Line #72 Manga/KingOfThorn


1	[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_of_thorn_cover.jpeg]]
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3	''King of Thorn'' is a short, [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] SurvivalHorror manga by Creator/YujiIwahara, publishing from October 2002 to October 2005. The story begins when the main character, [[ShrinkingViolet Kasumi]], and 159 other people are [[LotteryOfDoom chosen]] to go into [[HumanPopsicle cold sleep]] until a cure is found for their mysterious disease, [[ThePlague 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 [[TakenForGranite solidified into a clay-like substance]].
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5	When some of the sleepers wake up, the world has drastically changed; there is a veritable [[GardenOfEvil jungle]] running around and through the facility. Massive monsters roam through the facility, and there are no signs of any other human beings.
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7	A [[TheMovie movie adaptation]] was released in May 2010, whose trailer you can view [[http://www.kingofthorn.net/ here]]. The movie was a PragmaticAdaptation and deviated signficantly from the canon, altering many of the characters' back-stories and omitting the BigBad from the manga. It was nominated for the 4th Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
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9	----
10	!!''King of Thorn'' contains examples of:
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12	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: The film adaptation's creatures are primarily made of CGI. The characters are also CGI'd when fighting these creatures.
13	* AbusiveParents:
14	** [[spoiler:Katherine. She was an alcoholic who beat her child to the point where social services had to step in and remove him.]]
15	** [[spoiler:Alice also had them, which is the cause of her SplitPersonality.]]
16	* ActionDressRip: 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.
17	* ActionMom:
18	** Katherine. [[spoiler:A [[MamaBear Mama Gryphon]], too]].
19	** A little more on that subject: [[spoiler: Katherine turned herself into a giant eagle with female breasts, believing that is how a real mother should be presented. Yeah, it's [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolic]] ]].
20	* ActionSurvivor: ''Everyone'' who survives.
21	* AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: Zig-zagged with Marco in the movie. He's not a NSA BoxedCrook with a life grudge towards Zeus, but a British soldier following orders, but in turn [[spoiler:his sister died from Medusa.]]
22	* AdaptationalNationality: In the film adaptation, Kasumi and Shizuku are from Japan; Peeter, Ron and Walter are from the United States; Marco and Laura are from the United Kingdom; Alessandro is from Italy; Katherine is from Australia; and Ivan is from Russia.
23	* AdaptationalVillainy: As Zeus don't appear in the movie, the role as BigBad is given to [[spoiler:Venus Gate itself and its computer Alice.]]
24	* AdaptationPersonalityChange:
25	** Tim in the manga is understandably terrified by all the monsters trying to kill him, but in the movie he is positively excited by it, comparing it to his videogame. [[spoiler:A similarity that becomes a plot point later.]]
26	** The movie version of Peter is a devout Catholic, a trait not found in his manga self.
27	* AgonyOfTheFeet: A continuous problem, as all the survivors lack footwear due to their hospital attire and the facility is filled with the title thorns. They end up using scraps of cloth from their shirts to make footwraps.
28	* AirVentPassageway: Marco sends Tim into an air vent so he can get to the other side of a locked door and let the rest of the group through. [[spoiler:At least, that was the plan...]]
29	* AliceAllusion: Alice, The MysteriousWaif, creates her protector as a giant white rabbit. He wears a top hat with a playing card stuck to it, too.
30	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: 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.
31	** Ron even discusses this with Kasumi in Chapter 27:
32	-->'''Ron''': "[[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim I don't know what you women see in that type of guy]]. Tell me. These types of guys only cause women headaches."
33	-->'''Kasumi''': "He already has. And despite that, I am still..."
34	* AllThereInTheManual: The [[http://www.kingofthorn.net/ Japanese website]] for TheMovie provides full names, ages, occupations and nationalities for most of the characters, and even gives names to some of the monsters.
35	* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Kasumi and Shizuku.
36	* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:Alice was kept in a life support chamber for eight years.]]
37	* AngstySurvivingTwin: Kasumi. [[spoiler:It's a bit more complicated than that, though.]]
38	* AnimeAccentAbsence: With the exception of the Japanese characters, averted in the English dub of the movie.
39	* AntiEscapismAesop: The story of [[Literature/SleepingBeauty Sleeping Beauty]] is constantly referenced throughout the events of ''King of Thorn'', with emphasis on humanity's inner desire for [[{{Escapism}} escape from painful realities]]. The ultimate lesson is that one must [[LivingIsMoreThanSurviving live life without being dominated by fear]], no matter how much suffering one goes through. Zeus [[spoiler:(Alice in the movie) and Shizuku]] tried to escape from reality at the expense of the entire world using the Medusa pandemic. The heroes pushed through the monsters and obstacles thrown at them, slowly discovering the purpose and will to live beyond fear of the unknown.
40	* AntiHero: Kasumi is a ClassicalAntiHero, while Marco is mostly a ByronicHero.
41	* ArcWords: In TheMovie, "Miracles don't happen without wishes."
42	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: "Well... I think it probably evolved from some animal, or [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment maybe suddenly mutated."]] Possibly justified, as "evolved" implies "mutated over a long period of time", as opposed to "suddenly mutated".
43	* AssholeVictim: Alessandro, the {{Jerkass}} GrumpyOldMan, is the first member of the group to get killed.
44	* AwfulTruth: 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.
45	* BackFromTheDead: With ''sheer willpower'', and a little help from [[HeroicSacrifice Alice]].
46	* BadassNormal: Applied to pretty much ''everyone'', but especially Marco. [[TookALevelInBadass But]] [[EmpoweredBadassNormal eventually...]].
47	* BarefootCaptives: None of the sleepers have access to shoes upon waking up, as they're all in patient scrubs. Eventually, they improvise some rudimentary foot wrapping from their clothes to walk around somewhat easier. Kasumi later ditches her footwraps after donning the red dress and only gets new ones when she has to climb some thorn vines.
48	* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: [[spoiler:Marco]]
49	* BigFancyCastle[=/=]BuildingOfAdventure: Pretty much the whole story takes place within the isolated, thorn-covered, monster-infested castle.
50	* BigNo: A full-page BigNo in the final volume.
51	* BlackDudeDiesFirst:
52	** Averted with Ron. He survives all the way to the end of the story!
53	** Played more straight in the movie. [[spoiler: He’s the third member of the group to die.]]
54	* BlandNameProduct: There's a 'Mindows' operating system, and 'Bell' computers.
55	* BodyHorror: Copious examples. Infection by Medusa causes the body to slowly [[TakenForGranite petrify]] and eventually shatter. If you're lucky, you might instead get a very nasty LovecraftianSuperpower. 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 ''[[AndIMustScream eight years]]'']].
56	* BondVillainStupidity: Played with. [[spoiler:Zeus]] is smart enough to know that letting his archenemy live after he's discovered his master plan is a bad idea, and after some EvilGloating, 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.]]
57	* BoxedCrook:
58	** The government recruits Marco this way. The fact Marco wants to take revenge on the infiltrated facility's system administrator (Zeus) certainly helps.
59	** [[spoiler: Averted in the movie, where Marco is actually a British special forces agent who has assumed the identity of a lottery-chosen crook to try and bring down Vega, who is believed to have created and dispersed Medusa.]]
60	* BrainUploading: One of the first things super-hacker [[spoiler:Zeus]] does as part of his AGodAmI is download his mind into a new Medusa form. "That shell could never contain my potential..."
61	* BreakTheCutie:
62	** Kasumi goes through ''a lot'' of this. Amazingly enough, she manages to get through it pretty well. Shizuku, on the other hand, [[HeroicBSOD doesn't fare quite as well]].
63	** Alice went through ''eight years'' of breaking, leading her to eventually become a BrokenBird.
64	* BreakingSpeech: "[[AFateWorseThanDeath Shizuku's fate]]... is '''your''' fault."
65	* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler: Marco Owen]] is killed by [[spoiler:Zeus]]. However, [[spoiler: 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.
66	* CanonForeigner: In the movie, Marco's sister Laura Owen.
67	* [[CatGirl Cat Boy]]: Laloo [[spoiler: Also the Zeus Breed; and Tim becomes [[PartialTransformation half of one]].]]
68	* CassandraTruth:
69	** After watching the security tape with [[spoiler:Kasumi]] on it, Tim says to [[spoiler:Kasumi]] "That's you, isn't it?" She denies this, believing the person on the tape to be [[spoiler:Shizuku]]. By the end of the story, it turns out that Tim was right.
70	** Justified; At the time, Tim couldn't have known the truth about [[spoiler:Kasumi and Shizuku]], and [[spoiler:Kasumi]] didn't remember what had really happened on "that day".
71	* ChainedByFashion: Alice's giant rabbit protector is adorned with chains, which it can also manipulate as weapons.
72	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:Zeus]] makes his first, unnamed appearance during a flashback in volume 2 of the manga. Did ''you'' think the goofy security administrator in the Hawaiian shirt would turn out to be the BigBad?
73	* ClearMyName: Marco's motivation in the manga.
74	* CloneAngst: This comes up towards the end of the manga, since by that point both [[spoiler: Marco and Kasumi]] have died and been resurrected as Medusa constructs; essentially, they are just copies of their original selves. [[spoiler:Marco]], not being one prone to angst, simply recommends they live on as normal.
75	-->[[spoiler: '''Marco''']]: Your worth hasn't changed. And it never will.
76	* CloseCallHaircut: Not long after Marco gives Kasumi a gun, she fires it accidentally and parts his hair.
77	* ClothingDamage: A monster rips Kasumi's shirt badly enough that she has to find new clothes when she eventually gets to safety.
78	* CompressedAdaptation: The film adaptation, at only 109 minutes, adapts all 6 volumes. While it does follow the same basic story, there are several changes throughout.
79	* CowardlyLion: Kasumi. She believes she is [[HeroicSelfDeprecation 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.
80	* {{Cult}}: The [[HumanPopsicle Cold Sleep]] project was sponsored by a cult called Venus Gate. They planned to harness the power of [[TheVirus Medusa]] to remake the world, only to discover too late that EvilIsNotAToy.
81	* DamselOutOfDistress: Kasumi. See CowardlyLion.
82	* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:Kasumi]] died before the manga began. The one who appears in the story is a ReplacementGoldfish who was created using a LovecraftianSuperpower, and doesn't realize it until TheReveal in the final volume. In the movie it's a DeadPersonImpersonation done by [[spoiler:Shizuku]] due to [[BreakTheCutie mental stress]].
83	* DeadlyUpgrade: See HeroicSacrifice.
84	* DeathByAdaptation:
85	** [[spoiler:Ron, Marco, and harpy!Katherine]] survive in the manga, but not the movie.
86	** 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.
87	* DeathsHourglass: 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.
88	* DefiantStoneThrow: How Kasumi saves Marco from a dinosaur in the first book; she chucks rocks at it so it's too distracted to eat him. Marco uses this chance to break the bridge the dinosaur is standing on.
89	* DemotedToExtra: Zeus is absent from the movie, though he does make a brief appearance in a photo at the beginning. His real name is written as Steve Austin.
90	* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:This happened to Shizuku when her twin sister Kasumi [[AvertedTrope failed]] to force her to [[SuicidePact die together with her]]. Once she realized that her sister is dead, Shizuku's mind snapped and triggered the Medusa within her. As a result, Shizuku did everything she could to restore and preserve Kasumi's life using Medusa, even at the expense of the entire world. She used Medusa to create an exact double of Kasumi, including her personality and memories up until just before her suicide.]]
91	* DoomedDefeatist: 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.]]
92	* DreamWithinADream: This starts happening near the end of the TheMovie. See MindScrew.
93	* DrivenToSuicide: How [[spoiler:Vincent Coral Vega]] [[AteHisGun dies]].
94	* DroolHello: The "Demonsaurus" monsters in the movie are fond of this trope.
95	* TheDulcineaEffect: It's revealed later that all the survivors had [[spoiler: "keys" implanted in their minds, one being to "protect a weak Japanese woman with your life." Meaning that all of them were under TheDulcineaEffect towards Kasumi, irrationally protecting her despite never knowing or meeting her previously]].
96	* EatMe: Marco and Kasumi have to let the mother monster swallow them to stop Zeus and save Shizuku.
97	* EnemyWithout: Alice, who (as a result of abuse from her family) [[SplitPersonality 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 ''[[KillItWithFire burning the house down]]'']].
98	%%* EvilutionaryBiologist: Zeus.
99	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: Everything seems to take place over about the course of a day or a day and a half, excluding numerous flashbacks.
100	* FairyTaleMotifs: TheMovie likes to reference "Literature/SleepingBeauty" whenever possible. See RuleOfSymbolism.
101	* FauxlosophicNarration: TheMovie has Katherine telling the story of "Literature/SleepingBeauty" at various times as if it relates to the plot somehow.
102	* FertileFeet: In a dark version of the trope, the ubiquitous thorny vines follow Kasumi, growing wherever she goes.
103	* FinalGirl: [[spoiler:Kasumi and [[ImprobableInfantSurvival Tim]]]] are the only survivors left at the end of the movie.
104	* FireForgedFriends: Everyone who survives really, ''really'' wouldn't have even been aware of each other's world had it not been for TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
105	* FourIsDeath: Level 4 is Venus Gate's main lab where a cure for Medusa was supposedly being sought. In reality, [[spoiler:it's a bunker where they experimented on Medusa to turn fantasy into reality by separating Medusa from its host, and all the people they gathered there were going to be used as test subjects. They were also infecting people with Medusa at will]].
106	* FreakOut / HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Kasumi's death sends Shizuku right over the DespairEventHorizon. It's so bad that it awakens her Medusa powers and plunges the entire ''world'' into total chaos.]]
107	* FuroScene: In Kasumi's flashbacks. Played for horror rather than {{Fanservice}}, since [[spoiler:it was the site of Kasumi's InterruptedSuicide]].
108	* GardenOfEvil: The entire setting is one of these--a monster-filled jungle of rapidly growing thorny vines.
109	%%* GenkiGirl: Shizuku.
110	%%* GeniusBruiser: Marco.
111	* GigglingVillain: [[spoiler:Zeus]], and comes across as FauxAffablyEvil.
112	* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:Zeus]], who manipulated the Medusa in [[spoiler:Shizuku]], and gave himself some nifty abilities in the process. [[spoiler: He also orchestrated a lot of things in the plot]], and is [[GigglingVillain a giggling asshat]].
113	* TheGrimReaper: Meets [[spoiler:Marco]] after he dies and offers to ferry him over the afterlife.
114	* GrumpyOldMan: Alessandro.
115	* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:Tim]] is half-absorbed by the Medusa. He takes it [[AngstWhatAngst really, really well]].
116	* TheHedgeOfThorns: There's thorns growing on practically every surface, making escapes from monsters more difficult.
117	** In the post-credits scene, some of the petrified remains has sprouted a rose.
118	* HeroicSacrifice:
119	** [[spoiler:Katherine]] kills herself to gain power to protect Tim, and [[spoiler:Alice, ''of all people'' who gave up her life resuscitating Owen, and [[TookALevelInBadAss giving him some of nifty power,]] including an insulated body.]]
120	** In the movie, [[spoiler:Peter]] does this to save Kasumi and [[spoiler:Ron]] do this to save Marco.
121	* HollywoodActionHero: Marco.
122	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Marco is a GeniusBruiser who towers over Kasumi.
123	* HumanPopsicle: The 160 Medusa victims in cold sleep. [[spoiler:But for much less time than they think.]]
124	* TheImmune: [[spoiler:Marco]] is immune to Medusa. [[spoiler:Zeus]] eventually explains why: [[spoiler:{{Determinator}}s such as Marco or himself don't have any wounds in their psyche for Medusa to exploit.]]
125	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The "cyclops" monster which was partially blinded by Marco ends up dying after having its head impaled on a statue of the crucifixion. WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic?
126	* ImprobableInfantSurvival: [[spoiler:Tim is still alive by the end of both the manga and the movie. However, an aversion also occurs as there are a few other children briefly seen among the Medusa infectees who are killed/eaten within moments of awakening.]]
127	* IntertwinedFingers: Kasumi and Shizuku, in the first FuroScene flashback.
128	* InterruptedSuicide: Happens a few times with Kasumi:
129	** First, she tried to commit a BathSuicide when she realized [[spoiler:that [[SurvivorGuilt she was chosen to be saved]], while Shizuku was not. Since they're identical twins, Kasumi wanted Shizuku to impersonate her and be saved instead]]. Shizuku [[GetAholdOfYourselfMan slaps her for it]] [[InterruptedSuicide right in time]], though.
130	** ''Then'', [[spoiler: after finding out [[BodyHorror what Shizuku has become]], Kasumi tried to throw herself off a high place [[SuicideForOthersHappiness thinking that it'll help Shizuku]], and [[TogetherInDeath in order to be with Marco]], but is stopped by Zeus.]]
131	* JerkassHasAPoint:
132	** After Alessandro (the old guy) reveals he ''paid'' to become a HumanPopsicle 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.
133	** He is also the first to recognize who the leader of their group really is; Marco Owen, a master computer hacker and a criminal. He also correctly assumes that Marco has a hidden agenda [[spoiler:though it turns out to be a less sinister agenda than he thinks]].
134	* KillItWithFire: Used effectively against the octopus-monsters and Laloo.
135	* KubrickStare: Marco's default facial expression, complete with CreepyShadowedUndereyes and occasionally a SlasherSmile.
136	* LastKiss: In TheMovie, [[spoiler:Kasumi kisses Marco after he dies]].
137	* LockAndLoadMontage: Kathryn, Ron and Marco find the armory and Ron and Kathryn suit up in combat webbing and helmets.
138	* LogicalWeakness[=/=]WeaksauceWeakness: [[spoiler:Zeus]] dies when Marco uses his hacker skills to [[BrainUploading delete him]].
139	* LotteryOfDoom: 160 people were randomly selected by Venus Gate for the cold sleep experiment. They were all told they were being preserved until a cure for Medusa was found. That was a lie. [[spoiler:Venus Gate planned to use these people as Medusa experiments rather than find a cure them. And then Zeus decided to have a little fun...]]
140	* LovecraftianSuperpower: Infection by [[TheVirus Medusa]] can grant this to those with [[HeroicWillpower sufficient willpower]]. [[spoiler:The good news: you can make all your dreams into reality! The bad news: by having them explode out of your body like a ChestBurster.]] BodyHorror doesn't begin to cover it.
141	* MagicMeteor: A meteorite is the source of [[spoiler:[[TheCorruption The Medusa Plague]]]].
142	* TheManBehindTheMan: For the first part of the manga, Ivan Coral Vega is built up as the BigBad, but as it turns out the ''real'' BigBad is [[spoiler:Zeus]], one of his employees.
143	* TheManBehindTheMonsters: [[spoiler:Zeus]]
144	%%* MercyKill: Ron nearly does this to Tim, but Katherine stops him.
145	%%* MindScrew: TheMovie plays with reality and dreams at several points.
146	%%* MixAndMatchCritters: Lots and lots of them.
147	%%* MrFanservice: Marco
148	* MultinationalTeam: People were summoned for the cold sleep experiment from all over the world, and the survivors are all from different countries. Somehow they all [[CommonTongue speak the same language]].
149	%%* MysteriousWaif: Alice.
150	* MysticalPlague: "Medusa" is a disease that came from [[spoiler:a meteorite; spreading across the globe and turning most humans into statues. (and others into monsters). It's revealed to have a psychic vector; rather than a viral or bacterial one]].
151	* NextSundayAD: The manga begins in the year 2008. The movie, released in 2010, bumps this forward so the outbreak begin in 2012 and the characters go into cold sleep in 2015.
152	* NamedByTheAdaptation: In the film:
153	** Shizuku and Kasumi are given the last name Ishiki.
154	** Tim is named Timothy Laisenbach.
155	** Katherine is given the last name Turner.
156	** Ron is given the last name Portman.
157	** While the Senator isn't given a name in the manga, he's named Alessandro Peccino in the film version.
158	* NoNameGiven: We never do find out anything about the Senator except that he's, uh, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a senator]], [[JerkAss but he's a jerk so who cares]]. The rest of the cast do ''eventually'' get names, even if it takes two-thirds of the series for them to get mentioned.
159	* OminousMusicBoxTune: This gets used quite a bit in TheMovie soundtrack.
160	* OlderThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:Alice]] stopped physically aging after she was infected with Medusa. Thus, she's been trapped in the body of a child for eight years.
161	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Zeus's real name is Steve.
162	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Kasumi and Shizuku. TheMovie says they're 15 years old, while the [[BonusMaterial manga]] implies they might be 17.
163	* OurGryphonsAreDifferent: One of these is the result of [[spoiler:Katherine]]'s HeroicSacrifice.
164	%%* PlayfulHacker and TheCracker: Marco and Zeus, respectively.
165	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Female survivors wear pink while the males wear blue. Averted in TheMovie, where both genders wear white.
166	%%* PinkySwear: Between Kasumi and Shizuku.
167	* PowerTattoo: Marco Owen is a TattooedCrook to begin with, but one in particular marks his upgrade from BadassNormal to EmpoweredBadassNormal: [[spoiler:when Alice alters his body so that he'll stand a chance against Zeus, he gains a large tattoo on his chest of an 'A' presumably for 'Alice']].
168	* PrisonsAreGymnasiums: A couple years in jail did wonders for Marco.
169	* PsychoElectro: Zeus.
170	* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler:Zeus]]. His master plan is heavily influenced by ideas he got from movies and video games.
171	* RagnarokProofing: Ultimately averted[[spoiler:--the fact that things still work makes the survivors realize they aren't far in the future after all.]]
172	* RapidFireTyping: Marco hasn't forgotten how to do this.
173	* RuleOfSymbolism: The manga makes frequent references to Myth/ClassicalMythology (Medusa, Venus, Zeus), Literature/TheBible ([[TheArk Noah's Ark]], the Crucifixion), and Literature/AliceInWonderland ([[AliceAllusion Alice]]). TheMovie also throws in FairyTaleMotifs, particularly Sleeping Beauty.
174	** FreezeFrameBonus: In the first scene of the movie, a sign on the side of a bus in New York City shows part of the following scripture; "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." --Romans 6:23. It also happens to be Christmas time.
175	** PietaPlagiarism: The scene of [[spoiler:Shizuku]] holding the dead body of [[spoiler:Kasumi]], both in the manga and the movie.
176	* SaveThisPersonSaveTheWorld: Done subversively and surreptitiously in the manga--where everyone rallies to protect Kasumi, [[spoiler: (who is in fact, Medusa) throughout the entire manga series. Their actions are mainly due to a directive imprinted in their minds by the BigBad: ''"protect the small Japanese girl with your life"''.]] Most of them weren't even aware they were doing it. Of course, the bad guy wanted to reshape the entire world, not save it, so...
177	* UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}}: The country where the old castle is, and the main setting of the story.
178	* SheCleansUpNicely: Kasumi really looks good in a dress.
179	* ShoutOut:
180	** "What is this, Film/JurassicPark?!"
181	** TheMovie shows a [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Medusa_by_Carvaggio.jpg painting by Caravaggio]] of {{Medusa}} during the prologue.
182	* ShowWithinAShow: [[spoiler:If you take the manga as an action movie inside a manga]]
183	* ShrinkingViolet: Kasumi.
184	* SocialDarwinist: Zeus.
185	* SplitPersonality: Laloo was originally a split personality of Alice before being given life by Medusa. (Alice had DID, not schizophrenia. Ivan Coral Vega [[ArtisticLicenseMedicine fails psychiatry forever]].)
186	* SurvivorGuilt: Kasumi has a massive case of this, since she was selected to be saved from a deadly disease by being put into [[HumanPopsicle cold sleep]] while her twin sister Shizuku was not. [[spoiler:She even tries to commit suicide so that Shizuku can take her place]].
187	* TakeMyHand: How [[spoiler:Katherine]] saved [[spoiler:Kasumi]].
188	* TakenForGranite: They don't call the virus "Medusa" for nothing.
189	* TattooedCrook: Marco, despite being the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold gold-hearted]] [[DesignatedHero protagonist]].
190	* ThemeTwinNaming: Kasumi and Shizuku's names both have meanings related to water; "mist" and "raindrop".
191	* TheXOfY: The title.
192	* TitleDrop: Early on, Marco sneers at the senator, saying "If you're a senator, then I'm a king!"
193	* TokenRomance: It's sort of understandable why Kasumi would fall for Marco, but it's hard to see how or when Marco starts to care about Kasumi enough to [[spoiler:''come back from the dead for her sake'']]. TheDulcineaEffect is in effect, although she does save him and the others on a regular basis too. Ultimately, their romantic resolution is left ambiguous, though.
194	* TogetherInDeath: Given a very dark and tragic twist with the final meeting between [[spoiler:Kasumi and Shizuku]]. [[spoiler:One of the two has a chance at living, but wants them both to die together so they can be TogetherInDeath. The second wants the first to take the opportunity to go on living. They argue over it. Tragedy, FreakOut, and TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ensue.]]
195	* TookALevelInBadass: Take a look at the pictures of Marco before prison and after. Good ''lord''.
196	* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:"Kasumi" is ''part of'' Shizuku, a Medusa projection of what Shizuku believed Kasumi to be. Given that they're twins, she's a rather accurate one.]]
197	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl and PolarOppositeTwins[=/=]TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Kasumi and Shizuku.
198	* TwoGirlsToATeam: Kasumi and Katherine.
199	* VideoWills: Vincent Coral Vega, the leader of the Venus Gate cult, makes an ApocalypticLog explaining what [[TheCorruption Medusa]] is and how it caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. [[spoiler:He says that he hopes it will be found by some other survivor who can fix things, but he himself does not have the will to fight on, then commits suicide]].
200	* VillainousBreakdown: After [[spoiler:Marco]]'s unexpected return, [[spoiler:Zeus]] [[OneWingedAngel falls apart really hard, really fast]].
201	* VirtualGhost: Alice.
202	* TheVirus: Medusa. [[spoiler:It infects your psyche.]]
203	* WalkingShirtlessScene: MrFanservice Marco, loses his shirt early on and doesn't bother replacing it.
204	* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:The mother monster is Shizuku.]]
205	** [[spoiler:The entirety of the Zeus Race.]]
206	* WeakToFire: Some particularly tough octopus-like monsters prove vulnerable to good old-fashioned incineration.
207	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[AliceAllusion Alice's]] [[ClockworkCreature rabbit]] is last seen wandering about holding her [[TragicKeepsake scrunchies]], then later watching [[spoiler: [[BodyHorror Shizuku]]'s [[BuffySpeak 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]]? [[HesJustHiding Is he hiding?]] Who knows!
208	* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: [[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.
209	* TheWormThatWalks: [[spoiler:Peter Stevens]]'s Medusa manifestation.
210	* YourMindMakesItReal: [[spoiler:Medusa can act like this with a host who has a ''really'' high imagination. In other words, those who want to escape from reality the most have the greatest ability to make their fantasies become real.]]
211	** [[spoiler: This is, in fact, the reason the Medusa monsters were able to take over the world so quickly: everybody thought they were unstoppable monsters, and so they were.]]
212

Context Manga / KingOfThorn