Thoughts & Review
In June of 2023, after reading Danganronpa Togami for the first time, I wrote a review of it on Twitter. I want you to pretend like that review doesn't exist. Completely disregard it because BOY was I wrong.
When I first read Danganronpa Togami last year, I absolutely despised it. I was miserable almost the whole time. But I'm not the same person I was a year ago, I was naive and stupid, but now I have an IQ comparable to Albert Einstein! So basically what I'm saying now is I'm smart enough to understand it now. I couldn't disagree with my original review any more as I am now a based and enlightened Danganronpa Togami enjoyer. That's right, ME, the person who for a year made fun of this novel trilogy, finally sees the light I would like to issue a formal apology to Danganronpa Togami for being so stupid and blissfully unaware of its peakness.
Jokes aside, the more the novel sat in my head, the more conflicted I began to feel about it. I felt pretty mixed about it when I first read it, but those feelings only grew. Were my criticisms warranted? Did Danganronpa Togami really deserve the treatment I gave it? I picked it back up and gave it a second chance, and I was surprised to discover that it was... really good? I thought you were supposed to be this edgy, nonsensical, stupid book, that's how I remembered it at least, so what happened?
I'm going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, because something I realized is that Danganronpa Togami isn't something that can really be explained. It's something that has to be experienced, beginning to end. The summaries don't really do it justice, which is part of why I started this project in the first place. Though at some points I may dive into some minor spoiler territory, so I'll make sure to mark those parts. So consider this my apology and defense of Danganronpa Togami, because I have to admit that in my blind hatred for it, I probably did end up harming it's perception. So maybe, if just a little, I can rectify it here and maybe convince you to give it another chance like I did.
I will say, Danganronpa Togami is probably one of the darker entries in the series. It features a lot of sensitive content, such as graphic and violent imagery, assault, incest, and abuse. If that's enough to turn you away from it, that's fine and perfectly understandable, especially given Danganronpa's track record with those topics. And I will admit, there are absolutely times where Danganronpa Togami borders on being edgy. But I don't think it's without purpose, and it's handled with more severity than most entries in the series. Once again, if that's enough to make you not want to touch it was a 2000 foot pole, that's perfectly reasonable.
SPOILERS
In the novels, we meet Kazuya and Suzuhiko who are revealed to have both sexually abused Blue Ink, who is their sister. This isn't treated as a joke nor are they portrayed as good people, Byakuya is seen to be hesitant to even interact with Suzuhiko and it's made abundantly clear that Blue Ink has not recovered from her experiences with them. They are treated as the horrible people they are and Blue Ink's feelings are something that aren't made light of.
Everyone knows Danganronpa Togami is like, REALLY weird. Octopus suits, lightsabers, fortune telling human-cows, you name it. This all seems a little out of place, even for Danganronpa, but it starts to make more sense as you proceed with the story. These weird things aren't real, they're the result of an unreliable narrator. Contrary to what idiot me from 2023 says, I don't think having an unreliable narrator invalidates a story. Even with it, you can still piece together the events of the story and it creates what is honestly one of the best plot twists in the series that ties everything in the novel trilogy together.
If I have one critique of Danganronpa Togami, it's Byakuya's characterization. It makes sense in the context of the novel for him to be perceived as some kind of god due to circumstances and Blue Ink's POV and stuff, but that's not my issue. My main problem comes from the fact that some of his actions are just bad, plain and simple. He is NOT a good person in this novel. I guess it makes sense, this is before his character arc in Trigger Happy Havoc after all, but it just feels kind of weird and out of character sometimes. You could chalk it up to just "more unreliable narrator nonsense," but I feel that misses the point a little.
SPOILERS
For example, Byakuya weaponizes Blue Ink's memories and trauma in order to have her rewrite history in his favor via his biography, erasing the fact that he was never supposed to participate in the Togami family challenge. He also contacts Suzuhiko, one of Blue Ink's abusers, and asks him for help. And while he is reluctant about it, the fact he does so anyways while knowing about Blue Ink's trauma is a little iffy. For most of the novel, Byakuya takes advantage of Blue Ink's vulnerabilities and unhealthy dependence on him. At the end though, he does show some sympathy and does seem remorseful. His betrayal of Blue Ink is addressed and causes Blue Ink to question her faith in him. I wouldn't say he's necessarily poorly written in here, but just... strange, I guess.
Danganronpa Togami takes full advantage of its medium, it's twists are something that you can really only put in a novel. It's difficult to explain without going into spoilers, but unlike something like Danganronpa Zero or Danganronpa Kirigiri, I genuinely couldn't imagine Danganronpa Togami as anything else. It's also filled with a lot of fun and witty banter full of references and charming characters.
Danganronpa Togami has some really interesting themes of identity and how one's past or situation can change their perspective. This is seen all throughout the novel trilogy, whether it be the protagonist whose a victim, an idol forced into a popularity debate, or its version of the despair disease, acting more as a placebo effect here. Its themes are a bit more subtle than other entries, not even I'm sure if I fully get them, but they're certainly interesting.
Unlike Danganronpa Kirigiri, which feels like a completely unrelated story with a few elements from the games and Kyoko (not saying that as a bad thing btw), Danganronpa Togami feels like it takes as many elements as it can from the games and stuffs them in. It takes place during the tragedy, features characters from not only the first two games but also the novels, has references to Ultra Despair Girls, brings back weird plot points like the despair disease from Danganronpa 2, and so much more. In a way, it's kind of like a big Danganronpa crossover (also featuring Kagami Family Saga because Yuya Sato couldn't help himself lol).
At some point, you've probably wondered: "is Danganronpa Togami canon?" Due to elements from in it and the divisive nature of Danganronpa Togami, you can't really find a straight answer about it online, so I figured I'd weigh in on the discussion. If you asked me back when I originally read it if it was canon, I'd probably give you a hard "no." But it's a bit more complex than that. It's a little more complex than just a simple "definitively canon" and "definitively non-canon." Disregarding the unreliable narrator, there are parts of the story that we do reliably know happened.
The closest thing to a reference to Danganronpa Togami in any other piece of media in the series to my knowledge is Byakuya saying "by the dignity of the Togami name" once in episode 7 of Danganronpa 3 Future Arc, however Byakuya swearing on the Togami name has been around before the novels even if it is prominently used in them. However, a more definitive piece of evidence towards its canonicity is in episode 11 of Danganronpa 3 Despair Arc, where you see Sonia leading an attack on Prague with a graph of a satellite in the corner. I think this is a pretty cut and dry confirmation in favor of Danganronpa Togami being canon, albeit told through an unreliable narrator's perspective.
And that about wraps up my review and personal thoughts of Danganronpa Togami. It's definitely one of the more weird, yet fascinating entries in the series. I don't think it's on the level of Danganronpa Kirigiri (I don't think any entry in this series is), but it has its merits and hopefully I could convince you to maybe check it or appreciate it a bit more.