Danganronpa

Danganronpa (Japanese: ダンガンロンパ) is a 2018 American-Japanese computer-animated adventure comedy-drama film based on characters created by Spike Chunsoft. Produced by Maloing Entertainment for Paramount Pictures and directed by Tim Miller, the film was released on November 16, 2018.

Plot
Danganronpa takes place at an elite high school called Hope's Peak Academy (希望ヶ峰学園 Kibōgamine Gakuen), which accepts talented "Ultimate" students (超高校級 chō-kōkō-kyū, lit. Super High School Level) of the highest caliber in various fields each year. Makoto Naegi, a fairly optimistic but otherwise average student, is selected in a raffle and chosen to enroll in the academy as the "Ultimate Lucky Student". However, when Makoto arrives inside the Academy, he loses consciousness and wakes up locked inside the school, where he meets fourteen other newly picked Ultimate students who are in the same situation as him. A sadistic, remote-controlled bear named Monokuma appears before them, telling them they will be imprisoned in the academy for the rest of their lives, and that they will be put to death if they violate any of the schools' rules. He offers only one way for students to "graduate" from the academy: murder another student and not be identified as the culprit.

After a murder occurs and the remaining students are given some time to investigate it, a "class trial" (学級裁判, gakyū saiban) is held, in which the remaining students must determine amongst themselves who the killer is. Makoto frequently takes the role of arbiter of the trial, providing most of the logical insights. Makoto receives assistance from Kyoko Kirigiri, a distant girl possessing keen observational and deductive skills. Several murders occur over the first few days: pop star Sayaka Maizono is murdered by baseball star Leon Kuwata after her plans to murder her would-be killer and frame Makoto for it failed; programmer Chihiro Fujisaki is murdered by gang leader Mondo Owada in a jealous rage; gambler Celestia Ludenberg manipulates comic artist Hifumi Yamada into killing honor student Kiyotaka Ishimaru before killing Hifumi herself; and martial artist Sakura Ogami commits suicide after being revealed to be a spy working for Monokuma. In the penultimate chapter, the person controlling Monokuma commits the final murder. The only possible culprits from the surviving students are Makoto and Kyoko. A bad ending occurs if Makoto presents evidence that could potentially implicate Kyoko as the killer; she is executed while Makoto lives trapped in the Academy forever. In the true ending, Makoto is nearly executed but he is saved by Alter Ego, an artificial intelligence left behind by Chihiro. Makoto and the remaining students work together to solve the final murder and discover that the true mastermind behind the killing game is the real Junko Enoshima. She had employed her twin sister, mercenary Mukuro Ikusaba, to impersonate her, only to kill her on a whim early on to demonstrate Monokuma's danger. She later used Mukuro's corpse as the fifth "murder victim" to implicate either Makoto or Kyoko.

Junko reveals that all of the students had already been in the academy for two years and all knew each other. However, when an apocalyptic event instigated by Junko and her sister occurred, global societal collapse and anarchy followed; the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, viewing the high amount of talent in the students as a sign of hope, decided with the students' permission to barricade him and themselves inside the academy to wait out the crisis. She executed the headmaster, took control of the academy, and erased all of the students' memories that took place after they first arrived at the academy two years ago. With Makoto's help, the students all overcome the doubt brought about by Junko's bombshells and decide to leave the academy. Junko willingly executes herself due to her enjoying the feeling of despair that came with her losing the final trial. Afterward, Makoto, Kyoko, and the other four surviving students exit the academy, uncertain of the current state of the world. In a post-credits scene, Monokuma re-activates and swears that it will continue its quest to spread despair.

Cast

 * Michael Cera as Makoto Naegi, an average student selected to join Hope's Peak Academy, arrives at the school only to lose consciousness and later find himself trapped inside it, along with fourteen other students.
 * Ashley Johnson as Kyoko Kirigiri, a mysterious woman who seemingly has amnesia but also possesses a cool head and reasoning skills.
 * Zach Braff as Byakuya Togami, initially cold towards others, seeing them as competition, and, as he hates losing, initially refuses to cooperate with their attempts at escaping and investigating.
 * Leonardo DiCaprio as Leon Kuwata, a brash teenager who is exceptionally good at baseball. Despite this, he desires to quit baseball and become a punk musician instead, as he dislikes the restrictions being a baseball player puts on his style.
 * Dakota Fanning as Toko Fukawa, a gloomy girl with a persecution complex who is a best-selling novelist. her other half being a homicidal maniac named Genocide Jack, or as she prefers it, Genocide Jill, who crucifies attractive males with sharp scissors.
 * Keke Palmer as Aoi Asahina, a well-meaning, air-headed student who excels in athletic sports, especially swimming, also having had a love of donuts.
 * Lil Uzi Vert as Yasuhiro Hagakure, a laid-back and dimwitted student who is a rising star in the fortune-telling community. He is one of the survivors that manage to escape from the academy and becomes a member of the Future Foundation.
 * Playboi Carti as Kiyotaka Ishimaru, an enthusiastically straight-laced student who is a stickler for rules and order and wishes to one day become Prime Minister in order to redeem his family for his grandfather's failures during his time in government.
 * Kel Mitchell as Mondo Owada, a hot-blooded student who is the head of the largest motorcycle gang in the country. He keeps a secret, the fact that he was responsible for his older brother's death after his brother protected him from getting hit by a truck during a motorcycle race
 * Kaley Cuoco as Junko Enoshima, the main antagonist, a charismatic gyaru fashion model who has modeled for many popular magazines. She is thought to have been killed by Monokuma near the start of the game, having been impaled by several spears after assaulting Monokuma as punishment for breaking the school rules. It is soon revealed that she is actually the true mastermind behind the events of the game, who had erased the memories of all the students and put them in this death game.
 * Seth MacFarlane as Monokuma
 * Kenan Thompson as Hifumi Yamada, an obese otaku student who is a popular dōjin manga artist.
 * Katie Crown as Sayaka Maizono, a cheerful girl who is the leader of a five-member idol group that is nationally popular and attended the same middle school as Makoto. She has particularly good intuition, and thus makes a habit of jokingly claiming to be a psychic.
 * Kristen Wiig as Chihiro Fujisaki, a shy, soft-spoken student, and a skilled programmer. Initially presumed to be a girl, it is later revealed that Chihiro is a boy with deep insecurity about his weak physique, resorting to cross-dressing to hide his gender identity.
 * Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mukuro Ikusaba, the elusive sixteenth student of Hope's Peak Academy, who the others only become aware of when she is announced as the sixth murder victim. She comes from a mercenary unit known as Fenrir and holds the title Ultimate Soldier.
 * Jenny Slate as Sakura Ohgami, a fearsome yet gentle student who is a world-class fighter and is nicknamed "The Ogre" by Yasuhiro. She is occasionally mistaken for a man due to her muscular appearance and deep voice.
 * Scarlett Johansson as Celestia Ludenberg, a student in Gothic Lolita costume who is a famous gambler and known as the Queen of Liars. She claims to live by the ethic that one must adopt if they want to survive. She is typically calm and collected, but will occasionally have uncharacteristic outbursts if something greatly annoys her.

Production
Mala Miles revealed on Twitter in late 2017 that he had a "secret project" that was written previously between 2014 and 2015.

Release
Danganronpa was released on November 16, 2018, in 2D, 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX by Paramount Pictures. The film is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for ”animated action violence, rude humor, language, innuendo, and brief suggestive comments.”

Home media
Danganronpa was released on Digital HD on iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Microsoft Store, Vudu, and Amazon Prime on March 5, 2019, and on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and digital copy on March 26, 2019. The film was later released on the IMAX Enhanced format only on the FandangoNow digital service in early 2020. Paramount Pictures also confirmed that the movie as well as its sequel, Danganronpa 2 would release later on Paramount+ with its sequel being released 45 days after its theatrical release window.

Box office
Danganronpa grossed $434.3 million in the United States and Canada and $734.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $1.139 billion. On July 7, 2019, the film reached the $700 million mark.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Adrian Hancock-directed version of Danganronpa offers enough visual warmth, fast-paced wit, and retro fare to earn its reputation as a rare adaptation that pleases moviegoers beyond returning fans." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 79 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audience members gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Accolades
Danganronpa was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards, losing to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Sequel
In June 2020, Paramount Animation announced that work on a feature film adaptation for Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair was in the development stages. Announced on August 25, 2021, the film was released on March 25, 2022.