Note: This is just a review of the despair arc. As of writing i have just finished the despair arc and have not finished future or hope.
To give this a quick spoiler free review:
If you are a fan of danganronpa, you may as well watch this. If you have not played/watched someone play the games then do that first. If you are not a fan of danganronpa you won't be a fan of this, so don't bother.
This is a very messy show. The pacing starts off okay, but in the middle it almost feels like we're seeing the highlights of a longer series. There are a lot of twists and events transpiring, much of with little buildup, not really giving you much time to think about what you've just seen. Arguably, this is to the shows advantage as the plot is held together by Super-highschool level bullshit and the more you think about it the stupider it gets.
Could be considered a positive by some, but there is that usual danganronpa kinda excessive and very strangely timed fan service - though it's not as bad as ultra despair girls.
For the positives: It's more danganronpa, with that unique danganronpa style. The characters are occasionally fun, a certain character really steals the show in the second half. It does fill in some of the backstory and lore of the series. It has a level of turn your brain off stupid fun that kinda reminded me of Mirai Nikki.
Now, for the spoiler talk. Spoilers for everything danganronpa:
The means the show picks for class 77-B to fall into despair is honestly just underwhelming and kinda undermines a part of their story. An instant loss brainwashing into suddenly becoming Junko's despairful minions is probably the best they could do with the short runtime. The whole moral dilemma of can 77-B be redeemed for having committed these evil deeds in the past, even if they have no memory of them, is kinda solved if they also had zero agency in committing them as well. Part of the problem is that a lot of the DR2 cast are kinda just too stable or good natured to fall to despair for any genuine reason, at least that could be conveyed over the course of little screen time they are allotted.
It's a shame, because with the few characters who are given more screentime to show their fall, it isn't handled terribly. I actually liked Mitarai's fall into helping Junko complete her brainwashing video. Mikan and Chisa's brainwashing also wasn't handled as poorly as the others.
Part of the problem is that the brainwashing video itself is central to everything. The plots of both future and despair arc need it to exist. I don't dislike it as a narrative device, but its presence in the story means you practically have to use it for 77-B's fall to despair as there isn't really much reason for Junko or the plot not to use it on them or much time to develop another reason for them to fall into despair.
Ideally, they should have focused the show on Junko's scheming, the kamakura project, and Munakata's investigation into both. Leaving the fall of class 77-B to be mostly inferred or only shown through small scenes. Hell, I'd argue that the entirety of the despair arc should've been condensed into flashback for a longer future arc. That would give the future are more time to develop its own cast and story, while preserving the mystery a bit and leaving it up to the audience's imagination for how 77-B fell to despair (which is better then being given an underwhelming answer).
On the subject of Junko Enoshima. I can't decide if she saves or ruins this show. How despairful. I can't even call what she has in this plot armour, it goes beyond just plot armour. The entire universe seems to warp to fit her whims like she's evil haruhi suzumiya. This can make the narrative feel frustrating as Junko seemingly has infinite resources (how did she get a secret base under the school with a death maze in it? Was Hopes Peak build by the super-highschool level labyrinth builder or something.) and can get away with everything (she kidnaps the student council and makes them do a killing game across an entire building in hopes peak, how does nobody catch on to this?????). This is kinda redeemed by her being by far the most entertaining character in the entire show. I was never bored when she was onscreen and she felt like the only character seriously enjoying themselves, which considering the whole show is basically her rise makes sense.
As for the student council that junko throws into the first killing game....
Moving on from the student council, onto the first half of the show. Before Junko takes over the plot, we get a very condensed version of the Dr2 cast's first year at hopes peak. We get to see Fuyuhiko's sister from Twilight Syndrome Murder Case and her brief friendship? with hajime. We get an episode devoted mostly to the backstory of three characters from the future arc, with Nagito also there. We see an investigation into the shady dealings going on at the academy. And finally, we get a brief condensed friendship between hajime and chiaki.
To be brief, most of the above has nowhere near enough screentime to be well developed.
The final episode where we see the world start to collapse was good. The HPA mass suicide/massacre was an appropriately tragic event to be the cause of the tragedy. Although, I have come to the conclusion that Hope and Despair are just different things than they are in our world. If I can accept that Nagito can have supernatural luck, then I can accept that Despair basically functions as a memetic virus.
Overall, It's a decently enjoyable show if you don't think too hard about it and want more danganronpa content.
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