Dangan Ronpa: The Animation - July 4th release!

[HumanDawn]

Wikipedia Page:

Danganronpa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Video Game:

Danganronpa Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei (Japanese: ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生?, lit. Danganronpa: Academy of Hope and High School Students of Despair) is a murder mystery visual novel developed and published by Spike. The game was released exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation Portable handheld video game console on November 25, 2010. The series' title, Danganronpa, is compounded from the words bullet (弾丸 dangan?) and refutation (論破 ronpa?).

Plot:

The game is set at a special, elite high school called Kibōgamine Academy (希望ヶ峰学園 Kibōgamine Gakuen?, lit. Hope's Peak Academy) which only accepts students of the highest caliber in various fields. To this effect, each student has a title in akin to "Super High School Level" (超高校級 chō-kōkō-kyū?). However every year it accepts one average high school student chosen by raffle and given the title of "Super High School Level Good-Luck". The events of the game are shown through the eyes of the protagonist Makoto Naegi, one such average student.

When Naegi arrives outside of the gates of the Academy, he loses his consciousness and wakes up inside the school. Naegi ends up meeting other newly picked Super High School Students who also ended up going unconscious outside of the school gates.

It is revealed that they are trapped inside the school for life by a sadistic toy controlled black and white bear called Monokuma. The only way to get out is by 'graduating'. In order to graduate, a student needs to commit a murder without any of the other students figuring it out. If the culprit succeeds at committing the perfect murder, then the rest of the students are sentenced to death while the culprit gets to leave the school.

A school trial is held when a murder occurs, so students can share information and debate about who is the culprit that committed the murder. They decide on who is the culprit by taking a vote. If the students pick the right suspect as the culprit, the culprit is put at a gruesome execution 'for disrupting the order of the school'.

Official Anime Website:

TVアニメ「ダンガンロンパ」公式サイト

Cast:

Spoiler

Makato Naegi

Spoiler

Height: 160cm
Weight: 52kg
Chest: 75cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Good Luck

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Spoiler

Height: 176cm
Weight: 66kg
Chest: 79cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Hall Monitor

Touko Fukawa

Spoiler

Height: 164cm
Weight: 47kg
Chest: 79cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Literary Girl

Sayaka Maizono

Spoiler

Height: 165cm
Weight: 49kg
Chest: 83cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Idol
Personal Information:
1. When they were in junior high, she saw Naegi set free a crane that got lost in the school's pool and was moved. Since then, she always wanted to get a chance to speak to him.
2. Right now, she is too busy to find a boyfriend. She doesn't like anyone in particular, but there is someone she's interested in. However, she's putting these feelings aside for now.

Leon Kuwata

Spoiler

Height: 175cm
Weight: 67kg
Chest: 80cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Baseball Player
Personal Information:
1. He hates studying, but got into high school on a sports scholarship. He doesn't like baseball and hates practicing but since he wins easily girls are into him.
2. His dream is using baseball as a stepping stone to reach the top of the world with punk as a Super High-school Level Musician, in order to get girls.
3. He noticed he actually likes baseball once he was separated from it for a short while. He decided to go back to his old high school and pursue baseball once more.

Hifumi Yamada

Spoiler

Height: 170cm
Weight: 155kg
Chest: 150cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Doujin Author

Aoi Asahina

Spoiler

Height: 160cm
Weight: 50kg
Chest: 88cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Swimmer

Chihiro Fujisaki

Spoiler

Height: 148cm
Weight: 41kg
Chest: 70cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Hacker

Kyouko Kirigiri

Spoiler

Height: 167cm
Weight: 48kg
Chest: 82cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level ???
Personal Information: She says everyone is afraid of "losing something" but she's afraid that "something that is already lost".

Junko Enoshima

Spoiler

Height: 169cm
Weight: 44kg
Chest: 80cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Fashion Girl
Personal Information:
1. Because of her lavish outside appearance, decent boys don't approach her. She wants to introduce Naegi to a carnivore-type friend of hers, as thanks for understanding her problems.
2. She was once homeless. It was a harsh environment, where one never knew when an enemy or a beast would come attacking.
3. She never strayed from her childhood dream. However, she became troubled by this, and now wants to find other things she might be good at.

Mondo Oowada

Spoiler

Height: 187cm
Weight: 76kg
Chest: 86cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Gang Leader

Sakura Oogami

Spoiler

Height: 192cm
Weight: 99kg
Chest: 130cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Wrestler
Personal Information: Her specialty is Mixed Martial Arts. She says her goal is to become the strongest person on earth, but there is still someone she was never able to beat.

Byakuya Togami

Spoiler

Height: 185cm
Weight: 68kg
Chest: 81cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Heir

Yasuhiro Hagakure

Spoiler

Height: 180cm
Weight: 71kg
Chest: 82cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Fortune Teller

Celestia Ludenberg

Spoiler

Height: 164cm
Weight: 46kg
Chest: 80cm
Specialty: Super High-school Level Gambler

Monokuma:

Spoiler

A strange teddy bear who proclaims himself to be the principal of the academy and initiates a life of mutual killing amongst the students.

Trailers:

Spoiler

First Trailer:

Spoiler

[video=youtube;TmobY-jCjy4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmobY-jCjy4[/video]

Second Trailer:

Spoiler

Dangan Ronpa: The Animation ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校 The Animation TVCM - YouTube

The first episode will air on the 4rd of July, with a sneak of the first episode coming in the 23rd of June.

For those who have read and played the game; Don't forget to spoiler spoilers!

---

I'm really looking forward to the anime, being one of the most anticipated anime to come out this summer. What do you think?

 

[FinalArcadia]

Re: Dangan Ronpa: The Animation - July 3rd release!

Already from the short trailers it looks like this will be a really good adaption of the game, and the art style looks wonderful from what has been shown!

Game-related spoilers, beware:

Spoiler

I think it’s interesting that they’re pulling a demo here and showing Hagakure as an early death, or even a death at all, but it’d be even more interesting if there really is a switch-up of culprits and victims (though that’d probably require reworking every murder, what with the character-specific quirks they had, like Leon using his baseball skills in the first one). Or at least some are changed, to leave viewers and those who are familiar with the game in suspense. Though if that happened, I’d hope that it wouldn’t just leave the fan favorites alive, because some of the fun in reading it was not being able to tell who would make it far.

To see more of some characters who didn't get much time before dying would be nice for giving viewers a better idea of their personality, since some it was like you hardly got to see anything until BAM! They're dead already, in the game.

On another note, hopefully a lot of the game music is present, since it was a really fitting soundtrack, and I'm curious to see if the executions are toned down any or possibly even made more brutal. But yeah, overall, I’m really excited for it to air, it seems like it’ll live up to expectations!

Also, I never noticed how hilarious Yamada's little feet and legs are until now. XD

 

[Hurricane Kishore]

Re: Dangan Ronpa: The Animation - July 3rd release!

I don't know !
I don't really like Anime with Character dying .
You find a interesting character with a possibility of a romance with Protagonist but the next episode , She dead.
You really can't get attach to any character because any character might die in any moment .

 

[HumanDawn]

Re: Dangan Ronpa: The Animation - July 3rd release!

Already from the short trailers it looks like this will be a really good adaption of the game, and the art style looks wonderful from what has been shown!

Yeah, it also feels very new.

Spoiler

I think it’s interesting that they’re pulling a demo here and showing Hagakure as an early death, or even a death at all, but it’d be even more interesting if there really is a switch-up of culprits and victims (though that’d probably require reworking every murder, what with the character-specific quirks they had, like Leon using his baseball skills in the first one). Or at least some are changed, to leave viewers and those who are familiar with the game in suspense. Though if that happened, I’d hope that it wouldn’t just leave the fan favorites alive, because some of the fun in reading it was not being able to tell who would make it far.

To see more of some characters who didn't get much time before dying would be nice for giving viewers a better idea of their personality, since some it was like you hardly got to see anything until BAM! They're dead already, in the game.

Spoiler

I really thought that Hagakure should have been one of the first to actually die, so seeing a mix-up of the order would be nice as it would help flesh the personalities and character of characters that really need attention. I can only imagine the surprise of viewers who haven't played the game XD. I'd love if it was a bit different to not make it too similar to the game.

On another note, hopefully a lot of the game music is present, since it was a really fitting soundtrack, and I'm curious to see if the executions are toned down any or possibly even made more brutal. But yeah, overall, I’m really excited for it to air, it seems like it’ll live up to expectations!

I love most of the tracks from the game(with New World Order being my favorite!), so seeing some remixed versions of them for the anime would be sweet.

 

[jda95]

Re: Dangan Ronpa: The Animation - July 3rd release!

I am so ridiculously excited for this it's not funny. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this'll translate into the anime medium - most likely perfectly, due to the character designs and plot fitting well for an anime. And being able to see the characters who died early and therefore barely had any voiced lines will also be great and probably make me appreciate some a little more.

The anime website updated today, and now all the characters are viewable - and it seems the first episode's airdate is actually the 4th of July.

Spoiler

I think it’s interesting that they’re pulling a demo here and showing Hagakure as an early death, or even a death at all, but it’d be even more interesting if there really is a switch-up of culprits and victims (though that’d probably require reworking every murder, what with the character-specific quirks they had, like Leon using his baseball skills in the first one). Or at least some are changed, to leave viewers and those who are familiar with the game in suspense. Though if that happened, I’d hope that it wouldn’t just leave the fan favorites alive, because some of the fun in reading it was not being able to tell who would make it far.

To see more of some characters who didn't get much time before dying would be nice for giving viewers a better idea of their personality, since some it was like you hardly got to see anything until BAM! They're dead already, in the game.

Spoiler

I really thought that Hagakure should have been one of the first to actually die, so seeing a mix-up of the order would be nice as it would help flesh the personalities and character of characters that really need attention. I can only imagine the surprise of viewers who haven't played the game XD. I'd love if it was a bit different to not make it too similar to the game.

Spoiler

They pulled the exact same trick for the game as well! In all the prerelease media, including the demo, Hagakure was the first murder victim, so I wasn't surprised to see them show him dead in the trailer. It makes the impact of the first death - a character who's been heavily built up to be your sidekick - much stronger. I don't expect the anime to make such major changes in the actual murders.

 

[HumanDawn]

Re: Dangan Ronpa: The Animation - July 3rd release!

I am so ridiculously excited for this it's not funny. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this'll translate into the anime medium - most likely perfectly, due to the character designs and plot fitting well for an anime. And being able to see the characters who died early and therefore barely had any voiced lines will also be great and probably make me appreciate some a little more.

Same here!

The anime website updated today, and now all the characters are viewable - and it seems the first episode's airdate is actually the 4th of July.

Thanks, I've updated the title accordingly. Only one more day... ;w;.

Spoiler

They pulled the exact same trick for the game as well! In all the prerelease media, including the demo, Hagakure was the first murder victim, so I wasn't surprised to see them show him dead in the trailer. It makes the impact of the first death - a character who's been heavily built up to be your sidekick - much stronger. I don't expect the anime to make such major changes in the actual murders.

Spoiler

I think I didn't word what I said well. What I meant to say was that I really thought and wanted Hagakure to be the first to die instead of Sayaka. She said she's be Naegi's assistant, basically being his sidekick, but her time was too short lived to make any actual impact, and she didn't do anything I'd say a sidekick would do. Her Free Time events even consisted of building up romance with Naegi rather than doing any actual things as an assistant. One could say that the impact is more on losing a loved childhood friend that used and lied to the main protagonist for their own personal gain, though. Had Hagakure really died first, Sayaka would have had the chance to be an actual sidekick in the game by helping out with the investigation, in the school trial and would have had the chance to make her out to be more likable.

EDIT: New images have surfaced!

Spoiler

Kirigiri looks very tsundere for Naegi in the last image. XD

 

[Likeitornot.]

Yeah, count me in, though murder mystery isn't usually to my tastes. Still, I'm addicted to the game from what I've read of it so far, and hopefully the Anime lives up to that, as well as if capable, providing more of an insight into the relationships like the Manga has done. I can't wait to see how the trials are, excuse the pun, executed, in comparison to the gameplay that goes on during them in the video game itself.

 

[HumanDawn]

Yeah, count me in, though murder mystery isn't usually to my tastes. Still, I'm addicted to the game from what I've read of it so far, and hopefully the Anime lives up to that, as well as if capable, providing more of an insight into the relationships like the Manga has done. I can't wait to see how the trials are, excuse the pun, executed, in comparison to the gameplay that goes on during them in the video game itself.

It has a bit of adventure with exploring the school, so the variety is there. I was so addicted to it I ended up staying up for long periods just reading it to get to the end. I'd like that too, and there's a certain scene I'd love to get animated . I except the trials to have a lot of action.

A preview of the ending theme for the anime has been released!:

http://chomayo.tumblr.com/post/53272154203

 

[FinalArcadia]

Now that the first episode of the anime aired today, what does everyone think of it?

I loved how it really felt and looked like the game but in animated motion, and hearing the music from the game was really nice (especially the use of New World Order)! It moved really quickly, but I think that was probably a good thing when there are six chapters + prologue to condense into 13 episodes.

Interesting to use a very similar OP for the anime as the game, with the music being the same with new character art. On one hand I sort-of hoped to see a more traditional anime OP, but the level of adherence to the game is pretty cool in its own right.

Overall, the first episode was really enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to seeing it subbed!

Spoilers for anyone who isn't through with the game/LP!:

Spoiler

It looks like the deaths are really going to be the same as the game so far, based on the fact that Maizuno was still easily the one freaking out the most. Though speeding through will probably be good in the long run, I do kind of wish there had been a tad bit more time to see her and Naegi interact, and to see more of Leon before they're gone soon. When there are less characters, hopefully more individually will get a bit more attention.

 

[jda95]

I am a little apprehensive with the pace it's going at - the prologue was covered in pretty much three minutes! But for the most part it never seemed too fast to pay attention too or understand (although those unfamiliar with the source material might not feel the same way).

The art style was great in that it fit the game perfectly (with the opening relying very closely on the original game OP) - @Froakie; was even commenting while we watched it that we were just watching the game exactly. I do hope the ending does get given a proper animation and that this episode just lacked one to avoid spoilers because I really loved the song and it seemed odd that it was so plain.

Spoiler

During the whole episode as I saw how fast paced it was I was expecting the first death to be right at the end of the episode but I feel ending with the reveal of the motives was a good point to end on. I guess we can probably expect the death in the first half of the next episode and the start of the school trial in the second half, which will be super cool to watch.

 

[Necrozma]

The first episode was rushed but that was to expected with mere 13 episodes. I'm happy that the art is pretty much that of the game but there was some sloppy animation. Overall, I liked it - though now I'm worried how the rest of the episodes will be handled.

 

[Serpentsounds]

I'm not intimately familiar with the the source material, but based on what I've seen I am looking forward to watching the rest of this. Psych horror mysteries are my favorites.

The...eccentricity of the characters was a slight turn off at first, though thus far it luckily just seems to be a method to distinguish the ensemble from itself, rather than having heavy bearing on the plot. Time will tell (for me at least, I'm sure everybody else already knows ). However, the art style seems to lend itself very well to this aspect.

The voices are pretty good, the only one that seems a bit off to me is Fujisaki Chihiro. It's annoying obvious that she is played by a male VA. Though, this might also be deliberate, so I'll hold off on that until I see more. I am delighted to see Saitou Chiwa and Sawashiro Miyuki in the cast, even if Sawashiro's character thus far seems really annoying.

 

[pokemoll]

After watching the first episode, I have to say I adored it. Though the pacing is indeed a little strange so far, with things happening so quickly, I'm sure they've just got quite a large amount to constrict into what, thirteen episodes? The animation was pretty good too, the only bother being there was one part where Naegi enters the academy that looked a bit... sloppy, I suppose! Apart from that, I love the art style, and all the characters look fantastic.

As for the opening and ending, I love the fact that the opening is so much like the original game opening. I mean, they hardly changed it at all, which I think add's to the feel of the animation, in a way. Although the ending itself was a bit bland, I'm a big fan of the song, and it fits the animation well.

Finally, voice acting. I thought the voice acting was very good, actually! The voices fit each character well, and there weren't any voices that I thought didn't fit. As for Chihiro (supposedly?) being played by a male, I didn't really notice that until it was mentioned, so I don't think that's a fault either. So far, I absolutely love it.

 

[Likeitornot.]

I also enjoyed the first episode. The parts where all the characters make their initial introductions was handled in a cool, but slightly jagged fashion. I laughed at Togami interrupting Maizono and Naegi coolly, top notch. The montage of the characters doing their bits through the days was also a pleasant, brief view on how they continued on life, and Yamada bouncing on the bed was just so hilarious and cute.

Spoiler

I really wonder, though, with Maizono and Leon. Will they take the cause of death into a different direction like the Manga did, when it made Leon's murder to be, well not his fault entirely? Or will they stick to the totally canon law of the game? Ah...

 

[Necrozma]

I have to admit, I loved this episode.

I found the pace much better and I love how they updated both the OP (though I kinda wish they stuck with the instrumental version) and ED (especially the ED, can't wait until all those empty desks are filled with students!) I also noticed how they skipped some things such as Naegi getting the golden sword for Sayaka, but I can understand why they did that as they're running short on time. Strangely, the animation quality also seemed better than it was in the previous episode. As for the investigation:

It's a shame it was so short, but I believe that they'll make up for that with trials.

So yes, it was a great second episode for Danganronpa! Kirigiri was amazign as always!

And omg, Fukawa's fainting. XDDD

 

[jda95]

I was very happy with the pace for this episode, the only bit that annoyed me was how the investigation portion literally took a minute - it'd be better if we had some explanation of all the things at the crime scene rather than just rapidly flashing them all.

The OP was.... interesting to say the least. Can't say I prefer it to the instrumental but the animation of it was great and definitely a step up from episode one's. And the ending animation was great, not exactly what I expected but it'll be interesting (and despair-inducing) to watch the number of characters grow as the series goes on.

I've got high hopes for the next episode. The class trials are the highlight of the series so unless they manage to fuck it up beyond my imagination I'm expecting something awesome.

 

[Necrozma]

@jda95;

I read somewhere that on a radio show the producers of this adaptation said that they were gonna put most focus on the trials. I'm not sure whether it's true or not, but I have high hopes about them handling this right.

 

[Serpentsounds]

So far this isn't disappointing me in the least. I'm really looking forward to the next part, where I expect everybody tries to get inside each other's heads, and of course solve a good ol' mystery! Hot pink blood still bothers me every time I see it, but there's not much to be done about that lol. I also really enjoyed the composition for the new ending theme.

 

[Almonds]

I had a bad feeling after watching the first episode because I thought this might turn out to be another crazy anime like Mirai Nikki where the stupid boy wins out of sheer luck and everyone around him dies because someone else killed them for him.

But lol... I was taken by surprise after the second episode. It's clearly handled differently from all the other survival games/anime. The trial seems to be really interesting. I'm looking forward to the next episode - I'm glad I gave it a try

 

[HumanDawn]

I'm pretty satisfied with how well things are going in the show. It's incredibly faithful to the game, most of the music is intact, the voice acting is top notch, the character development is good enough, the animation is solid, and both the OP and ED are pretty cool. The characters could be spiced up to make them seem less flat though. Free Time events provided plenty of details about the characters that made them more interesting to see in the game with more depth. The class trial in the newest episode was action packed just like in the games. It took an hour in the game for the case to be solved, but only 20 minutes in the show, managing to put in all the important details while still retaining some of the funny conversations. I think the investigation could have been given more time, but I don't really mind because I did find the investigation segment of the case to be dragged on, especially with the obvious clue in sight. I've only really started liking Dangan Ronpa once the second chapter started, so hopefully the show picks up and becomes more likeable with what's to come.