Gundham Tanaka

Template:Tab Template:CharacterGundham Tanaka (田中 眼蛇夢 Tanaka Gandamu) is one of the characters featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

Gundham has the title Ultimate Breeder (超高校級の「飼育委員」chō kōkō kyū no “shiiku iin”; lit. Super High School Level Breeding Club Member). He also owns four hamsters, referring to them as the “Four Dark Devas of Destruction” (破壊神暗黒四天王 hakai-shin ankoku shiten-ō; lit. Four Heavenly Kings of Darkness and Gods of Destruction).

In Chapter 4, Gundham and Nekomaru Nidai dueled to the death to save the others from starvation. Gundham came out as the winner, which also made him the culprit of the fourth murder case and later executed by Monokuma.

Gundham returns in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academys Despair Volume with the other Remnants of Despair. He is known as "Tanaka the Forbidden One" (封印されし田中), which is supposedly a nickname he chose for himself.

Appearance

Gundham wears a long, black jacket that is always left open and, according to his reference sheet, is his school uniform. The left sleeve is pulled up to the elbow and held by silver pins and he wears a long purple scarf that often covers his mouth. The back of his jacket, as well as both ends of his scarf have a strange, vertical symbol printed on them. Under his jacket, he wears a white button-up shirt that is also left open, and another shirt under it which is slightly darker and has a greyish-purple cross design across its front. He seems to be wearing normal black pants held up with a black belt and silver buckle, and black boots with numerous straps across them.

Gundham's skin tone is noticeably pale and greyish compared to the other characters, which could suggest that he doesn't get out much. His head appears to be shaved from the neck up to his temple, where the rest of his hair seems to be slicked back with the exception of a poof of hair in the middle that sticks up and is fairly curly. His hair color is black with pale grey streaks through it. This may either be due to bleaching his hair or a melanin deficiency known as poliosis, giving him several 'Mallen streaks'.

Interestingly, Gundham has no eyebrows, which is confirmed in the limited edition's artbook. He has grey eyes, but his right eye has a red contact lens. He also has a greyish scar tattoo that runs down the left side of his face and through his left eye. His entire left arm, at least up to the elbow, is completely covered in bandages, presumably due to injuries that he received while taking care of or calming down his hamsters. His 'Hell Hound Earring' (Devil Dog Earring in the Japanese release) hangs from his right ear, and he wears two silver rings on his right hand (pointer and middle).

During his high school years at Hope's Peak Academy, he wore Hope's Peak Academy's uniform, but still had the same scarf, shirt, belt and boots. Instead of one Hell Hound Earring, he had one on each ear. His hair style is different.

Gundham is also constantly next to or surrounded by his four hamsters, the Four Dark Devas of Destruction, San-D (orange and white), Jum-P (grey and white), Maga-Z (chipped ear), and Cham-P (big and orange). They apparently often camp out inside the scarf that Gundham always keeps wrapped around his neck, occasionally coming out every now and then.

Personality

Gundham has an eccentric and somewhat dark personality. He often claims that he has been blessed with the evil powers of the underworld, and refers to everyone else as 'pathetic human beings'. Gundham is often lost in his own little world, usually paying more attention to himself or his hamsters than the things that are going on around him, such as in Chapter 1 when he failed to investigate after the murder and putting his lost Hell Hound Earring at a higher priority. He may also have an interest or knowledge of alchemy.

Despite first impressions, Gundham is generally rather comical in what he says to Danganronpa spectators (not so much for characters actually talking to him), and somewhat contradicting or counterproductive: such as in his introduction, when he tells Hajime Hinata to step forward and introduce himself, for Gundham will destroy him once he does. He also constantly tells others not to come near him or to touch him, claiming that poison runs in his veins.

However, despite his 'I am the Dark Lord' ramblings, Gundham is shown that he seriously cares about animals, and understands them much better than he understands people. In one of his Free-Time Events, he tells Hajime that he runs an informational website about breeding which he maintains carefully. It is also implied that though he puts on the face of a loner who wouldn't dream of hanging out with pathetic mortals, Gundham actually may be very lonely as he once boasted that he was searching for solitude before wandering away slowly and silently.

It is possible that Gundham's delusions of self-grandeur stem from an inferiority complex and pseudo syndrome known as chuunibyou (1, 2, 3), which would explain his strong belief in his apparent origins and his eccentric behaviour. If this is truly the case, then Gundham overcompensates for his underlying, probably gentle spirit by creating an entirely new, exciting personality.

In another one of Gundham's Free-Time Events, he states that he pities livestock for being raised for the sole purpose of human consumption. This could mean that Gundham is possibly a vegetarian or vegan, though it is not confirmed.

History

[Warning: Several spoilers follow this section!]

Prior to the Tragedy

Free Time Events interactions with Gundham show that as a child, he lived with his mother; whether he had a father or not is unknown. By an (un?)lucky guess by Hajime, it is revealed that though Gundham and his mother seemed to be in good relations, his mother was extremely terrible at cooking food which later became the basis for Gundham's self-belief that his body was filled with poison, and that he couldn't refuse to eat her food because she would start to cry if he didn't.

Gundham was apparently never one for crowds or large events, saying that as a child, he would often skip out on Sports Days and camp out in the school infirmary instead as so that he could avoid touching or being touched by other people. He has many other animals at home, and apparently has some very few, select people that he chooses as assistants in taking care of the animals he breeds.

Gundham also has a website about the dark arts, though he claims those that lack the proper abilities can only perceive a blog about animal breeding. Gundham also have his own "technique" to tame animals. Hajime comments that underneath his eccentricity, Gundham is a boy who genuinely loves animals. 

At some point, Gundham met Junko Enoshima, who manipulated him into joining the Ultimate Despair and soon started the Tragedy.

During the Tragedy

The members of Ultimate Despair did all kinds of horrible things during the Tragedy, causing despair all over the world.

After the death of Junko, the remnants of the Ultimate Despair attached some of her body parts into their own bodies in order to make her survive within them and feel closer to her. They then agreed to an insane plan to have AI Junko take over their bodies, so they could resurrect their leader.

The remnants of Despair are later found by Future Foundation. Makoto Naegi plans to undo Junko's influence by putting them into the Neo World Program, but the program is taken over by AI Junko, right according to the Ultimate Despair's plan.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Prologue - Welcome to Dangan Island! Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip!?

Gundham can first be found in the Airport, along with Kazuichi Soda, and is quick to alarm Hajime with his extraordinary personality. In the beginning, he seemed to keep his distance from all the other students on the Island, not participating in the Beach Party and not doing anything particularly noticeable.

Chapter 1 - Destination Despair

Gundham plays an important part in the Class Trial of Chapter 1, due to him losing his precious Hell Hound Earring at Byakuya Togami's party. At some point in the party, Gundham had dropped his Hell Hound Earring that he claims he got from a fearsome Hell Hound, which was a Pomeranian, which he later discovered to have fallen between the floorboards under the Old Lodge.

With Chiaki Nanami's help, Gundham had gone around the building to look for a place to get in under to no avail, and later found a secret door in the Storage of the lodge that allowed him to get under the floorboards and retrieve his earring; all information which helped to prove Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu innocent and pin Teruteru Hanamura as the culprit.

File:Storage room gundam.png

Gundham discovering the trap door.

Chapter 2 - Sea and Punishment, Sin and Coconuts

Gundham is seen at the restaurant with everyone else grieving over the death of their two friends. He is later seen joining in on commenting about Hiyoko Saionji's smell, saying that it was as if a demonic eclipse was going to happen.

Gundham is also seen mocking Monokuma about losing one of his Monobeasts, until Mahiru Koizumi tells him to stop. He later agrees with the others to find a way to escape.

Chapter 3 - Trapped by the Ocean Scent

After the events of Chapter 2 and Hiyoko's construction of a sinister memorial for Mahiru, Gundham came in late to the Restaurant after everybody else right after they had managed to stop Hiyoko's crying. Even he was shocked to see the memorial and claimed it stunk of evil intentions and spirits, unintentionally making Hiyoko cry again.

Later, When Gundham discovered that Hajime and Kazuichi came to join the girls-only party, he said that he needs to be alone, which according to Hajime's mind that he actually want to join the party too.

Gundham was one of the students along with Sonia Nevermind, Kazuichi, Hiyoko, and Chiaki who moved to the Motel after the outbreak of Despair Disease. Hajime met him on his way to the hotel after the discovery of Ibuki Mioda's body in the music venue, giving Gundham an alibi as to where he was when Hiyoko's body was discovered in the same place later.

Around this chapter, he began to become friends with Sonia, much to Kazuichi's unhappiness and leading to an argument in the Third Trial where they both threatened to kill each other.

Chapter 4 - Do Ultimate Robots Dream of Electric Clocks?

In Chapter 4, Gundham helped explore the Strawberry and Grape Houses and their respective Towers with Sonia. Gundham was one of the boys who stayed in the Strawberry House, and was given one of the two Deluxe Rooms to stay in, Nagito Komaeda taking the other.

Initially, Gundham did not seem particularly alarmed at the fourth motivation as announced by Monokuma, which was starvation until a murder took place, and he found that the seeds of the flowers planted around the Strawberry House were sufficient food for his hamsters.

However, refusing to have everybody just idle around until they all dropped from starvation, Gundham planned and carried out the murder of Nekomaru on the third day of starvation by using the secret of the Fun House to drop Nekomaru from a height of four floors, very successfully killing him.

File:Prank house duel.jpg

Nidai and Gundham's face-off.

In the Class Trial, as the evidence pointing to him began piling up, Gundham became noticeably panicked and surprisingly angry, even slightly losing his usual manner of speech. After Hajime gave out the decisive evidence that proved Gundham as the concrete culprit of Nekomaru's death, he began to exhibit behaviour that slightly implied borderline loss of mentality, urging on all the students to send the unsavory vote against him and send him to his execution.

However, it was all an act to try and remain being seen as the "villain", an act Gundham had kept up most of his life. Calming down he explained the true events of what happened between Nekomaru and him, revealing that before Nekomaru died the two of them had a duel to win the rights to keep living, with Gundham emerging as victor.

Before Gundham leaves for his execution, he states how it was despicable how all the students planned to just let their short, single life go. He tells them of the importance of life and how it is necessary to keep fighting for however many days they have left on Earth and keep clinging on to it.  

All the students keep Gundham's speech on remembering the importance of living after his death, promising each other that they would stick together and never let another life go to waste. Akane Owari forgives Gundham for his murder of Nekomaru, going off to eat some proper food for the first time in days because "that's what living's about".

Execution

Main Article: Gundham Tanaka Stampede

Alternate Execution

Running Gundham - Gundham is in a giant hamster’s wheel, being chased by a giant Monokuma ball. He finally trips and the Four Dark Devas of Destruction fall out. He rushes to protect them from being crushed by the Monokuma ball and he dies with a satisfied smile. This execution is only shown in the Official Fanbook.

Relationships

Sonia Nevermind

Though they were already shown to speak to one another before, Sonia and Gundham's friendship truly blooms during Chapter 4 after they finished the Roller Coaster ride and Sonia asked to accompany Gundham on a trip to an amusement park in hell. They became very close due to their complimenting interests (such as Sonia's interest in the occult with his odd behavior, or her liking of his "cute hamsters"). Sonia showed interest in Gundham's hamsters multiple times, which successfully flustered Gundham and made him blush.

Sonia constantly sides with Gundham, even going off with him to explore the Fun House before Kazuichi noticed. In the main story, Sonia is also the only one who has made Gundham blush. It's implied that they have a romantic interest in each other, much to Kazuichi's annoyance.

She is also the only one that Gundham does not refer to as kisama (a way of saying 'you' that suggests contempt, or alternatively an archaic polite form of 'you') or by their last name, instead calling her "she-cat" at one point or "the Dark Queen", which is mentioned to be his fantasized version of Sonia. He claims that the Dark Queen has great power, which has not been awakened yet.

When Gundham is deemed the culprit of Chapter 4, Sonia refuses to believe it, urging him to object against Hajime's accusations. Gundham did defend himself but was unusually silent, and Sonia begged him to say something many times. She also pleaded with Monokuma to save Gundham from his execution, but finally let Gundham go after she was convinced by Gundham himself. He told her actions were "unbecoming of someone of your status".

Gundham's Four Dark Devas of Destruction are entrusted into Sonia's care after his "death". After Gundham's execution, Sonia has a new resolve to make it out alive without anymore killings because of his last words about not giving up.

Kazuichi Soda

Gundham and Kazuichi end up locked in a form of rivalry with each other over Sonia, due to Sonia preferring to be around Gundham, while Kazuichi has a strong liking for Sonia. Although the feeling of rivalry was mostly one sided (from Kazuichi) at first, they end up arguing in Chapter 3's Class Trial, both throwing around childish insults and threatening to kill each other. Otherwise, in Gundham's eyes, Kazuichi is at the Pathetic Mortal level and he does not pay him much attention.

Hajime Hinata

At one point, Gundham is implied to have tried to follow Hajime and the rest of the students, though when discovered, he denied it and went away. Hajime and Gundham become rather good friends through Free-Time Events, and in his final FTE (which takes place in the Strawberry House), Gundham makes Hajime sign a contract via handshake and declares that with the contract, Hajime will not be permitted to die without exclusive permission from Gundham Tanaka himself. Hajime thinks to himself that he would like to return that promise back to Gundham, though he figured that Gundham might get angry instead. Comically, their handshake ends in a mutual hand-squeezing to the death.

Free Time

Presents

Obtained from the MonoMono Machine.

• Sunflower Seeds
• Earring of Crushed Evil
• Small Degenerated Reactor
• Angel's Fruit

Choices

During free time conversations, the player will occasionally be given a choice on how to respond to something that is said. These are the 'right' choices.

• Golden hamster
• Your mom's an awful cook

Skills

These will aid you, usually during Class Trials.

• Infinity Unlimited Flame - Increases the power of the silencer. Effective during the Nonstop Debate. Cannot be combined with Cheat Code.

Quotes

• “Stop right there. If you value your life, don't come any closer.”
• “You may call me...Gundham Tanaka! Remember it well, for it is the name that will one day rule this world!”
• “Monokuma. I will listen to your jests later, as I smoke a cigar standing over your corpse.”
• “DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE EVIL EYE!”
• “You're saying they're cute? ...Thanks...” (to Sonia Nevermind, about Four Dark Devas of Destruction)
• “INFINITY UNLIMITED FLAME!”
• “Listen well! I shall teach you tips for making someone admit their defeat! First, you must crush them with your own overwhelming power... And as for the other... You must provide a reason that will persuade that human! You... have not fulfilled either of those yet!” (to Hajime Hinata)
• “My beloved, deadly foes! Let the voting time begin!”
• “If one would call murder so that one may live 'evil', then what must one call surrendering on life itself?! If the world shall name it just, then I shall fight that world with all my strength, for to renounce life and choose death is a blasphemy to life itself! It is the perversion of nature, the conceit of mankind!”
• “It doesn’t matter that your temporary name is Hajime Hinata. Tell me your true name, fiend.” (a foreshadowing of Hajime's true identity)
• “After knowing my true terror, it'll be quite a sight to see how long your sanity will last.”
• “Is there anything in this world that isn't difficult?”
• “Ha! You make me laugh! I’m the Supreme Overlord of Ice!”
• “Everything about me is different from humans! My thought process, my principles, my existence, my foundation... Everything!”
• “You should already be aware of it... The fear you feel toward an existence you can't possibly understand!”
• “You will know true terror if you look down on them just because they fit in your palm.” (talking about Four Dark Devas of Destruction)
• “I have pupils all around the world.”
• “Such luxuries mean everything to creatures who only live 1,095 days after they're born... Remember well.” (talking about hamsters)
• “I've tamed various creatures such as the cerberus (dogs), the phoenix (birds), and even the Midgard serpent (lizards)...”
• “Monokuma and Monomi are...sort of shaped like animals... They are no good. Anything that can talk will eventually betray you. And most importantly...they aren't cute.”
• “Purifying your sins is not easy to do. If offering your life was enough to receive forgiveness... There would be no tragedies in this world...”
• “Feeling sin is proof that you exist in a higher plane of being... In that sense, you should be proud of yourself, human.”
• “It appears that you've finally noticed... The blood that flows within me...bears a fearsome curse.”
• “Even you're just a foolish human, I'm not so cruel as to yearn for a meaningless death.”
• “I'm the offspring of an angel and a devil, a cursed being shunned and rejected by everything in this world!”
• “Once I lose the only thing I love, I’m destined to spend my last days being devoured alive by demon beasts!”
• “Truly I am mankind's natural foe! Evil incarnate! A walking cataclysm! A shapeless insanity! GUNDHAM TANAKA!”
• “It seems that...I completely misread you... I never expected a human like you to contain a singularity...” (to Hajime)
• “With this...the contract is complete. I will not allow you to die without my permission.” (to Hajime)
• “Tanaka may be an ordinary family name, but it's far better than Sato or Suzuki!”
• “The investigation conducts universal chaos...”
• “If you continue to say such foolish things, I shall tear you limb from limb...!” (to Sonia)
• “Your stance is neither white nor black, but gray... And you do not yearn for your life, or even for victory...” (to Nagito Komaeda)
• “"Among flowers, the cherry blossom. Among men, the samurai." I commend your decisiveness, at least...” (to Peko Pekoyama)
• “There are no second chances in life... We cannot return to what has already transpired...”
• “There is no other way than to move forward, like an arrow of light piercing through the darkness...”
• “Kehehe... How light... Your words are so light, as light as the sylph's feather...” (to Chiaki Nanami)
• “Fuhaha! Your opponent is out of your league! It is too absurd to try to perplex me so inadequately!”
• “A shepherd dressed in his Sunday's finest still reeks of lamb, Hajime Hinata!”
• “If I show you how serious I am, this world might be destroyed, you know!”
• “But regardless of good or evil, there's no deceit in upholding one's convictions.”
• “I agree...it is trully difficult to believe someone could be killed by such a slow-witted woman...” (talking about Mikan Tsumiki)
• “If you are happy...you should honestly greet him with open arms. Perhaps those who have been taken from us would do the same if they still lived...” (to Sonia)
• “Tremblewithfear!@%’*)P()~)~%$# Iwilldie2wiceeeeeeeeeeeee:@`?” (Gundham's cottage post-fifth trial)
• “Hmph, a coincidence you say? Wrong! That is the will of casuality guiding you.” (to Sonia)

Panic Talk Action Remarks

• “I won't let you!”
• “For the Tanaka Empire!”
• “This pressure...!”
• “Amen!”
• “Wither...”
• “Show me the cadaver!”
• “Crushed as David prophesized!”
• “You weakling!”
• “It's Nekomaru's back! Do you really think I can get behind him so easily!?” (Final Argument)

Trivia

• Gundham's report card states that:
  • He likes his hamsters, the Four Dark Devas of Destruction, and hates the earthly life itself,
  • His Blood type is B,
  • His chest is 37 in.
• The kanji in Tanaka means "rice field" and "center". Together this may mean "central rice field". The kanji for Gundham use irregular readings, though can roughly mean "snake eye dreams".
• The names of Gundham's four hamsters are: San-D, Jum-P, Maga-Z and Cham-P. All of the names are references to shōnen manga magazines (Sunday, Jump, Magazine and Champion).
• His name is a reference to the popular Japanese mecha anime, Mobile Suit Gundam 0079, which later spawned an entire long-running series. His execution refers to a particular scene from the original anime as well.
• His nickname "Tanaka the Forbidden One" is a direct reference to Yu-Gi-Oh!, "Exodia the Forbidden One".
• Gundham's title in the original Japanese release, "Ultimate Breeding Club Member", is a bit more specific than his English title. The Breeding Club (whose Japanese name could also be interpreted as "Animal Care Club") is a common afterschool club in many Japanese schools dedicated to taking care of the animals (usually small birds, reptiles and rodents) kept within the school grounds. As made clear by his many achievements as a Breeder, Gundham has transcended the regular Breeding Club member's expertise by leaps and bounds - which may be the basis for his claims about his existence being superior to that of humans'.
• Finishing Gundham's Free-Time Events yields the item 'Gundham's Underwear', which are invisible to those who have too low of an "astral level."
• In one of Gundham's Free-Time Events, he states that he pities livestock for being raised for the sole purpose of human consumption. This could mean that Gundham is possibly a vegetarian or vegan, though it is not confirmed.