Meteor World Actor
Meteor World Actor also known as Ryuusei World Actor (流星ワールドアクター) is a visual novel written by Kinugasa Shougo, also the writer for the anime Classroom of the Elite. The game was released in 2019 and is set in the fictional Seventh Republic where humans, elves, wips live together. The story takes place from the point of view of deadbeat detective Hiryuu Ruka working in the 13th Division, reserved for the troublemakers, eccentrics, and other such unorthodox individuals of the National Police Agency.
A fandisc, Meteor World Actor: Badge & Dagger was released in 2021 focusing on Fuyumi and Ryouko.
WARNING: Spoilers for both this game and sequel Badge & Dagger will be unmarked!
This visual novel provides examples of:
- Always Night: A perpetual dark cloud covers The Seventh Republic and blots out the sun, remnants from the last war. The only sunny scenes are in Alfheim, the Elf kingdom.
- Anti-Hero: Ruka often resorts to underhanded means not including killing people who gets in his way of pursuing a case, or undertaking operations unauthorized by the National Police Agency, often getting him into trouble with superiors and resulting in not getting promoted.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: Ruka's battle with Daimonji in Badge & Dagger.
- Battle in the Rain: Ruka and Claris's first confrontation with Daz and Basil, also where they first meet Mell and Harrelson.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Daz and Basil.
- Bland-Name Product: Instablam.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Ruka shows occasional brilliance in deduction despite his general laid-back attitude. He has never been promoted since joining the police for ten years.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: All the heroine routes with Ruka, except possibly for Fuyumi in Badge & Dagger.
- Calling Your Attacks: Claris whenever she uses her wind powers.
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Fuyumi and Strichoss.
- Cloning Gambit: The secret to Schwald's immortality.
- Determinator: Ruka whenever it comes to the Cult Massacres.
- Dude, Where's My Reward?: Ruka solves cases without reward or recognition, even getting a minor punishment such as suspension for defying police rules. Subverted in Badge & Dagger when he finally gets a huge bonus for rescuing a comrade, but subverted yet again when he realises the money comes with strings attached for him to stop pursuing the Cult case.
- Fairy Companion: Melissa the pixie.
- Fantastic Racism: Komachi thinks Claris, a newbie was posted to the 13th Div, normally reserved for sideliners because Ikuta didn't like having elves in the force and didn't want them to climb and bring in more elves.
- Guilt Complex: Ruka, who killed his first mentor Musashi whom he looked up to, even though it was well-deserved.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Strichoss, who gives Chiffon a large salary advance and is exceedingly nice to everyone.
- Hidden Badass: Ruka has powers he rather not use, able to freeze his surroundings.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Harrelson and Mell.
- It Amused Me: Ruka making Claris dress up as a delivery girl then a maid before knocking on No-Name's apartment door. He later admits it was unnecessary and done just for laughs.
- Lonely Bachelor Pad: Ruka and Chiffon's apartments.
- Luke I Am Your Brother: In Badge & Dagger, Fuyumi learns that Sosuke is her long-lost brother.
- Manipulative Bastard: Musashi, who recruits the quad of Ruka, Ikuta, Strichoss and Sosuke to go after Linda after she backed out of allying with the cult.
- Mind Control: Linda's special power, which works on kids only. This leads her to seek out Ruka for police protection since criminals don't care if kids get hurt, unlike the police.
- Nebulous Evil Organisation: The Cult, though that might actually be nothing more than just Schwald himself.
- Passed-Over Promotion: Most officers in 13th Division.
- Ruka remains a patrol officer, the same entry level rank even after ten years.
- Similarly his boss, 13th Div head Chief Yamada is similarly condemned to his level.
- Power Degeneration: Ruka's ice powers are going to kill him eventually, leading him to reckless abandon in pursuing the one case he cares truly about with what little remaining time left.
- Police Are Useless: The police are generally helpless against powerful keepers like Vado and Reed. Partially subverted when Ruka, a policeman himself, albeit with special powers, stops them.
- Revenge Before Reason: Ruka and to a lesser extent, Sosuke single-mindedly pursue the Cult, after they both lost family to it.
- Seers: No-Name, who can see minutes into the future uses it to avoid getting caught while committing petty shoplifting.
- Combat Clairvoyance: Ruka exploits No-Name's ability to defeat Reed, the unpredictable teleporter.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: Mell, princess of neighboring kingdom Genomland.
- Sleepwalking: Chiffon, who smashes into walls while tossing and turning in bed, keeping Ruka awake at night.
- Street Smart: Ruka, who lived under a bridge as child has developed these instincts and literally knows the backstreets like the back of his hand.
- Street Urchin: Also Ruka, who spent his childhood under a bridge.
- Stronger Than They Look:
- Chiffon, who looks like a teenage girl is a segitt with superhuman strength, even for their race.
- Fuyumi, who excels in unarmed combat against multiple men.
- Super Gullible: Chiffon who couldn't pay rent after giving away her 3 month salary advance by Strichoss after she falls for a rather obvious mother/child con pleading for cash.
- Super-Strength: Sosuke, Chiffon and Vars.
- The Atoner: Chiffon who wants to quit a higher paying which makes use of her super strength, wants to quit it so she can properly atone past sins.
- The Brute: Vars, Harrelson and Daz.
- The Cracker: Tamako, who reluctantly assists Ruka in hacking in video feeds and computer systems in return for favours.
- The Heart: Strichoss, when he first joins the police force with Ruka often reconciles hardheads Ruka and Ikuta, sometimes to his detriment.
- The Scapegoat: Ruka often takes the blame even when it's not entirely his fault to spare others from getting evaluated negatively.
- The Scrooge: Ruka, and to a larger extent, Claris are this. Claris is even reluctant to hand over receipts for money passed to her to buy things, ostensibly so she file for claims.
- Weapon of X-Slaying:
- The guns Ruka use against the segitt Vado and the keeper Reed is specially designed to take down powered individuals.
- Sosuke uses a silver bullet to kill Schwald, obtained illegally, to no avail since he has plenty of clones.
