Danganronpa 3 - Future Arc - Episode 01

Third time's the charm, Side: Future #01 is the first episode of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy and the first episode of Side: Future. It first aired on July 11, 2016.

Summary
Makoto Naegi is arrested for hiding the Remnants of Despair, but Kyoko Kirigiri and Aoi Asahina are there to defend him. Before anything can be sorted out, Monokuma seals the exits to the Future Foundation's base, trapping everyone inside. Monokuma forces the Future Foundation's leaders into a new killing game, using the Ultimate Housekeeper's corpse as proof that the game's already begun.

Plot
The episode opens with a narration from Kyoko Kirigiri, explaining the state of the world after the events of The Tragedy which led to the rise of the Future Foundation. The flashback then shows Kyosuke Munakata, Juzo Sakakura, and Sonosuke Izayoi engaging in a fight with Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Peko Pekoyama, Nekomaru Nidai, and Akane Owari on a bridge. Seiko Kimura is seen elsewhere, disarming Mikan Tsumiki as she attempts to mutilate a tied-up civilian. The battle continues as Izuru Kamukura looks over the carnage.

In the next scene, helicopters are seen transporting the various Future Foundation leaders to the off-shore location to gather there in secret. Kazuo commented on how it has been a long time since they had all been together like this, and confirmed that he had gathered them all so they could decide what to do about Makoto. Ruruka Ando pointed out that, if they were all gathered together like this, they could be wiped out easily, and feeds a macaroon to Sonosuke who is resting his head on her lap. Kazuo mentions that this building was personally constructed by Kyosuke, and that under his control they would be safe, though Ruruka remained doubtful.

Great Gozu tries to reassure her by saying that the Remnants of Despair have been less active, and Juzo began to argue. He said that just because there was less activity doesn't mean a thing, and that the problem is that the Remnants of Despair are still alive at all. Juzo turns to Kazuo and tries to remind him of the "old" Kazuo, who would have agreed to exterminate the Remnants without a second thought. Ruruka, Seiko, Sonosuke and Daisaku Bandai begin to argue and get off topic, then they fall silent when Kyosuke entered the room. He climbs onto a chair and walks across the boardroom table to Kazuo. He said that, as long as the Remnants are still active, more people will continue to die, and that this was no time to be indecisive. He tried to persuade him similar to Juzo, and was interrupted by Great Gozu, who told him to act more respectfully in the Chairman's presence. Kyosuke sits down and they begin the meeting.

As Makoto arrived by helicopter, Kyosuke showed the room photos of the Remnants of Despair and several people question why Makoto would have saved them. Kazuo mentioned his status as the Ultimate Hope and the one who defeated Junko Enoshima, reasoning that they should at least talk to him in-depth before jumping to conclusions. Kyosuke wondered if Makoto really is the Ultimate Hope, and Ruruka theorizes that his defeating Junko was really an act and he was allied with Ultimate Despair the entire time. They continue speaking until Makoto, Aoi Asahina, and Kyoko entered the room. Makoto greeted the room and everyone turned their attention to glare at him, with the exception of Chisa. Kyosuke immediately placed Makoto under arrest and ordered Juzo to handcuff him, despite protests.

Juzo sarcastically apologized that he has to do this to the "hero" who brought down Junko Enoshima, and then punched Makoto in the stomach once he was handcuffed. Despite Kyoko patronizing him, Juzo continued to assault Makoto, saying that none of them deserve to be seen as heroes after all of the lives they sacrificed. He hits him again and when Hina attempted to intervene, Sonosuke threw a kunai at the wall directly behind her. Ruruka threatened her, saying that next time she'll have Sonosuke throw one at her head. Juzo pulled at Makoto's hair and told him to stand. Great Gozu tried to intervene, politely asking Juzo to stop, then threatened to be his next opponent if he continues. Kyoko insisted that Makoto is unfit for questioning and deserves time to recover from his injuries, causing Kyosuke to agree and temporarily adjourn the meeting.

While waiting to call the meeting back, Kyosuke was left in a room alone with Chisa. He asked her if she wanted to rest, and Chisa playfully told him that he doesn't have to be so formal when they're alone together. She went to stand beside him and told him not to push himself so hard. Kyosuke began to say something, then stops himself, instead telling Chisa to go and check on Makoto, leaving him alone in the room.

At the same time, Hina and Kyoko were seen in the bathroom when Hina questioned why they can't see Makoto. Kyoko thought it was because they suspect them as allies, so they were trying to keep them apart. Hina was worried that Kyoko will also be suspected, and she told Hina not to worry too much because this is a 14th Division problem. Hina disagreed, saying that just because she was in the 13th Division doesn't mean that they shouldn't stick together, making Kyoko smile.

Chisa tended to Makoto's wounds in a separate meeting room. When he asked her if she was a doctor, she tells him that she had been the homeroom teacher of the Remnants of Despair, which shocked Makoto. Chisa asked him why he wanted to protect them, despite knowing what they had done as Ultimate Despair. Makoto answered that he doesn't know why, but he had a feeling that the Remnants were once the type of people who valued hope like he did. Chisa said that they were right to call him the Ultimate Hope, and then mentioned that, like Makoto, Kyosuke is the hope of the Future Foundation. She didn't disagree with Makoto's thoughts, but she understands the Ultimate Despair can't be defeated so easily, which is why Kyosuke's decisiveness is also important. She told Makoto that if he could try to understand Kyosuke and tried to combine both of their hopes, it would make her very happy.

Kyoko left the restroom and noticed Ryota Mitarai, anxiously walking back and forth in the hallway outside of the meeting room. When she approached him, he said that he didn't know if he should enter or not because he had arrived so late. He introduced himself and the building begins shaking. Hina, who was still in the bathroom, attempted to grab the stall door to steady herself and pulls it open as she falls down. She discovered the bodies of three security guards crammed inside.

Outside the main building, Yasuhiro Hagakure leaned against the railing and laments about having to stay outside. He took out his new 300 million yen crystal ball and attempted to read Makoto's future when the building begins to shake. A missile is launched at the building's entrance, blocking the escape route. Hiro drops the crystal ball and it shatters.

Inside the building, the leaders gather back into the meeting room and attempt to gather information on the situation. Daisaku confirmed that all of the escape routes in the building have been blow up, trapping everyone inside. Ruruka asked how they had found this place, and Seiko said that perhaps someone told them where they all were. Juzo assumed that this was Makoto's doing and Kyosuke orders him to hold Makoto down until they understand what was happening. Hina burst into the room in a panic and shouted about the dead security guards as Kyoko and Ryota enter the room. Chisa attempted to contact the Future Foundation HQ, but all communications to the outside have been interrupted. Kyosuke orders everyone to not leave the room and Great Gozu attempted to calm everyone down, saying that, with all of the Future Foundation leaders here, there was nothing that they couldn't handle.

A small sphere is thrown into the room, releasing a gas. Seiko recognized it was sleeping gas, which has an almost immediate effect. While each member of the group drops one after the other, Kyosuke held his breath and searches for Chisa. He called out to her, asking if she was okay, and reached out his hand as Chisa falls asleep.

Some time later, Makoto woke up to find that he was wearing a wristband with a countdown timer, unsure of what it could mean. His thoughts were cut off by Monokuma's laughter, who then appeared on a monitor addressing the whole group. He stated that, as a reward for all of their hard work trying to combat despair, he was going to have them all kill each other. Makoto shouted at Monokuma, saying that he would never play his game again and that they wouldn't kill each other because they were comrades.

Kyosuke realized in a panic that Chisa wasn't in the room with him, and asked the group where she went. He and Makoto noticed the blood dripping from the ceiling and the two look on in horror to find Chisa's dead body draped over the room's chandelier. Monokuma cheerfully told Makoto that the he had no say because the game has already started, and the weight of Chisa's corpse caused the chains rooting the chandelier to the ceiling to snap. As her body fell, Kyosuke looks on with a mixture of pain and anger on his face and recalls the words that he wanted to say to Chisa: "I am not wrong, am I?"

Appearances
The following are in order of appearance:

Debuts

 * Makoto Naegi
 * Kyoko Kirigiri
 * Aoi Asahina
 * Kyosuke Munakata
 * Kazuichi Soda (Minor role)
 * Teruteru Hanamura (Minor role)
 * Gundham Tanaka (Minor role)
 * Ultimate Imposter (Minor role)
 * Sonia Nevermind (Minor role)
 * Mahiru Koizumi (Minor role)
 * Hiyoko Saionji (Minor role)
 * Ibuki Mioda (Minor role)
 * Nagito Komaeda (Minor role)
 * Masaru Daimon (Cameo)
 * Kotoko Utsugi (Cameo)
 * Nagisa Shingetsu (Cameo)
 * Jataro Kemuri (Cameo)
 * Monokuma Kids (Cameo)
 * Mikan Tsumiki (Minor role)
 * Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu (Minor role)
 * Peko Pekoyama (Minor role)
 * Chisa Yukizome
 * Seiko Kimura
 * Akane Owari (Minor role)
 * Nekomaru Nidai (Minor role)
 * Izuru Kamukura (Cameo)
 * Kazuo Tengan
 * Great Gozu
 * Koichi Kizakura
 * Juzo Sakakura
 * Miaya Gekkogahara
 * Daisaku Bandai
 * Ruruka Ando
 * Sonosuke Izayoi
 * Ryota Mitarai
 * Yasuhiro Hagakure
 * Monokuma