As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- The very start of the game. Imagine waking up in the middle of the Scramble Crossing with no idea of who you are or how you got there. You then suddenly receive an ominous text message telling you to reach the 104 building or "face Erasure." And as if that isn't enough, strange monsters with limbs made up of graffiti appear out of nowhere to attack you, with you having no way to defend yourself. You try to call out for help, but, for some reason, nobody can see or hear you, forcing you to run away to try and escape from the monsters. That's exactly what Neku has to deal with.
- Shortly after what happens, we're then treated to a lovely scene of the Noise symbols carrying away hapless Players to be swiftly Erased, leaving no trace of them behind. Neku is understandably quite freaked out when it happens.
- Neku almost KILLING Shiki at the end of Day 2. As the scene plays out, we see him using Psychokinesis to slowly telekinetically choke the life out of her, with Shiki being lifted up in the air by her neck with no way of defending herself. And what's even worse is that Neku doesn't want to do this but is being misled by Uzuki to do so or face getting Erased himself. Thankfully, Hanekoma puts a stop to that real quick, but if he had arrived just a second too late...
- Rhyme's Erasure. At first, everything seems fine as Beat and Rhyme stride into Towa Records and Beat calls out for Rhyme to come towards him... until you see that a Shark Noise is currently making his ways towards him, with Beat none the wiser. Seeing this, Rhyme pushes him out of the way only for her to get EATEN ALIVE. We thankfully don't get to see it in action in the game, but it still makes for one hell of an unsettling Wham Episode and seeing Rhyme's bell left behind doesn't make it any better.
- The anime manages to make Rhyme's erasure even worse. We see it happen on-screen, with Rhyme getting chomped up below the waist and hanging out of the shark's mouth before she dissipates.
- While Higashizawa's food-related puns make for some admittedly hilarious dialogue, the way he tears into Shiki and her emotional issues is most definitely NOT Played for Laughs.Higashizawa: No one loves you. You can't love yourself. And so the jealousy consumes you.
Shiki: Stop it!
Higashizawa: That friendly sugar coating can't sweeten the selfishness inside you. You think you're more important than anyone else. And THAT'S where jealousy begins...
Shiki: No...I'm not—
Higashizawa: You are. And you know it. Why else would your entry fee be—
Shiki: Stop! Don't say it!
Higashizawa: Heh heh... That complex of yours is a bruise on the tomato of your soul.
Shiki: No, I... I'm just...
Higashizawa: Nothing will change if you are restored to life. You'll just go on hating yourself and being jealous of everybody else.
Shiki: No...Please don't... - Taboo Noise. Not only are they more powerful than your standard Noise and can easily Erase you if you're not careful enough but they also can also actively seek you out during scanning, essentially saying that no matter what, they will hunt Players down.
- Mitsuki Konishi is just about made of this. She is comfortable with threatening the lives of innocent people, including children, in order to bait her adversaries. Specifically, after her minions "kill" Beat's kid sister Rhyme, she takes Rhyme's soul hostage, imprisoning her in a badge. She forces Beat to complete the week's missions, under the threat of erasing his sister's existence forever. When Beat completes these tasks and retrieves the badge, it proves to be a fake. Uzuki and Kariya, the Punch-Clock Villains used unwittingly in this deception, are visibly disgusted at her cruelty. She is responsible for one of the only permanent deaths of a sympathetic character, erasing 777 - an Anti-Villain who was Forced into Evil - for failing to defeat the heroes.
- During the last day of Week 3, Neku and Beat confront a certain Taboo Sho Minamimoto in the Shibuya River and before they are able to confront him more about where to find Konishi after trying and failing to find her throughout the week, Sho points out that Konishi had been with them the entire time, much to their confusion. Cue the Evil Laugh and Konishi revealing herself to have hidden in Beat's shadow the entire time, collecting data on the pair and carefully biding her time to strike them in their most vulnerable states.
- The Game Over sequence. The music suddenly stops, Neku whispers, "I-I'm fading..." in a horrified voice, and then both screens turn to static. It's even worse when you're fighting Game Masters, as they'll make a snarky comment too.
- Sometimes, it'll be your partner who speaks when you die, and their death cries can get pretty horrifying. Like Beat, who, instead of whispering like Neku, screams "RHYYYYYME!" Shiki screams for you as well.
- The Progfox is a boss that shapeshifts and has different forms. This skull-like form
◊ is one of them. - The start of Week 3. Neku's entry fee is all the other players, not only leaving him without anyone whose help he can turn to, but also rendering him completely unable to fight (as in, his pins are disabled) since Noise cannot be harmed without a partner. For all he knows, he's up shit creek without a paddle and doomed to die for real... until Beat shows up.
- Towards the end of Week 3, everyone in Shibuya being brainwashed, including Shiki, by the Red Skull Pins. Seeing all of the characters and NPCs you've come to care for in the once vibrant and colorful city all suddenly thinking the same thing and standing in the streets like braindead zombies is nothing short of horrifying. Also in Week 3, the Taboo Noise icons seek you out during a Scan.
- Kitaniji's transformation into Draco Cantus is... different in the anime. Whereas in the game he seemingly fused with Joshua for a power boost, here he combines with the Noise he summons through his emotions, and we see his body inflate and warp before it transitions into the golden hydra look.
