Gundham Tanaka

Gundham Tanaka (田中 眼蛇夢 Tanaka Gandamu), is a student of Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B, and a participant of the Killing School Trip featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. His title is Ultimate Breeder (超高校級の「飼育委員」chō kōkō kyū no “shiiku iin” lit. Super High School Level Animal Breeder).

He, along with Class 77-B, return in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School to explore their school life leading up to The Tragedy.

Appearance
Gundham is a young man in his early twenties, around 22 at youngest. His virtual avatar in the Neo World Program appeared as his 17 year old self.undefined

He is a tall, young man, who wears a long, black jacket that is always left open and, according to his reference sheet, is his school uniform. The left sleeve is pulled up to the elbow and held by silver pins and he wears a long purple scarf that often covers his mouth. The back of his jacket, as well as both ends of his scarf, have a strange, vertical symbol printed on them. Under his jacket, he wears a white button-up shirt that is also left open, and another shirt under it which is slightly darker and has a greyish-purple cross design across its front. He seems to be wearing normal black pants held up with a black belt and silver buckle, and black boots with numerous straps across them.

Finishing Gundham's Free Time Events yields the item 'Gundham's Undergarments', which are invisible to those who have too low of an "astral level", implying that Gundham doesn't actually wear one.

Gundham's skin tone is noticeably pale and greyish compared to the other characters, which could suggest that he doesn't get out much. His head appears to be shaved from the neck up to his temple, where the rest of his hair seems to be slicked back with the exception of a poof of hair in the middle that sticks up and is fairly curly. His hair color is black with pale grey streaks through it. This may either be due to bleaching his hair or a melanin deficiency known as poliosis, giving him several 'Mallen streaks'.

Interestingly, Gundham has no eyebrows, which is confirmed in the limited edition's art book. He has grey eyes, but his right eye has a red contact lens. He also has a greyish scar tattoo that runs down the left side of his face and through his left eye. His entire left arm, at least up to the elbow, is completely covered in bandages, presumably due to injuries that he received while taking care of or calming down his hamsters. His 'Hell Hound Earring' (Devil Dog Earring in the Japanese release) hangs from his right ear, and he wears two silver rings on his right hand (pointer and middle).

During his high school years at Hope's Peak Academy, he wore Hope's Peak Academy's uniform, but still had the same scarf, shirt, belt and boots. Instead of one Hell Hound Earring, he had one on each ear. His hair style is different, with the poof in the middle drooping over his forehead.

Gundham is also constantly next to or surrounded by his four hamsters, the Four Dark Devas of Destruction, San-D (orange and white), Jum-P (grey and white), Maga-Z (tan fur with peach underbelly, chipped ear), and Cham-P (big and orange). They apparently often camp out inside the scarf that Gundham always keeps wrapped around his neck, occasionally coming out every now and then.

As a member of Ultimate Despair, he seems to be wearing some sort of straitjacket along with an ordinary jacket with a very fluffy white collar. His face has more tattoos, including a new scar-like tattoo on his right cheek and a some sort of symbol on his forehead, and he seems to keep his eyes closed most of the time. And the most eye catching trait, he tends to have a giant snake wrapped around him.

Personality
Gundham has an eccentric and somewhat dark personality, his delusions of self-grandeur likely stemming from an inferiority complex and pseudo syndrome known as chuunibyou. He often claims that he has been blessed with the evil powers of the underworld, refers to everyone else as "pathetic human beings" and claims that even the gods themselves fear his power. He frequently rambles on about being the "Supreme Overlord of Ice" and an offspring of an angel and a demon with an interest in things like the dark arts, alchemy and astral levels. He is often lost in his own little world, preferring to be alone and usually paying more attention to himself or his hamsters than the things that are going on around him, such as in Chapter 1 when he failed to investigate after the murder and putting his lost Hell Hound Earring at a higher priority. As a result, he can come across as rather uncaring and self-centered.

Despite first impressions, Gundham is generally rather comical in what he says to Danganronpa spectators (not so much for characters actually talking to him) due to his behavior resembling an overly dramatic cartoon super villain. Humorously, he sometimes even compliments other characters if they say a "nice line". He can be somewhat contradicting or counterproductive—in his introduction, he tells Hajime Hinata to step forward and introduce himself, for Gundham will destroy him once he does. It is heavily implied that though he puts on the face of a loner who wouldn't dream of hanging out with pathetic mortals, Gundham actually may be very lonely as he once boasted that he was searching for solitude before wandering away slowly and silently. Furthermore, despite his dramatic and seemingly confident personality, he is actually quite shy when complimented or if he has a more intimate moment with someone, as he tends to blush a lot and quickly hides his face with his scarf. It also appears that he has very genuine and serious issues with social events and physical contact, as he has been very strict about not wanting to touch nor be touched by other people since he was a child, going as far to avoid certain activities altogether as a result. However, in his usual manner, he claims that he avoids physical contact because fatal poison runs in his veins and he can only be touched by very specific people with matching astral levels. He eventually gets better with both social and physical contact.

Despite his issues with people, Gundham genuinely cares about animals deeply (though he often refers to them as his evil minions due to his overlord persona), and understands them much better than he understands people. He claims that anything that can talk will eventually betray you and he highly respects the sincere nature of animals. He demands that animals must be treated respectfully and scolds people who fail to do that, but simultaneously wishes to educate and give advice to those who don't know how to treat certain animals correctly. In his Free Time Events, he tells Hajime that he runs an informational website about breeding which he maintains carefully, and he states that he pities livestock for being raised for the sole purpose of human consumption. This could mean that Gundham is possibly a vegetarian or vegan, though it is not confirmed, and his words may imply that he is only against eating animals when there is lots of human involvement he considers unnatural. He takes a great offense whenever humans intervene with animals' natural behavior and control their lives too much. In Island Mode, it's revealed that he even straight up hates anthropomorphic cartoon animal characters, likely considering their human-like behavior extremely insulting towards real animals.

In general, Gundham has great respect for the nature and its laws. He understands that nature can sometimes be harsh and cruel due to constant fighting for survival, and thus he does not have much issues with death, but he strongly dislikes the humans' methods that are often truly malicious and very disconnected from the natural order. Notably, he strongly dislikes the idea of giving up without a fight, as he believes that all creatures by nature fight to their last breath in order to live, and that giving up your life willingly would be a blasphemy towards life itself. When the students are starving and trapped in the Funhouse, Gundham and Nekomaru agree to duel to determine which one would be a sacrifice to get everyone out. Gundham ends up killing Nekomaru and when he's exposed as the murderer, he doesn't put up much of a defense nor seem to be that bothered by his actions, as he believes that fighting for survival and sometimes even killing another is necessary and natural. He later points out that Nekomaru could have ran or called for help, but instead chose to stand his ground against him. However, after Nagito suggests that he took Nekomaru from behind, Gundham is absolutely furious at the claim that he'd do something like that.

While he claims he is only motivated by his own will to survive, it is implied that Gundham may have been conflicted about sacrificing his friends and was partially motivated by his will to save them, though he of course denied this fiercely while relying on his overlord persona. Earlier, he even gave a rousing speech about the importance of hope and not giving up on life even in the face of despair, and thus nobody is really convinced by his declared motive. Nevertheless, it seems that he was also ready to let the others die according to his ideology (though it would've likely caused him guilt), if that was how the events turned out. While he showed some signs of panic earlier during the trial, in the end he accepts his fate with dignity and stands up confidently against his execution, with his only worry being the well-being of his hamsters. It is implied that his "evil" persona was overcompensation for his underlying, gentle spirit by creating an entirely new, exciting personality. Despite talking about going to Hell, his execution scene shows animal angels carrying him to Heaven, once again indicating that his true nature is good.

Interestingly, Gundham has moments when he shows deeper understanding of certain situations, such as being the only one who openly acknowledges that Nagito's way of thinking is grey morality (despite strongly disliking the other boy), and he states that murder is murder regardless of intentions.

While there isn't much information on his brainwashed self as the Ultimate Despair, it appears he used to lead intimidating armies of wild animals, likely possessing a danger to humans. He also kept his eyes shut and wore a straitjacket, which might symbolize the spiritual and emotional state he possessed at the moment. During his high school years, he only referred to himself as "Tanaka the Forbidden One", but he proudly proclaims his true name and identity after he is awakened from the coma with the brainwashing's effects removed.

Ultimate Breeder
Gundham is good at taking care of animals and knows how to treat each species right. He even understands them very well, almost like he can talk with them normally. Due to his understanding towards the feelings of animals, he tries not to involve himself with livestock and domestic animals who are fated to be eaten by humans.

Gundham is acknowledged as the Ultimate Breeder mainly due to his experiments and research on animals. He is researching different combinations of animals and trying to make a new species by hybridizing them. Despite his looks, Gundham is very visionary as he has trusted agents who Gundham ordered to continue his research while he's gone. He chooses his agents carefully, picking the ones who know how to avoid any lethal genetics and trusted by Gundham to conduct no atrocious experiments. After he done with his research, Gundham would upload the result to his breeding journal website. He locked his website so that only people with special privileges given by Gundham can view it.

Gundham provides plenty of exercises, high-quality food, and a place to sleep for his breeds. He also has the ability to tame animals, even the wild ones. He reveals his secret technique to tame animals to Hajime. First, he must approach them with an innocent appearance and repeatedly speak to the animals, and make sure they understand that there is no ill will on his end. Some animals like to be touched and some don't. Afterwards, he will start to hear the tamed animals' “words” after spending a long time together. However, Hajime believes that this phenomenon only happens to the Ultimate Breeder himself.

Gundham dearly loves animals, especially his pet hamsters Four Dark Devas of Destruction. His bandaged left arm functioned as a protection for Gundham, since his hamsters often fight each other and accidentally bite Gundham's arm. He is very careful and patient when breeding animals. He also pays attention to their stress levels. It was revealed that Gundham was very worried with his hamster that he left behind.

In other languages
Gundham's talent as it appears in official translations of Danganronpa.

Combat Ability
While it is never shown, Gundham is apparently quite confident in his fighting abilities enough to take on an army of heavily armed reserve course students with Nekomaru's assistance and fight Nekomaru in a one-on-one fight despite the latter having been transformed into a cyborg.

Prior to the Tragedy
As a child, Gundham lived with his mother; whether he had a father or not is unknown. Though he and his mother seemed to be in good relations, his mother was extremely terrible at cooking food which later became the basis for Gundham's self-belief that his body was filled with poison. He couldn't refuse to eat her food because she would start to cry if he didn't.

Gundham was never one for crowds or large events, and disliked it when he was touched by other people. He would often skip out on Sports Days and camp out in the school infirmary instead as so that he could avoid touching or being touched by other people.

Gundham has many other animals at home, and apparently has some very few, select people that he chooses as assistants in taking care of the animals he breeds. He also has a website about the dark arts, though he claims those that lack the proper abilities can only perceive a blog about animal breeding. He is also known for having successfully saved many endangered species with his breeding talents.

Gundham used to attend Fazal Commerce High School and later enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Breeder, in the 77th Class. At some point, Gundham met Junko Enoshima, who manipulated him into joining the Ultimate Despair and soon started the Tragedy.

Episode 01 - Hello Again, Hope's Peak Academy
Gundham was seen on the top of the Animal Shed. He gave his homeroom teacher, Chisa Yukizome, and his classmates a dramatic speech. Everyone listened to him but due to have no time to waste Gundham agreed to join them without any difficulty.

After several students of the Class 77th's first group have been gathered, Chisa tasked them to clean the classroom while she off to retrieve Chiaki Nanami and the Ultimate Imposter. Gundham gladly accepted her request with the help of his Four Dark Devas of Destruction.

After returning to the classroom, Chisa was happy to see that everyone had waited and that the classroom was clean. When Gundham and the others once again bring up that they didn't have to go to class, so long as they have their talent, Chisa reminded them that talent isn't everything, and wanted them to build strong relationships and "hope" with each other.

Episode 02 - My Impurest Heart for You
On the class, Gundham and the others take cover on the right side of the class from Akane Owari and Nekomaru's destructive training session. Later after they repaired their classroom, Gundham and the others busy playing games that Chiaki brought.

Gundham and Nekomaru's rivalry shown when they playing games. Their duel on the game ended with no one winning.

During the break time, Gundham and his classmates happily ate Teruteru and Hiyoko Saionji's nikujaga together. However to their unaware, Hiyoko already poured a bottle of aphrodisiacs within the food, making Gundham and the others lost their body control.

After he and the others recovered, Gundham returned to the class on the next day and heard Chisa's announcement to elect Chiaki as their class representative. Like the others, Gundham gladly accepted her decision

Episode 03 - A Farewell to All Futures
At beginning of the episode, Gundham and his classmates walked past Hajime heading toward the Main Course building. Later during the break time, Gundham lend his Maga-Z to be tamed by Kazuichi Soda.

Episode 04 - The Melancholy, Surprise, and Disappearance of Nagito Komaeda
Gundham was listening to Chisa's announcement and reading about the information regarding the annual practical exam. He remained silence with the rests of his classmates due to the deaths of Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato affected his class' morale greatly.

At the end of the episode, Gundham protested Chisa's transfer to the Reserve Course. However, the principal's decision can't be changed and he must bid his farewell to his beloved teacher.

Episode 05 - The Beginning of the End
Gundham was part of Chisa's welcome back party. Dueting with Sonia, they welcomed Chisa back using Gundham's unique way of speaking. During his teacher's transfer, it was revealed that Gundham's habit picked up and followed by Sonia.

Episode 06 - A Despairfully Fateful Encounter
As they are clearing the classroom, Hiyoko inquires if Gundham's white rabbit is 'trash' and he immediately responds, hollering that it is an offering and requesting she takes her hands off him immediately. The rabbit is eventually returned to Gundham and he begins to calm it down. Later, him and the rest of the class have moved to their new classroom in the new school building.

Episode 07 - The Biggest, Most Atrocious Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History
Gundham somehow managed to bring a live brown bear to class, apparently to demonstrate his talent with animals by performing a series of strange gestures with the animal. When the bear eventually bit Kazuichi and Teruteru's hands (which were holding a donut and a banana, respectively), Gundham claimed it was karmic retribution for the duo's off-color suggestions about Mikan Tsumiki and Ryota Mitarai's absence. He also pointedly ignored Mahiru Koizumi's repeated questions about how he managed to bring a live bear to class.

Following The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, Gundham was among the rest of his class as they watched the Reserve Course students rioting outside the main school's gates.

Episode 08 - The Worst Reunion by Chance
Gundham reported that his 'Twelve Zodiac Generals' (hamsters identical to the Four Dark Devas of Destruction) were unable to find Mikan despite their best efforts. Upon hearing from Nagito that Mikan was around the West District, Gundham and the class go search for her on the school grounds. He searched in a group consisting of Kazuichi and Sonia.

Episode 09 - Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile
Gundham and the rest of the class reconvened at the school classroom after failing to find Mikan, assuming what Nagito told them was false information. Chiaki reaches the classroom with an unconscious Nagito, explaining to them that Chisa is in danger. Gundham becomes pleased at the chance to unleash his power. Nagito convincingly makes clear that it'll be dangerous and there is a possibility of them dying, to which Gundham contemplates these concerns but Chiaki convinces him otherwise.

Gundham is shocked to discover the Ultimate Imposter's true identity, although he came to accept it rather quickly given the situation. After leaving the Main Course building, they encountered a large group of Reserve Course students seeking to open placements on the Main Course by killing Ultimate students. Nekomaru and Gundham stayed behind to fend them off, Sonia wishing them both luck.

On the way down the stairway to Junko's lair, everyone becomes worried for Gundham and Nekomaru's safety. Kazuichi convinced Sonia that Gundham knew how to get things done, promptly realizing that he'd just helped his romantic rival's credibility.

Episode 10 - Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope
The class continue down the corridor after making their descent of the stairway. A door is flung upon unexpectedly, with two pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness, causing Kazuichi to scream loudly, Gundham and Nekomaru then appear from the dark hallway. The class is relieved that they are both okay. After Gundham explains in his own way that him and Nekomaru are tired from their battle, Akane becomes confused, expressing he's making less sense than usual, to which he smiles. He then continues by giving Mikan his thanks, Nekomaru explains that if it wasn't for Mikan telling them where to go over the phone, they would never have found the rest of the class. Ibuki proclaims all that is left is to save Chisa, to which Gundham and the rest of the class agree.

Mikan, now leading the group, approaches a large red door at the end of the corridor, pressing a button which opens the door, Gundham and the rest of the class follow her inside. Once inside, Junko reveals multiple monitors showing Chiaki Nanami's Punishment, Gundham horrified by what he is seeing, wants to find a way to save Chiaki but is powerless.

Once Chiaki reaches the "goal" in her execution, she opens the door. She sees Gundham, the rest of the class, and Chisa on the other side. Once she reaches for Chisa's hand, spikes appear from under the ground and stab Chiaki everywhere on her body. As the broadcast ends, Gundham and the class fall silent, with a patterned swirl in their eyes, they have now lost their hope and become part of Ultimate Despair.

Episode 11 - Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy
Gundham and the rest of the class have returned to the classroom, receiving their final lesson before graduation. Chisa stated that she has been honored to be their teacher and started reading a letter she prepared. Gundham and the rest of the class clap with gratitude.

After the speech, red lights turn on, and Chisa started to cry. The patterned swirled return in their eyes as they all make a declaration of what they will do upon graduation. After Sonia expressed that she will bring her country peace and no war, Gundham voiced that his class 'have all proven to be true comrades'. After bidding her class a final farewell, Chisa activated a bomb that fakes the death of Class 77-B. Gundham and his class stand outside the school grounds as they watch Hope's Peak Academy's destruction.

Chisa's narration later revealed Gundham helped to infect the world with despair.

During the Tragedy
The members of Ultimate Despair did all kinds of horrible things during the Tragedy, causing despair all over the world. Gundham was seen commanding an army of animals, wearing a large snake around his own body like a scarf.

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. They then agreed to an insane plan to have AI Junko take over their bodies, so they could resurrect their leader.

The remnants of Despair are later found by Future Foundation. Makoto Naegi plans to undo Junko's influence by putting them into the Neo World Program, but the program is taken over by AI Junko, right according to the Ultimate Despair's plan.

Episode 01 - Third Time's the Charm
As a member of Ultimate Despair, seen in the flashback, Gundham led his wild animals army on Tokyo's main street, ready to devour anyone spotted walking on the road.

Prologue - Welcome to Dangan Island! Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip!?
Gundham can first be found in the Airport, along with Kazuichi, and is quick to alarm Hajime with his extraordinary personality. In the beginning, he seemed to keep his distance from all the other students on the Island, not participating in the Beach Party and not doing anything particularly noticeable.

Chapter 1 - Destination Despair
Gundham plays an important part in the Class Trial of Chapter 1, due to him losing his precious Hell Hound Earring at the Ultimate Imposter's party. At some point in the party, Gundham had dropped his Hell Hound Earring that he claims he got from a fearsome Hell Hound, which was a Pomeranian, which he later discovered to have fallen between the floorboards under the Old Lodge.

With Chiaki Nanami's help, Gundham had gone around the building to look for a place to get in under to no avail, and later found a secret door in the Storage of the lodge that allowed him to get under the floorboards and retrieve his earring; all information which helped to prove Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu innocent and pin Teruteru Hanamura as the culprit.

Chapter 2 - Sea and Punishment, Sin and Coconuts
Gundham is seen at the restaurant with everyone else grieving over the death of their two friends. He is later seen joining in on commenting about Hiyoko Saionji's smell, saying that it was as if a demonic eclipse was going to happen.

Gundham is also seen mocking Monokuma about losing one of his Monobeasts, until Mahiru Koizumi tells him to stop. He later agrees with the others to find a way to escape.

Chapter 3 - Trapped by the Ocean Scent
After the events of Chapter 2, Gundham explores the third island's hospital. He states that the hospital brings back memories, stating he went to one after obtaining the "''mark of defeating the devil". He later tells ''Hajime to forget what he said. After Hiyoko's construction of a sinister memorial for Mahiru, Gundham came in late to the Restaurant after everybody else right after they had managed to stop Hiyoko's crying. Even he was shocked to see the memorial and claimed it stunk of evil intentions and spirits, unintentionally making Hiyoko cry again.

Later, When Gundham discovered that Hajime and Kazuichi came to join the girls-only party, he said that he needs to be alone, which according to Hajime's mind that he actually want to join the party too.

Gundham was one of the students along with Sonia Nevermind, Kazuichi, Hiyoko, and Chiaki who moved to the Motel after the outbreak of Despair Disease. Hajime met him on his way to the hotel after the discovery of Ibuki Mioda's body in the music venue, giving Gundham an alibi as to where he was when Hiyoko's body was discovered in the same place later.

Around this chapter, he began to become friends with Sonia, much to Kazuichi's unhappiness and leading to an argument in the Third Trial where they both threatened to kill each other.

Chapter 4 - Do Ultimate Robots Dream of Clockwork?
In Chapter 4, Gundham helped explore the Strawberry and Grape Houses and their respective Towers with Sonia. Gundham was one of the boys who stayed in the Strawberry House, and was given one of the two Deluxe Rooms to stay in, Nagito taking the other.

Initially, Gundham did not seem particularly alarmed at the fourth motivation as announced by Monokuma, which was starvation until a murder took place, and he found that the seeds of the flowers planted around the Strawberry House were sufficient food for his hamsters.

However, refusing to have everybody just idle around until they all dropped from starvation, Gundham planned and carried out the murder of Nekomaru on the third day of starvation by using the secret of the Fun House to drop Nekomaru from a height of four floors, very successfully killing him.

In the Class Trial, as the evidence pointing to him began piling up, Gundham became noticeably panicked and surprisingly angry, even slightly losing his usual manner of speech. After Hajime gave out the decisive evidence that proved Gundham as the concrete culprit of Nekomaru's death, he began to exhibit behavior that slightly implied borderline loss of mentality, urging on all the students to send the unsavory vote against him and send him to his execution.

However, it was all an act to try and remain being seen as the "villain", an act Gundham had kept up most of his life. Calming down he explained the true events of what happened between Nekomaru and him, revealing that before Nekomaru died the two of them had a duel to win the rights to keep living, with Gundham emerging as victor.

Before Gundham leaves for his execution, he states how it was despicable how all the students planned to just let their short, single life go. He tells them of the importance of life and how it is necessary to keep fighting for however many days they have left on Earth and keep clinging on to it.

All the students keep Gundham's speech on remembering the importance of living after his death, promising each other that they would stick together and never let another life go to waste. Akane forgives Gundham for his murder of Nekomaru, going off to eat some proper food for the first time in days because "that's what living's about".

Epilogue - The Day Before the Future
Currently, Gundham is most likely comatose, just like most of his classmates. The survivors of the Killing Game are waiting for him and the rest of their classmates to wake up.

Illusion World
Gundham returned as a part of Nagito's imaginary world following his death from the Neo World Program.

Before class began in the morning, Gundham is seen staring out a window while his pet bear Grizner is being fed meat by Teruteru.

Gundham later attended Kazuichi's funeral due to him being murdered by the World Destroyer. Gundham waited outside after the service with the rest of the Class 77-B before leaving, wearing a hooded coat to shield himself from the rain.

Real-life
After Nagito awoke from the simulation, he learned that all of his friends, including Gundham, were alive and awake from the Neo World Program. He boarded the boat with the rest of Class 77-B and they all then headed for the Future Foundation Headquarters.

Side - Hope: The Academy of Hope and Students of Despair
Gundham returned in Side: Hope alongside the rest of the Class 77-B, having been resurrected by Izuru Kamukura. After rescuing Byakuya Togami and Yasuhiro Hagakure from being trapped under rubble, Gundham engaged the mind-controlled Future Foundation forces. He battled the former Ultimate Falconer on the roof of the building, unlocking the seal on his name and unleashing his full power. By doing so, he was able to take control of his foe's falcon and defeated him.

Later on, he helped to convince Ryota to abandon his plan to brainwash the world. When Hajime began convincing him to join them, Gundham stated he 'need not show restraint when walking the path of carnage'. Shortly afterword, he and the other Remnants of Despair shoulder the blame for the Final Killing Game in a broadcast to the Future Foundation, relieving the organization of any wrongdoing.

With the battle won, Gundham and the Class 77-B return to Jabberwock Island. He is last seen talking with Sonia as the boat takes them home.

Execution

 * Main Article: Gundham Tanaka Stampede

Relationships

 * Family:

His Mother
Gundham lived with his mom during his childhood. Even though he greatly disliked his mother's terrible cooking, he didn't want to make her cry and forced himself to eat her cooking. It is indicated that her mom raised him alone and he genuinely loves and respects her as a result. Gundham has referred to himself as the offspring of an angel and a devil, possibly indicating that he sees his mother as an angel while considers his father who doesn't appear to be around a devil.

Four Dark Devas of Destruction
His most loyal pets they can be seen with him at all times from his time at Hope's Peak Academy, to his time as a Remnants of despair and the Neo World Program.


 * Class 77-B:

Sonia Nevermind
Though they were already shown to speak to one another before, Sonia and Gundham's friendship truly blooms during Chapter 4 after they finished the Roller Coaster ride and Sonia asked to accompany Gundham on a trip to an amusement park in hell. They became very close due to their complimenting interests (such as Sonia's interest in the occult with his odd behavior, or her liking of his "cute hamsters"). Sonia showed interest in Gundham's hamsters multiple times, which successfully flustered Gundham and made him blush.

Sonia constantly sides with Gundham, even going off with him to explore the Fun House before Kazuichi noticed. In the main story, Sonia is also the only one who has made Gundham blush. It's implied that they have a romantic interest in each other, much to Kazuichi's annoyance.

She is also the only one that Gundham does not refer to as kisama (a way of saying 'you' that suggests contempt, or alternatively an archaic polite form of 'you') or by their last name, instead calling her "she-cat" at one point or "the Dark Queen", which is mentioned to be his fantasized version of Sonia. He claims that the Dark Queen has great power, which has not been awakened yet.

When Gundham is deemed the culprit of Chapter 4, Sonia refuses to believe it, urging him to object against Hajime's accusations. Gundham did defend himself but was unusually silent, and Sonia begged him to say something many times. She also pleaded with Monokuma to save Gundham from his execution, but finally let Gundham go after she was convinced by Gundham himself. He told her actions were "unbecoming of someone of your status".

Gundham's Four Dark Devas of Destruction are entrusted into Sonia's care after his "death". After Gundham's execution, Sonia has a new resolve to make it out alive without anymore killings because of his last words about not giving up.

During their time at Hope's Peak Academy, Sonia latched onto Gundham's eccentric personality when Chisa left and the two bonded. Gundham refers to Sonia as "she-cat" and while he enjoys her investment in the occult, he considers her a low-ranking demon. Much to Kazuichi's jealousy, the two got very close as time passed and they can even finish each other's sentences.

Kazuichi Soda
Gundham and Kazuichi end up locked in a form of rivalry with each other over Sonia, due to Sonia preferring to be around Gundham, while Kazuichi has a strong liking for Sonia. Although the feeling of rivalry was mostly one sided (from Kazuichi) at first, they end up arguing in Chapter 3's Class Trial, both throwing around childish insults and threatening to kill each other. Otherwise, in Gundham's eyes, Kazuichi is at the Pathetic Mortal level and he does not pay him much attention.

Nagito Komaeda
Gundham appears strange even for Nagito, as even he is confused by the other's eccentric behavior. During the Despair Disease, Gundham states that he would not mind if Nagito died, but it should be noted that he also appears to be one of the few characters who understands that Nagito has grey morale instead of simply black and white.

Nekomaru Nidai
Despite not seeming to talk much during their time in Class 77-B, they both fought together against brainwashed Reserve Course students during The Parade, successfully defeating them offscreen and getting to their other classmates, implying that they may fight very well together.

In Chapter 4 trial in Danganronpa 2, it is revealed that Gundham was the one who murdered Nekomaru. Before he is executed however, Gundham clarifies that he did not in fact ambush Nekomaru, but challenged him to a duel to the death as he figured that out of all his classmates Nekomaru would understand and agree the easiest regarding the need for self sacrifice in order to prevent everyone from starving to death in the Funhouse. Nekomaru understood his intentions and agreed to the duel. Through this information, one can assume that Nekomaru nor Gundham felt any ill will towards the other regardless of who won or lost.


 * Reserve Course Students:

Hajime Hinata
At one point, Gundham is implied to have tried to follow Hajime and the rest of the students, though when discovered, he denied it and went away. Hajime and Gundham become rather good friends through Free Time Events, and in his final FTE (which takes place in the Strawberry House), Gundham makes Hajime sign a contract via handshake and declares that with the contract, Hajime will not be permitted to die without exclusive permission from Gundham Tanaka himself. Hajime thinks to himself that he would like to return that promise back to Gundham, though he figured that Gundham might get angry instead. Comically, their handshake ends in a mutual hand-squeezing to the death.

Free Time Events & Bonus Mode Guides
The links below are full transcripts and indepth guides for Gundham Tanaka's relationship routes in Free Time Events, School Mode, and Ultimate Talent Development Plan including his MonoMono Machine Present preferences and most effective dialogue options.

Island Mode Choices

 * Main article, including full dialogue and right choices: Island Mode/Gundham Tanaka

Quotes

 * -|DR2=

Extra=


 * -|DR3=

Trivia

 * The kanji in Tanaka means "rice field" and "center". Together this may mean "central rice field". The kanji for Gundham use irregular readings, though can roughly mean "snake eye dreams".
 * His name is a reference to the popular Japanese mecha anime, , which later spawned an entire long-running series. His execution refers to a particular scene from the original anime as well.
 * The choice of his Japanese voice actor, Tomokazu Sugita, is a meta joke to his name, as Sugita, though always express his desired to voice act a Gundam pilot, is one of the few major Sunrise-aligned voice actors who never gets to voice act a major character (Gundam pilots) in the Gundam series.
 * In Danganronpa 3, Gundham's first name is never mentioned, not even in the credits. This may be due to risking copyright infringement from Sunrise - in-universe, Gundham claims that his first name is "cursed" and cannot be spoken aloud.
 * However, in the Side: Hope, Gundham breaks the seal on his name and declares himself to be Gundham Tanaka. Interestingly, in the speech he makes prior, he mentions about a rising sun (or even sunrise in some translations), most likely a reference to the company.
 * His nickname in Danganronpa 3, "Tanaka the Forbidden One", is a direct reference to the  card, "Exodia the Forbidden One".
 * Gundham's title in the original Japanese release, "Super High School Level Breeding Club Member", is a bit more specific than his English title. The Breeding Club (whose Japanese name could also be interpreted as "Animal Care Club") is a common after-school club in many Japanese schools dedicated to taking care of the animals (usually small birds, reptiles and rodents) kept within the school grounds. As made clear by his many achievements as a Breeder, Gundham has transcended the regular Breeding Club member's expertise by leaps and bounds - which may be the basis for his claims about his existence being superior to that of humans'.
 * The names of Gundham's four hamsters are: San-D, Jum-P, Maga-Z and Cham-P. All of the names are references to shōnen manga magazines (,, , and ).
 * In the Danganronpa Another Episode artbook, a beta model who appears to be Gundham controlling Robo Justice robot is seen. This could hint that Gundham was originally going to appear probably as a boss as part of the Ultimate Despair.
 * This could also be a reference of the anime of Mobile Suit Gundam as Gundham's name is a reference to that anime.
 * In Island Mode, Gundham states that he isn't very effective against "water-types", possibly hinting that he can't swim.
 * Gundham and his hamsters are included in the collaboration of Danganronpa 3 x Hōkai Gakuen.
 * Gundham's English voice actor, Chris Tergliafera, also voices Ryoma Hoshi in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
 * Gundham's stage actor, Masahiro Inoue, is married to Sonia's 2015 stage actress, Jamie Natsuki.undefined
 * Gundham has been shown to possibly possess magical abilities in the games, but has never shown a actual work of his magic. However, in many other games which Gundham has appeared in, he has been shown to use magic symbols. Another possible magic ability is his power upon animals. As in Danganronpa 3’s Hope Arc, Gundham miraculously summoned the eagle from on of the SHSL Elite Task Force Member.

Navigation
Гандам Танака Gundham Tanaka Gundham Tanaka Gundham Tanaka