Yugirl's drawing of the cast
"The Tragedy really did happen. And my classmates and I were going to die."
— Kuroyami Kokorono
Danganronpa: Return to Despair Academy is an Audio Drama made by Yugirl. Set after the events of Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, this series imagines a final killing game. This idea for this was made before Danganronpa 3 The End Of Hopes Peak High School aired, and does not follow all of its canon. Monokuma needs a way to keep despair going, and a killing game is set up in the original Hope's Peak Academy. Strangely enough, the protagonist is the only one who seems to have any memories of his school life. Episodes can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbPy0tsiq8yAFTnyQ_uh8dg
Danganronpa: Return to Despair Academy contains examples of:
- Academy of Adventure: Takes place inside of Hope's Peak Academy. Not really the fun kind of adventure, but adventure nonetheless.
- After the End: The narrator reveals that this all takes place after the Tragedy, an event which ended the world as we know it.
- Alternative Continuity: The Creator explained that as the story was created before Danganronpa 3, it occurs in an alternate timeline where the events of Future Arc never happened. She is, however, hoping to include as much of the DR3 cast as possible and has confirmed she'll be keeping Despair Arc as canon as possible
- Deadly Graduation: Quite literal. In order to "graduate" from the school, you must kill a person and get away with it, condemning your classmates to death.
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Genius Bonus: In Episode 1, Shizuka picks up Usato and says "Where're you going bunny, huh?" this is a quote from the Betty Boop Short, "Betty in Blunderland". If you understood that reference, you deserve a cookie - Ink-Suit Actor: Several voice actors have said that they felt very in-touch with their characters. The main ones are in fact the voice actors for the foster-sibling protagonists, who have both said that their characters act very similar to how they do in real life.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Everyone except for the protagonist has no memories of their school life, or of the Tragedy.
- Law Procedural: The Class Trials.
- Mascot Villain: In Danganronpa, before you even know who the mastermind is, you know one thing. Monokuma, a two-tone teddy bear, is controlled by them. Monokuma provides the motives for most murders, and serves to carry out the mastermind's will.
- Public Execution: When a murder culprit is discovered during a Class Trial, they are executed in front of their classmates.
- Series Mascot: Monokuma, not just for this, but for Danganronpa in general. Monogin also fills this role, but is unique to this series.
- Slumber Party: The official blog has announced that one of the upcoming episodes will feature a sleepover, and a contest is currently being held to design sleep wear for the characters.
- Win Your Freedom: In order to escape from Hope's Peak, you have to kill somebody and survive the class trial.
- You Wake Up in a Room: The protagonist, and possibly the other students.
