Kaito Momota

"Life's purpose is to be lived! As long as you stay alive, anything's possible. You can even go to the stars... So I'm just gonna go ahead and say it! I wanna live!"

- Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Kaito Momota (百田 解斗 Momota Kaito) is a student in Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and a participant of the Killing School Semester featured in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Despite never actually traveling to space, and even going as so far as forging his documents to get into space training, Kaito was given the title of the Ultimate Astronaut (超高校級の「宇宙飛行士」 chō kōkō kyū no “uchū hikō-shi” lit. Super High School Level Astronaut).

Early life

 * Before Joining Danganronpa

Kaito Momota was a normal talentless high school boy who adored a famous reality show called Danganronpa, a series which tells the story about Killing Games, created by Team Danganronpa. In his audition video before he participated in Danganronpa, he said that he wanted to murder, earning the honor and money after winning the game so that he would no longer have to worry about what was impossible.

During his high school days, Kaito attended Dodonpachi Commercial High (怒首領蜂商業高校). However, it is unclear if this memory of him is a part of the fabrication made by Team Danganronpa.


 * Fabricated Past

After he successfully participated in the 53rd Killing Game, Kaito's memories and past were fabricated by Team Danganronpa as follows:

Kaito became famous for becoming the first teen to ever pass the astronaut exams. However, in reality he never even took the test, lacking the required college degree and thus cheating his way through using false documents that he got from an acquaintance. Once he was found out, he was allowed to stay on as a trainee thanks to being an interesting and amusing person of talent. He hasn't been to space yet, but he harbors a great longing to go.

The Gofer Project
Part of the fake backstories created for Kaito and the other fifteen students was The Gofer Project, which supposedly happened before the Killing Game started. It was initiated by Hope's Peak Academy after countless meteorites crashed into Earth, spreading a deadly virus all throughout the atmosphere. To try and preserve the last vestiges of mankind before the Earth’s destruction, Hope's Peak Academy decided to select sixteen talented students that happened to be immune to the virus, put them in a spaceship colony, and have them escape. Kaito was among these sixteen individuals.

Despite being chosen to participant however, Kaito and the other fifteen participants had no intentions of going along with the plan, not wanting to abandon their loved ones. As a result, Kaito chose to forget about his ultimate talent and decided to live as a normal high school student.

Around that time an extremist cult, which was revealed to the be Remnants of Despair thanks to the Flashback Light in Chapter 5, came back into power, causing the Future Foundation's influence to weaken. They believed that the meteorites were a punishment humanity brought upon itself, and having heard of The Gofer Project, they tried to stop it. As a result, the Ultimate Hunt started and spread throughout the world, and the sixteen students selected for the Gofer Project were hunted down.

The government then decided to counter the situation by faking the students' deaths, calming down the Ultimate Hunt while providing protection to the students. The Gofer Project was then put into action while the Earth was being destroyed by meteorites. Kaito and the others went to space in the massive ark, the true form of Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles, and were put to a cold sleep for several decades.

Much later on after the remaining participants cleared the Death Road of Despair, Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Ruler, lied about being the mastermind of the Killing Game and that he was the leader of the cult bent on stopping The Gofer Project. He also lied about being the one who let Monokuma enter the spaceship, effectively forcing Kaito and the others to participate in a Killing Game..

While Kaito did remember about the Ultimate Hunt in Chapter 2, his and everyone else's funeral in Chapter 3, the meteorite impacts and the state of the outside world in Chapter 4 thanks to the Flashback Light's, he ultimately has no complete recollection of the event, as he was not present when the complete memory about The Gofer Project was triggered by the Flashback Light in Chapter 5.

Killing School Semester
Kaito was among the first fourteen people gathered in the gymnasium before Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara arrived. Just like everyone else, Kaito was confused about their current predicament, asking Kaede and Shuichi if they were also chased by those monsters, referring to the Exisals. Once the Monokuma Kubs arrived and revealed themselves from within their Exisals, they gave the sixteen participants their Ultimate wardrobe, and their first memory via the Flashback Light. Kaito and the other fifteen talentless students underwent the fabrication process, where all of their past memories and personalities were heavily fabricated. He also received the talent and title of Ultimate Astronaut. All of this was done for the sake of satisfying Danganronpa's audience from all over the world. After the fabrication process was completed, Kaito and the others entered the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles as totally different people, officially commencing the 53rd killing game season known as the Killing School Semester.

Kaito was later found outside the main school building by Kaede and Shuichi, the Ultimate Detective. He didn’t seem particularly worried about the End Wall, unlike the duo was. He then introduced himself as the Luminary of the Stars, proudly declaring that even crying children adored the Ultimate Astronaut. Kaede was irritated with him when he said that he had a friend of his forge documents in order to pass the exams, but Kaito stated that they let him in regardless due to his personality. He dreamed of one day going into space, saying that there’s no way he could wait until after college and that sometimes you have to take risks in order to make your dreams a reality.

Kaito would later gather with everyone else in the gymnasium after the Monokuma Kubs made their announcement, stating that it was quite something for all these Ultimates to be gathered together like this. Not long after everyone gathered, The Monokuma Kubs and Monokuma, the Monokubs' father and the self-appointed headmaster of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, arrived and announced that they would be participating in a Killing Game. Kaito became furious at such a concept. While almost everyone else was shocked or horrified by this. With that, the Killing School Semester had officially begun.

Attempting the Death Road of Despair
After Monokuma officially started the Killing Game, Kaito read the rules on his Monopad and became increasingly more outraged, threatening to smash his Monopad into the ground. He was stopped by Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate ???, who explained to him that he would be killed for doing so as breaking the Monopads violated the school rules. Kaito reluctantly agreed to Rantaro’s statement, but still refused to participate in such a thing. A majority of the group wasn't sure what to do either after reading the rules and began to panic and argue. Thanks to Kaede's motivational speech however, the panic died down and everyone seemed to become united. Kaito was very impressed with Kaede unifying everyone, stating that what she said was what he would have said. Afterwards, Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist, remembered that he found a manhole inside the boiler room behind the school building. Kaito along with everyone else immediately followed the Ultimate Entomologist's lead, with hope of finding a way out.

Descending the manhole, Kaito and the others found a tunnel leading outside of the academy. Though everyone thought that the tunnel probably ended up being a trap, they still had to test every single possibility in order to escape. Kaede continued to encourage everyone, with Kaito becoming even more impressed to the point where he offered her a hug because they shared the same opinion, he was of course turned down immediately by the Ultimate Pianist. Everyone went into the tunnel with determination. However, Kaito and the others exhausted themselves both physically and mentally as they found that escaping through the Death Road of Despair was next to impossible. Due to this, Kokichi revolted, saying that Kaede's repeated motivational speech is the source of the group's agony, added by some of her friends giving up on escaping the tunnel, the group's harmony came to a swift end. The tunnel ended up being a trap set by Monokuma and the Monokuma Kubs, much to everyone's dismay. Kaito was incredibly angry with the rest of the group for putting all the blame and responsibility on Kaede. He tried to reassure Kaede that she wasn’t wrong before leaving the tunnel and heading to his dorm room to get some rest.

The First and Additional Motive
The next day, everyone gathered in the dining hall once again. As soon as Kaede arrived Kokichi greeted her, having made the group consolidate once again with his “kind” lie. Kaito however, was still angry with everyone for pushing all the blame onto Kaede without taking any responsibility themselves, but Kaede said it was fine, not wanting the group to fight again. Afterwards, Monokuma came to the cafeteria and announced the first motive, anyone who committed the first killing will graduate without holding a trial, effectively calling it a "First Blood Perk". Everyone was worried about what this would mean, aside from Kaito, who became increasingly outraged with Monokuma for doing whatever he wanted and lunged at him. This caused the Monokubs to show up, showing no hesitation to punish Kaito with the Exisals for attempting violence against their father, effectively breaking the rules. The red Exisal charged at him, but accidentally ended up crushing Monokuma instead, supposedly destroying him. The Monokubs were incredibly saddened at the sudden demise of their father, stating that he had no spare and that he was one of a kind. Upon learning this, Kaito and everyone else's mood improved greatly, thinking the killing game to be over. Kaito proudly thought that it was all thanks to him that the killing game had ended.

The next morning, Kaito was with everyone else in the dining hall once again, happy that the Killing Game had supposedly ended. However, it didn't take long for Monokuma to show up once again, much to the dismay of the students, but to the joy of the Monokuma Kubs. Monokuma goes on to reveal the additional motive, that if a murder did not occur within two days by noon, everyone who was forced to participate would be killed. This motive caused a majority of the group to become too depressed to stay united and leave the dining hall. Kaito declared that he would think of something to stop Monokuma no matter what, though his words weren’t taken too seriously. He also noticed that Kaede and Shuichi had a secret that they weren’t willing to share with the group, but he trusted them when Kaede said that no matter what, she would end this killing game.

On the Clock
On the final day of the time limit, Kaito held a strategy meeting in the basement's game room to discuss a plan to fight Monokuma after the time limit ended. He managed to gather six participants, Gonta, and Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master, due to their physical capabilities. He also gathered Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician, and Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist, believing that their magic and belief in Atua respectively would prove useful for fighting Monokuma. Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Child Caregiver would also be dragged along by Kaito, thinking that she probably knew how to fight. Rantaro would end up joining the meeting as well. All seven of them headed down into the game room as soon as the time limit was almost up. Before the meeting begin, Rantaro left the room, claiming that he wanted to go to the bathroom. Kaito didn't want the meeting to start without Rantaro however and decided to find him along with Tenko. The duo happened to run into Kaede and Shuichi in front of the library and said that they should join their strategy meeting. Kaede however, told the two of them that they might succeeded in catching the mastermind of the Killing Game and that they were inside the library. Hearing this, Kaito and Tenko joined Kaede and Shuichi in storming the library, seeing the bookcase move back into position at the back of the room. The four moved closer to inspect it, only to discover Rantaro’s body not far from the moving bookcase. Kaito was shocked to find them dead, shockingly asking what was going on before Tenko let out a scream, alerting everyone else in the game room. Eventually, everyone else gathered due to the body discovery announcement. Kaito was angered at the loss of their friend, asking all of them who did it and that he would “punch them into orbit”. With Kaede’s motivational speech once again however, everyone became united and began to investigate the truth of Rantaro’s death.

During the investigation, Kaito and Himiko would question Gonta in the AV room, finding it suspicious that he would lock himself in during their meeting. Gonta seemingly panicked and tried to tell the duo that he didn't kill Rantaro. Kaito tried to get him to relax, saying that they didn’t suspect him, just that they wanted to know what he was doing alone. Himiko however was more willing to suspect him, saying that he had the face of a killer. Kaede and Shuichi did find this odd, but didn't automatically suspect Gonta.

Protecting Friends
During the Class Trial, when everyone was accusing Shuichi of being the culprit, Kaito was on the half that chose to defend him and refused to believe that he would be capable of murder. When Shuichi pointed out Kaede as the true culprit however, Kaito still could not believe it and tried to defend her as well near the end of the trial. However, Shuichi's deduction makes it apparent that Kaede committed the crime, much to Kaito's dismay. However, upon hearing that Kaede only did what she did so that she could kill the mastermind and save everyone, he did not blame her at all, still viewing her as a great person.

After the Class Trial ended, and Monokuma wanted to proceed with the execution, Kaito along with Tenko, and Gonta stood up for her despite facing an Exisal. He stated that if Kaede was willing to risk her life for them, he would put his life on the line as well, though she eventually told them to stop, saying that she was ready to die and that they could end this killing game together and all be friends before being dragged off to her execution.Afterwards, Kaito threatened Monokuma out of anger of seeing one of his friends get killed, but he simply replied with ominous foreshadowing by saying he doesn't have much longer to live.

Once Monokuma and the Monokubs left, Kaito told everyone to shut up because their constant whining and complaining annoyed him, but then stated that Shuichi was the most annoying one of them all before promptly punching him in the face. He angrily criticized Shuichi for doing nothing and letting Monokuma do whatever he wanted while Kaede passed her wish onto him and believed in him before being told to back down by the others. As everyone else headed back up and out of the elevator, Shuichi and Kaito remained behind for a bit. Kaito recommended him to check out Kaede's Research Lab. The Ultimate Astronaut stated that while there probably weren't a lot of things to remember her in there, there still had to have been many things she liked. Kaito told Shuichi that the only one who could get him through this awful feeling was Kaede in his memories before also leaving the trial grounds. Shuichi would take his words to heart and end up paying a visit to the Ultimate Pianist's Research Lab.

Exploring the Rest of the Academy
The very next morning, Kaito went to ring the bell on Shuichi's dorm room, wanting to get him for breakfast. Shuichi told him that he normally doesn't eat breakfast, but reasoning with the Ultimate Astronaut proved to be a waste of time as he ended up going with Kaito anyways. It was only once they got to the dining hall that Kaito noticed Shuichi wasn't wearing his hat, to which Tenko ridiculed him for. Afterwards, the Monokuma Kubs showed up and handed out four random items that the students could use to unlock more areas in the academy.

One of the areas that became unlocked was the casino, which Kaito and Shuichi were able to access and explore together. Kaito was interested in all the games in the basement, quickly amassing a fortune. However, Monokuma showed up afterwards and goaded him with the possibility of amassing double the amount that he currently has. Kaito took the bait completely, thus beginning his downfall. He was left with half of his starting amount, but Monokuma goaded him more. Kaito stubbornly declared that he would earn it all back before continuing his losing streak, all the way down to his last coin. Shuichi could only watch his friend gradually lose everything. Monokuma laughed and mocked him, stating that watching people amass a fortune and loss everything was the best, before disappearing.

Angie eventually told Kaito and everyone else to meet in the gymnasium, seemingly failing in discovering anything about the conspicuous flashlight that she and Shuichi had discovered earlier. After everyone had gathered, Monokuma appeared and told the participants that it was a Flashback Light and that it had the ability to restore lost memories before leaving and letting the students decide what to do with it. Although everyone was skeptical at first, they eventually gave in and used it, allowing everyone, Kaito included, to remember that they had been on the run from the "Ultimate Hunt". Though they could not remember the exact details and circumstances behind it, just that they had been on the run.

In a bonus scene in Chapter 2, Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor, Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist, Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, Shuichi, and Kokichi gathered in the casino in hopes of playing a secret game with the medal that Shuichi had received from the Monomono Machine. However, Monokuma shows up and denies this, never stating such a thing in the first place and that the medal Shuichi had was just some knickknack he made for the Monokuma Kubs. Afterwards, Kaito showed up as well, and everyone got roped into a gambling competition. Kaito ended up losing to Ryoma every single time, once again continuing his pathetic luck at gambling. Kaito attempted to shrug it off as him stating that his skills are suited for outer space rather than gambling, though it was clear he was upset at his constant losses.

The Motive Videos
During that same night, the Monokubs prepared the second motive, distributing various motive videos at random while the students slept. Shuichi ended up receiving Kaito’s video, which he watched the next morning revealing that the two closest people to the Ultimate Astronaut were his grandparents. Kaito joined everyone in the dining hall the next morning in order to discuss what to do with the motive videos. Despite Ryoma suggesting that they exchange them, wanting to see who could be the most important person in his life, everyone rejected the idea, afraid that it would cause another murder to happen, much to his annoyance. Kaito went with what everyone decided, stating that the motive videos were too dangerous to watch. Kokichi however, had other ideas.

The night after the motive videos were presented, Kaito invited Shuichi to the courtyard for training. They both ended up doing push-ups, though Shuichi had a harder time keeping up. Shuichi asked Kaito why he had to do this, so the Ultimate Astronaut replied by asking if the one Kaede entrusted her wish to was really this weak, still able to sense that Shuichi had yet to truly overcome his weakness. Shuichi angrily responded that he knew that, but still couldn’t help but feel scared of what would happen if he revealed the truth. Kaito encouraged him, seeming to understand what his “enemy” was now. As a result, from this moment onward, Kaito and Shuichi would always attempt to meet up every night to train together like this.

Kokichi meanwhile, wanting to make everyone watch each other’s motive videos in order to make the killing game more interesting, thought up of a plan. He lied to Gonta that everyone in the academy hated bugs. Hearing this, Gonta cried and declared that he would get everyone to like bugs in an "Insect Meet and Greet". As a result, two days after the motive videos were distributed, Gonta began to kidnap various students into his lab, completely unaware of the Ultimate Supreme Leader's true intentions.

Gonta would succeed in detaining Tenko, Korekiyo, K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot, and Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, much to Kokichi's glee. He would later pursue Kaito as well, but he was able to avoid him and warn Shuichi about the impending threat before fleeing once again. Despite Kaito’s warning however, Shuichi ended up detained along with Angie and Himiko later anyways. Kaito would somehow continue to evade the Ultimate Entomologist’s wrath all night, going so far as to hide in the girl’s bathroom until later going back to his room and falling asleep. As a result, Kaito was one of the only students along with Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid, Maki, and Miu, who were not present for Gonta’s Insect Meet and Greet.

The Second Investigation and Class Trial
The very next day, Kaito was one of the few who did not attend Himiko's magic show, where the next victim, Ryoma, would be found dead. After the body discovery announcement played, Kaito rushed to the gym along with Miu and Kokichi, shocked to discover Ryoma’s skeleton. Gonta and Tenko used K1-B0 as a battering ram to shatter the tank since it would take too long to drain by hand, and everyone helped clean up. Afterwards, the investigation begin for real.

During the investigation, Kaito assist Shuichi in his investigation, dubbing the Ultimate Detective as his “sidekick”. Although Kaito may have fulfilled the role of sidekick better, seeing as investigation wasn’t his main area of expertise, he still proved to be a valuable asset, as he pointed out clues that not even Shuichi was able to notice, such as the marks on the window frames in Ryoma’s Lab.

During the second trial, after everyone had supposedly pinned down the culprit as either Kaito or Maki, Kokichi proposed that they all have those two argue against each other and convince the remaining participants on who the IS culprit since if only two suspects remained, one of them had to know for certain that the other was the culprit. Kokichi presented everyone with the first topic, bringing out Ryoma's motive video, and said that one of those two had it. Shuichi was able to deduce that Maki had Ryoma's video due to the fact that he himself had Kaito's. Kokichi proudly told Kaito and Maki to tear each other’s arguments apart in an argument that "isn't boring". Kaito however, was angered by this, saying that he wasn't the culprit, but that Maki wasn't the culprit either, much to both Maki's and Kokichi's bewilderment. Kokichi was baffled with the Ultimate Astronaut being so willing to believe in people based on nothing more than a "hunch", especially considering that everyone's lives were on the line. After going back and forth for some time, Maki turned the entire debate around and said that she had met with Ryoma at nighttime, rendering everyone's alibi's as mute. Kokichi laughed Maki's claim off, claiming she was lying out of desperation. After debating on the matter, and thanks to Shuichi's lie, they were able to prove Maki's claim as accurate, making Kaito proud of Shuichi.

Later on during the trial, Shucihi believed that he had pinned down the culprit, but was still hesitant to reveal the truth. Kaito reassured him however and stated that if he made any mistakes, he himself would take responsibility for them, stating that he is responsible for any mistakes that his sidekick makes. With this encouragement, Shuichi was able to pin Kirumi as the culprit of Ryoma’s murder. Despite Kirumi constantly stating that his deduction was wrong, Shuichi did not back down, stating that he made a promise to Kaede and that he wanted to protect everyone. This impressed Kaito, and he left the rest of the mystery solving to him.

After Kirumi had admitted her crime and her motivations, Kaito was baffled to discover that she was the real prime minister of Japan. She attempted to make everyone feel sympathy for her to the point where they would either want to give up their lives for her, or rebel so that she could flee. While her plan seemed to work, Kaito criticized everyone for thinking of their lives as any less. He stated that human life isn’t something that can be traded away or sold off and further declared that nobody lives their lives for themselves. Everyone’s determination seemed to renew at this speech, but this foiled Kirumi’s plan, which Kokichi pointed out. Kaito however, didn’t blame her, stating that she was simply trying to live in her own way. Later, when the Monokubs showed Ryoma’s motive video, Kaito was disappointed, calling Ryoma a moron for giving up on life so easily. Kirumi made a mad dash for it, still refusing to die. Kaito was one of the ones who cheered her on, but his and the others cheering was pointless as she was executed by Monokuma.

Everyone was rendered shocked by the way she was murdered, but came to the unanimous conclusion that the motive videos were more dangerous than originally believed and decided that it truly would be for the best not to watch them.

Helping Maki
After everyone leaves the trial room, Kokichi states that there was an even worse liar than himself hiding among the group, much to everyone's confusion. He then called Maki out as that liar, essentially claiming that she had been lying to everyone about her true identity this entire time. Maki was aggravated by this and threatened Kokichi, but despite holding the Ultimate Supreme Leader by his neck, he still called out her true talent as the Ultimate Assassin. This apparent sudden revelation shocked Kaito greatly, and would influence his opinion on her from this moment out.

The very next morning, at Kokichi’s request, Kaito heads the “Ultimate Child Caregiver’s Research Lab” with everyone else barring Maki, who had locked herself in her own room. Once Kaito sees her lab however, him and everyone else became shocked to discover the variety of weapons all throughout it, essentially proving Kokichi’s claim the night prior. Everyone else became increasingly worried, viewing the talent of a killer as a genuine threat to everyone’s survival. Kaito however, was not afraid. He reassured everyone to leave Maki to him and that he’d “take down that mask of hers”. Afterwards, the Monokubs showed up, usurped their father as headmaster, and passed out more items for the students to unlock new areas within the academy. Kaito however, did not investigate the new areas, instead trying to get Maki to come out of her own room. While he greatly irritated the Ultimate Assassin, she eventually complied and came out of her room.

After all the new areas had been opened up and investigated, everyone gathered in the dining hall once again in order to investigate yet another Flashback Light. The other participants became shocked to discover that Maki was there with him, having been brought by Kaito. Just like before, everyone was worried that Maki would try to kill them due to her talent, but she attempted to coldly reassure everyone that she wasn’t, saying that the only reason she hid her talent from everyone was because people always try to kill her when they find out her true nature. She told the rest of the group to just pretend she wasn’t even there before leaving the dining hall, a hint of sadness on her face. While everyone else seemed to comply with Maki’s request, Kaito wouldn’t give up that easily.

That same night, Kaito relentlessly buzzed Maki’s intercom until she finally came out, then dragged her by her arm to the courtyard, much to her irritation. Shuichi met with Kaito not long after for training like before, but was surprised to find Maki with him. Maki wondered just what she had been dragged out here for, but Kaito replied by saying not to worry about the small stuff and that training was more fun with three people instead of two. Maki was not amused by this reasoning, stating that it was stupid before getting ready to head back to her dorm, but Kaito stopped her. Maki asked him why he was so insistent after she told him and the others to stay away from her. When she said this, Kaito asked her how long she would continue to “run away”. He claimed that he could tell her mask was coming down and that she was not the terrifying person she thought she was, calling her a coward. Kaito asked her who her “enemy” was, but Maki had no idea what he was talking about. He told her that she didn’t have to tell her as long as she knew, but criticized her for running away from her “enemy”, claiming it was pathetic but that he would train with her to overcome that weakness. Maki seemed irritated by this, but finally gave in and joined Kaito and Shuichi for one-hundred push-ups. Maki was easily able to accomplish the task however, much to both Kaito and Shuichi’s shock. Once she was done, Kaito told her to meet up again tomorrow for training once again. After Maki left, Shuichi asked Kaito why he would want to help Maki, to which the Ultimate Astronaut replied by saying that astronauts help each other and that if someone was weak and suffering, there’s now he could just leave them. Kaito and Shuichi, after conversing with each other for a little more, continued their training, with Kaito claiming he “didn’t remember” how many push-ups he did and so, started over with Shuichi. Both of them were physically exhausted by the time they got back to their rooms.

When Gonta was accused of being the culprit of Miu Iruma's case in Chapter 4, Kaito refused to accept it and resisted all of the arguments, even when they made perfect sense. He could never accept someone as nice and kind-hearted as Gonta would commit a murder. Kaito naively said that Shuichi's deduction is an utterly wrong one and managed to cause a break in their relationship.

Due to tirelessly protecting Gonta during the trial, Kaito pushed himself too hard and he coughed up blood after Gonta's execution, implying that he suffered from a chronic disease which the world they're in might have caused.

Clearing the Death Road of Despair
After Kaito and his fellow survivors, aside from Kokichi, crossed the Death Road of Despair, they came across a large metal hatch which they open up and discover the apparent state of the outside world. Shortly after, Kokichi himself appears and proclaims himself to be the ringleader behind the game and controls the Exisal's to take Kaito hostage in the Exisal hanger.

Taken Hostage
A few days later, Kaito who was still being held captive inside the hanger, asked Himiko Yumeno to bring him a disassembled crossbow from Maki's Research Lab, a request which she complied to gave to him through the small bathroom window. He proceeded to assemble the crossbow and threatened Kokichi with it, not wishing to kill him, but at the very least overpower him. Kaito shot him in the arm and they got into a quarrel. It was at this time that Maki rode an Exisal into the hanger, intent on ending the Killing Game, saving Kaito, and killing Kokichi due to believing that he was a Remnant of Despair from the false memory triggered by the Flashback Light.

Kokichi made a desperate grab for the remote control that Miu made to control any electronic device, but he was promptly shot in the back by Maki with a poison tipped arrow from her crossbow and brought to the ground. Despite the position he was in, Kokichi belittled Maki, asking her why a Killing Game that should have already ended is still continuing. He had no idea what she means by Remnant of Despair, and asked her whether or not she really enjoys killing that much. Maki would not hear any of it and proceeded to shoot the killing blow, only to have it intercepted by Kaito, stunning Kokichi and shocking Maki.

Maki panicked and rushed out of the hanger and made her way to Shuichi's Research Lab to retrieve the antidote, but Kokichi closed the shutter to the hanger to ensure she could not come back in. Later, Maki came back with the antidote and passed it to Kaito through the small bathroom window, but Kokichi immediately stole it and supposedly drank it, much to Kaito's anger, and Maki's horror due to there only being one antidote. Kokichi boasted that another class trial would start now where Kaito would be the victim and Maki would be the blackened, much to her shock. Kaito reassured her that she would be fine and told her to leave.

After Maki fled the scene, Kokichi used the electric bomb to disable the security alarm, and the safety mechanism of the press machine inside of the hanger. He then gave the antidote to Kaito, revealing that he only pretended to drink it. He forced Kaito to comply with his plan where he would kill him in order to create an unknown victim case so that Monokuma would not be able to create proper judgement during the class trial. Kaito initially refused, but when Kokichi made the point that Maki would be the blackened if he didn't, he had no choice but to go along with the plan in order save Maki, and stop the killing game as well. It is revealed here that Kokichi has actually been trying to stop the killing game from the very beginning. Pretending to be The Mastermind and revealing the supposed truth about the outside world to the others was all done by him to discourage another killing from happening. He states that the idea of someone watching this boring killing game where they risk their lives pissed him off. Kaito couldn't tell if he was lying or not, but acknowledged that he was really pulling at his strings in order to get him to work with him.

Both Kokichi and Kaito acted quickly to ensure that the former would not die from poison that was circulating throughout his body. They both made their way to the press machine and began to go through with the plan. Kaito took off his jacket, placed it underneath the press machine, then lied down on it while Kokichi controlled the press machine and filmed the "time of death" with a simple video camera. Kokichi stopped the press machine and the video camera while only Kaito's sleeve was visible, then the two promptly swapped places. Kaito, now controlling both the press machine and camera, turned them both on once again, crushing Kokichi to an unrecognizable, bloody mess, with Kaito's jacket sleeve hanging out of the press as a false clue as to who the victim was.

Imitation
Kaito would proceed to retrieve the video camera, snap the cords to the press machine to ensure it would not move again, and hid inside the red Exisal until the class trial began, where he imitated the Super High School Level Supreme Ruler himself thanks to the Exisal's voice changing function, as well as a book that Kokichi prepared for this exact moment that detailed his exact way of speaking and specific behaviors unique to him, essentially carrying on his will and plan until Shuichi is able to deduce that the person inside of the Exisal is not Kokichi, but Kaito.

Despite Shuichi's deduction however, Kaito would continue to imitate Kokichi, intent on carrying on his plan. This forced Shuichi to lie and back-pedal to the person inside of the Exisal being Kokichi and the victim actually being Kaito, much to everyone's shock. After hearing Shuichi's lie, Kaito concluded that that was enough and decided to come out of the Exisal, clearing up all the confusion as to who is the victim and who is the culprit. Kaito tells Shuichi that he was amazing for having worked out Kokichi's plan, though he could not help but feel sad about having condemn yet another fellow friend.

Kaito's Fate
After the trial, Kaito congratulates everyone for coming to the right conclusion, but no one could do anything other than be silent. Maki asked him why he killed Kokichi despite saying that killing was wrong. Kaito proceeds to explain Kokichi's whole plan to his fellow survivors and what they discussed inside the hanger, but after finishing his explanation, he proceeds to say that he doesn't have much time left due his illness. Kaito apologizes to Shuichi, claiming that he was jealous of his abilities as a detective and that it was his skills that let them all survive this long. Shuichi responded that it was only because of him that he was able to stand up and have confidence. Kaito could only respond by coughing up blood, much to everyone's horror.

Monokuma states that it's time to get on with the execution, but Maki refuses to let Kaito get killed regardless of whether or not he's sick. It is then that all five Monokuma Kubs are revealed to have been reconstructed, meaning that all five Exisal's will once again be under Monokuma's control and ready to protect him. Despite this however, Maki is not phased though Kaito told her to stop, much to her annoyance and disappointment. She tells him that he was the first person she had ever ended up liking, much to his surprise. Kaito apologizes to Maki, telling her that it's impossible either way due to his illness. He proceeds to tell her that if she was able to like someone like him then she could even like herself, to which she responds to by breaking down in tears. Kaito tells Monokuma to get on with the punishment, but not before threatening him and stating that his friends will stop him and put an end to the killing game once and for all.

During his execution, Kaito's illness ends up being the end of him instead of the execution, as he died in the middle of it with a smile on his face, happy that he was able to die on his own terms and not Monokuma's, much to his annoyance.

Everyone else is noticeably saddened about losing Kaito, but his death ends up fueling their determination even more than before as everyone aside from K1-B0 gathers in the courtyard once again to train, intent on carrying on his will to end the Killing Game once and for all.

Real Feeling
While obviously not present for the final class trial, Kaito's sacrifice and dedication to protect Maki had a profound impact on her. After Shuichi convinced Maki to abandon her vote, she came to the conclusion that she'll believe in herself even if everything is fiction. She stated that if she couldn't do that there would be no meaning for her existence. She said that if she can make fiction change reality, it then wouldn't be fiction and it would give Kaito's life meaning, choosing to believe her feelings for him were in fact real. She resolved to use her own life as a weapon and abandoned her vote along with the others.

Name
His given name kanji, 解斗 kaito, means "absolution of the Dipper [constellation]" - somewhat matching his space-related title. His last name kanji, 百田 momota, means "one hundred rice paddies".

Alternate Fates
In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version), Kaito is first seen inside the cafeteria along with Tenko Chabashira and Himiko Yumeno. When Kaito reveals he was cheating to become an astronaut trainee, Kaede Akamatsu becomes concerned of him.

Appearance
Kaito has spiked purple hair that's grown out both at the top and bottom of his head and a short goatee. His eyes are a warm lilac. He also has a slightly tanned complexion.

Kaito wears a tee shirt with a red design resembling a half of a face or a mask, on top of that he wears a long sleeved dress shirt with a breast pocket. On this shirt are black buttons which are currently not in use. On top of that, he wears a long, purple overcoat with a galaxy design inside it. However his coat is never worn properly, instead, Kaito wears his left sleeve and leaves the right side of the coat to drape over his shoulder. He wears purple pants matching his coat which are rolled up over his ankles. Kaito wears grey slippers with a strange, cloudy pattern.

In his promotional art, he's featured his entire coat draped over both of his shoulders, no slippers, and a mysterious pipe that resembles.

Personality
Kaito is an energetic person with a passionate heart, who lives for dreams and romance, and tends to give somewhat dramatic encouraging speeches for others. He believes you need to take risks for the sake of your dreams and should't limit yourself nor ever give up. Due to his clichéd hot-blooded spirit and his document falsification he could pass the astronaut examination, proving that he is smart. Being the Ultimate Astronaut, he harbors a dream and a great longing to go to space, and already considers himself a space legend. He often refers to himself as "The Luminary of the Stars" and talks about the Universe being on his side.

Throughout the game, Kaito described himself as a passionate protagonist of his own story who would help the others to survive the killing game. He considers himself a hero type, and occasionally offers to make other people his "sidekicks". Because of that, Kaito always tries his best to unite the group, and he is very much a reliable older brother type of character. He is very loyal to his friends and always there in order to aid them, such as when Shuichi Saihara broke down after Kaede Akamatsu's death. He offered his help to regain his spirit by starting training routine during the nighttime and even made him his "sidekick". It is also because of this nature that he became a moral support to the other participants. According to Shuichi, Kaito has the ability to draw people to him, and he has been described as an interesting and amusing person.

Interestingly, Kaito seems to be a good judge of character and can give correct advice at times. While he is seen helping Shuichi and Maki in the main story, this is even more notable in the bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, as he correctly judges multiple other charactersーfor example, he tells Izuru Kamukura that he will begin to think everything is boring if he keeps repeating how boring everything is, he quickly notices that Nagito Komaeda isn't truly interested in him nor space (as he only cares about him as a symbol of hope) and he tells Mondo Owada you can't move forward in life if you keep looking at past. However, Kaito is also shown to be easily angered by mindsets that contrast his own, and he stubbornly refuses to believe in them. Notably, he hates Kokichi's lies and unwillingness to cooperate. He also cannot empathize with Ryoma's suicidal way of thinking, considering him a sissy and a fool, as he believes there is always a reason to live even if just small things like good food or friends. He is also notably hot-headed in general, occasionally taking action without thinking and wanting to punch others if angered enough.

Undoubtedly, his biggest flaw is his arbitrary complete trust in others, which is often misguided. He is sincere and believes in friendship no matter what, trusting who he wants to trust even against all evidence and logic. He believes Maki without questions despite evidences against her, with his only reason being "an official hunch from Kaito Momota, the Luminary of the Stars himself", causing other students to call him an idiot because of it. He hates to be called an idiot, claiming that it hurts his feelings. During the fourth trial, he denied all the clear evidence that showed Gonta Gokuhara is the killer of Miu Iruma, which ended up making things worse.

His other weaknesses include his massive fear of supernatural, strongly disliking anything related to it and grabbing other people in horror during such situations. He is also slightly comical, sometimes having very over exaggerated expressions and reactions. After Kaito and some of the other students enter the casino in Chapter 2, Kaito is shown to have horrible luck in gambling, which is something Kokichi makes fun of. With his clichéd passionate nature, he also possesses some slightly old-fashioned opinions, believing that men should be real men (often dramatically talking about "man's passion") and women should not use real weapons and are more suited to childcare (even telling this to Maki, who is the Ultimate Assassin.) Along with considering Ryoma a sissy for having suicidal thoughts, he doesn't like it whenever Gonta cries and apologizes because "men shouldn't apologize so much". At one point, during Chapter 2, he calls Korekiyo Shinguji with the Japanese term "okama" for appearing effeminate, which is often used as a derogatory term for very effeminate gay men or crossdressers (in the English version, he just calls him out for acting "so girly").

It was revealed that before the brainwashing, Kaito was a psychopath who planned to murder all the other participants in order to gain money and honor, with the attitude he had during the game having a twisted meaning of "nothing is impossible after you're rich and famous enough".

Ultimate Astronaut
Kaito's talent as the Ultimate Astronaut is a fabrication made by Team Danganronpa. Due to that fact, it is unclear whether Kaito is an astronaut trainee in the past.

In other languages
Kaito's talent as it appears in official translations of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Relationships

 * Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles:

Maki Harukawa
At first, Kaito had many disagreements with the Ultimate Child Caregiver. He was frightened when Maki suggested that he take on the Monokuma Kubs while in the Exisal form, and was angered when she pushed the blame for dividing the unity between the students onto Kaede.

Despite this, Kaito seemed to have taken an interest in Maki following the events of Chapter 1, nicknaming her "Maki Roll" ("Harumaki" in the Japanese version) to her displeasure. She appears to be annoyed by him, however, as shown when Kaito attempted to embrace her after Tenko's demise (although this was only because she was coincidentally the person closest to him at the time), resulting in her punching him. He was still shown to care for her even after this.

Maki soon starts to show more care for Kaito during Chapter 4. She is furious when Kokichi knocks down Kaito following Gonta's execution, even going as far as to make threats, and is shocked when Kaito suddenly begins coughing blood. He also becomes one of the few people Maki will actually listen to, as shown when she attempts to strangle Kokichi in front of the other students, stopping only at Kaito's request.

In Chapter 5, the two join in the group effort to take down Kokichi, who was believed to be the Mastermind. When Maki attempts to kill Kokichi by shooting him with a poisoned arrow, Kaito purposely takes the hit to prevent her from doing so, and it is implied that he wanted to avoid her becoming the Blackened.

Kaito later commits the deed himself, and confesses to it during the class trial despite Maki tearfully begging him to stop. He stopped Maki from carrying out her threats to kill the Monokuma Kubs, and requested that she not cry for him before saying his farewells to her. During their voting time, Maki had no choice but had to vote for Kaito as a culprit still due to his final words before his execution started. Kaito eventually became the only one of Maki's companions that she had any genuine care for. Kaito is the only person who Maki truly cares after his upcoming death and is the only one who made Maki cried for the first time in the killing game.

It's shown that Maki still remembers Kaito dearly after his demise. She feels thankful to him for saving her and the other students, and decides not to cry anymore, as Kaito requested. Although at first devastated after being told that her feelings for Kaito were a mere fabrication, she decided that this was not true and her feelings for him have always been real.

Shuichi Saihara
Kaito feels eased and relaxed during the class trial in the demo because he knows that Shuichi, guided by his talent as the Ultimate Detective, will eventually discover the truth.

These two eventually become close friends and come to share a close bond. After Kaede was executed in the first trial, Kaito states how Shuichi pisses him off the most and immediately punched him in the face and states how he is a whining little baby who doesn't act like a man. Later, Kaito felt bad for Shuichi and decided to cheer him up. Kaito proclaims Shuichi as his "sidekick". He'll take responsibilities of Shuichi's investigations and deductions, so Shuichi should not worry about anything else but discovering the truth. It was shown that Kaito visits Shuichi often and invites him to hang out with him. They investigate together and help one another. When Shuichi's stuck with clues in the class trial, Kaito helps Shuichi by motivating him and staying on his side.

In Chapter 6, Shuichi felt upset when he figured out that his and Kaito's friendship is part of the fabrication along with Kaito's personality. However, Shuichi felt motivated by K1-B0 and believed that their friendship is true.

In general, Shuichi greatly admires Kaito for his honesty and helpfulness, to the point that during Kaito's Free Time Events Shuichi at one moment feels like his admiration and wording are going a bit too far considering that Kaito is another boy.

Kaede Akamatsu
At first, Kaede is angered when Kaito informs her that he had broken the law in order to become an astronaut. However, he is later shown to be one of the few who always support her during the Killing School Semester, as they have similar optimistic way of thinking.

On occasion Kaede gave rousing speeches of optimism during times of distress when the class had first met and Kaito always responded agreeably stating he would have said the same, requesting Kaede and him hug which she graciously refused showing despite their relationship lacking affection, they both share the same mindset. Kaede is shown to appreciate his support, though she mostly seems to thank him only in her thoughts.

Kaito is quick to defend Kaede's actions during Chapter 1. When Kokichi tries to persuade the other students that Kaede was forcing them into despair, Kaito becomes angered and assures Kaede that she was not at fault. After Kaede is revealed to be the culprit behind Rantaro's murder, Kaito cries and along with Gonta and Tenko, even threatens to fight for her life at first, although Kaede quickly puts a stop to this herself.

Kokichi Oma
Kokichi and Kaito have a violent relationship, marked by constant antagonism and disagreeing, since Kokichi acts like a stereotypical villainous character while Kaito is the stereotypical hero type. Neither understands the other's way of thinkingーKokichi believes Kaito is gullible and dumb for having such blind faith in others with no logic, while Kaito hates Kokichi's lies and more cynical way of thinking.

Despite his best attempts to stay calm, Kaito sometimes ended up lashing out at Kokichi when the latter infuriated him, even punching him once. Kaito often made threats toward Kokichi, and in turn, Kokichi would taunt or anger him more but for the sake of trying to overpower him and scare him. Kokichi is occasionally scared of Kaito's violence and sometimes runs away from him. However, Kaito was also the one who kept Maki from strangling Kokichi, showing that despite their relationship, he didn't want him killed.

Throughout the game, Kokichi mocks Kaito for his foolishness. During Chapter 4, Kokichi attempts to separate Kaito and Shuichi by telling Shuichi that he should be his friend instead. He often mocks Kaito for his naivety and claims that his behavior is troublesome for Shuichi's work as a detective. It's heavily implied that Kaito voted for Kokichi during the fourth trial out of spite and his refusal to accept Gonta as the murderer.

After "revealing" himself as the mastermind, Kokichi captures Kaito and forces him to collaborate in his plan to end the game because he considers the latter to be "the one who understands him best". However, Kaito agrees to the plan in order to save Maki, and Kokichi is impressed by his determination. He calls him "not boring", which is a huge and genuine compliment Kokichi has given only to Shuichi and Kaede besides Kaito. Kaito then murdered Kokichi, according to their plan.

Kaito listened to Kokichi's last words, but later admits that he wasn't sure what was true and what was Kokichi's true character. Kaito admits he hated Kokichi and that he pissed him off, but also admits that only a crazy guy like him could have a crazy plan needed to defeat Monokuma.

Gonta Gokuhara
Kaito was highly trusting of Gonta and cared for him as it was shown that they even attempted to fight against the Exisals along with Tenko Chabashira. When Gonta was being accused of killing Miu, Kaito refused to listen to Shuichi and didn't vote Gonta as the culprit and blamed it on Kokichi.

Kaito occasionally scolded Gonta for apologizing so much, since he believed men shouldn't apologize so easily.

Ryoma Hoshi
Kaito is shown to be disappointed with Ryoma due to his depressive and suicidal mood, while everyone besides him wanted to survive the Killing Game. He certainly didn't expect the famous Ryoma Hoshi was changed so much to be "that" type of person. In Chapter 2, he is against Ryoma's suggestion to exchange the motive video, and Kaito wanted hhim not to get in the other's way with his negative view about surviving. Believing that men should never give up, Kaito is very irritated by how welcoming Ryoma seems towards death. However, deep inside, he wanted Ryoma to "wake up" and have a will to live.

Upon learning the truth about Ryoma's intention to find out his reason to live in order to regain his spirit to fight alongside the others, Kaito called him foolish for not having a simple motive instead; having good food or his classmates, though he was notably slightly devastated with the Ultimate Tennis Pro's unfortunate death.

Miu Iruma
Being the two loudest and outspoken characters, they get into disagreements. These disagreements can cause them to throw insults at each other. During the Danganronpa V3 demo, Miu calls Kaito a "flower-garden brained idiot." Because these two can get emotional, both can end up losing their tempers, with Kaito scaring Miu in the end.

When Miu came up her plan to kill Kokichi, she planned to frame Kaito for the act.

Quotes

 * -|DRV3 Demo=

DRV3=

List of Appearances

 * -|Games=
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version)
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
 * -|Manga=
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology Volume 2

Trivia

 * Kaito, along with K1-B0 and Maki Harukawa, was one of the first new characters revealed for Danganronpa V3 in November 2015. However, their names and talents weren't revealed until ten months later in September 2016.
 * In a poll hosted by MyNavi, fans voted Kaito the 11th most popular Danganronpa V3 student.
 * Kaito's birthday, April 12, marks the International Day of Human Space Flight.


 * In his promotional art Kaito is featured with a pipe which highly resembles Kiseru, a Japanese smoking pipe used for smoking kizami, a shredded tobacco product.
 * It's worth noting that the smoking age in Japan is 20 years old. Meaning that Kaito may be engaging in underage smoking.
 * If he does engage in underage smoking, it can be suspected that his chronic disease is lung cancer, as one of the symptoms is coughing up blood.
 * Although it was confirmed by Tsumugi in the final trial that his disease was implanted into him. However, it is unknown whether Team Danganronpa was the one who implanted the disease or it was natural disease that he had, since Tsumugi could be lying about it.
 * There are two interesting similarities between Kaito and Jin Kirigiri. The first being their similar hair colors (the color purple in general, being a distinction of the Kirigiri family thus far in the series) and the second being their relation to space - with Kaito being an astronaut and Jin having a space related execution - which, considering Junko Enoshima's tendency to execute people with "what is close to their hearts", implies that he too had an interest in outer space. Furthermore, Kaito's own execution is shown to be a newer version of Jin's.
 * In his Love Suite scene, it's shown that in his fantasy he is an airplane pilot who wishes to defeat his sworn rival before going to space, but he has developed romantic feelings for them.
 * Kaito is the first character to die of a disease during a killing game.
 * In the cutscene where the characters change into their new uniforms, Kaito's goatee is missing.
 * Kaito's English voice actor Kyle Hebert also voices Danganronpa 2's Kazuichi Soda.

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