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The Students:
Class 78
The 18 Students
Class 78 of Hope's Peak Academy
The eighteen students who are trapped within Hope's Peak after all receiving an invitation to attend there, only to find themselves in a Eldritch Location hounded by Monokuma robots and the Warriors of Hope. None of them have any idea what's going on, how they're going to get out, what's happening in the outside world, and how long their supplies can last, but two things are for sure - they're not going to stay stable without intervention, and they've got to become Fire-Forged Friends if they're going to survive and find the truth as to Hope's Peak.- Artistic Age: All the students bar Yasuhiro are supposed to all be around the same age, but certainly don't look that.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Some deviate from this, but for the most part everyone looks exactly like what their Ultimate Talent is.
- Combat Pragmatist: Entirely justified due to their situation.
- Dark Secret: The second motive Mr. Monokuma presents to them to try to get them against each other. Each of them has a Dark Secret save for Makoto, who simply has a embarrassing one (he wet the bed until fifth grade).
- Kiyotaka's real name is Ichika Shiba, and he's the grandson of disgraced former prime minister Toranosuke Shiba.
- Toko has multiple personality disorder, and one of her personalities is the Serial Killer known as Genocide Jack.
- Chihiro is a boy who dresses like a girl to avoid being seen as weak and being bullied by girls.
- Mondo accidentally got his brother killed in their final motorcycle race when he froze in fear as a truck raced towards him, causing his brother Daiya to perform a Heroic Sacrifice to save Mondo.
- Byakuya was secretly adopted by the Togamis, thus meaning he isn't the true heir to the company.
- Celestia's real name is Taeko Yasuhiro, who grew up on the street and isn't as rich as she claims.
- Natsumi has had an incestuous relationship with her brother Fuyuhiko.
- Sato had to cannibalize the bodies of the victims of the first two plane crashes she survived, and since then has suffered cannibalistic urges that have been becoming increasingly difficult to control.
- Everyone Has a Special Move: Each of the students have a special perk related to their talent which they can access with their student handbooks.
Makoto Naegi
Makoto Naegi
Ultimate Lucky Student/Ultimate Hope
The Ultimate Lucky Student and The Hero of the story, an utterly unremarkable Ordinary High-School Student who was only selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy by winning a random lottery among 10,000 other average high schoolers. Makoto cites his only notable features as being his bad luck and gung-ho attitude, and suffers from self-esteem issues due to being around the absolute bests in their respective fields, but manages to befriend each and every one of them with his friendliness and optimistic personality. It's soon revealed he's a born leader and as it turns out a Hope Bringer, uniting the students together and leading them to defeat the Warriors of Hope and eventually the mastermind behind Hope's Peak and the events happening outside it.Makoto's Research Lab is a warehouse located on the ground floor that starts out empty but is gradually filled up with various mementos of the cast's adventures together, emphasising his role as The Heart of the team. He is the only student with no restricted areas, and his daily required action is "talking to another student for more than five minutes".
- The Protagonist: The story is for the most part told from his perspective.
- Vanilla Protagonist: His lack of standout traits is, ironically, the most standout thing about him, even in-universe.
Kiyotaka Ishimura
Toko Fukawa
Sayaka Maizono
Sayaka Maizono
Ultimate Idol Singer
The Ultimate Idol Singer, the forewoman of the incredibly popular girl group Dance Party, who've toured Japan and even did gigs in America and South Korea, sold millions of records, and are in high demand to appear on TV and in magazines. Scouted by Hope's Peak after one of her bandmates who was friends with staff members secretly requested she be allowed to attend, Sayaka initially appears to be completely perfect and content who remains emotionally distant to her new classmates, but as the story progresses her self-esteem issues and gut-wrenching fear of being forgotten are explored, helping her to finally recover from her trauma and help out even more with her already-substantial efforts of helping the class survive the Monokumas and Warriors of Hope.Sayaka's Research Lab is a indoor concert hall on the second floor, with a massive stage equipped with light show machines, automatic music players, seats for the other seventeen students to watch her perform, and a additional room attached that serves as a personal dressing room for her. Her forbidden areas are the chemistry laboratories, and her required daily action is "performing for at least ten minutes".
- Adaptational Heroism: She isn't a killer here, at least not of her own free will.
- Ascended Extra: Unlike in the game, she manages to survive the first chapter and is a important player throughout the whole story.
- Running Gag: She frequently says exactly what Makoto is thinking, claims she can read minds, and then brushes it off as "good intuition".
Leon Kuwata
Leon Kuwata
Ultimate Baseball Star
The Ultimate Baseball Star and The Lancer to Makoto, a highly proficient athlete and the star player of Japan's champion high-school baseball team who has become tired of and lost enthusiasm for the sport he feels he was forced into, and now seeks to find something that he has a passion for and to forge the path to his own future. Scouted by Hope's Peak after being the clean-up hitter for a championship in which he broke a world record for most strikes in a single game, his cocky, Hot-Blooded personality sets up as a foil to Makoto, but it's soon revealed that he's not as abrasive and entitled as he seems, serving as a vital member of the team as one of their heavy-hitters against the Monokumas and Warriors of Hope.Leon's Research Lab is an indoor baseball training facility on the first floor accessed through a baseball-shaped door that also features a soundstage with a microphone and high-end speakers. His forbidden areas are the garages outside of the first floor, and his required daily action is "throwing or catching a ball".
- Adaptational Heroism: He isn't a killer here, at least not of his own free will.
- Ascended Extra: From the Starter Villain of the game to Makoto's closest male friend in the story.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Being both a cleanup hitter and a ace pitcher, he's able to strike with pinpoint accuracy with both melee and throwing weapons.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He mentions that he's a fan of Jimmy Decay and the Intercourse Blasters.
Hifumi Yamada
Hifumi Yamada
Ultimate Indie Creator
The Ultimate Indie Creator, a Otaku with a rather portly figure and a incredible talent in creating independent works and fan works in all forms of media, from manga to video games to animation to even sculpting and costume creation. Scouted by Hope's Peak when one of his works sold over twenty million copies, he at first seems to be nothing more than a rather obsessive, anti-social and prideful Fat Bastard whose only interests are anime, manga and video games, but as time progresses he begins to reveal his more intelligent, more emotional, and most of all more compassionate side, and becomes more engaged in group activities and their continued effort to survive, utilising his talents and knowledge of media to assist the other Ultimates in uncovering the truth.Hifumi's Research Lab is a Gadgeteer's House on the first floor that is decorated with anime and video game merchandise and has multiple computer banks and televisions set up. His forbidden areas are the bathrooms outside of the first floor, and his required daily action is "making a redesign of a character".
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Celestia, who acts colder to him than the other students, looking down upon his talent and hobbies. She does warm up to him, though.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: To borderline Adaptational Heroism levels compared to his visual novel counterpart.
- Butt-Monkey: Mainly to Celestia, but some of the other characters, namely Mondo and Natsumi, tend to make fun of him from time to time.
- Geek Physique: A parody of the fat alternative.
Aoi Asahina
Chihiro Fujisaki
Kyoko Kirigiri
Mondo Owada
Sakura Ogami
Byakuya Togami
Byakuya Togami
Ultimate Young Businessman
The Ultimate Young Businessman, the heir apparent of the massive Togami conglomerate whose influence has an international impact on business, politics, and trading, and who have groomed him since childhood to be a success in almost every aspect. Scouted by Hope's Peak after his own personal business made over fifty million dollars in international stocks, Byakuya has no intention of becoming friends with his fellow captives, seeing them as competitors in a challenge to be won, and refuses to provide much support for their survival efforts, earning him the title of The Friend Nobody Likes and the story's resident punching bag. As his true flaws and personality are exposed, he gradually warms up to his new companions, and begins to contribute more into the fight against the Monokumas and Warriors of Hope.Byakuya's Research Lab is a Sleek High Rise Apartment accessed through a elevator on the ground floor that has multiple bookshelves, paintings, a ornate dining table and even a violin and music stand. His forbidden areas are the fourth floor in its entirety, and his required daily action is "answering with a insult".
- Adaptational Karma: Byakuya in the game is a Karma Houdini who gets away with his Jerkass behaviour and tampering with the crime scene of the second murder For the Evulz. In The Distrust Project, his behaviour ends up earning him the spot of the universe's favourite punching bag.
- Smug Snake: On top of being a Jerkass who thinks he's better than everyone, he isn't nearly as smart as he thinks he is outside of the financial sphere.
Yasuhiro Hagakure
Celestia Ludenberg
Celestia Ludenberg/Taeko Yasuhiro
Ultimate Gambler
The Ultimate Gambler, a quiet and stoic young woman who dresses in exclusively Gothic Lolita and has exemplary luck in games of chance, earning her the nickname, "Queen of Liars" and a sizeable fortune from robbing anyone foolish enough to challenge her blind. Scouted by Hope's Peak following a particular game in which Mukuro Ikusaba
Kazuo Matsuzaki
Natsumi Kuzuryu
Sato Isogai
