History VisualNovel / SlowDamage

* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: It happens a lot in ''Slow Damage'', and we mean ''a lot''.

* EveryScarHasAStory:
** Some of the scars on Towa's body aren't simply for decoration or due to his love for pain-- they are intrinsically tied to his past. [[spoiler: The most remarkable scars on his body, such as the one across his torso or the incisions on his shoulder blades, were inflicted by Ikuina and Asakura themselves years ago, respectfully; although neither ever realizes this even though they are fascinated by those same cuts on Towa's body.]]
** When Towa sees [[spoiler: Fujieda's scars, he realizes that there's a lot more to the man than he first assumed. Fujieda]] later admits that he thought the same when he first saw Towa's scars and already felt back then that they may be more alike than they realize.

* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Rei, Taku, and Towa, respectively. Rei may be the fighter of the three, but he serves as the Beauty as he's also the most openly empathetic and stands in the middle in terms of disposition. Taku is the Brains, since he's the doctor and is also sensible and somewhat world-weary. Towa is the Brawn because of his desire to seek pleasure in the form of extreme violence.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The trope applies for Rei, Towa and Taku, respectively. They are also the first three characters of the main cast that are introduced right at the start of the game, since it doesn't take until much ''much'' later for Madarame and Fujieda to officially show up.

* FourTemperamentEnsemble:
** Towa himself is the Leukine. As for his love interests:
*** Phlegmatic: Taku is a reliable and sensitive man who looks out for other people.
*** Sanguine: Rei is extroverted, friendly and expressive, as well as the most openly compassionate.
*** Choleric: Madarame is an unpredictable rebel who plays by his own rules and loves a good fight.
*** Melancholic: Fujieda is serious, professional and always focuses on the task at hand. Even people in-game have described him as having an uptight demeanor.
** Between Towa's models, Ikuina is the Sanguine, Asakura is the Leukine, Mizuno is the Choleric, and the unnamed vampire in the prologue is the Melancholic.

* RedOniBlueOni: This trope is prevalent between Towa and any of his love interests. Whoever is the Red Oni and the Blue Oni depends on both the relationship and the circumstances the pair are currently in.
** The eccentric and violence-loving Towa is the Red Oni in contrast to Taku, whose grounded and sensible personality makes him the Blue Oni. But once Taku's problems start to invite more and more danger to both himself and Towa, Taku starts to become the Red Oni when his emotional state becomes more turbulent and unstable. Consequently, Towa's cold and logical personality turns him into the Blue Oni as he helps think of how to get both himself and Taku out of their messy situation.
** Rei, like Taku, expresses both exasperation and worry for Towa's life choices, and his expressive personality makes him the Red Oni as Towa's calm and stoic demeanor causes him to fit the role of the Blue Oni this time around. Even when Rei's deep-seated issues begin to surface after [[spoiler: he's encumbered with his father's debt]], their roles are never reversed.
** Reflecting the colors of their auras and in turn, their relationship dynamic, Towa is the Red Oni to Madarame's Blue Oni. Madarame never loses his cool even once and always maintains his dominance in any situation. On the other hand, Towa is unable to keep his emotions in check whenever Madarame is involved and as they rekindle their relationship in the most unconventional way, Towa starts to become more like his HotBlooded self in the past.
** Where temperament is concerned, Towa's uninhibited nature automatically makes him the Red Oni to Fujieda's serious and straight-laced Blue Oni. The more they learn about each other, however, they [[spoiler: start seeing themselves in the other and Towa realizes that there's more to Fujieda than his image as a cold and unfeeling professional]]. As the plot unfolds in the latter's route, their roles as the Red and Blue Oni would switch every now and then until the finale, where they fall somewhere in between with each other.

* HighSchoolSweethearts: Played with between Towa and Rei. While Rei knew Towa since middle school, they never interacted at the time and Towa didn't even realize that he and Rei attended the same school when they were teenagers. Nevertheless, the topic comes up a few times in Rei's route and near the end, Rei admits that he had found Towa attractive since he first saw him.

* LoveAtFirstPunch: Towa and Fujieda's official first meeting has Towa viciously and mindlessly attacking Fujieda out of the blue... and they still end up together. By the time of their RelationshipUpgrade, they even lampshade how things were completely different between now and when they first met each other.
--> '''Towa''': You know, it's funny. Not that long ago, we were punching each other.
--> '''Fujieda''': We didn't know better. It's not our fault.

* FlowerMotif:
** As discussed in the game, every batch of flowers that was anonymously sent to the clinic has their own unique meaning. With each new delivery, the meaning of the flower seems to connect to the meaning of the last flowers that were delivered, and it soon becomes obvious that whoever is sending the flowers is conveying a message to its intended recipient. For details, the first set of flowers delivered is pink gerberas, which symbolize "sublime beauty". The second is red geraniums, which carry the meaning of "I'm happy you're here." The third is purple pansies, which stand for "You're all I can think about." This, combined with [[spoiler:the blue rose that Ikuina gave to Towa to express his sentiments of having his "dream come true"]], lets Towa realize that [[spoiler:Ikuina]] is the one who's been delivering all those flowers.
** Uiro Yamada's official illustration of Towa in celebration of White Day 2022 shows him [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNvQgCuaIAAsSJb?format=jpg&name=medium being showered with different flowers from his love interests]], such as calendulas (Taku), goldenrods (Rei), gentians (Madarame) and jasmines (Fujieda). Additionally, an official art of Fujieda for White Day features the latter [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/61bf5e78ae59e0955962c78463b5b8f5/4dd6708153ff8a28-2c/s1280x1920/dc0c9e2194e8f6a1b4dd5f4a6fef827e300b528d.jpg carrying a bouquet of blue milkweeds]].
** In the official calendar for the fiscal year of 2022 in Japan (April 2022 to March 2023), one of the artworks shows [[https://otsukai.com/public/exhibit/5528/624e34da65496.jpg?operation=resize&w=960 Towa and Fujieda in a field of kochia (summer cypress) bushes]]. Kochias are known for changing color from green to red during autumn, which is likened in Japan to a maiden's blush, which is why kochias symbolize "full honesty from one to another" and "blessed lifestyle", both of which can be associated with a married life. [[spoiler: In the fourth ''After Story'' drama CD, as Towa and Fujieda take a walk in a kochia field, Fujieda makes a suggestion to Towa that, unbeknownst to the former, comes across as a ''marriage proposal''.]]
* FoodPorn: Whenever the game shows a CG of food, the food in question is always drawn and rendered in mouthwatering detail.

* FourIsDeath: In the Croquis, which serves as a codex for the game's characters, [[spoiler:Maya is the only character in the fourth page]]. The number 4 is recognized as an unlucky number in Japan because it has the same pronunciation as the word used for "death", hence [[spoiler:the numbered placement of her info in the codex represents not only the fact that she's already deceased but also her very presence served as a great source of misfortune not only to Towa but to many of the other characters]].

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: In Fujieda's route, [[spoiler: Sakaki gives Towa a SadisticChoice: either "transform" into Maya or let Fujieda die]]. In response to this, Fujieda tries to reach out to Towa with only a few words to remind him that [[spoiler: he's his own person and not a clone of his mother]].
--> '''Fujieda''': [[spoiler:You are ''euphoria'']].

* InLoveWithYourCarnage: After seeing Rei [[spoiler: fight his opponent in a Moneymatch]], Towa finds himself overcome with lust at the sight of Rei's passion for fighting, which reminds him of his own love for violence.
* InSpiteOfANail:

* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Towa manages to execute this trope against [[spoiler:Toono in the climax of Taku's route to stop him from putting a bullet in Taku's head]].

* ContentWarning: The player is greeted with a warning upon opening the game. It starts with the statement that the game contents sex, violence and gore, which is par for the course for all Nitro+[=CHiRAL=] games, and follows by saying that the game also has flashing images in case the player is photosensitive. Lastly, the final statement in the warning specifies what mature themes will be featured in the story. Though in the original Japanese version of the game, the very latter isn't included.

* CreepyCrawlyTorture: In Taku's route, one of Towa's run-ins with Inada will have the latter tell Towa about a new drug that has been spreading around, which is said to have notably gruesome side effects where the user will hallucinate bugs attacking them both from the inside and the outside, causing them to panic and claw at their own body. The player will get to see the effects first-hand in [[spoiler: Taku's Madness ending]], and it isn't a pretty sight.

* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: In the climax of his route, [[spoiler: Taku]] is given the opportunity to pull the trigger on [[spoiler: Toono]]. He ultimately decides against it, stating that while they're both shitty people, he refuses to stoop down to the other's level.

[[folder:Tropes J-O]]

** In Taku's route, his first sex scene has him help get Towa off in the first floor of the clinic; though he does lampshade that they were in a rush as [[spoiler: Towa was insanely in heat]], and they continue where they left off in Towa's studio. The second time around, they consummate their relationship on the floor even though there's a bed nearby. There's also the fact that they're having sex even though [[spoiler: they're still under captivity and thus are risking getting caught by Toono; though this thankfully doesn't happen]].

* OhCrap:
** Ikuina becomes alarmed when Towa insinuates that he knows [[spoiler: he's the culprit behind the sudden cases where people who pass out find themselves with a deep cut the next day]].
** Taku, Junko and Honami are justifiably horrified when they realize [[spoiler: just how much Rei (or rather, his father) owes the Takasato-gumi]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes P-S]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Given what [[spoiler: Taku is revealed to be dealing with thanks to his debt to Toono]], the player is left guessing what happens to him at the end of Rei's route, since absolutely no hint is given in the epilogue. Although a throwaway line in the ''After Story'' drama CD [[spoiler: hints that Taku still gets imprisoned for being an (albeit unwilling) accomplice in Toono's crimes, with the others waiting for his sentence to end]].
** Although Madarame's own route explains why he never [[spoiler: showed his face to Towa in both Taku and Rei's routes]], it's never confirmed what became of him in the end of the latter two routes, where [[spoiler: neither Toono nor Sakaki get assassinated and the Takasato-gumi ''doesn't'' end up collapsing]]. One safe guess is that [[spoiler:Madarame decided to just leave Shinkoumi afterwards]].
** It's unknown what happens to Asakura in Rei and Madarame's routes since he's still struggling with [[spoiler: the rumors of him being a pedophile and his desire for salvation from an "angel"]], neither of which gets resolved in the routes where he and Towa never cross paths.
** In Taku's route, [[spoiler: Asakura came close to performing what would have been a near-fatal surgery on Hayato]] had Towa not arrived at the last moment. Therefore, the player is left wondering whether Hayato still manages to escape that fate in the other routes where Towa doesn't encounter Asakura.
** It's never known what becomes of Rei's father in Taku and Madarame's routes [[spoiler: since he still is saddled with a huge debt]], yet there's no hint in either route of Rei [[spoiler: being troubled by anything involving his father or the Takasato-gumi]].
** After the events of "Chapter 2: Brother", [[spoiler: Nakamura was sent to the Takanokuchi Medical Office]]. He's never mentioned after that, so whether [[spoiler:he manages to recover or not]] is left unconfirmed.
** After Mizuno's [[spoiler: fistfight with Towa]] in Rei's route, the narration states that [[spoiler: he got sent to the hospital some time later, but there's no hint of what happens to him afterwards. The most likely outcome is that he's either arrested or executed]]. In both Taku and Madarame's routes, either Eiji or Inada confirm that [[spoiler: the group committing the Assault Parties was dealt with offscreen; although what happens to Mizuno/Kirihara specifically]] is still left ambiguous. It's only in Fujieda's route that his fate is revealed when Eiji tells Towa that [[spoiler: Mizuno died in a hit-and-run accident, which turns out to have been staged by Sakaki]]. That being said, if the player looks through the liner notes, they'll learn that no matter what, [[spoiler: the younger man will always end up dead at either the Takasato-gumi or at Madarame's hands]].
** The unnamed vampire's fate is left unknown in the common route, [[spoiler: although it's highly likely that he didn't end up killing himself like he did in Fujieda's route]]. What further supports this possibility is that [[spoiler: whether Sakaki puts Maya's plans into motion or not depends entirely on whether the vampire will commit suicide after his run-in with Towa]], to which it doesn't in the common route.

** Heavily downplayed in the actual dialogue, where the characters only use the language when it comes to specific terms. At most, the only phrase that two characters deign to speak in English rather than Japanese is the remark of "No comment," in response to Towa asking a rather blunt and inappropriate question.

** In Taku's route, [[spoiler:Taku jumps in right before Toono could shoot Towa dead, and he ends up with a (thankfully non-fatal) gunshot wound in his chest]]. Then near the end, [[spoiler:when their plan to escape the hotel gets thwarted, Taku (after getting a ''second'' gunshot wound) makes a second attempt at the trope by pulling Towa behind him, though Towa senses Taku's intent and pulls away instead. Luckily, Lisa's intervention prevents either of them from getting shot at]].

* GenreShift: The last four Nitro+[=CHiRAL=] games take place in either [[VisualNovel/LamentoBeyondTheVoid a fantasy world]] or a setting that is similar to real life on the surface but is [[VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder heavily cyberpunk-themed]], [[VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi already suffering from the aftermath of a fictional world war]], or [[VisualNovel/SweetPool has supernatural religious beings hiding within the shadows of human society]]. On the other hand, the existence of a fictional city aside, ''Slow Damage's'' setting is completely realistic.

** In Taku's route, [[spoiler:Taku jumps in right before Toono could shoot Towa dead, and he ends up with a (thankfully non-fatal) gunshot wound in his chest]].

* FashionBasedRelationshipCue: In the epilogue of all Euphoria endings, Towa undergoes a change of attire, which also reflects the nature of his relationship with each of his love interests.

* ExactWords: When Fujieda asks Towa if he saw the contents of his memo pad, Towa nods, which earns him a mean look. Towa reiterates that he ''saw'' it, not that he could ''read'' it, since the notes were ciphered.

** When Towa and Rei have sex for the first time, Towa realizes midway that [[spoiler: Rei had never done it with anyone before]]. Towa decides to affectionately poke fun at Rei with a teasing comment]], which the English localization translates to [[spoiler: "Congrats on the sex"]]. However, the words that he used in Japanese ("童貞卒業おめでとう") would actually translate to [[spoiler: "Congratulations on graduating from your virginity"]].

* ContentWarning: The player is greeted with a warning upon opening the game. It starts with the statement that the game contents sex, violence and gore, which is par for the course for all Nitro+[=CHiRAL=] games, and follows by saying that the game also has flashing images in case the player is photosensitive. Lastly, the final statement in the warning specifies what mature themes will be featured in the story.

* InterfaceSpoiler: A mild variation: reading the content warning from start to finish will warn the player early on of what will eventually be featured in the plot of each love interest's route.
--> This game contains references to child abuse, rape, human trafficking, suicide, self-injury, medical malpractice, drug and alcohol abuse, and gender dysphoria.

** Family ''is'' important. However, should a parent greatly wrong their child, said child has every right to despise and renounce their parent/s as much as they have the right to give them a second chance.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler: Mei was killed because she tried to help Towa escape from his mother.]]

*** Both Toono and Sakaki have tattoos on their backs. While Uiro Yamada never drew how the tattoos would look, she confirmed that Sakaki's tattoo is the image of the [[https://www.onmarkproductions.com/assets/images/kokuzo-restored-painting.jpg Akasagarbha Bodhisattva]].

** Upon replaying a chapter that was already completed once, the player is given the option to skip the Exploration and the Interrogation segments entirely.

* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: Downplayed. Towa is described to be in bad shape many times in the story, with both Taku and Rei repeatedly expressing concern over how unhealthy Towa's lifestyle is. In reality, however, Towa's body would already be faring much ''much'' worse from how much he smokes and drinks on a daily basis since he was a teenager.

* TheBadGuyWins: Even in death, [[spoiler: Maya gets exactly what she wanted in Fujieda's Madness ending, where Towa's mind breaks and her influence takes over, causing him to become another version of her]]. What the player is certain of is that [[spoiler:"Towa" now has Fujieda under his thrall]], [[NothingIsScarier but what his presence spells for Shinkoumi is left ambiguous]].
* BeautyBrainsAndBrawn: Rei, Taku, and Towa, respectively. Rei may be the fighter of the three, but he serves as the Beauty as he's also the most openly empathetic and stands in the middle in terms of disposition. Taku is the Brains, since he's the doctor and is also sensible and somewhat world-weary. Towa is the Brawn because of his desire to seek pleasure in the form of extreme violence, no matter its form.

* TasteTheRainbow: Each and every one of Towa's love interests are distinct from each other by both design and personality. Even by basis of first impressions alone, Taku is the mature, weary and down-to-earth CoolOldGuy, Rei is young, lively and as energetic as they come, Madarame is imposing and both controlled and capricious in his actions, and Fujieda is professional and reserved as much as he is mysterious.

** Given what [[spoiler: Taku is revealed to be dealing with thanks to his debt to Toono]], the player is left guessing what happens to him at the end of Rei's route, since absolutely no hint is given in either the epilogue or the ''After Story'' drama CD, [[spoiler: as Taku doesn't show up in the latter ''at all'']].

** After Mizuno's [[spoiler: fistfight with Towa]] in Rei's route, the narration states that [[spoiler: he got sent to the hospital some time later, but there's no hint of what happens to him afterwards. The most likely outcome is that he's either arrested or executed]]. In both Taku and Madarame's routes, either Eiji or Inada confirm that [[spoiler: the group committing the Assault Parties was dealt with offscreen; although what happens to Mizuno/Kirihara specifically]] is still left ambiguous. It's only in Fujieda's route that his fate is revealed when Eiji tells Towa that [[spoiler: Mizuno died in a hit-and-run accident, which turns out to have been staged by Sakaki]]. That being said, if the player looks through the developer's notes, they'll learn that no matter what, [[spoiler: the younger man will always end up dead at either the Takasato-gumi or at Madarame's hands]].

* YankTheDogsChain: In Fujieda's route, just whenever Towa finds [[spoiler:a lead while investigating his childhood, they end up getting killed either before he met them or before he could get more answers out of them]]. It then turns out that [[spoiler:Sakaki played a hand in the murders of Ikuina, Asakura and Kirihara. Not because they knew more than they were allowed, however, but purely to keep Towa curious]].

* GenreShift: The last four Nitro+[=CHiRAL=] games take place in either [[VisualNovel/LamentoBeyodTheVoid a fantasy world]] or a setting that is similar to real life on the surface but is [[VisualNovel/DramaticalMurder heavily cyberpunk-themed]], [[VisualNovel/TogainuNoChi already suffering from the aftermath of a fictional world war]], or [[VisualNovel/SweetPool has supernatural religious beings hiding within the shadows of human society]]. On the other hand, the existence of a fictional city aside, ''Slow Damage's'' setting is completely realistic.

** "Nightmare", true to its name, plays whenever Towa has a nightmare. [[spoiler: Every nightmare he has involves his mother to some degree, whether it's because of something she did or something she allowed others to do to him.]] It's also the default background track that plays in the title menu, [[spoiler:but is soon replaced by its voiceless counterpart, "Joy" upon completion of the GoldenEnding. This symbolizes how Maya's psychological hold on Towa vanishes once he Towa learns about his past and finally comes to terms with it]].

** "Maya", "Control" and "Resolve" all play only in Fujieda's route, where [[spoiler: Maya's role in the plot finally comes to light]].

* SmokingHotSex: Towa is a heavy smoker and has the tendency to take a drag after a round with whoever he ends up sleeping with. This is somewhat PlayedForLaughs in [[spoiler: Taku's route when he also gets the urge to have a smoke after his first sexual encounter with Akira, but is then reminded that he had already quit, causing him to realize just how much the incident had unnerved him]].

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Both of Madarame's ending themes are sung in English. The lyrics of both themes are grammatically sound, and are also sung with impressive fluency.