, also known as , is a character from the Spike Chunsoft visual novel action-adventure game series Danganronpa. The character has two identities: Izuru first appeared in the 2011 light novel prequel Danganronpa Zero by Kazutaka Kodaka as a mysterious high school student whose actions resulted in genocide, while a computer avatar copy of Hajime appeared as the protagonist of the 2012 video game Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, as a high school student with no memory of his past, forced to investigate murder cases involving high school students who are trapped on a group of tropical islands. The prequel anime Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School further explores the past of the human Hajime and how he volunteered to undergo experimentation to become the silent sociopathic superhuman Izuru.
Hajime was created to be a caring student who would be explored as a more tragic hero, in contrast with his predecessor, the Danganronpa protagonist Makoto Naegi. The franchise explores the themes of despair and hope; as a result of his sins, Izuru's activities involve a search for redemption. Their prequel personas were also modified to fit the narrative involving their lack of self-esteem and relationships with Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba, two antagonists from the series who attempt to manipulate him for their terrorist attacks. The character is voiced by Minami Takayama in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in English.
Critical response to the character has been positive, in particular their interpersonal relationship with other characters and the voice actors' vocal performances. The character's role at The End of Hope's Peak High School was praised for the handling of his alter ego's origin story and depiction of degraded humanity.
Creation
Danganronpa writer Kazutaka Kodaka created Hajime Hinata as a major contrast to his predecessor, Makoto Naegi. While Makoto's story involves his holding onto hope as a result of his morals, Hajime moves forward carrying the burden of despair as a consequence of the sins he committed with his past persona known as Izuru Kumukura. The connection between Izuru and Hajime was foreshadowed in the light novel Danganronpa Zero as kanji for Hajime's full name was conceived as a hint to his other persona, as "日向創" can be read as "Kamukura".
The writing staff describes Hajime as a relatable person, due to how ordinary he is in contrast to the rest of the cast from Goodbye Despair. With regard to his appearance, Hajime was the earliest character designed by Rui Komatsuzaki, who created a major contrast between Hajime's white clothing and Nagito Komaeda's dark clothing. His relatable characterization was meant to give him a notable character arc, as throughout the story he shows weakness due to his lack of talents despite his attempts to act as an ordinary person. Hajime's final appearance differed from that in early sketches for the series, as his hair was originally meant to be longer, and, at one point, he was to be wearing glasses.
Nagito was meant to be "an absolute rival" to Hajime, a relationship similar to that between the Joker and Batman in the 1989 film. Meanwhile, the character of Chiaki Nanami was written as a heroine with whom Hajime would often interact and bond romantically, as Kodaka claims that the relationship between Makoto and Kyoko Kirigiri, a supporting character from the previous game, was meant to help the player in solving cases thanks to the latter's skills as a detective. Kodaka attempted to create more unique storytelling methods for Goodbye Despair. This is more specific when Hajime, the player's avatar, starts playing the video game Twilight Syndrome as the narrative of game is also connected with the events of Goodbye Despair.
Casting
In the Japanese version of the game, Hajime was voiced by Minami Takayama. As Takayama was famous for voicing the main character of the detective manga Case Closed, the staff put a reference to her career in the snowboarding minigame from Goodbye Despair, as Jimmy Kudo often surfs a turbo skateboard. Takayama was selected to voice the character based on her popularity from Case Closed, in order to make Hajime seem like a detective.
For the English dub of the franchise, Johnny Yong Bosch took the role of Hajime. Bosch recalls having difficulty becoming immersed in Hinata's role, due to the lack of artwork that featured Hinata. When a Danganronpa player asked the actor to sign a copy of Goodbye Despair, Bosch could better understand the character he voiced. In the stage play, Ryusei Yokohama portrays the character.