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Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukou
Sypnosis:
A group of 15 elite high school students are gathered at a very special, high class high school. To graduate from this high school essentially means you'll succeed in life, but graduating is very difficult. The school is presided over by a bear called Monokuma, and he explains to them that their graduation hinges around committing a murder. The only way to graduate is to kill one of your classmates and get away with it. If the other classmates discover the identity of the killer, the killer is the only one executed. However, if they fail to catch the killer, only the killer graduates and the others are annihilated. Which of the 15 will survive the bloodbath to come?
Number of Episodes: 13
Status: Finished (Ongoing if expecting OVA)
Genres: Action, Horror, Mystery, Psychological
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Spoilers Ahead!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are pictures from the 1st episode only.
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Poor Guy O_O
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First thought: What the fuck is up with that toy?
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From the intro, we can already see that this anime is a bit wacky but ultimately dark. This bear isn’t fooling around. Ohhhh no. I could go on about how our main male protagonist, Naegi Makoto steps over the threshold into darkness which symbolizes how he’s descended, but then that’d remind me too much of English class. Even the first step he took made all this happen. Well, this isn’t going to look to pretty is it?
INTRODUCING THE CHARACTERS!
Super Duper Highschool Shaman
Super Duper Highschool Prefect
Super Duper Highschool Model
Super Duper Highschool Gambler
(And my favorite Girl)
Super Duper Highschool Outlaw Biker
Speciality
Super Duper Highschool Fighter
Yes...she's a girl
Super Duper Highschool Bookworm
Super Duper Highschool Scion
Super Duper Highschool ????
(aka The Mysterious Girl)
Super Duper Highschool Idol
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So, we have 15 super duper awesome people in this school. Each of them has their own quirks and abilities that got them into the school in the first place. I’ll highlight some points I think to be noteworthy throughout whether in these paragraph sections or in the captions. The first thing that stands out to me is how the various people act towards each other. For example, when Naegi enters the place, there are people who talk to him, and people who just stay silent. As no one really understands the situation or knows anything that’s going to happen next, this distance that they stay from Naegi is an indicator of their personalities currently. However, as the situation changes, and we notice fluctuations in personalities, we may be able to guess at who is thinking of actually committing a crime. Now here’s where things get interesting.
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This Monokuma, or Monobear really exhibits a screwed up personality. At first, it’s just all wacky and introducing himself, being quirky and so on, but it gets dark quickly and the idea that them killing each other is enticing to him is just creepy. The split in personality of sometimes normal and other times brutal is reflected in its character design. But at this point, who would take what it’s saying seriously? I mean, it’s just a school right? Of course, we know it’s not, but we have to look at it in the perspective of the students. To them, it’s just a weird situation and nothing more. Sounds like a bad joke right? Well, there’s got to be someone who is a little bit skeptical.
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Byakuya Togami is the first to diverge from the group. While he’s logical, and collected, his personality emits an arrogant vibe. The fact that he wants to go alone is no surprise. After all, not knowing everyone here and going with someone to investigate is quite risky. So while it’s a necessary precaution, it does unsettle the rest of the group because others begin to realize the fact that someone may be plotting to kill. It’s the uncertainty that will keep each other at bay. Sure, it may not be that bad right now, but as everything progresses and patience wears thin in this school, things are going to happen one after the other and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop the one who wants to get out. Chaos will bring more chaos and things will get crazy pretty quickly.
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Already, problems start arising with the first trigger that is the fact that to get out you have to kill someone. While it’s not quite paranoia, precautions are put into place, and since none of these are rules that must be followed, a sense of foreboding spreads throughout the group. Celestia Ludenberg is the one who proposes a sound proposition, but the fact that she proposes this does not mean she is not thinking of killing someone herself. In fact, by making this rule, if she were to kill someone, it’d be a lot easier for her to move around because others would be following the rule. Perhaps, she’d let a few days pass with this rule and do nothing to create a sense of peace. Then, she’d execute her plans. At this point, however, it’s still too much of a joke. Even if someone wanted to kill another, it’d be far too risky and with no apparent rewards.
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KUMMMAAAAAAAAA!!! Not nearly as awesome as the Persona 4 one. This one is just a sadistic piece of crap.
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With this being the first episode, we don’t have many hints. However, what we can note a few things from what we’ve seen so far. Firstly, there are three people who hold a calm demeanor throughout. Those people are, Kirigiri Kyouko, Celestia Ludenberg, and Byakuya Togami. While they may have been dangerous before, with the various videos shown to the others, they may not be the most dangerous as the others are extremely erratic. I can certainly try to guess, but I think I’ll leave that for the next episode with some more hints or I’ll just be taking shots in the dark. However, once the first person dies, we can expect to see a lot of hints that will arise from the various interactions. Well, once the first person dies, I’m just expecting a lot of confusion, chaos, suspecting of others that will lead to separation of groups, alliances, betrayals, fight over resources, and desertion of morals.
