Nagito Komaeda

Nagito Komaeda (狛枝 凪斗 Komaeda Nagito) is one of the characters featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

Nagito has the title of Ultimate Lucky Student (超高校級の「幸運」chō kōkō kyū no “kōun”). However, his luck resembles a curse disguised as a gift, as it's a constant turn between extreme 'good luck' and extreme 'bad luck'.

In Chapter 5, after he discovered the horrible truth behind the Neo World Program, Nagito sacrificed himself in order to kill all the Remnants of Despair. Chiaki Nanami, the traitor of the group and the person who was tricked into killing him, was later executed by Monokuma instead.

Nagito also makes an appearance in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls with his name listed only as the "Servant" (召使い meshitsukai).

Appearance
Nagito is a rather tall and thin young man.

Nagito has messy shoulder-length white hair and light grey-green eyes. Both his hair color and sickly pale complexion are caused by his diseases. His hair lacks the highlights most other characters have and appears whiter the closer it is to his scalp. The hair color is described to resemble that of a corpse's. When he entered at Hope's Peak Academy, he still had few reddish/brown hairs, which hints at his original hair color. In Ultra Despair Girls, which is set over three years after his entry in the school, his hair has turned completely white, longer, more messy and it has a more notable ahoge.

Nagito has a long dark green coat that goes down past his knees and has a jagged-cut tail. His coat has red squares on his right shoulder, and a large red number '55' on the back. He wears a plain white shirt with a strange red symbol on it. His pants are typical black jeans, and has a long chain that attached from the back to the front of them with a small skull charm attached to it. Each of his brown shoes has two zippers.

In Ultra Despair Girls, as the Servant and Ultimate Despair, he wears a short, black trenchcoat, with three white buttons on the right and one red button on the left, over a scoop-necked dark red and olive green shirt, of which's cuffs are folded around the ends of the sleeves of the coat. He also wears a long, dark beige undershirt. His coat has a zipper on the left and the right of the front, as well as one on the back. He wears black jeans with green and red shoes, with slight heels, tied with red shoelaces. He has a striped mitten on his left hand, which hides a woman's hand with long, red nails, sewn in the place of his real hand. He also has a collar around his neck, given to him by the Warriors of Hope, with a chain hanging from it in the front down to his knees.

The Servant is mentioned to be almost constantly smiling, no matter what kind of (mis)treatment he receives. He is mentioned to have "a rather attractive face" and Genocide Jack even calls him "a pretty boy".

Personality
[Warning: Several spoilers follow this section!]

Nagito first comes off a polite, meek and harmless yet somewhat insecure boy, who encourages others to be hopeful and cooperate, but isn't really taken seriously and is even made fun of by Hiyoko Saionji. He appears unusually carefree, though he claims to be a pessimist. He also talks a bit strangely at times and seems to lack tact. He is notably annoyed by Teruteru Hanamura's treatment of girls and decides to keep an eye on him to make sure he won't harass anyone. He is also the only one to stay with unconscious Hajime Hinata and expresses concern for his physical and mental well-being. Though friendly with everyone, he is most interested in spending time with Hajime.

Nagito shows his true colors during the first trial as he is revealed to be obsessed with a twisted idea of "absolute hope". For him, hope is the absolute good and any deed done in the name of hope is okay, even killing. He believes that the world naturally includes constant clashes between two or more hopes and the "strong hope" will devour "weak hope" in means to live and survive (adoringly, he calls this process "poetry in motion"). In his opinion, the ordinary people, despair and weak hope are just stepladders for creating stronger hope and he has aversion for these things while simultaneously considering them necessary. He believes that the talented Ultimates are special kind of people by birth, capable of strengthening their own hopes by facing and beating despair (instead of being broken by it like weak, ordinary people), to the point of embodying hope and creating absolute hope that can overcome any despair. Like Hope's Peak Academy in general, Nagito strongly associates hope with talent and talent with worth.

Nagito's main goal is to help to create absolute hope, a true hope which can only be born from absolute despair. He believes that hope will always win in the end, which is why he feels no guilt about any bad things he does in its name nor is he saddened by the losses on the way. For him, the end justifies the means, and he thinks he's helping and doing good. However, he doesn't consider his luck a real talent, which is why he doesn't really consider himself part of the Ultimates and instead considers himself just a stepladder, almost constantly self-deprecating himself and often feeling shame just for being in their presence (however, at the same time, he mentions that his luck is the only good thing about him and he sometimes finds it very useful). Believing that he himself is unable to embody hope due to his lowly status, he wants to help the Ultimates embody it, confusing his obsessive feelings for pure, platonic love. He has a strong desire to be useful, he's very self-sacrificing and he genuinely believes he's doing a good thing for everyone's sake, but his ways to help are often very wrong, harmful and potentially very dangerous. He has little regard for his own well-being and doesn't care for his own life, in fact he encourages the other students to kill him as he wishes to become a stepping stone for hope and believes that dying for the sake of hope is an honor and the only way for "someone like him" to be useful to the world. It's also revealed in his Island Mode ending that he wishes to die so he could finally be free from the suffering that is caused by his luck. He wishes to die, but he doesn't want to die a meaningless death.

Though Nagito acknowledges that this is all just his own personal opinion, he still finds it hard to understand why the others don't agree with him, as he believes that his views on hope are logical and extremely obvious. He often begins to ramble on about hope, sometimes rather abruptly, and just talking or hearing someone else talk about hope or in hopeful manner can render him in a state of euphoric bliss and he has to hold himself in order to contain his excitement. Furthermore, he sometimes has sudden outbursts in which his eyes darken and start to swirl (Hajime describes the look "a crude mix of hope and despair") while he rambles even more enthusiastically, but he usually snaps out of it pretty quickly and seemingly isn't aware of what happened. Strangely, he also seems to have a good eye for noticing talent, hope and despair in other people. For example, Hajime never felt like an Ultimate to him and he turned out to be talentless. In chapter 3, Nagito only had a quick glance at Mikan Tsumiki's face, but he could tell that her expression was full of despair and he even called her Ultimate Despair, despite being currently unfamiliar with the term. In Ultra Despair Girls, he could sense the potential in Komaru Naegi.

In general, Nagito has a laid-back demeanor and he is often seen smiling cheerfully. However, his cheerfulness most likely isn't completely genuine. He can be even disturbingly optimistic and it's strongly implied that he just suppresses any real feelings of sorrow as a way to cope, since tragedies happen to him frequently. He is quite calm and he is rarely shown openly angry or scared. However, he once mentioned that he feels fear every day of his life. Moreover, killing for the sake of despair angers him greatly and so do things he considers very hopeless or insulting towards hope, the Ultimates or Hope's Peak Academy. When displeased, he can speak or act in a passive-aggressive manner.

Nagito usually tries to be polite, but he can be overly harsh and insensitive, often without realizing it as his frontotemporal dementia has caused him a lack of social awareness and lack of insight into his own behavior. Because of this, he has problems understanding how his own behavior can affect other people and he may not notice or misunderstands social hints. This causes him trouble to express himself in socially appropriate manner and often leads to other people misunderstanding what he's trying to say and vice versa. This is made very clear in chapter 4, as during his point of view, he accidentally offends both Kazuichi Soda and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu - in Fuyuhiko's case, he understands he said something wrong and quickly apologizes, but remains quite confused and misunderstands what he said wrong, while in Kazuichi's case he is completely oblivious and only noticed that Kazuichi seemed angry for some reason. During chapter 1's additional dialogue, Nagito explains that he says things that seem dubious without meaning to, and that he realizes this, but can't stop it from happening. However, he also adds that he always sincerely means what he says.

Other examples of this include his somewhat poor sense of humor, as his humor is usually odd and sometimes downright offensive (though he doesn't realize this) and he often attempts to make jokes at inappropriate times, like soon after someone's death. He usually backs off if the others explain to him that his behavior is rude or he tells them not to take him so seriously. Similarly, when he tries to compliment someone, it sometimes comes across mean despite his good intentions. His sense of sarcasm is quite poor, too, as he sometimes mistakes mean comments for genuine compliments. He also doesn't really seem to understand why the others are paranoid, angry and afraid of him. He's often confused by the others' behavior, thinking that they're strange for acting so suspicious of him, to the point that he sometimes worries about their mental health. He seems to think that the others hate him just because he's a lower human being.

He shows very little genuine care or interest in others, though he really does respect things like love and friendship and often emphasizes the importance of team-work and helping each other. He is capable of feeling some guilt and care for others, but this seems very rare as he is often very emotionally cold and doesn't seem to feel much remorse or grief. He's shown to be fine with tricking, manipulation and stealing, though it should be noted that he does these for the sake of a bigger goal instead of his own amusement. He is also mentioned to be a very honest person, though he will lie if he finds it necessary. While he prefers to do things on his own, he is very lonely and often tries to join the other Ultimates in their activities and gets really happy if he's given attention, even if just a little bit. It's also been confirmed that he intentionally keeps distance from others because he wants to protect them from the disasters caused by his bad luck.

Nagito is also very cunning and smart, one of the most intelligent characters of the second game, though he calls himself stupid due to his low self-esteem. He's skilled at manipulating others and he sometimes acts exaggeratedly insane in order to trick others to perform a certain action. He also has notable deduction skills as he often solves the case long before the others and sometimes points out important things no one else thought about. However, he doesn't want credit for this, and often acts ignorant during the trials, manipulates the conversation towards the right direction by giving (often unnoticed) hints and then praises the others as if they're the ones who figured it all out. He does this because he considers himself too unimportant to take more openly active role, because he wants to see the other Ultimates figure things out by themselves and because he wishes to stay on the side until he can determine which side has the stronger hope.

While Nagito is very rigid and stubborn about his beliefs, his Island Mode ending proves that even he is capable of changing his way of thinking. He is sometimes conflicted between his bizarre beliefs and his own feelings. He believes that he is worthless trash and doesn't deserve any kindness from others, yet he really desires to be appreciated and loved. He greatly admires the Ultimates for their talents and capability to embody hope, yet he doesn't care much about them as actual human beings and individuals. Similarly, he may not have anything personal against the talentless and he may even like them as people, but still acts quite cold towards them solely because of their lack of talent - in fact, the only one Nagito was genuinely interested in and had any real care for is Hajime, a talentless reserve course student. In his fifth free-time event, Nagito revealed his true, biggest wish hidden under his hope obsession: to be loved by someone at least once in his life and not die all alone.

After finding out the truth about himself and his classmates, Nagito realized that he has a chance to destroy Ultimate Despair for good, and by doing that he would stop being a stepladder and would become the Ultimate Hope. As a result of this new knowledge and realization, he begun to act arrogant, impatient and openly disrespectful and purposefully cruel towards his former idols. He had especially little patience with the slow-witted ones, like Kazuichi and Akane Owari (as shown in his earlier interactions with Monomi, it's implied that this is a trait he always had and he just hid it out of respect for the Ultimates). He didn't seem to be truly willing to directly harm his classmates before (though he claimed he did, probably just to provoke them into killing him) and he only wanted to kill them after finding out the truth. Though he claimed it's for the sake of world's hope, it's also heavily implied that one of the reasons why he wanted to become Ultimate Hope was that he could finally be appreciated, even if it meant only after his death.

In Island Mode, Nagito is much more harmless as there is no Killing School Trip to trigger him. Though he looked forward to such situation, he doesn't do anything dangerous. Instead, he genuinely wants to entertain Hajime and spend time with him. He is often quite nervous due to his inexperience in many social situations, for example, sitting and talking in the park with someone. He's afraid he'll bore or weird Hajime out, and thinks that might cause Hajime to hate him, which is something he really doesn't want to happen. He is also constantly paranoid and has a habit of listing bad things that might happen (in a disturbingly detailed manner), as he fears that his bad luck might harm or even kill Hajime. However, despite all this, he also mentions that he feels much more peaceful and relaxed in the island. In the end, he still acts quite depressed, but his way of thinking begun to change after he spent time with Hajime and realized that he's been clinging to false hope and the true hope has been within him from the very beginning.

In Ultra Despair Girls, as the Servant and Ultimate Despair, Nagito is even more harder to read and rarely lets his true intentions and emotions show. The official limited art book describes him as "quiet, soft-spoken and effeminate". Despite being Ultimate Despair, he doesn't seem directly dangerous and appears non-violent, and he rather manipulates and works behind the scenes. He receives the mistreatment from the Warriors of Hope with a smile and it's mentioned that he sometimes even seems to enjoy it. In general, he appears unusually calm to the point of apathy, and is rather unfazed by the disturbing things happening around him (however, he does appear to feel uncomfortable when Monaca Towa forcibly kisses Nagisa Shingetsu). He is generally polite and collected, but he may appear insensitive at times or lose his composure when rambling about hope. He has a habit of forgetting how he is supposed to act as a servant and he seems to misunderstand orders quite a lot, though these may be passive-aggressive acts done on purpose. All the food he makes is inedible with very nonsensical ingredients (for example, in 2014's Christmas tweet, he is asked to make Bûche de Noël, but instead he makes some sort of cake out of nothing but whipping cream and pinecones).

The Servant calls the story's situation a game several times, like by calling Komaru a generic game protagonist and mentioning game-balancing and defeating of the final boss. This may seem like a breaking of the fourth wall, but it actually refers to the Demon Hunting, which according to the Servant is also a game to incite Komaru's growth. Unlike his past self, the Servant believes in the potential of the talentless, because such "weak" people succeeding and rising up from despair would create even more hope. It's possible that his way of thinking changed after Makoto Naegi, a "mere" Ultimate Lucky Student, defeated the true Ultimate Despair and became Ultimate Hope.

The Servant's main goal is to help to create a happy, hopeful world, but a one born from absolute despair and he is even ready to assist his own enemy and start a war for the sake of this goal.

Prior to the Tragedy
Nagito was born into a rich family, but he was also born with an extraordinary type of luck and thus his life has always been a turn between extreme 'good luck' and extreme 'bad luck'. The earliest known occurrence of this is when his dear pet dog was killed after being hit by a truck. His relationship with his parents is unclear; he mentions that they took him to an amusement park, but he also mentions that his mother never complimented his appearance.

When he was only an elementary school student, Nagito and his parents went on a family vacation at San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos archipelago. When the vacation was at an end, the family boarded onto an airplane leaving from the San Cristóbal Airport. However, the plane ended up being hijacked. Both the hijacker and Nagito's parents were killed before his very eyes after a small meteor crashed into the airplane, letting him inherit all of his parents' fortune and become free to do whatever he wished, as he had no other relatives alive.

After his parents' death, during middle school, Nagito was kidnapped by a serial killer; although he was released after the police found him (it was implied that the killer let him go after they found out nobody would pay the ransom). As a form of good luck, Nagito had discovered a lottery ticket in the garbage bag the murderer kidnapped him in: It was a winning one for three million yen.

The aforementioned are just a few examples of the many, many tragic things that happened to Nagito due to his luck. His cycle of good and bad luck made sure that any chance he might have at actual happiness would be cancelled. In order to cope with this very despair-inducing way of living, he developed a strong faith in hope so that he could find meaning in his life. However, this turned into an unhealthy obsession. He didn't have any close ones, because other people were disturbed by his strange way of thinking and because he intentionally avoided other people in order to protect them from his bad luck. His bad luck caused the deaths of several people and he started to believe that only the people with "weak hope" could be killed because of the influence of someone worthless like him. His luck cycle worn him down to the point where he drifted through life without purpose, waiting to die and dreaming of becoming a stepladder for world's hope. Believing that he himself is unable to embody hope, he idolized Hope's Peak Academy and its students as the symbols of hope who are capable of creating "absolute hope" - hope that can overcome any despair.

As a teen, Nagito was diagnosed with lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia, and was given a life expectancy of half a year to a year (though, as it's later revealed, his good luck allowed him to live much longer). Though he claims he was fine with being alone before, he then realized he would die all alone and he understood that he always desired, more than anything, to be loved by someone.

After this, as a form of good luck, Nagito won a random lottery and was asked to attend Hope's Peak Academy in 2009. He refused at first, believing that he wasn't worthy, but the academy really wished to study his luck and he eventually accepted the offer. He joined Hope's Peak Academy's 77th Class and gained the title of the Ultimate Lucky Student. According to Jin Kirigiri, the headmaster, Nagito meddled with the affairs of other students and caused nothing but problems. The headmaster had to constantly worry because of him and described him as an incredibly problematic problem child. However, he understood that the boy himself didn't really mean any harm, which was the worst part of it all.

During Nagito's second year, Junko Enoshima started to manipulate students to join her Ultimate Despair. It's strongly implied that Nagito joined because he wanted to see Ultimate Despair's rise and fall, believing that no matter what hope would always win and despair would be destroyed in the end. The members of the Ultimate Despair were brainwashed and fell madly in love with Junko. However, Nagito's case was a bit different. He developed strange, conflicting feelings of both love and hatred for Junko and saw her as his sworn enemy. This was most likely a result of both the brainwashing and Nagito's own belief that hope cannot exist without despair. It's strongly implied that Nagito wanted to kill Junko at some point.

During The Tragedy
The members of Ultimate Despair did all kinds of horrible things during the Tragedy, causing despair all over the world.

After the death of Junko, the remnants of the Ultimate Despair attached some of her body parts into their own bodies in order to make her survive within them and feel closer to her. Nagito cut off his left hand and attached hers in its place. Though he claims he did it for the sake of stealing her power and his hatred for her, he also obsessed over her just like the others.

The remnants of Ultimate Despair then agreed to an insane plan to have AI Junko take over their bodies, so they could resurrect their leader.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Though he claims he'd come to Towa City in search of a safe place, it's highly probable that in reality Nagito was one of the Ultimate Despair assigned to oversee the Captives before he met the Warriors of Hope. The kids seemed unaware of his true identity and planned to kill him, but decided to keep him alive as their slave after he pleaded for his life.

The kids made him wear a collar and chain around his neck, called him just a Servant and overall treated him like he wasn't even a human. They find him annoying for talking too much and because of his habit to misunderstand orders. Despite this, he seems to have authority over the Monokuma Kids and he can give them orders.

In truth, Nagito let himself be captured on purpose for the benefit of his own goals. He agreed to work with Monaca (who knows his true identity) despite their different goals and this agreement was kept secret from the other kids. He is requested by Monaca to guide Komaru Naegi through their Demon's Hunting game and bring her to their secret stronghold, a building called Towa Hills. He makes a deal with Toko Fukawa and promises to release captured Byakuya Togami if she escorts Komaru safely to the stronghold.

Prologue - The Warriors of Hope
Komaru loses consciousness after a helicopter crash and is brought to the kids' airship, most likely by the Servant (Nagito). While she was unconscious, he took her Megaphone Hacking Gun, analyzed it and weakened it for the sake of "game balance". Two days later, she wakes up in a prison-like cell. Servant hands back her Hacking Gun, promises to give her upgrades later and tells her that she needs to go see the Warriors of Hope. He also warns her to keep the fact that he had returned the gun a secret, if she doesn't wish to die.

While Komaru talks with the kids, Servant suddenly appears behind her and snaps the Monokuma Bracelet onto her wrist, surprising her. He explains that if Komaru insists in removing the bracelet, it will explode. When Komaru almost mentions her gun by accident, Servant saves her by quickly changing the subject and imperceptibly reminding her of his warning. Masaru Daimon is angered by this and he threatens to glue Servant's mouth shut if he keeps on talking without permission. Servant only laughs a little and goes to stand a bit further away from others.

After the kids drop Komaru off of the ship and start their Demon Hunting game, Servant is seen talking to himself and he tells Komaru to do her best while calling her common, dull and boring "Miss Protagonist".

Chapter 1 - Crying for Love in Hell
After Komaru falls down, she is found by Toko, right according to Servant's plan. The two start to search for a way out of the city, while in truth Toko is just trying to take her to the stronghold.

Servant is not seen in the chapter, but he orders Monokuma Kids to give upgrades for Komaru's Hacking Gun in the form of presents.

Chapter 2 - Legend of the Revolution
The Servant is seen again as the Warriors of Hope finish mourning over Masaru's death. He made the Warriors of Hope milkshakes, but he made them incorrectly and even put lard in them as the Internet wasn't connected and he had no guidance in order to make them. The kids reject them in disgust and Nagisa, the new leader of the Warriors of Hope, orders him to drink the milkshakes himself. The Servant protests slightly at first, but then obeys with laughter, commenting that he's "everyone's servant" and lives to serve.

Chapter 3 - Cute Girl's Battlefield
After Jataro Kemuri's death, the remaining Warriors of Hope speak with their advisor Kurokuma. The Servant arrives late to the scene after a long search of broiled sweet chestnuts for Kotoko Utsugi. However, they're unpeeled, which greatly annoys Kotoko. She gets more angry after Servant reminds her of her past as an actress and even threatens to kill him. Servant tries to calm her down with apologies and offers to peel the chestnuts himself, but she punishes him by throwing cakes at him and calling him an useless servant. Servant keeps on smiling and simply mentions that he prefers salty things to sweet ones.

Later the Warriors of Hope drew on Servant's face by Monaca's request. This happens off-screen and is only mentioned in the art book.

Chapter 4 - The Way We Live
Servant and Monaca become suspicious of Nagisa's loyalty and he spies on him with the help of Monokuma Kids. One Monokuma Kid records and shows him a video of Nagisa removing Komaru's bracelet and helping her to escape the city. Servant hurries to stop them and arrives just in time. He tells Komaru not to cast aside "the game" midway and questions if she is truly okay with escaping as things are. When Nagisa scolds him, Servant turns intimidating towards him for the first time and claims that the Warriors of Hope care more about the game than their paradise and Nagisa knows this, but didn't do anything about it because of Monaca. He calls Nagisa a traitor and tells him to leave the rest to him. This causes Nagisa to rethink his betrayal and he runs away.

Servant turns his attention back to Komaru and tells her that he is disappointed in her for planning to escape after he made all the preparations for her. He then corrects himself by stating that the one he should really blame is Toko and he asks why didn't she follow their plan. He then explains their deal to confused Komaru and mentions that he was also motivated by his will to have Komaru grow through the game and clear it. He reveals he's fixated on her because of her brother and he regrets not being present during Junko's defeat. He explains that a completely normal and talentless girl like Komaru can become Towa City's hope and obtain even greater hope than her brother, since hope is born from the weak rising up from despair. He carries on his mad ramble and urges her not to give up, but she doesn't understand anything he's saying. Servant calms down for a moment and assumes that she doesn't understand because of his lack of enthusiasm. He then carries on rambling, saying that hope will always win in the end, which is why he can submit himself to despair with peace of mind.

Servant asks the two girls what they plan to do now and as they start to cry and argue, he provokes Toko to catch Komaru for Byakuya's sake. The two end up fighting, but Toko loses and collapses on the ground. Toko tells Komaru to escape, admits that she lost on purpose and expresses disgust to being Servant's yes-man. Servant then walks to Toko and gives her "a little help" by pouring pepper on her face. She sneezes and changes to Genocide Jack, but she attacks Servant instead of Komaru, and slashes both of his legs with her scissors. Surprised Servant collapses on the ground and calmly assumes that she attacked him because she doesn't share memories with Toko. Genocide Jack silences him and reveals her intention to kill him and set Komaru free. Servant assumes that her change of heart was caused by the girls' beautiful friendship, but finds it a bit strange of Genocide Jack since she is a serial killer. Genocide Jack is angered by this assumption and attempts to kill Servant, but Komaru stops her and assures that they are friends.

Komaru decides to stay with Toko and Genocide Jack instead of leaving the city, which causes Genocide Jack to throw Servant against the ground in anger. He lies still and listens silently as the two girls talk, but then rises up to sit and states that the current outcome is alright, because the city would lose hope if Komaru left. He does his best to ignore the pain on his legs and tells the girls that they have to defeat "the final boss" in order to save Byakuya. He reveals that he has a partner, but refuses to tell more about it since he's already "dropped out of the game". Still, he tells them to proceed onwards and reveals that the children's stronghold is a building called Towa Hills. He is pleased to see that Komaru's hope has grown and gives the two instructions on how to reach their destination.

As the two girls leave, Servant waves them goodbye and laughs in excitement as he can feel that the city's despair will soon be swallowed by hope. Nagisa then arrives with his robot, but Servant isn't frightened and states that Nagisa really is a child for getting so angry.

Nagisa takes Servant back to their base and angrily accuses him of deceiving The Warriors of Hope and trying to ruin their plans. He kicks him in the stomach as he tries to make him confess, but it only causes the older boy to laugh a little. Monaca arrives to the scene and reveals to Nagisa that Servant's doings were requested by her and that her true goal is to create "Junko Enoshima II". Monaca mentally wears Nagisa down and causes him to fall in despair as Servant and Kurokuma watch on the side. Kurokuma states that Monaca is as vulgar as always and Servant agrees with a sigh.

Chapter 5 - Absolute Despair Girl
Servant is now able to stand, his face is cleaned from the drawings and he has bandages covering his legs' wounds. As Monaca happily watches a video of the Big Bang Monokuma moving in the city, Servant arrives and tells her that he is about to leave and came to bid farewell. Monaca and Kurokuma are surprised by this, since "the show" has just begun. Servant says that he has a final report for his master and Kurokuma mocks him by asking if he realized he's a hard gay. Servant ignores him and explains that the Monokuma Kids told him there's an intruder in the city. Monaca and Kurokuma don't think it's important and keep on watching the video.

Servant notes that Monaca is in awfully good mood even though her plan seems to be failing. Monaca reveals that she has kept secrets even from Servant and refuses to tell more when he questions if it has something to do with Junko Enoshima II. Servant isn't truly interested in her secrets as he believes that hope will win no matter what. Monaca and Kurokuma make fun of his beliefs and call them contradictory. Servant disagrees and explains that the seeds of despair cannot be destroyed while they're buried, but they can be completely burned after they've flourished above the surface. However, he also states that contradictions don't matter to him anyway.

Monaca is a bit confused and intrigued by the fact that Servant realizes he has fallen into despair, yet he claims even that is in the name of hope. She asks if it's because of Junko's influence or was he always like that, but Servant turns silent and doesn't give her an answer. He watches for awhile as Monaca and Kurokuma speak and then turns to leave. Monaca tells Servant that she appreciates his efforts, but doesn't believe they'll ever meet again.

Epilogue - The Changing World We Made
It's revealed that the Servant changed his mind and decided to stay in the city for a while longer and see everything through to the end. He finds unconscious Monaca and helps her out of the rubble. He carries her on his back and she wakes up and asks why he saved her. Servant answers that they're the same, both disappointed in the ending with neither despair nor hope.

Servant reveals that his main goal all along was to to cause a war in order to have a magnificent hope born from it. Monaca wonders whose side he is really on, but he says it doesn't really matter and he tells Monaca that she could become the second Junko Enoshima. He agrees to cooperate with her as long as time will allow, as he still has other things to do. He tells her that he can raise her and make her even more real than the real thing, as he is the one who loves and hates Junko more than anyone else.

Chapter 0 - Heading to the School Trip
Nagito and the other remnants of Despair are found by Future Foundation. Makoto Naegi plans to undo Junko's influence by putting them into the Neo World Program.

On a way to Jabberwock Island, Nagito talks inside a boat with Izuru Kamukura, another member of the Ultimate Despair. However, they don't know each other and Izuru considers Nagito very boring.

Izuru Kamukura has the AI version of Junko, which he plans to download into the program so she can take over their bodies. Nagito seems unaware of this plan at first, but then explains his desire to meet and destroy AI Junko, as he didn't have the chance to kill the real Junko. He then becomes increasingly confused about his feelings and thus his motives remain unclear.

Prologue - Welcome to Dangan Island! Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip!?
Nagito and the others find themselves in the tropical Jabberwock Island, not knowing that it's a virtual world and that they've lost their memories. Usami acts as their teacher and tells them that it's a school trip.

Nagito was the first character of the second game that appeared. He was looking down on the protagonist, Hajime Hinata, who just regained his consciousness after he fainted from shock. He acts worried towards Hajime and introduces himself.

Nagito acted polite and kind towards everyone, even willing to accompany Hajime as he introduced himself to the other students. He didn't look panicked at all, knowing that he and the others were transported to a strange island, which makes Hajime wonder if he has suffered lots of trauma. Initially, he displays some affection towards his fellow students when introducing them to Hajime.

When Monokuma takes over Usami and explains the Mutual Killing game, Nagito realizes that the Ultimates are truly trapped in the island.

Chapter 1 - Destination Despair
When Monokuma reveals that the Ultimates have lost the memories of their school lives, Nagito plans to start the killings in order to become a stepping stone for hope and get at least one of the Ultimates out of the island, believing that the survivor would become the absolute hope.

After Byakuya Togami became the group's leader, Nagito sends him a nameless warning letter which says that a murder will definitely happen soon. When Byakuya suggests to throw a party, Nagito sets up a lot to determine the party duties, and through his "Ultimate Luck", ends up being the one who cleans the old lodge. He seemingly prepares a murder by hiding a glow-in-the-dark knife, but was eventually discovered by Teruteru Hanamura, who had duties to prepare food for the party. In fact, Nagito lets himself to be discovered on purpose and explains his plan to Teruteru as he tries to manipulate the Ultimate Cook into killing him.

Nagito's plan was to trip the circut breaker to cause a blackout. During this blackout, he used a lamp cord to lead himself to the table, under which he hid the knife covered in glowing paint. Just as he was about to grab the glowing knife, he was discovered by Byakuya, who brought night vision goggles in preperation. Byakuya rushed towards Nagito and pushed him out from under the table and proceeded to retrieve the knife. This saved Nagito's life and Byakuya then got stabbed by Teruteru, who was hiding under the floorboards intending to kill Nagito with an iron skewer.

Nagito then investigates the murder with Hajime, giving him lots of hints, but not revealing too much. He decides to be on Teruteru's side during the class trial, believing that he has great hope. He acts suspicious on purpose and reveals his true self as he tries to make the others think he's the murderer. In the end, everyone realizes that Nagito isn't the real culprit and they become suspicious of Teruteru. Realizing that Teruteru has reached the limits of his hope, Nagito stops defending him and the Ultimate Cook is executed.

After the revelations during the trial, everyone is left distrustful of Nagito. He tells everyone that they're free to kill him and that he is even ready to cooperate with his killer.

Chapter 2 - Sea and Punishment, Sin and Coconuts
At late, Nagito is visited by Kazuichi and Nekomaru Nidai, who plan to tie him up to avoid another incident happening again. Once again, Nagito starts to ramble on about hope and his wish to become a stepping stone, but he is silenced and struck unconscious by Kazuichi. He is left alone and tied up inside the old lodge.

After the information about this was leaked out, people were assigned to provide him with his meals (though, Kazuichi and Nekomaru were not going to let him starve, neither). Mahiru Koizumi went to deliver Nagito his meals and he asked her about Monokuma's new motive. She explains about Twilight Syndrome Murder Case and Nagito suggests she should play it. Nagito then asks to have toast, as he doesn't really like rice, which causes Mahiru to leave a bit angrily. Mahiru is tired with this job and tells Hajime to bring Nagito the meal instead. Nagito is happy to see Hajime and asks if he's going to feed him, since his own hands are tied up and it would've been embarrassing to ask a girl to do it. Nagito then asks about Mahiru and tries to convince Hajime to play Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, but Hajime doesn't want to be tricked by him again and leaves without feeding him.

After Mahiru is murdered, Nagito is untied by Monomi, who naively trusts him as she thinks that everyone should cooperate and investigate together. He then goes to play Twilight Syndrome Murder Case to find clues. He meets with Hajime and Chiaki, but angered Hajime tells both him and Monomi to go away. Nagito says he's a bit lonely, but he obeys and goes to investigate alone.

Thanks to the game's true ending, Nagito knows the characters in the game were Mahiru, Hiyoko, Ibuki Mioda, Mikan, Sato, Fuyuhiko and another Kuzuryu. He goes to see four of them and lies that they all have to come to the airport or else Monokuma will execute them. Fuyuhiko doesn't open his door, so Nagito leaves him be. He goes to wait outside Jabberwock Park for Hajime and Chiaki, meets with them again and explains that everyone is meeting at the airport by his request. After talking with the girls, Nagito leaves to investigate once again. With Monokuma's help, he goes inside everyone's cottages to take a sample of their footprints. He also notices lots of gummies inside Hiyoko's cottage and takes a one bag with him, as it might be evidence.

Nagito meets with Hajime and Chiaki, again, after they finish investigating Mahiru's cottage. Nagito claims it's a coincidence, but Hajime isn't convinced and thinks he might be a stalker. Nagito says he only came to tell the results of his investigations and when Hajime asks about it, Nagito suddenly says that he will tell him more if Hajime bows to him and lick his shoes. Nagito then says that it was just a joke and asks Hajime to come to the beach house if he wants to know more about the footprints. Chiaki leaves to see Fuyuhiko and Nagito notices that Hajime clearly wanted her to stay with him.

At the beach house, everyone is shocked to see Nagito free. He thanks Kazuichi for going easy on him earlier and when Sonia Nevermind explains about the serial killer Sparkling Justice, he says that no good can come from getting involved with a serial killer, referencing his past experience with a one. Nagito was able to deduce the owner of footprint that left on the beach, Hiyoko Saionji.

During the class trial, the culprit's trap was also foiled by Nagito, when he stated that the yellow gummy was deliberately abandoned by the culprit to frame Hiyoko. Hiyoko had never eaten yellow gummies, evidenced by the pack of gummies that Nagito found in Hiyoko's cottage. Because of this, Hajime, Nagito, and Chiaki are able to deduce that Peko Pekoyama killed Mahiru.

During Peko's execution, Fuyuhiko runs to help her and gets wounded, too. At first, Nagito is angered and upset because a clash between two hopes ended with both hopes destroyed. However, Fuyuhiko turns out to be alive, and now satisfied Nagito concludes that Fuyuhiko was Peko's hope and Peko was Fuyuhiko's stepping stone.

Chapter 3 - Trapped by the Ocean Scent
The next morning, Nagito along with Gundham Tanaka came late to the restaurant, which broke the cozy atmosphere. He attended Fuyuhiko's welcoming party that was held by Ibuki, though he wasn't fond of Ibuki's loud songs.

Later, he, Ibuki and Akane caught the "Despair Disease", the third motive. As a result, Nagito could only tell lies and he got a high fever. Presumably due to his already ill state, he suffered from Despair Disease the most, quickly lost his consciousness and was close at dying. Mikan kept nursing him and when he occasionally regained consciousness, he saw her eyes and realized that they were full of despair. He also appeared to strongly dislike Hajime due to his Liar Disease.

Nagito fully regained consciousness around the time when the third murder occurred. He and the other patients were quickly cured by Monokuma so they could start investigating. During the investigation, Nagito was more motivated than usual and kept talking how the case is special. He suspected that Mikan was the killer and he found many clues. Nagito also invited Hajime to watch Monokuma's movie and told him to keep the ticket safe.

At the beginning of the class trial, Nagito proved Hajime's innocence with the ticket. He was able to deduce Mikan as the culprit and how she murdered Ibuki and Hiyoko. With the state she was in, he called Mikan "Ultimate Despair" and bitterly refused to forgive her because she killed for despair instead of hope. Mikan told him that he's wrong and claimed that she had killed for "her beloved". Somewhat mockingly, she said that Nagito doesn't understand because he doesn't have anyone to love and isn't accepted by anyone, leaving him speechless.

Chapter 4 - Do Ultimate Robots Dream of Electric Clocks?
The next morning, Nagito thinks about the mysterious person who was Mikan's beloved. He also thinks that Hajime is possibly the traitor, because his Ultimate talent is still unknown.

After everyone is trapped in the fourth island's Fun House, Monokuma lets them starve until a murder happens. Nagito would even offer himself to be eaten to help the others escape (this is mentioned if the player speaks to him during free-time).

After Nekomaru is murdered, Nagito becomes playable for the first time. In order to help with the investigation, he took it upon himself to go into the Final Dead room and play the life threatening game. Using his incredible deduction skills and assisted by Monomi, he managed to clear all of the challenging puzzles scattered throughout the room and earn the right to play Russian roulette to access the Octagon and the Ultimate Weapon inside it.

With a large amount of faith in his ability as the Ultimate Lucky Student, Nagito loaded the revolver with five bullets instead of one, and pulled the trigger against his head, giving him a one in six chance of surviving. He managed to survive, thanks to his talent and was granted access into the Octagon.

By completing the Final Dead Game, Nagito learned about the Fun House's structure and realized that the building itself is the Ultimate Weapon. Due to completing Russian roulette with such high difficulty, he also got a special prize from Monokuma, the sequel to the first Future Foundation file they had obtained earlier after riding the roller coaster. It revealed absolutely everything - the truth of the students' identities as Ultimate Despair, their actions while in school and beyond, the truth about the virtual world they're in, Hajime's lack of talent and new identity as Izuru Kamukura. Nagito purged the most revealing data and only left their school profiles.

Knowing that he and everyone else are Ultimate Despair, Nagito quickly came up with a plan to kill everyone for hope's sake. He started to plan his own suicide and took a bomb and deadly poison with him from the Octagon. He seemed to believe that by destroying the Ultimate Despair, he would become Ultimate Hope and he would finally be respected and appreciated, if only in death.

Later, Nagito met with Hajime and Chiaki. He told Hajime about his lack of talent and mocked him arrogantly, but interestingly he also mentioned a little hint about his future plans when he compared the murders of the 78th class' killing school life and the killing school trip. He mentioned that the murders had similarities and the 78th class' fourth murder was a suicide, which could mean something.

During the investigation, Nagito acted haughty and easily irritated towards everyone else as well, but didn't reveal his reasons for it. However, just before the class trial, he admitted to Hajime that he still cares about him. He also hinted at Hajime's identity as Izuru Kamukura by talking about a book in which the protagonist is revealed to be the killer in the end.

The students were able to discover and voted the right culprit that murdered Nekomaru. The culprit was none other than the Ultimate Breeder Gundham Tanaka. The students received a great help from Nagito because he knew the "secret" of the Fun House, though he kept acting impatient, arrogant and much more uninterested in the trials than before.

After the trial, at night, Nagito met with Monokuma and tried to get some information from the bear (concerning the student profiles and the "someone" Monokuma is waiting for on the island). However, Monokuma refused to give a real answer.

Chapter 5 - Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair
With the knowledge he now possessed, Nagito came up with a plan to weed out the traitor among the group, as the traitor would be the only innocent one. The others noticed that his behavior became even stranger and more distant than before.

Nagito set off an explosion in the hotel lobby, then threatened to blow up the rest of the island with bombs that he planted unless the traitor reveals themselves. However, this was just a bluff, as he only had one real bomb and the rest were just harmless fireworks he found from the army facility. As his deadline drew nearer, Nagito informed the group that the "explosives" were located in a place they have each been once, in an attempt to get them to split up. In a fit of rage, Akane almost strangled Nagito to death, but she was stopped by Chiaki.

While the others were looking for the "bombs", Nagito prepared a very complex suicide; he would trust his luck and make the traitor kill him unknowingly and he would make the murderer's identity unclear to everyone else as well - during the trial, his classmates wouldn't be able to reach a conclusion and they would be executed while the traitor alone would be spared.

To make it look like he was tortured by someone (and to cause himself bad luck that would turn into good luck), Nagito tied himself up, covered his mouth with duck tape, stabbed his own hand, arms and legs multiple times with an army knife and impaled his stomach with a spear.

By the time Fuyuhiko had discovered the bomb's location, Nagito's classmates also found a laptop which had already been prepared by Nagito. It had a video message instructing the traitor to come forward and scan their e-Handbook in order to disarm the bomb. The video message claimed that Nagito already figured out the traitor's identity, but in truth this was a lie. After a failed attempt by Chiaki, everyone found out the truth about the "bombs" and angrily went to the warehouse next door to meet Nagito, like the video instructed. When the group opened the door, it was dark and they only heard very loud music. Unknown to them, they tipped over Monokuma panels and a lighter prepared by Nagito, causing a fire. The group immediately took the fire grenades from the employee's lounge and attempted to douse the fire, not knowing that Nagito had planted vaporizing poison inside one of them. The poison reached Nagito on the far back of the building and killed him almost instantly. After the sprinklers kicked in and extinguished the flames, the group discovered Nagito's horribly tortured body. Just like he planned and thanks to his Ultimate Luck, the one who threw the poison at him and unknowingly murdered him was the traitor - Chiaki Nanami.

During the investigation, Hajime and Chiaki found many clues and evidence inside Nagito's cottage, and it's later implied during the class trial that Nagito wanted to give his classmates a chance.

During the Class Trial, the group was able to deduce that Nagito committed suicide, however it was not as it seemed. After they understood more and more about the case, Hajime came to the conclusion that Nagito's goal was to create a mystery that could not be solved. In an attempt to save her friends, Chiaki revealed herself as the traitor and she was executed. After the events of the trial, Monokuma revealed that Nagito's true plan was to kill everyone except for Chiaki in an attempt to destroy the Ultimate Despair that he knew they all truly were.

At the next day, Hajime and others found Nagito's last message on the laptop, in which he explained that he did what he did because he managed to learn the truth about "this world". He revealed the password to the ruins and explained that everyone can escape Monokuma with it. Believing that his actions will become the foundation of world's hope, he asked the others to praise him, tell others about him, respect him, erect a bronze statue of him and call him the Ultimate Hope.

During the end of chapter 5, many "dead" characters appeared as the Neo World Program's glitches. However, Nagito was not among them.

Chapter 6 - This is the End Goodbye Academy of Despair
During the final class trial against AI Junko, Nagito briefly appears during "the game reset".

Epilogue - The Day Before the Future
Currently, Nagito is most likely comatose, just like most of his classmates. However, he and Mikan "died" in the program while knowing that it isn't real - according to Monokuma, this increases their chances of waking up.

Execution
Rope Master - Nagito is standing on a platform that resembles a circus’s flying trapeze. Countless ropes are hanged onto the platform. Monokuma begins to cut off the ropes one by one, but none of the ropes are connected to anything. Frustrated, he punches the cutting machine and sets the platform on fire. Monokuma escapes, but Nagito with no ropes or any other way to escape dies. This execution is only shown in the Official Fanbook.

Hajime Hinata
Hajime was most likely the only person Nagito was genuinely interested in and had any genuine care for.

From the start, Nagito was particularly interested in Hajime, and was the only one to stay with him after he lost consciousness in the beginning of the game. He also escorted him to introduce himself to the other students and helped him during most investigations.

Nagito noticed that he and Hajime were similar somehow, as if they were both bystanders in something that didn't concern them. Hajime also didn't feel like an Ultimate to Nagito and they were both fans of Hope's Peak Academy. Nagito suggested that Hajime's talent could be Ultimate Serenity, because even Hajime's mere presence brought him serenity. Though sometimes annoyed by Nagito, Hajime also felt more relaxed around the other boy.

Prior to the chapter 1 trial, Hajime was the closest thing Nagito had to a friend — though his amiability may have been false, the connection he felt to him wasn't.

After revealing the part he played in the case, Hajime felt betrayed and terrified by Nagito, whom he had previously trusted and thought to be a good friend. Nagito was genuinely a bit hurt and surprised when Hajime started to dislike him, but he still kept trying to talk with Hajime and helped him at times. He remained fixated on Hajime even after he was revealed to be a talentless reserve course student and Ultimate Despair, especially evidenced in his dialogue directly preceding the chapter 4 trial in which he stated that he still cares about Hajime, though he doesn't understand why. In chapter 5, Hajime's understanding of Nagito is what thwarted his plan.

It is heavily implied that Nagito's feelings for Hajime are romantic in nature. Several times throughout the story, it's shown that Nagito feels a genuine closeness to Hajime, such as when he claimed he doesn't like being around him when under the influence of the despair disease which forced him to lie. It's indicated that the reason he feels this way is because that despite knowing what kind of person he is, Hajime still tried to understand him and spent time with him while no one else never did. This is confirmed in the official drama CD, in which Nagito tells Hajime this: "I'll continue to do anything in my power to assist you. Because...I like you. I love you, for being willing to talk to me like this, even after knowing what a hopelessly incompetent person I am...".

In his fifth freetime event, Nagito poured his heart out to Hajime, telling him about his terminal diseases and his wish to be loved before he dies. He then quickly slammed the door on their relationship by falsely dismissing what he had just stated as lies, probably for the sake of Hajime's safety, since Hajime was about to forgive Nagito and he would've been in danger if they got too close due to Nagito's bad luck. Due to the wording in Japanese, Nagito's last line in particular is heavily implied to be the beginning of a love confession that he decided to rephrase at the last second into him being in love with Hajime's hope instead (the official English translation doesn't include this aspect and he simply says that he loves Hajime's hope). His usage of “ai shiteru” also reflects this notion, as it's an incredibly strong phrase that even some married couples are hesitant to use.

In Island Mode, Nagito really wants to entertain Hajime during their trips, but is paranoid over his safety. After a particularly good time with Hajime, he refers to the hotel as their "love nest". In the final event, he reveals that his way of thinking has slowly started to change thanks to the time he spent with Hajime. He seems to try confessing his feelings again, but instead asks Hajime to be his friend, to which the latter agreed to.

In Nagito's character song, 劇薬 Poison, he mentions that he loves and wants to understand "him" more than anyone else.

Junko Enoshima
When the Ultimate Despair was formed, Nagito joined because he wanted to witness despair rise and fall at hope. The other members were brainwashed and fell madly in love with Junko, but Nagito's case was different. He developed strange, conflicting feelings of both love and hatred for Junko and saw her as his sworn enemy. This was most likely a result of both the brainwashing and Nagito's own belief that hope cannot exist without despair.

After Junko was executed, Nagito cut off his left hand and put hers in its place, although it is not functional. He believes that this allowed him to steal her power and he claims he did it because of his hatred towards her, but it's strongly implied that he also obsessed over her and wanted to feel close to her, just like the other members. When he talked about this with Izuru Kamukura, he became increasingly confused and wasn't sure what he felt.

It's heavily implied that Nagito wanted to kill Junko at some point, most likely in order to destroy the Ultimate Despair. When he talked about AI Junko with Izuru, he appeared very excited to see "her" again and explained that he desires to finally kill her, since he didn't get a chance to kill the real Junko. However, Nagito also states that he doesn't know what will happen and his motives remain unclear due to his very conflicting feelings.

In Ultra Despair Girls, Nagito describes Junko as someone he really hates, but in the end he reveals to Monaca that he both loves and hates her more than anyone else, and he implies that he knew her very well or at least he thinks he did. Considering his very bizarre feelings towards her, it's possible that he is just delusional and doesn't know her that well at all.

His family
Nagito's relationship with his family is unclear. It's mentioned that he didn't have any relatives besides his parents. He mentions that they took him to an amusement park and they went on a family vacation together, but he also mentions that his mother never complimented his appearance, which hints at neglect.

When Nagito talks about his parents' deaths to Hajime, he is disturbingly optimistic and believes it was good luck since he inherited all of their fortune and became free to do whatever he wished. However, it's strongly implied that he just suppresses his feelings of sorrow as a way to cope, since tragedies are very common in his life. His parents died in an airplane and later in the Island Mode he is seen to be very terrified by the mere idea of aircrafts.

As a child, Nagito was very close with the family's pet dog and he was deeply saddened by his death. Because of Nagito's bad luck, the dog was hit by a truck.

Presents
Obtained from the MonoMono Machine.
 * Kokeshi Dynamo
 * Hope's Peak Ring
 * Memory Notebook
 * Mukuro's Knife

Choices
During free time conversations, the player will occasionally be given a choice on how to respond to something that is said. These are the 'right' choices.
 * Hope is absolute good
 * Absolute power

Skills
These will aid you, usually during Class Trials.
 * Trance - Even low combos will increase the tempo. Effective during the Panic Talk Action.

Quotes

 * “Hey...Can you hear me...? Are you okay? ...You seem pretty out of it. To be honest, I'm also... No, everyone feels the same, too. Since we suddenly...got put in this weird situation. ...Hey, are you listening?” (to Hajime Hinata)
 * “... I'm Nagito Komaeda. Nice to meet you.”
 * “With everyone working together under such a splendid leader, we'll be able to overcome any difficulty!”
 * “It'd be weird if you weren't worrying in a situation like this.”
 * “For someone like me to be useful to you, and to even receive your words of gratitude...makes me happy.” (to Hajime)
 * “I just want to believe in hope, you know?”
 * “Do you understand? Hope is a positive force... Everything created by it is an absolute good!”
 * “The fact that I'm alive right now is already hope!”
 * “My ability is nothing more than having good luck... If it's not the result of one's effort, than it can't be used to accomplish something amazing, either. With or without it, the fact that I'm unremarkable being doesn't change. Ahah, it's different from all of you.”
 * “Despair is... Like what i am compared to all of you, something minuscule, trivial and worthless!”
 * “I don't want you guys to lose sight of yourselves because you doubt and hate me. I just...want to see you guys embody hope!”
 * “All of you posses the qualities needed to be able to embody it... Do you understand? Hope, in other words, is a proactive will and talent... It's an absolute "good" that's brought forth by that! That's why, as long as there exist seeds of hope, I'll gladly kill a person... and gladly die myself. Since right now, my reason for living like this is hope itself!”
 * “After all, we're both friends who yearn for hope!” (to Hajime)
 * “You must be really bored to talk to a pest like me...”
 * “Hmhmhm... Just thinking about the bad luck that's waiting for me is making me feel all tingly...!”
 * “In my case, it always leads to such outcomes. However great the misfortune that i experience at first may be... The good luck that I will visit me later is grand enough to make up for all of it! That's the talent I possess... The reason i'm called "Ultimate Lucky Student".”
 * “NO, THAT'S WRONG!” (to Hajime at the beginning of their Rebuttal Showdown)
 * “There are two kinds of people in this world: those who are born with worth, and ever body else. No matter how hard a lowly human tries, they will never be the same as someone who was born worthy... They say that "effort breeds success"...But that's a complete lie. The world is not that accommodating.”
 * “The Ultimates stand together and rise against the despair of the death of their friend! Ahhh.. such a magnificent... beautiful sight!”
 * “It's not just luck.. It's true my talent is trash but I'm still the Ultimate Lucky Student, you know?”
 * “'Meaningless'... No other word is more despair-inducing than that. But you mustn't give up! you must face forward with hope in your hearts, and do your best! You are the symbols of hope, because you can recover and rise up, again and again!”
 * “I understand the pain of having nothing to do... But this is just despair that we have to overcome! In the end, everyone's hope will shine bright!”
 * “Personally, I think it shows great courage to try understand something you don't understand.”
 * “You are definitely someone who embodies hope.” (to Hajime)
 * “Regardless...it's a power that has terrible results due to the fact that I can't wield it with my own will.” (talking about his talent)
 * “But in the end, I obtained my freedom and immense inheritance.” (talking about his parents' death)
 * “Your gracious invitation makes me want to cry... There's no way I could decline...!”
 * “I just want to feel grateful for this good luck. I want to be thankful that there's someone who's interested in trash like me.”
 * “As soon as my life entered the final round, it quickly became a rollercoaster ride! But it's going to be all right... No matter the bad luck that happens, good luck always lies just beyond it.”
 * “The reason I'm alive is because I always believe there's hope...no matter what.”
 * “Nobody's ever complimented me on my appearance before! Not even my own mother!” (to Mikan Tsumiki)
 * “Now then, Hajime. Will you battle against me?” (to Hajime before commencing their Rebuttal Showdown)
 * “Now that I'm on the verge of death, I've finally realized what I wanted all along: somebody's love.”
 * “Hahahahaha! Let's commit the crime together so despair can become the foundation of hope!”
 * “I'm sure a bright hope is sleeping inside you, too!” (to Hajime)
 * “Please, don't forget... From the bottom of my heart...I am truly in love with the hope that sleeps inside you.” (to Hajime)
 * “A mystery that easy would make me sad. It wouldn't be good enough to serve as everyone's stepping stone...”
 * “Yep, an understandable explanation! Just as expected from the Ultimate Gamer who excels at clearing games!” (to Chiaki Nanami)
 * “We aren't supposed to doubt each other here, we're supposed to work together.”
 * “The class trial is where we cooperate with each other, work hard, and aim for victory.”
 * “The killer and everyone else... Two hopes attempting to grasp the one, true hope...”
 * “Two hopes clashing with each other is poetry in motion! That...is what a class trial should be!”
 * “I'm on the side of the absolute hope that can overcome any despair. And I believe that absolute hope...exists at the point where two hopes clash.”
 * “Huh? You seem distressed. A mere tool doesn't panic like that, right?” (to Peko Pekoyama)
 * “It was supposed to be a clash between two hopes, but it was crushed into something so unpalatable...” (talking about Peko's execution)
 * “Even this despair...is just a ladder to a bright, shining future that awaits us! The higher the ladder, the brighter we can shine... That is the unmistakable truth!”
 * “Haha, the hopes of all the Ultimates here will definitely, completely, utterly destroy you. There won't even be a strand of cotton left when we're done with you... That's your future.” (to Monokuma)
 * “I just think warming up is really important, especially since this isn't a game.”
 * “Oh, I'm so happy I'm getting goosebumps! Everyone actually needs help from scum like me!”
 * “That's amazing, Chiaki! All that gaming has given you incredible deduction skills... Is it okay to say that?” (to Chiaki)
 * “Investigating with a suspect in mind creates a different result than investigating with no leads...”
 * “Not everyone cooperates at a class trial... Those who lie and conceal the truth will obviously be here too...”
 * “But even a drunk medical student can notice the difference between a hanging and strangulation.”
 * “I know because I was looking at Mikan for so long. She was the one taking care of me, after all. My consciousness kept drifting but even so, when I did catch a glimpse of her, her expression was... Full of despair. A despair so devoid of hope that not even a single fragment of it remained.” (talking about Mikan)
 * “The symptoms that she surely felt must've been deserving of the name, Despair Disease. Losing all hope...and harboring despair for all hope...” (talking about the Despair Disease)
 * “I mean, killing someone for the sake of despair, instead of for the sake of hope... There's no way I can forgive that.”
 * “C'mon, let's take all this despair and change it into hope!”
 * “Awesome! We’re starting to see the light of hope!”
 * “Absolute hope that can break through any despair can never lose in a place like this!”
 * “After all, the only good thing about me is how lucky I am.”
 * “YinOingObJoyTy#%'*)&amp;cyoum$psm,03r499jf[@-ultkdrtdes”
 * “I shouldn't made fun of Hajime. Deep down, I always wanted to become a protagonist myself...”
 * “42md*)(%^'+'+8rmnfd!@#kcheckthewebfordetails:”?(%*!”
 * “Seriouslypissingmeoff+hellan1ce2icAntb3l3ves0methlngg00dl1keth1sisonly$102s0happy+~=~+1tss0happyOrz”
 * “Ah, you guysWstillthinkyou're n0tg0nad13ors0m3th1ngWWWstopitstopitd0ntmst0p12”
 * “I believe my actions will become the foundation of this world's hope. And...if that really happens...”
 * “Praise me. Tell others what I've accomplished. Erect a bronze statue of me. Respect me. Please call me...the Ultimate Hope.”
 * “Now, do your best. My common, boring worthless protagonist with weak character...” (talking about Komaru Naegi)
 * “But... it is an order, so I have no choice. I am everyone's servant, after all... ahahahaha.”
 * “Hope is exclusively found on the side of the weak. The losing side.”
 * “No matter how big the despair... Hope will always win in the end.”
 * “The deeper and darker the despair...the brighter and powerful the hope born from it.”

Creation and development
From the start, Nagito was planned to be the main character's rival. His original design was based around the image of a shinigami (死神, "death god" or "death spirit"), the personification of death in Japanese culture.

Unlike Byakuya Togami from the first Danganronpa game, he was to be "an absolute rival", for example a trickster similar to the Joker in "Batman".

2nd Draft
The second draft of Nagito's beta design had an ahoge, and the expression of his eyes was different from the other characters, composed of a set of thin and unstable lines.

It's implied that the character used to be Ultimate Hope, and while he wasn't as cheerful as Makoto, his demeanor used to be a lot more softer and gentle.

3rd Draft
The next, third draft of Nagito's beta design became the basis of the current Nagito.

The idea behind the character changed and he was drawn based on the image of a dark-side version of Makoto Naegi, "a Makoto who fell to the dark side".

Similar to Makoto, the character was short in height, but also had a longer hair, glasses and a black parka with a devil design. His eyes and ahoge changed during his "time of despair".

4th Draft
The fourth draft was a taller version of the third one - after the stage of regulating the balance between the 16 students was reached, the creators aimed for the position of a beauty and the character was given a tall stature.

He was very similar to the third draft, with glasses, black parka and his eyes and ahoge changing during the times of despair, but he was also specifically described as handsome.

4.5th Draft
The next draft was known as the "young man ver", as he was basically a slightly younger version of the fourth draft.

He had a more aggressive image than the current Nagito, and he "gave off an air of indifference with his discerning gaze".

Nagito Komaeda
Kodaka Kazutaka, the writer of the Danganronpa series, describes the current Nagito as "a strong rival". The creators didn't want to make him just an enemy, as he would've just been feared as the mastermind. However, they believed that a strong rival couldn't just be the mastermind's underling, either. With these thoughts in mind, Nagito was developed into a warped person displaying themes such as "the fear of someone you can’t empathize with/someone that can’t empathize", "contradictions" and "in-versed hope". According to Kodaka, "It requires courage to draw a character holding contradictions, yet once I got over that I actually enjoyed making the portrayal".

The other ideas behind Nagito's character were "a dark hero", "a Makoto who took a step down the wrong path" and "a hope too extreme will become despair". Kodaka states that Nagito and Makoto are both the exact opposites of each other yet still extremely alike. He explains that Nagito exists because he wanted to convey such a theme in a vivid manner. "The matter of both resembling in looks may also be an inevitability, if you conform under the idea that outward appearance would grow closer the more the ideology would match".

According to the character designer, Rui Komatsuzaki, Nagito's excessive self-consciousness are remains from the initial design. Moreover, the jagged cuffs of his jacket hold origin from the tail-section of the devil-shaped parka of his beta design.

Nagito holds a lot of complicated nuances to his expressions and Rui repeatedly did adjustments while getting inspired by the performance of Nagito's voice-actress Megumi Ogata. According to Rui, this increased Nagito's exceptional charm. "I especially like the portion of his hair that along with facing upwards would grow bland and quiver like a flame", he adds.

The Servant
At first, Nagito wasn't planned to have a proper appearance in Ultra Despair Girls. Furthermore, he wasn't going to be named "Servant", but this was decided for the promo announcement.

Nagito was named simply just "Servant", because the Warriors of Hope didn't want to give him an identity due to him only being a servant. The impression of his aloof appearance was not changed, but his way of thinking was changed slightly when compared to the second game.

He was given strange clothes in a sense that they would be recognizable from origin, and in chronological order would lead up and unite to the current image. The jacket was to be pictured as plain clothes, but the collar given by the children gives the design a "servant" nature.

Rui and Kodaka went through various designs (such as a school uniform suit and casual vest), as their likings contradicted each other and made it difficult to decide. Rui believes that the the final design was the right choice for both of their preferences.

Trivia

 * Nagito's report card states that:
 * He likes pretty things and dislikes noisy places,
 * His Blood type is O,
 * His chest is 33 in.
 * The Servant's profile states that:
 * He likes beautiful things and beautiful people and that he dislikes noisy places and ugly people.
 * “Nagito” (凪斗) as a name means “Calm Below the Dipper”, as in the big dipper constellation, while “Komaeda” (狛枝) translates as “Lion-Dog Tree Branches”. Lion-Dogs are statues that protect and guard shrines in Shintoism. The kanji used are rather old and classical, which may allude to an old family line or an upper class background.
 * Nagito's Free-Time Events reveal that he was diagnosed with stage 3 malignant lymphoma and frontotemporal lobe dementia. While it is left ambiguous in the game, his illnesses and backstory are confirmed in the side materials.
 * He appears to suffer from Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), which symptoms may include changes in social and personal behavior, loss of insight into the behaviors of oneself and others, inappropriate social behavior, loss of social awareness, poor impulse control and judgement, apathy, loss of empathy, mental rigidity, repetitive compulsive behavior, a decline in self-care and personal hygiene, changes in food preferences, delusions, euphoria and lack of awareness of any thinking or behavior changes.
 * Lymphoma is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the lymph system. Stage 3 means that there is cancer in lymph node areas on both sides of the diaphragm.
 * Other indications of his sickly state include his complexion, hair color and breathy voice. In Island Mode, it's mentioned that he has poor stamina, very sensitive skin and he seems to dislike running.
 * The Despair Disease had a much worse effect on Nagito than anyone else and almost killed him, presumably because he was already very ill.
 * Izuru Kamukura mentions that Nagito has a scent of someone who is "already finished", referring to the fact that he should already be dead, but his luck is keeping him alive.
 * Nagito is a darker parallel to Makoto Naegi.
 * According to Danganronpa 2's official artbook, the third draft of Nagito's beta design is based on imagination of a darker version of Makoto.
 * According to Kazutaka Kodaka, one of the ideas Nagito is based on is "a Makoto that took a step down the wrong path". He states that Nagito and Makoto are both the exact opposites of each other yet still extremely alike.
 * His name is an anagram for “Na-e-gi Ma-ko-to da” (苗木誠だ), which translates to “I am Makoto Naegi”.
 * Both Nagito and Makoto's appearances are slightly similar, they are both the Ultimate Lucky Student, and both share the same voice actor in both the English and Japanese dubs.
 * Monokuma mentions more than once that Nagito definitely reminded him of "him".
 * While Makoto's luck doesn't play a truly crucial role in his life and is actually pretty harmlessly bad, Nagito's radically fluctuating luck is truly a marvelous phenomenon, which has had a significant influence on his entire life and caused him to be the way he is.
 * It should be noted that the two characters are not connected in-universe and the similarities are just a coincidence.
 * One of Nagito's hobbies is reading. This is implied in the main story, as Nagito likes to spend his free time in the library and later Hajime and Chiaki find several books inside his cottage. In Island Mode, he mentions that he could stay in a library for hours. He explains that reading is possibly the most peaceful way for him to spend time, because he isn't affected by his luck cycle that much while doing it. It's also mentioned that he enjoys very different kind of books.
 * He enjoys unrealistic horror movies (like ones with ghosts and zombies), but he dislikes realistic horror movies with serial killers and certain action movies because they remind him of his past experiences.
 * In Island Mode, Nagito expresses intense fear towards fighter jets and it's strongly implied that he may suffer from the fear of flying. While he is generally paranoid about many things, he appears to be extremely paranoid and afraid of plane crash as just thinking or talking about it makes him very anxious and the idea of people being trapped inside, with no way to escape and just waiting to crash terrifies him a lot.
 * Nagito is very good at cleaning, but he's also implied to be a terrible cook. He seems to add very random ingredients and he thinks it's fine even when the food turns inedible. It is possible that he never learned to cook because his bad luck causes disasters if he tries.
 * His favorite ride is the carousel, because it's relaxing and feels safe.
 * He likes salty things and dislikes sweets.
 * Nagito is one of the known LGBT+ individuals in the Danganronpa series.
 * He had romantic feelings for Hajime Hinata. This is heavily implied in the second game and mentioned in many official side materials.
 * He also appears to be attracted to Junko Enoshima, and while the exact nature of these feelings is unclear, it appears to be a very twisted love-hate relationship.