Cartoons in Danganronpa is a crossover animated web series blending Danganronpa and a variety of Western Animation series, acting as a sort of experiment based around what would happen if you took 16 animated characters and placed them into a school, where they are locked up and forced into a Mutual Killing Game like Danganronpa's premise in order to survive. The series was created and is developed by ThatCheesyBastard
on YouTube.
Cast
- Dipper Pines (Ultimate Detective) and Mabel Pines (Ultimate Sweater Designer) from Gravity Falls.
- ZIM (Ultimate Extraterrestrial Scientist), Gaz Membrane (Ultimate Gamer), and Dib Membrane (Ultimate Paranormal Investigator) from Invader Zim.
- Eddy (Ultimate Scam Artist) and Ed (Ultimate Muscle) from Ed, Edd n Eddy.
- Bubbles (Ultimate Animal Whisperer) and Blossom (Ultimate Team Leader) from The Powerpuff Girls.
- Vendetta (Ultimate Fiend Maker) and Charlotte (Ultimate Motivator) from Making Fiends.
- Morty Smith (Ultimate Assistant) from Rick and Morty.
- Jenny Wakeman (Ultimate Fighting Machine) from My Life as a Teenage Robot.
- Star Butterfly (Ultimate Magician) from Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
- Kyle Broflovski (Ultimate Jew) and Eric Cartman (Ultimate Snack Enthusiast) from South Park.
- And, of course, Monokuma from Danganronpa.
Cartoons in Danganronpa provides examples of:
Due to the series' nature as a Danganronpa fan work, all spoilers will be unmarked ahead. You Have Been Warned!
- Actor Allusion:
- Dib's birthday is given as February 24, the same as his original actor, Andy Berman.
- Jenny's presence in the cast might bring to mind her canon voice actress's role as Peko Pekoyama in the English dub of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.
- A Day in the Limelight: The Free Time Events in a nutshell, with each of them giving a specific student their own Character Arc alongside Dipper.
- Eddy's Free Time Events are based on him mentoring Dipper into becoming a scam artist himself, and ultimately taking advantage of his trust along the way.
- Jenny's are about Dipper helping her fit in with her human classmates.
- Zim's involve Dipper trying to learn about Zim's life and culture. Key word being "trying."
- Anyone Can Die: As is expected of such a concept, nobody is safe.
- Black Blood: As it is a staple for the Danganronpa canon and most other fan works, the blood isn't red to the audience. However, instead of the stylized psychopop pink blood most Danganronpa fans have come to known, the blood in Cartoons in Danganronpa is a bright orange, likely as a tribute to Nickelodeon's use of the color as its signature motif.
- Bloody Horror: After Star is murdered, the kitchen is found covered in her blood.
- Body of the Week: The general concept is designed around this idea.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Monokuma introduces himself, he demands to know why he didn't get a character information card like all the other characters did.
- Brought Down to Normal: Monokuma de-powers some of the group's stronger members because of how much they go on about protecting everyone.
- Con Man: Eddy's talent is defined as manipulating others into falling for stunts he puts up so that he can take their money. In his original series, this never went too well for him, but considering it's his talent here...
- Deadly Game: What the students are ultimately trapped in; they'll be unable to leave the school for the rest of their lives, unless they kill one of their fellow classmates and become the blackened. They must then get away with murder without being caught, and then make it through a class trial designed around catching them, in order to be allowed to leave at all.
- Defensive "What?": Dib reacts this way when he explains that the electric lock on the principal's office that prevents anyone else from getting in is called The Big Zappy Thing.
- Demographic-Dissonant Crossover: Aside from the fact that the series is based around the mature Danganronpa franchise, most of the cartoons that the characters involved are from are aimed at or are at least appropriate for children, with the glaring exceptions of South Park and Rick and Morty.
- It gets Lampshaded in the "Teaching Charlotte French" short when Dib notices that Kyle, Cartman and Morty all swear more often than anyone else in the school. And it goes even further when Cartman teaches Charlotte about them, telling her that it's French.
- It gets Lampshaded in the "Teaching Charlotte French
- Exact Words:
- When Monokuma threatens to kill every hostage randomly one by one, Blossom reminds him that he said that everyone will be dead if a few days passed without a killing. However, Monokuma corrects her stating that he never said how they could all be dead in a few days.
- When Monokuma begins torturing Dipper in order to get Blossom, Bubbles, and Jenny to give up their powers, he points out that he's not allowed to kill the students. Hurting them is still fair game.
- The Friend Nobody Likes:
- Eddy is a manipulative sleazeball with no sense of care for morality or basic manners. Even when bonding with him, Dipper finds himself utterly dumbfounded on why he's even spending time with him, to a point of questioning himself. The only person who likes him is Ed, and that's just cause he's too dumb to realize Eddy is using him for his own profit.
- Cartman is even worse. Beyond having rather disgusting habits, he's a very loud, aggressive person who seems to get off on other people's misery. Kyle even does as much as he can to try and warn people about him prior. And on top of that, he gives his thoughts on the 'hierarchy' of the killing game, and states he will win it, and not as "filler".
- Fun with Subtitles: When Zim objects to the plans that Blossom has made during the first morning meeting, Bubbles causes this to happen when she kicks him, making them go diagonal. This is fixed five seconds later thanks to a cursor being used, with said cursor giving Bubbles a headpat.
- I Have Your Wife: Much like in Trigger Happy Havoc, Monokuma threatens to murder a hostage corresponding to most of the cast, with only Dipper, Dib, and Charlotte lacking one. They are:
- Blossom and Bubbles: Buttercup
- Eddy and Ed: Double D
- Mabel: Waddles
- Jenny: Ms. Wakeman
- Kyle and Cartman: Kenny
- Star: Marco
- Zim: GIR
- Gaz: Her Game Slave (Yes, really)
- Vendetta: Grudge
- Morty: One of Rick's portal guns
- Intermission: Just as in Danganronpa, there are intermission segments for the end of the day. At first, these are the usual Monkuma theater segments as the games. But after Star dies, the segment is replaced with "Dying with the Stars," a talk show where hosted by Star and the other deceased students.
- Jerkass: Among the group, Cartman, Eddy, Gaz, Vendetta, and Zim stand out as easily being the biggest jerks.
- Lack of Empathy: There's a stat gauging it, and among the cast, the people with the least empathy by far stand out as Cartman, Zim, and Vendetta.
- Mythology Gag: After Monokuma reveals the awful truth about Hope's Peak, Mabel tries to deny it by saying they're on one of those prank shows. She does the same thing in the Gravity Falls episode "Not What He Seems" after finding out Stan isn't who he says he is.
- No Animals Were Harmed: Parodied each time Monokuma fails to perform his jump.
- In part 2 of the Prologue:
"We here at CIDR want to assure you that no bears were harmed in the making of this video. Except Monokuma."- "Chapter 1 (Daily Life)":
"We here at CIDR want to assure you that Monokuma was harmed in the making of this video. Badly." - Non-Standard Character Design: Most of the characters don't look too out of place next to each other thanks to following certain trends, but Vendetta and Charlotte stand out thanks to being all one color. Nobody comments on this.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Eddy and Ed, on account of one being a scam artist and the other his brutish bodyguard, have no issue getting right in people's faces for the smallest of things. Dipper even notes their complete lack of personal space.
- Sadistic Choice: Monokuma forces one on Blossom, Bubbles, and Jenny: Either give up your powers, or he tortures Dipper. Blossom quickly realizes that it's a trap, but gets the other two to submit.
- Secret Room: Dipper accidentally discovers that he has a secret laboratory installed in his room when he punches his painting.
- Shout-Out: Naturally, for such a concept, there are plenty of references to western animation. But they aren't limited to the shows represented by the characters.
- In the nurse's office, a "Hang In There" poster has Garfield on it.
- In Dib's ultimate lab, he has statues of Grim, Marceline, and a Bigfoot.
- Some of the presents Dipper can give are pulled from other series.
- When giving a present to Eddy, his options include Burple Nurples, Christian Vegetables, a Creepy Mask, Don't Whiz on the Electric Fence, and a Glider Staff before settling on a jawbreaker.
- When giving a present to Jenny, his options include the Tiger Belt, Plank, the Orb of Tornami, some oddly-shaped footballs, and a newt before settling on an oil can.
- When giving a present to Zim, his options include a headband, a Marshmallow, a Meeseeks Box, and the perfect candy before settling on the robot bee.
- When giving a present to Kyle, his options include 4am Pudding, the Amnesulet, and bacon soap before settling on Kenny's Parka.
- In Chapter 1, Monokuma tasks Dipper with gathering dolls that are scattered around the school. So far, known dolls include Pucca, Wordgirl, Daria, Sailor Moon, and Suction Cup Man.
- In the Ultimate Detective Lab, Scooby-Doo's head is mounted on a wall.
- In the storage room, there are wigs sporting the hairstyles of Pepper Ann, Johnny Bravo, Marge Simpson, Timmy Turner, Heather, and Mandy.
- The Trial Theme samples Nick's jingle, the Cartoon Cartoons theme, and When you Wish Upon A Star.
- Before entering the elevator for trials, Squidward's art from "Artist Unknown," and a painting of the spiral hill can be seen on a wall.
- In the first Dying With the Stars segment, Star calls Monokuma a "rando Mr. Huggles robot.
- In the Trial Room, Monokuma's "throne" is the couch from The Simpsons.
- As per Danganronpa standards, during class trials, deceased students have their places filled with signs with their faces crossed out on them. The series puts its own spin on it by having deceased students' faces displayed on monitors similar to Karen's.
- Show Within a Show: KaBlam! is treated as such, and is even used to tie in Monokuma's involvement with Hope's Peak. It turns out the bear was originally a character created for one of their segments, but Professor Membrane made a deal with the creators to use him as a helper robot for the school.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Cartman, Kyle, Morty, and Monokuma. Makes sense, as they come from adult-oriented franchises.
- Slashed Throat: This is the cause of Star's death.
- Spotlight-Stealing Crossover: Invader Zim is the only cartoon to be represented by three characters and Hope's Peak Academy was built by Professor Membrane.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The aggressive and demanding Vendetta and the sweet and caring Charlotte.
- Trademark Favorite Food: As expected of the Eds, both Ed and Eddy are obsessed with jawbreakers.
- What the Hell Are You?: Blossom asks Monokuma this after he seemingly No Sells an attack from her, Bubbles and Jenny.
- You Remind Me of X: Eddy thinks Dipper is almost exactly like "Sockhead" (also known as Double D in his home series).
