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Hey everybody! Baconforbreakfast426 here, back again with another theory!

Danganronpa V3's lore is...interesting. Oh, who am I kidding?! V3's lore is confusing as all hell, to that point that it makes FNAF's lore (extending beyond the games) look easy to understand by comparison! Half the time, people are asking the question, "How the fuck can I understand this?" or, "What the fuck am I supposed to believe here?". Yeah, V3's lore is like a smooth train ride moving at a breakneck speed off a cliff. Solving V3's lore is a tough nut to crack, but I've stepped up to the plate, and I think I have an idea as to what's really going on. Now, this theory should be excepted as a theory at most and a personal opinion at least, because with any theory explaining this game's lore, things are up for heavy debate, so take this theory with a grain of salt, or a teaspoon, or a truckload-whatever amount you feel is necessary. Anyways, onto the theory!

For this theory, I'll be providing my answers to some major questions that are circulating about V3's lore to help clarify things in the grand scope. I'll be tackling Tsumugi, Team Danganronpa, and the masterminds in general more directly in the next part of this theory, as I have ideas about those that deserve a theory of their own.

Question 1: Are the audition tapes real?
Let's just jump into it with one of the biggest aspects of solving this game's lore. For those of you who've never played V3 or don't have much knowledge of it, the big "twist" at the end is that all the events of V3 were just reality TV show for the outside world to enjoy, and that everyone in the killing game actually wanted to be a part of it, sending in audition tapes before being kidnapped and having not only their memories erased, but their very personalities changed with a device called the Flashback Light essentially, they were all brainwashed). However, this might not be the case, and it's been heavily debated from the very beginning, when V3 was first released in 2017. So, it's time to finally answer this question. Were the audition tapes even real, and did everyone really want to be a part of V3? In my opinion, no. Let me explain.

For one, if the V3 characters really did audition for it and were willing participants, kidnapping them would be pointless. They could've just been called up to Team Danganronpa's headquarters, or the site of the killing game, and just start from there. That's already enough to call the willing participant notion into question. However, there's one more aspect of the pregame cast that leaves that exact same notion crumbling down. When the Monokubs first made their appearance right before the pregame cast were exposed to the flashback light, the pregame cast had no idea what was going on. You'd think they would have figured out something, but no. They're almost entirely clueless. Pregame Kaito doesn't even recognize the Monokubs' appearance, which wouldn't have been the case if he had auditioned. Heck, nobody we know of even seems to recognize Rantaro, who had participated in the killing game prior. On top of that, pregame Kaede seems surprised that what she's seeing is the Monokubs, asking if this really was them and getting cut off every time she tried. The ionly one who knows what's happening is Rantaro, but he'd gone through all of this before, so he's irrelevant for this piece of evidence for this theory (not to be rude towards my best boi I want to have/make a plush of to cuddle forever). If the pregame cast were willing participants, then all of these details and reactions to what was happening would make zero sense. However, if they weren't willing participants, maybe not even being huge fans of the series, it would make a lot more sense. Just put yourself in this situation.

You're pregame Kaede. Everyone around you knows about the popular series Danganronpa, including you. In the time leading up to the series' 53rd season, you wonder who would be daring enough to audition for a death show like that and erase their entire being. It was how things were for every season before it. This wonder and intrigue lingers in your mind until just before the series is supposed to start. That's when it happens. You're walking to school just as you do every day, when out of nowhere, a bunch of people grab you and shove you into a van, with your cries for help falling on deaf ears. You wake up in a locker inside an abandoned school, and you quickly realize that other teenagers just like you suffered the same fate. Multiple clues begin popping up that tie this to the TV show everyone knows and loves. However, that's impossible. You never even auditioned for the show. You shouldn't be in this situation, right? However, when the Monokubs, who were advertised as being part of the 53rd season but whom you never saw a visual reference for, show up, it finally dawns on you. There was no audition. There were no willing participants. It was all a lie. But then the flashback light was activated, erasing this realization from your mind forever.

Now things start to make sense. This wouldn't be the first time a TV show lied to its fans. However, this still leaves one question. Why? Well, think about it. A TV show beloved by the whole world would not want them kidnapping the participants to go public. They'd need some kind of explanation to easily explain the teenagers' disappearance, I.E. that they auditioned to go in. That's right. I think that the willing participants lie was a cover-up to keep Danganronpa on the air. This also explains why the Monokubs said the pregame cast wasn't supposed to retain her memories, and quickly come up with another cover-up, as well as why they kept cutting Kaede off when she tried speaking up. Now, I've seen many people say that the pregame cast's memories were wiped prior to the events seen in the prologue. However, there's just no evidence that this ever happened, especially given all the points I already listed.

As for why the pregame cast were the ones chosen, I think that it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time. The kidnapping vans simply saw opportunity and took it. The pregame cast could have also been suggested as candidates by other people, but I'm leaning towards the simpler explanation of pure opportunity, although I can't really confirm the real reasoning, as next to no real evidence was given in that regard.

Question 2: Are the V3 characters real or fictional?
Another question that has been circulating in the fandom since V3's release is whether the personalities the V3 cast were given were actually real, or if they really were fictional. The people on the real side tend to use Tsumugi's cospox when she took Kaede's clothes to cosplay as her (I'm not kidding) as evidence. However, as much as I hate to say it, I don't think the cast's personalities were their real ones. For one, Tsumugi can cosplay anyone she wants to to a tee, right down to their voices. Why couldn't she fake an allergy that none of the survivors even saw? However, once again, the pregame cast is a key factor in breaking down the real personality notion. When Kaede first met Shuichi when the pregame section of the prologue first started, and she remembered her kidnapping, she says this.

"I was walking my usual route to school when all of a sudden, someone shoved me into a car. I shouted for help, but no one came to rescue me... Everyone pretended like nothing happened... It made me think how rotten the world is... And then, I lost consciousness..."

Okay. First of all, dick move, outside world! DICK-MOVE! Okay, maybe somebody called 911 later on, thinking it was a normal kidnapping (Team Danganronpa likely wouldn't have their logo posted on the kidnapping van), but you get my point! Not to mention, any calls for help likely didn't go very far, given the cover up thing I mentioned earlier. Anyways, moving on. That sentence I underlined is important, because it directly parallels Kaede's fake audition tape, which shows her saying she has no faith in humanity. I mean, when you're made to believe that people are auditioning to basically walk to their deaths, can you blame her? However, that's beside the point. Shuichi's pregame and in-game juxtaposition when he meets Kaede also supports the fictional notion. In the pregame meeting, Shuichi goes almost immediately into questioning mode, asking if Kaede was with his kidnappers. In the in-game meeting, he just screams and backs away without saying anything. This also lines up with his fake audition tape, which shows his pregame self as being much more strong-willed than his in-game self. We know their names are real though, as the cast use them as their real names, even before being brainwashed.

Now comes the real question. If the V3 cast weren't willing participants, and their in-game personalities weren't their real personalities, how the hell did Team Danganronpa know what their personalities were like? Well, it could be the chosen by others reasoning I listed off earlier, but there could be another explanation. It's shown in V3 that the story takes place in a distant future with futuristic technology, 2063 at the earliest. If in this future, there are inventions which can literally change a person's mind to whatever the user wishes, I've got a sneaking suspicion that there would be inventions that can analyze a person's mind and say what their personalities are. As fuzzy and crazy as our unique personalities and our emotions are, in reality, they are just chemical and hormonal reactions and neuroresponses in our brains, combined with our brain's unique wiring. In theory, you could very well create an invention that can analyze the unique physical and chemical compositions and neuroresponses in someone's brain to figure out who they are and what they're really like, and that's likely just what Team Danganronpa did here. We're already making progress on brain-based technologies, so an invention like that existing in V3's time isn't that much of a stretch. Not to mention, Team Danganronpa probably did a lot of character brainstorming, with countless backstories, designs, and costumes, before the 53rd season started, and when the V3 cast was kidnapped and had their mind analyzed, they either chose the character designs and backstories that were best fit, edited the character design that they wanted, or both. They'd make excellent psychologists, though. They could have also done research on the participants before the game started, but there'd be the issue of time and finding out that much about their personalities that way. It's a lot easier to say that a personality-analyzing device was created to gain the necessary information quick enough to brainstorm and formulate a plan.

Question 3: Is V3 a VR simulation?
Another commonly asked question about V3 is whether or not it's a virtual simulation, and not without merit. It would be pretty fitting for a futuristic setting like V3, especially given the futuristic technologies like the Flashback Light shown. While I originally disagreed with this notion, after working on this theory for weeks, I honestly think yes. The first piece of evidence I have to support this happens at the beginning of the in-game prologue. When Kaede and Shuichi discuss how they can't remember what happened to them, Kaede has a kind of vision. It shows her connected to a machine by the head in a strange room, wires running all above her and a static-like effect playing throughout. I've never had any high-scale hallucinations (aside from the time I hallucinated Slenderman opening my door and standing in my doorway late at night when I was around 10), but last I checked, hallucinations didn't happen like that, let alone with a static effect like we see and hear. The only explanation I can think of for that vision is that the V3 cast were in a simulation, and some kind of glitch or error caused Kaede to have a glimpse of her real-world self. Granted, she is shown to have her in-game clothes on, but she could have easily been dressed up in those clothes while she was unconscious and had her virtual self have her pregame clothes on for the first part. It's as simple as changing your avatar on Animal Jam (anyone still remember that?)! Not only that, but it also explains pregame Kiibo. When I saw him in the pregame part of the prologue, I couldn't help but notice that he looked surprisingly human. If it was a simulation, changing him into a robot is entirely possible. All you'd need to do is use the Flashback Light to physically change who he was. Once again, it's a simple bit of reprogramming. However, it's also entirely possible that Kiibo wasn't a part of the real world at all. He could have been an AI implanted into the game, kind of like an NPC. However, I find the theory that he was once a person a more gripping notion to grip onto, although it is up for debate.

Another piece of evidence to support the simulation theory is the flashback light. In the game, from the character's perspective, someone turns the flashback light on, and the planned memories are implanted into the person's head. However, this has a problem that really bothers me. How can Team Danganronpa fire 15 or 16 beams at one time from one device and have them all hit the right target? It's kind of like trying to measure your home country with a ruler. Sure, you can do it, but your measurements might be pretty off in the end, and it'd take a combination of ifs to get it exactly right. But then take into account the machine attached to Kaede's head I mentioned earlier. What if the flashback light was really just part of that device? You don't need a master's degree to know that if the gun is right against your head, it's much more likely to hit the right target than if it was fired far away, especially if it's fired via a digital program (not to be robophobic). What I think is really going on when the flashback light is activated is that it's individually fired into each character's heads via the device on their heads. Not only would it always hit the right target, but it would also make sense what happened when the flashback light. Watching that happen, you can see that the very environment around the protagonist changes to a yellow world with identifying words flying around them and their eyes appearing in front of them, right before the flashback light is fired directly into their brains, changing their individuality into a corporation's vision. Also, we never actually see a beam fired into their heads, only seeing when it hits. If the actual flashback light was right in front of their heads, say on the device keeping them in the virtual world, this makes a whole lot more sense. As for the landscape changing, in order to activate a device that could literally change the selected person's personality, other areas such as the landscape likely would've had to lose power for a brief moment in order for it to work properly. Hey, This also explains the epilogue, although to try and explain it in words without providing too many spoilers would leave my brain so bamboozled, I wouldn't be able to write the rest of this theory.

So yeah, there's more than enough evidence to prove that V3 is a simulation. However, that still leaves one big question.

Question 4: When people die in V3, are they dead in the outside world, too?
Unfortunately, there isn't any direct evidence to prove either side of this right for certain. All I can do here is speculate, but that still leaves me a lot to work with. Personally, I think that when someone dies in the simulation, that's it. They're gone forever. For one, if someone did die in game and didn't die in real life, that could pose serious problems for Team Danganronpa's agenda. We see through Rantaro that the Flashback Light's effects are permanent, and even if that wasn't so, the memory of the kidnapping and what happens after would be more than enough to spark some serious problems. They could speak out about what was done to them. They might uncover the truth all over again by talking to people they knew prior. They could very well bring Danganronpa itself down. There were many reasons they wouldn't want to set them loose. As we've seen, Team Danganronpa will go to all efforts to keep running, even if it costs human lives. Another piece of evidence supporting this is the planned finale of every season. As we learn, the game normally runs until there are two people left, one survivor and the mastermind (as far as we can tell). In the finale, the survivor is given two choices-Hope, which kills the mastermind but dooms the survivor to the next game, or Despair, where the mastermind isn't killed, the survivor lives the rest of their life in the game's setting, likely still killing them as a result and allowing the mastermind to run another killing game. However, I don't feel like Team Danganronpa would leave the survivor alone after that. They likely kept them under constant supervision at all times to make sure they didn't utter a peep, up until the next game, when they kidnap them once again and thrust them into the same scenario as before. This would be much easier to do with one or two people than it'd be to do for fifteen people (I'm not counting the mastermind, because they'd be allied with Team Danganronpa and wouldn't utter a peep about what was really going on). That's why I think that the participants died inside and outside the game. This could very well work technology-wise, as the device could force their bodily functions to shut down or kill them a simpler route like electrocution. This wouldn't be the first time we've seen simulations that kill people in real life. *coughs* Sword Art Online and Black Mirror's Playtest!

Question 5: What's the deal with Rantaro's message?
I decided to put this section in here because there were a few thoughts I had about Rantaro's message that I wanted to clarify and share. For those of you who don't know, in the final chapter, we learn that Rantaro made a message to himself due to his Survivor Perk he gained from surviving the 52nd killing game. I know I stated the audition tapes for everyone else were fake, but when I saw how different this message was from those, I just knew it meant something major. Thus, I looked it up and watched it to get any extra tidbits for this theory, and I found two interesting details that concerned me at first, and two details that helped ease those fears. In two seperate points in the message, Rantaro says, "You go in, they wipe your memories, and then you start killing." and, "You wanted this killing game." At first, these two lines had me worried that my theory would fall apart. But then, I thought back to one moment around midway and another at the very end. When Rantaro was about to give some critical information about the killing game, we see a bright red light flash above and hear a loud beeping sound, leading to Rantaro saying, "Looks like they didn't want me to say that." Then at the very end, we hear Rantaro say that he has to win this game no matter what, but never states how.

This tells us multiple things. One, the survivor perk tape is filmed in Team Danganronpa's headquarters. Two, it shows that Team Danganronpa does keep an eye on the survivor(s). Three, it shows that Rantaro has to be careful with how he phrases things in order to tell the truth without getting in trouble. When Rantaro says "You wanted this killing game" and "You have to win no matter what", I think he means "You wanted this second chance to end this game once and for all". We see that winning the game doesn't necessarily mean surviving till the end. It could be creating an unsolvable murder or not voting in order to stop the killing game itself forever.

As for the first quote, the "you go in" part to be more precise, take note that Rantaro never says willingly. Going into something doesn't always mean something good or of your own decision. You could be forced into a situation you don't want to be in. You could get caught in a sticky situation with no clue how you got in or how to get out. You could be kidnapped and forced into a killing game for a second time, with the weight of saving everyone resting on your shoulders. No pressure, of course. When Rantaro says "You go in, they wipe your memories, and then you start killing.", that doesn't necessarily mean he was a willing participant, as I already disproved earlier. That's just what Team Danganronpa wanted him to say. You have to remember that Team Danganronpa wants the cast, and the outside world, to break down at the "realization" that they were willing participants, so they wouldn't want anyone implying otherwise. Thus, they kept Rantaro's Survivor Perk tape under strict supervision to prevent any monkey business, but through clever wording, the pure fresh avocado found a way to get his point across to the world.

Extra Evidence: Evidence for the questions I had to add later for them to make sense
1: Because this piece of evidence ties into the simulation part of the theory, I decided to put this piece of evidence here. A long way back, as I was scrolling through the internet to kill time, I came across something very interesting someone pointed out (although I don't know who). At one point in the game, while investigating around the school grounds, there is what looks to be a filming set, which looks strikingly like what the set would be for the audition tapes. This proves that not only could the audition tapes be staged, but that it's entirely possible. As for why it was placed in the simulation, it was probably a bit of foreshadowing or an easter egg for the outside world. There have been crazier ways of foreshadowing impending events (they even take place in real life if you look close enough!). That, or the person designing the simulated environment said, "Screw it! We already fucked ourselves over with the prologue mishap! Let's just place the easter egg in to tell everyone it's staged! This never would have happened had someone remembered to activate the flashback light!" and then his coworker says, "What? They were serving free donuts next door! I had to get some before they were all gone!". Okay, maybe that's not exactly what happened, but you get my point! As for how Team Danganronpa filmed them, they could have been computer generated, or they could have hired eager actors to film the little tidbits, not telling them about the true sinister intentions (this is the option I consider the least likely), or they could have had members of the corporation dress up and act as the pregame cast. Personally, I lean towards the computer generation/animation proposition. If they can create an entire virtual world that's identical to real life, they can create a couple realistic audition tapes that are only a few seconds long. As for why none of the employees spoke up, either they were really fucked up in the head, they were told when hired not to say a word to anyone, or they just weren't made aware of what was really going on. There was either one CEO running the whole operation for 43 years or the role was taught to his children in a way where they believed what they were doing was good (or they were fucked up in the head). We really can't answer these questions about the staff and people running it without evidence, which we don't really have. All we can do is put out ideas and decide which one makes the most sense logically.

2/3: One piece of evidence I wanted to bring up for these two parts is Rantaro's clothing in his message, which is the exact same clothing he wore in the in-game section, but not in the pre-game section, of the prologue. This proves that the V3 clothing could and was pre-made, supporting the notion I made earlier that the V3 cast could have been dressed up by Team Danganronpa while unconscious and had their AI changed in-game to wear their pregame clothing at first. Hey, the simulation theory explains how their pregame clothing just disappears off their bodies. We can't confirm when Rantaro's tape was actually filmed, but with the evidence gathered, I think it's safe to say that it is real and that the clothing was pre-made and put on the pregame cast (that must be so weird, getting clothed by another person while unconscious).

4/5: One last thing I want to add about Rantaro is that when/if he was being closely monitored by Team Danganronpa, his personal information was likely kept strictly confidential, never being revealed to the public (which actually makes sense for a TV show to do, whether it's scandalous or not). This might be part of why the pregame cast that spoke didn't recognize Rantaro, but as I said earlier, the pregame cast likely either wasn't familiar with Danganronpa or they just didn't care about it that much.

Edit for 4/5: Looking back on this theory, I realize that it's way more likely that Team Danganronpa kept their key information under wraps, even to the cast. Chances are they wouldn't want to spoonfeed that to the survivors. Rantaro likely had a sneaking suspicion that something was up, and that's why they tried persuading themselves to dig deep during the 53rd season. The survivors still would've been kept under heavy surveillance, though. Gog knows there have been enough survivors smart enough to figure things out. I also realize now that the final two survivors being the survivor and the mastermind just doesn't fit in with the evidence stated in the final chapter. But hey, you can't always get it the first time, especially with lore as complex as this.

Conclusion: How it all ties together
Time to summarize everything I discussed in this theory. The pregame cast were kidnapped and forced into the virtual world of the killing game, a false identity forced into their heads and a real life death awaiting them if they met their demise. One of the people forced into this was Rantaro Amami, who after surviving the previous killing game, was under constant supervision by Team Danganronpa, the people behind the twisted TV show, until he too was kidnapped and forced back in, where he'd eventually meet his downfall. In order to divert the police and prevent their show from going off the air, they put out the lie that the cast were willing participants, a cover-up that eventually became believed by all, solidifying them on the entertainment pedestal, beloved by all and no sign of a pitfall in sight. However, due to many errors behind the scenes, the 53rd season of Danganronpa would prove to be its last, ending a long cycle of cover-ups, lies, and scandals.

Wow! I cannot believe I did this. My 16-year-old mind managed to do this, and almost entirely without assistance from others! I don't have a large ego. I'm just shocked at what I can do. And this theory still has a second part coming. All this thinking made my brain hurt and took a lot out of me, but it was all worth it in the end. I'm giving myself a pat on the back for all my hard work culminating with, finally, a coherent answer to what V3's lore is. But hey, it's just a theory. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna guzzle down some sweet tea and then do schoolwork while contemplating what I'm gonna do with my life when I graduate high school (I want to be a coroner when I grow up now, but that could change in the future).

Rantaro Amami, Kaede Akamatsu, Shuichi Saihara, Maki Harukawa, Himiko Yumeno, K1-B0(Kiibo), Tsumugi Shirogane, and Junko Enoshima are from the Danganronpa series by Nippon Ichi Software, Spike Chunsoft, and Tookyo Games (I can't wait for Death March Club to come out!)

Anyways, that's all I have for now! This is Baconforbreakfast426, signing off.

Description
Hey everybody! Baconforbreakfast426 here, back again with another theory!

Danganronpa V3's lore is...interesting. Oh, who am I kidding?! V3's lore is confusing as all hell, to that point that it makes FNAF's lore (extending beyond the games) look easy to understand by comparison! Half the time, people are asking the question, "How the fuck can I understand this?" or, "What the fuck am I supposed to believe here?". Yeah, V3's lore is like a smooth train ride moving at a breakneck speed off a cliff. Solving V3's lore is a tough nut to crack, but I've stepped up to the plate, and I think I have an idea as to what's really going on. Now, this theory should be excepted as a theory at most and a personal opinion at least, because with any theory explaining this game's lore, things are up for heavy debate, so take this theory with a grain of salt, or a teaspoon, or a truckload-whatever amount you feel is necessary. Anyways, onto the theory!

For this theory, I'll be providing my answers to some major questions that are circulating about V3's lore to help clarify things in the grand scope. I'll be tackling Tsumugi, Team Danganronpa, and the masterminds in general more directly in the next part of this theory, as I have ideas about those that deserve a theory of their own.

Question 1: Are the audition tapes real?
Let's just jump into it with one of the biggest aspects of solving this game's lore. For those of you who've never played V3 or don't have much knowledge of it, the big "twist" at the end is that all the events of V3 were just reality TV show for the outside world to enjoy, and that everyone in the killing game actually wanted to be a part of it, sending in audition tapes before being kidnapped and having not only their memories erased, but their very personalities changed with a device called the Flashback Light essentially, they were all brainwashed). However, this might not be the case, and it's been heavily debated from the very beginning, when V3 was first released in 2017. So, it's time to finally answer this question. Were the audition tapes even real, and did everyone really want to be a part of V3? In my opinion, no. Let me explain.

For one, if the V3 characters really did audition for it and were willing participants, kidnapping them would be pointless. They could've just been called up to Team Danganronpa's headquarters, or the site of the killing game, and just start from there. That's already enough to call the willing participant notion into question. However, there's one more aspect of the pregame cast that leaves that exact same notion crumbling down. When the Monokubs first made their appearance right before the pregame cast were exposed to the flashback light, the pregame cast had no idea what was going on. You'd think they would have figured out something, but no. They're almost entirely clueless. Pregame Kaito doesn't even recognize the Monokubs' appearance, which wouldn't have been the case if he had auditioned. Heck, nobody we know of even seems to recognize Rantaro, who had participated in the killing game prior. On top of that, pregame Kaede seems surprised that what she's seeing is the Monokubs, asking if this really was them and getting cut off every time she tried. The ionly one who knows what's happening is Rantaro, but he'd gone through all of this before, so he's irrelevant for this piece of evidence for this theory (not to be rude towards my best boi I want to have/make a plush of to cuddle forever). If the pregame cast were willing participants, then all of these details and reactions to what was happening would make zero sense. However, if they weren't willing participants, maybe not even being huge fans of the series, it would make a lot more sense. Just put yourself in this situation.

You're pregame Kaede. Everyone around you knows about the popular series Danganronpa, including you. In the time leading up to the series' 53rd season, you wonder who would be daring enough to audition for a death show like that and erase their entire being. It was how things were for every season before it. This wonder and intrigue lingers in your mind until just before the series is supposed to start. That's when it happens. You're walking to school just as you do every day, when out of nowhere, a bunch of people grab you and shove you into a van, with your cries for help falling on deaf ears. You wake up in a locker inside an abandoned school, and you quickly realize that other teenagers just like you suffered the same fate. Multiple clues begin popping up that tie this to the TV show everyone knows and loves. However, that's impossible. You never even auditioned for the show. You shouldn't be in this situation, right? However, when the Monokubs, who were advertised as being part of the 53rd season but whom you never saw a visual reference for, show up, it finally dawns on you. There was no audition. There were no willing participants. It was all a lie. But then the flashback light was activated, erasing this realization from your mind forever.

Now things start to make sense. This wouldn't be the first time a TV show lied to its fans. However, this still leaves one question. Why? Well, think about it. A TV show beloved by the whole world would not want them kidnapping the participants to go public. They'd need some kind of explanation to easily explain the teenagers' disappearance, I.E. that they auditioned to go in. That's right. I think that the willing participants lie was a cover-up to keep Danganronpa on the air. This also explains why the Monokubs said the pregame cast wasn't supposed to retain her memories, and quickly come up with another cover-up, as well as why they kept cutting Kaede off when she tried speaking up. Now, I've seen many people say that the pregame cast's memories were wiped prior to the events seen in the prologue. However, there's just no evidence that this ever happened, especially given all the points I already listed.

As for why the pregame cast were the ones chosen, I think that it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time. The kidnapping vans simply saw opportunity and took it. The pregame cast could have also been suggested as candidates by other people, but I'm leaning towards the simpler explanation of pure opportunity, although I can't really confirm the real reasoning, as next to no real evidence was given in that regard.

Question 2: Are the V3 characters real or fictional?
Another question that has been circulating in the fandom since V3's release is whether the personalities the V3 cast were given were actually real, or if they really were fictional. The people on the real side tend to use Tsumugi's cospox when she took Kaede's clothes to cosplay as her (I'm not kidding) as evidence. However, as much as I hate to say it, I don't think the cast's personalities were their real ones. For one, Tsumugi can cosplay anyone she wants to to a tee, right down to their voices. Why couldn't she fake an allergy that none of the survivors even saw? However, once again, the pregame cast is a key factor in breaking down the real personality notion. When Kaede first met Shuichi when the pregame section of the prologue first started, and she remembered her kidnapping, she says this.

"I was walking my usual route to school when all of a sudden, someone shoved me into a car. I shouted for help, but no one came to rescue me... Everyone pretended like nothing happened... It made me think how rotten the world is... And then, I lost consciousness..."

Okay. First of all, dick move, outside world! DICK-MOVE! Okay, maybe somebody called 911 later on, thinking it was a normal kidnapping (Team Danganronpa likely wouldn't have their logo posted on the kidnapping van), but you get my point! Not to mention, any calls for help likely didn't go very far, given the cover up thing I mentioned earlier. Anyways, moving on. That sentence I underlined is important, because it directly parallels Kaede's fake audition tape, which shows her saying she has no faith in humanity. I mean, when you're made to believe that people are auditioning to basically walk to their deaths, can you blame her? However, that's beside the point. Shuichi's pregame and in-game juxtaposition when he meets Kaede also supports the fictional notion. In the pregame meeting, Shuichi goes almost immediately into questioning mode, asking if Kaede was with his kidnappers. In the in-game meeting, he just screams and backs away without saying anything. This also lines up with his fake audition tape, which shows his pregame self as being much more strong-willed than his in-game self. We know their names are real though, as the cast use them as their real names, even before being brainwashed.

Now comes the real question. If the V3 cast weren't willing participants, and their in-game personalities weren't their real personalities, how the hell did Team Danganronpa know what their personalities were like? Well, it could be the chosen by others reasoning I listed off earlier, but there could be another explanation. It's shown in V3 that the story takes place in a distant future with futuristic technology, 2063 at the earliest. If in this future, there are inventions which can literally change a person's mind to whatever the user wishes, I've got a sneaking suspicion that there would be inventions that can analyze a person's mind and say what their personalities are. As fuzzy and crazy as our unique personalities and our emotions are, in reality, they are just chemical and hormonal reactions and neuroresponses in our brains, combined with our brain's unique wiring. In theory, you could very well create an invention that can analyze the unique physical and chemical compositions and neuroresponses in someone's brain to figure out who they are and what they're really like, and that's likely just what Team Danganronpa did here. We're already making progress on brain-based technologies, so an invention like that existing in V3's time isn't that much of a stretch. Not to mention, Team Danganronpa probably did a lot of character brainstorming, with countless backstories, designs, and costumes, before the 53rd season started, and when the V3 cast was kidnapped and had their mind analyzed, they either chose the character designs and backstories that were best fit, edited the character design that they wanted, or both. They'd make excellent psychologists, though. They could have also done research on the participants before the game started, but there'd be the issue of time and finding out that much about their personalities that way. It's a lot easier to say that a personality-analyzing device was created to gain the necessary information quick enough to brainstorm and formulate a plan.

Question 3: Is V3 a VR simulation?
Another commonly asked question about V3 is whether or not it's a virtual simulation, and not without merit. It would be pretty fitting for a futuristic setting like V3, especially given the futuristic technologies like the Flashback Light shown. While I originally disagreed with this notion, after working on this theory for weeks, I honestly think yes. The first piece of evidence I have to support this happens at the beginning of the in-game prologue. When Kaede and Shuichi discuss how they can't remember what happened to them, Kaede has a kind of vision. It shows her connected to a machine by the head in a strange room, wires running all above her and a static-like effect playing throughout. I've never had any high-scale hallucinations (aside from the time I hallucinated Slenderman opening my door and standing in my doorway late at night when I was around 10), but last I checked, hallucinations didn't happen like that, let alone with a static effect like we see and hear. The only explanation I can think of for that vision is that the V3 cast were in a simulation, and some kind of glitch or error caused Kaede to have a glimpse of her real-world self. Granted, she is shown to have her in-game clothes on, but she could have easily been dressed up in those clothes while she was unconscious and had her virtual self have her pregame clothes on for the first part. It's as simple as changing your avatar on Animal Jam (anyone still remember that?)! Not only that, but it also explains pregame Kiibo. When I saw him in the pregame part of the prologue, I couldn't help but notice that he looked surprisingly human. If it was a simulation, changing him into a robot is entirely possible. All you'd need to do is use the Flashback Light to physically change who he was. Once again, it's a simple bit of reprogramming. However, it's also entirely possible that Kiibo wasn't a part of the real world at all. He could have been an AI implanted into the game, kind of like an NPC. However, I find the theory that he was once a person a more gripping notion to grip onto, although it is up for debate.

Another piece of evidence to support the simulation theory is the flashback light. In the game, from the character's perspective, someone turns the flashback light on, and the planned memories are implanted into the person's head. However, this has a problem that really bothers me. How can Team Danganronpa fire 15 or 16 beams at one time from one device and have them all hit the right target? It's kind of like trying to measure your home country with a ruler. Sure, you can do it, but your measurements might be pretty off in the end, and it'd take a combination of ifs to get it exactly right. But then take into account the machine attached to Kaede's head I mentioned earlier. What if the flashback light was really just part of that device? You don't need a master's degree to know that if the gun is right against your head, it's much more likely to hit the right target than if it was fired far away, especially if it's fired via a digital program (not to be robophobic). What I think is really going on when the flashback light is activated is that it's individually fired into each character's heads via the device on their heads. Not only would it always hit the right target, but it would also make sense what happened when the flashback light. Watching that happen, you can see that the very environment around the protagonist changes to a yellow world with identifying words flying around them and their eyes appearing in front of them, right before the flashback light is fired directly into their brains, changing their individuality into a corporation's vision. Also, we never actually see a beam fired into their heads, only seeing when it hits. If the actual flashback light was right in front of their heads, say on the device keeping them in the virtual world, this makes a whole lot more sense. As for the landscape changing, in order to activate a device that could literally change the selected person's personality, other areas such as the landscape likely would've had to lose power for a brief moment in order for it to work properly. Hey, This also explains the epilogue, although to try and explain it in words without providing too many spoilers would leave my brain so bamboozled, I wouldn't be able to write the rest of this theory.

So yeah, there's more than enough evidence to prove that V3 is a simulation. However, that still leaves one big question.

Question 4: When people die in V3, are they dead in the outside world, too?
Unfortunately, there isn't any direct evidence to prove either side of this right for certain. All I can do here is speculate, but that still leaves me a lot to work with. Personally, I think that when someone dies in the simulation, that's it. They're gone forever. For one, if someone did die in game and didn't die in real life, that could pose serious problems for Team Danganronpa's agenda. We see through Rantaro that the Flashback Light's effects are permanent, and even if that wasn't so, the memory of the kidnapping and what happens after would be more than enough to spark some serious problems. They could speak out about what was done to them. They might uncover the truth all over again by talking to people they knew prior. They could very well bring Danganronpa itself down. There were many reasons they wouldn't want to set them loose. As we've seen, Team Danganronpa will go to all efforts to keep running, even if it costs human lives. Another piece of evidence supporting this is the planned finale of every season. As we learn, the game normally runs until there are two people left, one survivor and the mastermind (as far as we can tell). In the finale, the survivor is given two choices-Hope, which kills the mastermind but dooms the survivor to the next game, or Despair, where the mastermind isn't killed, the survivor lives the rest of their life in the game's setting, likely still killing them as a result and allowing the mastermind to run another killing game. However, I don't feel like Team Danganronpa would leave the survivor alone after that. They likely kept them under constant supervision at all times to make sure they didn't utter a peep, up until the next game, when they kidnap them once again and thrust them into the same scenario as before. This would be much easier to do with one or two people than it'd be to do for fifteen people (I'm not counting the mastermind, because they'd be allied with Team Danganronpa and wouldn't utter a peep about what was really going on). That's why I think that the participants died inside and outside the game. This could very well work technology-wise, as the device could force their bodily functions to shut down or kill them a simpler route like electrocution. This wouldn't be the first time we've seen simulations that kill people in real life. *coughs* Sword Art Online and Black Mirror's Playtest!

Question 5: What's the deal with Rantaro's message?
I decided to put this section in here because there were a few thoughts I had about Rantaro's message that I wanted to clarify and share. For those of you who don't know, in the final chapter, we learn that Rantaro made a message to himself due to his Survivor Perk he gained from surviving the 52nd killing game. I know I stated the audition tapes for everyone else were fake, but when I saw how different this message was from those, I just knew it meant something major. Thus, I looked it up and watched it to get any extra tidbits for this theory, and I found two interesting details that concerned me at first, and two details that helped ease those fears. In two seperate points in the message, Rantaro says, "You go in, they wipe your memories, and then you start killing." and, "You wanted this killing game." At first, these two lines had me worried that my theory would fall apart. But then, I thought back to one moment around midway and another at the very end. When Rantaro was about to give some critical information about the killing game, we see a bright red light flash above and hear a loud beeping sound, leading to Rantaro saying, "Looks like they didn't want me to say that." Then at the very end, we hear Rantaro say that he has to win this game no matter what, but never states how.

This tells us multiple things. One, the survivor perk tape is filmed in Team Danganronpa's headquarters. Two, it shows that Team Danganronpa does keep an eye on the survivor(s). Three, it shows that Rantaro has to be careful with how he phrases things in order to tell the truth without getting in trouble. When Rantaro says "You wanted this killing game" and "You have to win no matter what", I think he means "You wanted this second chance to end this game once and for all". We see that winning the game doesn't necessarily mean surviving till the end. It could be creating an unsolvable murder or not voting in order to stop the killing game itself forever.

As for the first quote, the "you go in" part to be more precise, take note that Rantaro never says willingly. Going into something doesn't always mean something good or of your own decision. You could be forced into a situation you don't want to be in. You could get caught in a sticky situation with no clue how you got in or how to get out. You could be kidnapped and forced into a killing game for a second time, with the weight of saving everyone resting on your shoulders. No pressure, of course. When Rantaro says "You go in, they wipe your memories, and then you start killing.", that doesn't necessarily mean he was a willing participant, as I already disproved earlier. That's just what Team Danganronpa wanted him to say. You have to remember that Team Danganronpa wants the cast, and the outside world, to break down at the "realization" that they were willing participants, so they wouldn't want anyone implying otherwise. Thus, they kept Rantaro's Survivor Perk tape under strict supervision to prevent any monkey business, but through clever wording, the pure fresh avocado found a way to get his point across to the world.

Extra Evidence: Evidence for the questions I had to add later for them to make sense
1: Because this piece of evidence ties into the simulation part of the theory, I decided to put this piece of evidence here. A long way back, as I was scrolling through the internet to kill time, I came across something very interesting someone pointed out (although I don't know who). At one point in the game, while investigating around the school grounds, there is what looks to be a filming set, which looks strikingly like what the set would be for the audition tapes. This proves that not only could the audition tapes be staged, but that it's entirely possible. As for why it was placed in the simulation, it was probably a bit of foreshadowing or an easter egg for the outside world. There have been crazier ways of foreshadowing impending events (they even take place in real life if you look close enough!). That, or the person designing the simulated environment said, "Screw it! We already fucked ourselves over with the prologue mishap! Let's just place the easter egg in to tell everyone it's staged! This never would have happened had someone remembered to activate the flashback light!" and then his coworker says, "What? They were serving free donuts next door! I had to get some before they were all gone!". Okay, maybe that's not exactly what happened, but you get my point! As for how Team Danganronpa filmed them, they could have been computer generated, or they could have hired eager actors to film the little tidbits, not telling them about the true sinister intentions (this is the option I consider the least likely), or they could have had members of the corporation dress up and act as the pregame cast. Personally, I lean towards the computer generation/animation proposition. If they can create an entire virtual world that's identical to real life, they can create a couple realistic audition tapes that are only a few seconds long. As for why none of the employees spoke up, either they were really fucked up in the head, they were told when hired not to say a word to anyone, or they just weren't made aware of what was really going on. There was either one CEO running the whole operation for 43 years or the role was taught to his children in a way where they believed what they were doing was good (or they were fucked up in the head). We really can't answer these questions about the staff and people running it without evidence, which we don't really have. All we can do is put out ideas and decide which one makes the most sense logically.

2/3: One piece of evidence I wanted to bring up for these two parts is Rantaro's clothing in his message, which is the exact same clothing he wore in the in-game section, but not in the pre-game section, of the prologue. This proves that the V3 clothing could and was pre-made, supporting the notion I made earlier that the V3 cast could have been dressed up by Team Danganronpa while unconscious and had their AI changed in-game to wear their pregame clothing at first. Hey, the simulation theory explains how their pregame clothing just disappears off their bodies. We can't confirm when Rantaro's tape was actually filmed, but with the evidence gathered, I think it's safe to say that it is real and that the clothing was pre-made and put on the pregame cast (that must be so weird, getting clothed by another person while unconscious).

4/5: One last thing I want to add about Rantaro is that when/if he was being closely monitored by Team Danganronpa, his personal information was likely kept strictly confidential, never being revealed to the public (which actually makes sense for a TV show to do, whether it's scandalous or not). This might be part of why the pregame cast that spoke didn't recognize Rantaro, but as I said earlier, the pregame cast likely either wasn't familiar with Danganronpa or they just didn't care about it that much.

Edit for 4/5: Looking back on this theory, I realize that it's way more likely that Team Danganronpa kept their key information under wraps, even to the cast. Chances are they wouldn't want to spoonfeed that to the survivors. Rantaro likely had a sneaking suspicion that something was up, and that's why they tried persuading themselves to dig deep during the 53rd season. The survivors still would've been kept under heavy surveillance, though. Gog knows there have been enough survivors smart enough to figure things out. I also realize now that the final two survivors being the survivor and the mastermind just doesn't fit in with the evidence stated in the final chapter. But hey, you can't always get it the first time, especially with lore as complex as this.

Conclusion: How it all ties together
Time to summarize everything I discussed in this theory. The pregame cast were kidnapped and forced into the virtual world of the killing game, a false identity forced into their heads and a real life death awaiting them if they met their demise. One of the people forced into this was Rantaro Amami, who after surviving the previous killing game, was under constant supervision by Team Danganronpa, the people behind the twisted TV show, until he too was kidnapped and forced back in, where he'd eventually meet his downfall. In order to divert the police and prevent their show from going off the air, they put out the lie that the cast were willing participants, a cover-up that eventually became believed by all, solidifying them on the entertainment pedestal, beloved by all and no sign of a pitfall in sight. However, due to many errors behind the scenes, the 53rd season of Danganronpa would prove to be its last, ending a long cycle of cover-ups, lies, and scandals.

Wow! I cannot believe I did this. My 16-year-old mind managed to do this, and almost entirely without assistance from others! I don't have a large ego. I'm just shocked at what I can do. And this theory still has a second part coming. All this thinking made my brain hurt and took a lot out of me, but it was all worth it in the end. I'm giving myself a pat on the back for all my hard work culminating with, finally, a coherent answer to what V3's lore is. But hey, it's just a theory. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna guzzle down some sweet tea and then do schoolwork while contemplating what I'm gonna do with my life when I graduate high school (I want to be a coroner when I grow up now, but that could change in the future).

Rantaro Amami, Kaede Akamatsu, Shuichi Saihara, Maki Harukawa, Himiko Yumeno, K1-B0(Kiibo), Tsumugi Shirogane, and Junko Enoshima are from the Danganronpa series by Nippon Ichi Software, Spike Chunsoft, and Tookyo Games (I can't wait for Death March Club to come out!)

Anyways, that's all I have for now! This is Baconforbreakfast426, signing off.