The executions in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony are a big part of what makes the game so unique. Some of them are original, and some of them are updated versions of past executions from the previous games. Each one is tailored to the individual who is about to get killed, making them eerily personal and quite unsettling.
But which executions are worth watching first? This article ranks the top 5 executions in the game, so you know which ones to look out for. This article also, of course, contains some major spoilers, so readers beware.
1. Strand of Agony
Strand of Agony is the execution of Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid. This is after she kills Ryoma, with the motive of being freed so that she can help run Japan for the president. As implied by other characters in the game, Kirumi was not only a responsible maid, but cold and conniving, and even tried to get her classmates to volunteer to be executed instead of her.
During the execution, she’s being chased by protesters, who lead her to a vine with thorns. As it’s her only way out, she continues to climb the long way up, painfully lacerating her hands as saws on the walls of a tunnel are constantly slicing through her flesh. She continues going, as she can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but once she gets to the light, she sees it’s just a child’s drawing of a happy sky.
Defeated, Kirumi falls from the tunnel and plummets to her death, bleeding out with the child’s drawing falling upon her. Many see this as a powerful message that symbolises how no matter how much struggle one may put into a better future, it only leads to despair, as the masses are unwilling to change.
2. Der Flohwalzer
Der Flohwalzer is the execution of Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. This is the very first execution to occur, and later on in the game, it is discovered that she was wrongly executed, because although she believed she killed Rantaro Amami, the real killer was Tsumugi Shirogane.
During her execution, we see Kaede being seized by the neck from her classmates onto what looks like a giant piano. She is then presented to a crowd, and, while Monokuma is the conductor, her hanging body is made to perform the well-known piano song, the Flea Waltz, until she dies.
The fallboard, which is studded with spikes, then falls onto her lifeless body. This execution is titled one of the most unsettling executions from Danganronpa to date, and the warped usage of the Flea Waltz, a well-known children’s tune, gives this execution a personal hit, so as many viewers as possible are rattled by it.
3. Cultural Melting Pot
Cultural Melting Pot is the third execution to occur, where Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist, is being executed after killing two very beloved characters, Tenko Chabashira and Angie Yonaga. Many are torn whether Korekiyo deserved this or not, as he was evidently mentally unwell.
During his execution, we see Korekiyo being roped from the ceiling and spun until a samurai cuts the said rope. Korekiyo then falls into a melting pot which is heated until he’s boiling alive. His soul is seen to risefrom the pot, where he meets his beloved deceased sister who, along with Monokuma, splashes some form of holy salt water on his spirit, causing it to burn away.
We then see Korekiyo’s sister form a relationship with Monokuma. This is greatly unfortunate for Korekiyo, who wanted to kill one hundred good people so his sister isn’t alone. He also developed a tulpa of this sister and was implied to be in an incestual relationship with her, which leaves players both disgusted and wondering if Korekiyo really needed the execution or just some therapy.
4. Blast Off! Second Ignition
Blast Off! Second Ignition is the new and improved method of execution that was originally just Blast Off! This execution is for Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut, after he kills Kokichi Oma in a pact with him, as an attempt for the both of them to end the killing game.
During this execution, we see Kaito locked inside a spaceship, which plummets to the core of the earth at top speed. The rocket then continues in the same direction out of the earth and into space, with the immense pressure changes causing Kaito to peacefully succumb to his disease and die while up there.
This causes the execution to fail, and the spacecraft falls back through the earth, to the school, revealing Kaito’s already dead body in it. This plot twist sets the scene for the entire game to change its course, giving the characters and players hope that if an execution can fail, then the killing game they’re trapped in can fail, too.
5. Wild West Insecticide
Wild West Insecticide is the execution of Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist. He was executed for killing Miu Iruma in the Neo World Program, after being coerced to do so by Kokichi Oma, due to the fact that Miu was planning on killing Kokichi, and Kokichi wanted to end the killing game.
During the execution, we see Gonta chained to a stake in the wild west, along with his Neo World avatar on a laptop. Monokuma shoots an army of wasps at Gonta which sting him relentlessly, while a giant wasp bursts out of Monophanie’s stomach. The wasp, which has scythes for its front legs, then impales Gonta through the laptop and his chest.
Monokuma subsequently burns to death Gonta and the giant wasp at the stake. This execution is seen as undeserved, as in the game we see Gonta as nothing but a gentleman who wouldn’t harm a fly, but his kind nature was taken advantage of and he ends up dying because of it. This execution may serve as a warning for those who struggle to say no, showing the negative results of such.
