Rewrite (visual novel)

From left to right: Kotori Kanbe, Chihaya Ohtori, Lucia Konohana, Kotarou Tennouji, Kagari, Sizuru Nakatsu, Akane Senri

"Could it possibly be rewritten, that fate of hers?"

Rewrite is a visual novel from Key Visual Arts, makers of Kanon, AIR, Clannad, Angel Beats! and Little Busters. The scenarios are written by Yuto Tonokawa, Ryukishi 07 and Romeo Tanaka.

Kotarou Tennouji is a second year high school student who lives a carefree lifestyle with his friend Kotori Kanbe. After experiencing some supernatural occurrences, he consults with the "school witch" Akane Senri who asks him to join the occult research society. He recruits some members and they work together to have fun. He will later discover some of the deeper secrets of Kazamatsuri city.

Don't read below if you don't want heavy spoilers.

Tropes used in Rewrite include:

Action Girl: Sizuru, Lucia, and Chihaya.
The All-Concealing "I": Used in a subtle way where Kotarou never sees himself in his own memories of the past. This is to hide The Reveal about his real age.
Ancient Conspiracy: The organization Gaia is controlling demons and is trying to destroy the world. The organization Guardian is trying to stop them by whatever means necessary.
Animal Eye Spy: There is a kind of surveillance bird that demon users can use.
Another Dimension: There is small dimension that closely resembles Kazamatsuri City except for having almost no human life in it.
Anticlimax Boss: In Terra route, Kotarou charges into Gaia headquarters and fights one strong T-Rex demon. Then he discovers that Sakura Kashima is already dead. Compared to Moon Route where Sakura Kashima technically sent an army of demons, it felt quite anticlimatic.
Apocalypse How: Class 6 Total Extinction
Apocalypse Maiden: Kagari
April Fools' Day: A Real Life example where Key first announced the project on April 1, 2008.
Attack Of The 50 Foot Demon: Several demons are huge but the largest is Sakuya's demon form.
Badass Adorable: Sizuru
Battle Butler: Sakuya
Big Bad: Sakura Kashima
Big Bad Friend: Akane is one of the leaders of Gaia organization. Chihaya and Sakuya are also members of Gaia but they are minor cases.
Big Fun: Sakuya's substitute, "Sakuya HB".
Bittersweet Ending
Blank White Eyes:
- Chihaya has these whenever she is shocked.
- Sakuya has these complete with black screen and cold wind when Chihaya makes a comment that hurts him.
Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce: Lucia loves these. In reality, she lost her sense of taste and she is imagining how it should be.
Bloody Handprint: What Kotarou sees all over his room when he tries to confront the "spirit".
Break His Heart to Save Him: Reason why Kotori rejects Kotarou's love confession twice and that even in her own route, Kotori transfers out of school without telling Kotarou because she is hiding Kagari from both Gaia and Guardian. She knows that it is a hopeless struggle and she would mostly die when found, so she keeps herself distant from Kotarou to protect him.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the Joke Ending, Kagari mentions that if she is popular enough, she might get a Magical Girl spinoff.
But Thou Must!: Almost all important choices in true route only have one option. The only one exception results in a Nonstandard Game Over that leads to the other heroines' routes.
Cell Phone: Kotarou uses one with the application "Mappie" to keep track of his location.
Childhood Friends: Kotarou is one to Kotori. In the Terra Route, we discover that Kotarou actually first met Kotori when he was a teenager in their first encounter.
Class Representative: Lucia
Club President: Akane is president of the occult research society.
Combat Medic: Sizuru's main ability can create different kinds of medicine and she is one of the strongest fighters of the group. Sizuru's ability can also make a poison that only paralyzes demons.
Convenient Coma:
- Sizuru enters one in her route.
- Kotarou had one before the story began.
Cool Pet: Chibi-Moth, a small demon mammoth.
Copy Protection: The game will only run on Japanese copies of Windows Vista and 7.
Cruel to Be Kind: In Terra Route, to protect her from invading forces, Kotarou shoots Kotori's "parents" in front of her to drive her away.
Demonic Possession: A ghost possesses Lucia in her route. Subverted in that Lucia was actually faking it in front of Kotarou.
Disappears Into Light: The fate of humanity in Sizuru's Ending.
Doorstopper: The script of this visual novel is currently Key Visual Arts' longest one ever, beating even Clannad and Little Busters!
Downer Ending: Sizuru's Route have Akane successfully use Kagari in supposedly destroying the world.
- It is later discovered that the humanity would have ended in a few decades even if Kagari did nothing and had died. So all five main heroines' routes are technically downer endings.
The Dragon In Akane's route, Kotarou joins Gaia and becomes this for Akane.
Dramatic Shattering: In Lucia's Route, windows and light-bulbs break to show the presence of the ghost. It is an effect that Lucia can create usually when she is agitated.
Druid: Kotori
Dwindling Party: Moon Route has Kotarou and his friends all work together to protect Kagari from an endless army of demons. They all die one by one.
Eating Contest: Lucia and Chihaya enter one where they have to work together to eat a giant parfait within a time limit or else they pay the cost. Unknown to them, the parfait is spicy hot.
Emotionless Girl: Kagari. She starts showing more emotions when interacting with Kotarou.
The End of the World as We Know It
Endless Corridor: Kotarou and Yoshino are temporarily trapped in one at school.
Energy Weapon: Kotarou can use his hand to make a claw or sword.
Ethereal Choir: There is one song in the story that forces Kagari to bring ruin faster to the world.
Everything's Better with Dinosaurs: Demon dinosaurs.
The Exile: Akane's Ending have Kotarou and Akane forced to leave the only city left in the existence for their crimes.
Falling Chandelier of Doom: Lucia drops one on Kotarou in her route. Thankfully, Chihaya was there to save him.
Fission Mailed: Occurs in Kotori's Route, where the player is given only one choice to select from. Selecting that choice gives the appearance of a bad end, but the game just continues on.
Flower Motifs: All the heroine's theme songs are named after flowers.
- Kotori- Windflower
- Chihaya- Morning Glory
- Sizuru- Carnation
- Akane- Anthurium
- Lucia- Sunbright (Sunflower)
- Kagari- Daisy
- Sakuya also have a flower motif of Cherry Blossoms in that he once transformed into one.
Flower in Her Hair: Kotori has two of them, fitting since she is a Druid.
Forceful Kiss: In Terra Route, to stop her from acting berserk, Kotarou kisses Kagari.
Fossil Revival: A method to create demons.
Friendless Background: Kotarou's past is this.
Freudian Excuse: Midow is a war orphan.
Gaia's Lament: The planet is entering this state. Kotori's, Lucia's and Chihaya's endings are implied to be this.
Gaia's Vengeance: Sizuru's and Akane's endings have this in the form of Kagari.
Gamer Chick: Akane, usually playing on her laptop.
Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Comedically used by Kotori. She usually punches Kotarou out of his aggressive "dark side".
Girlish Pigtails: Sizuru. Chihaya sports the tsundere-tails variation of the trope.
A God Am I: Played for Laughs when Kotarou is conducting a simulation of Earth from creation to present times and gets the feeling of omnipotence. Kotori knocks him out of it.
Goes Mad From the Revelation: Akane suffers from one when she reads Kagari's memories of the world.
Gratuitous English: Yoshino is fond of making these.
Green Aesop: One of the main points behind all the events in the story.
Hair Decorations: Except for Sizuru, there is:
- Kotori, who wears two flowers on the sides of her head.
- Chihaya, who sports those little wing ornaments.
- Akane, who has her black ribbon.
- Lucia, who wears yet another ribbon.
- And Kagari, who wears her cross-shaped hairclips.
Heroic Sacrifice: Sakuya in Chihaya's route.
Hope Spot: Used in Moon Route, the situation looks grim but the real Sakuya finally joins the battle and Sizuru is defeating multiple demons at once. Cue Sizuru along with Chihaya being caught off guard and dying in the fight. Sakuya then transforms into a demon to take down as many enemies as possible until he breaks apart, leaving Kotarou the last one standing.
Hope Sprouts Eternal:
- Lucia's ending scene has a sunflower sprouting from the ground.
- Terra Route's Ending has one on the moon.
Hot Teacher: Nishikujou Touka
Humanity on Trial: The collection of sad memories inside Kagari and humanity's waste of energy are the main reasons why the "Key" activates. Kagari herself cannot stop it. Kotarou needs to prove humanity deserves to live.
Human Popsicle: Used in Lucia's route.
Identity Amnesia: Kotarou. He was a member of Guardian searching for Kagari, but was almost killed. Kotori used her powers to save him and then he went into a coma. After being injected with Guardian's memory erasing drug, he forgot most of his past. His personality changed from the serious loner to cheerfully happy Kotarou that appears in the main story.
- Kotarou in Moon Route forgot that he was a demon sent by Sakura Kashima to kill Kagari from trying to save the world. He ends up befriending and protecting Kagari instead when he realizes the truth.
- Kotarou again in Terra Route's ending. The heroines decide to name him Pochi.
I Will Wait for You: Sizuru in her ending.
Improbable Weapon User:
- Chihaya once used a street lamp to fight several demons.
- Kagari uses her red ribbons.
The Infiltration: In Terra Route, Kotarou enters Gaia organization to order to spy for Kagari.
Invisible to Normals: Kagari
Jerkass Facade: Yoshino acts completely different in his own home.
Katanas Are Just Better: Lucia and Esaka Sougen use them.
Knife Nut: Sizuru dual-wields knives. Touka uses homing throwing knives.
Knight Templar: The organization Guardian's main goal is the destruction of demons and everything related to them. Some are willing to destroy Chihaya's village and even children that have been experimented on.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: One of Sizuru's abilities.
Last Girl Wins: Kagari is the last heroine to appear in the opening and the game (she's not even named in the OP). Chronologically though, she is the third girl Kotarou meets.
Last Kiss: In Terra Route, Kotarou and Kagari.
The Lost Woods
Love Confession: Kotarou made one to Kotori before high school, but she rejected him.
MacGuffin: All organizations are searching for the "Key" , which is Kagari.
Mad Scientist: Brenda
That Man Is Dead: What Lucia tells Kotarou, her name is simply a Code Name and she is Haruka.
May-December Romance: Based on The Reveal in Terra Route, an unintentional case between Kotarou and most heroines. Kotarou is actually about ten years older than Kotori and this becomes more evident when a high-school level Kotarou is talking to an elementary-school level Kotori.
Megaton Punch: Lucia delivers this to Kotarou whenever he does something perverted like eating her food.
Meido: Lucia wears a maid outfit in her route. Kotarou has an Imagine Spot of Sizuru wearing one in Sizuru's Route.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: In Terra's Route, Kotarou kills Esaka Sougen in his effort to protect Kagari.
Mismatched Eyes: Sizuru
Momma's Boy: Yoshino
Mood Whiplash: The visual novel shifts from everyday comedy to darker story arc around the beginning of November.
Mugging the Monster: Deliberately invoked by Kotarou when he takes Kotori and Chibi-moth into the slums of the city. When anyone tries to approach and mug them, Kotori orders Chibi-moth to beat them down. Kotarou then proceeds to take the mugger's money.
Multiple Endings: There are endings for Kotori, Chihaya, Lucia, Sizuru, and Akane. If you fail to enter any of the five heroine's routes, you will get a Nonstandard Game Over where all the heroines transfer out of school and then the world ends.
- After completing the five heroine routes, there is a Moon Route followed by the true ending Terra Route.
- Finally, there is Joke Ending that occurs after getting all the other endings and fulfilling certain conditions. Just before entering Akane's Route, Kotarou uses the "love of boobs" to defeat Kagari and rewrites reality so that there is world peace with everyone saying the word "boobs" in their conversations. Akane is not amused.
My Greatest Failure: Sakuya was unable to protect his love Minata.
Mysterious Waif: Kagari
Naked People Are Funny: One scene had Kotarou and Yoshino running around school naked, while trying to hide their faces.
Neat Freak: Lucia
Never Got to Say Goodbye: A Tear Jerker moment in Sizuru's route. Sizuru was always afraid of confronting her parents ever since they lost their memory of her. As the world was ending and people were starting to disappear, she finally gathered the courage to see them one last time. However, her parents disappear just as she reached their house.
New Transfer Student: Chihaya
No Body Left Behind: Demons turn into dust after being killed.
No Sense of Direction: Chihaya
Nuke'Em: This how a branch of Guardian decides to wipe out Kagari and the power spot in Lucia's route (without the consent of its Kazamatsuri agents). It was disguised as a Nuclear Option to rid the air of Lucia's strategically-released poisonous miasma, which had killed almost everybody in the area anyway.
Official Couple: Kotori appears to be the main heroine in the advertisements, but the official couple in the true route is actually Kotarou and Kagari.
Older Than They Look: The Reveal in Terra Route is that Kotarou is actually in his twenties in all the previous heroines' route. Since he became a half-demon, he did not physically age much.
Ominous Pipe Organ: The song "Finale" is used for the end of the world.
Our Fairies Are Different: There two tiny Winged Humanoid demons that appear in Chihaya's and Sizuru's routes. They were created from an experiment.
Outdoor Bath Peeping: Unintentional case where Kotarou is searching for Kotori in the forest and finds her bathing.
Out of Focus:
- Kotori does not appear in front of Kotarou in the other four main heroines' route, but there is a reason for this.
- Lucia only appears in Sizuru's and her own route.
- Chihaya, Sizuru, and Lucia becomes Out of Focus in Terra Route until the ending because Kotarou never actually met them before (besides Sizuru who appears in one scene.)
Out of Time, Out of Mind: While not actually time travel, Kotarou in Moon Route has the memories of all his Alternate Universe selves in previous routes (and other ones not shown) but there is no difference in his personality.
Panty Shot:
- While the visual novel mentions it in the text, the manga explicitly shows Chihaya's cherry panty in her introduction.
- Akane gets one when trying to overclock her own computer.
Parental Abandonment:
- Kotarou's parents are never around in the story due to work.
- Kotori's parents died from a car accident
- Chihaya suffers from this due to Doomed Hometown.
- Sizuru's parents lost their memories of her existence.
- Lucia was from an orphanage.
Place of Power: the power spots in Gaia's headquarters, Chihaya's village and Kotori's hiding spot in the forest.
Playing with Fire: Midow.
Power At a Price
- When Kotarou uses his powers, he slowly transforms more into a demon.
- In Terra Route, Kotarou's power uses up his own lifespan instead since he is human.
Powered by a Forsaken Child: Demon contracts slowly drains the energy of the user. So in some experiments, Gaia decides to force children into contracts to support larger demons.
Reality Warper: Minor case where Kotarou and Sakuya have the ability to "rewrite" their own body to fight.
Really 700 Years Old: Sakuya
Replacement Goldfish: Kotori's "parents" and Chibi-Moth are demons she made after her real parents and dog Pero died.
- Kotori is afraid that Kotarou might be another demon she made when he almost died long ago.
Replacement Sibling: Unintentional, but it is implied that Sizuru's parents also named their second daughter Sizuru.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: Chibi-Moth
The Rival:
- Yoshino considers Kotarou one.
- Kotarou and Inoue can be considered rivals since they are both reporters that are trying to get news scoops.
Say My Name:
- Lucia screams "TENNOUJI KOTAROU!!" whenever Kotarou makes her mad enough to attack him.
- "...Kagari...KAGARI!!" in Terra Ending.
School Newspaper Newshound: Inoue
Senseless Sacrifice: In Sizuru's route, Nishikujou Touka tries to stop Kagari by sacrificing herself. Kagari survives and still ends the world.
The Seven Mysteries: There is actually an eighth one. Finding it is one of the conditions for the Joke Ending.
Sheathe Your Sword: In Terra Route, if Kotarou tries to attack or capture Kagari in their first encounter, she will immediately retaliate and give the Nonstandard Game Over. Kotarou failed to do this trope in all the previous heroines' routes. The choice to not attack is slightly obvious since the game even highlights the correct answer.
Shoot the Bullet: In Terra Route, Lewis tries to shoot down the incoming missiles with his energy attack to protect Kotarou and the children. He himself dies from the blazes.
Shrinking Violet: Sizuru
Sinister Minister: There is one in Lucia's route.
Spell My Name with an "S": So is it Sizuru or Shizuru?
Summon Magic: Some demon users can use this type of magic.
Sunny Sunflower Disposition: Lucia is associated with sunflowers in that she loves them, but they wither if she touches them. The sunflower field scene is one of the Tear Jerker moments. In her ending, scientists are able to create a real sunflower that she can touch.
Super-Powered Evil Side: Kotarou enters this state when trying to protect Chihaya from Sizuru and Touka. He uses his ability too much that he rewrites his own sense of reason.
Super Strength: Chihaya
Tall, Dark and Handsome: Sakuya
That's No Moon: The moon Kotarou sees in the Moon Route is actually Earth. The place they were at was the real moon.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: Kotarou's policy in life.
- This becomes subverted in Akane's and Terra Route as he is unable to uphold his ideal with the path he choose.
Time Skip: Several short ones in different routes.
- Sizuru's route has a month time skip where Kotarou suffers from Laser-Guided Amnesia and can't remember what happens during that period.
- Akane's route has a year time skip.
- Terra route has a few since from beginning to the end, it covers more than a decade of Kotarou's life.
Tragic Dream: Kotori initially got her powers in an attempt to revive her dead parents. She tried her best in upholding the contract to protect Kagari, but she later realized that her "parents" were no different from zombies that moved to her commands.
Transfer Student Uniforms: Chihaya wears her old uniform.
Trauma Conga Line: In the true route, Kotarou suffers from this. After joining Guardian, he goes into the battlefield and becomes one of the few surviving members of his group. Later, he tries helping Kagari in saving the world because he is sick of how Guardian works. This forces him to betray and kill his own comrades along with his mentor to protect her. He tries to prevent the ritual in Gaia's headquarters, but people still die in the process. Finally, after all his efforts, he is the one who personally delivers the fatal blow to his love Kagari because it is the only option left. It is no wonder that he mentally breaks down and asks if he is cursed.
Trickster Archetype: Kotarou, but many of his pranks tend to backfire, especially against Lucia.
Tsundere: Lucia
The Unmasqued World: In Terra Route, Jasmine leaks out all the secret technology Kotarou gave to her through the internet so the world can survive.
Unreliable Narrator: Used in Lucia's Route. Many scenes involving only Lucia and the ghost did not actually occur in the way presented.
Utsuge: It's a Key Visual Arts game so this is expected.
Vicious Cycle: Many mass extinction events were the result of the "Key", including the end of dinosaurs and the Great Flood in the bible. In the true route, it is final cycle since the planet is running out energy and rebirth cannot occur.
Video Game Tropes: Kotarou makes multiple references to them, including Character Level, "______ joins the party" when he is recruiting members for the club and how Lucia's punch does 9999 damage.
Walking Wasteland: Reason why Lucia wears gloves. It Got Worse.
War Is Hell
- Midow and his group became twisted because of it.
- In Terra Route, Kotarou experiences this himself.
White-Haired Pretty Girl: Kagari
Why Did It Have to Be Cats: Sakuya is so afraid of cats that he completely freezes up.
- Kotarou is terrified of ghosts and spirits. It is the reason why he asks Akane for help in the first place.
World Tree: Kotarou and Kagari transform into a giant tree in Terra Route's Ending.
Would Hurt a Child:
- In Terra Route, Kotarou's commander in the battlefield killed wounded children just because they were considered enemies. This resulted in Kotarou's first defiance against Guardian.
- Kagari was willing to kill Akane after she noticed that Akane can see her. Kotarou had to stop her.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Used by Akane's secretary in a prank against Kotarou. She steals Kotarou's money and takes a taxi to escape. When Kotarou catches up to her, she screams in front of the crowd and a policeman takes Kotarou into custody for sexual harassment.
You Are Too Late:
- Sizuru's Ending
- Terra Route's Ending
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Nishikujou Touka.
Zettai Ryouiki: All the female school uniforms are these (including Chihaya's)
- Akane, however, simply wears knee-socks.