Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School
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"Every story has an end! This'll be ours!"
— Monokuma
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School is a mystery horror anime television series produced by Lerche, directed by Daiki Fukuoka, and supervised by Seiji Kishi. The anime is the second animated series based on Spike Chunsoft's Danganronpa video game franchise, and serves as the finale to the "Hope's Peak Academy" saga established in the previously released games Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. The series is divided into three parts. "Future Arc" focuses on Makoto Naegi and his friends as they become involved in a "Final Killing Game" with the Future Foundation, while "Despair Arc" focuses on Hajime Hinata, Junko Enoshima, and the beginning of "The Worst, Most Despair-Inducing Incident in the History of Mankind". The first two story arcs aired between July and September 2016. They were followed by "Hope Arc", the conclusion to both previous arcs, which aired on September 29, 2016.
Plot
Future Arc
After defeating Junko Enoshima and escaping the killing game, Makoto Naegi and the other survivors have now joined the Future Foundation and are working to rebuild the world. However, Makoto has been charged with the crime of treason for protecting the Remnants of Despair from the rest of the organization. Everyone who gathered for Makoto's trial has now been captured and thrust into the "Final Killing Game" by a familiar foe; Monokuma. Everyone is fitted with a strange bracelet that releases a sleeping serum at a fixed time. While asleep, the traitor in their midst kills a Future Foundation member. To survive, they'll have to find the traitor and stop the killing.
Despair Arc
A prequel to Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the story of "Despair Arc" serves as a "prologue" to the series, as it tells the backstory of Hope's Peak Academy's Class 77-B life at the school and how they became the Remnants of Despair.
Hope Arc
To find out the plot of the Hope Arc, click here for more details
Production
Conception
The series was the final chapter of the "Hope's Peak Academy" arc within the Danganronpa franchise, as the third main video game, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, focuses on a new setting and group of characters, in contrast to the anime, which instead focuses on returning characters.
The Danganronpa development staff said that, while it was difficult to work on both titles simultaneously, they recognized that the opportunity to do something like it does not come along often. Initially, an anime adaptation of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair had been planned; but in the end the development staff opted to make an anime that takes place after Danganronpa 2. Danganronpa head writer Kazutaka Kodaka felt that the Danganronpa 2 characters' story had ended within that game and that he could not easily write about what happened to them afterward. While a story of the class trials had originally been considered, the feeling was that it would have been too painful for the characters. This led to the decision to turn the conclusion into an anime. According to Kodaka, the series would feature content that can only be expressed in an animated medium. The production staff wanted to make the series suspenseful, even though it did not include any investigations.
Kodaka aimed to create a unique style of storytelling. Rather than making a fan service anime, he wanted to have a more distinctive narrative. He said that some fans called the idea of a happy ending pandering, but the writer said he wanted to give proper endings. That is how Kodaka had the idea of creating the third story arc, Hope Arc, to bring closure to the dark story but in a lighthearted way. A producer from Lerche inspired him to do the work. Kodaka wanted to reduce the amount of action from that in the previous works and, instead, to create a psychological struggle based on the trials presented by the new killing game. He believed that, while any newcomers would understand the Future Arc, the Despair Arc needed knowledge of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair to be understood. As a result, the writer separated Makoto's group from Hajime's using two story arcs. Makoto's storytelling and themes are those of hope, in contrast to Hajime's theme of despair.
According to director Seiji Kishi, Rui Komatsuzaki redesigned Makoto and his friends to look more mature. To attract more fans, Kishi had the idea that Makoto's first image as an adult would show him handcuffed. While acknowledging that the cast had aged, the anime staff claimed that new characters with similar traits would be further explored in it. Kishi expressed shock at Kodaka's idea of his being put in charge of the series. He claimed the idea of ending the game's story as an anime was unique. Kodaka said he wanted the anime to appeal to fans of the previous games. In order to distance the anime from the other Danganronpa game that was also the third installment, the game was titled Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. The original cast in the games returned with Nobuyo Oyama (Monokuma) looking forward to getting people's attention.
In contrast to his work on Danganronpa: The Animation, where he was the director, Kishi took on the role of chief director, leaving him with less work. Kishi contrasted his work with the anime adaptations of Persona, where he was involved, with those of Danganronpa. He felt that the Persona series used more substories that needed to be adapted, in contrast to the more linear narrative style employed by Kodaka. While Kodaka planned the original plot, former Nitroplus writer Norimitsu Kaihō was in charge of revising the scripts to adapt them into the anime series. Lerche chose Kaihō to write the anime, based on his knowledge of the franchise.
Writing
The idea of dividing the series into two arcs allowed further exploitation of the concept of the mystery genre the games are known for. Kodaka suggested that, like the games, rewatching the anime would provide a different point of view of the series' nature. For example, the cast of Goodbye Despair is described as video game characters competing against each other in Monokuma's game, while the Future Arc would leave the impression, by the way the narrative is handled, that the cast are also anime characters. Compared to Goodbye Despair, Kodaka wanted the cast to differ from that in Despair. This resulted in Hajime being written as having a more hateful manner, because of his lack of talents, until he met Chiaki Nanami. Chiaki was written to emphasize that she is not the same heroine from Goodbye Despair. In it she is an artificial intelligence based on the real Chiaki who is killed by Junko. Nevertheless, Hajime's meeting with the real Chiaki was made an integral part of the narrative, based on how they bond when playing games. Meanwhile, Nagito Komaeda was written in a more lighthearted manner, which was easy for fans to spot.
In describing the cast, the writer said the anime helped to compare Hajime with his alter-ego Izuru Kamukura, whose characters saw little development in the game. Izuru was described as a god-like entity, while Hajime was deemed a superior entity because he expressed more human qualities. He expressed doubts about Junko Enoshima, whom he deems his strongest villain. Lerche's handling of the brief encounter between Izuru and Nagito earned recognition from the original creator, based on how both characters possess similar talents. While returning from Goodbye Despair, a character only known as "Ultimate Imposter" was revised, as in the original game he impersonated Byakuya Togami. As a result, Imposter became more developed as he showed his own identity and concern when looking after Ryota Mitarai, whom Kodaka referred to as a tragic character, due to how Junko manipulates him to steal his subliminal techniques. Junko and Mukuro's actress, Megumi Toyoguchi, claimed it was difficult to voice the Despair Sisters, not only for having to do two characters but also because of Junko's multiple changes of mood.
In regards to Makoto, his relationship with Kyoko Kirigiri was written to evoke a more intimate tone than in the original game. Kodaka carefully accomplished this through a scene where Kyoko takes off her gloves for the first time in the series, in order to comfort Makoto. This was also meant to be a parallel to the romantic relationship between two other characters from the same series, Kyosuke Munakata and Chisa Yukizome, who are also implicitly involved romantically. Although Chisa dies in the first episode of Future Arc, she was written to give an impression of her personality, in order to leave her intact in Despair Arc, where she was still alive. Mai Nakahara's performance gained a positive response from the staff. Similarly, Kyosuke briefly appears in the Despair Arc, but his calm demeanor was changed for Future Arc, showing the impact Chisa's death had on him. Juzo was created to be an object of viewers' hatred, for his violent actions towards both Makoto and Hajime, but the revelation of his one-sided feelings for Kyosuke was meant to show a more sensitive side. Based on his early sketches, Komatasuzaki wanted Juzo to be handsome.
Kodaka originally intended for Kyosuke to die protecting Makoto. With the writing staff originally seeing Munakata as content to die, this idea was scrapped in favor of Kyosuke seeking redemption. This was done to have Makoto move forward carrying the burden of hope, Hajime to move forward carrying the burden of despair, and Kyosuke to move forward carrying the burden of his dead friends. The original plan was to tell what happens to many characters after the Hope Arc as the credits roll, but that was cut for length. Animation producer Yuuji Higa said it was ultimately Naegi and Hajime, carrying their respective burdens of hope and despair, that he thought were really amazing. Kodaka was moved to tears watching the scene of Makoto confronting Kyosuke, especially because of Megumi Ogata and Toshiyuki Morikawa's acting. Higa believes it was thanks to Makoto's role in the anime that Kyosuke became a more appealing character, shown by their interactions. Morikawa regards Kyosuke as a charismatic leader, based on his actions within Future Foundation, but had trouble wondering how much emotion he should give the character during the recording of the series, based on Kishi's suggestions and the rehearsals. Due to Kyosuke's tragic story in the Future Arc, Morikawa said that his character became more corruputed with each story, based on his allies' death, to the point there might be hints of him suffering a mental breakdown; and, as Kodaka originally intended, he was meant to die in the narrative. Morikawa claimed that fans had to pay attention to Kyosuke, Chisa, and Juzo in both anime story arcs, in order to properly understand them.
Because of their lack of experience with anime, the game's staff found it difficult to handle the anime scenario meetings, which involved more people than attended a game meeting. Overseeing the scripts proved difficult for the staff, especially due to having eight-hours-long talks per week. Spike created the designs, as Hope's Peak Academy was drawn for the first time. In the Future Arc, the place was redesigned as ruins. Ogata said she found the anime too dark and gruesome; and even longtime fans would be bothered by the amount of violence in the narrative, such as the heroines dying. In turn, she wished for something more lighthearted, to create a contrast with the dark episodes. After getting their feedback, Ogata said "viewers were in despair". In retrospect, Kodaka was satisfied with the final product, finding it "top-notch". He said he felt obliged to do the anime to appeal to the franchise's fans. However, he claims he will not make another anime like this. As for characters, he aimed to contrast the anime with the games, so the narrative does not focus on culprits. Kodaka apologized to actor Junichi Suwabe, saying he received negative feedback from fans for his character, Juzo Sakakura, except for the elements showing he had a close connection with Kyosuke.
Release
The series was announced at a Danganronpa press conference in December 2015. Divided into two parts, Future Arc, aired between July 11, 2016 and September 26, 2016, and Despair Arc, which aired between July 14, 2016, and September 22, 2016, on Tokyo MX and B 11. The final episode, Hope Arc, aired on September 29, 2016.
Both parts were simulcast in North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland by Funimation, who began streaming English-dubbed versions starting on August 10, 2016. For unknown reasons, most of the English voice actors from the game were replaced, except for Bryce Papenbrook (Makoto Naegi and Nagito Komaeda) and Johnny Yong Bosch (Hajime Hinata). However, the cast from Danganronpa: the Animation returned to voice other characters they dubbed for the first game. Shortly after the dub was completed, Funimation apologized to the viewers for putting an outtake in the finished product and had to redo the cut. While early English-dubbed episodes aired as quickly as possible, Funimation had to delay some for unknown reasons, leading the audience to use the fandub channels. In the original Japanese series, there is a scene in the finale where Nagito talks joyfully while holding hands with Makoto, whom he declares to be his idol for their similar talents; but he is taken by his friends before he can complete their interaction. Papenbrook added a line for Nagito that would come across comically as homoerotic and claimed he had fun making his two characters have such a talk.
Future Arc’s opening theme is "Dead or Lie" by Maon Kurosaki and Trustrick, while the ending theme is "Recall the End" by Trustrick. Despair Arc’s opening theme is "Kami-iro Awase" by Binaria, while the ending theme is "Zettai Kibō Birthday" by Megumi Ogata. Ogata said she felt pressure performing the ending theme, because the stress from working on both arcs left her exhausted. She asked for help from the staff when it came to singing the theme. The ending theme for Hope Side is "Ever Free" by hide with Spread Beaver. An original video animation episode, titled Super Danganronpa 2.5: Komaeda Nagito to Sekai no Hakaisha, was released with special editions of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony in Japan on January 12, 2017.
Between September 28, 2016, and February 22, 2017, both story arcs were released on a total of six DVDs and Blu-ray volumes by NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. Four Blu-ray boxes, containing additional material, were also released. Another Blu-ray box containing the entire series was released on November 25, 2018, as well as one in celebration of the game series' 10th anniversary. The game Kirigiri Sou was released on Microsoft Windows and macOS on November 25, 2016, in Japan and China, and was made available bundled with the third Blu-ray box set of the anime series.
Funimation released the English series in two Blu-ray sets on October 3, 2017, and re-released them as part of their essentials line on August 26, 2019, also in two sets. The first Blu-ray volume of Future Arc sold 3,017 units. In Australia, Madman Entertainment licensed the series and released the series' home media release on December 6, 2017. Animax Asia streamed the series in Southeast Asia.
Why It’s The Ultimate Hope
Overall
- Despite this show not being like the games, it still keeps the charm that the Danganronpa games had.
- Wonderful animation and voice acting, for most of the series (yes, even in the bad episodes).
- Speaking of the voice acting, shout-outs have to go to Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese)/Ricco Fajardo (English) as Kyosuke Munakata, Junichi Suwabe (Japanese)/Ian Sinclair (English) as Juzo Sakakura, Saki Fujita (Japanese)/Erin Fitzgerald (English) as Seiko Kimura, Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese)/Kaiji Tang (English) as Koichi Kizakura, Yōko Hikasa (Japanese)/Caitlin Glass (English) as Kyoko Kirigiri, Akira Ishida (Japanese)/Josh Grelle (English) as Byakuya Togami, Megumi Ogata/Bryce Papenbrook as Nagito Komaeda, Megumi Toyoguchi/Jamie Marchi as Junko Enoshima, Daisuke Kishio/Aaron Dismuke as Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Kotono Mitsuishi/Clarine Harp as Peko Pekoyama, Tomokazu Sugita/Scott Frerichs as Gundham Tanaka, and Ami Koshimizu/Brina Palencia as Ibuki Mioda. (with many of the voice actors from the games reprising their roles as the returning characters from them here).
- The intros for this show are very interesting and compelling, with a different one for all 3 arcs (each one reflecting the overall tone of their respective arcs). The visuals are also incredible as well as the music accompanying said visuals themselves.
- The Future Arc's intro, DEAD OR LIE, is performed by the Japanese musical group TRUSTRICK with some of its most recurring visuals being images of the characters dying (most of which not being how they actually do die in the actual series, for the ones who do end up not surviving the anime) and one of the final ones being the entire cast falling into an unknown source. Its ending theme, Recall THE END, is also very symbolic in its imagery (as the main shot during its sequence is a flower with its petals constantly falling one by one, symbolizing how the Future Foundation members will fall one by one during the Final Killing Game).
- The Despair Arc's opening, Kami-iro Awase, is performed by the Japanese group binaria and features a large amount of bright colors and even a shot of all the students, and the entire city, in Junko's hands (as well as a split screen of Hajime and Izuru). Its ending theme, Zettai Kibō Birthday is also very good and its visuals consist of cute images of Class 77-B together during different events such as holiday parties.
- Interesting and creative plots with most of these episodes. Hell, one episode even straight up has Class 77-B fighting a brainwashed Future Foundation Elite Task Force in a downright epic battle.
- While Danganronpa is known for its gore and disturbing content, the ones from the games don't hold a candle to the ones here. From he student council killing game to the reserve course students slaughtering a plethora of other students to pretty much every single death that occurs during the Final Killing Game (which includes but is certainly not limited to, Seiko being crucified and stabbed by Myraid syringes and Ruruka being impaled through the stomach, slashed in the legs, and forced to choke on her candy all the while bleeding out onto the floor), this series holds absolutely no punches when it comes to showcasing truly shocking and disturbing imagery. Most of it is executed well and the series more often than not manages to use said mature content properly, even though while this doesn't apply to certain instances of this.
Future Arc
- Makoto Naegi returns in this anime, and he is still as likable as ever, along with Kyoko Kirigiri, Aoi Asahina, and even Byakuya Togami.
- It explores the events that occur after Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and how Makoto's decision to protect the Remnants of Despair by hiding them from the rest of the Future Foundation (who wanted them exterminated) angered many of the organization's Branch Leaders and led to him being accused of treason against them.
- What's interesting about that situation is that both sides are evenly in the right and the wrong. While Makoto was right that the Remnants of Despair were once people who desired hope as much as he and the Future Foundation did and that they didn't start the Tragedy out of their free will, his decision to put them in the Neo World Program to undo Junko's influence on them resulted in Izuru Kamukura inserting the A.I. Junko into said program to sabotage it. This led to a Killing Game happening in the virtual world, and more problems to both him and his peers at the Future Foundation. While things did turn out alright in the end, one could still argue that Makoto was still careless and should've been more prepared for a situation like this. The Branch Leaders on the other hand, while most of them aren't the nicest of people, their goal was to restore hope to the world and end the Tragedy no matter the cost. And they didn't see the Remnants of Despair in the same way Makoto did. And it's never outright stated which side is right and which one is wrong, because they both have motives for their actions that can be perceived as understandable, so no one can say which side is more right or wrong in the end.
- Episode 7 of this arc is one big call-back to Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. It shows that the former Warriors of Hope (Nagisa Shingetsu, Masaru Daimon, Kotoko Utsugi, and Jataro Kemuri) have now allied with Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa and help them find Monaca Towa. Who, to the girls' surprise, has given up on despair due to the Servant (Nagito Komaeda)'s ramblings about hope and despair making her bored of both of them, and by the end, she becomes a NEET by launching herself into space.
- Some of the new characters are likable and interesting, such as Kyosuke Munakata, Juzo Sakakura, Chisa Yukizome (despite only having a small role in this arc and a bigger role in the "Despair Arc"), etc. Even some of the characters who don't get as much focus like Seiko Kimura, Koichi Kizakura, the Great Gozu, Daisaku Bandai, and Sonosuke Izayoi are still likable new additions to the cast (no matter how long some of them might last, which are often very short amounts of time, before they're killed off).
- Speaking of the new characters, we learn a lot more about the Future Foundation in this arc. They were only mentioned in DR2 as an organization dedicated to pulling the world out of despair brought upon by Ultimate Despair. Here, however, we get to see them in action and learn about who works there, and the nature of the organization in general. And this series reveals that despite their good intentions, they're far from a bunch of perfect cinnamon rolls. They're mired in politics and have three different factions vying for power within the leadership, some of which are extremely unpleasant.
- Makoto Naegi's love for Kyoko is shown here. While they've already had a large amount of chemistry in Trigger Happy Havoc (with Kyoko teaching Makoto how to solve the murders that occurred among the students) the moment that truly shows how strong they're bond has gotten is when Makoto believes that Kyoko has been murdered because of him, and even though she never actually died, it still showed how much he cared about her. And it was all executed well, unlike Sonosuke Izayoi's relationship with Ruruka Ando (which ends with Ruruka's paranoia of Sonosuke betraying her getting the best of her and leading to her killing him by triggering his forbidden action, even though she genuinely cared about him. And even then, Izayoi spends his final moments kissing Ruruka and telling her that he loves her after reassuring her that she didn't betray him. It also isn't helped by the fact that Izayoi likely ended up dying believing that his death would keep his girlfriend safe, something which unfortunately was untrue as she became the next victim of the attacker).
- On the subject of character development, Aoi also gets a large douse of it. Here, she's much more independent and courageous than she was in the game and first anime series. Heck, episode 5, proves that she's become strong enough to be able to fight Juzo (aka, the Ultimate Boxer) to a standstill (albeit not at the latter's full power), and she would likely have won had the fight not had been interrupted.
- Both Munakata and Sakakura arguably start as unlikable due to their hostility towards the other characters, particularly Makoto (though to be fair, many of the Future Foundation members have this problem due to Makoto's decision to hide the Remnants of Despair from them to redeem them causing them to accuse him of treason, as previously mentioned), but they both undergo huge redemption arcs over the 12 episodes of the "Future Arc".
- Episode 10 reveals that Munakata was driven mad because of his lover, Chisa Yukizome, deliberately pushing him over the edge without him ever realizing she was brainwashed and a member of Ultimate Despair. Makoto's speech about how he would still stay optimistic had the same thing happened to him and Kyoko, while reminding him of the good times with the good Yukizome, allowed Munakata to finally be honest with himself and cry, burying the hatchet towards Makoto and dispelling his self-inflicted madness.
- While the introductions of/focus on characters like Monaca, Junko, and Ruruka may have already done something to reduce the amount of dislike Sakakura received from the fanbase, his unrequited feelings for Munakata and humanizing fear of how he'd react to them, as well as his love for him being portrayed sympathetically, the genuinely sad scene of him being stabbed by Munakata, the way he was able to admit his previous mistakes, and him rescuing Makoto before ending the killing game by sacrificing himself certainly redeemed him in the eyes of many fans.
Despair Arc
- It’s nice to see the characters from Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair get the anime treatment, just like how Trigger Happy Havoc did with Danganronpa: The Animation.
- Some of the characters' new designs that were recycled from their beta designs are arguably pretty good as well (Gundham Tanaka, Hiyoko Saionji, Akane Owari, Sonia Nevermind, etc.)
- Although the characters from Class 77-B don't get enough screen time (except for Hajime Hinata and Chiaki Nanami), they are as likable as ever, just like in Danganronpa 2. They also provide many hilarious moments.
- Speaking of hilarious moments, the first few episodes are jam-packed with them (a few examples include Yukizome confidently telling Principal Jin Kirigiri that she can handle her first teaching job and hitting her chest a bit too hard in doing so, Chiaki along with Nagito, and "Ryota" remaining in their seats and acting unfazed by Nekomaru and Akane's fight which was quite literally destroying their classroom, and Nagito giving away a little too much information as to why he needs the laxatives to Seiko when asking her for them by claiming he's been constipated all week with the same cheerful smile for the entirety of it) as their mainly wholesome slice-of-life stories, which feels like a nice change of pace and break from the dark atmosphere and all the death and violence from the previous games and Future Arc. It helps let the audience take a breather from said events before Junko shows up, and the series doesn't just morph into a horrific thriller like its sister arc, but it's so much so at so that it makes most of the events from the previous games look relatively tame in comparison.
- Here, we learn that the Chiaki Nanami AI we see in Goodbye Despair that served as the observer of the Remnants of Despair was based on a real person with the same name, despite it unfortunately not being used to expand on her character (see BQ Despair Arc #2).
- We get to see how Hajime Hinata became Izuru Kamukura. It's also revealed why he agreed to become the test subject for the project in the first place (his insecurity over not having a talent and feeling inferior to the Ultimates already led to him considering, but what pushed him to decide to go through with it was his confrontation with Juzo in Episode 3. The experiment had extensive surgeries being performed on him to give him every talent Hope's Peak Academy had researched, as well as his memories, personality, and other emotional functions that could interfere with acquiring talent being removed. The result was his being turned into the talented, but stoic and sociopathic Izuru Kamukura who sees life and everything in it as "boring", something Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba later took advantage of to turn him to their side, along with painting despair as the only exciting thing in life to him to get him on board with their plan).
- It's also revealed here that Junko lied a lot about Izuru in Goodbye Despair to the survivors. She stated that he was a major contributor to the world falling into despair and was also the killer responsible for Hope Peak's Academy's "Biggest, Most Awful Event" (or, the Student Council Killing Game). But here, it's revealed that Junko was actually the one responsible for the Student Council Killing Game (and Izuru only killed one of the members of said game out of self-defense) and he didn't contribute much (if at all) to the Tragedy. Instead, he simply oversaw the Remnants of Despair committing terrorist activities during that time, curious to see which side would win; hope or despair.
- One of the things fans frequently theorized about after the first two games is how the 77th and 78th classes interacted while they were just regular Hope’s Peak students before the events of the games. And those events are explored here. It also gives us a chance to extensively see Class 77-B's personalities in action, which reveals that some of their DR2 behavior was long in place before the events of said game (i.e., Kazuichi's obsessive crush on Sonia, Nekomaru, and Akane/Gundham and Sonia's/Mahiru and Hiyoko's close friendships, Hiyoko acting mean-spirited towards Mikan, Ibuki's energetic and goofy nature, Teruteru's perverted tendencies, Nagito's obsession with hope, etc.).
Hope Arc
Bad Qualities
Overall
- Junko Enoshima has been flanderized in this show, changing from a complex and cunning, yet entertaining antagonist with a detailed motivation to an incompetent, one-note "I'm going to destroy civilization because I'm evil!" Generic doomsday villain with none of the humor, complexity, or craftiness she had in the previous games, anime series, and mangas/novels.
- Even if there are some good episodes, there are episodes that are considered bad, weak, forgettable, and even straight-up abusive, with Episode 10 of the Despair Arc being the worst offender of them all.
- Rather than the original run of the series in Japan where they aired together, Funimation marketed them separately, which can get confusing for Danganronpa fans. It also isn't helped by the fact that the episodes were released in a pattern between the Future Arc and Despair Arc.
- There is a total of 3 instances where the anime tricks the audience into thinking that any of the main/major characters have died, which feels like it somewhat lowers the tension of the situation and makes the audience' feel sad upon seeing the death of a character they care about, only for it to end up being for nothing in the end. The one involving Kyoko felt like its only purpose was so that Makoto could reconcile with Kyosuke after they've both experienced the loss of someone they cared about and can therefore become more capable of sympathizing with one another.
- Some parts of this show can feel very rushed. Most notably, Chiaki Nanami’s character arc in "Despair Arc" and the ending scene of the "Hope Arc."
Future Arc
- The scene where Makoto Naegi ends up watching "Monokuma's Gloomy Sunday", which causes him to hallucinate about his deceased classmates (which now includes Kyoko), can get way, way too disturbing and mean-spirited - especially the scene where Makoto tries to slit his own throat with a box cutter, only being stopped by Sakakura's interference. However, it's not as bad as Chiaki Nanami getting tortured to death in Episode 10 of the Despair Arc
- The blood in this anime is red instead of pink, which can feel out of place for the Danganronpa franchise since the blood is usually pink in the Danganronpa games.
- Kazuo Tengan, the new leader of Ultimate Despair and the final "Big Bad" of the "Hope's Peak Academy" saga is an incredibly unlikable antagonist due to his inconsistent characterization, nonsensical motivations, and terrible "plan". The fact that he used to be one of the most popular characters introduced in this series before these revelations doesn't help matters.
- A tie-in novel attempts to explain Tengan's sudden turn to villainy by revealing that he was brainwashed by Chisa Yukizome using the "Despair Video", thus making him a member of Ultimate Despair from the very beginning. Whether or not it works is up to you.
- On the subject of the cast introduced here, while they're still likable, they're still arguably the weakest in the Danganronpa series.
- A tie-in novel attempts to explain Tengan's sudden turn to villainy by revealing that he was brainwashed by Chisa Yukizome using the "Despair Video", thus making him a member of Ultimate Despair from the very beginning. Whether or not it works is up to you.
Despair Arc
- The infamous Episode 10 is considered to be the worst episode in not just this arc, but this entire show altogether, due to it taking the horror genre way, way too far, being a Chiaki Nanami torture episode where the punching bag trope is being taken to the extreme, and even Junko Enoshima being the one to torture Chiaki to death. We kid you not. Also.. does that sound familiar?
- And even before then, there were still some mean-spirited scenes such as Hiyoko Saionji bullying Gundham Tanaka's rabbit (although she does get her comeuppance for it)
- This arc feels like wasted potential for Chiaki Nanami, as not only does she still not get a backstory, but her only character arc felt very rushed and simple. As she almost immediately goes from being a loner to being adored by everyone in her class after playing video games with them (to the point where they all immediately agree with Chisa that she should be elected as the class rep the next day). And her chemistry with Hajime, while not as forced as it was in the game, can still feel underdeveloped. Hell, Episode 10 of this arc gave her an even worse role in this series, as she became a punching bag in that episode with said trope being cranked up to eleven.
- This arc immediately went downhill after Episode 10, up until "Hope Arc". Therefore, Episode 9 of this arc was truly the final good episode of "Despair Arc".
Hope Arc
- For the bad qualities, go to the BQ section of this page.
The Entire Series
Future Arc
- Third Time's The Charm
- Hang The Witch
- Cruel Violence and Hollow Words
- Who Is A Liar
- Dreams of Distant Days
- No Man Is An Island
- Ultra Despair Girls (not to be confused with the game)
- Who Killed Cock Robin
- You Are My Reason To Die
- Death, Destruction, Despair
- All Good Things
- It Is Always Darkest
Despair Arc
- Hello Again, Hope's Peak High School
- My Impurest Heart for You
- A Farewell to All Futures
- The Melancholy, Surprise, and Disappearance of Nagito Komaeda
- Beginning of the End
- A Despairfully Fateful Encounter
- The Biggest, Most Atrocious Incident in Hope's Peak High School's History
- The Worst Reunion by Chance
- Chisa Yukizome Doesn't Smile
- Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope
- Goodbye, Hope's Peak High School
Hope Arc
Episodes With Their Own Pages
Good Episodes
Bad Episodes
- Smile at Despair in the Name of Hope (The worst episode of the series)
- Goodbye, Hope's Peak High School
Reception
Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School widely received positive reception, especially from Danganronpa fans. Who praised the anime for its high stakes, explanation of events that were only stated to have happened in the games, complex storylines, faithfulness to the games, appropriate narrative, and progressive growth and development of Makoto and Kyoko, as well as their relationship. Pollsters Charapedia ranked it as the ninth most anticipated anime of 2016. Although the English dub changed lines from the original series, the site said it still appealed to the audience. HobbyConsolas listed it as one of the best anime series released in 2016. In a Manga. Tokyo poll in 2016, Future Arc was the 21st most popular anime of the year, while Despair Arc was 33rd. In a Goo Ranking poll, the entire series was voted the 19th best anime of 2016. In a Biggest in Japan poll, Future Arc was voted the 6th best anime of 2016 while Despair Arc was 8th.
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