At Hope's Peak Academy, 16 teenagers begin their new year at an exclusive school for "Ultimate" students. Upon entering, they pass out and later wake up in a classroom. Usami, a pink and white bunny, informs them of a school trip to an island where they must become good friends with one another before leaving. However, their trip is cut short when Monokuma, a black and white bear, overpowers Usami and reveals that they are on a "School Killing Trip." If they want to leave, they must kill one of their classmates without being caught. When the first body is discovered, Nagito Komaeda, the "Ultimate Lucky Student," believes none of them could be capable of murder, but with so much at stake, even his hope may be overcome with despair.
The series has been licensed in English as Danganronpa 2: Ultimate Luck and Hope and Despair by Dark Horse Comics.