Top 10 Ultimate Abilities in Danganronpa
Photographer or Princess, anyone can be an Ultimate
First released in Japan in 2010, Danganronpa was a visual novel with a small, but dedicated fan base. As the franchise became more popular, the original game received sequels, spin-off games, and even multiple anime series.
At its core, Danganronpa revolves around a group of trapped high school students who are given the promise of freedom on the condition that they murder a fellow classmate without being discovered. Saturated with anime tropes, the series has never been shy at adding comedy into an otherwise dark theme. With its colorful cast and downright silly dialogue, one would have a hard time believing that the games revolve around battle royale style murder.
One of the signature features of the Danganronpa series is the portrayal of its characters. Known as an “Ultimate,” each character has their own unique personality and quirk. While some Ultimate abilities are typical and down to earth, such as being a cook or a baseball player, some abilities are much more abstract. Here, we will be ranking the strongest Ultimate abilities shown in the Danganronpa series.
This list will be made based on the abilities shown in the three main series games and the Future, Despair, and Hope Arc anime series. All abilities will be considered except for the Ultimate Hope. Each ability will be judged based on how well it excelled and to what extent it was shown being used. Additionally, the abilities will only be judged based on what was accomplished or was stated to be able to accomplish; theory-crafting each abilities’ potential opens the door to too many possibilities.
10. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny — Byakuya Togami
The Ultimate Affluent Progeny is a title given to one that is said to excel in all aspects of life. Byakuya Togami was bestowed the title of Ultimate Affluent Progeny after beating all of his siblings and earning the favor of the Togami family. His siblings were all stripped of the Togami heritage and cast away, leaving him the sole victor.
Although the full power of the Ultimate Affluent Progeny was never explored, glimpses of it were shown through Danganronpa: Happy Trigger Havoc. As the killing game progresses, Byakuya’s abilities were put on full display through his unmatched ego and his inability to even comprehend the concept of losing. His arrogance as he proclaimed that victory is his god-given right became the main force behind his ability to stay alive and solve the murders.
However, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny was shown to have multiple flaws throughout the game. Byakuya’s greatest strength, his unwavering belief that he was destined for victory, was also his greatest weakness. Unable to understand the masses, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny was unable to solve the mysteries surrounding a murder. Despite his flaws, he beats out other Ultimates of similar abilities, such as the Ultimate Student Council President, due to his failures only affecting himself.
Overall, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny is a very strong Ultimate ability to have. It is not ranked higher on this list due to the fact that it had a fatal flaw that was revealed and exploited. However, it still takes the number 10 spot.
9. The Ultimate Detective — Kyoko Kirigiri/Shuichi Saihara
The Ultimate Detective is held by two different people throughout the games: Kyoko Kirigiri in Danganronpa: Happy Trigger Havoc and Shuichi Saihara in Danganronpa V3. At first glance, the Ultimate Detective ability seems very weak, it can only be used in the specific situation of solving a mystery and otherwise does not seem to provide any practical use.
However, both Kyoko and Shuichi have shown multiple times that the Ultimate Detective can do more than just solve mysteries. With the analytical skills provided from their ability, the Ultimate Detective has shown to have an astute sense of their surroundings, such as noticing changes in speech pattern, even when not paying attention. It is their innate sense to see details that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Kyoko was even able to analyze and solve multiple high-level mysteries at the same time in the events of both Danganronpa: Happy Trigger Havoc and Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School — Future Arc. The Ultimate Detective ability also managed to drive Monokuma into a corner, a feat that very few can accomplish.
In terms of weaknesses, the Ultimate Detective is not shown to have a real weakness. Even against the user’s will, the Ultimate Detective ability is able to forcefully solve mysteries. This is the case when Shuichi discovers the identity of the culprit in the first case of Danganronpa V3 despite not wanting to know the truth. Due to its deceptively lethal nature, the Ultimate Detective takes the number 9 spot on this list.
8. The Ultimate Martial Artist — Sakura Ogami
The Ultimate Martial Artist was an ability that rivaled Monokuma. Like the Ultimate Detective, the Ultimate Martial Artist drove Monokuma into a corner. Sakura Ogami, holder of the Ultimate Martial Artist title and the Strongest Human alive title, was shown to fight evenly against Monokuma during the events of Danganronpa: Happy Trigger Havoc.
One glaring weakness was that Sakura was revealed to have been working with Monokuma against her will. However, this weakness is more so a weakness of the character rather than the Ultimate Martial Artist ability itself.
As an ability, the Ultimate Martial Artist has shown no real weakness. Rivaled in power only by Monokuma, the Ultimate Martial Artist was able to stand up even after sustaining multiple head u=injuries.
Unfortunately, not much more of this Ultimate ability was revealed. Despite being top tier in terms of raw power, this ability did not present much by way of practical use. For that reason, it takes the number 8 spot on this list.
7. The Ultimate Cosplayer — Tsumugi Shirogane
The Ultimate Cosplayer was a talent presented in Danganronpa V3. The Ultimate Cosplayer can create and use any cosplay of any fictional character. At first, it seems like a lackluster ability with almost no practical use. However, the ability proved itself to be much more potent.
The Ultimate Cosplayer was able to copy not just the appearance of the character, but also the abilities and personality as well. This ability allowed its user to become the actual character being cosplayed. By taking on the personalities and abilities of those being cosplayed, the Ultimate Cosplayer has a plethora of persona to choose from to respond to any situation.
This was shown firsthand when Tsumigi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, switches between multiple characters to refute the arguments presented against her in the final class trial of Danganronpa V3. Her ability proved to be too much for even an Ultimate Detective to handle.
However, the ability has very fatal weaknesses. The biggest weakness is that only fictional characters can be cosplayed. The Ultimate Cosplayer cannot cosplay anyone that exists in reality. Additionally, the quality of the cosplay can also be affected by the Ultimate Cosplayer’s mental state. When Tsumugi was backed into a corner during a class trial, her ability to change between her cosplays steadily diminished.
Even with those weaknesses in mind, it is a very strong ability and it deserves the number 7 spot on this list.
6. The Ultimate Musician — Ibuki Mioda
A seemingly surprising pick for this list, the Ultimate Musician ability has proven to be a powerful ability in the series. Held by Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician was one of the abilities brainwashed by Junko Enoshima into being an Ultimate Despair. With her Ultimate Musician ability, Ibuki went on to hold despair-inducing concerts for the masses, drowning them in despair.
The Ultimate Musician was shown to have potential brainwashing powers as in the case of despair-inducing concerts or the joy-inducing concert Ibuki held in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Additionally, in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School — Future Arc, Ibuki was seen using her Ultimate Musician ability to defeat an army of people.
The only weakness shown for the Ultimate Musician ability is being unable to hear. As shown in the Future Arc, people who could not hear the Ultimate Musician’s music were completely unaffected.
Due to its strong overall use and brainwashing abilities, the Ultimate Musician gets the number 6 spot.
5. The Ultimate Lucky Student — Nagito Komaeda
The Ultimate Lucky Student title is given to any student lucky enough to enter Hope’s Peak Academy through its lottery system. At first glance, it seems to be a weak ability, as many would argue that luck itself is not a talent.
However, the Ultimate Lucky Student ability has proven itself to be extremely potent when used correctly. Nagito Komeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, relied on the power of luck to influence the outcomes of decisions in his favor. Unlike other Ultimate abilities, which rely on their active use, the Ultimate Lucky Student is naturally lucky. Their innate luck allows them to manifest their Ultimate ability passively, without any conscious effort. It also cannot be stopped by another ability, as luck is not something that can be controlled.
The only weakness of the Ultimate Lucky Student is that their luck can be countered by someone of even greater luck. In Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School — Despair Arc, when Nagito faced someone with equal or greater luck, his own luck was canceled out.
The Ultimate Lucky Student ability is still able to take the number 5 spot on this list thanks to its extremely high practical usage. Luck can be reasonably applied to any situation, making this one of the strongest abilities in terms of practical use. Additionally, its weakness of being countered is highly unlikely as the Ultimate Lucky Student is selected due to having high luck to begin with.
4. The Ultimate Maid — Kirumi Tojo
The Ultimate Maid is the ability of Kirumi Tojo in Danganronpa V3. This ability was immediately presented as powerful as it allowed Kirumi to do anything asked of her by the other Ultimates. Kirumi goes as far as to bring up the time she was requested to destroy an entire nation. The Ultimate Maid ability gives Kirumi quick decision-making abilities as well as the power to multitask efficiently.
The true power of the Ultimate Maid was further elaborated on during the events of the 2nd class trial in Danganronpa V3. It was revealed that the Ultimate Maid could grant any request, no matter how grand or lavish. Asked by the Prime Minister of Japan to make the country great again, the Ultimate Maid was able to grant that request, and even served as the de facto Prime Minister, until she was forced into the killing game. Other people that the Ultimate Maid served in the past also included those with great influence in politics and finance.
The Ultimate Maid was shown to have the weakness of only accepting tasks that can be completed. However, there has been no evidence of the Ultimate Maid rejecting a task because of its difficulty. The Ultimate Maid has only been shown to reject tasks that are unethical or cause unfair grief for others. The greatest weakness of the Ultimate Maid is a reduced lack of free will, as even having a conversation with Kirumi was impossible without it being a request.
Due to its immense power, the Ultimate Maid easily takes the number 4 spot on this list.
3. The Ultimate Confectioner — Ruruka Ando
At first glance, the Ultimate Confectioner is a weak talent. Ruruka Ando, the only known holder of the Ultimate Confectioner ability, was able to create delicious sweets that provide several small health benefits, despite being sweets. Beyond that, the Ultimate Confectioner is unable to do anything more. In Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School — Future Arc, the Ultimate Confectioner was shown being protected and cared for by the Ultimate Blacksmith for almost the entirety of the anime.
Without much going for it, the Ultimate Confectioner appeared to be a weak talent. However, it was later revealed that the Ultimate Confectioner’s sweets had the ability to brainwash people. By eating the sweets, the Ultimate Blacksmith had been brainwashed for his entire life. The potency of the Ultimate Confectioner’s brainwashing sweets was further shown when the Ultimate Boxer eats one and immediately falls under its effects.
Aside from Ruruka being constantly protected by the Ultimate Blacksmith, the Ultimate Confectioner ability’s only weakness was getting others to eat the sweets to begin with. With the ability to brainwash people on demand for an infinite amount of time, the Ultimate Confectioner ability takes the number 3 spot.
2. The Ultimate Animator — Ryota Mitarai
One of the most important Ultimate abilities in Danganronpa, the Ultimate Animator had the ability to not only brainwash people, but also permanently alter their personalities. Unlike the Ultimate Confectioner, the Ultimate Animator’s brainwashing abilities would not wear off after a certain amount of time. Ryota Mitarai, one of the Ultimate Animator’s users, was shown using his abilities to show a video that brainwashed an entire army.
Junko Enoshima, using the Ultimate Animator’s powers to make her own videos, was able to show a despair-inducing video that caused countless murders and suicides. Conversely, Ryota was able to use the Ultimate Animator’s power to create a hope inducing video that impacted the entire world.
The Ultimate Animator was given no weakness, as its videos could not be resisted by anyone and were only undone when the Ultimate Animator willingly stopped the effects. The only exception to this is the Neo World Program, which undid the effects of the despair-inducing video that created the Ultimate Despairs. However, the Neo World Program took the power of three Ultimates to create, and even then, it took weeks to undo the effects of the despair-inducing video.
The Ultimate Animator was a truly powerful ability that deserves the number 2 spot on this list.
1. The Ultimate Imposter — ????
The strongest Ultimate ability shown in the Danganronpa series is the Ultimate Imposter. Like the Ultimate Cosplayer, the Ultimate Imposter ability allows its user to impersonate a different person. However, there are no limitations on the people that can be impersonated. Moreover, the Ultimate Imposter takes on every aspect of its target, not just appearance.
The only known holder of the Ultimate Imposter title is an unnamed person. The Ultimate Imposter’s user has been shown taking on the abilities and personalities of the people being impersonated, such as becoming the Ultimate Affluent Progeny when impersonating Byakuya. The Ultimate Imposter also demonstrated the same speech patterns, personality traits, and even the voice and swordsmanship, of the Ultimate Student Council President when using their imposter ability.
The ability also has the power to completely fool others into believing their impersonations, regardless of body size or gender. When impersonating Byakuya, the Ultimate Imposter was a much chubbier version of him. Despite that, no one considered that Byakuya to be a fake.
The only weakness of the Ultimate Imposter is the user’s lack of self-esteem. By constantly pretending to be others, the Ultimate Imposter lacks a presence of their own. However, this weakness has never prevented the Ultimate Imposter from using the ability to its fullest, nor has it ever been shown to hinder the Ultimate Imposter’s daily life. The weakness has also been proven to be related to the user more than the ability itself.
Praised by even Monokuma, the Ultimate Imposter was considered a near superhuman Ultimate ability. For that, it deserves the top spot as the strongest Ultimate ability in all of Danganronpa.
