Look who’s smiling NOW! It’s Monokuma, robot bear headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy…the involuntary boarding school for Japan’s most elite students—and the setting of Dark Horse’s latest manga series, Danganronpa: The Animation, which premieres this week when vol. 1 hits the stores. And how thoughtful…it seems that someone laid down a tarp before they murdered one of their fellow classmates! Eh? Who’s the guilty one, you ask? Sorry, Monokuma says figuring that out is YOUR problem. No…it really is your problem…
Welcome to Danganronpa, based on the game series by our friends at NIS America (they also release the boxed set of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime based on CLAMP’s manga), and just recently available on Steam! Danganronpa: The Animation, as the title suggests, is also an anime series from Funimation. And if you’ve been at any anime cons in the last few years, chances are you’ve run into not only Danganronpa cosplay meetups, but Danganronpa murder mystery events. Yes, getting back to murder…
In Danganronpa, the “Ultimate” students of Hope’s Peak (best in the nation at whatever they do, from baseball to fashion to fanfic) are trapped inside the school by Monokuma, who informs them the only way to escape is to kill another student…and then get away with it, as the survivors are then assembled at a tribunal to determine who among them is guilty. Monokuma knows, as he has the whole school under surveillance. But if the surviving students guess wrong, the killer will go free…and everyone else will be executed!
The evil bear declares his sole intent is to drive these students, Japan’s best, to utter despair. There’s a larger conspiracy here…but as one by one, the fifteen students are gradually found dead, the survivors depend on the so-called ordinary student among them, Makoto Naegi, ultimate only in his luck at being chosen at random to attend Hope’s Peak. Not only does Makoto have uncommon courage, he reveals himself to be a natural-born trial attorney…the skill he’ll need to uncover the mystery and save his fellow students—because if they identify the wrong killer even once, it’s over!
One more thing! Pick up the Danganronpa manga, and you’ll notice it has a fan section, “Despair Mail.” It’s a place to feature your thoughts, fan art, and cosplay photos for Danganronpa. Be a part of future volumes by sending in your contributions to danganronpa@darkhorse.com! Well, the class bell just rang, gotta go…wait, why is the floor so sticky…?
—Carl Horn
Manga Editor
Look who’s smiling NOW! It’s Monokuma, robot bear headmaster of Hope’s Peak Academy…the involuntary boarding school for Japan’s most elite students—and the setting of Dark Horse’s latest manga series, Danganronpa: The Animation, which premieres this week when vol. 1 hits the stores. And how thoughtful…it seems that someone laid down a tarp before they murdered one of their fellow classmates! Eh? Who’s the guilty one, you ask? Sorry, Monokuma says figuring that out is YOUR problem. No…it really is your problem…
Welcome to Danganronpa, based on the game series by our friends at NIS America (they also release the boxed set of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime based on CLAMP’s manga), and just recently available on Steam! Danganronpa: The Animation, as the title suggests, is also an anime series from Funimation. And if you’ve been at any anime cons in the last few years, chances are you’ve run into not only Danganronpa cosplay meetups, but Danganronpa murder mystery events. Yes, getting back to murder…
In Danganronpa, the “Ultimate” students of Hope’s Peak (best in the nation at whatever they do, from baseball to fashion to fanfic) are trapped inside the school by Monokuma, who informs them the only way to escape is to kill another student…and then get away with it, as the survivors are then assembled at a tribunal to determine who among them is guilty. Monokuma knows, as he has the whole school under surveillance. But if the surviving students guess wrong, the killer will go free…and everyone else will be executed!
The evil bear declares his sole intent is to drive these students, Japan’s best, to utter despair. There’s a larger conspiracy here…but as one by one, the fifteen students are gradually found dead, the survivors depend on the so-called ordinary student among them, Makoto Naegi, ultimate only in his luck at being chosen at random to attend Hope’s Peak. Not only does Makoto have uncommon courage, he reveals himself to be a natural-born trial attorney…the skill he’ll need to uncover the mystery and save his fellow students—because if they identify the wrong killer even once, it’s over!
One more thing! Pick up the Danganronpa manga, and you’ll notice it has a fan section, “Despair Mail.” It’s a place to feature your thoughts, fan art, and cosplay photos for Danganronpa. Be a part of future volumes by sending in your contributions to danganronpa@darkhorse.com! Well, the class bell just rang, gotta go…wait, why is the floor so sticky…?
—Carl Horn
Welcome to Danganronpa, based on the game series by our friends at NIS America (they also release the boxed set of the Cardcaptor Sakura anime based on CLAMP’s manga), and just recently available on Steam! Danganronpa: The Animation, as the title suggests, is also an anime series from Funimation. And if you’ve been at any anime cons in the last few years, chances are you’ve run into not only Danganronpa cosplay meetups, but Danganronpa murder mystery events. Yes, getting back to murder…
In Danganronpa, the “Ultimate” students of Hope’s Peak (best in the nation at whatever they do, from baseball to fashion to fanfic) are trapped inside the school by Monokuma, who informs them the only way to escape is to kill another student…and then get away with it, as the survivors are then assembled at a tribunal to determine who among them is guilty. Monokuma knows, as he has the whole school under surveillance. But if the surviving students guess wrong, the killer will go free…and everyone else will be executed!
The evil bear declares his sole intent is to drive these students, Japan’s best, to utter despair. There’s a larger conspiracy here…but as one by one, the fifteen students are gradually found dead, the survivors depend on the so-called ordinary student among them, Makoto Naegi, ultimate only in his luck at being chosen at random to attend Hope’s Peak. Not only does Makoto have uncommon courage, he reveals himself to be a natural-born trial attorney…the skill he’ll need to uncover the mystery and save his fellow students—because if they identify the wrong killer even once, it’s over!
One more thing! Pick up the Danganronpa manga, and you’ll notice it has a fan section, “Despair Mail.” It’s a place to feature your thoughts, fan art, and cosplay photos for Danganronpa. Be a part of future volumes by sending in your contributions to danganronpa@darkhorse.com! Well, the class bell just rang, gotta go…wait, why is the floor so sticky…?
—Carl Horn
Manga Editor