Makoto Naegi, a teenager with no notable talent, is surprised to learn that he has been accepted into Hope’s Peak Private Academy: an elite school that brings together top students from various fields. Although he thinks his admission was a fluke, Naegi is thrilled to attend an institution known for ensuring the success of its graduates. Determined, he walks through the front door of the prestigious academy.
However, after passing out inside, Naegi wakes up in a seemingly abandoned classroom. Not understanding how he got there, Naegi starts exploring and, to his surprise, finds his classmates gathered in the gymnasium. As everyone tries to find out what happened, they are confronted by the school principal: Monokuma, a robotic teddy bear. The mysterious toy explains that the first graders are trapped in the school and have only one way to escape: kill a classmate without being discovered.