[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shirayukihime_2807.png]]

->''"If you can smile it off, you'll always manage somehow!"''
-->-- '''Takeru Shakudou'''

Two years ago, Tokyo was supposedly hit by meteors, rendering it an island isolated from the rest of the world, receiving help from only the [[BigBad Governor Kuroyuki]]. However, their saviour soon revealed herself to be a dictator, and any attempts to defy her now are pointless, as she wields an army of ''tekigousha''--people who possess right arms with mysterious abilities.

One day, Takeru Shakudou awakens, with no memories of the past two years and suddenly discovering his power as a tekigousha. Quickly discovering the cruelty of Kuroyuki's reign, he vows to take her down and restore happiness to the people, no matter how hard he has to fight.

''Snow White and Seven Dwarfs'' (''Shirayukihime to 7-nin no Shuujin''; its title can also be read as ''Snow White and the Seven Prisoners'') is a manga by Kuroko Yabuguchi, which was serialized in ''[[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Young Jump]]'' from 2012 to 2013 and compiled into five volumes. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic Japan, and is very loosely based off of the original tale of ''Literature/SnowWhite''.
----
!! Tropes associated with Snow White and Seven Dwarfs:
* AbusiveParents:
** Fujimaru's mother sold him to the government and never looked back. He's understandably still bitter over it.
** Shirayuki's mother [[spoiler:is Kuroyuki. Self-explanatory, really]].
** Ken's father was ready to disown Ken simply for not living up to his standards and apparently had Ken undergo experimentation to become a tekigousha in order to win his approval.
* AffablyEvil: A number of villains--namely, Ken, before his HeelFaceTurn, Haruyama, and Mogami.
* AfterTheEnd: Tokyo's been reduced to a post-apocalyptic state, due to meteors having struck two years ago.
* AlasPoorVillain:
** Takeru isn't very happy when [[spoiler:Uzuki]] dies. See LetThemDieHappy below.
** [[spoiler:Shirayuki]] mourns [[spoiler:Amagiya]] when the latter dies, remembering how [[spoiler:he looked after her]].
* AntiVillain: All of the enemy tekigousha have sympathetic backstories, or at the very least, just want to live and know that being Kuroyuki's yes-man is the only way to do it.
* ArcWords: Some variation of "If you keep on smiling, you'll find happiness," doubling as a series-spread SurvivalMantra of sorts.
* ArmCannon: Ken has one, as does Ryuuichi (two, in fact).
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Takeru constantly asks these to Fujimaru in an attempt to get him to pull a HeelFaceTurn.
-->''"As it now, are you still gonna be that old woman's prisoner...?"''
* TheAtoner: Fujimaru, post-HeelFaceTurn. He decides to take responsibility for everything he's done and not take the easy way out by giving up. To a lesser extent, Ken and [[spoiler:Ryuuichi]] in the epilogue as well.
* AvengingTheVillain: [[spoiler:Ryuuichi, for Uzuki]].
* AwesomeAnachronisticApparel: Souichi and Souji's clothing, though the revision explains that it's for practical purposes, not for fashion: that style of clothing is easier to adjust as they age/de-age.
* BadassCrew: Takeru and co. On the villains' side, there's the hunter squad, led by Izumi and includes Uzuki and Ryuuichi.
* BadassFamily: If a character has a sibling, both that character and his sibling will be a badass.
* BadassLongcoat: One version of the government uniform seems to come with one, worn by Fujimaru at first, Izumi, and Amagiya.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Takeru. Souji as well.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Souichi towards Souji, Takeru towards Shirayuki, and [[spoiler:Izumi towards Takeru]]. Possibly Ken towards Fujimaru if you interpret their friendship in a brotherly manner, given their age gap.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: A mild version, but Hachiouji's noted to have cameras and traps set up everywhere (courtesy of Fujimaru) to prevent rebellion.
* BigDamnHeroes: Given the genre, this obviously happens often:
** Fujimaru, after splitting from the group, [[ChangedMyMindKid returns to their aid]] a chapter later, driving between Takeru & Souichi and Ken right before the latter shoots the former two.
** When Uzuki is about to kill the group (starting with Takeru), [[spoiler:one very half-dead Ken]] comes to their aid.
** As Takeru and Souichi struggle to defeat two hunters and the military comes to the latter's aid, [[spoiler:Souji comes to save them (much to their surprise, as he was supposed to have been sleeping at Akane's place)]].
** When Takeru, Souichi, and Souji are trapped with no way to return to the others and escape, [[spoiler:a newly recovered Ken appears on the scene]].
** When Haruyama and Mogami are about to kill Ken and Fujimaru, [[spoiler:Souichi, who's just finished being operated on by Akane, jumps into the fray]].
** As Ryuuichi's about to finish off Souichi, [[spoiler:Fujimaru and co. come bursting in with a hijacked vehicle, allowing them and Souichi to escape the scene]].
* BioAugmentation: What each tekigousha has been through to give them their special right arm.
* BittersweetEnding: It's easy to overlook with how heartwarming the epilogue is, but [[spoiler:Ken is likely permanently estranged from his father who may become a new threat, Souichi and Souji are still dying, Izumi is still badly injured, Ryuuichi is implied to still have emotional issues, Fujimaru has become an ill, Amagiya is currently insane (admittedly, most don't treat this as being all that different from how the man usually is)]], and altogether, the ex-employees are ReformedButRejected by many. On the other hand, their main obstacle is gone, Tokyo is being reformed/rebuilt, and befitting the theme of the series, everyone is happy/on the path to recovery in spite of all the lingering problems.
* BladeLock: Sort of. More like Amagiya's claws were pierced through [[spoiler:Souichi's blade arm]], but it otherwise has the same effect.
* BlessedWithSuck: The tekigousha, as their abilities tend to come with nasty side effects.
* BrokenPedestal: Takeru initially believes there's no way his brother would ally with Kuroyuki, before discovering that, well, he ''has''.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: This line of thinking is why Ken initially urges Fujimaru to return to the government, knowing that he's still vital enough that he could get away with a minimal punishment.
* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase: It ''is'' based off of ''Literature/SnowWhite'', after all.
* ChekhovsGun:
** The Mirror Room is mentioned in the beginning of the series, but doesn't come into play until the finale.
** [[spoiler:On his deathbed, Amagiya, in his beast-like state, licks Shirayuki's hand. This ends up saving his life, as he ingested some of her regenerative blood.]]
* ChekhovsGunman: The three girls seen with Kuroyuki at the beginning of the series return for the finale as one of the main threats.
* ChildSoldier: Various characters.
* ClosedCircle: Somewhat. Tokyo has been rendered an island, and so the civilians/heroes can't expect any help from the outside world, which only the government has contact with.
* ClothingDamage: See LimitedWardrobe. When you don't have extra clothes and you're constantly fighting, your clothing are inevitably going to get ripped/burned over time.
* ComingOfAgeStory: A bit of one for Takeru, as the reason he was dumped in Hachiouji to begin with was so that he could decide for himself the path he wanted to walk on. [[spoiler:And Izumi ''is'' quite proud of the decisions that Takeru made.]]
* CompleteImmortality: [[spoiler:Kuroyuki and Shirayuki. Takeru seems to have inherited it from Shirayuki in the finale.]]
* CrapsackWorld: A crapsack Tokyo, at least.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Akane and the Ushio brothers.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Many characters.
* DebutQueue: See StoryArc. While character arcs overlap, the main cast is introduced sequentially, for the most part.
* DeclarationOfProtection: Both Takeru and Amagiya towards Shirayuki.
* DePower: This happened to Souichi before the start of the series. [[spoiler:And both Shirayuki and Fujimaru at the end of the series, for different reasons.]]
* DetectEvil: Shirayuki can't ''really'' do this and the series' morality is much too grey for that to begin with, but Takeru always defers to her judgment as to whether someone is trustworthy or not (much to Fujimaru's frustration).
-->'''Takeru:''' "Haha! Aren't these the same eyes that saw through you, Fujimaru?"
* {{Determinator}}: You ''really'' can't keep the heroes down. On the villains' side, Ryuuichi deserves special mention--part of the final battle is essentially him chasing the heroes everywhere in an attempt to [[spoiler:avenge Uzuki's death]].
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Amagiya, in Shirayuki's.]]
* DifferentlyPoweredIndividual: Aka the tekigousha.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Amagiya, in the finale. He ultimately survives by having ingested Shirayuki's regenerative blood.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: As far as the Hachiouji officials are concerned, just about anything is grounds for arresting you and sending you off to mandatory labour.
* DownerEnding: The series itself definitely doesn't have one, but the [[spoiler:Faith arc]] does, essentially ending on the note, "Rocks fall, everybody but the heroes dies, and [[BigBad Kuroyuki]] wins!"
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale: Averted. Sexual abuse against female minors is one of Kuroyuki's many atrocities, and it's treated as seriously as all of her other ones.
* DrivenToSuicide: A sadly large amount of characters have either contemplated/attempted/gone through with this.
** Kuroyuki's husband did this in the past, when he realized how far Kuroyuki had gone.
** Though not entirely clear, it's heavily implied that [[spoiler:after being kidnapped back, Shirayuki]] tries to commit a HeroicSuicide in the latter half of the series.
** Nakanoshita tried to kill himself in the past, over the guilt of everything he'd done according to Kuroyuki's orders. Izumi was the one who stopped him.
** Though more of the DeathSeeker variety, Fujimaru has had suicidal thoughts in the past, and Ryuuichi shows signs of this in the finale.
** In a subversion, the heroes disguise the murders of a few government employees as this.
* DueToTheDead: Compared to the government, which tends to dump bodies in sewers or leaves the bodies to rot in Nerima, the heroes (Takeru, particularly) believe in burying the bodies that they can. Respect for the dead, overall, seems to be a theme in the series--Shirayuki believes that you should NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead, compared to Kuroyuki who's happy to disrespect the fallen.
* DysfunctionJunction: Being a post-apocalyptic Tokyo that revolves around dictatorships and human experimentation, you can expect a fair amount of [[DarkAndTroubledPast Dark and Troubled Pasts]]. That said, most of the characters ultimately cope with them in a healthy manner.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Seeing how the characters live in a CrapsackWorld and Takeru makes it very clear that he's fighting ForHappiness, with the series falling on the idealistic end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, this is a given.
* EliteMooks: The hunter squad.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Meteors crashing into Tokyo, which occurred two years ago and threatens to happen again in the finale. [[spoiler:Courtesy of Kuroyuki with Shirayuki's Grim Rock and a special device.]]
* TheEndOrIsIt: Downplayed. It's made fairly obvious that the series is over and that the characters' happiness lasts at least for a while, going by the post-series omakes, but the fact of the matter is that [[spoiler:Takeru has become the next LivingMacguffin, and the heroes may have to deal with new groups after the original, starting with Ken's father/the U.S. army]].
* EscapedFromTheLab: [[spoiler:Akane's father is implied to have done this, although he dies not long after meeting Akane's mother.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: A family photo of one of Takeru's kills kindly reminds the reader that even though working for a dictatorship isn't exactly a nice thing to do, the employees still have families and loved ones.
* EverybodysDeadDave: [[spoiler:In the Faith arc, all of the residents of Shibuya and two of three of its Ward Chiefs end up dying, leaving only the heroes and Tama as the survivors.]]
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Shinjuku's base, aka where Kuroyuki resides and the final destination, as can be seen in the page picture.
* EvilVersusEvil: [[spoiler:Amagiya, after JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, goes after Kuroyuki in the finale.]]
* ExhaustedEyeBags: Characters tend to sport these during the experimentation or when they're incompatible.
* FakeMemories: [[spoiler:Kuroyuki implanted these in Uzuki, hence the girl's unwavering devotion.]]
* FamilyThemeNaming: Souichi and Souji's names are nearly the same, with the meaning of the second (and different) syllable going from 'one' to 'two,' respectively. [[spoiler:There being a Shirayuki (aka 'white snow') and a Kuroyuki (aka 'black snow') isn't a coincidence either.]]
* FanDisservice: Kuroyuki and Uzuki bathing together, in hindsight. [[spoiler:Knowing that Uzuki has been brainwashed into loyalty, the sexual nature of their relationship suddenly has very disturbing implications.]]
* {{Fanservice}}:
** In one chapter cover and in the back page of the first two volumes, we get Kuroyuki dressed skimpily.
** On the other end of the spectrum, Takeru and Izumi go shirtless a few times.
* FireForgedFriends: Aside from those who already knew one another (i.e. the Ushio brothers, Fujimaru and Ken), the heroes are this.
* FoodEnd: The series ends with all of the surviving characters at a group meal together.
* ForHappiness: A driving theme behind the series. Naturally, EarnYourHappyEnding applies as well.
* ForScience: Kuroyuki's motivation, and presumably the motivation of a number of scientists working with her. On the reverse end, Akane is a benevolent version.
* ForcedIntoEvil: A few of the villains--notably, the Shibuya Ward Chiefs, who are being blackmailed to kill the heroes.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Amagiya comments that if Shirayuki weren't with the heroes, he'd raze the districts to the ground to deal with them. [[spoiler:While it's a complete coincidence InUniverse, that's exactly how Kuroyuki tries to kill them when they're in Shibuya.]]
** Mogami tells Fujimaru that if someone (that isn't Mogami, specifically) were to have a limb torn off, they'd certainly die. [[spoiler:Guess how Uzuki ends up dying shortly afterwards? Granted, it was more so having her general right half blown off, but still.]]
* FriendshipMoment: Fujimaru and Ken often have these.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: When Shirayuki takes off her shirt and has Takeru place his hand on her chest (ItMakesSenseInContext), Souichi can be seen slapping a hand over Souji's eyes in the background.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke: The tekigousha are created by having humans undergo [[BioAugmentation experimentation]], making them {{Human Weapon}}s. [[spoiler:The Grim Rock, which started the entire thing, is a parasite of sorts connected to meteors from space.]]
* GildedCage: Shirayuki lives in one.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Takeru's a great guy, but he won't pull any punches. The same can be said about most of the heroes, for that matter, as aside from Souichi and Fujimaru, they're all genuinely friendly people... who just so happen to be willing to act as terrorists to liberate Tokyo.
* GoodSamaritan: The heroes are helped by a few.
** Upon discovering the amnesiac Takeru, Makoto helps him regain his bearings and get adjusted to the new Tokyo. This ends up getting him wrapped up in Takeru's problems for a while, which Takeru apologizes for at the end of the arc, though Makoto did come out of it a happier person.
** Later on in Suginami, Megumi goes out of her way to introduce the heroes to Akane, explaining that she can't just ignore them when they have children and ill/injured people wih them. All things considered, Souichi probably didn't have to coerce her into helping them cross the border in the first place.
* {{Gorn}}: It's a seinen manga, so this shouldn't be a surprise. Even the heroes are willing to kill their enemies in very bloody manners if need be.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Uncommon for this series, but when Souji kills a hunter through sonic movements, as it cuts to the remains of the man's corpse without showing the exact moment of death.
* GratuitousEnglish: Ken occasionally spits this out.
* GravityMaster: One of the unnamed hunters appears to have this as her ability.
* GroupPictureEnding: See FoodEnd.
* HairColorSpoiler: [[spoiler:Shirayuki and Kuroyuki both have purple eyes, a fact that is not a coincidence (though it may be easy to overlook, given that Kuroyuki rarely appears in colour pages).]]
* HandicappedBadass:
** Souichi, who's missing a right arm--but honestly, he doesn't even need it.
** Ken's on the verge of death, but can still put up a good fight.
** Souji becomes one by the final battle, [[spoiler:rendered blind as his price for lending Souichi his power]].
** Notably, with the exception of Souji (who becomes this willingly), this is taken seriously, rather than used purely for RuleOfCool. Both Ken and Souichi believe themselves to be burdens thanks to their physical issues, despite both being quite badass. [[spoiler:Until, with Akane's help, Ken recovers and Souichi becomes an EmpoweredBadassNormal.]]
* HealingFactor: [[spoiler:Shirayuki has one, as does Kuroyuki, what with them being immortal.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: Fujimaru and Ken both pull one at different times, for different reasons.
** Fujimaru is a case of DefectorFromDecadence, in that he had no intention of becoming Takeru's ally--he just didn't want to be Kuroyuki's slave anymore.
** Ken, while normally content with just taking orders, betrays the government to [[spoiler:save Fujimaru's life]].
* HeroicRROD: Every tekigousha is in danger of this if they overuse their ability. Notable cases include:
** Ken, who'll die soon from this. As far as the government's concerned, it's an 'endurance test'.
** Souichi, who had this happen to him in the past after being stuck in a 'killing game' for half a year.
** Fujimaru suffers one in [[spoiler:the final battle, becoming a bit ill in the epilogue as he apparently has frequent headaches]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Fujimaru and Ken, what with having known each other for several years by now.
* HitMeDammit: [[spoiler:In a subversion of MyFistForgivesYou, Fujimaru tells Makoto to make good on his promise to punch Fujimaru, now that everything's over. However, Makoto's aware of how hard Fujimaru's working to atone and so forgives him without it.]]
* HitchhikerHeroes: How Takeru collects his allies, starting with Shirayuki and Fujimaru ([[HeroicNeutral sort of]]), whom he begins the journey with, then Souichi & Souji, then [[NeutralNoLonger Fujimaru for good]], then Ken, and then Akane.
* HotBlooded: Pun unintended, Takeru. According to him, Izumi also used to be this.
* HumanShield: A variation. [[AntiHero Souichi]] has Shirayuki stay behind him so that she'd be in the line of fire if the soldiers shot at him.
* HumanWeapon: The tekigousha are this for the government.
* IOweYouMyLife:
** Why Uzuki's so loyal towards Kuroyuki--the woman saved her life. [[spoiler:Or at least that's what Uzuki ''believes''.]]
** Similarly, Amagiya's UndyingLoyalty towards Shirayuki comes from the fact that [[spoiler:he was actually incompatible and should've been disposed of, had Shirayuki not saved him]].
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Justified, since, as typically noted by characters in the situation, the heroes tend to be moving too quickly/too far away to shoot at accurately (and Ken and Takeru have a few close calls in Ch. 25). Still, Ken doesn't seem to have as much of a problem as the mooks do.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: All of the heroes, by virtue of the varying ages, but most prominently [[HeterosexualLifePartners Fujimaru and Ken]].
* {{Irony}}: At one point, Takeru tells Souichi that [[spoiler:if his older brother was suffering on his behalf, he'd never forgive himself]], in an attempt to get Souichi to see things from Souji's point of view. About that, Takeru...
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Fujimaru, who's an outright male {{Tsundere}} at times.
** Souichi, being one of the more callous and pragmatic members of the party.
* KickTheDog: Kuroyuki does this ''repeatedly''. Amagiya gets in a few moments too.
* KillItWithFire: One of Takeru's usual methods. [[spoiler:Notably, it's how he kills Kuroyuki--by repeatedly setting her on fire, her Grim Rock eventually exhausts itself and she burns to death.]]
* KirkSummation: Takeru pulls one off with Fujimaru, who ''attempts'' to do a ShutUpKirk, but doesn't quite succeed.
* LaResistance: The heroes are essentially this.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Takeru has no memories of the last two years. [[spoiler:Uzuki's also had her memories rewritten, courtesy of the same tekigousha who erased Takeru's.]]
* TheLastDance: Why Souichi's out to take down the government--if he's going to die soon, then he at least wants to take revenge for what they put him and Souji through.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler: The cover of the third volume spoils the fact that Ken gets better.]]
* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: The city government sure didn't waste any time in setting up a dictatorship after meteors hit Tokyo. [[spoiler:Subverted in that it turns out that ''they'' were the ones who caused said fall of meteors in the first place, so.]]
* LetThemDieHappy: Takeru pretends to [[spoiler:think highly of Kuroyuki]] so that [[spoiler:Uzuki can die believing that she was right in everything]].
* LimitedWardrobe: Considering the characters don't exactly have anywhere to get a spare change of clothes most of the time, it's understandable. They change when it's reasonable to, however, and their outfits do tend to change slightly over time, usually through ClothingDamage.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Fujimaru, Akane, and Haruyama.
* MadeOfIron: The heroes. It comes with being [[{{Determinator}} Determinators]].
* MagicAIsMagicA: Tekigousha abilities follow certain rules: namely, that overuse has bad consequences. When this ''isn't'' the case, it's a major thing. [[spoiler:Taking advantage of this is how the heroes defeat Kuroyuki.]]
* MagicMeteor: [[spoiler:The original Grim Rock appears to be a meteorite fragment.]]
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Before the finale, the heroes deal some damage to Shinjuku by killing employees and framing the kills as suicide.
* MakingASplash: The ability of one of the unnamed hunters, who wields to it dangerous levels: forcefully ripping the water out of Souichi's body and suffocating Takeru from the inside.
* MassOhCrap: [[spoiler:Kuroyuki bombing Shibuya is an understandable cause for concern among those presently ''in'' Shibuya: i.e. the heroes and the Ward Chiefs.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: When the others protest Akane going off on his own to scout in the finale, he repeats what Takeru once said when they first met:
-->"If there's a chance, then we should go for it. Not doing anything at all would be the worst."
* MirrorBoss: [[spoiler:Any attacks inflicted upon Kuroyuki will be dealt to the assailant. Between this and her HealingFactor, this understandably makes her a very difficult opponent.]]
* MoodDissonance: See the page picture. You have [[ThePollyanna Takeru and Shirayuki]], smiling happily... surrounded by the wreckage of what was once Tokyo.
* MookHorrorShow: The finale starts off with this.
* MoralityKitchenSink: On one end, Kuroyuki's about as despicable as you get. Otherwise, as mentioned above, every other antagonist tends to be an AntiVillain, and on the good guys' part, there's a mix of (relatively) clean heroes and those of the AntiHero variety.
* MortonsFork: The Ushio brothers' dilemma, particularly on Souichi's part. If he lets Souji fight, then Souji will die that much sooner from use of his powers. If he doesn't, then Souji will become further of an emotional wreck.
* MundaneLuxury: As it's a CrapsackWorld where the government monopolizes the resources, getting a potato for Makoto and his ill mother is all Takeru can manage, and even then, it's probably pretty valuable as he had to trade away his boots for it.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong:
** Fujimaru appears to be a case of this at first, before it's quickly subverted, as he's only serving Kuroyuki because he believes that defying her is fruitless.
** Ken, on the other hand, plays it straight in that he simply believes in doing what a soldier should: take orders. [[spoiler:Friendship wins over duty in the end, though.]]
* NextSundayAD: The exact year is smudged out, but given that Takeru is sixteen and was born in what looks to be 1998 or 1999, the series (which began serializing in 2012) takes place in around 2015.
* NeverFoundTheBody: Kuroyuki is smart enough to know that since the heroes' corpses weren't found after [[spoiler:she bombed Shibuya]], they aren't dead.
* NiceGuy: Most of the (non-antagonist) cast, actually. All of the heroes aside from [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Souichi and Fujimaru]] are friendly and affable people, which is probably why they all get along quite well, as well as numerous [[GoodSamaritan civilian characters]] (e.g. Makoto, Megumi).
* NotSoStoic: Barring Kuroyuki and Mogami, just about every stoic character gets hit with this at some point.
* OneManArmy: A number of characters could probably count, but Souichi is one of the most notable.
* OnePersonOnePower: Typically the case. [[spoiler:Kuroyuki is one of the few exceptions.]]
* OutsideContextProblem: The tekigousha, to the civilians. Fujimaru, however, soon explains to Takeru and Makoto how they came to be.
* ParentalAbandonment: If they don't fall under AbusiveParents above, there's a good chance that the character's parents are dead or never mentioned (though, given the situation, still presumably dead).
* PersonalityPowers: In a more discreet manner. The most obvious is Takeru, who got heat-based powers, making him ''literally'' HotBlooded; the soldier Ken got firearms-related powers (and similarly, the soldier-like in attitude Ryuuichi received the same ability); the Ushio brothers who trained in swordsmanship as indicated by the omakes got blade-related powers; the anti-social and logical Fujimaru became connected with machinery.
* PlayingWithSyringes: What the doctors in the government laboratory (and Kuroyuki herself) do on a regular basis.
* POVBoyPosterGirl: Though Takeru's always clearly TheHero, Shirayuki's the one whose circumstances the story revolves around and who gets the honour of being on the back of every volume cover--except for final one, where she gets to be on the front. She ''is'' the 'Snow White' of the story, after all.
* PowerDegeneration: All tekigousha seem to be at risk of this to some degree, but the most notable examples are Ken, Souichi, and Souji.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The heroes? A mostly normal teenager who barely has any idea what's going on, two ex-Ward Chiefs (though one of them is a hardened soldier, at least), two dying thieves, and a doctor who's, similarly, an otherwise ordinary citizen. They just happen to be the only ones brave/crazy/suicidal enough to take on the government.
* RankScalesWithAsskicking: Essentially, any character who's high up in the chains of commanding will pose more of a threat than their subordinates.
* RapidAging: Souji. On the other end, Souichi is rapidly ''de''-aging.
* RedemptionEqualsAffliction: [[spoiler:While the redemption happens early on and the affliction at the end, Fujimaru using his full power as he does in the final battle was largely him trying to atone and his DePower the price for that.]]
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Haruyama and Mogami, who die shortly after pulling a HeelFaceTurn.]]
* SceneryGorn: Case in point: the page picture. Shinjuku's the only place that isn't now a desolate landscape.
* ShortTeensTallAdults: Or rather, adults are ''really tall''. It's probably safe to assume that while teenagers like Takeru and Tama actually are short, the others are average; it's just that any major adult ([[FountainOfYouth Souichi aside]]) is abnormally tall, as [[GentleGiant Akane and Izumi]] are canonly acknowledged as huge and Akane calls [[RapidAging Souji]] [[AffectionateNickname Beanpole-kun]] for a reason, with every other adult being around their height as well.
* SinisterSurveillance: In Hachiouji, courtesy of Fujimaru's work.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Given that it's a series that's about keeping your spirits up no matter what, it shouldn't be a surprise that it falls on the idealistic end of things.
* TheStoic: Ken, Souichi, and Izumi, though all have their NotSoStoic moments, usually regarding those they care about.
* StormingTheCastle: Most of the series is the heroes making their way to Shinjuku precisely so they can do this.
* StoryArc: The series can be divided into five arcs, with brief stories in between: the recruiting-Fujimaru / Awakening arc, the recruiting-the-Ushio-brothers-and-Ken / Guide arc, the recruiting-Akane / Desperation arc, the Faith arc, and the finale / D-Day arc.
* SuperBreedingProgram: In the finale, Kuroyuki intends to do this with her allies after escaping from Tokyo.
* SuperSoldier: The soldier tekigousha. Specifically, Ken, the Imperial Guard, and the hunter squad.
* TaintedVeins: Common when using one's abilities.
* TheTeam: Though no one would look to him for a strategy, Takeru tends to be the one taking charge and whose lead the others follow. Souichi is typically being the one fighting alongside Takeru but generally being far more down-to-earth and strategic than him. Fujimaru is the GadgeteerGenius and MrExposition of the group. Aside from technical and intelligence support, he's also the group's primary driver/pilot. Both Ken and Souji provide muscle support. Akane is TheMedic, being the NonActionGuy who patches up the heroes.
* TemptingFate: The Tachikawa base figures that they don't ''really'' need to check their cameras too strictly. Meanwhile, the heroes have [[{{Technopath}} Fujimaru]]...
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Probably literally: practicing medicine and related matters have presumably been banned in the 'new' Tokyo. In any case, people being as broken as possible works in Kuroyuki's favour.
* ThinkHappyThoughts: This line of thinking seems to be why Takeru is ThePollyanna, even in a CrapsackWorld--to him, if you can keep smiling, then you can keep coping.
* ToAbsentFriends: Implied in one of the post-series omakes. [[spoiler:Takeru, Shirayuki, and Tama are at what appears to be graves for Haruyama, Mogami, and Uzuki.]]
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: [[spoiler:Though given that Kuroyuki's the governor of Tokyo, it only stands to reason that she'd choose to wreck her city to take over.]]
* TookALevelInBadass:
** Ken, who was apparently weak and a crybaby as a child. That said, he knew the weak couldn't survive, and so... well, look at him now.
** Takeru, due to a case of HowDoIShotWeb at first, continuously takes these.
** Souji gets an upgrade about halfway through the series, symbolizing his resolve to get serious.
* TokenRomance: Averted. Despite the fairy tale that the series is based off of (and consequently getting mislabeled as part of the romance genre often), the series has next to no romance, let alone among the main characters.
* TrappedInVillainy: Most of the villains. Kuroyuki's not the sort of person who believes in letting her subordinates quit.
* TrueCompanions: Need it be said? The heroes are practically a pseudo-family, given the illustrations of them of having meals together, with the epilogue confirming that this does indeed happen and the post-series omakes showing that they continue to spend all their time together afterwards.
* UndyingLoyalty: Uzuki towards Kuroyuki, and Amagiya towards Shirayuki.
* UrbanSegregation: Shinjuku is where the 'elite' get to live, and it's the only part of Tokyo reminiscent of the old world. Everywhere else amounts to the slums or industrial areas.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: A fair number of tekigousha abilities involve shapeshifting to some degree.
* WasOnceAMan: The experimental failures turned monsters, kept in Shibuya.
* WhamEpisode: Chapter 25. [[spoiler:Shirayuki gets kidnapped back from the heroes.]]
* WhamLine: Fujimaru gives one to Takeru early on, setting the tone for the rest of the series:
-->'''Fujimaru:''' "Shakudou... what have you heard about the tekigousha? Ha... that it's like being a pet dog, living the life of luxury...? It's actually more like... ''[[TrappedInVillainy being a prisoner]]''."
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fate of Makoto's father is never mentioned, though it's probably safe to presume he's dead.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Averted. While Takeru and co. go about slaughtering soldiers, there are subtle acknowledgments--mainly from Takeru--that killing people in the name of their (however heroic) goals isn't exactly the epitome of morality. At one point, after Takeru shoots down a helicopter, there's even a shot of a burning family photo of one of the soldiers that was just killed.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: A topic brought up while in Shibuya. Haruyama, Mogami, and Tama very much see the monsters still as people, making it one of their greatest redeeming traits (not that they especially needed it). On the heroes' end, only [[AllLovingHero Takeru]] truly sympathizes with the monsters as well.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Aside from the actual epilogue itself, the final volume includes omakes showing the characters' near future, mostly showing happy scenes and an attempt to return to a vaguely normal life.
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Izumi gets a chapter explaining his circumstances, and Kuroyuki gets part of one in the finale showing her StartOfDarkness.
* WigDressAccent: Barring Ken and Shirayuki, who couldn't be disguised and so had to be hid entirely, this is how the heroes get by when entering Suginami. Possibly veers into PaperThinDisguise, considering that their disguises were basic at best, due to a lack of supplies, and that the government workers are supposed to be ''searching for them''. That said, it can be justified in that the inspection guard was more focused on verifying their (false) names against the (equally false) entries in the database of who was permitted to pass through, rather than on their faces.[[note]]For the record, Fujimaru was the one responsible for hacking said database.[[/note]]
* WouldHurtAChild: The government officials would. Hitting a beggar child, unsurprisingly, is the major thing that sets off Takeru's BerserkButton in Hachiouji.
* AWorldHalfFull: Takeru would have people believe this, and in the end, [[EarnYourHappyEnding he's right]].
* WorldOfBadass: Due to most characters being tekigousha, though even then, there's still a fair amount of characters who were soldiers, martial artists, trained in swordsmanship, etc. On the non-action side of things, Fujimaru still gets to shine through his hacking skills and driving, and Akane's a BadassPacifist.
* WrongContextMagic: [[spoiler:Shirayuki and Akane are aversions to MagicAIsMagicA above, due to having inherited their abilities.]]
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Two cases:
** Takeru gives a more implied version of this to Fujimaru, suggesting that Fujimaru deserves better than living with the abuse he deals with and that he's not beyond redemption, despite what Amagiya says (and what Fujimaru himself believes).
** Fujimaru gives a straighter version to Ken, who believes himself to be somewhat of a burden due to being half-dead. Fujimaru makes it clear that he ''doesn't'' think of Ken as one.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Kuroyuki, unsurprisingly, has no qualms about dropping this on people.
* YoungAndInCharge: Fujimaru, in the beginning: sixteen years old and Ward Chief of Hachiouji. Similarly, Tama, who's Ward Chief of Shibuya at fourteen.
* YourDaysAreNumbered:
** Using his power has gradually been killing Ken--by the present, he doesn't have long left to live. [[spoiler:Thanks to Akane, he gets better, though it's noted that the cycle will just repeat itself all over again.]]
** As Souichi is de-aging and Souji is rapidly aging, they know that they'll both die, sooner or later.