Danganronpa, from video game to anime

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For an anime to get the light to see its production, it must generally prove to have been a success in another format, which guarantees at least the interest of the public that was part of its other presentation. The most common cases are manga, where most anime come from, but they can also come from light novels and sometimes they are original productions, but in this opportunity, we will review an anime that has a not very common origin and although it is not something far-fetched, it shows that any format is an act to become animation. That is why Danganronpa is the protagonist of this article.

Get to know the plot of Danganronpa

Dangaronpa tells the story of a group of high school students who enter the Kibougamine academy, also known as "the academy of hope". However, the group, which is composed of 15 students, will encounter a mechanical bear named Monokuma, which has a very peculiar design, one half of its body is white, while the other half is black.

At first, this bear introduces himself as "the principal" and gives them the guidelines of what they must do in order to graduate from that school and as expected, it is not a normal high school, since in order to get out of there, they must murder another classmate.

However, there are rules that must be followed and complied with to the letter. To begin with, the body must have been discovered by at least 3 other students and after that, the crime will be announced publicly, so the other students will know that someone was murdered.

This will start the investigations in which every incident counts and, after a certain period of time, a trial will begin in which all the members of the academy will participate, including the mechanical bear. The dynamic is as follows:

"During the trial, they must find out who committed the crime and prove that it was really that person, but in case they fail, all students will be executed except for the murderer and the latter will graduate and leave the academy, but if discovered, he will be executed and everyone will return to their lives until another user decides to kill someone else".

With the above it is clear that there are 2 ways to graduate, the first of these, murdering someone and not being discovered and the second, discovering all the murderers until only 2 students are left and these will be rewarded with their graduation.

And it is here where the protagonist of this plot, Makoto Naegi, a boy who will be dedicated to solve the murders based on research and common sense, but at the same time, he will have the support of other characters that will help him to find the key clues. 

This story takes as its main axis the theme of a killing game, a genre that has gained a lot of popularity and although it does not figure in the top, it has proven to have its own spark, being one of the best references, this enigmatic, but energetic work. 

How many seasons and episodes does Danganronpa have?

Danganronpa has a total of 3 seasons, being the first of these, Danganronpa The Animation and has 13 episodes who were encouraged by the studio Lerche, premiering for the July 5, 2013. It is currently available at Crunchyroll.

The second season is called Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc and was once again animated by the Lerche studio, with the participation of 11 episodes and presents a completely original story that has never been seen before, but takes as its basis the main characters Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It was released on July 14, 2016.

The third and so far, the last season, is called Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc and is a direct sequel to the previous one, with Makoto Naegi as the main character. It has 12 episodes and was animated by the studio Lerche.

In total, Danganronpa consists of 36 episodes distributed in 3 seasons, but fortunately, these are not the only animated formats that are available, as there are also OVAs and specials.

OVAs and specials

Apart from the seasons, this anime also has an OVA, which is titled. Super Danganronpa 2.5: Komaeda Nagito to Sekai no Hakaimono which further explores the character of Nagito Komaeda. It was released on January 12, 2017.

The following is about Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Hope Arc and is a special episode that gives definitive closure to the plot of the second and third seasons, fully revealing what it was all about. It was released on September 29, 2016.

Lastly, we have Danganronpa 3: Monokuma Gekijou, 3 specials animated by the studio Lerche were released on October 27, 2016 and it is a compendium of parodies based on the characters of the second and third seasons.

Who are the creators of Danganronpa?

As we mentioned at the beginning, Danganronpa, is an anime that is neither based on a manga nor a light novel, nor is it an original project, and instead comes from a video game of the same name that was developed by the studio Spike Chunsoft, which has a visual novel theme.

This video game is available on the following platforms/consoles: PC, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch. It has a total of 4 deliveries, as follows:

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
• Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Danganronpa, an anime inspired by a video game

Undoubtedly, Danganronpa, is an anime with a very peculiar air and this is due to the fact that it recreates in an exceptional way the environment that is lived in the video games, so from now on, we know that we are facing a very faithful adaptation in every sense.

Its plot, despite being based on what is known as a killing game, is still striking, as it presents us with characters that border on the absurd due to their physical proportions, their hairstyles and their motivations. As for the soundtrack, we again find the same soundtrack of the video game and therefore, it is another point in its favor.

In conclusion, we are facing an anime that is completely worthwhile, especially for those users who are fans of mystery and it is not for less, since that is the central axis of this work.