is a Japanese BL visual novel developed and published by Nitro+chiral. It was originally released on March 23, 2012, for Windows PCs as a first press edition, with a regular edition released on April 27, 2012. A fan disc follow-up titled Dramatical Murder re:connect, also for Windows PCs, was released on April 26, 2013, adding additional scenes, images and songs to the existing routes, as well as four new character routes to play through. On October 30, 2014, a version of the visual novel aimed at ages 15 and above titled Dramatical Murder re:code was released for the PlayStation Vita which removed the sex scenes, toned down the violence, and included an additional route for the character Mizuki.
An anime adaption by studio NAZ premiered on July 6, 2014. It is directed by Kazuya Miura, with Touko Machida and Kabura Fuchii handling series composition, Yukiko Ban designing the characters and Yuki Hayashi composing the music.
On July 4, 2018, it was announced at the Anime Expo that JAST USA's new JAST BLUE branch, which focuses on boys-love games, would release Nitro+CHiRAL's DRAMAtical Murder games and its other visual novel titles in English.
Gameplay Dramatical Murder is a science fiction and romance visual novel in which players assume the role of Aoba Seragaki. Much of its gameplay is spent reading the story's narrative and dialogue. Dramatical Murder follows a branching storyline with multiple endings. Depending on the decisions the player makes during the game, the plot will progress in different directions.
The game initially features four main plot lines, one for each of Aoba's potential suitors. Following the completion of all four, a fifth one is unlocked for Ren. Throughout gameplay, the player is given multiple options to choose from, and text progression pauses at these points until a choice is made. Each decision awards one point to Koujaku, Noiz, Clear or Mink respectively. The suitor who has amassed the largest number of points is the one whose plot line, "route", will be played.
Once a specific route has been entered, four more options are presented to the player at specific points in the story; depending on which options are picked, the story will end with either a good or bad ending.
Plot Setting Dramatical Murder is set in the near future on the fictional island of , Japan. At some point in the game's recent history, the island was privatized by the powerful and turned into a resort called , with the island's original residents being forced to live in the . Protagonist Aoba Seragaki lives on the island and works at a store named Junk Shop , hoping to live a simple life. However, after being forcefully dragged into the popular cyber game with its virtual world and its use of , mobile devices that usually appear as if they are the owner's pets, and hearing rumors about disappearances involving , turf wars between groups, all semblance of a peaceful life for Aoba ends.
Characters Main characters is the primary protagonist of the game. He is 23 years old, and works part-time at a junk shop called Hum-Drum Junk, and lives with his grandmother, Tae. Aoba has a special ability called Scrap, which allows him to mix his consciousness with other people's through his voice and use it to control them, though he can also destroy them and leave the victims in a comatose-like state. Aoba has a caring, honest, and open-minded personality, but is noted by Ren to have a short temper. Inside of Aoba lies another personality that represents Scrap, who usually comes out whenever Aoba is emotionally distressed. The "other Aoba" desires chaos and destruction, and has shown to be sadistic and masochistic. That's why he is Aoba's desire. In Aoba's teenage years, the “other Aoba” was a prominent Rhyme player known by the alias Sly Blue. is Aoba's Allmate, who resembles a dark blue Japanese Spitz. He takes a human form in Rhyme. Ren has a mature, patient, and pragmatic demeanor. Despite being an older Allmate model, Aoba considers Ren to be his important partner and cherishes him like family. Originally, Ren was a part of Aoba's consciousness that was created to keep the balance between Aoba and his other personality that wishes for destruction. That's why he is Aoba's restraint. He is voiced by Ryōta Takeuchi. is Aoba's childhood friend, and the leader of a Ribsteez group named Benishigure. He is 27 years old, has many tattoos and scars on his body, and works as a hairdresser. Koujaku is compassionate and strong-willed, and he cares deeply for his loved ones. He was the illegitimate son of a yakuza leader and was the only heir, causing him and his mother to leave Midorijima when he was young. After undergoing a painful tattooing process, Koujaku was taken over by his tattoos' special effects and mindlessly killed his family. Despite his dark past, he retains a positive and gentle personality. Koujaku is a bit of a womanizer, and is incredibly popular with girls. , real name Wilhelm (ウィルヘルム, Uiruherumu), is an information broker for Rhyme, a skilled hacker, and the founder of his Rhyme group, Ruff Rabbit. He is the youngest main character at 19 years old. Since he was a child, Noiz suffers from CIPA, causing him to accidentally hurt others. His wealthy parents regarded him as a disgrace and imprisoned him in his room for years until he ran away from his home in Germany. Due to this, Noiz is apathetic to the world around him and bases everything on cold logic, though he can be immature. His inability to feel pain also causes him to be reckless, and he eventually turns to playing Rhyme aggressively in order to feel the illusion of pain. His body is covered with many piercings. is the leader of Scratch, a Ribsteez group of former prison inmates. Mink hails from a Native American tribe that grew special herbs that affect a human's body odor to give them a sense of peace. Toue, who mistook the purpose of the plant's effect as mind manipulation, slaughtered Mink's tribe, his family and friends, along with burning down his village in his attempts to obtain them, and Mink was captured along with several survivors and brought to Midorijima to be experimented on. Mink broke out and began plotting his revenge on Toue for his people's massacre. As a result, Mink emotionally hardened and distanced himself from personal attachments. He has a stoic, ruthless, controlling personality, constantly using violence as a means to reach his goal. Despite his rough exterior, he does have integrity and a gentle side he rarely shows. is an android that previously served under Toue as a prototype for Scrap before being discarded. Clear was saved by a man who was in charge of the disposal, who treated Clear like a son until he died. Clear addresses this man as his grandfather and speaks about him fondly to Aoba. He refers to Aoba as his "Master", whom he is always eager to please. Although cheerful, polite, and kind, Clear is childish and his eccentric antics cause others not to take him seriously and be annoyed by him. He is almost always seen holding his vinyl umbrella and owns two masks to hide his face, one is a black gas mask and the other is a mask depicting a traditional Japanese woman, though he wears it as a joke. Clear enjoys singing, and can often be heard singing a song called the "Jellyfish Song". He is voiced by Masatomo Nakazawa.
Supporting characters is the leader of the Ribsteez team Dry Juice, owner of a tattoo shop called Black Needle and he is 26 years old. Mizuki and Aoba met and became friends when Aoba was a teenager in high school. Mizuki has a cool and friendly personality, and he treats his team members as family. Despite being the leaders of different Ribsteez teams, he is also good friends with Koujaku; he also has an unknown Allmate who takes the form of a white stoat. He is voiced by . In the English dub of the anime, he is voiced by Adam Gibbs. is the grandmother of Aoba, whom she often scolds but deeply cares for. Years prior to the series, she worked as a neuroscientist for Toue, but quit upon learning that her research was being used for illegal experimentation. As a pharmacist, she prescribes medicine for Aoba to ease his headaches. She is voiced by . In the English dub of the anime, she is voiced by Marcy Bannor. is Aoba's adoptive father and Haruka's husband. Mysterious and quite whimsical, he was once Toue's experiment subject and apparently hears "voices" of things. He travels frequently as a result and came across Aoba during one of his journeys, and could sense Aoba was special. Nine and Haruka left Aoba with Tae to go on another journey when he was a child, and they have not been heard from since then. He is voiced by Eiji Takemoto. is Aoba's adoptive mother and Nine's wife. She and Tae are distant relatives; the latter took her in after she ran away from her abusive parents. Despite her terrible childhood, Haruka's love for Nine and her family makes her a cheerful and kind person. Nine and Haruka left Aoba with Tae to go on another journey when he was a child, and they have not been heard from since then. She is voiced by Emi Motoi. is the owner of Platinum Jail, and the main antagonist of the game. Toue is loved by the citizens of Platinum Jail, but is despised by the citizens in the Old Residential District. Ostensibly, he is known as a calm and idealistic man who desires peace and happiness for mankind. However, he is truly a manipulative and self-righteous individual, justifying his horrendous crimes to achieve his goals by claiming it was for the greater good. He is also a fatalist, and merely sees life, including his own, as a game. He is voiced by Tadahisa Saizen. In the English dub of the anime, he is voiced by John Gremillion. and are acquaintances of Aoba who work for the yakuza and leaders of the group, Morphine. They are often mistaken for twins due to their similar appearances. They became Aoba's "fans" after witnessing him play Rhyme in the past and will occasionally act as allies to him. In actuality, they are two-faced, and are simply looking out for their own self-interests. They are voiced by Junji Majima and , respectively. In the English dub of the anime, they are both voiced by Doug Hammond and Blake Shepard. is Aoba's older twin brother that is held captive by Toue. He also has the ability of Scrap, but the power lies in his eyes. Sei wishes for Aoba to kill him in order to be released from his suffering after years of being subjected to Toue's experiments, which resulted in Sei becoming sickly and on the verge of death by the beginning of the game. Initially appearing as emotionless, Sei is soft-spoken and kind, and he cares deeply for his brother Aoba and Ren, wishing for their happiness. In spite of Toue's horrifying experiments to his being, Sei states that he does not resent Toue for all that he is done, but does feel responsible to stop him from causing more harm. He is voiced by Yūichi Iguchi. In the English dub of the anime, he is voiced by Clint Bickham. is an assistant of Toue. He is voiced by Kishio Daisuke. In the English dub of the anime, he is voiced by Scotty Fults. is the owner of Delivery Works, a local courier shop. She takes rumors very seriously, such as all the exaggerated talk about Scratch and the Northern District. When Aoba could not remember what TV drama Yoshie was ranting to him about, she got incredibly upset and began to fawn over one of the actors in it, much to Aoba's discomfort. Despite this, she is shown to be very kind but also unaware that she makes Aoba uncomfortable most of the time with her bantering. She also seems to be interested in younger men, as a poster is hung in her workplace, reading that only young men should apply, and she is overly-affectionate towards Aoba. She is voiced by Satosaki Ume. In the English dub version, she is voiced by Allison Sumrall.