Chisa Yukizome Doesn’t Smile (Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc)

Chisa Yukizome Doesn’t Smile is the eighteenth episode of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School and the ninth episode of "Despair Arc", which serves as a prequel to the Hope's Peak Academy saga.

Summary
Nanami and Komaeda escape from despair, but can they protect their classmates, or save their teacher?

Why It Rocks

 * 1) This is one of those episodes that takes a turn for the darker during this arc (which was mainly more light-hearted in tone and storylines than the rest of the Danganronpa series), and it actually works here and is well executed, unlike the next episode.
 * 2) The scene where Chisa Yukizome saves Chiaki Nanami from Junko Enoshima is really courageous, despite it being ruined in the next episode (See BQ #1).
 * 3) The scene where the fake Ryota takes off his mask and reveals himself to be the Ultimate Imposter is really shocking and surprising. It's also the first time they're shown without being disguised as someone else, and reveals that they do indeed have an appearance of their own and don't always have to pretend to be another person. And after saying his talent is the only thing he has in life, it shows how much the Ultimate Imposter cares about his classmates and his teacher, Chisa.
 * 4) * It also shows how far he's come. Keep in mind that this was the guy who, at the beginning of the series, told Chiaki that there was no reason for the class to group up or make friends, and told Ryota that fats and sugars are the only thing in life you can rely on. Now, he's actively participating in the mission to rescue his teacher with his classmates.
 * 5) ** A similar thing happens with mh:greatcharacters:Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Even without knowing about their shared past, when an injured Peko Pekoyama and Mikan Tsumiki arrive, Fuyuhiko's immediate reaction is to run over and help. When Peko tells him to run away, he refuses to leave, saying that "You were beaten up. Do you think I'm going to take this lying down?!". Coming from someone who has always resisted being "part of the group", it shows how much he cares about the class (although it still doesn't compare to his character arc in mh:awesomegames:Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair).
 * 6) There's a scene where Chiaki says that it's thanks to Chisa that she really broke out of her shell as a loner when Chisa pushed her to make friends with her classmates. It's incredibly touching and powerful both in and out of universe, as it's what motivates the other students to help search for and rescue their teacher (although it doesn't end well, as revealed in the next episode).
 * 7) The scene where mh:greatcharacters:Gundham Tanaka and Nekomaru Nidai offer to hold the angry Reserve Course students off in order to give the others a chance to rescue Chisa is really noble and heroic of them, especially considering that, at the same time, Chisa was being lobotomized by Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba.
 * 8) When Class 77-B was on their way down the staircase to Junko's lair, Akane Owari insisted that she believed in Nekomaru while Kazuichi Souda reassures Sonia Nevermind and the others that Gundham will be fine when the class begins worrying about Gundham and Nekomaru's safety when the two were fighting off the Reserve Course Students for them. It's nice to see how strong Akane and Nekomaru's bond truly is, and how it's far stronger than a typical student and coach (applying to them respectively) relationship. Not to mention the fact that this scene also shows how  Kazuichi genuinely does care about Sonia and that he feelings for her go beyond his general stalkerish behavior towards the princess (and that he also cares for Gundham as well in spite of his rivalry with the latter due to the breeder's close friendship with Sonia). He regretted it afterwards, yes, but it still proves that deep down, he does truly care for both of them.
 * 9) Great animation and voice acting, as expected for all Danganronpa games and anime.
 * 10) The scene where Juzo confronts Junko with enormous rage and is about to attack her is proof that Junko Enoshima could end up getting karma for her actions, although that chance of Junko getting karma was obliterated in the next episode.
 * 11) Overall, despite taking a darker turn for the Despair Arc, this episode can be considered a breather episode, as we all know what comes after this one.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Unfortunately, this episode is the final good episode of the Despair Arc, as the next episode would take a devastating turn on the horror genre, causing the arc to go downhill. However, this can all be blamed on Junko Enoshima.
 * 2) Speaking of Junko, she's still unlikable as always, as she gleefully mocks Ryota Mitarai of his complicity in helping produce the brainwashing video, causing him to run away crying and jump into a lake in desperation. Therefore, Ryota washes up depressed and in pain.
 * 3) The infamous scene where Chisa is given a frontal lobotomy by Junko and Mukuro is extremely disturbing and no short of unpleasant to watch, and it isn't helped by Junko constantly making jokes throughout.
 * 4) * Speaking of Chisa's lobotomy, the fact that the episode ends with her, under the effects of said lobotomy, tricking Chiaki into thinking that they were going to save their class together (when in actuality, she would end up leading her into the events of the next episode) could leave the episode with an overall bad ending.

Reception
Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile was largely well-received by audiences, particularly Danganronpa fans. Who praised the episode for it's suspense, revelation of the Imposter's true identity, and proper handling of horror concepts. That being said, Chisa's lobotomy at the hands of the Despair sisters and Ryota throwing himself into a lake in shame after being mocked by Junko were the two things featured in the episode that were negatively received.