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The Danganronpa anime series is considered one of the most high-quality video game-to-television anime adaptations of all time. Choices like sticking to the source material, capturing the same level of mystery and suspense experienced when playing the games, and more all contribute to its success. In fact, the release is so successful that it has inspired many viewers to play the games.
However, some prospective fans are wondering whether there are canonical issues or differences between the original games and the Danganronpa anime adaptation. This concern likely stems from them wanting to ensure that they get the canonical story experience, whether by watching the series or playing the games.
Danganronpa anime is a fantastic adaptation of the games, but does it give fans the same canonical story experience?
Anime’s relationship to the games, explained
As mentioned above, the Danganronpa anime series serves as an adaptation of the original video games of the same name. The first title, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, was released in 2010, with its anime adaptation, Danganronpa: The Animation, premiering in July 2013 and running for 13 episodes.
The Animation is a direct adaptation of the Trigger Happy Havoc video game series and is considered fully canon. While some fans take issue with the overall quality of the anime, especially from a voice-acting standpoint, this first adaptation is nevertheless considered 100% canon to the franchise.
The original game was followed by 2012’s Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Unfortunately, there is no anime adaptation of the second video game series, meaning there’s no anime with which to compare canonicity against the source material.
It’s unclear why there isn’t a Danganronpa anime adaptation of the second game. However, the relative timing of the first anime season and the second game’s release likely played a role.
While there isn’t a direct anime adaptation of the second game, its characters do appear in the second series of the franchise’s television anime adaptation.
The Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak High School anime series serves as an original conclusion to the Hope’s Peak Academy arc, which the first two games are a part of.
This Danganronpa anime series is considered fully canonical and serves as an anime-original conclusion to the events of the original two video games. The canonical loose sequel to the Danganronpa 3 anime series is the Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony game, released in 2017 and featuring a full cast of brand new characters.
At the time of writing, no additional anime adaptations of the Danganronpa franchise have been produced.
In summation
As mentioned earlier, both television anime adaptations of the Danganronpa franchise are considered to be fully canonical to the series. The first series is a direct adaptation of the franchise’s first video game, while the second is an anime-original project that serves as a canonical ending to the story arc of the first two games.
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