Can you trust someone who might be a traitor?
In the somewhat distant future, Hiyori Sena is about to start summer vacation. Her childhood friend, Tomose Banjo, has something important to tell her, but before he can, the two of them are abducted by a mysterious masked man.When they wake up, they're in a house in an entirely different world with several other people. Another mysterious masked man tells them that they are the cast for the Other World Stream and that they now have to perform various dramas if they want to get out alive.
There is an escape clause: They have to identify and accuse the Producer of the Other World Stream, who is among the cast. They only get one chance to do so, however, and getting it wrong will lead all of them to a Dead End.
Charade Maniacs is a Romance Game visual novel. It was written by Uta Amamiya, who also wrote some sequences for Psychedelica Of The Black Butterfly, with illustrations by Teita, who also illustrated Norn9. Originally released exclusively in Japan for the Play Station Vita in 2018, a port for the Nintendo Switch was released in Japan in 2021, which was then translated and released overseas in 2023.
Tropes:
- Accidental Pervert: Subverted. When Ebana walks in on Hiyori, it's in the dressing room after she's already gotten dressed and in the middle of drying her hair. Ebana yells at her for not locking the door.
- Ambiguous Gender: Iochi never gives a straight answer as to whether or not they view themselves as a man, woman, or neither. In their ending, they decide that they'll tell Hiyori when they get home and are in bed.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Ebana has this with Hiyori in his route. The others take note when they begin arguing, rather than just Ebana yelling at her.
- Big Brother Instinct: Revealed late in Akase's route to be his motivation for working with the Information Bureau. His younger sisters were volunteered for the Other World Stream by their parents and met a Dead End.
- Cast Herd: Half way through the common route, the group decides to form teams in order to handle life in the Other World Stream, with Hiyori choosing a team on her own.
- Childhood Friend Romance: What Tomose is hoping for. He ends up being victorious in his route.
- Fantastic Racism: While most of the cast find the Arcadians unsettling, Chigasaki is noted to have a particular dislike of them. His route reveals that the feeling is mutual, with the Arcadians giving him low points in the dramas.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Chigasaki's father is an Arcadian, which makes Chigasaki this. His body is mostly human, but his right arm and sensory functions are like that of the Arcadians. He has good hearing and a sharp sense of smell, but can't really spot the differences in food.
- Hates Being Touched: Chigasaki with regards to his right arm.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Ebana explicitly hates women. His route reveals that he has a bad relationship with his sisters, suggesting that's the cause of it. The actual reason is a bit darker: His father's girlfriend often made joking passes at him and ended up kissing him one day.
- Hikikomori: Gyobu is implied to have been this, given that he's Hiyori's classmate, but hasn't gone to class since the school year started. Ebana explicitly calls him this in the True Ending, but at that point he's been going to school again.
- I Can Change My Beloved: Justified in Futami's route. If Hiyori doesn't convince Futami to tell the truth, he'll get accused of being the Producer (when he's really the Sponsor), which will get everyone killed.
- Kiddie Kid: Haiji is... a unique case. The others comment that he seems ignorant about things that a 12-year-old should be reasonably expected to know about. On the flip side, he often comes off as emotionless when a 12-year-old should be reasonably showing more emotion about the situation they're in. Haiji admits early on in his route that he isn't really 12, but isn't sure how old he really is.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Dazai is this, but isn't able to have a cat because his whole family is allergic.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Upon watching a previous cast member meet her Dead End, Hiyori realizes that the girl is her friend Yuki, who was also Ebana's classmate. Both of them forgot about her existence until watching the video, indicating that their memories were tampered with. Gyobu's route reveals that he was Hiyori's classmate, though she doesn't remember him because he never attended classes. Dazai was Class Representative alongside her, but her memories of him were taken when he agreed to stay behind in the previous Other World Stream.
- Lethal Chef: Chigasaki is this. Hiyori later comes to the conclusion that it's because he has a poor sense of taste.
- The Misophonic: Chigasaki dislikes loud places, likely due to his strong sense of hearing.
- Parental Abandonment: Chigasaki has never met either of his parents. His mother ended up meeting a Dead End, and his father is an Arcadian.
- Portmanteau Couple Name: In-universe. Kyoya Akase's parents are named Kyoka and Shinya.
- Psycho Supporter: During the common route, the group learns that it isn't just the Producer that's among them. There's also the Sponsor, who is said to be a fanatic of the Other World Stream. There's actually more than one.
- The Smurfette Principle: Hiyori is the only girl among the 10 cast members. This is unusual since records of previous streams indicate that they went for a Gender-Equal Ensemble in the past.
- Solomon Divorce: When Ebana's parents got divorced, his father took custody of him while his mother took custody of his sisters and dog.
- Supreme Chef: Ebana is this. Hiyori is pretty good, too, though she notes that she has trouble with more complex meals.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: Iochi is explicitly an employee of the Information Bureau. Akase is also working for them, but in a less formal way than Iochi.
- Yandere: Futami for the Producer. Ironically, his route has him and Hiyori participate in a drama where she plays a yandere.
- Younger Than They Look: Haiji claims to be 12 years old. His route reveals that he's lying, but he was 12 when he first entered the Other World Stream. The true route clarifies that, as an AI, he's been around since the beginning, borrowing the names and appearances of other cast members.
