Danganronpa is a very popular Visual Novel mixed with puzzle and adventure.
Because it was so popular, they thought they'd make an anime, so that you could watch Makoto solve the mysteries on your TV screen.
Today I am going to review Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation, one of my most favorite game series and anime.
Story: 9/10
The story follows Makoto Naegi, who gets chosen to attend the elite High School, Hopes Peak Academy, where only the people, who are the best in their field, for example cooking or swimming, are taken. But all takes a turn to the bad, because the students have to kill each other to get outside. The story is very interesting and makes you want to know what's the purpose of the game.
The only problem I can see in the story, is that it is too rushed. You don't get to see much of the investigations and there is not much character development, but I'll get to that later. But overall, I really enjoyed the story and how it turned out.
Art: 10/10
I really enjoyed the art. I have never seen an anime drawn like this.
It had a very colorful style and the way they handled the blood was also really cool. I liked how they handled the class trial. they made it look a little like the game.
Sound: 10/10
This must be one of my most favorite soundtracks. It fits perfectly to the story and characters and gives you a mysterious feeling.
The opening was OK, but I wouldn't want to listen to it again. It didn't fit very good to the theme the story was giving us.
The ending however, was extremely good and one of my most favorite ending songs. It fit perfectly to the story and gave you the feeling of wanting more.
Characters: 8/10
I think the biggest problem with this series are the characters. Not because their annoying or stupid or have no purpose, it's because they have no time to develop. In each episode (except episode 1 and a few others), they solve a crime where one or more characters are killed, leaving no time for plot development of the students in the episodes. But overall, the characters were very enjoyable to watch.
Enjoyment: 10/10
I literally couldn't stop watching this series. It got me hooked, even if I knew already how it ended.
Overall: 10/10
It wasn't as good as the game, but it was enough to get me hooked. I really enjoyed it.
For more recommendations, I point to:
-Akuma no Riddle, having the same theme, only that 12 killers are trying to kill one victim.
-Mirai Nikki, having a survival theme, but with more brutality.
-Another, going more in the horror genre, but has a small theme of survival.
-Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, more in the horror/gore genre, but goes into the survival theme in some arcs.
-Corpse Party, has a survival theme, but with much more gore/splatter.
Thanks for taking your time and reading my review. ;)
