Part 76: Episode 16 - Despair Side, Episode 8: The Worst Reunion by Chance

We begin our next trip to the Despair Side with Junko putting together a jigsaw puzzle of the Last Supper in Monokuma form, which is pretty amazing.



She's currently at Ryota's new workplace, and all the while, Mikan is telling her about how great her class is, especially Chisa and Chiaki.



This will obviously not end badly in the slightest. Ryota then asks Junko why she's so into that jigsaw puzzle, anyway. Those of you adept at pattern recognition will probably be able to work out her answer: You spend all this time working on it, putting it together piece by piece...



...and then entropy comes along and fucks everything up, making way for wonderful despair.



Also, Mikan seems really into this.



After that, we get the Reserve Course protesting outside the main Hope's Peak building.



Apparently, the video of the first killing game has been spreading despite Hope's Peak's attempts to cover it up, and it seems like it's only a matter of time before the government steps in.



Meanwhile, back at Ryota's, he's noticing that Mikan is acting really weirdly infatuated with Junko, and he suspects Junko brainwashed Mikan and that Junko has to be up to something.



He then spots a "movie production" folder that doesn't seem familiar.



Inside, all he finds is a "ZV" file. Very astute viewers will already have an idea of what this could stand for. Spoilers: I would wager it's "Zetsubou Video", or "Despair Video".



He gives it a watch, and it's basically just footage from the first killing game.



Ryota, uh, doesn't take it too well.



He then suddenly finds himself cornered by Mikan, with her telling him he really shouldn't have looked at that.



Ryota learns from Mikan that everybody in that video is now dead and that Junko made the whole thing. Ryota doesn't take that too well either, and calls the whole thing sick.



Mikan can only agree. She's, uh, kinda gone now.



Meanwhile, back at Hope's Peak, the numbers in the protests seem to have grown quite a lot, and they're starting to climb over the gate to get in.



And on the other side, we have Juzo, who still seems a bit too eager to beat the crap out of Reserve Course students.



And all the while, our class just kinda stares out the window, worrying. Worrying about how Hope's Peak is trying to cover this protest up by calling it a "parade", worrying about why Mikan is gone, that kind of stuff.



Chisa shows up and tries to cheer the class up, with mixed success. Chiaki asks Chisa about Hajime because of course.



And amidst all of them, the Imposter knows more than the rest, but still not everything.



Like how Ryota is in a really not great situation right now.



Mikan is getting really, really inappropriate with Ryota trying to convince him to help Junko with what she's doing...



...though Junko then shows up and puts a stop to that, yelling at her to stop acting like a pig in heat.



Of course, with Mikan A) being despairified and B) being Mikan, that has the opposite effect Junko might have intended.



Though she doesn't really seem to care either way.



Junko then shifts into her teacher personality for a presentation while Mukuro drops in like a ninja to roll out the projection screen, hands Junko the remote, then jumps back into the air and disappears, which is pretty neat.



And here's the topic of today's lesson! The basic gist is that the video Ryota found is responsible for turning Mikan into what she is now, but overall, it's not as effective as Junko wishes it would be, since her brainwashing skills aren't up to snuff.





So Junko's plan is to use Ryota's brainwashing strategies in the killing game video to create a true despair video.



Ryota, understandably, isn't really down with this plan and tries to run.



However, Junko then threatens him by suggesting that if he does run, she'll use his class as the subjects of her next video.



Back with the class, they've been looking for Mikan, with no success.



But then, somebody enters the door! Hiyoko greets that somebody with an enthusiastic "Hey girl!".



And what we get back is "Sorry, still a dude.". It's Nagito! The class is, uh, less than enthused about this turn of events. Nagito gets brought up to speed on the Mikan situation...



...and just as luck would have it, he spotted her on the way to school! The class decides to head out where Nagito saw her to find her.



However, Nagito seems to have some sort of plan hatching on his own, as he pulls aside Peko for a talk.



Meanwhile, Chisa psyches herself up to give her class hope...



...but finds herself greeting an empty room.



They did, however, at least leave a note. Chisa gives pursuit, knowing that the situation outside is, uh, a little dicey right now.



Back outside, Juzo continues punching people.



He then gets some unexpected reinforcements - it's Kyosuke!



He tells Juzo that this whole thing falls on his own shoulders, and that he put Chisa and Juzo into a situation way bigger than they could handle. He then tells Juzo to call Chisa.



However, Chisa is outside looking for her class and doesn't notice the call.



And the class has split up into multiple groups looking for Mikan.



Chiaki and Nagito find themselves at the statue of Izuru Kamukura - that is, "old Hope's Peak headmaster" Kamukura, not "The Artist Formerly Known As Hajime Hinata" Kamukura.



And of course, Nagito being Nagito, he just steps up to the statue and just so happens to push a button in the wall and step on a pressure switch at the same time, which opens a staircase downwards.



The two start exploring the place, with Chiaki wondering what a school would need such a secret place. Nagito suggests they must be doing something they don't want found out and gives human experimentation as an example. Eh, that's just way too outrageous, Nagito, no way that's true! They continue along the hall and find...



...Ryota! He immediately starts by swearing he didn't do anything and that he didn't want to hurt anyone.



Junko then shows up to really get the scene going.



She asks how Nagito knew about this place, the answer to that being that he didn't and just got lucky. However, Junko says that it doesn't really matter since they won't be able to tell anyone about this place. But Nagito then just says that if Junko is expecting backup from Mukuro, well...



...she's kinda busy right now fighting Peko.



Nagito says that what he's doing is for hope. And what is his plan to derail the despair train? Well...



...he's got a fucking gun!

Now, Nagito's plan, being a plan made by, well, Nagito, is kinda crooked. From what I gather, Nagito is going to attempt to kill Junko, but really, killing her only means something if she really is the epitome of despair. So he's also kind of hoping he'll screw up and Junko will go on to be an even bigger despair for hope to rise up and defeat. You know, standard Nagito stuff, but it does kind of lead me to wonder what exactly he wants to do, given that his optimal result relies on his luck not working.



But then, he notices something!



It's Izuru! No, not that one, the other one! Nagito tries to shoot Izuru, but his gun jams...







...and then, like with the guy in the first killing game, Izuru does some sort of slow motion move, steals Nagito's gun, and shoots him with it while saying that he has good luck too. Ryota takes the opportunity of everybody being preoccupied with the current situation to bail.



Of course, Nagito being Nagito, he wouldn't die from being shot. His student handbook ended up blocking the bullet.



Chiaki and Izuru also have one of those foreshadowy moments.



Outside, Ryota ends up running into Chisa and having a nervous breakdown over how he thinks Chiaki is going to die and that he can't do anything about it, since he's just an animator. Chisa cheers him up by telling him it's her job to protect her students, not his, and that when this is all over, she wants him to show her some of his work.



And as Chisa rushes to the statue, we get an inner monologue from her about how she has a bad feeling about this and how she doesn't really know what she'll do, with her talent being the Ultimate Housekeeper, but in the end, she feels like she has to do this.



And to end the episode, we get a post-credits stinger back with Chiaki and Izuru. Chiaki asks "Is that you, Hinata?", and that's the episode.

Next time, back on the Future Side, shit's really gonna get real. We'll learn what lies behind the secret passage, people will die, and Makoto will experience the shock that Monaca promised he will have!

What the fuck just happened?: Mikan has gone full despair. Junko is trying to use Ryota's brainwashing techniques together with her footage from the first killing game to create a despair video that will turn people insane like Mikan. The Reserve Course riots are getting worse. Nagito's back with the class, and together, they go out to find Mikan. Nagito uses his luck to stumble over the hidden room where Junko is keeping Ryota, and Nagito pulls out a gun to try and kill her. However, Izuru shows up and out-lucks Nagito, taking the gun away from him and shooting him. However however, Nagito survives with his own luck, and Ryota escapes in the chaos. With Chiaki still down in the hidden room with Junko and Izuru, Chisa rushes to her aid as the episode ends.