"Am I scary?"
Nayuta of the Prophecy (予言のナユタ, Yogen no NAYUTA), is a one-shot manga created by Tatsuki Fujimoto.Set in a world similar to ours, the only notable difference is the general acceptance and practice of magic, though it's considered an archaic art. That is, until a prophecy detailing the End of the World as We Know It comes out about a horned child who will speak in an incomprehensible tongue with powers far beyond even the strongest magic-user there is that will bring about the apocalypse at an unknown time. Later, a girl named Nayuta is born with horns, and panic about the prophecy leads to the death of her father, forcing her older brother Kenji to raise her while protecting her from the religious fanatics that demand her death so as to prevent the apocalypse.
Years later, Kenji finds it difficult to raise Nayuta due to her strange and often violent behavior. Her propensity for killing animals eventually leads to her killing the livestock of a nearby farm, forcing Kenji to repay the farmers by allowing them to take their anger out on him and beat him to a pulp. Enraged by the mistreatment of her brother, Nayuta comes close to bringing about the armageddon she had been destined to herald. Kenji manages to stop her by scolding her for the first time and flees with her before the fanatics can attempt retaliation. The story ends with the siblings on the run, unsure of exactly when Nayuta's destiny will come forth but deciding to look out for each other until then.
The one-shot was published in Jump Square in 2015. It was released commercially in 2022, in the second half of Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man.
Tropes present in the one-shot:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Nayuta and Kenji are ostracized for the prophecy concerning the former. Although the majority don't think it would justify killing a child, no one is especially sympathetic to Nayuta either.
- Ambiguously Evil: It's unclear whether Nayuta is a budding psychopath or simply a misunderstood but well-meaning kid. The ending and the fact that she genuinely loves her brother do seem to point toward the latter, however.
- Ambiguous Situation: According to a doomsday prophecy, Nayuta will end up destroying the world. Whether or not the prophecy is actually true is left open to interpretation.
- Apocalypse Maiden: Nayuta is prophesied to bring about the end of the world with her immense magical power. When she'll do it is what freaks so many out.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kenji and Nayuta are on the run after Nayuta almost destroyed the world. They don't know exactly when Nayuta will finally bring everything to an end, but they take comfort in the fact that they'll have each other for the time being.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Nayuta may not be the monster people assume, but she does have zero restraint about killing animals, or even just respecting them as other people's property. She's repeatedly said to "lack a human heart" Kenji could understand, and even when he does, it's with great difficulty.
- Canon Welding: Elements of this oneshot were eventually incorporated into Fujimoto's later work Chainsaw Man. Nayuta herself becomes a Last Episode, New Character of Part 1, while Denji assumes Kenji's role in being her caretaker.
- Cruella to Animals: The main thing that scares people about Nayuta is how she's constantly mutilating animals without any remorse or hesitance. Even though it seems to come from a hunting instinct, Nayuta still kills them more violently than is strictly necessary to feed.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Kenji gets Nayuta to stop her destructive rampage by slapping her on her head. The sudden instance of her brother taking disciplinary action on her makes her cry.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Whatever drives Nayuta to be the way she is, none of it gets in the way of her clearly loving her older brother.
- Horned Humanoid: Nayuta has two large horns that indicate her as the Apocalypse Maiden.
- Humanizing Tears: After spending the entire oneshot showing little to no emotion, Nayuta starts bawling after Kenji slaps her on the head.
- I'm a Monster: It's implied in the ending that Nayuta is fully aware of humanity's fear of her, and candidly asks Kenji if he finds her scary.
- Mood Whiplash: The one-shot might've ended on a sincerely touching moment of comfort and assurance between siblings if Nayuta hadn't said, "EXPLODO-KILL!"
- Morality Chain: It's heavily implied that Kenji might be what's keeping Nayuta from just ending everything. She's genuinely upset when she thinks he's mad at her.
- Muggles Do It Better: The main reason Nayuta wasn't lynched right away is that everyone else's magic is pretty pathetic compared to modern technology, so she's written off as a non-threat. Unfortunately for them, Nayuta's power are much stronger than that.
- Mundane Solution: Kenji stops the world from being destroyed simply by slapping Nayuta on her head and telling her to knock it off.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Nayuta casually kills animals, stares blankly with zero emotion, and all her attempts at speech is a nonsensical stream of violent and disturbing phrases.
- No Mere Windmill: Most people don't think Nayuta is capable of anything dangerous, and a politician literally laughs off the idea of any mage being as big a threat as countless other issues. But when sufficiently-motivated, Nayuta is at least capable of destroying a town and defeating the military sent after her.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: While it's deliberately left up in the air whether Nayuta will actually destroy the world or not, her killing of animals was largely a misguided attempt at giving Kenji food.
- Promoted to Parent: Kenji was forced to raise Nayuta on his own after their father was found murdered.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Nayuta is prophesied to end the world, and the story implies that the fear and ostracization for her destiny will be why she does it in the first place.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Most of the magic in this setting creates weapons. Creating a small knife is what even the strongest magic-users can only muster at best. Nayuta's powers manifest in the form of how many swords she can conjure with them varying in sizes. Her rampage even shows her creating an entire storm of giant swords to tear apart the city.
- Took a Level in Badass: Kenji realizes that while Nayuta loves him, he never took the time to actually be disciplinary with her because he's just as scared of her as everybody else. So he calmly walks up to the rampaging Nayuta and simply smacks her on the head to stop her, saving the world for the moment.
- Tranquil Fury: Nayuta mostly has a blank expression on her face, including when she goes on a rampage after Kenji is beaten up.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Nayuta in spades. She seems to have a hobby of slaughtering animals and speaks in nothing but disturbing phrases relating to death and violence.
- The Unintelligible: Nayuta speaks in disturbing phrases concerning violence and death, but any meaning behind what she is trying to say is completely incomprehensible. If you pay attention, "crushed heart" is heavily implied to be what she calls Kenji. By the end of the one-shot, she's learned to communicate with a drawing pad.
- Urban Fantasy: The story takes place in modern Japan, but magic is an accepted fact and there are still some who practice it. Fauna in this world is also comprised of hybrids of regular animals not unlike Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Nayuta regularly slaughters animals and tosses their carcasses at Kenji. Kenji realizes later that she might've actually been trying to repay him for his hard work in taking care of her by trying to feed him herself.
- Wham Shot: Nayuta breaking into tears after Kenji scolds her, showing that in spite of her behavior and her destiny, she is still ultimately just a little girl.
- Who Will Bell the Cat?: Plenty of people want Nayuta dead, but after her father's murderer was caught, none of them are willing to do the deed themselves, instead constantly demanding the government have her executed.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: If her rampage after Kenji comes home beaten is any indication, Nayuta really ultimately means no harm to anyone until they push her far enough or worse, hurt her only family.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Kenji and Nayuta appear to be resigned to this by the end. But until the time comes, they'll have and take care of each other.
