Tropes from Various Side Trials on the r/DanganRoleplay subreddit. These Trials are posted in the order of their release.
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DR 3 Trial
The cast of Danganronpa 3: Future Side find themselves imprisoned within Hope's Peak Academy for a new killing game with new rules. It isn't long before the Ultimate Animator, Ryota Mitarai, is found dead in the garden.
Tropes for the DR 3 Trial
- Dead Man's Switch: An unwilling example. In lieu of the threat of a mass execution, each player was given a designated "Beloved" who would be executed along with whoever was voted up.
- Taking the Heat: Despite having played no role in the murder and knowing that Munakata would still die as his "Beloved", Juzo confesses to the murder that Munakata committed to try and at least protect Munakata's "Beloved", Chisa. He still tries to insist that it would be smarter to let the blackened escape though.
- Temporary Online Content: The trial made use of amateur sprites created by cutting and pasting still images from the Danganronpa 3 anime, all of which are no longer online.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Juzo points out from the start that, with this Killing Game's rules not requiring a mass execution for an incorrect vote, their best move is to probably let the killer escape as a potential ally on the outside and vote for whoever has the most expendable hostage tied to their life. Nobody listens to him.
Elementary Class Trial
The Cast of Danganronpa AE: Ultra Despair Girls find themselves imprisoned in Hope's Peak Academy. A trial ensues when one dastardly fiend dares to ruin Monaca's chocolate.
Tropes for the Elementary Class Trial
- Big Brother Bully: Not that she doesn't deserve it, but Haiji fulfills this role due to having laced Monaca's chocolate with laxatives.
- Lighter and Softer: With five of the participants being literal children, this trial features no actual murders, with the case being to solve the mystery of who destroyed Monaca's white day chocolate.
- No Ending: The trial ends without a proper conclusion due to inactive players and the culprit still undiscovered.
Newbie Class Trial
In a trial prepared for new additions to the community, Sakura and Taka end up murdered.
Tropes for the Newbie Class Trial
Killer Trial
Monomi summons together Blackeneds from throughout Dangan Roleplay history for rehabilitation in Hope's Peak Academy. However, it isn't long before Monokuma hijacks the game and puts the students through yet another Killing Game. With these murderers assembled, it isn't long before the Hajime of Class Trial 12 and the Ibuki of Class Trial 4 are found dead.
Tropes for the Killer Trial
- Back from the Dead: With the exceptions of Chiaki, Makoto, Hagakure, and Sonia, all of the participating killers were executed at the end of their trials and brought back to life.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Sonia was able to convert Kazuichi, Gundham, and one of Gundham's hamsters to Ultimate Despair.
- Continuity Cavalcade: The Culprits of many past trials are assembled in a killing game with many references to old projects.
- For the Evulz: The culprit proves to be Sonia from Class Trial 16, who committed the crime out of sheer sadism as an Ultimate Despair despite being one of the few players who would've gotten to live if there hadn't been a murder in time.
- Gambit Pile Up: There turn out to have been plots from Sayaka, Mahiru, and Hagakure to commit murders, with the first two having been stopped by Monokuma to prevent a third murder.
- History Repeats: Returning from Class Trial 6, Mukuro notes that this is the second time that she's had to deal with Sonia, Gundham, and Kazuichi having a weird murderous toxic love triangle.
- Sayaka and Hagakure also both try to kill the exact same victims with the exact same weapons.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Trial 9's Hagakure tries to kill Fuyuhiko under the belief that he's the ghost Fuyuhiko that he killed and only succeeds in being chased off without having Nagito around to aid him..
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Although she got away with murder in Class Trial 16, Sonia ends up being executed for this particular murder.
- Locked Room Mystery: Kazuichi and Gundham are both found unconscious with Hajime's body in one.
- Love Makes You Crazy / Love Makes You Dumb: Kazuichi and Gundham. Especially Kazuichi.
- Morality Kitchen Sink: All of the Participants are former Blackeneds, but some are good people who were only killers on a technicality, some are The Atoner, and others are self-serving snakes who quickly go back to their old tricks.
- Out of Focus: While Ibuki proves to have been trying to cooperate with Sonia, Hajime had no real involvement with her and basically just acted as a Designated Victim.
- Unwitting Pawn: Sonia uses Gundham and Kazuichi as these, convincing both to agree to a murder plot with her and then leaving them drugged with a dead body to act as the prime suspects.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Sayaka lures Chihiro into a classroom with the intent of killing him by pretending to have been attacked. After being forced to abandon her plan to murder Chihiro, Sayaka decides to keep the act up with everybody else and stays unconscious next to him.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Sonia had Ibuki act as a body discoverer for Hajime and then murdered her so that she could feign triggering a body discovery announcement.
- Your Days Are Numbered: The killers are threatened with a motive that'll restore them to their state before Monomi summoned them, which would mean that most of the class would go back to being dead.
All-Nagito Class Trial
Monokuma's attempt to summon together the participants of past Trials goes haywire when he unwittingly brings together Hajime Hinata and an entire class full of Nagito Komaedas. Handing over control of the Killing to the Nagito from Distrust, he retreats into hiding. Not long after the Nagitos are brought together, Hajime Hinata is found dead in the music room and all the Nagitos are forced to take place in a trial.
Tropes for the All-Nagito Class Trial Trial
- Asshole Victim: Hajime turns out to have been conspiring with a Nagito to murder one of the other Nagitos.
- Companion Cube: One of the Nagitos becomes very attached to Mr. Spooky, the talking skeleton prop from Class Trial 44, even playing and losing a game of basketball against him.
- Continuity Cavalcade: Nagitos from past trials are assembled in a killing game with plenty of references to past trials.
- Denser and Wackier: The trial is played entirely for laughs.
- Everyone Is a Suspect: It is a class trial full of alternate
Nagitos, after all. - Gambit Pile Up: In addition to Hajime's own plan, nearly half of the Nagitos in the cast were up to some sort of mischief.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Hajime turns out to be the traitorous villain Hajime from Distrust and is killed by the Nagito that he betrayed in the same room where he killed Sayaka.
- Killer GM: An in-universe example, as the Nagito hosting the trial turns out to be the killer.
- Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending: Played for laughs as the Nagitos all leave the Killing Game together to spread hope throughout the world, with the narration noting that people died and cities burned.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Monokuma fled from his own killing game after finding himself with 18 Nagitos.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: As the killer himself and noting that Hajime technically broke the rules by attacking him, Distrust Nagito elects against executing anybody and ends the killing game once he's had his fun.
Christmas Trial
T'was the night before Christmas and all throughout the school,some new ultimate students faced a trial most cruel.Santa Shikiba had been slain by a blackened most foul,and so the V3 students readied themselves for a Christmas Trial.
Tropes for the Christmas Trial
- Ascended Extra: Although he is dead for the actual trial, Santa Shikiba qualifies as one, going from an obscure Hope's Peak Academy student who was named in supplemental materials to a full-on Trial victim.
- Bad Santa: Monokuma's motive revolves around setting Santa Shikiba up as one, informing the students that anybody on his naughty list will be
- Christmas Episode
- Fake Memories: Monokuma brainwashed Santa Shikiba to believe himself to be the real Santa Claus
- Gambit Pile Up: Rantaro and Kaede both tried to drug Santa so that he'd be unable to write his naughty list, while Tenko tried to poison him. As a result, three different students slipped something into Santa's drink before Korekiyo even arrived to kill him
- Gift-Giving Gaffe: Shuichi's gift from Miu turns out to be exactly what one would expect Miu to give as a gift. Kaede declares Secret Santa cancelled forever as a result.
- Nested Story: the trial turns out to be a story that the Ibuki from Mono Escape is telling Byakuya.
- Required Party Member: Having taken place shortly after the students of Danganronpa V3 were allowed into Class Trials, the V3 cast were the only characters allowed.
- Serious Business: Korekiyo's reason for killing Santa seems to stem from finding his Santa Claus role to be an insult to the Anthropological history behind the Santa Claus legend.
- Still Believes in Santa: Monokuma uses a Flashback Light to convince the students that an Ultimate Botanist named Santa Shikiba is the real Santa Claus.
- Twisted Christmas
Zodiac Class Trial
The cast of The Zodiac Trial, a band of mysteriously connected strangers forced to take up the names of Zodiac animals, are imprisoned in a killing game when the game's unseen protagonist Mouse is found murdered.
Tropes for the Zodiac Class Trial
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: The Talkative Loon Rooster catches onto the culprit before anybody else
- Crossover: The Zodiac Trial cast makes up the bulk of the trial's cast, with a handful of Danganronpa characters thrown in as well. It was also hosted by the actual creator of The Zodiac Trial.
- Graceful Loser: Snake
- Karma Houdini: Mouse's original attacker, Bunny, is saved from being the blackened when his murder plan is hijacked and thus gets off scot-free for his crime.
- Killer Cop: Despite being a police officer, Bunny is revealed to have tried to murder Mouse.
- Kill Steal: Mouse's true killer is revealed to be Snake, who discovered that Mouse had been poisoned and tried to take advantage of the situation.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Tiger injects both Ox and Snake with a drug that erases 30 minutes of memory to cover up her Dark and Troubled Past.
- No Name Given: As per the game, the Zodiac Trial characters go by animal-themed names, with none of their real names being revealed.
- Opportunistic Bastard: Snake turns out to have taken advantage of Mouse's poisoning to kill her and stage his own murder.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Bunny unleashes some sexist slurs as he finds himself cornered for his crime.
- Smarter Than They Look: Rooster
The Divine Class Trial
The cast of The Divine Deception, inhabitants of a Wretched Hive city known as Panthea, find themselves imprisoned in the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles to face a killing game of their own. When the mysterious masked gangster Thane and troubled loner Devon are killed, the morally flexible men and women face off for a trial of their own.
Tropes for The Divine Class Trial
- Abusive Parents: Corrupt Corporate Executive Odin encourages his sons to commit murder to earn his favour and only begrudgingly decides to vote to save his own son's life from execution.
- Bait the Dog: Art manages to win a vote to be pardoned for his murder by Monokuma, only to get executed anyways when he loses the trial.
- Blackmail Backfire: When a vote ensues to determine whether Art will be allowed to live after committing murder or executed in exchange for a clue, many of the Panthean citizens offer up their vote in exchange for financial reward. In the end, without the clue that Art's death would've given them, they fail to find the correct killer.
- Blatant Lies: Smug Snake Yi's initial alibi attempts to cover up how he immediately tried to lure out his rival Lara to be murdered at the pool by claiming that he went there for a lovely swim with Masked Man Assassin, Thane.
- Cain and Abel: Devon's killer turns out to have been his own brother, Art.
- Corrupt Politician: The governor of Panthea, Aija, turns out to have been cooperating with Devon and her Chief of Police, Arrianne, to murder her election opponent, Bach.
- Crossover: The trial consists primarily of characters from Divine Deception with only a handful of Danganronpa characters filling out the roster. Like The Zodiac Trial, the case was written by the game's creator.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Rival gangsters, Yi and Lara, spend much of the trial sniping at each other.
- Skewed Priorities: Yi is shocked when Aija was plotting to murder Bach because he didn't stand a chance of winning the election anyway.
- Thanatos Gambit: Thane turns out to have allied with his own killer to have her murder him and get away with it to condemn the corrupt officials of Panthea to execution.
The Ace Attorney Trial
Lawyers, Prosecutors, Detectives, and Legal Assistants from the Ace Attorney series are gathered on Jabberwock Island when Apollo Justice is found murdered and Phoenix Wright is apprehended as his suspected killer.
Tropes for The Ace Attorney Trial
- Abusive Parents: Blaise remains as emotionally abusive towards his son as ever.
- Cut the Juice: Ray steals a gun by disabling the power to the storage room where the weapons were being kept under guard.
- Despair Event Horizon: Phoenix admits that Apollo spoke with him over his fears regarding the motive and had to be talked out of giving into the motive, leading to some speculation that he may have killed himself.
- Evil Duo: Kristoph tries to partner up with Blaise for a double murder, with the latter quickly betraying him.
- Frame-Up: Phoenix is yet again framed for murder, although only out of bad luck.
- Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: Phoenix and Edgeworth insist that they had an extremely professional conversation while they were alone by the Tropical Beach.
- No Honor Among Thieves: After partnering up with Kristoph for a double murder, Blaise immediately decides to try to use Kristoph's plan to kill him instead.
- Revenge by Proxy: Kirstoph decides to murder Trucy Wright to hurt Apollo and Phoenix over his arrest.
- His accomplice, Blaise Debeste, follows suit by trying to get Kay Faraday killed to hurt Edgeworth.
- Rube Goldberg Device: Ray makes use of one to trigger a gunshot after he'd left the scene of the crime.
- Saying Too Much: Blaise and Kristoph's plan is exposed due to Blaise letting slip a few Ace-Attorney Style contradictions.
- "Strangers on a Train"-Plot Murder: Kristoph tries to form such a plan with Blaise, sending Blaise to kill Trucy while he kills Kay. However, Blaise decides that Kristoph would be a better target.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After lots of abuse over his intellect, Sebastian is ultimately the one who gives The Summation against Ray.
- Token Evil Teammate: Blaise Debeste and Kristoph Gavin maintain their usual sociopathic natures, having been plotting murders behind the scenes.
- Transplant: Monokuma is the only Danganronpa character involved in this trial, with every participant being an Ace Attorney character.
- Villain Team-Up: Kristoph and Blaise
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: With the killer being offered a chance to alter the legal system as they pleased, Ray Shields decides to commit murder to prevent anybody else from being able to abuse that power.
The Eden's Garden Trial
The Students of Eden's Garden Academy (and Rantaro Amami) find themselves imprisoned in Hope's Peak Academy as the newest participants in Monokuma's killing game. After some hesitation to kill one another, Monokuma offers up a Treasure Hunt for the right to have him aid in a murder plot.
Tropes for The Eden's Garden Trial
- Downer Ending: The killer, Eve, completely gets away with her crime and sentences the students to execution.
- Gambit Roulette: Eve's plot to steal a fake murder weapon consists of recording herself pretending to play a videogame, secretly sneaking out of a VR Gaming Session, planting a frozen piece of stinky perfume in the hallway outside of a blacksmith's lab, and then sneaking in when Jett is mistakenly assumed to be the source of the smell and an ensuing argument lures Ingrid out of her lab.
- Red Herring: One piece of evidence, a movie which shares how to create fake blood out of perfume, turns out to be completely irrelevant with none of the blood having actually been faked.
- Snipe Hunt: The Scavenger Hunt that the students were sent on is revealed to have been completely fictional, with the totem that allows a killer to request his assistance having been found prior to the Hunt and used to stage it.
- This Bear Was Framed: A strange example, where the killer pretends that they used a request to have Monokuma kill Rantaro as their weapon, but actually used a pair of claws to kill Ratnaro themselves.
- Transplant: Except for the victim, Rantaro, Monokuma is yet again the only Danganronpa character in the cast, with the rest coming from the popular fan game Project: Eden's Garden.
