Why Did The Remnants Of Despair Do That?

Why did the Remnants of Despair do that?

Spoilers for Danganronpa 3 (obviously)

I've made it very clear that I really like Danganronpa 3 and that I think a lot of the criticisms are unfair or misguided. One common criticism however stuck with me for the longest time. In Hope Arc, after Hajime and his friends helped put an end to the Future Foundation killing game, they proceeded to seemingly "cover it up." On the surface, this seems strange. The series constantly criticized Hope's Peak for covering up incidents, so why is this any different? After some time thinking, I think I managed to put together why.

At first, the video starts with the Remnants of Despair seemingly taking credit for the Future Foundation killing game. While technically, yes, Kazuo Tengan was a Remnant of Despair, he was completely disconnected from the rest of the people in the video and had no affiliation with them. However, it's the next part where this gets interesting.

Now despite what you might think, there is a LOT to dissect in these four lines.

"If the world were to be saved and reach a happy ending... Doesn't that strike you as boring?"

Obviously to anybody who has watched Hope Arc, this line is kinda ironic considering it generally has a pretty happy and sweet ending. However, what's important to note is that to the general public, there wasn't a happy ending. A majority of Future Foundation's leaders were just wiped out and the Remnants of Despair are still presumably on the run. So why would Hajime say this? Well I feel like the next bit of text should fill you in. "That is why we will once again dye the world in despair. The world needs despair." This line is REALLY interesting to me as it directly ties into one of the major themes in Danganronpa 3. Throughout Future Arc, Kyosuke believes that the only way to achieve true hope is to eliminate all despair. However, Makoto (and Tengan) believe that despair needs to exist alongside hope in order for hope to be meaningful, otherwise it's meaningless. True hope isn't blind happiness, it's keeping a positive mindset while overcoming despair. This sheds a completely different light on what Hajime is saying. He isn't just taking the fall so Makoto and his friends can move on without trouble, he and his friends are taking on the burden of despair as a way of atoning for their actions as remnants. This way, everyone can unite against them. They're making a sacrifice so that way hope can continue to manifest and have meaning.

This is shown again later in Makoto's final conversation with Kyosuke. When asked if he is able to carry the burden of hope, he mentions that the others are carrying the burden of despair. Now things are starting to make sense. Hajime and his friends decide to hold onto the burden of being despairs as a way to atone for their crimes and give the world something to unite against, choosing to sacrifice their image in order to help make the world better. The difference with Class 77's sacrifice here and Hope's Peak behavior is that Hope's Peak covered up incidents that were their fault so they could protect their image. Their motivations were entirely selfish and only to benefit themselves. Meanwhile, Hajime and his friends sacrificed their own reputation in order to help give the world hope in a strange, roundabout way along with taking accountability for their own sins. They aren't pretending to be innocent, they're acknowledging their own guilt and using it to benefit the world.

I also think that Makoto and his friend's reaction to the video is pretty interesting. They don't seem very excited, but more confused and shocked. It's almost like they're still trying to why they did this in the first place.

After a moment, they move on from that subject entirely. Byakuya tells Makoto that he did well and his hope helped in the end despite his refusal.

Despite that, despair unfortunately did take a toll on them. Even still, it can't be denied that hope did win in the end because of despair, further showing that the two need to coexist. Things may look bad now, but just like, always they'll get better. Makoto and Byakuya both realized what the point of the video was. In a way, the video was more like them taking accountability for everything they've done as opposed to just the covering Future Foundation killing game.

The former remnants finally head off to Jabberwock Island to continue their atonement, making one last sacrifice and carrying the burden of despair. I hope what I wrote can help you see Class 77's actions in Hope Arc in a new light. Like I said, a lot of people have criticized them, but in my opinion I think it's a very fitting and satisfying way to end their arc. (Now's the part where I make a "Goodbye Despair" joke.)