Danganronpa 3 - Despair Arc - Episode 10

Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope (君は希望という名の絶望に微笑む, Kimi wa Kibō to Iu Na no Zetsubō ni Hohoemu), Side: Despair #10 is the twentieth episode of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy and the tenth episode of Side: Despair. It first aired on September 15, 2016.

Summary
Chiaki Nanami is forced into her execution by Junko Enoshima, who believes Chiaki's death is the final piece needed to complete the Despair Video. Successfully disposing of the Ultimate Gamer, Junko manages to turn the once hopeful Class 77-B into the Ultimate Despair.

Plot
Chisa and Chiaki walk down the long lit hallway. Chiaki asks if they are going the right way, and Chisa observes that she is feeling nervous and says they have to do something about that. Chiaki blushes and they continue on their way. Meanwhile, Juzo has been beaten by Junko, who taunts him about his feelings for Kyosuke. Juzo is horrified that Junko knows his secret, and she threatens to tell Kyosuke. Juzo begs her not to, and Junko says she won't if he tells Kyosuke she is completely innocent, and Juzo agrees to her terms. Junko leaves, and Juzo angrily bangs his fist onto the ground.

The rest of Class 77-B continue on their way as Mikan catches up to them. Fuyuhiko asks what happened to Chiaki, and Mikan says she hurt her ankle and is waiting in another room. Kazuichi says they should have left Nagito with her. Teruteru offers to take Nagito, but then the wall opens and Kazuichi shrieks in terror. Gundham and Nekomaru arrive through the wall, and the class is relieved to see them.

Chisa leads Chiaki to an elevator, and embraces her. She compliments Chiaki on how she united the class, and led them while while she was gone. Chisa then shoves Chiaki into the elevator and says that's why she was chosen. Chiaki looks back and sees that Chisa's eyes have black and white swirls in them as the elevator closes and descends. Chiaki sees a TV screen, and Junko appears on it. Junko explains that she used her despair video to brainwash Chisa, and adds that Chiaki will help her complete the despair video.

The class enters what looks to be a trial room. They stand in the center, and then Junko appears on the TV screens in the room. She shows Chiaki on the monitor, and the door opens. Chiaki is forced into a harrowing gauntlet where she gets her left foot and right knee speared. Metal balls fly at her and injure her right eye, and right arm. Through it all, Chiaki refuses to give up. She believes she will get out alive or her friends will come and save her. Junko laughs that her friends are not coming to save her. Meanwhile, The class watches all of this in horror, and find themselves unable to move. Their eyes soon get black and white circles in them as tears fall down their cheeks, and they beg for Chiaki's life.

Finally, Chiaki comes to a door that says "goal", and everyone appears to be on the other side. The illusion is soon shattered as a spear shoots through Chiaki, and seventeen spears shoot up and impale her body as her horrified classmates look on helplessly. The screen turns red with a silhouette of Chiaki's impaled body. Nagito says Chiaki is supposed to be their hope as tears falls down his cheeks, and he laughs that Chiaki is their stepping stone to overcome despair. Junko congratulates them on becoming just like her, and says from here on out, they will seek out despair, and will do anything to obtain it. The spears retract and Chiaki's body falls to the ground. By this time, the class is now smiling as they have been completely brainwashed to embrace the despair of losing Chiaki.

Chiaki lays there and stirs as Izuru comes into the room. Chiaki weakly turns herself around and calls out for Hajime. Izuru asks whether Hajime is the one who used to own the body he has, and reveals to Chiaki that all traces of Hajime's personality have been deleted. Chiaki says she is done for and apologizes for failing to help Hajime and her other friends. Izuru is amazed that she still wants to help someone even in her current condition. Chiaki cries that she is not ready to die yet; she loves everyone and wants to stay with them. She reaches out to Izuru and says they could have played more games together. Izuru stands idly as Chiaki collapses and dies, her hairpin falling out in the process. As Izuru picks up the hairpin, something stirs from within him and he finds himself shedding many tears for Chiaki.

Appearances
The following are in order of appearance:
 * Chiaki Nanami
 * Chisa Yukizome
 * Juzo Sakakura
 * Junko Enoshima
 * Kyosuke Munakata (Photo only)
 * Ibuki Mioda
 * Ultimate Imposter
 * Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu
 * Hiyoko Saionji
 * Mahiru Koizumi
 * Kazuichi Soda
 * Nagito Komaeda
 * Teruteru Hanamura
 * Peko Pekoyama
 * Sonia Nevermind
 * Akane Owari
 * Mikan Tsumiki
 * Gundham Tanaka
 * Nekomaru Nidai
 * Izuru Kamukura
 * Monokuma (Inactive)

Trivia

 * The title of this episode is a reference to the title of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Chapter 5, "Smile at Hope in the Name of Despair."
 * In addition, both this episode and Chapter 5 feature executions of Chiaki Nanami, whether it'd be the real version or her AI counterpart.
 * When Kana Hanazawa (Chiaki's VA) was screaming for Chiaki Nanami's Punishment's scene, everyone else in the studio had to stay quiet to not make a sound at all. All the voice actors for Class 77-B were gathered up in one booth, watching Hanazawa's live screaming for more than ten minutes in silence. Just like how actual Class 77-B watched Chiaki screamed in agony through the screen. Megumi Ogata comments that the actors and actresses looked like actual people slowly falling in despair.
 * Junko said after she executed Chiaki: "The despair of losing someone you love, you'll have despairful emotional systems that let you get drunk with ecstasy on that despair" is possibly a reference when she murdered Yasuke Matsuda, her loved one, in Danganronpa/Zero.