Danganronpa: The Animation

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Danganronpa: The Animation follows the events of the video game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc . [4] The series follows 16 high school students locked inside "Hope's Peak Academy," their high school. [5] The students are threatened by an anthropomorphic bear, Monokuma, who gives them only one way to leave the Academy: to murder another student, and not be found guilty in the subsequent trial. [6]

Characters

The Animation follows protagonist Makoto Naegi (苗木 誠, Naegi Makoto) and fifteen other students. Each character has an "ultimate" skill, or profession; such as the "Ultimate Gambler", or "Ultimate Swimmer". [7] When dubbed from Japan they are usually called "Super High School Level."

Release

In December 2012, Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine announced that there would be an anime television series adaptation of the game, titled Danganronpa: The Animation, produced by Lerche, directed by Seiji Kishi, [8] and written by Makoto Uezu. The final Blu-ray/DVD volume, released on 26 February 2014, contains an extended final episode. [9] The series aired in Japan on MBS' Animeism programming block between 4 July 2013 and 26 September 2013. The series is licensed in North America by Funimation, [10] who simulcast it as it aired and released the series on BD/DVD on 10 November 2015. Funimation's English dub contains almost a completely different cast from that of the games, with only Bryce Papenbrook reprising his role as Makoto Naegi. Manga Entertainment released the series in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2015. [11] [12]

The opening theme is "Never Say Never" by TKDz2b with rapping provided by Jas Mace and Marchitect (aka The 49ers) and Tribeca, whilst the ending theme is "Zetsubōsei: Hero Chiryōyaku" (絶望性:ヒーロー治療薬, Despairity: A Hero's Treatment) by Suzumu feat. Soraru. The opening theme for episode one is "Danganronpa" by Masafumi Takada whilst the opening theme for episode four is "Monokuma Ondo" (モノクマおんど) by Sachiko Kobayashi feat. Monokuma (Nobuyo Ōyama). The ending theme for episode 13 is "Saisei -rebuild-" (再生 -rebuild-, Playback -rebuild-) by Makoto Naegi (Megumi Ogata).

The soundtrack was released on August 28, 2013 by Geneon Universal (now NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan), one of the anime's production companies.

A two-volume light novel adaptation written by Ryo Kawakami and illustrated by Takashi Tsukimi was released in 2013. [13]

In 2014, The 19th Animation Kobe committee chose Kishi to receive their Individual Award for the stretch of his career including Danganronpa: The Animation, Arpeggio of Blue Steel, and Hamatora. [14]

Sequel

A second anime series, titled Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School , aired between July and September 2016. The series concludes the "Hope's Peak Academy" storyline and is split into two parts; Future Side which takes place after Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Despair Side, which takes place prior to the events of Trigger Happy Havoc. Seiji Kishi once again directed the series at Lerche, while Norimitsu Kaihō wrote the screenplay. [15]

Notes

  1. Previously known as Funimation, which distributes the series in North America, while Madman Anime handles distribution in Australia and Crunchyroll UK and Ireland (formerly Manga Entertainment) in the United Kingdom.
  2. Known in Japan as Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei The Animation (Japanese: ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生 The Animation, lit.Danganronpa: The Academy of Hope and the High School Students of Despair The Animation) [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc</i> 2010 visual novel adventure game

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a visual novel adventure game developed and published by Spike as the first game in the Danganronpa series. The game was originally released in Japan for the PlayStation Portable in November 2010 and was ported to Android and iOS in August 2012. Danganronpa was localized and published in English regions by NIS America for multiple platforms.

Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft. The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high-school students who are forced into murdering each other by a robotic teddy bear named Monokuma. Gameplay features a mix of adventure, visual novel, detective and dating simulator elements. The first game, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2010.

<i>Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair</i> 2012 visual novel

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a 2012 visual novel developed by Spike Chunsoft. It is the second game in the Danganronpa franchise following Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2010). It was first released in Japan for PlayStation Portable in July 2012, and a port for PlayStation Vita was released in Japan in October 2013. NIS America released the game worldwide in September 2014; a port for PC was released in April 2016 and a bundle for PlayStation 4 and Playstation Vita called Danganronpa 1-2 Reload, also containing the first Danganronpa game, was released in March 2017. An enhanced version with the subtitle Anniversary Edition was released for Android and iOS in August 2020, for Nintendo Switch in November 2021, and for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One May 2022.

<i>Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls</i> 2014 video game

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is an action-adventure video game developed by Spike Chunsoft for PlayStation Vita. The game is the first spin-off of the Danganronpa series of visual novel games, set between the events of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. The game was released in Japan on September 25, 2014, and was released by NIS America in North America on September 1, 2015, in Europe on September 4, 2015, and in Australia on September 10, 2015. The game was released on PlayStation 4 and Windows worldwide in June 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monokuma</span> Identity in the Danganronpa franchise

Monokuma is a fictional identity adopted by several characters in the Danganronpa series, serving as the mascot and central antagonist of the series. Monokuma first appears in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as a disguise used by Junko Enoshima during her killing game in the fictional school of Hope's Peak Academy. Monokuma was created by scenario writer Kazutaka Kodaka and designed by Rui Komatsuzaki. The identity is used primarily as a disguise for the masterminds of each game to conceal their identities while overseeing and organizing killing games, and as such has been voiced by several actors. The character has often appeared in popular culture since its inception, spawning a series of action figures and merchandise. Nobuyo Ōyama and TARAKO voice Monokuma in Japanese, while Brian Beacock provides his voice for the English versions of the games and Greg Ayres provides his voice for the English dub of Danganronpa: The Animation.

<i>Danganronpa 3: The End of Hopes Peak High School</i> Japanese anime television series

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School is a mystery horror anime television series produced by Lerche, directed by Daiki Fukuoka, and supervised by Seiji Kishi. The anime is the second animated series based on Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa video game franchise, and serves as a conclusion to the "Hope's Peak Academy" arc established in the previously released games Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. The series is divided into three parts. Future Arc focuses on Makoto Naegi and his friends and their involvement in a killing game with the Future Foundation; and Despair Arc focuses on Hajime Hinata, a student, and his involvement in experiments on humans. The first two story arcs aired between July and September 2016. They were followed by Hope Arc, the conclusion to both previous arcs, which aired on September 29, 2016.

Makoto Naegi is a fictional character introduced as the protagonist of the 2010 visual novel adventure game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc by Spike Chunsoft. A fairly optimistic but otherwise average student who is selected in a raffle to enroll in Hope's Peak Academy as the "Ultimate Lucky Student", Makoto finds himself before a remote-controlled robotic stuffed bear named Monokuma upon entering the academy, who states that he and his fellow students will be imprisoned in the academy for the rest of their lives unless one of them becomes "the blackened" and murders another without being found out by the other students, prompting the character to solve crimes. Makoto returns in the game's sequels and in multiple adaptations featuring him in new story arcs, most notably in Lerche's 2016 anime series Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, as a member of an organization known as the Future Foundation that seeks to take his life in a new killing game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junko Enoshima</span> Fictional character

Junko Enoshima is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa series. Featured as the mastermind in the series' first two games as the true identity of Monokuma, in the spin-off Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls in the guises of Shirokuma and Kurokuma, and in the prequel light novel Danganronpa Zero and anime Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School: Despair Arc, serving as the protagonist of the former as the Ultimate Analyst, Ryōko Otonashi. Junko is a student of Hope's Peak Academy and is the Ultimate Fashionista, a charismatic and hyperintelligent model of gyaru fashion who, along with her fraternal twin sister and body double Mukuro Ikusaba, forms the Ultimate Despair, ultimately bringing about the end of civilization through a movement known as "The Tragedy". In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Junko arranges a killing game between her former classmates to test their metrics for hope and despair, counting herself and Mukuro as participants, before having her consciousness converted into an artificial intelligence known as Alter Ego Junko on her death, left to Izuru Kamukura to continue her plans along with his own, in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyoko Kirigiri</span> Fictional character in the Danganronpa franchise

Kyoko Kirigiri is a fictional character from the Spike Chunsoft visual novel action-adventure game series Danganronpa. She was introduced in the 2010 game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc as a high school student and the "Ultimate ???" of Hope's Peak Academy. Kyoko finds herself sealed within the building alongside her classmates, who are told by a robot named Monokuma that can only leave the school if they commit a murder and successfully evade conviction in the ensuing class trial. By the end of the game, Kyoko is revealed to be the "Ultimate Detective". Despite being initially distant to the cast, Kyoko befriends Makoto Naegi and they join forces to solve class trials and discover the identity of the mastermind behind the killing game. Kyoko Kirigiri reappears in other Danganronpa titles and sequels, most notably in the 2012 sequel Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair as a member of the Future Foundation, the 2017 game Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony as an apparition of the mastermind in the final trial, the 2016 anime series Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School and the spin-off video game Kirigiri Sou as a supporting character, as well in the series of prequel light novels Danganronpa: Kirigiri (2013–2020), which center on her childhood and rise through the Detective Shelf Collection (DSC), as she deals with new cases with her assistant Yui Samidare.

Danganronpa Zero is a Japanese light novel written by Kazutaka Kodaka and illustrated by Rui Komatsuzaki. It was published by Seikaisha from September 16 to October 14, 2011, and has been collected in two tankōbon volumes. A prequel to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the novel focuses on Ryoko Otonashi, a student who, as a result of "The Tragedy", has anterograde amnesia and has short-term memory loss. Overseen by the school's Ultimate Neurologist and her childhood sweetheart Yasuke Matsuda, Ryoko becomes embroiled in a vast conspiracy within Hope's Peak Academy, involving the mysterious Izuru Kamukura and "Despair Sisters" Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba, as "The Parade" protests arise outside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagito Komaeda</span> Fictional character in the Danganronpa franchise

Nagito Komaeda, also known as The Servant, is a fictional character introduced in the 2012 Spike Chunsoft visual novel action adventure game Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Nagito is a high school student from Hope's Peak Academy, holding the title of "Ultimate Lucky Student" due to his supernatural luck. He is first seen in the game's beginning when meeting the protagonist Hajime Hinata as they and multiple other students find themselves trapped in a series of tropical islands. Initially presenting a caring personality, Nagito shows his true maniacal and hope-obsessed demeanor when a bear-like robot, Monokuma, orders the students to participate in a killing game if they want to leave the islands, with Nagito violently encouraging the killing game's progress. Under the guise of the Servant, Nagito returns in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls as the secondary antagonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hajime Hinata</span> Fictional character in the Danganronpa franchise

Hajime Hinata, also known as Izuru Kamukura, 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 apathetic superhuman Izuru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiaki Nanami</span> Fictional character

Chiaki Nanami is a fictional character from Spike's 2012 visual novel Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Formally known as the Ultimate Gamer, Chiaki initially appears as an apparent high school student trapped with fifteen other students in the Jabberwock Island chain, where an omnipresent robotic bear named Monokuma forces the student to participate in a killing game in exchange for freedom. She can bond with the protagonist Hajime Hinata in both social life gameplay and the main storyline before her true persona is revealed as the artificial intelligence observer daughter of Chihiro Fujisaki, and the younger sister of Alter Ego and Usami / Monomi. Chiaki makes a cameo appearance in two episodes of the anime series Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, with an identical character the original Chiaki Nanami, the visual basis for her design, appearing in the prequel Despair Arc who bonds with Hajime.

<i>Genocider Mode</i> Japanese manga series

Ultra Despair Girls: Danganronpa AE − Genocider Mode, is a Japanese manga series based on Spike Chunsoft's 2014 video game, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. It was published by Kadokawa Shoten in the magazine Dengeki Maoh and the webtoon platform Famitsu Comic Clear from January 27, 2015, to October 13, 2017, and has been collected in five tankōbon volumes across two separate runs respectively written and illustrated by Machika Minami and Touya Hajime. Genocider Mode retells the game's events and those of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc from the perspectives of Toko Fukawa and Genocide Jack/Jill, elaborating upon their relationships with Byakuya Togami, Komaru Naegi, and the Servant.

<i>Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp</i> 2021 role-playing video game

Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp is a role-playing video game with board game elements, developed and published by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo Switch in late 2021, with Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows versions released in 2022. The game, a spin-off installment in the Danganronpa visual novel series, is an expanded version of two side-modes from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (2017), and was released digitally as a standalone game and physically through the game compilation Danganronpa Decadence, as a part of celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the Danganronpa series.

Danganronpa is an adventure visual novel video game franchise created by Spike Chunsoft. The series follows groups of high school students who are trapped in an enclosed area, with the only way to escape being to murder a fellow student and not be caught in a subsequent investigation and trial. The music of Danganronpa comprises seven soundtrack albums, as well as numerous singles, mini albums, and other music releases. The main composer for the series is Masafumi Takada, who has composed for all of the series' soundtracks and has also released many of them on his label, Sound Prestige Records. Takada has been aided with the franchise's music by various artists, including other composers, lyricists, and singers.

References

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  5. "Review: Danganronpa: The Animation – SLUG Magazine". SLUG Magazine. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  6. "Review: 'Danganronpa: The Animation'". geeks.media. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  7. Eisenbeis, Richard (15 October 2013). "Danganronpa: The Animation Makes a Mess of a Great Game". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
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  10. "FUNimation acquires streaming rights for Brothers Conflict and Danganronpa: The Animation". Funimation. 28 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
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Danganronpa: The Animation
Danganronpacharacters4.jpg
Cover art featuring the students of Hope's Peak Academy and the main antagonist, Monokuma
ダンガンロンパ The Animation
Genre Murder mystery [1]
Original network MBS, TBS, CBC, BS-TBS
English network
Original run 4 July 2013 26 September 2013
Episodes13 (List of episodes)