Since time immemorial, the inner demons of humans have lurked within the depths of human minds. With the corruptive power of an Akuma Seed bestowed by the demonic Rakshasa, these inner demons are brought out, turning a human into an Akuma. Humans have lived in fear against the Akuma in the shadows and fought against them with their best efforts, but only the Kaijin, humans who have confronted their inner demon and have tamed it for their own use, can truly match them.
The year is 2023, and the new year at Our Lady of Hermelin High School has begun. Situated in the newly built Mishima Economic District, the school is world-class, with transfer students and wealthy students bumping shoulders with locals from the Mishima District, moving into the area to pursue the opportunities of a new world, whether it is in the large entertainment district, the many services offered in Mishima District, or the business district trading with countries around the world. Under that glitzy exterior, however, is a dark secret; Akuma attacks have increased in frequency, and only the rumours of heroic Kaijin in the shadows keep them back from the people of Mishima. There are further rumours of the beings called Rakshasa appearing, turning humans into Akuma to sow chaos upon Japan, and beings called Kaijin, benevolent Akuma that can fight back, but surely such rumours are ridiculous, correct?
Seven students from Hermelin will be bound together by destiny, drawn into the fight against the Akuma, and with the strength of their bonds, maybe even expose the truth and attain justice for all."
— Opening narration in the OOC thread.
Fire Emblem on Forums: Demon Soul Saga
is one of the many installments in the series of Fire Emblem on Forums roleplays on the Bay 12 Forums. Inspired by Kamen Rider Revice, Persona and Digital Devil Saga, Demon Soul Saga portrays an entirely different setting from the average Fire Emblem roleplay. Set in the fictional city of the Mishima Economic District somewhere in Japan, Demon Soul Saga revolves around the lives of Akihiko Kasuga and seven other students in Our Lady of Hermelin High School. After a fateful encounter with Akuma, the protagonists become Kaijin, superpowered monsters capable of taking the fight to the demonic Akuma, monsters born of negative emotions, and work together to defeat the Akuma as they begin to pop up all over the school. All while balancing this and high school life.
Easier said than done.
The IC thread can be found here and the OOC thread here.
Tropes applicable to Demon Soul Saga:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: Demon Soul Saga takes place in 2023.
- Beat the Curse Out of Him: The most expedient way to restore an Akuma-possessed victim and remove the Seed from them to turn them human again.
- By the Power of Grayskull!: How an Inner Demon's power is invoked to transform into a Kaijin; calling their name and transforming.
- Cast of Expies: Demon Soul Saga's cast is chock-full of expies from anime and video games set in high school. Kanna and Otoya are walking references to Kaori and Kousei, Kanade is a reference to Mai from Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, and so forth.
- City of Adventure: The Mishima Economic District, the main setting for the game, and a district based around the revitalization of an old fishing town called Kaname-cho.
- Deal with the Devil: The core of the game and how one becomes a Kaijin or an Akuma; one must make a deal with the Inner Demon for power, usually to fulfil a deeply held wish or desire.
- Emotion Eater: Inner Demons feed upon negative emotion to awaken when combined with an Akuma Seed.
- Enemy Within: The Inner Demon, an entity that lives in everyone and is awakened by negative emotion and an Akuma Seed. When sufficiently fed, the Inner Demon tries to make a Deal with the Devil with their host.
- Superpowered Evil Side: If the Inner Demon's awakening overcomes the host, they become an Akuma, a rampaging demon who must be stopped by a Kaijin. However....
- Phlebotinum Rebel: Conversely, if the Inner Demon is overcome by their host, they become a superpowered Kaijin, who can transform at will and use their Inner Demon's power to fight.
- Genre Shift: A Fire Emblem on Forums game set in a modern-day Japanese high school owing more to Tokusatsu and Urban Fantasy than it does to the medieval fantasy genre Fire Emblem usually falls under.
- High School: The setting of the game is Our Lady Hermelin of High School. Some characters hail from their rival school, Amamiya High School.
- Homage: To Kamen Rider Revice, Persona and Digital Devil Saga, the latter of which inspired the game's name.
- Japanese School Club: The Helper's Club and student council feature heavily in the narrative, with most of the protagonists being affiliated with the former and Masaru being the secretary for the latter. Akihiko was also a former member of the school newspaper before his fight with Eisuke.
- Henshin Hero: Any benevolent Kaijin by default; while they are significantly tougher than a normal human while untransformed, their supernatural abilities are mostly tied to their Kaijin form and they must transform to access them.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The titles of the chapters are puns on certain readings of the focus character's family name.
- Bright Moonfall: Saya Akitsuki (fallen moon).
- Lonely White Fields / Sorrow in the Temple Garden: Riku Tadano (rice field) and Otoya Miyazono (temple garden) respectively.
- MegaCorp: The Mishima Corporation; the Mishima Economic District is their attempt to revitalize the region of Kaname-cho. The heiress to the president, Kanade, is a major character in the game's storyline.
- Mook: Onibi, mostly mindless monsters created by Akuma that attack anything that isn't their originating Akuma.
- Mook Maker: All Akuma are this, as they create Onibi simply by existing and create Onibi to replenish losses.
- No Ontological Inertia: Justified with Domains and Onibi; these are both constructs created by the residing Akuma. When this Akuma is transformed back into a human, however, the force that maintains the Domains and Onibi disappears, punting anyone still within it back into the real world.
- Nouveau Riche: The Mishimas, whose corporation has revitalised Kaname-cho and turned into the Mishima Economic District.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted with Yui Aiuchi and Yui Majima. However, this is less of an issue, given that the former is one of the main character Kaijin, and the latter is the comatose girlfriend of a different character.
- Our Demons Are Different: Inner Demons are part of one's psyche, which slumber until one is awoken by an Akuma Seed. These Inner Demons then attempt to wrest control from their host in a Deal with the Devil, which can result in either a hostile and insane Akuma or a Kaijin, which can transform freely between demonic and human forms and remain in full control of themselves. The latter two are also referred to as demons from time to time. Kaijin and Akuma are also generally immune to mundane methods of harm, being Immune to Bullets and non-supernatural weaponry.
- Pocket Dimension: Domains, manifested, well, domains created by Akuma.
- Reality Warper: The Akuma; they generate their own Pocket Dimension, called Domains, upon creation, which they control and populate with Onibi, manifestations of their emotions.
- Shout-Out: The setting is chock-full of these:
- Our Lady of Hermelin and Amamiya High School are references to Persona and Persona 5. The grocery chain July is a reference to Junes from Persona 4 while the coastal setting of the District draws parallels to Port Island from Persona 3.
- Akihiko and Mildred are walking references to Judgment and Yakuza 0 respectively.
- The item lists are a mixture of references to Like a Dragon and Persona. The Cat's Okayu is a Fruits Basket reference (specifically the Sick Episode and Kyo's okayu), while the Green Mask and Red Muffler are references to the opening from the original Kamen Rider, fitting for the Tokusatsu roots of Demon Soul Saga.
- The Kamen Rider influence is heavy on the game, with Akihiko outright using "Henshin" as his transformation phrase and his Kaijin form resembling Hibiki. The Kaijin in general have some very Rider-like designs.
- Show Within a Show: Tomorrow With You, a drama featuring Kanade as the main lead role. The series is about the protagonist falling in love with a man who subsequently dies in a tragic accident, before she travels back in time a year before to save him. It was apparently well-received enough to have Kanade receive nominations and critical acclaim.
- Urban Fantasy: The game is set in a fictional city in 2023 Japan where superpowered Kaijin fight demonic Akuma in the shadows.
- Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: The basic premise of the game; the Hermelin students become Kaijin to save people from the Akuma.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: Domains; the protagonists spend a while trying to defeat Saya in her Domain, but when they exit, barely a minute has passed.
