"New island Life" is a Danganronpa fanfiction by EpicSkyScience
, retelling the story of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair from Hajime's point-of-view, this time with unorthodox pairings and new motives. It was then followed by the prequel "New school life" and two sequels: "New Hope and Despair" and "New School Semester."
The story assumes you have played both Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and watched Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School so be wary of any spoilers from the franchise.
The series consist of:
- New island Life, based on Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair.
- New school life, based on Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.
- New Hope and Despair, based on Danganronpa 3
- New School semester, based on Danganronpa V3.
It can be read on Fanfiction.net or on Archieve of Our Own here.
This page is currently under construction; any contributions are appreciated.
The series as a whole contains examples of:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In canon, Hajime was a Reserve Course Student and Chiaki was the only Class 77-B Student he interacted with. "New island Life" revealed he knew Hiyoko, Kazuichi, Sora, and the others before the tragedy, and "New Despair and Hope" revealed he was a member of their class as the Ultimate Reserve Student.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When collecting suggestions on how to beat Monokuma, Byakuya receives the suggestions of "Shoot Monokuma with a bigass gun" (Sora), "Beat that fucking bear to death with a wrench" (Kazuichi), and "Have Hiyoko do a sexy dance" (which Byakuya guesses is from Hajime, though it was actually Mahiru.)
- Brick Joke: Before Ishimaru's execution, Mondo promises to adopt a cat and name it after him. In 'New Hope and Despair,' Makoto mentions that Mondo has done so during the latter's adventure with Komaru.
- Chekhov's Gag: In New island Life, Ibuki gets the power to break the fourth wall and even sees her canon murder when she's drunk. In New School semester, she gets drunk again and uses her psychic gift to give Shuichi hints on who the Mastermind is.
- Composite Character: Alter Ego and the Imposter Byakuya are combined into an AI created by Chihiro during the Killing School Life, the AI being designed heavy-weight version of Byakuya was meant at a jab at the Smug Snake original.
- Foreshadowing: While looking at old pictures of their lives at Hopes Peak, Hajime, Kazuichi, and Hiyoko find one where the guys are with Leon Kuwata, who somehow makes Hiyoko uncomfortable. It is revealed in "New school life" that Leon's alternate self, Coke Head Frank, tried to assault her.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl:
- Primarily Hajime and Hiyoko and Shuichi and Himiko.
- Played straight between Nekomaru and Chiaki, Mondo and Komaru.
- Inverted with Celeste and Chihiro as well as Makoto with Mukuro.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Junko keeping Sora alive and unbrainwashed means he was able to work on a cure for his classmate with help from Izuru (who came into being after Junko tricked Hajime into signing up for the Kamakura project).
- Official Couple: Hajime and Hiyoko in New island Life, Makoto and Mukuro in New school life, and Shuichi and Himiko in New Hope and Despair.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Due to the author never writing it out (and having no plans too due to being bad with action scenes) the story of this universe's Ultra Despair Girls is only briefly summarized by Komaru.
- Original Character:
- Sora Rikudo, the Ultimate Chemist and member of Class 77-B. He is an outgoing scientist who relies on chemical-based guns to take on his enemies. He is trying to save his classmates after working with Junko Enoshima.
- Jiraiya Hojo, the Ultimate Kabuki Actor and a student of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. He wears a blue kimono and carries a katana, and has a strong hatred for the Saoijin clan.
Word of God describes him as the opposite of Sora.
- Script Fic: All four entries are written in this format.
New island Life contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer:
- Mikan is this to Hajime, even sneaking into his cottage while wearing only her underwear, much to his displeasure. She even continues this after coming back as a zombie.
- Junko Enoshima to her ex-boyfriend Sora. Justified as he hates her for turning his classmates into Ultimate Despair.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- Akane is the first to start the killing game after killing Mikan.
- Sonia not only kills Teruteru, but frames Kazuichi for his death. She even admits she would have let the despair-induced Byakuya kill Hiyoko just for the other girl calling her "Princess Dumbass."
- Adaptational Heroism:
- In canon, Hiyoko did not contribute much to the investigations, not even when she was a suspect. Here, she is more active as an investigator alongside Hajime starting with the second murder.
- Nagito is no longer invested in creating great hope through the despair of the killing game.
- All Love Is Unrequited:
- Mahiru at first has feelings for Hiyoko, who only sees her as a friend. She is able to move on after the other girl lets her down and Sora talks to her about it (it's later revealed that Sora had strong feelings for the photographer, but was unable to reveal them in time before she became an Ultimate Despair).
- Like in canon, Kazuichi to Sonia. However, that love is soon discarded after realizing that she hated him enough to frame him for murder.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: Sora explains that his memories of Mikan in Elementary included when she was part of a group bullying a girl from another school, leading him to kick Mikan away to save her. Hiyoko reveals the bullied girl was her, and that afterwards she ran off (afraid that Sora would attack her next) and tripped in the mud, before being helped by another boy. Hajime realizes that the boy was him when he recalls helping a young blonde girl (Hiyoko) get back home.
- The Atoner: Sora was a forced accomplice for Junko's despair, even acting as a "Teacher" for the Killing School Life, and was unable to escape after Junko turns his classmates into Ultimate Despair and used his little brother as a hostage. After helping Makoto and the others beat Junko, he enters the Neo World Simulation to save them from despair.
- Beta Couple: Sora and Mahiru, as well as Kazuichi and Ibuki, Nagito and Teruteru, and Nekomaru and Chiaki.
- Big Brother Mentor: Sora, not only to his half-brother Gonta but also to his classmate Hiyoko.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Apparently when Ibuki gets drunk, she realizes they are in a fanfiction and even sees herself be killed by Mikan in the canon game.
- Comically Missing the Point: When finding the broken knife by Byakuya's corpse, Kazuichi and Ibuki have... a unique conclusion from it.Ibuki: This was found next to Byakuya's body. I think the rest of it is in his body.
Kazuichi: So he ate something. That's not surprising.
Hiyoko: No, you stupid grease monkey! She means-
Ibukui: You thought he ate it too! Wow that's amazing!
Hiyoko: ...I forgot you're an idiot too... - Damsel in Distress: In almost every despair incident, Hiyoko is usually put into a dangerous situation that requires Hajime (and sometimes the others) to rescue her.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Akane, Sonia, and Fuyuhiko. Downplayed due to the island being a simulation.
- Mikan is killed in Part 1 as a victim, two parts earlier than canon.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Mikan is disliked by her classmates, due to her meek nature and her past as a pitiful bully. Even after she is killed, Sora and Hajime are the only ones who investigate (and Sora was the only one to volunteer).
- Foreshadowing:
- Hajime meets Kazuichi and Hiyoko at the same time, which is surprising given the two are far from close in canon. Several chapters later, Hajime reads his classmates assigned journals, and from Kazuichi's learns that the two are cousins.
- During her drunken state, Ibuki wonders if Mikan will come back as a zombie. Following the third execution, Monokuma reanimates the deceased students to attack their living classmates.
- Fuyuhiko mentions to Hiyoko that he actually has an interest in chess. A chess motif is later used in his own execution.
- Everyone Can See It: Peko states this about Hajime and Hiyoko's feelings towards each other.
- Hidden Depths:
- Sora has an interest in American Musicals.
- Hiyoko is a fan of rock music and manga, the latter enough that she wanted to be the Ultimate Manga Artist instead of the Ultimate Traditional Dancer.
- Fuyuhiko is an avid fan of chess.
- In Spite of a Nail
- Peko and Mahiru still die in chapter two
- Nekomaru is still involved in a murder plot in order to escape the Funhouse.
- Nagito still dies in Chapter 5.
- Murder-Suicide: Chiaki and Nekomaru both plan this to help the others escape the funhouse. Chiaki, seeing herself as weak due to her injuries, asks Nekomaru to kill her to allow their classmates to get food. He then intentionally leaves evidence to make sure he will be convicted and executed.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: The second motive is that a student can escape with one they hold dear (i.e. Hajime and Mahiru with Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko with Peko and vice-versa, Sora with Mahiru) if they kill a specific target.
- Related in the Adaptation: Hiyoko and Kazuichi are cousins in this story, with Hiyoko's father and Kazuichi's mother being siblings.
- Our Zombies Are Different: The day after the Third Trial, Monokuma resurrects the bodies of the murdered/executed (Minus Mahiru, whose execution left no body) as part of a competition between the living and the dead to reach the captive Hiyoko. The zombies possess some of the same quirks, such as Akane's wild determination, Sonia's idiocy, and Mikan's obsessive crush on with Hajime
- Shout-Out:
- One to Danganronpa Abridged Thing when Peko comments on Hajime and Hiyoko's feelings towards each other.
Peko: I rest my case... so when's the wedding?
Ibuki: I ship it.
Mahiru: CAN YOU NOT!?- After being outed as the Blackened during the third trial, Sonia had this to say.
Sonia: You foolish fool... wanting to protect that even more foolish fool. - Spared by the Adaptation:
- Ibuki, Hiyoko, and Gundam make it to the end of the Killing Game.
- Teruteru and Byakuya survive chapter 1 only to both die in chapter 3.
- The real Chiaki survives her impaling. She is paralyzed from the waist down, and ends up joining her classmates as a Remnant of Despair.
- Shipper on Deck: Sora and Kazuichi are this to Hajime and Hiyoko.
- Split Personality: While Fuyuhiko is recovering from his injuries, Monokuma implants a second personality nicknamed Monohiko to act as his spy.
- Spotting the Thread: How Hajime and the others were able to identify who wrote the fake murder note in Trial 3. The note says the murder was "Kazuechi," Sonia's term for Kazuichi.
- Swapped Roles: Peko and Mahiru both still die in chapter two, only here, Mahiru killed Peko rather then the other way around.
New School Life contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy:
- Sayaka manages to kill her target, this time being Hagakure.
- Byakuya, out of rage that Mondo stopped himself from killing Chihiro, kills Toko. He then tries to disguise her corpse as a victim of Coke Head Frank.
- In the game, Hifumi was tricked into being an accomplice by Celeste. Here, he tricks Kiyotaka into killing Leon in an attempt to protect Chihiro and Celeste, when in truth the otaku was after the one million yen reward of the third motive.
- Not only does Junko kill Mukuro, she also frames the girl for murder using Sayaka's corpse identified as Mukuro Ikusuba.
- Anti-Villain: Sora is introduced to Class 78 as their teacher for the Killing School Life. In truth, he is only staying with Junko due to the fact she is holding his brother hostage and he is trying to create a cure for his classmate's Despair.
- Beta Couple: Chihiro and Celeste.
- Official Couple: Makoto and Mukuro, before her execution.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Chihiro, Mondo, Sakura, and Celeste
- Mukuro avoids being impaled, but later gets framed for murder before getting executed by Junko.
- Split Personality: Leon has a split personality brought out through cocaine named Coke Head Frank who is an intense lolicon.
- Too Dumb to Live: When told that there were donuts in the science lab by Sora, Aoi finds a set of test tubes with the warning sign "Do Not Touch" and misreads it as "Donut Touch."
- Two Dun It: Both Hifumi and Kiyotaka end up executed for the murder of Leon.
—-
New Hope and Despair contains examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: In canon, Kamakura Izuru was the one who injected the Junko AI into the Neo World Program to create a new Killing Game between Hope and Despair. Here, he instead joins Sora in freeing his former classmates from despair.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- In canon, Ryota Mitarai had to be threatened into helping Junko create the Despair Video and is shown to be very regretful about it. Here, he was helping her from the start and was the one who put the Junko AI in the Neo World Simulation.
- Kyoko kills during the Final Killing Game.
- And the Adventure Continues: The end of the Hope chapter has Sora finding out his brother Gonta and his friends are in one final killing game.
- Big Bad: Ryota Mitarai, the creator of the Despair Video. He first sent the Junko AI to cause despair in the Neo World Simulation, then starts the Final Killing Game as a way to project despair to the world.
- The Cavalry: The former Remnant of Despair arrive to rescue Makoto, Sora, and the surviving Future Foundation leaders.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: Mondo, Komaru, Kotoko, and Monaca arrive just after the battle ended.
- Death by Adaptation: Kyoko and Kyosuke do not survive the Final Killing Game.
- Early-Bird Cameo: In the Despair Arc, Sora introduces Hajime and Hiyoko to his little brother Gonta and his friends Shuichi, Himiko, and Tenko.
- Happily Adopted: Mondo adopts Kotoko following the events of Towa City, taking a role of an older brother/father figure to the former Warrior of Hope.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: It's unknown how serious they are, but when Hiyoko says that Junko's brainwashing video only works on stupid people, Ibuki and Nekomaru declare that they are screwed.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Chiaki survives her attack from Junko, though her legs are permanently damaged.
- Seiko, Ruruka, Juzo, and Miaya survive the Final Killing Game.
—-
New School Semester contains examples of:
- Abhorrent Admirer:
- Tenko to Himiko, with making unwanted advances towards her and even trying to force Himiko to break up with Shuichi. Himiko becomes even more appalled after learning that Tenko is the mastermind of the killing game.
- Kokichi has feelings for both Shuichi and Himiko. However, because of his gadfly attitude and his killing of Miu and attempt to frame Gonta, both parties are appalled.
- All Love Is Unrequited: Rantaro hopes to win Kirumi over during their time in the Love Hotel... only for her to say she is in love with Gonta. This basis is what the Mastermind uses to frame him as her killer.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- Zigzagged with Tsumugi. While she is no longer the Mastermind, she kills Kaede to stop her from ending the killing game.
- In canon, Kokichi, while not a saint, was working to defeat the Mastermind. Here, he attempts to kill Gonta for being an annoyance, but ends up killing Miu instead.
- Maki does not really have much feelings for the cast and is much colder in general, even after being exposed as a culprit of Chapter 3.
- The true Mastermind was Tenko Chabashira, revealed to be a secret successor of Junko.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Kaede becomes the first arc's victim instead of the "Blackened."
- Similarly, Kirumi, Korekiyo, and Kaito become victim instead of Blackened's in their respective canon chapters.
- Maki after being executed for Kiyo's death.
- Kokichi for killing Miu while trying to kill Gonta.
- Demoted to Extra: In canon, Kaito came into Shuichi's life after Kaede's death, helping build up the latter's confidence. Here, Kaito only had a few sparse appearances, though he does have a few scenes after the Second Trial.
- Disabled in the Adaptation: Tenko is color blind, when in canon, her eye sight was fine.
- Frameup: Jiraiya tells Shuichi that Kirumi and Rantaro were set up and framed as the Victim and Blackened respectively because they knew who the Mastermind was.
- The Gadfly: Kokichi as always for claiming he's the killer in each trial, even if he wasn't.
- He Knows Too Much: Korekiyo when he learns that Maki is actually the Ultimate Assassin. Maki choose to kill him to prevent the truth from being found out.
- Hope Spot: For Ryoma, Kaede was this after the death of his family and his girlfriend by the mob prior to the Killing Game. He falls back into depression after her death, enough to almost kill himself.
- Hypocrite: Jiraiya calls out that Tenko claim that all men are degenerates is without base when she has fate in her male teacher.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: A surprise variant when Himiko finds a note with writing wondering whether Jiraiya's kimono is green or blue, a sign of color blindness. During the Fourth Trial Tenko calls Jiraiya a green kimono wearing son-of-a-bitch... despite it clearly being blue. Though of course, she wasn't the Blackened, but rather aided them in killing.
- In Spite of a Nail: Many aspects of the canon V3 are still presented in this fic, such as:
- Kaede still dies in Chapter 1, except she's a victim this time and not the culprit.
- Kirumi is still the victim of Chapter 2.
- Korekiyo still dies in Chapter 3, even though he is a victim this time.
- Miu is still a victim of Chapter 4.
- The hydraulic press is still involved in the Chapter 5 case.
- Kaito is still killed in Chapter 5, except as a victim this time.
- The Chapter 5 execution still fails, albeit thanks to Monotaro's Heroic Sacrifice.
- Shuichi and Himiko are still among survivors of the cast.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jiraiya is abrasive and gruff, often calling Shuichi "Dick." However, he does hold respect for Kiruimi, tells Tenko off for her bothering obsession with Himiko, and shows to be concerned for Angie.
- After Kirumi's death, he takes over for cooking for his classmates.
- He also becomes worried when learning that Angie is pregnant, fearing their child might be scared of him.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Tradition for Danganronpa. But in this case, Shuichi no longer remembers being friends with either Gonta or Himiko.
- Goes even further when its revealed that all of them (Except Kiibo) knew each other since they were 11 years old.
- Ship Sinking: Kaede and Ryoma's short romance is interrupted when Kaede is murdered in Chapter 2.
- Stalker without a Crush: Angie initially tries to spend all her time with Jiraya in the hopes of making his worship Atua.
- The Starscream: Monodam overthrows Monokuma as the headmaster after deeming his Necronamica motive stupid.
- Spared By Adaptation:
- Rantaro survives through the first motive. However, he ends up executed during the second motive.
- Ryoma, Gonta, and Angie survive the killing game.
- Self-Parody: The Shooting Clues series is one to Danganronpa that exist in universe. Miu claimed to already played the first version, which included 16 students and a crazy bird.
- The Third Motive have the students play the sequel, Shooting Clue 2: Trouble in Paradise, which focus on an almost American cast on a nearby island. The current survivors by its 5th chapter are Henry (a Hajime expy), Kenny (Kazuichi), Gear (Gundam), Hannah (Hiyoko), Cassidy (Chiaki), Nathan (Nagito), and Sasha (Sonia).
- Take That!: The author disliked the Necronamica Chapter, and had Monodam overthrow Monokuma as headmaster for trying to implement it.
- Teen Pregnancy: After their night in the Love Hotel, Jiraiya and Angie find out that the latter is pregnant.
- Wham Episode: Chapter 14, Keebo is revealed to be under the control of the Mastermind and he attacks Kaito and Jiraiya, who push the rest of their classmates out of the Safe Roof to protect them while they fight the robot. At the end, the remaining students rush in to find Kaito dead with a hole in his chest and a second body (either Keebo or Jiraiya) crushed under the hydraulic press.
