Riddle Story of Devil

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"The world is full of forgiveness."

At the private girls' boarding school, Myōjō Academy, thirteen girls are transferred into the academy's "10th Year Class Black". Of these thirteen students, twelve are assassins from various backgrounds who are all tasked with assassinating the remaining student, a girl named Haru Ichinose. If they succeed, they will be granted any wish they desire, but if they fail, they are expelled from the class. However, one of the assassins, Tokaku Azuma, has sworn to protect Haru from the other assassins.

Akuma no Riddle (悪魔のリドル, lit. Devil's Riddle), also known as Riddle Story of Devil, is a Japanese manga series written by Yun Kōga and illustrated by Sunao Minakata, licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. An anime adaptation by Diomedéa aired in Japan between April and June 2014.

Tropes used in Riddle Story of Devil include:

• Assassin Outclassin'
• The Clan: There are two assassin clans which have existed since ancient times: the Kuzunoha Clan of the West and the Azuma Clan of the East. Tokaku is the heiress of the Azuma Clan, and Nio is the heiress to the Kuzunoha, who adopted her as a little girl. There is also Haru's unnamed clan, which was really more of a Man Behind the Man Ancient Conspiracy that was quite possibly older than both of them.
• Deadly Graduation: As revealed at the end of the series, Class Black is an elaborate Rite of Passage for Haru's clan, to determine if she had what it took to be a primer. The test itself did not necessarily involve killing her best friend, but she did have to survive to graduation, and that meant she couldn't just let Tokaku kill her either.
• Death Notification: Inverted. Each assassin gets 48 hours to kill Haru once they deliver their advanced notice, and if they fail to do so within the time allotted, they are immediately expelled from Class Black. It becomes a plot point that there are no rules pertaining to the exact nature of the notice except that it be delivered. Isuke uses that fact to her advantage by addressing her advanced notice as Banba's.
• Dwindling Party: The nature of the competition to assassinate Haru means that this was inevitable.
• Elaborate University High: Myōjō Academy.
• Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Well, Tokaku's mother and aunt probably don't count as evil (no more than any other character in this story, at any rate), but they were fully blooded assassins, and Karami didn't want her daughter to become a murderer like them. Mako, Tokaku's aunt, tried to fulfill her older sister's Last Request and protect Tokaku from that life, but her mother, Tokaku's grandmother and the head of the Azuma Clan, caught them and killed Mako.
• Hero Secret Service: Tokaku is single-handedly serving this role for Haru against eleven other trained assassins.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episode titles are riddles texted to Tokaku by her teacher, Kaiba.
• In Love with the Mark: Played With. The basic premise of the story is Tokaku rejecting her mission and protecting the intended target from eleven other assassins, and there is certainly plenty of chemistry between her and Haru. However, Akuma no Riddle also deconstructs the sort of personalities and circumstances that would result in a Professional Killer not only sparing her target but also actively seeking to protect them from harm.
• Knife Fight: Between Tokaku and Isuke, both in the Opening Theme and when she makes her attempt on Haru's life.
• Pun-Based Title: The Japanese title is a pun on the Devil's Trill Sonata by Giuseppe Tartini.
• Twenty Minutes Into the Future: There are touchscreens everywhere. Even in the shower!