Danganronpa Zero
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''Danganronpa Zero'' is a Japanese
light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...
written by Kazutaka Kodaka and illustrated by Rui Komatsuzaki. It was published by Seikaisha from September 16 to October 14, 2011, and has been collected in two volumes. A
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...
to '' Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc'', the novel focuses on Ryoko Otonashi, a student who, as a result of "The Tragedy", has
anterograde amnesia In neurology, anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories after an event that caused amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. Thi ...
(the inability to form new memories) and has short-term memory loss. Overseen by the school's Ultimate
Neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...
and her childhood sweetheart Yasuke Matsuda, Ryoko becomes embroiled in a vast
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
within Hope's Peak Academy, involving the mysterious Izuru Kamukura and "Despair Sisters"
Junko Enoshima is a fictional character and the overarching antagonist of Spike Chunsoft's ''Danganronpa'' series. Featured as the mastermind in the series' first two games as the true identity of Monokuma, in the Spin-off (media), spin-off ''Danganronpa Anoth ...
and Mukuro Ikusaba, as "The Parade"
protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...
s arise outside. The events of the novel set up several story elements that were later used in the video game '' Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair'', in particular the character of Izuru Kamukura, while several characters introduced in the novel make
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
s in the
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
'' Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School''. Kodaka has cited ''Zero'' as the story in which he "finalized the larger world of ''
Danganronpa is a Japanese video game franchise created by Kazutaka Kodaka and developed and owned by Spike Chunsoft (formerly Spike). The series primarily surrounds various groups of apparent high-school students who are forced into murdering each oth ...
'',
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
led to the creation of the second game."


Characters


Protagonists

– The
main protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
, an
amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...
c student known as the "Ultimate Analyst". – Ryoko's caretaker and childhood sweetheart, known as the "Ultimate Neurologist". – Consisting of twin sisters and , the pair are instigators of "The Tragedy". – A student known as the "Ultimate Detective", investigating Izuru Kamukura and the cause of "The Tragedy" after being hired by her estranged father.


Supporting characters

– A group of octuplets and collective "Ultimate
Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...
" who pursue Ryoko. – A perverted student and self-proclaimed "Ultimate
Secret Agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
" who assists Ryoko. – An apparently
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
tose student in Matsuda's care and the only known survivor of "The Tragedy". – The
Headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...
of Hope's Peak Academy, who tasks his estranged daughter Kyoko with investigating "The Tragedy" while he is dealing with "The Parade". – A student of indeterminate gender hiding on the grounds of the school, and the perpetrator of "The Tragedy". – The
school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...
of Hope's Peak Academy and creators of Izuru Kamukura, who cover up their role in "The Tragedy".


Development

After the making of the first ''Danganronpa'' game, there were no plans for a sequel. However, the team split up into different groups to make other projects. Initially reluctant, Kodaka was attracted by the idea of creating the novels ''Danganronpa Zero''. After consulting to Terasawa, Kodaka decided to write the novel. While writing ''Zero'', Terasawa approached Kodaka with the idea of a sequel in a few months. Kodaka was busy with the novel as he aimed to complete it so the sequel was written once he was finished with ''Zero''. In the end, Kodaka wrote both ''Zero'' and ''Goodbye Despair'' at the same time. In retrospective, Kodaka considers the novels as needing more structuring work when comparing it with the game. He wrote elements he was doubtful from the first game into the novel as well as more hints towards ''Goodbye Despair''. As a result, Kodaka recommends players to first read ''Zero'' before playing the sequel.


Volumes

The novel has been collected into two volumes, both of which were published in late 2011.


Notes


References

{{Danganronpa 2011 Japanese novels Danganronpa