Anyone who knows me is well aware that Dangan Ronpa is one of my favorite franchises, ever. Kazuichi Souda is the wallpaper on my phone, Gundam Tanaka and his "Four Dark Devas of Distruction" are my laptop's wallpaper and Ibuki Mioda is my icon picture for Skype and Steam. I own some of the manga, have created my own "Super High School Level" persona and love wearing my necklace that has a Truth Bullet as the pendant. I was even listening to the original soundtrack to the second game while writing this article.
Now, the fandom is buzzing with excitement for the new anime with two parts that will both look into the future characters of the Future Foundation and give us the backstory of the characters of the second game before they gave into despair. With both halves of the anime about to start airing, I've been getting quite (excuse the pun) animated, and thought I would share some of my ways to get hyped.
1. Watching Weeby Newz on YouTube
Starting every video with a cheerful "Hey, guys -- Weeby Newz here!" the hostess of Weeby Newz created this YouTube channel to specializes in everything Dangan Ronpa related. Her videos range from character analyses and countdowns, to updates on the latest Dangan Ronpa news, especially in regards to the new anime.
Here is a link to Weeby Newz on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgOVPjN77PWVlc2PM...
2. Buying the games on Steam.
The original platform for the Dangan Ronpa games was the PS Vita, a handheld console that not many people owned, so it was difficult for the fans to be able to play the games themselves. Fortunately, Spike Chunsoft recently had an official release of the first and second games on Steam, making them far more accessible. To sweeten the deal, if you purchase the games together as a bundle, you will save 10%.
3. Watching playthroughs.
If you can't get the games yourself, there are lots of different gamers playing the games on YouTube that are a blast to watch. While some may like listening to someone commenting on the game while it's played, there are plenty of videos without the commentary as well. I preferred watching without commentary so I could play along during the trials, and if that sounds appealing to you, I recommend watching justonegamr.
4. Browsing through the fan art on Tumblr.
There is huge support for the Dangan Ronpa fandom on Tumblr, which means plenty of gorgeous fan art, such as the piece featured above from atalantaz. I've spent hours just scrolling through the fan art and every time I go back there is even more to surf through.
5. Re-watching the original anime that follows the first game in the series.
While not everyone is a huge fan of the original anime, it holds a special place in my heart.The reason why I fell in love with the franchise is because of a vague recommendation based on another show I liked. After the first episode, I was hooked and binge-watched the rest of the series. I'm sure I'm not the only one who did.
If you've got six hours to kill, or just want a quick refresher on the original murders and class trials, this anime will do the trick. If you are looking for something shorter and funnier, but only loosely based on the anime, my recommendation is checking out the "Dangan Ronpa Abridged Thing" by Faulerro's Fabulous Backup.
6. Reading the animation manga.
If you would rather read than watch anime, then you are in luck, as Dark Horse Manga has published "Dangan Ronpa: The Animation." Available in bookstores that sell manga, you can now purchase, "School of Hope... With Students of Despair," in English for your reading pleasure.
7. Reading the spinoff mangas.
Before the animation manga was created, there were various spinoff mangas written that are well worth the read -- if you can find them. On Tumblr, there are many strips from the one that looks at the cute antics that would've happened on Jabberwock Island if Monokuma hadn't shown up in Dangan Ronpa 2. My personal favorite spinoff manga is "Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukouse" which is cannon to the timeline and allows the reader to see the murders from the first game as they took place from the killers' perspectives.
8. Listening to Dangan Ronpa inspired fan mixes.
If you want to take a break from listening to the beautiful original soundtrack of the games, then you might want to try one of the many playlists that people have created while inspired by Dangan Ronpa. On 8Tracks alone, you will come up with hundreds of playlists. Rest assured that no matter who your favorite character or ship is, there will be multitudes of fan playlists for you to choose from.
9. Re-watching and overanalyzing the PV.
Just a few days ago, the PV for the new anime released and it has upwards of 250,000+ views. I have watched it quite a few times myself, listening to all of the voice actors and nitpicking the images for clues of what is to come in the anime itself. The PV is very promising, so we all have high hopes that the new anime will be a treat.
