by Josh Jackson With The Reveal Looming, Here Are Seven Characters That Could Be The Traitor In ‘Danganronpa 3’

Warning: Potential spoilers for previous episodes and all three games. Read at your own risk!

Man, it’s rough being a Danganronpa fan. Over the last 10 weeks and 20 episodes in the bag, we’ve been placed on an emotional roller coaster that hasn’t been afraid to drive its viewers into the deepest despair imaginable. But with the connection we’ve built with these characters over the course of three games prior to the show, I’m sure I speak for most when I say we wouldn’t have it any other way. One thing’s for sure though; there are more mysteries left to uncover. With the inevitable reveal of the traitor among what started as the 16 Future Foundation leaders in the show’s Future Arc, we still have one person who may have not been accounted for yet, a host of suspicious people, and questions that need answering. After compiling evidence from both the Future Arc and Despair arc, taking a look at the history of the games, and predicting which directions this story will take before its conclusion, here are the seven most likely traitors.

7. Haiji Towa

Remember Haiji? The vengeful and perverted older brother of Monaca Towa, the mastermind behind the events in Ultra Despair Girls? Despite the way that game ended, hinting that he would be at war with Komaru and the children of Towa City after his Big Bang Monakuma was destroyed, he has yet to be mentioned. Which is weird when you consider that we’ve visited both Komaru and Monaca without a single reference. Could it be that they’re saving it for something bigger?

While not as proficient as his sister, he’s still a technological genius. His spirit was broken, making him rife with despair. He has an affinity for Monokuma. Sounds like all the check marks needed to become a mastermind. Plus, Monaca’s plan was to drive Komaru to despair and make her Junko’s successor. Wouldn’t it be poetic justice if her plan actually succeeded, but by inadvertently making Haiji the next Junko?

Haiji is at number seven because let’s face it; he’s probably going to be forgotten about. He wasn’t terribly important in his only game appearance, so making him the big bad in the grand finale would be anticlimactic. That’s not going to stop me from speculating, though!

6. Juzo Sakakura

Yes, I know that Juzo died last week… Or did he? The thing about the bloodbath that was Future Arc episode 9 was at the start of the episode, there were nine survivors. Yet, despite four people dying over the course of the episode, the opening video teased that there were six survivors remaining instead of five. Now, I’m awful at math, but I know enough to see that there should be five people left. It’s possible that robot Gekkogahara never counted in the total, or that Kirigiri is the one who’s still alive, but if we’re talking about what would induce the most despair possible for Munakata, what would be worse than having both of his closest allies turn against him?

As far as a motive is concerned, I could see Juzo being so dedicated to eradicating despair alongside Munakata that he decided to help eliminate everyone he didn’t deem worthy. After this most recent episode though, I’d go more with the thought that after being humiliated by Junko, he stops believing in hope and plotted along with Chisa to bring down the Future Foundation from the inside. Then again, it could just be that being scared of coming out to his crush drove him to turn traitor. I mean, isn’t that pretty much what happened when Junko beat him?

But the biggest reason Juzo is here is because of the attacker rule. The rule states that every time the designated time limit is reached, all of the survivors will fall asleep. When they wake up, if no one is dead, the traitor must have been killed, setting everyone free. If someone is killed, then the attacker is still on the loose. If you remember when the dreaded episode 9 wrapped up, we had four people killed. Gekkogahara and Juzo were killed by Munakata, while Ruruka was supposedly killed in her sleep, and Kirigiri died due to her forbidden action being violated. On closer inspection though, Ruruka’s death was different from the previous M.O. of the killer. She wasn’t strung up, and she was sliced into pieces. Most importantly though, was that her eyes were wide open with tears in them, showing that she was AWAKE when she died.

What does this mean? My guess is that Ruruka was killed after she woke up, and that NO ONE was killed in that time frame. The game is continuing because technically, Kirigiri did die while everyone was out, and we know how much Monokuma likes to screw with the rules based on technicalities. This means that either Juzo is really dead and couldn’t kill anyone, or his injuries led him to miss his deadline. Then again, it was pointed out that the killer could simply refrain from doing the deed, which takes the spotlight off of the Ultimate Boxer a bit.

5. Chisa Yukizome

Now, we already know that Chisa is A traitor, but is she THE traitor? The sickening events of the past two Despair Arc episodes and the most recent Future episode solidified that Chisa was one of the first to be brainwashed into becoming a follower of despair in years’ past, and that she’s been manipulating her former lover ever since. But with her former students and fellow Remnants of Despair all being held on Jabberwok Island, (and presumably on their way to save Makoto and his friends), she was the last one standing once the new Killing Game started. She was the first to die, but the first game established that an early death can be a fake-out to lead us away from who the real mastermind is. It’s this reason that I don’t think Chisa will be the main traitor, since this plot device has been used once before. With that said, don’t be surprised if she plays a big role in the last few episodes.

4. Chiaki Nanami

I know what you’re thinking; how could Chiaki Nanami, the beacon of hope that has driven most of the series, (and who is very much dead after being killed twice), the traitor? This was just an early hunch, since I know the writers will want to find a shocking way to wrap up this story, but the more I think about it, the less far out it sounds.

First of all, her entire class was turned to despair, including her teacher. The last we saw her, she was horribly mauled in a real life game of Gauntlet, and died thinking that she failed her class, her teacher, and her best friend. But what if she didn’t die? What if Hajime in the form of the infinitely talented Izuru Kamakura found a way to keep her alive? The Future Foundation would go on to use her likeness when creating the AI that was designed to rehabilitate her former classmates in the second game, and once again sacrificed herself for the good of the group. If the real one is alive and were to awaken, with those final, horrible memories being the last thing she knew, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that it would be enough to drive someone to despair. How tragic would it be if her and Hajime finally come face to face again, only for the roles to have reversed, and their precious class rep is the one who needs saving? It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that she would want to take out the Future Foundation since most of them are so firmly rooted in Hope’s Peak Academy, an institution who’s corruption led to the end of the world. Plus, Usami, who was her AI’s partner in the games, has already been shown to be under the control of the enemy at one point throughout the series, so the idea isn’t completely unfounded.

Still, it might be wishful thinking, but my money is more on the hope that she’s the hidden Future Foundation member, and is firmly on the side of hope. Still, never underestimate the lengths that this show will go to make its viewers feel terrible.

3. Makoto Naegi

Since brainwashing has been introduced, nothing is off the table. Even our hope obsessed protagonist and hero of the first game being the Ultimate Traitor. How awful would that be? Making our main character be the one who was killing his friends in his sleep, all while preaching to them that no one would die while he was awake? It would give further credence to Munakata’s suspicions towards him, while landing a huge blow to the morale of the remaining participants. Kirigiri would have died for nothing, and Makoto would struggle with having that blood on his hands.

If we’re speaking strictly about the most despair inducing possibility on the table, then Naegi being the unwilling traitor has to be considered. Ultimate Hope will still win out, but not without some heavy sacrifices, especially when you remember that Great Gozu was killed with three people in the barricaded room with them. Naegi was one of them, but we’ll talk about the other candidate further down the list.

2. Ryota Mitarai

The Ultimate Animator, who is the biggest reason why despair has spread throughout the world outside of Junko and her sister, Mukuro, is looking awfully suspicious right about now. Despite having his work stolen from him and used to brainwash his friends into becoming murderers, his regretful past has yet to be mentioned in Future Arc. We know nothing about what happened to him between the time he escaped Junko’s grasp, up until when he became a member of the Future Foundation. Considering the group’s reaction to what Makoto did to protect the Remnants of Despair, is there any way they would have let him join, or even live, if they knew he played such a huge role in the end of the world? I’m guessing that they have no idea about what he did…

Which leads me to the clues he’s left behind throughout Future Arc. He’s acted timid throughout the show, which is a common way in anime to divert suspicion. He showed obvious signs of jealousy towards Makoto when they first met, which is out of character for him compared to his personality in Despair Arc. He was in direct contact with Junko, but has kept that hidden from everyone in the group. And most importantly, he’s the only character who’s forbidden action we’re unaware of. Does he even have one?

Yet, I have one reservation. Like Chisa, he’s in so deep, that being the traitor feels too obvious. The mystery surrounding him could be a way to keep us off the trail of the real mastermind, the person who was also in the room when Great Gozu was killed. That person is…

1. Aoi Asahina

Aoi Asahina. Doughnut Girl. The Ultimate Swimmer, and one of the six survivors of the original game. Why would she be the top candidate for the role of the traitor? Considering how much she’s protected Makoto, stood up for her friends, and been such a reliable source of positivity throughout this ordeal, what possible reason would she have to turn on her friends after going through so much with them? Mostly because she’s done it before.

In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the bubbly ditz of the group showed her mean streak. When her best friend, Sakura, was revealed to be a mole within the class, Asahina was the only one who stood by her. As her classmates tried to kill, attack and shun the seemingly reformed Ultimate Martial Artist, Sakura took it upon herself to commit suicide, freeing the class of their suspicions and allowing them to unite against the mastermind.

Except, Aoi didn’t see it that way.

As the first person to realize the truth about her friend’s death, she tried to throw the trial so that the class would all be executed for choosing the wrong killer, including herself, Driven by revenge, she showed a complete lack of regard for her own life if it meant getting back at the people who hurt those she cares about. Eventually, all was forgiven, and Asahina was among the final survivors of the Hope’s Peak killing game. But what would happen if she was struck with another tragedy? Someone who’s even closer to her than a friend? Someone like family?

Which is where Yuta Asahina, her younger brother comes in. Killed early in Ultra Despair Girls, she has made no mention of the death throughout the series, which is a strange thing to ignore considering how we know she reacts to personal tragedy. The Future Foundation was sent in to rescue the captives in Towa City, but the organization failed her. She obviously would have needed some help to pull such a huge plan off successfully, which is where Chisa comes in, but despite coming off as dense on the surface, we know that she can outsmart the best of them when vengeance is on her mind. How cruel would it be if the whole reason she’s worked so hard to keep Naegi alive all this time is so he could see Kirigiri, who was essentially his love interest, die because of him? Much like she’s had her love ones die while being completely helpless to stop it? That’s what I call true despair…

Most importantly, from a writing standpoint, hiding the identity of the traitor for this long means the reveal has to have some kind of impact, one that will raise the stakes as we head into the grand finale. As Asahina ran into the room with all of the survivors alongside Mitarai at the conclusion of episode 10 with Kirigiri’s notebook in hand, declaring that she knows who the traitor is, how great would it be if the start of episode 11 opens with her announcement leading to an evil smile, and the death of an unsuspecting Mitarai. The only thing worse than killing one of the game’s survivors is making one of them turn to despair, and in that sense, Asahina is the prime candidate.

Let’s hear it, Danganronpa fans! What theories do you have leading into the last two weeks of Hope’s Peak? Do you agree with any of these ideas, do you have any of your own that weren’t mentioned, or do you think this is all pigshit? Let us know in the comments!