World Embryo

World Embryo is a manga by the creator of Chrono Crusade, Moriyama Daisuke.

Riku Amami, your average Ordinary High School Student, receives a call from his long-lost aunt and stepmother's younger sister, Amane. She asks him to meet her in the hospital he was hospitalized at several years ago. When arriving there, he hears a woman scream. Thinking it is Amane, he instead finds a gang of criminal youths who are attempting to rape a girl. Meanwhile, his entrance into the hospital has been spotted by two other young people, Rena and Yohei. They save Riku from the criminal youth gang, who run off. Yohei is revealed to be one of Riku's old friends from the period he was hospitalized.

Suddenly, all mobile phones in the building ring. Riku tries to answer his, but is stopped by Rena and Yohei. The youth gang, whose leader was just phoning for reinforcements on his mobile phone, do move to answer their phones. Just then, their leader's eyes split vertically, the eye halves turning away from each other, while his body is shaking. The other gang members notice this and ask what is wrong.

Cue next scene where a horrible monster with the gang leader's transformed face shows up behind the window behind Riku. Holding the shredded corpse of another gang member. Rena and Yohei see this, and Riku turns around. Seeing the horrible creature, Riku screams in horror and flees, still holding his mobile phone. Yohei tells Rena to deal with the monster, called Kanshuu, and goes to look for Riku. He finds him, but they are attacked by more Kanshuus. Riku flees again as Yohei defends him. Elsewhere in the building, Riku is attacked by another Kanshuu and then finds a mysterious cocoon, which once Riku touches it promptly kills the Kanshuu. The next day Riku wakes up in his bed and wonders if it all was a dream. Then he spots the cocoon sitting next to his bed...

Later that day at school, Riku remembers what happened at the old hospital. Remembering the monsters, and thinking of the cocoon, he realizes it too could contain a monster. He goes home, only to find his step-mother cowering on the table holding a frying pan, because some horrible creature is wandering around. After some hijinks involving his step-mother and the cocoon, he touches it again, and something emerges from the cocoon. Not a monster, but a little girl closely resembling Amane when she was only a kid...

After that, he enters a world beyond the scope of memories, filled with sorrow and heartwarming moments, all leading up to the Embryo.

A character sheet is in the works.


 * Accidental Pervert: Riku almost ends up one after he walks over Yui.
 * A Man Is Not a Virgin: Averted, Riku is very much one.
 * Lampshaded with Neene, who calls him . Which leads to some...misunderstandings...
 * Lampshade repeated later with . Which makes it even more hilarious.
 * Action Girl: Rena.
 * An Aesop: "The lies you tell end up hurting someone. And someday, they will come back to you."
 * Applied Phlebotinum: Jinki.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
 * The Atoner / Must Make Amends:  It's basically a theme at this point.
 * Author Appeal: In some of the omakes of the Chrono Crusade manga, Daisuke Moriyama showcases some of his Otaku obsessions: girls in School Swimsuit, sports wear and school uniforms, Maids, nurse uniforms, etc. Guess what shows up a lot in World Embryo?.
 * Little Miss Badass: Clara.
 * Badass Longcoat: Rena.
 * Badass Normal: Takao.
 * Barbie Doll Anatomy: Gladly averted.
 * Beach Episode: A rare example where it actually advances the plot.
 * Becoming the Mask: Whether this happened/happens or not is a major plot point.
 * Beleaguered Childhood Friend: Inverted with Riku and Yohei.
 * Berserk Button: Do not insult Riku's family in front of him.
 * Takao was the very picture of The Stoic; he fights and murders without the slightest change in expression. However, once Youhei asked him for a spare Jinki core to save Riku, he completely loses it.
 * Bifurcated Weapon:
 * Big Bad:
 * Big Brother Attraction:  Deranged and creepy version, considering Riku's behaviour
 * Bilingual Bonus: In Japanese, Cage is written as Keiji. The characters used to write keiji have to do with the sphere of consciousness that resonates within a person.
 * Body Horror: Transforming into a Kanshuu. Except
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Nagase does this after catching Rena with his Jinki as she fell off a building. She is then  and he makes a comment that it is not a very flattering position to be shown in in a manga.
 * After a 9-chapter flashback, one character complains, "Feels like you've been telling that story for at least 9 months."
 * Bridge Bunnies: The NEFT's three female operators. Except that their captain is female.
 * Brother-Sister Incest:
 * Caught with Your Pants Down: Twice in the first volume:
 * The gang wanting to, near the start of the volume, by Riku.
 * Forced on Riku just a moment later, by the same gang. Appears to be initially averted,
 * Chainsaw Good: Riku's Jinki is a sword combined with one. It can move on its own, too.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Riku is in the Kendo club. Guess what his Jinki is.
 * Class Representative: Rena and Riku. Justified in-story by Rena, so they could talk to each other without raising suspicions. Used for plot by Riku.
 * Consummate Liar: Riku Amami is an expert at this, though it backfires on him at several points in the story.
 * Covert Pervert: Several:
 * Shizuru, with Riku as her victim:
 * Seriously starting with Riku and Neene's shower scene, when she first suggests Riku might be a Lolicon, and then continues when Riku throws water over Neene's head, prompting Shizuru to burst into the bathroom, suggesting she has been listening at the door the whole time.
 * Ms. Suzu, Hayato's maid. She blushes when talking about Hayato's bath, and has some other little slips when take care of him.
 * Nanami. In Spades.
 * Daddy's Girl: Neene. Played for laughs. Later also Mommy's Girl with Rena.
 * Deader Than Dead:
 * The poor Jinki User who got shredded in Chapter 69, and everyone else that meets the black beast..
 * Dead Little Sister: Lots:
 * Amane to Riku.
 * to Rena.
 * Yohei's teacher and a currently unspecified second person to Yohei.
 * to Sawako and Kurasawa.
 * to Nanami
 * to Riku.
 * Defensive Feint Trap: Subverted with Riku in the first volume. Of course it fails and he gets his ass kicked. Double subverted when Yohei and Rena show up.
 * The Ditz: Shizuru, at times. Especially the  episode. One has to wonder how she survives at work.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Arisugawa's character development. Bonus points because her nickname is actually Ice. (Arisu-->Aisu-->Ice)
 * Draco in Leather Pants: In-universe example: Takao. He reportedly killed seven people on a train to try out his new sword and killed fifty of his schoolmates during his graduation ceremony... and he's extremely popular among the netizens and the teenagers.
 * Enemy Mine: Takao and  are working together against the new threat. Which is
 * Face Palm: By Riku, in reaction to Shizuru. Repeatedly.
 * Facial Markings: Jinki users get them when theirs is activated.
 * Fan Service: Various:
 * shower scenes (male and female).
 * revealing clothing on female characters.
 * changing room scenes.
 * no pants for Rena after her Shower Scene and naked Transformation Sequence. Naughty bits covered by leg.
 * Modesty Towel for Yui.
 * Five-Man Band: F.L.A.G.
 * The Hero: Riku
 * The Lancer: Rena
 * The Big Guy: Joe
 * The Smart Guy: Hayato
 * The Chick: Clara
 * Foregone Victory: Rena and Riku's fight end up with one of these for Rena. She doesn't like it, because Riku let her win.
 * Foreshadowing: Whenever Neene has dreams of her ascending some stairs, pulls her back. Similarly, when Ende tries to deny Neene's access to the embryo,  appears, and Ende is visibly shocked. Cue chapter 72, with the revelation that.
 * Full-Name Basis: Rena to Riku early on.
 * The Glasses Come Off: Riku and Rena. In Rena case, her glasses are art of her "disguise".
 * In Riku's case,
 * Freak-Out: Being betrayed by is the last straw of  mind; he decided then that all Humans Are Bastards
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: Takao and  do this.
 * Hair Colors: Riku's hair is white with violet streaks when his Jinki is activated, while it is black normally.
 * Handicapped Badass: Hayato.
 * He Is Not My Boyfriend:
 * Rena blushes and panicks when Ms. Suzu notices Rena is holding Riku's hand in Volume 3 and say they appear to be good friends.
 * Riku and Rena at school or with school friends. Repeatedly. Made worse by Neene.
 * Hero-Killer: Takao easily dispatches Jinki users without breaking a sweat.
 * Heroic BSOD: multiples:
 * Rena has one when she
 * Followed by one of Riku himself, in a train station, caused by
 * Riku when he realizes
 * Rena when  bring it up again in chapter 73.
 * Riku when it is revealed that
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Yohei.
 * sacrifices herself to stop rampaging . Made more poignant with her calling a liar, while
 * Time will tell if he'll go through with it, but.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: Most of NEFT Jinki users, also
 * Hollywood Hacking: Averted when Hayato hacks into the NEFT's network. It takes time and the data download is not completed.
 * Hot Shounen Mom: Shizuru. Even if she's only Riku's
 * The Hunter: Takao, who hunts Jinki users.
 * "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Youhei and Riku.
 * Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Youhei, who . Also Riku. Multiple times.
 * Impossibly Cool Weapon: Riku. It's a sword which would put Ichigo to shame... WITH A CHAINSAW!
 * Then it combined with Jinki core, turned into sword and tonfa combination.
 * This.
 * Clara's weapon is a gokart/helicopter flail.
 * It's All My Fault: Riku never says it aloud, but he realizes that almost every bad thing that happened to his loved ones is his fault and goes into a Heroic BSOD.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Guess what Takao's main weapon is?
 * Kill the Cutie:
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Make a guess. Hint:
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: The "Lost Rebound".
 * Likes Older Women: Riku has been accused of this...and considering that Amane was older than him and his interest in Nanami, they may have a point.
 * Lone Wolf: As Youhei said, Riku has a tendency to act alone and not rely on his friends. It's both his strength and his weakness, and eventually his loner tendencies bites him in the ass.
 * Love Makes You Evil:  only wanted to   He ends up killing countless civilians, turning people into Kanshu, and inducing Lost Rebound in their relatives to do it.
 * Meido: Ms. Suzu.
 * Mega Corp: The NEFT.
 * Meganekko: Rena. Only in school uniform.
 * Murder Is the Best Solution: Takao embodies this.
 * Mysterious Waif: Neene.
 * Naughty Tentacles: Nanami's Jinki, of all things.
 * Nakama: Quite a recurrent theme among the F.L.A.G. members, especially Joe. Riku doesn't really buy it.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Several times.
 * Yui, I've come to help you....
 * Yeah, that bastard Kurasawa finally killed....
 * Practically the whole story up until chapter 64 is an entire string of Riku doing this.
 * Nosebleed: Riku has one when Neene sounds 'so like an adult'.
 * Not So Different: Riku finally realizes that he and was like this. It gives him Heroic BSOD... until he saw Rena.
 * The Masquerade: What NEFT is doing. But considering that the alternative is reminding people of the Kanshu victims and inducing Lost Rebound everywhere, it's a logical option.
 * The Obi-Wan: Yohei.
 * Obliviously Evil:
 * Only Mostly Dead:
 * Panty Shot: Rena. Yui.
 * Passing the Torch: How Riku got his Jinki from Youhei, and how Youhei got his.
 * Pettanko: Rena, lampshaded mercilessly.
 * Poor Communication Kills: If everybody just can sit and talk a little for a moment, some deaths and tragedy can be avoided.
 * Riku, lying around your nakama didn't help.
 * Sawako, acting distrustful toward a Person of Mass Destruction is generally a bad idea.
 * She got a point, though, last time she listen for infected people (her fiancee)
 * Takao, why'd you just keep hunting Jinki Users indefinitely, instead of talking with them?!
 * Justified: The Jinki was born of he has to gather every last Jinki nucleus in the world. Jinki Users turn into Kanshuu should they lose their nucleus. Make of that what you will.
 * Precision F-Strike: Made even stronger, considering who Riku was talking to. See World of Cardboard Speech below.
 * Razor Wind: Youhei's Jinki is this crossed with Wave Motion Sword.
 * Redemption Equals Death: Strangely, . His last action  is asking  to stop  from wreaking havoc. He also shows  his memories in meta world with, not to justify himself but
 * Refusal of the Call: In actuality, there are many more Jinki users than the ones at NEFT; it's just that they chose to remain indifferent to the Kanshu.
 * The risk of being hunted down by Takao may also be the reason.
 * Reliable Traitor: Played with. Riku's quite reliable... but he also can be treacherous.
 * Make him borderline The Starscream.
 * Replacement Goldfish: . Born by imprinting a dead person onto a cocoon,
 * Riku and Nanami for their respective Older sister and Younger brother.
 * Ret-Gone: Kanshuu. Played for all is worth
 * Sacrificial Lion: Arguably  While he dies early in the plot, his character was shaping up to be a permanent mentor to Riku.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Riku goes to new levels in Chapter 71, when
 * Ship Sinking:
 * Shout-Out: The cage (shield) looks just like an AT field from Neon Genesis Evangelion when it deflects a hit.
 * Later on, Neene is watching the anime version of Daisuke Moriyama's previous manga Chrno Crusade on TV.
 * Some of the Kanshuu shown in the background of  ressemble Ultraman characters.
 * Takao's style seems based on Dante.
 * Shower Scene: Riku and Neene, which also lampshades the traditional Japanese bathing scene involving . Rena (includes naked Transformation Sequence).
 * Shrinking Violet: Kind of subverted, since
 * Smug Snake: NEFT's Chairwoman Sawako Tokiji.
 * Snowball Lie: What Riku is good at. Played straight, deconstructed, reconstructed, etc.
 * Sprouting Ears: Neene does this at crucial moments. Normally they are also present, but closed.
 * Start of Darkness: The Hatsumi Island arc.
 * Stern Teacher: Rena to Riku.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: The NEFT HQ meets this fate.
 * Subordinate Excuse: Inverted with Rena and Riku.  Sometimes bordering on Bodyguard Crush.
 * Super-Powered Evil Side:
 * Super Senses: The cage essentially provides additional sight outside the Jinki user or Kanshuu's body.
 * Take My Hand: "There had been 3 people who grabbed my hand... but she  was the first one whose hand I grabbed."
 * The Dreaded:
 * Token Mini-Moe: Clara is one for F.L.A.G. Neene counts at first, but she rapidly grows out of this status.
 * To the Pain: Riku's tactics for getting information.
 * Trauma Conga Line: Poor Riku.  Poor kid just can't catch a break.
 * Tsundere: Guess who.
 * . Although she's more of a Kuudere or possibly a Defrosting Ice Queen.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: Two people whose names start with 'R'. Hilariously lampshaded with one of them.
 * Unstoppable Rage: Takao, after Yohei asked him the wrong thing.
 * Also Riku has his moment in Chapter 52.
 * Unusually Uninteresting Sight:  Probably working as intended, however, as it has since been revealed that Neene can
 * Was It All a Lie?: Riku questions this after it is revealed that
 * Wham! Line: Chapter 67, starting up another mystery
 * Tsundere: Guess who.
 * . Although she's more of a Kuudere or possibly a Defrosting Ice Queen.
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension: Two people whose names start with 'R'. Hilariously lampshaded with one of them.
 * Unstoppable Rage: Takao, after Yohei asked him the wrong thing.
 * Also Riku has his moment in Chapter 52.
 * Unusually Uninteresting Sight:  Probably working as intended, however, as it has since been revealed that Neene can
 * Was It All a Lie?: Riku questions this after it is revealed that
 * Wham! Line: Chapter 67, starting up another mystery


 * Chapter 71, after Riku finds


 * Chapter 73 brings again this world-shaking lines:


 * What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: NEFT's longest day.
 * What Measure Is a Mook?: Invoked. The chief gives Riku a lecture on how the non-Jinki users also have names and faces, and asks him to remember their sacrifices.
 * World of Cardboard Speech: In chapter 74. And it was awesome.


 * Yandere: A rare male example: Riku, concerning Amane.