Ultimate Imposter

For characters that The Ultimate Imposter impersonates, see: Byakuya Togami, Ryota Mitarai, or Kyosuke Munakata.

The Ultimate Imposter (超高校級の「詐欺師」), 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. They impersonate Byakuya Togami as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny (超高校級の「御曹司」 lit. Super High School Level Heir).

They, 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
The Ultimate Imposter's real appearance is that of a person with long, black hair and green eyes. Their age is unknown, though they appear to be in their early twenties. They have a very heavy build; despite this, they can fool others with their disguises.

Their gender is unknown, but they are able to give off a largely male impression while disguised as Byakuya and even mimic his voice and poses perfectly. In Danganronpa 3, their real voice is quite deep and masculine. However, originally in Danganronpa 2, the brief glimpse of their apparent real voice sounded notably different, more high-pitched and rather gender neutral. The Imposter also refused to go swimming in front of others, which implies that removing their clothes would reveal their true gender.

"Byakuya Togami"
As Byakuya, the Imposter appears very similar to the real one, having platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes accompanied by rectangular, white-framed glasses. Their shirt appears to be the same one as the real Byakuya in the first game; however, "Byakuya" is very heavy set and wears a white dinner jacket, white slacks, and white dress shoes.

As an Ultimate Despair, the Imposter, still disguised as "Byakuya", wears night vision goggles that shone red light from within.

"Ryota Mitarai"
As Ryota, the imposter has short, light brown hair, hazel eyes, and rosy cheeks. They wear a Hope's Peak Academy uniform with a green tie.

"Kyosuke Munakata"
As Kyosuke, the imposter has short white hair and dark purple eyes. They wear a white suit that Kyosuke wears in Future Arc.

Personality
Ultimate Imposter's true personality is somewhat unclear because they spend most of their time mimicking someone else's behavior. However, during chapter 6 of the second game, they speak briefly without disguise and it's implied that their real nature is polite and meek. In Danganronpa 3, they're shown to have a quite serious personality.

Most notably, the Imposter appears to have a truly kind and caring personality. They impersonated Ryota Mitarai so that the real one could focus on making anime, as well as get some rest, and kept checking on his well-being even after a year of impersonating him. The Imposter is also shown to be smiling in a friendly manner and being protective and supportive to others even while acting as the cold and arrogant Byakuya Togami. As part of their Byakuya impersonation, they act arrogant, rude and somewhat bad-tempered, but they're also reliable and feel responsible for others' safety.

The Imposter enjoys their build, which appears to be their aim, as they've stated to have intentionally sculpted their physique to be that way (while acting as Byakuya, they appear condescending towards "skinny people", though this is most likely part of their act). They have a strong liking for food, especially fast food; while they normally appear attentive, they are rather easily distracted by food. They are shown to be surprisingly passionate about the topics related to food and eating, such as body fat percentages, the amount of energy coming from specific foods, and fast food restaurants. They explained that, since virtually all fast food restaurants serve the same kind of food, it gives them a sense of security to keep being around something familiar.

Due to their nature as an impostor, they have a lack, if not the absence of, self-esteem. Because of it, they feel very lonely as if they do not exist. They simply want to exist and live a normal life, but they believe they cannot unless they assume someone else's appearance and "disappear" if they're found out. They describe their life as a living hell, as they're in constant need of affirmation and they have to lie to other people. Because of this, they preferred not to become close with other people, thinking that only thing in the world you can truly rely on and believe in is "fats and sugars".

At one point, in Danganronpa 2, they ask if Hajime Hinata likes being around them, and they seemed very happy when Hajime answers that they are friends. After spending time with Hajime, they are convinced that they really do exist, and they decide they don't want to lie anymore and wish to live as their true self with their friends. Despite having a better sense of self, it's shown in Side: Hope that they still prefer being in disguises (albeit only physically).

Ultimate Imposter
The Ultimate Imposter doesn't have a name, family register, relatives, and anything that could link them with their true identity. In order to have their existence acknowledged, they took other people's data and learned it so they could able to impersonate them flawlessly. They could impersonate the person in question's voice and personality perfectly.

No one could tell the difference between the Ultimate Imposter and the real person that they impersonated. According to Monokuma, even their noticeably heavy body build does not affect their ability to fool others. This, along with the fact that they are capable of changing their appearance extremely quickly without anyone noticing, implies that their talent is near superhuman.

In Danganronpa 3, all of Class 77-B and Chisa don't recognize the real Ryota Mitarai's true appearance until they accidentally met with Chisa, who wondered how the real Ryota could lose his weight in a very short time.

In Despair Arc #09, they revealed to their classmates that they were a fake version of Ryota and decided to become themselves afterward.

In other languages
The Ultimate Imposter's talent as it appears in official translations of Danganronpa material.

Prior to the Tragedy
The Ultimate Imposter is a person who was born with nothing - no name, family, birth certificate nor home; or more simply, no identity at all. They were convinced that they were nothing; their existence completely invisible and their life without any meaning. All they wanted was to live a normal life.

Because of this, they chose to live on stealing another person's identity, hence their true Ultimate title. They hated this way of living, which made them unhappy and forced them to lie to other people, but they felt it was something they had to do in order to exist. It appears they found comfort in fast food which was always similar regardless of location. They became very enthusiastic about food and decided to gain a heavier build.

When the Ultimate Imposter enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B, they acted as Byakuya Togami because he had the most absolute existence the Imposter had ever seen. However, they soon began to impersonate Ryota Mitarai, so that the other boy could spend all his time on animating. Ryota worked too much and often forgot to eat, and his impostor often checked on him and brought him food, and the two lived together.

During his second year at Hope's Peak Academy, the Imposter met Junko and was corrupted into Ultimate Despair by her.

Episode 01 - Hello Again, Hope's Peak Academy
"Ryota Mitarai" was working on some of his animations as an "animator" in the Former Student Dorm. His room was very dirty and filled with instant ramen cups, unwashed dishes, manga, books, and files. As his new homeroom teacher, Chisa Yukizome knocked on his door, he began to panic, thinking that the one who knocked on the door was his boss. Due to some unfinished work, the Imposter attempted to escape via windows only to be found by Chisa. She greeted him happily and dragged him back to the school, while the Ultimate Imposter tried to use various excuses to stay behind.

The Ultimate Imposter once again tried to escape from Chisa when they encountered Hajime and Chiaki Nanami in the park, but he was immediately tied up by Chisa. After returning to class, Chisa told everyone that even though the school rule said that attending class was not necessary and that they could skip to better hone their talents, interacting with one another would help build their characters and help them to make memories.

Episode 02 - My Impurest Heart for You
The Ultimate Imposter was drawing sketches inside his class while Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai wreaked havoc during their training session. He went outside to better focus before he met Chiaki, who was upset that his friends didn't come as a group so well. The Ultimate Imposter said that he didn't need to make group, as long as he honed his talents, he already grasped his future.

During the break time after they played games together, the Ultimate Imposter and his classmates happily ate Teruteru and Hiyoko Saionji's nikujaga. He ate a big portion of the food and saw Nagito crying due to the food's deliciousness. Unlike the rest of his classmates, the Ultimate Imposter merely writhed around on the ground after being affected by the food's aphrodisiacs.

After everyone recovered, Chisa gathered the Ultimate Imposter and his classmates inside the classroom, announcing that she elected Chiaki as their class representative. Like the others, the Ultimate Imposter agreed with her decision.

Episode 03 - A Farewell to All Futures
At the beginning of the episode, the Ultimate Imposter was talking to someone on his phone while he and his classmates walked past Hajime heading toward the Main Course building.

The Ultimate Imposter was shown drawing a sketch on the school's park with his classmates during the break time.

Episode 04 - The Melancholy, Suprise, and Disappearance of Nagito Komaeda
Along with his classmates, the Ultimate Imposter showed no spirit when he listened to Chisa's announcement about the annual practical exam due to the deaths of Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato that affected their morale greatly.

At the end of the episode, the Ultimate Imposter and his classmates bid their farewell to their beloved teacher Chisa as she transferred to the Reserve Course after the bombing incident on the gym that involved one of her students, Nagito.

Episode 05 - The Beginning of the End
The Ultimate Imposter advised Ryota to eat something and take a break, but Ryota doesn't listen and eventually passes out from exhaustion and malnutrition. The Imposter finds Mikan and brings her to help care for Ryota, and to avoid confusion, explains their backstory with Ryota.

Mikan assumes that the Imposter won't let her leave alive now that she knows his secret, but the Imposter gently tells her to not be silly. Mikan assumes they want to have sex with her, which isn't true. Mikan starts crying and thanks them, saying no one has ever been so nice to her. The Imposter advises her to toughen up since they will be upperclassmen starting tomorrow.

Episode 06 - A Despairfully Fateful Encounter
The Ultimate Imposter is seen talking to Ryota, reminding him to go to the hospital.

Episode 07 - The Biggest, Most Atrocious Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History
After Class 77-B move to the new school building, the Ultimate Imposter informed Mikan that they haven't heard news of Ryota since a week ago after he left a note that he would focus on his work.

As the news of The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy widespread and caused the Reserve Course students to riot, the Ultimate Imposter and their classmates worried about their school condition. After Ryota left, the Ultimate Imposter received a note from Mikan, saying that she is helping Ryota.

Episode 08 - The Worst Reunion by Chance
After hearing from Nagito upon his return that he saw Mikan around the West District of the school, the Ultimate Imposter grabs him by the scruff of the neck and demands him to give more information. Nagito picks on their sudden change of character before the Ultimate Imposter plays it down as getting overly excited. They and the rest of the class go searching for Mikan on the school grounds, going around in a group with Akane and Nekomaru, Akane begins to think about food and asks if the Ultimate Imposter is hungry to which they reply no awkwardly.

Episode 09 - Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile
Having failed to locate Mikan, the Ultimate Imposter and their classmates return to the classroom. Chiaki shows up carrying Nagito and explains that Chisa is in danger. Mikan also turns up with a wounded Peko. Chiaki rallies the class to go help Chisa, and the Ultimate Imposter rips off their Ryota mask, revealing their real face. They admit they have been deceiving them all because of their talent, and feels it is time they all know the truth. The class rushes to go and save Chisa, but they encounter some angry Reserve Course students. Nekomaru and Gundham stay to hold them off while the rest continue underground. As they walk down the stairs, Chiaki says she feels that together they can do anything. The Ultimate Imposter says that they feel the same way now that Chiaki has said it.

Episode 10 - Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope
The Ultimate Imposter and the class continue down the corridor after making their descent of the stairway, Mikan eventually catching up with them. After a door is flung open unexpectedly, with multiple eyes appearing in the darkness, Kazuichi screams loudly, catching the attention and dismay of the Ultimate Imposter and the rest of the class. Only to find it was Nekomaru and Gundham, the class relieved that they are both okay. Ibuki proclaims all that is left is to save Chisa, to which the Ultimate Imposter 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, the Ultimate Imposter and the rest of the class follow her inside. Once inside, Junko reveals multiple monitors showing Chiaki Nanami's Punishment, Sonia responding saying 'she can't move' leads the Ultimate Imposter to question if it's 'the video'. Horrified by what they are seeing, they want to find a way to save Chiaki but are powerless.

Once Chiaki reaches the "goal" in her execution, she opens the door. She sees the Ultimate Imposter, 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, the Ultimate Imposter and the class fall silent, with a patterned swirl in their eyes, as they are now Ultimate Despair.

Episode 11 - Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy
The Ultimate Imposter 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, the Ultimate Imposter 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. The Ultimate Imposter tearfully expressed they could 'become anyone' they wanted, even president.

After bidding her class a final farewell, Chisa activated a bomb that fakes the death of Class 77-B. The Ultimate Imposter and their classmates stand outside the school grounds as they watch Hope's Peak Academy's destruction.

Chisa's narration later revealed that the Ultimate Imposter helped 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.

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

Episode 01 - Third Time's the Charm
Impersonating Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Imposter is seen in the flashback as a member of Ultimate Despair nimbly dodging Future Foundation's attack with their night vision goggles.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
The remnants of Despair are later found by the 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.

Prologue - Welcome to Dangan Island! Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip!?
While in the Neo World Program, the Ultimate Imposter acts as Byakuya Togami, as they have lost their school memories.

In the very beginning, Byakuya was not very sociable with the others, making his introduction short and simple. He also refused to join in on the short-lived beach party.

After Monokuma took over the island and ordered the Killing School Trip, Byakuya immediately began to take action, making himself the leader of the group and promising the safety of all the students.

Chapter 1 - Destination Despair
The next day, after Monokuma revealed the truth about everybody's memories having been erased as well as the presence of a traitor in their group, Byakuya proposes the idea to hold a party that very night without explaining his reason.

At a suggestion, they gain permission from Monomi to use the Old Lodge next to the Lobby as the location for the party, as the area has no monitors for Monokuma to spy on them from. As the Old Lodge was old, when it came to choosing who should clean the place, Nagito offered to draw straws that he had prepared beforehand. Nagito won the lottery, thanks to his luck, and accepted the duty to clean the lodge while Teruteru offered to cook for the party. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu refused to attend the party, and though the other students questioned it, Byakuya allowed him to go.

Throughout the party, Byakuya showed strange levels of precaution that many of the students questioned. He went as far as to hold a body check at the entrance of the party, patting down every student whether female or male and confiscating any materials that they considered dangerous in a duralumin case (such as taking a wrench away from Kazuichi Soda).

When they saw the food set out in the main room of the Old Lodge, he seemed to be alarmed before suddenly digging into the churrasco Teruteru prepared for the party, much to the surprise of the other members and the dismay of Akane.

Their reason was revealed to be that the churrasco was pierced by large skewers which he deemed extremely dangerous. He subsequently went to the kitchen to confiscate any sharp objects from knives to skewers based on the list hung up in there, though he noted that one of the items on the list seemed to be missing.

When the party was about to start, he decided to keep the duralumin case full of confiscated potential weapons in the Surveillance Room/Office. Peko Pekoyama volunteered to guard the duralumin case and keep watch over the party there, as the place had several security monitors.

Chiaki Nanami and Monomi offered to keep watch outside as to keep Monokuma from finding them and crashing the party. Other than the duralumin case kept in the Office, Byakuya kept a second one beside them at the party, the contents of which were unknown at the time.

Midway through the party around 11:30 pm, a sudden blackout, combined with the blocked windows of the lodge, caused the interior of the building to go completely dark. It was revealed that Byakuya had kept several self-defense and precautionary items in the second duralumin case, using night vision goggles to see what was going on.

In the darkness, he saw Nagito acting suspiciously, trying to retrieve something from under a table, and reacted immediately by diving under the table and pushing him out of the way. He found that a knife was stationed under the table, held in place by glow-in-the-dark tape and its handle covered in the same material.

Teruteru, who knew of Nagito's suspicious activity as well, waited in preparation under the floorboards for the knife to move. He blindly stabbed at whoever was under the table with the missing skewer from earlier and ended up killing Byakuya.

Chapter 5 - Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair
In Chapter 5, much later in the game, Hajime went into Nagito's room for investigation purposes for the upcoming Fifth Trial. In there, he found the files that Nagito had received from Monokuma as a prize for clearing the Final Dead Room in Chapter 4 and discovered that the Byakuya he thought they had all known was actually an impostor. 'Byakuya's profile listed '???' for his name, age, birthdate, and even gender, and their Ultimate talent as the 'Ultimate Imposter'.

Chapter 6 - This is the End Goodbye Academy of Despair
In the 'Game Reset' scene of Chapter 6, "Byakuya" makes a re-appearance, but their way of talking and their voice is no longer Byakuya Togami; instead, their voice has changed into a gender-neutral one, and they wonder if they should re-introduce himself. Whether this is the Ultimate Imposter's true face or simply an illusion created by Hajime is unknown.

Epilogue - The Day Before the Future
The Ultimate Imposter is rendered comatose, just like most of his classmates. The survivors of the Killing Game wait for them and the rest of their classmates to wake up.

Illusion World
The Ultimate Imposter returned in Byakuya's form as a part of Nagito's imaginary world following their death from the Neo World Program.

Before class began in the morning, the Ultimate Imposter is seen conversing with Ryota happily.

The Ultimate Imposter later attended Kazuichi's funeral due to him being murdered by the World Destroyer.

Real-life
After Nagito awoke from the simulation, he learned that all of his friends, including the Ultimate Imposter, 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
Thanks to Hajime mixed with Izuru's incredible abilities, the Ultimate Imposter and the other fallen Remnants of Despair awoke from their coma. They and the others were taken off of Jabberwock Island and brought to the Future Foundation off-shore facility. They then took the form of Kyosuke Munakata and joined Kyosuke in battle.

Later, they took the form of Ryota again and talked Ryota out of using the Hope brainwashing video. They and their classmates then invite Ryota to come and live with them. Ryota ended the broadcast of his Hope Video and fell to the floor in tears, The Ultimate Imposter holding him in a comforting embrace.

As they departed, the Imposter assumed the form of Byakuya. They showed concern for Ryota as he appeared to be even skinnier than they remembered. They smiled at Ryota as they recalled the advice they had always given him during their time at Hope's Peak Academy, that the only thing you can really believe in is 'fats and sugars'.

Relationships

 * Class 77-B:

Ryota Mitarai
Fellow member of the 77th class of Hope's Peak Academy. At some point, after the Class 78th entered Hope's Peak, the Imposter helped out Ryota and got his permission to impersonate him. While the Imposter attended class, Ryota stayed at the apartment to make anime. The Ultimate Imposter became good friends with Ryota, but often worried about him because Ryota was starting to abandon his own health to focus on making anime. One day, when Ryota becomes ill due to starvation, the Imposter shared their secret with Mikan just to get her to help him.

According to the relationship chart, Ryota questions if the Ultimate Imposter taking his place is really okay, showing that he was concerned at first about the morality of the situation.

However, when Ultimate Imposter joins Ultimate Despair, their friendship with Ryota comes to an end because the latter decides to join the Future Foundation.

After the Imposter returns from their coma, they along with the other Remnants of Despair convince Ryota not to release his Hope Brainwashing video. Ryota was happiest to see the Imposter, and after deciding not to release the video, the Imposter hugs Ryota who cries into their arms. Afterward, the Imposter introduces Ryota to their class while showing concern that Ryota isn't eating well because he looks skinnier than he remembers. The two are shown to have become close friends once again.

Mikan Tsumiki
While the two almost never interacted in the game, the Imposter's relationship with Mikan is explored in Danganronpa 3 - Despair Arc. When Ryota's health started to worsen, the Imposter shared their secret with Mikan in order to get the Ultimate Nurse to help his friend. Surprisingly, the Imposter was not worried about sharing their secret with Mikan, placing their full trust in her. Mikan agreed to keep their secret. The Imposter was very kind to Mikan and encouraged her to be more confident due to her shy nature. Because Mikan did not receive this kind of treatment often, she took a liking to them, and the two become close friends.

The Ultimate Imposter was arguably the most worried about Mikan when she disappeared from class all of a sudden. When Nagito claims he saw Mikan on his way to the school, the Imposter threatened Nagito on instinct, only to apologize afterward.

Ibuki Mioda
Ibuki admires Ultimate Imposter while they are impersonating as Byakuya Togami, thinking that they're very cool and reliable and she admires their leadership skills. They are sometimes a bit annoyed with her.

During chapter 2, after his death, she states that she misses "Byakuya" a lot. In addition, during chapter 5 when she and the other deceased characters show up, she greets him by oinking and explaining that she said “You're so cool” in pig talk.

While not apparent in the game, many manga adaptations portray Ibuki with some sort of crush on the Imposter and she's often shown to be attracted to his heavy build. Though, it should be noted that the manga is non-canon.

Nagito Komaeda
Unlike most of their classmates, Ultimate Imposter didn't seem to outright hate Nagito or show any disdain toward him, though they were sometimes a little confused by their strange behavior. They sat beside Nagito while they ate and were willing to talk with him, asking why he was tearing up while eating. They were also the only one of his classmates to ask about Nagito's expulsion.

Akane Owari
While the Imposter and Akane don't interact much in the main story, Akane was happy when she thought the real Byakuya Togami was the Imposter brought back to life. In Ultimate Talent Development Plan, they bond over their mutual love of food. Despite their bonding, Akane is still unable to tell the difference between the Imposter and Byakuya.
 * Reserve Course Student:

Hajime Hinata
Ultimate Imposter never held any close relationships with anyone on the Island in their short time there. However, upon getting their Free-Time Events, they become rather close to Hajime. They engage in various discussions, one being about fast food, with him, and later tells him a strange story about a person who was absolutely nothing and so, lived on as another person to be something which later turned out to be about themselves.

When Hajime tells them that he considers them a friend, they soften greatly, even changing the way they address Hajime (normally, Byakuya addresses everyone as omae which is a rude and somewhat egotistical method of saying 'you'; however, after this event, he briefly calls Hajime kimi, which is a friendlier, same-level method of saying 'you' before going back to omae at Hajime's request) in the original Japanese. Ultimate Imposter also says that one day, they will reveal their true story to Hajime, though they were murdered before they could.

During Island Mode, Ultimate Imposter explains their true identity to Hajime. After becoming friends with Hajime, they are convinced that they really do exist, and they decide that they don't want to lie anymore and wish to live as their true self. In Hajime's official relationship chart, the Ultimate Imposter considers Hajime a worthy partner.

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

Quotes

 * -|DR2=

Extra=


 * -|DR3=

Trivia

 * In their Free Time Events, the Ultimate Imposter implies that the reason they chose to put on so much weight was in order to ensure survival should they ever have to withstand extreme cold.
 * Like Junko and Izuru, the Imposter has no listed likes or dislikes. This may be due to their background where they have nothing that pertains to their true identity.
 * Their title was translated as the Ultimate Swindler instead of Ultimate Imposter in the PC version of the English localization of the second game's ending credits, despite the fact that they were referred to as Imposter earlier in the game.
 * In Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, the voice actor portraying both Ryotas, Kanata Hongō, also portrayed Makoto Naegi in Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE (2014).

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