King of Thorn: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Kasumi develops a crush on Marco. The rest of the group takes notice of this, but since Marco is so hard to read it's tough to tell what he thinks of her for most of the story.
* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Kasumi develops a crush on Marco. The rest of the group takes notice of this, but since Marco is so hard to read it's tough to tell what he thinks of her for most of the story.
** Ron even discusses this with Kasumi in Chapter 27:
** Ron even discusses this with Kasumi in Chapter 27:
{{quote| '''Ron''': "[[What Does She See in Him|I don't know what you women see in that type of guy]]. Tell me. These types of guys only cause women headaches."<br />
{{quote| '''Ron''': "[[What Does She See in Him?|I don't know what you women see in that type of guy]]. Tell me. These types of guys only cause women headaches."<br />
'''Kasumi''': "He already has. And despite that, I am still... }}
'''Kasumi''': "He already has. And despite that, I am still... }}
* [[All There in the Manual]]: The [http://www.kingofthorn.net/ Japanese website] for [[The Movie]] provides full names, ages, occupations and nationalities for most of the characters, and even gives names to some of the monsters. Then again, many details were changed in the adaptation, so [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on whether or not this information is canon.
* [[All There in the Manual]]: The [http://www.kingofthorn.net/ Japanese website] for [[The Movie]] provides full names, ages, occupations and nationalities for most of the characters, and even gives names to some of the monsters. Then again, many details were changed in the adaptation, so [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on whether or not this information is canon.
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* [[And I Must Scream]]
* [[And I Must Scream]]
* [[Angsty Surviving Twin]]: Kasumi. {{spoiler|It's a bit more complicated than that, though.}}
* [[Angsty Surviving Twin]]: Kasumi. {{spoiler|It's a bit more complicated than that, though.}}
* [[Anti Hero]]: Kasumi is a [[Classical Antihero]], while Marco is mostly a [[Byronic Hero]].
* [[Anti-Hero]]: Kasumi is a [[Classical Antihero]], while Marco is mostly a [[Byronic Hero]].
* [[Artistic License Biology]]: "Well... I think it probably evolved from some animal, or [[Department of Redundancy Department|maybe suddenly mutated."]]
* [[Artistic License Biology]]: "Well... I think it probably evolved from some animal, or [[Department of Redundancy Department|maybe suddenly mutated."]]
** Possibly justified, as "evolved" implies "mutated over a long period of time", as opposed to "suddenly mutated".
** Possibly justified, as "evolved" implies "mutated over a long period of time", as opposed to "suddenly mutated".
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* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: Averted. He survives all the way to the end of the story!
* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: Averted. He survives all the way to the end of the story!
** Played more straight in the movie. {{spoiler|He’s the third member of the group to die.}}
** Played more straight in the movie. {{spoiler|He’s the third member of the group to die.}}
* [[Bland Name Product]]: There's a 'Mindows' operating system, and 'Bell' computers.
* [[Bland-Name Product]]: There's a 'Mindows' operating system, and 'Bell' computers.
* [[Body Horror]]: Copious examples. Infection by Medusa causes the body to slowly [[Taken for Granite|petrify]] and eventually shatter. If you're lucky, you might instead get a very nasty [[Lovecraftian Superpower]]. And then there's Alice, {{spoiler|who has been reduced to a head, heart, one lung, and one arm, and kept alive inside a life support chamber for ''[[And I Must Scream|eight years]]''}}.
* [[Body Horror]]: Copious examples. Infection by Medusa causes the body to slowly [[Taken for Granite|petrify]] and eventually shatter. If you're lucky, you might instead get a very nasty [[Lovecraftian Superpower]]. And then there's Alice, {{spoiler|who has been reduced to a head, heart, one lung, and one arm, and kept alive inside a life support chamber for ''[[And I Must Scream|eight years]]''}}.
* [[Bond Villain Stupidity]]: Played with. {{spoiler|Zeus}} is [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] enough to know that letting his archenemy live after he's discovered his master plan is a bad idea, and after some [[Evil Gloating]], disposes of him rather quickly. Not only does he have one of his minions beat {{spoiler|Marco}} to a pulp and then stab him, he has him dropped from a ledge. However, {{spoiler|Zeus}} fails to consider the possibility of {{spoiler|Marco ''coming back to life.'' And then, he makes the ''very'' stupid mistake of letting Marco ''hack into his data'' and erase him from existence.}}
* [[Bond Villain Stupidity]]: Played with. {{spoiler|Zeus}} is [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] enough to know that letting his archenemy live after he's discovered his master plan is a bad idea, and after some [[Evil Gloating]], disposes of him rather quickly. Not only does he have one of his minions beat {{spoiler|Marco}} to a pulp and then stab him, he has him dropped from a ledge. However, {{spoiler|Zeus}} fails to consider the possibility of {{spoiler|Marco ''coming back to life.'' And then, he makes the ''very'' stupid mistake of letting Marco ''hack into his data'' and erase him from existence.}}
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* [[Compressed Adaptation]]: The film adaptation, at only 109 minutes, adapts all 6 volumes. While it does follow the same basic story, there are several changes throughout.
* [[Compressed Adaptation]]: The film adaptation, at only 109 minutes, adapts all 6 volumes. While it does follow the same basic story, there are several changes throughout.
* [[Conspicuous CG]]: The film adaptation's creatures are primarily made of CGI. The characters are also CGI'd when fighting these creatures. Some creatures are better animated than others, but the characters look pretty bad. It's forgivable for the first half hour but it eventually gets in the way of the drawn animation as the film drags on.
* [[Conspicuous CG]]: The film adaptation's creatures are primarily made of CGI. The characters are also CGI'd when fighting these creatures. Some creatures are better animated than others, but the characters look pretty bad. It's forgivable for the first half hour but it eventually gets in the way of the drawn animation as the film drags on.
* [[Cowardly Lion]]: Kasumi. She believes she is [[Heroic Self Deprecation|weak and useless]], having depended on her braver twin Shizuku for most of her life. Later she depends on Marco for protection and often needs him to rescue her. However, she's still able to put her fears aside long enough to save someone else's life. She even saves ''Marco'' a few times, and earns his respect for it.
* [[Cowardly Lion]]: Kasumi. She believes she is [[Heroic Self-Deprecation|weak and useless]], having depended on her braver twin Shizuku for most of her life. Later she depends on Marco for protection and often needs him to rescue her. However, she's still able to put her fears aside long enough to save someone else's life. She even saves ''Marco'' a few times, and earns his respect for it.
* [[Cult]]: The [[Human Popsicle|Cold Sleep]] project was sponsored by a cult called Venus Gate. They planned to harness the power of [[The Virus|Medusa]] to remake the world, only to discover too late that [[Evil Is Not a Toy]].
* [[Cult]]: The [[Human Popsicle|Cold Sleep]] project was sponsored by a cult called Venus Gate. They planned to harness the power of [[The Virus|Medusa]] to remake the world, only to discover too late that [[Evil Is Not a Toy]].
* [[Dark Skinned Redhead]]: Ron, the [[Black Dude Dies First|Black guy who didn't die first]], {{spoiler|gets pink hair as a consequence of transformation sequence being interrupted}}.
* [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]]: Ron, the [[Black Dude Dies First|Black guy who didn't die first]], {{spoiler|gets pink hair as a consequence of transformation sequence being interrupted}}.
* [[Dead All Along]]: {{spoiler|Kasumi}} died before the manga began. The one who appears in the story is a [[Replacement Goldfish]] who was created using a [[Lovecraftian Superpower]], and doesn't realize it until [[The Reveal]] in the final volume.
* [[Dead All Along]]: {{spoiler|Kasumi}} died before the manga began. The one who appears in the story is a [[Replacement Goldfish]] who was created using a [[Lovecraftian Superpower]], and doesn't realize it until [[The Reveal]] in the final volume.
* [[Dead Little Sister]]: Marco's motivation in the movie.
* [[Dead Little Sister]]: Marco's motivation in the movie.
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* [[Death By Adaptation]]: {{spoiler|Ron, Marco, and harpy!Katherine}} survive in the manga, but not the movie.
* [[Death By Adaptation]]: {{spoiler|Ron, Marco, and harpy!Katherine}} survive in the manga, but not the movie.
** Also, Kasumi and Shizuku's parents. They were shown alive in the manga and were there with Shizuku to drop Kasumi off at the castle. In the movie they died from Medusa, leaving the girls living together as orphans.
** Also, Kasumi and Shizuku's parents. They were shown alive in the manga and were there with Shizuku to drop Kasumi off at the castle. In the movie they died from Medusa, leaving the girls living together as orphans.
* [[Deaths Hourglass]]: The bracelets on the survivors’ wrists. When the bar on them turns completely black, they are in the final stage of Medusa Virus and will petrify very soon.
* [[Death's Hourglass]]: The bracelets on the survivors’ wrists. When the bar on them turns completely black, they are in the final stage of Medusa Virus and will petrify very soon.
* [[Demoted to Extra]] / [[Deleted Role]]: Zeus is conspicuously absent from the movie.
* [[Demoted to Extra]] / [[Deleted Role]]: Zeus is conspicuously absent from the movie.
* [[Doomed Defeatist]]: Ron decides to split from the rest of the survivors because he figures that it's no use going on now that they've seen the condition the rest of the world is in. {{spoiler|He later changes his mind and, surprisingly, lives to tell the tale.}}
* [[Doomed Defeatist]]: Ron decides to split from the rest of the survivors because he figures that it's no use going on now that they've seen the condition the rest of the world is in. {{spoiler|He later changes his mind and, surprisingly, lives to tell the tale.}}
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* [[Eat Me]]: Marco and Kasumi have to let the mother monster swallow them to stop Zeus and save Shizuku.
* [[Eat Me]]: Marco and Kasumi have to let the mother monster swallow them to stop Zeus and save Shizuku.
* [[Enemy Without]]: Alice, who (as a result of abuse from her family) [[Split Personality|developed an alternate personality called Laloo]] to take the abuse for her. When Alice became infected with Medusa, it manifested from her back in the form of Laloo. How did Alice respond? {{spoiler|By locking him in a room and ''[[Kill It With Fire|burning the house down]]''}}.
* [[Enemy Without]]: Alice, who (as a result of abuse from her family) [[Split Personality|developed an alternate personality called Laloo]] to take the abuse for her. When Alice became infected with Medusa, it manifested from her back in the form of Laloo. How did Alice respond? {{spoiler|By locking him in a room and ''[[Kill It With Fire|burning the house down]]''}}.
* [[Everythings Squishier With Cephalopods]]
* [[Everything's Squishier With Cephalopods]]
* [[Evilutionary Biologist]]: Zeus.
* [[Evilutionary Biologist]]: Zeus.
* [[Fairy Tale Motifs]]: [[The Movie]] likes to reference ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'' whenever possible. See [[Rule of Symbolism]].
* [[Fairy Tale Motifs]]: [[The Movie]] likes to reference ''[[Sleeping Beauty]]'' whenever possible. See [[Rule of Symbolism]].
* [[Fertile Feet]]: In a dark version of the trope, the ubiquitous thorny vines follow Kasumi, growing wherever she goes.
* [[Fertile Feet]]: In a dark version of the trope, the ubiquitous thorny vines follow Kasumi, growing wherever she goes.
* [[Final Girl]]: {{spoiler|Kasumi and [[Infant Immortality|Tim]]}}are the only survivors left at the end of the movie.
* [[Final Girl]]: {{spoiler|Kasumi and [[Infant Immortality|Tim]]}}are the only survivors left at the end of the movie.
* [[Fire Forged Friends]]: Everyone who survives really, ''really'' wouldn't have even been aware of each other's world had it not been for [[The End of the World As We Know It]].
* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: Everyone who survives really, ''really'' wouldn't have even been aware of each other's world had it not been for [[The End of the World As We Know It]].
* [[Five Man Band]]:
* [[Five-Man Band]]:
** [[The Hero]]: Marco
** [[The Hero]]: Marco
** [[The Chick]] / [[The Heart]]: Kasumi
** [[The Chick]] / [[The Heart]]: Kasumi
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* [[Go Out With a Smile]]: In [[The Movie]]. See [[Death By Adaptation]].
* [[Go Out With a Smile]]: In [[The Movie]]. See [[Death By Adaptation]].
* [[Grumpy Old Man]]: Alessandro.
* [[Grumpy Old Man]]: Alessandro.
* [[Half Human Hybrid]]: {{spoiler|Tim}} is half-absorbed by the Medusa. He takes it [[Angst What Angst|really, really well]].
* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]: {{spoiler|Tim}} is half-absorbed by the Medusa. He takes it [[Angst What Angst|really, really well]].
* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: "[[A Fate Worse Than Death|Shizuku's fate]]... is '''your''' fault."
* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: "[[A Fate Worse Than Death|Shizuku's fate]]... is '''your''' fault."
* [[The Hedge of Thorns]]: There's thorns growing on practically every surface, making escapes from monsters more difficult.
* [[The Hedge of Thorns]]: There's thorns growing on practically every surface, making escapes from monsters more difficult.
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** In the movie, {{spoiler|Peter}} does this to save Kasumi and {{spoiler|Ron}} do this to save Marco.
** In the movie, {{spoiler|Peter}} does this to save Kasumi and {{spoiler|Ron}} do this to save Marco.
* [[Hot Shounen Mom]]: Katherine, subverted in that [[Abusive Parents|she isn't really a good mother]]. She regrets it, actually, and becomes a mother figure toward [[Cute Shotaro Boy|Tim]].
* [[Hot Shounen Mom]]: Katherine, subverted in that [[Abusive Parents|she isn't really a good mother]]. She regrets it, actually, and becomes a mother figure toward [[Cute Shotaro Boy|Tim]].
* [[Huge Guy Tiny Girl]]: Marco is a [[Genius Bruiser]] who towers over Kasumi.
* [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]]: Marco is a [[Genius Bruiser]] who towers over Kasumi.
* [[Human Popsicle]]: The 160 Medusa victims in cold sleep. {{spoiler|But for much less time than they think.}}
* [[Human Popsicle]]: The 160 Medusa victims in cold sleep. {{spoiler|But for much less time than they think.}}
* [[The Immune]]: {{spoiler|Marco}} is immune to Medusa. {{spoiler|Zeus}} eventually explains why: {{spoiler|[[Determinator|Determinators]] such as Marco or himself don't have any wounds in their psyche for Medusa to exploit.}}
* [[The Immune]]: {{spoiler|Marco}} is immune to Medusa. {{spoiler|Zeus}} eventually explains why: {{spoiler|[[Determinator|Determinators]] such as Marco or himself don't have any wounds in their psyche for Medusa to exploit.}}
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* [[Intertwined Fingers]]: Kasumi and Shizuku, in the first [[Furo Scene]] flashback.
* [[Intertwined Fingers]]: Kasumi and Shizuku, in the first [[Furo Scene]] flashback.
* [[Interrupted Suicide]]: Happens a few times with Kasumi:
* [[Interrupted Suicide]]: Happens a few times with Kasumi:
** First, she tried to commit a [[Bath Suicide]] when she realized {{spoiler|that [[Survivor Guilt|she will be saved]], while Shizuku will not be}}. Shizuku [[Get a Hold of Yourself Man|slaps her for it]] [[Interrupted Suicide|right in time]], though.
** First, she tried to commit a [[Bath Suicide]] when she realized {{spoiler|that [[Survivor Guilt|she will be saved]], while Shizuku will not be}}. Shizuku [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!|slaps her for it]] [[Interrupted Suicide|right in time]], though.
** ''Then'', {{spoiler|after finding out [[Body Horror|what Shizuku has become]], Kasumi tried to throw herself off a high place [[Suicide for Others Happiness|thinking that it'll help Shizuku]], and [[Together in Death|in order to be with Marco]], but is stopped by Zeus.}}
** ''Then'', {{spoiler|after finding out [[Body Horror|what Shizuku has become]], Kasumi tried to throw herself off a high place [[Suicide for Others Happiness|thinking that it'll help Shizuku]], and [[Together in Death|in order to be with Marco]], but is stopped by Zeus.}}
* [[Jerkass Has a Point]]: After Alessandro (the old guy) reveals he ''paid'' to become a [[Human Popsicle]] rather than just hope he was randomly selected, some of the others react with outrage. However, he calmly points out that anyone would have done the same thing if they had the means.
* [[Jerkass Has a Point]]: After Alessandro (the old guy) reveals he ''paid'' to become a [[Human Popsicle]] rather than just hope he was randomly selected, some of the others react with outrage. However, he calmly points out that anyone would have done the same thing if they had the means.
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* [[Our Gryphons Are Different]]: One of these is the result of {{spoiler|Katherine's}} [[Heroic Sacrifice]].
* [[Our Gryphons Are Different]]: One of these is the result of {{spoiler|Katherine's}} [[Heroic Sacrifice]].
* [[Playful Hacker]] and [[The Cracker]]: Marco and Zeus, respectively.
* [[Playful Hacker]] and [[The Cracker]]: Marco and Zeus, respectively.
* [[Pink Girl Blue Boy]]: Female survivors wear pink while the males wear blue. Averted in [[The Movie]], where both genders wear white.
* [[Pink Girl, Blue Boy]]: Female survivors wear pink while the males wear blue. Averted in [[The Movie]], where both genders wear white.
* [[Pinky Swear]]: Between Kasumi and Shizuku.
* [[Pinky Swear]]: Between Kasumi and Shizuku.
* [[Power Tattoo]]: Marco Owen is a [[Tattooed Crook]] to begin with, but one in particular marks his upgrade from [[Badass Normal]] to [[Badass Abnormal]]: {{spoiler|when Alice alters his body so that he'll stand a chance against Zeus, he gains a large tattoo on his chest resembling the anarchy symbol}}.
* [[Power Tattoo]]: Marco Owen is a [[Tattooed Crook]] to begin with, but one in particular marks his upgrade from [[Badass Normal]] to [[Badass Abnormal]]: {{spoiler|when Alice alters his body so that he'll stand a chance against Zeus, he gains a large tattoo on his chest resembling the anarchy symbol}}.
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* [[Was Once a Man]]: {{spoiler|The mother monster is Shizuku.}}
* [[Was Once a Man]]: {{spoiler|The mother monster is Shizuku.}}
** {{spoiler|The entirety of the Zeus Race.}}
** {{spoiler|The entirety of the Zeus Race.}}
* [[What Happened to The Mouse]]: [[Alice Allusion|Alice's]] [[Clockwork Creature|rabbit]] is last seen wandering about holding her [[Tragic Keepsake|scrunchies]], then later watching {{spoiler|[[Body Horror|Shizuku's]] [[Buffy Speak|armoured-creature form]] break up/die}}... And then is never seen again after that. What happened to him? Was he destroyed in {{spoiler|Shizuku's}} impact? Was he unable to sustain himself for long, due to {{spoiler|Alice being dead}}? [[He's Just Hiding|Is he hiding?]] Who knows!
* [[What Happened to The Mouse?]]: [[Alice Allusion|Alice's]] [[Clockwork Creature|rabbit]] is last seen wandering about holding her [[Tragic Keepsake|scrunchies]], then later watching {{spoiler|[[Body Horror|Shizuku's]] [[Buffy-Speak|armoured-creature form]] break up/die}}... And then is never seen again after that. What happened to him? Was he destroyed in {{spoiler|Shizuku's}} impact? Was he unable to sustain himself for long, due to {{spoiler|Alice being dead}}? [[He's Just Hiding|Is he hiding?]] Who knows!
* [[Where I Was Born and Razed]]: {{spoiler|Alice}} burnt her house down when she was a child after her family had died of the Medusa virus, along with the creature that the virus had spawned from her in the process.
* [[Where I Was Born and Razed]]: {{spoiler|Alice}} burnt her house down when she was a child after her family had died of the Medusa virus, along with the creature that the virus had spawned from her in the process.
* [[The Worm That Walks]]: {{spoiler|Peter Stevens}}'s Medusa manifestation.
* [[The Worm That Walks]]: {{spoiler|Peter Stevens}}'s Medusa manifestation.

Revision as of 04:15, 9 January 2014

The first manga cover.

King of Thorn is a short, post-apocalyptic Survival Horror manga. The story begins when the main character, Kasumi, and 159 other people are chosen to go into cold sleep until a cure is found for their mysterious disease, the Medusa virus. The Medusa virus is a disease which, six weeks after infection, causes the victim to have seizures; within five hours, all of the victim's cells have solidified into a clay-like substance.

When some of the sleepers wake up, the world has drastically changed; there is a veritable jungle running around and through the facility. Massive monsters roam through the facility, and there are no signs of any other human beings. At first, the survivors assume that many years have passed; later in the storyline, they realize that they have only been asleep for a short period of time, and that there is far more to the Medusa virus and their situation than they ever could have imagined.

A movie adaptation was released in May 2010, whose trailer you can view here. The movie deviated heavily from the canon, watering down many of the characters' back-stories and omitting the Big Bad from the manga. It was, however, nominated for the 4th Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

Provides examples of:

  • A God Am I: Zeus, who manipulated the Medusa in Shizuku, and gave himself some nifty abilities in the process. He also orchestrated a lot of things in the plot, and is a giggling asshat.
  • Abusive Parents: Katherine. She was an alcoholic who beat her child to the point where social services had to step in and remove him.
  • Action Dress Rip: In Volume 5 Kasumi finds a dress that somehow fits her and wears it for the rest of the series. First chapter of Volume 6, she rips off the skirt because it's hard to walk in it, and wraps her hands and feet with the scraps for protection from the thorns.
  • Action Mom: Katherine. A Mama Gryphon, too.
    • A little more on that subject: Katherine turned herself into a giant eagle with female breasts, believing that is how a real mother should be presented. Yeah, it's symbolic .
  • Action Survivor: Everyone who survives.
  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Marco gets this in The Movie. See Dead Little Sister.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Alice is the Big Bad in The Movie, in the form of a computer. Yeah...
  • Alice Allusion: Alice, The Mysterious Waif, creates her protector as a giant white rabbit. He wears a top hat with a playing card stuck to it, too.
  • All Girls Want Bad Boys: Kasumi develops a crush on Marco. The rest of the group takes notice of this, but since Marco is so hard to read it's tough to tell what he thinks of her for most of the story.
    • Ron even discusses this with Kasumi in Chapter 27:

 Ron: "I don't know what you women see in that type of guy. Tell me. These types of guys only cause women headaches."

Kasumi: "He already has. And despite that, I am still...

  • All There in the Manual: The Japanese website for The Movie provides full names, ages, occupations and nationalities for most of the characters, and even gives names to some of the monsters. Then again, many details were changed in the adaptation, so Your Mileage May Vary on whether or not this information is canon.
  • Always Identical Twins: Kasumi and Shizuku.
  • And I Must Scream
  • Angsty Surviving Twin: Kasumi. It's a bit more complicated than that, though.
  • Anti-Hero: Kasumi is a Classical Antihero, while Marco is mostly a Byronic Hero.
  • Artistic License Biology: "Well... I think it probably evolved from some animal, or maybe suddenly mutated."
    • Possibly justified, as "evolved" implies "mutated over a long period of time", as opposed to "suddenly mutated".
  • Asshole Victim: Alessandro, the Jerkass Grumpy Old Man, is the first member of the group to get killed.
  • Awful Truth: Marco knows more about what's really going on than the rest of the group does, and keeps a lot of awful truths from them.
  • Back From the Dead: With sheer willpower, and a little help from Alice.
  • Badass: Marco. Let's be serious. He accomplishes what it would have taken a team-up of Solid Snake and a few Space Marines backing him up.
  • Better to Die Than Be Killed: Marco
  • Big Fancy Castle / Building of Adventure: Pretty much the whole story takes place within the isolated, thorn-covered, monster-infested castle.
  • Big No: A full-page Big No in the final volume.
  • Black Dude Dies First: Averted. He survives all the way to the end of the story!
    • Played more straight in the movie. He’s the third member of the group to die.
  • Bland-Name Product: There's a 'Mindows' operating system, and 'Bell' computers.
  • Body Horror: Copious examples. Infection by Medusa causes the body to slowly petrify and eventually shatter. If you're lucky, you might instead get a very nasty Lovecraftian Superpower. And then there's Alice, who has been reduced to a head, heart, one lung, and one arm, and kept alive inside a life support chamber for eight years.
  • Bond Villain Stupidity: Played with. Zeus is Dangerously Genre Savvy enough to know that letting his archenemy live after he's discovered his master plan is a bad idea, and after some Evil Gloating, disposes of him rather quickly. Not only does he have one of his minions beat Marco to a pulp and then stab him, he has him dropped from a ledge. However, Zeus fails to consider the possibility of Marco coming back to life. And then, he makes the very stupid mistake of letting Marco hack into his data and erase him from existence.
  • Bonnie Scotland: The country where the old castle is, and the main setting of the story.
  • Boxed Crook: The government recruits Marco this way. The fact Marco wants to take revenge on the infiltrated facility's system administrator (Zeus) certainly helps.
  • Brain Uploading: One of the first things super-hacker Zeus does as part of his A God Am I is download his mind into a new Medusa form. "That shell could never contain my potential..."
  • Break the Cutie: Kasumi goes through a lot of this. Amazingly enough, she manages to get through it pretty well. Shizuku, on the other hand, doesn't fare quite as well.
    • Alice went through eight years of breaking.
  • Came Back Strong: Marco Owen is killed by Zeus. However, Alice sacrifices her life to bring him back, and the new Medusa-enhanced body she gives him has useful new abilities such as a resistance to Zeus's electrical attacks.
  • Canon Foreigner: In the movie, Marco's sister Laura Owen.
  • Cat Boy: Laloo Also the Zeus Breed; and Tim becomes half of one.
  • Cassandra Truth: After watching the security tape with Kasumi on it, Tim says to Kasumi "That's you, isn't it?" She denies this, believing the person on the tape to be Shizuku. By the end of the story, it turns out that Tim was right.
    • Justified; At the time, Tim couldn't have known the truth about Kasumi and Shizuku, and Kasumi didn't remember what had really happened on "that day".
  • Chained By Fashion: Alice's giant rabbit protector is adorned with chains, which it can also manipulate as weapons.
  • Cloning Blues: This comes up towards the end of manga, since by that point both Marco and Kasumi have died and been resurrected as Medusa constructs; essentially, they are just copies of their original selves. Marco, not being one prone to angst, simply recommends they live on as normal.

  Marco: Your worth hasn't changed. And it never will.

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