Shout Out / Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

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Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc | Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair | Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School | Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

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All spoilers are unmarked!

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In General

• Monokuma introduces himself with Light Yagami's most iconic line:
  Monokuma: I am the god of this new world...and the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy! The one, the only...Monokuma!
• Most of the Monokuma Theater stills come from famous scenes from Western movies, such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Jaws, The Godfather, Titanic, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, A Clockwork Orange, and more, with Monokuma (or Monodam in Chapter 3) playing the roles.
  • One of the Monokuma Theaters, specifically the one referencing Back to the Future, directly quotes another famous movie.
  Monokuma: "You can trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. It's the honest ones you need to watch out for... Cuz you can never predict when they're gonna do something...incredibly stupid."
• The "rock-paper-scissors cards" item's description is a reference to the Kaiji manga and anime, in which the protagonist bets his life to a rock paper scissors card game.
• The "Commemorative Medal Set" item is a reference to the Pokémon games, in which the protagonist wins battles in gyms and earns badges along the way.
• The "Spla-Teen Vogue" item is a reference to Splatoon. The description even states that "this magazine is meant for kids, not squids."
• The "Teddy Bear" item's description says "if you love it enough, then it might come to life one day", references works like the story "The Velveteen Rabbit" or the movie Ted.
• The description of the Hand-Made Sweater says it's been "knitted with love in every stitch".
• Ryoma is a walking shout-out to Echizen Ryoma, right down to his catchphrase, "You still have a ways to go".
• Kaito's former high school is Dodonpachi Commercial High, and its symbol seen on his lapel pin is a bee, as DoDonPachi literally means "Angry Leader Bee". Kirumi went to Amanogawa (Mily Way) High School, while Maki went to Brave Heart Hall High School
• Also during Monokuma's first appearance, he dresses up as Brocken Jr. before using the Red Rain of Berlin on the Monokubs, saying that there are no memorable second-generation success stories.
• Monokid's design intentionally invokes several members of the rock band KISS.
• The Psyche Drive minigame is one big homage to OutRun.
• The Neo World Program looks suspiciously like an Xbox.

Chapter 1

• While waiting on the Monokubs, Tsumugi says "In this situation, it's no use thinking about things. So eventually, Tsumugi stopped thinking."
• Kaede suggests to Himiko that she should use "Lumos" to light up the underground tunnel.
• At one point, Tsumugi asks if the wall surrounding them is meant to keep them safe from the titans.
• After apparently coming Back from the Dead, Monokuma transforms into an Expy of Jibanyan. Lampshaded by Tsumugi who outright calls it a poor cosplay and Korekiyo who quickly points out Monokuma seems to have ghosts and Yōkai confused.
• Monokuma and the Monokubs mention several tropes from This Very Wiki such as Death Is Cheap. They hate said trope, however.
• Monokid tells Monodam to fetch him some honey, and follows up the request with "Pour some honey on meeeeeee! In the name of killing...!"
• After Rantarou's body is found, Monokid says "Nothing beats crashing a funeral! It's way better than wedding crashing!"
• Tsumugi mentions◊ the Prone and the Ganglion. Immedately after, she mentions a drome leading a pack of monsters.
  • She also mentions a "giant preying mantis with scythes for hands" to Gonta.
• The Mass Panic Debate tutorial opens with the line "There's a panic! In the courtroom."
• During the trial, Monophanie says, "he was like a leaf on the wind", referencing an infamous scene for fans of the movie Serenity that's related to it. To make it worse, the cubs specifically refer to the scene and make fun of it afterwards.
• When Miu Iruma suggests that Rantarou's corpse moved on its own, the white noise covering her speech is Litany Against Fear from Dune.
• After the player's first Non-Stop Debate, Tsumugi calls their actions a Gilgamesh-level condescension, and asks what Grail War they're from.
  Kokichi: Wow... Another reference we don't get. Heh, you must be a hardcore loser.
• Monophanie tells one of her siblings he should "Check yourself before you wreck yourself."
• Monosuke claims Monokuma is from an alien planet whose inhabitants can evolve and by getting angrier — he names his father's evolution cycles as "Super Monokuma, Super Monokuma 2, Super Monokuma 3, and finally Super Monokuma 4" — and eventually a "Super Monokuma God Super Monokuma." Rather like the Saiyans, no?

Chapter 2

• One of the four items used to unlock new areas in the school at the start of this chapter is a hexagonal crank from some zombie game. Another is an ocarina which has to be used with a stone which has a pentagram on it.
• Early on in the chapter, Monosuke claims that Monodam attacked the Monokubs' "secret weak point". Monophanie thinks that said weak point is the nape of their necks, much like the titans from Attack on Titan.
• Trying to enter Maki's Ultimate Lab will have her threaten Shuichi to stay out, saying that if he tries to enter, it will be "extremely painful... for you".
• When Keebo explains how he sinks in water, Tenko asks if he fell off a boat, would he be "stuck living under the sea, beneath a rock or in a pineapple!?"
• When the students are discussing the Flashback Light, Tsumugi compares it to the neuralizers from Men in Black.
• Before the Insect Meet and Greet, when Himiko and Angie enter, Tenko says her saliva can make injuries heal faster.
• When Kokichi gets all the Kubs Pads, he says Gotta Catch 'em All.
• After Ryoma's body is found during Himiko's magic show, Tsumugi references the second case of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, theorizing that Ryoma was a former apprentice of Himiko's master and vowed revenge on him, and he murdered a lookalike of himself in order to sabotage her show.^note In that case, the victim was murdered by the magician he was impersonating, who was once the apprentice of the defendant's master.
• During the second trial, Tenko and Himiko reference the manga Arakawa Under the Bridge, with Tenko responding to Himiko's direct reference with "Himikawa Under the Bridge?". This might also be an unintended shoutout to Red Hot Chili Pepper's song "Under the Bridge".
• At one point when Kokichi states that he is stating something to himself, Tsumugi (who else?) shuts him down with "When you talk to yourself, pretend you're eating and chew with your mouth closed. Otherwise you'll get a mouthful of peanut butter squid. It's so disgusting you'll laugh!".
• When Ryoma's video is shown following the trial, Monokuma references Mei from Overwatch saying "Sorry, sorry, sorry" in the same tone as she would say. Furthermore, in the English version of Kirumi's motive video, the Prime Minister requests that she "make this country great again". For extra kicks, Monokuma seems to bust out a great impression of The Donald, himself.

Chapter 3

• When opening up all of the areas, Tsumugi says that Gonta should wear a tuxedo and a mask.
• Before seeing the motive, Kokichi asks Gonta if the Collosal Insect is on the other side of the wall.
• The motive given in this chapter, The Necronomicon, was originally created by H. P. Lovecraft, and it looks like Grimoire Noir from Nier. It's also used for the purposes of The Necronomicon ex Mortis of the Evil Dead franchise.
• During the third class trial Miu references South Park by saying Shuichi should let her put on some makeup, "cuz I wanna at least look pretty before you decide to fuck me!"
• When Keebo demonstrates his new function as a flashlight, Miu, who installed the new function, has this to say.
  Miu: Mwah-hahahahaha! Shine on, shine on! Shine on, you crazy fuckin' diamond!
• Korekiyo admits to killing Tenko but adds that if everyone votes for him, every spotless, including himself, will die. Miu responds with "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Kiyo?"
• Korekiyo's execution is based on the execution of Goemon who was a famous samurai in some legends because he stole gold for the poor, as he was boiled to death after he was caught; this fits Korekiyo's Ultimate talent as this type of folklore is the sort of thing he studies.
• As Monokuma licks the Monokubs, Monophanie comes out with this DEAN-tastic line
  Monophanie: Daddy, your tongue feels amazing! This better not awaken anything in me!

Chapter 4

• Around the first part of the chapter, Monotaro's memory starts to get worse, so Monophanie tries to correct it with a solid whack to the noggin with a frying pan. It just causes him to quote Portgas D. Ace.
• One of the items used to unlock the next floor of the school is the Octobrush.
• The helmets used for entering the Virtual World look remarkably similar to the PlayStation 4's VR headsets.
• The Virtual World references The Matrix, as the characters put a cable on their head (in this case, helmet) to log-in and have to use a phone to log-out.
• Monokuma regains his motivation by comparing something pointed out in the trial to Sonic the Hedgehog. The Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter responded to this.
  Monokuma: "Just like that hedgehog who loses all his rings whenever he crashes into stuff... I... I hate that guy and his worldwide fame and his stupid games and... I! Hate! That! Hedgehog!
• Himiko drops another shout-out to Harry Potter during the trial:
  Himiko: One hundred house points- no, Himiko points- to Shuichi.
• The Japanese title of Gonta's execution is probably referencing the film Infestation, which in Japan was renamed to Bugs Panic. The giant bugs in the movie are rather similar to the one that is "born" from Monophanie, too.
  • Additionally, the giant insect's "birth" is similar to the way baby Xenomorphs in Alien burst out of people, with the developers even calling this bug a Xenomorph in the artbook.

Chapter 5

• One of the Monokuma Theaters in this chapter makes a strange and indirect reference to Persona 5. Monokuma informs you about how voices are processed and transmitted over a phone and that all snow cones flavors are actually the same flavor with different aromas and food coloring. Both of these are trivia questions asked during school in Persona 5.
• In the class trial, Monokuma says the following, referencing Doraemon:
  Monokuma: Did they get that from the warehouse too? Geez, that place is like a 4D pocket.
• During the class trial, Himiko references one of the spells from Dragon Quest.
  Himiko: Kazing! If only mages could cast revive spells
• At the beginning of the chapter, Monokuma mourns his deceased Monokubs similarly to how Homer Simpson mourned his family in "The HΩmega Man".
  "Little Monotaro... Little Monophanie... Little Monodam... And the rest..."

Chapter 6

• K1-B0's Arm Cannon might be a reference to Mega Man as it is quite similar to his Blaster.
• D.I.C.E. (aka Kokichi's organization) could be a reference to the animated television series D.I.C.E. (DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises), in which the main characters are an organization run by children, specifically orphans. The series includes a villainous B-DICE organization, which tries to discredit DICE by posing as DICE members, and has a clown and poker motif.
• Motherkuma is an Expy of Mother Brain.
• While investigating in chapter 6, Himiko says the following to K1-B0, referencing Pinocchio:
  Himiko: You saved us Keebo, now I'll use my magic to turn you into a real boy
• Before the class trial, Tsumugi says the following, referencing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
  Tsumugi: When someone says 'please' so strongly, I always want to respond with 'But I refuse'.
  • After that, K1-B0 uses his zoom vision, which is very similar to a scouter, probably being a Dragon Ball reference.
• In the class trial, Monotaro yells out "One truth prevails!"
• The logos for the previous seasons, Final Danganronpa 5, Dream Danganronpa 6, Shin Danganronpa 7, The Return of Danganronpa 8, Miracle Danganronpa 9, and Anniversary Danganronpa 10 are styled almost exactly like the logos for Final Fantasy VII (right down to the green meteor behind the text), Your Name, Shin Godzilla, Return of Ultraman, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Doraemon respectively.

Free Time Events

• Ouma spends his second Free Time Event challenging Shuichi to a Shadow Game (complete with announcing "time to du-du-du-du-du-du-duel!") and makes two Kaiji references in another one. Angie's events also references Studio Ghibli movies, Shinguji's have Yo-kai Watch. Tsumugi's is as filled with them as you would expect and surprisingly, so are Gonta's. Ryoma's first two Free Time Events with Shuichi also reference characters from The Prince of Tennis.
• Himiko's skill from completing her FTEs in Japanese is called Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, as opposed to the official English's more generic "Abracadabra".
• In Miu's last free time event, she gives Shuichi a pie with her hair in it. In one episode of Family Guy, Meg does the same thing with Brian.
• Gonta reveals that he was raised by a race of dinosaur people who fought humans for the position of dominant species in prehistoric but lost.
  • He also claims that he fought several strong people in one on one battles, notably an Indian man who breathes fire, a sumo who attacked with a flying headbutt, and "The Red Cyclone".
  • When explaining his ideas of what a gentleman is, he mentions going on adventures to find a stone mask, and solving mysteries with a young sidekick.
• K1-B0's skill from completing his FTEs is called "Digital Love," which may reference the Daft Punk song of the same name.
• Tenko says "My body is ready!!" in her Love Hotel event.
• Korekiyo’s FTEs involve him espousing his unique worldview and experiences, wanting to share in his activities and eventually desiring to travel together with Shuichi, feeling that he’s the only person who can understand him. Then it turns out he’s a serial killer motivated specifically by the death of his sister. Once this is known, it’s retroactively obvious that he was constantly alluding to it and wanted to make Shuichi into a killer alongside him, meaning all five FTEs are a long Hannigram reference, especially due to his offputting but highly cultured and intellectual personality.

Bonus Modes

Ultimate Talent Development Plan

• Tenko makes a reference to the infamous meme from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night:
  Tenko to Leon: So you have come... You miserable pile of secrets.
• In a conversation between Monokuma and Kokichi, Monokuma claims he can tell that Kokichi is lying "'cause his lips are moving", referencing the song by Meghan Trainor.
• At the end of the mode, Monokid yells out "Papa Kuma heaven or Papa Kuma hell!!! Let's rock!!!", in reference to the Guilty Gear series. Ironic, since Monokid's voice actor plays the main protagonist of the sister series to Guilty Gear, BlazBlue.
• One of the options in Tsumugi's first seasonal event is "Stand up! If you love footb-... er, soccer".

Love Across the Universe

• In the intro, Monokuma uses the phrase, "Take chances! Get messy! Make mistakes!"
• In Rantaro's ending, after remembering his (former) talent as the Ultimate Adventurer, he talks about the adventurers he met
  Rantaro: A kid with white hair who was trained to be an assassin from birth... An adventurer who used chains, trying to hunt down his people's stolen eyes... A tall man obsessed with card tricks, with a star tattooed under his eye... Even an adventurer who was trying to pick up girls in a dungeon.

Demo

• The demo in itself is a Mythology Gag for many things that happen in the first game and its demo:
  • Kaede waking up in the classroom at the beginning, much like Makoto at the beginning of his game.
  • Yasuhiro ends up as the victim, murdered in the protagonists' bathroom, with a kitchen knife, much like he was in the first game's demo. He gets better, though.
    • The demo even has two rooms to explore that aren't even in the full game as a part of the investigation; the dorm room's bathroom and the kitchen attached to the dining hall.
  • At the end of the investigation, the students proceed through a red door much like the one at the entrance of the trial grounds in the first game.
  • Kaede recites Makoto's internal pre-trial monologue before the trial begins.
  • The first non-stop debate is almost exactly the same as the first non-stop debate from the first game's first trial, and also has the same solution.
  • And to top it all off, examining Monokuma's letter at the start of the demo lampshades all of this by saying, "Deja vu! I've just been in this place before".
• Late in the trial, when Monosuke talks about how a literal non-stop debate would be boring, Monokid responds with "Hell yeah! We'd have to rip and tear into your huge guts just to make it entertaining!".

Trophies

• "Harmony's Last Reward" makes reference to "Virtue's Last Reward", the second game in the Zero Escape series, also made by Spike Chunsoft.
• "True Discipline Come From Within" appears to be a reference to an episode of South Park.
• "Bond. True Bond." is an homage to the legendary James Bond catchphrase.
• "You Need To Diversify Yo Bonds" is a reference to the Dave Chappelle skit "Wu-Tang Financial".
• "Just According to Ronpa" is a reference to a Death Note fansub's "just according to keikaku" line.
• "Reach Out and Touch Wraith" is a reference to the song "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode.
• "The Truth Is Out There" refers to Agent Mulder's catchphrase on The X-Files.
• The achievements "So What's Wrong With Taking The Back Streets?" and "You'll Never Know If You Don't Go" are verbatim lines from the song "All Star" by Smash Mouth.
• "Giving It Up at The Hotel Kumasutra" is a play-on the chorus of "Hotel California" by The Eagles, in addition to using the Love Hotel's "Kuma" pun on the Kama Sutra.
• "Casino Royale With Cheese" references both James Bond AND Pulp Fiction.
• "That's All, Folks!" is a direct reference to Porky Pig's catchphrase said during end cards of old Looney Tunes cartoons.

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