Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation

Makoto Naegi, a teenager with no remarkable talent, is surprised to learn that he has been accepted into Hope's Peak Private Academy: an elite school that gathers the best students from various fields. Despite believing his admission was just a fluke, Naegi is delighted to attend an institution known for ensuring success to those who graduate. Determined, he enters the front doors of the prestigious academy.

However, after losing consciousness inside, Naegi wakes up in a seemingly abandoned classroom. Failing to comprehend how he got there, Naegi begins to explore, and to his surprise, finds his classmates assembled in the gym. While everyone is trying to figure out what happened, they are confronted by the school principal—Monokuma, a robotic teddy bear. The mysterious toy explains that the freshmen are trapped inside the school with only one means of escape—kill a classmate without being discovered.

Tension fills the air as Naegi and his classmates realize that they are faced with two choices: participate in Monokuma's killing game, or reside together in the school for the rest of their lives.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kirigiri, Kyouko Main

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Monokuma Main

Ooyama, Nobuyo Japanese

Naegi, Makoto Main

Ogata, Megumi Japanese

Enoshima, Junko Supporting

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Ludenberg, Celestia Supporting

Shiina, Hekiru Japanese

Fukawa, Touko Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Togami, Byakuya Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Fujisaki, Chihiro Supporting

Miyata, Kouki Japanese

Ishimaru, Kiyotaka Supporting

Toriumi, Kousuke Japanese

Asahina, Aoi Supporting

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Maeda, Toshihiro Producer

Fukura, Kei Producer

Kishi, Seiji Director

Reviews

Jan 1, 2024

TheKingSome

Recommended

Having started this immediately after beating the game, my expectations had already been set and, to be honest, they weren't very high. I thought that there was no way a measly 13 episodes was going to be able to adapt the story of Danganronpa's first game in a satisfying way. While not entirely true, my expectations were mostly met. The way they handled the investigations and free time was baffling to say the least.

For most of the first half, all of the character interactions and evidence gathering are squished into quick 1 minute montages. Lots of characters got shafted in favor of moving the ... story along so it was hard to get that attached to the ones that die early on. Granted there's more time to breathe in the second half when there's less characters to worry about, and it was actually considerably enjoyable compared to the first, I can't say I'm not disappointed about how we got there.

Overall, I was pleased and it wasn't a letdown because it was about what I expected. The game is much more worthy of your time if your one of those people who's deciding between which one to pursue, although I recommend immersing yourself in both because there's always a novelty in watching how something you've previously enjoyed gets adapted into a new medium, regardless of quality.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 26, 2023

williamo17

Mixed Feelings

It’s a fine adaptation. After completing the games and giving it some time in between I found myself missing this cast of characters and ended up watching this to fill the void. I watched the dub, because I played the game in English and was disappointed to find that the voice actors didn’t return (For the most part - Makoto sounds identical). It’s not distractingly bad but some characters like Hiro or Monokuma are absolutely butchered. I feel like the game had a crucial advantage over this anime as well and that would be pacing. Every character in Danganronpa is a trope taken to the ... highest level it can go and I feel like the anime doesn’t spend enough time with every character for that level to ever really be achieved. I love Hina, she’s my favorite in the game and now in this anime as well. She’s a pretty generic character though and she’s hard to get wrong. The animation is pretty good for what it is. I wish they re-animated the executions instead of just using the game cutscenes. They don’t look bad but it’s the most memorable part of the series so it would’ve been nice to be reanimated. Overall, if you love Danganronpa, there is something here for you. It’s worth giving a weekend to if you miss these characters.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 12, 2024

Celiac112

Not Recommended

Coming in never having played the game, this was rushed, and full of things that are pulled from nowhere.

Admittedly, maybe if I had played the game it would have made more sense, but they don't bill it as something you need to have played the game to understand. I did not really care about any of the characters, and the things that happen are not the sorts of things you can even remotely guess on your own. The twists and turns feel like they are unearned, and all of the worst mystery tropes are on display here.

The first 3 episodes are ok, but then it ... just completely went off the rails, and the last episode is not great, and full of stuff that makes absolutely no sense. The only reason I finished the show was so I could check it off.

Dialogue is full of lines that sound like they are supposed to be meaningful but when you actually look at them in context they do not work.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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