Danganronpa: The Animation (manga)



Danganronpa: The Animation (Subtitle: "A school of hope... with students of despair!") is the manga adaptation of Danganronpa: The Animation, which was itself an adaptation of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.

The series was written and illustrated by Takashi Tsukimi, and was originally serialized in Shōnen Ace between May 2013 and September 2014 before being released in 4 volumes.

The series is published in English by Dark Horse, who have released all four volumes. The series is the first Danganronpa manga to have been officially translated and released in English, with the only other being Danganronpa 2: Ultimate Luck and Hope and Despair.

Story
The manga directly follows the anime, which in turn, followed the original game. It tells the story Makoto Naegi and 14 other Ultimate Students as they participate in a killing game brought on by Monokuma.

Volume One
"Each year, the elite Hope’s Peak Academy selects only the most gifted and talented students to enroll . . . plus one ordinary student, chosen by lottery. Makoto Naegi was that lucky person—or so he thought! When he shows up for class, he finds the elite students are a bizarre cast of oddballs under the ruthless authority of a robot teddy bear principal, Monokuma. The Bear lays down the school rules: the only way out of Hope’s Peak is to not only murder another student . . . but get away with it, as every murder is followed by a tribunal where the surviving students cross-examine each other!"

Volume Two
"Having lived through the first round of judgment in the trap that is Hope's Peak Academy, bonds are beginning to form among the surviving students. But the evil paws of Monokuma, the villainous bear that holds them captive, are stretched around them . . . one light, one dark, signifying that at this school there’s only room for two kinds of students: those found innocent—and those found guilty!"

Volume Three
"The life-or-death courtroom game continues at Hope’s Peak Academy as Makoto and Kyoko Kirigiri work together to try to prove Yasuhiro Hagakure's innocence and convict Celestia Ludenberg in the latest round of class trials! And Makoto has learned in his investigations that one of his fellow students is being forced by Monokuma to spy on them. Should he reveal this secret to the others—or wait for the spy to make what could be a very drastic move?"

Volume Four
With only six students remaining alive out of the original fifteen, the final trial will also reveal the mastermind behind their imprisonment in Hope’s Peak Academy. . . and the true purpose behind the deadly game they’ve been forced to play! The survivors might count themselves lucky to have been right. . . but are they sure they’ve counted themselves right. . . ?

Trivia

 * This is the only Danganronpa manga that has been localized.
 * On Makoto's bedroom wall there is a picture of Sayaka Maizono.
 * Monokuma uses more of a teenage style of speaking, for example, he says "Ya" instead of Your, and "Yer".
 * Hifumi has a TV show.
 * The First Motive has all the character's sprites.
 * Yasuhiro uses his crystal ball that Leon later destroys.
 * The "flagpole" scene takes place in Makoto's dorm instead of a classroom.
 * There are several Doraemon references because the Japanese voice actor for Monokuma also played Doraemon.
 * Mondo has written on the back of his jacket that says "Diamonds Cannot Be Broken As Diamonds Form Under Pressure A Man's Soul Formed Under Adversity."
 * Leon has more objections in the manga than the game.
 * Leon says that he thinks baseball is now better than music when he is dragged away by chains.
 * Yasuhiro refers to Byakuya Togami as "The Togameister" during the second class trial, an alias exclusive to the manga adaptation.