This article is about the video game franchise, for the 2010 video game see Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.

Danganronpa is a mystery action visual novel video game series. It was developed by Spike Chunsoft Co Ltd (previously Spike Co Ltd) as a beta named DISTRUST. DISTRUST 
was cancelled due to the story being too dark and the setting was not usable for high school students. Two animated shows were released: Danganronpa: The Animation and Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School.

Story

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc/Danganronpa: The Animation 
Makoto Naegi and 15 other smart students enter a beautiful high school named Hope's Peak Academy. In the game, Makoto Naegi enters the school building before fainting and waking up in a classroom. While in the animation, Makoto steps foot onto the school and immediately falls unconscious. He then goes to the gym to meet fifteen other high school students who joined Hope's Peak Academy. After the introductions, a robotic bear named Monokuma introduces himself and states that they are trapped in the school. The only way to escape is to commit murder without getting caught by the other students. For the rest of the game/animation, Makoto and his classmates are to find the murderer's of each case, if they do not find the murderer they will be executed, if they do find the murderer, only the murderer will be executed.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair 
Hajime Hinata and 15 other students join an academy. When Hajime enters the academy he walks into a room that is filled with binary code and a door. When he walks through the door, he enters a classroom filled with fifteen other students. They all introduce themselves, a robotic rabbit named Usami/Monomi/Magical Girl Usami appears and introduces herself as their teacher. After her introduction, she gets a magical wand and twirls it around, the ceiling and walls rip off to show a paradise beach. Afterwards on a beach, she asks them to earn 15 Friendship Fragments. Afterwards, Usami asks everyone to come back to the beach, but a random storm shows up and a silhouette of Monokuma appears on a monitor. The silhouette asks the students to meet at a place on the island named Central Park. Monokuma introduces himself on the statue in Central Park and begins the killing game. He tells them the only way to escape the island successfully is to kill another student without getting caught by the other students. For the rest of the game, Hajime and his classmates attempt to debunk the mysteries and catch the murderers.

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls 
Komaru Naegi and Toko Fukawa (from the first game) attempt to save the world from dangerous Monokumas. The events of this game take place during the second and first game. Komaru Naegi has been trapped inside an apartment with no connection to the outside world for 1/2 years. Every day she goes to the door leading out but it seems to be locked from outside. However, on this one day food was delivered to her and she bang on the door to let her out and to help her but sharp claws almost strike her face. A huge Monokuma breaks open the door and begins to chase her around the apartment. After she gets out of the apartment, she must run to the elevator which to her surprise brings out Byakuya Togami. He gives her a hacking gun(that is designed as a megaphone but shoots bits of codes at anything and makes it malfunction and break.) and tells her to run to a nearby restaurant and find a member of Future Foundation. Monokuma's enter the restaurant and start attacking the customers. Afterwards, Komaru finds a Future Foundation member and they give her instructions to go to a helicopter. When she gets to the helicopter, she sees a kid wearing a Monokuma head singing. She gets onto the helicopter but a Monokuma tries to enter. After she solves the issue, another issue begins. A Monokuma was up front tinkering with the helicopter controls and drives them up into the sky. Her failed execution begins, she flies into the sky and then falls to the ground but survives with minor damage to her body. A Monokuma appears in front of her then other start to surround her, she faints and wakes up in a room. The Ultimate Servant, Nagito Komaeda enters the room and asks if she could come to the main room. When she enters, five children introduce themselves as the Lil' Ultimate's. They also introduce a new type of killing game named Demon Hunting where the Lil Ultimate's had a target hitlist and it was their objective to kill all adults and make it a kids only place. Komaru's second failed execution begins, she falls down a hole with a parachute. That is where she meets Genocide/Genocider Jack/Jill/Sho/Toko. For the rest of the game, they go on misadventures to defeat the Lil' Ultimate's all together.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy 
This animation has three seasons.

Despair Arc 
Takes place before the events of Trigger Happy Havoc. A new teacher treats the Danganronpa 2 students. Chisa Yukizome is substitute teacher before she becomes an actual teacher at Hope's Peak Academy. In the first episode, most of the class is missing so the class that is present in the classroom and Chisa go on a heist to find all the students. As the show progresses the more the episode's get darker. On the final few episodes, Junko Enoshima brainwashes Chisa Yukizome, gives Chiaki Nanami false hope and death, and brainwashes all the students into committing despair-like actions.

Future Arc 
Takes place after the events of Goodbye Despair. Older Makoto Naegi, Aoi Asahina, Kyoko/Kyouko Kirigiri, and a few others are trapped inside the Future Foundation building. The objective of this killing game is similar to the normal Danganronpa style, however there is only one killer. Everyone is given a wristband with a forbidden action and a timer. If they wristband wearer commits the forbidden action a poison will be put inside of them and make them bleed out of their eyes. It will also turn a part of the skin black and kill them. One the timer ends a gas will be put everywhere in the building in put them to sleep. On the final episode, the show is put on a cliff hanger.

Hope Arc 
Takes place after the events of Goodbye Despair. Makoto Naegi is tasked to stop Ryota Mitarai from sending a brainwashing video(using his brainwashing technique) to the entire world which is supposed to fill them with hope. This season is only one episode long. At the end of the episode, Makoto Naegi rebuilds Hope's Peak Academy and becomes the new principal. This marks the end of Hope's Peak Academy.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony 
Not to be confused with Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy. No major spoilers in this section.

Kaede Akamatsu and her classmates join a new academy, "The Ultimate School for Gifted Juveniles". Kaede introduces herself and walks out of a locker she was asleep in. She explores the classroom a bit. Shuichi Saihara falls out of a locker and begins to freak out. They both introduce themselves and tell each other how they arrived. They leave the classroom to be seen by exisals, that chase them to the gym. When they enter they see 14 other students. 5 smaller versions of Monokuma appear named the Monokubs. They introduce themselves and give everyone new clothes to put on. Afterwards, a flashlight is used to erase their memory of the event and the beginning happens all over again. They all go back to the gym to find Monokuma. Monokuma begins the killing game. Kaede and her classmates must find out the mysteries of the school and find the murderer to each case.

Characters

Trigger Happy Havoc/The Animation 

 Monokuma - Ultimate Antagonist
 Makoto Naegi - Ultimate Lucky Student
 Kyoko/Kyouko Kirigiri - Ultimate ???/Ultimate Detective 1.0
 Byakuya Togami - Ultimate Heir/ Ultimate Affluent Progeny
 Toko/Touko Fukawa | Genocide Jack/Jill/Sho - Ultimate Literary Girl/Ultimate Serial Killer
 Aoi Asahina - Ultimate Swimmer
 Yasuhiro Hagukure - Ultimate Fortune Teller
 Sayaka Maizono - Ultimate Idol
 Leon Kuwata - Ultimate Baseball Player
 Chihiro Fujisaki - Ultimate Programmer
 Mondo Owada/Ohwada - Ultimate Biker
 Kiyotaka Ishimaru - Ultimate Perfect/Hall Monitor/Prefect
 Hifumi Yamada - Ultimate Fanfic Creator/Ultimate NSFW Artist
 Celestia/Celes/Celsete Ludenberg - Ultimate Gambler
 Sakura Ogami/Ohgami - Ultimate Fighter/ Ultimate Martial Artist
 Junko Enoshima - Ultimate Despair/Ultimate Real Fashionista/Mastermind
 Mukuro Ikusaba - Ultimate Fake Fashionista/Ultimate Solider
 Alter Ego - Ultimate N/A
 Jin Kirigiri - Ultimate Prinicipal

Goodbye Despair 

 Monokuma - Ultimate Antagonist
 Hajime Hinata/Izuru Kamukura - Ultimate ???/Ultimate Hope
 Chiaki Nanami - Ultimate Gamer
 Nagito Komaeda - Ultimate Lucky Student/The Servant
 Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu/Kuzuryuu - Ultimate Gangster/ Ultimate Yakuza
 Akane Owari - Ultimate Gymnast
 Sonia Nevermind - Ultimate Princess
 Kazuichi Soda/Souda - Ultimate Mechanic
 Byakuya Togami - Ultimate Imposter
 Teruteru Hanamura - Ultimate Chef/Cook
 Mahiru Koizumi - Ultimate Photographer
 Peko Pekoyama - Ultimate Swordswoman
 Ibuki Mioda - Ultimate Musician/Light Music Club Member
 Hiyoko Saionji - Ultimate Traditional Dancer
 Mikan Tsumiki - Ultimate Nurse
 Nekomaru Nidai - Ultimate Team Manager/Coach
 Gundham/Gundaham Tanaka - Ultimate Animal Breeder
 Usami/Magical Girl Usami/Monomi - Ultimate Teacher
 Alter Ego Junko - Ultimate Fashionista/Mastermind

Ultra Despair Girls 

 Komaru Naegi - Ordinary Girl
 Monaca Towa - Lil' Ultimate Homeroom/Warriors Of Hope/Mastermind
 Masaru Daimon - Lil' Ultimate P.E./Warriors Of Hope
 Jataro Kemuri - Lil' Ultimate Art/Warriors Of Hope
 Kotoko Utsugi - Lil' Ultimate Drama/Warriors Of Hope
 Nagisa Shingetsu - Lil' Ultimate Social Studies/World Studies/Warriors Of Hope
 Shirokuma - Ultimate ???
 Yuta Asahina - Ordinary Boy
 Monokuma Kids - Ultimate ???
 Monokuma Variants - Ball Monokuma/Beast Monokuma/Big Bang Monokuma

The End of Hope's Peak Academy 

 Kyosuke Munakata - Former Ultimate Student Council President
 Chisa Yukizome - Former Ultimate Housekeeper/Maid 1.0
 Ryota Mitarai - Former Ultimate Animator
 Daisaku Bandai - Former Ultimate Farmer
 Great Gozu - Former Ultimate Wrestler 1.0
 Kazuo Tengan - Former Headmaster/Principal/Mastermind
 Seiko Kimura - Former Ultimate Pharmacist
 Sonosuke Izayoi - Former Ultimate Blacksmith
 Koichi Kizakura - Former Student Scout
 Miaya Gekkogahara - Former Ultimate Therapist
 Ruruka Ando - Former Ultimate Confectioner/Baker
 Juzo Sakakura - Former Ultimate Boxer/Wrestler 2.0
 Chiaki Nanami - Ultimate Gamer
 Students - Chisa Yukizome's Students
 Monokuma - Ultimate Antagonist

Killing Harmony 

 Monokuma - Ultimate Antagonist
 Kaede Akamatsu - Ultimate Pianist
 Shuichi Saihara - Ultimate Detective 2.0
 K1-B0/Keebo/Kibo - Ultimate Robot
 Maki Harukawa - Ultimate Child Caretaker
 Himiko Yumeno - Ultimate Magician/Mage
 Rantaro Amami - Ultimate ???/Survivor/Adventurer
 Ryoma Hoshi - Ultimate Tennis Player/Prisoner
 Kirumi Tojo - Ultimate Maid 2.0
 Angie Yonaga - Ultimate Artist
 Tenko Chabashira - Ultimate Aikido Master
 Korekiyo Shinguji - Ultimate Anthropologist
 Miu Iruma - Ultimate Inventor
 Gonta Gokuhara - Ultimate Entomologist/Bug Explorer
 Kokichi Oma/Ouma - Ultimate Supreme Leader/ Ultimate Supreme Leader of Evil
 Kaito Momota - Ultimate Astronaut
 Tsumugi Shirogane - Ultimate Cosplayer/Mastermind
 Monokubs - Montaro/Monodam/Monosuke/Monokid/Monophanie
 Junko Enoshima the 53rd - Ultimate Fashionista 53rd

Gameplay 
The game has three elements that make it a chapter(besides prologue). Daily Life - Deadly Life - Class Trial.

Daily Life 
In Daily Life, you will have Freetime Events that allow you to raise your friendship level in the game. You may also choose not to do freetime events by staying in your dormitory and taking a nap in your bed. Every day in the game, everyone meets in the cafeteria to discuss what they have found.

Deadly Life 
In Deadly Life, a student has been killed and you must investigate and get clues to help you during the Class Trial. When three or more people discover a body an announcement will play along the lines of this, "A body has been discovered! Please meet in the ???". In Trigger Happy Havoc, the player would always find the body before the announcement played. This was not the case for Goodbye Despair and Killing Harmony.

Class Trial 
In a Class Trial, you will have to participate in the many discussions. You will have a health bar and a speaking gauge. The health bar will lose hearts or lower itself when you fail a part of the trial. However, the musical part of the game will make you lose hearts depending on if you fail to press the correct button or miss a button. Other parts of the trial are, Non-Stop Debate and Hangman's Gambit. If you lose all your hearts or your health bar is fully gone then a vote will automatically begin and the player will be selected as the killer. You can go back to the Main Menu, try again, or restart. Once you finish the final part of the trial, which is putting the correct pictures onto a comic, then everyone will vote except for the player(besides Killing Harmony). They will vote for the actual killer and Monokuma will say his infamous, "Let's give it all we got! It's punishment time!". And Monokuma will grab a gable and hit it on a button which seems like it already knew who the killer was. And a pixelated Monokuma will choke the pixelated murderer and take them to their execution. Executions are based on what that person's interests are. After the execution, the chapter will end.
Video games
2013 television series debuts

References