Chiaki Nanami (Danganronpa 3)

''This character is separate from Chiaki Nanami's AI of Danganronpa 2. For the AI version, see Chiaki Nanami.'' Chiaki Nanami (七海 千秋 Nanami Chiaki) is one of the characters featured in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side: Despair.

Chiaki has the title Ultimate Gamer (超高校級の「ゲーマー」chō kōkō kyū no “gēmā” lit. Super High School Level Gamer) and is enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B. She served as the class representative in the Student Council.

Chiaki was executed by Junko Enoshima, her death effectively managing to drive all her classmates from Class 77-B into the Ultimate Despair.

During the Neo World Program, it was revealed that the AI created as the observer of the program took the form of Chiaki, as the Remnants of Despair wanted to see their class representative again. While they appear similar in some ways, it's been stated multiple times that the two are not the same person and have differences in memories and personality.

Appearance
Chiaki is around 17-18 years old. undefined

She has short, light pink hair which is slightly curled. She wears a white clip, in the shape of the spaceship from Galaga, on the left side of her bangs and has pale pink eyes, much like her AI counterpart.

Chiaki wears the uniform of Hope's Peak, on top of a cream colored hoodie, and a white shirt with a red ribbon tied to its collar. Her leg-wear consists of a pair of black thigh high socks and white loafers. In Side: Despair - Episode 06, Chiaki dons her AI counterpart's green hoodie instead of her usual cream colored one.

Personality
Chiaki is a calm and quiet individual. She seems, at first, to be a little unsocial, but eventually opens up, and becomes a lot more talkative when discussing games. She is quite analytical and enjoys learning new things, leading her to ask questions often. Chiaki seems to not be fully aware of her surroundings while playing video games, seen as when she bumped into Hajime Hinata, and usually puts so much focus on them, that she almost never takes her eyes of the screen.

Chiaki doesn't think much of her talent. In fact, she seems to dislike it, believing that her love for gaming will not help her gain any friends. When her teacher tells her that she can make friends by playing her games with them, Chiaki opens up more to those around her and starts taking part in group activities. Chiaki even becomes her class's representative after helping her classmates bond. She learns to care for all her classmates, despite their own faults, and can be very protective of them.

According to her classmates, Chiaki is a very industrious person. Determined to keep her classmates together, she plans several group activities daily, and even convinces Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu to join them. Chiaki is also responsible for planning Chisa Yukizome's return party. Chiaki can also be very modest. When complimented by others, she claims they are exaggerating or simply brushes the remark away with an excuse.

Many of Chiaki's beliefs have actually been influenced by her teacher, Chisa. Chiaki comes to understand Chisa's belief that talent is not all there is to life and that doing more important things, such as creating memories with others, creates hope. Chiaki often shares these thoughts with Hajime in the hopes of building up his self-confidence.

Ultimate Gamer
As the Ultimate Gamer, Chiaki is exceptional with all genres of gaming, proving to be almost unbeatable. This is shown multiple times, such as when she easily beats Hajime multiple times in a game, as well as when she beats Ibuki Mioda, Hiyoko Saionji, and Chisa in a racing game. In addition, when playing her favorite game, Gala Omega, her high score is revealed to be 999900, which seems to be the highest score one can get in the game. Chiaki knows everything about every single existing game, and is initially almost always seen playing a game, usually Gala Omega, on her Nantendo Game Girl Advance. She admits to Hajime that she has developed a love for games themselves, and doesn’t mind if she kept losing at them because of it.

Whether or not Chiaki also excels at dating sims, unlike her AI counterpart, is unknown.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side: Despair
Chiaki is a character featured in Danganronpa 3 - Side: Despair. Chiaki appears to be a human and student of Hope's Peak Academy. It is possible that the AI version was based off her.

Episode 01 - Hello Again, Hope's Peak Academy
Chiaki accidentally bumped into Hajime in the park while she was focused on her game. Chiaki continued to walk down the path until Hajime recognized that the game she was playing was Gala Omega. Surprised that someone knew an old and classic game like Gala Omega, she approached Hajime enthusiastically, saying that she never met anyone who played the game as much as her. She made Hajime promise to her to show his game.

When Chiaki and Hajime were discussing the game, her new homeroom teacher, Chisa came to her along with the dragged Ultimate Imposter. Chisa recognized Hajime as a Reserve Course Student from his uniform and informed Chiaki about it as she didn't know what it was.

Chiaki disagreed with Hajime's view that justified talent is everything. She said that talent is not an end goal: the fact that Hajime is talentless gives him greater freedom than a person with talent. He can go anywhere and become anything, unlike her, being talented only when it comes to games. Soon after that, Chisa picked her up and Chiaki bid farewell to Hajime.

When Chiaki and the students once again bring up that they didn't have to go to class, so long as they have their talent, Chisa reminded them that talent isn't everything, and wanted them to build strong relationships and "hope" with each other.

Episode 02 - My Impurest Heart for You
Chiaki was playing games when Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai's deadly training session inside during the class almost destroyed the entire classroom. She left the class, following the Ultimate Imposter. She was disappointed that her classmates weren't good at becoming a team and that her gaming skills won't earn her any friends. Suddenly, Chisa appeared and mocked her talent. Chiaki objected her statement and suddenly realized that if games are fun to play by herself, they'll be even more fun if she plays it with everyone else.

Chiaki took Chisa's advice and brought games that she recommended to everyone, playing it together inside their classroom. When she saw it, Chisa was surprised that Chiaki listened to her advice. She said to her teacher that games are fun when she plays them together with her friends. Chiaki brought four games in total and played three of them.

During the break time, Chiaki and her classmates ate nikujaga which was cooked by Teruteru Hanamura and Hiyoko Saionji. She was unaware that the food contained aphrodisiacs secretly added by Hiyoko and tried to fight the effect. Before Teruteru could molest Hiyoko, Chiaki moved to her classmate's side and delivered to Teruteru the "Heaven-slaying Dragon Fist." Still under the effect of aphrodisiacs, she lost her consciousness afterward.

Chiaki and the others were brought to and recovered in the nurse's office. Chiaki told her friends that she was inspired by the game Double Dragon II when she beat the game's main antagonist and last boss, Willy Mackey, using her special attack. Hearing her story, Chisa had the idea to elect Chiaki as their class representative.

The next day, Chisa asked Chiaki to take the position as their class rep. Chiaki didn't want to at first but after she heard her classmates' support, she agreed to take the position. After the school day end, Chiaki waited for Hajime outside the Reserve Course building's gate and asked him to hang out together in the game center.

Episode 03 - A Farewell to All Futures
Chiaki met with Hajime as usual, after the school day's end, at the water fountain near the school. The two of them played Gala Omega together, but as his mind was buzzing off somewhere, Hajime was defeated by Chiaki. Chiaki said it was not talent that made her win, but the fact that Hajime was unfocused. When she asked if something happened, Hajime only replied with his heavy sigh.

In return, Hajime asked Chiaki if she had no talent for gaming and kept losing at her game. She answered that it'll be fun on its way since she adores games. She added that there's more in life rather than having only talent, like making memories with everyone else, which is an important matter to her.

Several days later, Chiaki waited for Hajime to play a new game with her in their usual meeting place. She was happy that Hajime came, but it turned out that Hajime turned down her request as he needed to go to the steering committee's building. Chiaki was very disappointed, trying to tell him something before he could go. Hajime smiled at her and told her to keep making memories, adding that there are many good points of her besides her gaming talent. Chiaki understood and was eager to meet him on the next day.

Episode 04 - The Melancholy, Surprise, and Disappearance of Nagito Komaeda
During class, Chiaki listened to Chisa who announced that the annual practical exam will start on the next day. Unlike usual, her classmates weren't in their best condition after what happened during the past few weeks, making her very worried.

Chiaki was also patiently waiting for Hajime to come to the water fountain every day after the school ends. She was very sad knowing that Hajime didn't come again that day.

After an incident caused by Nagito Komaeda forced the principal to transfer Chisa to the Reserve Course, Chiaki promised to Chisa as the class representative to protect her classmates.

Episode 05 - The Beginning of the End
Upon learning from Koichi Kizakura that Chisa would return to teach her class, Chiaki planned a big party in order to welcome her return. It was revealed that throughout the school year, Chiaki planned game tournaments, picnics, and more on nearly a daily basis. This way, she supported each of her classmates. Chisa praised Chiaki for her hard work and dependability, although Chiaki responded with modesty, saying that she didn't work particularly hard.

Episode 06 - A Despairfully Fateful Encounter
Chiaki waits outside the Reserve Course building for Hajime, although he has not come to see her for about six months. Chiaki recalls asking Chisa how Hajime was doing, to which her teacher replies that he's fine. Chiaki pateintly waits as time flies by, until everyone has left the school grounds with no sign of Hajime. Disappointed, Chiaki leaves as she remembers her last conversation with Hajime, and states that she told him to come tomorrow.

The next day, Chiaki is seen with her class, quietly packing her belongings. The class moves to their new classroom where Chisa reminds everyone that they have no homeroom the next day.

Episode 07 - The Biggest, Most Atrocious Incident in Hope's Peak Academy's History
Following The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, the Reserve Course students begin to stage a riot, after learning about it via email. A fearful and worried Chiaki whispered Hajime's name as she watched this from her new classroom, thinking that Hajime may have been involved in the the Parade.

Episode 08 - The Worst Reunion by Chance
The riots continued outside of Hope's Peak Academy. Chiaki and the others worried about Mikan Tsumiki, who has not been coming to school since the start of the riots. Nagito finally returned and informed them of his chance encounter with Mikan in the Western District.

The class decided to go out searching for her, even after Chisa warned them not to leave the main campus. Nagito and Chiaki end up together when Komaeda finds the underground passageway under the Izuru Kamakura statue. They find the real Ryota Mitarai being held hostage by Junko Enoshima. Komaeda attempts to kill Junko for the sake of hope but is instead shot by Izuru Kamukura. Chiaki rushed to check on Nagito and found his Student Handbook had deflected the bullet. Ryota ran out of the hideout leaving Chiaki alone with Junko and Izuru, who she recognized as Hajime.

Episode 09 - Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile
Chiaki is seen smiling when asking about what Hajime has done with his hair. However, what is now Izuru asks about who she is, to which she does not understand. Before she can inquire any further, Junko mockingly breaks up Chiaki and Izuru's conversation, requesting that they stop staring into each other's eyes.

Junko intimidates Chiaki, seemingly seeking to become friends with her, but really wants her to watch the First Killing Game as a means to brainwash and infect her with despair. Chisa immediately comes to her aid, throwing a fire hydrant to create a haze, giving Chiaki and an unconscious Nagito a chance to escape. Chiaki, with him over her shoulder, carries Nagito up the steps and is able to carry him all the way to the classroom of the school building where the rest of the class are present. She seeks their help right away, explaining that Chisa is in trouble and they need to save her. Nagito tries to convince them otherwise because of the impending danger, but Chiaki explains that Chisa has done a lot for everyone, even helping herself find friends in life. This speech sways the class to go and help Chisa, and Nagito admits to everyone he was simply testing their hope.

Upon finding the stairs to Junko's lair under the Izuru Kamakura Statue, the class proceeds downward. However, Mikan stops Chiaki halfway on the stairs, before pushing her down a secret hatch leading to an unknown corridor, where Chisa finds her. Chiaki explains the situation to Chisa, who tells her the class could be in danger and needed their help.

They both exchange smiles. While Chiaki gives a warm and determined smile, Chisa smiles at her deviously. What Chiaki didn't know is that Chisa had been brainwashed by Junko and Mukuro Ikusaba in the time between their last meetings.

Episode 10 - Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope
As she followed Chisa down the hall, Chiaki started to feel nervous, which Chisa noticed as something they needed to correct. As they reached a large red door, Chisa asked Chiaki if she wants to continue in; Chiaki said she has to for everyone's sake. As they entered the next room, Chisa hugged Chiaki, praising her for bringing the class together and taking care of them when their teacher was gone. Ominously adding that was why she was "chosen", Chisa suddenly shoved Chiaki into a nearby elevator. Stunned by this turn of events, Chiaki just barely glimpsed the black and white swirls in Chisa's eyes before the elevator descended into the darkness below.

Chiaki found herself in an underground corridor, with Junko addressing her from a monitor. She explained that she brainwashed Chisa by making her watch the despair video, but it's not quite done; thus, Chiaki is the final piece to make her entire class fall into despair.

The door opens and Chiaki is forced into a harrowing gauntlet full of dangerous traps. Despite taking multiple injuries, she refused to give up, impressing Junko enough to give her a ten-second break. As the Ultimate Fashionista of Despair started counting down, Chiaki desperately tried to limp to safety, only to be speared in her right knee when Junko reached the six-second mark; a cruel fakeout that Junko mockingly attributes to "a despairingly bad memory".

Chiaki defiantly told Junko that she wouldn't let her beat her or her friends, making it to a door marked "GOAL" - on the other side, she saw what appeared to be Chisa and her classmates. With a weary smile, Chiaki moved toward them, only to be impaled by a spear as the illusion broke. Falling backwards, she was caught in a bed of spears that shot out of the ground, impaling her entire body before dropping her lifelessly.

Despite her grievous wounds, Chiaki clung to life as Izuru came into the room. She weakly asked if he is Hajime; Izuru says he was, but has no memory of his past life. Sighing at the fact that she couldn't help anyone, Chiaki tries to get up, only to slip on her own pool of blood. She surprised Izuru with her apology for being unable to help him and her classmates, saying that she loves them all while crying. She told Izuru that she doesn't want to die - she wanted to stay with her class, and play games with Hajime. Her final act was to reach out to Izuru, saying that they could have played games together, before she finally succumbing to her injuries. Her final collapse dislodged her hairclip, which Izuru picked up and examined as tears filled his eyes.

Episode 11 - Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy
Izuru still has Chiaki's hair clip, and is hiding it from Junko. A flower in a pot has been placed on Chiaki's desk in honour of her. It survives the destruction of the classroom as seen in the flashback when Makoto Naegi finds Izuru in the classroom. Izuru later talks about Chiaki's wish for her classmates to be saved, and notes that if it succeeds, hope could still beat despair.

Legacy
Izuru would presumably make frequent visits to Chiaki's memorial in the ruins of the old classroom as that is where he was when Makoto found him. When entering the Neo World Program, the collective conscience of Hajime and Class 77-B all desired to see Chiaki again, so the AI program was modified to look and act like Chiaki. After exiting the Neo World Program, Izuru who now has merged with Hajime still had Chiaki's hair clip with him. During the final battle, Hajime visited Chisa's body and said that he finally found something else. Later, Hajime told Ryota he didn't want to forget Chiaki even though it hurts to remember her.

Reserve Course
Chiaki is shown to be slightly curious about the Reserve Course after finding out that Hajime was a part of it, instead of being a Main Course student like herself. After learning about it from Chisa, Chiaki believes that the students, being talentless, have greater freedom than students like her, who can only focus on their own specified talent. From then on, however, virtually all of her concerns with the Reserve Course are derived from her friendship with and affection for Hajime.

Hajime Hinata/Izuru Kamukura
Hajime was Chiaki's first and closest friend at Hope's Peak Academy. The two first met at a water fountain near the school, when Chiaki bumped into Hajime while playing a game. Since then the two started meeting with each other after school at that water fountain. Chiaki would usually ask Hajime to play games with her, often forcing him to play her favorite game multiple times. Although Hajime is sometimes annoyed by the fact that she would always beat him, even wondering why he was someone Chiaki would want to play with, Chiaki both enjoys and cherishes their time together, openly stating that she has fun playing with him.

Chiaki always comforts Hajime when he feels upset about not having a talent. She constantly tells him there's more to life than talent, and that together they could make memories. She also says to him that unlike her, who only has games, Hajime isn’t restricted by talent, and so he can go on and do anything. Interestingly, this happens to be the one thing that didn’t change after Hajime’s transformation into Izuru Kamukura, as Izuru possessed every talent so that he wouldn’t be limited to focusing on just one. All of Chiaki's words comfort Hajime, although his obsession with having a talent doesn't lessen. Hajime calls Chiaki his friend, and wants to one day tell her he has a talent with pride.

Chiaki seems to have romantic feelings for Hajime. She often blushes when he talks to her and one time grabbed his hand. However, after the deaths of Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato, his classmates, Hajime pushes Chiaki away from him and stops meeting with her after school, which disappoints her. Still, Chiaki always waited outside the Reserve Course building in the hopes that Hajime would change his mind and come out for her, even though he doesn't for a year. She worries about him constantly, and even asks Chisa about his well being multiple times in order to ensure that he was doing fine. During the Reserve Course students' riot, a fearful Chiaki whispers Hajime's name.

When Chiaki and Nagito find an entrance to an underground room, Chiaki encounters a man with red eyes and long black hair and, after taking a good look at his face, recognizes him as Hajime. Upon realizing this, Chiaki quickly tries to start a conversation with him, inquiring him about his hair. She was visibly surprised and confused when he asked who she was, however. This is due to the fact that she did not know of the experiments that had been performed on Hajime, which converted him into Izuru Kamukura by erasing his old personality. Despite this, she believes that he is in trouble because he's with Junko, and sought to save both him and her teacher from her.

Following her execution, during her final moments, Chiaki is confronted by Izuru. While she understood that Izuru didn’t remember anything about his past life, she still made a desperate last attempt to make him remember. She fails, however, and laments her uselessness, stating that she didn’t want to die. Chiaki then lets out her final wishes to Izuru, wanting to not only see her classmates but also play games with Hajime again, before passing away. Upon dying, Chiaki’s hair clip fell to the ground and was picked up by Izuru. After looking at it, he then silently begins to cry, implying that her death was able to trigger some memories from Izuru’s past life, particularly those from the time that Hajime spent with Chiaki.

Class 77-B
Class 77-B is Chiaki's class at Hope's Peak. Although she does not attempt to get along with them at first, Chiaki helps them bond after Chisa offers her advice, and ends up being their class representative. Chiaki visibly cares about each and every one of them and is willing to protect them. She does her best to keep her class together, and loves them all for who they are. In return, her classmates think of her as amazing and quite hardworking. They all have a deep sense of respect for her, often giving her praise or credit for getting them all together. They describe Chiaki as the heart of their class.

However, when Mikan and Chisa, who were brainwashed by Junko, betray Chiaki, she is forced into her execution, leaving the rest of her classmates horrified and only able to helplessly watch. Despite these hopeless circumstances, Chiaki was determined to make it back to her class, even to Chisa and Mikan, who had betrayed her. They served as the fuel for her hop, but were in the end, her downfall. Junko uses illusions of Class 77-B and Chisa welcoming Chiaki to lure her into a trap, ending with her being killed by several spears. Chiaki's death resulted in her classmates being brainwashed by Junko, who used Chiaki's execution to envelope her class in despair.

When the entire class was captured and sent into the Neo World Program, their collective consciousness all desired to see Chiaki again, so the AI program took her form.

Chisa Yukizome
During her time at Hope's Peak Academy, Chiaki grows quite close to her teacher, Chisa Yukizome. She is shown to have a big influence on Chiaki, who later learns to share many of Chisa's beliefs. For example, Chisa encouraged Chiaki to use her gaming talent to make friends, as Chiaki had previously thought she couldn’t do. Chiaki took Chisa’s advice and was able to bring her entire class together, as they all bonded over games. She also began to regularly hang out with Hajime for this reason. After Chisa sees Chiaki help her classmates bond, she instantly takes a liking to Chiaki and selects her as the class's representative.

Chiaki was very upset upon learning that Chisa was being transferred to the Reserve Course. However, she promised to Chisa that she will protect her class as the class representative, demonstrating the trust they have in one another. When she hears that Chisa was coming back to her class after 6 months, Chiaki plans a big party for her arrival with the help of her classmates. Chiaki seems to think of Chisa as a great role model and teacher; in turn, Chisa sees Chiaki as the heart of the class that draws and holds their bonds together.

When Chisa let herself be captured by Junko to give Chiaki and Nagito time to escape, Chiaki rallied together her class in order to save Chisa. Unfortunately, they were too late, and Chisa had already been corrupted by Junko. Not knowing this, Chiaki unsuspectingly followed Chisa, who leads Chiaki to her own execution. Although shocked by Chisa's betrayal, Chiaki still cared for her beloved teacher, which, unfortunately, was her downfall, as Junko used an illusion of Chisa welcoming Chiaki to lure her into the trap that ultimately killed her.

Nagito Komaeda
Chiaki, along with Chisa, was the only one who genuinely cared about him, as the rest of her class didn’t approve of him. Chiaki is the only one out of her classmates who greeted Nagito when he came back after being expelled for about a year. Despite all of this, Chiaki did not agree with his way of looking at things.

Later, Nagito put Chiaki's life in danger when he showed her a secret entrance to a room underground, where Junko, Ryota, and Izuru were hiding. Chiaki tried to stop Nagito from killing Junko, and was shocked when he is shot by Izuru first. She proceeds to hold him in a protective manner while he is unconscious, eventually carrying him back to her classroom. When Nagito failed to get up due to the impact from the bullet, Chiaki worriedly went over to him.

Ultimately, Nagito viewed Chiaki as the hope of his class, viewing her as a stepping stone for their hope upon her death. However, he also appears to cry over her death, which is a very rare reaction from him.

Sonia Nevermind
Sonia was a close friend of Chiaki's. Sonia always complimented Chiaki for her accomplishments, and appeared to enjoy hugging her. Chiaki also taught Sonia how to play games. Sonia was always close to her and admired her in Chiaki's efforts to bring the class together. Chiaki was shown to take a liking to Sonia to, as they were together a lot.

Junko Enoshima
Junko was actually the one who executed Chiaki. Her initial plan was to let Chiaki watch the Despair video, but upon realizing how much Class 77-B loved her, she decided to kill Chiaki in order to throw them all into despair. Even while being executed, Chiaki absolutely refused to give up to Junko, her class fueling her hope and determination to win, something Junko found amusing. Junko taunted Chiaki the entire time during her execution, ultimately succeeded in killing her when Chiaki falls for one of Junko's traps.

Quotes

 * “Either way, my gaming talent won't earn me any friends.”
 * “You can make friends with games.”
 * "When you're with everyone, games are fun!"
 * “There's more to life than just talent.”
 * “Your life won't be interesting because you have a talent.”
 * “By getting involved with others and making memories, hope, which is more important than talent, is born.”
 * “Anything is possible. For you...” (to Izuru Kamukura)
 * “Come on. If you try… things will work out, somehow.” (to Izuru)
 * “I don't want to die!”
 * "I...I still have things that I want to do. I wanted…to stay classmates with everyone! One…One more time…I wanted…to play video games…with you.” (Chiaki's dying wish)

Trivia

 * Nanami (七海) means “Seven Seas” while Chiaki (千秋) means “One Thousand Autumns”.
 * Chiaki possessed a Nantendo Game Girl Advance, an obvious parody of Nintendo's Gameboy Advance. The name of the system's developer is likely a pun on the surname Nanami.Chiakigunsgirlsz.png
 * Ironically enough, the game Chiaki played on it was Gala Omega, a direct parody of Galaga, a game implemented into her outfit, as her hairpin is the ship sprite from the game.
 * Chiaki is included in the collaboration of Danganronpa 3 and Guns Girl Z.
 * Chiaki Nanami was featured in the first formal executions, while her AI form was featured in the last formal execution.
 * Chiaki's death in Side: Despair is very similar to Mukuro's death in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc: being suddenly impaled by dozens of spears. The deaths also double as acts of betrayal from those who were closest to them (Junko, in Mukuro's case, and Chisa, in Chiaki's case).
 * Interestingly, the death of Chiaki's AI counterpart parallels Junko's death, with the two going through a long sequence of painful events before ultimately getting crushed.
 * Considering these facts, it's also worth noting that Mukuro was the first person to be executed during the Killing School Life, while Junko was the last.
 * It should also be noted that her AI counterpart in the stage play is executed by spear impalement as well.
 * Along with Junko, Chiaki is also one of two characters to have been executed twice, with Chiaki the only one to have been formally executed both times (though in both cases their second execution involved their AI counterpart).
 * Due to the rest of Class 77-B waking up from their comatose, Chiaki is the only deceased student of 77-B.
 * According to Kazutaka Kodaka, the Chiaki who appeared to help Hajime during Chapter 6 of Danganronpa 2 didn't feel like the same Chiaki who appeared during most of the game, giving him the idea of another, different Chiaki—her real life counterpart.