Order to watch the Danganronpa series? Is there a "Danganronpa 2"?

Question

This season there are 2 simultaneous Danganronpa shows, both of which are prefaced with "Danganronpa 3". The first series in the franchise is "Danganronpa: Kibou no Gakuen to Zetsubou no Koukousei".

I'm not clear on if there is a second series anywhere, or if the number 3 was just added to the names of both the new series.

Wikipedia says

A second anime series, titled Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School, began airing in July 2016. The series is split into two simultaneously airing parts; Side: Future, which serves as a conclusion to the "Hope's Peak Academy" storyline, and Side: Despair, which serves as a prequel to Danganronpa 2

which is clear as mud. I am unable to find information on "Danganronpa 2", though I would expect one to be a prequel to the first series, and the other to maybe be a side story or a post story.

• What order should I watch Danganronpa in?
• For the current series, does it matter which episode I watch first from each of the simultaneous ones (the "Future Arc" started airing before the "Despair Arc")?
• Does the Wiki page confuse "Danganronpa 2" with the manga/LN material?

Answer 1

I think what is being missed here is the second game in the series, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

From the Wikipedia article:

It is the second installment in the Danganronpa series, and a direct sequel to the 2010 game Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc.

It's the sequel to Danganronpa 1, adding to the DGR universe beyond the events of Trigger Happy Havoc, complete with a whole new set of characters, scenery, and more.

Danganronpa: The Animation is an anime adaptation of DGR1, AKA Trigger Happy Havoc, AKA THH. THH is the basis of the entire DGR story/franchise; it is the first game, but not the first event of DGR chronologically. Essentially all other canon media in the DGR universe builds upon the events of THH, so you'll want to start here. Either the show or the game will suffice, though I recommend the game.

DGR2's story is critical to both sides of the DGR3 animes. As per the wiki article, Despair

tells the backstory of Hope's Peak Academy's 77th Class

which is the same class featured in DGR2. Even though 3/Despair happens chronologically before DGR2, I recommend playing DGR2 before watching 3/Despair. DGR2 tells the story of the 77th class, which is then given more context/backstory in 3/Despair. DGR2 does not have an anime adaptation, but it apparently has a manga.

The Future and Despair arcs aired simultaneously in an alternating fashion, starting with Future. Chronologically, Despair happens entirely before Future, but the intended watching order is actually the order in which the episodes are released; so, also in an alternating fashion starting with Future (source: wiki.) In other words, Future ep. 1, then Despair ep. 1, then Future ep. 2, then Despair ep. 2, so on and so forth.

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So, to hopefully answer your questions:

• All Series Watch Order:

  1. DGR1/THH/Danganronpa: The Animation
  2. DGR2: Goodbye Despair (game or manga)
  3. DGR Ultra Despair Girls (game)

     A few characters from UDG appear in Future, so it may benefit you to play this first, but it's not a dealbreaker like not playing DGR2 is.

  4. Alternate watching DGR3/Future and DGR3/Despair episodes, i.e. F1 -> D1 -> F2 -> D2... etc.
  5. DGR3/Hope
  6. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (game)

     IMO, V3's only strict prerequisite is DGR1 to get the full picture, but I recommend experiencing the whole series to be safe, if you can.

The DGR subreddit also has a good FAQ/writeup on this topic, including Supplementary Material.

• DGR3 (Anime) Series Watch Order:

Alternate watching Future and Despair episodes, starting with Future.

• A Note Regarding DGRv3:

The branding can be slightly confusing between Danganronpa 3 and Danganronpa V3. Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is the third installment of the game series (and features a brand new cast separate from DGR1/2), and Danganronpa 3, as discussed above, is the anime split into two parts (Despair/Hope) and the last episode, Hope.

Answer 2

Okay, so this actually gets a little complicated.

Instead of watching the anime for the first game, I would watch a let's play or pick it up on Steam when it's on sale (it's worth it, trust me). As far as an actual order to get the most out of the story the order I would go is:

• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
• Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (this has spoilers for SDR2)

All of this is pretty standard so far. But here is where things get complicated. After 2 comes Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy which is set during 2 different timelines that are two different complementary series. The idea is that you alternate between the two of them starting with Side Future, then Side Despair so your order would be F1, D1, F2, D2, etc...

After that you'll be all caught up for the release of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony this summer.

Answer 3

I'm pretty sure it's like this: Danganronpa 3: Despair Arc first. Then the remnants of despair (students in Danganronpa 3) ruin world while Danganronpa: The Animation/Trigger Happy Havoc is going on. Niegi and others escape and successfully capture the remnants. While they are, the events in New Despair Girsls are taking place. As Danganronpa 3: Future Arc starts, the remnants are currently in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. When Danganronpa 3 ends, Niegi, Kirigiri, and Byakuya head into Danganronpa 2 to help the former remnants. This isn't the order to watch or anything, but it is the chronology.

Answer 4

To be honest, the correct order of watching it is: (From top to bottom)

• Future Arc
• Despair Arc
• Hope

By watching alternately, it makes more sense but the proper way to watch is: (From top to bottom)

• Future
• Despair
• Hope

Answer 5

The anime are actually pretty much a secondary product to the DR games.

In order to watch the Danganronpa series, you should play the games before watching the Danganronpa 1 and Danganronpa 2 anime. The games are called:

• Danganronpa 1

and

• Danganronpa 2

After that watch Danganronpa 3 anime and then play the Danganronpa 3 game.

No matter how you look at it, the story doesn't really make sense unless you play the games, as the anime was made for the people who have already played the games.(At least the Danganronpa 3 anime was, the Danganronpa 1 anime is just an adaptation of the first game.)

Answer 6

1. Danganronpa 1/trigger happy havoc (danganronpa: the animation?)
2. danganronpa 2: goodbye despair
3. Danganronpa: ultra despair girls
4. danganronpa 3: future , despair , hope. (< in order)
5. danganronpa: the end of hope’s peak academy(?)
6. Danganronpa V3: killing harmony
7. danganronpa anime(?)