General Tropes | Future Arc | Despair Arc | Hope Arc
All spoilers will be unmarked ahead. You Have Been Warned!
- Back for the Finale: All of the Trigger Happy Havoc survivors and the entire Goodbye Despair cast, though AI Chiaki appears only as a figment of Hajime's memory.
- Big Brother Instinct: The Imposter, for Mitarai. As soon as Mitarai gets better, the Imposter runs up and they hug. As soon as they are in the boat, he mentions that Mitarai looks skinny again.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Remnants of Despair.
- Book Ends: The Tragedy is started by Hope's Peak Academy covering up a killing game, which is blamed on Izuru Kamukura, and is ended by the Future Foundation (semi-successor to Hope's Peak) agreeing to a cover up of another killing game, with Izuru Kamukura initiating and taking the blame.
- The beginning of the Prequel has Chiaki telling Hajime how talent isn't everything, and that it's more important to stay true to oneself, while he's looking at his palm and lamenting not having a talent. Side Hope has Hajime, finally having found his inner strength and resolve as a person after the events of SDR2, repeating Chiaki's words and acknowledging the merit of them while staring at her Galaga-like hairpin in the palm of his hand.
- The first game showed Makoto waking up alone in a classroom shortly after he and Hope's Peak Academy were introduced. The Grand Finale shows Makoto sitting in a desk that has the same relative row-and-column position as it did back then, shortly before he's revealed to be the headmaster of a reborn Hope's Peak Academy.
- Works in terms of killing games, though on a darker note: of the characters involved in the chronological first and last killing games, the leaders of their group end up worse off than they did before (Murasame goes into trauma, while Munakata has to carry the weight of his actions).
- Bittersweet Ending: While its ending is the brightest in the entire Hope's Peak saga, there's still some bitterness in a typical Danganronpa fashion: The Future Foundation is on its last legs due to losing most of its members, Munakata blames himself for his actions as well as losing both Chisa and Juzo, ultimately resulting with him Walking the Earth, and Class 77-B painted themselves as the "scum of humanity" to cover up Tengan's involvement in the Final Killing Game, but Kyoko is shown to be alive as a result of drinking Seiko's "Antagonist" antidote and Mikan saving her life afterwards, the Tragedy is no more, Class 77-B settled down peacefully in Jabberwock Island after inviting Mitarai to join them, and Makoto takes over Hope's Peak Academy, which is now re-opened for business.
- Brainwashing for the Greater Good: The conflict for Side:Hope. Mitarai is desperate enough to do this, the rest of the cast is trying to stop him.
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Broken Aesop: The conclusion to the series left us with a few:- Hajime's character arc is all about the danger of throwing away your individuality due to feeling inadequate, leading to a nightmarish chain of events where a perfectly decent (and academically talented) young man is erased from his own mind and turned into a talented but heartless superhuman. But the ending shows that those Izuru powers were critical to saving everyone, sabotaging the "you don't have to have a special talent to be a worthwhile person; you're good enough as you are!" moral . The return of classical Hajime's personality was a key factor in his decision to stop Mitarai (Izuru would be too apathetic to bother)... but everyone in the final episode is awed by "Kamukura's" talents than "Hajime's" decency, courage and people skills, and largely ignore the abuses that led to him having that talent. This is understandably justified for some reason, since both Hajime AND Izuru are the same person through Split-Personality Merge.
- Though they treat it as their atonement, the Remnants taking the fall for Tengan ironically also undermines the series' theme about taking responsibility for your actions and dealing with the consequences. Tengan may be dead, but no doubt there were others who are no better him in the FF.
- The dangers of elitism and hubris, another moral mainstay of the series, also get slightly dented — the corrupt committee and immoral scientists who used Hajime as a lab rat technically succeeded in "creating hope" (even if it did bring about the Tragedy first and require a Hajime/Izuru merge), and the reputation of Hope's Peak and the Future Foundation goes largely untarnished because the Remnants took the fall... so the people who did atone for their sins (who were really victims, not villains, in the first place) are shunned by the world for life, while the two institutions that started all the chaos in the first place retain their status. Given the fact that Junko is involved with the Tragedy and Class 77-B has too much emotional guilt from that event, it's understandable to some extent.
- The danger of cover up and shady dealings got thrown out of the window by having the Tragedy resolved by a cover up.
- Call-Back: The title of Side:Hope's single episode is "The Academy of Hope and the High School Students of Despair", the subtitle for the first game's Japanese release.
- Character Development: Class 77 seems to have gone through this. Hiyoko is nicer to Mikan, bordering on being a Tsundere for her, while Mikan herself is a more active girl, even saving Kyoko's life; Sonia pays more attention and is seemingly more friendly to Soda and Nagito is apparently more stable.
- Continuity Nod: As Class 77 is giving their speech to Mitarai, each student is doing one of their expressions from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (Komaeda is doing a little wave, Nekomaru is laughing with a hand over his shoulder, etc,)
- The finale itself has multiple call-backs to many different characters from Danganronpa 2, along with Komaru and Toko's relationship, as to express the continuity the series has maintained. The relationships between certain characters have also been redeemed in this finale, for example:
- Peko and Fuyuhiko.
- Kazuichi and Sonia.
- Hiyoko and Mikan.
- The finale itself has multiple call-backs to many different characters from Danganronpa 2, along with Komaru and Toko's relationship, as to express the continuity the series has maintained. The relationships between certain characters have also been redeemed in this finale, for example:
- Cue the Sun: The skies open, revealing a blue sky (instead of the normal red) and bright sunlight when Mitarai's brainwashing video is stopped.
- Disney Death: Kirigiri.
- Dueling Messiahs: Between Mitarai and Makoto. Mitarai believes Despair is too strong and plans on brainwashing everyone to save the world. Makoto believes that people can defeat Despair by working together and that the cost of Mitarai's plan outweighs any benefit.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The Remnants wake up, Mitarai is redeemed and reunited with his friends while throwing away his brainwashing video and Naegi and Kirigiri are reunited, with Naegi founding a new Hope's Peak Academy.
- 11th-Hour Ranger: Class 77-B arrived just in time to thwart Mitarai's broadcasting plot.
- Elite Mooks: In Side: Future, the brainwashed Future Foundation soldiers all looked the same. Here, a few of them were given unique designs when fighting the former Remnants of Despair. This includes a falcon tamer, a creepy girl with long fingernails, a big guy and even a Mini-Mecha. Also a guy who used Go pieces as a throwing weapon, and a guy who has a hairstyle similar to Guile/Rudolf von Stroheim
- Fully Absorbed Finale: Even more than the other sides, as it will also include them.
- Grand Finale: Of the Grand Finale itself.
- Happily Ever After: Heavily implied with Naegi and Kirigiri. Further reinforced when they hold their hands together in the official artbook.
- Here We Go Again!: Naegi's decision to re-establish Hope's Peak (or how this decision plays out in later stories), with the final shot of the rebuilt school and Naegi dozing on a desk. While it could be viewed as a lighthearted version with a fresh start and a chance to Set Right What Once Went Wrong by creating a Hope's Peak that truly lives up to the ideals that it preaches while fielding still more talented students prone to wacky hijinks, this decision might've resulted with another Tragedy if left unchecked.
- It's All Junk: Mitarai throws the cellphone with the sole copy of the Hope Video into the sea.
- Lighter and Softer: Coming on the heels of everything going to hell in both arcs, Side:Hope is hands down the single most uplifting storyline in the entirety of Danganronpa.
- Not Too Dead to Save the Day: Seiko Kimura, whose medicine was able to save Kyoko's life.
- Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending:
- Played straight on the surface level. Makoto and the survivors of Class 78's killing game (plus Komaru) all survive the Final Killing Game and restart Hope's Peak Academy. Meanwhile, the former Remnants of Despair, while all alive and cured from the effects of Junko's brainwashing Despair Video, are unlikely to be able to return to society ever again, due to their actions as Junko's lackeys and the fact that they helped to cover up the Final Killing Game, and since Mitarai is now associating himself with them, he's in the same boat (literally). But even then, as former leads of their own game, Class 77-B get their own happy ending in the fact that now they get to live together on an island paradise for as long as they want together as the close friends who bonded so well together thanks to Chisa and Chiaki. Munakata gets it way worse, going off to do who knows what all alone, with the knowledge that the woman he loved was a member of the movement he hated so much, and that his best friend's death is partially his fault. Meanwhile, we don't know what happened to Monaca in space (who's likely to starve to death if she doesn't come back for supplies every now and then), the other Warriors of Hope (who might end up sharing Remnants' fate of having to atone away from society), and surviving Hit List Targets. And everyone else is dead.
- Reverse Cerebus Syndrome: Making a parallel to the Prequel of Hope's Peak Saga. The episode begins with the main characters surounded and outnumbered by a mind-controlled army, while Mitarai is about to brainwash mankind. Soon, Class 77-B were brought back by Hajime/Izuru and come to save the day. Kyoko is revealed to be alive. Mitarai is convinced by his fomer classmates to stop his plan and rejoins them. The episode ends with Hope's Peak Academy being rebuild, with Makoto Naegi as the headmaster.
- Silent Scapegoat: The SDR2 cast pretend that they're still Junko's lackeys so that Tengan's actions don't torpedo the Future Foundation's chances of restoring order.
- Split-Personality Merge: Izuru and Hajime. Hajime became the dominant personality, retaining Izuru's talents. It's suggested that Izuru's personality isn't completely gone, though, as Hajime has one green eye and one red, and occasionally phrase drops Izuru's signature "boring". He also tends to be a lot more self-assured than the original Hajime and doesn't correct people when they address him as Izuru or Hajime.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: After having the spotlight stolen from them by the FF members in Side:Despair, Class 77-B (plus Hajime) end up shoving Side:Future's cast to the sidelines as the former Remnants clear up the Future Foundation's mess and talk down Ryota. Makoto, Asahina, Hagakure and Byakuya sit out the final showdown, and Munakata has to be bailed out by the Imposter.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: On one hand, Chiaki and the other Future Foundation members are still dead. But on the other, all the comatose Remnants of Despair are awake, Hajime retains his personality with Izuru's talent, Mitarai is talked out of going through with his whole "hope brainwashing plan" by his former classmates, Kyoko is alive thanks to Seiko's medicine and Mikan's intervention, Hope's Peak Academy is rebuilt with Makoto as headmaster, and it's heavily implied the world manages to completely recover from the Tragedy. And depending on how you interpret it, some version of Chiaki, possibly a ghost of the original or the AI, lives within Hajime's mind.
- Talking the Monster to Death: Hinata and the students of Class 77-B were able to convince Mitarai not to go through with his plan to brainwash the world.
- Took a Level in Kindness: The Remnants of Despair, as a unit. Mainly because they're no longer working for their boss, but even the originally cruel and unstable members of the group are much more sanguine, and they're more actively altruistic than they were even in their Hope's Peak days.
- Treachery Cover Up: Class 77-B sacrifice their one chance of returning to society by making themselves look like the villains and cover up Tengan's actions, knowing full well that if the truth got out, no one will ever trust the Future Foundation again.
- What You Are in the Dark: Addressed and demonstrated. When Ryota bewails the fact that no-one will forgive him, Hajime counters that public approval is not the point of seeking redemption — you do it so that you can live with yourself. The team go on to practice what they preach, annihilating their chances of being accepted back into society and hiding the fact that they were the ones who saved the world from Tengan and Mitarai. Rather than being hailed as heroes — or at least acknowledged as victims — the world will forever see them as the bogeymen of Junko's reign...but that's okay, since they know the truth for themselves.
- The Worf Effect: While the brainwashed Future Foundation agents have Elite Mooks on their side, they are all easily trounced by Class 77-B.
- Zero-Approval Gambit: Class 77-B take responsibility for Kazuo's killing game in order to protect the image of the Future Foundation. Needless to say, the world will still view them as the Remnants of Despair as a result.
