The Longing of Shiina Ryo is a Light Novel written by Ryuno
, available here and on Baka-Tsuki. It is about a teenager nicknamed Shin-tsu who has spent most of his life fleeing from a series of unusual events that he has deemed "Mystery". The story picks up when Shin-tsu moves to yet another new town, which coincidentally is where Ryo, someone he met online and the only person who he has befriended during his life. Unfortunately, Shin-tsu can only hide for so long before Mystery finds him again...
Tropes:
- Accidental Pervert: When Shin-tsu wound up on top of Kouma when she tried to beat him up (possibly murder him).
- Action Survivor: Basically, Shin-tsu's life story.
- Agent Mulder: Ryo (with Kouma as Agent Scully), when they hear Shin-tsu's account of his past.
- Agent Scully: Kouma (with Ryo as Agent Mulder), when they hear Shin-tsu's account of his past.
- All Love Is Unrequited
- All Just a Dream: The Metamonogatari extra story.
- All Psychology Is Freudian: Kouma seems well versed in this model of psychology
- Anthropomorphic Personification
- Arc Words: "At which point does an umbrella become a parasol?"
- Badass Bookworm: When Kouma and Shin-tsu (who tried to punch out Shogushin with their Chinese kung fu movie fighting skills) found themselves in a pinch, Ryo used her frail body to climb the metallic structure of the warehouse like a monkey and drop a heavy spotlight on the monster's head. Right, two experienced martial artists were saved by a wiki editor's knowledge of physics. At least Gravity worked fine at that time.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Do not ignore Shiina Ryo.
- Beyond the Impossible: Shin-tsu defies reality to have a Big Damn Hero moment. Check the page for details.
- Blatant Lies: Most people believe Shin-tsu's stories are an example, but then again, they might be entirely correct.
- Blessed With Suck: Shin-tsu's tendency to literally be lost in thought lets him skip a good portion of trying to figure out how to find Mystery.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Shin-tsu actually talks to the reader about various things, such as whether he's running or only walking briskly.
- Cassandra Truth: "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when he cheated me at cards." Just as an example.
- Catch Phrase: Shin-tsu's "UORYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
- Chekhov's Gun: Ms. Reikoku's countdown
- Cherry Blossoms: Light novel set in Japan. What else is new?
- Cheshire Cat Grin: Kouma
- The Climax: The fight after Shin-Tsu realizes how to find Mystery.
- Closed Circle: to Shin-tsu, this is what life and the world are.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Shin-Tsu
- Comedic Sociopathy: Kouma
- Covert Pervert Shin-tsu
- Crazy-Prepared: Kouma's hand purse carries more than enough bandages and medicine to treat a wounded person, amongst many, many other things.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Ms. Reikoku went to the warehouse after being told to do so by an old man dressed in red.
- Cultural Cross-Reference: Shin-tsu's curry
- Deadpan Snarker: Kouma
- Didn't See That Coming: When the slice-of-life turns into supernatural mystery, and once again when the mystery/crime exposition turns into a battle.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Ms. Reikoku exorcises Ayaka by counting down like in class.
- Ditzy Genius: Shiina Ryo.
- Does Not Like Men: Kouma
- Double Standard: Kouma treats Shin-tsu as a rival, and Ryo as a friend.
- Eldritch Abomination: Ayaka's Sugoshin.
- Emotionless Girl: Kouma, to an extent.
- Enemy Mine: Kouma enlists Shin-Tsu's help to help keep Ryo happy.
- Epiphanic Prison: Shin-tsu's life revolved around running from Mystery until he decides to hold his ground.
- Expo Speak: The dialogs are made of this, and mixed with Buffy Speak.
- Fanservice: played with, subverted and lampshaded.
- First-Name Basis: Shin-tsu doesn't use honorifics when referring to Ryo, and both Kouma and Ms. Reikoku take note of this.
- Genre Savvy: Shin-tsu begins to joke that he's in a novel, and both Kouma and Ryo try to utilize story structures to make sense of his life.
- Girl with Psycho Weapon: Ayaka
- Hands-Off Parenting: Shin-tsu is legally emancipated just prior to the start of the story.
- Healing Factor: Shin-tsu
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Kouma to Shin-tsu, in relation to Ryo. She wasn't kidding.
- I Know Karate: When Shin-tsu has to defend himself from Kouma
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Shin-tsu
- Inner Monologue: Shin-tsu literally loses track of his surroundings when he does this.
- Knife Nut: Ayaka
- Lampshade Hanging: They're very pretty, too, and go marvelously well with the drapes.
- Language of Magic: Some Japanese terms are used to refer to supernatural entities in the story
- Male Gaze: Shin-tsu gives the reader a rather... unique perspective of the girls.
- Meta Guy: Essentially everyone.
- Ms. Fanservice: Reikoku-sensei.
- New Transfer Student: Shin-tsu
- Not So Stoic: Kouma, in the presence of Ryo.
- Not What It Looks Like: When Shin-tsu has Kouma leave his apartment when Ms. Reikoku showed up one night.
- Occult Detective: Ms. Reikoku seems interested in becoming this. Or getting her students to become this, it's hard to tell.
- Odd Friendship: Kouma Yon (borderline cynic) and Shiina Ryo (insufferable idealist)
- Oh, Crap!: When Shin-tsu picked up the card he found on his desk.
- Post Modern: As it gets; the characters seem to think the universe is run by tropes, for Christ's sake.
- Power Trio: Directly referenced by Kouma
- Rapid-Fire Typing: Ryo with her cellphone.
- Reality Warper: "I can bend space and time!"
- Rule of Drama: Played with and subverted.
- Seinfeldian Conversation: Shin-tsu is prone to starting these with himself.
- Slow-Motion Fall: Shin-tsu sees Ryo fall in slow-motion the second time, but because he's warping reality.
- Stepford Smiler: Ryo is a Type A.
- Supporting Protagonist: Shin-tsu is the narrator, but I suspect Ryo may become the most important character.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Shin-tsu makes a lot of these; "I-it's not like I enjoy cross-dressing or anything!"
- Taking the Bullet: Shin-tsu dives to catch Ryo when she falls in the warehouse, getting dinged up in the process.
- Tin Man: Kouma
- Trope Overdosed: The author personally admits to this.
- Troperiffic: Shin-tsu may have been a troper in another life.
- True Companions: Ms. Reikoku, in relation to the students under her.
- Umbrella of Togetherness: Ryo shares her parasol with Shin-tsu on the first day they meet face-to-face.
- Unfazed Everyman: Shin-tsu is an Unfazed Everyman that stood around weird things for way too long.
- Unreliable Narrator: Averted, while Shin-tsu seems to be a bit luny at first, when the poo starts to fly, he appears to have been more than truthful after all.
- Unwanted Harem: Shin-tsu notices at couple points possibilities that could lead to a harem situation, and takes actions to avoid provoking such.
- When It All Began: Shin-tsu's been running from Mystery for a long time.
