#realground comparisons

[twewynews]

Location Comparisons from the currently ongoing JP NTWEWY mission event!

#ntwewy #neo twewy #NEO: The World Ends With You #realground comparisons #shibuya

[stargaziing]

TWEWY Bible

The setting of The World Ends with You is heavily based on the Japanese city of Shibuya, including major landmarks like the Scramble Crossing  It even has the same currency, Yen (¥), which is used in shops. Many elements of the game are also based on Japanese culture, including the food, fashion & artwork in the game.

The Reapers’ Game

‣ The Game is a one-week competition in which those who have died may participate. Each potential participant is approached shortly after their passing & is given the choice by the Reaper. Games usually take place weeks apart, but sometimes games can be held two times in a row, & in rare instances, three times.

Players

‣ Every contestant is called a Player & is given a player pin as a sign of his or her entry. To enter in the game every player has to pay an ‘entry fee’, that is taken by the Conductor. Every Player must give up whatever is dearest to them in order to participate. This entry fee can be physical, such as mementos or people, or more psychological or immaterial such as one’s appearance, dreams, or memories.

Scanning

‣ The player pin lets the holder read the mind of any person not carrying a player pin ( with some exceptions like the reapers ), an ability called “Scanning”.

Pacts

‣ A Pact is the partnership between two Players during the Game. Symbolized by the Puck in battles, the pact is not simply an agreement; it is a binding force between two Players, & its benefits are vital to their survival in the Game. These benefits include the ability to activate psychs & the prevention of unwanted battles with Noise ( except those set upon them by Reapers & Taboo Noise ). A Player whose partner is Erased has seven minutes to make a new pact before being erased him or herself. As any nearby Player will probably already have a partner, Erasure is almost certain. Pacts can also be formed with certain objects, such as Beat with Rhyme’s pin. Harrier Reapers may form a pact with another Harrier, & a Puck will travel between them in battle, but often, they will fight alone, presumably making a Pact with their own shadow, hence why they are not consumed by regular Noise & granting them a shadow doppelganger to help them fight. Additionally, Harrier Reapers may also form pacts with unpartnered Players, as Beat did with Neku.

Reapers

‣ Reapers are a type of administrator in the Game. They are identified by the black wings on their back, which are a manifestation of their supernatural powers. Reapers are recruited from Players who have survived previous runs of the game. Any such player, provided they are strong enough, may choose to become a Reaper if they wish. Reapers are able to move between the Realground & the Underground without anybody really noticing. While on the RG, reapers do not possess their wings & cannot use their powers. Reapers are permitted to live normal lives on the RG within certain constraints, although they must report for duty in the UG whenever required. The lifespan of a Reaper is determined by the number of Players they successfully Erase ( their “Score” ). Reapers can also be Erased by players as part of the game. A new Reaper has around a 2 week lifespan in which to erase their first Player. The majority of Reapers are eventually erased before they can rise very high in the organization, either directly by Players or by their lifespan running out. Reapers can instantly erase any Noise that they themselves created. Reapers can make Pacts & work together like players; they can also project their Shadow onto the alternate plane to fight Noise - or groups of players - alone, but they are less effective in this case. All Reapers are forbidden from attacking players directly except in exceptional circumstances. One such exceptional circumstance is an Emergency Call ( EC ) - an alert to an event that affects the continued existence of the UG. In this case, all Reapers - even Support Reapers - may directly engage Players. The symbol for the Reapers is a very stylized skull & crossbones, the crossbones showing up on two pins throughout the game. Reapers are subdivided into three broad categories: officers, harriers, & support.

Wings

‣ The wings on the backs of most Reapers are one of the more obvious indications of their strength, & also a distinguishing feature apart from normal people & Players in the UG. While many would state “The bigger-looking the wings, the stronger the Reaper,” Reapers in The World Ends with You go by an opposite mentality. The reason this can be claimed is because most of the weaker Reapers have slightly large yet crude wings, while more polished Reapers have smooth, thin, & smaller wings. This can be a measurement of how much control they have of their powers: the stronger they are, the more they can control their wings. This is apparent in the fact that Sho Minamimoto, Megumi Kitaniji, & Mitsuki Konishi don’t show their wings except when Neku fights against them. Higashizawa, who was a newly promoted game master, had puny wings, which would mean he was one step under Sho, Megumi, & Mitsuki. This also supports the fact that Koki Kariya is a long time veteran, as his wings are quite small in proportion to others Harriers such as his own partner, Uzuki Yashiro.

Support Reapers

‣ Support Reapers are the lowest ranking Reapers. They create challenges within the game exactly as instructed by the Game Master. Usually, this involves maintaining special walls separating the different districts of Shibuya, informing players of the requirements to destroy certain walls, & lowering the walls when the requirements are met. Like all Reapers, they have the power to create Noise, but usually only as part of the challenges required to remove walls. It appears that a large number of these Reapers have identical appearance, or they are able to exist simultaneously in more than one place on the RG. However, it is possible that low-ranking Reapers simply have a regulated uniform, as they would need to be easily identifiable to passing Players. As support Reapers were former Players, they do, in fact, have names, although the only one known is 777’s bandmate Tenho & BJ. It is not clear which Reapers are able to create Walls. Tenho & Konishi demonstrate the ability to create Walls in the game; BJ guards numerous walls, but doesn’t clearly create any. Not only support reapers can create walls, it is mentioned in the game by Sho Minamimoto, that Mitsuki Konishi made a wall, that even he couldn’t take down. This could however suggest officers & support have this exclusive ability.

Harrier Reapers

‣ Harrier reapers are mid-ranking reapers who are permitted to act independently ( within a few constraints ) in order to erase Players during the game. Usually, the Game Master will specify when & where Harriers may act. Due to the rule that Reapers may not normally attack players directly, Harriers must summon Noise to attack the players. Under special conditions as decided by the Conductor, it is possible for a new Reaper to join directly as a Harrier ( as in the case of Beat ). It is possible that this is determined by the player’s score during his or her time as a player.

Officer Reapers

‣ Officer Reapers are the highest ranking below Angels. Not much is known about this class other than that they can manifest their wings at will & one is chosen by the Composer to be Game Master for a week. They are assumed to be much stronger than Harriers but must still abide by the Composer’s laws. Within reason, they, too, can live normal lives outside of Game weeks. They have the same abilities as Harriers, being able to spawn & despawn Noise at will, though, assumingly, the Noise they can summon is much stronger than their Harrier counter parts.

Game Master

‣ Game Master an Officer-rank Reaper selected by the Composer to assign the missions for the Reapers’ Game of that week. While the rank of Game Master doesn’t affect one’s power, it does grant more liberties than a non-Game Master has. For example, Game Masters have control over all the Reapers below the rank of Conductor. The only way to become a Game Master is to be chosen by the Composer. The Game Master isn’t really a “rank”, but rather a temporary title & privilege, since one is only Game Master for a period of seven days.

Noise

‣ Noise are a race of beings, summoned physical forms from a Soul bound to a Pin, incarnated between the Underground & Realground planes of Shibuya. Because they straddle the border between the two planes, they are able to exact an influence in both, being physically present in the Underground, while capable of influencing people’s thought in the Realground, typically resulting in negative emotions on the victim’s behalf. Noise take on the form of an animal or mythical creature, colored in a wide variety of pallettes. It is worth mentioning that the Noise at least has a part of its body lined with or replaced with a tattoo like patterns. All Reapers have the power to create Noise. Reapers have their own pins which they use to create different forms of Noise. Most Noise will not attack players who have a Pact. Taboo Noise, however, freely attack anybody, Player or Reaper.

Taboo Noise

‣ Taboo Noise are a form of Noise which are artificially made. Unlike their normal counterparts, Taboo Noise will attack both players & reapers at will, unlike normal Noise which will only attack players if brought into battle. They are powerful in comparison to normal Noise & battles against them should be taken with extreme caution. Taboo Noise take on a very monochrome shade of their familial counterparts, being a mix of black, dark grey & light grey. All of their eyes are red, which supports their aggressive nature. Their Noise symbol is also shaded in a monochrome-like manner, being dark or light grey in color. Unlike regular Noise symbols, which will drift harmlessly when a Player scans, Taboo Noise symbols will charge at them in haste to initiate a battle. Unlike regular Noise, which Reapers can create at will, Taboo Noise can only be created using Taboo Noise Refineries. These are shown as a blue noise symbol surrounded by Japanese writing on walls & floors. Because they are technically “artificial” Noise, this is the only current method known of how they are made. Creating them also requires a high amount of capability, making it impossible for most reapers to make them. Fighting Taboo Noise are much harder than their normal counterparts. Due to their high resistance to almost all sources of damage, defeating Taboo Noise requires high level pins & good puck passing work. Puck-passing is important due to the fact that the player without the puck will deal considerably less damage to Taboo Noise. They are also on the high end of damage dealing within their respective Noise family, which makes them harder to fight against. It is impossible to escape from a Taboo battle once forced into one.

UG/RG

‣ The Underground, or UG, is a parallel plane of existence of Shibuya that only Reapers & Players of the Reapers’ Game can see. It exists in the same space/time as the Realground ( RG ) but has a higher vibration frequency. Those in the RG cannot generally see, hear, or in any way perceive events & people in the UG, while those in the UG can perceive RG events freely ( though physical interaction remains difficult ). It is said in a report that the Noise plane straddles both the UG & the RG. Certain people are able to see the UG or the Noise plane from the RG, what causes this being unclear.

Pins/Psychs

‣ Pins can be used to activate Psychs in combat. Players can obtain pins by defeating enemies, by buying them from shops, or in rare situations, from Reapers. Pins are material objects which act as a medium to activate Psychs; supernatural abilities of a wide variety. From interacting with the RG environment to damaging an enemy to giving oneself a unique buff, to dealing chunks of damage in the form of lightning bolts or pillars of ice, Pins & Psychs are the only way to injure Noise & Reapers, but the diversity is almost endless.

Composer

‣ The Composer is the leader of the Reapers & the ruler of the Underground. It falls upon the Composer’s shoulders to create the rules for the Reapers’ Game, & to judge the Players. The Composer’s main purpose in the Underground is to create & maintain the rules for the Reapers’ Game, & to run the Reapers’ Game. While almost never leaving his headquarters in the Shibuya River, the Composer works through his second-in-command, the Conductor. The Composer is the most powerful being in the UG, having almost god like abilities. To achieve the rank of Composer, the current Composer must be defeated. This is easier said than done, considering the Composer’s immense amount of power. As the supreme commander of the Reaper’s Game, the Composer has little direct contact with Reapers below the rank of Conductor. The relationship with the Conductor is marked by the power dynamics of a commanding officer & his underling, with little friendship readily apparent between the two. The Composer only leaves his hidden base during absolute emergencies or in special circumstances. Because of this, most Reapers never meet the Composer. Throughout the course of normal games, the Composer presumably has extremely limited contact with Players. His primary role is to judge the Players who survive the week & determine what fate should await them. Whether the Composer meets with Players following their victory on Day 7 in normal circumstances is unknown; the Conductor seems capable of relaying the Composer’s decisions to the winners, although only the Composer may resurrect Players to the RG, should they elect that option.

Conductor

‣ The Conductor is the Composer’s second in command. He carries out the Composer’s missions, & delivers messages from the Composer to the Reapers. The Conductor serves as the Composer’s representative, transmitting orders from the Composer to the Reapers. Their respective roles are analogous to that of their musical counterparts: just as a composer writes music & a conductor interprets & communicates that music to the orchestra, so does the Game’s Composer create plans & orders, & it falls to the Conductor to give those orders to the Reapers & ensure they are followed. He can also serve as a last line of defense, as he guards the entrance to the Composer’s lair. While it is never revealed how one achieves the position of the Conductor, it is assumed that the Composer hand picks him or her out of the Officer-rank Reapers. The Reapers generally honor the assignments given to them by the Conductor. The only Reaper who frequently defies the Conductor’s missions is Sho Minamimoto. Normally, however, the Conductor is respected & revered among the Reaper community. As far as the information given in The World Ends with You goes, the Conductor is oblivious to the existence of the Angels, & as such has never knowingly met or spoken with any of them.

Producer

‣ The Producer is an Angel chosen to watch over the Reapers’ Game & to make reports on it. The Producer also serves as a sort of guardian of the Game, traveling around Shibuya & making sure both Reapers & Players play by the rules set by the Composer. The Producer’s power is on the same tier as the Composer ( if not a higher tier ). The Producer wields immense strength in the Underground despite having to limit his power by “tuning down” his frequency to the travel to the Underground. One could only imagine his strength while in his homeworld of the Higher Plane. Similar to the Conductor, no information is given to how one receives the rank of Producer. It’s assumed that the Angels as a whole select someone among themselves to become the Producer. This is not a proven fact, however, & shouldn’t be relied upon as one. The Producer cannot reveal his identity to anyone besides the Composer. Due to this rule, the Producer is not allowed to have relationships with Reapers or Players as the Producer. However, the Producer is allowed to communicate & give information ( to an extent ) to both Players & Reapers as long as he keeps his position of Producer a secret. Because the Producer himself is an Angel, it is assumed that he is on good terms with all of the other Angels. The term “Fallen Angel” is a direct reference to the biblical tradition of angels who rebelled against God, siding with Lucifer ( Satan ), & some interpretations of biblical text depict Fallen Angels as demons following their defeat.

Angels

‣ The only known ranking of the angel species is the Producer. Angels live in a separate & higher plane from the RG & UG. They created a social schema web to guide their activities. The Angels have their own frequency & the Composer can only pick up one frequency from the Angels, which would be the Producer’s. There are also Fallen Angels who are considered criminals for breaking the Angel’s code. A Reaper can become an Angel after achieving Officer rank & ascending. It is unclear how exactly this happens.

Dead God’s Pad

‣ The Dead God’s Pad is a district in Shibuya. It is the fourth part of the Shibuya River & connects the Trail of the Bygone with the Trail of the Judged. This is the general area in which Reapers are believed to congregate; for social reasons & for missions.

Shibuya River

‣ The Shibuya River is an area of Shibuya where the Composer ‘lives’. It is inaccessible by players until the final day, & is reached via the Station Underpass. It consists of the Trail of the Sinner, the Rubicon, the Trail of the Bygone, the Dead God’s Pad, the Trail of the Judged, & the Room of Reckoning.

#❛▐┆ announcer to his audience ★ #i wrote this three years ago but god #it is my bible on this blog

[cyberetherial]

A thought I had today regarding Yoshiya Kiriyu*

Spoiler warning - The World Ends With You Also, this is going to be quite long.

I looked at the TWEWY tag yesterday, and saw a lot of people associating or comparing Joshua with people and things I would much more readily associate with others. I have two particular examples I want to talk about, but first let me tell you my interpretation of Joshua’s story.

As far as I can see, Joshua may well have started out as a Player, probably at about the same age his human form still appears. (I would have said that this was a very long time ago). He, rather than choosing to return to life (assuming that he had that choice) chose to become​ a Reaper, and spend the next few years as a Harrier before rising to the rank of Officer (pretty early on, although he would have to be older than 18 (the age Sho Minamimoto was when he was promoted)). Then, he got the chance that Minamimoto now relishes, and, probably in much the same mindset, Joshua took it and rose to become Composer. We now see him realising that Shibuya isn’t getting any better. And, disillusioned, his experiment failing, he decides to set the events in motion which, he hopes, will lead to his fall from grace and the destruction of Shibuya. So he sets out into the Realground, gun in hand, and we all know how that ends.

So, now that’s done with, let’s talk about the actual comparisons.

Example 1: Joshua as Jesus. I must say that I have no idea where​ people are coming from on this one (I’m honestly curious, so if you have the time and inclination to explain this in the reblogs/comments, it would be welcome). You see, Jesus gave his life to redeem the world, while Joshua stands poised to destroy it. Character with whom​ this comparison makes sense: Neku. Okay, it’s a bit strange, but hear me out. Think about it. Neku Sakuraba is thrown, naïve and confused, into a brand new world on the whim of the omnipotent. He goes out to explore that world, learning to help and advise, and spread the message of righteousness (in a way). When his time in that world comes close to its end, at the end of the Game, the same omnipotent being that put him there kills him, even though he had the gun and could just as easily have had his revenge. His selflessness in dying rather than killing the one who did so much to him redeems Shibuya and its people.

Example 2: Angel with a Shotgun I know a bit more about why people might make this comparison. However, the story of the song is that of an angel who comes down from heaven, and risks everything to protect all that he loves. That seems kind of far from Joshua. Character with whom​ this comparison makes sense: Sanae Hanekoma. If you have read the Secret Reports, and, most importantly, the one for Another Day, you will know what I am talking about. Hanekoma is the Producer, the angel charged with watching Joshua. But, as we learn in the aforementioned Secret Report, Hanekoma has risked exile from the Higher Plane to provide the secret of Taboo Noise to Sho Minamimoto. He does this to throw a spanner in the works when it comes to Joshua and Megumi Kitaniji’s plans. He proved, by one action, that he was willing to A: kill (the Taboo Noise took plenty of victims) B: risk being exiled forever and C: give up his faith and morality, all for Shibuya. “I’ll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe/ Don’t you know you’re everything I have?”

So yeah, that’s my opinion. Hope anyone who is willing to read all of this finds it interesting.

*I think that’s how you spell his surname, but Kiryu is more common in the tags apparently so I don’t know

#the world ends with you #twewy #twewy spoilers #neku sakuraba #honestly though i don't understand why joshua is comparable to jesus #someone explain this to me #joshua #yoshiya kiriyu