History VisualNovel / TogainuNoChi

Set in a Japan that has been divided by a [[Main/WorldWarIII third World War]], Akira suddenly finds himself accused of a murder he never committed and is sent to jail. He is then approached by a mysterious one-armed woman named Emma, who offers him a deal: in exchange for his freedom, Akira will participate in a BloodSport called Igra, which takes place in the city of Toshima, formerly known as Tokyo. The rules of Igra are simple; collect dog tags from other competitors by beating them in brawls. The one who collects the right tags gets to face off against Il-Re, the supposed undefeated champion of Igra.

* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: All Igra participants are male. ''All'' of them. In fact, the city of Toshima seems to have no female inhabitants. The only female characters who appear in the story are Yukari (who shows up only in flashbacks of Takeru's past), and Emma (who appears both in the start and near the climax of each route). Of course, this trope is to be expected, given the genre.

* CrapsackWorld: Japan became a rather terrible place to live in, courtesy of the [[WorldWarIII Third Division]]. due The children, who were drafted ad trained to participate in the war but never got to put their training to use before the war came to an end, were assigned to foster families instead of being sent back to their biological ones, causing most of them to feel out of place and isolated, which doesn't help their already limited knowledge about normalcy and morality due to their military upbringing. And where there's a world war, there's a corrupt government, especially with the country being divided into two factions that are at odds with each other to the extent that a civil war is only but an inevitability.

%%* FightClubbing: Bl@ster started out as this.

* HannibalLecture: Nano does this to Shiki. In the game, whether Shiki accepts Nano's challenge or not -- and conversely what kind of ending the player gets -- depends on if Akira reminds him of his original goal. [[spoiler:Near the end of the drama CD following the good ending, Shiki delivers a ShutUpHannibal to Nano]].

** In every single route, with no single exception, [[spoiler: Takeru ''will'' meet a bloody demise at Keisuke's hands]].

---> '''Akira''': ''(coldly)'' If there's something you want to say, hurry up and say it.
---> '''Keisuke''': Wh-what are you saying--
---> '''Akira''': You want to ask me, don't you? About whether or not I killed my opponent. Then go ahead and ask. If you want to condemn me, go right ahead. Bring it on.
---> '''Keisuke''': ...I don't...
---> '''Rin''': Akira, give it a rest.
---> '''Keisuke''': ''(meekly)'' It's what you wanted, so I'm happy for you...
---> '''Akira''': ''(anger rising in his voice)'' It doesn't matter what ''I'' want. I'm asking how ''you'' feel. You've always been like that. You haven't changed one bit. If I told you to die, would you die? Would you die just because I wanted you to?! What's so fun about suppressing yourself like that? You think it makes me happy to have my opinion prioritized every damn time?!
---> '''Rin''': ''(more urgently)'' Akira, that's going too far...
---> '''Akira''': Give me a fucking break. ''I get pissed off just looking at you.''

---> '''Motomi''': You seriously never change. I'm not telling you to start living on the straight and narrow. It'd be the pot calling the kettle black. But the stuff you do -- all of it -- is just too damn vile. Makes me sick to my stomach.
---> '''Arbitro''': You don't have the right to say that!
---> '''Motomi''': It was the same back then. You're not content with merely having creepy fetishes; you're greedy for money, too. It's downright nauseating. And don't get me started on that stupid mask of yours.
---> '''Arbitro''': Silence!! You don't understand anything!
---> '''Motomi''': ''(unfazed)'' I don't even ''want'' to understand.

---> [[spoiler:'''Nano''']]: You're a fool to the bone. You can't beat me. You lose every time you fight me, and yet here you are again. Like a broken record. Why don't you learn your lesson? You'll never defeat me. ''Ever.'' And do you know why? Because I'm familiar with a feeling you've never once experienced-- a feeling that downright terrifies you. You can't attain true strength without first knowing weakness. Maybe you've seen your own small share of suffering, but no matter what you've been through, I've been through -- ''am'' still going through -- torture a thousand times worse. You can't even imagine what it's like. ''That'' is what gives me strength. That's why my strength remains. I wonder what you would do... if you had a taste of how I suffered. Would you be able to stay strong even then?

* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: The story takes place within Toshima, which was formerly known as Tokyo before the Third Division began.

* WorldWarIII: This occurs in the game, which causes Japan to be split into the eastern and the western zones (CFC and Nikkouren). The event is also known as the Third Division.

''Togainu no Chi'' (咎狗の血, "Blood of the Reprimanded Dog") is the first BoysLove VisualNovel made by [[Creator/NitroPlus Nitro+CHiRAL]], and is noteworthy for its violence and dark storyline. It was later ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 under the name ''Togainu no Chi: True Blood'' with the adult content taken out and some scenes censored, but containing more endings and a few new characters. One of the several manga adaptations (one which has no BoysLove content) is available in English from Creator/{{Tokyopop}}. An official English translation of the original visual novel was released on February 25, 2020 by [[Creator/{{JAST}} JAST BLUE]].

* BleachedUnderpants:
** The [=PS2=] port keeps the BoysLove content, but does away with the sex and the other notably graphic scenes from the original game.
** The manga illustrated by Suguro Chayamachi is so thoroughly de-sexed that it's not identifiable as a BoysLove work at all. One of the notable cases in the manga happens with Arbitro. While the anime at least showed his fetishes, the manga ignores this side of him so much that one has to wonder why everyone calls him a "pervert". He's also a bit of a comic relief in the manga.
** Likewise, the AnimatedAdaptation doesn't really get to show the more disturbing scenes from the visual novel and heavily censors any of the scenes that does make it to the anime. While there's still violence, there's no rape depicted on-screen.

* OffModel: Simply put, the AnimatedAdaptation has a lot of scenes where the way a character is rendered and drawn looks shoddy and very off 90% of the time.

* BridalCarry: Nano carries an unconscious Akira like this is his route after [[spoiler:Keisuke]] dies.

* {{Scandalgate}}: Somehow, this series got caught up in "LightNovel/{{Oreimo}}gate", as it was temporarily pulled off of ANN's servers as a result of the leakage of Episode 2 of Oreimo.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Shiki's route. [[spoiler:After "marking" Akira as his property, Shiki notices that the pain (from a wound on the left palm) turns Akira on. So he tells Akira to "comfort [himself] with [his] own hand"]].

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Unlucky Keisuke, usually. Of course, this is unless you play his route, in which case he becomes a VictoriousChildhoodFriend.

* WeWillMeetAgain: The benevolent version of the trope is used in Akira and Nano's ForgottenFirstMeeting.

* DidNotGetTheGuy: Akira ends up with nobody at the end of the anime. Although, Akira's feelings for Keisuke are to be questioned, especially at the end.

* FateWorseThanDeath: In the short story, ''Kawaita Mizu'', and Shiki's Drama CD, [[spoiler:Akira tells Shiki to kill him when Shiki was having his way with him]].

* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Akira had one with Nano as a child. Justified by the reveal that Akira's childhood memories [[spoiler:were [[LaserGuidedAmnesia erased]] by the scientists at ENED]].

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Akira and Keisuke were both from the same orphanage because [[spoiler:they were both part of the same experiment that created Nano. Working on that experiment was Emma, who framed Akira and sent him to Toshima. Motomi and Arbitro were also hired as researches for the organization that experimented on Nano. Arbitro pretty much runs Vischio, which distributes the drug Rein (which is made from Nano's blood), but the official boss, Il-Re, is actually Shiki, who is Rin's brother.]]
* OnlyOneName: ''Everyone'' is introduced with only one name. And [[spoiler:Nicole Premier]] doesn't count as an exception, because it's not even [[spoiler:Nano's]] real name in the first place.
* OutlawCouple: In [[spoiler:Nano]]'s route, he and Akira become fugitives as they're still pursued by the military even three years after Japan reformed, which leaves them with no choice but to move from place to place to avoid getting captured.

* PhlebotinumOverload: When taken in large doses, depending on the concentration, Rein can kill its user.

* PsychoSerum: Rein is a drug which grants increased strength and speed to the user, but it also comes at the cost of the user getting consumed with raving homicidal insanity. It's self-limiting however, as the higher the concentration percentage, the more likely it will kill the user.

** In Shiki's route, [[spoiler: Nano]] both eloquently and bluntly sums up why [[spoiler: Shiki can never defeat him, and it's enough to tempt Shiki into drinking Nano's blood... if the player chooses to let it happen, at least]].

** Both also seek to kill a certain someone, which they achieve in their good endings, but the aftermath of their personal journey completely contrasts the other's. [[spoiler: Rin spent a long time attempting to kill Shiki or die trying because he feels that he's nothing left. However, his relationship with Akira gives him a reason to live once more. On the other hand, Shiki is hell-bent on killing Nano but never contemplated what he could do after that. As a result, after Nano is put down for good, Shiki becomes an EmptyShell]].

* SnowMeansDeath: In Episode 12, snow starts falling. Later, it shows all the dead bodies in Toshima, including [[spoiler:Nano]].
* SpitefulSpit: Akira spits at Shiki during one encounter on his route. Shiki is merely amused by his defiance.
* SpoilerOpening:
** Rin and Shiki are shown back to back, which pretty much suggests that they have a connection with each other.
** [[spoiler:Shows Keisuke's reflection on a Rein vial and the blade of a katana and also shows him falling down on the same scene. Which pretty much spells Keisuke's destiny]].

* YankTheDogsChain: The anime does this a lot.

** After Shiki leaves Arbitro's room, Arbitro comments that Shiki needs to find some release.
** In the game, Motomi also teases Akira about never having a serious relationship.

* SiblingYinYang: Rin and [[spoiler: his half-brother, Shiki]], are like yin and yang.

** Motomi's [[spoiler: son and wife have died]].
** Nano [[spoiler: was used as a test subject]].

%%* DeadlyGame: Igra.[[note]]from the [[Main/GratuitousRussian Russian]] word "игра", meaning "Game".[[/note]]
%%* DespairEventHorizon: Experienced by various characters.
%%** Akira after [[spoiler: Keisuke dies]].
%%** Keisuke after Akira unintentionally tells him off for being weak.
%%** Rin after humiliation by [[spoiler: Shiki]].

** In the game, Akira had to travel to Igra by foot, making it possible for Keisuke to follow him, but in the anime it was changed to Akira being driven there. This was {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the [[OnTheNext next episode trailer]] with Akira asking Keisuke how he managed to get to Igra and [[HandWave Keisuke replying that he was in a daze]].
** In the game, a phone is given to Akira so that he can keep contact with Emma [[spoiler:while it also serves as a transmitting device so he -- and hopefully Nano -- can be found.]] However, nothing like that is given to him in the anime, so [[spoiler:how did Emma and Gwen find him?]]

* BioAugmentation: The Nicole Virus, more commonly known as [[spoiler:Rein]], is the result of augmenting a human to become the equivalent of a SuperSoldier.

* CheatedDeathDiedAnyway: The AnimatedAdaptation mostly follows Keisuke's route from the visual novel, but includes important scenes from the other routes. This leads to a jarring sequence of events where [[spoiler:Keisuke gets addicted to Rein, nearly bites the bullet, barely overcomes his addiction and returns to his normal self (all from Keisuke's route), and then is abruptly killed while trying to protect Akira from an unrelated threat (taken from Nano's route).]]

* ChildSoldiers: Akira belongs to a generation of kids who were trained to be soldiers, though the war ended before any of them could be sent to fight.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy:
** In Keisuke's good ending, [[spoiler:he snaps out of his Rein-induced insanity and when he remembers everything he did -- including raping Akira -- he says he will go away if Akira doesn't want to see him again. Thankfully, Akira doesn't want him to leave.]]
** In Shiki's good ending, as he and Akira are leaving Toshima, he tells Akira to go where he wants since he knows what's going to happen to him.

* CorruptTheCutie: [[spoiler:Keisuke, thanks to [[KickTheDog Akira's]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech rejection]] and [[PsychoSerum Rein]], goes from a kind-hearted and timid guy to a sadistic rapist who's {{Yandere}} for Akira]].
%%* CrapsackWorld: Courtesy of the [[WorldWarIII Third Division]].

%%* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: Akira does this to [[spoiler:Rin]] after he saves him from [[spoiler:being killed by Shiki]].
%%* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:Nano]].

%%* ALadyOnEachArm: Rin in the scene where he first speaks to Akira and Keisuke.

%%* LeParkour: Rin in Episode 4.

%%* LoveMartyr: Keisuke starts out looking like one in regards to Akira. [[spoiler:Eventually the dynamic gets flipflopped once he starts taking Rein]].

%%* MurderersAreRapists: The Executioners play this straight. Shiki and [[spoiler:Keisuke]] subvert this since [[spoiler:Akira is the only person they rape]].

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge:
** Akira towards Shiki for [[spoiler:Keisuke's death]] at the end of the anime.
** This is also Rin's reason for coming to Toshima; to avenge his fallen teammates by killing Shiki.

** In the game, a phone is given to Akira so that he can keep contact with Emma [[spoiler:while it also serves as a transmitting device so he -- and hopefully Nano -- can be found.]] However, nothing like that is given to him in the anime so [[spoiler:how did Emma and Gwen find him?]]

* BlackBlood: Inverted with a vengeance. Since blood plays such an important role in the story, the AnimatedAdaptation emphasizes it by making it so bright red that it ''glows''.

* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: Right from the get-go, we're shown how much crime in Toshima is sexually-motivated when Akira happens to see an Igra participant raping his dead opponent, and all of Akira's relationships with the love interests directly involved in the game take various shades of this.

%%* OutWithABang: [[spoiler:Akira]], in Keisuke's worst ending.
* PhlebotinumOverload: Taken in large doses, Rein can kill its user.

* ReflectiveEyes: In the first episode of the anime, there are two separate shots where Shiki and Akira's eyes are reflected in the other's.

* SituationalSexuality: There are practically no women ''anywhere'' in Toshima. The only exceptions are Arbitro's "prizes", which he sells to Igra participants; although he prioritizes the grooming of male sex slaves over female ones, and the men in the city have just learned to make do.

* ToxicPhlebotinum: When Rein's effects wear off, the user experiences severe withdrawal symptoms, which are proportional to the amount they have had.

---> '''Akira''': ''(coldly)'' Stop it. Why are you smiling? If there's something you want to say, hurry up and say it.

---> '''Keisuke''': ''(meekly)'' You want this, so I think it's a good thing...
---> '''Akira''': ''(anger rising in his voice)'' It doesn't matter what ''I'' want. I'm asking about ''you''. You've always been like that. You haven't changed one bit. If I told you to die, would you die? Would you die just because I wanted you to?! What's so fun about suppressing yourself like that? You think it makes me happy to have my opinion prioritized every damn time?!

---> [[spoiler:'''Nano''']]: You're a fool to the bone. You can't beat me. You lose every time you fight me, and yet here you are again. Like a broken record. Why don't you learn your lesson? You'll never defeat me. Ever. And do you know why? Because I'm familiar with a feeling you've never once experienced-- a feeling that downright terrifies you. You can't attain true strength without first knowing weakness. Maybe you've seen your own small share of suffering, but no matter what you've been through, I've been through -- am still going through -- torture a thousand times worse. You can't even imagine what it's like. That's what gives me strength. That's why my strength remains. I wonder what you would do... if you had a taste of how I suffered. Would you be able to stay strong even then?

** In Shiki's route, Nano both eloquently and bluntly sums up why Shiki can never defeat him.

---> '''Keisuke''': (meekly) You want this, so I think it's a good thing...
---> '''Akira''': ''(anger rising in his voice)'' It doesn't matter what I want. I'm asking about you. You were always like that. You haven't changed one bit. If I told you to die, would you die? Would you die just because I wanted you to? What's so fun about suppressing yourself like that? You think it makes me happy to have my opinion prioritized every damn time?

* SceneryGorn: ''Togainu no Chi'' takes place during a Japan that has yet to fully recover from a world war, so it's only to be expected that most of the background CGs will show how much of a hellscape the country has become, ''especially'' in the ruined city of Toshima.

* MercyKill: Emma attempts to do this to Nano on the assumption that he will be forced to undergo painful experiments if captured by the government. Instead, [[spoiler:he kills her]].

%%* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Akira in Episode 8 concerning [[spoiler:Keisuke's fate]].

* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: Averted on [[spoiler:Keisuke's]] route. Akira figures out his feelings because -- for the first time -- he is completely separated from Keisuke, and not because [[spoiler:he was raped by a Rein-addled Keisuke]]. Also, the scene later implies he is still traumatized by what happened before.

* OffModel: Simply put, the AnimatedAdaptation has a lot of scenes where how a character is rendered looks shoddy and very off 90% of the time.
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Akira and Keisuke were both from the same orphanage because [[spoiler:they were both part of the same experiment that created Nano. Working on that experiment was Emma, who framed Akira and sent him to Toshima. Her fellow researchers included Motomi and Arbitro. Arbitro pretty much runs Vischio, which distributes the drug Rein (which is made from Nano's blood), but the official boss, Il-Re, is actually Shiki, who is Rin's brother.]]

* PetTheDog: Shiki's route contains a few of these. After their last sex scene, Shiki surprises Akira by kissing him. Afterwards, he asks for Akira's name.

* PragmaticAdaptation: So as not to neglect any of the boys, the anime follows Keisuke's route [[spoiler:to its bad end]] with a few important scenes from Rin and Motomi's routes tossed in. The last few episodes also append a particular flashback from Nano's route and one of Shiki's bad ends, with an original (and poorly-received) epilogue.

%%* SceneryGorn: Wouldn't be a Nitro product without it! Also DUTCH ANGLES DUTCH ANGLES EVERY GODDAMN WHERE.

* ShoutOut: In the Background CG of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYMDXg3X0AAuevX?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 Motomi's bar]], you can spot [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EYMDai8XQAEeFhl?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 a film still]] of ''Film/DeathInVenice'' on the wall.
%%* ShutUpHannibal: At the end of his drama CD, [[spoiler: Shiki delivers one to Nano]].
* SinglePaletteTown: Toshima is very, ''very'' gray.
* SissyVillain: Arbitro swishes about in a feather boa, has many sadistic fixations, and collects statues of naked young boys.
* SituationalSexuality: A premise of the entire visual novel; there are practically no women in Toshima ''anywhere'' (save, except, for Arbitro's "prizes" for Igra participants, although he prioritizes the grooming of male sex slaves over female ones), and the men who are there have just learned to make do.

* TermsOfEndangerment: Gunji has nicknames for practically everyone; "Ji-ji" (old man) for Kiriwar, "Papa" for Arbitro, and "Shikitty" for Shiki. However, the best example of this trope is when he starts calling Akira "Neko-chan" (kitty or kitten).
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: The story takes place within Toshima, which is formerly known as Tokyo before the Third Division.
* ToxicPhlebotinum: When Rein's effects wear off, the user experiences severe withdrawal symptoms, seemingly proportional to the amount they have had.
* UnusualEuphemism: In any of the sex scenes expect to see a lot of "protrusion", "meat lump", "nectar" etc. being thrown around.

* WithAFriendAndAStranger: Akira and Keisuke are childhood friends who meet Rin, who is mysteriously kind and highly effeminate. They stick together for a long time and become friends.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: If Rein is used repeatedly, it will drive the user AxCrazy.

''Togainu no Chi'' (咎狗の血, "Blood of the Reprimanded Dog") is the first BoysLove VisualNovel made by [[Creator/NitroPlus Nitro+CHiRAL]]; it is noteworthy for its violence and dark storyline. It was later ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 under the name ''Togainu no Chi: True Blood'' with the adult content taken out and some scenes censored, but containing more endings and a few new characters. One of the several manga adaptations (one which has no BoysLove content) is available in English from Creator/{{Tokyopop}}. An official English translation was released on February 25, 2020 by [[Creator/{{JAST}} JAST BLUE]].

Set in a Japan that has been divided by a [[Main/WorldWarIII third World War]], Akira suddenly finds himself accused of a murder he never committed and is sent to jail. He is then approached by a mysterious one-armed woman named Emma, who offers him a deal: in exchange for his freedom, he will participate in a BloodSport called Igra, which takes place in the city of Toshima, formerly known as Tokyo. The rules of Igra are simple; collect dog tags from other competitors by beating them in brawls. The one who collects the right tags gets to face off against Il-Re, the supposed undefeated champion of Igra.

However, things aren't going to be easy for Akira; the people participating in Igra are extremely brutal and not above murder and other underhanded means in order to get what they want. There are also rumors of a mysterious black-haired man who has been killing off Igra participants seemingly at random, a man who seems to be [[ImplacableMan almost invincible]]. To top it all off, Akira's childhood friend Keisuke has followed him to Toshima out of worry, and Keisuke is nowhere near ready to take on the dangers of Igra...

** In the game, Akira had to travel to Igra by foot, making it possible for Keisuke to follow him, but in the anime it was changed to Akira being driven there. This was {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the [[OnTheNext next episode trailer]] with Akira asking Keisuke how he mangaged to get to Igra and [[HandWave Keisuke replying that he was in a daze]].

** As if to establish that it's one of Nitro+[=CHiRAL=]'s darker stories, expect at least half of the cast to die, with the choices the player makes essentially determining how many of the characters are alive at the end. It's telling that in each of the endings, [[spoiler:Motomi]] is the only love interest who never dies, or at least no proof is given of his death.
** In the anime, [[spoiler:Takeru bit the dust first via Keisuke and later, Gwen is killed by Emma, and Emma killed by Nano. Keisuke seems to subvert this trope often despite having the lowest chance of surviving, although by Episode 11 he is killed by Shiki when he tries to protect Akira. As of Episode 12, Nano is dead. The only survivors are Akira, Rin, Motomi and Shiki. The fate of Arbito and his thugs are unknown as the last time we see them, they were still stuck in Toshima]].

* BlackBlood: Inverted with a vengeance. Since blood plays such an important role in the story, the anime emphasizes it by making it so bright red that it ''glows''.
* BioAugmentation: The Nicole Virus, more commonly known as [[spoiler:Rein]], is the result of augmenting a human to become a supersoldier.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: At first, the story appears to be no more than an ExcusePlot of Akira being sent to Igra to kill Il-Re, with violence and sex ensuing along the way. Later, it's soon revealed that the factions involved (such as the military, Vischio and other groups and individuals) are at battle with each other, over Rein and its source, and every side has questionable motives which do not always take the protagonist or other individuals' ordeals into consideration.

** The manga illustrated by Suguro Chayamachi is so thoroughly de-sexed that it's not identifiable as a BoysLove work at all. One of the notable cases in the manga happens with Arbitro. While the anime at least showed his fetishes, the manga ignores this side of him so much that one has to wonder why everyone calls him "pervert". He's also a bit of a comic relief in this adaptation.
** Likewise, the AnimatedAdaptation doesn't really get to show the more disturbing scenes from the visual novel, and while there's violence, there's no rape depicted on-screen.
* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Akira getting splattered with [[spoiler:Keisuke's]] blood in Episode 11.

* BoysLove: This is only to be expected, since Nitro+[=CHiRAL=] is the branch of Nitroplus that focuses on this trope as its main genre, with ''Togainu no Chi'' being its first game
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: This trope is [[spoiler:Akira]]'s fate in Arbitro's bad ending, where he becomes a second Kau.
* BreakTheCutie: Akira goes through a lot of crap throughout the story, and it officially starts after [[spoiler: he first encounters Keisuke after the latter had taken Rein and underwent a drastic change in personality. It gets even worse in Shiki's route, where [[spoiler:he accidentally kills Keisuke]], and he's left so broken that he barely attempts to resist when [[spoiler:Shiki decides to take him captive]].

* ButNotTooGay: Hugs and hand-holding are as far as the anime will let anyone get. It's better than [[HideYourGays the manga]] by a little (if only in that regard) since volume 8 [[spoiler:has a scene in the first chapter explicitly implying rape]], but considering that this is a BoysLove series and there's still subtext absolutely everywhere, you've gotta wonder what Aniplex was thinking. Especially given [[VisualNovel/YosugaNoSora some of the other eroge-based shows that ran this season]].
* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: All Igra participants are male. ''All'' of them. In fact, the city of Toshima seems to have no female inhabitants. The only female present in the series is Emma, and she is a relatively minor character. Of course, it's unsurprising considering the original media is BoysLove.
* CheatedDeathDiedAnyway: The anime adaptation mostly follows Keisuke's route from the visual novel, but includes important scenes from the various other routes. This leads to a jarring sequence of events where [[spoiler:Keisuke gets addicted to Rein, nearly bites the bullet, barely overcomes his addiction and returns to his normal self (all from Keisuke's route), and then is abruptly killed while trying to protect Akira from an unrelated threat (taken from Nano's route).]]

* ChewingTheScenery: When your tormented hero is played by Creator/KosukeToriumi, you know that there's going to be a ''lot'' of screaming, and Akira doesn't disappoint.

* ChildSoldiers: Akira belongs to a generation of kids who were trained to be soldiers. Fortunately, the war ended before any of them could be sent to fight.

* CompressedAdaptation: The anime. Trying to squish plot elements from multiple routes into twelve episodes rarely works out well (especially when all your budget seems to be going towards paying for a new ending song for each episode), and Shiki's fans in particular seem to be unhappy with his lack of appearances and [[spoiler:eventual vilification]].

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Shiki's route. [[spoiler:After "marking" Akira as his property, Shiki notices that the pain (from a wound on the left palm) turns Akira on. So he tells Akira to "comfort yourself with your own hand"]].

%%* DeathByNewberyMedal: [[spoiler:Keisuke's death in the anime feels like this especially after Akira's nifty speech at the end]].

** Considering there is a ratio of seven official bad endings (two of them are seen as better than the good ending of that certain character, though) to five official good endings, this trope applies to the entire game.
* {{Eroge}}: On top of the rife amount of violence featured in the story, ''Togainu No Chi'' also has a lot of sex scenes, whether the sex is consensual or not.

* GoodEyesEvilEyes: Keisuke, who had big puppy dog eyes for the first five episodes, [[spoiler:has narrower, crazier eyes after his [[CorruptTheCutie corruption]]. Both he and his eyes return to normal after Episode 9.]]

* HighPressureBlood: The anime is particularly guilty for this. A small knife cut to the forehead results in the spraying of a large puddle of blood on the ground.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Akira becomes this at the end of the anime series. When he saves Rin from Shiki, he tells Rin to forget about killing Shiki because it's not worth it. Later on, Shiki [[spoiler:kills Keisuke]] and Akira tries to kill him. [[IronicEcho Rin tells him the same thing.]] Akira doesn't listen to him at the end and returns to Toshima to kill Shiki.
* ICallItVera: Kiriwar refers to his pipe as "Mitsuko."

* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: While taking refuge in a church, Motomi teases Akira yet again about not having any experience. Eventually, Akira gets fed up and when he manages to get the upper hand, decides to get some revenge on Motomi by being handsy with him. While he only meant to mess with the older man, he quickly learns that Motomi has started to harbor feelings for Akira and was starting to genuinely get aroused by the experience, much to his surprise. .

* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: Happens whenever it rains in the PC game. The only exception to this is [[spoiler: Keisuke's good ending in which he survives Akira's blood]].

** Though [[spoiler:Keisuke]] survives the first round of "there will be death rain", he doesn't survive it a second time in Nano's ending.

* LaughingMad: Gunji can really sound psychotic at times when he lets loose with laughter.
%%** Also, Rein users, you'd be forgiven for mistaking them for different characters.

* LighterAndSofter: Some of the drama [=CDs=], which feature more comedic situations compared to the very dark and bleak nature of the VN.

Set in a Japan that has been ravaged and divided by a [[Main/WorldWarIII third World War]], Akira suddenly finds himself accused of a murder he never committed and is sent to jail. He is then approached by a mysterious one-armed woman named Emma, who offers him a deal: in exchange for his freedom, he will participate in a BloodSport competition called Igra, which takes place in the city of Toshima, which was once known as Tokyo. The rules of Igra are simple; collect dog tags from other competitors by beating them in brawls. The one who collects the right tags gets to face off against Il-Re, the supposed undefeated champion of Toshima.

However, things aren't going to be easy for Akira; the people participating in Igra are extremely brutal and not above murder in order to get what they want. There are also rumors of a mysterious black-haired man who has been killing off Igra participants seemingly at random, a man who seems to be [[ImplacableMan almost invincible]]. To top it all off, Akira's childhood friend Keisuke has followed him to Toshima out of worry, and Keisuke is nowhere near ready to take on the dangers of Igra...

However, things aren't going to be easy for Akira; the people in the Igra are extremely brutal and not above murder in order to get what they want. There are also rumors of a mysterious black-haired man who has been killing off Igra participants seemingly at random, a man who seems to be [[ImplacableMan almost invincible]]. To top it all, Akira's best friend Keisuke has followed him to Toshima out of worry, and Keisuke is nowhere near ready to take on the dangers of Igra...

%%* ClearMyName: The very reason Akira went to Toshima.
%%* CombatSadomasochist: Rein users.

%%* FauxlosophicNarration: Courtesy of Nano in the anime.

%%* GetAholdOfYourselfMan: Akira does this to [[spoiler:Rin]] after he saves him from [[spoiler:being killed by Shiki]].

%%* HappinessInSlavery:
%%** Apparently Kau to Arbitro.
%%** Also, [[spoiler: Akira to Arbitro in Arbitro's]] bad ending.
%%** [[spoiler: Arguably, Akira in Shiki's route, at least towards the end]].

* KatanasAreBetter: Although Igra participants aren't allowed the usage of firearms, their knives really can't do much against Shiki's katana.
%%** [[spoiler:Akira at the end of the anime now sports a katana as well]] .
%%* KillTheCutie: Poor [[spoiler:[[YanktheDogsChain Keisuke]]]].

* {{Eroge}}: On top of the rife amount of violence featured in the story, ''TogainuNoChi'' also