Danganronpa Zero is a Japanese light novel written by Kazutaka Kodaka and illustrated by Rui Komatsuzaki . It was published by Seikaisha from September 16 to October 14, 2011, and has been collected in two tankōbon volumes. A prequel to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc , the novel focuses on Ryoko Otonashi , a student who, as a result of "The Tragedy", has anterograde amnesia (the inability to form new memories) and has short-term memory loss. Overseen by the school's Ultimate Neurologist and her childhood sweetheart Yasuke Matsuda , Ryoko becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy within Hope's Peak Academy, involving the mysterious Izuru Kamukura and "Despair Sisters" Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba , as "The Parade" protests arise outside.
58-433: The events of the novel set up several story elements that were later used in the video game Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair , in particular the character of Izuru Kamukura , while several characters introduced in the novel make cameo appearances in the anime Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School . Kodaka has cited Zero as the story in which he "finalized the larger world of Danganronpa , [which] led to
116-476: A Danganronpa player asked the actor to sign a copy of Goodbye Despair , Bosch could better understand the character he voiced. In the stage play, Ryusei Yokohama portrays the character. Kodaka described the Hajime of the anime Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School as someone who recklessly worked hard to do his best, despite his lack of an Ultimate Talent, in contrast with his past persona in
174-582: A computer avatar copy of the childhood memories his real self: Izuru Kamukura. Originally part of the Reserve Course, a section of Hope's Peak Academy for students without ultimate talents, the original Hajime had volunteered to become a test subject in the Hope Cultivation Project, becoming a superintelligent superhuman soldier and acquiring multiple talents at the cost of his original personality and sense of self. Renamed after
232-480: A "beautiful, elegant dance" while his hair was stiffer than in early materials. Kodaka was glad with the character's design, especially with how emotionless his eyes were. Due to how powerless the famous Junko Enoshima is in comparison to Izuru, the scenes involving how the former manipulates the latter were written to show Junko at her lowest, since she could not defeat Izuru in combat. So, the writers focused on psychology involving their passions. Famitsu found that
290-471: A "weaker" lead for the next game. Kodaka thanked the Lerche staff from the anime for how faithful Izuru was to his original version. Having been briefly explored in the light novel and Goodbye Despair , Kodaka wrote Hajime's darker persona as somebody who ironically finds everything boring, since Hajime wants to become special like the students from Hope's Peak Academy. His design was carefully revised to have
348-472: A detective ( Kyoko Kirigiri ) investigates him. Izuru is described as a student of indeterminate gender hiding on the grounds of the school, and the perpetrator of "The Tragedy", an event involving mass murder that resulted in the decay of mankind. It is believed Izuru was allied with the antagonist of the first Danganronpa game, Junko Enoshima , whom he aided in the Tragedy. Ryoko Otonashi learns that Izuru
406-500: A group of tropical islands. The prequel anime Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School further explores the past of the human Hajime and how he volunteered to undergo experimentation to become the silent apathetic superhuman Izuru. Hajime was created to be a caring student who would be explored as a more tragic hero, in contrast with his predecessor, the Danganronpa protagonist Makoto Naegi . The franchise explores
464-415: A kindred spirit, along with subtitle manipulation, Izuru allies with Junko who arranges a killing game and the tragedy of hopes peak academy, with the ultimate goal of causing the fall of human civilization. Upon the death of Chiaki and successfully instigating a worldwide apocalypse, Izuru adopts a neutral stance to observe the "unpredictability" of despair and hope, promising to take a more active stance when
522-525: A more hatred-driven manner, due to his lack of talents before meeting another character named Chiaki Nanami , the original version of the heroine from the game. Nevertheless, Kodaka planned for the meeting of the human Hajime's and the human Chiaki to be integral to the narrative, based on how the two bonds when playing games. In developing the lead character of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony , Kodaka felt that both Hajime and Makoto were written to be "too strong" as video game protagonists, leading him to write
580-504: A new crossover illustration drawn by Tokyo Chronos illustrator and character designer LAM, who drew Hajime alongside other characters from the series. During 2016, in Tokyo, as part of a collaboration between Danganronpa and Absolute to promote the anime, fans could interact with the voice actors, with Takayama reprising her role of Hajime. In a 2021 poll, Hajime was voted as the fourth best Danganronpa character. Critical response to
638-568: A relatable person, due to how ordinary he is in contrast to the rest of the cast from Goodbye Despair . With regard to his appearance, Hajime was the earliest character designed by Rui Komatsuzaki , who created a major contrast between Hajime's white clothing and Nagito Komaeda 's dark clothing. His relatable characterization was meant to give him a notable character arc , as throughout the story he shows weakness due to his lack of talents despite his attempts to act as an ordinary person. Hajime's final appearance differed from that in early sketches for
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#1732797269535696-421: A result of his morals, Hajime moves forward carrying the burden of despair as a consequence of the sins he committed with his past persona known as Izuru Kumukura. The connection between Izuru and Hajime was foreshadowed in the light novel Danganronpa Zero as kanji for Hajime's full name was conceived as a hint to his other persona, as "日向創" can be read as "Kamukura". The writing staff describes Hajime as
754-581: A result, Kodaka recommends players to first read Zero before playing the sequel. The novel has been collected into two tankōbon volumes, both of which were published in late 2011. Izuru Kamukura Hajime Hinata ( Japanese : 日向 創 , Hepburn : Hinata Hajime ) , also known as Izuru Kamukura ( 神座 出流 , Kamukura Izuru ) , is a character from the Spike Chunsoft visual novel action-adventure game series Danganronpa . The character has two identities: Izuru first appeared in
812-491: A student, the original Chiaki Nanami , about how talents are not necessary for him to stand out, Hajime decides to take part in the Izuru Kamukura Project with his parents' consent, sacrificing himself to become Izuru. While finding himself lacking a true sense of purpose and connection to the world, Izuru meets Junko and Mukuro Ikusaba after thwarting their attempt to assassinate him. Recognizing Junko as
870-430: Is a rival of Nagito Komaeda , who suspects there is a traitor in the group working for "World Ender". When Nagito fakes his suicide to apparently expose the traitor by tricking them into unknowingly killing them, Hajime realizes his friend Chiaki Nanami is the traitor and culprit, and she is executed. After Chiaki's execution, Hajime uncovers the truth behind Jabberwock Island being a simulated reality and himself being
928-587: Is briefly seen during the epilogue of the spin-off Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls , set between the events of the first and second games, while ripping out parts of the mechanical bears Kurokuma and Shirokuma while transporting them via wheelbarrow, before preparing future plans with Alter Ego Junko. Hajime appears alongside Yasuhiro Hagakure and Makoto in the game demo for Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony , with Hajime and Makoto as Kaede Akamatsu 's upper classmates, senior "protagonists", and major helpers, before being revealed to be an actor in
986-436: Is hiding inside the old school building, but fails to find him, instead finding her boyfriend and Ultimate Despair collaborator, Yasuke Matsuda, who, briefly adopting Izuru's identity, kills Yuto Kamishiro to cover up Izuru's and Junko's roles in the Tragedy. In Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair , Izuru is reintroduced under his birth name, Hajime Hinata. Having revered Hope's Peak Academy since childhood and having no memory of
1044-874: The Zero Escape series as Chunsoft. Spike developed Danganronpa before the merger. Chunsoft was founded by Koichi Nakamura , a video game designer and programmer who had worked with Enix , including the popular Dragon Quest franchise until Dragon Quest V . The "Chun" in the company name is from the first kanji Naka ( 中 ) of the company founder's name; Naka is read as "Chun" in Japanese Mahjong . This name would also appear in Nakamura's first work with Enix, titled Door Door in 1983. Otogirisō marked Chunsoft's debut brand. Following that, successive genre-trailblazing titles Torneko no Daibōken: Fushigi no Dungeon , Kamaitachi no Yoru , and Shiren
1102-462: The original video animation Nagito Komaeda and the Destroyer of Worlds , it is shown how Izuru/Hajime managed to restore Nagito's subconsciousness so that he and the others would return to the real world before the events of Hope , creating an artificial intelligence duplicate of himself dubbed the "World Ender". Implanted with multiple talents, he lost touch with other members of mankind and
1160-525: The 11th spot. In describing the "dream" Japanese cast of Goodbye Despair , Kotaku remarked on Takayama's work, mostly due to her work in Detective Conan and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood which would attract fans from both series. Spike Chunsoft Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games , visual novels and adventure games . The company
1218-412: The 2011 light novel prequel Danganronpa Zero by Kazutaka Kodaka as a mysterious high school student whose actions resulted in genocide , while a computer avatar copy of Hajime appeared as the protagonist of the 2012 video game Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair , as a high school student with no memory of his past, forced to investigate murder cases involving high school students who are trapped on
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#17327972695351276-533: The AI based on such character. Commenters also focused on the Izuru Kamukura character, Hajime's alter ego. The Gamer listed Izuru–Hajime as the sixth best Danganronpa character, saying that despite his chaotic background, his efforts to redeem himself make him a "complex hero". Both Manga.Tokyo and Anime News Network felt that Hajime became a tragic character due to losing all of his memories following
1334-550: The Kamukura Project provided Hajime's new identity with all of the talents he could possibly have, thus becoming the most powerful character in the franchise. The Fandom Post and Biggest in Japan enjoyed the bond that both Hajime and Chiaki had in the anime. Comic Book Resources placed this relationship as the best reason why Goodbye Despair needs to be adapted as an anime since in such game Hajime also befriended
1392-624: The Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows release of Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate would not be released by Aksys but by their subsidiary. This table lists video games published internationally by Spike Chunsoft's American subsidiary Spike Chunsoft, Inc. since its foundation on December 1, 2017. Outside of titles from Spike Chunsoft in Japan, the company publishes titles from Mages (which
1450-576: The Remnants of Despair and arranged for them to be captured by Future Foundation agent and former killing game survivor and new "Ultimate Hope" Makoto Naegi and placing him and the Remnants into a virtual reality created by the Future Foundation's Neo World Program in an attempt at rehabilitating them, into which Izuru releases an artificial intelligence copy of Junko (made at the moment of her death and dubbed Alter Ego Junko) supposedly with
1508-476: The Wanderer established the company's good reputation. Nakamura himself had to move away from programming in order to run the company. For a time, the company's products were considered mediocre, but 3-Nen B-Gumi Kinpachi Sensei: Densetsu no Kyoudan ni Tate! was a hit that showed signs of recovery. During the development of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team , Kouji Malta, one of
1566-417: The cast members, who are similarly revealed to be the Remnants of Despair, rather than their previous caring personas. Anime News Network felt that Hajime became famous in the franchise for how corrupted he becomes, in contrast to his initial persona, something which the critic blamed on Nagito's philosophies. Comic Book Resources listed Izuru as the most intelligent Danganronpa character, based on how
1624-479: The character has been positive, in particular their interpersonal relationship with other characters and the voice actors' vocal performances. The character's role at The End of Hope's Peak High School was praised for the handling of his alter ego's origin story and depiction of degraded humanity. Danganronpa writer Kazutaka Kodaka created Hajime Hinata as a major contrast to his predecessor, Makoto Naegi . While Makoto's story involves his holding onto hope as
1682-470: The character, as both Izuru and Hajime, has been positive, with many comparing elements of the characterizations with other cast members featured in Danganronpa . The final twist in Goodbye Despair , where Hajime is revealed to be Junko's partner Izuru, was praised by Rice Digital as one of the franchise's most striking twists, as it alters the gamers' perception regarding him alongside the rest of
1740-521: The creation of the second game." Ryoko Otonashi ( 音無 涼子 , Otonashi Ryōko ) – The main protagonist , an amnesiac student known as the "Ultimate Analyst ". Yasuke Matsuda ( 松田 夜助 , Matsuda Yasuke ) – Ryoko's caretaker and childhood sweetheart, known as the "Ultimate Neurologist". The Despair Sisters ( 絶望の姉妹 , Zetsubō no Shimai ) – Consisting of twin sisters Mukuro Ikusaba ( 戦刃 むくろ , Ikusaba Mukuro ) and Junko Enoshima ( 江ノ島 盾子 , Enoshima Junko ) ,
1798-632: The epilogue. In the main storyline, both the Izuru and Hajime identities are adopted by the new mastermind , the Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony reality television showrunner , in the sixth chapter. Hajime appears in Despair Arc of the anime Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School as a high school student suffering from an inferiority complex as a result of his lack of talent. Despite being comforted by
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1856-567: The founder of Hope's Peak Academy and dubbed Ultimate Hope ( 超高校級の「希望」 , Chō-kōkō-kyū no "Kibō" , lit. Super High School Level Hope ) , Izuru soon grew bored with the world, due to being unable to relate to anyone, and was convinced by the like-minded Junko Enoshima to join the Ultimate Despair ( 超高校級の「絶望」 , Chō kōkō kyū no "Zetsubō" , lit. Super High School Level Despair ) organization in an attempt to alleviate his boredom. Following Junko's death, Izuru took control of
1914-465: The franchise. There was also commentary with regard to the nearly emotionless Izuru reacting to the death of Chiaki, which came across as an important emotional scene, as Izuru starts crying when seeing her in her last moments. Thanasis Karavasilis, of Manga.Tokyo , felt the anime managed to give Hajime a strong finish and praised the encounter between him and the Mitarai, as in their encounter neither
1972-557: The game from Mages in 2018; they have since continued publishing further games in the Science Adventure series, including Steins;Gate 0 and Chaos;Child . On July 16, 2020, NIS America announced that Danganronpa games on the Playstation Store will be removed. Spike Chunsoft subsequently announced on July 22, 2020 that they will take on publishing the Danganronpa series outside of Japan. Similarly,
2030-464: The game's narrative, despite the dark story, evidenced by how he bonds with the other cast members. Due to his dark characterization and how he lacks Hajime's humanity, Manga.Tokyo compared Izuru with Star Wars villain Darth Vader , although the reviewer felt Hajime's corruption to be more forced in comparison to Vader's. Izuru is first mentioned in the light novel Danganronpa Zero as
2088-419: The human experiments, losing the bond he formed with Chiaki in the process. Both Kotaku and Anime News Network commented on the encounter between Izuru and Nagito but had mixed feelings about the former, finding their similarities enjoyable while the latter deemed them as fan service due to the lack of impact. Gaming Trend praised Izuru's relationship with Junko, based on the latter's popularity within
2146-478: The light novel and anime prequels. Kodaka felt the anime explicated the differences between Izuru and Hajime, which were not fully explored in the game. Izuru was described as a god-like entity to the point of being deemed as the strongest character Kodaka ever created in fiction. For the Hope Arc of the series' anime, Kodaka stated that the two minds of the character had merged under the Izuru Kamukura name. Kodaka
2204-411: The making of the first Danganronpa game, there were no plans for a sequel. However, the team split up into different groups to make other projects. Initially reluctant, Kodaka was attracted by the idea of creating the novels Danganronpa Zero . After consulting to Terasawa, Kodaka decided to write the novel. While writing Zero , Terasawa approached Kodaka with the idea of a sequel in a few months. Kodaka
2262-601: The new company would be called Spike Chunsoft. In 2017, Spike Chunsoft established a North American subsidiary based in Long Beach, California to carry out localization and publishing of its own games, in addition to games by its sister company 5pb./Mages under a newly formed partnership. Their first game under the Mages partnership was the Microsoft Windows version of Steins;Gate , taking over publishing of
2320-628: The only known survivor of "The Tragedy". Jin Kirigiri ( 霧切 仁 , Kirigiri Jin ) – The Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, who tasks his estranged daughter Kyoko with investigating "The Tragedy" while he is dealing with "The Parade". Izuru Kamukura ( カムクラ イズル , Kamukura Izuru ) – A student of indeterminate gender hiding on the grounds of the school, and the perpetrator of "The Tragedy". The Steering Committee ( 評議委員 ) – The school board of Hope's Peak Academy and creators of Izuru Kamukura, who cover up their role in "The Tragedy". After
2378-692: The pair are instigators of "The Tragedy". Kyoko Kirigiri ( 霧切 響子 , Kirigiri Kyōko ) – A student known as the "Ultimate Detective", investigating Izuru Kamukura and the cause of "The Tragedy" after being hired by her estranged father. Isshiki Madarai ( 斑井 一式 , Madarai Isshiki ) – A group of octuplets and collective "Ultimate Bodyguard " who pursue Ryoko. Yuto Kamishiro ( 神代 優兎 , Kamishiro Yuto ) – A perverted student and self-proclaimed "Ultimate Secret Agent " who assists Ryoko. Soshun Murasame ( 村雨 早春 , Murasame Sōshun ) – An apparently comatose student in Matsuda's care and
Danganronpa Zero - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-481: The programmers for these two games, and contributed previously on EarthBound and Shiren the Wanderer 2 , stated the company went through bad business performance, as employees from Chunsoft would leave the company progressively due to this issue. The game's success not only helped giving more popularity in the Mystery Dungeon franchise, it also helped Chunsoft from avoiding bankruptcy. Later in 2005, it
2494-425: The purpose of allowing her to download herself into a number of the other Remnants' bodies and other Future Foundation agents following a simulated killing game between their amnesiac selves to erase their minds. Ultimately, Hajime decides to delete Alter Ego Junko instead, in which a merged and content Izuru/Hajime overlooks the island. Hajime has also appeared in the manga adaptations of Goodbye Despair . Izuru
2552-467: The relationship between Makoto and Kyoko Kirigiri , a supporting character from the previous game, was meant to help the player in solving cases thanks to the latter's skills as a detective. In the Japanese version of the game, Hajime was voiced by Minami Takayama . As Takayama was famous for voicing the main character of the detective manga Case Closed , the staff put a reference to her career in
2610-596: The scene where Izuru steps on Junko has a great effect on his enemy. Junko's voice actress, Megumi Toyoguchi , claimed there were no notes in the script about how to perform that scene, so she acted on her own. Manga News compared him with Kyoko Kirigiri based on how both cannot remember their pasts, as well their similar talents. Koi-Nya and HardCore Gaming 101 felt he was a fitting protagonist, similar to Makoto, as both do not possess major talents and have to rely on their normal abilities to solve problems. DualShockers claimed that Hajime dramatically changed during
2668-451: The series, as his hair was originally meant to be longer, and, at one point, he was to be wearing glasses. Nagito was meant to be "an absolute rival" to Hajime, a relationship similar to that between the Joker and Batman in the 1989 film . Meanwhile, the character of Chiaki Nanami was written as a heroine with whom Hajime would often interact and bond romantically, as Kodaka claims that
2726-459: The situation calls for it. Izuru/Hajime has also appeared in the other story arcs in the anime. In Future Arc , at some point during the Tragedy, Makoto explains that he found Izuru and captured him to place him in the virtual world, for which he is put on trial for treason by the Future Foundation for doing so, and refusing to disclose the location of Izuru and the remaining Remnants of Despair. Subsequently, Izuru/Hajime and his former friends from
2784-403: The skill that landed him at the academy, he is given the title of "Ultimate ???" ( 超高校級の「???」 , Chō-kōkō-kyū no "???" , lit. Super High School Level ??? ) . Hajime and his classmates are trapped into a killing game on a group of tropical islands by the bear-like robot Monokuma . With his investigative skills, Hajime helps solve the murder mysteries and finds every murderer. He
2842-550: The snowboarding minigame from Goodbye Despair , as Jimmy Kudo often surfs a turbo skateboard. Takayama was selected to voice the character based on her popularity from Case Closed , in order to make Hajime seem like a detective. For the English dub of the franchise, Johnny Yong Bosch took the role of Hajime. Bosch recalls having difficulty becoming immersed in Hinata's role, due to the lack of artwork that featured Hinata. When
2900-447: The themes of despair and hope; as a result of his sins, Izuru's activities involve a search for redemption. Their prequel personas were also modified to fit the narrative involving their lack of self-esteem and relationship with Junko Enoshima , the main antagonist of the series who attempts to manipulate him for her own goals. The character is voiced by Minami Takayama in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in English. Critical response to
2958-504: The third spot, behind Nagito Komaeda and Makoto Naegi. To celebrate, Rui Komatsuzaki did an illustration of the top five to be featured in the re-release of the games, Reload . In late 2020, the NetEase survival-horror game Identity V launched " Identity V x Danganronpa Crossover II", the second part of its collaboration with the Danganronpa series. To mark the occasion, Identity V ' s official Japanese Twitter account revealed
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#17327972695353016-506: The virtual world return to the real world. In the anime's finale, Hope Arc , Izuru/Hajime and the Remnants of Despair locate the final mastermind Ryota Mitarai after defeating his brainwashed minions, and convince him to give up on his cause and join their group. Izuru/Hajime shares a nod of approval with Makoto as he leaves, before sending out a worldwide proclamation in order to clear the Future Foundation of responsibility for Tengan's and his Future Foundation associates' own killing game. In
3074-619: Was bought by Dwango and became a subsidiary of the company. Before the project, Sega were helping Chunsoft in developing and releasing their games for the Dreamcast . From 2005 to 2010, Sega have made a collaboration with Chunsoft titled "SEGA×CHUN PROJECT". Their goal was to provide support and sales for development funds, such as the Nintendo DS remake of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer or 428: Shibuya Scramble . In 2012, Chunsoft merged with its sister company Spike and
3132-420: Was busy with the novel as he aimed to complete it so the sequel was written once he was finished with Zero . In the end, Kodaka wrote both Zero and Goodbye Despair at the same time. In retrospective, Kodaka considers the novels as needing more structuring work when comparing it with the game. He wrote elements he was doubtful from the first game into the novel as well as more hints towards Goodbye Despair . As
3190-650: Was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango . It created games such as the first five Dragon Quest installments and the Mystery Dungeon franchise as Chunsoft, and the Conception series as Spike Chunsoft. They also developed titles such as The Portopia Serial Murder Case , the Sound Novel series (consisting of Otogirisō , Kamaitachi no Yoru , Machi and 428: Shibuya Scramble ) and
3248-542: Was framed for the killing of the Student Council at Hope's Peak Academy. Despite this horrific discovery of his past life, Hajime refuses to become his old self and actively works to save everyone he can. Though that darker part continues to haunt him in spite of his efforts to do good, making for a complex hero.. –The Gamer In a popularity poll ranking the franchise characters, for the collected release of Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair , Hajime took
3306-433: Was portrayed as the greater culprit. The voice actors of Hajime have been well received. Johnny Yong Bosch 's performance as Hajime in the English dub of the anime was the subject of praise by Anime News Network . In a Japanese poll by AnimeAnime , Hajime was voted as the fourth best character voiced by Minami Takayama , sharing the fourth spot with Nabiki Tendo from Ranma ½ . In another poll from 2021, Hajime took
3364-519: Was satisfied with how anime staff from Lerche handled Izuru, while also enjoying his portrayal as an emotionless, silent but "elegant" character at the same time. In Goodbye Despair , it is revealed that Hajime and his classmates are terrorists with amnesia, and that they used to be called the Remnants of Despair. In contrast with Goodbye Despair , Kodaka aimed for the younger Remnants of Despair to be characterized differently to reflect their original personalities; this resulted in Hajime being written in
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