In the last episode on Danganronpa, we get a glimpse of the outside world where a giant bear in wrecking havoc in the city. People are wearing bear masks and rioting in the streets.
What exactly happened to world? Was the despair that Monokuma talking about actually a disease? Was everyone related to the characters in the school already dead?
PS: I'm not familiar with the game or novel I have only watched the anime.
I have played the game, and yet I can tell you the answer isn't the most clear there either. All I got from there is that the incident started on Hope's Peak Academy and propagated an extreme state of unrest to the outside world. However, I've heard things are explain further in the sequel, which I haven't played nor followed a Let's Play of just yet. Taking a look at the Danganronpa wiki, they explain it quite well there:
"The biggest and most despair inducing incident in all of Hope's Peak Academy ’s history" was only the beginning to what would be the world's end. The biggest and most despair inducing incident in all of Hope's Peak Academy’s history caused the reserve course students to rebel…
At first, it was optimistically thought that everything would calm down soon, but the situation worsened and quickened its pace. The movement happened on the Internet, and formed a community of its own.
Soon, not just students were involved, but came to include people of various races and nationalities in its development and spread off the internet and into real life.
At the beginning of the movement, it involved demonstrations regarding social issues, but as it spread through the world, its abnormality began to show. At some point in time, the motives and modus operandi changed, and left behind only meaningless destruction and violence.
Strong people killed weak people…
Weak people murdered even weaker people…
Weak people formed factions and lynched strong people
As the violence and death spread, people became desensitized. As if time had gone backwards, people took death to become a certainty. The media reports overflowed with death, and people ate as they watched. By the time the world had noticed the abnormality, it was already too late.
The overpowering “despair” became a huge wave that swallowed up the world in the blink of one’s eye…
Soon, terrorists and coup d’etats sprang up and caused the despair that is war. It wasn’t war that happened due to the clash of ideals, religion or profits…It was just war.
Pure war.
Therefore, no way to solve the problem was found. However…how did what was originally a students’ movement develop into such a despair-worthy situation? This was because of…the existence of “a certain group of people”.
It revolved around the “certain student” who led Hope's Peak Academy to its destruction; a group called “Super High School Level Despair”.
Their talents, recognized by Hope's Peak Academy, were used not “for the sake of causing hope for humanity”…They used their talents “for the sake of causing despair for humanity”. Those who held great power brainwashed ordinary citizens to spread despair…
Those who had talent with computers created software to spread despair…
Those who had great influence over people created new ideals to spread despair.
This is how “the biggest and most despair inducing incident in all human history” was produced. Indeed, as long as “Super High School Level Despair” exists, this despair will not end…
“The biggest and most despair inducing incident in all human history” will not end…
And that's apparently the in-game description, though being as I don't remember reading through that, it's probably from Super Danganronpa 2.
To read more just check the source where I took that from: http://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/The_World%27s_Most_Despair-Inducing_Incident
From my understanding, there is a group (who is controlling Monokuma) who's goal is to have the world in a perpetual state of chaos by inciting despair and havoc through any means, but most seemed to be centered around subtle manipulation of people through influencing society.
Also, i think i read somewhere that the "murder" who everyone has to figure out the identity of is also a member of this group and faked her death early on to remain hidden.
This is from what little research i did into the game before i committed to pre-order it from NISA
At the end of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, it is revealed that the 'mastermind' behind the whole thing was Junko Enoshima. The reason she was still alive was because she switched positions with her twin sister Mukuro Ikusaba, but unfortunately, Mukuro met her end shortly. The last trial was to find out who killed Mukuro... but the remaining students find out the truth through this. Junko reveals herself and explains why this was even happening in the first place, the reason being because she wanted to spread despair to the entire world. Upon showing them the outside world, she shows them that her plans have worked, and that the world is meeting its end. Why? The whole world was watching what the students were doing in Hope's Peak. When they saw that the killing game had begun, they were influenced...
That's my best summary of the end of the game. I'm currently playing Danganronpa 2.
My guess is that influencers, politicians, and corrupt people in general created “despair” without knowing and Junko (bored with life) wanted to somewhat, broadcast despair on television. She’s rich and definitely has a lot of connections with influencers, politicians and corrupt people she used said connections to feel true despair loathing and anything at all. The students that were chosen by her were elites which is why some were influencers and politicians and corrupt people, Junko wanted to control despair and depression itself and just had to, ruin the world and more than 6 billion people’s lives to do that
In Super Danganronpa 2, there is a huge school building that looks exactly as the one in Danganronpa the animation. I think they where in the school building, and when they opened the door and go outside they will be on the same island as the students in Danganronpa 2. But maybe I think when the students of DR1 also will meet the students of DR2 and that they will have to survive with both group of students, maybe it will be a new game that will come out, I hope so.
This answer contains spoilers from the second game.
Hinata, the protagonist of the second game, killed the 13 members of the student council. Hinata was a project of the school and a compilation of everyone's talents. If people found out they would expel him. The school tried to cover it up, but Junko took advantage and spread the rumour.
The school started to have riots and became out of order. Because of this, the despair of the students began to be felt outside the school. Despair was a concept and not a disease and it became world-wide. Wars broke out. Untalented students from the reserve group of the schools committed mass suicide. What happened after that is not known, except that the person seen at the start of the anime was the principal.
Hope that helps.
