Despair Wonderland 2
is a sequel to the critically acclaimed Reddit/ Discord based RP Despair Wonderland hosted by Duo, Yuna,Kami and newcomer to the mod team Koma. Like it's predecessor, it is a Reddit/Discord based OC RP based on the Danganronpa Visual Novel series.
Unlike the previous installment, Despair Wonderland 2 is not set in the Golden Latern Skiing Lodge, but takes place in the Lucy's Dream World Theme Park in which 20 all new students awake without any recollection of how or why they have found their way to said theme park, instead of the famed Hope's Peak Academy, which was orignally set as their destination...
Provides examples of:
The Students
- Character Development: As per the nature of agKilling game, the survivors are forced into changing by their ordeals.
- Clear Their Name: Several students find themselves having to do this during the trials, with some even having to do so on multiple occasions.
- Commonality Connection: Many friendships in the cast are based off of shared or similar experiences.
- Ditzy Genius: As always, there are several of the students that are extraordinary in their field while having little in the way of other skills. So many of them have their quirks that it can be easy to forget that these are some of the best and brightest in the country.
- Dwindling Party: Again, just like in any killing game.
- Fake Memories: The pictures that they find in the park are thought to be these. They aren't.
- Fire-Forged Friends: As more and more students die, the remaining students become even closer. For the most part.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: Subverted. In the main cast, there are nine males and eleven females. Played straight when the mod characters are removed, however, since both are female.
- A House Divided: The mascots attempt to do this with the team selection, but outside of trials, it really doesn't affect much.
- Iconic Item: After a student dies, whether by murder or execution, a signature item is placed in the common room trophy case as a sort of memorial.
- Improbable Age: For some talents more than others, though this is a standard for Hope's Peak.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: How the investigations usually proceed. Separating to cover more ground is the dominant strategy.
- Limited Wardrobe: There's very little to do in the terms of a costume change.
- Parental Neglect: Features in many students' backstories.
- School Uniforms are the New Black: Subverted. Most of the students are wearing casual clothing.
- Tragic Dream: In both senses. Several students have goals that are compromised by the killing game, but there are also a series of haunting dreams that plague the students in their sleep.
SHSL Actor
Katashi Tsukuda is the first and only child of Hotaru and Kenji Tsukuda. Semi well-known actors themselves, it seemed that they encouraged Katashi to act from a young age as he had a couple of roles even as a young child. Slowly but steadily, he started to rise in popularity, soon becoming well-known due to the variety of his roles, from the love interest to the maniacal villain.
Despite being in the public’s eye from such a young age, however, not much is known about his personal life. He tends to refuse most interviews, and he doesn’t have any sort of social media. The only glimpses into his life out there are from photos and anecdotes that his parents have shown and given, though even those are rare. Otherwise, he’s a mystery to the public.
Katashi accidentally kills Kazuho in chapter 5 after she attacks him in the laser tag arena. He defends himself with the taser he was given as a part of the motive, and it ends up shocking Kazuho into falling to her death from the upper levels of the arena. Katashi is killed before the body can be discovered after he retreats to the planetarium skydeck where he is pushed over the railing by Taiki.
- [[spoiler: Accidental Murder: Ends up killing Kazuho in self-defense, though the rules of the game don't care one bit.
- Ambiguously Gay: A lot of classmates have theorized that he and Kazuki share a mutual crush.'
- Attention Whore: Subverted. For an actor, Katashi does his best to avoid the spotlight.
- Color Motif: Cool colors, with his blue hair and purple jacket.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Blue hair and blue eyes.
- Even the Guys Want Him: It wouldn't be surprising to hear that one of the girls had a crush on the famous actor they'd seen on the big screen, but it's implied that Kazuki has a crush on Katashi.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Kazuki. Or are they?
- Innocent Bystander: Leads to his death in chapter 5. He just happened to walk in as Kazuho was preparing to kill the next person she saw.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Katashi ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets attacked by Kazuho. He defends himself and ends up sending her falling to her death.
- Morality Pet: To Kazuki. After Katashi's death, Kazuki becomes much more cynical and jaded.
- Nice Guy: Doesn't have a problem getting along with anyone in particular. Most would comment on how nice he is.
- Reclusive Artist: He tends to refuse interviews, and doesn't have much known about his life. Might be a lesser example due to his parents showing photos and giving some anecdotes about him, though those are still rare.
- Ship Tease: With Kazuki, especially from their classmates.
- Shrinking Violet: Surprisingly enough for an actor, Katashi hates being in the spotlight.
SHSL Custodian
Spotless, white tiles glisten as you step inside the room once thought to be the most massive dump restaurant in all of Japan. The sweet smell of pine infiltrates your nostrils and feel as if you’ve walked into heaven. As you make your way to your seat, you notice that the table has been polished to the point you can see your reflection just as well as you would see a mirror and- is that a shine you see?
At this point in time you began to truly believe that “floors that you can eat off of” might actually be true! At the end of the day, it boils down to the Super High School Level Custodian, Kazuki Akiyama. From building to building, he has made it his personal duty to ensure that every single building shall be as clean as if it was the grand opening. Currently holding the Guinness World Record of Fastest Building Cleaner (half an hour) there’s is no doubt in mind that this squeaky clean custodian is eager to make sure that Hope is left well polished for centuries to come!
Kazuki kills Sora in chapter 2 after a misunderstanding in the sauna. He locks Sora into a tanning bed which roasts him alive. Kazuki is spared by the class because of the misunderstanding and because of the active motive.
Kazuki is then killed in chapter 6 by Uki, though he agrees to it as a method of ending the motive and saving the rest of the class.
- Almighty Janitor: Perhaps a subdued version of this trope, but he did get into Hope's Peak Academy alongside powerful figures like Kusuo and Katashi.
- Broken Tears: Cries during his confession at the end of the second trial.
- Brutal Honesty: Gets the Bluntness Disease in chapter 4.
- The Chikan: Gropes Harukana while suffering from Despair Disease.
- Crash-Into Hello: Gets one of these with Ayumi.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: Acquired them during his stint as a custodian. More likely related to his chronic insomnia.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Gives his life to end the vote motive in chapter 6, which would have claimed most of the class otherwise.
- Must Have Caffeine: Drinks large quantities of coffee throughout his time at the theme park. He suffers from chronic insomnia related to a past trauma, and copes in part with caffeine.
- Neat Freak: A natural consequence of his talent. He experiences major shock upon entering the filthy maintenance room for the first time.
- Only Sane Man: Can only handle one energetic girl at a time. Unfortunately, in this class they travel in groups.
- Playing Sick: Successfully pulls this gambit to avoid getting his hair braided by the Genki Squad. Perhaps ironically, he's one of the students that suffers from the Despair Disease motive in chapter 4.
- Regretful Traitor: Shamefully abandons Takeo to the clutches of the Genki Squad, but feels genuinely bad after his fake sickness gambit causes pain to Kusuo.
- Sarcasm-Blind: Can't tell that Anzu is joking when she threatens to leave a note accusing him of being her murderer if she dies.
SHSL Business Executive
Kusuo Kawamura also known as The Prince of Business, is the only son to the technological giant and corporate head of the Japan Business Federation, Takashi Kawamura. Kusuo is the sole heir to Kawamura Industries, a company which is currently the leading manufacturer of state of the art technological marvels. Even as a child Kusuo was extremely intelligent and extraordinarily resourceful. He was always the top student of his classes and won his schools a multitude of awards through competing in academic competitions. He didn’t just excel in the classroom, he dominated the athletic field as well. He played on a variety of different sports teams and helped win many championships. Even though Kusuo performed admirably in the athletic world, it was clear his true calling was in the field of business. He had been groomed to take over his father’s company since birth. Though lesser known information about the boy is his love and talent for the popular online strategy game simply known as Senryaku. Kusuo adores the game and is said to be one of the top ranked players in Japan. Once he entered his second year of junior high, Kusuo was allowed to officially begin working in his father’s company. Though he started as a simple assistant manager, he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the chief executives of the company
Kusuo survives to the endgame where he is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
- The Ace: Handsome, athletic, smart...and perfectly capable of holding his own in trials.
- The Beautiful Elite: Very preoccupied with his looks, if his tears over a single comb are to be believed.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: He's a jerk, especially early on.
- Blue Blood: As a member of the Kawamura family. Subverted, since he's adopted.
- Break the Haughty: Chapter 3 does this to him when Jae-eun is found guilty and executed.
- Classy Cravat: Wears one to represent his rich lifestyle. He doesn't like it when people insult it.
- Enraged by Idiocy: You can usually find Kusuo telling the others to shut up and stop wasting time, especially if it's Uki, or in the first trial, Anzu.
- Family Business: The only son to the technological giant and corporate head of the Japan Business Federation, as well as Kawamura Industries. If anyone found out that he was adopted, it could be dangerous.
- Icy Blue Eyes
- Jerkass: Toward nearly everyone, though he eventually softens up toward his teammates. The others, on the other hand...
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Underneath his haughtiness is a man who still looks out for his teammates and those he cares for.
- Lack of Empathy: There's a lot of times where he struggles to understand what the others are feeling.
- Lost Lenore: A dead childhood friend, Kari. Jae-Eun also seems to be one after her death in chapter 3.
- Non-Idle Rich: Works in a leadership position in his company and plays the stocks for a hobby.
- The Proud Elite: Considers himself superior to the others, though he finds some moments to appreciate the others as the game goes on.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Considers himself to be one, though the others disagree with his fashion choices.
SHSL Fighting Game Pro
Head into any one of Tokyo’s many arcades and if you see a huge crowd forming behind one of their fighting game machines, chances are you’ll find a bandanna wearing boy behind the controller mashing away, beating whatever poor sap decided to challenge him.
Masaru Kirisaki, better known as his online name, ‘[IM] sayaka’, is considered a prodigy in fighting games, having the technique to perfectly execute combos, the foresight to read and predict his opponent’s moves and the ability to play every single character in whatever fighting game he’s currently interested in the most at a competitive level.
Notorious for his rude and cocky attitude, it’s undeniable that many people in the fighting game community dislike Masaru, he’s well known for taunting opponents and he never shakes their hands after a game and not once has he ever said anything remotely close to a “GG”. Nevertheless, none can deny this small boy’s exceptional skill at the game, his three year winning streak in every single tournament is more than enough to prove his worth.
[[spoilers: Masaru is killed by Jae-eun after he refuses to cooperate with her plan to kill Ayumi. He is stabbed through the stomach after suffering several other injuries.]]
- Ascended Fanboy: His love of fighting games and his amazing skill at it means he gets to do what he loves for a living. It's what got him accepted into Hope's Peak after all.
- Bratty Half-Pint: The smallest member in the cast, Masaru likes to go around challenging people to fights (arcade fights), bragging about how much better he is than them and being a general man child.
- Character Tics: Likes to tug at his oversized bandana when he's nervous, sad, happy or even angry.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Is so obsessed with his fighting games, he often is totally lost on what's going on. Everything is a fighting game reference to him, even real people he meets.
- Coat Cape: Whether he does it to look cool or because it's too big for him is up for debate.
- Friendless Background: In the first challenge, Masaru's secret is that he doesn't have any real friends. Not that shocking considering his personality.
- Genius Ditz: When it comes to fighting games, Masaru is unmatched, predicting moves, memorizing combos and whatnot, but outside of that, he's a big dunce. He actually believed a key was missing because someone ate it.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Gets mad and riled up easily, especially when it comes to talking about CARL.
- Hot-Blooded: Masaru is VERY passionate in everything he does. Especially fighting games, he can go on and on and on about them for hours, and don't get him started on Carl players.
- Most Gamers Are Male: Exactly what it says. SHSL Fighting Game Pro is a guy.
- No Indoor Voice: Shouts a lot, even in a courtroom. His voice isn't exactly the most threatening thing though.
- Older Than They Look: He's 17, but he's about as tall as a 13 year old.
- The Nicknamer: Names everyone else after a fighting game character that vaguely resembles them. Emphasis on vaguely.
- Third-Person Person: Takes it to a whole new level, referring to himself often as 'The great Masaru', because he's that great.
- Verbal Tic: As mentioned, refers to himself as 'the great Masaru'. Also likes to put on a falsetto voice and hold fake conversations with himself when he's trying to explain things.
SHSL Veterinarian
Hailing from within Tokyo, Shichirou rose up quickly in the medical world. First off, he was acting as a veterinarian's assistant at the age of 14. If that wasn’t good enough, he was then able to become a fully fledged veterinarian at the age of 16. To top all of those achievements off, his first year as a veterinarian had very few errors, and that was with a heavy workload!
But there are things even past Shichirou’s success in the veterinary field that you can find, and that is information on his family. They were well known to those who were advocators for animal shelters as they were making hefty donations to animal shelter charities around the world! Apart from this, there isn’t too much information to find on them, but with achievements like that under their belts what more would you even need to know about them?
Shichirou survives until the endgame and is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
- Brutally Honest: Unlike Kazuho and Jae-Eun, he really has no qualms in saying what he thinks, positive or not.
- No Social Skills: Outright refuses to spend time with any of his classmates
- Kindly Vet: It's not confirmed about animals, but definitely averted when it comes to other humans.
SHSL Speed Painter
Sora had fallen in love with painting at a very young age, from the way paint looked and to the way paint smelled, Sora adored every ounce of it. Painting every moment he could since he had been 6 years old, Sora’s years of dedication to the craft had earned him the incredible skill, and he decided to focus on the Realism art style to best showcase his abilities.
Sora quietly went his way through his time in school like a shadow, remaining out of the center of attention. Sora rarely did extracurricular activities aside from painting, and so he would be left with lots of free time for painting, which he utilized well. Sora spent so much time painting that he developed the skill to do so at an incredible speed compared to other artists. What could take others a week, Sora could do in two days at the most.
Having such a quick pace meant Sora would be left with many of his finished paintings but nowhere to keep them, so it was decided that his paintings would be sold, and sell they did. The highly realistic paintings sold at an astonishing rate, earning Sora quite a lot of money and a matching reputation.
Sora had become renowned for his fast painting skills and number of high level works, so much so that the high availability of paintings caused a shift in the local market for Realism paintings. No longer did it cost a fortune to afford gorgeous portraits of realistic art, but now unique works were very common in the area, as if fine painting had reached an industrial age.
Sora is killed in chapter 2 after a misunderstanding with Kazuki leads to a struggle in which the latter knocks the former out. Kazuki then leaves Sora to die in an active tanning bed, roasting him to death.
- Properly Paranoid: Given that he has been placed in a killing game with nineteen other strangers it's understandable that Sora is somewhat concerned regarding his life, even though he can come across as overreacting in some cases. And considering his fate his paranoia is somewhat justified.
- Sauna of Death: Sora arrived to the sauna covered in red paint. Kazuki mistakes this for blood and prepares to defend himself, leading to an entirely unnecessary struggle which results in Sora's death.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: During the second team challenge, where basically one has to hunt down their target and avoid the person hunting them, he lasts quite a while by sneaking around and running away from his hunter Riyo.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Objects heavily to the those on the side of the team vote wanting to pardon Maza for the murder of Eri.
- Would Hit a Girl: Or try to at least. His attempt to tackle Haruka so he can escape Riyo just leaves him unconscious.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Fakes tears to get Jae-Eun to lower her guard so he can get her out of a team challenge. It works but he gets thrown to the ground and hits his head hard for his efforts.
SHSL Sidewalk Artist
Taiki Nijiiro is an artist on the rise, slowly making a name for himself - his out of this world realistic drawings on sidewalks and streets, alleys, the like are being spread all over the net, featured in pictures by citizen in his town, travelers or tourists. An incredibly captivating piece done and presented on the paving of the Takayama Spring Festival is the reason of his recent surge in popularity. His admirable skill with just a few pieces of chalk - though they’re not just tools to him - his distant artist persona are the two most important traits factoring into his success and the beauty of his art - and such magnificence ought to have captured the eye of Hope’s Peak Academy sooner or later.
Taiki becomes the sixth blackened in chapter 5 when he shoves a despondent Katashi off of the planetarium skydeck, sending him falling to his death. He is executed for his crime, ground into chalk and used by Monokuma to make a childish drawing.
- Lack of Empathy: Fails to understand why people were distraught at seeing Kusuo's reaction after messing around with him goes wrong. This comes up again when he bluntly asks why people were sad at Eri's murder, much to the irritation of Harukana.
SHSL Machinist
Have you ever wondered who makes the parts that go into things such as you car or phone? Probably not that often, if at all; but given how important the job is, maybe you should learn to give a little credit where credit is due.
Meet Takeo Yoshiba, a young man who has just recently accepted into the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy as it’s Super High School Level Machinist. A member of the Urameshi Brothers Machine Shop, Takeo works with different types of metals (aluminum, steel, copper, etc.) to produce the parts you so often take for granted. Through the usage of machines such as lathes or mills, Takeo is able to easily produce just about anything; so long as he has a reference point that is.
Takeo’s a blue collar worker at it’s finest, with a knack for hard work to compliment his hardened exterior. This hard exterior may make him come off as brash, however, it’s what makes him so ‘colorful’; among other quirks that is. Whether you take a liking to him or not, he’s a shining example of the future of Japan’s manufacturing industry!
Takeo becomes a blackened in chapter 4 after using the Despair Disease patients as accomplices to a crime. He has them corral Tsubaki into the cemetery maze where he set an explosive trap that kills her. He is spared during the trial.
Takeo survives to endgame and is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
SHSL Salesman (SHSL Con Artist)
A sharp tongue, a light spirit, and an eagerness to put the right tool in every person’s hands, Takeshi’s want to share quality with the world stems back to when he was just a child. Hawking product at any given job, Takeshi made a mint matching the product to the player. Even as the SHSL Salesman, he genuinely believes he’s sharing the right stuff with the right people, and just wants to make sure his classmates are happy with it.
Takeshi’s life was not filled with much want, as for the most part, people around him seemed happy. His talent led to a frequent customer pushing him towards Hope’s Peak, believing the quality of his sales to be something worthy of what many call Ultimate. And with a sales pitch in hand, he made his way to the group, eager to see what fate had in store for him.
Takeshi becomes the first blackened of the game after knocking Eri unconscious and setting her in a death trap that uses the momentum of the Ferris wheel to kill her. He is convicted of his crime and executed by being exposed to several harmful products, such as a stun gun, a large bomb, and a cauldron full of molten gold.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Is shocked, blasted by a grenade before being boiled alive in a cauldron of molten gold.
- Fake Brit: Speaks and act like a typical British salesman, but is very much Japanese. He drops it after revealing his real name and talent.
- I Have Many Names: as it turns Takeshi Oshiro is just one of many names he uses.
- Traveling Salesman: His talent. As of chapter one, it turns out his actual talent is that of a SHSL Con Artist.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Interaction were cut short due to him being the first killer executed in the game.
SHSL Lucky Student SHSL Thief (Former)
There isn’t much to be said about the annual lottery held by Hope’s Peak that hasn’t been said before. The concept of luck has come to fascinate those in charge of admissions, and every year, the steering committee holds a nationwide lottery of all eligible students, selecting a single one to attend their prestigious school as the SHSL Lucky Student. Anzu was selected to attend Hope’s Peak as the Lucky Student in the 79th class, an honor she had no reason to decline. Due to the nature of her “talent”, there’s very little information to be found on her background: Anzu is, by her own account, a normal high school girl.
Anzu is actually the SHSL Thief, orphaned at a young age and forced to fend for herself. She grew up with other such orphans, stealing to survive, until the leader of their group was killed. This set Anzu off on a journey for revenge, honing and perfecting her ability as a thief in order to find the truth behind the hit and run "accident" that claimed her leader's life.
While this is true, it happened long before the events of DWL 2. Anzu has already graduated from Hope's Peak as a member of the 76th class, and is now the head of the Future Foundation's 15th branch, in charge of hostage and information acquisition. She willingly joined the Dream World Killing Game in order to expose the mastermind and free the students from their captivity. She manipulates the events leading up to her own murder at the hand of the mastermind.
- Aloof Ally: Says she's on the class's side, but isn't exactly forthcoming. This proves to be true when it is revealed that Anzu is a member of the Future Foundation who infiltrated the game to save the students.
- Born Lucky: Her talent, though she says it's nothing special. She earns bonus prizes from the Monomono Machine twice in a row, something that would ordinarily be next to impossible. Subverted when it is revealed that her real talent has nothing to do with luck.
- Blunt "Yes": Known to give out a few of these, in particular when asked if she expected anyone to try to murder.
- Brutal Honesty: Very direct and to the point, not bothering to sugarcoat things.
- Cannot Tell a Joke: Her deadpan delivery doesn't help, particularly when the punchline relates to murder, as Kazuki learned.
- Canon Foreigner: In universe example. Anzu isn't a member of the class, being instead a Future Foundation member that infiltrated the game in order to shut it down from the inside.
- Chekhov's Skill: Lockpicking. Hints toward her true nature as a thief. It also comes in handy during the final trial, when it proves that her breaking of the trophy case was deliberate in order to get herself injured.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Grew up without ever knowing her parents.
- The Coroner: Performs an autopsy for every trial. She even provides some information about her own death in a note of prediction she left with Shichirou.
- Cryptically Unhelpful Answer: Most everything she says fits this in some way.
- Determinator: States very plainly that she doesn't intend to die here. Subverted when she becomes a victim in the seventh chapter. Double subverted when it's revealed that she plotted her own death as a method of trapping the mastermind and that she won't stay dead if the program resets.
- Devil's Advocate: Plays this role for her team, somewhat. She'll offer a conflicting point of view while saying that she doesn't really care about the decision made in the end.
- Emotionless Girl: Shows shades of this. Her expression rarely changes, even when she says something that might upset others or when she tells a joke. Played with during the Despair Disease motive, where she receives the Emotion Disease.
- Figure It Out Yourself: Calls a vote in the first trial after only a few things have been said, then says this almost word for word to the others. She grows out of it.
- Her Boyfriend's Jacket: A non-romantic example. The jacket she wears is a memento from a friend who died saving her life.
- No Social Skills: Seems to lack these. She speaks informally and directly, without considering others' feelings.
- Ordinary High-School Student: Very little information can be found on her, which is understandable considering that she's an otherwise normal student. Or not. Still, a thief that everyone knows would hardly be effective.
- Sherlock Scan: Comes to conclusions based off of the tiniest clues. Somewhat justified, considering she's been trying to solve a murder case for the last ten years and specializes in exposing criminals.
- Technicolor Eyes: Bright pink.
- Unluckily Lucky: Her first attempt at pulling from the Monomono Machine results in a lucky bonus prize. Both items suck, however, causing her to lament this fact.
- Walking Spoiler
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Her entire plan in chapter 7 is this. She intentionally breaks a rule in order to receive a punishment that tricks the mastermind into seizing the opportunity to kill her.
SHSL Patissiere
‘Natsuhara’ is a name that is well known in Japan, for multiple reasons.
Firstly, it is the surname of Jutoku Natsuhara, a direct descendant of not only an largely influential clan that has existed in Japan for over 400 years but a famous politician that is part of the National Diet's House of Councillors. Secondly, Jutoku Natsuhara is the husband of Omiko Natsuhara, whose Mother was previously a Princess of the Japanese Imperial Family that lost her title and membership due to marriage. To this day, the Natsuhara family is a well-known family that has exceedingly high prominence in Japanese society and it is a name that commands respect.
Ayumi Natsuhara is no exception to the rule. She is the youngest child and only daughter of the Natsuhara family, and is famous for being the only child amongst the three that was privately home-schooled. As a family with such a public presence, Ayumi's academic achievements are well publicised. Most notably, anyone who bothered to search for them would easily discover that Ayumi had won several silver medals for rhythmic gymnastics between the ages of 10 and 14 at junior competitions.
Despite her athletic achievements, Ayumi garnered attention when the girl was revealed to be the patron and head-pâtissiere at 'Sweet Beginnings' (甘美始まり), a pâtisserie in Ayumi's countryside hometown that had rose to public interest in recent times for its exceedingly beautiful and cute dessert designs. The cutesy designs, and their delicious taste, earnt the patisserie fast internet fame and gathered customers from miles around.
It was as the creator of these wonderfully tasty treats that Ayumi earned herself an invitation to Hope's Peak Academy as the SHSL Pâtissiere.
Ayumi is killed by Jae-eun in chapter 3 after being taken into the Quest Adventure building. She is defended by Masaru, but ultimately both are killed by Jae-eun.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: She holds herself with grace, and is an excellent baker
- Long Hair Is Feminine
- Rupunzel Hair: It's pretty long. Averted, as her real hair length is just around her shoulders, using hair extensions to lengthen her hair, though the reason is unknown.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: An OOC opinion among the R Pers.
SHSL Journalist
The name ‘Veritas’ surfaced the web 6 years ago the same time as a similarly named blogging website that covered a scandal involving a politician and his supposed corruption. On the website was a thorough report involving all the parties involved including all sorts of sources like their public interviews, quarterly reports, hacked emails and wiretapped conversations. With this out in the public, it was revealed the accused politician had been set up by his competitors thus allowing him to go on free.
Despite single handedly clearing a public figure’s name, the site’s owner and author of the article was never found out at the time but over the years they continued to post about ambiguous scandals, crimes and wrongdoings to clear or incarcerate a party.
It wasn’t until a year ago that the author and owner of the site was revealed to be the same person, a high school girl named Eri Tsurumi, when this time an article on the website incarcerated the CEO of a large multinational information technology company of spying on journalists by hiring their own team of unconnected security experts to search the source of their information leak. The security experts themselves hired private eyes to obtain phone records from their victims by impersonating them . The victims ranged from high-ranking members of the board to security personnel and even to journalists.
Unluckily, one of the research targets was ‘Veritas’ and once Eri found out her private info was being sought out, she exposed the company of spying and revealed her identity to the world in process.
Eri becomes the first victim of the killing game in chapter 1. She is knocked out by Takeshi, who then rigs a death trap that kills Eri through the momentum of the Ferris wheel.
- She Knows Too Much: The reason why she was murdered by Takeshi, since she uncovered previous secrets of people before hand and thus he was paranoid she knew theirs.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Being the unfortunate first victim of the killing game, nobody got to spend time with her much before her untimely demise.
SHSL Debater
Fuyashi Hokosaki has always loved putting up a good argument. Screaming matches are her specialty, as she’s usually able to keep her cool and present an intelligent and thought-out argument that crushes her opponent in the blink of an eye. She’s deceptive and sneaky with her words, but also concise and calm with her approach. After her parents left her to fend for herself and to take care of her younger sister, Fuyashi struggled with maintaining her own life as well as her sister’s. However, she persisted, and continues to research hot debate topics and do her best at whatever she puts her mind to. She was sought out by Hope’s Peak Academy after her second big win at the Japanese National Debate Championships, triumphing over a big-name private school. She truly hopes that her acceptance will guarantee financial success in life, as her main goal is to ensure that both she and her sister, who she loves dearly, are set for life.
Fuyashi survives to endgame and is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
SHSL Hairstylist
Welcome to the Lemon Comb website!
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About us:
Everybody has that, a bad hair day, and if you say otherwise you’re clearly lying! Hey, don’t worry champ, I gotcha, My name? Harukana Yakusoku, remember that name because I’ll be the best hairstylist in future Japan, you’ll see! Right now I’m just the infamous Shampoo Girl.~ Our mission? To make your day better with one cut. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, just visit the Hair salon: Lemon Comb in Tokyo and you’ll see.~
Still not sold? You ain’t an easy target, aye I like that. Well just so you know, well known celebrities have visited our place! With a bit of luck you might meet one too.~
Get a free cut when you bring friends!
Harukana survives to endgame where she is revealed to be both the murderer of Anzu and the mastermind of the Dream World Killing Game.
SHSL Fencer
Jae-Eun Mun was born in Seoul, Korea, to a rather affluent family of her mother, father, and brother.
Jae-Eun was enrolled in a private school after her brother, where she learned the ropes around fencing. Curious about the sport after her friends joined as an extracurricular, she ended up quickly adopting skills necessary to be good at the sport, mastering the three different types in a short amount of time. Her instructors decided for Jae-Eun to focus on Épée, due to her advantage in height and overall defensive technique in all disciplines. The girl ended up winning the global fencing tournaments in Epee annually, while winning national Sabre and Foil competitions in her downtime as well.
Having to move out to Japan because her parent’s promotion, Jae-Eun continued her practice in fencing, entering in local, then national competitions in Japan. She did take up entering the international competitions representing Japan eventually, cementing her international prestige as the world’s top women’s Epeeist. This caught the recruiters of Hope’s Peak Academy’s attention, and Jae-Eun promptly received an invitation to join the Academy under the title of SHSL Fencer.
Jae-eun became a blackened in chapter 3 when her gambit to have Masaru help her kill Ayumi failed. She ended up stabbing both to death inside the Quest Adventure building. She was executed after their trial, being manipulated into performing on stage in a mock production of The Nutcracker.
- Action Girl: Is apt at the Epee and is certainly athletic enough to fend for herself.
- All for Nothing: Her wish for the chapter 3 motive was for Kusuo to be allowed to escape with her if she successfully graduated. However, her efforts were in vain, as she couldn't get away with it.
- Alpha Bitch: Jae-eun's bluntness, looking down at people and care for looks all culminate in her being perceived as one, certainly.
- Badass Arm-Fold: Will usually cross her arms if she needs to converse with a person for a while.
- Brutal Honesty: Ask her about an opinion, and she will not hesitate to tell you what is on her mind, even if it means gravely upsetting you.
- Fille Fatale: Appearance oriented, borderline skimpy outfits, working out constantly and a talent in which she handles a rapier? She is certainly on her way to becoming a Femme Fatale when she gets older.
- Hypo Crite: Her main defence in the first trial was that it would be illogical to murder one's own teammate for the sake of escape. Two chapters later, she kills Masaru anyways. It wasn't her original plan, but it wasn't accidental, either.
- Jerkass: Several occasions Jae-eun would say it as it is, ignoring how the other person was feeling.
- Ice Queen: Her stoic attitude along with her colour scheme portrays a rather cold demeanour.
- Icy Blue Eyes
- Perpetual Frowner: Jae-eun never smiles. Ever. She seems to be serious most of the time, but even if she is amused by something, all she gives up is an eyebrow raise and an air of teasing in her voice. Mouth however? As straight-faced as ever.
- Rich Bitch: Tvtropes puts it best - ' She has all the money in the world, but it can't buy her a soul. '
- Surrounded by Idiots: Often sees other students in this light, especially her team.
- They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason: Never seems to want to discuss personal issues, and avoids or downplays them as much as is necessary.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Jae-eun can be a little fake sometimes, seeing as she tries to play up her niceness if only briefly to fulfill a task. She also killed two people, especially since one of those deaths could have been avoided.
SHSL Barista
In a cafe in Harajuku, Tokyo, there’s a small cafe tucked away near the edge of the shopping district. Yet, it’s one of the top go-to places for coffee in the capital, with tourists and locals alike patroning the cafe each and every day without fail. Even someone who knows nothing about coffee would definitely be impressed by its taste.
But it’s not just the cozy atmosphere and the good coffee that brings in the customers.
Kazuho Asakawa, is the star barista of Nyanko Coffee Cafe. A runner-up in the Junior Free Pour Latte Art World Championship, the 17-year-old’s skills in latte art is truly a sight to behold. From basic patterns to portraits, the labor-intensive works of art are so stunning, it could be easy to forget that they sit atop lattes.
Asakawa, who also runs an Photogram account under the alias Minty, has been working in Nyanko Cafe for three years, and was a key part in turning the cafe into a tourism spot for coffee lovers everywhere. Apart from showings conducted at Nyanko every week, she also uploads photos of her designs that she creates, both original, and from requests made by commenters.
She has since been on leave after being scouted by Hope’s Peak Academy.
Kazuho becomes a victim in chapter 5 after attempting to kill Katashi in the laser tag arena. She is shocked by his taser and falls to her death inside the arena.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: To Jae-Eun, much to the amusement of their roleplayers.
- Accidental Murder: Her death turns out to be this.
- Brutal Honesty: She's far from malicious, but her tongue is rather sharp, exemplified by her telling Rika that she didn't care about her 'origins' or 'customs'.
- Death by Falling Over: Her ultimate cause of death
- Hidden Depths: She's an excellent bass player, and was in a light music club as a bassist and backup-vocal shortly before entering Hope's Peak. She's good enough to at least keep up with the likes of Tsubaki.
- Ice Queen: See below.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Though her aloof personality remains mostly intact, she quietly watches over her classmates with veiled concern.
- Indifferent Beauty: She's very well aware that people find her attractive, but doesn't seem to care. Seems to have romantic affections for a girl back home, so she's not entirely indifferent.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Stoic and occasionally abrasive, but knows when to fold it when she's in the wrong, willing to apologize for most mistakes.
- Last-Name Basis: To the boys, though it is the reverse for the girls.
- No Social Skills: Downplayed, but is ironic considering her career.
- The Quiet One: She prefers observing people, rather than speak to them.
- The Stoic: Barely shows emotion, unless you go out of your way to push her buttons.
- Not So Stoic: On the other hand, she gets embarrassed from being praised too much. Subverted in that she can get used to this with enough time.
- Sorry, I'm Gay: Rika tries to get Kazuho to capitalize on a romance with another person (implied to be another boy in the class). She responds with this.
- Stealth Expert: Her method of elimination during the Murder game, taking out Kazuki and Uki in this manner.
- They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason: Tends to deflect questions regarding them, and sharply informed Rika that even if she did have them, it didn't matter, and she would continue to dislike her.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Taiki out for laughing at Kusuo's misery. She would later express disdain at Kusuo's prank on the patients in Chapter 4, having to apologize to Shichirou and Rika as a result.
- Youthful Freckles: They lightly dot her face and shoulders.
SHSL Astronomer
A somewhat-introverted girl from Kanazawa, in the Ishikawa Prefecture. She claims to be a lost member of the Wan Hok people, from a small planet near Alpha Centauri. She is noteworthy for her dedication to astronomy and surveying the night sky. Her notes on amateur astronomy, including identification of common astronomical events and tips for the ‘budget astronomer’, proved to be a minor success online, with her blog, ‘Insights from a Stargazing Extra-Terrestrial’, reaching a peak of around twenty-thousand hits a week for its easy-to-follow language and amusing commentary on ‘human life’. Despite the relatively short period of her observations, her stargazing recently resulted in the discovery of a new comet, which, together with her success online, earned her an admission to Hope’s Peak Academy with the title of SHSL Astronomer.
Rika survives to endgame and is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
- Chuunibyou: If she's not actually an alien, she's this.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Claims to be an alien from another planet. Not many people entertain this notion.
- Fishbowl Helmet: Wears one on her head. Somehow, she hasn't suffocated yet.
- Not Quite Human: Or so Rika claims.
- No Social Skills: Several classmates will tell you that conversing with Rika can be rather...taxing, due to her taking most things seriously.
- Sarcasm-Blind: She's getting better at it.
- Shipper on Deck: Tried to convince Kazuho to capitalize on a possible romance with another male classmate. She's immediately shot down due to Kazuho's Imcompatible Orientation
SHSL Kickboxer
From a young age Riyo Tanikawa had always been fascinated by fighters. She grew up watching them on television or going to see them in person, always cheering her heart out throughout the match. She wanted to follow in those fighters' footsteps and one day fight on the same stage they did. She started training when she was just a kid and when she was finally old enough to start sparring, Riyo became a force to be reckoned with. She entered her first competition at the age of thirteen and even though it ended with her losing in the semi-finals, the loss only spurred her to train harder and showed her how much more she had to improve if she ever wanted to make it in the martial arts world.
Her progress after that was astounding and rumours started to circulate that she’d learned from a famous fighter. She became the Junior Flyweight national female champion just after turning fourteen and held the title until just after she turned sixteen, when she moved up to Bantamweight. She had a flawless run through the national tournament and claimed the Bantamweight title as well. Her stunning run and overall incredible win percentage caught the attention of Hope's Peak Academy who invited her as the Super High School Level Kickboxer.
Riyo survives to endgame and is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
- Action Girl
- Badass Arm-Fold: Often does this during conversations.
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: Always seen wearing one with a sunflower pin attached to it.
- Cute Bruiser
- Determinator: If she can keep moving, she'll keep fighting.
- Face of a Thug: A victim of resting bitch face.
- Instant Waking Skills: Even after staying up late with the girls she's able to get up every morning without any effort.
- Joggers Find Death: While out for a morning jog with Uki, the two encounter Anzu and end up finding the first victim: Eri Tsurumi.
- Kick Chick: Played straight.
- Morning Routine: Every morning Riyo can be found doing laps around the castle. Usually she has one or both of her female teammates with her.
- No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: Shown during the knife game. She didn't really care what the challenge was, she just wanted to be defeated at something before she let herself be stabbed.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Has a short one of these right in the middle of the courtroom with the first chapter's killer, Takeshi Oshiro after finding out about their true talent.
- Passionate Sports Girl
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Despite being in the smaller half of the cast she could likely take any of them in a fight.
- Sir Swearsalot: Swears frequently, even in situations that don't call for it.
SHSL Songwriter
Starting with nothing but a guitar and a song on their heart, the user nicknamed „Withering Camellia” enchanted people all over Japan practically overnight when they uploaded their first song to a video-sharing platform over a year ago.
A lot has changed for the artist behind the scenes of this simple song since then.
After their initial success and pleas from fans under her video, they decided to set up a website to supply them with more of the sweet-sounding tunes coming from their guitar that have long since drawn more and more people to listen to them. With millions of visitors and hundreds of commission-requests every month, they became a musician to be taken seriously, with critical acclaim among critics and multiple renowned magazines, despite remaining a phantom – until recently, nobody knew who she was and what she looked like.
Hope’s Peak Academy made it their task however to recruit the girl to their prestigious school, and to their surprise, they received an answer! Coming next semester, Tsubaki Nakano, the little girl with the golden tongue will grace their academy with her presence to hopefully provide the world with new songs in the future.
Tsubaki becomes a victim in chapter 4 after being corralled into the cemetery maze and falling into an explosive trap set by Takeo.
- Cuddle Bug: Often hugs people out of impulse if she pities them or just thinks they are behaving cute, much to the dismay of Taiki
- Easily Impressed: It is not rare to see her eyes light up when others tell about their talents and achievements
- Floral Theme Naming: Her first name is Japanese for "Camellia Flower"
- Genki Girl: Her cheerful nature knows practically no bounds, along with her seemingly endless energy
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Mentioned having her dorm room equipped with a myriad of stuffed animals, most prominently her teddybear "Fluffypaw"
- Heavy Sleeper: Slept through the morning announcement on the day after the girls' slumber party and didn't even wake up, after Ayumi, on whose lap she was resting on, stood up to leave the room
- Instant Web Hit: Her first song was a viral hit, and from then on it all went uphill with her own website
- My God, What Have I Done?: A moment of instant regret was invoked in an attempt to save Taiki from being jumped by Rika, she charges at them in an attempt to bluff them into running away and ends up tripping them, leaving them falling to the ground injured.
- Sweet Tooth: This girl loves candy. sweets and any kind of desserts
- Verbal Tic: Often starts statements with "Oh!" or "Umm..." or ends them with "Right?" or "you know?"
SHSL Cheerleader
Ukiuki Chiagaru (known simply as “Uki” to her friends and classmates) is a well-known figure in a number of junior-level sports - despite never leaving the sidelines. Her cheerleading prowess is second to none, and her high-flying performances and rousing cheers are capable of turning the hearts of even the surliest crowds. With Uki on the sidelines, rumor has it that athletes can achieve unprecedented successes and snatch impossible victories from the jaws of defeat.
Uki becomes a blackened after coming to a mutual agreement with Kazuki that one of them should die for the good of the group. She ends up killing him with the bat she was provided with in the previous chapter. She is spared by the class.
Uki survives to endgame and is forced to expose the mastermind as the murderer of Anzu.
- Beware the Nice Ones: As the first culprit would find out, that murdering one of their friends is an easy way to get in her bad books and she shows no negative emotions after witnessing the gruesome execution of Maza, the killer of Eri.
- Comical Overreacting: Her response to finding out she has a few stray hairs and partially sunburned? She would die both socially and physically. And then there's the follow up, where she freaks out just because she got some dirt over her face.
- Genki Girl: As expected, Uki definitely puts the 'cheer' in cheerleader, quickly becoming one of the most energetic and friendlier of the cast even after the announcement of the killing game.
- Joggers Find Death: While out for a morning jog with Riyo, the two encounter Anzu and end up finding the first victim: Eri Tsurumi.
- Mountain of Food: Or, to be more accurate, a mountain of cotton candy.
- The Pollyanna: Her cheerful demeanor and mannerisms isn't really respected by all of the cast and whenever Kusuo is in the picture expect her to get harshly put down by the executive, to the point of being told he would prefer if she got killed. Nevertheless, she continues to try and help make the day shine.
- Pom-Pom Girl: Her talent of cheerleading is how she got into Hope's Peak. She is very bubbly and friendly overall.
- Rousing Speech: Delivers one to her team once the killing game is announced. However, aside from Haruka, it's not really received well by the rest.
- Sustained Misunderstanding: Believes that Takeo likes to cross dress in the prologue, despite the machinist telling her otherwise.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Once the culprit of the first trial is found out, Uki has this reaction and refuses to back down from her vote of killing him off via the independent vote.
