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This game is the subject of an ongoing LP and translation effort (see the main page for this game for a link to the LP). Until the LP is completed, please do not post spoilers for events that the LP has not covered[1]. Not everyone can speak Japanese, after all.
An altogether Ordinary High School Student, with the exception of his less-than-stellar luck. Things appeared to be looking up for him when he got into Hope's Peak Academy alongside his childhood crush, Maizono Sayaka, but Monokuma's games quickly turned the blessing into a curse. Heavily suspected of being behind the first murder, he ends up taking charge during the investigations and trials so that no innocent students are executed.
Amateur Sleuth: As the main character in a mystery game, he tends to be the one pulling the students through the trials, with some help from Kirigiri whenever he gets stuck.
Betty and Veronica: Between Sayaka and Kyoko, with Aoi and Mukuro as a second pair of Cheryl Blossoms in themselves, also fitting the trope
Born Lucky: The reason he was accepted into Hope's Peak; he was randomly chosen from all the ordinary students in Japan. This is why he is considered to have "Super High-School Level Good Luck"...
Born Unlucky: ...but he himself believes he has super-bad luck.
Catch Phrase: "You've got that wrong!" whenever he points out a contradiction during trials.
Clear My Name: After Sayaka's body is found in his shower.
The Dulcinea Effect: He's been pining after Sayaka for a long time, and swears to stay by her side throughout Monokuma's game. Cruelly deconstructed when it's revealed that this is exactly why she was setting him up to take the fall for her. She had her reasons, and was unaware of the true rules of the killing game, but still...
Friend to All Living Things: He was in an animal-rearing club when he was younger, and was able to calm down a large crane that ended up in the school pool. While hanging out with Mondo, the options for his favorite animal include bears.
Ishimaru prizes one thing above all else: order. He's constantly preaching the virtues of exercising, respecting your elders, etc. He takes a role of leadership amongst the students, encouraging them to stick together, but not everybody listens or takes him seriously. He initially has a fierce rivalry with Mondo, but the two end up becoming Blood Brothers over their mutual passion. His body is found dead shortly after Hifumi's in chapter three - though it's revealed he was killed first. By Hifumi, no less.
The Ace: Subverted and Played for Laughs. He'd probably be spearheading the trials if not for his idealism, which prevents him from really suspecting anyone. And some of the students just ignore him.
Broken Pedestal: At first, he refuses to believe that Mondo is a murderer, but is forced to confront the truth. He doesn't take it well.
Fusion Dance: With Mondo's soul, turning him into a white-haired mashup of both their personalities called Ishida. He becomes TWICE as Hot-Blooded as a result.
Heroic BSOD: After Mondo is outed as Chihiro's murderer and executed, he shuts down.
No Indoor Voice: Often shouts enthusiastically about rules and good conduct.
No Social Skills: He confides to Naegi that due to his rigorous dedication to studying and proper conduct, he has never been able to make friends or even hold an idle conversation with someone.
Touko has been writing famous romance novels since before she was ten years old. However, she's never had a romance of her own, much less a friend; she was bullied as a child and has a severe persecution complex, always assuming that people think the worst of her. She's pessimistic and hard to get along with as a result. She has multiple personalities, the other one being the infamous serial killer, Genocider Syo. Syo is revealed during Chapter 2 when Togami manipulates the crime scene to implicate her in the murder. Still alive in Chapter 4.
Sayaka is the lead singer of an incredibly popular idol group. She and Makoto were classmates; he caught her eye one day when he freed a crane that was stuck in the school pool, but they've never spoken. Recognizing him from that day, she asks if Makoto will become her partner and protect her during Monokuma's game. She's the first murder victim, killed by Leon after trying to kill him first.
Asshole Victim: Downplayed and subverted; while she's nowhere near as bad as say, Hifumi and Celestia are, she still invited Leon to Makoto's room, intending to kill him and frame Makoto for it so she could escape. For sympathetic reasons, however; as she saw her closest friends in her band dead, and had spent years with an abusive father pushing her into the idol scene.
The Can Kicked Her: When her plan went south, she tried to hide in the shower, but Leon broke in and murdered her there.
Was It All a Lie?: It isn't clear how much of her words were meant to manipulate Makoto, and whether or not she really loved him. It's implied that she left Leon's name at the crime scene to help clear Makoto's name, though. Subsequent media does make it more clear she really loved him.
The star player of Japan's champion high-school baseball team who, oddly enough, doesn't care much for baseball. Leon stays on the team so he can rake in athletic scholarships and attention from girls. His real dream is to become the lead vocalist for a punk rock band, and change his title to Super High-School Musician. He's the culprit of the first murder and is executed by Monokuma.
Asshole Victim: Kills Sayaka out of sheer anger at her, despite having every opportunity to go back and make things right. Regardless, you still feel bad for him.
Brilliant but Lazy: When it comes to baseball. In fact, he barely shows up to practice. Makoto outright says that "God gave his genius to the wrong person". He does confess to missing the sport after they've been locked up for a while, though.
Chekhov's Hobby: He's a Super High-School Level Baseball Player. In the first chapter, the incinerator was activated to dispose of evidence even though the switch to activate it was behind a locked gate. Hitting the switch with a thrown object would have required an accurate pitch... which helps to prove his involvement.
An Otaku whose work sells in the tens of thousands. He disavows any interest in 3-D women and aims to become a famous sculptor (of anime figures, of course). His dialog is liberally peppered with references to anime and video games. In chapter three, he's apparently found dead. However, after his body mysteriously moves to another room, he regains consciousness long enough to identify his apparent attacker before expiring for real. It turns out he was in cahoots with Celes and murdered Kiyotaka, but was then betrayed by her and killed.
Cargo Ship: He falls in love with Chihiro's computer program, Alter Ego. Celes exploits this when she steals the laptop and convinces him that Ishimaru did it.
Fat Bastard: It's safe to say not many people like him around.
A bubbly (pun not intended) girl who takes to water like a duck. She loves donuts, and spends most of her time with fellow fitness enthusiast Sakura. Currently still alive in Chapter 4.
A Teen Genius currently developing AI programs for an unnamed company. Chihiro is the smallest of all the students, and ashamed of being seen as weak. Chihiro is actually a boy wearing a dress to disguise his frail stature. He's the second victim, murdered by Mondo after inadvertently pressing his Berserk Button. Shortly before his death, he installed a self-aware computer program called Alter Ego in a hidden laptop, which helps the other students.
Disguised in Drag: Dressed as a girl because he was considered "too weak" to be a boy.
Ill Girl: Chihiro never had the strength to go out and play with others as a child. A rare male example.
Innocently Insensitive: Wants to train with Mondo and become stronger, but Mondo doesn't believe he's that strong and is also jealous of Chihiro for working to change. Tragically, it triggers his Freak-Out, resulting in Chihiro's death.
Techno Wizard: Got into creating highly-complex computer programs as a way to pass time. And he was able to put a computer program capable of learning on a rather junky old laptop in a short amount of time.
Unsettling Gender Reveal: Doesn't get much more unsettling than discovering his gender after he's been murdered and crucified. It also qualified for Mondo, specifically setting off his insecurities about never being strong enough (while Chihiro wanted to overcome his weakness).
An enigmatic silver-haired girl who coaches Makoto on conducting investigations. Apparently, she's trying to retrieve something that Monokuma stole from her in the past. Currently still alive in Chapter 4.
A kogal who took the country by storm with her extravagant tastes. Junko wanted to be a model ever since she was a child, but is also eager to try new things. She used to be homeless. She attacks Monokuma after Sayaka is murdered, and is killed by him as punishment. And by the way, her real name is Mukuro Ikusaba.
Asshole Victim: She's the Big Bad's sister, and was part of arranging the game to begin with.
The leader of the Crazy Diamonds, Japan's largest motorcycle gang. Mondo is foul-mouthed and doesn't take orders well, but would never hit a girl or break his promises. At first, he and Ishimaru are constantly at each others throats, but they eventually become bloodbrothers. He murders Chihiro and is executed by Monokuma.
Conflicting Loyalty: Between his friendship with the other students and his promise to keep the Crazy Diamonds together as long as possible.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Tied to a motorcycle and sent around an electrified cage at high speeds until he's little more than a fine paste. Which Monokuma apparently eats.
Freak-Out: Monokuma's "motivational" DVD (which shows the Crazy Diamonds breaking up without him) and threat to reveal their darkest secrets (that Mondo indirectly caused his brother's death) puts him under some heavy mental stress. Eventually, he snaps, flying into a rage during which he kills Chihiro.
Gender Vocabulary Slip: Kyouko realizes he was aware of Chihiro's true gender when he starts referring to Chihiro as "that kid" rather than "that girl".
Hidden Depths: He loves dogs (of any size; he used to have a Maltese) and wants to become a carpenter, so he can build rather than break things.
I Gave My Word: "A man's promise" is worth a lot to him. He even rearranges the changing rooms after Chihiro's death to keep his secret for as long as possible.
Improbable Hairstyle: His pompadour is big enough to get its own towel in the sauna.
I Never Said It Was Poison: Referring to Chihiro's blue sports jersey (when, aside from Celes, only his murderer could've known what color it was) is what exposes him as the killer.
Death Equals Redemption: He doesn't put up much of a defense during the trial, believing he should atone for Chihiro's death (and probably Daiya's, too).
My Greatest Failure: Feeling overshadowed by his older brother, Daiya, Mondo challenged him to a motorcycle race. His reckless driving almost led to him being hit by a truck, but Daiya saved his life. He died from his injuries, and Mondo blames himself for never having been strong enough.
An MMA champion whose family has operated a famous dojo for 300 years. Despite her intimidating appearance, Sakura is level-headed and polite. She spends most of her time exercising and drinks a lot of protein coffee. Her size and strength make her a perfect candidate for guarding crime scenes. She's been nicknamed "the Ogre" online. The end of Chapter 3 reveals that she might be being blackmailed into being Monobear's mole, but she intends to rebel against him. Currently still alive in Chapter 4.
Scion of the incredibly wealthy Togami family, Byakuya has been groomed to become a success from childhood, which includes being enrolled in only the most prestigious of schools. He has no intention of making friends with his fellow classmates, and while he does aim to escape the school at some point, he isn't above screwing around with everyone during a trial to make things "interesting". He witnessed the culprit fleeing from the scene of the crime in Chapter 2. Trying to make things "more interesting", he used the opportunity to implicate and expose Genocider Syo, which caused the others to falsely suspect him of the murder. Still alive in Chapter 4.
A big name in Japan's fortune-telling community. He's actually 20 years old, having been held back a few times in high school. Hagakure has made a killing off of his predictions, which he charges top dollar for - even if they only have a 1-in-5 chance of being correct (a figure he takes pride in). He's easily one of the more laid-back cast members. He becomes the prime suspect for the murders in Chapter 3 after being found in the Justice Robo suit, which was being worn by the apparent culprit. Currently still alive in Chapter 4.
Critical Research Failure: He shells out 100 million yen (roughly 1.3 million US dollars) for a crystal ball that he claims was used by Napoleon, Genghis Khan, and George Washington. And it's not even made of real crystal.
Deadpan Snarker: He starts to become one around the third chapter.
Also known as the "Queen of Liars", Celestia is renowned for her exemplary luck in games of chance. She's accumulated a sizable fortune by robbing anyone stupid enough to challenge her blind. She speaks softly and smiles often, but in a way that tends to creep out everyone around her. She also hides a surprisingly short temper and will start shouting (usually at Hifumi) if she isn't pleased. She murders Hifumi and is executed by Monokuma.
Burn the Witch: Her execution. Though subverted when she's killed by a firetruck crashing into her.
Clasp Your Hands If You Deceive: One sprite has her primly steepling her fingers. As for the deceive part, she tricks Hifumi into helping her and tries to frame Yasuhiro for Hifumi's murder.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Gets burned at the stake before being crushed by a speeding firetruck flying right at her. And that's one of the tamer executions.
Death by Irony: Word of God stated that Celes wanted a dramatic and romanticized death like the ones present in classic novels, such as being burned at the stake. However, Monokuma would have none of that.
Elegant Gothic Lolita: So much that her dream is to live in a castle with manservants dressed as vampires.
Only Known by Their Nickname: On top of being a pseudonym itself, her name is almost always shortened to "Celes". Even the game's interface simply uses "Celes" where it would otherwise display a character's full name.
The Spock: Frequently insists that the group's best course of action is to adapt to life in the school as best they can and ignore any incentive to murder.
It was all an act, though. She wanted to escape just as badly as the others.
Stage Names: Celestia Ludenburg isn't her real name.
The Vamp: She really has no strong feelings towards men, and loves to manipulate them
The self-proclaimed headmaster of Despair Academy. He's very eager to see society's biggest hopefuls start killing each other, so he heaps psychological torture on the students at every turn. There's actually more than one Monokuma; he's a series of highly-advanced robots, and can be instantly replaced if destroyed.
Action Bomb: If Monobear is damaged, he'll explode. That's not the only way he can protect himself, either...
Covert Pervert: He'll accuse the students of having dirty motives in the most inappropriate situations and go into way too much detail about his suspicions. At times he even seems to be egging them on, which is really creepy considering that there are cameras everywhere.
Faux Affably Evil: He speaks in a very easygoing manner (but still refers to the students as "you bastards"), makes a lot of really bad puns, and generally acts like an obnoxiously saccharine principal. It just underscores how incredibly screwed-up his entire game is.
Hey, It's That Voice!: He's voiced by Nobuyo Ōyama, who voiced Doraemon for twenty five years. This creates a rather chilling effect for Japanese players. To the same effect, the German version makes him share a voice with SpongeBob SquarePants.
Punny Name: His name is a combination of monochrome (monokuroomu in Japanese) and bear (kuma).
A Serial Killer rumored to have killed thousands. Syo's trademark is writing BLOODSTAIN FEVER in the victim's blood and crucifying them with custom-made scissors. When Chihiro is murdered, the crime scene makes it evident that Syo is among them. She's actually a Split Personality of Touko, and changes back with a sneeze.
Calling Card: She actually has more than one. The second calling card - crucifying the victim with specially-made scissors - has been kept hidden from the media, which proves that she didn't murder Chihiro.
Meaningful Name: Syo describes herself as a fujoshi (腐女子), the first kanji of which is the same character in Fukawa Touko (腐川冬子). Provides an interesting contrast, considering they're the kind of people who Touko hates.
YMMV • 
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Heartwarming • 
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Fridge • 
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Nightmare Fuel • 
Shout Out • 
Plot • 
Tear Jerker • 
Headscratchers • 
Trivia • WMG • 
Recap • 
Ho Yay • 
Image Links • 
Memes • 
Haiku • Laconic • 
Source • Setting
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