Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit

**Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit**Gallery

***Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit*** is an in-progress English video series created by Malaysian developer Kokkun. The series currently contains a Prologue, which was officially released on May 13th, 2023.

## Gallery

📷 For more images of Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit, see: Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit/Image Gallery.
## Cast

* Main Story
* Side Story

## Plot Synopsis

"An unidentified high school girl's murder was left unsolved, and her death has become a hot topic among citizens in Tokyo. Who was she? Who killed her? And although the case has supposedly been closed, does the story truly end there?
Years later at the EOS Institute's annual Ultimate Award Ceremony, the old mystery resurfaces.
Akira Hayasaka and fifteen other Ultimate students arrive at a convention centre to attend the ceremony where they'd be granted scholarships, wealth, prestige and so much more. Instead, they receive an android called Kou who throws them into a killing game...? To make things worse...
Akira's talent specializes in **murder** itself." – **Official Synopsis**
## Plot Summary

### Main Story Prologue: Memories of Nobody

The corpse of a teenage girl, dubbed "Hanako", is discovered in the Midoriyama forest. An officer speaks to a dispatcher over a walkie-talkie, remarking that the girl has been shot in the head, but they can't identify the gun or any headstamps on the bullet. The screen fades to black, and text reading six years later appears on screen.

Akira Hayasaka and her brother, Hitoshi Hayasaka, take a taxi to the EOS Convention Center, where they discuss the background and practices of the EOS Institute, such as the process of selecting ultimate awardees. Akira herself is about to receive an award, which she reminds her brother is the title of Ultimate Internet Sensation. Upon arriving at the convention center, they find that no one is around, and the door locks behind them. Akira attempts to break the door down, but they get ambushed by a large group of people and are separated and knocked out.

Akira wakes up in an auditorium and notices her two talent certificates beside her. She goes to leave the auditorium and bumps into a young man as he opens the door, who introduces himself as Tomoya Morita, the Ultimate Therapist. He informs Akira that they are trapped in the convention center.
Akira and Tomoya head into the hallway together and meet Rei Fukuno, the Ultimate Itako, who ignores them at first, only acknowledging them once they reveal that they are both Ultimates. Rei explains what it means to be an itako and declines Akira and Tomoya's offer to join them, opting to wander around on her own. They head to the main entrance to find that it is secured and armed with machine guns overhead. Tomoya asks to quickly go elsewhere, seemingly particularly afraid of the guns.
Akira and Tomoya enter the food court where a young, pale woman is sleeping and a muscular man is attempting to wake her up. The man calls over the duo and argues with Tomoya before introducing himself as Takeshi Yamamoto, the Ultimate Weightlifer. The pale woman wakes up, and curses the others out, causing Takeshi to leave. The woman apologizes, blaming her tiredness, and introduces herself as Otome Hanayama, the Ultimate Mangaka.
Akira enters the arcade with Tomoya and encounters Itsumi Yoko, or Bani, the Ultimate Game Developer. Despite acting aloof, Akira notices she isn’t actually standoffish but rather shy and anxious. Bani and Akira exchange anecdotes about fans who have made them uncomfortable, and Tomoya tells Bani that he is familiar with her work and a fan of her games, causing Bani to warm up to the two. Tomoya calls out to a green-haired boy he has already become acquainted with, who announces that he is a huge fan of Akira, asking her for an autograph. He introduces himself as Satoru Tachibana, the Ultimate Historian, before discussing his talent and eventually running away, flustered.
In the convention center's hotel lobby, Akira and Tomoya run into a long-haired boy who speaks to the duo using his puppets, Molly, Jack, and Kat. By playing along, Tomoya is able to coax the boy into introducing himself as Kiyoshi Fujioka, the Ultimate Puppeteer. After Kiyoshi leaves, a different person enters the lobby, Tomoya's twin sister, Shion Morita, who playfully teases Tomoya alongside Akira before revealing she has no recollection of her talent, in spite of both her certificates and everyone she has encountered confirming she is the Ultimate Criminologist.
Akira and Tomoya enter the dining room, where two men are having a conversation. Akira remarks to Tomoya that she recognizes the school crest of the more formal-looking of the two, Outei Academy, which Tomoya insults. The man overhears Tomoya and begins to argue with him before the second man intervenes, apologizing to the duo about his friend's attitude and introducing himself as Hideyoshi Kurosawa, the Ultimate Taekwondo Practitioner. His friend then introduces himself as Katsuhiko Minamoto, the Ultimate Debater. The two of them explain that they have been friends for a long time and attend the same school before Hideyoshi teases Katsuhiko about a supposed crush on the blue-haired girl standing in the room. While Katsuhiko denies this, Hideyoshi jokes about the girl talking to another attractive man before, to his surprise, an attractive man does enter the room and strike up a conversation with her.
Katsuhiko shoos Akira and Tomoya away, and they decide to speak to the blue-haired girl, seemingly finished with her conversation with the attractive-looking man, who states that the man is an old friend of hers. The girl introduces herself as Izanami Hoshimiya and explains that she has no recollection of her talent, and unlike Shion, she is unsure of what it could be entirely, having not received a certificate like the other awardees did and believing herself to be good at practically everything. Izanami suggests that her forgotten talent is a mystery much like the other mysteries of the convention center, including the lack of staff, the fully stocked pantry, and the layer of dust on their surroundings, suggesting recent construction. The scene momentarily shifts to a more sinister atmosphere before suddenly snapping back. As Akira turns to leave, Izanami grabs her wrist and asks her if she's hiding anything before letting her and Tomoya leave.
In the kitchen, Akira and Tomoya encounter a friendly and charming man who introduces himself as Kyouran Murashita, the Ultimate Con Artist, which immediately fills Tomoya with distrust. Kyouran promises that he can be trusted and confides in the two about his involvement in a billion-yen scam that affected a fashion company that utilized sweatshops and paid their workers poorly. Also in the kitchen is an upbeat blonde woman who introduces herself as Chiemi Hattori, the Ultimate Fashion Designer, who created her own ethically sourced fashion line. Chiemi offers to give the two makeovers some day.
Back in the lobby, Akira and Tomoya run into the attractive man Izanami had called her old friend, who coldly refuses to give an introduction before being worn down by Akira and introducing himself as Yumeo Arakawa, the Ultimate Forensic Pathologist. Yumeo states that despite being passionate about his work, he never wanted to be awarded a talent, causing Tomoya to repeatedly question why, which swiftly escalates into a yelling argument before being interrupted by Izanami entering the lobby.
Akira and Tomoya take the elevator to the second corridor, where they run into Shion once more, who asks if they've seen Yumeo. Shion is surprised to hear that Yumeo was rude to the two, stating that he was kind to her. Shion wanders off in search of Yumeo, and Tomoya, still shaken by the argument, shrugs it off before he and Akira hear singing coming from the library. In the library, they discover the source of the singing: a pink-haired girl whom they both immediately recognize as a famous idol, Chousiria, who sold millions of copies of her debut single within the first week. Chousiria peppily asks Tomoya to join her in her cheer before cutting herself off and admitting her cute persona exhausts her, re-introducing herself as Chou Yoshida, the Ultimate J-Pop Idol.
As soon as they exit the library, a child’s voice can be heard over the loudspeaker throughout the convention center telling the awardees to gather at the auditorium.
The awardees gather in the auditorium and are visibly confused. The same voice that asked them to gather in the auditorium asks them to direct their eyes to the stage. An android resembling an elementary school-aged child wanders out from behind the curtains, welcoming them to the EOS Institute's Ultimate Award Ceremony and introducing himself as Kou, the organizer of the event and the messenger and overseer for the person keeping them there, having been hijacked and reprogrammed. Kou asks the awardees to forgive him for what he is about to announce, first congratulating the awardees for their hard work and dedication, then revealing that the awardees will be participating in a game where they must reside within the convention center indefinitely unless they are able to commit a murder and get away with it, surviving the class trial where the participants must discuss who they believe committed the murder. If the participants are able to come to the correct conclusion and vote for the murderer correctly, the murderer, referred to as the "blackened," alone will be punished. If the blackened is able to outwit the participants, they alone will be permitted to leave the convention center while the remaining participants are punished via execution.

Katsuhiko marches onstage and singlehandedly puts Kou into a chokehold, demanding the android tell him who the mastermind is as the other participants express their concern. Kou begs Katsuhiko to stop before screaming in pain as electricity crackles. Katsuhiko drops Kou, who falls to the floor, no longer moving. The other participants reply in shock, and Yumeo chastises Katsuhiko for trying to be a hero. Izanami, however, proposes a plan to break down the front entrance in spite of the machine guns guarding it by using Kou's lifeless body as a shield. Takeshi volunteers to be the one to break down the door and the rest of the participants agree to the plan, barring Yumeo and Tomoya, who seems particularly upset by the idea. Akira recalls Tomoya's prior uneasiness around the machine guns and assures him it will be alright.
At the main entrance, Hideyoshi volunteers to protect the others from the gunfire as Takeshi lifts Kou's body and charges at the door, the others cheering him on as the machine guns begin firing at him. Tomoya begins to panic, and Akira holds onto his hand, calming him down. The gunfire comes to a halt as Takeshi successfully breaks down the door. The participants celebrate, but their victory is short-lived, as security personnel stationed outside the entrance notice their plan to escape and knock the participants out once more.

Akira wakes up again to find Tomoya holding her hand and calling her name, relieved that she's okay. Akira asks what happened to find that the door has not only been reinstalled but heavily fortified in order to prevent another escape attempt. Unexpectedly, Kou reappears and explains that they have multiple models before advising the participants not to take any more unnecessary risks and handing them the key cards to the rooms he prepared for them in the hotel. Hideyoshi suggests they all go to their rooms to recuperate, and Izanami makes plans for them all to reconvene in the dining hall the next morning.
Akira enters her hotel room and collapses on the bed, wondering how Hitoshi, the rest of her family, and her best friend, Denshi Shigenobu, must be doing. As Akira falls asleep, the camera pans over to her certificates on the floor, one for the Ultimate Internet Sensation and the other for the Ultimate Hitman. Akira has a dream about two figures from her past, Ryuusei Himura and Yukie Otonashi, comforting her.

### Side Story Prologue: Memories of Her

In a flashback sequence one day before the Ultimate Award Ceremony, Denshi walks Akira home as Akira expresses anxiety over being awarded an ultimate talent for her work as a hitman for the yakuza. Denshi reassures her, reminding her about his talent as the Former Ultimate Hacker and discussing his work for EOS. The two make plans to meet up at Denshi's apartment after the ceremony.
Denshi makes it back to his apartment with the intent to continue working, but falls asleep. When he awakens, he realizes he accidentally slept for an entire day and the Ultimate Award Ceremony should be over. He checks his phone, expecting to find texts and missed calls from Akira, but finds none. Denshi begins to worry as the AI on his phone, Him, wishes him a good morning before telling him to check the news. He turns on his TV to find news reports of the kidnapping of the awardees and their loved ones, of the killing game, and a report on Chief Superintendent of the Criminal Affairs Bureau Kaoru Yasunaga's role as head of the investigation committee.
Denshi asks Him for more details, and he responds by saying the killing game is being broadcast on an unknown TV network. Denshi decides that he must do something about it for Akira's sake, surprising Him, who teases Denshi about potentially having feelings for Akira and also tells Denshi to eat, reminding him that Akira would want him to.

Denshi begins to make a cup of instant ramen before Yui, his toaster, which he installed legs on, bumps into his leg. He picks Yui up and puts her back on the counter before eating his ramen and heading out of his apartment and to the convention center.
The site of the convention center is crowded with reporters looking to interview Kaoru, and Denshi elects to make his way to the main entrance before being stopped by a police officer who prevents him from going any further. Denshi begins yelling and making a scene, pretending that the officer hit him, drawing the attention of the officer's higher-up, who asks the officer, Yamada, to take a break before introducing himself as Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, Isao Morita. Isao attempts to ask Denshi to leave but is interrupted by the sophisticated-looking family member of one of the awardees, who is acquainted with Isao, demanding information about her missing loved ones before he asks her to leave.
Isao once again asks Denshi to go home, but Denshi promises that he can assist in the investigation. When Isao rejects his offer, Denshi offers the name Yon, knowing Isao knows what that means. Isao is skeptical of the idea that Denshi is the world-class hacker Yon and believes it to be a joke. In order to prove the validity of his claim, Denshi consults his database about Yamada's personal information and rattles off a number of facts about the officer's life, causing Isao to take his word for the time being but still not allow Denshi inside the convention center.
In a last-ditch effort, Denshi reveals to Isao that he has worked with EOS in the past and offers him information on the institute's inner workings in exchange for being allowed to investigate the convention center. Isao agrees on the condition that he be allowed to accompany Denshi the entire time. Denshi and Isao enter the convention center, much to Officer Yamada's surprise and dismay.
At the main entrance, Isao informs Denshi that Kumiko Arase, the founder of the EOS Institute, has gone missing as well, unable to be located at her mansions and potentially kidnapped, with another team conducting an investigation of the property. Unusually, in spite of the killing game supposedly occurring within the convention center, the only evidence to be found is a broken door handle.
Denshi and Isao encounter a janitor, who confesses that he, along with the rest of staff, was bribed by management to pretend they were doing their jobs as usual on the day of the Ultimate Award Ceremony in spite of not being present.
Isao brings Denshi to the surveillance room to review the footage from the date of the Ultimate Award Ceremony, only to find that the footage had been tampered with, looping the footage and concealing the events of the previous day. Isao informs Denshi about a rumor that the Himura clan is behind the killing game, which Denshi does not believe, before asking if Denshi has any information on Kou, which Denshi denies at first. Isao comments that Kou's appearance is familiar to him in a way he can't quite put his finger on, wondering out loud what the inspiration for his design was. An image of *her* flashes in Denshi's mind, and he grows pale. Isao asks him again if he knows anything about Kou, and *she* appears in his mind once more, asking Denshi if he's trying to forget her. Denshi confesses to Isao that he was commissioned by EOS to create Kou, but he was not the one who hijacked and reprogrammed him. He changes the subject when questioned again about Kou's design.

Isao receives a phone call from Kaoru and decides to conclude his investigation with Denshi. Outside of the convention center, Isao requests Denshi's phone number in order to keep in touch and gives him his business card in return. After Isao walks away, Denshi notices that Isao dropped something when he took his business card out of his wallet. Denshi picks up a small card with a red flower pattern on the back, which shocks him and causes him to wonder if Isao knows something about *her* too.

## Creation and Development

### Pre-Development History

The development of Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit began in 2018, with the earliest sprite sketches dating back to August of that year. Inspiration to begin creating the project came from other Fanganronpa projects released at the time, including Danganronpa Re:Birth, the Danganronpa Another series, Danganronpa: Rejected Zer0, and Brave Danganronpa: Cowards Paradise. The initial trailer release of Danganronpa: Kill Cure is what creator Kokkun has cited as ultimately kickstarting production. According to Kokkun, Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit draws inspiration from a number of pieces of media, including anime, manga, webtoons, and music, the most influential of which was the anime series Violet Evergarden, which served as inspiration for themes present within the story. Many of the characters were written based on Kokkun's personal experiences. For instance, her having a black belt in Taekwondo, experience as a debater for her school, and major in game development influenced the characters of Hideyoshi, Katsuhiko, and Itsumi, respectively.

The first trailer, "Mystery of Hanako", was released on November 28th, 2020. A second trailer, "The Fall of Himura", and a third trailer, "Welcome to EOS", were released on May 29th, 2021, and November 20th, 2021, respectively. On August 12th, 2022, an update video and preview of the series' daily life segment was uploaded the series' YouTube channel. The fourth trailer, "A New Story Begins" was released on December 18th, 2022, and simultaneously announced the opening of the casting call for voice actors, which lasted four weeks, from the 18th of December 2022 to the 15th of January 2023. On April 22nd, 2023, the voice actor trailer was released, and the premiere date of the first episode of the prologue was announced.

### Release

Throughout May of 2023, the prologue of Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit was uploaded through the project's YouTube channel. On October 1st, 2023, an update and Q&A video was published, establishing the progress made in producing the first chapter, including the finished script, and the announcement of two additional interlude episodes planned to release before the premiere of Chapter 1. The first focusing on the characters belonging to the Himura Clan and the second revolving around the mysterious character, known as "The Devil" who was teased at the end of the voice actor reveal trailer.

## Videos

DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Trailer -1 - "Mystery of Hanako" (Fan Series)**(Released: November 28, 2020)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Trailer -2 - "The Fall Of Himura" (Fan Series)**(Released: May 29, 2021)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Trailer -3 - "Welcome to EOS" (Fan Series)**(Released: November 20, 2021)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Daily Life Preview + Update Video**(Released: Aug 12, 2022)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Trailer -4 - "A New Story Begins" (Fan Series)**(Released: December 18, 2022)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Voice Actor Trailer**(Released: April 22, 2023)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit - Ending**(Released: June 10, 2023)**
## Soundtrack

DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit OST - ERROR 404**(Released: December 19, 2020)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit OST - Someone's Leavin' Town**(Released: June 19, 2023)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit OST - Beautiful Lie (Heartless Edition)**(Released: July 1, 2023)**DANGANRONPA- (He)Artless Deceit OST - Distrust**(Released: August 5, 2023)**

## Trivia

* Kokkun and bazileaf the director and co-director of Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit also developed another Fanganronpa, Danganronpa: CHECKMATE, as part of a one-month writing challenge in the Fanganronpa community, which consists of a prologue and is considered complete.
	+ A puppet version of one of Danganronpa: CHECKMATE's characters, Fuyukichi Atsuya, is featured in Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit character, Kiyoshi Fujioka's character illustration.
* On June 4th, 2021, a Webtoon, The Coward Among The Gods, focusing on Yumeo Arakawa's backstory, was released.
* On August 2nd, 2022, an animatic of the song Gales of Song featuring the Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit characters was uploaded to the official YouTube channel. This animatic was created by Kokkun as the final assignment for her storyboarding class, and is not considered canon to the story.
* Featured on the screens of the arcade cabinets in the background of the arcade in Danganronpa: (He)Artless Deceit are references to a number of other Fanganronpas, including Super Danganronpa Another 2, Danganronpa Re:Birth, Danganronpa F: Shattered Hope, Brave Danganronpa: Cowards Paradise, Danganronpa: Hope Restoration, Cryptic Danganronpa: Silver Lining, Danganronpa: Stolen Hope, Danganronpa: Dead End, and Danganronpa: Deadication, the Fanganronpa belonging to series' co-director, bazileaf.
* Chiemi Hattori's character illustration includes references to both Hitomi Akimura from Danganronpa: Deadication and Haruhi Miyazaki from Danganronpa: Hope Restoration.
* Kiyoshi Fujioka's character illustration includes references to Sora Kawakami from Cryptic Danganronpa: Silver Lining, Mika Aiuchi from Danganronpa: Hope Restoration, Keiji Iketsugi from Danganronpa: Deadication, and Fuyukichi Atsuya from Danganronpa: CHECKMATE.

## External Links

* **YouTube:** Danganronpa: HeArtless Deceit
* **Instagram:** dr\_heartless\_deceit
* **Twitter:** @HeDeceit
* **Tumblr** drheartlessdeceit
* **TikTok:** drheartlessdeceit

## References

1. ↑ **bazileaf on itch.io**: Danganronpa: CHECKMATE (November 21, 2021)
2. ↑ **Kokkun on WEBTOON**: The Coward Among The Gods (June 4, 2021)
3. ↑ **Danganronpa: HeArtless Deceit on YouTube**: Gales of Song Original Animation/Animatic (August 2, 2022)