Kazuo Tengan

"I know it might be hard for youngsters like you to understand, but when you're old and don't have much time left, like me... Hope is having young people who you can entrust the future to. The students of Hope's Peak Academy, the place I dedicated my life to... They represent my hope. They have grown into fine people, who now form the pillars of the Future Foundation. These pillars of hope, and guides for humanity... If they were to betray, deceive and kill each other... I cannot imagine anything that would cause more despair. The thought of seeing you all crying and shedding blood, twisted by despair... It really makes me deeply and incredibly sad... Which is why I ended up doing it!"

- Tengan revealed his true nature in his video recording

Kazuo Tengan (天願 和夫 Tengan Kazuo) is the main antagonist in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc. He is the former headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, being succeeded by Jin Kirigiri, as well as the school's advisor after his retirement. He is also the founder and chairmen of Future Foundation and the leader of the 1st Division. However, he was later brainwashed into a mole of Ultimate Despair and became the mastermind of the Final Killing Game.

He was voiced by Hidekatsu Shibata in Japanese version, and by Mark Stoddard in English version.

Overview
At the beginning of Future Arc, Kazuo Tengan, with the other Future Foundation heads, is forced to participate in the Final Killing Game. His forbidden action is "answering a question with a lie." He is the fourth person to be killed in the Monokuma Hunter game, killed by Kyosuke after telling him the identity of the attacker and injuring his eye.

However, it was revealed later that Kazuo was the true Mastermind of the Final Killing Game after the Ultimate Despair brainwashed him. He became delusional and immoral towards his goal of bringing hope and wipe out despair, even convincing Ryota Mitarai to use a Hope Video to brainwash humanity into believing bland and empty hope while forgetting everything.

In Side: Hope, the disillusioned Mitarai decided to spread the Hope Video across the globe, just as Kazuo commanded him through his video tape posthumously, but he was stopped by the awakened and redeemed Remnants of Despair, who decided to atone their actions. After embracing Mitarai and forgiving him, Hajime managed to convince Mitarai into cancelling the launch of the said video. By the end of Hope Arc, on his way to Jabberwocky Island, Mitarai threw Kazuo's smartphone into the sea, finally ending Kazuo's insane plan once and for all.

Personality
Before being revealed as the Mastermind, Kazuo was initially presented as a very peaceful, good-natured man who hated any conflict. He was renowned for being a pacifist, as he believed that violence is wrong. He showed sadness over the Ultimate Despair's crimes, trying to create a peaceful world without strife. Despite his peaceful demeanor, he could become a skilled and terrifying fighter when needed.

However, during the events of Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer, it's revealed that he was completely brainwashed and turned into an Ultimate Despair-like state after watching the Despair Video given to him by an already-brainwashed Chisa Yukizome.

It was also revealed in the finale of Future Arc that like Chisa, Kazuo put a good act to hide the despair side within him. The post-brainwashed Kazuo becomes far more sadistic and extreme than he initially seemed, even eclipsing Kyosuke at his worst. His friendly and gentle behavior hid a ruthless pragmatism, which makes him willing to brainwash the entire humanity in the name of hope. After being brainwashed, he stated that he would do something far as killing in order to grasp hope and the future. To achieve his goal, he was even willing to kill all the Future Foundation (including himself) except Ryota in order to achieve this goal.

Trivia

 * The reveal of Kazuo being the main antagonist of Side: Despair received panning from fans. Fans critisized Kazuo to be a combination of inconsistent characterization, nonsensical motivations and an absolutely terrible "plan", all had led to a sharp drop in his popularity within Danganronpa fandom. Fans in general condemned him as the worst villain in the franchise. Even Kazutaka Kodaka, the creator of Danganronpa franchise, shows disappointment over the anime's writing that made Kazuo the Mastermind.