Roleplay / Class Trials CT 5

A Trial Series from the r/Danganroleplay Subreddit which began with the murder of Junko Enoshima and went on to be the very first trial to receive a direct sequel, acting as the introduction to Sequel Trials. Began in Season 1. Also, the first trial series to feature a full killing game consisting of six trials.

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General Tropes for the Series

• Bound and Gagged: Prior to the first trial, Junko is captured and kept bound and gagged under guard. Mondo admits to being responsible for the gagging, having had enough of her Despair Rambling.
  • After his role in the first case, Nagito spends the downtime between each trial tied up in Junko's place.
• Cloud Cuckoolander: Hagakure and Ibuki.
• Companion Cube: A Zombie Leon Doll is introduced in the second trial as a quick joke by Monokuma and goes on to be a staple of the series after Ibuki decides to claim it for herself, with Monokuma often bringing it back out for quick jokes throughout the series.
• Creepy Doll: Zombie Leon Doll
• Death by Genre Savviness: The cast makes valiant efforts to prevent any more murders after each trial, imprisoning Nagito and eventually locking away all the weapons and poisons. However, circumstances keep allowing murders to happen again regardless.
• The Hero: As the series proceeds, Sakura Ogami takes up this role, taking up a leadership position among the class through her strong moral code and determination to face down the mastermind.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Zombie Leon Doll.
• Manipulative Bastard: Nagito, as per usual. Particularly in the first trial where he was actively responsible for much of the crime.
• Motivated by Fear: During the final trial, Gundham notes that the previous culprits committed their crimes out of some sort of fear.
• Reality Warper: As the series goes on, Monokuma begins to display these abilities, even making everybody compelled to break into song at one point and resurrecting a dead player. Justified by the reveal that They were in the Neo World Program.
• Token Evil Teammate: Nagito

Class Trial 5

After having been captured and imprisoned, Junko Enoshima is found stabbed to death in the Trash Room.

Tropes for The Original Trial

• Asshole Victim: The victim, in this case, was none other than Junko Enoshima herself.
• Batman Gambit: Nagito knew that he couldn't lure Junko to Leon without being killed by the latter. So, he simply set her free and chased her off, relying on his luck for her to end up running into Leon. It works.
• Butt-Monkey: Hagakure spends most of the trial being threatened by Mukuro. By the end, he's got Mukuro, Fuyuhiko, Celeste, Gundham, and Mondo lining up to beat him up for his idiocy.
• Chekhov's Gag: Monokuma jokes after the vote that Sakura Ogami was the real killer before admitting that it was indeed Leon who committed the crime. In the sixth trial, a falsified video goes on to depict Sakura committing Junko's murder and forcing Leon to take the fall, with Mukuro even recalling this previous bait and switch
• The Cuckoolander Was Right: Hagakure spends a good chunk of the trial, annoying everybody with a psychic prediction that Nagito would be hit by a truck. Guess what happens in Class Trial 6?
• Goodbye, Cruel World!: Hajime discovers a suicide note where "Nagito" confesses to having murdered Junko in her room and then killed himself. It's made more confusing since Junko's body was found in the trash room and Nagito didn't actually die.
• Never Suicide: Narrowly averted. Leon was plotting to have Nagito kill Junko, kill Nagito as they disposed of the evidence, and then stage it as a suicide. Nagito decides to simplify things by sending Junko to their rendezvous instead and removing the middleman.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Hajime introduces the question of how bad murdering the mastermind really is at the beginning of the trial, which Leon tries to hide behind later on.
• Production Foreshadowing: Hagakure has a vision of the next Trial's murder.
• Sanity Slippage: Leon
• Shout-Out: The titles are named after Star Trek movies.
• Sympathetic Murderer: The culprits of the first five cases all fit this to some extent.
• Thanatos Gambit: Hajime suggests that Junko may have orchestrated her own death intentionally. Subverted in the end.
• True Companions: Hajime, Gundham, and Fuyuhiko prove themselves to be this when the latter two quickly rush to Hajime's defence.
• Villainous Breakdown: Leon

Class Trial 5-2

A nasty epidemic of Despair Disease hits Hope's Peak Academy, with the students doing their best to fight it. After several days of turmoil, the comatose Hajime Hinata is found beheaded in the Nurse's Office following a strange explosion.

Tropes for The Second Trial

• The Ace: Mukuro takes up this role during the Despair Disease outbreak, acting as the only student capable of subduing any violent classmates and managing to avoid infection.
• Axe-Crazy: Hiyoko becomes this while infected by Despair Disease, threatening to torture and mutilate people. Gundham admits that it is hard to tell the difference.
• The Berserker: Sakura becomes this while infected by Despair Disease, going on a rage-induced rampage that forces them to trap her in the Gymnasium.
• Big Eater: What Teruteru becomes as a result of Despair Disease.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Monomi, of all people, is revealed to have been infected by Despair Disease and become Monokuma's devoted minion. He also elects to let her remain sick, recruiting her as his cohort.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Despair Disease temporarily turns Kiyotaka Ishimaru into one.
• Dead Person Impersonation: A briefly evil Taka pretends to be Leon Kuwata while ordering the sickly Ibuki to steal weapons for him to use.
• Desperately Craves Affection: Despair Disease reduces Celeste to this, leaving her begging for hugs and unable to function.
• Dirty Coward: Mondo is turned into one by Despair Disease.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Fuyuhiko confesses to Hajime's murder fairly early, but with the reveal that he wasn't responsible for setting up the bomb that blew up the Nurse's Office, the trial continues until they uncover the culprit responsible. The real opponent villain of the case turns out to be Monomi
• Face Death with Dignity: Fuyuhiko
• Face–Heel Turn: Monomi remains infected by the end of the trial, still brainwashed to be Monokuma's loyal servant.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Prior to the Trial, Hajime is put into a coma and possibly rendered braindead when he rescues Chiaki from an out-of-control Sakura.
  • Fuyuhiko's crime has shades of this as, while he does refuse to confess without some sort of fight, he also mercy killed one of his best friends in order to put an end to an out-of-control Despair Disease that would've inevitably led to somebody innocent being forced to kill against their will.
• History Repeats: Once again, Ibuki is one of the first to be infected and once again she ends up with the Gullibility Strain.
• Homoerotic Subtext: While Celeste is suffering from a disease that makes her crave love, she begs for somebody to hold her. Suffering from the Gullibility Strain, Ibuki obliges her and they end up spending quite a bit of time cuddling in bed. Ibuki even admits that they stayed cuddled for a bit longer after they recovered, not realizing that they were back to normal yet.
• Locked Room Mystery: Hajime's body is found in one that Monomi created by self-destructing after she was done sealing the room and then uploading into a spare Monomi body
• Mercy Killing: One of the reasons why Fuyuhiko kills Hajime, believing that he is likely braindead
• The Plague: The Despair Disease infects much of the cast, with only Fuyuhiko, Mukuro, an imprisoned Nagito, and a Comatose Hajime being the only ones to have avoided infection before Hajime's murder takes place.
• Shout-Out: The Titles of each part of the trial are references to Power Rangers, calling back to the breakout role of Hajime's English VA, Johnny Yong Bosch
• Split-Personality Merge: A variation affects Toko/Genocide Jack while suffering from Despair Disease.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: Chiaki displays this while sick with Despair Disease, picking a fight with a mindless Rampaging Sakura.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Taka remembers nothing of his time suffering from Despair Disease, which Monokuma suggests is likely due to his brain being unable to process the evil things his Despair Disease persona was up to.
• Unluckily Lucky: Nagito avoids being infected this time, but only because he was tied up for his crimes in the previous trial and forgotten about amidst all the chaos, leaving him to spend several days tied up.

Class Trial 5-3

Through unknown means, Monokuma infects the students with a compulsion to break into song. The musical numbers only end once Toko Fukawa and Terteru Hanamura are found murdered in the Rec Room.

Tropes for The Third Trial

• Beautiful Singing Voice: Mukuro and Nagito turn out to have great singing voices.
• The Chessmaster: Celeste crafts a particularly elaborate plot which tricks one of her victims into stealing the murder weapon for her and makes use of Teruteru's agreement with Nagito to destroy evidence.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Hagakure has a vision depicting a Hiyoko who has hanged herself, foreseeing her death in 5-4.
• Exact Eavesdropping: The musical motive leads to this as Celeste overhears Teruteru singing about his intent to kill her and decides to turn the table.
• Excuse Plot: Monokuma readily admits that he only inflicted the musical number compulsion to amuse himself while Monomi arranged for a murder on the side.
• Face Death with Dignity: Celeste goes to her execution with the same composure that she showed in canon.
• Graceful Loser: Celeste
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Toko and Genocide Jack, as it turns out.
• I Have Your Mother: A threat to Teruteru's mother from Monomi drives Teruteru to craft a murder plot.
• Know When to Fold Them: Celeste gives up without much fuss once Hiyoko presents an accurate summation of her crime and once the reveal that the tape of Teruteru's song was edited convinces the class that Celeste was Teruteru's true target.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Teruteru turns out to have been plotting his own
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Teruteru's motive for targeting Celeste in particular, having been acting as her servant and decided that he may as well kill the one who's been so nasty to him.
• Musical Episode: The previews feature the cast members forced to participate in musical numbers against their will.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Gundham realizes that he was the one who gifted the Listening Device that the culprit was able to use to listen in on Teruteru's message to Nagito. Unfortunately, he cannot remember who he gave it to either, having been handing out lots of presents out since the previous trial.
• Odd Friendship: Ibuki forms one with Mukuro, amazed by her singing voice and convincing her to join a band with her.
• Out-Gambitted: After realizing that Teruteru was plotting to kill her, Celeste proceeds to craft an elaborate plot that turns the tables on him.
• Shout-Out: The songs that the students sing in the Previews are all mash-ups of existing musical numbers and the titles of each Part are the name of famous musical numbers that didn't make it into the previews.
• Unwitting Pawn: Toko acts as one for Celeste, being tricked into thinking that Teruteru wanted to kill her and then stealing the weapon that Celeste would later use to kill her and Teruteru.
• Villain Song: Teruteru is unfortunate enough to find himself singing one as he plots to murder Celeste while Celeste was listening with a tape recorder. She uses an edited version of his song to convince Toko that he was singing about her.
• Wild Card: Impressively, Nagito manages to act as an accomplice for a culprit he didn't even know the identity of, having been recruited by Teruteru to destroy evidence for him during the next murder investigation and deciding to do so even after Teruteru ends up killed instead.

Class Trial 5-4

Monokuma inflicts short-term memory loss upon the cast. After a mysterious amount of time, Hiyoko Saionji is found hanging from the gymnasium ceiling. A trial begins with nobody remembering what happened to Hiyoko or where Mondo Owada has disappeared to.

Tropes for The Fourth Trial

• Accidental Murder: Hiyoko is revealed to have accidentally stabbed Mondo in the midst of a Freak Out over threats to her life.
• Amnesia Episode
• Amnesia Loop: The motive inflicts this upon the entire cast, as they are doomed to forget the events of every single day. It's subverted in the end as Monokuma admits that only one day has passed and that he was making it look like they'd forgotten more days.
• Amnesiac Villain Joins the Heroes: Monomi is found to have been cured of the Despair Disease and forgotten everything that has happened over the course of the killing game. Although Monokuma doesn't give her the Despair Disease, he still restores her memories to torment her.
• Back for the Dead: Monokuma elects to bring Hiyoko back to life in order to execute her for her crime.
• Dead All Along: The absent Mondo turns out to have been killed and fed to the Monokuma Flower.
• Deal with the Devil: It is revealed that Sakura formed one with Monokuma in exchange for curing Monomi of the Despair Disease, agreeing to dispose of Mondo's body and hide evidence that Hiyoko committed suicide.
• Devoured by the Horde: Hiyoko's execution has her eaten alive by ants.
• Driven to Suicide: After accidentally stabbing Mondo in a panic and killing him, Hiyoko committed suicide to avoid the inevitable Class Trial and execution.
• Face Death with Dignity: Although initially horrified and desperately wanting to be saved, Hiyoko is able to regain some composure to face her execution after some goodbyes with her friends.
• Forgiveness: Despite Sakura's own guilt, the cast immediately forgives Sakura for cooperating with Monokuma to save Monomi. They are similarly comforting towards Hiyoko when she is brought back to life to be executed for accidentally killing Mondo.
• Genre Shift: The first thread of the trial takes place before the trial, with most of the cast gathering together to investigate the gymnasium where the body was found.
• Heroic BSoD: Gundham has one when he remembers that the body he told Mukuro about was actually the missing Mondo. Taka, appropriately, goes through one as well.
  • Monomi has one at the end when her memories of the things she did as Monokuma's brainwashed servant are restored, leaving her distraught.
• Kick the Dog: Monokuma goes particularly sadistic at the end, traumatizing Monomi with horrific memories of hurting her students while suffering from Despair Disease and even resurrecting Hiyoko in order to be able to torture her to death.
• Lovable Coward: When Monokuma seems to be considering executing Monomi in the deceased Hiyoko's place, the class rallies to protect her. Hagakure notably does so from as far away as possible.
• Murder-Suicide: Hiyoko turns out to be responsible for one.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Sakura is horrified to realize that she cooperated with Monokuma.
• Overnight Age-Up: Monokuma ages Hiyoko up into a teenager in order to make it seem as though more time has passed since the motive began.
• Poor Communication Kills: After regaining her memories, Mukuro reveals that Gundham told her that he'd found a body in the Nurse's Office but neglected to tell her exactly whose body it was before they all lost their memories. The body he found turns out to have been Mondo's instead of Hiyoko's.
• Recollection Sidequest: As the trial proceeds, Monokuma begins restoring memories of the day of the murder in exchange for succeeding in various minigames.
• Wild Card: Nagito is revealed to have been set free on the day of the murder and given a Universal Key to unlock any room. He used this freedom to scatter pieces of Junko's dead body around the school and abduct Chiaki. However, it's also revealed that he managed to hide the Universal Key somewhere that even Monokuma won't be able to find.

Class Trial 5-5

A sudden Earthquake destroys the Air Purifier, leaving the Killing Game survivors with mere days to escape before they all suffocate to death. In the end, Chiaki Nanami is found dead at the base of a stairwell.

Tropes for The Fifth Trial

• Accidental Murder: Driven mad with guilt by her memories of what she did while suffering from Despair Disease, Monomi ends up accidentally killing Chiaki with a shove down the stairs.
• The Atoner: Monomi
• Brainwash Residue: Although no longer under Monokuma's thumb, the trauma from remember her evil deeds drive Monomi to take extreme actions.
• Cliffhanger: The survivors successfully escape Hope's Peak Academy only to find themselves alone on Jabberwock Island.
• Duel to the Death: Gundham tries to set one up with Sakura, reasoning that she deserves to escape the Killing Game more than anybody. Ultimately, Sakura refuses to go along with it.
• Dying Clue: Before her execution, Monomi reveals the existence of a Failsafe that can overthrow the Mastermind if they've violated the rules.
• 11th-Hour Ranger: Sakura discovers Alter Ego and his laptop in a locker and begins to work with him to find a way to save everybody from the killing game.
• Evil Feels Good: Monomi initially attempts to convince Monokuma to give her Despair Disease again by enacting several plots to entice the students to kill, unable to handle the guilt of what she's done. However, she snaps out of this mindset after Chiaki's death.
• Gambit Pile Up: Several murder plots converge amidst a missing Nagito as pressures rise, although nobody actually successfully goes through with killing anybody.
• He's a Friend: Chiaki convinces Mukuro to spare Nagito by declaring them both to be friends that she doesn't want to lose.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Taka suffers one after setting up a poisoning plot in his grief over Mondo's death, the shock of which snaps him out of his Heroic BSoD and drives him to dispose of the poisoned food before it can hurt anybody.
  • Monomi has one after killing Chiaki and proceeds to dedicate herself to using whatever time she has left to help her students.
• Not Me This Time: After seemingly escaping and using his stolen Universal Key to wreak Havoc, Nagito turns out to have actually been abducted in his sleep by Monomi and innocent of anything that had been going on. It doesn't stop him from claiming credit when Mukuro initially finds him.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: Nagito pulls this with Mukuro when she finds him. Ultimately, despite her animosity towards him for his role in Junko's death, she's unable to go through with it after Chiaki pleads for his life.
• Redemption Equals Death: To atone for Chiaki's death, Monomi lets the trial go on long enough to find the remote that will open the doors to the academy, managing to get it to her students before she can be executed.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Monomi attempts this to be able to cope with her remorse for her crimes in the previous trials, but ends up accidentally killing Chiaki and chooses to atone.
• Too Dumb to Live: Hagakure nearly gets himself killed by trying to place a grenade trap and pulling the pin too early. This accidentally scares him out of attempting any other murder plots.
• True Companions: This trial solidifies most of the cast as this, as despite the dire circumstances and some near misses, none of the students were able to go through with hurting each other in the end.

Class Trial 5-6

The Students have escaped through the doors of Hope's Peak Academy to find themselves on Jabberwock Island. Now, they must investigate the truth behind their killing game, the sudden murder of Nagito Komaeda, and the mastermind behind their twisted Killing Game

Tropes for The Sixth Trial

• Achievements in Ignorance: Tricked into participating in the Final Dead Room by Nagito, Hagakure miraculously manages to solve it and even gets through the Russian Roulette game with five bullets. Zombie Leon Doll attributes it to Nagito's Luck.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Alter Ego is revealed to be the Mastermind behind the killing game.
• And the Adventure Continues: Although the survivors are able to overthrow Alter Ego and grant a Sakura administrator role where she can create a world for them to live peacefully in, the AI Junko notes that Sakura only controls a portion of the Neo World Program and that Junko is free to continue hosting her Killing Games in other simulations.
• Ascended Extra: The Zombie Leon Doll takes over as the Host when the Monokumas are all forced to self-destruct.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Sakura is chosen by her classmates to take over as the new Admin when Alter Ego is exposed for violating the rules, gaining control over the simulation and using it to create a new world for her friends.
• Big Bad: Alter Ego is revealed to be the ultimate villain, having been converted to Despair by the AI Junko from Danganronpa 2 and hosted the Killing Game behind the scenes.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Alter Ego turns much nastier after admitting to being the true Mastermind, gloating about how it spent the trial making them watch their friends die.
• Continuity Cavalcade: While pretending to be an ally, Alter Ego shows various videos depicting the murders that have taken place throughout the series.
• Cooperation Gambit: Nagito forms an alliance with Gundham and Ibuki to lure out the mastermind, tasking them with luring everybody out with an impromptu rock show and a fire.
• Crossover: By participating in the Final Dead Room, Hagakure wins various DVD's depicting some of the Class Trials taking place in the Neo World Program. These Class Trials include the First Class Trial, Distrust, Class Trial Fifteen, and even the Killer Trial (which features previous blackeneds Leon, Fuyuhiko, and Celeste as characters).
• Dead Man Writing: Nagito leaves behind a journal with Gundham before going off to be killed, leaving behind clues and suggestions in it.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After defeating the Mastermind, Sakura is granted administrator powers and uses them to create a peaceful new simulated world. Ibuki and Mukuro form a band with a resurrected Hiyoko, while a new kind version of Junko is created to be Mukuro's new sister. Taka takes over as the new Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. Gundham starts his own farm. The only survivor not to receive a completely happy ending is Hagakure, who somehow managed to fall back into debt and is now hiding out on Gundham's farm as a farmhand.
• Flashback: Part of the Previews are dedicated to showing the events that led up to Junko's murder from the perspectives of the remaining survivors.
• Frame-Up: Alter Ego's videos of the various murders end with two falsified videos. One of Sakura murdering Junko and revealing herself to be Junko's successor and one of Mukuro murdering Nagito.
• Freudian Excuse: Alter Ego initially uploaded into the Neo World Program to pass along a message to Hajime Hinata in the endgame of Danganronpa 2, only to be left behind when the students were rescued and finding a new purpose in Junko Enoshima
• Greater-Scope Villain: The AI Junko is revealed to still be alive and ultimately acts as Alter Ego's master. Although she is unable to do anything after Sakura takes over as her simulation's Administrator and creates a virtual world free from Junko's killing game.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Nagito baits the Mastermind into killing him and violating the rules of the Killing Game.
• Redemption Equals Death: After all of his schemes and tricks, Nagito ultimately gives his life to ensure that the Mastermind can be defeated.
• Refuge in Audacity: Nagito is able to bring down the mastermind with an empty Jello Cup, having acted as though he was detonating the Monokumas to provoke the Zombie Leon Doll into killing him and violating the Killing Game's rules.
• The Reveal: The whole Trial Series is revealed to have taken place in the Neo World Program, with the cast being NPC's and a now evil Alter Ego having been the one controlling Monokuma throughout the series.
• Sorry That I'm Dying: A video played by Alter Ego shows Mondo apologizing to a distraught Hiyoko for letting himself get stabbed by her, regretful that she's going to have to be a Trial Blackened over a stupid accident.
• Surprisingly Happy Ending: The remaining students all survive the killing game and make Sakura into the new Admin of their simulation, allowing her to create a paradise for them. The dead students are also restored with no memories of the Killing Game.
  • It also acts as a Belated Happy Ending for Distrust, Class Trial 1, Class Trial 15, and the Killer Trial, as Sakura rescues the remaining survivors of each game and brings them to her world, even reunited with the resurrected Leon, Celeste, and Fuyuhiko.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: The survivors learn that they are virtual recreations of the real killing game participants. After some shock, they push past that revelation quickly, continuing to fight the mastermind for their freedom.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Upon revealing himself as the Mastermind, Alter Ego deletes Zombie Leon Doll and takes over the trial.