Opening Song: Never Say Never (by TKDzZb)
Episode 1 only: Danganronpa (by Masafumi Takada)
Episode 4 only: Monokuma Ondo (モノクマおんど) (by Sachiko Kobayashi)
Credits Song: Zetsubōsei: Hero Chiryōyaku (絶望性：ヒーロー治療薬) (by Suzumu)
Episode 13 only: Saisei -rebuild- (by Megumi Ogata)
Spoiler Warning: I am going to give a synopsis of each episode and my opinions at the very end.
#01 PROLOGUE: Welcome to Despair High School
Hope's Peak Academy is a prestigious government-funded school for especially gifted students. However, one average student is admitted through a special lottery, reasoning that the winning person must be "super lucky". This years 'lucky' student is Makoto Naegi, but as soon as Makoto steps foot inside school grounds he falls unconscious, awakening a while later in a bunker-like classroom full of security cameras. Makoto follows instructions to assemble in the gym where he meets fourteen other students: Aoi "Hina" Asahina (swimmer), Byakuya Togami (rich guy), Celestia Ludenberg (gambler), Chihiro Fujisaki (programmer), Hifumi Yamada (manga artist), Junko Enoshima (fashion diva), Kiyotaka "Taka" Ishimaru (hall monitor), Kyoko Kirigiri (detective), Leon Kuwata (baseball player), Mondo Owada (biker), Sakura Ogami (martial artist), Sayaka Maizono (idol), Touko Fukawa (novelist), and Yasuhiro "Hiro" Hagakure (fortune-teller).
A remote-controlled bear named Monokuma
informs the students that they will be staying at the school for the
remainder of their lives or until they "graduate" by killing another
student. The group spends the next couple of days searching for an
alternative exit only to discover many of the halls have been blocked
off. Celestia
calls everyone's attention to the list of rules in the handbooks they
have been provided, specifically the designated "night hours" (10PM to
7AM) and suggests they all agree to stay in their assigned rooms during
that time. By day three, having grown inpatient with the group, Monokuma
gives each student a personalized DVD containing something he believes
will motivate them to escape at any cost. Makoto's friend from several
years ago, Sayaka, is the most visibly shaken by the videos. In an attempt to calm her down he promises to get the two of them out alive.
Makoto's DVD contained footage of his family's abduction. Sayaka saw her band in trouble.
#02 (Not) Normal Arc: Kill and Live
Later in the evening, Makoto is approached by Sayaka who believes someone may be after her because an unknown person tried to get into her room. To put her at ease Makoto offers to trade rooms with Sayaka. When Sayaka fails to attend the agreed upon morning meetup in the cafeteria the next day, she is found slain in the shower of Makoto's room. Monokuma initiates a "class trial" wherein if the class can successfully ferret-out the guilty party, that person alone will be executed, but if they guess wrong, the killer will be set free and everyone else will be put to death. The class proceeds with the investigation, except for Junko who assaults Monokuma and refuses to take part in the trial if it means her life will be on the line. As punishment for breaking the rules Junko is impaled to death by spears.
#03 Not Normal Arc: Kill and Live
The possibility of two killers teaming up is ruled out because only the person who did the killing would be allowed to graduate. They know Sayaka was killed with the kitchen knife left in her abdomen, which Aoi and Sakura testify to having seen her remove from the kitchen the previous day. Kyoko points out the dismantled shower doorknob and reminds everyone that only the girls rooms have locking showers. Makoto's door needed repairs but he knew how to work it open and so wouldn't have needed to dismantle it. The name plates outside Makoto and Sayaka's rooms had also been switched, so the killer likley had no idea he was in a boys room and assumed the shower door had been locked.
Kyoko posits (with evidence) that Sayaka purposely invited someone to the room in order to murder them. Sayaka intended to pin the crime on Makoto, but wound up as the victim herself. The numbers "11037" were written in blood on the shower wall and when rotated spell "LEON". Yasuhiro's shattered crystal ball was also found next to the incinerator, which the group believes Leon threw (using his baseball skills) through the closed metal gate to activate the switch on the other side of the room. He then burned his bloodied clothes. The vote is unanimous and Leon is executed by Monokuma with a barrage of baseballs.
#04 (Not) Normal Arc: Weekly Shonen Despair Magazine
Monokuma grants access to the second floor of the academy containing a library and a swimming pool with gender-divided changing rooms. In the library the group find a storeroom filled with confidential files, a broken laptop and a letter claiming Hope's Peak Academy had been temporarily shut down. Monokuma also promises to reveal everyone's personal secrets unless someone is killed within the next 24 hours. The next day Chihiro is discovered in the girl's changing room, hung up with the words "Bloodbath Fever" written in blood on the wall. Given the similarities of the murder to the work of Genocider Sho - a serial killer who crucified victims in a similar fashion, Byakuya hypothesizes the infamous killer is among them.
#05 Not Normal Arc: Weekly Shonen Despair Magazine
At the start of the trial, Byakuya claims Touko has dissociative identity disorder, her other personality being Genocider Sho. Touko freely admits to being the serial killer, but denies killing Chihiro because she only goes after guys and only does the deed using scissors which doesn't align with the blunt force trauma Chihiro sustained. Suspicion then falls onto Byakuya who both knew about Genocider Sho's methods and spent time in the library where the extension cord used to tie-up Chihiro was sourced. Byakuya does not refute their reasoning.
Makoto suggests Chihiro was killed in the boys room and then moved to the girls room, noting how the gender-specific posters and stained carpet from the girls room had been swapped. Monokuma confirms that Chihiro was a cross-dresser and did not have access to the girls room. Kyoko recalls finding the deceased students handbooks in the foyer, reasoning that anyone could have used them to gain access to the gender-specific rooms. Leon's notebook was broken, however, so the killer had to have been male in order to enter both rooms.
Celestia testifies to having seen Chihiro carrying a sports bag and jersey the night before, which Mondo accidentally refers to as being "blue" despite no one mentioning a color. When called out on his blunder, Mondo admits to being the killer. When Monokuma threatened to reveal everyone's secrets, Chihiro decided to work out more to build muscle and asked Mondo to be his mentor. Mondo, who had accidentally killed his brother and kept it a secret to hold his biker gang together, grew jealous of Chihiro. He saw Chihiro as the "better man" and in a fit of rage beat Chihiro with a dumbbell. As punishment, Mondo is spun around in a motorcycle death cage until liquefied into (literal) butter.
#06 (Not) Normal Arc: Return of the New Century Galaxy Legend! O Armored Hero, Stand upon the Earth!
Monokuma offers 10 billion yen as incentive to kill but no one seems to take the bait. Access is granted to the third floor containing a rec room, an art room, and a physics lab. While exploring the group discover a laptop that belonged to Chihiro in the bath locker room - the only room without security cameras. The laptop contains an A.I. program called Alter Ego who offers to decrypt some files left on the laptop. Alter Ego also reveals a photograph of Leon, Chihiro, and Mondo hanging out together that could not have been taken during the time they've known each other. Following some unhealthy interest from Kiyotaka and Hifumi in Alter Ego, Kyoko is forced to take precautions to ensure the laptop remains hidden from Monokuma. However, the laptop goes missing, leading Byakuya to suspect there is a mole in their midst.
When half of the group fails to show at the morning meetup the next day, Makoto, Kyoko, Aoi, and Sakura go looking for them. Celestia is found unconscious in the game room and an injured Hifumi is located in the library, both claiming to have been attacked by someone in a robot costume. The gang splits up to search for the perpetrator. Makoto, Aoi, and Celestia check the infirmary where they find Hifumi lying in a pool of blood. At the same time Sakura, Byakuya, and Touko discover Kiyotaka's body in the storage room of the physics lab. The two bodies later go missing, but are rediscovered in the art supply room, with Hifumi having seemingly come back to life. He says he may have met everyone once before and mentions a "Yasuhiro" before passing away.
#07 Not Normal Arc: Return of the New Century Galaxy Legend! O Armored Hero, Stand upon the Earth!
Hifumi's dying words convince most of the students that the culprit is the fortune teller assisted by Kyoko. They find Kyoko in the pool room alongside Yasuhiro in the robot costume. Yasuhiro denies having anything to do with the murders, claiming he received a note that told him to come to the game room where he was knocked out. Celestia presents a box she found in Yasuhiro's room containing blueprints for the costume, but Makoto vouches for Yasuhiro's innocence. Makoto demonstrates that not only is the handwriting different, but there is no way someone in the costume would have the mobility required to move the bodies. Kyoko is also ruled out as the killer because there is no way she could move the hefty Hifumi on her own.
The possibility that Hifumi was alive the entire time and simply moved himself is put forward, evidenced by his bloody glasses having been cleaned the second time his body was discovered. A note similar to the one Yasuhiro received was also found in Kiyotaka's possession, leading the group to suspect Hifumi was an accomplice to the killer. Makoto accuses Celestia of the crime because her real name, according to her handbook, is Taeko Yasuhiro. Furthermore, she was aware of a second victim before the body had been found. Celestia accepts defeat, admitting to having stole Alter Ego in order to coerce Hifumi into killing Kiyotaka. She then offed Hifumi herself in the hopes of claiming the cash prize. For her crimes, Celestia is burned at the stake.
#08 (Not) Normal Arc: All All Apologies
The fourth floor containing a teachers lounge, chemistry lab, and locked
rooms is opened. The gang catch up with Alter Ego who reports that
Hope's Peak Academy was placed under lockdown due to some terrible
incident. He also reveals another strange photo, this time of Sayaka,
Celestia, and Hifumi together. Alter Ego also asks to be connected to
the school network, so Makoto and Kyoko set him up in a hidden room.
Monokuma
calls a meeting where he outs Sakura as his spy. Sakura does not deny
the claim, saying it was done in exchange for her dojo's safety. Aoi
becomes increasingly agitated by the mean words said about her friend
Sakura, to the point she lashes out at Byakuya. This leads to an
altercation with Byakuya's admirer/stalker Genocider Sho, and this in
turn grieves Sakura, who does not want innocent people to get hurt
because of her actions. Later that same day, Makoto, Kyoko, and Aoi
discover Sakura dead in the rec room which had been locked from the
inside.
#09 All All Apologies II
Touko reveals she, Byakuya and Yasuhiro all received summons from Sakura calling them to the rec room. Byakuya never showed up and Touko chickened-out, choosing to hide in a locker where she witnessed Yasuhiro hit Sakura over the head with a glass bottle. Like Yasuhiro, Touko was also afraid of what Sakura might do to them and hit her over the head with a glass bottle as well. However, the place where Sakura was attacked and where she died do not match up. Byakuya suggests she was poisoned, presenting a bottle whose contents have been replaced with protein shake. The contents of a container had also been spilled in the chemistry lab and sneaker prints left by the poisoner. The only person in the room with sneakers, Aoi, then admits to killing her friend. Makoto calls out Aoi's lies, noting how the door was locked from the inside, so only Sakura could've locked it. Glass from the broken door window was also found inside the poison bottle and underneath Sakura's cup, meaning the poison bottle was removed from the room after Sakura's death and the cup was planted. The sneaker prints in the dust turn out to be Sakura's. All the evidence points to suicide.
Aoi reveals she had purposely tried to steer the trial towards a wrongful verdict because a suicide note left by Sakura implied she was suffering and Aoi believed everyone deserved to die for it. Monokuma then reveals the note is a fake he made. The real suicide note states she took her own life to save her dojo and that she wishes for everyone else to make it out of the academy alive. Without a student to punish, Monokuma brings out a special victim - Alter Ego, whom he caught snooping. Later that night, Kyoko warns Makoto about a mysterious sixteenth student: Mukuro Ikusaba (Despair).
#10 (Not) Normal Arc: The Junk Food of Despair for Racing through Youth
The fifth and final floor, containing a botanical garden and a classroom
splattered with blood is opened for exploration. Byakuya questions
Kyoko about her identity, but doesn't buy her amnesia story and
confiscates her room key. Makoto is also given custody of a large
survival knife that neither Touko nor Yasuhiro is deemed responsible
enough to possess after the incident with Sakura. Before her death,
Sakura had helped Kyoko obtain a mysterious key to Monokuma's office,
and Makoto distracts Monokuma long enough for Kyoko to investigate. The
next morning, Makoto discovers the survival knife has gone missing and
recalls a strange dream he had last night of a masked person in his
room. Makoto finds the others in the gym disassembling an inert Monokuma
unit.
With Monokuma out of commission the group seizes the opportunity to break into the headmaster's office to look for answers and while fetching a tool to break down the door discover a corpse in the botanical garden. The body resembles the masked person Makoto saw, but before anyone can identify the victim a bomb goes off rending the body unidentifiable. They find a key to the data processing room on the body, and upon entering the room, discover they have been broadcast live to the outside world.
#11 Not Normal Arc: The Junk Food of Despair for Racing through Youth
A trial is held for the garden corpse believed to be the mysterious sixteenth student, Mukuro Ikusaba. Byakuya accuses Kyoko who lacks an alibi and in response she accuses Makoto, who also has no alibi. Byakuya claims the knife wound on the body is a red-herring and the real cause of death was a blow to the back of the head inflicted with steel-tipped arrows found in the dojo locker. The key to which was found in Kyoko's room. Kyoko insists she couldn't enter her room because Byakuya took her key away. Makoto instantly realizes this isn't true because Kyoko stole the master key from Monokuma that can open any door, but he decides to keep that information to himself. Kyoko then accuses Makoto of planting the dojo locker key in her room. Monokuma declares an abrupt end to the trial and Makoto is voted guilty.
Before Makoto can be killed, a virus left behind by Alter Ego stops the crusher, allowing Makoto to fall safely into a garbage dump. Kyoko rescues Makoto a short while later and explains how the mastermind had originally intended for him to be the victim, hence his strange dream. The mastermind would have then framed Kyoko for the murder. Back inside the academy, Makoto and Kyoko confront Monokuma and propose an all-or-nothing class trial where they'll not only need to solve Mukuro's murder but also unravel all of Hope's Peak Academy's secrets.
#12 The Reason Super High School Level Bad Luck Attracted Super High School Level Murder, Super High School Level Execution and Super High School Level Despair
In the spirit of fairness, access is granted to all previously locked rooms. In a secret room of the headmaster's lodge the remains of Kyoko's father (the former headmaster) are discovered. Evidence suggesting everyone had attended the academy back when it was still a school is discovered, along with two 'Despair' students. Everyone also receives a group photograph from Monokuma that includes the entire class except for the photo's recipient. This leads the group to conclude they have amnesia.
Makoto points out that there have been ten murders but only nine bodies are in the morgue (formally the biology lab). The body found in the garden had wounds similar to those sustained by Junko, leading everyone to conclude Monokuma "recycled" her corpse. Makoto also successfully deduces (thanks to a tattoo) that the person they've known as Junko has actually been Mukuro Ikusaba (a soldier). She swapped places with the real Junko Enoshima - her twin-sister and the mastermind behind the game.
#13 Goodbye, Despair High School
Junko reveals that the entire class spent two full years together at the
academy until the "tragedy" hit the world a year ago and it was
converted into a shelter. Footage showing the outside world in ruins is
confirmed to be genuine by Genocider Sho, whose memories are kept
separate from Touko's. The gates and barriers in the school were the
handiwork of the class after the tragedy hit. All Junko had to do was
kill the previous headmaster and erase everyone's memories. According to
Junko Enoshima, her sister didn't have the mindset to be the
game-master and her acting wasn't much better, so Mukuro had to be
killed off to preserve the show.
A final vote is held between "hope" and "despair"; if everyone votes for hope, they may leave the academy. But should even one student vote in favor of despair, Makoto will be sacrificed and the rest of the students will live out the remainder of their days at the academy. Makoto uses his 'verbal bullets' to inspire everyone to the side of hope. Junko revels in defeat before subjecting herself to every punishment used prior and the remaining students are allowed to venture out into an unknown world.
Final Thoughts
Danganronpa
has an eccentric style that may or may not be to your tastes. The anime
also doesn't do a very good job of fully translating Danganronpa, but I
don't see how they could have feasibly condensed a 30 hour game into a 6
hour show. The end result is entire chapters of the game being
condensed into minutes of screen time. The pacing is rushed, 'free time'
is cut-out entirely, and evidence collection is summed up in a montage.
Major revelations are unveiled so casually that they don't carry the
impact they should, and because the characters never have to stop and
think about their situation the viewer doesn't have to think about it
either.
As someone who played the games casually before deciding
they just weren't for me, a lot of the issues I have with the anime
adaptation and it's story are also present in the video games. Chief
among them is how difficult it can be to get attached to any of the
students because the entire premise of the game/anime hinges on the
character's deaths. They're all basically stereotypes anyway, with the
show even summing up their personalities in a single word: idol, diva,
baseball, etc. Most of these traits are never relevant to the story
either; Yasuhiro for example, never did anything related to
fortune-telling. Then you have characters like Kyoko and Byakuya who
basically carry the trials themselves and everyone else is just
background clutter. I don't dislike the anime, though. It acts as a good
refresher or an abridged version of the first game that hits all the
major plot points. You'll still need to play the game if you want the
full experience, but if you're unsure about the games, the anime should
give you some idea if the series is for you.
Have you seen Danganronpa The Animation? What were your thoughts on the anime? If you haven't seen it, do you plan to?
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