Leon Kuwata

Leon Kuwata (桑田 怜恩) is a student in Hope's Peak Academy's Class 78th, and a participant of the Killing School Life featured in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. His title is the Ultimate Baseball Star (超高校級の「野球選手」lit. Super High School Level Baseball Player). However, he states he wishes to change his title to the Ultimate Musician (超高校級の「ミュージシャン」lit. Super High School Level Musician).

Early Life

 * Main article: Ultra Despair Hagakure and Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Leon was very close to his cousin, Kanon Nakajima, since they were very young. Leon's father was the older brother of Kanon's father. Kanon was in love with Leon throughout their childhood and repeatedly tried to get him to notice her feelings for him, although he only ever saw her as a little sister. In middle school, Leon became a very skilled baseball player, and Kanon became the manager of his baseball team so she could watch him play. He was an ace in his position as the fourth batter at his school. However, Leon himself claimed that due to his exceptional natural talent for baseball, he was practically forced to play by other people since young age. Leon later attended LL Academy high school. To win the heart of a girl that he happened to meet at the hair salon, he became determined to change his title to Ultimate Musician. His hair and clothing style changed completely.

Leon was scouted by Hope's Peak Academy for his title of Ultimate Baseball Star. In photos found by Makoto Naegi, Leon is seen roughhousing with Mondo Owada and Chihiro Fujisaki and participating in sports events with his classmates during his time there.

The Tragedy

 * Main article: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc #11

During the Tragedy, Jin Kirigiri, the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, planned to seal the school building and let the students live forever inside the Academy in order to protect them from the destruction. The class agreed to his plan, and they sealed the building together. Leon helped his classmates seal up the windows. The students lived peacefully inside the school building for a year without knowing that the Ultimate Despair members were already in their midst.

Killing School Life
Leon was among those who were chosen to attend Hope's Peak Academy as part of Class 78th. Class 78th ended up being trapped inside the school, not knowing at the time that they had already been memory-wiped of their two years of school life together.

When introducing himself to his classmates, Leon immediately expresses that despite his title of Ultimate Baseball Star, his real ambition is to become the vocalist of a band.

The students soon became forced into the Killing Game. As an incentive to murder in order to escape, the students were each given a DVD featuring a video from Monokuma which implied that their loved ones were in danger. Leon's video showed his cousin, Kanon, and after watching it, Leon became very agitated.

Sayaka's Plot
On the day the students received the motivational DVDs, Sayaka Maizono sent Leon a note instructing him to meet her in her room. Unbeknownst to Leon, Sayaka had switched rooms with Makoto Naegi, and also switched their doorplates to disguise what she had done. When Leon entered the room, Sayaka attacked him with a kitchen knife she had taken from the kitchen. Leon managed to defend himself with an ornamental golden sword that Makoto had been storing in his room. He broke Sayaka's wrist with the sword, disarming her in the process.

Sayaka fled into the bathroom and closed the door. Leon did not know that Makoto's bathroom door was misaligned, and needed to be lifted while the handle was turned in order to open it. Because girls' rooms are the only rooms with lockable bathroom doors and he believed this to be Sayaka's room, Leon thought the room was simply locked and so left to go and retrieve his tool kit. When he returned, he destroyed the door handle. He then retrieved the kitchen knife that Sayaka had dropped and stabbed her in the stomach, killing her.

Afterward, he tried to clean the crime scene, using Makoto's lint roller to dispose of all of his distinctive red hair. He then went to the trash room, balled up his bloodied shirt, and threw it into the incinerator. He turned the incinerator on by throwing Yasuhiro Hagakure's crystal ball at the activation switch. He did not realize that one of his sleeves did not fully burn and, instead, fell onto the floor of the trash room, leaving behind evidence.

Leon's Fate
In the class trial, Makoto was able to pinpoint Leon as the culprit based on three major factors. Firstly, Sayaka had managed to write "11037" on the wall in blood with the last of her strength before she died; when flipped upside down, this revealed the name "LEON". Secondly, the method of disposing of the evidence was a feat only achievable by someone with an extremely accurate aim in order to hit the activation button on the incinerator from such a significant distance; a skill only the Ultimate Baseball Star had. Finally, Leon had used his toolkit to break into Makoto's bathroom and was unable to show it to the others because it would have been the only toolkit that showed evidence of being used. The students found Leon guilty, and he was sentenced to be executed by Monokuma.

Unwilling to accept his sentence, Leon begged Monokuma not to kill him and tried to justify his actions as self-defense. However, Celestia Ludenberg pointed out that Leon could have returned to his room and stayed there after Sayaka shut herself in the bathroom, but instead he actively chose to return to Sayaka's room with his toolkit in order to attack her.

Leon is executed by being pummeled to death by baseballs shot out of a pitching machine in an execution called The 1,000 Blows.



Makoto's Hallucination

 * Main article: Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc #11

Leon is seen alongside his deceased classmates in Makoto's hallucination after he was brainwashed by the Suicide Video. Leon is later seen motionless, with a badly bruised, bloody, and swelled face, when all of the deceased members of Class 78th morph into how they looked when they died in the Killing School Life.

Nagito Komaeda's Illusory World
Leon appeared in Nagito Komaeda's imaginary world, accidentally breaking the infirmary window and worsening Nagito's injuries. As an apology, he let Nagito have his baseball and autographed it with his name.

Much later, Nagito used Leon's baseball to destroy an entire building, which led him to break loose from his imaginary world and eventually wake up from the Neo World Program.

Creation and Development
Leon's beta name was Kazuo Matsuzaki (松崎和雄), likely a reference to real-life baseball player, who was the first Japanese infielder to sign with a team. The character designer, Rui Komatsuzaki, is a fan of the punk genre, so Leon's outfit was designed with details he personally likes.

Leon was the first character to be designed, so Komatsuzaki used him to design the range of expressions available during Class Trials. All other characters' expressions were designed with Leon's expressions as a reference. Leon and Sayaka were both used as the game's base male and female characters, respectively, to establish a base body type and height. They were both used as stand-ins during many stages of development, and their character designs are very recognizable as early as the scrapped project DISTRUST. As a result of both of their designs being relatively unchanged from the early design stages, the development team grew tired of them and so they were the first characters to be killed in the final published game. Leon's execution, The 1,000 Blows, was virtually unchanged from the version seen in the DISTRUST promotional presentation other than the art style.

Name
Leon (怜恩) can be translated as "Cunning Kindness". Kuwata (桑田) simply means "Mulberry Field".

Alternate Fates
The Danganronpa 3 box set included a feature detailing an alternate ending of Danganronpa called Danganronpa Another End which ultimately never made it out of the development phase. In this ending, all of the students escape, at the cost of giving up their talent forever. In Leon's ending, he is thrilled to be able to legitimately give up his baseball talent in exchange to become a musician.

Leon also escapes Hope's Peak alive before the Killing Game begins, with the rest of his classmates, in the novel Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF.

Appearance
At the beginning of the Killing School Life in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Leon appears to be a young high school-aged teenager, but due to the memory loss he is two years older than he believed. He has dyed orange spiked hair, a goatee that's tied into a small ponytail, and pale blue eyes. He wears a white dress shirt (in which he has modified significantly) with the collar popped up, a white shirt with a red grunge skull design, black jeans, and white platform shoes with a black sole. He accessorizes with a padlocked chain necklace, two overlapping studded belts, rings, and an oversized safety pin on his lapel. He has several piercings - his, his tongue, and six in his right ear.

When he was practicing baseball, he wore a standard baseball jersey with his number, 18, and his last name, Kuwata, on the back.

During his school years, he wore "supportive sports underoos". They are a pair of typical men's athletic black boxers.

His swimsuit in Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp consists of a white hoodie with a gray conifer pattern left open, revealing his pectorals and abdomen. He also sports red bermuda shorts which fade to black towards the bottom.

Leon's goatee is noticeably absent from his pixel sprites featured in School Mode and Ultimate Talent Development Plan.

Personality
Leon is a passionate, hot-blooded young teenager. He often slacked off from studying and baseball practice; however, his baseball skills were never diminished due to his status as Ultimate Baseball Star. In fact, he hated to practice, seeing no point or enjoyment in it because he was already so talented. Due to his natural physical talent, he considered even very difficult and unusual feats easy and had some trouble empathizing with people who lacked such talent, as he didn't fully realize how hard the bet he made with Kanon really was.

Despite his talent, Leon claimed he strongly hated baseball and was very determined to change his current title to Ultimate Musician. He had a tendency to complain about the several things he found uncool and gross about baseball, often without any prompting from others. He was quite arrogant, often talking about his popularity and dreams of being even more famous, considering himself a 'future superstar'. However, during his Free Time sequence, he implied he wasn't actually very good at being a musician, and the reason he wanted to become one is to win a heart of a girl he happened to meet at the hair salon. He claimed that being popular is the whole point of being a musician, and once briefly thought about being an actor instead if that's what Sayaka is more into, generally appearing a bit confused about his own motivations and feelings for the matter. Furthermore, he was quite bitter about how people constantly forced him to play baseball and follow the sport's traditions due to his natural talent, with his completely new goal and look appearing to be at least partially a form of rebellion.

However, in reality, Leon grew to miss baseball after not playing for a while, since he used to do it every day since he was young and it actually made him feel good. He reluctantly admitted this to Makoto during his Free Time in School Mode, as he needed someone else along with him to properly play. With all his talk about hating baseball, he was embarrassed to admit how he really felt and accused baseball of brainwashing him. He considered returning to his old team, though he still absolutely hated the idea of practicing. During his School Mode ending, he decided he would both play baseball and sing, to become 'the ex-baseball star who's a totally famous singer now' later in life. He liked the idea of an all-new approach that is just for him, showing that he just disliked repetitiveness and other people deciding things for him.

Leon was also strongly interested in girls and bragged about his great success with women to Makoto, asking him if he was jealous. While it was left ambiguous how truthful his claims were, it was confirmed in Ultra Despair Hagakure that he was indeed a 'player' with a new girl with him every few days. He was always flirting with girls and he was single-mindedly focused on studying "the secret of success with the ladies". He appeared quite shallow, as he often only talked about how hot girls are, but he has also mentioned he's into pure-hearted girls and he was grossed out by Hifumi's very perverted behavior, thinking it goes way too far.

In the official artbook, Leon is described as an optimist who wants to get better at everything he does. However, during the main story, Leon was shown to be easily intimidated due to the killing game situation, such as when Makoto spent time with him for the first time and he thought it was a trap to kill him, or during the first class trial when he asked and found out who Sakura Ogami is. When he became nervous or intimidated, Leon tended to smile awkwardly, often the right corner of his mouth stretching farther. He could also come across as easily offended and agitated; for example, when asked how he managed to style his hair, he immediately became annoyed, automatically accusing Makoto of making fun of it and saying he should shave his hair like his baseball team made him do. He also instantly became angry and snapped at Makoto for not knowing what to talk about, and he often had quite intense expressions. School Mode also showed that whenever he's upset or depressed, Leon liked to take naps. According to Kazutaka Kodaka, Leon can't stand the heat and hot weather. During Ultra Despair Hagakure, Leon showed a more patient and kind side, as he couldn't help but sympathize and worry about Kanon despite her obsessively being in love with him, with him wondering multiple times that's he's probably being too nice and once commented that it's no wonder Kanon liked him so much with how nice he was.

Ultimate Baseball Star
Leon is a natural-born baseball star despite his hatred towards baseball practice. His only motivation to play baseball is to become famous with girls. It also helps him to continue his school life without studying hard and taking the entrance exam. Leon's talent in baseball surpasses even his coach and teacher's pride who begged him to play so that the team could win a quick and easy win. He states that he never needs to practice because baseball is so easy for him. His pitch is clocked at 160 kilometers per hour.

Leon proves his skills with his talent during his murder of Sayaka when he threw a crystal ball through the Trash Room gate to activate a small button on the incinerator at nearly thirty feet away, followed by throwing his own blood-stained shirt into the small opening.

In Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, during one of Nekomaru Nidai's Free Time Events and the Prologue, he mentions a baseball star he used to train that went on to become extremely popular, heavily implying it's Leon.

"Ultimate Musician"
As seen in his Dorm Room, he has an amp and electric guitar, his skills with it, however, are unknown. His goal is to be the lead vocalist of a band, and was seeking out a songwriter.

He seems to be knowledgeable about some aspects of the musical scene. During his Free Time he makes several references to real-world bands. He claims he "doesn't wanna be a George, ya know? Gotta get that Paul action", referring to the British band, he also states he wants to be like punk bands , , and.

He follows up during a Free Time Event with "if you're in a punk band, it doesn't matter if you can play or not", implying he's not very good.

Relationships

 * Family:

Kanon Nakajima
Kanon is Leon's younger cousin and is two years younger than him. He viewed Kanon as his little sister and the two had a very close relationship since childhood. She constantly confessed her feelings to him, but he always responded he just didn't like her that way. It did not seem her never-ending confessions affect his view of her, but he cared for her and comforted her whenever he rejected her, with he himself wondering multiple times that he's probably being a little too nice.

Leon was the one who eventually came up with the bet that if Kanon throws a 160 meters per hour ball, he promised he would think of her more romantically. She wasn't allowed to speak to him if she couldn't do it and she assumed he may have given her an impossible task on purpose. However, when they met after half a year, he talked to her in a very casual manner and clearly didn't take the situation that seriously. In fact, he actually had a lot of faith in her, believing that she might actually be capable of doing it, despite the fact that the Japanese record for women was 140. Leon said he wouldn't make the bet any easier, but he would help Kanon a bit with training. When Kanon questioned if he actually was fine with her winning the bet, Leon answered that 'whatever happens, happens', and his specific feelings for her were ultimately left ambiguous. By the time of the Killing School Life, Kanon was chosen as Leon's Captive, being his most important person.

Kanon is mentioned by Leon in Danganronpa V3s bonus mode, as he states that he has sometimes thought about bringing his cousin a souvenir for the family's New Year's meeting. He asks Kirumi Tojo's help to plan the gift, though he says she would be pleased with any gift. He mentions being a good "big brother", indicating that he still only sees her as a little sister figure.


 * Class 78th:

Sayaka Maizono
Though the two are not seen interacting much during the killing game, Leon quickly developed a strong interest in Sayaka. In one of his Free Time Events, he asked Makoto about "what kinda guy Sayaka is into". In relationship charts featured in the Danganronpa 1.2 Reload art book, Leon admires how cute she is and considers her a "pure-hearted girl", which is a type he is into. Sayaka takes note of that she is his type with a slight smile and blush. Leon is also shocked to find out that Sayaka is Makoto's "assistant", appearing jealous. However, considering Leon's womanizing nature, it's most likely his attraction to her was nothing more than a physical one.

Later, when Sayaka chose Leon as her murder victim, her plan backfired as he was able to defend himself, which led her to flee to the bathroom. Though he claimed it was only self-defense, Leon made a conscious decision to counter-attack and murdered the girl. Leon's interest in her could explain why he trusted her so easily and went to see her alone during the killing game, and might be the reason why Sayaka chose him as her target.

In the non-canonical manga version of the game, Leon and Sayaka had a closer, quite different relationship due to their similarities with music, and the circumstances of Sayaka's death differ from the game. It is also implied that after Sayaka attacked him, Leon only wanted to calm Sayaka down when she locked herself in the bathroom, which is why he broke in. When he broke into the bathroom, however, he claims that he only accidentally stabbed Sayaka in the stomach, which resulted in her death, contrary to deliberately stabbing her as he did in the game.

Makoto Naegi
During his free-time events, Leon shared a lot of experiences with Makoto and even invited him for a baseball match after they escaped the academy. Makoto didn't hold a grudge against Leon for killing Sayaka because he felt that the one at fault was Monokuma.

Mondo Owada and Chihiro Fujisaki
Even though Leon almost never showed close interaction in the Killing School Life, Leon may have been good friends with Mondo and Chihiro during their school time in Class 78th, as a picture of the three laughing was found shortly after their deaths. However, according to Leon and Mondo's relationship chart in the Danganronpa 1.2 Reload Artbook, this is contrasted with Mondo believing him to be a moron and Leon believing his style doesn't make him look popular. Chihiro, however, positively pointed out Leon's high confidence in himself, hinting Chihiro may have looked up to him at one point.

Free Time Events & Bonus Mode Guides
The links below are full transcripts and in-depth guides for Leon Kuwata's relationship routes in Free Time Events, School Mode, Ultimate Talent Development Plan, and Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp, including his MonoMono Machine Present preferences and most effective dialogue options.

Quotes

 * -|DR1=

Extra=


 * -|Novel=

List of Appearances
Games=
 * DISTRUST (scrapped)
 * Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
 * Danganronpa: Unlimited Battle
 * -|Anime=
 * Danganronpa: The Animation
 * Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc #11
 * Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc #11
 * ''Danganronpa 2.5: Nagito Komaeda and the World Vanquisher (mentioned)
 * -|Light Novels=
 * Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF
 * Ultra Despair Hagakure (flashbacks)
 * Danganronpa 1 ・2 Beautiful Days
 * Makoto Naegi Secret File (mentioned)
 * -|Manga=
 * Danganronpa: The Demo (Manga)
 * Danganronpa: The Manga
 * Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei 4koma KINGS
 * Danganronpa: The Animation (manga)
 * Small Danganronpa 1・2 Light
 * -|Stage Plays=
 * Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE (2014)
 * Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei THE STAGE 2016

Merchandise
The link below lists all official licensed merchandise featuring Leon Kuwata:
 * Main: Leon Kuwata Merchandise

Trivia

 * Notable trivia specifically about his execution, The 1,000 Blows:
 * Due to the brutality of it, it was censored in the Danganronpa: The Animation when it first aired on television. However, on the anime DVD, the execution can be seen uncensored.
 * The design on Leon's shirt foreshadows his fate, as it depicts a skull being shattered from a heavy blow.
 * The execution is the same execution he undergoes in DISTRUST, the prototype of the first Danganronpa game. This explains why his execution is more brutal and gruesome compared to the others.
 * Leon's former high school, LL Academy, might be a reference to the.
 * In the Danganronpa 1 (Trial Version), unlike the actual Bullet Time Battle with Leon that happens in the end of the first class trial, the player will engage in a Bullet Time Battle at the beginning of the trial when Leon accuses Makoto of being the killer because he stutters multiple times.
 * Leon's English voice actor, Grant George is married to Sakura Ogami's English voice actress, Jessica Gee-George.
 * His voice actor also voices Shuichi Saihara in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

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