The Deadly Sins of Evil: The Tailor of Enbizaka is the fifth light novel in the Deadly Sins of Evil series as part of the Evillious Chronicles. It was written by mothy, illustrated by Ichika, and released in 2015.
Based on the song of the same name, the novel centers around the crimes of Kayo Sudou in the Enbizaka. Prompted by "Elluka", a being that resides in the Envy scissors (who is not the Demon of Envy) relates the tale of the sad seamstress, who had lost her family to a fire before she went mad and killed a family of four. After spending the majority of the novel on these tales, the narration then shifts to analyzing the story from the perspective of some of its players, such as Kokutan-douji, the strange boy who feels he must go to Onigashima because there's something he needs to do there, and Gakusha, the burned monk who has lost all of his memories from trauma and visits Kayo's head after her execution.
The novel is located in the island of Onigashima and taking place in the Evillious equivalent of the late Edo period in Jakoku, even featuring a Commodore Perry character on the horizon. It's preceded by Fifth Pierrot.
The novel's website can be found here
(entirely in Japanese), and can be purchased on Amazon.
The Tailor of Enbizaka provides examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: Kayo gets this from Kokutan as he's about to execute her, remarking on how tragic she was and crying as he's about to go through with it. Kagura also, in the end, hopes that she's at least happy in death now.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: As is tradition, the book closes on an extra chapter centered on Gallerian Marlon.
- Asshole Victim: Kai, who turns out to be a terrorist and mass murderer responsible for the death of Kayo's family.
- Body Surf: Ma swapping out her Lukana body for Kayo's.
- The Demon of Envy also does this, stealing Kagura's body and using it to charm Sudou Nagare.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Discussed between Kokutan-douji and Inukichi; Inukichi, by the time they've actually gotten to Enbizaka, is frustrated enough with all the times they were delayed to go help people that he warns Kokutan not to go sticking his nose into the town murders.
- Continuity Nod: Back in the databooks, in was shown Chartette died as an old woman outside of Enbizaka. Come here and it turns out that she had a family, with her latest descendant Saruteito joining Kokutan-douji's party.
- Driven by Envy: Kayo's motivation as spelled out in the songs is envy against the other women for "stealing" her husband. The novel plays with this; although she is actually killing the women because she learned Kai started the fire to murder her family, it's implied in another timeline things did play out more like they did in the songs, and although she was driven by revenge she might have also still envied Kai for having a living family while hers died.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Obvious connection to Japan aside,
Word of God says that Enbizaka is based on Dejima. - Foregone Conclusion: Thanks to the songs. Kayo murders the entire Miroku family, and she’s eventually executed by Kokutan-douji with her head put on display for her crimes.
- Foreshadowing:
- The burn scars and amnesia for Gakusha hint at the (somewhat obvious) reveal that he's Kayo's long lost lover—although not all the burn scars are from the great fire.
- Just as Elluka picks up on, the affection and loyalty that the being inside the scissors shows towards Kayo hints that she is actually Sudou Kagura, the woman who could have been Kayo's mother.
- Framing Device: The being in the scissors tells Kayo's tale to "Elluka" as shown in the prologue, and other characters tell their point of view of the story in later chapters.
- Kissing Cousins: Kayo's husband was her first cousin. It's noted this isn't all that uncommon in Jakoku.
- Info Dump: Lots and lots of it in regards to Jakoku's history and culture.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Kayo's modus operandi, targeting any woman she sees Kai with under the assumption that they're his lovers. Well, that's how it was supposed to be anyway...
- "Not So Different" Remark: After the death of his wife and unborn child, Kiji is determined to give their murderer hell and is completely contemptuous of them for their killings. By the end of the novel, he learns that Kayo's murders were to get revenge for the deaths of her family, and muses how similar they were in their goals.
- Obfuscating Insanity: Kayo pulls this, feigning at least some of her insanity during the latter part of the novel so that a destructive war wouldn't break out between the Crimson Robed Masses and Onigashima.
- Oddball in the Series: It's an odd one structure wise. The first chapter makes up over half the book and tells the majority of the main story, with the book then rewinding and revealing various details not revealed in the main story before continuing on from the present.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Kayo's true motive, killing the Miroku women so to get revenge on Kai for causing the fire her family died in.
- Replacement Goldfish:
- Kai is this for Kayo's lost husband. At least in her mind, due to her projecting her husband's image onto him. At least, this was how she was fated to see him. But knowing that he's responsible for her family's death seems to cancel that out for her.
- She also uses Kokutan-douji as a replacement for her dead child, even asking that he call her "mother" before cutting off her head.
- Twist Ending: Turns out that Kayo didn't kill the Miroku family under the belief Kai was her husband. The events of her song where she went insane with Envy was just a premonition and she in reality murders the Mirokus out of revenge against Kai. And the narrator? It's not the Demon of Envy (who's actually Levia and Behemo's mother Rahab Barisol), it's actually Sudou Kagura.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To the tale of Momotaro, with Kokutan-douji as Momotaro, Inukichi as the dog, Saruteito as the monkey, Kiji as the pheasant and Onigashima sharing its name with the island Momotaro's party traveled to.
- Yandere: Kayo, one of the most famous in Evillious canon. Except not really.
