Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc)

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Halt hand.png

"I don't want to watch this! Don't make me! I can't!"

— Hiyoko Saionji

"Both times. Both times!! Chiaki was f**ked over... twice! And both times she was killed off by these moronic writers, it was because of the most nonsense chain of events ever, Both times were the culmination of a buildup predicted on either utterly ridiculous bullshit or literal luck, or maybe a little bit of both, just so they can dangle the best character they’ve ever written in front of you, and then wank themselves off over brutalizing and torturing her before ripping the life right out of her body, and forcing you to watch her suffer on the ground for committing the "terrible crime" of wanting to help her friends... all because these writers have no idea how to chain together events in a way that’s even semi-logical! 'F**k you, you dumbass writers! F**k yourselves to infinity and beyond! Go f**k yourselves into oblivion, you talentless incompetent HACKS!'"

— GamingMagic13

"That's what I'd do. My classmates and my life. I… I love them all. No. I'm not ready to go. I still have so much left to do and, I thought that there would be enough time. My classmates. Someone has to stand up and protect them. Please. Just one more game. One more round. We… we had so much fun, right?"

— Chiaki Nanami; her final words before dying in this episode.

"This is unforgivable. Nanami is our hope! Look what she did to her. What despair... What a horrific sight! This is... This is the despair we must overcome? Ah, Nanami... You understand, right? At this moment, you are becoming a stepping stone to hope!"

— Nagito Komaeda
Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope
Danganronpa 3 - Despair Arc Title Card (Episode 10).png

"Let's give it everything we got. It's punishment time!"

— Monokuma

Game Over!
This episode has been found guilty. Time for the punishment!
This Episode's Punishment: This entire page!
Series: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School
Part of Season: 2
Episode Number: 10
Air Date: September 15, 2016 (Japan + sub)
October 16, 2016 (USA + dub)
November 16, 2018 (Germany)

August 16, 2019 (Italy)

Writer: Ukyo Kodachi
Director: Yusuke Kamada
Previous episode: Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile
Next episode: Goodbye, Hope's Peak High School

Smile At Despair in the Name of Hope is the twentieth episode of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School and the tenth episode of the Despair Arc, which serves as a prequel to the Hope's Peak Academy series.

The episode was originally broadcasted in Japan on September 15th, 2016, and was simulcast with English subtitles by Funimation the same day.

Synopsis

Junko overpowers Juzo and deduces that he is in love with Kyosuke, threatening to expose his feelings unless he betrays Kyosuke by reporting that she is innocent. Meanwhile, Chisa, who has been brainwashed by Junko's despair video, sends Chiaki down to an underground room where she is captured by Junko. Deciding that Chiaki is the final element needed to finish her prototype, Junko forces her to go through a dungeon filled with deadly traps, while the rest of the class are forced to watch as she struggles in vain and is ultimately fatally wounded by spikes. The resulting despair, combined with Junko's brainwashing methods, warps the students and transforms them into the Remnants of Despair. In her final moments, Chiaki tries to remind Izuru of the person he once was before passing away, leading Izuru to shed tears for the first time since his transformation.

Summary

Hope's Peak will recite - its death haiku of Despair - for no hope remains.

Plot

Chisa and Chiaki walk down the long lit hallway. Chiaki asks if they are going the right way, and Chisa observes that she is feeling nervous and says they have to do something about that. Chiaki blushes and they continue on their way. Meanwhile, Juzo has been beaten by Junko, who taunts him about his feelings for Kyosuke. Juzo is horrified that Junko knows his secret, and she threatens to tell Kyosuke. Juzo begs her not to, and Junko says she won't if he tells Kyosuke she is completely innocent, and Juzo agrees to her terms. Junko leaves, and Juzo angrily bangs his fist onto the ground.

The rest of Class 77-B continue on their way as Mikan catches up to them. Fuyuhiko asksw hat happened to Chiaki, and Mikan says she hurt her ankle and is waiting in another room. Kazuichi said they should have left Nagito with her. Teruteru offers to take Nagito, but then the wall opens and Kazuichi shrieks in terror. Gundham and Nekomaru arrive through the wall, and the class is relieved to see them.

Chisa leads Chiaki to an elevator, and embraces her. She compliments Chiaki on how she united the class, and led them while while she was gone. Chisa then shoves Chiaki into the elevator and says that's why she was chosen. Chiaki looks back and sees that Chisa's eyes have black and white swirls in them as the elevator closes and descends. Chiaki sees a TV screen, and Junko appears on it. Junko explains that she used her despair video to brainwash Chisa, and adds that Chiaki will help her complete the despair video.

The class enters what looks to be a trial room. They stand in the center, and then Junko appears on the TV screens in the room. She shows Chiaki on the monitor, and the door opens. Chiaki is forced into a harrowing gauntlet where she gets her left foot and right knee speared. Metal balls fly at her and injure her right eye, and right arm. Through it all, Chiaki refuses to give up. She believes she will get out alive or her friends will come and save her. Junko laughs that her friends are not coming to save her. Meanwhile, The class watches all of this in horror, and find themselves unable to move. Their eyes soon get black and white circles in them as tears fall down their cheeks, and they beg for Chiaki's life.

Finally, Chiaki comes to a door that says "goal", and everyone appears to be on the other side. The illusion is soon shattered as a spear shoots through Chiaki, and seventeen spears shoot up and impale her body as her horrified classmates look on helplessly. The screen turns red with a silhouette of Chiaki's impaled body. Nagito says Chiaki is supposed to be their hope as tears falls down his cheeks, and he laughs that Chiaki is their stepping stone to overcome despair. Junko congratulates them on becoming just like her, and says from here on out, they will seek out despair, and will do anything to obtain it. The spears retract and Chiaki's body falls to the ground. By this time, the class is now smiling as they have been completely brainwashed to embrace the despair of losing Chiaki.

Chiaki lays there and stirs as Izuru comes into the room. Chiaki weakly turns herself around and calls out for Hajime. Izuru asks whether Hajime is the one who used to own the body he has, and reveals to Chiaki that all traces of Hajime's personality have been deleted. Chiaki says she is done for and apologizes for failing to help Hajime and her other friends. Izuru is amazed that she still wants to help someone even in her current condition. Chiaki cries that she is not ready to die yet; she loves everyone and wants to stay with them. She reaches out to Izuru and says they could have played more games together. Izuru stands idly as Chiaki collapses and dies, her hairpin falling out in the process. As Izuru picks up the hairpin, something stirs from within him and he finds himself shedding many tears for Chiaki.

Chiaki Nanami's Punishment

Sequence

Chiaki is forced into a dungeon maze full of dangerous traps. Forced to escape to reunite with her friends, she kept moving through the halls but had activated a hidden switch on the floor, allowing a spike to impale her foot. Not giving up on hope, Chiaki is then fired with metal balls that injures her right eye and arm. Junko Enoshima, who watches her through cameras in the dungeon, starts a countdown. Chiaki desperately tries to limp to safety only to be speared in the knee. Junko proceeds to mockingly state that she has a despairingly bad temper. At the end of the maze is a large door marked "GOAL", behind which stood Chisa Yukizome and her classmates. Upon Chiaki opening the door, she saw her class happily waiting for her to arrive. Chisa reaches out for Chiaki but she only happens to be an illusion; instead a spear fired and went through Chiaki's heart. Simultaneously a bed of spikes appear around her, catching her as she fell.

Unlike other executions, it does not end in her immediate death, allowing Izuru Kamukura to talk to her briefly. It is also more eventful and tortures her a bit more before she dies.

Aftermath

The rest of Chiaki's classmates who were forced to watch the brainwashing recording of Chiaki's execution eventually fall into despair and become part of Ultimate Despair who will begin The Tragedy.

Why It's The Ultimate Despair, Has Been Found Guilty, & Should Get Impaled By Spears

  1. First and foremost, the biggest problem with this episode and the main reason why this episode is so bad in the first place is that it feels like Danganronpa's answer to the infamous SpongeBob SquarePants episode One Coarse Meal along with The Simpsons episode The Boys of Bummer (but in a much more extreme manner), as it literally feels like it's solely focused on making Chiaki Nanami suffer severely by Junko making her go into a maze filled with booby traps and then said character tortures Chiaki to death. In fact, Chiaki's execution goes on for almost the entire episode, making it a rare animated example of an actual torture porn (and definitely one of the most extreme torture porn episodes of them all, and this alone was already a major red flag), which is highly execrable, even for Danganronpa standards.
    • It also feels, in a way, too similar to Bowser Junior’s Punishment from SuperMarioLogan, as both of these episodes also have the respective characters, Bowser Junior and Chiaki Nanami, getting tortured in the worst ways possible in these two episodes, with the torture being taken to the extreme. At least Bowser Junior’s Punishment was actually deleted and banned later on, unlike this episode.
    • Even, this episode takes the concept of torture porn way too far and goes overboard with it, to the point where this episode feels more like an extended Punishment Day video with much more brutal punishments rather than an actual episode. Most of the episodes from SpongeBob SquarePants where Squidward gets treated like the butt-monkey he is were already bad enough, but at least they didn’t go this far (with an exception just barely being Ink Lemonade, but still).
      • While some torture episodes in a TV-MA series can be done correctly, such as the Helluva Boss episode Exes and Oohs, here, this is not the right way to do it.
    • Speaking of Chiaki Nanami’s execution in this episode, it is considered one of the worst executions in all of Danganronpa history, even more so than Mikan Tsumiki's insane and fanservicey execution in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair (if not the worst one of all time), considering that the execution goes on for almost the whole episode in a disturbingly mean-spirited way, and it takes the execution motive to the extreme. And you thought Mr. Krabs torturing Plankton in One Coarse Meal was already bad enough. Not even Leon Kuwata or Celestia Ludenberg's executions from Trigger Happy Havoc were this disturbing, and even they were still interesting executions. Hell, this execution even tries way too hard to be like Indiana Jones, however, because of this execution’s mean-spirited tone, it completely lacks the charm that Indiana Jones (yes, even to a slight extent, Dial of Destiny) had. It doesn’t help matters either that this is the first formal execution in the Danganronpa series in chronological order.
      • While some inspiration taken from the Indiana Jones movies can be done correctly, like in media such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and the entirety of Dora and the Lost City of Gold, all of which managed to utilize the Indiana Jones references correctly, this is simply not the case here, as the way the stuff taken from Indiana Jones (which were Indiana Jones having to dodge floor spikes, saws spinning out of the walls, and a giant rolling boulder, except here, with Chiaki Nanami instead of Indiana Jones) were utilized here was done very poorly.
    • Sure, Chiaki Nanami got executed in Chapter 5 of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, but even then, Chiaki’s execution wasn’t the main aspect of that chapter. But here, most of the plot feels like it brutally throws Chiaki Nanami away, for no absolute reason other than to show Junko’s mean-spirited nature and to cause the rest of Class 77-B to fall into despair.
    • This also leaves a hidden middle finger to the Danganronpa fans who actually wanted Chiaki Nanami to go through character development, as this execution simply throws any chance of that away for no apparent reason other than to terrify the viewers. This not only comes off as too edgy for Danganronpa standards, but also a massive waste of character development.
  2. Not only does Junko Enoshima solidify herself as a "complete monster", but she is also at her absolute worst in this episode, as she lures Chiaki into a maze filled with booby traps where she is slowly tortured to death (as mentioned in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #1), with Junko delivering the killing blow by impaling Chiaki with a bunch of spears, all the while the rest of Class 77-B are being forced to watch the entire thing through monitors that don't allow them to move or look away. And it definitely wouldn’t have been this bad had the execution not gone on for almost the whole episode (also mentioned in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #1) and shown in graphic detail. And it isn't being stabbed by the spears or any of the traps that kill her, but instead a slow and agonizing death of bleeding out after said impalement. And not only that, but by the end, the brainwashing effects combined with the despair of watching their friend and beloved class rep being brutally tortured to death turns the rest of Class 77-B into the Remnants of Despair. This incident scarred a lot of Chiaki Nanami fans. And no, we are not joking. Even people who didn't like Chiaki were horrified by her death. Sure, Danganronpa was no stranger to characters with tendencies to act mean-spirited towards others like Hiyoko Saionji from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and Tenko Chabashira from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, who act this way towards Mikan Tsumiki and the male students of the Killing Game respectively (the latter of which even thought that the entire male population they should be rounded up and shot, even going as far by saying that males were created by the Devil), but neither of them took it to this extent. There may have also been a mean-spirited scene in this exact same show and arc, even before this episode, like where Hiyoko Saionji bullies Gundham Tanaka's rabbit, but even then, that never came close to being as mean-spirited as the events of this episode (and at least Hiyoko Saionji got her comeuppance for bullying Gundham Tanaka's rabbit in one of the prior episodes). Hell, even Katsuki Bakugo, one of the main protagonists of My Hero Academia, wouldn't go that far... and keep in mind, he once told Izuku Midoriya to go kill himself!
    • Even worse, Junko showed zero remorse and even cracked a sick joke about it, which may just surpass the moment in One Coarse Meal where SpongeBob pointed out the consequences of Mr. Krabs' deeds, followed by him laughing and pointing out how much of a mess Plankton is now in terms of how tasteless it was.
      • It also doesn't help that not only does Junko never shut up, but she even taunts an injured Chiaki as she refuses to give up.
        • This is also one of those moments where a villain takes their motive way too far, and it even went to the point where Junko Enoshima can be considered the Kaname Asagiri of Danganronpa, due to both Kaname and Junko torturing the respective female characters, Aya Asagiri and Chiaki Nanami, in some of the worst ways possible. Hell, Junko’s actions in this episode can even be compared to other bad characters such as Tomoo from Elfen Lied and Wallet from Object Terror, due to their truly mean-spirited nature.
    • In fact, there was a scene where Junko Enoshima forces Juzo Sakakura to tell Kyosuke Munakata that she is completely innocent and had nothing to do with the student massacre. Really!? After what happened in this episode along with the previous ones and what would later occur in the games!?
      • Not helping matters is that in order to blackmail him into saying this, she publicly humiliated Juzo in front of the Reserve Course students because of his love for Kyosuke, therefore making her a homophobe. She even goes as far as to say that she "isn't devoid of compassion" as she threatens to kill Munakata if Juzo doesn't keep him from finding out that Junko was responsible for the events to come. And after he and Chisa lie to him about Junko's innocence in the following episode, Juzo ends up going into the bathroom and punching the wall until his fist bled, making it obvious how torn up he was over what Junko forced him to do.
        • Keep in mind that this incident is what drove Juzo to despise Junko to the point where he grew to also hate Makoto Naegi for being the one to defeat her, something he was determined to do after what she did to him.
          • It also heavily contradicts what Juzo Sakakura told Chisa Yukizome a few episodes ago, "Don't let emotions mess with the job you're here to do."
            • Said scene with Junko and Juzo would have been much better if Juzo agreed to tell Kyosuke Munakata that Junko Enoshima was completely innocent, waited for her to walk away, and then got up to his feet and tackled her to the ground while her back was turned while she was walking away (especially since she couldn’t see him when she wasn’t even looking in his direction).
              • To describe how much wasted potential this is, let’s look back at the first Iron Man movie, shall we? In that movie, Tony Stark was held captive in a cave, and he was told by the Ten Rings to make a Jericho missile or else he would have been killed. It was also clearly obvious that Tony Stark wasn’t gonna give the Ten Rings a highly dangerous weapon and that he wasn’t gonna sit idly by either and let himself get killed, so take a wild guess at what he did instead. Yep, he agreed to make the weapon for the Ten Rings on the surface, taking extreme precautions to make sure it looked like he was actually gathering materials and drawing blueprints for a missile, when in reality, he was cleverly concealing his true project, which was the first Iron Man armor, which he uses to break out of the cave and escape with his life. Comparing these two with each other especially makes it all the more infuriating that Kyosuke Munakata couldn’t fight back against Junko Enoshima here
  3. It has been revealed in this episode that Juzo Sakakura has a crush on Kyosuke Munakata. While this technically isn’t an issue, what really makes this confusing is how Junko Enoshima managed to get this information. She said that she was apparently spying on Juzo Sakakura through his window and saw him holding a picture of Kyosuke Munakata, and that’s it.
  4. The class entering what appears to be a trial room, while indeed seen as a nice callback to the video games, was poorly shoed in at the wrong time. However, unlike The Super Mario Bros. Movie (another media based on a video game franchise), which managed to utilize nostalgia correctly, the way the nostalgia is handled here is completely wasted.
  5. Chiaki Nanami, while likable, is treated like a punching bag in this episode with said trope being taken to the extreme, as she is literally tortured throughout almost the whole episode, and far worse than Plankton was in One Coarse Meal, the exact episode this is the equivalent of (as said in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #1). To make matters worse, Chiaki has done almost nothing to Junko beforehand and only died because Junko saw her as the final tool to finish the "Despair Video".
    • Not to mention, earlier in this arc, Chiaki Nanami’s character arc felt very rushed, so why end it with Chiaki getting tortured to death!?!? That not only makes her role in this arc much, much worse, but also destroys any chance of character development as a whole.
      • Due to this, this may as well be in the same lane as the infamous Total Drama All-Stars episode Sundae Muddy Sundae, where any chances of character development from Courtney (who was badly derailed in the Total Drama series since World Tour) was destroyed too, and similar to Gwen and Courtney's friendship ending off completely unresolved, Chiaki Nanami's character arc here ended off completely unresolved, and more will be explained at the end of the WITUD&HBFG section of this page.
  6. Just like what the writers of One Coarse Meal did to Plankton along with what the writers of The Boys of Bummer did to Bart Simpson, the writers of this episode seem determined to make Chiaki suffer as much as possible, as they literally make Chiaki Nanami's execution extend for almost the entire episode and make it so mean-spirited to the point where it ends up making it seem an eerily lot like other torture episodes that came before and after it such as One Coarse Meal (the exact episode that this is basically the same as), Ink Lemonade and A Pal for Gary from SpongeBob SquarePants, Arnold Betrays Iggy from Hey Arnold!, Quest 31: The Hyakujuu Sentai, Defeated!! from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, Arthur's Big Hit from Arthur, The Boys of Bummer from The Simpsons, Dream Scheme from The Powerpuff Girls, Stanley's Cup from South Park, Bowser Junior's Punishment from SuperMarioLogan, It’s a Dog’s Life from the Ren and Stimpy Show, Blue Cat Blues from Tom and Jerry, I Only Have Surprise for You from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, PC Roary from Roary The Racing Car, Fix and Lift's Music Battle from Titipo Titipo, The Apple Pencil Pro from Solar Opposites, Eating Out from Angry Birds Toons, No Such Luck and Schooled from The Loud House, Search and Do Not Destroy, Picnic at Hanging Dork and Sundae Muddy Sundae from Total Drama, Get the Hock Out from Buddy Thunderstruck, and the entirety of Magical Girl Site, and actually managing to be worse than most of them. That being said, unlike those episodes, there was a reason for why what happens in this episode happens that is connected the the overall story of the series (Junko did it in order to execute her plan to plunge the world into despair due to her view of despair as being the only exciting thing in life, an event that ends up leading to the events that occur later in the series), but it still doesn't make Junko's actions here any less despicable.
    • On top of that, Chiaki's execution was already interesting and compelling in the video game she debuted in, so there was no legitimate reason to make an even worse execution for her!
      • The only possible explanation for making a more sadistic and painful execution for Chiaki was so it would make her death all the more devastating for Class 77-B, who were being forced to watch her being tortured to death by Junko. As making Chiaki suffer an excruciating and brutal demise would increase the chances of her classmates falling into despair and being left vulnerable to Junko. But it's still a horrendous reason to torture someone to death, and the fact that she's mentally torturing other people in the process only make Junko's actions in this episode all the more deplorable and horrible.
        • On top of the events in this episode being disgusting and repulsive, they also feel like a massive waste of potential in order to showcase what drove Class 77-B into despair, as it would've been much more interesting if Junko dragged each member individually into despair using their backstories or something similar. It would've made much more sense than simply watching the death of someone they barely knew (make no mistake, they certainly would've cared if Chiaki died, but it still would've been more effective to use traumatic experiences in their pasts or the death of someone they've known for much longer and had a stronger connection towards in order to turn them into the Remnants).
          • This could also count as a major missed opportunity for the episode for the reasons mentioned above, and it’s also not the only instance of wasted potential in this episode.
        • If you work writing for a show based on a video game franchise that a lot of people love, then you're supposed to care about the stories you want to tell and the characters on it. What's the point of writing for a show if you hate the characters?!
  7. The brainwashed Mikan Tsumiki and Chisa Yukizome are also both unlikable, to the point where this episode makes the viewer think that Mikan and Chisa both entered Flanderization territory. However, this can all be blamed on Junko Enoshima, since she was the one who brainwashed them in the first place. So, you can't really blame them for what they do, since they aren't doing them out of their free will. The previous episode even has Mikan apologize to Chiaki while pushing her through a hidden panel that causes her to fall into a corridor below.
    • What doesn't help is that the brainwashed Chisa gave out a heartwarming message towards Chiaki, only to then push Chiaki into the elevator and push the down button to take her to the maze filled with booby traps, which is exactly what Junko wanted the brainwashed Chisa and Mikan to do to help her complete the "Despair Video".
    • The brainwashed Mikan also tried to cover this by saying that Chiaki Nanami apparently twisted her ankle and decided to lay down in a spare room until she felt comfortable putting weight on it again, which is one of the most blatantly obvious lies ever heard from any character in any anime, especially considering that there weren’t even any spare rooms in the hallway that Class 77-B was even in.
      • The fact that Class 77-B actually believes this excuse doesn’t help matters either, making them look like idiots until they actually witness what’s really going on later on in the episode as they enter the trial room.
        • Because of this, this may as well surpass the moment in Total Drama All-Stars's The Bold and the Booty-ful, where Zoey chose Mike over Scott as the other finalist of that season (despite her concerns about Mal), because she promised to have a "friendship finale" in terms of overall stupidity in a series.
  8. Basically, Junko only lured Chiaki into a trap just to complete the "Despair Video", which makes absolutely no sense and is completely ridiculous, as there wasn't even a proper reason for Junko to do something as sickening and horrible as this to Chiaki, so this execution comes off as random and out of place for a series like Danganronpa, since the blackened is usually the one who gets executed in the Danganronpa games. But here, Chiaki gets tortured for no proper reason other than to turn her classmates into Ultimate Despairs.
    • Chiaki Nanami may have gotten executed in Chapter 5 of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, but at least it was for an actual reason, since she was the blackened in that chapter after revealing that she was "the traitor" and accidentally killed Nagito Komaeda due to his efforts to reveal the traitor. But here, there's no logical reason for Chiaki Nanami to get executed through the Despair Video, and this makes her death in this episode all the more infuriating.
  9. Junko Enoshima doesn't even get punished for what she did in this episode, making her a Karma Houdini (although this doesn't last long, as she is later defeated in Trigger Happy Havoc and Goodbye Despair by Makoto/Hajime and the other surviving students).
  10. After the boulder scene, right as Chiaki says that Chisa and the rest of Class 77-B are going to kick Junko's butt, Junko mocks her by saying "Now there's the hope I wanna crush!", which comes off as mean-spirited, even for Danganronpa standards. We wish we were joking about this.
    • On top of "Now there's the hope I wanna crush!" being extremely mean-spirited, it also comes off as extremely cringeworthy.
  11. Speaking of cringeworthy and/or hit-or-miss quotes, there are a good chunk of them:
    • "Now there's the hope I wanna crush!"
    • "Oh, I think she twisted her ankle aways back and decided to lay down in a spare room until she felt comfortable putting weight on it again."
    • "What can you do? Miracles are such a rapid. Your classmates are not coming."
  12. During the execution, Junko says that she will give Chiaki a 10-second head start, only for a spear to go through Chiaki's right knee before the 10 seconds were even up, which is absolutely ridiculous and unfair, considering the 10 seconds weren’t even up yet. Even worse, Junko had to make the "Oops, my timing's off!" excuse to ignore the head start, while the Japanese version has her blame it on her "despairingly bad memory".
  13. Even for a series like Danganronpa, this episode contains a lot of disturbing moments (Yes, the Danganronpa series is usually (if not most of the time) no stranger to disturbing moments, but here, they took it way too far), such as metal balls smashing into Chiaki's head and right arm, a spear going through Chiaki's right knee and Chiaki getting impaled with seventeen spears before being left to die from blood loss.
  14. The writing is no better either, especially with the "Despair Video” that was played in order to control the other Class 77-B classmates.
    • Speaking of that, not only is the brainwashing through the "Despair Video" concept a bad idea that was already poorly executed, but it also turns out to make the first game completely irrelevant (while also somehow managing to retcon the events of said game, similar to how BFDIA 10 & 11 managed to retcon the events of Battle for BFDI/BFB, especially when you consider that both the Despair Arc of Danganronpa 3 and BFDIA (especially post-hiatus BFDIA) take place before the events of Trigger Happy Havoc and Battle for BFDI/BFB, respectively, except it's on a much worse degree here), because if Junko could convert Class 77-B to despair by just showing them a video, then she easily could have broadcasted a video for all of the world to see, especially since she was already broadcasting the whole killing game anyways. This especially adds onto the wasted potential as explained in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #6. It also doesn’t help matters that this brainwashing was done in quite a lazy manner.
      • Speaking of the brainwashing, there are two implications as to how it works:
        • The first one is that those who are brainwashed into despair have no idea that they're actually committing atrocities and believe they're bringing people happiness. And if it really is the case, it really shows how much Class 77-B wanted to make the world a better place, only for Junko to corrupt them into her lackeys and force them to do the opposite, using their good intentions against them.
        • The second one is that they actually are aware of what they're doing, but are unable to do anything to stop it, and that they're in despair knowing that they're not making people happier like they desired. All the while they're completely helpless to stop themselves from doing the opposite of what they truly want to do.
  15. Plot Holes: It is shown in this episode that all of Class 77-B have Mikan Tsumiki's phone number this whole time, yet in the previous episode, they didn’t even attempt to call her when they were trying to figure out where she was in the first place.
    • On top of that, Mikan Tsumiki also told the rest of Class 77-B where they were by texting or calling them, which makes no sense, since the other classmates are not gonna get any reception while they’re underground. This also adds on to the previous plot hole mentioned before.
      • Nekomaru Nidai and Gundham Tanaka apparently got down to the secret passage a different way than how the rest of Class 77-B got to the secret passage, which is completely nonsensical and ludicrous, considering that the secret passage only has one (and only one) entrance as shown in the series.
  16. Continuity Error: In episode 8 of this arc, the staircase lead both Chiaki Nanami and Nagito Komaeda directly to Junko Enoshima's hideout, but in this episode, the staircase lead the Class 77-B classmates down a hallway (which is apparently the secret passage) for some reason.
  17. The previous episode builds up to an action scene involving Juzo Sakakura kicking Junko Enoshima's ass, but then cuts to the scene with Class 77-B making their way to Junko's lair. This wouldn’t be a problem, if not for the fact that after the scene in this episode, which begins with Chisa Yukizome leading Chiaki Nanami down a hallway, and then after that scene and the theme song, the scene then cuts to after the battle was over already. That’s right. The battle scene between Juzo Sakakura and Junko Enoshima was cut out, and this episode just rushed into the aftermath of the battle, just like that.
    • This also ruins any kind of suspense that that confrontation scene from the previous episode could have built up.
      • On top of it ruining any sort of suspense, it also, in a way, counts as Executive meddling, as said battle that the confrontation scene built up to was originally supposed to be in this episode, but was unfortunately cut out without even a single explanation.
        • This isn't the only time this happened. It also happened with a supposed battle where Gundham Tanaka and Nekomaru Nidai were fighting off the angry Reserve Course students.
  18. For some reason, after the battle between Junko Enoshima and Juzo Sakakura, Junko Enoshima apparently won, which makes no sense, considering all she got at the time was a baseball bat, and she was going up against a trained security officer in combat.
  19. Ass Pull: Chiaki Nanami approaches the "Goal" door, and it looks like she's about to return to her friends again, but then out of nowhere, a spear comes flying right at her, along with a bunch of more spears, complete with the words "Game Over".
  20. Horrible Ending: Chiaki is left in a pool of her own blood, crying that she doesn't want to die, before then crawling over to Izuru Kamukura/Hajime Hinata and apologizing to him for not being strong enough. The episode then ends with Chiaki dying, Class 77-B being fully converted into Ultimate Despairs and joining Junko in laughing at Chiaki's death since they have all been brainwashed into embracing Junko's ideals (another scene that's extremely hard to watch, if not downright depressing, especially if you’re emotionally attached to any of the characters in Class 77-B), and the beginning of "The Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind".
  21. All of this lead to the Despair Arc taking a decline in quality, as it sucked the charm out of Episode 11 of the exact arc this episode is part of. In other words, because of this episode, not only was the Despair Arc never the same again, but it also took a 2 episode-long nosedive starting with this episode. However, because of the Hope Arc, this downfall thankfully didn’t last long, as said Hope Arc would eventually redeem the show after 2 bad episodes, meaning this downfall isn't too severe (thankfully), especially not compared to other downfalls.
    • Hell, this episode even gives Chapter 5 of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, AKA, Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair, a very bad name due to the problems listed above.
  22. It turns out that the events in this episode happened due to a devastating turn of events that mainly started with Ryota Mitarai’s anime obsession, which is not only beyond nonsensical for a series like Danganronpa, but also just defeats the purpose of the series as a whole and renders it as a complete joke, which is not what Danganronpa was supposed to do in the first place.
  23. Not only has this episode overall ended Chiaki Nanami's character arc in the Despair Arc on an extremely awful and sour note, but it also comes off as one of the worst ways to end a character arc and to give a character a send off in a show or season, and a LOT worse than how Gwen's time in Total Drama World Tour ended in Picnic at Hanging Dork (alongside Total Drama All-Stars), and it also comes off as a major example of how NOT to end a character arc, due to all of the reasons mentioned above and what will be explained below too, topped off with the fact that Chiaki Nanami has done almost nothing to Junko Enoshima beforehand as mentioned in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #5, especially combined with the execution dragging on for almost the entire episode while shown in graphic detail.
    • To make matters even worse, her character arc in the Despair Arc already felt like wasted potential, even before this episode, as not only does she still not get a backstory, but her only character arc felt very rushed and simple in said arc, as before this episode, she almost immediately goes from being a loner to being adored by everyone in her class after playing video games with them (to the point where they all immediately agree with Chisa that she should be elected as the class rep the next day). It also doesn’t help that Chiaki’s chemistry with Hajime Hinata in this arc, while good, felt really underdeveloped. And this episode does absolutely nothing (nor did the writers even attempt) to give her character arc a satisfying ending to begin with, and the fact that her character arc already felt rushed to begin with, mixed with the fact that she has been given an extremely unsatisfying ending in this arc, hurts this episode even more.
      • And to add even bigger insult to injury, this was her only character arc. So seeing what appears to be her only character arc end like this is a major beating in the teeth and a slap in the face, especially due to the reasons mentioned above.

Redeeming Qualities

  1. The next episode, while still mediocre at best, is a massive improvement over this episode, although that's not really saying much.
  2. The scene after Juzo's defeat (as well as before Chisa's betrayal of Chiaki) that shows Class 77-B continuing to make their way to Junko's lair to find and save their teacher was alright. Certainly much better than the events to come, as well as the ones that previously took place.
  3. The characters are still likable (excluding Junko, as well as the brainwashed Mikan and Chisa). And it’s also easy to feel sorry for Chiaki Nanami after what she has gone through in this episode, despite the wasted character development.
  4. Great animation and voice acting, as always.
  5. Say what you will about this episode, but as previously mentioned (in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #6), as torturous and abhorrent as the events that occur in this episode are, they're still tied to the overall story of the series and are meant to explain major events that happen in it, which is more than what can be said about other mean-spirited torture episodes, as more often than not, they only exist for no other reason than to be mean-spirited torture episodes (although that still doesn't make the events that occur here any less horrific and atrocious).
  6. Teruteru Hanamura saying "So many words, my guy" and then getting interrupted by having the door slam on his face, complete with Kazuichi Soda's screaming and this face he makes in the process is nothing short of hilarious.
  7. The scene in the end where Izuru Kamukura cries over Chiaki's corpse (the first time he's done so since his transformation) was touching, as it shows that he isn't completely devoid of emotion or humanity and heavily implies that Hajime Hinata's memories and persona weren't entirely erased during the Izuru Kamukura Project.
  8. The class entering what appears to be a trial room can be seen as a nice callback to the video games, although it was utilized incorrectly.

Reception

Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope received overwhelmingly negative reviews from audiences, especially Danganronpa fans, who criticized the episode for its mean-spirited nature, overreliance on shock value, and overall undeserved need to cruelly torture Chiaki. It is widely considered by many fans to not only be the worst episode of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, but also one of the worst things to ever come out of the Danganronpa franchise as a whole.

Gallery

  • So much for "Don't let emotions mess with the job you're here to do!"

    So much for "Don't let emotions mess with the job you're here to do!"

  • Kazuichi Soda's real reaction to this episode.

    Kazuichi Soda's real reaction to this episode.

  • Just imagine what would have happened had Chisa Yukizome not succumbed to despair by pushing Chiaki Nanami in the elevator to the maze filled with booby traps.

    Just imagine what would have happened had Chisa Yukizome not succumbed to despair by pushing Chiaki Nanami in the elevator to the maze filled with booby traps.

  • To think that the lobotomy scene from the previous episode was disturbing enough.

    To think that the lobotomy scene from the previous episode was disturbing enough.

  • Easily one of the worst things that Junko Enoshima has ever done.

    Easily one of the worst things that Junko Enoshima has ever done.

  • You see Chiaki Nanami crying in this picture? That’s you after watching this episode.

    You see Chiaki Nanami crying in this picture? That’s you after watching this episode.

  • What could have been the goal to at least a good ending turning out to not just get thrown out the window, but to also be a major slap in the face.

    What could have been the goal to at least a good ending turning out to not just get thrown out the window, but to also be a major slap in the face.

  • This clearly wouldn’t have happened had it not been for Junko Enoshima. Poor Chiaki Nanami.

    This clearly wouldn’t have happened had it not been for Junko Enoshima. Poor Chiaki Nanami.

  • You thought SpongeBob helping Mr. Krabs in One Coarse Meal was a major slap in the face enough ending? Wait until you see this.

    You thought SpongeBob helping Mr. Krabs in One Coarse Meal was a major slap in the face enough ending? Wait until you see this.

  • And we thought this episode couldn't get any worse. And thus begins "The Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind".

    And we thought this episode couldn't get any worse. And thus begins "The Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind".

  • One of the worst deaths in the entire series, mixed with one of the worst endings of an already bad episode.

    One of the worst deaths in the entire series, mixed with one of the worst endings of an already bad episode.

  • This is also one of the worst ways you could have killed off your character.

    This is also one of the worst ways you could have killed off your character.

Trivia

Episode

  • The title of this episode is a reference to the title of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair's fifth chapter: "Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair."
    • Both this episode and the chapter also feature both executions for the AI Chiaki and the real-world Chiaki, with the executions being "Please Insert Coin" and "Game Over", respectively.
  • During the Danganronpa 3 radio show, Kana Hanazawa, Chiaki's Japanese voice actress, described during her screams for her execution, all of the other actors had to remain silent. All of the voice actors for Class 77-B were gathered in one booth to watch Hanazawa scream for more than ten minutes. Megumi Ogata, Nagito Komaeda's Japanese voice actress, commented that the actors looked like actual people slowly falling in despair.
  • This episode spawned the "Juzo Sakakura is gay" meme, likely due to this episode revealing that Juzo Sakakura had a crush on Kyosuke Munakata.
  • This is currently the longest episode-related page of this wiki overall, essentially dethroning Get the Hock Out, with 63,481 bytes as of the current revision.
    • It's also the first (and currently only) episode-related page on Qualitipedia to land a spot on the top 50 largest pages on this wiki, and the first one to become a featured article on this wiki overall.
      • Ironically enough, this also used to be the second longest episode-related page on the Terrible TV Shows Wiki before it shut down.

Chiaki Nanami's Punishment

  • Unlike other formal executions, only its broadcast is "hosted" by a Monokuma as a stuffed bear; Junko herself directed the execution through video screens.
  • This is by far the longest execution in the series, taking up over half the episode in which it takes place. Comparatively, most other executions last around 2 minutes maximum as mentioned in WITUDHBFG&SGIBS #1.
  • Chronologically, this is the first formal execution in the Danganronpa series.
    • Interestingly, the execution of Chiaki's AI counterpart happens to be the last formal execution in the Hope's Peak Academy Arc.
  • Chiaki's death in Despair Arc is very similar to Mukuro's death in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: being suddenly impaled by dozens of spears. The deaths also double as acts of betrayal from those who were closest to them (Junko, in Mukuro's case, and Chisa, in Chiaki's case).
  • It should also be noted that her AI counterpart in the Super Danganronpa 2: Sayonara Zetsubō Gakuen THE STAGE (2015) is executed by spear impalement as well.

Videos

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