilt becomes more and more evident in the second trial.
Villainous BSoD: After being her most vocal defender (probably even defending her more than she defends herself), and then pleading with her to stop it when she starts going into the "Sparkling Justice" routine, he doesn't say a word when she dons the mask until after she's convicted. Indeed, the first thing he says after that is a quiet and horrified "Just...me...?" in response to the fact that he'd be the only survivor if it were true that Peko were his tool. After that he knows she's going to die, as her "tool" excuse was doomed to fail as he never saw her as a "tool", but as a cherished Childhood Friend. However, his failure to communicate that dooms her. Him getting her killed and his guilt over also getting an innocent girl killed is what causes him to be a Death Seeker for the end of Chapter 2 and the beginning of Chapter 3 and spurs his Character Development and turning into a genuinely good guy.
Walking Spoiler: A variation. Fuyuhiko's Free Time Events are locked from player access until he's released from the hospital in Chapter 3. As a result, it's difficult to talk about him without giving away the ending of the second trial; namely that he, a suspect for the murder, survives, and his Free Time events are full of spoilers for the outcome of the trial and his resulting Character Development. In a case of Gameplay and Story Segregation, they stay the same in Island Mode, where he talks about wanting to hold a funeral for Mahiru and Peko, and visit Natsumi's grave, despite Peko and Mahiru being alive and well, and him not knowing about his sister's murder. It's also rather hard to talk about his post chapter 2 personality considering just how different the violent and constantly angry chapter 1 to 2 Fuyuhiko is from the friendly, level-headed, and reliable post-chapter 3 Fuyuhiko, and the events that led to this change.
We Do Not Know Each Other: Tells Peko to act as though they didn't know each other prior to coming to the island. This comes back to bite him when it only adds to Peko's belief that she's a tool and that he hates her, partially leading to chapter 2s events.
What You Are in the Dark: He spends the first two chapters boasting about how he's ready to kill and how he'll sacrifice everyone on the island to escape. Yet, when Peko claims he used her as a tool to murder Mahiru (which could have made him the true murderer of Chapter 2), he's unable to go through with her plan because doing so would mean condemning his innocent classmates and would also suggest Peko is nothing more than a tool to him. Although he also had a choice during the beach house to not murder Mahiru but went through with it anyway because of his pride and rage.
When He Smiles: Rarely ever does so, but when he does, it's adorable.
Would Hit a Girl: Tries to beat Mahiru to death with a baseball bat and spends a large portion of the first two chapters threatening to kill her, also at one point threatens Mikan with a brothel. Again as per usual moves past this completely after his development and actually becomes very chivalrous and kind towards the women of the island (telling off Soda for his rude behaviour towards Sonia and Chiaki).
Yakuza: His talent is based on this.
Youthful Freckles: Across the bridge of his nose.

Characters / Danganronpa 2 — Male Students
aka: Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Male Students