Danganronpa: The Animation - Episode 01

Welcome to Despair Academy: #01 Prologue is the first episode of the Dangan Ronpa anime. It first aired on July 4, 2013.

Summary
The opening scene shows a man being sent into space by an unknown bear with only his bones remaining when the space shuttle returns to Earth.

Makoto Naegi arrives at Hope's Peak Academy. His dream of going to such a prestigious school is cut-off when he awakens in a classroom with all its windows barricaded with steel plates. He meets everyone in the gym where Monokuma appears. Along with the others, he is shocked at the rule of 'graduating' by killing someone without being caught. Everyone tries to find a way out but fails as time passes by.

Monokuma then gives everyone a motive for murder by giving them each a shocking CD about something close to them; this makes everyone want to get out of the school whilst avoiding murder. Sayaka Maizono breaks down but Naegi promises that they'll find a way to get out of the school.

Plot
The episode begins with Monokuma appearing under a spotlight in a dark room with a button. Monokuma watches a blindfolded man struggle to free himself from the chair he was tied to. Monokuma presses the button and a rocket featuring a Monokuma design appears around the man. The man screams as the rocket's door slams shut and engine propellers emerge from the sides of it. Text showing "The Space Journey" flashes on the screen. Fire shoots out from the rocket, sending it through all the levels of a building and into space. The rocket begins falling back into the atmosphere, becoming incredibly hot as it does so. The rocket lands upside down before Monokuma in a destroyed classroom and opens to reveal the dismantled skeleton of the man. The camera zooms in on Monokuma as he begins laughing.

The screen goes black and Makoto Naegi's voice can be heard. He begins talking about an intimidatingly large building in the middle of his town as a picture of Hope's Peak Academy shows on the screen. A picture of Naegi browsing forums on his computer is shown and a scene of Sayaka Maizono performing on stage is shown. He explains how the school brings the top students of each field together. Leon Kuwata is pictured playing baseball, Junko Enoshima's magazine pictures are seen and Mondo Owada is witnessed riding his bike.

The scene changes to Naegi standing outside the school, looking up at the large building. He begins to wonder if a normal boy like him can really make it in. He looks down at the letter in his hand and reads the acceptance letter explaining how it was through sheer luck that he got into the school.

Naegi then closes his eyes and heads into the school building. As he steps into the school, he thinks how his new high school life should be filled with hope. The colours on the screen invert and Naegi's eyes widen. The scene becomes distorted as he grunts in pain and confusion. The screen goes black and Naegi's voice is audible.

"That's where it all began, when my normal life came to an end."

Next, a high-tech door covered with futuristic items appears, locking itself. Naegi's voice can still be heard. He explains how he should have realized that he was not Super High School Level Good-Luck, but rather, Super High School Level Bad-Luck. The Dangan Ronpa logo appears as he finishes his sentence.

Subsequently, Naegi wakes up in a dim classroom. Confused, he looks around the room which has giraffe patterned walls, security cameras and steel plates over the windows. After struggling to remove the steel plates bolted to the windows, a brochure for the school catches his eyes. He walks over to read it. Inside, a message with a doodle of the school has been messily scribbled in crayon.

The leaflet reads: "Congratulations on enrolling. A new term has begun. A fresh start. This school will become the world you bastards will live in. 8 'O Clock. Assemble in the gym. The entrance ceremony starts." Noticing the message about the entrance ceremony, he quickly looks up at the clock. It reads 8 'O clock. Cautiously he heads out of the classroom into a corridor with purple lighting. He takes a deep breath and slowly walks down the hallway until he comes to the gym.

He pulls the two gym doors open to reveal the rest of his classmates inside. They turn to see who opened the door. Naegi looks from side to side, scanning the classmates. He steps into the gym confused. He begins to talk, only to be cut off by a young man with brown dreadlocks asking if he was also a freshman. He is introduced as Yasuhiro Hagakure along with his title, Super High School Level Fortune Teller. Hagakure  begins talking how the school is strange when a plump boy bursts in front of him. "15 of us, huh?" He says before being introduced as Super High School Level Doujin Artist, Hifumi Yamada. Suddenly, a fierce boy with a white uniform points at Naegi. Naegi is taken by surprise as the boy begins shouting about how important it is to be punctual. He is presented as Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Super High School Level Hall Monitor. A girl with pink hair tied in pigtails appears, questioning in a rude tone what Ishimaru said. Her title is Super High School Level Model, Junko Enoshima. A girl with short brown hair timidly raises her hand before asking if Naegi also awoke in a classroom. She is Chihiro Fujisaki, Super High School Level Programmer. Naegi nods, and she goes on to explain that everyone else had the same experience. A young woman with long black hair and red eyes comments on how strange it is that everyone had the same experience. Her title is Super High School Level Gambler, Celestia Ludenberg. Mondo Owada, Super High School Level Gang Leader, is shown wondering about the sort of place they were in before a boy wearing a punkish outfit asks if they had been kidnapped. He is introduced as Leon Kuwata, Super High School Level Baseball Player. A tanned girl pops up in front of the camera speaking in an excited tone. She is Super High School Level Swimmer, Aoi Asahina. She asks if it is all a special arrangement that is part of attending the school and turns to a muscular girl with long white hair. She is Sakura Ogami, Super High School Level Wrestler. Sakura demands they find out what is going on. Naegi nods in agreement before looking around the room.

He spots a girl with long braided hair who freaks out over the fact that he is looking at her and jumps to the conclusion that it's because she is ugly. She is Super High School Level Novelist, Touko Fukawa. A blonde boy remarks on how much of an eyesore she is before being introduced as Super High School Level Heir, Byakuya Togami. "What are you looking at?", he growls at Naegi, who quickly turns his gaze to a girl with long lavender hair.

She seems to be deep in thought and is shown as Kyoko Kirigiri, Super High School Level ???. She turns to him and asks him "What?". Laughing nervously, Naegi waves his hands and says it was nothing before walking away.

He sighs. A young girl with long blue hair asks if he was Naegi. He looks up to see Super High School Level Idol, Sayaka Maizono. She explains how they went to the same junior high together and that she was glad there was someone she knew here among all the commotion.

Naegi blushes, surprised she still remembers a boring guy like him. She becomes upset and covers her face, hurt that he thought of her as such a cold person. Naegi panics and quickly apologizes, much to the amusement of Maizono, who laughs and says it was a joke. She giggles and Naegi blushes before being interrupted by Byakuya Togami who says they needed to stop flirting and get down to business. Explaining that they needed to find out what was going on, he turns to the podium at the front of the gym. Junko Enoshima complains that she can't find her phone, which leads to the whole class frantically searching their pockets for their mobiles only to find that they were gone. Coming to the conclusion someone took them, Yasuhiro Hagakure draws out his crystal ball, saying that it is telling him that the situation is the orientation for the school. Leon Kuwata questions the accuracy of it and Hagakure exclaims that his fortune telling is accurate 30% of the time.

Feedback from a microphone fills the hall and the students cover their ears. A high pitched voice tests out the microphone. Everyone turns to the front of the hall as the voice announces the commencement of the opening ceremony. Suddenly, a black and white bear jumps out from behind the podium at the front of the hall. Everyone is taken by surprise. "A stuffed bear?" Naegi says in astonishment.

"I'm not a stuffed bear!" It exclaims. "I'm Monokuma! The headmaster of the school" The students stand in confusion. Monokuma continues regardless: "You are the promising, young high school students who carry the hopes of the world on your shoulders. And in order to protect and care for you wonderful symbols of hope, I have decided to let you all live together within the confines of the school."

The students murmur in confusion. "As for how long you will be living together, there is no time limit. In other words, you'll be staying here for the rest of your lives!"

Anxiously, the students question what he means. Monokuma continues, reassuring the students that they won't run out of resources because of the school's huge budget. Naegi asks if the plates on the windows are there to keep everyone locked in the school, Monokuma confirms it, telling them no one would come and help them no matter how much they screamed for help.

"So, whoever who wants to leave this academy, will have to play by a certain rule. I don't care how you do it, but only students who have killed someone will be allowed to leave this place. That's all there is to it, pretty simple, no? You can use a blunt weapon, stab them, beat them, knife them, burn them, crush them, strangle them, or even shoot them! A situation full of despair where the hopes of this world would attempt to kill each other; it gets my heart racing!"

The students, stunned and bewildered, begin shouting at Monokuma. Monokuma happily walks in between the students and explains that from now on, the academy is their home, their world and they are free to do whatever they want.

Angrily, Mondo Owada demands to know if this is all a joke, Monokuma asks if he is talking about his hair style. Offended, Owada picks up the bear and threatens it. Monokuma flails and says that violence against the principal is against the school rules before a beeping sound starts. Kyoko Kirigiri warns him that it's dangerous and Owada quickly hurls the bear through the air seconds before it explodes. Seconds later, Monokuma appears from behind the podium and tells the students if any more rules are broken, they will be punished. He dismisses them and quickly disappears behind the podium.

After Monokuma is gone, everyone begins questioning if they really have to kill someone to escape. Naegi's inner thoughts are heard:

"And thus began our new high school life. However, this school we had come to with high expectations wasn't one filled with hope, it was one filled with despair!"

The opening for the anime begins.

Next, a scene with Aoi Asahina and Sakura Ogami appears. Ogami is punching the walls of the school in a failed attempt to break out. The next scene is of all the students looking at their electronic student handbooks. Asahina returns to the group of students, saying that they couldn't find a way out. Leon Kuwata and Mondo Owada confirm that they also couldn't find an exit. Kiyotaka Ishimaru bursts into view, furiously exclaiming that they mustn't lose hope and that they have to continue searching for a way out. The students agree to go look around the school. Byakuya Togami announces that he will be searching alone in case anyone tries to kill him. Owada, angry with Togami's selfishness, threatens to beat him up. Naegi quickly tries to break them up. Owada, mad that he is trying to tell him what to do, knocks out Naegi with a forceful punch.

Naegi awakes on his bed in his school bedroom with Sayaka Maizono by his side looking incredibly worried. Embarrassed that she was in his room, he quickly sits up. She explains how everyone has their own room and that Sakura Ogami carried him to his. In addition, she says that she stayed to care for Naegi while everyone else went to look for clues. Naegi blushes and thinks how amazing it is that the famous idol remembers him. Maizono says "Of course I remember." Naegi is stunned that she heard his thoughts, and she tells him that she is an esper before laughing and explaining that she was just intuitive.

Naegi gets off his bed saying that he couldn't rest at a time like that. Maizono tells him that she's his Super High School Level Assistant, grabs his hand, and then says to try their best to get out of there. Blushing, Naegi nods his head in agreement.

Naegi walks to the cafeteria with Maizono, where the rest of the students were having a meeting. Kiyotaka Ishimaru declares the first regular meeting of Hope's Peak Academy open. They begin exchanging the information they found about the school. The scene changes to Mondo Owada aggressively kicking the futuristic door as Celestia Ludenberg watched. Another scene change, this time to Aoi Asahina and Sakura Ogami standing in front of a gate blocking the way up a flight of stairs to a second floor. Kyoko Kirigiri concludes that they can only explore the first floor. The next scene is of Hifumi Yamada bouncing up and down on one of the dorm beds, commenting on how comfortable they were. Chihiro Fujisaki begins explaining how she found the fridge to be full of food and that Monokuma told her that they were refilled daily.

Celestia concludes that they are trapped in the school and Touko Fukawa panics, making all the students nervous. She continues, saying that the only way to survive is to adapt. From that, she proposes that everyone stay in their room after 10pm, which is mentioned as 'Night Time' in the electronic student handbook.

The scene changes to the next day, where everyone continues to look for an exit. Naegi and Maizono search together and come across the barred garbage area and a room filled with monitors. Even the next day, they were still looking. By then, everyone had become rather hopeless, and Chihiro Fujisaki begins wondering if they were really trapped at the school forever. Aoi Asahina comforts her, saying the police must already be working on busting them out. All of a sudden, Monokuma appears at the end of the table, laughing and asking them if they really were relying on the police. Monokuma then says he left them a little gift in the AV room. The students go to the room filled with monitors and find a labeled DVD for each of them. Naegi takes his DVD and watches it.

The DVD begins. A video of Naegi's family sitting in their living room begins. His sister and father smiling happily at the camera while his mother exclaims how proud they are for him to be accepted into the school. The happy scene suddenly flickers and is replaced by the image of his living room, now wrecked and in ruins, with his family nowhere to be seen. Naegi's eyes widen in horror and murmurs and gasps can be heard around the room coming from other students. Naegi begins muttering, saying that he must get out of the school. He glances at Maizono, who looks horrified at what she had seen on her DVD. She screams and pushes herself against the wall. Naegi rushes to her while she begins screaming that she couldn't stand it anymore. Monokuma's laugh can be heard and the image of the bear shows on the screen at the front of the room. Kyoko Kirigiri begins questioning him and his reason for trapping them here. Monokuma explains how he wants them all to despair.

Maizono screams and runs out of the room with Naegi chasing after her. He grabs her arm while she screams at him to let her go. Naegi comforts her by saying if everyone works together they will be able to find a way out. He promises her that he'll get her out of the school, no matter what he has to do. Maizono blushes and begins crying. She throws herself into Naegi's arms and wails while Monokuma's laughter can be heard in the background. The rest of the students watch, all concerned.

Appearances
The following are in order of appearance:

Debuts

 * Makoto Naegi
 * Yasuhiro Hagakure
 * Hifumi Yamada
 * Kiyotaka Ishimaru
 * Mukuro Ikusaba
 * Chihiro Fujisaki
 * Celestia Ludenberg
 * Mondo Owada
 * Leon Kuwata
 * Aoi Asahina
 * Sakura Oogami
 * Touko Fukawa
 * Byakuya Togami
 * Kyouko Kirigiri
 * Sayaka Maizono
 * Monokuma

Anime Version

 * Naegi in his mind still can't believe that Maizono remembers him and Maizono states that she does indeed remember to which makes Naegi shocked and asks if she heard what his mind said.
 * The introduction of each character happened in the gymnasium.
 * The 'you must murder and you must not be caught' explanation wasn't given during when the students gathered in the cafeteria.

Game Version

 * Naegi in his mind thinks that Maizono looks like a doll but Maizono speaks, saying she isn't a doll which makes Naegi shocked and asks if she heard what his mind said.
 * The introduction of each character happened in front of the vaulted front door that cannot be opened.
 * In the game, the 'you must murder and you must not be caught' rule was explained when the students read the rules in their electronic handbooks.