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DRT1.CODA: Despair High School
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Danganronpa Togami Volume 1: Multiple Counts of Attempted World Domination
Coda: Despair High School
Ding~ Dong~ Dang~ Dong~
Ding~ Dong~ Dang~ Dong~
Ding~ Dong~ Dang~ Dong~
Chimes rang out as we approached midnight.
The next thing I knew, the whole island seemed to shake violently, and cracks ran down the walls of the school before they burst open.
Surely I was hallucinating this.
That is to say, behind the crumbled walls, there was another building that had been painted half black, half white. There were gigantic lights installed on the left and right that looked like eyes. A panda? Some other kind of bear? Whatever it was, the unabashedly impractical, super-surreal scene left me at a loss for words. How was I supposed to write about this thing in Journey Under the Midnight Sun?
"Whazzat?" Ootsuki even forgot about his raised knife, looking up at the structure that had suddenly appeared. "That's more tasteless than an Ibaraki love hotel. Actually, is it really okay to set all the stakes and expectations this high? Has mankind learned nothing from the folly of the SPEC series?"[1]
Just as I was about to fire back with literally no one watched those movies, I felt a sudden tug on my clothes.
"Huh?"
And then, as if gravity had stopped functioning normally—
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"
I flew into the sky.
The ground grew further and further away—and Byakuya-sama and Ootsuki smaller and smaller—as the moon rapidly approached. This was the first time in my life I'd ever seen the moon from up this close. It was beautiful—
But also, not the time to zone out considering it.
Now my body was tugged towards the rooftop of the building, and I was dropped down right onto my rear end.
"Sonia-san, recovery complete!" I raised my head to see Souda-san in an unfamiliar outfit, operating a machine that looked like some kind of fishing rod monster, greeting me with a, "Yo."
"Greetings to you, Blue Ink-san. Or, rather, Shinobu Togami-san." Princess Sonia was there too, also in an unfamiliar outfit, standing in front of me on the roof and observing my bewilderment, her hair flapping in the strong winds.
"Sonia-san, um, what exactly..."
"How do you like our makeover?"
"Your—takeover? Makeover?"[2]
"Our Hope's Peak uniforms were dreadfully tacky as shit, but, as these uniforms were made by my personal designer, they have quite a bit more swag. How do you like them? Are the despair vibes coming through?"
"Despair?"
"The Despair High School is now open for enrollment!"
Princess Sonia's voice echoed with her proclamation, and the island shook a second time. It was as if the school grounds were a sandbox with children kicking around the sand inside, as a cloud of dust spread out over the entire area, hiding Byakuya-sama and Ootsuki from view. At last, a school gate appeared, as if rejecting the two left there.
"What is this thing...?" I turned to Princess Sonia for an explanation. "Hey, what's with this? Sonia-san, what have you been doing this whole time? I don't get it!"
"There was a job posting online."
"Excuse me?"
"And now, let us all join together to sing the school song!" As Princess Sonia spoke, two girls appeared from behind her. Souda-san ran over, too, and the four of them stood in a row, turning their backs to me. It was almost as if they were showing themselves to the world.
It wasn't long until the speakers on the roof began to play the melody to the famous "Radio Calisthenics Song" at a booming volume.[3] Despite my continued bewilderment, the four of them loudly sang their so-called "school song" with modified lyrics.
A brand new night has graced us once again, a night full of despair
Now we open up our hearts to joyfulness, with despair close overhead
Hear despair's voice in your ears, as you open your healthy heart,
To this wind that is blowing through, fragrant and sweet,
That's despair, despair, despair!
This brand new night has something underneath—a glittering despair
Stretch your arms and your legs out and get on your feet, stamp the earth refreshingly
Feel despair there by your side, as you stretch out your healthy limbs,
Reaching out across all of this expansive earth
That's despair, despair, despair!
"I am the Despair High School Level Princess, Sonia Nevermind."
"I'm the Despair High School Level Mechanic, Kazuichi Souda."
"I am the Despair High School Level Brother Complex, Sana Kagami."
"...I am the Despair High School Level Split Personality, Naomi Kagami."
Once the four of them were done with their introductions, another distinctive voice came from the speakers.
"And I am the Despair High School Level Heir, Byakuya Togami."
"Get out here!" I shouted at the speakers. "What's going on here?"
"You're a hostage, Shinobu Togami."
"I already know that you're the Super High School Level Imposter. You can't play the trickster anymore. You're just a clown."
"I've been a clown from the start. And you still haven't revealed my true identity, have you?"
"Show yourself."
"...It's better if you don't see," said the fake, before addressing the Byakuya-sama on the ground. "You can hear me, can't you? I have your dear sister and your dear past in my custody. If you want them back, then come and get them, Mister Original."
I activated Borges amidst my despair. I zoomed in on Byakuya-sama to see his unperturbed expression. The kind of overwhelmingly unperturbed expression that suggested he hadn't considered even once that he might be defeated.
That's right. There's no way he would lose. Absolutely not. Fundamentally. Byakuya-sama is a god.
Unperturbed? A god?
No. I lied. That's not how it is. He's just doing his best. He's just pushing himself too hard.
He's such a weak boy. He's such a kind boy.
Forget about me—just get out of here. Everyone's gone crazy.
The school gates have been opened.
Translator's Notes
[1] SPEC series - a Japanese TV and movie franchise with lots of mysteries and suspense, that hyped up a large-scale finale that would wrap everything up... that ultimately disappointed many fans with a messy ending that stretched credulity and allegedly betrayed the heart and themes of the work previous. So judging by this cursory online research, I think a more widely relatable reference to my reading audience would be a certain anime installment providing the conclusion to a certain beloved mystery series, that descended into controversy and backlash... (DRT3 is going to be the only volume released after DR3. Will shots be fired?! Will sides be taken?!)
[2] makeover/takeover - in the original this is a play on words with seifuku, which can be written with different characters to mean either "uniform" (as Sonia uses) or "conquest" (as Shinobu initially misunderstands before correcting herself).
[3] Radio Calisthenics Song - as heard here on YouTube, this is used over radio broadcasts to guide listeners in daily exercise, like Monokuma encourages in the games. The lyrics in this novel are similar to the lyrics of the original, but with some noticeable differences.
That's the end of Volume 1 of Danganronpa Togami!! Thank you so much for reading!
DRT will be placed on an indefinite hiatus at least until after Volume 3 is released, since I'm not even going to pretend to be able to accurately translate the nuances of the surreality in Volume 2 without knowing how the story ends.
Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1, meanwhile, will resume translation sometime in January 2017 after a holiday hiatus!
Danganronpa Togami Volume 1: Multiple Counts of Attempted World Domination
Coda: Despair High School
Ding~ Dong~ Dang~ Dong~
Ding~ Dong~ Dang~ Dong~
Chimes rang out as we approached midnight.
The next thing I knew, the whole island seemed to shake violently, and cracks ran down the walls of the school before they burst open.
Surely I was hallucinating this.
That is to say, behind the crumbled walls, there was another building that had been painted half black, half white. There were gigantic lights installed on the left and right that looked like eyes. A panda? Some other kind of bear? Whatever it was, the unabashedly impractical, super-surreal scene left me at a loss for words. How was I supposed to write about this thing in Journey Under the Midnight Sun?
"Whazzat?" Ootsuki even forgot about his raised knife, looking up at the structure that had suddenly appeared. "That's more tasteless than an Ibaraki love hotel. Actually, is it really okay to set all the stakes and expectations this high? Has mankind learned nothing from the folly of the SPEC series?"[1]
Just as I was about to fire back with literally no one watched those movies, I felt a sudden tug on my clothes.
"Huh?"
And then, as if gravity had stopped functioning normally—
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!"
I flew into the sky.
The ground grew further and further away—and Byakuya-sama and Ootsuki smaller and smaller—as the moon rapidly approached. This was the first time in my life I'd ever seen the moon from up this close. It was beautiful—
But also, not the time to zone out considering it.
Now my body was tugged towards the rooftop of the building, and I was dropped down right onto my rear end.
"Sonia-san, recovery complete!" I raised my head to see Souda-san in an unfamiliar outfit, operating a machine that looked like some kind of fishing rod monster, greeting me with a, "Yo."
"Greetings to you, Blue Ink-san. Or, rather, Shinobu Togami-san." Princess Sonia was there too, also in an unfamiliar outfit, standing in front of me on the roof and observing my bewilderment, her hair flapping in the strong winds.
"Sonia-san, um, what exactly..."
"How do you like our makeover?"
"Your—takeover? Makeover?"[2]
"Our Hope's Peak uniforms were dreadfully tacky as shit, but, as these uniforms were made by my personal designer, they have quite a bit more swag. How do you like them? Are the despair vibes coming through?"
"Despair?"
"The Despair High School is now open for enrollment!"
Princess Sonia's voice echoed with her proclamation, and the island shook a second time. It was as if the school grounds were a sandbox with children kicking around the sand inside, as a cloud of dust spread out over the entire area, hiding Byakuya-sama and Ootsuki from view. At last, a school gate appeared, as if rejecting the two left there.
"What is this thing...?" I turned to Princess Sonia for an explanation. "Hey, what's with this? Sonia-san, what have you been doing this whole time? I don't get it!"
"There was a job posting online."
"Excuse me?"
"And now, let us all join together to sing the school song!" As Princess Sonia spoke, two girls appeared from behind her. Souda-san ran over, too, and the four of them stood in a row, turning their backs to me. It was almost as if they were showing themselves to the world.
It wasn't long until the speakers on the roof began to play the melody to the famous "Radio Calisthenics Song" at a booming volume.[3] Despite my continued bewilderment, the four of them loudly sang their so-called "school song" with modified lyrics.
A brand new night has graced us once again, a night full of despair
Now we open up our hearts to joyfulness, with despair close overhead
Hear despair's voice in your ears, as you open your healthy heart,
To this wind that is blowing through, fragrant and sweet,
That's despair, despair, despair!
This brand new night has something underneath—a glittering despair
Stretch your arms and your legs out and get on your feet, stamp the earth refreshingly
Feel despair there by your side, as you stretch out your healthy limbs,
Reaching out across all of this expansive earth
That's despair, despair, despair!
"I am the Despair High School Level Princess, Sonia Nevermind."
"I'm the Despair High School Level Mechanic, Kazuichi Souda."
"I am the Despair High School Level Brother Complex, Sana Kagami."
"...I am the Despair High School Level Split Personality, Naomi Kagami."
Once the four of them were done with their introductions, another distinctive voice came from the speakers.
"And I am the Despair High School Level Heir, Byakuya Togami."
"Get out here!" I shouted at the speakers. "What's going on here?"
"You're a hostage, Shinobu Togami."
"I already know that you're the Super High School Level Imposter. You can't play the trickster anymore. You're just a clown."
"I've been a clown from the start. And you still haven't revealed my true identity, have you?"
"Show yourself."
"...It's better if you don't see," said the fake, before addressing the Byakuya-sama on the ground. "You can hear me, can't you? I have your dear sister and your dear past in my custody. If you want them back, then come and get them, Mister Original."
I activated Borges amidst my despair. I zoomed in on Byakuya-sama to see his unperturbed expression. The kind of overwhelmingly unperturbed expression that suggested he hadn't considered even once that he might be defeated.
That's right. There's no way he would lose. Absolutely not. Fundamentally. Byakuya-sama is a god.
Unperturbed? A god?
No. I lied. That's not how it is. He's just doing his best. He's just pushing himself too hard.
He's such a weak boy. He's such a kind boy.
Forget about me—just get out of here. Everyone's gone crazy.
The school gates have been opened.
Translator's Notes
[1] SPEC series - a Japanese TV and movie franchise with lots of mysteries and suspense, that hyped up a large-scale finale that would wrap everything up... that ultimately disappointed many fans with a messy ending that stretched credulity and allegedly betrayed the heart and themes of the work previous. So judging by this cursory online research, I think a more widely relatable reference to my reading audience would be a certain anime installment providing the conclusion to a certain beloved mystery series, that descended into controversy and backlash... (DRT3 is going to be the only volume released after DR3. Will shots be fired?! Will sides be taken?!)
[2] makeover/takeover - in the original this is a play on words with seifuku, which can be written with different characters to mean either "uniform" (as Sonia uses) or "conquest" (as Shinobu initially misunderstands before correcting herself).
[3] Radio Calisthenics Song - as heard here on YouTube, this is used over radio broadcasts to guide listeners in daily exercise, like Monokuma encourages in the games. The lyrics in this novel are similar to the lyrics of the original, but with some noticeable differences.
That's the end of Volume 1 of Danganronpa Togami!! Thank you so much for reading!
DRT will be placed on an indefinite hiatus at least until after Volume 3 is released, since I'm not even going to pretend to be able to accurately translate the nuances of the surreality in Volume 2 without knowing how the story ends.
Danganronpa Kirigiri Volume 1, meanwhile, will resume translation sometime in January 2017 after a holiday hiatus!
wow thanks for this
(Anonymous) 2016-12-14 05:47 am (UTC)(link)Do you have any idea about when they'll release volume three?
...and did they describe the Despair Uniforms? I'm super curious
Re: wow thanks for this
(Anonymous) - 2017-06-08 00:08 (UTC) - Expand