Due to its nature as a Danganronpa Fan Game and a sequel to Danganronpa Another ~ Another Despair Academy ~, this page contains marked and unmarked spoilers for major plot points of both. You Have Been Warned!
Super Danganronpa Another 2 ~ The Moon of Hope and Sun of Despair ~, more known as simply Super Danganronpa Another 2 or SDRA2, is a fan game created by the Korean game developer LINUJ (린유즈). It is a sequel to his previous game Danganronpa Another ~ Another Despair Academy ~. The game is now complete as of January 10, 2020 and has six playable chapters along with a prologue and epilogue.
Waking up in a strange island, a white-haired girl who can only remember the name Sora meets Yuki Maeda, a red-haired boy, and realizes they are both Hope’s Peak Academy graduates, though Sora cannot remember her talent. After meeting up with the 13 other students there with them, they are called forth by Monocrow, who informs them they are on a killing school field trip through the five isles of Utsuroshima using the Monocruise ship, and the only way out is to kill a student and get away with it.
Immediately after, a rescue attempt gone wrong unmasks Mikado Sannoji, the mysterious, masked Ultimate Magician, as the mastermind of the game. He reveals that he is the leader of the terrorist group Void, and has trapped the students in his killing game for some unknown plan of his. Furthermore, as the students soon discover, he is not alone — four of the students are his agents, and have orders to carry out each murder.
Now it's up to Sora, Yuki, and their friends to solve each crime, uncover the identity of the other Voids, and solve the many mysteries of the islands. In the process, Sora hopes she can discover her true identity. Just who is Sora? Who are the Voids? What is the true purpose of the killing game and what is Mikado planning? And what does this all have to do with the previous killing game that Yuki participated in?
There are two YouTube channels who are progressing the series along with LINUJ with English translations. The first is Johnny Youngster
who subbed the original version. The second is OfficialSDRA2 EngDub who is currently working on an English dub for the game with LINUJ's permission. As of November 18, 2025, the prologue and chapters 1, 2, and 3 have been fully translated with English dubbing while the full subbed version can be downloaded here.
Tropes in Super Danganronpa Another 2 include:
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A–M
- Absence of Evidence: The missing torso in Case Three clues Sora in to the fact that its absence means it likely had something the culprit wanted to hide. She decides that Kanade wanted to hide the two knife wounds that would reveal the case to be a double-culprit case.
- Actually Pretty Impressive: Downplayed in the third trial, when Kanade Otonokoji is pinned as the culprit of Setsuka Chiebukuro's murder. While Syoubai had helped expose the crime, he tries to cheer the killer up by complimenting how genius the murder plan almost was, and that the murderer was one of the smartest criminals he ever met. But the culprit dismisses his compliments, for it's not gonna change the fact that only an execution is in store for them.
- Ambiguous Ending: While the Epilogue ties up most of the loose ends, it does leave one mystery up in the air: the fates of Sora/Akane, Yuki, and Utsuro, and by extension the identity of the consciousness within Sora’s body. Supposedly Yuki Maeda should be the one who was transferred in, but the other characters bring doubts since they act in a way unlike Yuki, running from the Kisaragi Foundation, and still posses the Divine Luck that should have died with Sora. This opens up the possibility that Sora and even Utsuro are Sharing a Body with Yuki. LINUJ has acknowledged this as such, but refuses to provide a definite answer and prefers to let the audience decide.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: During chapter four, control shifts to Hashimoto just before the body discovery of that chapter. Control shifts back to Sora at the start of the second half of the trial.
- Animation Bump: The art style of the sprites along with the animation for the executions and trial cases are a lot smoother compared to the original.
- Artificial Afterlife: The Void Theater is a virtual limbo/purgatory-like area where the dead Void members reside. They're stuck in the forms of their post-executed selves as punishment and can do nothing but talk to each other for the player's entertainment.
- Back for the Finale: For Chapter 6, we get the return of the Kisaragi Foundation agents Rei Mekaru, Tsurugi Kinjo, Ryutaro Maki, Midori Yamaguchi, Keisuke Iranami, and Minako Tomori.
- Birds of a Feather:
- Hajime and Shinji become fast friends because of their dedication to health and fitness.
- Iroha seems to be this with Teruya when the two discuss their appreciation for rainbows.
- In his free time events, Teruya and Sora bond over the fact that they both have amnesia.
- Bittersweet Ending: On the upside, Alter Ego Mikado is dead and his plan to obtain Divine Luck has been stopped, and at least four survivors make it out of the virtual world, with the seemingly personality implanted Yuki in Sora's body now the presumed new holder of Divine Luck. On the downside, Sora has to sacrifice everything to make it possible with herself and Utsuro potentially remaining in the shut-down virtual world, and while it is suggested Rei can still save them and/or they somehow joined Yuki in Sora’s body, it’s purposefully left ambiguous; the victims of the virtual world killing game still died, including Teruya, who Tsurugi was more or less okay with sacrificing for the sake of the mission, which has resulted in a huge schism in the Kisaragi Foundation. In addition, Shobai and Iroha are now on the run as wanted criminals.
- Black Comedy: The Void Theater Segments, where the currently dead members of Void chat in the forms they ended up dying in. So far, we have:
- Chapter 2: Hajime lamenting his betrayal of the other students, only for the viewer to insult him in his new doll form. The scene ends with a pissed off Hajime cursing Mikado.
- Chapter 3: Emma, who is now a pile of flesh that Hajime describes as coming from a B movie, attempting to "catch up" with Hajime. The scene ends with her chasing Hajime while flirting/threatening to rip open his doll fabric and "reveal his true self."
- Chapter 4: Emma passing the time by endlessly telling puns, much to Hajime's frustration.
Suddenly, the two get a call from Iroha asking for their advice since Mikado is demanding that she kill someone next. Despite receiving some enriching words from Hajime, the scene ends with Iroha blaming Emma for putting her in this situation and rudely hanging up. - Chapter 5: Hajime and Emma try to pacify an angry Nikei, who is literally nothing but a left hand due to his right one being blown off. Although Nikei reveals that he viewed the members of Void as nothing more than his subordinates to order around, the two others are still completely willing to make amends with him. The scene, however, ends with Emma threatening to tell more puns and Hajime desperately begging for help from Nikei, who is still grossed out by the others' forms.
- Subverted in Chapter 6: The three Voids are huddled together in the dark and are aware that the virtual world is about to be destroyed and that their lives will be over. Hajime asks his friends if there's anything they'd like to say before dying. Nikei blows him off with some strong words before apologizing for his behavior. Then Hajime requests Emma to give them one last pun before dying to which she complies.
- Bloodier and Gorier: Both the murders and the executions in this fan game are quite brutal, with some of them being even more brutal than the deaths seen in the canon Danganronpa installments.
- Bootstrapped Leitmotif:
- "A Fearful Encounter", an ominous track from Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth used in the Class Trials, is much better known as the theme of Kanade Otonokoji, as it starts up during the post-trial while she explains her horrifying backstory and motive for murdering Setsuka.
- "Forbidden Playground" from Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is better known as the theme of Void, with it being commonly used during member reveals.
- "A Fearful Encounter"
- Breaking Old Trends: While the first game more-or-less stuck to the series formula with some deviations, this game is notorious for breaking familiar tropes from the canon games and creating impressive milestones.
- "There's no Danganronpa without Monokuma!" Except not this time, as Monocrow takes on the role that Monokuma typically plays.
- Just like the first game, the cast does not include an Ambiguously Brown girl (it is instead a boy).
- Instead of one traitor in the group, there is now a total of four traitors who are aligned with Void, plus two more (Shobai and Kokoro), who are not official members but work with them.
- The mastermind's identity, Mikado Sannoji, is revealed right at the end of the prologue (and he is Obviously Evil even before then).
- The seemingly important character who is the first to die, Rei Mekaru, does not die in Chapter 1 as the victim, but is instead killed in the prologue by Mikado, and it later turns out she is Not Quite Dead.
- This even extends to several Free Time Events.
- Yuri will gladly accept any present Sora gives to him, no matter how awkward they may be.
- For Shobai's FTEs, Sora needs to pay him 1,000 Monocoins for each session. Also, his pixel sprite is shown with an annoyed expression after completing each event.
- The Otonokoji twins share the same Free Time Events, making it a first where the protagonist interacts with two people during an FTE session.
- After completing an FTE with Mikado, Sora's pixel sprite is seen with an annoyed expression. Furthermore, his FTE is not about becoming friends but prying information since he's the mastermind. It's also unique that it only has one event to finish FTE, he doesn't give Sora any skill, and he also accepts any present Sora grants him.
- The first murder features the victim being killed right in front of the protagonist. The first murder also goes completely as planned, when past first murder plots always had something go wrong and the intended target not being the actual victim.
- In Chapter 3, the trend of one culprit killing two victims is inverted with two killers who went after a single victim. Monocrow even lampshades how this is the first time in DR history where two people have become the blackened at the same time.
- The short, Token Mini-Moe characters Hibiki and Kanade murder a taller character (Setsuka), rather than being killed by one (e.g. Chihiro and Hiyoko).
- The truth behind the Ontological Mystery of where the characters are, inside the Neo World Program, is revealed in Chapter 4 during the Daily Life, rather than in Chapter 6 during the final trial.
- The fourth case is the confusing Mind Screw trial instead of the fifth, and Nikei gets executed not for murder (since this chapter's victim committed suicide), but for breaking school rules.
- The fifth trial has a living character (Shobai) being absent in a class trial due to having disconnected from the simulation beforehand.
- The fifth trial is a trap like usual, but it is ultimately a fair one as the heroes could have realized the truth by looking hard enough; unfortunately for them, Mikado becomes the first culprit to actually graduate by getting the remaining students to choose the wrong culprit, and the students are promptly subjected to the mass execution that hung over the head of every game as a punishment for failure but was never put into practice, only barely surviving thanks to outside interference. However, Chapter 6 reveals that Mikado programmed Sora to reach the wrong conclusion, meaning the trial wasn't fair after all.
- The mascot of the killing game ends up destroyed by the mastermind himself right before the final trial begins.
- Bust-Contrast Duo: The Otonokoji twins. Hibiki is less endowed than Kanade. Hibiki acts as the dominant half, bullying her sister regularly. Kanade is a submissive Nice Girl who loves her sister dearly. In reality, while they still fit the trope, their personalities are completely different. Considering Kanade is a psychopathic Serial Killer, Hibiki is a saint by comparison, and turns out to be Kanade's abused victim.
- Call-Back: There are a lot of similarities between this series and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, its predecessor Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and a bit of its successor Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
- Yuki meeting an unconscious Sora on a sunny beach, who has no memory of their talent or how they got there, is similar to how Nagito first met Hajime.
- The story also takes place in a deserted island similar to Jabberwock Island.
- Hibiki and Kanade's dynamic functions a lot like Hiyoko and Mikan respectively. Hibiki is presented as bratty, agitated and mean-spirited especially towards Kanade who is more submissive and apologizes for everything. This even extends to Chapter 3, where the bratty girl becomes a 'victim' to the submissive girl's dark side.
- One of the students is a green-haired survivor from a previous killing game, just like in Killing Harmony. And just like in Killing Harmony, he does not survive this killing game as he is murdered by the mastermind, who successfully frames someone else for it.
- A dinner party is held in the first chapter as a way to liven the spirits of the students, only for it to lead to a murder.
- Later on, a concert showcasing the students with performance-themed talents is held to boost the group's morale.
- The Chapter 2 murder involves a Dying Clue that points to the killer, just like in the first game, though here the message actually points to the right person. And just like prior Chapter 2 killings, it happens when the culprit flies off the handle due to her past.
- One of the main locations that are visited is an amusement park.
- For the third murder case, the main killer had an accomplice who helped them carry out a murder, similar to Celestia and Hifumi.
- The third murder case also possesses quite a few similarities to the fourth murder case of Killing Harmony due to both cases having the culprit not remembering they have committed the murder, into which they were manipulated by one of the most depraved cast members who revels in their despair and anguish all the way through the trial. Both cases also include the culprit's left-handedness as a major clue.
- Just like in the first game, one of the killers in the third chapter uses a shocker to knock the victim out before killing her.
- And in the fourth case, the Big Hearted Muscle character ends up being attacked by multiple people leading to them committing suicide to save their friends from execution, similar to Sakura from Trigger Happy Havoc.
- While the circumstances are different, the fourth chapters of both this game and its predecessor DRA both had someone lose a hand due to trying to fire a jammed gun.
- Both the fourth chapter of this game and the first chapter of V3 have the female protagonist attempt murder on someone to save others and confess to it to stop her male love interest from being voted as the killer, only for it to turn out her attempt was unsuccessful and someone else did the deed; the difference being Sora is able to figure this out before the end of the trial and keep her spot as protagonist, while Kaede was not so lucky.
- Both the fourth chapter of this game and the second chapter of the first game see a female character attempting to finish off the would-be victim to save another student. The only difference is that the latter was successful.
- The fifth trial ends with the mastermind successfully framing someone else for their own murder and sending the protagonist (and her friends in this case) to be executed, only for a seemingly absent character to thwart the execution at the last second, just like in THH.
- There's also the big reveal that the killing game is taking place in a virtual world.
- While investigating an AV Room, Sora finds an old interview tape featuring a much older Yuri Kagarin. This is similar to how Hajime Hinata found a photograph of a much older Hiyoko Saionji during the last chapter.
- Just like with Kaito and Shuichi, Yoruko starts to avoid Sora after their falling out at the end of the fourth trial. And just like with the boys, they're able to talk out their issues during Chapter 5 and reconfirm their friendship.
- While discussing with Sora and Yoruko about the virtual world, Yuki worries that everything about their personalities, backstories and talents are all just fabricated for someone's entertainment. Yoruko comments that it sounds like a farfetched possibility.
- The female lead is eventually revealed to be an Artificial Intelligence based on a dead person, just like Chiaki Nanami in the second Danganronpa game.
- The Darkest Hour of the final trial involves the protagonist retreating from the trial to live in a time where all their friends are happy and free. Thankfully, a female student who had a close relationship to the protagonist (Akane) is able to talk them out of living in cowardice.
- The ending is similar to Danganronpa Another where the main female lead and Utsuro stay behind to die in the crumbling trial grounds while the survivors escape.
- With a dash of History Repeats, remember how in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School where Future Foundation becomes split over Makoto's actions? The same thing starts to happen when the Kisaragi Foundation becomes split over Tsurugi's misdeeds during the events of the story.
- Sora's execution, "Deep Sea Trip ~At the Bottom of the Sea~," is a call-back to the ending credits of Danganronpa Another, which feature Utsuro sinking to the ocean's depths while the bodies of all the students who died during the Killing Game float by... And at the bottom lies the body of Akane Taira.
- Cartesian Karma: In Chapter 3, Hibiki is still executed as a culprit, despite being brainwashed by Kanade into killing Setsuka. Come Chapter 4, Sora attempts to invoke this by using the unconscious Nikei's hand to slash Shinji's throat in hope that Nikei would be considered the murderer; while this causes a debate over who can be considered the killer, it is ultimately side-stepped with the reveal that Shinji killed himself.
- Casting Gag:
- Iroha's English voice actress, InsomniaVA, also did Urara Amemiya. Both of them have seemingly art-related talents, and both even wear berets in their costume. Both are even engrossed in drawing manga (in fact, it's Urara's entire talent).
- Also pertaining to Brave Danganronpa, both that and SDRA2 share two cast members with these talents: Actress and Journalist. Imagine Setsuka's VA with Emma's talent and Yoruko's VA with Nikei's, and you have Stella and Mitsuba.
- Sword of Swords' roles in both SDRA2 and Brave Danganronpa are the exact opposite; the villainous mastermind Mikado for the former and the heroic protagonist Hiroto for the latter.
- Kokoro's VA also provides the role of Ume Omori in Brave Danganronpa. Both are solitary people who usually are situated alone with the group (with Kokoro adapting this aspect during the second chapter) and have a "sixth sense" about people. The difference is that Kokoro's expertise is in a realistic field (psychology), Ume dwells in the supernatural.
- On a more serious note, Yuki is voiced by a woman both in the original game and the english dub. This initially seems like a callback to all male Danganronpa protagonists having female voice actors in Japanese, but also could serve as a bit of foreshadowing for Chapter 6, where he permanently ends up in a woman's body.
- Iroha's English voice actress, InsomniaVA, also did Urara Amemiya. Both of them have seemingly art-related talents, and both even wear berets in their costume. Both are even engrossed in drawing manga (in fact, it's Urara's entire talent).
- Chekhov's Gag: The optional Woman’s Fantasy scene has Sora declare she’s gonna find and kill Setsuka for locking her, Yoruko, and Iroha in the occupied men’s bathhouse, while also delivering a Pervert Revenge Mode on Yuri with intent to murder, both of which are played as gags. However, both characters wind up actually murdered in the first and third chapters, respectively.
- Chekhov's Gun: When playing as Shobai, entering the menu will show that along with the Save, Load, and Title functions, there’s also an Administrator Code Activation function which is inaccessible. In Trial Six, he finally accesses it via the Divine Luck to override Mikado’s consciousness transfer to Akane’s body.
- Connected All Along: In the 6th Chapter, Monocrow reveals that most of the students were selected because they had some type of relation to the students in Danganronpa Another.
- For Yuri, his family initially hired Akane Taira as their maid and it was her tragic life that resulted in the boy wanting to protect all women.
- For Kokoro, she was the mother of Mikako Kurokawa whom she gave birth to as part of her experiments.
- For the Otonokoji Twins, they were targeted by Tsurugi Kinjo who was suspecting that they (Kanade) were involved in a series of murders.
- For Shinji, he was the one who rescued Kanata Inori from a car crash.
- For Yoruko, the "Madam" of the pub where she and her senpai worked at was revealed to be Minako Tomori, the mother of the Ultimate Cheerleader Kizuna, who Mikado tried to capture in Chapter 6.5 of the first game.
- Continuity Nod: In relation to the events of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Mikado is revealed to have stolen the information needed to create the Neo World Program and Alter Egos from Future Foundation which became instrumental in his agenda.
- Cool Boat: The students live and sleep in a cruise ship, the Monocruise, when they're not exploring the island.
- Creepy Physical: Shobai sarcastically implies this to Nikei when he tells him to strip down mid-trial to examine him for bruises that would have formed from Shinji supposedly attacking him.
- Delayed Reaction: In Chapter 3, Sora accuses Iroha Nijiue of being the culprit of the murder, and the accused initially praises Sora for discovering the truth... before realizing they’re the one being accused and letting out a confused scream. She’s innocent — of this particular crime.
- Despair Gambit: Nikei reveals in Trial Four that the entire purpose of the game is to do this to Yuki, driving him into enough despair so that Utsuro will be awakened.
- Dies Wide Open: Unlike the mainline games, most murder victims in the Another duology die with their eyes partially or fully open.
- Dramatic Irony: At the end of Chapter 3, Iroha Nijiue is revealed to be a Void member during a conversation with Mikado, making every latter conversation about the remaining Void members a serious case of this.
- Dying Clue: As Kokoro is trapped in a refrigerator to freeze to death, she uses some icicles to write out a message to the others about the identity of her killer.
- Dysfunction Junction: Almost everyone in the cast is struggling with psychological issues of their own, particularly the Void members and their traumatic childhoods. Even characters like Yoruko, Setsuka, & Shinji, who are generally positive, have experienced their fair share of trauma and hardships. But perhaps the most glaring example is the Otonokoji twins' very troubling and complicated relationship...
- Equal-Opportunity Fanservice: Several of the female characters get Clothing Damage at the end of their Terminate Talk Shooting fights, two scenes have the female cast in swimsuits, Yoruko primarily wears a fairly revealing outfit, and the heroine Sora herself gets a scene in nothing but her bra and skirt. However, the male opponents in the TTS also get subject to Clothing Damage, and the usual Man’s Fantasy scene of the female cast in a bathhouse is replaced with “A Woman’s Fantasy”, where the female protagonist Sora, Yoruko, and Iroha get locked in the men’s bathhouse with the nude male cast, including Shinji.
- Event-Based Character Portrait: Whenever a character is revealed to be part of Void, the organization in charge of the killing game, they'll gain a brand-new character portrait that shows them with crimson-red eyes.
- Everyone Is a Suspect: After the first trial, the students are unable to trust each other with the fact that any three of them could be members of Void and could kill them without hesitation.
- Evil Sorcerer: Mikado Sannoji, the Ultimate Wizard. His first major action is setting someone on fire.
- Fanservice:
- In a rare instance for a Danganronpa series, there is a scene where Sora, Iroha, and Yoruko are locked in the bathhouse... while the boys are using it. Not to mention that Yuri walks right into the changing room after the girls have been kicked out. He's completely naked.
- Just like in V3, the Argument Armament battles involve stripping the opponents, both male and female, of their rebuttals and their clothing.
- Fan Disservice:
- Chapter 2 provides a nice closeup of Kokoro lying on her bed in her underwear after she's been frozen to death, with her skin turned dark blue and her hands and feet chopped off.
- The third chapter's Argument Armament with Kanade Otonokoji can easily make one feel this way about it, considering both her unsettling, scary behavior throughout said trial and her revealing outfit. It gets worse in the dub when the final strike causes her to start moaning.
- Flat "What":
- Hajime’s reaction to Sora asking him if he’s the one who murdered Yuri, after she narrows it down to him as the most likely culprit.
- Nikei says this after Mikado declares, out of nowhere, that’s he’s going to be executed for breaking a previously unheard-of rule.
- Foreshadowing:
- The scene at the start of Chapter 2 where three Void members confront Mikado have hints towards the identities of the other Void members: one of them is clearly taller than the others, and Emma is among the tallest of the students, another one briefly speaks with Iroha’s characteristic stutter, and the last one says he will tail Sora as his talent (as the Ultimate Journalist) is most suited to the task.
- In Chapter 2, Kokoro becomes the focus and victim in the same island where the students visit Kurokawa Shrine, hinting at the connection between the two characters.
- Also in Chapter 2, Emma is dressed up as the Kuchisake-onna, a creepy ghost woman with a face mask; just like she wears a face mask when disguised as Kokoro later in the chapter.
- Another example in Chapter 2 happens after the twins' performance. Emma makes a pun, saying the concert helped them all "chill out". This forshadows Emma planning to kill Kokoro via freezing.
- A lot of it pertaining to Kanade and her true nature.
- In chapter one Kanade says that she likes Corpse Party when asked by Iroha about her favourite shows.
- Kanade being rather knowledgeable about anesthesia in the first investigation. After being asked by Sora how does she know so much about that, Kanade says that she's smelled anesthetics quite a lot.
- In general, Kanade shows a lot more experience during investigations and trials that a girl with her talent should have. It is even pointed out that she seems used to this type of situations.
- Hibiki and Kanade's penultimate Free Time Event has Kanade tell Sora that the reason her sister bullies her is because she's jealous of Kanade being better than her at everything; which in hindsight is clearly Kanade tooting her own horn. Their final event has them tell Sora about rumors of their band being “cursed” due to the mysterious disappearances of their band members and other people in their life, which turn out to be the work of Kanade in the trial.
- There are two big examples that stand out in Chapter 3.
- Sora's motive video that features her supposed loved ones shows an unusual clip of the ocean. In later chapters, we learn that Sora is an Alter Ego based on Akane Taira and her beloved master Utsuro was last seen sinking to the bottom of the sea, as shown in the DRA end credits.
- During the third trial, Mikado uses a specific example to explain the rule of murder. In his example, if Iroha were to stab Teruya with a knife while Mikado comes by later and finishes the job, then Mikado would be declared Teruya's true killer as he delivered the finishing blow. Guess what ends up happening in the fifth murder case.
- At the conclusion of the third trial, Kanade reveals that she's been spending years gradually breaking Hibiki's personality down through the stress and trauma of losing her loved ones, making her into an Empty Shell. Mikado's plan is ultimately revealed to be a much more brutal and time-compressed version: using the stress and trauma of the killing game to destroy Yuki's personality and replace it with another one...
- Mikado’s dialogue in his single FTE is filled with this in regards to The Reveal in Chapter 6.
- The Chapter 2 trial foreshadows Iroha Nijiue being a Void member as she is the only one spouting the ridiculous theory that the curse of the Yuki-onna killed Kokoro, which is Emma’s coverup, as if Iroha was trying to plant the idea in everyone’s heads to aid her fellow Void member and doing a terrible job of it.
- Sora’s behavior in Chapter 4, where she tries to kill Shinji so she can save Yuki from being framed and sacrifice Nikei in the process, might seem uncharacteristically cruel for someone established as a fairly nice girl up to that point, but makes a lot more sense with the reveal that her past self was Akane Taira, who was already very accustomed to murder and manipulation.
- Gambit Pileup: Starting from Chapter 2, various plans start conflicting with each other and driving Mikado’s plan for the Killing School Trip Off the Rails. First, Mikado himself is trying to recreate the Kisaragi Labs killing game as close as he can to revive Utsuro and steal his Divine Luck, which requires the deaths of the Void members. Because of this, Emma kills Kokoro out of order (Iroha was meant to go next) and attempts to win the killing game for real in Chapter 2. Then in Chapter 3, Kanade Otonokoji, a non-Void student, puts into motion her own murder plan before Mikado can get Iroha to do a double murder. In Chapter 4, Nikei, who has been planning to usurp Mikado the whole time, sows discord in the group and tries to turn Yuki into a culprit to get him executed, but Mikado was one step ahead the whole time. Finally, Tsurugi has secretly gotten Shobai to his side and is trying to beat Mikado in his own way.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Utsuro, the Big Bad of the first game, is responsible for being Mikado's reason for creating this sequel's killing game. He discovered he had died in the Class 79th game and his goal was to resurrect him.
- Greek Chorus: The Void Theater segments sometimes have the deceased Void members discussing the events of the story.
- Halloween Episode: The 2nd Chapter can be considered this as it contains many Halloween related elements. Before the students arrive, Monocrow explains that the second island is notorious for its history of monsters and curses. There is a scene where Sora and the girls dress up as cute monsters and there is mention of a Curse of Yuki-Onna throughout the chapter. In Emma's execution, there is a shout-out to The Cabin in the Woods where the actress is torn to pieces by various horror movie monsters.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In Chapter 4, Shinji suffocates himself after causing a fire to prevent Yuki from becoming the blackened because the latter potentially mortally wounded him.
- Hope Spot: One is presented during the third and fourth executions:
- In Hibiki and Kanade's execution, there is a key that one of them can supposedly use to escape. Hibiki is eventually able to grab it and tries to use it to unlock the shackle around her neck. It instead triggers some sort of mechanism in the shackle that decapitates her, right in front of Kanade, who literally dies laughing about it.
- In Nikei's execution, he escapes the "press conference" through an emergency exit. He keeps running from a crew of Monocrow's chasing him, until he finds himself on a rooftop with a helicopter flying nearby. With no other way to go, he tries to jump to the helicopter. However, in the heat of the moment, he makes the mistake of trying to grab the ladder with the hand he had just lost a few moments ago, causing him to fall.
- A non-execution example occurs in chapter 4. After defecting from Void, Nikei reveals to the group that they're in a virtual world and that everyone who died has a high chance of turning up alive in the real world. After the fourth trial, he reveals that he was lying about the possibility of everyone being alive as a way of gaining their trust.
- In Chapter 5, everyone left alive is relieved to see that Teruya's corpse was in fact a fake drawing. But all hopes of finding Teruya alive get lost when he is found dead for real not so long after.
- Inverted Trope: The third chapter of this game inverts the usual formula of the Chapter 3 murders in Danganronpa games, by having one victim and two killers.
- Jacob Marley Apparel: A variation; the Void Theater segments involve the dead members of Void resembling what they look like when their execution was finished. Hajime is a sentient plushie, Emma is a pile of gore (complete with Pixellation for good measure, and Nikei is just a hand after getting crushed by the Monocrows during his execution, leaving only that part left.
- Jidaigeki: The island featured in Chapter 2 has a traditional Japanese theme.
- Karmic Death: Well, "karmic afterlife". In the Void Theater, Hajime, Emma, and Nikei take on their post-death appearances as punishment:
- Hajime, a boxer who greatly valued his health & strength, is turned into a small, weak plush doll.
- Emma, a Hollywood celebrity who spent her life cultivating an elegant & beautiful public image, is reduced to a disgusting pile of flesh.
- Lastly, Nikei was a well-known journalist who wrote viral stories, and the only part of him that remains after death is his left hand (his non-dominant hand, which makes it so he can only write messy scribbles.)
- Killed Off for Real: Unlike in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, everyone who died in the virtual world died for real, with no way to bring them back.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In a wholly unintentional and morbid way, the Chapter 5 mass execution; while Mikado did it to be a sadistic asshole and accomplish his Evil Plan, all four of the victims (Sora, Yuki, Iroha, and even Yoruko) previously attempted murder at some point, with Sora outright trying to make Nikei go down for it before learning of his treachery, so it could almost be seen as their due punishment for their past actions (or would have been if Shobai hadn't busted them out).
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Since this game is a sequel to DRA, there are a fair amount of spoilers for that game:
- In the prologue alone, the presence of Teruya Otori and Rei Mekaru gives away the fact that they survived the past Killing Game. The same can be said for Tsurugi Kinjo appearing in Chapter 6.
- The game also spoils the identity of the previous masterminds, Utsuro and Akane Taira, as they play a major role in the plot; by extension, it also spoils the twist that the Yuki Maeda from the first game was Utsuro impersonating them, that they were both working for Junko Enoshima, and that they both (sort of) died in the end.
- Chapter 6 also spells out other big reveals, like ”Yuki”/Utsuro possessing Divine Luck, or “Hope’s Peak Academy” really being the 3rd Kisaragi Labs, or the purpose of the Killing Game.
- Lawful Stupid: Keisuke shows this during Chapter 6, when he attempts to arrest Yoruko for her criminal past, citing that All Crimes Are Equal to the Kisaragi Foundation. Never mind the current situation with Alter Ego!Mikado at hand.
- Lotsa People Try to Dun It: Chapter 4's murder. First Nikei manipulates Yuki into slashing Shinji's throat with a glass shard. Then Sora slashes Shinji's throat again, using the unconscious Nikei's hand. Then Shinji commits suicide to not let his friends be executed for murdering him.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: In the 6th trial, Alter Ego!Mikado traps the survivors in their own personal fantasy worlds to keep them from interfering with his plans.
- Sora relives the School Island Field Trip only with zero murders and everyone is genuine friends with each other. The big climax involves Yuki attempting to confess his feelings to her while their friends cheer them on.
- Iroha is recognized as a popular manga artist and is showered with endless praise from her fellow Voids.
- Yoruko lives in a cozy cottage and gets to hang out with her senpai Amane Kaira.
- Yuki's fantasy involves getting to spend time with his best bro Shinji.
- Meta Twist: This game is particularly famous for subverting series conventions:
- In most games, the mastermind is not revealed until Chapter 6, with one character sometimes serving as a Red Herring (Nagito, Kokichi, Tsurugi). So when Mikado Sannoji is revealed as the mastermind in the prologue, a player might think he will ultimately turn out to be a Disc-One Final Boss working for the real mastermind, likely Junko as usual. But Mikado remains the Big Bad to the end, the twist is instead that he is an Alter Ego impersonating the real Mikado, and Junko is long dead and has no direct influence on this particular killing game.
- Teruya Otori, like Byakuya Togami in the canon Danganronpa 2, is introduced as one of the survivors of the previous game who has somehow become captured again, and has become much kinder and more noble than his last outing, with both taking a leadership role to protect the others, and are promptly murdered. But “Byakuya” was revealed to be an imposter, with the real Byakua being fine, so one might expect a similar reveal for Teruya. Nope; he is the real one and is indeed dead.
- Danganronpa 2 was revealed to be taking place in a virtual reality simulation, and the victims and culprits turned out to be Not Quite Dead, ultimately being rescued by the end of the game. Here, Nikei reveals this exact same twist, giving the others hope that the deceased can be brought back to life. Except Nikei lied about that last part to manipulate the survivors; this time, everyone who died in the simulation stays dead.
- Hibiki Otonokoji is presented as a clear copy of the first game's Kizuna Tomori; a pink-haired girl who presents herself as a cute and bubbly sweetheart but quickly reveals herself to be a Jerkass. Both go through a similar arc in Chapter 2; after choosing to isolate themselves from the rest of the group, they are revealed to actually be lonely on the inside, after which the group rallies together to accept them in a heartwarming scene. Kizuna then dies in Chapter 2, and it's revealed she faked her hidden good side so she could earn everyone's trust and kill Yuki, so a player might expect the same for Hibiki; except her confession is completely genuine, she survives Chapter 2, and it's her twin sister Kanade who's the actually dangerous one.
- Chapter 4, unlike the others, suddenly has you control Shobai instead of the female protagonist Sora, who acts incredibly suspicious throughout the investigation and the trial, and by the end of the first half, confesses that she killed Shinji using Nikei's hand to prevent Yuki from being voted as the killer. All of this brings to mind V3's Kaede Akamatsu, the female protagonist of the first chapter who became a Decoy Protagonist and was executed as the first killer, with the male Shuichi Saihara (who was suspected of being the culprit) taking over from then on, making it look like the same thing is about to happen with Sora and Shobai/Yuki respectively. Except it turns out she didn't finish him off; he burned himself to avoid anyone else becoming the culprit, and you regain control of Sora for the rest of the trial and the game.
- Chapters 4 and 5 both avert Never the Obvious Suspect yet again, as in both cases, the character who everyone accuses of committing the murder (Nikei and Mikado respectively) is indeed the one ultimately responsible, while the characters who seem to be the hidden culprits (Sora and Iroha respectively) are innocent but falsely believe they did it.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Iroha is the least proactive and effective member of Void and has been called out for it by her peers.
- Mood Whiplash: In Chapter 2, Setsuka successfully convinces Hibiki, and by extension Kanade, to rejoin the main group. To celebrate, the twins give a live performance for everyone that livens their spirits. The mood takes a shift for the worse when they discover Kokoro lying on the floor unconscious.
- Multiple Endings: Along with the one true ending, the 6th chapter gives us two alternate endings based on the player's choices.
- During the 6th chapter, when Sora/Akane discovers that she's technically dead, the player can decide whether Akane reaches out to Utsuro or Sora. The storyline continues with Sora. But if you choose Utsuro, then the ending cuts to Tsurugi who reveals that him arriving at Mikado's base was All Just a Dream.
- In the 6th trial, Sora ends up trapped in an alternate version of the School Island Field Trip only with no murders and everyone being alive and happy. If the player does not choose any dialogue options that relate to the events of the story, then Sora will end up trapped in her fantasy world. It's considered a Downer Ending since Alter Ego!Mikado is able to escape into the real world using her body.
- Mythology Gag:
- On the featured Crow Cards, the last digits of the card number are 11037.
- During Chapter 2's Climax Reasoning portion, there is a slide that features two wigs modeled after Makoto Naegi and Ibuki Mioda.
- When Shinji almost breaks down the door in the Tower of Babel, Mikado stops him by saying that breaking school property is "not welcome in a school enviroment".
N–Z
- Named After Somebody Famous: The main monuments featured in the islands are named after the Ultimate students from the first game who were executed as culprits.
- In the first island, there's the Uehara Tower.
- In the second island, there's the Kurokawa Shrine.
- In the third island, the amusement park is named Satsuki Land.
- The fourth island presumably would have had something related to Ayame, but Nikei turned it into something different entirely.
- In the fifth island, the city is named Higa City.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands:
- During the Void Theater Segment of Chapter 4, Emma reveals that the living Void members are able to communicate with the deceased members via telephone. Hajime comments how they're just throwing in whatever they want.
- In the Chapter 5 segment, Emma shouts out some magic words which summons a pen and notepad to allow Nikei to communicate with them. Despite Hajime's confusion, Emma comments how it's better not to question these things.
- "Not So Different" Remark: During his FTEs, Shobai claims that Sora has a "darkness" to her that is similar to his.
- Off the Rails: The killing game initially goes as Mikado plans in Chapter 1, as it is meant to resemble the killing game of the first Another. But starting from Chapter 2, things start going off-script. Emma, who is meant to be the Chapter 3 culprit, instead kills Kokoro in Chapter 2 ahead of Iroha; Kanade, who is not a member of Void, becomes the culprit of Chapter 3 along with her sister, beating Iroha to the intended double-murder; and Nikei radically changes the fourth island and instead of committing the Chapter 4 murder himself, tries to get someone else to do it so he can usurp Mikado. By Chapter 5, he manages to salvage things back on track and reach his intended mass execution finale... only for Shobai to throw things off track again by saving the victims, forcing Mikado to improvise one last trial.
- Older Than They Look: Like in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the students in the simulation have their avatars based on their teenage selves. In reality, all of them sans the Voids, Sora, and Yuki are adults. The standout example is Shinji, who's in his fifties and has teenage kids.
- Out-Gambitted: What happens to Nikei's plan in Chapter 4. While he tries to secretly manipulate everyone to get Yuki as the culprit and ruin Mikado's plans, Mikado is able to beat him by ordering Iroha to be the next murderer, tampering with the gun, and throwing in a last-minute rule. As a result, the killing game remains on track, while Nikei ends up being executed.
- Pose of Supplication: Nikei does this in Chapter 4 after confessing to the group that he is part of Void and begs for their forgiveness.
- Post-Final Level: The first half of the final trial essentially serves as the final challenge with all its minigames, ending in the hardest Closing Argument; afterwards, the second half consists of a branching path potentially leading to a bad end, a bunch of cutscenes, and two minigames that are impossible to lose.
- The Power of Friendship: In Chapter 2, Shinji explains to the group that he intends to be friends with everyone in hopes that those who are secretly Void members will join forces with them and turn against Mikado. It almost works until an Innocently Insensitive remark from Kokoro to one of them derails the whole plan.
- The Promise: The prologue begins with an Opening Monologue regarding a "broken promise," a mysterious subject that goes on to be referenced towards. In the end, this is revealed to be the promise Akane gave to Utsuro at the end of the first game, vowing that she will be by his side forever.
- Recurring Element: Several of the characters follow various Dangan Ronpa archetypes.
- Sora is introduced as an Ultimate ???.
- Yuki is the generic, soft-spoken male lead and has a luck themed talent.
- Yuri is a student who has a very low opinion towards men.
- Hibiki is an abrasive mean girl who turns out to have more insecurities then she leads on. Later on, she turns out to be the student with a 'Tragic Past and Hella Self-Esteem Issues'.
- Additionally, she and her twin sister are girls with music themed talents.
- Shinji is the Big Hearted Muscle of the group.
- Mikado is the designated 'Magical Weirdo'.
- Shobai is a boy with a talent that involves criminal activity. And eventually, he becomes akin to the 'Solitary Protector' of the group.
- Iroha is the Token Mini-Moe of the group.
- Kokoro is a stoic Emotionless Girl who is very helpful during the trials.
- Not to mention how Kokoro frequently using her tablet, along with The Reveal of her having a hand in creating the virtual world, also makes her the 'Tech Princess'.
- Kanade Otonokoji is the killer of Chapter 3 who reveals a darker and more disturbing personality during the trial.
- Three students die in Chapter 3. Unlike in the games, where there are two murders, in this, two students are executed for a single murder.
- Emma can be considered the 'Rich Pretty Princess' thanks to her kind personality and famous background. Until it's revealed that it was all a front and that she's more akin to the 'Bitch Princess' archetype.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: A common trait featured among the members of Void sans Mikado is that their eyes turn a bloody shade of red.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Yoruko is the emotional, temperamental red to her friend Sora's stoic, blunt blue.
- Reliably Unreliable Guns: The gun Nikei plans to use to shoot up the trial room ends up violently exploding, destroying most of his right hand. It's implied Mikado had something to do with it, as Teruya claims that it was working fine earlier.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Yuki and his friendship with Shinji.
- Shout-Out:
- For starters, there are Crow Cards scattered around the island for Sora and the others to collect.
- One of the items is the Spear of Longinus.
- For the concert held in Chapter 2, the twins perform one of their songs which is the opening theme for Suite Pretty Cure ♪. Bonus points in that the girls are named after the leads of the show.
- After the concert, Nikei says the iconic "Well excuse me princess!" line to Yoruko.
- In the English dub of the second class trial, Shobai directly references Clue after revealing a vital piece of information.
- Mikado in the second trial declares that the whole thing is too hard and asks to use a hint coin.
- Hajime Makonuchi calls Emma Magorobi, who has been reduced to a pile of flesh, a necromorph in the second Void theatre.
- While visiting Satsuki Land, Monocrow and the other students make reference to Mickey Mouse, Disneyland and Doraemon.
- Shiro, the Otonokojis' white teacup poodle Kanade killed out of jealousy as a child, might well be a reference to the classic Japanese fairy tale "Hanasaka Jii-san", in which a dog with the same name was killed by a jealous neighbor.
- In Chapter 4, when Yoruko and Nikei explain the nature of their virtual reality world, Iroha comments that it sounds like Nerfgear from Spear Art Online.
- The 6th trial loosely references Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann as the survivors become trapped in their own fantasy worlds that are catered to their heart's desires. Eventually, the protagonist is able to break from their world, with some guidance from a close figure, and is able to bring everyone back into reality. Unfortunately, in order to save the day, the white-haired girl, who was programmed by the Big Bad to carry out his bidding, has to sacrifice her existence and leave her love interest(s) behind (though at least here, it’s indicated there is a chance Sora can be saved, but it’s never shown if she did).
- Soap Opera Disease: In Chapter 2, Kokoro Mitsume falls victim to a mysterious but fatal illness that leaves her unable to speak or use the lower half of her body. Later subverted when it’s revealed that Emma attacked Kokoro and used the disease as a cover for her murder plan.
- Spot the Thread: In the second trial, Shobai was able to figure out that Emma was involved in Kokoro's identity theft and murder based on her dialogue. When they discovered her unconscious body at the concert, Emma announced that Kokoro's body was as "hot as lava". But later on, Shobai received a message from "Kokoro" telling him that she needed him to give her a false diagnosis so she can strike back at Void undetected.
- Standard Evil Organization Squad: The terrorist group known as Void is featured in this killing game with Mikado as their leader. In Chapter 4, it turns out that Void was not always evil; it was originally created to search for someone important to the Void members and it only became evil once Mikado took over.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Rei Mekaru, a survivor from the previous game, was burned without a trace by Mikado. Though she's actually still alive. Played a bit straighter with Teruya, who is the victim of Chapter 5.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In Chapter 4, Teruya learns the hard way that holding someone at the gunpoint does not mean that the person will automatically back down. When he starts threatening Shobai for attempting to set up a food trading point and staying outside the Tower all along, the latter actually forces the gun against his forehead and goads Teruya into shooting him. The bluff is successful, and Teruya has to fold.
- Twin Switch: In the third chapter, the "Kanade" we see at the parade is actually Hibiki, disguised as Kanade in order to create an alibi for her sister.
- Two Dun It: In a reverse of traditional Chapter 3 formula, there are actually two culprits behind a single murder, which was possible due to them stabbing the victim at the exact same time.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Nikei says this to Yoruko after the concert in Chapter 2.
- Wham Line:
- After Trial One everyone asks Hajime why he killed Yuri, but he refuses to explain his reason. He finally does so, after Mikado gives him approval:Hajime: ...Really? Well, if you say so. Nothing's ever gone wrong listening to you.
- In Chapter 2, Emma explains why she killed Kokoro by bringing up a past conversation she had with Kokoro:Kokoro: Emma. You have been encouraging me to join the rest of you for the last few days. Correct?
Emma: Right. Oh, do you feel like doing it at last?
Kokoro: Well... I believe you can suppose so. But only under one condition.
Emma: A condition?
Kokoro: I have plans to cooperate and resolve this situation with the rest of you if you decide to work with us, Emma. - In the final scene of Chapter 2, we get this particular line from a "mysterious" figure who is speaking with someone who has ties to Void.Setsuka: Yes. I know. ...Just count on Big Sis for everything.
- After the verdict from Trial 3, when the Otonokoji Sisters were revealed as the killers, the students were starting to believe that Kanade and Hibiki are also Voids, but then Mikado comes in...Mikado: [Well] I do believe that this is something you will all be quite intrigued to hear. You see—
Shobai: Yeah, they ain't Voids. Neither of 'em.
Sora: ...What?
Shinji: What do you mean by that?! Of course they are! What gives you the right to—
Mikado: While I am not too pleased to have my thunder stolen, Mr. Hashimoto is spot-on. The Otonokoji twins have no relation to us Voids. - During the post trial, Kanade also discusses her and Hibiki’s origins. She also makes the following shocking statement that makes it clear just how depraved she is, even in comparison to the previous two killers in the game. Adding to the shock is the fact that the whammy part is accompanied by the music changing from "Despair Syndrome" to "A Fearful Encounter."Kanade: (pleasantly) The next day, while everyone else was out... I butchered Shironote with a kitchen knife and threw its remains down the drain.
- After Trial One everyone asks Hajime why he killed Yuri, but he refuses to explain his reason. He finally does so, after Mikado gives him approval:
- Wham Shot:
- In Chapter 5 the verdict is given... and the accused Iroha's face gains a big red X over it. The characters chose wrong.
- At the very end of Chapter 5, after the simulation crashes and interrupts the mass execution, we get a shadowy shot of Tsurugi Kinjo as he decides to make his move.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue:
- Shobai and Iroha were arrested by the Kisaragi Foundation for their crimes. They managed to escape their cell and are on the run together.
- Yoruko is revealed to have denied the Foundation's invitation to work with them and has decided to work somewhere else.
- Yuki's mind is now presumably implanted in Sora's body which seems to have been gifted with Utsuro's Divine Luck and is now wandering the world. Their only appearance was rescuing Shobai's hostage and causing a bridge to collapse.
- Rei and Tsurugi both survive the killing game, but now the Foundation is in civil war over Tsurugi's actions and misdeeds.
- Wild Teen Party: The first chapter features the students engaging in a dinner party to raise their spirits. Unfortunately, someone brought in alcohol, which resulted in many of the students getting drunk. The first murder revolves around said party.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: Despite experiencing about a month's worth of time in the virtual world, Rei makes it clear in chapter 6 that less than a day has passed in the real world.
- You Wake Up on a Beach: The game opens with Sora being woken up by Yuki on a beach, almost identical to the opening of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.