[review or smth] Danganronpa Episode 01 - First Impressions

  I started watching this anime because somone recommended it. I thought it was going to be a dark and serious anime with a lot of awesome scenes and characters and a mind-blowing story. Like Shingeki no Kyojin. from the first episodde I felt that "never have I been so wrong". it's about time the second episode airs though.

Hm, for starters Danganronpa is not the anime's full name. Its full name is Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei The Animation.  Yeah, it wasn't enough that you wrote that two lines name but made sure to add The Animation to it so no one will mistake it for something else or what? They use long names like this more often lately, you have to take 10 seconds to say its name and a whole minute to write it. Well, not really, but almost. lol. Couldn't they just keep the first word?

I have to inform you now to keep away if you don't want spoilers and things, though the first episode wouldn't have that many hurtful things for the spoiler haters such as yourself and me.


   Well anyway. here's a badly done summary from me: So there are a lot of kids whose names you won't remember and will forever call them 'main character' 'the fat guy' 'the muscle mangirl', the etc and I don't think names are that important. After all, they're planning to get rid of some of the characters, maybe. They just enrolled into a super duper friggin fantastic highshool thanks to their amazing talents, such as gambler or super duper idol x 2. The second is actually a talent, but is the first one?

The beginning of the episode, scary bear gonna eat you.

Everyone goes to the same hairstylist.

It's fate to meet the most popular girl who ignored you
when you were in the same class, but she actually likes you.

She's a girl at heart probably.

The main character, the 'unpopular guy' in a picture below, gets to enter this school because he's the lucky chosen one; they give out one invitation for a single student who doesn't need to possess any talents or anything. He arrives at the school, but strangely passes out and wakes up locked in some room. He then meets the other students who are all strange creatures and Monokuma, the 'mastermind' behind all these happenings appears and tells them what's happening.

So basically they are trapped in this school building fully equipped with all facilities you need and all the food you'd ever dream of, with absolutely no way to escape. The only method to get out is to kill someone. Of course no one can imagine doing something like that, and they all complain and try to understand the situation. All the characters are introduced in the first quarter of the episode.

Why did I think こちら、幸福安心委員会です。
Kochira, Koufuku Anshin Iinkai Desu.

The characters.

Maybe if you look at this it'd seem like Master Chef.

I like this guy and not just because his seiyuu is Ishida Akira and he's the handsome guy in the series He's uninterested, cold, doesn't think anything of killing others it seems and actually seems trustworthy. if I were to team up with someone it would probably be him because he seems smarter than many of the others...

Self proclaimed leader giving orders. I can totally see
 him freaking out later and going crazy.
So much for the strong guy act.

Yeah, we should do that. It sounds so usual but it'd be
 crazy if he said something like this in "real life" over here.

You'd usually think this, and try to find a way to escape.

What do I do if I really need to go to the John?
 You'll think I'm a murderer lurking around!

Sudden change in behavious from everyone.

The prince on a white horse.
Are you really ready to put your life on the line?

Everything seems a bit forced to me. The way they made this is kind of silly, and I don't know what makes it like this.

Well, first would be the fact that we have a lot of characters who seems to be plain basic. They have one trait (the super duper thing) and that's all. That is their talent and their personality, they don't think, don't really have feelings and act like a random bunch of kids. They are kids, but I'd expect that from this kind of anime everything would be more edgy, dangerous and serious. The first episode promises a dark psychological conflict between the guys trapped in this place, desperate to leave and to find out who's gonna betray them next. Instead, no one looks too affected by the situation and they don't try to understand it.

They talk and tell the others the results of their 'research'. That's good, and the best way to start is to try to do something as a team. if they'd split right at the beginning it'd show how savage they are and it'd be just a survaval game between psychopats.

But their thinking is nothing much. They try to find ways to live safely but no one questions anything. like, I would've liked if someone thought about the posibility that even though they have decided on a rule not to go out at night in order for everyone to be able to sleep and not be worried about their lives being in danger, if someone actually planned to kill the others, they probably wouldn't care about such a rule and just go ahead and cut your throat while you're sleeping peacefully.

The reigning bear is not pleased with what's happening. No one seems to be planning a brutal murder and he becomes impatient. So he calls the 'students' to the AV (audio video) room to show them some interesting videos.
We only see what the main character got, but we can assume it's similar for everyone. He sees a message from his family who encourages him etc, and then suddenly the room they were in is messed up and gory. (that's the threat but did he even this there are two possibilities? 1. his family's already gone. 2. they have been kidnapped) He totally freaks out and he's about to have a freakout attack when the oh so pretty idol who he likes because she's pretty (maybe she'll turn yandere later in the series. I see it possible. Actually the super duper ?? seemed more like the main girl and she surely will get more attention because they made her so mysterious)
So the idol #2 (the first is the blonde one) loses her mind as well. It seems that everyone reacts the same: 'who cares about logic and what's happening, I'm scared and shocked so get me out of here NAOO!!"


Then comes the moving scene where the main character who doesn't even know left from right but hey, he likes the girl so he has to protect her suddenly says that he'll definitely get her out of that place (you better not make such big promises to someone you kind of just met because you may not be able to keep them, man)

To me it seems that they're trying too hard to make this interesting and awesome or something. The characters and their reactions are nothing much and everything put together - like the lines (script) and the tension and everything added are average. Really, it seems more like a show that's trying to scare kids, and with that character design (that seems from a totally kids shonen anime) I'm lost thinking if they'll even kill anyone. I hope I'm wrong about everything and it'll turn out to be a great and exciting anime.  It seems that the first episode was pretty popular and many people watched it, so I'll guess there are many people who probably know the game (I don't) and know what to expect. Also, the fact that it's adapted from a game means that the game was really popular, right? I'll bet on that and see if they manage to make it good. Well, i'll still watch it even if it turns out bad. Actually, the worst thing in the anime seems to be the script from my opinion. But I wouldn't know.

My first impression of this anime would be that I'm not sure if it can be as serious and dark as it seems to promise. Though the atmosphere reminded me of Persona in some way. The setting as well. 

But I actually liked the episode. Everyone seemed discontent with the bear's voice but it actually sounded normal to me because that's what I'm used to hearing . From plush animals. Even if they're evil.

The Opening song...was there something like that? It had something like and OST track where all the characters were shown one after another around the middle of the episode, so that's it.

The Ending song...I couldn't wish for more! Even if the anime were totally unwatchable, I'd watch it just for this. I mean....SORARU. It's a dream to hear him in an anime song! My Soraruru! Finally, the Utaite age is here and maybe I'll enjoy more of these pretty bishonen voices in other anime in the future! We already have two male utaite singing in this season! *faints* The happiness! Actually I didn't know it'd be him singing. When I heard the beginning instrumental I decided that it's definitely done by a Vocaloid producer and expected an utaite. And I was right! The composer is actually Suzumu, so it's no wonder I guessed so easily because I know most of his songs.

 This ending song had some kind of special commercial when it was announced, it seems:
「ダンガンロンパ The Animation」エンディングテーマ（告知CM）
Danganronpa The Animation - Ending Theme (Announcement Commercial)

Commercial translation by yours truly:

 Danganronpa [though I'm sure you got that it said this]

Kuma: Good morning, guys! I have awesome news for you who're staying in front of your computers the whole day from morning and don't even speak much with other people. The ending theme of "Danganronpa The Animation" that will air in July will be made by Suzumu-kun and Soraru-san. Such exciting news, right?

And the name of the song is... Zetsubousei: Hero Chiryouyaku [something like Despairing students: Hero remedy]

*awesome song plays*

Great! Awesome! It's a title that sound like middle school boys would like! [wut the...?]

Short Story Single: Zetsubousei: Hero Chiryouyaku - Suzumu featuring Soraru. realease on the 7th of August.

Kuma: I'll punish you if you don't buy it!

The voice actors. It's a mistake to tell me to talk about this kind of think and I'm doing it because I've seen it before hahaha. But  usually think they are awesome, because they are. One exception could actually be Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku's voice actressess. Like, uh...

Here, I could hear Ishida Akira, Toriumi Kousuke, Ogata Megumi, Sakurai Takahiro (he's absolutely everywhere this season), Miyata kouki (did anyone actually believe his character is a girl?)

Okay, enjoy the chaotic post and some pictures I took from an online player because I don't download the anime I watch. Thankfully someone uploaded an awesome quality video so the pictures are also good quality. They are all over the place because it seems that I have to edit the html again if I want to give them some order, so no. But why aren't all pictures clickable?