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11[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dmmd_cover.png]]
12[[caption-width-right:350: ''"I will destroy you."''\
13[[labelnote: Clockwise from top left]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Clear]], [[TechnoWizard Noiz]], [[TheUnfettered Mink]], [[CanineCompanion Ren]], [[BadPowersGoodPeople Aoba]], and [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters Koujaku]][[/labelnote]]]]
14
15->''"You finally came...''
16->''I've been waiting for so long...''
17->''come quickly...''
18->''destroy me...''
19->''with your power"''
20
21The fourth BoysLove VisualNovel created by [[Creator/{{Nitroplus}} Nitro+CHiRAL]], ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder'', also known amongst fans as ''DMMD'', features crisp, clean and fluid art style, ElectronicMusic soundtrack, various character expressions and elaborate [=CGs=], a dark sci-fi story rendered bright and colorful, and of course, tons and tons of Boys' Love, with four main routes and one unlockable one. A first press edition was released on March 23, 2012, and a regular edition came out on the 27th of the following May. A sequel, ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder re:connect'' was released on April 26, 2013. ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder re:code'', a UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita remake (with one more route) of the original game tailored for a younger audience, was released on October 30, 2014.
22
23Some time ago, Midorijima, an island southwest of Japan, was purchased by the highly influential Toue Company. Their plan was to build a high-tech luxury amusement facility called Platinum Jail, for the exclusive perusal for all those rich enough around the world to afford it. Of course, the original inhabitants of the island got screwed in the process. What coexistence there once was between Midorijima's people and the lush natural environment prevalent throughout was abruptly cut off. All those who didn't leave the island at Toue Company's suggestion were eventually forced to move to a corner of the island called the Old Resident District. All those who have stayed cannot leave, unless they receive Toue's permission. The Toue Company won't give that permission anytime soon, as punishment from the head of the company who was highly annoyed at the more stubborn locals. Soon after development on Platinum Jail completed, Toue abandoned the former residents of the island outright.
24
25Twenty years in the future, in Midorijima, an island southwest of Japan, a guy named Aoba lives with his tough-as-nails doctor granny, Tae, and his dog-type [[ArtificialIntelligence [=AllMate=]]][[note]]a form of AI who work primarily as information networks, and implicitly, companions for those who have them[[/note]], Ren. Aoba's always found it odd [[ArousedByTheirVoice how dropping his voice to a certain inflection]] could drive people to call up Heibon, the shop he's working at, to hear it again and again, buying Heibon's mechanical goods every time. But hey, it does its job, so why not make use of it? Sadly, said power can't really help him with that trio of rambunctious children that always show up at the store just to make a mess. He also has to contend with his unusual friends that are involved in gang activity that he's long since left behind. [[CrapsaccharineWorld His life is an amicable one, although as with all who've been left to carry their lives out in the Old Resident District in the years of Toue's acquisition of Midorijima, it is by no means prosperous.]] In those ensuing years, a game called "Ribsteez" (also known as "Rib") rose in popularity, in which gangs of young men would go out of their way to engage in turf wars against one another. More recently, another competitor have been taking over people's interests; a game called "Rhyme," whose participants and their watchers scatter throughout the city to engage in fights that unfold on a virtual reality but are seen right before their eyes. Anyone can play "Rhyme" if they have an [=AllMate=] and the fights are mediated and started by Usui, a judge with a female appearance and a male voice who randomly appears to signal the start of a match. Recently, a trend of "drive-by" matches have started, where people can force others into a "Rhyme" match with no mediation by Usui and most dangerously, any injuries taken during the game can impact the player's health in real life.
26
27Aoba just wants to keep the peaceful life he shares with Tae and Ren, [[CallToAdventure but the accidental download of a mysterious 8-bit game called "Silent Oath" and getting caught in a drive-by "Rhyme" game leads to any real chance of normalcy in his life going out the window...]]
28
29An English patch for the full game can be found [[http://aarinfantasy.com/forum/f16/t171722-dramatical-murder-complete-english.html online]]. In Anime Expo 2018, Creator/{{JAST}} USA announced an official English localization, which was released on April 6, 2021.
30
31An anime was announced as part of the summer 2014 anime lineup, the PV can be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GlN_oxV4oI here]]. A stageplay adaptation was announced in 2019 where it had successful runs in 2020.
32----
33!!''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder'' provides examples of the following tropes:
34* AbhorrentAdmirer: Yoshie, the woman working at the delivery office, ''really'' likes Aoba. Her [=AllMate=], Clara, seems to have the hots for Ren. Aoba and Ren, on the other hand, try to escape ASAP.
35* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Trip and Virus, once they reveal themselves as the leaders of Morphine.]]
36* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Aoba and Ren would bump their foreheads together every now and then as a good luck charm. [[spoiler:Even after Ren becomes human, they would still continue to do this.]]
37* ArousedByTheirVoice: A number of characters comment on it in-universe. Aoba weaponizes it to make sales, and it also comes in use in other crucial situations.
38* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler:Aoba (and by extension Ren) and Sei were created by Toue for the purpose of researching the uses of their powers.]]
39* ArtificialIntelligence: [=AllMate=] have [[PersonalityChip programmable personalities]] to be set by the user, and have a good degree of AI involved. [[spoiler:Clear and the Alphas count as well, since they're [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots robots]]]].
40* ArtShift: Toward the end of the common route, the art briefly switches to a comic-book style when Clear punches out some of the brainwashed mooks.
41* AttemptedRape: Done traumatically to Aoba, which [[spoiler:brings his SuperpoweredEvilSide to surface and put a stop to.]]
42* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Many of the main characters are gang leaders or whatnot, and very capable in combat. Koujaku, leader of Beni-shigure easily fends off many mooks with his sword. Mink, head of Scratch, knocks out three at once with one punch. Noiz, the leader of Ruff Rabbit, fought a bunch of Yakuza without much stress and claimed he would have won, if he hadn't been interrupted.
43* TheBadGuyWins: In the bad endings, Aoba isn't able to succeed in using Scrap properly, and is thusly unable to both defeat Toue and save his love interest. In the bad ending epilogues, Toue's EvilPlan succeeding is usually acknowledged in passing.
44* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind:
45** In the beginning of the game, Aoba and Ren get dragged into a Rhyme match with a person wearing a rabbit head [[spoiler:who is later revealed to have been Noiz]].
46** In the [[spoiler:secret]] route, [[spoiler:Aoba must face a berserk Ren in his mind]].
47* BewareTheNiceOnes:
48** Aoba when pushed into it; more-so when on the routes of those with a more active mentality.
49** [[spoiler:Ren]], who has the most brutal bad end of any of the love interests.
50* BewareTheQuietOnes: Ren is the one who [[spoiler:executes Aoba's Rhyme commands]], after all. Let's not forget [[spoiler:his own bad end]], either.
51* BigDamnHeroes: Happens on the true route when [[spoiler:Aoba is about to pass out from being beaten up by Virus and Trip, and his friends all burst into the scene to rescue him]].
52* BigShutUp: Aoba loudly tells the rest of the group to cut it out when they start to engage in petty back-and-forths.
53* BittersweetEnding:
54** On an overall scale, one of Aoba's potential love interests ''is'' going to get their happy ending, but at the expense of everyone else's, since their issues are left unresolved in the aftermath.
55** Clear's route is this, when taking the events from ''re:connect'' and the drama CD into account. While Clear [[spoiler: was restored after he self-destructed at the end of the first game]], in the sequel, both Aoba and Clear openly acknowledge that [[spoiler: as a human and an android, Clear will be left alone once Aoba dies]]. But then the drama CD hints that [[spoiler: it may actually be Clear who may expire first, since his systems could not be completely repaired and he's at risk of breaking or shutting down once again, or worse, rebooting and thus lose his memories. In the end, both Clear and Aoba promise to "rest together", but until the day comes when one of them will die (and the other will follow suit), they'll make the best of the time that they still have]].
56* {{Brainwashing}}: Hoo boy. The basis of much drama.
57** BrainwashedAndCrazy:
58*** In [[spoiler:Noiz's]] route, said character is hypnotized using Dye Music and is sent to defeat Aoba.
59*** One of the main conflicts in the common route has [[spoiler:Mizuki and Dry Juice being subjected to this, courtesy of Morphine]].
60*** Also happens to [[spoiler:Akushima]] in [[spoiler:Noiz and Mink]]'s routes.
61** BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: Every character's route reveals their respective anxieties and weaknesses, which they either fail to acknowledge or cannot change. This leaves Aoba [[spoiler:with no choice except to use Scrap]] to prevent them from going berserk.
62*** Subverted with [[spoiler:Clear]], where [[spoiler:the way to get his good ending is to ''not'' mind control him]].
63*** Inverted with Toue, a villain whose aim is to brainwash everyone on the island for the purposes of creating a utopia/dystopia.
64* BreakTheCutie: ''Good God'', there's plenty of this throughout the common route, individual routes, and most definitely the bad endings.
65** There's Mizuki, the leader of Dry Juice who's desperately trying to keep his team together and [[spoiler:ultimately joins the mysterious Rib team Morphine, which leads to him and his team getting brainwashed and him kidnapping Aoba's grandmother. When Aoba tries to use Scrap on him, he fails and Mizuki all but breaks and ends up in a coma]].
66** Koujaku [[spoiler:grew up being abused by his father and watching his mother be abused, and he was forced to get tattoos by Ryuuhou as part of his training to become a yakuza boss. However, the tattoos fed his anger and led him to commit total genocide on the entire compound, including his own mother. In his drama CD, it's revealed that Koujaku's been suffering from depression for nearly twelve years]].
67** Noiz [[spoiler:can't feel any physical sensation, and rather than helping him, he was ''locked away by his parents''. Even worse, they even said that he shouldn't have been born right ''within earshot''. This has led to him engaging in Rhyme battles just to try and feel pain, even if it's simulated]].
68** Poor, ''poor'' Aoba, especially in the bad endings.
69*** Koujaku's Bad Ending: [[spoiler:After failing with Scrap, which results in the tattoos taking over Koujaku's mind and turning him into a bloodthirsty monster, Aoba feels so horrible for failing and completely gives up, allowing Desire to take over completely. From then on, Aoba is now Shiroba: a masochistic, extremely messed-up version of Aoba who gets off on mentally breaking people and having extremely violent and bloody sex with Koujaku]].
70*** Noiz's Bad Ending: [[spoiler:When he fails with Scrap, Aoba is trapped in Noiz's mind along with the latter. If that wasn't enough, every touch between them causes severely painful and horrifically bloody lacerations to cut across their bodies, which causes incredible agony. And despite Aoba's pleas for Noiz to stop and to snap out of it, Noiz refuses]].
71*** Mink's Bad Ending: [[spoiler:Aoba not only makes the mistake in interfering with the events being shown in Scrap, but he ends up decapitated]].
72*** Clear's Bad Ending: [[spoiler:After failing Scrap, Clear breaks down and both him and Aoba are taken away. While Aoba is constantly experimented on, Clear is repaired but reprogrammed into becoming less human and more robotic. Clear then proceeds to not only remove Aoba's eyes, but also his limbs to get rid of his free will. Aoba even gives up at this point, deciding that if turning into a doll is what will make Clear happy, then so be it]].
73*** Ren's Bad Ending: ''Dear God''. [[spoiler:When Aoba fails to avoid the literal blue screen of death, Ren loses all forms of reason and decides to "become one with Aoba". Aoba is then attacked and raped over and over again while being devoured alive, making for a truly painful scene in ''re:connect''. But what really drives it home is that despite everything, Aoba still doesn't hate Ren, and even ''apologizes to him as he's dying'']].
74* BulletTime: Clear has one and only one instance in which he assumes a deep and commanding voice, during the common route, and it [[CloudCuckoolander may or may not be]] due to BulletTime--
75-->'''Clear:''' MAAAA-SUUUUU-TAAAA......
76* CallBack: In his route, Clear remembers that [[spoiler:umbrellas are used in the rain]].
77* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: ''Duh''. Granny is an important supporting cast member though, and her and Aoba's close familial bond provides a large number of early heartwarming moments.
78** And amongst the auxiliary cast, there ''are'' females, even if it's one of the BrattyHalfPint trio and a gossipy and quite [[LargeHam hammy]] forty-something-year-old woman that Aoba frequently delivers to and both he and Ren would like to avoid (for wearing of having to speak with her [=AllMate=], who likes him and who the lady obviously ships with him).
79* CaughtInTheRain: In [[spoiler:Clear]]'s route, it starts raining just before [[spoiler:Clear]] confesses his feelings for Aoba and gives him a kiss.
80* CelebrityParadox: In the April Fools' radio drama, Aoba says that he's a huge fan of GOATBED, which is the composer of this game's music. Mizuki is also a fan of them.
81* ChekhovsGun: In Noiz's route, both Aoba and Noiz are dragged into a Drive-By battle with another Rhymer. Noiz then checks up Ren later on, revealing to Aoba that the Drive-By resulted in Ren getting a bug that Noiz was able to remove in time before anything happened. Then in [[spoiler:the secret route, the same scenario happens, but without Noiz, Aoba isn't able to have the bug removed, which ends up in Ren regaining his lost memories. As the bug begins to corrupt his mind, Ren is then thrown into further emotional turmoil]].
82* ColorCodedCharacters: Aoba's color being sky blue, Koujaku's red, Noiz' green, Clear's yellow and Mink's [[RealMenWearPink pink]]. [[spoiler: Ren's respective color is deep blue.]]
83* CombatReferee: When Rhyme became popular, Usui was introduced as one to enforce rules during combat and limit the [[YourMindMakesItReal damage]] to players.
84* CompellingVoice: It turns out that [[spoiler:Aoba]] can instill his will onto other people with his voice when he drops it to a certain tenor; [[spoiler:when put in situations wherein his life may be in danger, however, an even greater power comes out and his consciousness begins to black out]].
85* ConfessionTriggersConsummation: In Noiz and Koujaku's good endings, they'll confess their feelings to Aoba, which leads to either of them and Aoba having sex.
86* ConjoinedTwins: When [[spoiler:Aoba and Sei]] were born, they were connected by the hair. They were separated after [[spoiler:Aoba appeared to be stillborn. Aoba opened his eyes after the separation, though]].
87* ContemplateOurNavels: This trope is used more effectively than most, as in [[spoiler:Clear's]] route he and Aoba eventually have a quiet conversation about the human perception on life and death, which fits in thematically with his predicament -- and perhaps refreshingly, Aoba answers all his questions in a very honest manner, trying to offer the different kinds of views humans have on the matter, and why he thinks they might have them, without condescension.
88* CrapsaccharineWorld: Thanks to Toue, Midorijima is split in two areas: Platinum Jail, where only the rich and noteworthy can afford to enter and stay, and the Old Residential District, where the rest live and try their best to get by, even as Platinum Jail and Toue's company make things difficult for them.
89* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass:
90** You didn't think Clear could kick ass, did you Aoba? Of course he did.
91** Inverted with [[spoiler:Koujaku]], he mostly appears badass, but his good ending has him being really dorky when confessing his feelings for Aoba; [[spoiler:he even gets a bloody nose during their sex scene]]!
92* [[CuteMonsterGirl Cute Monster Boy]]: Deconstructed, [[spoiler:while Oni Koujaku and Werewolf Ren are completely shirtless and still rather attractive, both of them only take these forms during their respective bad endings, are completely unintelligible in speech and have gone bloodthirsty berserk.]]
93* {{Cyberpunk}}[=/=]PostCyberpunk: While the setting has many of the trappings of the cyberpunk genre, it also portrays (most of) the cast being able to live normally until danger comes to the fore; that said, there's still hints of a CrapsackWorld beneath the surface of their idyllic, day-by-day lives.
94* CyberpunkIsTechno:
95** The original games has, save from some ending themes, ElectronicMusic soundtrack produced by Japanese Electronica duo GOATBED.
96** In the anime, the soundtrack is a mix of Techno/Trance and film-scorey sounds, a la Film/TronLegacy. The opening theme and two of the ending themes are still electronica, done by the series' original composer mentioned above.
97* DefendCommand: Applicable in Rhyme, which typically reduces the damage taken.
98* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Near the climax of [[spoiler: Clear]]'s route, Aoba holds [[spoiler:Clear]] in his arms as the latter [[spoiler:begins to fully shut down after his hardware completely gives out]].
99* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: Aoba's Coil ringtone is an 8-bit version of the opening theme of the visual novel ("AI CATCH").
100* DropInCharacter: Usually, Koujaku is the one who drops by civilly, being Aoba's childhood friend, but later, ''everyone'' gets in on it. Granny usually just makes dinner for them all as they sit awkwardly by one another.
101* DrumRollPlease: Played for laughs in the April Fools' radio drama, where Clear imitates the sound of a drum roll when he announces whose house he will be breaking into for the segment.
102* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:Sei]], who isn't properly introduced until the final route of the game, and [[spoiler:Ryuuhou]], who appears only on Koujaku's route, appears in the second episode of the anime, when the story is still in the early stages of the common route.
103* EditorialSynaesthesia:
104** Aoba's headaches can almost be felt by the audience due to the abrupt assault of red cracks on a darkening scene, in conjunction with an eerie, pulsing ambiance.
105** In an emotionally-engaging use of this trope, Clear's "Jellyfish Song" is never directly sung to the player/viewer, with a soft, ethereal lullaby-like chorus taking its place every time he sings instead, which imparts the wonder and calming effect it has on Aoba on the player as well, whilst never having to bring up how and what he sings (although Aoba will mention that the lyrics are sweet at one point). Although the anime eventually reveals a portion of the actual lyrics, before the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8c_A_EeVsY full version]] was released.
106--->''Sway...sway...swaying''
107--->''In between the waves''
108--->''Shine, shine, shining''
109--->''Their voices drift far into the distance''
110* EvolvingTitleScreen: Upon starting up, the title screen shows 8-bit sprites of Aoba and Ren walking together. Finishing one of the four boyfriend's routes on a good ending will have him follow. When the four of them are gathered, [[spoiler:Ren goes missing until you obtain his good ending.]]
111** If all possible endings in the original are obtained in ''[[UpdatedRerelease re:code]]'', [[spoiler:Mizuki appears before being kidnapped by a pair of cloaked figures.]] [[spoiler:Obtaining his good ending will have him be greeted by the other main characters before they all walk together.]]
112* EverybodyLives: The AnimatedAdaptation has all of Aoba's love interests get their happy endings, [[spoiler:even though [[DidNotGetTheGuy none of them (except possibly Ren) romantically end up with Aoba]]]]. But given what's implied to happen to the others when only one love interest gets their happy ending in the visual novel, it's considered a fair trade.
113* FightUnscene: The anime has Mizuki punch some guys out mere seconds after his introduction, but all that's shown is a close up of Bug Bomb's tag art and a few punching sound effects. Later, however, he's [[SubvertedTrope shown breaking someone's nose onscreen]].
114* FirstPersonPerspective: Compared to Nitro+[=CHiRAL=]'s other visual novels, ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder'' is told through a first-person narration rather than a third-person one.
115* FriendlyTickleTorture: The epilogue of Koujaku's good ending has him tickle Aoba awake when the latter repeatedly refuses to wake up.
116* GameWithinAGame:
117** The first major event in the game is Aoba accidentally downloading a retro RPG on his Coil. This seemingly innocuous game turns out to have major plot repercussions, especially as events that take place within it begin mysteriously occurring in the real world.
118** This trope also takes effect in one of Noiz's two bad endings, where [[spoiler:he and Aoba become trapped in an RPG-like simulation of the real world in his own mind due to his wish for them to be able to live out their lives normally. Forever.]]
119* {{Gayngster}}: Although the gang wars within and between Rib and Rhyme are not really the primary focus of the plot, the trope counts nonetheless given that two of Aoba's love interests are leaders of a Rib gang (Koujaku and Mink), and one other is a prominent player of Rhyme (Noiz).
120* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: Clear and Aoba wind up doing it to each other in the anime; Clear, when Aoba asks who he means by "Master," and Aoba, when saying he's not.
121* GoldenEnding: After completing the other routes, you can get the SecretCharacter's ending, a.k.a. the true one. Oddly enough, unlocking the true route also simultaneously unlocks another route that only has a bad end, no good end; although it's fairly obvious how to avoid this.
122* {{Gorn}}: There's a lot of this trope the bad endings. Noiz and [[spoiler:Ren's]] take the cake, given that the former's bad ending involves Aoba and Noiz [[spoiler:bleeding and getting new cuts nonstop in the latter's mindscape]], and [[spoiler:Ren's]] bad ending has him [[spoiler:go insane and eat Aoba alive while violating him]].
123** There is also a notable instance in [[spoiler:Clear]]'s route, altough it's not that bad since [[spoiler:Clear is [[MadeOfPlasticine a robot]].]]
124** [[spoiler:Koujaku's tattooing process]] is very bloody. It doesn't help that [[spoiler:Ryuuhou created the tattoos using the [[https://www.tattoodo.com/articles/the-art-of-tebori-creating-traditional-japanese-tattoos-the-old-way-13410 tebori method]], an old form of tattooing that is far lengthier and more painful than the modern tattooing method]].
125* GRatedDrug: At least in the English patch, the way the characters phrase their playing their "games", Rhyme or Rib, comes off with this implication; they'll "do Rhyme," etc.
126* GratuitousEnglish: '''''Everywhere''''', especially with regards to the soundtrack.
127** All of Clear's theme songs, which are sung by Kanako Itou, are purely in English.
128** Most of the themes sung by GOATBED are completely in English. This shows in the opening theme, and in [[spoiler:Ren]]'s and [[spoiler: Virus and Trip]]'s themes for their bad ending.
129** The lyrics of Noiz's bad ending theme ("feel your noise") is entirely in English.
130** Some of the (previously untitled) background music has been re-arranged and titled by the original composers. The new titles given to them are this trope in full effect (e.g 'Whodunit Howdunit Whydunit' and 'Tonight-Burn-Pledge-Trick').
131* {{Guardian Entity}}/{{Attack Animal}}: [=AllMates=] have the capacity to be these in Rhyme.
132* GuideDangIt:
133** Noiz's good ending. It's probably the hardest to get, because some of the answers you must give him are very similar and if you fail once, you get the bad ending and you'll have to replay the sequence again to get to the good ending. Did we mention he's the only character with ''two'' bad endings?
134** There is a way that will allow the player to have all of Aoba's love interests available as an possible option on how to pair Aoba in a single playthrough, though it requires the player to keep a keen eye on which choice will increase each love interest's "points" (which is marked by a dot with each character's ColorMotif in the menu screen).
135* HardLight: Although most who do Rhyme are not supposed to feel the pain of combat, when Aoba's forcibly made to participate by a mysterious bunny mascot-headed man, he feels every blow.
136* HolodeckMalfunction: This forces Aoba to [[LetsGetDangerous get dangerous]] after he gets pulled into Rhyme without his consent, although he doesn't have complete control over what he's doing due to [[spoiler:his TraumaInducedAmnesia]].
137* HotBlooded: ''Koujaku.'' His specialty is riling up all the seemingly stoic people he meets as soon as he meets them because he thinks they're up to no good (he's, perhaps unsurprisingly, right about this). Which is basically every seemingly stoic character (there are a number of them).
138* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: During the common route, the [[CorruptCop incompetent Midorijima police]] repeatably miss their shots trying to arrest Aoba, Koujaku, Virus and Trip in an alleyway.
139* InterfaceScrew: In [[spoiler:Noiz' route, as Aoba uses Scrap on him]], he gets to see his memories with Aoba in the form of a visual novel, except with severe discolorations, pixelation and errors in text rendering. Some players thought this to be an actual error with their computer or program until they were told otherwise.
140* KubrickStare: [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Sly Blue]], every time [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/10770e21e46349ec0153f008886ff4d4/tumblr_ninde5s81D1s442ulo1_r2_250.png he]] [[http://33.media.tumblr.com/f8c83f8f7f121443612733668d11d851/tumblr_inline_n6bizxOWsS1sxwtts.png manifests]].
141* LargeHam:
142** The memorable seemingly-gangsta-lyfe-inspired introducer of each of Aoba's acquaintances is just about the hammiest character to ever grace sound systems for approximately two point five seconds at a time.
143** [[CorruptCop Akushima's]] popularity (amongst the audience) can be attributed to this exact reason as well.
144* LighterAndSofter:
145** ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder'' still features plenty of dark and disturbing themes, and doesn't hold back on the horror and gore factor in the bad endings. But in contrast to Nitro+[=CHiRAL=]'s [[VisualNovel/SweetPool previous game]] which, simply put, is a blood-stained {{Utsuge}} to the core, ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder'' has its moments of fluff and levity, and also has a bad ending ''and'' a good ending for each of Aoba's potential love interests.
146** Likewise, ''[=DRAMAtical=] Murder'' is the most vibrant and lively of Nitro+[=CHiRAL=]'s works in terms of both art style and color scheme.
147* LiteralAssKicking: In the common route, Aoba gives Clear the boot in the behind in an attempt to provoke him and see if he's the one who dragged him in Rhyme.
148* MassHypnosis: Toue plans to do this to the entirety of Midorijima.
149* MentalWorld: Aoba can enter other people's minds by touching them and looking into their eyes. These mindscapes tend to be... disturbing.
150* MindScrew: It ''is'' a Nitro+[=CHiRAL=] game after all. [[spoiler:Ren's route gets the lion's share though]].
151* MistakenForJunkie: When Mink first abducts Aoba, he inquires the latter about the specialized pills he carries with him. Aoba's defensive behavior makes Mink wonder out loud if Aoba is a junkie, and yes, he actually says the word as is.
152* MobWar: While some groups, like Mizuki's, are like a brotherhood and even take care of the people and shops in the area in the district that they make their own, most of the people who do Rib are notorious for their turf wars.
153* MultipleEndings: It's a visual novel, so of course there's more than one possible ending, with each love interest having their respective good and bad ending.
154* MythologyGag: In the AnimatedAdaptation, a sign in Heibon reads "It's a daisuki shonen," essentially spelling out the series' BoysLove roots.
155* NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: Koujaku's gang and Mizuki's group take care of the areas under their control. They treat the residents kindly and are quite popular.
156* NeverTrustATitle: The "Murder" half of the title doesn't really make sense, since there are no murders performed, not until you realize that the "murder" actually refers to [[spoiler:Toue's brainwashing plans. Being brainwashed to the point of being brain-dead is the mental equivalent of a murder.]]
157* NonAnswer: In the April Fools' radio drama, when the group is asked if they have someone they like, both Noiz and Mink refuse to answer the question. Then when pressed further about it, they still refuse to give a direct answer and attempt to leave.
158* NotQuiteTheRightThing: The choices to achieve Mink and Clear's respective good endings can be a bit tricky.
159** For Mink’s good ending, Aoba must ''not'' [[spoiler:save anyone as he traverses Mink's mindscape]]. The bad ending reveals why: [[spoiler:Aoba is in Mink's memories]], so what Aoba is seeing [[spoiler:already happened in the past; so if he changes what happened, he will end up altering ''far much more'' in Mink's mind]].
160* OnlyOneName: Everyone else is introduced only by a single name, except for the Seragaki family, and it doesn't take until Ren's drama CD to have another set of characters (namely the sibling trio who occasionally causes trouble at Heibon) to be given a surname.
161* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Tae and Aoba, respectively.
162* {{Pixellation}}: Most [=CGs=] of the sex scenes have this. {{Justified|Trope}} since this is a normal rule in most {{Eroge}}. The official English release on the game, on the other hand, has an uncensored patch that allows the players to see the [=CGs=] in full, and yes, without the pixels getting in the way. However, the patch is only available at JAST's website.
163* PoliceAreUseless: The police aren't really thought of highly in Midorijima, given they are basically lazy and corrupt. Aoba even points this trope out.
164* PowerStrainBlackOut: Aoba frequently experiences this. The very first time occurs in-game when he's pulled into a Drive-By game in Rhyme.
165* PragmaticAdaptation: The AnimatedAdaptation follows the overall plot of the secret route, but it makes time to involve the plotlines of the four main love interests and integrate it into the main story.
166* PutOnABus: With the exception of [[spoiler: Ren's route]], the moment the player picks any of Aoba's main love interests, the rest will fade out from the story almost completely and are only mentioned in passing in the epilogue.
167* QuestionableConsent: Aoba and Noiz's first encounter is rather murky where consent is concerned, given that while Aoba is the one who decided to give oral sex to Noiz, it also was only because the latter goaded him into doing so... all out of the misassumption that Aoba has an ulterior motive for looking out for him.
168* RealMenWearPink: Mink and his pink bandana, Noiz and his cute cube [=AllMate=] and bunny-related everything, Koujaku and his flower theme.
169* RedOniBlueOni: Koujaku (Red) and Noiz (Blue), also the [=AllMates=] Beni (Red) and Tori (Blue).
170* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: [[spoiler:Clear is entirely indistinguishable from a human (being able to eat, have sex with humans, and [[ContemplateOurNavels contemplate the nature of human death]]) until he encounters the Alphas (to whom this trope also applies) and his body begins to break down. Even as he's dying, Aoba tells him he's the most human person he's ever known.]]
171* RubberFace: Clear pulls on Aoba's cheeks when trying to figure out what's "different" about him than when he first saw him.
172* SanitySlippage:
173** Koujaku loses control of his temper and his rationale after [[spoiler:encountering Ryuuhou in his route]].
174** Should the player make the wrong choices in his route, [[spoiler:Ren]] becomes completely insane in his bad ending and is left with nothing but the desire to ravage and ''consume''.
175* SceneryPorn: Not only there's actual porn in this game, but the backgrounds and locations are ''gorgeously'' drawn with vibrant and clean coloring.
176* ScratchDamage: Typically, in Rhyme, even attacks which have been defended against still inflict some damage.
177* [[SecretCharacter Secret Character Route]]: Not so much of a secret at this point, but [[spoiler:Ren's]] route can be unlocked after completing all the others'. [[spoiler:It doubles as Sei's route as well, who is ''far'' more spoilery]].
178* SelfCest: [[spoiler:Aoba and Ren's relationship counts, since Ren is originally part of Aoba's subconscious before becoming his own being through unusual means. This later evolves into TwinCest once Ren transfers his consciousness into Sei's body.]]
179* SeparatedAtBirth: [[spoiler:Aoba and Sei]], since [[spoiler:Aoba had the misfortune -- or fortune -- of being stillborn for a while before eventually coming to life.]]
180* {{Sequel}}:
181** ''re:connect'' shows what happens between Aoba and any of his love interests after the end of their good endings (while also expounding what happened in their bad endings).
182** The drama [=CDs=] covers what happens in each route ''after'' the events of ''re:connect''.
183* SequelGoesForeign: In ''re:connect'', this trope applies for the good endings of two of Aoba's love interests:
184** Aoba and [[spoiler:Noiz fly to Germany]] in the latter's route after they reveal their relationship to Tae.
185** In Mink's route, Aoba leaves Midorijima for an unspecified country in order to [[spoiler:search for Mink and confirm whether he's alive or not]].
186* SharpDressedMan:
187** Virus wears a dark-blue suit and tie, while Trip sports a nice WaistcoatOfStyle.
188** Noiz discards his default outfit in favor of a sharp-looking suit at the end of his route and throughout ''re:connect''.
189* ShipTease: Noiz in particular, who kisses Aoba and says he doesn't get why it's so weird; Koujaku who acts like he's gay for Aoba (because he is) although they pass it off as bromance at first; Clear whose insistence that Aoba is his master and that he belongs to him is the reason Noiz and Koujaku start to get really pissed off, etc. It's everywhere until Aoba starts thinking about a particular man.
190* ShonenHair: Trip and Virus have notably spiky hair, which stands out from the hairstyles of the rest of the cast.
191* ShoutOut: '2106 CR-L' is written in the Oval Tower's back entrance. [[Main/GoroawaseNumber 2106]] can be read as '[[Creator/{{Nitroplus}} Nitro]]' (ni-to-ro), while CR-L is (obviously) '[[Main/FunWithAcronyms Chiral]]'.
192* SickEpisode: Half of Volume 3 of the drama CD has Aoba suffering from a cold that won't go away. The reason for this is revealed to be somewhat complicated, and Aoba only makes a full recovery once [[spoiler:Mink resolves to tell Aoba ''everything'' about his past]].
193* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: In the finale of the secret route, when Aoba finds [[spoiler:who appears to be Sei]], he realizes who [[spoiler:"Sei" actually is when said person licks his cheek -- something only Ren has done to him]].
194* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
195** Is it Noise, Noiz, Noize? Rhyme or Lime? Rib or Lib? Or something else altogether?
196** For Trip's [=AllMate=], is it Bertha or Welter?
197** The same can be said for Mink's [=AllMate=] after he finally gives him a name: [[spoiler:Rurakan/Lulakan, Huracan, or Rulacane]]?
198* StealthHiBye: Clear falls out of the sky. Aoba's reaction is priceless. He does this a lot, actually, since he [[ThereWasADoor doesn't seem to register the concept of a "door."]]
199* TheStinger: Once [[spoiler:Ren's good ending is achieved,]] after the staff roll, [[spoiler:Silent Oath's princess appears on-screen before transforming into Sei, who waves goodbye.]]
200* StraightGay: Every one of Aoba's potential love interests, even with [[RealMenWearPink Mink's pink bandana]] and Koujaku's flowery kimono, which in Japan is something of a gangsterish thing to wear, for men.
201* TamerAndChaster:
202** The anime adaptation lacks sexual content and overt BL aside from Noiz kissing Aoba in episode 3. This is not the case with the bad ending OVA, which is more explicit than the TV anime, although the explicitness is still toned down compared to the games.
203** ''re:code'' replaces the sex scenes with tamer content and tones down the violence and gore, but the sexual content was replaced with more homoromantic scenes. General nudity is also censored (e.g. Clear's naked apron scene now has him wearing boxers). Additionally, Mizuki has his own route in ''re:code''.
204* TasteTheRainbow: Each and everyone of Aoba's interests have very distinct {{Color Motif}}s, personalities, appearances, overall aesthetics. Even the {{Central Theme}}s of their respective routes are notably different from one another.
205* TeethClenchedTeamwork: This trope occurs between Koujaku, Noiz, Mink and Clear when they're forced to work together to find Granny. Koujaku doesn't trust Noiz or Mink at all, Noiz isn't exactly a team player at the best of times, Mink isn't very cooperative either and [[CloudCuckooLander Clear is Clear]]. Aoba is the lone [[OnlySaneMan voice of reason]].
206* TitleDrop: The title is completely nonsensical before and after it is revealed that it is based on a [[http://media.tumblr.com/8b5d3338ce6062461b6dc5698a2c62a9/tumblr_inline_moipfucb7Y1qz4rgp.png line]] said by Toue in the visual novel.
207%%* TroubleFollowsYouHome
208* UnusualEuphemism: The fan translation, at least, gives a few... ''interesting'' examples to describe the male genitalia, such as "love meat", "love rocket", "stick and bags", and so on.
209* VagueAge: With the exception of Aoba [[spoiler:(and Sei, by extension)]] and Noiz, the ages of the rest of the cast aren't confirmed. Judging by appearance, Mink would be in his mid or late thirties, and Mizuki would be between Aoba and Koujaku's age. Koujaku is estimated to be at least three years older than Aoba but no exact age is given; [[spoiler:as an android]], Clear's real age isn't specified; and the closest hint you get to Virus and Trip's ages is that they're six years apart, with Trip being the younger of the two.
210* VocalDissonance:
211** The proctor of Rhyme, Usui, has a woman's body, but her voice is deep and clearly that of a man's. [[spoiler:This makes sense, given that Sei is controlling her.]]
212** For a cute, little dog [=AllMate=], Ren has a really deep voice.
213* WhiteHairBlackHeart:
214** Averted with Clear, [[spoiler:although he was ''supposed'' to be this. He does become this trope in his bad ending after being forcibly reprogrammed]].
215** [[spoiler:The Alphas, who are Clear's "brothers", ''are'' this to a T.]]
216** [[spoiler:Aoba becomes this in Koujaku's bad ending when his SuperPoweredEvilSide completely takes over his weakened will.]]
217* {{Yakuza}}: Aside from the numerous gangs populating Midorijima, there are also a few mentions of the yakuza. Koujaku recognizes Virus and Trip as members of the yakuza. Not only that, [[spoiler:Koujaku himself was born into a yakuza family]]. Some yakuza thugs also give Aoba and Clear trouble in the latter's route.
218* {{Yandere}}: The bad endings typically involve Aoba or his love interest becoming this and resorting to extreme and graphic measures to keep the other with them forever. Special mention goes to [[spoiler:Clear]], who cuts off Aoba's limbs and removes his eyes to take away his free will.
219* YourMindMakesItReal: This trope is prevalent in Drive-Bys and in Aoba's excursions into other characters' {{Mental World}}s.

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