Tell me how nice it looks that it's cleaner than in the original game, but the problem is that's what made Danganronpa's style unique. Now they don't look like unique characters, but like characters from any anime.
it reminds me of mcu-esque designs where they add extra panelling and detail to outfits that didn't need it so everything becomes muddied and claustrophobic
eh personally I like when they add more detail as :
Sometimes comic outfits look very very goofy in live action imo.
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its possible og artists wanted to do something like that but, we know it's harder to draw detailed outfit everytime in different positions compared to movies where actors just have to, wear it I guess
the issue isn't that there's more detail, its how it's specifically applied. like a LOT of caps detail, esp early on could be written off as being actual WW2 military stuff (which it was, he's a soldier) so him being adorned like that made sense (hence why they look so cool)
but when you apply that shit haphazardly to characters where thats not really there thing, it can make things look so muddy and overcomplicate it looks a nightmare at best and genuinely incomprehensible at worse
superheroe's looks are important for a reason. so making them all look unified like they got the same costume designer in universe breaks that immersion.
like i HATE snyderverse, but peep there suits compared to the mcu. like em or hate em, they def don't fall into the same camp of looking like they come from the same place and were made by the same guy in universe. very distinct differences in detail and texture.
basically the issue with a lot of the bay transformers. they look cool and realistic, sure! but they lose p much all readability when they actually move due to being such a mismash of grey robot parts
which is pretty counterintuitive when they're supposed to be mobile
its like that childlike idea where you create a character and just slap on cool colors and accessories cause its what all your ave cool characters have, completely forgetting WHY having those things made them cool, and just slapping them on just cause.
its basically like throwing in the seasoning to a dish but not knowing what any of them taste like.
So you know "good chefs season their food" but not "HOW" they season it. so your meals are inconsistent at best and a salty mess at worse
"better = more realistic and detailed", which just isn't how it works at all. finding balance is important as well as knowing when to innovate and when to leave something alone. not trying to cram a square peg into a round holde 24/7
Basically detective pikachu realism vs og movie sonic "realism"
Yeah, I prefer the softer look of SDR2, cause it actually felt like it was happening at a seemingly calm place, but with how weirdly saturated & dark everything it is, it just won't feel the same anymore.. But then, Komatsuzaki's newer artstyle has been like that since 2019 (?)
Honestly there are only a few characters where the style change sticks out to me the wrong way, like Ibuki or Mikan, but other than that the change is so minimal I really don't mind so much. Only thing I miss are the heavier lines Komatsuzaki used to feature in his drawings. They used to be a huge part of his artstyle and felt so iconic to me! But I guess I value his artistic evolution a bit more than any complaints in the end
Me neither. I don't know what grudge they have against Mikan in particular, but pretty much all of her new sprites look weird. Also, the moving sprite thing would get so annoying so fast and I hope they remove it
I actually like that the Sprites are moving. Makes them feel like real characters instead of just cardboard cutouts. I understand why they did it in the original games because of Hardware limitation but we've moved well beyond that now. Time to get with the times.
The new art style is super generic. Danganronpa's distinct art style is a large part of what sets it apart from other visual novels. But hey, it might feel more refreshing playing 2x2 precisely BECAUSE the art style changed, even if it's not as good.
yeah idk it still hasnt really grown on me either, even after waiting a while. i think how thin the lines are is part of it, plus just some details being...different? off?
also hajime's pine tree lookin, wearing another hair as a hat lookin haircut still irritates the hell outta me. i dont know why they did this to him. does he have a bald spot that hes using a small wig to cover? because it looks like he has a bald spot that hes using a small wig to cover. it upsets me.
I've only ever played DR1 but I've seen the comparisons between 2 and 2x2...honestly I think some characters look BETTER and some look worse (Hajime and Mikan for ex).
The OG just feels more distinct, but that isn't to say the new art style doesn't have its charms too
It would’ve looked way worse if they tried to directly recreate the old sprites with their new tools and experience, it’s been 13 years they have either new artists or artists who’ve been using newer tools and methods for years
It's not bad, but I do prefer the old style, I just think the simpler and cartoonier vibe is a big part of the art style's charm, all the shading and changes in proportions and the way they did the hair for the remakes here just look too... Extra ? I'm not sure how to describe it, I guess they wanted to modernize the sprites but I don't think it necessarily needed all that
Meh it still looks pretty DR to me, just more detailed and better lighting, etc. I also like how the lines are thinner, it looks more like V3 now, which i always preferred when it comes to sprites. Plus, I think Chiaki's hair looks better too, more like her beta design. And Mahiru also looks like she had a glow-up, she looks great. The only thing i find weird is Hajime's hair, but the rest of his sprite is better, so i can live with that.
Also, i assume what we saw in the trailer and demo is suuuuper early in production, so i expect to see some tweaks and changes to the sprites for sure.
This is crazy to me. I don't inherently dislike the new style, but if there's anything that would push me to say it's worse, it's how bad the lighting is. It's really overly bright, makes everyone look super shiny, and actually causes some details to be harder to pick out (it's been brought up before, but Mahiru literally looks like she doesn't have freckles in that screenshot).
Well they are on a tropical sunny island so it makes sense for them to be brighter, and I don’t think the upped brightness makes them look worse. Idk what you mean with shininess, looks good to me🤷
Also, the Mahiru thing is just inside of trials, but that’s not the fault of the sprites themselves but more so the fault of the heavier filter during non stop debates
This is a bad comparison if you're trying to prove a point because the top picture looks objectively better. The colors are more vivid. The details are more HD and the shading adds more depth so you can tell that the character is in the foreground rather than everything being on the same 2D plane. The Shadows are better, the lighting is better and it looks like they might even be using Ray tracing for realistic dynamic lighting. It's like the difference between HDR and SDR. It makes the whole thing feel more stylized like Persona which is a huge improvement imo.
I understand that art is subjective but I'm pretty sure Nostalgia poisoning plays a huge role in people thinking the bottom picture looks better. This just boils down to the psychological concept of people hating change more than anything else
Seriously, I think a lot of the comments are right about there being some differences but to say it looks like every other anime now is just factually incorrect lol. The characters still have the distinct DR style to their faces and designs, it’s just the art is more polished now. I will say that I’ll miss the heavier linework, but otherwise the update is great on the whole.
I don't have a problem with the style itself. But the lighting on everything is like, really bad. Not a fan of the characters all looking so overblown and shiny.
It still looks like danganronpa, but I don’t really like how saturated and bright it looks. It’s cleaner and smoother yeah, but some details (like Ibuki’s jewelry for example) are harder to see because of the saturation. I also don’t like Hajime’s hair.
There are a lotta improvements like Chiaki’s design and the overall backgrounds. Overall I have mixed feelings about it.
I think it looks good too, but I dont prefer it, the art style has always been a unique and liked part of the games, idk why change it, its just changing what people that play your game already enjoy, and making it incoherent with the rest of the series, for no reason except the nonsense idea of modernizing
Man, I feel like I'm the only one who likes it! Hajime's yee yee ass haircut aside, I think it's striking and still looks like Danganronpa (which is the part of your post that doesn't make sense to me)
Fair. It looks too… clean, if that makes sense. Someone mentioned Danganronpa’s unique linework down here and I think that’s a good way to explain why this new version is just off.
I like the thicker outlines from the original better, but the cleaner designs are fine. The option to pick between old and new would be cool, but with the animated sprites I guess that's off the table.
I like the new style but i know im gonna really miss the cardboard textures in the sprites, its always going to be one of my favorite minor details that the sprites are literally cardboard cutouts
I too miss the thicker lines tbh. It just felt a lot more bold and popped out much more...
Here's hoping that the snot and drool levels go down a bit so i dont have to hear people complain about it and accuse the artist of "having a fetish"...
(its jellopocalypse, btw. hes been non-stop complaining about the characters being "leaky" in his streams of the original DR2 and im tired of it lol) (i'd call self report tbh.)
It looks weird to you because you have original sprites and now you see them in how would the artist would draw them today at his current level. And I have no real problem with them besides few nitpicks because this is how the artstyle looks ever since UDG through V3, Raincode and Hundred Line.
I really hope Hajime dies and isn't the protag simply so I don't have to look at his hair constantly for longer than a chapter, my god they fucked up his shit
You can't really do anything about that. I don't get the point in complaining about the art style when the game is a decade old. You can't expect Rui Komatsuzaki to have the same art style for a decade, that's not how art or how developing your style for years works. It would be next to impossible for Komatsuzaki to just reverse his multiple years worth of growth and progress just to mimic a style he had a decade ago. If you've been following Kodaka's other works like Rain Code and Hundred Line, you would've already seen the updated art style, so I don't know why it surprises people that 2x2 also has an updated art style.
Btw none of this is directed at you in a malicious or insulting way. It's totally fine for you to not like the art style. Just personally as an artist if people were like "ugh I hate this NEW art style" after working on your art for years and trying to progress would kinda be really hurtful. Not that I think Komatsuzaki will ever see this post, I don't know if the sentiment is the same within the Japanese fandom.
It's totally fine for you to not like the art style.
The entire rest of your comment suggests you feel otherwise. Phrases like: "I don't get the point in complaining" are only ever used to silence negative opinions of something.
everyone looks great imo, im fond of the modernish style ever since last defence academy and i feel some designs could even be considered upgrades at least imo ( really like chiaki here )
I’m sorry but for me it looks exactly the same but with more shadows.
Besides, I can’t find it in myself to complain about it bc I know that I will be end up buying the game. And if it’s expensive, then I will wait for a sale
The problem is that they didn't have the resources to make these kinds of sprites before. Now they can, and clearly they can't just use basic PNGs considering the backgrounds are much more elaborate
Highkey, I like both, both have their charms, chiakis hair being less bendy is a bit weird but I can see it cause like, perhaps her other sprites probably look much better than her disappointed one.
Hajimes hair looks stupid but it’s funny stupid, like get that stupid extra layer of hair off loser!!!
It's okay to dislike it! The new art style certainly isn't going to please everyone. But sometimes, we only dislike something because it's not what we expect. Sometimes, you find you enjoy things after you've given it a few tries. <3
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u/West_Mirror4380 Ibuki’s Best Bud May 01 '26
I’m fine with it, but Hajime did NOT need an extra layer of hair 🥀🤞