With large blonde hair protruding from the sides of her pigtails and a monochrome bear at her side, Junko Enoshima’s design is certainly memorable. And recently, it’s everywhere.
Junko is the primary antagonist of the Danganronpa series, visual novels from the mind of Kazutaka Kodaka and published by Spike Chunsoft. In each entry, a group of high-school students finds themselves trapped in a death game by the maniacal Monokuma. Each character is a new student deemed to be the ‘Ultimate’ in a variety of conventional and non-conventional activities ranging from programming to assassination. Monokuma explains to these students that they will remain trapped inside their school/deserted island/establishment for the rest of their lives unless they can murder another student and be found innocent in the forthcoming class trial. Amongst this flashy murder mystery is a story centered on the clashing ideals of hope and despair.
The series made its Japanese debut in 2010 for PSP, later making its way internationally in 2014 for the Vita. Seven years on from the initial game’s release and after three numbered entries, a spin-off and a slew of re-releases and anime and manga adaptations, the release of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony seemed to bring the franchise to a conclusive, if polarizing, end. To further add to the sense of finality that came with the release of V3, Kodaka left Spike Chunsoft soon after the game’s launch to co-found his own studio, Too Kyo Games.
Fast forward to 2021, however, and the series is more popular than ever. Indeed, looking back at the years between the release of Danganronpa V3 and the upcoming Danganronpa Decadence collection that brings the original trilogy to Switch alongside an all-new spin-off, it would be more accurate to say Danganronpa never left.
Earlier this year, interest in the series on Google search results peaked at a higher level than at any point in the franchise’s history despite a lack of new official content. TikTok is arguably the biggest catalyst for this; at the time of writing, videos shared under the Danganronpa hashtag hold a cumulative 16.8 billion views, mostly from people sharing fan-art, cosplays and more, recreating their favorite moments and attaching their favorite characters to whatever trends are popular on the platform at the time.
The influence of Danganronpa is unavoidable amongst TikTok’s large anime and cosplay communities, and trends derived from the series have even spread beyond these fandoms to dominate the app-wide trending topics. Earlier this year, a sound that mixed voice lines from the anime adaptation of Danganronpa with the song Nursery by Bbno$ resulted in everyone from celebrities to e-boys strutting their stuff to Junko laughing at the idea that ‘anime is an important part of our culture’.
It’s almost ironic. Over the past decade, the growth of online streaming has helped anime explode from a dedicated niche to a defining voice in pop culture around the world. We live in a world where Naruto is in Fortnite and Doraemon and Bananya have their own Gucci collections, while US politicians are playing politics with Attack on Titan anime edits. Yet while these recognizable icons steal the spotlight, it’s easy to overlook Danganronpa’s influence in shaping online content and discussions of the medium amongst fans of Japanese pop culture, particularly younger audiences.
Part of the appeal of Danganronpa is just how extreme it can be; character designs are wild and embody their unique talents and traits, while each is visually distinct even with the limitations of its school setting. Everything about the series, from its larger-than-life personalities, the concept of a death game run by a monochrome talking bear, to the class trials to determine their fates before a gnarly execution – it revels in the melodramatic while still having something to say. This makes it perfect internet fodder.
A fan can recognize these characters at a glance due to their distinct features despite a massive cast, and the extremities of the story, dialogue and acting make it ripe for being repackaged and reproduced in exaggerated memes. The age of the series helps with accessibility, too, with cheap rereleases of the entire franchises readily available on consoles, PC and mobile. Ready-made cosplays are similarly cheap. Without money being an inhibiting factor, it’s easy for anyone to play the games and create fan content, and before long anyone can be Junko-posing their way to viral stardom.
It’s this accessibility that ensures the long-term popularity of Danganronpa while making it easy for new fans to find and rediscover the series. Madi, Meryn and Caroline are three friends who host the Ultra Hope Girls Danganronpa-themed podcast, using their platform to discuss the series and its community. Between diving into the themes of the games and interviewing community members, wiki moderators and the English voice cast for the series, creating content about the franchise and community has enhanced their relationship with the series they love.
“When I first discovered Danganronpa in 2014, I was really enjoying it in a vacuum,” Caroline explains. “I only had one other friend I could discuss it with and limited access to the internet, so I wasn’t exposed to much fandom culture. During 2019, after playing the second game, I tried to get Madi to play it because she and I had previously bonded over the Nancy Drew video games and I knew she was down for a good mystery. We then roped Meryn into our obsession during March 2020 in the early pandemic.’
“I absolutely love making the podcast. It’s a completely new experience for me to engage with other Danganronpa fans who share my passion for the series and celebrate the amazing things being made by the fandom, and getting to dive deeper by chatting with the English voice talents has been a dream come true! Sometimes I think to myself, ‘I can’t believe this random anime I watched in my sophomore year of high school has become such an important part of my daily life,’ but I really wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Fan content not only serves as an increasingly-common entry point into the franchise without new official content, but it also serves as an avenue for these fans to express their love for Danganronpa and enhance their enjoyment of the series. So extensive is this new content, in fact, that the merits of maintaining this fandom may outweigh the benefits of releasing future Danganronpa titles that could harm the unique energy surrounding the series.
“I’m on the fence about my feelings for a new Danganronpa game,” Madi admits. “I do think that some series start out spectacular and then get dragged on until they’re not so good anymore, and it ruins it a bit for me. I loved Danganronpa V3 and I think it would be a strong game to end the series on, without the risk of making another game that isn’t as good and having the series start to decline. But I sincerely hope the Danganronpa community continues to thrive and make new fan-made content.”
Whatever happens, with the series’ seemingly never-ending ascendency on social media, it’s hard to see the excitement surrounding the franchise winding down any time soon.
Written by Alicia Haddick on behalf of GLHF.
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