Gundham Tanaka

Basic Information

Full name: Gundham Tanaka (田中 眼蛇夢) Titles/nicknames: Tanaka the Forbidden One, Supreme Overlord of Ice. Ultimate: Ultimate Breeder. Gender: Male Height:182 cm Weight:74 kg Birth Date: ♐ December 14 Chest Size: 93 cm Blood Type: B Likes: Four Dark Devas of Destruction Dislikes: Earthly life Family: Unnamed mother, Four Dark Devas of Destruction (Pet hamsters), Pomeranian (Pet dog); Grizner (Pet bear); Several other unnamed pets Status:Alive Affiliation: Class 77-B Previous Affiliation: Fazal Commerce High School; Hope's Peak Academy; Ultimate Despair.

Apperance.

Gundham wears a long, black jacket that stops below his knees that is always left open, with a dark red coloring on the inside; according to his reference sheet, it is part of his school uniform. The left sleeve is rolled up to the elbow and fastened to the jacket with silver pins. Gundham is also known for his long purple scarf, which wraps around his neck and covers his chin. Vertical (presumably occult) symbols are emblazoned on the back of his jacket and the ends of his scarf. Underneath his jacket, Gundham wears a white button-up layered over a slightly darker shirt with a grey-purple cross design on the chest. His black pants are tucked into black boots riddled with straps. Finishing Gundham's Free Time Events yields the item 'Gundham's Undergarments' which are invisible to those who have too low of an "astral level". This hints that Gundham possibly doesn't wear them. Gundham's skin tone is noticeably pale and grey, suggesting that he doesn't get outside much. He wears an undercut, and the top section of his hair is slicked back into a single curl. His hair looks more wild and jagged when he's enraged. His hair color is black with light grey streaks through it. This may be the result of either dyeing his hair or a melanin deficiency known as poliosis, giving him several 'Mallen streaks.'. Gundham has no eyebrows, which is confirmed in the limited edition's art book.[8] He has grey eyes but he wears a red contact lens in his right eye. The grey scar that runs through his left eye onto his right cheek appears to be a tattoo. His left arm, which he calls the "cursed arm," is bandaged up to the elbow, presumably from injuries he received while taking care of his animals. Gundham's Hell Hound Earring (Devil Dog Earring in the Japanese release) hangs from his right ear, and he wears silver rings on the index and middle fingers of his right hand. During his high school years at Hope's Peak Academy, Gundham wears the traditional Hope's Peak Academy's uniform.

Personality 1/3

During his high school years at Hope's Peak Academy, Gundham wears the traditional Hope's Peak Academy's uniform. He accessorized the uniform with the same scarf, shirt, belt and boots he wears in SDR2. Instead of just the Hell Hound Earring, he wears an earring in each ear. He still wears an undercut, but the longest pieces of the top section frame his forehead. Additionally, he calls himself "Tanaka the Forbidden One." Despite making a poor first impression, Gundham offers comic relief in what he says to Danganronpa players and other characters. His outlandish responses and dramatic voice acting are reminiscent of a cartoon super villain. He sometimes goes as far as to compliment other characters if they say a "nice line," which teases at breaking the fourth wall. Gundham is notably contradictory—during his introduction, he tells Hajime Hinata to step forward and introduce himself, for Gundham will destroy Hajime once he does. It is heavily implied that though Gundham appears prideful and shuns spending time with mere mortals, he may actually feel lonely. He tends to cover up how he feels alienated from others; for instance, he claimed that he was "searching for solitude" before slowly wandering off. Gundham's harsh facade conceals a softer, more sensitive side. Sonia's compliments cause him to blush and hide the bottom half of his face in his scarf; he even stammers a little. However, it's hinted that Gundham has serious problems with socializing and physical contact. He has been strict about not wanting to touch nor be touched by others since childhood, going as far as to avoid sports and playing with other children. In his typical manner, Gundham claims that his flesh is "poisoned" to disguise his fear of intimacy. He tells Hajime that he can only be touched by very specific persons with astral levels that match his own. Throughout the game, he improves a little with handling both social and physical contact.

Personality 2/3

Though he may be awkward around other people, Gundham deeply cares about animals (despite how he refers to them as his evil minions to stay in line with his overlord persona). He claims that anything that can talk "will eventually betray you," suggesting that he has been hurt by others in the past and prefers to trust animals for their loyalty and sincere nature. Gundham demands that animals are treated with respect. He uses his talents to educate people who don't know how to properly take care of animals - during his Free Time Events, Gundham tells Hajime that he maintains an informational website about breeding. He also says that he pities livestock for being raised for the sole purpose of human consumption. This may mean that Gundham is a vegetarian or vegan; on the other hand, his words may imply that he is only against eating animals defiled by human involvement. He takes great offense to people interfering with animals' natural instincts and autonomy. In Island Mode, Gundham reveals that he even hates anthropomorphic cartoons of animals, likely because their human-like behavior insults the dignity of the animals they are based on. Gundham has great respect for the nature and its laws. He understands that nature is indiscriminate in its harsh cruelty, and he does not fear death. At the same time, he strongly dislikes mankind's malicious ways. Notably, Gundham hates the idea of giving up without a fight, for he believes that all creatures are born to fight tooth and nail to survive. According to him, giving up your life willingly is blasphemous toward nature (and by extension, oneself). When his class is starving and trapped in Strawberry House, Gundham challenges Mechamaru to a duel to revive everyone's will to survive. Gundham ends up killing Mechamaru. When he is exposed as the murderer, Gundham is quicker than past perpetrators to give up his defenses and accept his fate.

Personality 3/3

He justifies his actions by explaining that fighting for survival, sometimes even killing another person, is simply the natural order of things. He also points out that Mechamaru could have run away or called for help, but instead chose to stand his ground and fight. However, when Nagito tries to take over on summarizing the entire case; saying that he pressed Mechamaru's goodnight button without fighting him, Gundham is absolutely furious at his accusation, hinting that Gundham gets very livid at those making assumptions of him doing the very opposite of what he would intentionally do. While he claims he killed Mechamaru from his innate will to survive, it's implied that Gundham felt conflicted about sacrificing his friends. His parting words suggest he was partially motivated to complete the murder in order to save his class from succumbing to hunger (though he vehemently denies this, as it isn't befitting of a dark overlord). His rousing speech about not giving up on life in the face of despair is a good tell. Regardless, he accepted that he might get away with murder and let everyone die, according to his own ideology about the cycle of life (though this would have likely caused him guilt). Gundham is quick to accept his punishment with dignity, reassuring the others that he was merely a "temporary visitor" in this world. During his Punishment, Gundham sets the Devas aside to save them. Despite talking about going to Hell, his execution closes with winged animals flying him to heaven, confirming that his true nature is good. Interestingly, there are moments in which Gundham shows he has a deeper understanding of certain situations and isn't lost in his own world. For example, Gundham is the only one who openly acknowledges Nagito's grey morality (despite strongly disliking him). Gundham also states that murder is murder regardless of motive.

Talent & Abilities

Ultimate Breeder: Gundham has an empathic connection with animals, who he feels are more trustworthy than humans. Due to his understanding of animals' emotions, he tries not to involve himself with livestock and other domesticated animals fated to be eaten. Gundham is acknowledged as the Ultimate Breeder because of his incredible achievements with hybridizing breeds, saving endangered species, and animal research. Gundham's agents carry on his work in his absence; these select individuals understand the mechanics of genealogy and respect animals' rights. Gundham uploads his findings to his breeding blog, which he claims is a cover for his website about the dark arts. He provides plenty of exercise, high-quality food, and shelter for his breeds. He also has the ability to tame wild animals. He reveals his secret technique to taming animals to Hajime. First, he must approach them with an innocent guise and repeatedly speak to them in an innocent voice, saying "Good girl, good girl," over and over until he earns their trust. As their bond grows deeper, Gundham will start to hear tamed animals “speak" with him. Hajime thinks that this phenomenon is unique to the Ultimate Breeder. Gundham's favorite animals are his pet hamsters, the Four Dark Devas of Destruction. His bandaged "cursed arm" is likely wrapped to protect him from being bitten by the Devas. Gundham put a great deal of effort into training them, and they can follow basic commands. Keen-Intellect: Gundham is one of the most intelligent characters of the second game. He can create very complex plans and figure things out quickly. In Danganronpa 2, while not being the most prominent contributor to trials in the group, whenever he did contribute it was quite substantial, he's also very skilled at planning as well as problem-solving.

History

As a child, Gundham lived with his mother; his father was likely absent. Though he and his mother seemed to have a good relationship, his mother was terrible at cooking. This later became the basis for Gundham's belief that his body is brimming with poison. He explains that he couldn't refuse to eat her food because that would make her cry, which prompts Hajime to think that Gundham is actually a "really nice guy.". Gundham never liked crowds and large groups, and he suggests he dislikes being touched by other people. In elementary school, he regularly skipped Sports Days and never held hands with other children. During his FTE, he says that the nurse was "a member of my tribe," so he camped out in the infirmary to avoid social interaction. He has many other animals at home, cared for by individuals he chose to assist with breeding duties. Gundham also claims to run a website about the dark arts containing dangerous esoteric knowledge disguised by breeding information.

Relationships with family and pets.

Family: His Mother: Gundham lived with his mom during his childhood. Even though he greatly disliked his mother's terrible cooking, he didn't want to make her cry and forced himself to eat her cooking. It is indicated that his mom raised him alone and he genuinely loves and respects her as a result. Gundham has referred to himself as the offspring of an angel and a devil, possibly indicating that he sees his mother as an angel while considers his father who doesn't appear to be around a devil. His Pets: The Four Dark Devas of Destruction are Gundham's most loyal pets. They can be seen with him at all times from his time at Hope's Peak Academy, to his time as a Remnant of Despair and the Neo World Program. Their names are: San-D (orange and white), Jum-P (tan fur with peach underbelly, sleepy), Maga-Z (grey and white, chipped ear), and Cham-P (fat, orange).

Relationships on class 77-B

Sonia Nevermind: Though they were already shown to speak to one another before, Sonia and Gundham's relationship deepened during Chapter 4. Sonia asked to accompany Gundham on a trip to an amusement park in hell. They became close due to their complementary interests (such as Sonia's interest in the occult, her understanding of his odd behavior, and her liking of his "cute hamsters"). Sonia showed interest in Gundham's hamsters multiple times, which unintentionally flustered Gundham and made him stutter and blush. 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. During their time at Hope's Peak Academy, Sonia latched onto Gundham's eccentric personality when Chisa left and the two bonded. Gundham refers to Sonia as "she-cat" and while he enjoys her investment in the occult, he considers her a low-ranking demon. Much to Kazuichi's jealousy, the two got very close as time passed and they can even finish each other's sentences. 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. Nagito Komaeda: Gundham appears strange even for Nagito, as even he is confused by the other's eccentric behavior. During the Despair Disease, Gundham states that he would not mind if Nagito died, but it should be noted