Aphorism

"From here on out, you will bet your life and fight."

Aphorism is a 2008-2009 survival-horror manga by Kujou Karuna.

Welcome to Naraka High School, where every graduate is guaranteed a bright future. Seriously. Just by graduating, your status will be greatly raised, and can even become a bureaucrat without ever needing to go to college. Entry requirements? If you can see the floating island, you’re accepted.

Rokudou Momiji is accepted.

Rokudou Momiji is a kid who does not matter, an absolute nobody. He has never been smart enough, or fast enough, or even tall enough, and he wants to change that, since he’s going to high school, and especially since he’s met a girl he wants to impress. So on the first day of high school, when the students are tasked with writing down “a character (kanji) that they will need for the future”, he writes down the kanji for “change”.

And then everything goes to hell.

Monsters start oozing out from the ground, and all the students are forced to start fighting for their lives. The “character” they have chosen will be their weapons: Momiji’s character, “change”, allows him to transform his appearance at will, and in times of danger, he becomes a tall, ridiculously powerful Bishonen, capable of superhuman feats. Other students with characters like “katana” or “spear” can literally turn their character into weapons.

When it’s over, more than half of the student population has been killed, and there's more: every time the floating island aligns with the sun, something like this will happen, and every time it happens, students will be expected to fight for their survival. There is no way of knowing when it will happen (well, there is, but it’s subject to weather conditions), or what will turn up (every “occurrence” (known officially as “God’s Blight”)will be based on yet another character. It was monsters the first time, but the next time could just as likely be falling knives, balls of fire, or dancing pink elephants.) In the meantime nobody can leave the school grounds, although the other option is always available. Those who survive a year in this hellhole graduate, and will be able to leave.

Rokudou is terrified, but he has to be strong, if only for the sake of Hirasawa Aira, his new best friend and the girl he wants to impress. Other characters include his smart-alecky roommate Hinata Sanjuro, knuckle-headed delinquent Takamada, tall, graceful Noa, and a pair of twins who are…just plain weird.

The Blight isn’t the only thing these students have to worry about. There are people who’ll do anything to survive, not to mention there are those who are just Ax Crazy. To top it off, that tall, ridiculously powerful bishonen Rokudou can turn into? He’s connected to the history of the school, though no one is really sure just how.

Aphorism is a little like a more shonen-friendly version of Battle Royale (note: just because it’s more kid-friendly doesn’t mean it’s actually kid-friendly; there are still plenty of bloody scenes) meets Slice-Of-Life and Words Can Break My Bones. Its premise is pretty cliche, but the element of using words as weapons does give it a refreshing twist. It’s pretty entertaining, not too hard on the brain (no overly-convoluted plots here) and has the right amount of bloodshed. The characters are well-drawn, and though their personalities are not really fleshed out, they are all quite likable.

"Author's Friend: What kind of story are you working on now. Author: Ah, right now? I'm on the school part... How should I put this... All the students have a "Ji". Author's Friend: Eh, all the students have "Ji"? Author: Oh yes, they have all sorts of "Ji". They use it to fight. Author's Friend [sweating]: Ha... That must be a very interesting story... [thinking] Internal Hemorrhoids and External Hemorrhoids? Then does everyone go to hospital and stuff? Author: No. They can't go to hospital. Author's Friend: Exactly what kind of genre does this fall into? Author: Survival, the life-betting kind. Author's Friend: Ah, ah. I see. I guess so?"
 * Aloof Big Sister: Touko to Hinata
 * Alternate Character Reading: The kanji can be interpreted differently to give different effects.
 * Anyone Can Die: Seems to be going this way.
 * The Archer: Noa
 * Attractive Bent Gender: The third Omake really needs to be seen to be believed.
 * Ax Crazy:
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
 * Bishōnen: Inner!Rokudou and Tomonaga are obvious examples.
 * So does.
 * Cool Big Sis: Noa is this to the other girls.
 * Costume Porn: Kujou is very fond of drawing the characters in elaborate clothing of the old Chinese style. Not that anyone's complaining.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Eco. Oh so much.
 * Dead Little Sister:
 * Dissonant Serenity: Inner!Rokudou hardly ever drops his peaceful smile, even when covered in blood. Also, Kuga and
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: Rokudou when the mangaka draws him in the old Chinese costumes.
 * Extranormal Institute
 * Fan Nickname: Inner!Rokudou.
 * Fashionable Asymmetry: The school's uniform, especially girl's. What's with wearing stocking on one leg but not the other?
 * The other leg has white stocking/overknee-to-thigh-socks. It's still fashionably assymmetric.
 * Four Is Death: Class 4 is rather deadly, no?
 * Freudian Excuse:
 * Heart Is an Awesome Power: The way in which the "character" manifests itself depends on the interpretation of the word by the user. In addition, a single kanji can mean a few things in Japanese, which can also be exploited by the user. Similarities between two different kanji also provides new possibilities.
 * Heir to the Dojo: Aira, which makes her character (katana) very useful.
 * Immortality: TYPE III for Hakamada and.
 * After it's revealed that Hakamada has this, it becomes a Crowning Moment of Funny every time he uses it or someone mentions it. Examples include
 * Jerkass:
 * Knight Templar: Inner!Rokudou/ will do anything to protect Momiji.
 * Mr. Exposition: Hinata's specialty- his character, "Wisdom", allows him to know about all the different Blights that have occured in the school's history, as well as how to get out of them alive.
 * My Name Is Not San-chan Or Miso: This means you, Mino.
 * Naive Newcomer: Most students didn't have a clue about the true purpose of the school until they get there.
 * Next Sunday A.D.: Believe it or not, the series is set almost thirty years into the future. This is not at all obvious, since there's almost no technology seen, and those that do turn up seem no different from present day. The first hint is that Tomonaga's birthdate is stated to be in Heisei 33 (Which would be 2022 except the Heisei era only goes up to 31, ending on April 30th of 2019), thus implying that the main storyline takes place sixteen years later, in Heisei 49, or 2038. This is more or less comfirmed by Chapter 12.5, which explicitly states that Tomonaga was six years old in Heisei 39 (2028).
 * One Dialogue, Two Conversations: In an omake:
 * Next Sunday A.D.: Believe it or not, the series is set almost thirty years into the future. This is not at all obvious, since there's almost no technology seen, and those that do turn up seem no different from present day. The first hint is that Tomonaga's birthdate is stated to be in Heisei 33 (Which would be 2022 except the Heisei era only goes up to 31, ending on April 30th of 2019), thus implying that the main storyline takes place sixteen years later, in Heisei 49, or 2038. This is more or less comfirmed by Chapter 12.5, which explicitly states that Tomonaga was six years old in Heisei 39 (2028).
 * One Dialogue, Two Conversations: In an omake:


 * One Person, One Power
 * Power Perversion Potential: Suggested by Hinata in an omake, who wanted Rokudou to transform to the actress in Titanic, so that he could... He also questioned whether Tomonaga can steal his jewels.
 * Resurrective Immortality: Hakamada. Got thrown off the roof to die by his friends such that he could recover from his not quite fatal injuries.
 * Revenge Before Reason: Aira going up against Tomonaga
 * Smug Snake: Hirosue
 * Super-Powered Evil Side:
 * Superpower Lottery: You wouldn't think this applies as everyone's power is determined by themselves and whether they are smart enough to think of ways to use them, but
 * Not to mention he is
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Noa counts, though she's not as aloof as most examples. Hourai Touko definitely falls into this.
 * The Ace: Subversion. Inner!Rokudou is faster and stronger than the real Momiji, not to mention the hottest guy in the story. He also likes to kill his opponents very messily, is coming off a little obsessive in his devotion to Momiji, and then there's the little issue of nobody knowing who the hell he is. Generally, he's been just a bit creepy.
 * The Rival:
 * Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Aya
 * Tranquil Fury:
 * Wham! Line:
 * Wham! Episode: Chapter 10. "They say death is the most beautiful thing."
 * Chapter 37.
 * Followed quickly by Chapter 38.
 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Eco's word is "Love". We haven't really seen it in action.
 * We did see it in action at the start, she was apparently drowning the monster in a sea of little hearts. Whether it was effective or not is debatable, but she did survive. Of course we have yet to see it in serious action.
 * Well, given the fact that she's able to survive until now, it could be Heart Is an Awesome Power.
 * Apparently it is Heart Is an Awesome Power according to newer chapters. She totally owns those monsters.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Aversion. Momiji has white hair but he's more of a The Cutie than anything.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser:
 * Words Can Break My Bones: Part of the whole premise. See Heart Is an Awesome Power for more details.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser:
 * Words Can Break My Bones: Part of the whole premise. See Heart Is an Awesome Power for more details.