Dangan Ronpa: Rewound Despair is a fanfic (also known as a "Fangan", or "Fan Dangan Ronpa") for the video game series Danganronpa. It was created on the 15th of July, 2017, and is hosted on the fanfiction website Archive of Our Own. It is written by the user "gayishimaru" under the Psued "rewound_despair".
Rewound Despair follows the protagonist Jin Kirigiri, a returning character from the original Dangan Ronpa series. The story takes place in 1991, twenty years before the 78th class attended Hope's Peak Academy. Jin Kirigiri is a student himself at this point- being accepted into the illustrious school under the title of "Super High School Level Private Investigator". However, before Jin can take his place amongst the greats, he is kidnapped and transported away from Hope's Peak Academy- instead being carted off towards a government-run facility called the "Zetsuuchu Biodome Station".
Jin, as well as the rest of the 58th class, awaken in a strange forest, and are told that they will remain there unless they chose to participate in an experimental Killing Game. This Killing Game is run by a cutesy black and white mascot named Monokuma, who tells them the only way to win the Killing Game is to kill- and not get caught.
Note that spoilers are unmarked due to the nature of the fic. Proceed with caution.
Dangan Ronpa: Rewound Despair contains examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Kotohiko accidentally murdered Tokiya Souda in Chapter One.
- Anyone Can Die: In-line with a typical Dangan Ronpa game, no member of the cast is safe.
- Asshole Victim: Tokiya Souda. He definitely wasn't the most pleasant member of the cast, and was a bit of a pervert to boot.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Monokuma has video cameras everywhere to watch the cast with. Even the dorms aren't safe.
- Black Comedy: By nature of being a Dangan Ronpa fanfic.
- Body of the Week: Every chapter, one or more students end up dead.
- Break the Cutie: Kotohiko undergoes a complete breakdown in the Chapter One trial.
- Characters Dropping Like Flies: You can't expect this cast to last long in their situation.
- Closed Circle: Quite literally a closed circle- the cast is trapped in giant sphere-like "biodomes", surrounded only by the abyss of outer space.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: All of the deaths so far seem to fit into this.
- The first victim, Tokiya Souda, was killed with a giant fan, and mangled into a pulp.
- The first killer, Kotohiko Maizono, was liquefied by acid and turned into printer ink.
- The second victim, Koichi Kizakura, had his leg caught in a bear trap. The exact cause of death is unknown, but it can't have been pleasant.
- Deadly Game: It's a Killing Game, after all. It even has government funding!
- Deadly Graduation: The intended outcome of the Killing Game.
- Deadly Rotary Fan: Tokiya was killed by a giant, sharpened, ventilation fan.
- Despair Event Horizon: Jin crosses this after the Chapter One trial is over.
- Driven to Suicide: Jin, post Chapter One trial. Fortunately enough, he is discovered before he can complete his plan.
- Elaborate University High: Hope's Peak itself.
- Evidence Scavenger Hunt: After each murder, Jin is tasked with collecting evidence for the case.
- Gilded Cage: The biodome stations are actually quite breathtaking, at least in terms of their scenery.
- Gorn: Rewound Despair deals with murders and executions more graphically gruesome than the original games.
- For example, the first murder happens because someone was forced into a deadly murder fan. It doesn't get much better from there.
- Hesitation Equals Dishonesty: Koichi is suspected as being the mastermind of the killing game in the first trial. What follows is him starting to stutter, whilst avoiding addressing the question directly. Ironically enough, the person who insists this proves him guilty is a chronic stutterer.
- Hope Spot: A notable example comes in Chapter One: Isana claims she's found an escape route out of the biodome through a vent- when, in actuality, the vent she found was blocked by a giant fan. Oh, and it just so happens to be clogged by a mangled corpse.
- Law Procedural: Part of the Class Trials.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The first Monokuma theatre, where Monokuma laments about how stupid writing fanfictions is.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Jin doesn't react very well to having to doom the first culprit to their execution.
- Ontological Mystery: As you would expect from something set in the Dangan Ronpa universe.
- Wham Line: Several.
- This one, as the first culprit is revealed:KOTOHIKO: I’M NOT A KILLER!
- Consequently, Jin starting to refer to the killer with their last name, instead of their first.
- In the same chapter, yet another line punches you in the gut, as Jin's post-trial intentions become shockingly clear.The noose hung from the ceiling.
- This one, as the first culprit is revealed:
- Who Murdered the Asshole: Tokiya Souda, notable for being one of the more unpleasant members of the cast, is the first victim. Unsurprisingly, the amount of people with motive to kill him is quite high.
- Win Your Freedom: The game's goal.
