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New Danganronpa Anime to be Split Into 2 'Chapters'

NBC Universal announced at its booth at AnimeJapan that this year's Danganronpa 3 -The End of Kibōgamine Gakuen- (Danganronpa 3 -The End of Hope's Peak Academy-) television anime will be split into two parts: "Mirai Hen" (Future Chapter) and "Zetsubō Hen" (Despair Chapter). "Mirai Hen" will air in July, while "Zetsubō Hen" will air sometime after.

"Mirai Hen" will focus on the characters from the first game installment, while the "Zetsubō Hen" will tell the story of the characters of the Super Danganronpa 2 game. The anime will illustrate what happened to the characters before the events of the game.

The company also unveiled a new promotional video starring both games' characters. Note: The video has spoilers for the first two games.

The games' original scenario writer and creator Kazutaka Kodaka had stated on Friday that the story of 2's characters had ended with the game, and that he would not and could not write an "after story" about the characters.

Famitsu had announced this week that Makoto Naegi, as well as Kyōko Kirigi, Aoi Asahina, Yasuhiro Hagakure, Monokuma, and Monomi will star in the anime. The magazine and the anime's website presents anime illustrations of these returning characters, plus the new characters::

(From left to right)
Kōichi Kizakura
Seiko Kimura
Great Gozu
Sōnosuke Izayoi
Ruruka Andō
Jūzō Sakakura
Ryōta Mitarai
Monokuma
Miaya Gekkōgahara
Kyōsuke Munakata
Kazuo Tengan
Monomi
Chisa Yukizome
Yasuhiro Hagakure
Makoto Naegi Kyōko Kirigi
Daisaku Bandai
Aoi Asahina

The television anime series will be the conclusion of the "Hope's Peak Academy" series' original story.

Kazutaka Kodaka is in charge of the original scenario concepts and overall supervision. Rui Komatsuzaki is credited with the original character designs, and Seiji Kishi is directing. Norimitsu Kaihō (School-Live!, Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation) is in charge of the scenario on the project, and animation studio Lerche is returning to animate the project. Kazuaki Morita and Ryoko Amisaki are designing the anime's characters. The Danganronpa Design Team is credited with the original background designs. Masafumi Takada is composing the music, and Yoshinori Terasawa is the "Otasuke Producer."

Funimation streamed the Danganronpa The Animation television anime series, based on Spike Chunsoft's PlayStation Portable/PlayStation Vita game, as the anime aired in Japan in Summer 2013. Funimation describes the story:

Hope's Peak Academy is an exclusive private school that only accepts the best of the best. Graduates of this elite – yet enigmatic – institution have the world at their fingertips, but getting a cap and gown is easier said than done. The hallowed halls are ruled by the sadistic administrator Monobear, who declares that the only way to pass the class is by sending a fellow student home in a body bag. If you can get away with murder, you'll get your diploma. But if you're caught red handed, you'll find yourself on the receiving end of a deadly detention slip!

Funimation released the series on DVD and Blu-ray on November 11 with an English dub.

NIS America released the first and second Danganronpa games on PS Vita in North America and Europe last year under the names Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It also released the spinoff game Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (Zettai Zetsubō Shōjo Danganronpa: Another Episode, or Absolute Despair Girl Danganronpa: Another Episode).

Spike Chunsoft announced a new entry in the game series titled New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki (New Danganronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing). The new game will not take place at Hope's Peak Academy and will not feature any other returning characters. Spike Chunsoft is developing the game for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita and plans to release it in 2016.

Source: Famitsu via 0takomu

Update: Spoiler warning added. Thanks, BalmungHHQ