Warning! Unmarked spoilers below.
Like its
predecessor, they also have lots of foils here too.
- Rindo and Shoka. Rindo's character role and character development are opposites of Shoka's. This is fitting because they were designed to have a Yin Yang motif. Rindo is The Protagonist, but he doesn't make any real impact or decisions until the last third of the game. Shoka is seemingly a low-ranking Reaper, but it is revealed that she was trying to stop the Big Bad's plan the entire time, meaning she had an important role in the story the entire time. Rindo was chosen by Joshua and Kubo because he was not fit to win a Reapers' Game. Not only was Shoka fit, she won hers, which is how she became a Reaper. Rindo starts out the game not giving much thought to Shibuya and he gets disconnected from FanGO from the beginning of the game, and thus he is forced to have to communicate openly with others and to learn to be more decisive. Shoka starts the game already appreciating Shibuya and loving it enough to try to save it from Shiba in whatever way she was willing to do, and she gets disconnected from FanGO two-thirds into the game, forcing her to have communicated openly with others and to learn to be more decisive.
- Fret and Nagi. One of the Secret Reports outright describes Fret and Nagi as this to each other. Fret might be more outgoing and sociable compared to the introverted Nagi, but his character is several times hinted to be just a façade intended to please others, whereas Nagi is genuine and proud of her own quirky self, not caring how others view her. Also, she's simultaneously stated to be closed off and open-minded, heavily contrasting Fret's extraverted, yet close-minded nature. However, both characters can be as intense and emotive as each other (contrasting Rindo's more downbeat attitude).
- Neku and Minamimoto, which is very appropriate considering that Coco intended them to be partners in her desperate "save Shinjuku" plan. Minamimoto was previously a loner of a Reaper who would gladly throw his allies to the wolves if it would serve his purposes, and hasn't changed at all despite initial appearances. Neku was previously a loner of a Player who would unhesitatingly erase his partner if it would get him home, but grew out of it and has become a genuine Nice Guy by the time he returns. Minamimoto gives the Wicked Twisters just enough information to save Shibuya in the interest of becoming its Composer, whereas Neku actively helps stop the Dissonance because he wants to preserve Shibuya as he knows it. Even their outfits compare and contrast each other: Minamimoto wears a consuming black longcoat with the hood up based on a real item from Black Honey Chili Cookie, whose brand descriptions are all fairly dismissive and copy-paste; Neku wears a brightly-colored coat from Gatto Nero, the brand made by his first partner, and though it does have a hood, he keeps it down.
- Shoka and Tsugumi. Creative producer and character designer Tetsuya Nomura designed Shoka to contrast directly design-wise with Tsugumi to represent how Shoka can be seen as the heroine of this game and to represent how Tsugumi can be seen as the heroine of Shinjuku. Tsugumi has a light color scheme while Shoka has a dark color scheme. Mr. Mew is incorporated into their designs albeit on different levels: The only element of Mr. Mew Tsugumi has in her design is her Mr. Mew plush that she carries around; while Shoka's design is heavily based on Mr. Mew, wearing a hoodie inspired by Mr. Mew. Likewise, they have nearly the same colors in their designs but with different schemes: Tsugumi's main color scheme is white and red with some black, while Shoka's main color scheme is black and purple with some white and red. They are also foils in their roles in the story: Tsugumi seems to be more important than Shoka because of her appearance in A New Day, because Tsugumi was conceived many years earlier, and because Shoka seems to be just another Reaper in the beginning. Tsugumi was initially conceived to be the heroine of this game, but ended up getting a small yet still impactful role. Shoka became the heroine instead and got a big role.
- Shoka and Motoi, in quite a few ways. Both of them have online personas that have had an influence on Rindo in some manner, whether indirectly through a shallow, viral Internet personality spouting empty platitudes (An0ther) or directly as a personal friend that gives meaningful advice and encouragement (Swallow). Motoi also tries to use his identity as An0ther to try and manipulate Rindo to do his bidding through a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing act, whereas Shoka puts up a Jerkass Façade in order to both hide the fact that she's been helping Rindo and the Wicked Twisters all along and to subtly encourage them to survive the Game. Motoi proudly admits to being An0ther when Rindo mentions being a fan, likely so he can manipulate Rindo while Shoka keeps her identity as Swallow a secret until she is dying on the second run through the Final Day. While Motoi spends his final moments begging for his life, Shoka opts to Face Death with Dignity, and in fact is implied to be a Death Seeker.
- Shoka and Kubo. Both are low-ranking Reapers who show up mainly to be the Troll to the Wicked Twisters, but hat's where their similarities end. Shoka is physically a young teenager who predominantly wears black, while Kubo is an adult who physically looks middle-aged and predominantly wears white. Shoka's Jerkass act is a Jerkass Façade and she can be considered the heroine because she acts to save Shibuya from destruction, while Kubo's Jerkass act is genuine and he is the Big Bad acting to destroy Shibuya. Shoka is actually genuinely helpful to the Twisters while Kubo is not. Shoka is actually a low-ranking Reaper while Kubo is actually an Angel. It's telling that Shoka unambiguously despises Kubo.
- Motoi and Hanekoma, in a way. Both he and Hanekoma have alternate identities that the protagonists look up to, namely CAT for Hanekoma and an0ther for Motoi. However, while Hanekoma turns out to be a genuinely helpful mentor if a bit mysterious, Motoi turns out to be a self-serving jackass who's only in it for himself, and part of Rindo's character arc involves him realizing this. Finally, while Hanekoma turns out to have been The Man Behind the Man, he's ultimately still helping out the heroes behind the scenes. Meanwhile, while Motoi realizes how awful he's been to the heroes and tries to make amends, it's too late for him, as he gets erased by the end second week.
- Motoi and Rindo. Much like Rindo, he was indecisive about what he wanted to do or who he was, to the point that he can only find purpose in his persona as An0ther, adopting others' words and viewpoints as his own. Due to the circumstances of the Game and how rigged it is, this aspect of his personality only became worse as he becomes more and more desperate to survive doing whatever means necessary and unlike Rindo, he never gets the chance to reflect and change this flaw due to his untimely Erasure at the hands of Shiba. In that sense, he's an adult version of Rindo who never got the chance to actually grow up.
- Kubo and Hanekoma. Both of them are Angels who rely on agents to enact their wills. Hanekoma loves Shibuya and does everything in his power to save it, even if it means becoming labeled as a Fallen Angel; and while he does manipulate others for this goal, he is genuinely friendly and helpful to them. In contrast, Kubo is a heartless monster who tries to destroy Shibuya, and he only sees his pawns as means to an end and throws them away when they are no longer useful.
- Haz and Joshua. Haz's very similar to Joshua before his character development kicks in, as he doesn't understand humans and feels destroying Shinjuku was a necessary act, insisting he was cleansing the city. However, unlike Joshua, he doesn't hold any contempt for humans, but also never learned to appreciate them as the Shibuya Composer did.
- Beat and Shoka. Post-Character Development, Beat is honest and kind, while Shoka is snarky and has trouble expressing her true feelings at first. Both joined the Reapers only to leave later, but their decisions affected them differently. Beat joined the Reapers as a means to an end to bring Rhyme back to life and didn't hesitate to leave them to save Neku. Shoka, meanwhile, initially wanted to return to the Reapers after being kicked out for helping the Wicked Twisters, and while she chose to leave for good, she remained conflicted about fighting her former colleagues.
