The School of Hope and the Students of Despair (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School - Hope Arc)

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"The School of Hope and the Students of Despair"
Hope Arc.png
"Farewell, Hope's Peak Academy. Farewell, Danganronpa."
Series: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School
Part of Season: 3
Episode Number: 1
Air Date: September 29th, 2016
Writer: Kazutaka Kodaka
Norimitsu Kaiho
Director: Seiji Kishi
Yu Kinome
Previous episode: It is always darkest (Future Arc)
Goodbye, Hope's Peak High School (Despair Arc)
Nagito Komaeda and the Destroyer of Worlds (OVA)

"You've made mistakes, but we're with you on that. We've all made mistakes.

"

— Ultimate Imposter/"Byakuya Togami"

"The School of Hope and the Students of Despair" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, and the finale to the Hope's Peak Series as a whole.

Synopsis

As Makoto races to stop Ryota from broadcasting his Hope video, he and the others are assisted by the arrival of the 77th Class, who Hajime managed to restore to normal using Izuru's talents. After making their way past a hypnotised task force, Hajime and the others confront Ryota, who blames himself for the entire incident. Feeling that he should not have to carry his burden alone, Hajime and the others ask Ryota to come with them as they aim to atone for their sins, convincing him to cancel the broadcast. Afterward, Hajime and the others claim responsibility for the killing game, shifting blame from the Future Foundation, before setting off with Ryota towards a new future. Meanwhile, as Kyosuke leaves Makoto in charge of bringing hope to the world as he goes off to shoulder his own burden, it is revealed that Kyoko had managed to survive her poisoning thanks to an antidote that Seiko had made. A few months later, the former Ultimate students get together to rebuild Hope's Peak Academy, with Makoto serving as its headmaster.

Summary

Can the future hold both Hope and Despair?

Plot

The 24-minute special begins with various clips of the situation following the Final Killing Game: Future Foundation's Former Super High School Level Elite Task Force drops in from the sky, Ryota Mitarai prepares to broadcast his Hope Video to everyone in the world, and a ship is docked on a port near the ruins of the Future Foundation's headquarters.

In the underwater facility where the Killing Game took place, Hajime Hinata (whose consciousness is shared with that of Izuru Kamukura), regards the corpse of Chisa Yukizome, saying that he has finally found something important to him (echoing the words of Chiaki Nanami, who said that it was not important whether or not he had a talent because that was not the goal). He then clarifies that he does not hate who he is now; the incredible powers he gained from the ill-fated Hope Cultivation project may have allowed him to do terrible things, but they were also how he restored the Super High School Level Despairs.

Inside the institution, Byakuya Togami, Yasuhiro Hagakure, and Aoi Asahina have taken cover in a room guarded by Byakuya's bodyguards. As he tends to Aoi's wounded leg, Yasuhiro cheerfully tells her how Byakuya got buried under rubble when the Foundation building collapsed. Aoi worriedly asks what happened to Makoto; Byakuya responds by reassuring her, telling Aoi that he sent half of his men to escort Makoto.

Outside, amid a building rainstorm, Makoto and Byakuya's men run towards the broadcasting tower, only to be greeted by brainwashed Future Foundation soldiers who start rapidly shooting in their direction. This causes the group to take cover for a while until someone comes in and kicks a pebble, which then causes bigger and bigger rocks to fall down, crushing the brainwashed men. This is revealed to be Nagito Komaeda, who smiles and waves with a mechanical hand, saying that he and his classmates were back.

One of Byakuya's men report to Byakuya himself, saying that some of the enemy squads were strangely defeated, details unclear. Byakuya mentions that this must be Class 77-B's doing, and adding that they were the same ones who saved him earlier on. Byakuya then acknowledges Izuru's power, amazed at how he was able to restore the Remnants of Despair from the condition they were in following the Killing School Trip in the Neo World Program.

Elsewhere, Kyosuke Munakata slashes his way through a bunch of brainwashed soldiers, only to be interrupted when the Super High-School Level Imposter shows up as Kyosuke, defeating the remaining men. Recognizing a Remnant of Despair, Kyosuke questions his imitator, asking what he was after. The Super High School Level Imposter replies by saying, "Atonement."

Peko Pekoyama appears, seen in battle outside with a Future Foundation Former Super High School Level Elite Task Force member, whom she defeats easily. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu compliments her, saying that her bamboo sword truly suited her, and she agreed. Gundham Tanaka had been in a battle of his own, fighting another Super High School Level Elite Task Force member, in which he had grabbed the chance to veer his opponent's hawk to his advantage, telling the man to "cower as he passed into slumber". Inside, Nekomaru Nidai is found to be wrestling a robot, until Kazuichi Soda shows up, sending a bunch of "Mini-Mechamaru's" to explode the bigger robot to hopefully impress Sonia Nevermind. He quickly turns depressed, saying that it was obvious that she didn't, but he is cheered up when she tells him that she was indeed impressed. In another hallway, Akane Owari and Teruteru Hanamura team up to fight another SHSL Elite Task Force member, in which he is defeated due to the unstoppable combination of a hungry and meat-loving Akane being fed top quality yakiniku.

Hiyoko Saionji, on another note, was being towered over by another Super High School Level Elite Task Force member, who was defeated by Mikan Tsumiki coming up from behind. Hiyoko said that it took Mikan "long enough", but proceeded to thank her for saving her life. The shy nurse started crying tears of joy, happy to have heard that from the person who hated her the most. In the center of the building, Ibuki Mioda plays her song "Let my Feelings Reach You, Too" deafening many of the soldiers arrayed against her. A remaining sniper is left, aiming for her head, but is stopped by Mahiru Koizumi, who flashes her camera at the sniper and knocks off her headphones, deafening her, too. Finally, Hajime is seen walking towards a team of SHSL Elite Task Force members, and the Izuru part of him tells him to stand aside for a while, resulting in the defeat of their enemy.

Hajime then proceeds to head inside the broadcasting tower, shocking Ryota. He defiantly insists that he won't run away anymore; having had enough of suffering, he was poised to wipe out despair entirely. Hajime comments on how boring that would be, not feeling sadness or pain in times when loved ones were lost. He continues to question the animator: "Is that really your idea of hope?" Mitarai bursts out, saying that no one as strong as Izuru would understand, and he, along with the others, were all weak. But then comes in the restored Class 77-B, standing behind Hajime. Hajime then tells Ryota that he wasn't strong either and that he had so many regrets. He asked Ryota if he had any regrets as well. The animator gripped his phone tighter, saying that he did, in fact, have regrets, explaining to his class that he was the reason Junko Enoshima made the Despair Video, and because of that, many deaths took place and continued to happen. He continues, crying out that everyone could have a normal school life if it wasn't for his doing. Izuru then asked if that was the reason Ryota wanted to erase despair. He added, "Don't run away." Ryota remains sobbing, asking if they were all okay with what he had done, and the results of it.

Hajime says that was the history the Remnants of Despair would want to erase, but they couldn't just act like Chiaki Nanami never existed. Nekomaru says that because they survived, they must atone. Gundham carried on, saying that was the fate for those who lived. Ryota starts shaking at this point, asking if anyone would forgive the deeds that despair made them do. Sonia answered by telling that the atonement was not for forgiveness. The Super High School Level Imposter tells Ryota that he made a mistake and that everyone made mistakes. Ryota insists that he wasn't like them- that he was never like them because he was always alone. Hajime invites Ryota to join them, telling him that they would be with him. Everyone is in favor of this, but Mitarai protests that he did not deserve to do so. With a smile, Hajime tells him that his worth had nothing to do with being classmates with someone. Mitarai continues crying, canceling the broadcast of the Hope Video with mere minutes to spare. He then breaks down completely, sobbing. Being able to hear everything, Makoto walks away smiling, knowing his job was done.

Makoto watches everyone exit the building, sun shining brightly outside. He earns a nod of assurance from Hajime, followed by Mikan trying to say something. Before long, Nagito pushes her away, causing her to fall off the cliff, making the rest of the class run after her worriedly. Nagito excitedly tells Makoto that Makoto's luck is greater than his own, and that he was just so lucky to have Makoto as his underclassman. It was not long until the much-too-thrilled Nagito was lifted up by Akane and Nekomaru, who took him away to avoid any more conversation. Hiyoko and Mahiru comment on how strange their classmate was before walking away with the group.

Makoto's friends welcome him back cheerily as Makoto himself asks if they are okay. Byakuya tells Makoto that they should be asking him that, and not the other way around. Makoto laughs this off until he notices Byakuya's device and asks him what was on it. The three gather around Byakuya, who says that it was something that was broadcast to the Future Foundation. It was a short clip of Hajime narrating how boring a world of hope would be, and together with the other Remnants of Despair, they would dye the world in more horror and sorrow. The small group is confused, not sure what that was for. Byakuya stated that the Remnants had done this to make it seem like they were responsible for the recent events; in this way, no one would know that the chairman of the Future Foundation had attempted to destroy his own group and force hope on the world. Byakuya explains that Makoto's infectious hope allowed the Remnants to create the video for them.

Happily eating yakiniku on a ship, the restored Class 77-B happily celebrated together. A spirit of Chiaki Nanami visits Hajime, explaining that an AI was put into the Neo World Program to monitor him, which was her. She stated that at first, it was supposed to create a monitor by reading their memories and creating a personality from them, but there had been no need to do so. Everyone had the same image in mind because they all wanted to see someone again; the Super High School Level Gamer whose death had thrown them all into despair. Chiaki proceeds to say that they all won this miracle together, and Hajime agrees that an ending like that wasn't so bad. Chiaki then smiles and tells him that they will all create a future together. Nagito calls out to Hajime, saying that the food would disappear if he didn't hurry up. Hajime smiled and nodded, running back to his friends as the spirit of Chiaki disappeared.

Yasuhiro and Aoi wave goodbye to the departing ship, and Kyosuke asks Makoto if he was really in a position to worry about others. Kyosuke told him that he would become a hero, because the world needed a hero who had fought the Remnants of Despair. Makoto replies and says that since Class 77-B carried the burden of being despair, he would have to carry the burden of hope. Kyosuke asks him if he knew what he needed to do, and Makoto responded by saying that he got the gist of it. Kyosuke walks away, thinking about his own burden to carry, while a flashback of him, Juzo Sakakura, and Chisa appears, featuring their graduation from Hope's Peak Academy. Makoto narrates that they have always been heading toward a cloudy sky in which hope and despair are mixed, but they would all take one step at a time forward, thinking about the people they love. They would all look up at the sky and hope tomorrow would be a better day.

Back on the ship, Mahiru asks Mikan what she has in her hand. Mikan explains that this bottle of medicine would slow the wristband's poison. Nagito comments that it was Seiko Kimura's medicine, and commended Seiko for making a drug that could lead to hope despite being in the midst of a killing game. Mikan further explained that when she found the person who used it, she revived them.

Several months later, a new Hope's Peak Academy is built amidst a field of what seemed to be daisies. Komaru, Touko, Aoi, Byakuya, and Yasuhiro are seen all helping in the construction of it. The scene shifts to Makoto, who is busy sitting in a classroom, pondering. Kyoko Kirigiri - revealed to have survived her apparent death due to Seiko's medicine - calls to him, saying that everyone is waiting for him. Thus comes a close to the story of Hope's Peak, with all the tales of its despair and the hope that overcame it.

Why There's Hope

"Now, let's go. We're all going to make our future together!"
  1. First means first, this episode overall is, without a doubt, a huge improvement over the Despair Arc's finale and resolves why Ryota Mitarai tried to eliminate despair entirely (due to not knowing how to eradicate the despair his actions inadvertently caused, he finally decided that Kazuo Tengan's "final solution" of brainwashing all of humanity into an eternal state of hope was the only way to end Ultimate Despair's reign of terror, not realizing that it would actually allow the remaining members of Ultimate Despair to take over the world. Or that his desperation to undo what he indirectly caused would push him into doing something that wasn't much more different than what Junko did, but he felt like he had no choice and that forcibly brainwashing everyone on Earth into hope was the only way to finally end "The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History"/The Worst, Most Despair-inducing Incident in the History of Mankind).
  2. This episode picks up where Episode 12 of the Future Arc has left off (Ryota uploading his "Hope Video" and countless people across the world watching it, including Komaru Naegi, Toko Fukawa, and even Monaca Towa who had previously launched herself into space in Future Arc Episode 7. The entire Super High School Level Elite Task Force is soon brainwashed and corner Makoto, Aoi Asahina, and Kyosuke, while back at the broadcast tower, Ryota revels in the fact that all of the despair in the world will be entirely eradicated within half an hour. And as Makoto is about to be eliminated by brainwashed Future Foundation soldiers, Yasuhiro Hagakure arrives to save Makoto, knocking out the gunman, only to end up at gunpoint himself. Moments later, Byakuya Togami arrives and sends his bodyguards to knock out the brainwashed soldiers before wryly mocking Makoto's "luck". Elsewhere, a silhouetted figure, who turns out to be Izuru Kamukura/Hajime, is shown walking towards a light, leaving dozens of unconscious soldiers in his wake) and actually resolves that cliffhanger.
  3. Amazing Japanese and English voice acting (although all of the Danganronpa games and animes, even the bad episodes like Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope, have excellent voice acting, so it's to be expected).
  4. Class 77-B and the remaining characters from the Future Arc are not only still as likable as ever, but also arguably the best they've ever been, as many of them have seemingly gone through drastic amounts of Character development.
    • Hiyoko Saionji is notably much nicer and more compassionate, especially towards Mikan Tsumiki. This is shown when the latter saves her, and Hiyoko was genuinely thankful for it (despite insulting the nurse to her face mere seconds before) and it's implied she's started warming up to Mikan afterwards.
    • Mikan herself is much more active and prone to taking action in dangerous situations than she was before, as shown when she stabs a brainwashed soldier who was about to kill Hiyoko, and even saves Kyoko Kirigiri's life.
    • Nagito Komaeda is probably the nicest and most stable that he's ever been. Despite the fact that he's clearly still as obsessed with hope as ever, he still decides to cooperate with his classmates to come to the Future Foundation's rescue and save the world from Ryota's broadcast of the "Hope Video". He also seems to be on friendlier terms with the rest of Class 77-B in stark contrast to Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, where he's either feared or despised by the rest of the cast.
    • Sonia Nevermind pays more attention and is seemingly more friendly to Kazuichi Souda (a far cry to how she treated him during the killing game they got trapped in together along with the rest of Class 77-B, although sometimes her behavior towards him was justified due to his stalkerish nature) as shown when she compliments the latter after he uses a swarm of Mini Mechamarus to attack one of the brainwashed soldiers' giant robots during the fight against Ryota's army.
  5. It's also nice to see Class 77-B back as the main leads. Given how little focus they all (excluding Hajime) got during the Despair Arc, where they all mainly served as either comic reliefs or background characters. Nagito had the biggest significance in the narrative, and even then all he got was a single episode dedicated to him before he left the narrative for 3 episodes. Here, not only is most of the episode dedicated solely to them, but also how the events of Goodbye Despair have affected them and they're desires to atone for their crimes as members of Ultimate Despair.
  6. The battle between Class 77-B and the brainwashed Future Foundation Super High School Level Elite Task Force is downright epic:
    • Nagito starts a landslide just by kicking a single pebble... which manages to bury a squad in rubble.
    • Peko Pekoyama defeats the Ultimate Discus Thrower with nothing but a wooden sword as opposed to her usual Shinai, with Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu even complimenting her on it afterwards.
    • Gundham Tanaka unlocks the seal on his name and unleashes his full power to take control of the Ultimate Falconer's bird and defeat the soldier.
    • The Ultimate Impostor/"Byakuya Togami" impersonates Kyosuke Munakata to aid him against the soldiers and prevent them from concentrating their efforts on the real Munakata and instead dividing them between the two.
    • Nekomaru Nidai wrestles a giant robot - and wins.
    • Kazuichi builds an army of Mini Mechamarus with rocket launchers (and is FINALLY able to impress Sonia!).
    • Teruteru Hanamura serves meat to Akane Owari that gives her the energy to run at tremendous speeds and deflect the Ultimate Street Performer's knives with her teeth. She also blocks the fire he breathes at her with two large chunks of meat before finally finishing him off by whacking him into the air.
    • Mikan saves Hiyoko from the Ultimate Nailist by stabbing the Soldier in the back using a gigantic syringe (as mentioned in WIR #3.1).
    • Ibuki Mioda plays her song, "Let My Feelings Reach You Too!" to deafen an entire army of soldiers.
    • Mahiru Koizumi saves Ibuki from the Ultimate Marksman by using flashes from her camera to temporarily blind the soldier so that she can then remove her noise-cancelling headphones.
  7. While it's mostly serious and dramatic, the episode still has its fair share of hilarious moments, like Nagito meeting Makoto Naegi for the first time and gushing over the former while holding (or hugging) his hand, and Akane sending Teruteru spinning after zooming past him during the battle against the brainwashed soldiers, causing him (or Akane in the English dub) to yell out his new celebrity name when in pain/distress: "JUSTIN BIEBER!!!".
  8. The recreated sprites in this episode while Class 77-B is talking to Ryota look great, and seem to be callbacks to Goodbye Despair (Nagito is doing a little wave, Nekomaru is laughing with a hand over his shoulder, Akane is grinning with her hand on her hip, Fuyuhiko is crossing his arms with his head turned to his side, etc.).
  9. Speaking of homages to Goodbye Despair, it has plenty of more nice call-backs to the game like Kazuichi using the Mini Mechamarus (which first debuted after Chapter 4's trial) to aid Nekomaru during the fight against a giant robot, Ibuki weaponizing her song "Let My Feelings Reach You Too!" (an insert song in the game which fully debuted in the stage play Super Danganronpa 2: Sayonara Zetsubō Gakuen THE STAGE) to take out an army of soldiers, and the title itself being the subtitle for the first game's Japanese release.
  10. The speech (about how everyone makes mistakes, and while they are things that you'll have to remember, the important thing is recognizing and learning from the in order to make steps to becoming a better person) that Hajime Hinata and the rest of Class 77-B gave towards Ryota Mitarai in order to stop him from forcibly brainwashing the world into an eternal state of hope was very touching, as it was powerful enough to convince Ryota cancel the worldwide broadcast of the "Hope Video" and join them in atonement.
    • The way the final confrontation was done is also an excellent one. Given how the Future Arc had been more action focused in its conflicts than the other installments in the Danganronpa series, it leaves the audience expecting a big explosive battle to serve as the climax. And while it did partially happen here with the fight against the Elite Task Force, the true final confrontation was instead a verbal one; making it feel shockingly and astonishingly similar to the games' classroom trials. And while it wasn’t necessarily as dramatic or energizing as the final trials in the games, it was still very close to how the games would have ended. Even though it probably would've been better if Makoto was involved, it was still an incredible conclusion and book-end for the saga.
  11. On the topic of book ends, the episode has a huge amount of them, which feels like the final callbacks to the first events in the saga during its conclusion, just before it's officially over.
    • The Tragedy is started by Hope's Peak Academy covering up a killing game, which is blamed on Izuru Kamukura, and is ended by the Future Foundation (semi-successor to Hope's Peak) agreeing to a cover up of another killing game, with Izuru Kamukura initiating and taking the blame.
    • The beginning of the Prequel has Chiaki telling Hajime how talent isn't everything, and that it's more important to stay true to oneself, while he's looking at his palm and lamenting not having a talent. Side Hope has Hajime, finally having found his inner strength and resolve as a person after the events of Goodbye Despair, repeating Chiaki's words and acknowledging the merit of them while staring at her Galaga-like hairpin in the palm of his hand.
    • The first game showed Makoto waking up alone in a classroom shortly after he and Hope's Peak Academy were introduced. This episode shows Makoto sitting in a desk that has the same relative row-and-column position as it did back then, shortly before he's revealed to be the headmaster of a reborn Hope's Peak Academy.
  12. Awesome Ending: After taking the blame for the Final Killing Game in order to absolve the Future Foundation of any wrongdoing due to Tengan's actions, as well as then faking their own deaths, Class 77-B and Ryota leave on a ship for Jabberwock Island, where they all feast on Teruteru's cooking and Hajime is visited by Chiaki Nanami's ghost. Several months later, a rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy is seen in a field of what appears to be daisies, before the scene shifts to Makoto Naegi sitting in the headmaster's office. Kyoko Kirigiri, revealed to have survived her apparent death thanks to Seiko Kimura's medicine and Mikan's interference, then appears and says that everyone is waiting for him. The story of Hope's Peak Academy comes to an end, with all its tales of despair and the hope that overcame it.
    • And given all that the cast has been through up to this point, needless to say, they've all more than earned their happy ending.
  13. This episode is overall an impressive and powerful way to end not just Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, but the Hope's Peak Academy saga altogether.

Bad Qualities

  1. Teruteru can still come off as gross, by saying "My wiener thinks you'd make a fine addition!". While he was trying to help the rest of Class 77-B get Ryota Mitarai to redeem himself and join them in atonement, Teruteru only referred to his wiener rather than thinking that Ryota would make a fine addition to Class 77-B.
  2. While most of the characters get their happy endings, the same can't be said for Munakata. After experiencing the deaths of Juzo and Chisa, killing his best friend out of paranoia that he was a Remnant of Despair, and discovering that his girlfriend was part of said group, he simply leaves the Future Foundation and it's never made clear where he is now. It's also implied that he's planning to commit suicide so he can be reunited with the deceased Chisa Yukizome and Juzo Sakakura in the afterlife.
  3. The story could've flowed a lot more smoothly if the episode had been an hour-long special, or even a full on movie that continues where the Future Arc left off (implying it could have been in the same vein as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, where that movie continued where the first season of the show left off).
    • In fact, because it wasn’t an hour-long special or a movie, the ending of this episode, while good, felt very rushed.
  4. While it's a relief that Kyoko isn't dead, the fact that they had her die only to bring her back later can feel like a pointless fake-out death. Not to mention that it was the third time the anime had done this.

Reception

The School of Hope and the Students of Despair received mostly positive reviews from Danganronpa fans. While some complained about Kyoko's fake-out death and a few of the major events feeling rushed, many still praised the episode for picking up on the cliffhanger that the previous episode was left on, it's handling of the final confrontation, and overall serving as a strong and satisfying conclusion for the Hope's Peak Academy saga. MyAnimeList has a rating of 7.31.

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