Review of Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc

It's hard to objectively look at the series you invested hours and hours into. This anime will not be for everyone. Even if you decide to play through all the visual novels and a spin-off game (which is rather crucial to the story as well), there is a chance you'll find it "unnecessary", "poor" or just horrible and not deserving to be part of the series. I got a lot more out of the anime than I was originally expected, being told by everyone, how bad this show is. If you played through all the games, I dont see a reason why you wouldn't atleast trythis. I will keep this review as spoiler-free as I can.

I'll start with praising the Opening, as it really deserved it. Visuals are beautiful, it doesn't shove any important plot points into your face, and, of course, the song itself is amazing.

This is only half of the show, and I recommend alternating between Future Arc and Despair arc episode by episode (starting with future) as that will save some interesting surprises for both serieses. You should also alternate between this review and one on Despair arc. Which is an obvious joke and you shouldn't bother, but the idea of having to watch two shows at the same time is rather interesting and works surprisingly well for this one.

One of the most apparent reasons to watch this anime is for the characters, and this one really delivers. Some characters weren't fully explored, due to the nature of the killing game, some are more fleshed out in the despair arc, some get maybe a bit too much screentime, but the original gang is back and it was really nice to see them again. New characters were really hit or miss, and I wish some of them survived for longer, but thats part of the fun I guess. I dont think this would work as any game, same as the original visual novel didn't work as anime, this story is not "Danganronpa 3, but the anime for some reason", it is a way to tie all loose ends which in theory works much better than a VN would. If it suceeds in practice, is another question. There are many pretty obvious plot holes in this story, some things happen just because, it isn't clear how some stuff works, characters sometimes act irrationally, some long awaited questions aren't satisfying enough or not given at all, etc. But you shouldn't expect any serious realism from this anime. Original VN had many silly moments as well. Many plot holes can be explained if you think about the situation the characters have to face and overall pressure on them (and also the ridiculous setting of the series of actual superhumans existing here, wiping out armies with ease). I dont think it makes the anime much worse, but some moments did sting a little, esspecially near the end. Danganronpa always had some problems with satisfying and logical endings, and this one is not really an exception. The overall plot is really a 7 because of it, it isn't horrible, and it has some good moments, but I dont think it is on par with the games. And despite that, there were enough moments to keep me invested in it, making it hard to wait through an episode of Despair arc to find out what happens next here (which, honestly, was the case for Despair arc too, and was the weirdest thing I've experienced while watching an anime).

Did I mention that art is pretty good yet? The colour scheme and shots convey the atmosphere very well, action scenes, while not being super detailed, are well animated and it is clear that a lot of work went into them. There is some repetition in shots, but there aren't too many to get in your eyes. Overall, Lerche did a really good job with this one. I expected to be always disturbed by the blood not being trademark pink, as it was in VNs, but it surprisingly fitted more to the story it was trying to tell.

I suppose what matters the most, is if it does well as the continuation and partly conclusion of the series. And I think that the answer is yes. It doesn't ruin any already established characters or concepts, it evolves them, it really feels like those characters indeed have suffered through a lot of despair, esspecially the characters from the first game. It is worthy to be in the series, as I see it.

I really loved playing through the games, and I loved watching this anime, no matter how silly it was at times. If compared to Despair arc, I'd say that this one is worse of a final product, but thats mostly because I enjoyed the second game so much. If you just want more danganronpa, this is for you, there is not much more like this, in both anime or videogames. It isn't flawless, but it really isn't as bad as some say. I give this show a subjective 9 and an objective 7, which rounds up to an 8, cus I make the rules here. Now, go watch it if you haven't already and let the game begin!

Also, ED is good, but I skipped it maybe a bit too much.