Despair Video

The Despair Video is an item featured in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy. It was the main cause for the corruption of the Remnants of Despair and later, The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History.

The Despair Video was created by Ryota Mitarai using his animation brainwashing technique, who was manipulated by Junko Enoshima. The video contains the events of The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy.

Description
The Despair Video is a recording of the first-ever Mutual Killing Game, which occurred during The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy. The video includes special effects meant to subliminally inflict feelings of intense despair on the viewer, including ominous color shifts and an eerie choir in the background.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side: Despair
Following her meeting with Ryota, Junko learned how certain animation techniques could be used to influence a viewer's state of mind, effectively brainwashing them if used correctly. Realizing how useful this could be for her plans, she analyzed Ryota's in-progress Hope Video to gain an understanding of his techniques.

Following the Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, Junko combined footage of the massacre with her newly-gained editing abilities to create the first version of the Despair Video. She sent pieces of her video to the Reserve Course to ignite their anger towards Hope's Peak Academy, beginning The Parade. She also showed the video to Mikan Tsumiki, infecting her with despair until she became an eager servant.

However, Junko soon realized that the Despair Video still required modifications before it could be used to its full potential. As such, she sought out Ryota's assistance once again, only to discover him being accosted by Mikan after finding a file of the Despair Video on his computer. Although Ryota was horrified at the perversion of his life's work - anime being used for despair instead of hope - he had no choice but to continue developing the Despair Video when Junko threatened his friends in Class 77-B.

Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer
In Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer Chapter 12, it was confirmed that Kazuo is already brainwashed by Despair Video and is a member of the Ultimate Despair.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side/Future
Following the destruction of Hope's Peak Academy, Chisa Yukizome held onto a pair of flash drives; one contained the Despair Video, while the other contained the Suicide Video. She eventually gave the drives to Kazuo Tengan, suggesting that they could undo the damage of the videos by finding Ryota in the despair-ruined world and employing him in the Future Foundation. Kazuo asked if Chisa had watched the Despair Video herself, which she denied.

After the Final Killing Game had ended, Ryota resolved to undo the damage his Despair Video had done to the world by using his completed Hope Video to brainwash everyone into being incapable of feeling despair. Although he was stopped by the former Remnants of Despair before he could complete his plan, the brief exposure to his Hope Video seemed to undo the effects of the Despair Video, restoring a semblance of order to the world and putting an end to The Tragedy.