Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei - The Animation

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by Talon87

Episode 05:

Spoiler: show

On the one hand, I was pleased with this episode. On the other, I was displeased.

Why displeased? I was displeased with the fact that it was pretty much impossible to solve the mystery before watching the episode. I did correctly call that Touko was Genocider Syo ... but Lerche spoonfed us that in Episode 04. And I was able to correctly call that Togami seemed to be involved yet was probably not the killer ... but again, Lerche made this very easy to predict by making it too obvious that Togami could have been the killer and thus making us, as analytical viewers of a work of fiction rather than people finding themselves in this situation in real life, call into question whether he really did it. But what I wasn't able to correctly answer was the question, "If not Touko and if not Togami, then who? "

I'm not upset that it wasn't Aoi. My case for Aoi was, after all, admittedly pretty weak. I'm upset that it was Mondo in spite of the fact that we didn't have any evidence connecting him to the murder whatsoever. What little interaction Mondo and Chihiro were shown to have suggested that Mondo liked Chihiro and wanted to defend him; while in hindsight you could say that this was the clue that enabled one to predict that Mondo would have hung out with Chihiro, at the time such a theory would've been crackpot at best. Likewise, Doppel did observe that Mondo wore his entire set of clothes into the sauna ... but even that wouldn't be enough for most of us to conclude "AHA! AND SO I BET MONDO'S NOTEPASS BROKE! :O I BET THE ONE KYOUKO FOUND WAS MONDO'S!" C'mon, Dangan Ronpa. C'mon.

A murder mystery isn't really fun when you have absolutely no chance at identifying who did it before the author reveals it to you. This is one reason I was never much of a fan as a child of most of Agatha Christie's writing. The few books of hers I did enjoy (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express) are each famous for their genre-subverting elements. Even though the reader most likely doesn't have a prayer at correctly identifying who the murderer was on his first pass through, he still loves the tale because hot damn, that revelation! But Christie's other works -- which retain her penchant for largely unsolvable mysteries but drop her greater works' gift of twists so famous they're passed on for generations -- did little more than to bore and frustrate me as a boy. It is in this sense that I am disappointed with Dangan Ronpa's second case -- how can I get excited when I had absolutely no shot at winning?

Why pleased? I enjoy a good surprise. Who doesn't? The question then is, does Oowada Mondo being the second murderer constitute a good surprise? I'm inclined, ever so slightly, to say that it does. While I'm frustrated with the lack of available evidence prior to this episode (see above), I was at the same time:

• immensely relieved that it wasn't Touko (which was fairly obvious given the lack of scissors and such at the crime scene)
• immensely relieved that it wasn't Togami (which likewise was fairly obvious given that he would have had to have epically fucked up replicating a Genocider Syo crime scene had it really been him)
• pleased by Dangan Ronpa's subversion of a genre trope that I had been leaning on too heavily

What was that genre trope, you ask? Why, the stereotypical "biker/mafia guy with a heart of gold" character. We see this character so, so often in anime. There's something about him which is just irresistible to writers. Most recently I've seen him show up in the form of Knuckle Bine (Hunter x Hunter) not even two months ago. Very common character to see in anime and manga. So here came Mondo, and I was pretty much convinced right from the start:

1. that this character would be with us until at least the final six or seven, if not the final four or five
2. that this character would be killed by someone else rather than become a killer

Neither of those turned out to be true. The writers of Dangan Ronpa doubtless knew my (and thousands of other anime nerds') likelihood to assume such things about Mondo, and they totally exploited that for a shocking twist. Even though I feel somewhat like I was had (see above! ), I also feel like this was a pretty clever subversion. I can say with a smile, "You got me, Dangan Ronpa! You got me. " Not being able to do it with a smile would suck -- and I do worry that that'll be the case for many viewers -- but being able to do it with a smile is pretty much what any murder mystery writer should aim for.

I may offer some more specific thoughts later, but for now I think these general impressions will both suffice and sate.

I was actually incredibly happy reading that post. Happy lab rat makes me happy! I haven't seen the episode just yet (probably a different sub or something) but I know the contents already because of the LP. I'll make a proper post when I get to see the episode myself.

Been waiting for this episode since the anime started, actually.

Spoiler: show

Genocider Syo's performance in the game was awesome, so I'm curious to see how the anime makes it happen.

[Lady Kuno]

Episode thoughts

Spoiler: show

Why did they program me to feel sadness.

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by Holy Emperor

Episode thoughts

Spoiler: show

Why did they program me to feel sadness.

So much confusion from this post.

AND THAT AVATAR. WHY, KUNO, WHY?!

[Doppleganger]

Going to watch this now, then disappear until Tuesday night. Here goes. Still going with Sakura as the culprit!

[Doppleganger]

Wow, this episode was a ball-buster!

Spoiler: show

I'm pretty satisfied with the development. I picked out the three possible criminals, and lo and behold, one of the three was right! I knew the dumbbell thing from experience, so I'm glad I latched onto that all-important clue. I lost track about narrowing the suspects where the characters made the logic leap that the character had to be male, though. Still could have been female using one of the dead character's key cards, or Chihiro could have let the female character into the men's weight room with him. Until Mondo's slip, there was really no way to determine who the killer was.

This was present in the first trial, but I notice Naegi is using "logic bullets" to "kill arguments". Foreshadow of him killing students in the future?

Kirigiri's lips.

She's clearly established herself as the new heroine, taking over for Maizono. She and Naegi seem to be the only characters to figure out what's going on in the trial. I like this since while Naegi had a "natural" pairing with Maizono, this visual team work of theirs is very indicative of good chemistry. Naegi x Kirigiri = OTP!

...

Genosider Sho, huh? That's some pretty crazy tongue action. And she's a fujoshi! I wonder if she reads her other half's lurid stories...I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to "kill" Togami at some point. It's just nuts that there are killers already among the high school staff. Mondo, Fukawa confirmed. I wouldn't bet against Sakura or Kirigiri also having stained their hands, or Togami ordering someone executed for crossing his family.

...

It didn't occur to me earlier, but I think Mondo is an expy of the protagonist of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part IV, Josuke Higashikata. His personality is a tad like Josuke - Josuke's a really nice guy, like how Mondo appeared, at least until someone makes fun of his pompadour, after which he goes nuts. He's not one of those typical "I'm a man, you bastard!" types though. The name Crazy Diamond is pretty much synonymous with Josuke, and I saw that on the back of Mondo's jacket.

That said, I liked that Dangan Ronpa is taking a step forward in the character development department. It was a bit hard to relate to how much Ishimaru liked Mondo, but he was absolutely devastated seeing this happen. But Mondo, who killed his brother (not really, more like a sacrifice) ended up killing his protege out of rage at his own weakness. That's really tragic, and is far more touching than Kuwata killing Maizono out of "self defense".

Something of note-

Monobear: "You can't hog all the despair! We need despair for all of mankind!"
Sakura: "What do you mean?"
Monobear: "...there is no meaning! Stop trying to find meaning in meaningless things!"

He wouldn't bring this up if there wasn't meaning! Something I've been suspecting...look at the format of this class trial. The whole story has rules and a big confrontation, not unlike a game show. There's cameras everywhere with 24/7 surveillance. So what if it is a game show, like The Running Man, broadcast for the entertainment of the whole world outside? Monobear fits the perfect bill of a mascot/host for such a TV show. What if Kibougamine ran out of funding, and was bought by a Zetsubo Inc. corporation like Teiai, and is using the students as contestants? It's like how Btooom! ended up being, and with the fake blood perhaps the people on the outside are stupid enough to not think the murders are real. Mondo's over the top execution was just like something out of The Running Man - a huge spectacle meant to appease the blood thirsty fans.

On the ending scene

Three things I noticed

-Monobear was drinking tea, but it wasn't going into his stomach. It was just splattering all over his face. Is he alive, or a doll?
-He was talking to (presumably) one of the students in his office. That means that someone in the group is a traitor.
-The sixteenth student.

It's pretty clear to me who #16 is. It's the guy who was killed in the first episode with "The Space Journey". I have no idea why Monobear killed that guy ahead of the others, perhaps he was close to stopping this game of death before it began, but he was definitely executed ahead of the others.

I've got no idea who the traitor is. Togami seems like the natural fit, since he's nasty enough to desecrate a corpse (which horrified Mondo, the real killer!) and didn't hesitate to put his life on the line to frame Fukawa.

Alright, that's my mono-bear-logue. Let's read what the others said.

[deoxys]

Ep 5/Partially @Dopple

Spoiler: show

This was present in the first trial, but I notice Naegi is using "logic bullets" to "kill arguments". Foreshadow of him killing students in the future?

No, this is a game mechanic. In the game, students make fast paced claims and accusations during the trial and you have to shoot down a false accusation or statement as soon as it appears. I guess it was just their way of trying to incorporate an actual "game" into the visual novel. They are just keeping it in the show as a sort of homage I guess, but I think it's pretty neat!

The name Crazy Diamond is pretty much synonymous with Josuke

You're not the first one to have pointed this out, haha, though I haven't actually gotten that far in Jojo so I wouldn't know.

-Monobear was drinking tea, but it wasn't going into his stomach. It was just splattering all over his face. Is he alive, or a doll?

I thought that was funny He's also been seen eating amounts of honey several times, too (which I seriously wonder if that's supposed to be a nod to Winnie the Pooh). I couldn't tell if he was actually ingesting it or not though.



Anyway, some of my thoughts on the episode:

Was impressed at how abridged they managed to make the trial, I gotta say. But they only got away with it just by the skin of their teeth. IIRC, the trial in the game was well over an hour long by itself! As Talon addressed in his comment, I don't like how pretty much impossible the show (and the game, really) made it out to be. Which is funny, because we were all just complaining before about how stupidly easy the first trial was. Really was hoping for a good healthy in between starting at the second trial, but really the viewer or player had no chance of figuring it out.

And really the game didn't have much more evidence (if any) than the show itself showed, so it was pretty hard to figure out there, too. The only difference was that in the game you had a much longer time to analyze the scene of the crime and discuss it with other characters before the trial. I'd say the only other real difference was in the show, BAM! Oowada exposes himself horribly like that, and the rest was history... whereas the trial in game was more of a slow buildup to it continuously poking hints about him (without outright saying it) at you until he dropped the same bomb (knowing the color of the clothes), and then all of the facts you've been piecing together hit you all at once like a ton of bricks.

But yeah, I have to give credit where it's due. Unlike prior weeks, I really feel like they did a good job for having to squish that much time and energy into a 20 minute episode. And they handled Chihiro's story so well, too! The only thing that bothered me was the translation of the sub I watched. They didn't correctly translate that Chihiro crossdressed initially because he was told to "man up" and to "be a man", something he felt he didn't have the courage or strength to do. I can't remember what the sub I watched said but it was a bad translation compared to that and didn't quite get the point across as well.

And man, Oowada being turned churned into butter like that was... well, while not as brutal as Leon's baseball batting cage death... it was still pretty gruesome and fucked up when you actually consider that he was turned into friggin' butter.


Hard to believe that next week we will be just about halfway through with the season. I have to say, it's gone fast.

Also, I wanted to reaffirm my adoration for the ED. I cannot get enough of it. It's seriously probably my favorite anime ED since... hm, well, probably Psycho Pass' first ED by EGOIST. Catchy, upbeat, creepy music. ED of the year....? They're saying the full version releases August 7th. If that's the case, I can't wait!

[Talon87]

There's an easy solution to your and Copy's shitty fansub group woes: quit being so impatient and wait for UTW's release instead. They may not be God, but they're sure to be a hell of a lot better than the rush job group you've complained about now two or three times. If you can be patient enough to wait for a sub rather than watching it raw the moment the first raws come out, you can be patient enough to wait the extra hours (< 24) for UTW's sub to come out after the rush job sub comes out.

[kaisap112]

Okay, three posts to reply to! Prepare for some box action!

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Spoiler: show

Until Mondo's slip, there was really no way to determine who the killer was.

Originally Posted by deoxys

Spoiler: show

Was impressed at how abridged they managed to make the trial, I gotta say. But they only got away with it just by the skin of their teeth. IIRC, the trial in the game was well over an hour long by itself! As Talon addressed in his comment, I don't like how pretty much impossible the show (and the game, really) made it out to be. Which is funny, because we were all just complaining before about how stupidly easy the first trial was. Really was hoping for a good healthy in between starting at the second trial, but really the viewer or player had no chance of figuring it out.

And really the game didn't have much more evidence (if any) than the show itself showed, so it was pretty hard to figure out there, too. The only difference was that in the game you had a much longer time to analyze the scene of the crime and discuss it with other characters before the trial. I'd say the only other real difference was in the show, BAM! Oowada exposes himself horribly like that, and the rest was history... whereas the trial in game was more of a slow buildup to it continuously poking hints about him (without outright saying it) at you until he dropped the same bomb (knowing the color of the clothes), and then all of the facts you've been piecing together hit you all at once like a ton of bricks.

Maybe it's because of my history with Ace Attorney, but I'm not nearly as bothered by this.

Spoiler: show

Talon probably remembers this stuff better than I do, but if I recall correctly AA also features cases where you simply cannot figure out the killer before you get to the trial and get testimonies. One such case that I remember best is

Spoiler: show

AA3's final case, where the true culprit could only be deduced in the last bits of the trial.

I actually enjoy cases where it's not spelled out to you who the culprit is - or if it is, there's still work in deducing how it was done.

As for comparisons of Episode 5 with the game's version of this game: I'm only disappointed by the fact that we didn't get to see Ishimaru being the other half of a Machine Gun Talk Battle. He tries really hard to defend Mondo and we know now he didn't do it - but in the game, the last time you saw a MGTB it was with Leon who was guilty. It throws you off more or less, but I still think the episode held up despite this little thing.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Spoiler: show

This was present in the first trial, but I notice Naegi is using "logic bullets" to "kill arguments". Foreshadow of him killing students in the future?

Originally Posted by deoxys

Ep 5/Partially @Dopple

Spoiler: show

No, this is a game mechanic. In the game, students make fast paced claims and accusations during the trial and you have to shoot down a false accusation or statement as soon as it appears. I guess it was just their way of trying to incorporate an actual "game" into the visual novel. They are just keeping it in the show as a sort of homage I guess, but I think it's pretty neat!

Darn deo for beating me to it! But here's a nifty thing:

ダンガンロンパ 希望の学園と絶望の高校生

Danganronpa: Kibō no Gakuen to Zetsubō no Kōkōsei

Bullet Rebuttal: Academy of Hope and High School Students of Despair

So we have the gun-thing in the title itself - and even the official English title is apparently going to be Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. I personally don't like the official English title, by the way. But yes, the evidence bullets and shooting down arguments are a very essential mechanic and style thing in the game.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Spoiler: show

Genosider Sho, huh? That's some pretty crazy tongue action. And she's a fujoshi! I wonder if she reads her other half's lurid stories...I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to "kill" Togami at some point. It's just nuts that there are killers already among the high school staff. Mondo, Fukawa confirmed.

Spoiler: show

I personally don't count Mondo as a killer; that's more like how Mondo himself perceives what happened. Survivor's guilt is present there. Meanwhile, Syo (yes, I'm sticking to that one, it's written like that even in the game/anime!) is proud of her hobbies of regularly killing people and being a fujoshi. (I sure hope those aren't suggested to be equally "bad" things! )

And you probably meant "students", not "staff".

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Spoiler: show

It didn't occur to me earlier, but I think Mondo is an expy of the protagonist of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part IV, Josuke Higashikata. His personality is a tad like Josuke - Josuke's a really nice guy, like how Mondo appeared, at least until someone makes fun of his pompadour, after which he goes nuts. He's not one of those typical "I'm a man, you bastard!" types though. The name Crazy Diamond is pretty much synonymous with Josuke, and I saw that on the back of Mondo's jacket.

This game loves its pop-culture references. We'd see a load of them in the Free Time events - I recall Celestia having the most bluntly reference-filled events (Kaiji et al. may have also popped up in those discussions, that girl gets around. ).

Also, I think that name

Spoiler: show

Crazy Diamond(s?) was already mentioned in the first episode since it's the name of Mondo's gang. Not sure why they sewed two paragraph's worth of text on the back of his coat though - I see that in Japanese biker gang stuff sometimes and I always have to pause to read what it actually says. Not very...practical?

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Spoiler: show

That said, I liked that Dangan Ronpa is taking a step forward in the character development department. It was a bit hard to relate to how much Ishimaru liked Mondo, but he was absolutely devastated seeing this happen. But Mondo, who killed his brother (not really, more like a sacrifice) ended up killing his protege out of rage at his own weakness. That's really tragic, and is far more touching than Kuwata killing Maizono out of "self defense".

As I mentioned before,

Spoiler: show

Ishimaru's MGTB was cut from the anime, but I actually felt a pang of emotion watching him scream at Monobear. And Ishimaru voted himself as the killer, even when everything was clearly against his loyalty and broship to Mondo in the end. He needs a hug.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Spoiler: show

I've got no idea who the traitor is. Togami seems like the natural fit, since he's nasty enough to desecrate a corpse (which horrified Mondo, the real killer!) and didn't hesitate to put his life on the line to frame Fukawa.

Spoiler: show

Mondo's not exactly cold-blooded, so I wouldn't be shocked that he was shocked about Togami messing with the body. Togami seems to be an ass by nature, but I think he would've stepped in to make clear he didn't do it if Naegi hadn't figured it out first. He's figuring out who he should and could ally with in a crisis - this is all a game to him, even with people actually dying. Bit of a sociopath, maybe?

Not sure if the game made it as clear, but Togami seemed so genuinely shocked when Syo was basically hammering him to the ground. I loved watching that.

Monobear stuff!

Originally Posted by deoxys

Spoiler: show

I thought that was funny He's also been seen eating amounts of honey several times, too (which I seriously wonder if that's supposed to be a nod to Winnie the Pooh). I couldn't tell if he was actually ingesting it or not though.

[...]

And man, Oowada being turned churned into butter like that was... well, while not as brutal as Leon's baseball batting cage death... it was still pretty gruesome and fucked up when you actually consider that he was turned into friggin' butter.

Spoiler: show

Monobear also brought out a fish in the first episode. He's very much balancing between a disturbingly evil bear and the cute Winnie the Pooh-ish bear we usually think of stuffed toy bears as. More split between black and white I guess, but it's still executed really well! In the game his humor was all verbal, but the animation really brings out his disturbing nature in a visual manner.

Also, I do not recall Monobear eating Mondo-butter in front of the students in the game. He may have done that in the Monobear Theater sequence (the anime shows the start of it in the beginning of most episodes, but it's basically Monobear giving a weird Mono-bear-logue that may or may not be related to the events of the chapter it wraps up). Nevertheless, seeing him sitting there with the pancakes and Mondo-butter and making that creepy dialog...just priceless.

Originally Posted by deoxys

Spoiler: show

The only thing that bothered me was the translation of the sub I watched. They didn't correctly translate that Chihiro crossdressed initially because he was told to "man up" and to "be a man", something he felt he didn't have the courage or strength to do. I can't remember what the sub I watched said but it was a bad translation compared to that and didn't quite get the point across as well.

Originally Posted by Talon87

There's an easy solution to your and Copy's shitty fansub group woes: quit being so impatient and wait for UTW's release instead. They may not be God, but they're sure to be a hell of a lot better than the rush job group you've complained about now two or three times. If you can be patient enough to wait for a sub rather than watching it raw the moment the first raws come out, you can be patient enough to wait the extra hours (< 24) for UTW's sub to come out after the rush job sub comes out.

I agree with Talon here. UTW's translation is 99% surprisingly well-done to me (I was especially impressed by the translation of Osama Game in the ED as Simon Says - yes, little stuff like this makes me all happy and giddy on the inside ). There's still little stuff that irks me

Spoiler: show

like Syo translated as Sho/Show

or Owada written as Ohwada (there's no H in the pronunciation or the Japanese kana - maybe this is cleared up in the Japanese class thread or Talon can explain this oddity? ), but it's still a very good translation compared to the subs deo and Dopple seem to whine about every week.

If you wanna rush to see the episode the moment it's available, don't expect a quality translation. This is true with people who actually get paid to translate shows and even more so with people who A) don't get paid to do a quality job and B) don't have a good grasp of English and/or Japanese and translate anyway. I'm ready to give UTW a couple of hours in exchange for a read-worthy sub.

Originally Posted by deoxys

Also, I wanted to reaffirm my adoration for the ED. I cannot get enough of it. It's seriously probably my favorite anime ED since... hm, well, probably Psycho Pass' first ED by EGOIST. Catchy, upbeat, creepy music. ED of the year....? They're saying the full version releases August 7th. If that's the case, I can't wait!

I didn't like the ED when I first heard it, but I think the use of the ED in episode 3 really drove me to loving it.

[Talon87]

Ousama Game or Ou-sama Game, not Osama game. (You could also opt for Ōsama / Ō-sama.) It's a long vowel and is 王 ou, "king". It's the King Game.

Ohwada is fine. It's an alternate romanization of Oowada. I'll explain the details in the Japanese thread.

Also, I'm loving how when I reply late I get no replies (Episode 04) and then when I reply mega early (Episode 05) all I get are one-sentence "GREAT! " replies while everyone else who replied days later gets tomes and tomes of replies. Motivation to bother replying to the thread any longer now that it's just me and Doppel slipping ... I may as well PM him privately just to scorn you all.

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by Talon87

Ousama Game or Ou-sama Game, not Osama game. (You could also opt for Ōsama / Ō-sama.) It's a long vowel and is 王 ou, "king". It's the King Game.

Ohwada is fine. It's an alternate romanization of Oowada. I'll explain the details in the Japanese thread.

Also, I'm loving how when I reply late I get no replies (Episode 04) and then when I reply mega early (Episode 05) all I get are one-sentence "GREAT! " replies while everyone else who replied days later gets tomes and tomes of replies. Motivation to bother replying to the thread any longer now that it's just me and Doppel slipping ... I may as well PM him privately just to scorn you all.

Finnish also has long vowels. I keep getting mixed up with stuff like this. (This is also why I find Oowada far more natural to read than Ohwada - you'd romanize it in Finnish as Oowada, the way you read it!)

And nooooooo don't scorn us we love you!

Your speculation post after episode 4 was just so scarily spot on that I didn't dare say much about it - I doubt you'd like me posting "THAT'S TOTALLY CORRECT! " or "CLOSE, BUT HERE'S HOW IT IS" about your speculations? You're too smart for your own good, I guess. ^-^;

[deoxys]

UTW is fine and they had the episode out when I watched it, but I didn't download it, I streamed it. Most of the streaming sites I use don't put out an episode until UTW is the translator, so I just assumed. I don't really appreciate being told I need to stop whining about it or whatever. I'm not retarded, but even UTW isn't perfect even If they're still the best at the moment

[Midgeorge]

So, I'm watching this now. Never played the game or anything so this is completely new thing for me. The show might not do it justice, but If I feel like it I'll find some lets plays or something.

Episodes 1-5:

Spoiler: show

Trust the only character I really liked to be the first one to die ;;

I have a bit of a nitpick with the characters. They just don't seem very... well, they don't seem very real. I can't believe that there are characters that would just believe everything that they're told by a black and white stuffed bear as soon as they met him. I was expecting someone to at least start laughing and maybe question if it was a 'freshman prank' or something, but everyone just sort of ate it up.

Also not a huge fan of the artstyle. It looks far too cute for something with such a dark premise.

Also speaking of dark premise, what I should probably be feeling from this show doesn't seem to click with me. Some of the stuff monobear does just seems ridiculously random. I know thats half the point of the character, but I just think he's a joke, and not really a funny one. And then you have the class trial punishments... oh the punishments. What at first I thought would be something dark and sinister that would make my head spin, just turned into 'WHATS THE MOST AWESOME WAY TO MAKE SOMEBODY DIE'. Granted the scenes look fantastic artwise, but they just seem so ridiculously placed. Who the fuck has a Baseball training ground conveniently placed next to the trial room? And turning Ohwada into butter? I thought it was a joke, laughed, realised they were serious, and laughed even harder.

Also what a terrible OP...

I'm probably taking the series too seriously, but the premise of the series seems like a serious one so I'm taking it as that.

I am still enjoying it though. I'm just gonna switch my brain off for the rest of the series to fully enjoy it and not take it too seriously, which I think is sort of the point. Hopefully it'll progress and there'll be less stupid stuff and more dark twisted stuff (bias, I like dark twisted stuff ). I'll just look at the show with a lot less meaning.

Monobear: "...there is no meaning! Stop trying to find meaning in meaningless things!"
George: Alright! Geez...

As for guessing the culprates, I got the first one right but not the second, although i managed to call Fujisaki being a Boy. :P

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by Midgeorge

So, I'm watching this now. Never played the game or anything so this is completely new thing for me. The show might not do it justice, but If I feel like it I'll find some lets plays or something.

Episodes 1-5:

Spoiler: show

Trust the only character I really liked to be the first one to die ;;

I have a bit of a nitpick with the characters. They just don't seem very... well, they don't seem very real. I can't believe that there are characters that would just believe everything that they're told by a black and white stuffed bear as soon as they met him. I was expecting someone to at least start laughing and maybe question if it was a 'freshman prank' or something, but everyone just sort of ate it up.

Also not a huge fan of the artstyle. It looks far too cute for something with such a dark premise.

Also speaking of dark premise, what I should probably be feeling from this show doesn't seem to click with me. Some of the stuff monobear does just seems ridiculously random. I know thats half the point of the character, but I just think he's a joke, and not really a funny one. And then you have the class trial punishments... oh the punishments. What at first I thought would be something dark and sinister that would make my head spin, just turned into 'WHATS THE MOST AWESOME WAY TO MAKE SOMEBODY DIE'. Granted the scenes look fantastic artwise, but they just seem so ridiculously placed. Who the fuck has a Baseball training ground conveniently placed next to the trial room? And turning Ohwada into butter? I thought it was a joke, laughed, realised they were serious, and laughed even harder.

Also what a terrible OP...

I'm probably taking the series too seriously, but the premise of the series seems like a serious one so I'm taking it as that.

I am still enjoying it though. I'm just gonna switch my brain off for the rest of the series to fully enjoy it and not take it too seriously, which I think is sort of the point. Hopefully it'll progress and there'll be less stupid stuff and more dark twisted stuff (bias, I like dark twisted stuff ). I'll just look at the show with a lot less meaning.

Monobear: "...there is no meaning! Stop trying to find meaning in meaningless things!"
George: Alright! Geez...

As for guessing the culprates, I got the first one right but not the second, although i managed to call Fujisaki being a Boy. :P

TALON THERE'S A NEW LAB RAT BUDDY FOR YOU 83

Welcome to the thread!

I'll respond to some of your thoughts:

Spoiler: show

The characters are caricatures of some parts of the Japanese society - this is entirely intentional. In fact, the Super High School Level Doujinshi Maker is a parody of the people the makers of the game had as their target audience; they said this in an interview at one point. Take it as you will.

This is a very low-on-time adaption of the game, so it wouldn't make sense to spend the first episode with everyone going "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS". And I recall the students did question the premise - and then Monobear exploded.

Dangan Ronpa will actually explain everything eventually. Hang tight if you really wanna know what the heck is up with...everything.

Do you mean the OP from the first episode (original music from the game's OST) or the version with lyrics they've started using? The lyrical OP is all anime. *loves the original OST of the game to pieces*

[Midgeorge]

Originally Posted by kaisap112

TALON THERE'S A NEW LAB RAT BUDDY FOR YOU 83

Welcome to the thread!

I'll respond to some of your thoughts:

Spoiler: show

Do you mean the OP from the first episode (original music from the game's OST) or the version with lyrics they've started using? The lyrical OP is all anime. *loves the original OST of the game to pieces*

Spoiler: show

The one with lyrics. Ughhhhhhghghghhhghh

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by Midgeorge

Spoiler: show

The one with lyrics. Ughhhhhhghghghhhghh

Is it the song itself or just Sexy Monobear? *shot*

[lilboocorsola]

Originally Posted by Talon87

Dissociative Identity Disorder a.k.a. Multiple Personality Disorder is something we've come into contact with quite a few times over the years. I knew about as a boy (by the name MPD). I learned about it in medical school (as per its newer name, DID). I saw it show up in this one visual novel Doppel and I have played. And now it's shown up again here. I'm pretty sure I've seen it in a number of anime over the years (though none immediately come to mind), I've seen it in American criminal fiction, the list goes on. So when you ask "how many viewers would actually know what Dissociative Identity Disorder means?", I guess I would answer you:

• "By that name? Not very many. Most Americans still know it as Multiple Personality Disorder."
• "On UPN? Specifically in the Anime forum? Just about all of us! "

As for your point about how the police could know that Genocider Syo has DID despite the fact that they've never apprehended him/her, I dunno. I honestly didn't give that much thought myself. Interesting point.

I did a report on DID in high school, so I know it by its new name. I was aware of Multiple Personality Disorder before then though books and TV shows, as Talon mentioned.

Question for kaisap + other LP readers: Was DID mentioned in the police report in the game? Or did it only come up during the trial?

Originally Posted by Talon87

Episode 05:

Spoiler: show

On the one hand, I was pleased with this episode. On the other, I was displeased.

Why displeased? I'm not upset that it wasn't Aoi. My case for Aoi was, after all, admittedly pretty weak. I'm upset that it was Mondo in spite of the fact that we didn't have any evidence connecting him to the murder whatsoever. What little interaction Mondo and Chihiro were shown to have suggested that Mondo liked Chihiro and wanted to defend him; while in hindsight you could say that this was the clue that enabled one to predict that Mondo would have hung out with Chihiro, at the time such a theory would've been crackpot at best. Likewise, Doppel did observe that Mondo wore his entire set of clothes into the sauna ... but even that wouldn't be enough for most of us to conclude "AHA! AND SO I BET MONDO'S NOTEPASS BROKE! :O I BET THE ONE KYOUKO FOUND WAS MONDO'S!" C'mon, Dangan Ronpa. C'mon.

I want to say there was a little more evidence/expansion of such evidence in the game to help lead you in the right direction, but my memory's rusty and kaisap pretty much confirmed it was nearly impossible to solve there too. Some examples I can think of that might've been present though:

Spoiler: show

-more hints about Chihiro not wanting to seem "weak"
-more interaction with Mondo(?)
-more time spent investigating the key cards (also in case it wasn't obvious, in addition to breaking Chihiro's card Mondo switched the rooms to preserve "her" secret - perhaps part of why he got so angry at Togami for tampering with the crime scene)

Originally Posted by kaisap112

Been waiting for this episode since the anime started, actually.

Spoiler: show

Genocider Syo's performance in the game was awesome, so I'm curious to see how the anime makes it happen.

*achoo*

Originally Posted by Holy Emperor

Episode thoughts

Spoiler: show

Why did they program me to feel sadness.

Seeing the last bit of the trial animated did hit me a lot harder than in the game.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Wow, this episode was a ball-buster!

Spoiler: show

I liked that Dangan Ronpa is taking a step forward in the character development department. It was a bit hard to relate to how much Ishimaru liked Mondo, but he was absolutely devastated seeing this happen. But Mondo, who killed his brother (not really, more like a sacrifice) ended up killing his protege out of rage at his own weakness. That's really tragic, and is far more touching than Kuwata killing Maizono out of "self defense".

This is where I wish we could get more of the individual character development.

Spoiler: show

Ishimaru's Free Time Events explain that because of his personality, he's never had any friends before. Mondo was the first real pal that he made. For his "bro" to become a killer, and then to watch him get turned into butter... Pretty brutal.

Originally Posted by kaisap112

Monobear stuff!

Spoiler: show

Monobear also brought out a fish in the first episode. He's very much balancing between a disturbingly evil bear and the cute Winnie the Pooh-ish bear we usually think of stuffed toy bears as. More split between black and white I guess, but it's still executed really well! In the game his humor was all verbal, but the animation really brings out his disturbing nature in a visual manner.

Also, I do not recall Monobear eating Mondo-butter in front of the students in the game. He may have done that in the Monobear Theater sequence (the anime shows the start of it in the beginning of most episodes, but it's basically Monobear giving a weird Mono-bear-logue that may or may not be related to the events of the chapter it wraps up). Nevertheless, seeing him sitting there with the pancakes and Mondo-butter and making that creepy dialog...just priceless.

Fairly certain that he ate the pancakes in the game, since I read some discussion/confusion over that (endgame spoilers):

Spoiler: show

It was stated that all the bodies were kept in the morgue, and only one was missing. Since the missing one was presumably Junko's/Mukuro's, did that mean Mondo-butter was being stored there too? But people pointed out Monobear supposedly ate him with pancakes...

Of course, perhaps the game simply meant that of the known number of bodies, one physical corpse was missing. *shrug*

Also regarding subs I just go with the ones on Dailymotion. They might miss a few things (or it might just be me), but they seem to do a decent job.

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by lilbluecorsola

Question for kaisap + other LP readers: Was DID mentioned in the police report in the game? Or did it only come up during the trial?

I'll quote the exact place in the game it was mentioned, and it was during the investigation.

Spoiler: show

Right in the Syo Case File, too!

"Profiling Results"...?

All the crimes were conducted on weekdays late at night... or on weekends between noon and evening.
The more frequent of the two time periods was... midday on weekends.

From the above, we conclude the culprit is a "student".

Furthermore, there is evidence that the culprit stayed at the scene of the crime for a long time, but also that they escaped from it in a state of agitation.
Since there were never any eye witness reports for the crimes, the culprit displays a pattern of doing so regardless of external motivation.

From the display of such incoherent actions, we conclude...

Naegi: It's possible the culprit suffers from "Dissociative Identity Disorder"...?

The explanation is at least trying to be logical - the anime just breezed right to the conclusion with no context.

Originally Posted by lilbluecorsola

I want to say there was a little more evidence/expansion of such evidence in the game to help lead you in the right direction, but my memory's rusty and kaisap pretty much confirmed it was nearly impossible to solve there too. Some examples I can think of that might've been present though:

Spoiler: show

-more hints about Chihiro not wanting to seem "weak"
-more interaction with Mondo(?)
-more time spent investigating the key cards (also in case it wasn't obvious, in addition to breaking Chihiro's card Mondo switched the rooms to preserve "her" secret - perhaps part of why he got so angry at Togami for tampering with the crime scene)

Social Links only add to the plot in one case, but I'll mention it if it doesn't come up in the next episode. It's probably something that might be included in the anime as a "X and Y talked and this came up".

But I can confirm your third point!

Spoiler: show

Monobear himself shows up when Naegi and Togami investigate the key cards (and are guessing Leon's ID Card broke during his execution) and makes the following statements:

These Electronic Student ID Cards. They’re invaluable assets in our school life. That’s why they can’t be destroyed that easily!!

[But it was broken!]

If I say it can’t be broken I mean it can’t be broken!!
They can sustain a 10 ton hit, and are resistant to water 100 meters deep! It doesn’t matter how many balls they’re hit with, something like that wouldn’t break them!!

Ah, but... my Electronic Student ID Cards do have one “weak point”...

[What is it?]

It’s a secret. If I tell you and you destroy one it will be bothersome.

[Did Leon accidentally break his card before the execution?]

Who knows? Here is what I think, though. His Electronic Student ID Card isn’t broken at all.

Or... maybe it is...!?

Yeah, Monokuma tends to show up during investigations in the game to give you information about things. Sometimes it helps you figure stuff out right away, sometimes it's a mine of logic that goes off during the trial. Monokuma shows up a lot more in the game in general, really.

[Doppleganger]

I watched the raw episode today on live stream.

My mind is full of fudge. The anime just dropped a giga-ton bomb on the audience's face, and there wasn't even an investigation.

Of course, I'm going to re-watch it. The episode content was so dense it's practically warranted.

[deoxys]

There wasn't an investigation? I was wondering how they were going to condense this chapter of the story into one episode considering how big it is in content, but holy shit, no investigation at all? This really throws me for a loop, I have no idea how they're going to stay within the confines of 13 episodes, seriously!

[Doppleganger]

The episode ended on a corpse discovery. Suffice to say, I wasn't expecting this at all.

[deoxys]

Wait, really? It ended on that? Holy shit what did they do with the time!?

*crosses fingers that they suddenly decided to extend past the 13 episode mark*

[kaisap112]

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

The episode ended on a corpse discovery. Suffice to say, I wasn't expecting this at all.

Originally Posted by deoxys

Wait, really? It ended on that? Holy shit what did they do with the time!?

*crosses fingers that they suddenly decided to extend past the 13 episode mark*

*cough*Remember Episode 2?*cough*

[deoxys]

Episode 2 had an investigation though?

...


...Oh. Ohhh.


Still, maybe they're going to do the investigation/trial in the next episode? Man. Talk about rushing it. I see no one in hell that they'll seriously stretch this out over three episodes, they have way too much left to tell and not enough time to tell it.

[deoxys]

I have no words for how amazing this is.

[kaisap112]

So I just watched Episode 6.

Spoiler: show

I'll start by saying that I love how Fukawa/Genocider is portrayed in this anime. She's a stalker, sure, hopelessly worships Togami...but I still kinda want to cheer her on. To pursue that relationship, not to kill him, of course.

Otherwise this episode...

Okay, I bet detail-oriented people like Talon will immediately spot the important things in this episode. And there's a chance there'll be an outcry about another "too easy" case - that's just a guess on my part though, especially after Leon's Disaster Case. Don't recall this part of the game being so glaringly obvious though, but that may be all the condensing the anime has to keep doing or that I know what sort of stuff to keep an eye out for.

Now, a question for you all who haven't been spoiled to the ending: who do you think will win this despair-riffic game? I love reading theories around here.

Also, I recall that it was either in this thread or somewhere else that someone brought up despair (zetsubou) being "a very Japanese concept". And I do notice anime and games dealing with despair differently than Western productions do; can't exactly put my finger on why, though. Hell, there's anime like Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei, but I don't recall there being all that much Western stuff focused solely on despair (apart from possibly some depressed authors' works and suicide letters). Is despair some sort of an institution/deity in Japan? I'd appreciate if anyone could enlighten me about that.