#rain code chapter 1 spoilers

[tony-andonuts]

This man has no business serving so much cunt

[en-chi-la-da]

my full piece that i did for the @neondownpourzine !! a zine made celebrating the one-year anniversary for master detective archives: rain code!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

this is the first zine that i got to participate in! (as i said many times already lol) super grateful that i got a chance to make something for this project, i had a lot of fun creating this piece!! everybody else's works are SUPER amazing, please give the zine a peek for yourselves and maybe even rain code as well??? thank you very much!! 💖

[yakool-foolio]

The cat Halara has a picture of in chapter 1 seems to be the same stray kitten they play with in the DLC

Right! I noticed this the morning after playing the DLC and going through my footage. I have a theory that Halara's DLC takes place before the game even begins. Yakou mentions in the prologue that Halara was the first to arrive in Kanai Ward. Since it's just the two of them we see in the DLC, it's safe to assume this could've been during the first day or two they were the only ones at the agency before the other trains arrived. This means that Halara took a picture of the cat they actually take care of at the agency! Me and my boyfriend came up with the idea that after chapter 1 happened, since there is an indeterminate amount of time between chapter 1 n 2 (which is when I theorize both Desuhiko and Fubuki's DLCs happen), Halara introduced Yuma to the cat during that time.

[sakura-code]

So how did Yuma become a member of the NDA was it during the nail man case or before what’s the story there

Okay, I’m not gonna lie, I actually struggled with this decision. I did originally thought it was going to be the Nail Man case because there are parallels to Yuma and being the Death Detective, but in truth, there is like too much already I would be putting into the Chapter 1 Remake, such as exploring the parallels between Yuma/The Death Detective and the Nail Man, exploring Yuma’s and Halara’s relationship, setting up Halara’s own character and story arc, and the reveal of Yuma’s time as a Peacekeeper.

Instead, I am going to do an original case where both Yuma and the NDA meet that is like a group mystery case (similar to Fubuki’s DLC but with the whole NDA) with Yuma joining in, allowing everyone to interact, work together, and set up the dynamic for the entire series. It feels like a better way to start off the main story and introduce all the characters in both the story and the AU.

I can’t specifically say what the story will be in details (mainly because I don’t know what it is right now), but I can say in major plot points is that Yuma and the NDA coincidentally end up investigating the same case (either through mysteries that intertwine together or just the same mystery overall), meet each other with maybe a bit of tension (strangers after all) and eventually agree to work together. Maybe a bit of Peacekeepers and Mystery Labyrinth as well. And after the experience together, Yakou decides to invite Yuma to join the Agency, having taken an interest in him for having heard rumors of him helping the people in Kamasaki District and for helping solve the case, which Yuma accepts in hope he could improve as a Detective.

And to explain why Yuma joins the NDA: Yuma will show skills of being a detective, but lacking street experience of being a detective, because beforehand, he had the Mystery Labyrinth and Makoto’s connections to help him solve mysteries. Now he is trying to solve mysteries without using them, but because he hasn’t solve mysteries like Detectives would usually do and doesn’t really have street experience, he is unable to truly show his Detective skills in the real world. After meeting the NDA and the Chief offers for him to join the Agency, he decides to accept the offer in hope to gain experiences as a Detective to learn to solve mysteries on his own.

[maximaxstreasurebox]

Back to Danganronpa Era ft. friend reacting (Ch.0-1 Spoilers?) (watching Faz Faz's playthrough on YT)

[flareonfoxy]

Rain code is so freaking insane and I kinda like it, obviously there are moments where I'm like why? But this game is freaking crazy. So if you don't want spoilers of any kind don't read this rant about some of the things that I'm currently thinking about that pertains to this game. Only at chapter 3 so don't expect like last chapter spoilers but still just warning anyone.

Anyways the beginning is crazy, like what the heck I wasn't expecting that at all, obviously I was expecting a murder to occur on the train but like I wasn't expecting literally everyone to die on the train. I was expecting like somebody dies and you're a suspect and you have to basically debate with the other detectives to prove it wasn't you. But wow that wasn't even close to what happened, just everyone is dead and it's crazy. And then of course there was an imposter among us the entire time. Like wow, it was crazy.

Chapter 1 was actually interesting and introduced the mechanics of separate routes to go down and solving stuff in the order you want during the labyrinth sometimes which is cool. But the downside to chapter 1 is that the suspect characters don't have names, well except the nun who I think has a name mentioned in the little random trivia panels in loading screens. Could be wrong, this is the same with the teacher in chapter 2. But yeah actually was interesting that there was two murders, like huh wasn't expecting a copycat killer so early into the game but okay, was interesting, not as good as chapter 2 though because that was insane, did like the peacekeeper squad captains phantom form. Was fun. Felt like they actually put more effort in this labyrinth than the opening one.

Chapter 2 is so freaking good, which is weird because I'm pretty sure case 2 in the games is usually not the best one, but technically this is the third one so eh, up for a debate, maybe even a scrum debate? Sorry bad joke. But wow this is so freaking cool, like the investigation section where you disguise as the theater kids and seeing how people react differently to you is so freaking cool. Like I liked the last case gimmick but this one was just insane. But this was seriously the chapter where I kinda wish conversations were 2d not 3d as the faces that the characters make in there 2d sprite next to their text box's are actually really cool which can sometimes not be portrayed by the 3d models. Like their sad expressions, or their dark looks. It just felt lacking because the chapter was like so good. And it was actually super emotional, I was sad about the ending of the chapter.

Chapter 3 I'll talk about later as I'm still in the middle of it and don't want to give a half baked answer to what I felt about it, so far its interesting to say the least. Anyways this game is so freaking cool, wish the faces in the text log had the different expressions but oh well. Still I really like the game so far and it's super fun.

[katamari-of-luv]

Every new Spamton Sweepstakes page I've found so far:

(Spoilers if you want to find them for yourself! If I missed something, feel free to add on!)

Clicking the "What's next?" link at the bottom of the main page takes you to /chapter3/, which simply reads "Not applicable." and has an ellipsis for a page title. UPDATE: Holding down the left arrow on your keyboard on this page causes the word "But..." to slide in from the right side of the screen.

Manually inputting /chapter1/ yields the same result (notably without the "But..." -- thank you rollingdanielle for pointing this out), while /chapter2/ reads "Applicable." instead. /chapter4/ has a red pixel slowly fade in at the center of the screen. Clicking that takes you to /chapter4/message/, which appears the same at first glance but actually contains several hidden links under the red pixel:

These link to one of two different six-second audio files: e.mp3 ("fading in" sound effect?) and m.mp3 ("fading out"?). I would love to hear it if anyone else finds a way to translate the "message". The placements of e's and m's don't appear to coincide with either binary or Morse code, but I could very well have missed something. Perhaps something Wingdings-related but I'm only a third of the way done with writing this post and that would be my fifth time pausing to puzzle out this one page. Maybe later.

UPDATE: HOLY SHIT. This comes from convobreaker on Bluesky's very informative thread. The layout of the audio file links correspond to a QWERTY keyboard, and the m.mp3 links match up to letters that can be unscrambled to spell /chapter4/thankyou/. The page is titled "How long did it take her to smile?" and presents you with two boxes to input text and a button to confirm. Pressing it with nothing in either box or anything but a valid email address in the first displays the text "Unknown contact." Pressing it with only a valid email address in the first box gives you the hint "She never smiled?" Filling the first box with an email address and the second with anything at all replaces everything with text reading "Thank you." Presumably the correct answer will send you a response.

On that note, /chapter5/ (titled "back") sends you here:

1 is unclickable, 2 takes you to d.mp3, a six-second drum and organ loop (that I could swear I've heard before-- can anyone identify it?) (UPDATE: Thank you to vividviolence and rollingdanielle! It plays before fighting Berdly for the second and final time in the Snowgrave or Weird Route, and may imply the "Applicable/Not Applicable" text refers to whether a Weird Route is possible in a given chapter.), 3 leads to ma.mp3, a warbling sound effect that fades out towards the end, 4 takes you back to /chapter4/, and 5 is h.mp3, a short acoustic guitar-like clip. It seems like manually inputting any "chapter" pages past 5 only takes you to room-dogcheck (they don't redirect, just display the little white dog).

Upon returning to the main page, clicking the "glitches and secrets Web Ring" banner, and continuing through to the /egg/ page via the "clues" link, a new link can be found embedded in the words "secret cats". /rain/ is another of Noelle's private journal entries, regarding the time she invited Catti over to play a "sillyriffic" Cat Petters minigame together. As per usual, she reminisces on seeing things in video games nobody else is able to replicate (but suspects Kris of knowing about it this time?) The "try it yourself" text leads to a playable version of this minigame at /rarecats/. The green dancing cats bouncing around the screen award points when clicked in accordance with the rarity scale on /rain/. An "angel wing" cat causes a stained glass window to appear onscreen and fade after a few seconds. Clicking that in time brings you to /windows/, a page titled "Aren't you forgetting something?" containing many instances of the same window sprite repeated over and over.

Each window links to a different combination of the same six words. Every page except one brings you to /room-dogcheck/. The correct combination, /lostwheretheforestwouldgrow/, leads to a page titled "ROOTS" which displays a blue tree that slowly floats up and down. It plays a single somber piano note the first three times it's clicked, then sends you back to /windows/.

UPDATE: Thank you to theyloy for tipping me off to this! Clicking the tree three times actually takes you to /window/ with no S. All the windows but one are now scrambled versions of the phrase /thepoorchildren/. Clicking and dragging to "draw" on this page, titled "Therapy", for long enough eventually reveals the red tree the man who gives you eggs hides behind, and clicking that links back to /egg/.

And last but not least, there's a new clickable area in /ramb/. The red desk at the front of the swanky, inviting green room now leads to /romb/, a silent set of wooden doors with the page title "No one will shed a tear for him." Clicking on them plays a door-opening sound effect and causes the screen to go black for a moment, then this text appears:

The text cannot be highlighted, and clicking either of the empty spaces plays the ma.mp3 sound effect associated with Chapter 3 via the /chapter4/message/ page discussed earlier in the post. This is wholly conjecture, but it may be of note that the spaces appear to be the right size to contain the word "egg".

UPDATE: Thank you once again to rollingdanielle! After clicking the door, but before the text appears, you can ctrl+A to click an invisible button floating around the screen. Doing so changes the page title to "You can never defeat us!!! Let's rumble!", plays ma.mp3, and then redirects to /chapter3/. This text could possibly be used in the Lanino and Elnina fight, as the speaker refers to fighting alongside at least one other person and "rumble" could be a pun on thunderstorms.

With that, I've listed off everything I know! Again, you're welcome to reply or reblog with anything I may have missed. Just one more month and Deltarune will be Tomorrow...

[biggie-chcese]

Why I think Yomi Hellsmile should've died in Chapter 4

(this essay isnt what you think it is. spoilers for the whole game btw)

Alright so let me preface this by saying that this is not a Yomi Hellsmile hate essay. I like Yomi. He's my favorite peacekeeper. He's funny, he's entertaining, and he makes for a very effective antagonist. So why have him die? Well, for the same reason I wouldn't have Yakou live: I think it makes for a better story.

So here's the true title of my essay: A Critique of how Rain Code's Narrative Handles the Peacekeepers (and by Extension, Yomi) and their Downfall

Let's start with Yomi's downfall in canon. Yuma and Vivia find out his role in Huesca's murder and, ultimately, Yakou's death, and are angry beyond belief. But they're also helpless to do anything as they escape the labyrinth with vengeance on their minds. Of course, this gets shut down immediately, and then Makoto ex machina comes in with Martina in tow to arrest Yomi for his money laundering and bribery. And right then and there, in one fell swoop, the peacekeepers are completely eliminated as a threat in the story to be replaced by Makoto.

But okay... isn't that super underwhelming? The peacekeepers and Amaterasu corp have been the main driving force of the game's primary conflict, and yet somehow they are completely eliminated as a threat because Makoto grabbed a few files off screen. And also, this brings me to my first major issue I have with this ending:

Part 1: Why the fuck do they care?

No I'm serious. Why do the peacekeepers care? So what if Yomi bribed his way to the top? You mean to tell me that the cops who spent the entire game assaulting and antagonizing civilians give a shit? They're never shown to have any sort of problem with their corruption. They send people to be executed on whims and knowingly, regularly falsify evidence on murder cases. At best the peacekeepers are indifferent to the suffering they cause, and at worst they are gleefully complicit in it. So, again, why do they care about Yomi's money schemes? In fact, they only benefit from Yomi's rule because he gives them the power to freely instill fear in Kanai Ward's citizens. The game never, at any point, has an "are we the baddies?" moment from them nor does it ever even try to have at least one peacekeeper question Yomi's authority, even when he's throwing them under the bus. Throughout the whole game, they stand as a completely one-note, cartoonishly evil representation of police corruption.

So why the sudden heel turn? The resolution of chapter 4 feels so jarring to me because the game has zero buildup to it. This also applies to Martina's return. Actually let's also talk about her.

Part 2: So... Martina's return lowkey is kinda lame

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty hype when she came back. But also, the magic wore off pretty quickly for me because I didn't understand why she was suddenly a whole different character. I suppose her brush with death gave her some time to contemplate her actions, or perhaps she felt indebted to Makoto and asked him what she should do, or maybe Makoto held her life over her head and told her to change her act or he's letting her get cubed. Who knows? We get nothing expanding on this so it could be anything.

I feel like people kinda forget that Martina was just as corrupt as Yomi? Like, she is not his helpless victim. I'd even argue that their relationship isn't abusive. Martina is in it with her own interests in mind in addition to just being a massive sadomasochist. I cannot stress this enough: whatever tf she and Yomi had going on, she was completely into it. Even at the end of chapter 2, she was drooling over him and the idea of punishment... until Yomi crossed a line.

Y'see, Martina thought she was special. She thought that whatever punishment Yomi had for her Aetheria Academy blunder, she'd come out of it alive, because she's his beloved right hand. Yomi then showed her that she's just as disposable as the rest of his underlings by ordering her to be brutally executed. That is when she becomes a victim.

Anyway, I'm saying all this to make a point that Martina hasn't shown any interest in being an honest cop until chapter 4. It's completely out of nowhere, just like with the other peacekeepers.

"But Biggie," you may be thinking, "why would Yomi dying fix these issues?" Well I'm so glad you hypothetically asked!

Part 3: We love missed potential, baby!

Kodaka sometimes does this thing where he introduces an interesting concept that plays with the rules of the game... and then doesn't commit to it. Think like the double murder clause in Danganronpa V3 chapter 3, where they mention that if two separate murderers act in the same day then only one of those murders counts. Then they do nothing with this, and instead create a very weak chapter.

This is a similar problem I have with the tail end of chapter 4's mystery labyrinth, which is a really amazing labyrinth that introduces a really amazing concept: taking down a secret mastermind. After reaping the culprit's soul, they have this cool, brand new secret area that... does nothing. No, I'm serious. Nothing happens. All it does is piss Yuma and Vivia off and waste everyone's time. They find out Yomi's involvement in the case, but they still don't do anything with that. Sure it brings a whole new feeling of hopelessness, but doesn't that make Yomi's downfall literally five minutes later through the mundane actions of someone else off screen seem all the more underwhelming? From a gameplay and storytelling standpoint, I think this is just... a cop-out. I think it'd be cool if he was involved enough in Huesca's murder to count as an accomplice, then with Vivia and Shinigami at his side, Yuma reaps Yomi's soul. It's a decent payoff for the NDA and the player while supporting the game's message about the importance of finding the truth. And god does the game need support in that regard, because the Mystery Labyrinth almost never helps and Yuma instead gets saved by someone else (which would've been nice to expand on if we go this route bc there's something interesting about Yuma calling for the labyrinth to kill people for ultimately no reason, but they don't do anything with that and that is a WHOLE other essay lol).

But this is not my main reason that Yomi should've died here. I wouldn't feel so strongly if that was the case. No, my problem lies with a character that isn't Yomi, and what is part of the entire reason Rain Code's plot exists.

Part 4: Is Makoto fucking stupid?

"/lh" by the way. Makoto is my second favorite character in this game behind Yuma, and I adore him. His story, his motivations, his undying will to be a protector of a people that no one else will protect, by any means necessary... he is such an incredible character and antagonist and I genuinely adore him. But I have one eensy weensy, teeny weeny little issue with him:

Why did he need the detectives to oust Yomi?

Makoto claims in the ch 5 labyrinth that the reason the detectives were brought over was to oust Yomi, which leads me to believe the command for the detectives to come to Kanai Ward was his work, not Number One's, then Number One simply caught onto this and took advantage of the situation to sneak in. Though, that's just a guess on my part, mind you. So I suppose he was just desperately hoping at least one of them would take care of Yomi, but isn't that weird?

The detectives don't ever find the evidence of Yomi's money laundering and bribery. Makoto does. The detectives don't ever bring Yomi's corruption to light. Yomi... already does that without their help. Actually, why didn't he secretly team up with the Resistance for that? Too busy ignoring Dohya District's glaring issues, Makoto? Too busy turning a blind eye to your people's suffering?

Uh. Anyway, the only detective that actually does something beneficial for Makoto and kills Huesca is Yakou, who was already in Kanai Ward. And don't tell me that Makoto accounted for Fubuki and Desuhiko's fortes here because that part of the plan was all Yakou's idea. If Makoto could've predicted this, he would've just called the detectives necessary to this plan instead of luring in a bunch of them at once to get slaughtered.

Tons of detectives died coming to Kanai Ward to do... what? Distract Yomi? Could the World's Greatest Mind truly never come up with a better distraction for a guy who didn't even realize his Martina Cube™ order never came in? Yomi isn't shown to be some sort of hypervigilant supergenius nor is he nearly on Makoto's level. Could he truly not have outsmarted Yomi and led him astray long enough to grab a little binder of paper?

So, once again, you may be wondering how Yomi's death would fix this. Well, Yuma, a detective, is the one who kills Yomi.

Makoto is well aware of Yuma using the Book of Death at this point. So what better way to get rid of Yomi than to carefully manipulate the detective who has the Perfect Criminal Murder Tool™? Makoto can't just assassinate Yomi himself- that would make him the main suspect and he'd have to do a lot of PR maintenance to get the rest of Amaterasu Corp off his back. But Yomi mysteriously dying of a heart attack while Makoto isn't anywhere around... well, that's different.

"But wait," you may be thinking, "doesn't Makoto want to keep Yomi alive because he's a Kanai Ward citizen, and he loves Kanai Ward?"

Good point! But doesn't that also apply to Yakou, whom he also had a hand in manipulating into that crazy sui-homocide of Dr. Huesca? Or, what about Fink? Remember him? Makoto killed him for "knowing too much." I know that information is missable, but it's there. And don't tell me it's just because he's a hitman and has killed other Kanai Ward residents, because Yomi has sent many residents to their deaths without trial... not a huge difference. So a body count isn't really on Makoto's "should I kill them" conditions, it seems.

If Fink gets killed for "knowing too much," then Yomi shouldn't be exempt from this, especially when he was leaking homunculus information to the outside world. That goes far beyond "knowing too much." It just doesn't make sense.

But you know what does? Makoto actually using the detectives to wipe his hands clean of Yomi's mess. Yakou is used to take care of Huesca, Yuma is used to take care of Yomi, and Makoto gets to sit back, relax, and watch everything play out just as planned.

And later, in the next chapter, when Yuma learns about Makoto using him like this, he realizes that he's truly been had.

Part 5: How I think it should play out

I'm not being a hater. In fact, I deeply love this game and have a lot of respect for Kodaka and the writing team, so please don't take my little rant as some sort of effort to bash on my favorite video game because that's not what this is. I'm not gonna prop myself up as a better writer than anyone on the team because I'm not, but I'll still try my hand at rewriting this scene to fit my personal taste. So I would like for you to imagine with me, the end of chapter 4...

Yuma and Vivia find the secret area of the labyrinth and find out that Yomi has been masterminding Huesca's murder. Shinigami points out that, hey, that's why the labyrinth is falling so slowly: we haven't finished it off! Vivia stands by Yuma's side, and all of them, driven by their rage and desire to see justice be done, reap the soul of the true mastermind through one final strike of the solution blade. Labyrinth collapses, snap back to reality, oop there goes gravity, oop there goes Yomi, who collapses on the ground.

The peacekeepers are surprised and approach the body. They find that Yomi is dead. They're shocked, and as this is happening, Yuma isn't sure what to feel. Is he glad that he managed to avenge Yakou? Not quite, because Yakou is still gone, the hitman is still out there, and everything still hurts. But a part of him feels... vindicated. Vivia seems to have equally complicated feelings about this. For once, it was... kind of worth it to find the truth, even if a bit messy.

Well now the peacekeepers confirmed Yomi is dead, but now they're accusing the detectives of this. And they're honestly kinda right. Yuma and Vivia realize that they're in kind of deep shit, but the sound of Martina's voice comes from off screen asking what on earth is going on here, making everyone freeze.

Enter her, Makoto, and Seth (I'll say why he's here too in a moment). They're surprised at the sight before them, but Makoto only pretends to be. Then you see it... Martina and Seth go from visibly suprised... to relieved. And there's something oddly triumphant, yet a bit chilling about Makoto and the two people we've witnessed Yomi throw under the bus standing over his corpse. It feels thematic now, as if righteous judgement has come. And... it also solves the "what happened to Seth" question, lol.

Makoto shakes his head and sighs, stepping over the corpse and approaching Yuma and Vivia as he comes up with an excuse: "I always told him that those temper tantrums weren't good for his blood pressure. I guess his heart couldn't take it anymore."

He then nods to the others. Seth instructs the peacekeepers to clean up the body, as they rot quickly in this city. There's this foreboding feeling in the peacekeepers' obedience and efficiency, and Yuma begins to wonder if he did a good thing. Did his actions change the peacekeepers for the better, he asks himself, or did he simply shift the power over to someone worse? Shinigami tells him she doesn't know.

Makoto approaches them with good news: they found and arrested the hitman! Yuma, frightened, does not address that and instead asks him why the other high ranking peacekeepers are here. Makoto says that they... owe him a favor. Martina expresses her gratefulness for him stopping her execution order and asks if they can do anything else, to which Makoto replies telling her no, they're doing an excellent job. After some more conversation, Seth, Martina, and the peacekeepers then leave with Yomi's body to let Makoto talk privately to Yuma and Vivia. Makoto apologizes for their loss of Yakou and offers some faux sympathy. They're both... still conflicted about this conclusion, but Makoto tells them they're free to go, so they'll think about it later. Oh, but before they leave, he gives Yuma a little gift: a suspicious black box. Of course, Yuma can't open it just yet- it's a surprise!

Then the rest could play out pretty much normally (though an encounter with zombie Yomi chapter 5 seems inevitable and also awesome).

I think this alone would solve every issue I addressed before. The peacekeepers do not change out of nowhere. They simply reallocate power and there's still this feeling of them being a threat as they're now directly connected to the game's true antagonist. There's now a theme to Martina's return with Seth's presence as well. There's now a narrative purpose to that final section of the mystery labyrinth with proper payoff. And, most importantly, Makoto's motivations to use the detectives make more sense.

By the way, if any Yomi lovers think that he should stay alive for a potential return in the sequel... isn't it such a blessing that Yakou's DLC introduced this pretty neat little pill that could still make that possible? Just saying.

So yeah. Yuma, for the sake of narrative payoff and character writing consistency, please kill this clown. Thanks for reading <3

[loremaster]

hi rain code fandom. i finally finished cleaning up some months-old doodles about an au that has been living in my head rent free this whole time. i call it “boba au” off this image i made during the game (and also took months to finish). the concept is that they all get off the train and get boba, and then everyone joins the nocturnal detective agency and yuma gets TWO assist characters per case. many things change.

^ above: chapters 1-2

v below: minor spoilers for chapter 3, BIG spoilers for chapter 4

and now you understand why i have been going feral with this au sitting in my head for so long. yes there is more where this came from. this is just the beginning of boba au. be afraid

(also yes that is zilch alexander the real zilch alexander, with the world’s most expensive hat)

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ③

From the second reading to the end of the of the daytime program.

Previous posts:

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ①

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ②

⚠️This is a looong post and contains spoilers! Only read this if you have already played RAIN CODE and have time.

After introducing the merchandise sold at the event, Fukuhara, Suzushiro, and Ishikawa gave a reading performance. The reading was a direct reenactment of the game's dialog from Chapter 1, when Halara's forensic forte was first shared with Yuma, so I will just leave out the details.

After that, KENN joined in and the four VAs gave a reading performance. This was a re-enactment of the part after the Mystery Labyrinth in chapter 2, where Kurumi gave Yuma information about the homunculus and Yuma shared it with other detectives of the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Yakou's lines were replayed by playing the voices in the game, and Fubuki's and Vivia's lines were simply omitted. In the actual story, Vivia mentions Death God here, implying that he knows Yuma is possessed by Shinigami, but those lines were left out, and Shinigami forced a punchline by being a bit silly instead. I remember it ending with a meta-statement like, "The most mysterious thing is that Fuzz Head's voice is heard even though he is not here."

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the entire script for the reading was done by Spike Chunsoft staff, and Kodaka was not involved at all. (From the way he talked, it sounded like he didn't even supervise it). So the story itself was not something worth explaining in detail. Just the VAs' performances were really perfect and wonderful :)

------

The next segment, "Kanai Ward Citizen Survey", featured a game in which the VAs predicted which answer to a three-option question would receive the most votes from the audience. The audience was treated as Kanai Ward residents, and voting was done by clapping their hands. The person who best predicted the audience's answer won a book token printed with the main artwork of the RAIN CODE Fan Meeting.

The first question was as follows:

Q1.Which Forensic Forte would you use if you could? 1. Halara's Forensic Forte 2. Desuhiko's Forensic Forte 3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte

Maybe they dared to make it easy because it was the first question, but clearly Halara's abilities are too limited compared to the versatility of Desuhiko and Fubuki's abilities 😅 so the VAs predicted that it would most likely be either 2 or 3. And here's the result of their choice:

(The VAs were given placards to hold up to answer the questions.)

Then, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte". To which the VAs said, "I knew everyone wanted to rewind time." lol

The level of popularity was Fubuki > Desuhiko >> Halara.

The next question was this:

Q2.Who is the detective you want to be your boss? 1. Yakou 2. Halara 3. Yuma before losing his memory. (Number One)

When Kodaka saw these options, he immediately commented as follows:

But Suzushiro said "Isn't Halara too strict? Yakou seems to be very subordinate-minded." Then Ishikawa said, "If I were to become Halara's subordinate, I would like to see Halara looking at pictures of cats."

(The gesture of looking through the gap is what she actually did on the stage!)

And here's the result of their choice:

I was so convinced by Ishikawa's opinion, but she actually raised Yakou's number. (She betrayed us! 😂)

Only Fukuhara chose 3 and was asked by the MC why:

(He really loves Yuma!)

Then, Kodaka commented as follows:

Fukuhara countered, "But don't you think it's good that he only shows his true face to me!?" (He seemed to imagine what would happen if he became Number One's secretary or entourage 😄)

But whether his arguments did not resonate with the audience or were simply not popular enough, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "1. Yakou".

The level of popularity was Yakou > Halara > Number One.

Q3.Which organization would you prefer to join? 1.World Detective Organization 2.Amaterasu Corporation 3.Resistance

Kodaka saw these options and again immediately commented.

(That's true 😂)

The VAs began to discuss these options and which organization would give them the best chance of survival. However, all of them are very risky 😅 WDO's work is fraught with danger (as a lot of detectives were actually killed in chapter 0), and workers in Amaterasu would be executed if suspected of rebellion. Of course, the Resistance is always fraught with danger!

After such discussion, here is what they chose:

When asked by the MC why they chose Amaterasu Corporation, Ishikawa and KENN replied:

(Becoming an Ama-Pal developer is certainly a fairly peaceful option 😆)

Fukuhara replied that the reason he wanted to join WDO was because of his love for Yuma, and Suzushiro said she wanted to use Forensic Forte.

And as a result of audience voting, the most popular option was "1.World Detective Organization".

The level of popularity was World Detective Organization > Amaterasu Corporation >>> Resistance. (FYI, WDO and Amaterasu were almost equally popular. WDO was slightly more popular).

Last Question: Which line do you want Shinigami to say? 1. "Kyahaha! Down the rabbit hole we go!" (JA: きゃっきゃっきゃ！　いざ、迷宮入りーーーー！！) 2. "Luminous darkness! Shining rainbow! Glorious stellar spiral! Bello Fresco Grand Finale!" (JA: ダークネスシャイニングファビュラスレインボービューティフルマックススクリューラブリーフレッシュグランドフィナーレ！！) 3. "I hope he dies with his upper body stuck in the pond." (JA: 池に上半身が突き刺さって死ねばいいのに)

*As for the third, I don't remember where Shinigami said it, so I made up the translation myself. I used "he", but it may have been said to a female character. The first and second should be correct because I checked the English version of the videos on YouTube.

As for the first line, KENN mentioned that this line was memorable, but I need to make some explanations so that you can see why he said it. This line is said by Yuma and Shinigami enter the Mystery Labyrinth, but it differs considerably between the Japanese and English versions. If I translate the original Japanese line into English, it should be like "Now enter the Labyrinth!" However, in Japanese, it actually shares a meaning with another word that has a different meaning, but if it were put into English, it would lose that meaning, so it was probably changed to something completely different. In Japanese, when things are left unresolved, the thing is described as having entered a labyrinth. So KENN commented that he found it interesting that a word that was originally used in this sense was literally used in the sense of entering a labyrinth.

The second line is the one that Shinigami says at the end of Mystery Labirinth, when she reaps the soul of the true culprit:

Kodaka said it was based on the scene when the main characters perform a special move in the Pretty Cure series, a famous Japanese anime for girls. Suzushiro said that she searched for videos of Pretty Cure on YouTube and used them as a reference for her performance. When I heard this, I remembered that the title of the music played in the scene is "Heart Catch! Convict! Convict!" in the OST. I think "Heart Catch" is based on a title of one of the Pretty Cure series: HeartCatch PreCure! - Wikipedia

By the way, for Japanese Otaku, "heart catch" is also a word with a different meaning. I know the correct grammatical order in English should be "catch heart", but Japanese otaku dare to say "heart catch" when a cruel character grabs someone's heart (as an organ). So I think the reason for such a music title is a cross between the Shinigami harvesting the soul scene and the cute image of Pretty Cure.

Sorry for the long explanation! 😣 And my memory is a little fuzzy as to which answer the VAs chose here. I think 2 was the most popular. And in fact, 2 was the most popular among the audience, and Suzushiro actually read the line out loud!

The level of popularity was 2 > 1 >>> 3.

As a result of this game, it was Suzushiro who was the best at guessing the audience's answers! She received the book token and declared that she would use it to buy some RAIN CODE books :)

------

In the next segment, "RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz", the audience answered super-geeky questions about RAIN CODE. All questions were true/false and the audience answered by opening their fist for true and clenching their fist for false.

The audience was first asked to stand, and the person who made the mistake was treated as having left the quiz at that point and was seated. And when there were only a few people standing, the game was over. Those who stayed until the end received limited edition merchandise. (They received a card that looked like a pass).

This quiz was full of really difficult questions! 😅 There were 7 questions in total. I encourage you to see if you can answer them.

The questions were as follows:

The tallest person in Amaterasu Corporation is Dominic. True or false?

2. It is in Chapter 4 that Shinigami shows the pose in the following image. True or false?:

3. The word "WINE" is written on the label of the wine bottle* used in the case in Chapter 2. True or false? * The bottle was used as a prop for a play by the Aetheria Academy Theater Club.

4. The cat in the photo Halara was looking at in Chapter 1 had blue eyes. True or false?

5. The color of Pucci's stuffed bear* was white. True or false? * It is the stuffed bear that was sitting on a chair in Pucci's room in Chapter 0.

6. The load capacity of Ama-pal is 120 kg. True or false?

7. In chapter 1, the amount Halara asked for as the price for helping Yuma was 5,500,600 shien. True or false?

The order of the questions may differ from the order of the actual quiz, but in any case, only those who answered all of these questions correctly were eligible for the prizes.

The correct answers are written at the very end of this post!

------

Finally, the participants gave their closing remarks. The VAs all said that it was the first time they had seen the fans since the game was released, and that it was nice to know for the first time that these people love RAIN CODE.

Ishikawa said that even from the stage she could see some fans wearing merchandise shirts or carrying Shinigami bags, and felt that RAIN CODE is really loved.

Fukuhara said that he was very happy because this was the first time he had been able to talk with spoilers. (He had been on the RAIN CODE introduction live stream before RAIN CODE was released, so he had had many opportunities to talk about RAIN CODE, but this was the first time he had done so with spoilers).

The following is Kodaka's final comment, which I tried to write as accurately as possible:

"It took six years to make RAIN CODE, and as you can see from the credits, there were a lot of people involved in making RAIN CODE. I was nervous about releasing it because it was the result of so many people's efforts, and I was worried about whether how many people would like it, but I am glad that there are a lot of fans who have gathered here with such enthusiasm. I am sure that RAIN CODE will have new developments and other things to come, so please continue to support us. Thank you very much."

After the closing remarks, Shinigami's announcement began. Shinigami then asked the audience, "Did you have a great time?" and the audience responded with applause 👏👏

------

Correct answers to the RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz! :

1.✅ True. (Dominic's height is 225 cm (7'4").) 2.✅ True. (You can see this pose in the result of the second Shinigami Puzzle in Chapter4.) 3.❌ False. (It was labeled LEQUELR.)

4.❌ False. (Black is correct.) 5.❌ False. (Pink is correct.) 6.❌ False. (100kg is correct.) 7.❌ False. (5,500,800 shien is correct.)

How many questions did you get right? I got the third question wrong and dropped out 😝 (In a post-event interview in the media, Kodaka said he did not know the correct answer from the first question. lol)

This is the end of the daytime program!

Next:

[elina-sakura]

New fic up! Another multi-chapter fic (though it was unexpected) with the second chapter coming out either tonight or tomorrow! Though Major Spoilers for Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE!!!

[tony-andonuts]

I would go to church if this was the priest

[ceyarma]

SPOILERS for Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE!

--------

Just wanna talk about that amazing Chapter 5 and game for a second.

Makoto Kagutsuchi is such a breath of fresh air compared to the comically crazy antagonists in the Danganronpa series and the Peacekeepers in this game, I was genuinely blown away. I hope they take notes from this game for a future installment in Dangan or perhaps a new Tookyo IP.

I was absolutely blown away by how good this game, a little jank, slight pacing issues and gameplay annoyances here and there, nothing too egregious or standout compared to Danganronpa or smth though.

The writing is on another level, while the game does stumble in Chapter 1 and Chapter 3, the rest of the chapters are absolutely solid and the characters are GREAT.

The last mystery and the final sword fight was hype as fuck!!! God dammn!!

I can confidently say I like this more than Danganronpa and would actually recommend new players this game first due to its distinct lack of troublesome stuff.

I give RAIN CODE a solid 9/10, it's big, it's overambitious, it's flawed, but it was fucking awesome.

[yakool-foolio]

Any hot takes about RC?

I generally go with the flow when critiquing Rain Code. I tend to agree with a fair amount of grievances about missed opportunities. There are some plot holes I can't help but feel could've been fixed with relatively simple changes. My main example of this is that instead of concealing sunlight being what keeps the homunculi at bay, it's the humidity caused by the rainy weather. This way, nighttime can still allow the homunculi to remain in their aggravated states as long as they have contact with sunlight first, making the Blank Week fully possible.

With that little tangent outta the way, time for the actual hot take! This one may come as a slight surprise since I haven't discussed her much, but Shinigami really isn't as bad as people say she is in my opinion. She's snobbish and egotistical and degrades others, but I feel like some exaggerate how infuriating she actually is. She's meant to be an annoyance, we're right alongside Yuma in being done with her bs. It's what makes her comeuppance in chapter 4 much more impactful, cause she's not as all-knowing and powerful as she thinks she is. It's possible that she was in even deeper denial than Yuma since she couldn't believe Yakou was the culprit until his phantom was right in her face. Only then does she snap at the phantom in disbelief. She freely shows a much softer side of herself, granting Yakou's soul a peaceful rest (for as short as it lasted) because she genuinely liked the chief. Death is as ruthless as it is merciful.

This shift in attitude is what made chapter 5's mystery labyrinth a lot more palatable; I liked seeing her support Yuma and pull him out of his fears and doubts. Even though I wish the NDA detectives were around in chapter 5 to really encapsulate the overarching theme of 'no one should have to shoulder their problems alone,' Shinigami still showcases it pretty well all things considered. My thoughts about her may move around a bit whenever I do a second playthrough and really pay attention to her dialogue, but for now I'm sticking to my guns.

[shadow-laviko]

Thing no one asked about

I've been thinking a lot today

And I want to give my opinion about what I think Rain Code characters smell like

(Also interested in hearing what you guys think)

Spoilers for chapter 0... and maybe chapter 5 actually

Bonus point : I tend to mistake scent and smell, so, might use both, sorry in advance

So,

Yuma : Smells like the plastic of rainboots/rain coat + faint flowery smell of the likes of roses (no specific one) or lavender

Shinigami : Smells like dusty feathers and strawberry candies, or something sweet maybe vanilla too

Aide (Fake Zilch) : While impersonating Zilch : Cologne and some faint blend of animal smells (like rodents, cat litter or dogs... maybe especially rodents). While himself : maybe cologne, and a faint smell of blood and gun powder (maybe also dirt but hmm not sure about this one)

Melami : Makeup and luxury perfumes

Pucci : Laudry mostly

Aphex : Either cologne or strong deodorant for men + faint scent of sweat

Zange : Paper/ink, and cigar and cologne

Swank : Cigar and I can't think of anything else

Yakou : Cigarettes of course, and maybe some food smell of some kind + some kind of sea smelling shampoo/shower gel

Halara : Rain coat/rain boots and maybe some catnip to attract cats + maybe sakura blossom shower gel

Fubuki : Pink rose and some type of wood like pine maybe... or cinnamon

Vivia : Ashes/dust and books/papers

Desuhiko : Depending of whether he's on a case or not. If on a case : a blend of laundry, makeup, perfume and cologne. If not on a case... Some neutral deodorant and that specific smell from clothes you wear often. You know the one? It's not stinky, it just has a distinct scent, even when clean

Priest : Wax and something else like maybe... I don't know, something strong but not agressive

The other 3 from chapter 1 (not counting the boy and his dad) : Idk. Maybe cookies or apple pie for the Servant

Seth : Dirt and a blend of flowers like daisies or something (lilac?)... Maybe daisies and lemon actually

Martina : I don't really know, perfume and something else?

Yomi : Cedar wood and leather (maybe cologne too)

Kurumi : Laundry and either vanilla or orange blossom water

The other Aetheria girls : I don't really know, I feel like Waruna would smell like a specific shampoo, (but I can’t figure out which one), maybe makeup for Yoshiko and pomegranate shower gel for Kurane

Shachi : Sweat and idk, maybe coffee, or motor oil

Ikari : The specific smell of swimming cap and stagnating water

Servan : Same as Desuhiko, the smell of clothes you wear often

Margulaw : Old wooden furnitures/antiquities + that old people smell

Iruka : Salt (for some fucking reason ???) and gunpowder or motor oil

Guillaume : Bubblegum and books/papers/cards, and rainboots/ rain coat

Dominic : Hard to explain and can be different for everyone, but, I'd say he smells like that old plushie you've had since your childhood

Fink : no idea

Huesca : Similar to the smell there is at an hospital/at the doctor

Akira (The robot guy) : The smell of a tech shop / of... you know when you open a box with your new TV/computer/phone/console/electronic device? Well, that one. And maybe tea of some kind

The Ramen Stand Owner : Well, ramen (I know there are different kinds, so like, either a blend of many kinds, or just the most basic one)

Makoto : Lavender for sure, and enigma. I don't know how to describe it, but an enigma/mystery has some kind of smell (not the words, the idea/phenomenon in itself). Or maybe it's like the mood an enigma sets, which somehow kinda transposes into a scent? Idk how to describe it... + maybe some conditioner

The previous Amaterasu CEO : Idk, rich man something, like whisky or tobacco or cologne, idk, the kind of things tou think about when you picture a CEO in your mind

Did I forget anyone? I don't know

[rainfeathers]

Been thinking about why chapter 3 felt weaker to me than the other chapters and I think I figured it out? This is just my thoughts and they aren’t very planned out

Spoilers for the whole game btw

The case itself is fine, actually. Originally I thought it was this that made it feel weak but it doesn’t, I liked the case. There were a few things I would have changed to make the motivation for it more logical (to us as players) but it wasn’t as bad as i think a lot of people claim.

What really bothers me is the fact that they pulled the “oh no the entire detective agency is gone <\3” card way too early. Why don’t I like this? A couple reasons

1. It diminishes the effect in chapter 5 when it tries to pull the “everyone is dead” thing again. Minor thing, since I don’t think we were meant to believe it too strongly anyways (it was more of a way to force Yuma to act alone than to scare us into thinking they really died), but worth mentioning.

2. I love rain code; but the entire time I feel like it was missing just one more chapter where the detectives were all together. Given the pacing and plot, I don’t think adding a whole new chapter would remedy this. Instead I believe chapter 3 would have been a perfect moment to let the group be together and working normally before it all goes to shit in chapter 4

3. Going off of 2, as hard as chapter 4 hurt, it would have been even better if Yuma weren’t so isolated right before it. Give us more Yakou moments, to really drive home his absence afterwards

4. If we weren’t running around trying to find the other detectives, we instead could have used that time to flesh out or just introduce more mysteries (thinking the blank week mystery specifically) instead of so much being thrown onto us in chapter 5. The resistance would actually be perfect for introducing the blank week mystery. since they go against the norm of kanai ward I imagine they’d be less hellbent on keeping it under wraps.

Idk overall I actually don’t dislike chapter 3. On playing the game again it’s fine, it’s just weirdly distant from the nocturnal detective agency and as someone who doesn’t care much for the resistance, it was less memorable because of it. I think the weaknesses in the investigation and case could be significantly more forgivable if we had our favorites around to carry a little bit more of the exposition