Fangan Ronpa

Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Fan Killing Game
See also	Competition Fic, a similar genre of Total Drama fanworks.
Related articles on Fanlore.

Fangan Ronpa, often called Fangan for short or Fanganronpa, is a term specific to the Danganronpa fandom for fanworks which aim to re-create the series' "killing game" formula. Fangans star a cast of original characters who all have a "talent" and must survive a killing game scenario where they must get away with murder for a reward, typically escape from the game. Unlike the canonical killing games, these fan-made killing games often have differing rules, outsets and masterminds.

Fangans have existed since 2012 with the release of the second game in the Dangan Ronpa series, Dangan Ronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, in Japan. The release of the second game solidified the idea that killing games other than the one in Hope's Peak Academy during Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc were possible, inspiring fans to create their own similar plot-lines.

Dangan Ronpa V3: Killing Harmony may have been a turning point for Fangans' popularity. That game canonically took place during the 53rd Dangan Ronpa main-series killing game rather than the 3rd, (which it is for its players,) and this dramatic shift in number is attributed to Dangan Ronpa being a fictional series in-game, (before, it was not,) with V3 being the 53rd "season" of the "show." Most fans familiar with Fangans believe Kazutaka Kodaka and the rest of Spike Chunsoft were influenced by the existence of Fangans when writing V3's plotline.

Although SYOC RP fanworks may be called Fangans, most within Fangan-circles do not consider these Fangans by definition. Similarly, Fanworks which are reimaginings of the canonical killing games with Canon Divergence elements are also not considered Fangans. However, this range varies from fan to fan, and there's no absolute rules for this sort of thing. This article will only focus on Fangans with original characters created by one or more creators for simplicity.

While most fangans are somewhat obscure, others have amassed a large amount of Recursive Fanworks. Fangan creators may be influential for promoting other fangans and networking more than their own fangans themselves. The fangan community for Dangan Ronpa is somewhat of a sub-fandom within larger Danganronpa fandom. Some fans of Fangans may enjoy Fangans more than the main series itself.

Fangans on Instagram may be called Insta-ronpas.

History

Early Fangan Fandom

In English-speaking Dangan Ronpa fandom, all of the earliest Fangans were fanfiction. In Korean-speaking Dangan Ronpa fandom, most seemed to be fangames. Many Fangans enter their planning periods years before their official release date. As such, only notable releases will be mentioned pre-completion period.

2012

In 2012, production for Danganronpa Another began. Another was created by a team of three fans: LINUJ (린유즈), who led the production, drew the illustrations and sprites, coded, etc, Kim Master (김마스터) who colored the illustrations and presumably sprites, and Bamnunbagi (밤눈박이) who worked as an assistant for the sounds and the general story.

2013

In 2013, the first English-language fanfics were made. They were posted on FanFiction.Net, Wattpad or Archive of Our Own. These early fics include the finished Danganronpa -1: The First Hopeful Academy of Despair by CaptainPancakes, Dangan Ronpa: Hopelessly Misplaced by Craftsdwarf and Dangan Ronpa Re:kindle by Deadcanons. Only The First Hopeful Academy of Despair would be completed in 2013, with the others being completed in 2014.

Also in 2013, Danganronpa Another would release its prologue and first three chapters. The scope of Another inspired many other Korean fangame developers. At this time, the project was unknown outside of South Korea, though this would change in later years.

2014

In 2014, the English-speaking Fangan community began production of its first break-out hits: Dangan Ronpa: Forever Despair by Kitt_Monroe, Dangan Ronpa: Legacy of Despair by Magorgle and Fangan Ronpa: Forest Nightmare by Oclarina. Only Oclarina's would ever be completed (in 2016.) All three of these fangans would be incredibly influential to future Fangan creators, especially Kitt_Monroe's. They established Script Format as a useful and accepted format for Fangans to come.

Craftsdwarf became one of the first Dangan Ronpa fans ever to complete two Fangans with Dangan Ronpa: Hopelessly Misplaced and its sequel, Dangan Ronpa: Despairingly Displaced. Other completed fangans include the Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing by ReadingForever and Dangan Ronpa Re:kindle by Deadcanons.

Also in 2014, the Korean fangame Danganronpa Blowback began production. It was created by a fan group known as Team Monolab in 2014 and was cancelled in 2016. They were inspired by Danganronpa Another.

Danganronpa: Dead by Dawn by MarshmallowFluff314, Despair's Last Resort by ParadoxProphet and Fangan Ronpa: Universal Despair Sale by sarcasticFreedom would begin this year.

2015

In 2015, LINUJ's Danganronpa Another would be completed. It is a Visual Novel Fangame made in RPG Maker and has amassed a large amount of recursive fanworks by both Korean and English-speaking fans over the years. As of 2024, it is still regularly getting fanwork'd, though less so than its very popular sequel.

Also in 2015, the fics Danganronpa: Dead by Dawn by MarshmallowFluff314, Danganronpa: Infinite Despair by The_Snickering_Saboteur, and the last work in Craftsdwarf's trilogy Dangan Ronpa: That Hopeless Place were all completed. Dangan Ronpa: A New Horizon of Despair by Koopakirby, Diabolical Contest of Mutual Killing by ReadingForever, Fangan Ronpa: Undersea Illusion by Oclarina and Dangan Ronpa Re_dux by Deadcanons would also begin this year.

2015 also saw the beginnings of Japanese Fangans on syosetu.org. Danganronpa QQ by substitute_jan (じゃん) was an influential Japanese-language Fangan. Extra Danganronpa Z: Flower of Despair on the Vine of Hope by esora_novel also began this year on syosetu.

2016

In 2016, the first German and Portuguese Fangans were published on FanFiktion.de and Spiritfanfiction. Danganronpa: Despair Days by Marv and Danganronpa Remake: The Future Never Known by Archryun would be released. Other than this, the scene was quieter compared to previous years. This year was when Danganronpa Fanfiction Wiki was made though, which hosts some fangans. Fangans of note which began this year include Dangan Ronpa: Dead on Arrival by gonta, The End of the Mutual Killing by ReadingForever (the final in a trilogy.)  

Also in 2016, troll fics on the genre such as DA BEST SYOC EVA by SkyeTheFangirl would also be released.

Post V3

2017

In 2017, Dangan Ronpa V3: Killing Harmony would release. This game inspired many to make fangans like never before, especially after news was released which confirmed it would be the last main-stream game in the series. Although this spike of intrigue was somewhat immediate in Japanese-speaking DR fandom, English-speaking DR fandom would experience this resurgence largely in 2018. The fangans Turbo Danganronpa X: A New Despair by WhoaDoctorFreeman, Ultimate Danganronpa: Supernova at Sea by galacseas, Dangan Ronpa: Mega Despair Fever! by garlicpolicing, Danganronpa: Hope Reborn by supertinagirl6, Danganronpa: Operation V.K. by KinuNishimura and Dangan Ronpa: Grand Des-Paradise by blazingEmblem began this year. Hope Reborn is somewhat of note for being a story where Leon Kuwata is the protagonist of another killing game after being executed the first time. Fanganronpa: Village of Despair by Luke_Storyhammer, a very popular fangan within fic-writers circles, also began this year.

Many Fangans in future years would explore the idea of Rantaro Amami's Dangan Ronpa V2 killing game. Although it's confirmed canonically that he likely participated in a "V2," none of his classmates are known, leaving fans room to make them original characters in a Fangan which follows this V2 or creates a canon divergence from it.

Also in 2017, Super Danganronpa Another 2's trial would be released. The sequel to LINUJ's Another game was greatly anticipated and hyped. Throughout most of its development, it was consistently supported by both Korean and English fans. It is likely the most popular Fangan of all time.

2018

In 2018, the first forays into Fangans hosted on social media would begin in English-speaking DR fandom. Annoronpa by Cyancees, aka Awsmstevie (no plot, characters his followers could ask questions about on Tumblr), Danganronpa: Hopeful Mayhem by fabiomanx (MS Paint Adventures Forum Adventure) and Danganronpa: The Beginning of The End by UltoPercia (hosted on Danganronpa, the largest Amino for DR) are three examples. Danganronpa EX - Life And Death Of The World's Chosen by ZekeFreek would be first hosted on Amino, later Archive of Our Own.

Danganronpa Re:Birth by Miwashiba would also be released. It was an April Fools joke for Japanese-speaking DR fandom, released as a fake character announcement trailer. Later, it was turned into a one-chapter video series after positive fan feedback. It showed many DR fans unfamiliar with Fangans a Fangan for the first time, and many were impressed with its visual presentation. It looked very similar to a fourth killing game in the series.

Later in the year, Danganronpa: Kill/Cure's trailer would be released, which advertised itself as a video series on YouTube. Kill/Cure may have been the second Fangan ever to have a visual presentation nearly equal in quality to the official series. Needless to say, hype for the video series' eventual release was immediate and intense. Moboxer, the series' creator, would update further this year but be radio silent from 2019 to 2020.

Many video series' creators were influenced by the hype surrounding Kill/Cure, putting into production other Fangans which would also boast impressive visuals. Notable video series' fangans Danganronpa Twisted Truths and Danganronpa Deadication would begin this year. Hyper! Danganronpa H20: Abandon All Hope would also release this year.

Other written fangans of note which began this year include Cornucopia of Hope by captaindadly, Designed For Despair by ☆AngelicDreamer☆, Danganronpa ExtraWorld by magone, Danganronpa: Hope's Prospect by Garrmactad, Danganronpa S: Kidnapped Institutional Academia by xxaeris, Where Talent Goes To Die by Theralion.

Also in 2018, the fangans Danganronpa: Rejuvenation by Medio and Danganronpa XX: Vanity Of Justice by ArcLagoon would be completed, as would Turbo Danganronpa X: A New Despair by WhoaDoctorFreeman, Dangan Ronpa: Mega Despair Fever! by garlicpolicing, Danganronpa: Hope Reborn by supertinagirl6 and Dangan Ronpa: Grand Des-Paradise by blazingEmblem.

2019

In 2019, more forays into Fangans hosted on social media continued. One way Fangans on Tumblr were hosted was that a death would be announced and fans would guess and theorize how they died and who the murderer was, then the murderer would be revealed and soon a new victim would be posted. Fangans such as guccironpa were made in this fashion. Fancomics like Despair Emporium by Nyoko would also be made this year (as well as previous years.)

Video Series and Mixed Media Fangans of note which began this year include Danganronpa: Lapse by Mythridate, Danganronpa: Despair Time, Danganronpa: Hope Restoration by Lazer-Bunny, Danganronpa Hushed Whispers by Tunnelberg and KissfromtheShadows, Danganronpa V4 Rocky Restarts by StephenW313, Danganronpa Mauve by Hiro to name just a few.

Written fangans such as danganronpa - deluded by kachow_man on Wattpad would also release this year.

In 2019, the fangans Super Danganronpa Another 2, Cornucopia of Hope by captaindadly, Danganronpa: Dead Dreams by SCREAMSHEEP, Dangan Ronpa: Dead on Arrival by gonta, The End of the Mutual Killing by ReadingForever, Despair's Last Resort by ParadoxProphet, Danganronpa Mirage by tonito, Personganronpa by SquirreLJ (Persona 5 crossover,) Where Talent Goes To Die by Theralion finished.

Fangan Ronpa Controversies

Fangans as a Whole

Before 2017, Fangans were mostly one to two person endeavors and were usually in fanfiction format. When the idea that Fangans could be video series' took off, it inspired many to begin work on making their ideas for a Fangan a reality. However, a video series is far too much work for one person to create, contrary to fanfiction. Thus, many video series-type Fangans have to be developed by a team of dedicated fans. Many hire voice actors, artists, writers, etc, to form a team. Many VAs in the fangan space look to eventually become full time voice actors and may believe that working on a Fangan project will fluff their resume with experience and proof of their voice acting work.

Only a handful of these team project fangans have released their prologues, with no known example yet of a fangan in this style being released from beginning to end. Video series' are more intensive to work on than a fangame or fanfic, thus teams may not be able to work together efficiently. Even many stable fangans have been cancelled due to the creators involved no longer having the time to dedicate themselves to a non-profit fan series. Any video series fangan, big or small, takes over a year to make; often several.

Many fangan creators, particularly younger ones, may scout for VAs in particular incredibly early in development. These younger fans may then lose interest in Danganronpa, ghosting the VAs they scouted for and fans supportive of the project. While this does happen in the fanfic fangan community, this largely only culminates in a work being abandoned rather than members of a team being without news of updates or potential work.

Individual Fangans

• The creator of Danganronpa 4: Despair Beyond Hope, HITMAX, has since flounced from the Fangan community after it was revealed he was lying about being underage and attempted to coerce minors into sexual conversations and DMs. This came to light when he joined a major Discord server for Fangans and promoting upcoming Fangans.
• The creator of Hyper! Danganronpa H20: Abandon All Hope, Milkpunches, was disliked by many in the fandom for... Generally being rude? And his fangame wasn't written the best.
• The creator of Danganronpa: Kill/Cure, Moboxer, was radio silent from 2019 to 2020. In 2020, he revealed he had ghosted the fandom at large since there was too much pressure surrounding Kill/Cure's release. He would then allow trusted members of the community permission and the materials already created to finish the series. As of 2024, the video series is still in development, though updates are frequent.

References/Further Reading

• Fanfiction — Original Casts section of "Fan Works / Danganronpa" on TVTropes
• Fanganronpa Wiki, an influential wiki on FANDOM Wikia