Danganronpa the Animation – 01

Its Jonny! Reviewing anime? Well... Reviewing Monster Hunter is taking longer than I thought, so I decided to try something a bit different. So here I am, posting a review for the first episode of the new anime series, Danganronpa. Before I start, I just want to note I am kind of inexperienced, so I will evolve my review formula as the series goes on and I gain more experience. Danganronpa is an anime based on a PSP game of the same name that was released a few years ago, exclusively in Japan, so anyway, let's start the review.

So, the show has a strange start. A teddy bear, half white, half black, stands in front of a capsule with a menacing look. There is a man in the capsule, with a blindfold. The capsule then locks up. Its sent up into space... Then falls back down. The capsule re-opens and he's... dead. I can't say I know whats going on, but it seems like its the desired affect.

I spy with my little eye, I see a pedobear...

So we join our protagonist, Makoto. Because he wins a raffle, he is accepted into a high school which brings together the top students in various fields and aims to assist them in growing, called "Hope's Peak Academy".  There is one issue though - Makoto is just a normal teenager (a lucky one at that). He continues to set foot on the school grounds, but as soon as he does this, he blacks out.

First Day at School: About to go horribly wrong

He wakes up in an empty classroom, with mysterious metal plating on the wall. Soon after, he discovers that there is an opening ceremony, so he heads to that. This is where he meets the other 14 characters. If anything, there is a healthy amount of character variety here, which is never a bad thing. Something that is impossible not to notice is the characters' eyes. There isn't really any detail in the character's eyes - they just seem like coloured circles surrounded by white. I understand that this show has its own unique art style, but I can't help noticing it. The characters include Hagakure the spiky haired "shaman", Yamada the fat fanzine maker, Ishimaru the prefect, Enoshima the model (she definitely lives up to her name, *cough), Fujisaki the programmer, Ludenberch the gambler (and holy shit, does she look scary), Ohwada the outlaw biker (with the absurd hair), Kuwata the baseballer, Asahina the swimmer, Ohgami the fighter (holy balls he's hench), Fukawa the bookworm (there's definitely a constrast between her and Enoshima), Togami the scion (basically the rich twat), Kirigiri the ??? (that's what it actually says in the show), and finally Maizono, who seems to be Makoto's childhood friend, who is the idol.

So... these are the fellow students, and we have quite a range

Maizono has a short discussion with Makoto, before being interrupted by our resident rich twat, I meant Togami, who accuses them of flirting. Some words are exchanged between the characters, and upon discovering their cell phones are missing, a voice from nearby speakers announces that the entrance ceremony is beginning, and guess what? The sinister teddy bear from the (weird) beginning scene is here! (By the way, he's called Monobear, and he's the principal of the school.) He also makes effort to emphasise he he's not a stuffed toy. It is then the 15 students find out that they will be living with each other in the confines of the school, and there is no way out. But - they will be trapped forever. Just another twist - the only way to leave is if you kill one of the other students. I don't know about you, but this has some vague similarities to Virtue's Last Reward. Ohwada tries to attack Monobear, but he self destructs, Ohwada throwing him away just in time. Then, Monobear simply respawns. He then announces that anyone who breaks the school rules will be "punished", as he retracts his claws. Okay.

Erm, is that a bellybutton, or an...

I have to say that apart from the weird eyes, I really like the art style and the animation so far has been proved to be good quality. Anyway, it is then we are greeted to the opening, which isn't really special, to say the least. It just shows off the 15 characters with some decent music in the background.

A few lines of dialogue are exchanged, and a few of the characters look for extra information and weaknesses in the walls, but they don't get anything from it. Togami announces himself as a lone wolf, as he doesn't feel he can trust anyone. (Virtue's Last Reward again, anyone?).He is already confronted by Ohwada, and when Makoto tries to intervene, he gets a falcon punch.

I'll kill you so hard you'll die to death

Makoto wakes up to see Maizono, who had taken him to his room. They have a short discussion, and Maizuna says she's an esper (VIRTUE'S LAST REWARD OH MY GOD). Oh wait, she was joking. She goes on about how a shes happy to see a familiar face at this complex and other things. Makoto and Maizuna then team up.

Dat eye contact

They then meet with the rest of the cast and start their first meeting. In this meeting, the characters go through possible escape routes and other important facts, but in the end they don't really get much out of it and Ludenberch comes to the conclusion that the characters have been trapped in a "cage without a door". Ludenberch says some intelligent things (I'm starting to get used to her look now...) and suggests that during the night, no one should be allowed to roam around the facility, so the characters are safer. It then blacks out and skips to day 3, and obviously the characters still haven't found an exit yet (c'mon, its only episode 1...).

Goth Loli Yandere Killer detected

Monobear, our best friend, appears again and attempts to tempt the characters to resort to murder for a quicker escape. They still do not give in. He then points them towards the "AV Room", and tells them there is a present waiting for them. Makoto (and presumably all the others) are shown a video of their family saying how proud they are that they have gone to this academy, and then cuts to the same room, but destroyed and empty.This drives everyone a little crazy (on the lines of "Emergherd, I have to get outta here", which is probably part of Monobear's plans to tempt them to kill). Monobear makes a short, evil speech, Maizuns cries, and Makoto says he'd get her out no matter what. Then the episode ends. I've got to say, I am excited for the next episode.

Warning - Sexual encounter inbound...

Danganronpa has proved to be fairly solid so far. The concept is interesting, and I'm looking forward to some really tense moments later on in the series. I have high hopes, and I would recommend you go and check out the first episode now. Unlimited Translation Works (UTW) have a sub of it up now, so go on their  website and download it. That's the end of this review. Come back next week for a review of episode 2.

I recommend this