Ryota Mitarai

Ryota Mitarai (御手洗 亮太 Mitarai Ryōta) is a character featured in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy, as well as a participant in the Final Killing Game. Ryota is a member of Future Foundation and is the leader of the 10th Division. His responsibility is to help oversee and implement education and culture to areas in need.

During his time in Hope's Peak Academy, he is the Super High School Level Animator (超高校級の「アニメーター 」chō kōkō kyū no “animētā”) enrolled in Class 77-B.

Ryota, along with four other people, is one of the five survivors of the Final Killing Game. However, because of Kazuo Tengan's manipulation, Ryota was persuaded into using his Hope Video make the whole world unwillingly believe in hope, but aborted his plans after his revived classmates convinced him to join them in atoning for their sins as the former Ultimate Despair members.

Appearance
Ryota is a young man in his early twenties, around 22 at most (about 17-18 in Danganronpa 3 - Side: Despair).

He has a very skinny, somewhat frail-looking frame. He has heavy bags under his eyes and a withdrawn posture, giving him a tired and anxious appearance. He has short, light brown hair and hazel eyes. He wears a black suit with a green tie and the Future Foundation ID pinned to its lapel.

Personality
Ryota is a very timid and somewhat asocial person, but he is also known to be a serious young man with a very strong sense of justice, thinking that it's wrong to use violence against women, or violence in general.

During his past in Hope's Peak Academy, he constantly shut himself in his room to work because of looming deadlines. He was determined to create an animation that could bring hope to other people, at the expense of his own health and well-being, as he often forgot to eat and rest.

Ryota is shown to be very passionate about anime and wants to use his anime to save people. He also has a weak stomach compared to other characters as he felt nauseous at the sight of Seiko's dead body, and he later threw up violently after seeing a recording of The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy.

When Junko started to bring despair to the Hope's Peak Academy, Ryota fled in terror, and later regretted running and hated himself for being such a weakling.

Much like Makoto Naegi, he wants to fill the world with hope and he has a strong desire to help and save other people. However, because of this, he suffers from anxiety and worries constantly. He lacks self-confidence, seeing himself as a burden who fails to protect everyone. When he does get a mission, however, he does his best to help.

According to Kyoko, he himself appears to have some ideas for the Final Killing Game's mastermind, and that's why he is curious to know what others think, as well.

Ironically, the combination of his desire of hope, his lack of self-confidence, and his witness of the result of the Final Killing Game gives him the resolve to brainwash the entire world into hope by eliminating all sources of despair, be it it pain or suffering or jealousy, and willing to use his brainwashing video to get more people to assist him.