Danganronpa The Animation: General discussion thread

[Kunagisa]

Originally Posted by Renchan

there any news for the OP yet? Or Are they going to use the game OP?

Ogata mentioned that one of the bonus for the BD#1 is the opening theme, but she said this is recorded in a DVD as opposed to CD like the others. The mystery surrounding this has been pretty interesting to follow, and episode 1's OP probably won't be the permanent OP. I also believe Ogata also mentioned that she's not singing the OP; I don't remember if this is referring to just episode 1 though, but it's on twitter if you wanna try to dig it up.

Originally Posted by GoldenLand

There's some really good news! Even though the series is only going to be 13 episodes (which IMO is not nearly enough), the staff have apparently confirmed that they will just be following the plot of the game and will not be doing original things the way the director did with Devil Survivor 2.

I apologize in advance if my tone comes across as rather unpleasant, because quite frankly I'm a bit frustrated with all the constant comparison with DeSu2. While I typed this in another forum for someone, I translated it because I personally support this team and I don't want people to keep just blaming 'em for DeSu2's outcome**:

• There's an interview posted with Higa in the previous page that says it's mostly tradition that the director does the storyboard for episode 1 of the anime they're in charged of. Kishi didn't do that for DeSu2; instead, the honor was given to the assistant director. I think most people would agree that even if you hate DeSu2 anime, the storyboard for the OP and ED are particularly awesome (simple, but effective); Kishi did both.
• Higa also mentioned that because of the complexity of the Class Trials, they've been scratching their heads on how to make it work for the anime (they are terrible in the manga, let me tell you that), and Kishi personally is in charge of the storyboards for all those episodes. This is a huge honor and shows the amount of dedication he has for this series.
• I personally have extremely high tolerance for spoilers. I would only rage if people spoil the storyboard to me in advance (re: VVV ep10), this is how important the storyboard is to me for the anime. Script can only carry you so far because this is a visual medium. Having the director himself does the storyboard makes a huge difference (Shinsekai yori's a prime example of this).
• In DeSu2, the staff were still changing the script in the recording room (especially for Ioppai, Yamato and Alcor iirc), but Hikasa mentioned on the radio show that they're mostly done already for Dangan. Management and scheduling wise, DR is already looking better than DeSu2.
• You should read Kodaka and Kishi/Uezu's interviews on the website from ACE. Kishi and Uezu went as far as to say they're the only ones who can adapt this series to anime (there are also funny stuff ike Kishi cosplayed as Sakura-chan and Uezu as Togami in the first meeting and they both cleared the game before getting hired for the job etc.); furthermore, as you have already mentioned, it's been confirmed back then that Kodaka checked all the script, though keep in mind Ogata said most of the daily stuff are trimmed to the bare minimum. People really shouldn't hold this against them because it seems like class trial and execution will be their main focus for the anime. I think this is a smart choice because let's face it, having a whole week to think on the episode is different than ~1-2 hours for each trial.
• People will probably complain a whole bunch about "social links" being axed, but think back on Horizon (even more stuff was axed in that probably), down-sizing doesn't mean it's bad. 1-cour fully focusing on the theme and showing the unique parts about the game is what is most important. Besides, how often do you hear about adaptions where the entire staff is fan of the original material? Again, I can only recall Horizon from top of my head.

tl;dr: I have high hopes for this anime compare to most people who are "cautiously anticipating." If this team fuck up then so be it, but using P4 (where Uezu isn't even the series composer) or DeSu2 is a very poor choice to set your expectation for this series.

PS: Kodaka is the next host for the radio show this Wednesday, so he probably should have some interesting news to share. Hikasa from previous week's insanely funny, would recommend listening (it's free on Nco).
PPS: **I should probably mention that I watched DeSu2 only up until episode 10 ended as beyond that point I pretty much dropped all anime last season, so if Kishi did more in the later episodes I wouldn't know.
PPPS: Maizono-san prpr If someone has a better scan please share!

[Tyabann]

People are paranoid because Kishi's name has become associated with pretty legendary fuckups, nothing more.

[Natsuki Hyuga]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

People are paranoid because Kishi's name has become associated with pretty legendary fuckups, nothing more.

Aside from Angel Beats (which is pretty much 'too much materials, too few episodes' in short) and recently DeSu2 (which has already been explained by Kunagisa above), Kishi's portfolio is actually pretty good. Sunred, Carnival Phantasm, Jinrui and (while I may not like it completely due to personal reasons) Seto no Hanayome. You cannot say they are not interesting and two at least is considered to be very good adaptation.

Persona 4's faults are not really faults as compared to Megaten fans being elitists, no offense to Megaten fans. In fact, when you leave the too-detailed-terminology-and-system, P4 is an interesting anime adaptation in its own.

I may be cautious on the anime thanks to DeSu2's disappointment, but I hardly think that the team is incapable of delivering DR's good points.

[marvelB]

Originally Posted by Kunagisa

And once again it's Kirigiri (and Maizono) getting all the attention..... If they're gonna focus on the girls, then why not show off Sakura or Fukawa for a change? Heck, I'd even take Asahina at this point (who surprisingly HASN'T been shown off so far, considering her build)......

[mistress_kisara]

Originally Posted by marvelB

And once again it's Kirigiri (and Maizono) getting all the attention..... If they're gonna focus on the girls, then why not show off Sakura or Fukawa for a change? Heck, I'd even take Asahina at this point (who surprisingly HASN'T been shown off so far, considering her build)......

I totally agree!! As much as I love Kirigiri she's way too overexposed! More Fukawa please!

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Natsuki Hyuga

Kishi's portfolio is actually pretty good. Sunred, Carnival Phantasm, Jinrui and (while I may not like it completely due to personal reasons) Seto no Hanayome. You cannot say they are not interesting and two at least is considered to be very good adaptation.

People I know who have actually read the Jintai novels have claimed that he ruined them and have very strong negative feelings towards him for it.

Originally Posted by Natsuki Hyuga

Persona 4's faults are not really faults as compared to Megaten fans being elitists, no offense to Megaten fans.

P4's faults (aside from how goddamn awful it looks) have to do with the large amount of (admittedly quite clever) original content during the early and middle parts of the show, resulting in them running completely out of time to adapt the final quarter of the game and throwing the true ending into a movie sequel for god-knows-what reason.
Basically the only thing Kishi has proven himself competent at is comedy and while Danganronpa is funny at times that is hardly what makes it so good.
I don't blame people for worrying about Kishi anime.

[Kunagisa]

Originally Posted by marvelB

And once again it's Kirigiri (and Maizono) getting all the attention..... If they're gonna focus on the girls, then why not show off Sakura or Fukawa for a change? Heck, I'd even take Asahina at this point (who surprisingly HASN'T been shown off so far, considering her build)......

The answer to this is in Dangan Ronpa Visual Fanbook (link). It's not they're doing this due to the character's popularity nor is it plot related, it has more to do with the settings for the game.

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

People I know who have actually read the Jintai novels have claimed that he ruined them and have very strong negative feelings towards him for it.

Funny you should mention that! I am the one who made the Jintai thread here, and I have read most of the novel before anime aired as well and I enjoyed the anime (in ways, I prefer the anime because the novel can get pretty damn boring at points, which is why didn't read all of them).

I gave up following the thread because people have favorite scenes in the novel, and they personally expect the adaptation to follow 'em 100% with no regard to people who has never experienced the original material. As a director, just blatantly copying everything to the bone shows even less skill than being selective. If anything, I think he's a fine director and that's why he gets hired again and again because he is obviously doing something right. That, and Kamisama Dolls is not comedy and that was great as well. You can dislike a director's style, but you can't just downplay his skill due your subjective opinion.

[GoldenLand]

Originally Posted by Kunagisa

I apologize in advance if my tone comes across as rather unpleasant, because quite frankly I'm a bit frustrated with all the constant comparison with DeSu2. While I typed this in another forum for someone, I translated it because I personally support this team and I don't want people to keep just blaming 'em for DeSu2's outcome**

...


tl;dr: I have high hopes for this anime compare to most people who are "cautiously anticipating." If this team fuck up then so be it, but using P4 (where Uezu isn't even the series composer) or DeSu2 is a very poor choice to set your expectation for this series.

No worries, your tone doesn't come over as unpleasant at all. I mentioned DeSu 2 earlier largely because one of the people I got the news from had done so.

But, I don't think that it's at all unreasonable for people to look at one recent video game adaptation's director (Seiji Kishi), and - since you point it out - also its series composer and script writer (Makoto Uezu) when wondering how that team might go about adapting another video game adaptation.

It's great news to hear that Dangan Ronpa's staff are doing so well! Thank you very much for the extra info.

[ellifeedn]

Originally Posted by marvelB

And once again it's Kirigiri (and Maizono) getting all the attention..... If they're gonna focus on the girls, then why not show off Sakura or Fukawa for a change? Heck, I'd even take Asahina at this point (who surprisingly HASN'T been shown off so far, considering her build)......

Junko is suppose to be the photogenic one to begin with.

[Natsuki Hyuga]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

People I know who have actually read the Jintai novels have claimed that he ruined them and have very strong negative feelings towards him for it.

P4's faults (aside from how goddamn awful it looks) have to do with the large amount of (admittedly quite clever) original content during the early and middle parts of the show, resulting in them running completely out of time to adapt the final quarter of the game and throwing the true ending into a movie sequel for god-knows-what reason.
Basically the only thing Kishi has proven himself competent at is comedy and while Danganronpa is funny at times that is hardly what makes it so good.
I don't blame people for worrying about Kishi anime.

I have yet to read Jinrui novel myself (Romio wwwww No thx wwwww), so I'll let Kunagisa's answer satisfy you I can say that Jinrui was really a good anime in itself, 100% adaptation or not. And I was thinking of CP instead of Jinrui at that time lol, but then I remembered that is strictly not an adaptation than fandisc thing

As for P4A:
- The animation was more or less fixed in the DVD/BD version. It's a different matter altogether to complain about fixed animation in BD/DVD now
- The original scenes actually exemplify one of the best points of the game (and largely considered as the main charm of P4 actually): the characters' interaction. Long story short, I found the story in P4 the weakest out of all the entries, so that was a plus for me when they focus on the interactions than retelling me the story I have seen for like, 3x already www
- As for the movie, money makes the world goes round! In a way, they do complete the anime, no matter if it takes a looooooong time than two cour. Like people forget Bakemonogatari or Madoka last eps!

But let's not continue the OT I don't think Kishi is a bad director, that's the point. I may sound cynical when it comes to him, but I also enjoyed many of the animes he helmed XD

Also, the fact that Kishi and Uezu are pretty much hardcore fans of the game is already an open secret (lolsecret?) If my memory serves right, Kishi himself baked the Monobear cookies you see in anime official twitter (and probably even the cookies present in the pre-airing event!) and Uezu pretty much took photos of a Kmed (SDR2) cosplay from an event last year. wwww

Originally Posted by mistress_kisara

I totally agree!! As much as I love Kirigiri she's way too overexposed! More Fukawa please!

If it is any consolation, the upcoming PASH has 俺らのマジ天使真ヒロインとツンデレ俺様メガネ our not-Eva duo pinup poster, for the fangirls and Eva fans. Hopefully someone will have and scan Pash or I'll have to pick this up on 29th of July when I go back to Aussie w

No, you guys, stop looking at the center LMFAO

Gah, leeching net at airport is sed

[Von Himmel]

And once again it's Kirigiri (and Maizono) getting all the attention..... If they're gonna focus on the girls, then why not show off Sakura or Fukawa for a change? Heck, I'd even take Asahina at this point (who surprisingly HASN'T been shown off so far, considering her build)......

Guess their main focus is only the main heroine Where's my Junko scans!? ;_;

In DeSu2, the staff were still changing the script in the recording room (especially for Ioppai, Yamato and Alcor iirc), but Hikasa mentioned on the radio show that they're mostly done already for Dangan. Management and scheduling wise, DR is already looking better than DeSu2.

They did that? Wouldn't that make things more complex or making the whole story structure disjointed if they changed too much? What are they thinking w

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Kunagisa

Funny you should mention that! I am the one who made the Jintai thread here, and I have read most of the novel before anime aired as well and I enjoyed the anime (in ways, I prefer the anime because the novel can get pretty damn boring at points, which is why didn't read all of them).

Just what I've heard from a few hardcore Romeo Tanaka fans, nothing more.

Originally Posted by Kunagisa

That, and Kamisama Dolls is not comedy and that was great as well. You can dislike a director's style, but you can't just downplay his skill due your subjective opinion.

You know, I totally forgot about Kamisama Dolls.
And I'm not downplaying Kishi's skill or anything, but he's pretty much become "the video game adaptation guy" and I've seen a lot of game fans upset with the P4 and the DeSu2 anime, so...

Originally Posted by Natsuki Hyuga

Also, the fact that Kishi and Uezu are pretty much hardcore fans of the game is already an open secret (lolsecret?) If my memory serves right, Kishi himself baked the Monobear cookies you see in anime official twitter (and probably even the cookies present in the pre-airing event!) and Uezu pretty much took photos of a Kmed (SDR2) cosplay from an event last year. wwww

This is very promising, but... just because people are fans of a thing does not mean they're competent enough to pull it off.
We'll see in a few weeks when we get to the trial scene, I suppose.

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Natsuki Hyuga

Aside from Angel Beats (which is pretty much 'too much materials, too few episodes' in short) and recently DeSu2 (which has already been explained by Kunagisa above), Kishi's portfolio is actually pretty good. Sunred, Carnival Phantasm, Jinrui and (while I may not like it completely due to personal reasons) Seto no Hanayome. You cannot say they are not interesting and two at least is considered to be very good adaptation.

You'd be surprised how many people just disregard that limitation of AB and plain hate it anyway...

Originally Posted by marvelB

But in the end, I'd prefer if it just focused on the main plot. Really can't wait to check it out now!

As long as they don't take the soul out of the characters, then it's good

[Nayim]

The first episode is already aired right now.

[MisaoFan]

Spoiler for Episode 1:

The first episode is strange indeed. There's many characters that are trapped in a wall of survival unveiled by the mysterious Monokuma. It really reminds me of Fort Boyard but with a darker atmosphere. The characters have a lot of potential, too bad the timing for this game will take place with a 15-days countdown. It's been a while since I've seen the instrumental opening theme, so it was pretty refreshing. Will keep watching!

[com_gwp]

I'd really like to hear what the anime-only watchers have to say about this. The pacing in the first episode was fast, jarringly so; from start to finish they just kept throwing exposition after exposition at you. I get that they're getting out the basic narrative foundations first. But along with the blink-and-it's-over character intros, it made we worry a little for the overall narrative structure. I guess the real test of the writing's competency will come next episode.

While I didn't mind the usage of the game's awesome soundtrack, the very liberal lifting of the game's assets made me wish the anime had more of its own original touches (a fault I've always found with Kishi's game adaptations)

[marvelB]

Yeah, I just finished watching the episode now. Definitely a nice touch that it even uses music from the game's awesome soundtrack (though it was missing the Monobear theme..... one of the game's best tracks, easily). Otherwise, I have no complaints. Also, there was one scene I found hilarious as hell:

Spoiler for episode 1:

At the end, when Monobear is laughing over Maizono's sobbing. I know it's supposed to be messed up (because.... y'know, despair), but I just couldn't help it! Part of me is even kinda wondering if that was even intentional on the anime staff's part!

So yeah, looking forward to the upcoming episodes!

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep1:

It went pretty fast. Well, in general, the tempo wasn't that bad, except the introductions. No, sorry, I can't remember their names if you flash them for a moment in some unreadable font (the Japanese part, anyways).
On top of that, the characters creepily for some reason straightens up. So weird it was distracting. And then they return to whatever pose they were at beforehand.

Anyways, well, I thought the setting was interesting, so I decided to watch this, but mm... I don't know. It's one of those battle royale settings and atmosphere-wise, feels like a shonen-ed version of Mirai Nikki or something.
With 15 characters, in order to make each character stand out, all of them except the protagonist are overly exaggerated. And with these types of settings, I highly doubt the heroine is as kind as she tries to be. You know, the darker side or something like that. (Oh great, now starting to remind me more of Mirai Nikki).
Megane is gonna die first. You know horror movies, right? The one that tries to distance themselves from the crowd always dies first.

The character designs are, hmm, okay. Kind of unique, but also kind of odd.
OP and ED definitely didn't cost much to make. I bet the artworks in the OP are the official game artworks?
And the ED............. The song was in Japanese, right? I couldn't tell.

[Kunagisa]

(゜∀゜)キター!!!!

1) People complaining about anime's not following the game enough!
2) People complaining about anime following the game too much^^

Originally Posted by com_gwp

I'd really like to hear what the anime-only watchers have to say about this.

For the record! If you want genuine opinion on what happen, you shouldn't lace your question with all sort of negative opinions toward the episode already! For example, they wouldn't know the pacing until you said you think it is too fast. Maybe the game is breakneck pacing too!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Response_bias

But I'm taking my leave from the thread from now on, I can already see the same thing happening in the DeSu2 thread happening here (原作厨最低ｗ). Last thing though, if you're complaining about lack of "originality", you should read some of the staff interview or at least wait until episode 3 (they seem to think that's the hardest part to animate). Maa~! Enjoy everyone, upupupu!

[com_gwp]

Originally Posted by Kunagisa

(゜∀゜)キター!!!!

1) People complaining about anime's not following the game enough!
2) People complaining about anime following the game too much^^


For the record! If you want genuine opinion on what happen, you shouldn't lace your question with all sort of negative opinions toward the episode already! For example, they wouldn't know the pacing until you said you think it is too fast. Maybe the game is breakneck pacing too!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Response_bias

Fair point, I was only thinking to get my impressions of the episode down.

Spoiler for And about this thread:

We can always hope it doesn't devolve into a cesspool of despair