Danganronpa
It’s possible you have seen some Twinfinite coverage of Danganronpa recently, as the Switch version of the first three games is coming in December. That said, There is much more to Danganronpa than simply being a video game. If you want a great murder mystery anime, there is nothing better.
For those who don’t know, Danganronpa starts with Makoto Naegi receiving acceptance to the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy through a lottery, pure chance. The school is home to students with unique (dubbed “Ultimate”) talents. By winning the lottery, Makoto is named the Ultimate Lucky Student.
Upon stepping up to the academy, Makoto is suddenly taken over by a dizzy spell out of nowhere and loses consciousness. He wakes up an unknown amount of time later and the school is drastically changed. There are security cameras in every classroom along with metal plates crudely bolted over every window.
As Makoto gathers in the gym with his 15 other equally trapped classmates, a black and white bear named Monokuma appears, informing the students they will be forced to play a killing game. This game starts for real once one student murders another. The murderer must take place in a trial with/against their peers. If they are found out, they are executed, but if they can deceive the others, they are free to “graduate” and leave the academy. This is where Danganronpa becomes an excellent murder-mystery story.
The first season does cover the first game entirely, but the Future and Despair arcs (meant to be watched by alternating the episodes) of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School (yes, the second season is called Danganronpa 3) help with covering the second game, but is otherwise its own story and not the third game in any way.
While the first season of the show does do all the legwork in figuring out the clues you would normally be doing yourself in the game. For those who haven’t played it, there is still plenty of mystery to each death and getting to watch the trials unfold without choices and minigames breaking the flow is a sight to behold.
Danganrona: The Animation is currently available to stream on Hulu. Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
