Danganronpa 2 Character Ranking

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Character Ranking

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is the sequel to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and a great one at that. It had a great plot, amazing class trials, and most importantly, a colorful cast of characters.

I'm gonna be ranking these cast of characters, just like I did the Danganronpa 1 cast. Like before, it's gonna based on development, depth, likability, background, and personality. 

Before you read, spoiler warning. If you haven't played/watched the game and want to, stop reading and go play it. If you did, or don't care about spoilers, then enjoy.

16. Teruteru Hanamura, The Ultimate Cook

Teruteru is a pervert, a major one. Other than his passion for cooking, and some cowardly tendencies, that's pretty much we see from him.

And he's not a fun loving pervert either. His perversion can go to the point of sexual harassment, towards both guys and girls. From dirty jokes to even aphrodisiacs in food, there's very little length to his perversion. 

That, and his cowardly tendencies, doesn't help to make him a likeable character, at all. He also have no character development, and very little depth to him. The only time we get to see more than the perverted cook he is, was during the first trial, after he was declared the blackened. There, we get to see he has a mother who he loves dearly, someone whom he wanted to make sure is okay.

That isn't enough to make him a better character compared to the others, and since he served no other purpose than becoming the first to kill, he gets last spot on this list.

15. Hiyoko Sainji, The Ultimate Traditional Dancer

Hiyoko isn't any better than Teruteru, at least in terms of likability. You could even say she's worst in that regard.

While the Ultimate Cook is fairly friendly, Hiyoko is a downright bully. She's cruel, vicious, judgmental, and insulting towards anyone in her vicinity. She has no sense of empathy, cries whenever someone stands up to her bullying/make fun of her back, and is arrogant. Even during the trial, she mainly just spout out insults or threats. Mikan was her favorite target.

So what makes her better than Teruteru? It's because there is an origin behind her personality, a reason she became like this. Her childhood was tough, from a strict household to even assassinate attempts. The only thing that was good in her life was her father, whom she loved dearly. Her tough background left her guarded, cynical, and cruel.

While it doesn't justify her actions, it does make her more understanding. Her friendship with Mahiru, and eventually Hajime during her fte, also helped a little, showing that she isn't a blatant bully towards everybody.

She had a chance for character development in chapter 3, to become a better person and have her own character arc. But she threw that away after Nekomaru's sacrifice, and the arc was thrown away completely when she was killed. So for that, along with her cruel personality, yet still having a reasonable background to her character, she unfortunately gets the 15th spot.

14. The Ultimate Imposter

Not much is known about the Ultimate Imposter. In the school trip killing game, he disguised himself as Byakuya Togami, and because of that, we don't get all that much insight to the character playing the Togami heir. What we do know that he's the type that will do anything he can to help the people around, whose proud of his body, and who doesn't really have an identity of his own. 

We see him often look down on the ones who're skinny (Which is most of the class), and is openly proud of being... plump, to put it nicely. And as Byakuya Togami, he took a leadership position and did everything he could to keep a murder from happening (Something that the real Byakuya would never do, or to that extent at least). We also see some insecurities about his lack of identity.

But other than that, nothing else. Being the Ultimate Imposter, as well as being the first victim, caused his character to suffer some, and stop any development from happening. He doesn't have any bad qualities like Hiyoko and Teruteru, however, so he'll take 14th place.

13. Peko Pekoyama, The Ultimate Swords-woman

We know that Peko is a serious and stoic swords-woman. We know that she's extremely loyal to Kuzuryuu clan, especially Fuyuhiko. We know that she has trouble expressing herself, and love fluffy things.

But that's about all we know about her. Outside of being Fuyuhiko's bodyguard and love interest, she doesn't really have much of an identity. Like she stated multiple times, she was just a tool. Mainly a tool for Fuyuhiko's character development. 

Her defining character moment was when she revealed herself as the yakuza's sword, as well as the moments before her execution. Other than that, she doesn't really stand out amongst the cast personality wise. Still, she was important to Fuyuhiko's development, and it's not like her character was completely devoid of personality, so she surpass the Ultimate Imposter and gets the 13th spot.

12. Akane Owari, The Ultimate Gymnast

Akane is someone who's extremely aggressive, incredibly gullible, and fairly lazy. Those things lead to her seeing her fist as the only way to solve problems. At the same time, she's a friendly person, very loyal to those she cares about, and pretty carefree.

What got her this high on the list is background, which very much adds to her personality. Her past is a dark one, having to live on the streets, and be the caretaker of several younger siblings. Her mother was jobless, so she had to be the one making money, and feed everyone. It very much explains her lack of intelligence, aggressive behavior, and major appetite. "If you don't eat, you'll die". That line says a lot about her.

What keeps from getting higher is that she doesn’t really grow throughout the game. She doesn’t get less aggressive or less gullible. Even when Nekamaru sacrificed himself, and then got murdered, she didn’t change all that much, if at all. She the same hotheaded gymnast from beginning to end.

And her punch any problem solution can get really annoying, especially since she doesn't learn from her consequences. She just chalk it up to being too weak. So for all that, she gets 12th place.

11. Kazuichi Soda, The Ultimate Engineer

Kazuichi is, like Hiro, the butt monkey of the cast. He's overly fearful and paranoid, quick to jump to conclusions, and a mild perv.

At the beginning, he was a fairly well-rounded character. Become good friends with Hajime, was someone whose filled with a lot of bravado, and had a mild crush on Sonia. His perversion wasn't too bad, and he wasn't as annoying as Hiro.

But chapter four onward, his paranoia got worse, and his crush on Sonia turned near obsessive. His paranoia led him to believe that Hajime was the spy during chapter 4, and his crush on Sonia had gone to a point where she called him a pest.

Those things lowered his spot on this list. What kept him from getting any lower is the talent he has, engineering. His skills helped out the class multiple times, whether it's knowledge, fixing things ups, or creating something useful. His fte also help some, explaining his trust issues.

Despite his creepy crush, and heavy paranoia, he's still a decent character, and helped out a lot during the school life and deadly life. Thus, he's placed on the 11th spot.

10. Mahiru Koizumi, The Ultimate Photographer

Mahiru is one of the normal characters of the cast. Other than her talent photography, she's pretty much an ordinary gal, in a cast of eccentric students. Still, that doesn't make her boring.

The girl has traits that makes likable and unlikable. The traits that can make her unlikable is her brash personality, as well as her bias against guys. She can also be judgmental and slightly hypocritical. Her past with her financially poor dad explains some of this, but her bias and hypocrisy can still be grating, which would make her unlikable.

However, what makes her likable is her friendly and motherly nature, which is seen mainly with Hiyoko and Hajime (During her fte). She's also someone that help out however she can, and her inner insecurities help counter her brash personality. Her crush on Hajime also help paint her as a more likable character, and not a man-hater.

So, she's brash and judgmental, yet friendly, motherly, and kind. So for that, she gets 10th place.

9. Mikan Tsumiki, The Ultimate Nurse

Extremely timid. Extremely clumsy. Extremely apologetic. Those three things describes Mikan in an nutshell.

When we first see her, you can immediately tell that she's a shy character. Further in, we also see that she's unbelievably clumsy. That type of character can be annoying if overly done, and it is overdone a bit, but thankfully, that isn't all there is to her.

Whenever she's in nurse mode, any shyness or clumsiness is gone. She's incredibly skilled in her field, and takes the role seriously, which is extremely helpful in both the school and deadly life. Also, her fte explains her personality very much, and it would make you want to hug and reassure the poor girl that none of her past was her fault.

So, while her shyness and clumsiness can be grating, it's tempered with her nursing skills and explained past. So the shy nurse will get the 9th spot.

8. Ibuki Mioda, The Ultimate Musician

Cheerful. Whimsical. Energetic. Quirky. All those things can very much describe Ibuki.

The musician is definitely one of the more unique individuals among the cast. She brings out a lot of upbeat energy, and never let anything get her down, not even when things are serious (Though not to the point where she's oblivious to the serious stuff). She does and/or say a lot of random things, and try not to let things get too boring.

But her upbeat personality isn't the only thing about her. She can be surprisingly wise and contemplative beneath that quirkiness, as well as a desire to help her friends out however she can. One noticeable time is during last fte with Hajime, where she attempts to find out his unknown talent. 

More proof that she's more intelligent than she appears is during chapter 3, when she got hit with the despair disease. The disease makes people opposite of who they are, and it made the musician extremely gullible and simple.

So, for her bright personality that brings a lot of life in the atmosphere, as well as her inner wisdom and intelligence that is shown from time to time, she gets 8th place.

7. Sonia Nevermind, The Ultimate Princess

And here's another likable girl. Sonia is kind, polite, regal, cheerful, and caring. She's the definition of a princess, both inside and out.

She's also very naive, having lived most of her life in the kingdom of Novoselic. She also taken an interest in not only Japanese culture, but also things like the occult and serial killers, which gives her a quirky side with her princess personality.

The princess is also more intelligent than she seems, with tidbits of that intelligence being shown throughout each chapter. She is also shown to care very deeply about her friends, especially in the fourth and fifth trial.  With each chapter, as well as her fte, there are more and more pieces that reveals her character. More to her than the kind and naive princess, though not in a bad way.

She isn't overly important to the plot, nor does she have any noticeable character development. However, she's extremely likeable, and has a great background, as well as character depth that makes up for it. All this earns her the 7th spot.

6. Nekomaru Nidai, The Ultimate Team Manager

Loud is one way to describe the coach. As soon you as meet him, Nekomaru is very sure to make a large impression.

He's extremely passionate about his position as a team manager/coach, loyal and protective to those he cares about, very optimistic and kind, and incredibly strong, both inside and out. He's incredibly boisterous, as well as open-hearted, which could sometimes be a flaw, since he feel no shame saying things that would make others uncomfortable or embarrassed.

What place him this high on this list his loyalty and will. Not only did sacrificed himself to save Akane once, but did it again in his robot form to save his entire classmates, alongside Gundham. Tanking a bazooka blast is one thing, but to sacrifice yourself again, after one near death experience? Eagerly at that? That takes a lot of willpower.

He's a very likable character, with an extremely loud and courageous will. So for that, he gets 6th place.

5. Gundham Tanaka, The Ultimate Breeder

Here's yet another eccentric member of the class, Gundham Tanaka, the self-proclaimed "Supreme Overlord of Ice". When you first meet him, you can tell from the start that he's a chuunibyou, from his overall looks to his dramatics. He holds a posture of extreme confidence, to the point of arrogance, as well as a somewhat dark personality.

While he seems like a cartoonish villain in both tone and looks, Gundham is a much kinder individual than he lets on. Like his ultimate talents implies, he very much cares for animals, especially his hamsters. He also cares a great deal for his mother, as well as any friends he makes, such as Hajime and Sonia.

His chuunibyou personality is also a way to hide his more sensitive, as well as his awkwardness around people. Hints of that awkwardness is whenever he gets flustered over any compliments Sonia makes to him or his hamsters. Also, he refrained from touching others or letting others touch him, claiming that his flesh is poisoned.

Finally, he hates the idea of giving up on life itself, and when his fellow students started to do so when trapped at the Fun House, he decided to fight Nekomaru and kill him, in order to revive his classmates' will to survive. This also shows his loyalty to those he cares about, though again, his denied it to keep up the dark nature persona.

Overall, he's a chuunibyou playing the role of a dark overlord, but inside, he's a major softy. He helped revive the remaining students' will to live, as well as brought a lot of humor through his eccentricities. All this put him up to 5th place.

4. Nagito Komaeda, The Ultimate Lucky Student

Anyone that played/watched the game will not be surprise to see this psycho this high on the list. In the beginning, it seemed that he would be a copy of Makoto, being another Ultimate Lucky Student and is a overall friendly person (I even thought he was Makoto for a bit). Forunately, that was far from the case.

Nagito is a twisted individual, which was soon shown in the first trial of the game. His idea of hope is just as twisted, believing to be an absolute good, no matter what you do (Even murder). That despair is merely a stepping stone to it, and that each moment of despair will only strengthen hope.

So what makes him so great? Well, he's more than just a hope obsessed fanboy. He's a dangerous and intelligent hope obsessed fanboy. He doesn't just spout out his ideology; he acts on them.

What shines the most, alongside his obsession, is his intelligence and cunning. The story displayed it throughout the game, especially in the trials. He's also tenacious and brave, which is shown when he decided to play Russian Roulette with a one out of six chance of surviving, something he didn't even have to do. His fte also enhances and adds to his trouble personality, at least partially explaining how they originated.

And what showed his cunning the most, as well as his tenacity, was his very own murder, which occurred in the fifth chapter. Something that he orchestrated himself, in order to make one of the students his killer. And he made it to where no one will be able to figure out who's the killer is, not even the killer themselves. A combination of cunning, will, resilience, and especially his own luck.

His obsession isn't just admiration for hope and talent. There's a complexity to that obsession, one you have to dig deep into. He's crazy yet intelligent, manipulative yet brave. His luck is a superpower of his own. So for all that, for being an excellent student antagonist, he gets 4th place.

3. Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer

Like Nagito, no one should should be surprise to see Chiaki this high up on the list. She's an incredibly likable character, who's also incredibly helpful throughout the game.

She's a very intelligent character, showing off a lot of observation skills and giving out some wise words. Though while she is observant and analytical, she does lack some knowledge due to being an AI, and can be socially awkward. She's also very calm, quiet, and sleepy, only showing energy whenever a game is involved.

She can be very blunt, not thinking about others' feelings first when speaking. But she cares a lot about her friends, and very much detest the killing game. She also have a lot of heartwarming and cute interactions with Hajime, both in the main game and fte, with her fte showing off much of her social awkwardness.

Several of her personality traits makes the gamer very cute and endearing. The affection she holds for her classmates, as well as her intelligence and wisdom makes her even better. She's also very important in the game, not only as one of the big three trial solvers, but also as Hajime's main support, especially at the final chapter. All this gives her the number 3 spot of this list.

2. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu, The Ultimate Yakuza

At the beginning, the heir of the Kuzuryuu clan was as unfriendly as his title suggested. He was rude, temperamental, withdrawn, and threatening at the start of the game.

Though even at the start, we saw hints that he isn't the heartless and angry gangster that's willing to kill anyone to escape. Those hints are proven true when he chose not to sacrifice the group, when he supposedly had the chance to do so.

Then chapter 3 onward, he developed into a much more cooperative and nicer character. After losing Peko, and getting himself injured trying to save her, he decided to change himself for the better. Even cutting his own stomach to show how serious he really is in front of the group. He got a lot more tamer, more helpful to the group, and overall a better person.

His fte helps in that regard as well, giving us little traits about the yakuza, telling us more about his past, and cementing his growth as a good person. He became better friends with the group, especially Hajime.

So, far from becoming an antagonist to the group, he grown into a more cooperative and kinder character, though not losing his yakuza edge. So for that, he gets 2nd place.

1. Hajime Hinata, Reserve Course Student

Despite not having a talent like the rest, Hajime stood out as a great character among the cast, as well as a great protagonist. He isn't a clone of the previous protagonist, nor a blank slate for the players. Like Makoto, even though you play as him and is looking through his eyes, he stood out as his own character.

One of the things that makes him great is his development throughout the game. Through the first half of the game, it establishes him as someone who's snarky, blunt, and realistic, who sometimes get annoyed by his peers' antics. Yet at the same time, he's also friendly, caring, and thoughtful, willing to give his friends an ear and advice. Fuyuhiko even suggested that he could be the Ultimate Counselor.

Hajime is fairly intelligent and logical, being one of the main trial solvers alongside Nagito and Chiaki. And he got great chemistry with several members of the cast, namely Fuyuhiko, Chiaki, Nagito, and Kazuichi.

Through the second half of the game, his insecurities about his lack of talent is revealed. It was hinted that he didn't have a talent in the very beginning, as well as in a dream in the third chapter; then it was revealed by Nagito in the fourth chapter during the investigation. The reveal shook Hajime, and his insecurities were brought to the surface then.

The student wanted to be someone confident, someone that he could proud of. He was finally was able to do so, after he and the other remaining survivors' mind broke from the reveal of who they were, that he not only helped bring the world in despair, but also caused the killing game he was currently in.

With the help of Chiaki, he was able to break through his insecurities and despair, and gain the confidence he needed and desired. He was able to confidently face the future, and to change it if need be. So, for having great character development, as well as being a fairly likable character and having major plot twists surrounding him, Hajime gets 1st place on this list.

Conclusion

So, this ranking was much harder than the previous one. Not only were these characters a bit harder to understand, but most (If not all) of them are very good characters, to the point that their positions could easily be switched around. 

But this is my overall objective ranking of worst to best of the Danganronpa 2 cast. Gonna do the V3 cast next, but that one probably won't come for a while. Not only do I feel that those characters will be much harder to rank and understand, I also have yet to watch their fte yet. 

So while I do that, as well rewatch some of the game on Youtube to get a better grasp of the characters, I'll might posts some other things in the meantime. Don't quote me on any of this, this is just how I feel at the moment. That could change at any point in time. So with that, I'll see you guys later.