WMG / NEO: The World Ends with You

Pre-release Confirmed WMGs

The original cast will all make appearances

So far Minamimoto, Uzuki, Kariya and Neku are all confirmed to appear in the game, so it's likely everyone else will as well.

• We do seem to see Shiki - but once again, we don't see her face - during the final trailer, plus what may be Joshua, or someone related to him, at the end.
• Confirmed for Beat, as the 'Neku' met during Week 2 is, in fact, Beat!
  • And confirmed for the rest of the Players as well as Joshua.

Tsugumi is different from normal players

Tsugumi has survived Shinjuku's erasure and has apparently wound up in Shibuya, already making her strange. However, trailers have portrayed her as an Emotionless Girl attacking the protagonists who seem terrified, not to mention her eyes are also drawn uniquely, having red circles around her pupils. It's possible she's Not Quite Human or there are special circumstances for as to why she is an oddity. She may be specifically linked to why or how Shinjuku was erased other than being a survivor, given her team name is Ruinbringers.

• Confirmed - she's a Reaper, and her soul is mainly inside the Mr. Mew she seems to carry around.

Shoka will either join the Wicked Twisters at some point as The Sixth Ranger or align herself with them by helping them out in the Game

Firstly, her presence on the main visual with the other main characters and the last game's main character indicates that she's meant to be considered important to the story. Secondly, Hishima's section in the release date trailer has him address Shoka along with Fret and Rindo about needing to find something out for themselves since it would ruin the fun of the Game otherwise, which points to Shoka giving up her Reaper status to become a Player and join the Game.

Plus this could allow NEO to parallel the original's three guy (Neku/Beat/Joshua to Rindo/Fret/Minamimoto) and two girl (Shiki/Rhyme to Nagi/possibly Shoka) ensemble.

• In the final trailer, Rindo flat out asks Shoka if she wants to join his team, and while we don't know if she accepts just yet, she does seem confused by the offer.
  • Confirmed.

Shiki and/or Eri are involved with Gatto Nero.

Reading random minds reveals that there's an up-and-coming fashion brand called Gatto Nero which has Shiki's Mr. Mew doll as a mascot. The connection is obvious.

• Confirmed: Shiki is the one who runs Gatto Nero. Her character description in the Social Network mentions she founded it alongside a friend, implying Eri.

Rindo and Fret aren't actually dead.

Neither man can remember their deaths, and going by the demo gameplay there's no immediately apparent opportunity for them to get iced before being drawn into the Reaper's Game. Plus, Joshua from the first game proves it's possible for sufficiently powerful alive people to be involved with the game.

• Except Joshua was the Composer, and thus would normally have access to the UG.
  • Con-freaking-firmed.

Coco was actually a Well-Intentioned Extremist the whole time.

With the reveal that the Shinjuku Reapers were the ones responsible for the Inversion, what if all of Coco's actions were efforts to save Shibuya from facing that same fate, and all her "evil" behavior in A New Day were her pursuing extreme solutions or her being incredibly annoyed with interference? Note she says that "the Game LITERALLY can't go on without Neku"—perhaps because, without him, the Shibuya Underground will cease to exist?

• Shooting Neku wasn't a good idea. Reviving Pi-Face, however, was, as he did help the Twisters out during their first week. But who knows?
  • She actually did so in an attempt to save Shinjuku, but she was too late to do so.

Rindo, like Neku, is a Proxy for Joshua

At the end of the final trailer, we see what may be Joshua (or someone related to him) saying to Fret that 'Only time will tell', and that they'd be watching. Could this be just before Rindo was first pulled into the Reaper's Game, with Josh letting Rindo know what he's getting into before taking the memories of the deal as part of his Entry Fee?

• Not Joshua, actually, but Rindo was dragged into the game as part of the Executor's plan to try and bring Neku in and to create the Inversion of Shibuya. Joshua however does cameo at the prologue and gives Rindo his Reaper Pin back, and one could argue that he is made the Proxy of Hazuki when he decides to go back one last time to save his friends.
  • And then, we learn in the Secret Reports that Rindo was in fact chosen by Joshua to be his new Proxy, so this is now fully Confirmed. And explains why Joshua appeared at the prologue to give him the Reaper Pin.

Pre-release Jossed WMGs

The game is actually a prequel to the first TWEWY

Minamimoto is a playable character, which could be because he's a Player in this game, meaning it would have taken place before he became a Reaper.

• I think that when Coco revived him at the end of A New Day, it was stealth foreshadowing him being playable in NEO.
  • Jossed, it takes place 3 years after the original.

Rindo is Neku

After being killed by Coco Neku is entered into the Reaper's game anew, with his entry fee being the character development he underwent during the three weeks of TWEWY. Thanks to his entire personality and sense of self being sealed away the Game creates a new persona for him in the form of Rindo.

• And given that Coco revived Sho to be Neku's partner? This gives this a bit more weight than I would had thought originally.
• Jossed; a cloaked figure in the release reveal trailer was shown in the same place as Rindo, who seemed to identify the former as Neku himself. Likewise, Fret discusses him in the same trailer.
  • While this 'Neku' is in fact Beat, Neku also appears. So it remains Jossed. In fact, the real Neku appears in the final gameplay trailer.

Rindo is Neku's best friend who died before the events of TWEWY.

We don't know much about Rindo, but it would make for an interesting reveal.

• Jossed - early gameplay footage shows that, at least at the start of the game, Rindo and Fret are in the RG.
  • Doubly so, as It's revealed that they never died in the first place.

Sho has lost almost all of his power from the last game.

Probably a given considering his circumstances, but I think the fact that Sho doesn't have his black left hand will be significant.

• Jossed. He still has those powers, he just doesn't use them.

Tsugumi is really Shiki in disguise.

We still have yet to learn much about Tsugumi other than she is one of the members of the Ruinbringers, and as of the most recent trailer is sent against Rindo's crew. However, the second the masked figure who we're told is Neku appears, she turns her attention to him immediately, showing him to be her primary target. Additionally, Tsugumi is shown holding Shiki's cat plush. Keep in mind, Shiki didn't buy the plush, she made it herself, so why would Tsugumi have it? Plus, it's not like it would be the first time that Shiki has had her physical appearance changed due to the Reaper Game.

• Most likely Jossed as she tries to attack Neku in the trailer.
  • The possibility of some form of mind control exists.
    • Totally Jossed. Tsugumi is a Shinjuku Reaper, not Shiki. Besides, Shiki shows up during the Final Day.

This game is a sequel to the anime adaptation of the first game and not the first game itself.

Specifically the anime adaptation of the first game and NEO take place in another universe/timeline from the original game. This explains why certain things in the anime adaptation are different from the original game version and why some buildings use real world brands in NEO while using made up brands in the original game and the differences in this Reaper's Game compared to the first game. We know other universes/timelines exist in the franchise so it seems plausible.

• Jossed. Both the anime and the original game are taken into account.

Fret is somehow connected to Beat and Rhyme.

Both Beat and Rhyme's names fall under Musical Theme Naming, which makes sense due to them being siblings. Fret's name also fits this specific theme. (A fret is a space between two fretbars on the neck of a stringed instrument.) This could serve as subtle Foreshadowing that Fret is linked to the Bito siblings in some way.

• Due to his full name being Tosai Furesawa, this seems unlikely.
  • He could always be a relative with a different last name.
    • Given their reactions when they meet for the first time, I can say this is Jossed.

Swallow is actually Nagi.

Swallow is clearly an enthusiast for FanGO, given it's the crux of their interactions with Rindo, and Nagi is said to be "deeply passionate" about her "favorite games" (presumably video games).

In addition, in the demo, Rindo's messages to Swallow don't go through at first, but Swallow eventually receives the messages and texts back at the very end of day 1. At the end of day 2, Rindo and Fret are alerted to a new Player—this is presumably Nagi given her having not appeared before this point and the very pointed recommendation that Rindo and Fret try to recruit them. It would make sense if Rindo and Swallow/Nagi were blocked from each other when Rindo was sent to the UG, but this fails to be a problem when both are in the UG.

• Jossed. Rindo still texts Swallow even after Nagi has joined the Twisters, and they are revealed to be Shoka.

The story is one big time loop to prevent the Downer Beginning.

The game opens up with the entirety of Shibuya getting inverted out of existence, though with some flickers of current-day before it brings us to Day 1. If we take that scene literally and not just visions of things to come, there might be a reveal that Shibuya is doomed to fall unless something changes the future.

• This could mean that instead of playing through three different weeks, like in the original, the same Week is replayed two (or more) times, but with events massively changing.
  • Well, looks like the replaying of the week idea is Jossed.
    • Fully Jossed - Replay only works within the timeframe of a single day.

In extension to the prior WMG, the reason the Ruinbringers are on top despite not completing the main missions is that...

• They were the second-highest scoring team at the end of the last week, and their score wasn't reset

• The Shinjuku Reapers wants them to win so that they can use their wish to cause another Inversion, as it's hinted at that they might be behind Shinjuku's Inversion as well.

• The Points Are A Lie, and it's the Game master who decides which team leads and which team is at risk of facing the punishment.
  • All Jossed - turns out they not only won the prior games, but they use the reward to 'go another round'. Then again, they are part of the Shinjuku Reapers, after all...

Shoka is Shiki.

She's wearing a Mr. Mew hoodie and has dark hair like Shiki (as in, Shiki's real appearance), and their names are almost similar, both starting with Sh.

• Jossed.

The other Players will become Noise to fight, as bosses.

The last gameplay trailer showed a boss fight against Susukichi, who appeared to have glowing yellow eyes, looking like a straight up Demonic Possession, suggesting that he's not fighting entirely as himself but he's either become one with Noise or is becoming Noise itself.

• I don't think he is becoming Noise - I think he's either some kind of Reaper who hides his power and/or it's a case of Yellow Eyes, Take Warning for when he uses his special move, which may put him in a berzerk-like state.
  • Turns out the Reaper idea was right on the mark and the Yellow Eyes, Take Warning idea turns out to be wrong.
  • Susukichi does turn out to have a Noise form, fought as the boss of Week 3 Day 6, although the former statement is correct, as he's a Reaper, not a Player.
• In the last trailer there is a noise boss that both speaks and has a purple top and blue legs, the same as Kanon's outfit, so my thinking is the form Susukichi is in is either a prelude to a full transformation or he just is something different entirely, owing to the Ruinbringers difference from all the other teams. the other team leaders almost certainly all turn into noise though.
  • That's because Reapers are able to obtain Noise forms, plus this troper doesn't think it's Kanon in that form, but one of the Sinjuku Reapers instead - which it proves to indeed be the case.
    • Fully Jossed. The closest we get is some battles in Week 3 Day 5, but not with them exactly, but Noise which looks like them at first.

Pre-release Mixed WMGs

Joshua is not the Composer this time.

If you look at the clips from the trailer, both the Game and the gameplay are different from the original, with the reapers mentioning features that didn't exist in the first TWEWY game. With the gameplay itself being different, the creators could have used it as a means of Painting the Medium to show that someone else is controlling the Game. Plus, having Joshua turn out to be the Composer again could be repetitive. It's possible he'd still be around somehow, just not in the same role as in the first game.

• Confirmed in a sense. We do meet Sinjuku's Composer, Hazuki Mikagi, during the game.
  • And also Jossed, as Joshua does show up in the ending and tells Rindo's group that he is Shibuya's Composer.

Neku has been trapped in the UG.

It's possible Neku has been stuck in the UG since the end of A New Day, and is trying to get back to the RG, likely with another purpose behind his actions and why he's trapped. He may have also gotten stronger during his time in the UG which could be why Tsugumi seems worried about him approaching her.

• Kinda actually. He was stuck in the remains of what was Shinjuku... But it wasn't him who approached Tsugumi in the trailer.

Player Powers

In the trailers and the opening cutscene, it is shown that Fret has the ability to use Remind to jog people's memories, while Magi is able to use Dive to influence their emotions. And Rindo has the ability to rewind time as his own Player Power. But what would the other ones have?

• Neku(?)
  • Flowmotion (based on the mechanics of Dream Drop Distance)
    • Slightly Jossed - Beat's Player Power is known as Soundsurf, but it does improve the group's speed. Meanwhile, the real Neku doesn't get a Player Power exactly.

• Sho
  • Recalculation - a passive Power which allows Sho to boost one of his stats drastically
    • Jossed. Sho does not have a Player Power.

• Shoka
  • Networking/Bond - Allows her to 'connect' the minds of two people in the RG together to make them better understand each other.
    • It doesn't seem to be that there's any other powers other than Imprint, Remind, Dive, Soundsurf and Replay, so the rest seems Jossed.
    • Jossed. Shoka's power is named Telewarp and allows her to teleport from specific spots.

If there's more than one Week, the final Week would once again be a week where the only Players are the Twisters

This would mean that they would be both first and last in points at the same time, meaning that the punishment would take priority over the wish. The only way to prevent that would be to beat whoever is the real Final Boss

• Yes and no. Not counting the Shinjuku Reapers' team, the Ruinbringers, the Wicked Twisters are the only remaining team come the final day due to the Purehearts and Deep River Society being erased by losing one of the game weeks, and the Variabeauties were taken out during the final week. However, the goal of this final week was to beat Shiba, as otherwise he'd destroy Shibuya.

It will deal with whatever is above Producers and what happens when a place is erased

During the epilogue of the first game, Joshua and Hanekoma discuss how their actions will have repercussions 'upstairs', and in A New Day they talk about how Shinjuku was erased and that Tsugumi was the sole survivor. This would suggest the erasure of a city could be actually witnessed in the game, plus Rindo mentions seeing visions in the trailer, just like Neku got from Tsugumi. These loose ends from the previous game are an easy way to attach it to the new game for continuity or further exploration of the setting.

• Yes and no. We don't meet anyone above Joshua or Hanekoma, but we do learn that a place being erased means it's Ret-Gone for everyone who wasn't in its UG at the time.

Sho will once again be incredibly pissed with Joshua

Exactly What It Says on the Tin. It's Sho. Why wouldn't he be?

• They do not encounter each other, and Sho doesn't express any particular anger towards Joshua, but he is still trying to usurp Joshua's position.

Post-release WMGs (Unmarked Spoilers)

If there's a third game, the next protagonist will wear sunglasses

Neku wore headphones because he didn't want to hear the world around him. Rindo wears a facemask because he doesn't want to speak or make decisions for himself, establishing a theme of the Monkey Morality Pose for the protagonists. With Neku being "hear no evil" and Rindo being "speak no evil", it follows that the third will be "see no evil" and wear something to cover their eyes. With eyes being Windows of the Soul, wearing sunglasses could represent an effort to hide their thoughts and emotions from others.

• And, of course, they'd have Jupiter of the Monkey branded clothing on to further tie this in. The color orange would also feature in their design.
• Alternatively, the sunglasses will represent that he is "blind" to people's true nature, and will be too trusting because he doesn't see when someone is being untrustworthy.

If there’s a third game Shiki will join the party.

Beat joins the party in NEO; it’s only fair that Shiki will get to join in the action in a third game.

FantasyGO is a real game that Niantic and Square are currently developing.

It will feature Final Fantasy monsters as well as Heartless and Noise, and function mostly identically to Pokemon Go but with turn-based strategy battles instead of button mashing and pokeball flicking.

A DLC will let us go back and save the other teams.

Kind of a bummer that the good ending still leaves so many people murdered by Shiba and Co. A DLC will let Rindo travel back all 3 weeks and replay the 'first' week trying to hunt down the Reapers as quickly as possible. Rhyme, Coco or Kanon will join the party. (The game's internal data on "who likes which foods and how much" has space for 3 additional potential party members, which makes this a possibility.)

Kubo is Not Quite Dead.

Kubo was removed from existence in the UG (and presumably RG), but still exists in the Higher Plane. Note how an oddly consistent thing that's said with regards to his exorcism is that he was exorcised "from the UG" or "from this world." Also, Hazuki and seemingly Hanekoma and Joshua are the only beings that can properly remember him. All three are of the Higher Plane.

When and how did Sho get into Another Day?

For the When, this troper believes it's just after the end of The Final Day``, but for the how... Maybe the Dissonance left in his body after they made him fight the Twisters allowed him to do so?

• Alternatively, given his emphasis on "returning to his full power" in Another Day, perhaps he went there to recover his strength after his defeat in Week 3, Day 4 and he returned in time for the Last Day``.
• Another possibility is that he tried to fight Joshua again and he just put Sho in Another Day to mess with him.

Minamimoto is actually going to manipulate Rhyme to erase the Composer.

The common interpretation of the Another Day bonus epilogue is that he's talking about Phoenix Cantus getting stronger after being erased, but he specifically refers to a 'soul' - noise are not souls, they are just made of soul-material. The only character we've seen come back from being erased besides Sho himself is Rhyme. In her dive she even recalls it happening like a bad dream: falling, seeing a black bird (Hanekoma), becoming a Noise, seeing the bird again, and coming back to life. She's also more sensitive to higher planes than most, able to see Beat in the UG even while people who can see Plague Noise under ultraviolet light couldn't.

• That would explain why you have to complete all three bonus objectives to see the secret ending of Another Day - Minamimoto uses both the Final Time Trial and the fight with his Another Day self to further probe the power of Phoenix Cantus and Soul Privus respectively, while Rhyme's Dive allows him to discover what is mentioned above.

Minamimoto will be the protagonist of the third game.

Aside from the various sequel hooks involving him, Minamimoto curiously obscures his eyes a lot of the time - going with the Monkey Morality Pose pattern, it might represent his blind pursuit of the Composer's seat. Coupled with the defrosting happening in NEO, the sequel will be about him learning to see past it.

• Minamimoto like Neku and Rindo also fulfills 2/3 of the Monkey Morality Pose. Neku’s mouth is covered partially by his first game’s outfit and he similarly doesn’t want to talk or be spoken to. Rindo’s eyes are almost always on his phone and his phone nearly covers his face. This represents Rindo hiding behind social media and viewing the world through the comfort of his phone. Rindo only wants to see what he wants to see. Minamimoto’s eyes and ears are covered, fulfilling 2/3 of the pose. This could symbolize that Minamimoto only wants to hear what he wants to hear.