Jul 23, 2017
First of all, I should issue a disclaimer: everyone should probably play the game first, then watch this afterwards.
Danganronpa: The Animation has the potential to be outstanding, but its rushed runtime of only 12 episodes prevents it from living up to its potential. The plot is excellent, and the trials are a blast to watch, but with the investigative period crammed into about 30 seconds each time, and no time to really get to know or care about the supporting characters, everything that happens is just meaningless action. If the producers wanted to pace this properly, they would have extended the show's run to 18
...
episodes, with the extra time devoted to exploring the characters and their interactions (utilizing notable "free time" material from the game) and the investigations, giving the viewer greater access to the vital evidence beforehand in order to begin puzzling out the mysteries for themselves.
Even being rushed, however, the story watches like a fairly gripping crime drama on TV, and there are enough well played twists to keep you guessing. The writers seem to revel in subverting traditional tropes and cliches, and what happens is often not at all what you'd expect. Also, the music is excellent, with a great opening and ending, as well as fantastic atmospheric music in the background. That one opening with the "Monokuma Song" was rather odd though.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys crime/mystery shows, but with the caveat that they play the game first so that they have a more in depth experience to begin with, and also so they don't know the "whodunnit" beforehand.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
