History Manga / Narutaru

** There was also some Bowdlerisation in the anime adaptation. Many of the more shocking events happen off-screen (though to be fair the anime doesn't cover the second half of the manga, where some of the worse things take place), and the anime is even reluctant to show blood most of the time. .i.e, while [[spoiler: Aki Honda's horrifying death]] still happens, the worst parts (like [[spoiler: being raped and torn in half by Oni]] are given {{Gory Discretion Shot}}s.

*** Subverted by the [[LyricalDissonance lyrical content]] of the opening... which seems to be a good metaphor for Narutaru itself. *** GenreSavvy viewers will probably catch on some... [[SpoilerOpening important details about the plot]] hidden in the supposedly cutesy OP video, such as: Akira's link to her Dragon [[FaintingSeer causing her to collapse]], [[spoiler: Hiroko being horribly bullied by Aki and Co.]], the presence of [[spoiler: Shiina's sister aka the Virgin Princess]] and even [[spoiler: Shiina's death by being vaporized.]]

** There was also some Bowdlerisation in the anime adaptation. Many of the more shocking events happen off-screen, and the anime is even reluctant to show blood most of the time.
*** Though to be fair, many of the shocking events aren't shown because they don't happen (due to aforementioned missing second half).

** Also, interesting to note is how he nails down some lesser known characteristics of Down's Syndrome during a brief appearance by a minor character with the condition. Said character is a florist who has managed to earn several minor government contracts for state funerals and such because of his meticulousness. People with Down's often become almost superhumanly good at certain tasks because the fact they ''know'' they're mentally challenged makes them more careful about things and work harder than a "normal" person would think they need to.
** Kito is also a fluent Russian speaker, so Shiina occasionally would wear a T-shirt that says "Samolet", or "Plane". The chapter in Moscow is written with his original research.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: This series lies on the far, ''far'' end of the cynical side. Depending on your view of the world, it can start to feel like {{wangst}}.
* SmugSnake: Tatsumi Miyako and Aki Honda.
* SocialDarwinist: Tomonori Komori
* SoundtrackDissonance: The anime OP song. Enough said.
* SpoilerOpening: The intro isn't as innocuous as first appears, and even references some manga-only twists.
* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Subverted when [[spoiler:Shiina is killed very suddenly and very messily right after it's insinuated she might not actually be the main character, almost as though she's outlived her usefulness to the plot. Thankfully, she's reborn a couple of chapters later, and very much remains the protagonist.]] Played straight with [[spoiler:Norio, who is killed off in an extremely gruesome manner more or less just to break Takeo further, and with Misono, who's killed off right after her and Shiina's reconciliation, and her death is part of what pushed her into fully embracing her role as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.]]
* SubvertedKidsShow: Though targeted to a seinen audience, this is the only explanation for the [[TrailersAlwaysLie tone of the opening as compared to]] [[MindScrew the subject matter]]. All the characters are cheerily illustrated, dancing to a bubblegum folk sound. Are you ready for this, kids?
* SurpriseCreepy
* TeensAreMonsters: See a pattern here? At one point, highschooler Satomi Ozawa uses her shadow dragon Amapola to [[spoiler:gas a whole field of soldiers to death with toxic pollen]]... and that's a relatively ''mild'' example!
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Though if there ''were'', we wouldn't have nearly the same story.
* TheyWouldCutYouUp: Why Akira would rather keep the shadow dragon issue hush-hush.
* [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself This Is Something I've Got To Do Myself]]: In the manga, Shiina accepts missions too dangerous for a girl her age, saying she feels she's gotta do it.
* TomatoInTheMirror: In the manga. [[spoiler:At one point, it's made to look as though Shiina might not be the main character after all, given where Hoshimaru's loyalties really lie. It turns out she ''still'' is, though.]]
* TomatoSurprise: Again, manga only. [[spoiler:Why can't Shiina link with Hoshimaru? Because he was never ''her'' dragon in the first place, and instead belongs to her ally Takeo Tsurumaru. [[HeroicBSOD She doesn't react well to the revelation]], bless her.]]
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Shiina and either Akira or Hiroko.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: How most people react after learning that not only are the monsters real, but some of them are responsible for [[spoiler:the nuclear apocalypse]].
* TraumaCongaLine: [[spoiler:The final result is only shown in the manga, but even so. Poor, ''poor'' Shiina.]]
* {{Tsundere}}: Satomi Ozawa, especially towards her ex-boyfriend Bungo. Norio qualifies as a male example, though given that his love interest is such a jerk, his deredere side doesn't show much.
* TurbineBlender: How Bungo's dragon meets its end.
* {{Ubermensch}}: Naozumi Sudo.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Aki Satou and her fiancé.
** Shiina's parents. Good thing that their daughter[[spoiler:s and granddaughter]] took the looks after Misono rather than Shunji.
* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Shiina, in the manga. Getting cut in half by vulcan rounds would be a totally unambiguous death in normal circumstances... but then Shiina is mysteriously ''reborn'' at the island where her grandparents live.]]
** ''Might'' be explained by how [[spoiler: her and Mamiko's shared ''actual'' dragon, Sheol, is the Earth itself.]]
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Sudo and Komori both have their own plans that involve this.
* VaginaDentata: Norio's dragon is ''named'' this; fittingly enough, its head does look a bit like a toothy vagina.
* VillainProtagonist: [[spoiler: an alternate interpretation for Shiina from those who believe she and Mamiko went a little too far with their planet-wide genocide.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: Takeo and Norio.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Portrayed more credibly than usual. [[spoiler: Akira and Shiina receive offers from Hiroko (Shiina), Sudo and Komori (Akira). None go well.]]
* WellExcuseMePrincess: Satomi's relationship with Bungo.
* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: It is revealed that Aki Sato's boyfriend is not some millionaire or politician, but a humble, ugly (and possibly mildly mentally-handicapped) florist.
* WhamEpisode: While Akira's introductory chapter/episode makes things quite a bit darker than they initially appeared, it's her and Shiina's encounter with Komori that sets the true tone of the series. Hiro-chan's arc and volume 10 of the manga deliver big whams, too.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Norio, to a degree.
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[spoiler:Hiroko. ''"Anything I don't like, I'll destroy."'']] Fortunately for the world, she fails. Then again, much later in the manga [[spoiler: Shiina succeeds with this trope.]] It's ''not'' pretty.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Some of the kids become ''very'' aware of the power that their shadow dragons give them, and end up abusing it.
* {{Yandere}}: Hiro-chan.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Shiina ''literally'' has blue hair.
----

*** Subverted by the [[LyricalDissonance lyrical content]] of the opening... which seems to be a good metaphor for Narutaru itself.

The story is told from the viewpoint of twelve-year-old Shiina Tamai, after she aquires the aforementioned dragonet, which she names Hoshimaru. Merely being in this creature's company inevitably draws other young people with dragonets to her. Shiina, unlike the others, is not telepathically linked to her dragonet, and Hoshimaru seems to have a will and personality of his own; meanwhile, not all of the other "dragon bearers" have good intentions, for Shiina ''or'' the world at large. While the anime is [[LeftHanging open-ended to say the least]], the manga leads towards an almost [[GainaxEnding Gainax-type ending]]. Unfortunately, the official English release of the manga was not only flipped and censored, but also incomplete, leaving English viewers no way to officially experience the half of the story that the anime didn't get to.

* CaptainEthnic: The only Russian Shadow Dragon we see is based on Literature/BabaYaga's Chicken Leg House and flies through space. The American boy who appears later is a less obvious example. His Dragon resembles the Spinosaur from ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' (sans sail, making it look more like a Baryonyx) with a painful-looking life-support machine in the center, invoking two of the biggest things America is known for in Japan (and worldwide): blockbuster movies and substandard healthcare.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: ''Indeed''.

* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:Hoshimaru having to kill Hiro-chan when she goes off the deep end and threatens to kill Shiina's father]]. In the anime, the dog is [[ShootTheShaggyDog shaggy]].

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:The last chapter of the manga. Shiina seems to have recovered from her father's death and is living happily with her mother. She and her mother head out to visit Akira in hospital... only for an angry mob to shoot up her mother's car, Akira to fall out of the hospital window in an apparent suicide, Takeo and Hoshimaru to be killed by a gang of thugs--after which Shiina and Mamiko initiate TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Afterwards, a heavily pregnant Shiina is shown walking around the ruins of the buildings she used to know, unable to muster up the will to do anything more for the world.]] What was that about hope?

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Sudo is ''sorta'' blond...

** Unlike ''Anime/{{Digimon}}'' or ''Anime/MonsterRancher'', the series doesn't assume that all the children who get cute monsters are [[ChildrenAreInnocent automatically good]]. Some of the children in ''Narutaru'' have the same misanthropic worldview as RealLife school shooters, and are only too keen to use their dragonets to hurt people they consider undesirable.
** Also unlike ''Digimon'', the military gets involved when the dragonets begin to threaten the population, and the kids are caught in the crossfire.

*** Subverted by the [[LyricalDissonance lyrical content]] of the opening... which seems to be a good metaphor for NaruTaru itself.

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:The last chapter of the manga. Shiina seems to have recovered from her father's death and is living happily with her mother. She and her mother head out to visit Akira in hospital... only for an angry mob to shoot up her mother's car, Akira to fall out of the hospital window in an apparent suicide, Takeo and Hoshimaru to be killed by a gang of thugs--after which Shiina and Mamiko initiate TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Afterwards, a heavily pregnant Shiina is shown walking sround the ruins of the buildings she used to know, unable to muster up the will to do anything more for the world.]] What was that about hope?

The story is told from the viewpoint of twelve-year-old Shiina Tamai, after she aquires the aforementioned dragonet, which she names Hoshimaru. Merely being in this creature's company inevitably draws other young people with dragonets to her. Shiina, unlike the others, is not telepathically linked to her dragonet, and Hoshimaru seems to have a will and personality of his own; meanwhile, not all of the other "dragon bearers" have good intentions, for Shiina ''or'' the world at large. While the anime is [[LeftHanging open-ended to say the least]], the manga leads towards an almost [[GainaxEnding Gainax-type ending]]. Unfortunately, the official English release of the manga was not only censored, but also incomplete, and it has about double the story of the anime.

The story is told from the viewpoint of twelve-year-old Shiina Tamai, after she aquires the aforementioned dragonet, which she names Hoshimaru. Merely being in this creature's company inevitably draws other young people with dragonets to her. Shiina, unlike the others, is not telepathically linked to her dragonet, and Hoshimaru seems to have a will and personality of his own; meanwhile, not all of the other "dragon bearers" have good intentions, for Shiina ''or'' the world at large. While the anime is [[LeftHanging open-ended to say the least]], the manga leads towards an almost [[GainaxEnding Gainax-type ending]].

* AlphaBitch: Aki Honda has to be one of the nastiest Alpha Bitches ''ever'' created. Akira also has her own personal Alpha Bitch in Hibiki Shimura, although her taunts seem tame in comparison to what Honda does. However this trope has dire and fatal consequences for Honda....

** Also [[spoiler:another of Shiina's buddies, Akira Sakura, who eventually ''killed'' her abusive and rapist bastard of a father and eventually appears to throw herself out of a window.]]

* ShownTheirWork: MohiroKito is a big aviation nut and his knowledge of aircraft shines through with his depictions of Shiina's dad's work and the JASDF.

** Unlike ''{{Digimon}}'' or ''MonsterRancher'', the series doesn't assume that all the children who get cute monsters are [[ChildrenAreInnocent automatically good]]. Some of the children in ''Narutaru'' have the same misanthropic worldview as RealLife school shooters, and are only too keen to use their dragonets to hurt people they consider undesirable.
** Also unlike ''{{Digimon}}'', the military gets involved when the dragonets begin to threaten the population, and the kids are caught in the crossfire.

** Unlike ''{{Digimon}}'' or ''MonsterRancher'', the series does not assume that all the children who gain control of their Mons are [[ChildrenAreInnocent good kids by default]]. Some of the children in ''Narutaru'' have the same misanthropic worldview as RealLife school shooters, and are only too keen to use their dragonets to hurt people they consider undesirable.

** Unlike ''{{Digimon}}'' or ''MonsterRancher'', the series does not assume that the children who gain control of their Mons have [[ChildrenAreInnocent good character or intent]]. Some of the children in ''Narutaru'' have the same misanthropic worldview as RealLife school shooters, and are only too keen to use their dragonets to hurt those they consider obstacles or weaklings.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Though it's less apparent in later volumes, the series was a deconstruction of the {{Mon}} genre.

''Naru Taru'' (''Mukuro Naru Hoshi Tama Taru Ko'' - also known as ''Shadow Star'' in the US) is a manga and anime series with a very deceptive premise. It looks cute, with a perky NaiveEverygirl lead (who transforms into an ActionGirl as the plot progresses, though in a most plausible manner) who happens across an adorable starshaped {{Mon}} while visiting her grandparents during summer vacation. The anime opens with the most upbeat theme music imaginable and has a relaxed first episode. Things go downhill from there.

* ShoutOut