Hajime Hinata

Hajime Hinata (日向 創) is a student of Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B, and a participant of the Killing School Trip featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. He doesn't remember his talent at the beginning of the Killing Game, so his title is the Ultimate ??? (超高校級の「???」 lit. Super High School Level ???).

He, along with the Class 77-B, return in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School to explore their school life leading up to The Tragedy.

Appearance
Hajime has short, spiky-ish brown hair with an ahoge that moves according to his emotions. He wears a simple white shirt with the emblem of his previous high school embroidered on the hem, along with a green tie which also bears the same emblem. He also wears dark pants and red-and-white sneakers. During his time in Hope's Peak Academy, he wore a black reserve course student uniform, which are the same clothes he wears as Izuru Kamukura.

Hajime's eyes have straight lines running across his pupils, resembling a prohibition symbol. Although his eye color is originally green, his eyes turned dark orange-red with symbols resembling target radars when he lived as Izuru. After the two personalities merge, his left eye remains red while the other reverts to his natural eye color, with the design of both eyes having adapted Izuru's target radar design.

Inside the simulation, during the ending of the second game, Hajime also gained an "Awakened" form, with his hair turning white and his eyes becoming just like those of Izuru. In addition, he was completely enveloped in a lightning-like aura. In Super Danganronpa 2.5, when he is supposedly once again inside the simulation, his eyes have turned red again, but he is otherwise his usual self and wears his black Hope's Peak Academy uniform.

In the official art book, as well as in Chiaki Nanami and Nekomaru Nidai's Free Time Events, it's implied that Hajime has some muscle, as he has done some exercise. However, he's mentioned as the type who looks thinner when dressed.

Though never seen in the games, the official art book shows that he has dark blue trunks with white cherry blossom pattern, which are even described as fashionable. Apparently, he does not show them even to his closest friends and his underwear is normally "a mystery", humorously referencing the bonus modes and free-time events.

Personality
Hajime seems cynical at first glance, but it would be more accurate to describe him as a realist. He is quite skeptical and tends to worry more than the other students, but his worries are usually understandable. He is logical and keen, often annoyed by the idea of not being able to understand someone or something at all. He tends to be quite serious, but he does joke around and often goes along with his classmates' eccentric hobbies anyway, and sometimes smiles awkwardly and sheepishly while his friends engage in some of their usual weird behavior. He is sometimes annoyed by some of his classmates and can be snarky towards them in his thoughts as well as blunt while speaking to them, though he's more frank than sarcastic or mean-spirited. Though sometimes a bit submissive (especially with bossy girls), he is not afraid to speak his mind, and he can be rude if annoyed enough (for example, after enduring Hiyoko's attitude during her Free Time Events, he finally ends up stating "I don't even care anymore"). He can sometimes be short-tempered and snap at others, especially when he's tired or under pressure. He was also quite paranoid during the start of the game and didn't have much interest in friendship, but he later really wanted to believe in his classmates and felt bad about doubting them during the Class Trials, though he understood it was necessary. He sometimes regretted exposing the murderers, as shown after singling out the murderer in Chapter 3.

Hajime's more aggressive personality is well-demonstrated in a scene in Danganronpa 3, in which he attempts to punch Juzo Sakakura after he spoke in a very condescending and dehumanizing manner, and slapped Chisa Yukizome's hand away in anger when she tried to help him, which is notably different from the way the other protagonists would have behaved. In the Japanese version, his more blunt personality is also shown in his way of speakingーduring Nonstop Debates, he uses the phrase それは違うぞ (sore wa chigau zo; lit. "That's wrong"), while Makoto Naegi says それは違うよ (sore wa chigau yo; lit. "That's wrong"). Using よ yo at the end of a sentence is much more polite than using ぞ zo, which is perceived as impolite and more masculine. Another example of this is how he uses the more masculine and boastful word 俺 (ore) to refer himself while Makoto uses the more polite word 僕 (boku). Notably, he has also referred to Junko Enoshima as an "insane bitch", which is something Makoto wouldn't do even in the case of his worst enemies. Due to his more irritable personality, both Monokuma and Nagito have more or less jokingly compared Hajime to a tsundere, with Nagito calling him "tsuntsun hair" and Monokuma outright calling him a tsundere.

Despite his flaws, Hajime is generally pleasant and easily exhibits kindness and thoughtfulness to others around him; he genuinely cares about everyone. Although he may have trouble understanding or relating to his classmates, he is tolerant of everyone's eccentric personalities and quirks and is always willing to listen and give advice. The official artbook reinforces this by stating that he spends his time talking with everyone and gets along great with both the girls and the guys. In Free Time Events, he makes even the most antisocial characters feel more relaxed and they often reveal things about themselves they wouldn't tell anyone else. Due to this particular trait, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu thinks that Hajime's talent might be Ultimate Counselor and Nagito calls him Ultimate Serenity.

It's also heavily implied that Hajime is romantically inexperienced, appearing somewhat shy and even naive about the topic. He once mentioned that he hadn't really thought about it and has never asked a girl on a date. However, during Free Time Events and especially during Island Mode, several characters appear to have a romantic interest in Hajime and he sometimes responds by flirting, dating, or even forming actual (non-canon) relationships with them. He is sometimes shown to be a bit gullible when other characters show interest in him, with he himself admitting that he is "kind of dense" during Hiyoko Saionji's Shot Through The Heart event. Ironically, he incorrectly assumes Peko Pekoyama has romantic feelings for him during her Free Time Events, while actually she is one of the few characters who is confirmed to not have any feelings towards him.

Although he tries to hide it, Hajime is very insecure about his lack of talent, and it bothers him deeply. This caused him to admire Hope's Peak Academy more than anything, as he believed that attending the school would fix his problem. He wished to be part of something bigger than himself, to become more confident and someone he can be proud of. He felt bitter about being just a reserve course student. Chiaki was the one who guided Hajime to see the reality that whether or not he had a talent was irrelevant. It was largely due to her support and encouragement that he was finally able to overcome despair and gain true confidence.

After Hajime awakens from the Neo World Program, he preserves his memories and identifies as Hajime Hinata, accepting that the future includes countless possibilities that can sometimes end in failure. As of Hope Arc, it is revealed that Hajime and Izuru's personalities are mixed. Though he identifies as Hajime and acts mostly like him, having the capability to feel, he still becomes bored easily at times and sometimes his demeanor resembles more Izuru than Hajime. He is also capable of using Izuru's talents, which makes him the strongest person in the world if he has reason to be. However, Kazutaka Kodaka has stated that he still has humanity and emotions, which could make him surprisingly weak. "If you've got Kazuichi talking smack about you, you're not all that great", Kazutaka said laughing, referring to Kazuichi's "This guy's from the Reserve Course" comment in Hope Arc.