Makoto Naegi

"If Kirigiri had turned into Despair... and betrayed everyone... If I had to kill her to stop her... No matter what had happened, I'd still have been glad to have met her."

- Makoto Naegi

Makoto Naegi is the main protagonist of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. Unlike most students, he was selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy because he won a lottery, earning him the title of Ultimate Lucky Student. He is also the older brother of Komaru Naegi.

He is voiced by Bryce Papenbrook also voiced Nagito Komaeda, Cat Noir from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, Rin Okumura from Blue Exorcist, Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan, Kirito from Sword Art Online, Meliodas from The Seven Deadly Sins and Masaomi Kida from Durarara!!.

History
Throughout the course of the game, he became one of the more prominent investigators and was the one that was usually able to see the truth behind every murder. Naegi survived the final trial and escaped with the other survivors at the end of the game.

He is also one of the returning characters in Super Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Naegi joined the Future Foundation after the events of the first game.

Makoto returns in Dangaronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side: Future, attending his trial after he was charged on suspicion of treason for proteceting the Remnants of Despairs.

In Dangaronpa IF, Makoto had a crush on Kyoko before their memories were erased, when Junko asked Mukuro if she had taken care of her rival in love, Kyoko. Also, in one of their high school pictures, Makoto seems to be looking at Kyoko while their class was out swimming.

In Dangaronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy - Side: Future, Makoto cares about Kyoko Kirigiri, it's possible Makoto has romantic feelings for Kyoko.

After the events of Danganropa 3 he becomes the new Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy.

Appearance
Makoto describes himself as being a typical high school student. He has brown hair and light grey-ish, brown eyes. He wears a brownish green hoodie, black jeans and red sneakers. Naegi is rather short, making him the second smallest of the boys.

After joining the Future Foundation, Makoto is seen wearing a black suit. He seems to have cut his hair, as it appears to be a bit shorter.

Personality
Makoto is friendly and a lot more down-to-earth than other students. This is possibly the reason why he is capable of approaching and befriending them in the Free Time sequence. Junko refers to him as a ‘herbivore man,’ by which she means that Makoto is likely to be the passive one in a relationship; proven from his conversation with others.

According to him, his most distinguishing feature is his optimism. Because of it, he's capable of befriending almost anyone, even the most antisocial such as Byakuya and Toko. Makoto would make use of this particular trait later on in the final trial where he prevented the other students from giving in to the despair that starts to overtake them, earning him the title Ultimate Hope.

Background
Makoto lived a normal life with his parents and little sister, Komaru. They also had a dog during his childhood. Although sometimes he didn't get along with his sister, he had a close relationship with Komaru. The two watched TV and shared thoughts on manga together. On a typical day with Makoto and his family, his mother would always watch the same talk show at lunchtime, and his dad wouldn't shave his beard on Saturday when he didn't have work.

In middle school, Makoto was in the same class with Sayaka Maizono. He found a lost crane and rescued it; this act of kindness caught her attention, and that was how she remembers him even years later. It's implied that Makoto had a crush on her, but they never talked due to them being in different social standards. Later, he went to Dusk High School.

Makoto had normal school, normal friends, and a normal family. He was pretty much the textbook example of a normal high school student.

Makoto was selected to attend Hope's Peak Academy's Class 78th through winning a random lottery. The day before his first day at the Academy, August 20th, 2010, Makoto visited a forum and looked up information about his future classmates.

Quotes

 * "Well, if I’m forced to give one redeeming trait, I guess I’d say I’m a little more optimistic than most people."
 * "Heck no! We won't play your game! We're allies, and we won't kill each other. Never again..." (To Monokuma)

Trivia

 * Naegi's Japanese VA, Megumi Ogata, is famed for her role in voicing several anime characters such as Shinji Ikari (Neon Genesis Evangelion), Tachibana Sakon (Karakurizōshi Ayatsuri Sakon), Kumagawa Misogi (Medaka Box Abnormal) and others. She also voiced Nagito Komaeda from Super Dangan Ronpa 2: Farewell Despair Academy, with whom he shares several traits, including the title of "Super High School Level Good Luck".
 * In accordance with his DVD, it is shown he has a younger sister. In Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, where she is the protagonist, her name was revealed to be Komaru.
 * He is often depicted as losing one of his shoes in both official artworks and the opening of the anime.
 * Before Naegi's actual appearance in the sequel, Monokuma briefly mentioned to Nagito Komaeda that the way he kept on clinging onto "hope" is very similar to "that kid" that he (Monokuma) knew. It is believed that "this kid" refers to Makoto Naegi.