Hi there guys and here I am with a brand new anime review, one I’ve been looking forward to do doing for a while. For those of you who may not know I am huge fan of the Danganronpa franchise as it is one of my favorite video game series due to the excellent writing, engrossing narratives, creative gameplay, and instantly memorable casts of characters among other things. So to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first game I’ve decided to go ahead and talk about third part of the Hope’s Peak Academy narrative that was started with the original. This series was made to continue, and conclude the story that was told with Trigger Happy Havoc, and Goodbye Despair and it’s actually split up into two parts one that’s a true follow up, and one that actually takes place before the games so I’ll be looking into the pros, and cons of both of them. I actually first started watching this series when I was in the middle of playing V3 as I was curious about it, and wanted to watch it before I completed the series. I was very curious to see how this specific story would wrap up and was also intrigued by the idea of witnessing the events that started it all so I was excited to check it out. Unfortunately though I ended up being very disappointed by this series and felt more underwhelmed more than anything once I finished it. So now let’s see what, and what did not work with the End of Hope’s Peak Academy and might as well get things escalated by uttering a phrase similar to what Monokuma would say when it’s time for an execution… except it’s Review Time! (Also warning that there will be spoilers for the games as well as this show as well).
Like I said the show has two storylines to it Future Side, and Despair Side and the how the series would run is it would interchange with each episode (first a future episode, then a despair one, then a future, and so on). Future side takes place in the aftermath of the first two games with the protagonist of the first, and the one to take down the Super High School level Despair, Junko Enoshima, Makoto Naegi, brought under suspicion by the Future Foundation for saving, and sparing the lives of the Remnants of Despair who carried on Junko’s will of bringing despair to the world. So Makoto, and his classmates, Kyoko Kirigiri, Aoi Asahina, and Yasuhiro Hagakure meet up with the Future Fondation in order to decide what Makoto’s punishment will be. But they soon find themselves trapped in another killing game led by Monokuma in which they must determine the traitor amongst their ranks who could kill anyone of them in their sleep while also avoiding being poisoned due to these wrist bands that prevents them from doing a specific action as Makoto’s hope is put to the test to figure out who is behind all of this. Meanwhile despair side serves as a prequel to the series where a character from Future Side, Chisa Yukizome, begins the job of being a homeroom teacher for the 77th Class of Super High School Level students, and Hajime Hinata, a student from Reserve Course of the school (essentially kids who lack talent) is deciding whether to undergo an experiment that will turn him into a Super High School Level Hope as we see the events that lead to “The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History”.
When it comes to both Future Side, and Despair side I think both have interesting ideas, and a lot of potential to add to the overarching story in meaningful ways and yet neither are as satisfying as they should be. First let’s discuss future side and for the first few episodes I thought it was mostly okay. I really liked the atmosphere, and how eerie it could be at times, the set up has a lot of promise to it, and I really like how it put Makoto’s hope to the test and the conflict that arises between the ideologies of him, and the leader of the Future Foundation, Munakata, in terms of what true hope really is and how far can someone go to achieve it. All of this works pretty well and kept my interest enough despite certain other problems that held it back from being truly great ( some of which which I’ll discuss later on) including the use of a lot of fake out deaths for certain major characters which was odd considering that Danganronpa never really utilizes tropes like that and here they didn’t add much of anything to the story. Yet once we get to the last few episodes and it’s revealed who the one behind this is, and why that’s where the story really stumbles and struggles to get back up. Now the method in which was used to pick off characters one by one I actually found surprising, and interesting as it’s something that I don’t think I’ve seen in a murder mystery type story like this. But while that was well done the actual twist of who is behind all of this, and why really did not work for me as the motivation didn’t make a whole lot of sense when I really thought about it and felt more like sloppy writing than a meaningful or surprising twist that left an impression. It really does suck because I was mostly intrigued by what came before warts, and all. As for Despair Side, it’s strange in that I did enjoy most of the episodes individually it was neat seeing certain events that were only mentioned by name in the games, and there is a sense of dread throughout as we know the fate of certain characters, and it’s a touch of tragedy to the proceedings, yet it is here where I question the admittedly ambitious, and unique decision to have both Future side, and despair side interconnect, and have the same number of episodes. I say this because one of my biggest issues with Despair Side is it’s pacing as it feels very rushed and most of the plot threads that are brought up are not fully developed and at times it left me wanting more. For example the episode that deals with the infamous Twilight Syndrome Murder Case (a pivotal part of the second chapter of Goodbye Despair) while very interesting and effective doesn’t quite land as hard as it should since we don’t really get to see much of the aftermath and how certain characters fully process it. It made me wonder with how Despair Side would’ve fared if it had been it’s own series (with more episodes to boot) and not had to follow the same route as Future Side just to interconnect with it because aside from knowing who specific new characters (like Munakata, Chisa, etc.) it just ends up felling like a detriment to it. As for how they tie together at the end in the final episode well just like the series as whole I had some mixed feelings on it. Now there are some parts that do go for a nice emotional punch, the way some characters went was interesting, and it is a little nice to have something end somewhat happily in this franchise (even if I do kind of appreciate the bittersweet note that each game ends on and maybe things were a little too happy here) yet at the same time the reveals really didn’t do it for me and I can’t say I was completely satisfied by the end. That’s really the best way to describe how the story felt and it’s just a series that I feel if they made it longer to develop certain elements more and handled other aspects better this could’ve been so much better.
As frustrating as the narrative may be I will say that the show does have some inventive visuals at times, and the animation is solid overall. I think what I like most about how the show looks is the contrast in color there is for both sides with future side having a largely dark color scheme that captures the more serious tone, and bleak future setting and Despair Side having a more brighter look to it with a lot of colors but as it goes on that colorful look diminishes for obvious reasons (also unlike Future Side the blood is pink just as it is in the games). It makes both of them look, and feel distinct, and a bit stylized and is well done overall. Animation wise everything works well as the movements are nice, and smooth and the designs are memorable with some of them standing out, and being genuinely memorable (like some of the Future Foundation members for example) which is also something this has in common with the rest of the franchises. There’s a nice little touch that I like where the minor character like random guards or the Reserve Course students are all blue and don’t have any expressions that actually makes sense with what Despair Side is trying to convey. Also like how the backgrounds in Future Side in particular feel big as Citadel where they are trapped really does feel never ending with it’s huge size as it does add to the atmosphere. There are also a couple of action sequences here and there which are pretty fun, and not afraid to get a little ridiculous here and there, and as befitting the franchise there is a lot of gruesome imagery perhaps more so here and it can be very disturbing, and disgusting (there was one scene in particular that had me literally covering my eyes) to the point that even when it’s censored it’s still hard to watch! As for the openings for both shows well their both really cool and do a nice job of foreshadowing what will go down (or in the case of Future side mislead) in the series and I like how for Despair Side it changes as the series goes on matching how the tone changes and the soundtracks for both are also good and do a good job of adding to any given moment and really the same can be said for the craftsmanship of the show in general as it is really solid on the whole.
We get to see a lot of familiar faces, and some new ones as well throughout this series and it is a very stacked ensemble though unfortunately they vary a lot from interesting to disappointingly underutilized. This is especially applies to Future Side and is another reason why I feel the series should’ve been a little bit longer in order to at least flesh some of these characters out. First there are the returning players and Makoto is once again the lead and while I can’t say he is my absolute favorite character in the franchise (or even my favorite protagonist) I actually did think the some of the conflicts he had to face here were actually very interesting like how his hopeful nature is challenged by what’s going on around him and there’s one scene that even touches upon how he feels in some way responsible for the deaths of his classmates in the first came. We even get to see his relationship with Kyoko fleshed out a little bit more even and I will say (spoiler) while I may not have been a big fan of her fake out death it did have some thematic weight to it as it showed how Makoto’s type of hope will always win out in the end against Munakata’s hope. As for Asahina, and Hagekure will neither of them get too much to do (the latter doesn’t even participate in the killing game) although the former does get a very forced fake out death that felt more cheap than anything else. The new character here are the real mixed bag here so first the positives. Munakata himself made for an interesting character, and rival to Makoto as he has a much more pessimistic view on hope in stark contrast to the Ultimate Lucky student’s willingness to see the good in things and his arc was probably among the best parts of the series. Meanwhile Koichi was pretty fun with his relaxed personality and his connection to Kyoko, and her father added more to her character while Seiko, the Ultimate Pharmacist, was someone I did sympathize with due to her meek personality and how a certain someone (more on her soon) keeps treating her like garbage. And while I initially disliked Juzo, the Ultimate Boxer, as I felt he was needlessly rude to everyone he did grow on me a bit once we learn more about his relationship with Munakata and I do appreciate the attempt at a redemption arc for him even if the pay off wasn’t as satisfying as it could’ve been. Sadly the rest of the characters are either just “there” and have intriguing designs yet short amount of screen time (looking at you Bandai, and Great Gozu), are there to please fans yet it may not go in the direction they hope (there are some ties into Ultra Despair Girls and while I haven’t played that game I can’t imagine fans being extremely satisfied with what happens here) or in the case of Ruruka incredibly annoying, and downright unlikable. While there is some attempt to develop her and how she feels how her talent of making sweets is inferior to Seiko’s, it still isn’t enough to compensate with the actions she does and even the emotional beats with her don’t land all that much because of it. Oh and almost forgot about Tenzin, the Former Director of Hope’s Peak Academy, who at first seems like a level headed, and kind hearted pacifist who wants to end the violence, but (Major Spoilers) it is soon revealed that he is the mastermind (due to brainwashing) behind all of this and his motivation of going through all this trouble just to get Ryota, the Ultimate animator, (more on him in a bit) to brainwash the entire world so they can feel hope just really didn’t work for me and I really wish the twist was set up better than it was. Now onto Despair Side and it is here where character like Chisa, and Ryota do get more development with the former trying to be the best homeroom teacher she can be to her students and the former whose trying to deal with his own personal issues of self confidence while also still wanting to do the right thing. Both of these character’s arc end up falling into tragedy at one point and they are two of the most developed, and sympathetic of the entire series I feel even if once again I do feel like more time should’ve been devoted to their arcs a little bit more. Here is also where we get to reunite with the cast of Goodbye Despair and while it is nice to see them and the 77th class (like Gundam, Sonia, Fuyuhiko, Ibuki, etc.) do provide a lot of fun comedy we really don’t get to spend too much time with them which is disappointing considering how big their role is in the grand scheme of things and how much I enjoy that cast of colorful individuals (heck I wouldn’t mind a series focusing solely on their school life). The exceptions to this are the Ultimate Imposter whose character gets a good amount more depth added to him/her and Hajime, and Chiaki two characters from the game I quite like and their relationship here is cute (if not quite fully developed) and it is interesting getting to see what lead Hajime want to become the Ultimate Hope, although with Chiaki cute as she is and her (spoilers) execution is devastating to watch (largely due to how brutal, and shocking it is) definitely felt a lot more like a Mary Sue who is perfect in every game (more so than in the game) and felt a little bit like a plot device used to turn brainwash the 77th Class with her execution and I just wish there was more to the character here. Finally the last character I wanted to discuss is Junko Enoshima, the Ultimate Despair herself. Now I actually found her to be a really interesting, and fun main baddie in the first game with her enthusiastically, sadistic personality, and bored outlook on life where despair is the only thing that makes life interesting her eyes and it fills her with utter glee (meaning she can’t really have a truly satisfying comeuppance). I also was shocked at the fact that she was able to masterfully manipulate all of these good natured students into despair inducing monsters and it made her into an even more threatening, and intelligent individual… That is until it is revealed through this series that she actually used mind control to get the job done. While I understand using it on the Reserve Course Students due to the sheer number of them it does retcon that reveal in the game since she just used that to turn the 77th Class into the Remnants of Despair and it honestly felt a bit anti climactic and made me think less of the character (even if she does retain that personality). In general the overuse of the mind control element really felt lazy at times due to how it keeps getting used constantly and in the case of Junko’s plan it may have been more effective had they went in a different direction. In all though just like the story how the characters are fleshed out and the direction their taken in is just one big mixed bag.
As a fan of the franchise that’s really the best way to describe how I feel about this show, extremely mixed. It’s frustrating because there are things that do work here like how it adds to the franchise in certain ways, both sides have a really neat atmosphere, there are plenty of interesting concepts, and ideas, the animation is solid, and I like the direction some key characters went. Yet unfortunately it’s undermined by a rushed pacing, a twist that kind of trips the story over itself, some lazy writing, and a whole bunch of underutilized plot threads, and characters which made this on the whole an underwhelming watch because there was so much potential yet it felt like the writers didn’t know how to fully realize it. I just feel that both Future, and Despair Sides should’ve been their own series as I feel that would’ve at least given them more time to fully flesh out certain aspects although I do have to commend them for trying something a little ambitious with this. It’s certainly not a horrendous show and I do feel it is worth watching at least once if your a die hard fan of the series but yeah as a conclusion to the Hope’s Peak Academy storyline it wasn’t quite the bang I was hoping for it to go out on.
Rating: C
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 