In the year 2017, the vegetation in Tokyo suddenly rose up to apocalyptic levels. Plants began to devour people and completely overtake the land. The few people who were able to escape being turned into literal plant food escaped to the underground subways. Amongst them is Akira, who gets separated from his childhood friend Yui in the chaos. He swears to one day find her, but three months pass with him in the subways unable to do anything.
When a shortage in supplies forces some of the group to travel to the surface, they encounter the amazingly skilled and powerful survivor Iwatobi, who guides them and trains them. Now the fight is on for Akira and co to find a new shelter and supplies, and for Akira to be reunited with Yui. Things will not be easy, however, even with Iwatobi's help, as they will encounter the Hybrid Humans, the monsters responsible for the plant uprising, and a dark hidden potential within Akira that could either be their salvation or destruction...
This work contains examples of:
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Tara’s Blade Below the Shoulder
- Abusive Parents:
- Ma-kun’s mother repeatedly beat him for not being the highest rank in his class. It reached the point where he began to wish she was dead.
- Mui’s parent would regularly utilize Sex Is Violence in front of her not caring that she was there or how repeatedly seeing Domestic Abuse and her mother being aroused by it would affect her.
- Action Girl: Most female cast members aside from Miu. Yui takes this to superhuman levels.
- An Arm and a Leg: Rei was going to lose an arm in the original timeline, and Akira loses a limb in both the original timeline and the current one, which get replaced by plant ones when he's turned into a hybrid. The lead weaponsmith also has a prosthetic hand.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: After the conclusion of the first arc, we switch to Yui, who's leading a relatively successful camp of survivors.
- And the Adventure Continues : See Gainax Ending
- And Then What?: In an effort to save Mui from a giant mantis, Iwatobi’s group draws its attention away with flash lights, only to realize that they didn’t have a plan on what to do after this.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Played with. Iori really didn’t believe Iwatobi’s time travel story but he couldn’t deny that given the fact he was having visions of the future and they started the day Iwatobi returned to the past.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Attacking the umbilical cords of the hybrids born in the flesh pod, since it feeds them their energy and destroying it stops them regenerating.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Now that plants have overtaken the land, oxygen levels have skyrocketed, and bugs have grown giant as well, since insect body size depends on the amount of oxygen in the air.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Inhaling Death Pollen can turn one into a Wickerman, a mindless beast that can heal from almost any wound. Nano mentioned that if it was’t for the fact that there was a 90% chance of death, many people would probably inhale them on purpose.
- Axe-Crazy: Every Hybrid Human.
- Ma-kun is very mentally unstable who projects his little sister's image onto everyone he meets, only to kill them once that illusion is broken. He also thinks the apocalypse is God's answer to his prayers to kill his mother.
- Mui gets a sort of sadistic glee in manipulating and sacrificing others in order to save herself.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Kazama Higaoka and Homura work for Ryukoden because he saved their lives, despite the evil acts he commits.
- Berserk Button: For Kasumi, claiming that she doesn’t look like her picture.
- Big Brother Instinct: Iwatobi (AKA Future!Akira's) romantic affections clearly fall on Yui, but he still has Rei locked in a closet during the first large scale battle for her own safety.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Professor Ura who went to Yamasato on the pretense that he was interested in his theory on time travel, only to mock him .
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Tara, after becoming a human hybrid, has transformed his left hand into a large wood-like sword.
- Boring, but Practical: Kusanagi disposes of a swarm of giant spiders by starting a fire.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Akira and Yui clearly have mutual affection for one another.
- Combat Clairvoyance:
- Yui can predict what the monsters' weak points are.
- Iori Akasuki also has this it a result of Iwatobi going back in time. So they automatically know the moves of everyone and thing he has fought before. This allowed him to defeat Nano.
- Criminal Doppelgänger: Akira watched the news of an international terrorist being broken out of jail and was shocked to see that one of the people who broke him out looked just like him. The only differences are a scar on his face and an eye patch.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Ruri comes off as timid, but in truth he just can't bring himself to hurt other people. When he fights giant bugs, however, he turns into a swordsman of unrivaled skill.
- Cynicism Catalyst: For Yamasato it was his theory on time travel being mocked by the scientific community, causing him to resist trying all together.
- Deadly Upgrade: Since his body had adapted to the hyper-rich oxygen levels on his timeline, Iwatobi lost about half his strength after travelling back in time. This, combined with the surgery he underwent to burn more calories and improve his physical capabilities, means he gets tired very easily. Plan Z is an injection he brought from the future as a last resort which will restore his abilities for a short time (a little over five minutes). However, Plan Z puts a horrific strain on his heart, making it very possible for him to die after it runs out. Even if he survives, his body will be too taxed to move or fight afterwards.
- Despotism Justifies the Means: Ryukoden wants to horde a life-saving vaccine simply to increase demand for it, making himself a god amongst men for being the only one to have it.
- Dirty Coward: Miu survives by manipulating people with her good looks and sacrificing people left and right.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Ruri, to the point where when the group was captured, he was taken to the female chamber with Yui.
- Embarrassing Nickname: In an effort to sound cool, when Nano saved Yui he introduced himself as your friendly neighborhood dude with no job. From then, on she referred to him as Mr Jobless.
- Enemy Mine: After the Half-Human Hybrid Ryukoden started going on a rampage, his group started working with Yui’s so they would survive.
- Evil Is Petty: Ryukoden is disgusted at the thought of protecting anyone and merely desired power, so when he discovered the Wickermen he incited mass paranoia. Once everything calmed down, he used Nana as a hostage to escape before attempting to kill Yui because he despised her for her selfless nature.
- Expecting Someone Taller: When Iwatobi tells Nano that Yamasato could save the world, he's expecting a real badass instead of the pathetic grumbler he got. He goes so far as to ask if there is another Yamasato.
- Failure-to-Save Murder: Iwatobi felt this way about Yui, as since he arrived 30 years in the past instead of 32, he thought she was already dead.
- Formerly Fit: Kasumi gained a lot of weight in the three months since the apocalypse.
- Foreseeing My Death: Since Yui and Iori’s Combat Clairvoyance is a result of Akira going to the past, they dream of him killing their human hybrid form. Not knowing that it’s this, Iori thinks he’s this trope and attempts to kill Iwatobi before he can kill him.
- For the Evulz: Ryudoken’s plans have absolutely no foundation in reality and are merely done for his sick amusement.
- From a Single Cell: Acacia can do this.
- Gaining the Will to Kill: Ruri after Tara’s death.
- Gainax Ending: Iwatobi (the alternate older version of Akira from the far future) succeeded in travelling to the past and prevented the plant apocalypse from happening by destroying Ryukodens plant experiment and prevented the terminal ill Acacia from turning into a corrupt hybrid human. But just as he is being interrogated by yamasato of the past on why he destroyed the research and notes of Ryukodens plant experiment, Iwatobi is surprisingly rescued by another Akira and Yui from an alternate apocalyptic timeline which is different from the original one as they need his help in preventing another apocalypse in their timeline from happening and bring Yamasato with them because he is also involved in the apocalypse as well and whats surprising and weirder for this ending is that the Akira in the past has watched the news coverage of an incident committed by his future self in rescuing Iwatobi, it was hinted by many that there was going to be a sequel according to the last line of the series “But the adventure isn’t over yet” but it never came.
- Generic Doomsday Villain: Ryukoden. He sows discontent in Yui’s group because he hates the thought of helping people, and when a vaccine is discovered for the Wickerman virus, he attempts to horde it for himself in order to increase demand. He eventually used the medical pod the vaccine was in to become an imperfect Hybrid Human.
- Genre Savvy: Nano gives off hints that he suspects Iwatobi is a time traveler, such as referring to him as both his student and teacher and questioning how much he knows.
- Iwabo is skeptical when he hears that the plants were dying, as not once did it happen in his future. It causes him to wonder if the nightmare is about to end or if another one is just beginning.
- A God Am I: Ryukoden, after he became a Half-Human Hybrid, to the point where after his severed limbs become clones of him, he fuses with them since a god should be one being.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: The entire event of the series was started by Acacia’s father attempting to save his daughter's life from a fatal disease.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Ryukoden calls Yui out on this, stating that when she looks at people all she sees is their good side, making it easy for them to betray her.
- Good Is Not Nice: Nano is this, as one of the convicts finds out when he threatens to cut off one of his nostrils:Yamasato: Who’s the real bad guy?
- Green Thumb: Human hybrids can do this.
- Heroic BSoD: The memory of nearly killing Yui while he was a Wickerman prevents Akira from fighting, as it causes him to freeze up during critical moments.
- Heroic Suicide:
- Yui’s father did this after he was infected by his wife.
- Groucho knocking a Wickerman off a branch and going down with it.
- Tara has Ruri turn him into a human hybrid as a last request, then uses the last of his energy to protect them from the living plants.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: When Ryukoden fuses with the clones created from his severed limbs, he goes on a rampage because the three are too selfish to work together.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The Wickermen are this.
- In Medias Res: The second arc starts with Yui fighting off a Hybrid Human Akira, but then cuts back to before their encounter.
- Irony: Lampshaded. "Wickerman" comes from religious items used by the druids of ancient Gaul where they burned animals and people as offerings to the gods. Yui’s group burns the victims alive and the Wickermen attack them.
- It's All About Me: Ma-Kun.Ma-kun: It wont kill me. This world is a gift to me after all. Wicked liars are the ones who die.
- It's All My Fault: Yui blames herself for her parent’s death since she couldn’t control her ability.
- Laser-Guided Karma: While running away from a horde of human hybrids, Mui looks for people to trip so she can get away, only to end up tripping herself. Though this ultimately is averted as Rei saves her.
- Last Request: Tara’s is for Ruri to turn him into a Half-Human Hybrid.
- I Like Those Odds: When Nano is told that there are 20 convicts that took over Gokokuji Station, this is his reply.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Iori arrives just after Iwatobi explained why he and Yui are foreseeing him killing them.
- Logical Weakness: Yui and Iori’s Combat Clairvoyance works off of Iwatobi's memory, so if he has never fought something/one before, they cant read it.
- Making a Splash: The hiand hybrid pod is able to shoot a concentrated beam of water strong enough to destroy a building.
- Mental Time Travel:
- This is the second part of how Iwatobi was sent to the past.
- Later he and Akira do this to grant Akira a next tier power up, essentially inserting thirty years of skill and muscle memory into him.
- Must Not Die a Virgin: Hataro screams this after Mui pushes him out a window to save her life.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Akira has this after killing Ma-kun, aided by seeing Mui sacrifice Hataro and thinking they aren't so different.
- Never My Fault:
- Ryukoden leads a coup against Yui by revealing she was hiding information about the Death Pollen and the Wickermen. This causes massive paranoia with potential infectees being locked away and eventually burned alive. When confronted, Ryukoden shames the mob, claiming that since he never personally harmed those people he wasn’t at fault.
- The group itself, once they calm down, are quick to shift all the blame on him.
- Nice Guy: Despite liking Yui as well, Ruri backs off upon seeing that she is in love with Akira, going so far as to help heal his Wickerman disease and even helps him out of his Heroic BSoD that caused him to avoid her out of fear that he would hurt her.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While Akira successfully manages to kill two Hybrid Humans, which is not an easy task, the way he kills them—stuffing one into the mouth of the baby monster—causes it to rapidly expand into a massive sphere of flesh and plants that engulfs a massive radius around the battlefield. It's unclear yet if anybody besides Akira made it out, and we know that Akira only makes it out as a Hybrid Human.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Averted with Iwatobi. While he was perfectly intent to spend the rest of his life in jail, Yui and Akira don't think this is a fitting reward for saving the world and go back to break him out.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Yui’s group against the convicts. The convicts didn’t stand a chance.
- Not Afraidto Die: Iwatobi says he's lived with the fear of death for years and even met the reaper once, and even against two Hybrid Humans he doesn't show any fear and instead fights with more determination. Hell, he even stated in his mind that he will change things for the better even if it costs him his life.
- One-Winged Angel: The Hybrid Humans who can maintain a normal human form.
- Only Mostly Dead: The second Hybrid Human in the original and altered timeline. In the original she got half of her head cut, but regenerates and mocks the protagonist before giving him a permanent scar. In the altered timeline she was cut to pieces only to grow back her body from her heart, and starts to kill again before being killed off for real.
- Open-Minded Parent: Akira’s dad is shown to be this when Akira gets in trouble for beating up five girls who stole Yui’s hair piece and refuses to give it back. His father promises the principal that he will scold him, then tells him "good work" under his breath.
- Power Dyes Your Hair: Though he ended up surviving, Project Z ended up causing Iwatobi's hair to go white.
- Pro Human Trans Human: Iwatobi is a Hybrid Human who's repressed his plant side. He can use it as a Super Mode and activate it as an injection, but it may kill him.
- Redemption Equals Death: Averted. Mui prevents Rei from sacrificing herself to save her and ends up doing it for her herself. Luckily, Nano makes it in time to rescue her.
- Revenge Before Reason: Yui’s group were ready to run down Ryukoden and kill him for his coup, but yui stops them and reminds them that they have injured to take care of.
- Samaritan Syndrome: Otoguro is ashamed for being too much of a coward to go with Akira and the others. Even more so when the convicts take over as he is forced to help them. So when Yui's group comes, he sees it has his opportunity to redeem himself.Otoguro: I might not have the power to change anything. But I want to do what’s right for once in my life.
- Scars Are Forever: Iwatobi has a big scar on his forehead. Akira gets a similar one at the end of the first main arc.
- Second Love: Iwatobi returned to the past in hope of saving Rei, who was killed, having started a relationship with her after discovering Yui was killed and absorbed by a Hybrid Human.
- Second Place Is for Losers: Despite being ranked third in his class, Ma-kun’s mother repeatedly beat him for not being first.
- Self-Deprecation: Yamasato hates himself for getting used to giving up.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Iwatobi is Akira from the future, and the only survivor of the story's events. He went back in time to try and make it so that some more of his friends could at least survive to the point he did.
- Shout-Out; When Nano saves Yui he introduces himself as your friendly neighborhood dude with no job.
- Shown Their Work:
- The Time Travel used shows an understanding of how teleportation will likely end up working according to present-day scientists: It kills you by deconstructing every last molecule in your body, scanning the information, and sending it to another machine at the destination, which prints out the material and reconstructs it. It's basically killing the traveler and replacing them with a clone.
- Also, the bugs. They've grown huge due to the increased oxygen. That actually would work in real life (but not as fast, and probably not quite so large).
- Skewed Priorities: Instead of trying to grab a branch, Yui attempts to grab her hair pin as she is falling to her death.
- Sole Survivor: In the original timeline, Iwatobi/Akira was this. He goes back to help more people survive.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Akira seems to have a darker personality buried within himself that comes out and pushes him to survive, sometimes in unethical ways.
- Surpassed the Teacher: It's the happiest day in Tara’s life when Ruri does this. He even goes so far as to say he can now die happy as his skill would live on through Ruri.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: In the original timeline, Akira was unable to save Yui.
- The Power of Blood: After receiving the vaccine, Akira’s blood became full of antibodies, allowing him to use it to destroy Wickerman cells as well as weakened hybrid cells.
- Took a Level in Cynic: Ruri got over his inability to hurt others after Tara died, as he felt it was all his fault for being too weak to defend himself.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: One day a group of convicts came to Gokokuji Station and took it over. They installed forced breeding for the women and killed all the men they saw as useless.
- Would Hurt a Child: Ryukoden.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: After Iwatobi went back in time to stop the cause of the plants, he is labeled an environmental terrorist.
