The World Ends With You: Difference between revisions

{{work}}

[[File:subarashiki.jpg|frame]]

 

 

Neku eventually meets and befriends Shiki Misaki, your typical Shibuya fashion slave; Daisukenojo "Beat" Bito, a rough skater; his street-smart, adage-loving partner, Raimu (aka "Rhyme"); and Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu, the [[Jerkass]] [[Insufferable Genius]]. Armed with strange psychic powers, the group tries to survive their time in Shibuya... however, they are confronted at every turn by the mysterious [[Shinigami|Reapers]].

The soundtrack consists of modern, local acts from in and around the [[Real Life|real-life]] Shibuya, and the graphics are inspired by Shibuya's fashion and trends, with character designs by Gen Kobayashi and [[Tetsuya Nomura]]. Many have commented that the latter's [[Signature Style]] works much better in the context of modern Shibuya than it has in [[Final Fantasy|previous]] [[Kingdom Hearts|games]] he's worked on.

 

 

For more info on this game's colorful cast, feel free to check out the [[The World Ends With You/Characters|character sheet]].

Square Enix has released an official (and free!) translation of the one-shot tie-in manga [http://member.square-enix.com/na/features/wewy/02/ here].

 

 

See also ''[[Sh15uya]]'' and ''[[Gantz]]'', which have similar premises. For a game similar in visual and musical aesthetic rather than story matter, see ''[[Jet Set Radio]]''.

('''Note:''' ''It's A Wonderful World'' [[Similarly Named Works|is also the title of]] a 1939 live-action [[Screwball Comedy]] starring Jimmy Stewart and Claudette Colbert.)

 

* [[108]]: Joshua is Entry #108 in Another Day's Tin Pin Slammer tourney. And Pin #108 is "Eyes Full of Light".

* [[Absurdly Spacious Sewer]]: The Shibuya River. Easily big enough for the characters to walk and fight in.

* [[Already Done for You]]: A few missions are completed by other Players, but only after you've done almost all of the work. On a smaller and less plot-relevant note, the Reaper wall between Center Street Entrance and AMX during Week 2 Day 2 is up if you go from the Center Street side but down if you go from the AMX side, confusing Neku until Joshua reminds him that there are other Players clearing walls too.

* [[Alternate Universe]]: Another Day.

** The best and most immediate inversion of character is Neku himself, who is suddenly and almost inexplicably [[We Want Our Jerk Back|annoying in his happiness and love of life]]. And the fact that he apparently sleeps in the middle of the Scramble Crossing ''on purpose''.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Joshua <ref>except for "Another Day"; then you can pretty much scratch the "ambiguously" part.</ref>

* [[And Now for Someone Completely Different]]: Neku switching partners at the start of each week.

* [[And Then John Was a Zombie]]: After several days of battling Noise, {{spoiler|Rhyme}} undergoes an [[Emergency Transformation]] and eventually manifests as one. Subverted slightly in that the transformation only serves to introduce her as a [[Living MacGuffin]], rather than invoking any [[Internal Conflict Tropes]] on her part.

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Reaper Sport 1 is [[Russian Roulette]]. Reaper Sport 2 is ''Hide-and-Seek'', though number 1 comes from a guy who got the others wrong. Then again, Reaper Sport 3 is a Player Hunt, while Reaper Sport 4 is ''Tag''. So he may not be far off.

* [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]]: {{spoiler|Technically, this is what happens to all the Players upon entering the game. The Secret Reports reveal that the Underground is on a slightly higher plane then the real world, meaning Players ascend to a higher plane upon death.}}

* [[Assimilation Plot]]: ''{{spoiler|To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...}}''

* [[A Worldwide Punomenon]]/[[Lost in Translation]]: Subverted. Whenever Minamimoto says "SOHCAHTOA", he's making a pun on "Sou ka?" or "Is that so?" It just so happens that his lines are perfectly appropriate for the situation.

** A lot of pins that you do find in your first playthrough can fall under this too.

* [[Battle Couple]]: Sota and Nao. Possibly Uzuki and Kariya as well, depending on interpretation.

* [[The Battle Didn't Count]]: {{spoiler|Reaper Beat}} still disses your psychs and leaves you to have a scene about how he's too powerful for you to fight, even if you've just handed his ass back to him.

** {{spoiler|Taboo Minamimoto}} as well.

* [[Beat Them At Their Own Game]]: This is basically the prerogative of all Players and even {{spoiler|Kitaniji, Minamimoto and Konishi}}, who are all plotting against the Composer for one reason or another. However, only {{spoiler|Kitaniji}} is formally held to this rule the way the Players are.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Beat's [[Embarrassing First Name|real name]]; also, mentioning Ramen Don owner Ken Doi's past involvement in {{spoiler|the development of Tin Pin}}.

** On the note of Ken Doi in Another Day. '''''"...What? Who told you that name?"'''''

** In the short chapter [[Alternate Universe|Another Day]] the Big Bad {{spoiler|initially appears to be [[Punch Clock Villain|Uzuki]], who didn't really have a big role in the main story. However, during the final confrontation [[Disc One Final Boss|Higashizawa]], who had an even smaller part in the main story pulls a [[The Starscream|Starscream]] on her.}}

* [[Big No]]: Neku, when he is told that {{spoiler|Shiki is his new entry fee}}.

* [[Bishonen Line]]: {{spoiler|Taboo Minamimoto}}

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: It's pointed out in the Secret Reports that {{spoiler|even though Rhyme came back to life, life would be difficult for her without her entry fee}}.

** Joshua does this as well in Another Day. "...Excuse me? I'm up against an unnamed character? What a waste."

* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: As part of the [[Assimilation Plot]] during the third week, all of the Reapers are brainwashed and will attack Neku and Beat on sight. Uzuki and Kariya are fought in this state, as well.

* [[Bullet Hell]]: Later bosses will create ridiculous amounts of projectiles for you to dodge.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Sho Minamimoto]]. He's a [[Good with Numbers|math]] [[Mad Mathematician|fetishist]] who spends much of his time either lazying around or building piles of junk, and during his time as GM, he doesn't even issue missions some days. Despite this, his player erasure rate is impeccable and he's a high-ranking Reaper and GM. {{spoiler|He betrays just about ''everybody'' in the end, but damn, does he excel at it. His twisted genius didn't have him thinking up any way to cover up the fact that he was up to something, though.}} However, that can be covered by the fact that {{spoiler|he's ''always'' up to something, and he's so eccentric that anything out-of-the ordinary would ''be'' ordinary for him. One of the secret reports says as much}}.

* [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp]]: Averted with things like frogs, wolves, and pigs. Played straight with the [[Everything's Better with Penguins|popguins]] and corehogs.

* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]: When Neku finds out that Joshua {{spoiler|killed him, it takes an entire frustrating day before he confronts Joshua about it}}. Joshua himself seems to fall into this trope when {{spoiler|he doesn't tell Neku that he didn't kill him (as Neku discovers at the end of week 2)...until we find out much later that he actually ''did'' kill Neku}}.

* [[Can Only Move the Eyes]]: During cutscenes, when the characters are paralyzed, they usually scream something about how they can't move. Somewhat justified in that they're sprites, and if they didn't say so, we'd have no way of knowing they've been paralyzed.

** On a similar note, the cutscene sprites used for minor characters (like Shooter) vary only by their facial expressions.

* [[Captain Obvious]]: Neku outright calls Joshua this at one point.

* [[Cats Are Mean]]: Minamimoto's and Konishi's and {{spoiler|Hanekoma}}'s Noise forms, oh my.

* [[Charged Attack]]: Any of the pins with "press" touch commands, though especially the Massive Hit psychs.

** The secret items you have to get on your second playthrough to complete the Secret Reports are all mentioned in stray thoughts by passerby even during your first playthrough. Now you understand why that guy was rambling about a samurai wig...

** Heck, there's even a callback to Neku's dash maneuver. It's the first thing you learn, and you are immune to damage at the start of the attack. Then, Neku uses it at the very end of the game, in a cutscene, to {{spoiler|get the Red Skull pin off of Shiki.}}

** Remember that Reaper with the black hoodie who gave you instructions for Tin Pin Slammer? {{spoiler|That's [[Creator Cameo|Shinji Hashimoto]], the Wizard of Slam and your final opponent in the Another Day chapter.}}

** Right before Shiki forms a Pact with Neku, look at the crowd in front of the dog statue, Hachiko. Joshua is ''standing right next to Neku.'' He's [[Stealth Hi Bye|no longer there after the Pact]].

* [[Combat Stilettos]]: Enamel Pumps, a piece of equipment that when equipped will help you resist knockback.

* [[Combat Tentacles]]: One of the Jellyfish Noise actually uses this as an attack.

* [[Combination Attack]]: If you earn enough stars during battle, Neku and his partner can perform different types of Fusion Attacks.

** Uzuki and Kariya also have one when you fight them.

* [[Combined Energy Attack]]: {{spoiler|The fusion between Neku and all three of his partners at the end of the final battle.}}

** Neku's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|final fusion attack]].

** Also Minamimoto's {{spoiler|Level ''i'' Flare "killing" Joshua}}.

* [[Credits Running Sequence]]: The opening cinematic.

* [[Critical Encumbrance Failure]]: You can have hundreds of shirts, hats, accessories, and more, but try get 10 or more copies of the same item, and you'll supposedly "collapse in swag".

** There are some articles of clothing which have extra benefits when equipped by certain characters. Each character has at least some of these. They all tend to be things that the characters would be interested in wearing, or that they ''do'' wear. Both Neku and Joshua (but not Beat) get bonuses from some girls' clothes. Read that again: The game is ''actively encouraging you'' to make your male characters crossdress.

* [[Crosshair Aware]]: The kangaroo Noise.

* [[Critical Status Buff]]: Various clothing items (primarily from the "Lapin Angelique" brand) provide status buffs when the wearer is low on HP. Combine these with pins that place Neku in critical HP at the start of battle and you have the "[[Fan Nickname|Lapin Angelique Suicidal Special]]" and can strike [[For Massive Damage]].

* [[Crutch Character]]: Shiki has elements of this. Since female clothing has high bravery requirements she has high bravery, making her easier to equip than Joshua and Beat. Her attack chain also has frames of invincibility at the end, making [[Button Mashing]] for the top screen a more viable strategy.

** Neku {{spoiler|force-chokes Shiki}} using Telekinesis early on, but you cannot invoke this power in battle later, even against Reapers.

** In Week 2 Joshua single-handedly erases a Taboo rhino. Even after you acquire the psych he used during the cutscene, erasing the same Noise with a single Jesus Beam during a conventional battle is impossible. However, Kariya warned the pair that if they used that level of power {{spoiler|(indicative of Joshua apparently still being alive)}} again, he wouldn't turn a blind eye. Joshua's holding back, so that's why he can't waste rhinos in one shot anymore.

* [[Dark-Skinned Blond]]: Nao-Nao and Sota.

* [[Deader Than Dead]]: Anyone who gets "erased." The First Law of Ressurections is in use, though: if the author wants anyone to come back, it's remotely possible.

* {{spoiler|[[Dead to Begin With]]}} {{spoiler|The players are dead and playing for a second chance at life. Neku is unaware of this, though, due to his amnesia}}.

* [[Death's Hourglass]]: The timers for each mission.

** [http://twewy.wikia.com/wiki/Shiki According to the TWEWY Wiki], the Japanese manual mentions that Shiki uses a pin called Groove Pawn with the Psychokinesis psych to animate Mr. Mew. As an aside, Beat uses the pin Respect with a Shockwave psych that he activates with his skateboard. Joshua... probably just does his own thing.

* [[De-Power]]: {{spoiler|Joshua, to make the "game" he's playing fair.}}

* [[Doomy Dooms of Doom]]: Higashizawa's infamous "Pudding of Their Doom." Perhaps he's related to [[Mario & Luigi|Fawful]].

* [[Double Entendre]]: Joshua uses these frequently. Usually doubles with [[Ho Yay]]. One among many, many cases:

** Konishi, and depending on how you slice it, {{spoiler|Neku}}.

** Heavily subverted with Megumi Kitaniji: at first, the Game Masters seem to be [[The Dragon]] to his [[Big Bad]], but as you progress through the storyline, it seems that he himself is [[The Dragon]] to the Composer. At the end of the [[Very Definitely Final Dungeon]], you fight Kitaniji, enter a suitably ominous room for the final boss fight, and do battle with {{spoiler|Kitaniji's [[One-Winged Angel]] form}}. {{spoiler|Once he's gone, the Composer turns out to be [[The Unfought]].}}

* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]/[[Death by Irony]]: {{spoiler|The last time we see Sho Minamimoto, he himself has been "crunched" by some unknown attacker and made a part of one of his signature [[True Art Is Incomprehensible|garbage heap "sculptures"]].}}

** While we're on the topic of [[Death by Irony]], a [[Subverted Trope|Subversion]] would be {{spoiler|Shiki. She gets her right to come back to life, only to become Neku's second entry-fee. You only see her again at the end of Week 3, the game's [[Grand Finale]].}}

** Since bosses are generally the only monster you ever don't have to fight two of (sometimes, you have to fight two of them as well), you get thrown by the Grindcore Minks and Kariya and Yashiro. Especially the Minks, as you are fighting four at once. ''They have combo moves, too.''. {{spoiler|Mr. Hanekoma's Noise form also qualifies, since you fight a different boss on each screen}}

** Kariya and Yashiro in their berserk form are one of the hardest fights in the game due to them being a [[Dual Boss]]... They even have their own light puck.

** Neku and Beat don't bring up the fact that Kariya and Uzuki {{spoiler|were responsible for Rhyme's erasure}}.

* [[Elegant Gothic Lolita]]: Princess K, and most of the Lapin Angelique threads she sells. Lapin Angelique's tagline is even "Gothic and Lolita".

* [[Freudian Slip]]: Possibly when Joshua {{spoiler|calls Neku by name}}, ''then'' asks what it is. Since Neku doesn't notice and this didn't happen in the original Japanese version, it may be just as well be a translation error as [[Foreshadowing]] that {{spoiler|Joshua has seen him before}}.

* [[Full Set Bonus]]

** ''Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner Approaching.'' Said to Joshua. Minamimoto seems to be saying "I know that {{spoiler|you're the Composer}}."

** (When asked what he eats) "Slabs of Ham, Celery and Horseradish, Tons of Asparagus."

** In a conversation with Sota in Another Day, who turns out to be {{spoiler|Neku's hairstylist}}, he says that Neku used to bring clippings. Joshua immediately summarizes those conversations with the assumption that Neku used to say, and I quote, ''"Do me like this"''.

** The lyrics to ''Give Me All Your Love'':

* [[Give Me Your Inventory Item]]: Averted. While Wall Reapers will sometimes demand food, they'll never take it, usually being disgusted by what you brought them.

* [[Giggling Villain]]: Konishi and, arguably, {{spoiler|Joshua}}.

* [[God Was My Co-Pilot]]: {{spoiler|Joshua, Neku's partner for the second week, is the Composer. Also Mr. Hanekoma, who's actually even ''higher'' rank than Josh.}}

* [[Good with Numbers]]: Minamimoto cranks this one [[Up to Eleven|up to root 121]].

* [[Gratuitous English]]: Grammatically the official lyrics to the songs are all fine, but the singer seems to pronounce every other word wrong and the singer seems to skip many of the words and sing a few out of order.

** Every time "You have 7 days" shows up in the English version, it's "Time limit 7 days" in the Japanese version.

* [[Hachiko]]: We're in Shibuya, right?

* [[Halfhearted Henchman]]: Some of the Support Reapers are lazy, incompetent slackers. {{spoiler|For one of them, this is a good thing, as he ends up the only NPC in all of Shibuya who escapes the [[Assimilation Plot]] just because he ditched work one day.}}

** And then he proceeds to give the ''real'' explanation: "[[Cosmic Deadline|When you're drowning in a sea of work with not enough time]], why pour your soul into assets that will be used all of... what, once?" Neku still thinks that he's high.

* [[He Was Right There All Along]]: {{spoiler|Konishi during the third week, hides in Beat's shadow in order to trick him into panicking and making a mistake due to the pressure of his impending erasure.}}

** The Shibuya's Game is one plot-wise as well. Lose to Megumi, and he turns all the people in Shibuya into a [[Hive Mind]]. Defeat Megumi, and {{spoiler|the real Composer wins the Game and destroys Shibuya.At least until Neku's feelings of trust persuade him to do a [[Heel Face Turn]].}}

* [[The Heartless]]: The Noise are manifestations of negative thoughts and emotions. Either that, or they're artificially created by Reapers. So they're pretty much ''exactly'' the same as [[Kingdom Hearts|the]] ''[[Kingdom Hearts|real]]'' [[Kingdom Hearts|Heartless]].

* [[Heroic Willpower]]: Beat, {{spoiler|facing erasure on the last day, fights it off through sheer willpower, fuelled by his [[Heroic Resolve|desire to save his sister]]}}.

* [[History Repeats]]: Neku's waking up in the Scramble Crossing at the beginning of each week. Rhyme's {{spoiler|death}} and {{spoiler|erasure}} were intentionally reminiscent of each other, as well, as were Neku's {{spoiler|death at the hands of}} and {{spoiler|duel against Joshua}}.

* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|Konishi turns Noise!Rhyme into a pin and uses it to manipulate Beat's feelings. Due to the way her boss fight works, you will always kill her with the Rhyme Pin itself.}}

* [[Huge Schoolgirl]]: It's up to you to decide if it's just the [http://pics.livejournal.com/cherubi/pic/0011aq3p/g146 angle of the shot] (big spoilers on the other side of that link), but {{spoiler|RG Shiki}} seems to compete with Beat in height in the ending credits.

* [[Humanity on Trial]]: This is the entire point of the Reaper's Game, except it happens city by city instead of the whole world at once. This current Shibuya Game isn't quite typical for other reasons...

** Any time Minamimoto speaks will be a hurricane of math puns.

** Played straight later if you get the Hollow Leg swag which removes the limit. Very useful for grinding.

* [[I Am Not Left-Handed]]: {{spoiler|Joshua}} reveals some of his true powers during his Day 5, which gives his combat abilities a definite offensive boost.

* [[Idle Animation]]

* [[Impossibly Cool Clothes]]: Everyone. Every Player, every Reaper, every 2-bit NPC walking down the street is covered head to toe with expensive, gorgeous, and pointless designer toggery. But, this ''is'' Shibuya.

** It's hard to believe you get 'minimalistic' outfits like Shiki's in the same time and place as heavy, black hoodies like BJ's. Certain thought fragments imply that the game takes place in the summertime and others imply that it's winter, but there are plenty of highly impractical outfits for both seasons. Stores will also sell both summer- and winter-wear to you.

* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Everyone. Pins are most Players' [[Weapon of Choice]], but they can also be used to control other items as weapons, such as Shiki's plushie, playing cards, or SUVs.

** Food being consumed in "bytes."

** Neku says one, worried about the nature of the "piggy".

* [[Ineffectual Loner]]: Neku.

* [[I Never Told You My Name]]: One of the reasons an attentive player will quickly realize {{spoiler|Joshua}} is much more than he seems. (This is only the case in the English version, although [[Woolseyism|most fans think it's a really nice touch]].)

* [[Infinity+1 Sword]]: The Darklit Planet pins. If all six are put in one deck, their attack power triples and they become some of the deadliest pins in the game. However, {{spoiler|Hanekoma}} only sells you one of the six pins, and you have to find the rest either by defeating Noise and getting the pins from random drops, or using Mingle shops.

** The {{spoiler|Angel Feather}} is amazing too, but it needs a whopping 999 bravery.

* [[Irrelevant Importance]]: Try to sell certain pins, and you'll be told they're too precious to sell ("worth more than all the yen in the world"). Given that one of these pins is a [[Poison Mushroom]], after you complete the mission that requires it, it doesn't seem nearly that priceless after all, but you still can't sell it, even after you've got dozens of them. After all, [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|it's plot-important.]]

* [[Irrelevant Sidequest]]: Some Wall Reapers block Neku's path until he finds a microphone for them. Neku later refers to the ordeal as "the detour from hell." Doing the quest for some Wall Reapers is also often not necessary - sometimes they don't even clear the wall.

* [[It's Popular, Now It Sucks]]: In-universe example: "I'll be off listening to bands you kids have never even heard of! And then... when they go major... [[Lampshade Hanging|I'll be there to complain about how they sold out]]!"

* [[It's Up to You]]: Averted. A few missions are completed by other Players. Neku and his partner usually still contribute to those missions, however, though Joshua is inclined to let them be [[Somebody Else's Problem]].

* [[Klingon Promotion]]: According to several cast members, if you take out the Composer, you get his job. This is confirmed by the secret reports, which are written by someone who had ''better'' know if that's true.

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Several times in the manga, but a ''beautiful'' one is delivered by Kariya.

* [[Large and In Charge]]: GM Higashizawa is a tower of a man by any definition, and his Noise form is larger than any regular Noise in the game, filling the whole bottom screen and only the head is visible on the top. The Conductor has a noise form that is so large, only the head and small bits of the body are visible{{spoiler|; and then he absorbs the Composer...}}.

* [[Large Ham]]: Hanekoma can be this, seen in his odd [[Battle Cry|Battle Cries]].

* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: The protagonist, as in all Square games. He actually has it twice!

** {{spoiler|Rhyme}}, too, lost a particularly important memory before the story starts; {{spoiler|that Beat is the older brother that she admires}}. Interestingly enough, {{spoiler|that memory was ''Beat's'' entry fee, not hers}}.

* [[Limit Break]]: In order to perform a Fusion attack the player must collect stars via the particular combo system each of Neku's partners use.

* [[The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday]]: Shadow Ramen. Subverted later, as you can actually get it to reopen.

* [[Low Level Advantage]]: Powering down your characters gives you a higher chance of collecting rare item drops.

* [[Mad Mathematician]]: Sho Minamimoto takes this [[Up to Eleven]].

* [[Mr. Exposition]]: Higashizawa in Another Day. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and [[Genre Savvy|reprimanded]] by Uzuki.

* [[My Greatest Failure]] and [[My Greatest Second Chance]], [[Rule of Three|times three]]: A large source of guilt for Beat is {{spoiler|the death of his sister, Rhyme}}. The Reapers' Game gave him a greatest second chance, which he botched by {{spoiler|being careless and failing to protect her}}. {{spoiler|Mr Hanekoma}} gave him a greatest ''third'' chance by {{spoiler|binding Rhyme's Soul to a pin}}, and Beat failed ''yet again'' when {{spoiler|Konishi crushes her Noise form and takes her pin hostage}}. [[Earn Your Happy Ending|It all works out in the end]], but ''[[Epic Fail|damn]]''.

* [[Never Found the Body]]: Inverted; people and Noise disappear in a flash of static upon erasure. This results in an interesting twist on the trope when we're shown {{spoiler|Minamimoto}}'s body; many fans assume he's actually alive and will appear in the possible sequel.

* [[Never Say "Die"]]: Everyone is "erased" by the Noise. {{spoiler|However, this becomes a [[Subverted Trope]] when you learn that you're [[Dead to Begin With]], and that Erasure ''erases you out of existence'', rather than being a euphemism for death.}}

* [[Off-Model]]: A very minor example, concerning Beat. He is shown wearing a silver band on his right ring finger on the game's cover art, but it is absent from his sprites and the rest of the game's promotional art. In-game, the times he's shown wearing it can be counted on one hand.

* [[Oh No You Didn't]]: Beat, when a Reaper almost says his [[Embarrassing First Name]].

* [[One Size Fits All]]

* [[One-Winged Angel]]: Cantus form; every Game Master, along with {{spoiler|Joshua and Hanekoma}}, achieves it at some point.

** In that same week, there's one day during which entering certain areas will prompt Josh into a little ramble about the place (or ramen) and then ask you a question.

* [[Post End Game Content]]: If you think that killing the [[Final Boss]] makes the game over, you're wrong. Say hello to a lot of the best equipment and stickers that has just been unlocked. Of course you still have to buy it.

** [[New Game+]]: Something like it. You'll gain access to every day, whenever you want to access it, thanks to a sticker you got as a reward for ending the game.

* [[POV Cam]]: At the end when {{spoiler|Neku sees Joshua and Mr Hanekoma together after the duel}}.

* [[The Power of Friendship]]: Most battles against the Noise are done with two Players. You control the fighting with the stylus for one, and the direction pad (or the buttons for you left-handers out there) for the other person. Not to mention the ending of the game, {{spoiler|which contains a cutscene of a Quad Fusion attack, more or less. Things went boom}}.

** Mingle Mode is the game's way of enforcing [[Power of Friendship]] in the real world.

* [[Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner]]: Neku and his partners get memorable two-liners right before performing their Fusion attacks.

'''Neku:''' "No, let's [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|end it!]]" }}

* [[Preexisting Encounters]]: You scan the area to find and fight Noise symbols; the only times where you must battle Noise is if it's required in order to clear out a wall, or when the battle advances the storyline.

* [[Protagonist-Centered Morality]]: Deconstructed. During the second week, Neku is feeling sorry for himself for losing {{spoiler|Shiki}} as his entry fee and is immediately cut down by Joshua, who tells him that all Players are fighting for something precious and Neku's entry fee doesn't make him any more a deserving candidate to win the Game than anyone else.

* [[Psychic Powers]]: The game's magic system. The powers granted by pins have names such as "[[Playing with Fire|Pyrokinesis]]" and "[[Mind Over Matter|Psychokinesis]]", and the game (not the characters, the game itself) refers to playable characters as ESP'ers. [[Mind Reading]] is also a important plot and gameplay element.

** Neku is a special case, as he can use ''every pin'' available, whereas generally, Players are only able to use certain psychs. For example, Shiki can only use the psychokinesis pin 'Groove Pawn' to control Mr Mew. She could not use Pyrokinesis, so she gave her Pyrokinesis pin to Neku.

* [[Rare Candy]]: While most of the food items that permanently boost stats are not rare or expensive, the foods that boost drop rate are exceptionally expensive and hard to obtain. Curious Mushrooms can be bought for either 590,000 yen or fifteen 10,000 yen pins. Absolute Shadow Ramen requires redeeming several quest items, including the rare Dark Matter.

** Not just them; a few food items are extremely expensive as well, such as the ones sold at the Shibu Q-Heads pharmacy and the Natural Remedies shop. And while food generally isn't rare or expensive, you do need to fight a number of battles before you can get the stat boost.

* [[Real Place Background]]: Shibuya's depiction in TWEWY is actually very accurate... making exceptions for the skewed angles and the changed store names, of course.

* [[Reclusive Artist]]: The reason why despite being an avid fanboy, Neku doesn't know who CAT is.

* [[Serious Business]]: Pin Collection, justified in that they actually give you psychic powers. In the real world, they're just another fashion accessory.

** They then parody the whole concept with the bonus chapter, "Another Day" which takes the minigame, Tin-Pin Slammer, the characters, and transports them all into a ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]''-type setting in which the game is all-important. Lampshaded in the Secret Reports:

* [[Sequel Hook]]: It is mentioned that Shibuya is not the only city with a Reaper's Game and that it is not the Reapers and the Composer at the top of Shibuya's hierarchy, but rather {{spoiler|the Angels}}, who the protagonists never learn of or have to confront.

* [[Sleeper Hit]]

* [[Shout-Out]]

** A few pins in the Japanese version of the game are shout-outs to the big four gaming magazines in Japan (they were changed to stereotypical Japanese things in the international version).

*** Not to mention that the corresponding item (the Head Honcho outfit) has the characters for [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtPRahwUP-4 "ai rabu yuu"].

** The pins Lefty Cat, Brainy Cat, and Righty Cat make a trifecta of [[The Legend of Zelda|power, courage, and wisdom]].

*** For ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' in general, there are pins named Bahamut, Ifrit, and Shiva.

*** One of the Swag items makes a shout-out to the original ''[[Final Fantasy I|Final Fantasy]]'', with Matoya's spell.

** "The proof is in the pudding...the pudding of their DOOM!" A possible Shout Out to a [[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga|certain engrish-speaking villain?]]

** "'[[The Sixth Sense|I see dead people]]' kind of sees things?"

** There are several elements of the plot that seem to bear some similarities to ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', but it may be unintentional.

** [[Super Sentai|Marble Sentai Slashman]] is a phenomenon in the world of ''WEWY''. Several NPCs are talking about it, and you can buy ''Slashman'' costumes in ''Another Day''.

** Red's "It's all about manly spirits slamming into each other!!" is a direct quote from [[Gurren Lagann|a certain man named Kamina]].

** [[Saturday Night Live|Shibuya's got a fever, and the only prescription is more Tin Pin!]]

** The shopkeeper of Molco's Tigre Punks is a [[Nana|punk-rocker named Nana.]]

*** Not to mention the R-inscribed padlock necklace sold there.

* [[Sibling Yin-Yang]]: {{spoiler|Beat and Rhyme, with Rhyme being calm, level-headed and responsible, while Beat is more emotional, impulsive and less intelligent}}. {{spoiler|Rhyme's}} gear that you can purchase after completing the game tends to emphasize defense, while {{spoiler|Beat's}} tends to emphasize offense.

* [[Similarly Named Works]]: The 1939 comedy ''It's A Wonderful World'' is the reason that the international release's title is different from the Japanese title.

* [[Sinister Shades]]: Kitaniji's glasses.

* [[Sprite Mirroring]]

* [[Spoiler Opening]]: Done magnificently - you won't realize it until after you've beaten the game, but {{spoiler|the opening cinematic spoils ''the entire plot.'' Joshua, the "two Shikis," Rhyme's fate, Kitaniji's plan for Instrumentality, the reason behind Neku's death... it's all there.}}

* [[The Starscream]]: Several people are trying to overthrow the Composer to take up the mantle, including Sho Minamimoto {{spoiler|and Beat, though his reasons are [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|generally good]]}}.

* [[Stepford Smiler]]: {{spoiler|Shiki}} in the first arc.

* [[The Stinger]]: Provided you've completed one of the [[One Hundred Percent Completion]] criteria.

* [[Suicide Is Painless]]: Heavily implied with {{spoiler|Joshua}}.

** Even more obvious was the following quote, because by the time it comes up you know how people get into the Game:

** However, it turns out that {{spoiler|he's actually still alive}}. But ''[[Wham! Episode|then]]'' it turns out that {{spoiler|we don't even ''know'' if he's technically alive or dead}}.

* [[Surreal Theme Tune]]: "Twister".

* [[Synchronization]]: Your partner shares HP. Neku might not get hit at all, but if your partner gets dealt enough damage, [[Game Over]]. This is especially bad if you're using Auto-Play, because [[Artificial Stupidity|the AI for it sucks]].

* [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors]]: The Whammies in Tin Pin Slammer (except [[Video Game Lives|one]]) each counter another Whammy.

* [[Take That]]: The track "Game Over" possesses a [[Stealth Insult]] towards message boards, namely 2ch, and the nature of anonymous posting:

''And forget about those foul actions'' }}

* [[Take Your Time]]: You have so-and-so many minutes for each mission. Feel free to take years to do so, and, as mentioned, get ''rewarded'' for doing so.

** Taken more literally with Futoshi's self-perceived rivalry with 777, though that was the fault of Negative Noise.

* [[Technicolor Death]]: Slain bosses fulfill this in two different ways, first turning black on a background of white noise, then radiating beams of light, and finally vanishing in a white static burst.

* [[Theme Naming]]: The clothing brands are named after the animals of the [[Eastern Zodiac|Chinese Zodiac]]. This becomes relevant in one mission. The 13th clothing brand, Gatito, is a reference to the legend of how the Cat didn't follow the rules of the Chinese Zodiac. {{spoiler|It's also run by Hanekoma, rather than normal civilians. And to make this a bit more [[Anvilicious|obvious]], CAT didn't follow the rules of the Angels.}}

** Every Game Master and {{spoiler|Hanekoma}}'s [[One-Winged Angel]] forms are all given Latin names ending with "Cantus". An animal name is also hidden in the kanji of their names. There are also several boss Noise named Canor; all these are basically bigger versions of normal Noise.

** The various normal Noise have musically-themed names. (Mostly.) The musical theme of the UG is reinforced by the top positions being called the Composer, Conductor, and Producer.

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Shooter and Yammer, Ai and Mina.

* [[Time Stands Still]]: One of Kitaniji's abilities.

** The Japanese title also gets a far more ominous drop late into the final week. {{spoiler|And then it drops it again. And again. And again and again [[Assimilation Plot|and again...]]}}

* [[Tomato Surprise]]: {{spoiler|Shiki, as she appears in the Underground, is really taking on the guise of her best friend Eri because she's incredibly self-conscious about her own appearance.}}

** {{spoiler|Joshua, who was the Composer all along, REALLY killed Neku, after being seen as guilty first and innocent later. Then there´s the whole "Angel Hanekoma is more powerful than Joshua and reborned Minamimoto to send him after Josh, who is trying to destroy Shibuya, while Neku is being manipulated by Josh to win a Game he has with Kitaniji, the [[Big Bad]] who really wants to SAVE the city (using [[Assimilation Plot|Instrumentality]], but still wants to protect the place").}}

* [[Too Dumb to Fool]]: When [[Almost-Dead Guy|Konishi]] attempts to emotionally cripple him by revealing that {{spoiler|Rhyme doesn't love Beat as much as he loves her}}, Beat hesitates only long enough to give her satisfaction, and then promptly ignores it.

* [[Totally Radical]]: Usually avoided, as the game uses modern slang, and properly, at that. The salesman, Mick, however, is still stuck in the 80's when he first appears.

* [[The Unfought]]: The final boss is {{spoiler|not the Composer. Well, at least [[Fusion Dance|not directly]]. When Neku does face the Composer, it's in the epilogue; the player can't influence the outcome.}}

* [[True Art Is Incomprehensible]]: In-universe. Sho is insistent that his junk heaps are works of art.

* [[Urban Fantasy]]

* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]: ''{{spoiler|To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...}}''

* [[Vendor Trash]]: The only way to get money is by selling pins to the trash can, making it ''literal'' [[Vendor Trash]].

* [[The Very Definitely Final Dungeon]]: {{spoiler|The Shibuya River sewers. Brr.}}

** And just so you know you're finally really getting near the end, {{spoiler|instead of being numbered "Day 1", "Day 2", etc, Week 3 uses "7 Days Left", "6 Days Left", etc, until "The Last Day"}}.

* [[Victor Gains Loser's Powers]]: Beat some of the enemies in specific difficulties and you'll get their pins instead of normal ones or [[Vendor Trash]].

** As does the cutscene with {{spoiler|Joshua}}'s [[Famous Last Words]].

* [[Welcome to Corneria]]: Averted. The NPCs whose minds you read have different thoughts from week to week, and later on in the third week, {{spoiler|they all turn to the same thing because of Kitaniji's plan}}.

* [[Yaoi Fangirl]]: Shiki in [[Affectionate Parody|Another Day]].

* [[You Are Not Alone]]: In the ending theme.

You are not alone! }}

* [[You Fight Like a Cow]]: Some of the voice clips that talking enemies make mid-battle fit this.

[[Category:The World Ends With You]]

[[Category:Video Game]]