Danganronpa: The Animation - Episode 04

(Not) Normal Arc: Weekly Shonen Despair Magazine (週刊少年ゼツボウマガジン: #4 (非)日常編) is the fourth episode of Danganronpa: The Animation, the anime adaptation of the video game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.

Summary
Part of the second floor has opened, including the pool and locker rooms! Monokuma gives the students a few days to explore before he gets bored. They have 24 hours to kill someone or else he'll broadcast their darkest or most embarrassing secrets.

Gallery

 * For episode screencaps, see: Danganronpa: The Animation - Episode 04/Gallery

Plot
The episode opens with Makoto Naegi in his shower, pondering with the thoughts on the deaths of Junko Enoshima, Leon Kuwata, and Sayaka Maizono. Following the class trial, Monokuma grants access to the second floor of the Academy, containing a library and a swimming pool with gender-divided changing rooms.

Whilst searching the library, the group find a broken laptop and a letter that indicates Hope's Peak Academy has actually been shut down for years, along with a storeroom filled with confidential files.

As the pool changing rooms require e-Handbooks to unlock, Monokuma introduces a school rule that students are forbidden from exchanging their e-Handbooks. Later, Makoto comes across Toko Fukawa, who appears to have a thing for the cold-hearted affluent progeny, Byakuya, before winding up as a witness to a sauna endurance battle between Mondo Owada and Kiyotaka Ishimaru, who end up bonding with each other.

The next day, Monokuma announces his next incentive, in which he will publicly announce everyone's secrets unless someone is killed in the next 24 hours, although Makoto believes no one would kill over something so trivial.

The next day, however, they discover Chihiro murdered in the girl's changing room, hung up like a crucifixion with the words "Bloodbath Fever" written in blood on the wall. During the investigation, some peculiarities are found, such as a seemingly disappearing coffee stain and curious unfitting posters, along with a testimony by Celestia Ludenberg that she saw Chihiro the night before.

Byakuya tells Makoto that he believes this to be the work of a homicidal maniac named Genocide Jack who crucified victims in a similar fashion. Aoi Asahina then retrieves them, explaining that Toko has locked herself in her room and she only wants to speak with Byakuya. Toko apologizes to Byakuya that she couldn't keep her promise and then says she won't let Genocide Jack win. She then hides in her room again. As Aoi attempts to get Toko out again, Monokuma announces that the class trial is starting.

Trivia

 * In the English dub, when Kiyotaka and Mondo tell Makoto to forget about the fight, instead of saying the original line, "forget it beam", Kiyotaka says, "kamehame forget about it!" Mondo proceeds to tell Kiyotaka that he's "over 9000!" Both lines are a reference to Dragon Ball mainstream energy attack and Vegeta's memorable quote.

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