Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is one of those rare sequels that surpasses the first. The game takes place on a deserted island where the second group of classmates wakes up with amnesia. A pink and white rabbit named Monomi appears and assures them that they are safe, only to soon be overthrown by Monokuma.
Soon after, the second killing game begins with an even more quirky cast of characters that have made their way into fan’s hearts. Each of the ultimate characters is complex, with well fleshed out and fully realized backstories that complement the main story.
18 Ultimate Imposter
The first of the Danganronpa 2 characters we’ll look at is the Ultimate Imposter, who is trapped on the island with the rest of the class and takes on the appearance of Byakuya Togami. When the killing game begins, he states that he has been through the game before and declares that he’ll protect his classmates.
Sadly, the imposter doesn’t get much time to help his classmates. By the end of chapter one, the Imposter is killed by Teruteru during the banquet.
17 Teruteru Hanamura
Teruteru is a passionate and incredibly talented chef, who unfortunately has a perverted love of women. He has a soft spot for his mother, who he loves and treasures dearly. When extremely stressed, Teruteru reverts to an extremely thick country accent. In chapter one, he kills the Imposter and is later found out and executed.
16 Mahiru Koizumi
Mahiru is the Ultimate Photographer who has an upbeat personality. She is shown as kind and patient when she helps Hiyoko get out of her robe for a bath. Mahiru was also the only member of the class who tried to care for Nagito after he was tied up.
It was later revealed that Mahiru was associated with finding the body of Fuyuhiko’s sister, leading Peko to murder her in chapter two.
15 Peko Pekoyama
Peko is the Ultimate Swordswoman and quite skilled in getting rid of her enemies. She is part of Fuyuhiko’s organization and has protected them since they were small children. She only sees herself as a tool, eventually leading her to kill for Fuyuhiko.
It is later revealed Fuyuhiko has feelings for her and views her as his closest companion. Peko is executed in the second chapter as punishment for killing Mahiru.
14 Ibuki Mioda
Ibuki is the Ultimate Musician who currently enjoys being a metal artist. She even puts on a loud concert for her friends in chapter three. Ibuki is always loud and upbeat, making it easy for her to make quick friends with the rest of the cast.
In chapter three, she contracts the despair disease, and Mikan helps her to hang herself.
13 Hiyoko Saionji
Hiyoko is the most childish character in the class and the Ultimate Traditional Dancer. She often despairs over the fact that she’s so short and tells others that she is waiting for her growth spurt.
Hiyoko is close with Mahiru, but incredibly cruel to Mikan and often belittles the nurse. Hiyoko gets killed during the third chapter after she accidentally walks in on Mikan killing Ibuki.
12 Mikan Tsumiki
Mikan is the Ultimate School Nurse and the only member of the cast to revert back to being an ultimate despair. Mikan, for the most part, is a clumsy girl who ends up in awkward positions and gets bullied by Hyoko.
She gets infected with the despair disease in chapter three, causing her to murder both Ibuki and Hiyoko. She shows little remorse in her trial and thinks that killing and being killed are fun.
11 Nekomaru Nidai
Nekomaru is the Ultimate Team Manager and quickly took to helping Akane train. Nekomaru is always fired up and has a very selfless personality.
This is seen when he is hit by a bazooka blast when protecting Akane and later comes back as a robot. To help save his classmates, he is killed by Gundham in the funhouse, much to Akane’s dismay.
10 Gundham Tanaka
Gundham is the Ultimate Breeder and has a deep connection with animals. He believes he has supernatural powers and carries with him four hamsters he refers to as “The Dark Devas of Destruction.”
He also grows into a close relationship with Sonia and teaches her the ways of the dark arts. In the game, he saves the class after they are trapped in the funhouse by battling Nekomaru to death. Gundham is executed in chapter four following him killing Nekomaru.
9 Nagito Komaeda
Nagito is one of the most loved and hated characters in the Danganronpa universe. He is the actual Ultimate Lucky Hope and uses this to his advantage.
He is obsessed with hope overcoming despair and is revealed to be obsessed with Junko, who creates the ultimate challenge for hope. In chapter five, he tortures himself and uses his luck power to set up his own murder.
8 Chiaki Nanami
Chiaki is the most hope-filled member of the class and helps pull the others through the killing game. She is the Ultimate Gamer and can often be found playing on her Game Boy.
She is later revealed to be the spy who is working with Monomi to help the class. It is also learned that Chiaki is no longer alive outside the Neo World Program. When Monomi is executed in chapter five, Chiaki is also killed.
7 Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu
Fuyuhiko is the Ultimate Yakuza and comes off as distant at the start of the game. He is close to Peko, who he has known since childhood, and is heartbroken by her execution.
Outside of Peko, Fuyuhiko was only close to his sister, who he learned was murdered during the game. After Peko’s death, Fuyuhiko does slowly starts to warm up to the rest of the class and survives the killing game.
6 Akane Owari
Akane is a very outgoing girl with a huge appetite. Akane is the Ultimate Gymnast and is quite skilled at battle, resembling Aoi from the first game. She is one of the few students to make it to the end of the game with Hajime and has a close relationship with Nekomaru.
Akane becomes quite distraught over the events that occur with Nekomaru and agonizes after he is finally killed.
5 Sonia Nevermind
Sonia is the Ultimate Princess and one of the final survivors of the killing game. Sonia is extremely skilled in diplomatic relations and reveals early on that she has an unhealthy obsession with serial killers.
During the game, she grows extremely close to Gundham while ignoring Soda’s obvious advances.
4 Kazuichi Soda
Soda is the Ultimate Mechanic who has a hilarious one-sided relationship with Sonia. During the stay on the island, he helps confirm that the planes aren’t working and builds a tiny Nekomaru to ease Akane’s pain.
While Soda is often part of the comic relief in the series, he manages to be one of the final classmates left alive at the end of the killing game.
3 Hajime Hinata
Hajime is the protagonist of Danganronpa 2 and is said to be the Ultimate Hope. He works with Chiaki to help guide the class through the murders and trials.
During the late game, though, you learn that Hajime is actually not an Ultimate at all and was just a regular student. He is also revealed to be part of an experiment that combined all the Ultimates into one.
2 Monomi
Monomi is the counter to Monokuma and is viewed as his younger sister. She works together with virtual Chiaki to help revert the class back from being despairs.
She is kind but often gets abused by Monokuma, who wants nothing more than to destroy her. When Chiaki is put to execution in chapter five, Monomi is also killed along with her.
1 Monokuma
The last of the Danganronpa 2 characters is easily the most famous. Monokuma once again returns to be the host of the killing game. In his first appearance, he uproots Monomi’s peaceful island and begins to present cruel motives to the class.
Unlike in the first game, Monokuma is much crueler in his motives, even releasing the despair disease to drive the Danganronpa 2 characters insane. This can also be seen when he locks the students in the funhouse to starve to death if they don’t kill.
NEXT: A Complete Guide to the Danganronpa Timeline
