Danganronpa...
I was looking for an image to represent a post on Contempo in a Two-Column Format and I didn't realized the significance of my choice until I happened to watch Danganronpa...
According to Wikipedia...
Danganronpa follows the exploits of a group of high school students who find themselves trapped in a school building and tormented by Monokuma, an evil mastermind taking the form of a bear. The students are trapped and are told that the only way out is to kill one another without being caught. They are provided with all their basic needs such as food and water and spacious living accommodations, so, at first the students don't really feel a compelling need to do anything. But, soon Monokuma raises the stakes by showing them that horrible things may have happened to their families driving the students to despair. Eventually, a student is found dead and after a brief investigation by the students, they are summoned to a classroom trial where they must determine the guilty student. If they are right, only the guilty student is punished, otherwise, all the students EXCEPT the guilty student are punished. This proves to be a strong incentive for the students to take the investigation seriously and to get the verdict right.
There is a lot of violence in Danganronpa, but, surprisingly, the series is not as violent or bloody as Corpse Party. Amazingly, although there are a number of grizzly deaths, there is almost no red ink in the series. One reason for this is that blood is frequently rendered in purple ink rather than red, thus softening, if only slightly the effect of blood splattered walls. The series has an over-the-top camp flavor where the students are introduced to the viewer with on-screen profiles and code names that indicate the students' particular special abilities. Each student has a particular style of dress and peculiarities that differentiate each one from the others. Then, of course, executions are rendered in a very stylized manner that gives more of an impression of a cartoon that shouldn't be taken seriously, as opposed to a serious dramatic moment.
Throughout Danganronpa, there is an aura of mystery that surrounds the mastermind behind the bear and the circumstances that led the students into this situation. As the series progresses, the students begin a secret investigation and slowly gather information on the mastermind and attempt to piece together events from a mysterious past. All the while, the students try to prevent the mastermind from discovering their investigation, and, try to avoid being killed by each other or by the mastermind's sinister traps.
Danganronpa builds to a wonderful climax as the students navigate a twisted maze of deception and cruelty and plumb the depths of their own despair in a desperate attempt to cling to their last vestiges of hope. The last episode was just breath-taking. The mastermind is just completely twisted and demented on so many levels, but, the mastermind was such a compellingly evil character that I couldn't get enough of the mastermind. I was so enthralled by Danganronpa that I saw the entire series in one sitting. Overall, I was really very pleased with the series. I would give Danganronpa a 4 out of 5. I was so pleased with the series, in fact, that I broke my usual rule about only reading my anime and amazingly, the English dub is actually quite good.
Season 1
Hope's Peak High School only accepts the best of the best, and these superlative students will have to add slaughter to their schedules if they hope to leave the school in something other than a body bag.
Beat! Stab! Crush!
Just don't get caught! To the victor goes freedom, but only if no one can figure out whodunnit. Get caught, and suffer a specially ordered punishment to fit the crime! From the oddly ordinary Makoto Naegi, to students that are the best and brightest hope for the future - all are plunged into the depths of ultimate despair! But what's this? The biggest mystery of all may be the secrets of the school itself. When the sadistic Monokuma starts to leave a trail of mind-bending clues, will there be any hope left for survival for the remaining students trapped in this trigger-happy havoc?
Season 2
Danganronpa 3: Future Arc
Makoto Naegi is under suspicion of treason after shielding a remnant of Despair. The Future Foundation, founded to save the world from chaos caused by Ultimate Despair, gathers to decide his punishment when they are captured by Monokuma. Thrusted into an ultimate death game, they must find the true traitor and kill him if they hope to survive. The tale of despair in which hope kills hope begins.
According to Wikipedia...
Danganronpa is a video game franchise created and developed by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike) for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, iOS, Android and home computers. The series consists of three main titles, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, and a third person shooter spin-off, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. Multiple smartphone titles, as well as various manga and novel adaptations and spin-off series, have also been released, and two anime television series, Danganronpa: The Animation and Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, have been produced by Lerche. The games are published in North America and Europe by NIS America. The series' name is a compound of dangan (bullet) and ronpa (refute).
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair is a visual novel adventure video game developed by Spike Chunsoft. It is the second installment in the Danganronpa series, and a direct sequel to the 2010 game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc. It was first released in Japan for the PlayStation Portable on July 26, 2012. A port for the PlayStation Vita was released in Japan on October 10, 2013 and was published in North America and Europe by NIS America in September 2014. A port for Microsoft Windows was released on April 18, 2016. The game was released alongside the original for PlayStation 4 in March 2017.
The story follows a group of high school students who are trapped on an island by their high school's headmaster Monokuma, a sentient stuffed bear. In order to leave the island, a student must kill one of their peers, and not be caught in the subsequent investigation and trial.
Danganronpa follows the exploits of a group of high school students who find themselves trapped in a school building and tormented by Monokuma, an evil mastermind taking the form of a bear. The students are trapped and are told that the only way out is to kill one another without being caught. They are provided with all their basic needs such as food and water and spacious living accommodations, so, at first the students don't really feel a compelling need to do anything. But, soon Monokuma raises the stakes by showing them that horrible things may have happened to their families driving the students to despair. Eventually, a student is found dead and after a brief investigation by the students, they are summoned to a classroom trial where they must determine the guilty student. If they are right, only the guilty student is punished, otherwise, all the students EXCEPT the guilty student are punished. This proves to be a strong incentive for the students to take the investigation seriously and to get the verdict right.
There is a lot of violence in Danganronpa, but, surprisingly, the series is not as violent or bloody as Corpse Party. Amazingly, although there are a number of grizzly deaths, there is almost no red ink in the series. One reason for this is that blood is frequently rendered in purple ink rather than red, thus softening, if only slightly the effect of blood splattered walls. The series has an over-the-top camp flavor where the students are introduced to the viewer with on-screen profiles and code names that indicate the students' particular special abilities. Each student has a particular style of dress and peculiarities that differentiate each one from the others. Then, of course, executions are rendered in a very stylized manner that gives more of an impression of a cartoon that shouldn't be taken seriously, as opposed to a serious dramatic moment.
Throughout Danganronpa, there is an aura of mystery that surrounds the mastermind behind the bear and the circumstances that led the students into this situation. As the series progresses, the students begin a secret investigation and slowly gather information on the mastermind and attempt to piece together events from a mysterious past. All the while, the students try to prevent the mastermind from discovering their investigation, and, try to avoid being killed by each other or by the mastermind's sinister traps.
Danganronpa builds to a wonderful climax as the students navigate a twisted maze of deception and cruelty and plumb the depths of their own despair in a desperate attempt to cling to their last vestiges of hope. The last episode was just breath-taking. The mastermind is just completely twisted and demented on so many levels, but, the mastermind was such a compellingly evil character that I couldn't get enough of the mastermind. I was so enthralled by Danganronpa that I saw the entire series in one sitting. Overall, I was really very pleased with the series. I would give Danganronpa a 4 out of 5. I was so pleased with the series, in fact, that I broke my usual rule about only reading my anime and amazingly, the English dub is actually quite good.
