Ranking all of Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc's Cases/Trials

Hey everyone, time for another Danganronpa ranking!

After a bit of contemplation, I've decided that I'm going to rank Danganronpa cases within each game first, followed by a favorite and/or least favorite overall ranking. So, of course, we're starting with the cases of Trigger Happy Havoc.

If you have no idea what Danganronpa is, check out the video linked below, because this post will contain spoilers for the entire trilogy! (explicit spoilers for game #1, Trigger Happy Havoc, vague spoilers for the other 2)

Firstly, I mostly see people talk about ranking the trials, which are definitely part of this, but in this ranking, I'm ranking the cases as a whole. So basically I'm focusing more on the mystery, how interesting it was to investigate and solve, how complicated it was, etc. Things like the trial being long/dragged out and the mechanics of the trial aren't things I have too much interest in discussing, so they're not things that will really come into play on this ranking.

Without further ado, let's jump into the list!

6- Case #1- Sayaka's Murder

It only makes sense that this is last place-- its purpose is to be an introduction into the game, and therefore it's a pretty basic case. It's rare that I go into a class trial with a definite idea of who the culprit is, but with this one... well, the writing was literally on the wall.

Although it's in last place, I think it's actually a really good first case. It's easy to follow, easy to piece things together, and has an interesting twist in it to keep you from understanding everything. However, in the grand scheme of Danganronpa cases, it's pretty simple. The cases in Trigger Happy Havoc are the worst overall, and this is the least interesting of them all. Honestly, I think that the case might have been more interesting if Leon's name wasn't literally written on the wall behind Sayaka. We've solved cases based on much less definitive evidence, and I think there were plenty of other things that pointed toward him, such as the crystal ball. Literally anything other than his name being written on the wall would've been nice.

5- Case #2- Chihiro's Murder

This case might have placed higher on this list, if not for the fact that it always feels a little off to me. To jump right in the thick of it, I'm of course talking about the handling of Chihiro's gender. I'm still not quite sure what they were going for here. The game makes it clear that Chihiro is a boy who dressed as a girl. However, something about the way the game handles this piece of information always feels like they either A- don't have a great understanding of how to discuss gender as a complex topic or B- are hinting at it being more complex than just "he's a boy who dresses like a girl", without actually saying it. Basically, they handled the topic with the grace of a bull in a china shop. And Toko's "cross-dresser" comment is always a big yikes.

Setting that aside, however, I find this case to be one of the more clever cases within the first game, and one of the most interesting to piece together. We have the introduction of Genocide Jill and both Mondo and Byakuya messing with the crime scene to confuse the case. It adds several red herrings into the mix, and even though some of them are pretty obvious (AKA-- I never thought Toko did it, and thought it was clear the locker rooms had been swapped), others actually do complicate things further and confuse the player even more, and that's the complexity that I enjoy.

The actual murder itself has always felt a little half-baked to me. I mean, Mondo flies into a blind rage and kills Chihiro without even realizing it? It just seems kinda.... cheap. However, I do think Mondo is one of the more difficult killers to figure out, because the E-Handbook issue was my personal biggest hurdle in solving the case. How they were broken, how the killer could get into both locker rooms, etc. So IMO the E-Handbooks were the most clever aspect of the case. And as much as I enjoy the introduction of Genocide Jill, I definitely didn't enjoy the whole Byakuya/Jill red herring because I was already several steps ahead, trying to figure out what actually happened.

4- Case #3- Taka and Hifumi's Murders

I know that my placement of this case is pretty unpopular-- everyone tends to really dislike the third case in each game, especially this one. I tend to have a slightly more positive opinion of the third trials as a whole. Don't crucify me, though-- it's only slightly.

This case was one of the few I had almost completely solved before setting foot into the class trial. This one seemed very straightforward to me. Maybe I've read one too many mystery novels? But what I like about the third case in each game is that it adds some element of variety to the investigation, especially in Trigger Happy Havoc and V3. Rather than discovering a body and going into a straightforward investigation, there's always a little twist. In this one, it's the element of running all over the school, trying to figure out what's happening. Or, in reality, the murderers trying to obfuscate the events surrounding the deaths. There are so many odd twists and turns before you can even investigate, and then once you've started investigating, there are still more twists. That's always refreshing to me when it happens, and the main reason why I don't have a full-on distaste for the third chapters like many people do.

Even though I personally found it pretty easy to solve and I found the wild goose chase a bit frustrating, there's just something about the way that it all comes together that I actually quite like. I think my favorite aspect is the way they utilized the body discovery announcement to further conceal the deaths. I always think it's clever when a killer uses a rule of the game to confuse people further. Unfortunately, I think the biggest downside is that it is so easy to solve. Honestly, the trial could've been over with much more quickly. One of the first things they determine is that Hiro couldn't have committed the crime in the costume. This should immediately call into question the validity of the photo evidence & thus implicate both of the people involved in faking it-- Hifumi and Celeste. But that would be too easy. Then again, solving this case was... too easy.

3- Case #4- Sakura's Suicide

This is a case that I appreciate much more than I actually like it. Because something about this case has never really appealed to me. For some reason, I've never found it incredibly compelling or interesting, despite the fact that it's probably one of the more complex mysteries in the game. I think the real flaw is that I found it painfully obvious that Sakura committed suicide. It was a locked room mystery, people were talking about poison, it seemed like something she would do... it just all slid into place for me.

I didn't have the case solved, per se, and I think that the details surrounding the suicide do a decent job of obfuscating it, but I never found myself compelled enough by any evidence to sway my hunch that it was a suicide. I think that if I were to remove my hunch from the equation, this would actually be quite a complex case to piece together, especially given that Hina tampered with the crime scene.

However, I think that unless you're like Hiro, Toko, and Byakuya and haven't warmed to Sakura throughout the game, I think most players are likely to quickly either suspect that it's a suicide or at least consider it as an option. And honestly, even if you didn't know much about Sakura, if you've ever tried to figure out a locked room murder mystery, suicide is probably going to come to your mind as a consideration at some point. Personally, it's never a twist that I enjoy, because it's kinda gone from an unexpected twist to a twist that's been done enough that it's no longer unexpected, if that makes sense. And given that I already suspected it, the conclusion of this mystery is just never satisfying, especially given that Sakura is one of my favorite characters, and the last thing I wanted was to lose her by her own hand.

2- Case #5- Mukuro's Murder

This is one of the most polarizing cases in the series, and I've generally had a difficult time deciding whether or not I like it. In the end, as you can tell, I've ranked it pretty high. It won't rank as high in comparison to cases from other games (because the cases in this game are probably the weakest, IMO), but in terms of the cases within the first game, I think this is where it belongs.

I like the variety that this case adds to the mix. It's purposely cut short at every turn, because Monokuma knows he's cornered and is doing everything in his power to stop the students from getting enough information to suspect him. Everything about it is purposely rushed, and you don't really fully understand that until you near the end of the class trial.

I think the most frustrating aspect of the case for me is how the suspects are immediately narrowed down to Makoto and Kyoko, without any room for anyone else. I get why this was done, but it removes several layers of mystery that could have been there. It makes it a very simple back and forth, instead of what could have been a very complex game of finger-pointing at everyone. Given that none of them actually did it, it would have been really cool to see them all suspecting everyone, until it's ultimately narrowed down. But alas, what could have been.

And, of course, the most polarizing aspect of the case-- the ending. Pursue the lie, Kyoko dies, and you get a really weird, short ending. Let Kyoko's lie slide, and you get punished and get the full ending. I've seen people say that this was counter-intuitive and that's why they hated it, but tbh every time I've seen someone go through it, they trusted Kyoko enough to let the lie slide, thus leading to the correct ending. I'm honestly pretty neutral on it, although this would've fit much better into V3, where a lot of the point of the game hinges around whether or not to trust your friends.

1- Case #6- Mukuro's Murder... for real

Firstly, yes I realize I literally just ranked these in the order that they happened in the game, but I genuinely believe each trial got better throughout the game. I don't love that it's that straightforward of a ranking, but hey, I'm not gonna fake my ranking just to make it more interesting lol.

I don't really have a clear idea of the fandom's opinions on the trials, apart from one video I watched of someone ranking their 5 favorite and least favorite trials. In that video, he mentioned the fandom was pretty split on whether the final trials are great or awful. And as you can tell, I'm more in the former camp. I don't think they're perfect, but rather, I tend to love them despite their flaws.

I also talk about books on here and on YouTube, and one of my more unpopular opinions is that I don't mind info-dumping. If I find the subject interesting (for example... a mystery I've been trying to solve all game?), I really don't care if you throw ALL OF THE INFORMATION at me. So I kinda enjoy unraveling everything all at once during the final trial. That said, though, I do think that this is the weakest final trial, despite IMO also being the least info-dump-y final trial. I think a lot of the most important clues about the mystery surrounding the school were already there to be somewhat figured out before that final trial, so solving everything truly felt more like actually solving a puzzle than having a bunch of information dropped on you.

I also enjoy the complexity of the fact that the previous trial really backed Monokuma into a corner, so now they're doing the trial for real this time, with all of the information. Despite it being the same case, the trials feel completely separate because they finally have all the information now.

Overall, despite being my favorite case of the game, it's unlikely to get super high on any favorites list simply because the cases in other games are that good.



That's all for this post! My plan is that the next few posts are devoted to ranking cases/trials, and next up is of course SDR2's cases, followed by V3. I still haven't decided if I'm going to rank all of the cases together after that, or if I'm going to do a 5 favorite/least favorite. idk. We'll see. I'm very excited about SDR2's case ranking, though, because that game might have my favorite cases overall. We'll see.

Let me know which Trigger Happy Havoc case is your favorite down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Top 10 Least Favorite Danganronpa Characters [Main Trilogy]

Three posts in a row! I'm on a roll!

In the past 2 weeks, I've done 2 Danganronpa rankings, which will be linked here:
My 15 Favorite Danganronpa Characters (Main Trilogy)
My Favorite Danganronpa Character Designs (Main Trilogy)

If you have absolutely no clue what Danganronpa is, check out the video embedded below, or just click off the post because I will be discussing spoilers from all 3 Main Trilogy games!

So, now that I've done two rankings of some of my favorite things within Danganronpa, I think it's finally time to rank my least favorite things. Namely, my least favorite characters.

Since this is a ranking of my least favorite characters, remember: this is just my opinion. I think most, if not all, characters within the Danganronpa universe are really interesting, unique, and well-crafted. However, that doesn't mean I have to like all of them, and I definitely don't like all of them. For some, I have a detailed, complex reason for disliking them, but for many, they simply got on my nerves and pissed me off while I was playing the game, and that's as deep as it goes. If we disagree, cool. Differing opinions are fine. I respect yours, so please respect mine in return.

Lastly, for the other rankings, I've done 15, but for this list, I'm sticking with the standard 10 because I really don't have strong enough opinions on the characters that would place 11-15th to warrant discussion on this list.

Honorable (er... Dis-Honorable) Mentions

Tenko Chabashira- Her "degenerate males" schtick would be funny if it didn't feel a little like it was trying to make fun of feminists & if it wasn't so smotheringly overbearing. Certain characters feel like they have only a single personality trait because of how much the game beats you over the head with it, and she's one of them. However, she's grown on me a bit over time and does have a factor of likability that keeps her out of my personal top 10. 

Hiyoko Saionji- Again, her negative traits are obvious. She's a brat, and she's really mean for seemingly absolutely no reason. She dishes it, but she can't take it. Literally the only redeeming quality? At least she's entertaining. And she cares about Mahiru. 

Alright, now on to the actual list!

10- Monokubs (minus Monodam...probably)

I considered putting one of the students here, but I couldn't make this post without talking about the Monokubs. TBH, my biggest problem with them really isn't even their personalities. I actually (mostly) like Monodam, and the others each have a few funny moments here and there. My main issue with them is how much screen time they take away from Monokuma, who's one of my favorite characters. They've always been in varied tiers among my least favorite characters, but it wasn't until I watched a Let's Play that I realized that this is the biggest reason they're so frustrating.

Because... they're fine. But their fine-ness deprives us of the iconic, incomparable Monokuma. Throughout the game, we don't even really see him much outside of class trials. Meanwhile, we're being subjected to some weird incest plotline between Monotaro & Monophanie, and MonoKid screaming about his Rock Hard Rager. The entirety of their humor was already done better by Monokuma in previous games, so messing with perfection left a lot to be desired.

9- Yasuhiro Hagakure

Ultimate Con Artist 30% Success Rate Clairvoyant

I think that across the board, it's widely accepted that Hiro is, at the very least, one of the fandom's least favorite characters. If not the definitive least favorite. But I actually found myself debating whether or not to include him. Because at the end of the day, I still somewhat like him although he has practically no redeeming qualities.

The majority of my favorite characters tend to be the most logical, rational characters-- the ones who are helpful in class trials. AKA the absolute antithesis of Hiro, who forced us to argue about whether or not Kyoko was a ghost. UM. SIR. COULD YOU NOT. On top of this, his ultimate talent is basically absolute bs (70% of the time!) and he somehow manages to survive the killing game, taking a survivor spot that I really wish could have been Sakura's. I mean honestly... what. was. his. point. in the game? Why was he there? Did he do anything useful ever?

The one redeeming quality-- the reason he's lower on this list than he should be... is the so-bad-it's-good factor. He's idiotic and useless to the point that it's funny. Perhaps not in the moment, but in hindsight, it's a little endearing. But only a little lol.

8- Tsumugi Shirogane

Ultimate Plain Mastermind Cosplayer

Every time I re-experience Danganronpa V3, at some point, the same thought crosses my mind. "Y'know... Tsumugi's not so bad." And that thought stays in the back of my mind throughout most of the game. And then I re-experience the 6th class trial and am reminded why she's one of my least favorite characters. It's not necessarily the plot twist/reveal/etc itself, but rather the plot twist is just the last straw. Because at her best, even if she wasn't the villain, Tsumugi on her own is rather... wait for it... plain. Boring, unassuming, not extremely interesting. Also, she was one of the "devotees" to the Student Council, which is my least favorite thing from V3 (Given that she was the "mastermind," she was definitely faking, but still). More on that later. And then the 6th class trial comes and reminds me that there's really nothing at all to like about her. She's literally at her best when she was just plain Tsumugi. If you're at your best when you're boring... you're not a very interesting Danganronpa character. Add to that the fact that it's pretty certain many of her statements in that trial were lies, and I'm just done. Girlbye. No one wants you.

7- Sayaka Maizono

Ultimate Fake Best Girl Pop Sensation

Honestly, I was kinda glad she was the first victim. I was annoyed by her role in the game, I was annoyed by her personality, and I really just wanted her off my back.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was quickly sketched out by Sayaka, and I think that's the largest reason why she was so grating to me. I hated the way that she was so immediately... submissive?... to Makoto. Like, yes pls let me be your assistant, and also spend your first free time with me, and also let me follow you around everywhere. I mean, I get it-- a lot of that was fake just to get close to Makoto & pin a crime on him. But in order to create the plot that they wanted to for the game, they made Sayaka such an irritating, clingy, grating character. Never mind that I wanted to get to know Kyoko or "Junko." Nah, gotta hang out with Sayaka more!

The game makes it clear, both in Sayaka's reaction to her DVD and in the conclusion to the first class trial, that Sayaka had a darker side to her, willing to do really terrible things to get ahead. And I think if we'd gotten more of that first-hand rather than second-hand (her mentioning it, unraveling the case, etc), I would've enjoyed her character more. Instead, we just got sprites of her freaking out and not much more.

6- Nekomaru Nidai

Ultimate Scat Humor Team Manager

On my favorite characters list, I mentioned that I was initially not a fan of both him and Sakura because I really disliked their character designs, but unfortunately, he didn't end up growing too much in my estimation. I'd be remiss to ignore the fact that Gundham is one of my favorite characters while Nekomaru is one of my least favorites, even though they both essentially sacrificed themselves for the betterment of the group. I'm fully aware of that, and that's the main thing keeping him from being any higher on this list.

With Nekomaru, it's not that deep... I just don't really like him. Like with Tenko, his "I need to poop" schtick was alright the first couple of times, but eventually, it just felt like it overtook most of his personality. He felt pretty one-note throughout the game when he was just himself, and then he became Mechomaru and just....? IDK, I didn't dig it. I don't have some elaborate reasoning for him, I just really didn't enjoy him as a character, found him kinda annoying, and didn't really miss him much once he was gone.

5- "Byakuya Togami"

Ultimate Fake Byakuya Imposter

I feel like this shouldn't be a surprise, since Byakuya is one of my favorite characters, and the Ultimate Imposter essentially changed his personality entirely, reduced him to a walking, talking, fat joke, and did it all under the guise that this was definitely still Byakuya Togami. I hated every second of it. In this case, I can somewhat SOMEWHAT understand that they wanted to emphasize that Byakuya had gained weight, so this guy's personalization of him was mostly about food. But I really don't like when bigger characters are reduced to a joke about how much they eat, and I dislike it even more when you do that to a character with a pre-established personality that I already liked.

Even more than that, another thing that I really dislike in Danganronpa is when someone tries to overbearingly and overtly control or lead everyone. Not in the way that Kaito tried to inspire & lead everyone, or Kokichi made people do what he wanted through more subtle manipulation, but rather the overt-- "I'm the leader, everyone is going to listen to what I have to say." Yeah, that's annoying. Which we'll see even more in a bit. Real Byakuya just wants to tell you to stop being an idiot and be left alone to his books.

4- Mikan Tsumiki

Ultimate Fan Service Nurse

I know Mikan has a lot of fans, but clearly I'm not one of them. I'm not sure how exactly to word this, but in many ways, she plays into very old-fashioned, gender-norm stereotypes of what a female "should" be, and I think that's the biggest reason I don't like her. She's meek, subservient, and overly apologetic, to the point of being unable to even speak sometimes. On top of this, she's also the most blatantly "fan-service" character in SDR2 IMO, due to her clumsiness putting her into compromising situations (possibly on purpose & for attention) and the despair disease causing her to get overtly sexual with Hajime. While I understand that her character comes from a history of abuse, that still doesn't change the fact that she was written and created to be this hyper-stereotyped, fan-servicey character that plays into a bunch of tropes that I really dislike. Sure, I feel bad for her, and if she were a real human, I wouldn't have any of these criticisms. But I can't ignore the fact that she was written and created to be this way, which I really dislike. 

3- Hifumi Yamada

Ultimate 2D Fanboy Fanfic Creator

I feel like Hifumi is kinda a stock pick on lists like this, and here he is. I mean, the obvious thing is that he's creepy. The way he talks about women, his kinda incel-y complex, the constant sexual innuendos, just... no one wants that. It's creepy. Also, again, must we make every gross, creepy character also overweight? I see what you're doing here, and I don't like it. TBH I really just don't know what else to say about Hifumi. He's created to be the "pervert" of DR1's cast, and therefore, obviously, I dislike him. I know it's a super obvious choice, but there's a reason for that.

2- Angie Yonaga

Ultimate Cult Leader Brainwasher Con-Artist

Angie is the most frustrating character across the entire trilogy. There, I said it.

Angie drives me nuts. First, I will acknowledge the fact that I believe she had good intentions with the student council. However, that doesn't save it from being literally the most infuriating plot point of the entire trilogy. Idr where I saw it, but I saw someone complaining that Angie & Kokichi are viewed so differently despite "doing the same thing." Sorry, but lolno. While there are some similarities (both have very misguided ways of trying to reach their end goal), there's a clear massive difference for me.

The biggest thing for me is the god complex/brainwashing/cult aspect. People like this IRL annoy me. Cults, hive-minds, they equally fascinate and horrify me. Y'know who Angie reminds me of? HUNBOTS. Y'know, people from MLM companies who send you copy-pasted sales pitches full of emojis, trying to convince you that you're perfect for their business opportunity, even though MLMs are predatory pyramid scams that target vulnerable people. Oof I went off on a rant there, but I hope you see my point. Also, I saw someone point out that she doesn't have any sprites that aren't happy/positive/etc. Like none with true complex emotions. Another thing that I cannot stand? People who are constantly upbeat, positive, never show other emotions. It seems so fake and creepy to me.

On top of this, Atua is absolutely a figment of Angie's imagination. She uses "Atua" to convey messages that she wants to say, and make them seem more important. Just... everything about her screams SCAM! CULT! BRAINWASHED! FAKE! USED CAR SALESMAN! and those are the people IRL that I cannot stand, so clearly that's the type of person who's going to be my absolute least favorite in any game ever.

1- Teruteru Hanamura

Ultimate Sexual Predator Cook

Honestly, after going on that whole rant about Angie, I'm almost conflicted about putting Teruteru in first place. Because IMO he's (again), the most obvious worst character in the trilogy. He's disgusting. He's a perv. He's predatory. He sexually harasses the girls in the cast. He's so gross that even Nagito is offended by him. And that's essentially his only personality trait. So, yeah. Duh. Obviously he's the worst character. Because he absolutely disgusts me. But he's also so obviously terrible that it almost feels like a cop-out to put him at number one. But that's where he belongs, so I guess this is where he goes. TBH, I don't really have anything else to say about him. I mean... what else needs to be said? He's predatory and I don't like him. He wasn't funny, he wasn't entertaining, he added absolutely nothing good to the game at all. I'm just glad he was the first killer & therefore I didn't have to put up with a whole game of him.



So, there you go! My 10 least favorite characters in Danganronpa. Like I said, these are just my personal opinions, and I think many of them still serve important purposes within the game, on top of giving us people to root against, which makes the cast overall more interesting. These are just the ones I personally dislike, and it's fine if we disagree!

These 3 rankings that I've done so far are the ones that I really wanted to do, but I do have a few extras that I'd also like to do. Next up will probably be something to do with Class Trials. Not sure how I want to do it-- I think it'd be cool to talk about each individual game and then combine everything into either a full ranking or a 5 favorite/least favorite, but that might be a bit much. IDK, we'll see.

Let me know some of your least favorite Danganronpa characters down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Top 15 Favorite Danganronpa Character Designs [Main Trilogy]

Whoa, two posts back to back?? Who even am I??

Yes, I'm back once again to do another Danganronpa ranking. If you didn't see my ranking of my favorite Danganronpa characters, you can click HERE, and if you have absolutely no clue what Danganronpa even is, check out the video embedded below for a description, because this blog post is going to contain spoilers for all 3 main trilogy games. CONSIDER THIS YOUR WARNING.

As you can see from the title, I decided to rank my favorite character designs. In playing Danganronpa, I found that character design was a major factor in my first impressions of characters, as well as my perceptions of them throughout the games-- in some instances heavily skewing my opinion of the character in question. So, I thought it would be fun to rank my favorites. As always, this is super biased-- I'm not saying these are the best-designed characters, just my favorites. Furthermore, I'm including my favorite sprites of each character in their respective sections.

Before jumping into the ranking, I want to mention that there are actually a couple factors at play here, making the ranking a bit more complex than it might seem at first glance. The first is the most obvious-- the basic character design. Plain & simple-- what do they look like? However, the second is their sprites. At first, I kinda considered this to be a totally separate entity, but when making this ranking, I found that I really couldn't talk rank them without taking the sprites into consideration, because some characters' designs change drastically in certain sprites. I'll discuss that in more detail when I get to it, though!

Lastly, because I've rambled enough-- Monokuma's character design is easily within my top 10 because it's so brilliantly simple, but for this list, I'm just going with students. ON TO THE LIST!

15- Kaito Momota

The Luminary of the Stars! I feel like I can't begin a discussion about Kaito without saying that lol. You'll quickly realize that there are certain colors I gravitate toward, and fortunately for Kaito, purple is one of them. His design wasn't one I loved at first glance, but there are so many details that I've grown to love. It took me a little while before I noticed the galaxy print on the inside of his jacket. It's such a nice, subtle detail. One of his best features is all of his really unique sprites. Some characters have sprites where they look like an entirely different person altogether, and Kaito is one of them. His scared sprites are hilarious, even more so than the *determined* sprite I've included above.

14- Himiko Yumeno 

Himiko is a really interesting character for me. Upon my own playthrough of the game, apart from being more than a bit annoying with her MaGiC schtick, she didn't really stand out to me-- she was V3's "literally how did this rando survive" survivor for me. However, in watching let's plays of the game, I've warmed to her and it's led to me also really enjoying her character design as well. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't love it at first glance-- the color palette is one of my faves, and I love that she looks like she's ready for Hogwarts. One of my favorite things about her design is how absolutely deadpan her "basic" sprites are. Which fits her personality perfectly.

13- Junko Enoshima 

Yes, I know one sprite is of Mukuro, not Junko, but she's here because I love her overall design, not just Junko-proper. TBH, I actually prefer Mukuro's version. The freckles were cute, and I won't hear anything to the contrary! Junko's character design is one of many reasons why I immediately liked her when I started DR1. Sure, she's the fashionista, but her sprites always portrayed her as laid-back & lighthearted, which I was immediately drawn to. Plus, throw in actual Junko's sprites and you've suddenly got tons of designs to appreciate.

12- Maki Harukawa

Maki probably has the most basic design on the list, but her design is one of many reasons she was one of my early favorite characters while playing V3. First-- the color palette. Spot on. I love dark reds and blacks. Also, red eyes are a guaranteed way for me to love a character's design. They're such a good, subtle way to show that a character has a more sinister side. And I especially like them for Maki, because I immediately didn't believe her talent. She seemed too sinister to be the ultimate child caregiver. However, I've also seen people play the game and not really second-guess it until later. Her design is just subtly dark enough that it fits who she really is, but just neutral enough that her fake persona isn't obvious to everyone at first glance. Plus, she has some really great sprites-- the crying one I included breaks my heart every time, and the one with her grabbing her pigtail is just cute enough to make you believe she might be the child caregiver.

11- Korekiyo Shinguji

When I started V3 and first saw Kiyo's design, my first thought was "ah, here's our Gundham," because he's V3's dark, eccentric character. And that type of character design always immediately intrigues me. Hello, my name is Kristen and my favorite color is black lol. Although my love of his character design didn't lead to me loving him as a character, his character did make his design even better. For the first 3 chapters, I had a theory that Kiyo was covering his face because he was either actually a woman or perhaps even a trans man. While that didn't end up really coming to fruition, the fact that he kinda combined (??) with Sister really fit his design and made the design come full circle for me.

10- Kirumi Tojo

I didn't realize I'd included so many V3 characters until I started writing each of these descriptions, but here we are I guess lol. Kirumi is one of the most frustrating characters in the trilogy for me because I loved her character design, and I even liked her quiet, stoic personality... but it was all squandered on a super bland & forgettable character arc. But regardless, it was the design that got my hopes up so high, because it's legitimately a really fantastic character design. The muted colors, the old-fashioned designs, even the cobweb on her dress-- they all create a really specific old-fashioned, even motherly mood, to the point that I forget she's supposed to be a high schooler. She always looks like an adult to me because of the old-fashioned design. Honestly, for the longest time, I found myself including her way too high on my favorite characters rankings solely due to my love of her design. Overall, it's just a really fantastic design and I'm still salty that she ended up being one of the most forgettable, bland characters because her design promises so much more.

9- Ibuki Mioda 

I'm not sure of the official development dates for SDR2 (it was released in summer 2012-- right after I graduated high school), but Ibuki is truly a product of its time because she's everything that teenage Kristen wanted to be. When I saw her hair and the fact that she was the ultimate musician, it took me right back to high school Kristen. And her personality is fitting as well, because she embodies the random=funny sense of humor from ~2010-ish as well. And although I've thankfully moved past that sense of humor (largely why she's not one of my favorite characters), I'm still a sucker for any sort of rocker/alternative sense of style, which is why I love Ibuki's character design so much. She also has lots of fun sprites-- I love the pointing sprite paired with the "pointing!" VA-- and is another character who has sprites that make her look like an entirely different human. Although she didn't end up being one of my favorite characters in the game, I was immediately interested in getting to know more about her simply because of how much I love her character design.

8- Shuichi Saihara 

Shuichi has one of the most basic character designs on this list, but as someone who usually wears all black... well, I can't really help myself. I love it. The use of the hat was really clever because it put his insecurities fully on display throughout the first chapter while also hiding his obligatory protagonist ahoge. It was such a simple detail that also provided character development when we moved on to the next chapter. Idk, I just love how... clean?... his design is, I guess? The pinstripe, the monochromatic color scheme, it's just really nice and clean and fits an aesthetic that I personally really love. Plus I love that his hair is actually more of a blue color even though it fits in nicely with his all-black aesthetic. Overall, he has a fairly simple design, but I like how clean and monotone it is.

7- Celestia Ludenberg

I feel like Celeste is kinda an obligatory inclusion on a list like this because she's such a striking character. More than any other character for me, Celeste is the one I constantly rank way too high on "favorite character" lists solely because I love her design so much. Because as a character, I don't have strong opinions on her, but that character design tho. I'm not sure if it's technically Lolita fashion, but that's definitely what her style makes me think of. She also definitely reminds me of another character from something but for the life of me I've never been able to figure it out. Either way, her pigtails are so dramatic and she's got my "obligatory" red eyes lol. She just has a really striking design, and also kinda looks like a different person when she drops her French accent. And I love her angry sprite with the finger.

6- Peko Pekoyama 

Another girl with red eyes on my list-- shocking! Peko was much like Kirumi for me, except that I liked Peko's design quite a bit more. Immediately upon seeing her design, I wanted to get to know her. The red eyes, the grey hair, the red and black uniform, she seemed like she was going to be such a cool character. But as much as I love the way that she played into Fuyuhiko's plot in the game, in the end, she didn't feel like an extremely fleshed out character on her own, separate from Fuyuhiko's story. And that was a huge disappointment given how much I loved both her design and the minimal personality development we did get in the game. Regardless, though, her design is still really cool, which is why she's this high up the list.

5- Kokichi Oma 

Kokichi is the main reason I included that discussion about character appearance versus their sprites, because Kokichi's sprites are the biggest reason for him getting this high on the list. He would've been on the list regardless, but he was quite a bit lower down until I thought more about the sprites. Of all of the characters, Kokichi has some of the most interesting and varied sprites. He has several of his "evil face" sprites that make him look like an entirely different human, and those are a highlight of his character design IMO. And then for his normal sprites, I love how playful most of them are-- he's designed to look incredibly childlike in order to play into his personality. I think because of how complex and quirky his personality is, the artists creating his sprites got to create a lot of interesting, unique sprites and that's the main reason he's so high.

4- Kazuichi Soda 

When I first saw Kazuichi, his design felt kinda familiar. There's probably a better comparison that I can't think of, but for some reason his design always makes me think of Gorillaz. His design is really bright and bold, and I assume that for some people it was a little offputting or maybe even creepy due to his pointy teeth. But as someone who loves edgy designs, I immediately loved his design and wanted to get to know him. He almost looks like he belongs inside of some sort of post-apocalyptic media. Or at least, My Chemical Romance's version of post-apocalyptic lol. I love his design in general, but his scared sprites are especially funny to me, as is the one where his eyes light up.

3- Kyoko Kirigiri 

Of all of the times I've said how I loved a character design at first glance and wanted to know more about the character, Kyoko was the first. And her ultimate talent being unknown amplified that curiosity more. But even without that, She was one of the first characters I was drawn to. The first game probably collectively has my least favorite character designs, and that made her stand out even more among the crowd. Her silvery-purple hair, her overall purple hue, and how serious she appeared were all things I immediately loved. I really like that despite her color pallette being unique colors like silvers and purples, it's all very muted to reflect how serious she is. I also appreciate that although she had a "mystery" talent, her character design didn't make her talent immediately obvious, but still fits perfectly when we discover her talent.

2- Gundham Tanaka

As a rule of thumb, if a character looks like they might be evil, I probably love their design. So, again, upon first sight of Gundham, his design was my favorite of SDR2. I didn't know anything about the characters when I started the game, and when he said he was the ultimate breeder... I was surprised, to say the least. It seemed so random when paired with his design. But now that we've seen his full arc, it makes a lot more sense. I love the sprites with his little hammies but even more, I just really think his design on its own is cool. The "scar" across his eye, the undercut, the swirl, the bandaged arm, the totally natural red eye, the hell hound earring, there are just so many cool individual details that come together to create a really unique and quirky design. 

1- Rantaro Amami 

Listen... yes, I know I've gone with Mr. Pretty Avocado Boi in first place. But I'd be lying if I said Rantaro wasn't the person I was most curious about going into their respective game. I don't remember how or why I'd seen his sprites, but I saw them before playing the game and really wanted to figure out who he was. At first, I actually thought he was a girl and was even more intrigued-- we love an androgynous queen. Regardless though, I was drawn in by the piercings and the messy hair.... mostly the piercings lol. And for me, his design really did what it was intended to, because I really wanted to know more about him and was immediately frustrated when I discovered that he was the mystery student, meaning I would have to wait until much later in the game to actually learn about him. His design is just basic enough that he doesn't have an obvious talent, but also interesting enough that (at least for me) he makes you want to know more about him. He's also another character where his character design tends to affect his placement on my favorite characters lists, because yeah, the mystery surrounding him is really interesting, but probably not enough to get him into my top 20 favorite characters on its own, and yet... there he is.




So, those are my favorite character designs in the main Danganronpa trilogy of games! I mentioned in the last post that I had a few more Danganronpa rankings I wanted to do, and this wasn't necessarily the next one I intended to do, but the more I thought about it this week, the more I wanted to do it. I think the next one I'll want to do is probably my least favorite characters... which is sure to get some people heated. But oh well lol. Stay tuned for that, probably sometime in a week or two.

Let me know some of your favorite Danganronpa character designs down in the comments!
Thanks for reading!