Rantaro Amami

Rantaro Amami (天海 蘭太郎 Amami Rantarō) is a student in Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles and a participant of the Killing School Semester featured in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Rantaro's talent is currently unknown. He claims that he does not remember his talent and is not particularly concerned about discovering his talent. Thus, he is dubbed Ultimate ??? (超高校級の「???」 chō kōkō kyū no “???” lit. Super High School Level ???).

Early Life

 * Before Joining Danganronpa

Rantaro Amami was a normal talentless high school boy who participated in the 52nd and 53rd Season of Danganronpa, a famous worldwide reality show made by Team Danganronpa.

Before he participated in the 52nd Killing Game, he attended Hope's Pass High School (望峠高校). However, it is unclear if this memory of his is a part of the fabrication made by Team Danganronpa.


 * Fabricated Past

After he successfully joined Danganronpa as a Killing Game participant, Rantaro's memories and past were fabricated by Team Danganronpa as follows.

Rantaro claimed he came from a very rich family and that he was raised like a celebrity. He had multiple younger sisters, most of them stepsisters, and an unknown amount of half-brothers. It was implied his father was a businessman who might have been a big womanizer, explaining the large amount of children. The family also had a kind maid when Rantaro was a kid, who took care of the children and was like another mother for them. For Rantaro, she was an amazing person who could do anything. The siblings sometimes had disagreements over silly things like who gets to read a picture book first with the maid.

Rantaro felt responsible for his younger sisters and wanted to help them and take care of them, to the point that he apparently learned a lot about make-up and other things that are often called feminine. He claims that he frequently helped his sisters with nail art. He was especially close with his youngest sister, who always followed him around.

Many years ago, he and his entire family went on a boating trip. It was Rantaro's first one. He liked traveling and once they reached a port, he got off the ship and went on an adventure. His youngest sister followed him off the boat without him realizing and as a result, she disappeared and was never found. Rantaro blamed himself for her disappearance, believing himself to be a terrible older brother and feared that his sisters might hate him.

However, Rantaro was determined to find his sister and with his father's permission, he traveled around the world on a boat searching for her, while simultaneously helping with his father's business in search of new markets. He believed that his sister was alive unless he was proven otherwise. The traveling was dangerous, especially when he had to cross territories. Somehow, Rantaro lost all of his 12 sisters all around the world, and his family and everyone else told him to give up. He is determined to reunite his siblings no matter how many years it would take him.


 * Danganronpa 52

While never actually seen, slight aspects of Danganronpa 52 were made clear during the Killing School Semester. Rantaro was one of its participants and had the title of Ultimate Adventurer. In this Killing Game season, Rantaro was one of the participants who survived until the very end. He and supposedly one other person chose to sacrifice themselves in order to let hope win, which would lead to him being punished. Rantaro was completely unaware that the form of punishment was not to have his life taken but to participate in the next Killing Game. As a result, his memories of Danganronpa 52 were erased and he was given the title of Ultimate Survivor (超高校級の「生存者」 chō kōkō kyū no “Seizon-sha” lit. Super High School Level Survivor), replacing his original talent as the Ultimate Adventurer (超高校級の「冒険家」 chō kōkō kyū no “Bōken-ka” lit. Super High School Level Adventurer). He was also given special "perks" for surviving that he could make use of however he wanted in the next Killing Game.

The Gofer Project
Part of the fake backstories created for Rantaro and the other fifteen students was The Gofer Project, which supposedly happened before the Killing Game started. It was initiated by heads of nations from all over the world after countless meteorites crashed into Earth, spreading a deadly virus all throughout the atmosphere. To try and preserve the last vestiges of mankind before the Earth's destruction, the government decided to select sixteen talented students chosen by the Ultimate Initiative that also somehow happened to be immune to the virus, put them in a spaceship colony, and have them escape before the Earth's destruction. Rantaro was among these sixteen individuals.

Despite being chosen to participant, Rantaro and the other fifteen participants had no intentions of going along with the plan, not wanting to abandon their loved ones. As a result, Rantaro chose to forget about his Ultimate talent and decided to live as a normal high school student.

Around that time an extremist cult came into power. They believed that the meteorites were a punishment humanity brought upon itself and, having heard of The Gofer Project, tried to stop it. As a result, the “Ultimate Hunt” started and spread throughout the world, and the sixteen students selected for the Gofer Project were hunted down.

The government then decided to counter the situation by faking the students' deaths, calming down the “Ultimate Hunt” while providing protection to the students. The Gofer Project was then put into action while the Earth was being destroyed by meteorites. Rantaro and the others went to space in the massive ark, the true form of Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles, and were put to a cold sleep for several decades.

Much later on in Chapter 5, after the remaining participants cleared the Death Road of Despair, Kokichi Oma lied about being the mastermind of the Killing Game and that he was the leader of the cult bent on stopping the Gofer Project. He also lied about being the one who let Monokuma enter the spaceship, which effectively forced Rantaro and the others to participate in the Killing School Semester. All of this was done in order to get everyone to fall into so much despair that they would not continue the Killing Game.

However, the true Mastermind, in order to get the remaining survivors at the time to continue the Killing Game, decided to connect everyone's memories of the Gofer Project to the story of Hope's Peak Academy. As a result, the true Mastermind prepared a Flashback Light that tricked the remaining participants into thinking that everyone, including those that had died, was actually students of the rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy. They also remembered that the ones behind the Gofer Project were Makoto Naegi, the headmaster of the rebuilt Hope's Peak Academy, and the Future Foundation. This Flashback Light also revealed that the cult bent on stopping the Gofer Project were actually the Remnants of Despair and that Kokichi was their leader. This lie filled everyone with the determination needed to stop the despair with which they were faced.

In the Mastermind's rush, however, they accidentally overlooked slight inconsistencies and plot holes when linking both stories together, such as "Ultimate Despair" only referring to Junko Enoshima and that Class 78 was trapped by the Ultimate Despair when they had actually locked themselves within the school in order to shelter themselves from the tragedy outside.

While Rantaro seemed to have an inkling about what was going on before his death, since he mentioned the Ultimate Hunt, it is unknown just how much he actually knew about the event, as he was murdered before he actually received a complete memory about the Gofer Project by the Flashback Light in Chapter 5.

Introduction
Rantaro was among the first fourteen people gathered in the gymnasium before Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara arrived. Unlike everyone else, who seemed surprised, shocked, or confused about their current predicament, Rantaro was the only person in the group who seemed to have an inkling on their current situation. He only became more suspicious after Kaede and Shuichi arrived, seeing the total number of people as an indication of what was about to transpire. Once the Monokuma Kubs arrived and revealed themselves from within their Exisals, Rantaro was confident that this was exactly what he thought it was. Despite his foresight, it was meaningless as his memory was completely overwritten by the Flashback Light, where all of his and everyone else's past memories and personalities were heavily fabricated. He also received the talent and title of Ultimate Survivor due to surviving Danganronpa 52. All of this was done for the sake of satisfying Danganronpa's audience from all over the world. After the fabrication process was completed, Rantaro and the others entered the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles as totally different people, officially commencing the 53rd killing game season known as the Killing School Semester.

Rantaro would later be encountered on the first floor for the first time by Kaede and Shuichi. Right off the bat, he came off as an enigmatic and mysterious individual due to not really being overly worried about their current situation, or that he couldn't remember his own talent. Despite the latter fact, he introduced himself to the duo and reassuringly promised him that he wasn't a bad guy. He later gathered in the gymnasium with everyone once the Monokuma Kubs made their announcement, where he was introduced to the five robotic teddy bears properly before their father came to break up their squabble. Their father just so happened to be Monokuma, the self-appointed headmaster of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles. Monokuma announced to the sixteen high schoolers that they would be participating in a Killing Game. Once again, unlike most of the others, Rantaro was one of the only ones to not show much worry or shock about the situation. With that, the Killing School Semester had officially begun.

Attempting the Death Road of Despair
After Monokuma commenced the Killing Game, Rantaro read the Killing Game rules on his MonoPad. The disturbing rules baffled all of the students, causing discord among the group. Kaede saw this and immediately stopped them, saying that they should cooperate together instead of fighting if they wanted to escape. Rantaro listened to Kaede as she proposed a sound and straightforward argument. Everyone's heart was able to become one, all thanks to her speech. Rantaro praised her, then he eerily stated that she has what it takes to win before telling her to be careful. Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist, then remembered that he found a manhole inside the boiler room behind the school building. Rantaro along with everyone else immediately followed the Gonta's lead, with hope of finding a way out.

Descending the manhole, Rantaro and the others found a tunnel leading outside of the academy. Though everyone thought that the tunnel probably ended up being a trap, they still had to test every single possibility in order to escape. However, Rantaro and the others exhausted themselves both physically and mentally as they found that escaping through Death Road of Despair was next to impossible. Due to this, Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, revolted, saying that Kaede's repeated motivational speech was the source of the group's agony, added by some of her friends giving up on escaping the tunnel, Rantaro included, the group's harmony came to a swift end. The tunnel ended up being a trap set by Monokuma and the Monokuma Kubs, much to everyone's dismay. Rantaro remained calm and told everyone that they should conserve their strength and head to their dorms to rest.

Rantaro's Secret
As it turned out, Rantaro had lied to all of the students about forgetting his talent. He was fully aware that he held the title of Ultimate Survivor since the beginning because he had a Survivor Perk Monopad which was given to him as a reward for surviving a previous Killing Game. The Survivor Perk Monopad contained an entire map of the school; this map even included the hidden room connected to the library, though not the hidden passageway that connected it to the girl's bathroom on the first floor of the academy. The only people to know about the hidden room were himself, Shuichi and Kaede, who came across it thanks to the former's intuition, and The Mastermind. However, Rantaro's memories of the past Killing Game were wiped thanks to the Flashback Lights. As a result, he had to return to square one to discover the identity of the mastermind and end the Killing Game.

With the ominous message left on his Survivor Perk Monopad, Rantaro decided to investigate the school alone. He couldn't take the risk of trusting anybody with his information, with the threat of anyone who finds out who he really was coming after him. As a result, Rantaro decided to end the Killing Game by himself without aid from anyone after Monokuma presented the time limit motive, which would later prove to be Rantaro's downfall.

In a bonus scene in Chapter 1, Rantaro would walk in on Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, painting Kaede's nails. He claimed that he was able to paint nails as well, not for a girlfriend, but for family. He then showed his capability by painting Kaede's nails, much to Tsumugi's jealousy.

Rantaro's Plan
The final day of the time limit, Rantaro got into a dispute with Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, in the dining hall. He was joined by Kaede and Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist, not long after. Ryoma was willing to give up his life for everyone else if it meant that they would survive. He wanted to escape with everyone and remain friends but believed that they had no more time left for idealism, and, as such, he was willing to die for them. Rantaro calmed him down and told him, along with everyone else present, that he would end this Killing Game himself. He warned them all not to do anything unnecessary before leaving the dining hall. His words had seemingly calmed Ryoma down for the time being.

Thanks to his Survivor Perk Monopad, Rantaro discovered that the library in the basement must have been connected to The Mastermind and planned to make his way there. As time began to run out, the monitors began to play an ominous song in order to drive the participants mad enough to begin killing. He joined Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, and five others for a strategy meeting that Kaito himself had proposed to fight Monokuma. Unbeknownst to him and the rest of the group, they were spotted by Kaede and Shuichi from the lookout classroom, the duo having a plan to catch the mastermind themselves while unaware of what Rantaro was planning.

During the strategy meeting, Rantaro left by lying to Kaito that he needed to use the bathroom in order to check the secret room in the library. While in the library, Rantaro discovered the door into the hidden room behind a bookshelf, which he promptly moved out of the way. This triggered Shuichi's sensor on top of the shelf, and Kaede's hidden camera, whose flash led him over to it. It was around this time that Kaede had thrown her shot put ball that she had retrieved from the warehouse earlier into the air duct that led into the library. The ball came out of the vent and rolled along the books on top of the shelf that she had set up. The ball failed to hit Rantaro but shocked him greatly.

During this time, Rantaro, Shuichi, and Kaede were completely unaware that someone else was aware of their plans to end the Killing Game thanks to the Nanokumas around the entire campus. That someone was the Mastermind of the Killing School Semester, Tsumugi Shirogane. Witnessing Kaede's plan fail through the hidden room, she immediately left it and made her way into the library. Rantaro was baffled as to why a shot put ball fell from up above and, while distracted, was instantly killed by Tsumugi with her own shot put ball.

Tsumugi took Kaede's shot put ball that failed to hit him, replaced it with her own, then stole Rantaro's Survivor Perk Monopad and made her way back into the hidden room, completely covering up his murder and making it look like Kaede's plan had succeeded and that she accidentally killed him in her plan to reveal and kill the mastermind.



Later on, when everyone came upon Rantaro's body, everyone was mystified as to why and how he was killed. Due to the altered crime scene and nobody other than Tsumugi knowing what really had transpired, Kaede was shocked and horrified at the thought that she had killed a dear friend instead of her intended target. As a result, everyone was fooled into believing that Kaede was the culprit during the Class Trial, including Kaede herself, who mentally apologized to Rantaro for being unable to reveal the mastermind during the trial.

After Kaede's execution, Monokuma openly mocked Rantaro, claiming that he may have stood out more as a character had he discovered his talent. The full truth of Rantaro's murder would not become clear until much later.

Uncovering the Truth
Rantaro's Research Lab opened up on the fifth floor of the academy after the fourth Class Trial had concluded, but it remained locked by Monokuma, saying that the fact that he had died before the lab was available was the main reason as to why it remained inaccessible.

During K1-B0's rampage after the conclusion of the fifth Class Trial, he blasted open the door that led into Rantaro's lab in order to let Shuichi investigate. He was quickly joined by Himiko and the two searched the room. At first, the room was ambiguous, and it was hard to judge what Rantaro's talent was based on the room's appearance. The duo found a laptop with nothing on it and a massive safe in the back of the room. Within the safe, they found a USB stick that they put into the USB port on the laptop, which revealed a video file. Shuichi accessed it, and it played a pre-recorded message by Rantaro before he had lost his memory, intended for the Rantaro after he had lost his memory. He went on to reveal that this wasn't his first Killing Game, that he had survived a previous Killing Game and earned the title of Ultimate Survivor before telling "himself" that he wanted this Killing Game and that he had to survive no matter what. Both Shuichi and Himiko were left baffled by this sudden revelation.

After the investigation had concluded, Shuichi, Himiko, Tsumugi, K1-B0, and Maki Harukawa, decide to reopen Rantaro's case after discovering new truths related to his murder. Upon revealing to everyone that Rantaro's talent was the Ultimate Survivor and proving that Kaede did in fact not murder him and was executed unjustly, Shuichi realized that the mastermind has to be one of them. By double-checking everyone's alibis during Rantaro's murder, Shuichi honed in on Tsumugi as the true culprit and mastermind of the Killing School Semester.

The clues that Rantaro had left behind would later be used by Shuichi to disprove their own supposed memories, such as the fact that, even though he had participated in a previous Killing Game, he was not present for the Killing School Life or the Killing School Trip. Rantaro would be brought up one final time near the end of the trial in order to prove Shuichi's deduction that the form of "punishment" for the two who sacrifice themselves would be to participate in the next Killing Game, which would be the final nail in the coffin to convince everyone to abandon their vote in order to end the Killing Game once and for all.

In the end, Rantaro achieved his goal of defeating the mastermind, as his and Kaede's deaths were avenged after Danganronpa finally come to its end in the last execution.

Creation and Development
The starting point for Rantaro's character creation was "a mysterious man of gentle manners." His name was chosen after many rejected attempts, and the same goes for his design. For his looks, the initial concept was someone who looks like an active outdoorsy guy, and one time he became a thin-eyed character (version 4 of his design), but eventually the creators settled with the current design to keep the visual balance of the cast. With his soft voice to match his soft mask, along with his light-hearted way of speaking, Kazutaka Kodaka did all he could to make him into a mysterious and cool man somehow. The thing is, making him just handsome made Kodaka feel like he was lacking in characteristics, so he was given a bunch of accessories and a more recognizable silhouette. The result was his very modern-looking current design.

As he is just a straight-up handsome guy just as conceptualized, Rantaro got a quite big reaction from the fans, as expected. After hearing Hikaru Midorikawa's voice work during recordings, Kodaka was left craving for more and decided to make Rantaro live longer, but it was already too late to change the script. "All I could do is cry, cry, and leave things the way they are", Kodaka described.

The "Ultimate ???" was already part of the Danganronpa formula, but Rantaro was made different from the rest by having him out of the game before he could reveal his ability. The plot twist of leaving him shrouded in mystery and bringing it back up in the second half of the story was planned from the start. The "answer to the mystery about his Ultimate talent" was the part that came up on the later stages of writing.

Name
天海 (Amami), consists of the kanji (天) "heaven" and (海) "sea". It also means "love me" in Italian, and is the name of a species of rabbit. His given name consists of 蘭 ran, meaning "orchid" and 太郎 tarō, a common suffix for Japanese boys' names which literally means "healthy son" and is usually given to the eldest son in the family.

Alternate Fates
In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version), Rantaro was in front of the classroom where Kaede woke up. When he encountered Kaede and Makoto Naegi, he asked whether they remembered being here before. He speculated that all of them had amnesia after being brainwashed or group hypnosis, and he stated that he didn't remember his talent and looked forward to remembering it. Strangely enough, his talent was not listed on the freshman document, and Makoto commented that he was probably one of the students that didn't want his talent to be known so easily.

After Yasuhiro Hagakure's body was discovered, Rantaro and the others investigated his death and attended the Class Trial to search for the culprit. However, Rantaro and K1-B0 sat out from the trial due to room being unable to accommodate more than 16 students. He agreed to sitting out after everyone promised to discover the identity of the blackened.

Appearance
Rantaro is a tall young man with light green hair and two small ahoge. His eyes are green and have notably long, thick eyelashes. He wears a dark blue striped sweater with gray pants and slip-on shoes. His sarouel pants tied to his ankles are loosely based on a traditional garb from Islamic culture. His sweater has a big dark symbol resembling his former high school, Hope's Pass High School, as well as both a boat's steering wheel and the setting sun.

Rantaro has a necklace with a crystal accessory on it. He wears a silver bracelet on his right wrist and a different, larger bracelet on the left. He also has multiple silver rings: one on his left index finger, one on his right thumb, and one on the right index finger. His right middle finger has a one bigger and darker ring. His right ear has six piercings (five rings and one bead earring), while his left ear only has one bead earring. He also has a one piercing on his right eyebrow.

He is relatively good-looking and it is noted in the game that he looks like a "playboy." Kodaka has also repeatedly called him a "handsome guy".

In the prologue, he wears the uniform of his original high school. He wears indigo-colored pants with brown cardigan and loafers. His clothes look rowdy, letting the tri-colored necktie loose and having the sleeves rolled up. He looks more diligent without his accessories like rings and earrings.

Personality
When he was first introduced, Rantaro seemed like a mysterious individual. Later it could be seen that he is a carefree and relaxed person, and he is actually described as one of the more ordinary students despite his mysteriousness, with he himself stating that he can sometimes get a bit overwhelmed by the others' stranger personalities. Nevertheless, he is shown to have more patience with some eccentric students like Kokichi and Miu, with a tendency to just laugh off some of things they say. Even though Rantaro cannot remember his talent, he doesn't seem worried about it, instead, he simply looks forward to finding out what it is. He is usually seen smiling and describes himself as "not a suspicious guy". He gives off a really calm and composed vibe and seems like a reliable person. His speech is characterized by being very friendly and colloquial, using the "～っす" copula in his sentence. Fan translations usually adapt this pattern by using teenage slang in his lines. Furthermore, he is stated to have "nonchalant fashionable style" and "serious dedication for looking stylish", and he is a big defender of the idea that your fashion items should express your personality. He has bought clothes from all around the world, though he is also quite picky about his accessories.

Despite his appearance and manner of speech, he has cold, excellent insight, and he is both determined and brave. He even has downright frightening expressions whenever he gets very serious. While the other students descend into confusion and chaos when Monokuma and the Monokuma Kubs state their objective, he is capable of coldly interrogating them about their motives. He also shows a deep understanding of the situation and often talks and acts like he knows something the others don't know, saying profound-sounding and enigmatic sentences, which often make him sound quite suspicious or even eerie. He is shown to be very competent in the Killing Game scenario, understanding that in order to truly win the game you must end the game itself instead of outwitting other participants, and he warns Kaede about her inspirational speeches and strong cooperation with others because it makes her a notable threat in the eyes of the mastermind. During his Free Time Events with Kaede, she notices that he calmly observes other students and makes logical assumptions about them. He plans to end the Killing Game, telling the others not to intervene, but he ultimately fails because of Kaede's actions.

People (especially girls) occasionally seem to assume that Rantaro is a womanizer and he himself is aware that he looks like "a playboy", but he always insists he isn't that kind of person and he doesn't have a girlfriend, stating that he's just a chill, friendly guy. Apparently, he dislikes it when people assume that he is a womanizer or the kind of person to quickly hook up with someone based on his looks, possibly because his father might be one. During the special event scene with him, Kaede and Tsumugi in Chapter 1, they talk about how his looks give the impression of a playboy while he really isn't that kind of person at all, though in the English version Tsumugi also seems to assume that he might be gay considering his insistence on not having a girlfriend and his somewhat stereotypical mannerisms. Since Kaede still keeps assuming that his nail art skills are related to a possible girlfriend, he admits it's always been "for family, nothing romantic". Furthermore, he appears a bit awkward whenever other people flirt with him or assume that he is flirting with them, sweating slightly and putting his hand behind his head while smiling awkwardly. Especially Kaede tends to assume he is flirting with her or has a girlfriend, but he always states it's nothing like that. He also looks similarly awkward when he thinks Shuichi wants to ask him out in the bonus mode Love Across the Universe and he takes a moment to realize what Shuichi might mean by "taking their clothes off". He appears slightly uncomfortable, but answers seriously that he is flattered but Shuichi can't ask him out of blue like that. Appearing a bit offended and sighing with slight annoyance, he states he is not that kind of guy, and that Shuichi would have better luck with someone else. If Shuichi suggests reading dirty books with Rantaro, he seems to find it quite amusing and advices him in a somewhat big brotherly manner to do it in his private time and assures he won't tell anyone. When Shuichi talks about not wanting to leave him alone during his Free Time Events, Rantaro is surprised and then blushes awkwardly and tells him he can't be serious and that he's not sure how to respond to a guy saying that. This along with his Love Suite scene, which portrays his ideal relationship as one that mirrors his relationship with his younger siblings, seems to imply that he has little interest in romance and sex, or at the very least does not consider it a big priority and dislikes casual hook-ups.

Instead, due to of having multiple little sisters, he acts like a responsible big brother towards some of his classmates. He has great knowledge of concepts that are considered feminine because he used to help his younger sisters with certain things like schoolwork and nail art. His behavior towards Kokichi in one of the anthology stories indicates that he can also be very soft with his siblings and possibly other young or young-looking people, as he seems to have a hard time saying no if they ask him nicely. However, Rantaro considers himself a terrible brother after an accident in the past, even calling himself "Ultimate Useless Older Brother". The possibility of his sisters hating him and their safety in general appears to be his biggest concern and even though he is seemingly a relaxed person, he is actually very stressed during the Killing Game, because he is very worried of his sisters and feels that he needs to get out in order to help them. He tends to smile constantly, even though he is actually feeling bad on the inside, which is supposedly a habit he developed due to having so many younger siblings to take care of. Very few times, when he gets a feeling that his sisters might accept him, he can have a real smile and laugh. His biggest dream is to reunite his sisters and have their acceptance, and he is extremely dedicated to this dream, to the point that he once joked that he may have some sort of sister complex. In his Love Suite scene, his fantasy shows his ideal situation in which he wishes to stop being a teacher for his younger sibling, because he claims it's too dangerous to be involved with him any longer and he wishes to spare them from all the details, which likely refers to the Killing Game. He even mentions himself dying, though he claims it's just a joke. However, his younger sibling wishes to support him despite the risk and convinces him to tell them about it, which makes Rantaro genuinely happy and feel peace. In the bonus mode, with Shuichi's support, he believes he'll become a real Ultimate Big Brother some day.

Rantaro is shown to be a bit unsure of himself. A lot of this stress is related to his sisters' situation, but he is also shown to be a bit insecure about his memory issues, assuming that others wouldn't trust someone like him and wondering if he can even trust himself. His unsure nature is also seen in the way he often laughs in a laid-back manner and states that he's just guessing after explaining some of his reasoning. Furthermore, he appears surprised whenever someone is really nice to him, as he blushes and states that it's such a sweet thing to do, clearly not assuming other people would treat him like that. Whenever he is in the bad mood, he tends to sigh in slight annoyance and won't hesitate to openly state out loud that he doesn't want to talk. It's also been shown that, despite his rather chill demeanor, he possesses a no-nonsense attitude towards very immature and childish behavior, at least when it comes from people of his own age. During Love Across the Universe, if Shuichi suggests childish activities such as shouting inside the library or playing with certain objects for no apparent reason, he often responses with slight annoyance and awkwardness, once even telling Shuichi to be an adult. He also feels a bit embarrassed to do things like baking or dancing with Shuichi.

As a big character trait, Rantaro has had the nature of an adventurer since a young age, as he apparently had a tendency to go on small adventures all by himself. He has also stated that he likes to travel plenty of times and has been in somewhat dangerous areas as well. He claims he admires travelers and loves to visit new places and meet new people, and would love to do that his whole life. However, he has stated that he does not like to use the term "traveler" of himself, as it's a bit "too romantic" for him.

Shuichi inferred that Rantaro's character in the previous Killing Game was selfless, as he joined another Killing Game and became the Ultimate Survivor because he chose to sacrifice himself for the other students. However this contradicts to the fact that he himself, through the footage that he left behind, said that he wanted to participate and win the Killing Game.

Talent and Abilities
Rantaro's Ultimate talent is a fabrication made by Team Danganronpa. Before joining Danganronpa, he was only a talentless ordinary high school student.

Ultimate Survivor
Due to surviving the previous Killing Game and participating in the current one, Rantaro gained the title of Ultimate Survivor. However, because he does not remember this, he goes by the Ultimate ???.

Ultimate Adventurer
In Love Across the Universe: Dangan Salmon Team, Rantaro remembers that his talent is the Ultimate Adventurer, which was most likely his talent during the previous Killing Game. The title fits his supposed backstory, with him having a nature of an adventurer and traveling around the world in search of his sisters.

Fitting his talent, Rantaro is a determined traveler and has visited several different countries, and knows how to sail a boat. He thoroughly learns about whatever country he is currently visiting, including the language, the local tourist attractions as well as the dangers. He has also mentioned being rather good at cooking and knowing many different recipes thanks to his traveling. He has bought clothes from all around the world. According to Kazutaka Kodaka, he is also resistant to all temperatures, most likely due to his constant traveling around the world.

In other languages
Rantaro's talent as it appears in official translations of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Analytical Skill
While Rantaro is seen as a mysterious individual, he shows a high intellect and calm composure to analyze his surroundings.

In the main story, before the reveal of his supposed talent, Shuichi Saihara and Himiko Yumeno examined his Research Lab, noticing it to be full of puzzles and concluding Rantaro's title might be related to puzzle-solving.

Relationships

 * Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles:

Kaede Akamatsu
As shown in one of character trailer of Danganronpa V3, Rantaro admired how Kaede could pull everyone together and is impressed with her leadership skill. Kaede thinks that he is a refreshing person and easy to talk to. Kaede was surprised how Rantaro acts so care-free and relaxed before the Class Trial in the demo's beginning. She states that even though things have become more complicated, Rantaro has found the way to clear the whole situation, which made her curious. She was also confused how Rantaro speaks so calmly against Monokuma during the situation and is desperate to find what Rantaro's true talent is.

During their Free Time Events, Kaede states that she wants to be friends with Rantaro no matter who he was in the past. Despite him having his talent as unknown and him being suspicious, Kaede still cares for Rantaro and respects him and believes that he is not the mastermind behind the whole Killing Game. Kaede lights his mind up with hope and made him not fall into despair. Rantaro seems to also care for Kaede, as he feels worried and commented on how she is trying to help everyone and said she should take it easy. He thinks Kaede is easy to talk to and feels ease whenever he is next to her. He calls both of them comrades amongst all of the Ultimates since they're a bit more ordinary than some others.

Kaede tends to assume that Rantaro is a womanizer and attempting to hit on her, even though he always insists he is not that kind of person. Whenever she got invited by him to drink tea together, Kaede was curious and kept assuming if it was a dating simulator where Rantaro could hit on girls. However, Rantaro admitted that his looks may resemble a playboy, but he is a chill, friendly guy.

Later on, in Chapter 1, it was shown that these two seems to be likely in great terms with each other and get along. It was shown that Rantaro was painting Kaede's nails and suggest the nail design that Kaede needs since her nails were short. Rantaro is extremely patient with Kaede and they both have faith in each other with trust. Kaede inspired Rantaro with words that filled his heart with determination and wants to stop the Killing Game. While everyone else laid their suspicion on Rantaro as being the mastermind, Kaede seems to understand Rantaro and hates the fact how Rantaro could be the Ultimate Murderous Fiend or something worse. Later, Rantaro suggested that he should go to the library to find the secret door leading to the mastermind's secret place, but got killed by the mastermind. Without knowing, Kaede got involved at the wrong time and distracted Rantaro from the mastermind's attack. When Kaede first discovered Rantaro's corpse, her legs were trembling with fear which shows that she was frightened to see Rantaro being dead. She demanded to figure out who would kill Rantaro and states how she will never forgive the person who would kill an important comrade. Later in the trial, Kaede believed that she was the culprit who murdered Rantaro and confesses her sins. She calls herself as a horrible murderer and is sorry for him and Shuichi directly the most and regrets for "killing" Rantaro after the trial end and later got executed.

In the non-canon Danganronpa V3 bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, Kaede was waiting for Rantaro after the Christmas party almost ended. She was aware that Rantaro would come back soon. Kaede states how she left some cake for Rantaro and how she missed him. In the end, they ate the leftover cake together. There is also an event where Kaede visits Rantaro at his soccer game to wish good luck and cheer for him.

Shuichi Saihara
When Rantaro met Kaede and Shuichi, Shuichi seemed confused how Rantaro mentioned about everyone gathering and getting amnesia. He thinks he is some way mysterious and has some clues about his backstory. Rantaro is shown to have strong faith in Shuichi's abilities and considers him a real detective even though Shuichi himself doesn't. Later in Chapter 1, Shuichi became quite hostile towards Rantaro based on his suspicions about him being the mastermind and forgetting his talent.

In the Love Suite event, Rantaro has the role of a private tutor or a teacher of Shuichi. As the situation reflects the relationship between Rantaro and his younger siblings, he treats Shuichi like a child, which makes him a bit uncomfortable. Because of this, Rantaro assumed that Shuichi dislikes him, but Shuichi denies it. Rantaro is relieved that Shuichi doesn't despise him, but he states that he no longer would be his teacher, as he thinks he made Shuichi uneasy and he could be in danger with him. He wishes to protect Shuichi, so he wouldn't lose another person that is very important to him. He mentions the possibility of himself dying and while he claims he was joking, Shuichi doesn't believe him. Shuichi tells Rantaro he would rather hear his story even if it is a risk rather than leave Rantaro to deal with it alone. In the end of the event, Rantaro feels very glad, trusting Shuichi even more and waiting for the time to tell him his story.

During the bonus mode Love Across the Universe, Rantaro slowly warms up to and explains his situation to Shuichi. He is very glad that Shuichi believes in his goal to find his sisters, since nobody else does. Shuichi promises to become Rantaro's traveling companion in the search of his sisters, which could even last a lifetime, and Rantaro is motivated to become a real Ultimate Big Brother with his support.

Tsumugi Shirogane
Tsumugi grows a strong hatred for Rantaro, calling him an edgy normie, and feels disgusted by his actions.

In the nails painting scene, Tsumugi watched the two of her friends, Kaede and Rantaro, having a scene together of Rantaro painting Kaede's nails and Tsumugi watched silently while her facial expression shows that she is disgusted by the two. She holds her anger when Rantaro interrupts them and offered to paint Kaede's nails. She also made a death threat that Rantaro should blow up forever since he was being a total normie.

It was later revealed in Chapter 6 that Tsumugi was the one who killed Rantaro and framed Kaede for the incident. Tsumugi didn't want Rantaro to discover the secret and ruin the fun of the Killing Game. She was aware that Rantaro would be in her way and cause trouble, along with Kaede, so she decided to kill both of them and tricked them into her trap all along. Tsumugi stopped him by killing him from behind when Rantaro wasn't looking but paid attention to the ball that Kaede used.

Korekiyo Shinguji
During Chapter 1, Rantaro had a good impression of Korekiyo and considers him interesting, appearing to be the only one who has a positive view on Korekiyo.

During his first Free Time Event with Kaede, Rantaro tells her that Korekiyo has a strong personality, but if she takes the time to speak with him she'll understand him. In addition, he emphasizes that Korekiyo is a calm person who seems to be a clever type.

In the bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, it's shown that Rantaro and Korekiyo are very good friends. They share a great interest in traveling and they both have a close relationship with their sister, seemingly seeing each other briefly whenever they're both in the school area and tell each other where they've been lately. However, it's also implied that Korekiyo has taken interest in meeting Rantaro's sisters in order to make them his sister's "friends", meaning murdering them.

Kokichi Oma
Like everyone else, Rantaro can be a bit annoyed with Kokichi's behavior. While the two are not shown interacting much, Kokichi called him his "beloved Amami-chan" and cried when he saw his corpse. However, his attitude changed very quickly, making it hard to tell which one of his reactions was truthful. Kokichi later claims he doesn't want Rantaro to come back to life, because he'd rather have Shuichi's wish to have Kaede come back true, to make Shuichi happy.

Much later, it's seen that Kokichi has the life-like statue of Rantaro made by Angie hanging upside down next to his bed. This implies that Kokichi misses him and hints that his reaction to Rantaro's death wasn't part of his lying nature.

During one of the anthology stories, it's shown that Rantaro might have a big brotherly attitude towards Kokichi. When the students are attempting to catch Kokichi, they set an "Amami trap", with him waiting in place and attempting to catch him with his arms. However, Kokichi sweetly asks him to let him go and calls him "big bro", causing Rantaro to immediately soften and let him pass "just for that one time", to the annoyance of the other students. He is seen treating Kokichi somewhat similarly in other stories as well, treating him more kindly and patiently as if he were a child, though in his thoughts he is finding Kokichi quite bothersome and a type of person he will probably never get used to.

Kirumi Tojo
During the bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, Kirumi offers to fix Rantaro's clothes' split hem, reminding him of the maid his family had years ago. The maid was like another mother for Rantaro's siblings, but he then corrects that it's not like he sees Kirumi that way.

K1-B0
While the two aren't seen interacting much, it's shown in Rantaro's free time with Kaede that he does appear to have a bit more respect towards the robot than many other students have. He recognizes that K1-B0's personality isn't as unique as his status as a robot, but he believes K1-B0 is on their side, considering the Three Laws of Robotics. While talking with Shuichi, he smiles awkwardly as he realizes that he shouldn't say bad things about robots, because K1-B0 wouldn't like that.

During the Demo version, Rantaro spent a lot time with K1-B0 and later vouched for his innocence during the beginning of the trial, and the two were left out of the trial due to the lack of space.

Miu Iruma
Rantaro is a bit overwhelmed by Miu's foul mouth but doesn't seem to dislike her as much as some other students do.

When Kaede and Rantaro talk about some of their more unique classmates during his Free Time Events, Rantaro mentions that Miu's talent is beyond understanding for ordinary people like them. He mentions that he understands her thought process, though and that she likes to be the one on top. Kaede gets confused by the wording and Rantaro laughs that he was just trying to make a joke.

Free Time

 * Main article, including full dialogue: Free Time Events/Rantaro Amami, Hotel Kumasutra

Quotes
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 * -|Extra=

List of Appearances

 * -|Games=
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version)
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
 * -|Manga=
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology Volume 2
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology Volume 3

Trivia

 * Rantaro is a character. Before the game's release, he is given the impression of a very mysterious character and it's indicated that he will be one of the major characters. During the beginning of the game, he comes across as a very suspicious character, with other characters constantly pointing out this and his mysterious talent. He even comes across as potentially evil at times and Shuichi quickly assumes he's the mastermind. However, he ends up being the first victim, dying before the player and the other characters can learn much about him. As part of the red herring, he was even made slightly similar to Nagito Komaeda and had very similar sprites.
 * Rantaro is the third character in the main series whose talent is unknown at the beginning, succeeding Kyoko Kirigiri and Hajime Hinata in that regard. He is also the first Ultimate ??? to die in the series.
 * Rantaro is one of the only two people to die before seeing their Research Lab, the other being Kokichi Oma.
 * He is one of the few characters to have participated in more than one Killing Game.
 * Oddly enough, Rantaro's face is never shown in the pre-Class Trial portraits, like all the other participants are.
 * Rantaro's birth flower is maple, or "Kaede" (楓) in Japanese.
 * In the official Danganronpa V3 art book, Rantaro's last name, Amami (天海), was mistakenly written as Amano (天野).
 * In a poll hosted by MyNavi, fans voted Rantaro the 6th most popular Danganronpa V3 student.
 * Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki from April 27th, 2017 to May 22nd, 2017 held two popularity polls, one that was voted electronically and the other via post cards. Rantaro was voted the 6th most popular student in the electronic poll, and 13th through post cards.

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