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In episode two of Danganronpa, two characters die. On both cases the blood
appears in pink, rather than red.

[![Poor Maizono Sayaka, stabbed in the
stomach...](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4ciyxm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4ciyx.jpg)[![Enoshima
Junko got trespassed by spears, after messing with
Monokuma!](https://i.stack.imgur.com/O7SRDm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/O7SRD.jpg)

Why is this?  
Is blood in the Danganronpa universe pink? Or is this supposed to be less
shocking for the viewer or something similar?


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2013-07-19T13:20:10.450
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danganronpa
Why is blood pink in Danganronpa?


According to the [Something Awful playthrough
thread](http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3447397) for
the game:

> Because of the intricacies of the Japanese game rating system, blood in this
> game is colored pink. Rest assured, though, it is human blood you will be
> looking at, and it doesn't mean our characters are secretly aliens or elves.

[TVTropes](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VisualNovel/DanganRonpa) also
says the same thing:

> Many murder scenes are liberally splattered in Pepto-Bismol, thanks to the
> intricacies of the Japanese game rating system.

So it seems like making the blood realistic would have given the game a higher
age rating, possibly restricting some of their target demographic from being
able to purchase the game. But the pink blood also goes along with the main
artistic style of Dangan Ronpa.

According to
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangan_Ronpa#Development):

> The game uses pop art, a bright and colorful style, as a way to contrast the
> dark subject matter of murder. Scenario writer Kazutaka Kodaka stated he
> desired to "...shake user's heart by showing a devastating accident in not
> devastating ways. But, by some measure, it might be more shocking than
> showing a devastating scene."


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To add to atlantiza's answer, Danganronpa is rated D (17+) by
[CERO](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Entertainment_Rating_Organization),
Japan's rating board for console video games. That's the highest rating which
does not carry additional legal restrictions as to where and to whom you can
sell it. Danganronpa is a console game, and it's very likely that the consoles
would not have approved of it had it been rated Z (18+), but including red
blood would have likely pushed it over this limit. Very few games rated Z ever
get released, with the exception of a few violent games produced overseas
where the ratings are less strict for violent content (e.g. in the U.S.).

Most visual novels are PC games, so they are rated by a different organization
from CERO, namely EOCS. EOCS doesn't have the same restrictions against
displaying red blood, but most of them are guaranteed an 18+ rating anyway for
inclusion of sexual content. An 18+ rating from CERO has a much bigger impact
in terms of sales than one from EOCS. It's not uncommon for Japanese console
games to not include blood at all to avoid getting higher ratings, but
Danganronpa obviously didn't have that option so they did the next best thing.

As for why they kept the blood pink in the anime, it is sort of iconic at this
point. The death scenes (so far) have all been very closely following the
style of the game. Changing it would probably turn off fans, and the pink
blood does fit well with the art style.


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It's done so because when the human mind sees red blood it sets off a red flag
in they're brain, but if it's a different color you don't get that reaction.


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2015-03-28T23:54:42.550
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It's because of its "psycho-pop" art style. They used pink blood for their art
style type, and also censorship probably. Also, they coined the term "psycho-
pop".

Also, fun fact, the blood at one point was planned to be red (it was in
[_DISTRUST_](http://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/DISTRUST), the beta version)
but when Monokuma's art design was chosen, everything was changed, even the
blood.


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Because of the intricacies of the Japanese game rating system, blood in this
game is colored pink,but the pink blood also goes along with the main artistic
style of Danganronpa.


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2020-02-10T16:36:23.767
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I personally think it's for moderation and censorship. The creator of
Danganronpa said that the game had to go through a bunch of approval before
the game could come to the US. Naturally, if the blood was red, the game
wouldn't have made it through. Also, the ratings. If it were to be red, they
would make the game go towards even more mature audiences. In my opinion,
teenagers seem to play this game, but they aren't as traumatized because the
blood is pink and they know it isn't real.


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