Riddle Story of Devil

Plot

At a private girls' boarding school, Myōjō Academy, thirteen girls are transferred into the academy's "10th Year Class Black" (10年黒組, Jū-nen Kuro-gumi). Of these thirteen students, twelve are assassins from various backgrounds who are all tasked with assassinating the remaining student, a girl named Haru Ichinose. If they succeed, they will be granted any wish they desire, but if they fail, they are expelled from the class. However, one of the assassins, Tokaku Azuma, has sworn to protect Haru from the other assassins.

Characters

Tokaku Azuma (東 兎角, Azuma Tokaku)

Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa (Japanese); Morgan Berry (English) No. 1 of Class Black, the protagonist of the story. Tokaku is a distant and cold girl who comes from the infamous Azuma family, a feared family of skilled assassins. Although Tokaku appears strong with her stoicism, she is rather mentally weak, easily influenced by others, and makes little decisions for herself. She is skilled with using knives, and has exceptionally quick reflexes. It is soon revealed that Tokaku has never killed anyone before, despite possessing very useful skills as an assassin, due to the influence of her mother and aunt not wanting her to become a murderer like them. During her time in Class Black, Tokaku becomes Haru's protector, for reasons even she does not know.

The reason Tokaku defected to Haru's side was that she was unconsciously influenced by Haru's "queen bee" ability. In the anime she ends up resuming her attempt to assassinate Haru in order to find out for sure if her defection has been an exercise of her own free will all along. She successfully stabs her, only to express in regret her wish to be with Haru. However, Haru ends up surviving the attack, leading to Tokaku's expulsion. After Haru's graduation, Tokaku, now understanding that her attraction to Haru has nothing to do with Haru's manipulative ability, reunites with Haru. In the manga's conclusion, she works alongside Haru and is dating her.

Haru Ichinose (一ノ瀬 晴, Ichinose Haru)

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto (Japanese); Alexis Tipton (English) No. 13 of Class Black, the second main character. Haru is a bright and cheerful girl, who aims to become friends with everyone. She is kind and naive to everyone without fail until they become hostile with her. Haru is the target that everyone in the class is after. She has strange scars on her thighs, which were discovered by Tokaku by flipping up her skirt. She is later shown to not only have scars on her thighs, but all over her body as well. She is uncomfortable with people looking at them. Haru possesses an ability, exclusive to her clan, known as the "queen bee" ability, that attracts, controls and manipulates people, like how a queen bee controls her worker bees. This ability of Haru's is why Class Black was created, as a rite of passage to see if she was able to become the clan's newest primer. Tokaku became her protector due to being unconsciously influenced by this ability. Upon discovery of Haru's queen bee ability, however, Tokaku resumes attempting on her life. Haru, resolving to graduate the Class Black alive, tries unsuccessfully to fight back. Despite being stabbed in her heart by Tokaku, however, Haru is saved by the knife deflecting off her ribs, which had been replaced with titanium ones, and therefore becomes the sole participant in the graduation ceremony of the Class Black. As per her wish, she is allowed to leave her clan and live a normal life. With diplomas of her other classmates in possession, she is joined by Tokaku and embarks on a trip to personally deliver those diplomas.

Isuke Inukai (犬飼 伊介, Inukai Isuke)

Voiced by: Azumi Asakura (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English) No. 2 of Class Black, a selfish and haughty girl. She is very blunt and quick to express her opinion, and likes to command other people, such as making Haruki call her "Isuke-sama". Isuke's family includes her gay parents, who aren't related to her by blood at all. When she was younger Isuke was subject to violence from her family, who by the time her adoptive "mother", a professional killer called Eisuke, rescued her from her family have already killed her brother. After rescuing her from her biological parents by killing them, Eisuke adopted and then trained her as a successor (her adoptive father has a legitimate job and is apparently unaware of Eisuke's true occupation and plan with Isuke). She is proficient in knife fighting. Her goal is to get money from killing Haru so her parents can retire. She teams up with Shinya but later betrays her. Tokaku successfully intervenes but chooses to spare her and instead merely incapacitate her, leaving her bound and gagged by the time Sumireko finds her. She is the 9th student of Class Black to be expelled. She is seen in the finale going on a vacation in a beach resort with her family, with Eisuke consoling her for failing to kill Haru.

Kōko Kaminaga (神長 香子, Kaminaga Kōko)

Voiced by: Haruka Yoshimura (Japanese); Clarine Harp (English) No. 3 of Class Black, the class representative; a quiet, bookish, and somewhat distant girl. She is shown to use both improvised and purposed-made explosives as a weapon. Kōko is an orphan raised by a Christian church to be an assassin. However despite training, she isn't cut out for the life of an assassin, which she realizes after accidentally blowing up her mentor. Her wish in exchange for killing Haru is to be able to leave the life of being an assassin altogether. Kōko is the 2nd student of Class Black to be expelled. Following her expulsion, she leaves the church anyway and, now hunted by agents of her former employer, resolves to fight for her freedom to honor her mentor.

Hitsugi Kirigaya (桐ヶ谷 柩, Kirigaya Hitsugi)

Voiced by: Mami Uchida (Japanese); Natalie Hoover (English) No. 4 of Class Black, a girl who resembles an elementary-school student. She has a bad sense of direction, as demonstrated when she got lost on her way to Myōjō Academy. Although Hitsugi looks like the horribly unreliable type, she is in reality an assassin part of the organization named Angel's Trumpet, a group of assassins who deal in poison, and is personally responsible for the death of Chitaru's mentor's daughter. During her time at Myōjō Academy, Hitsugi comes to fall in love with Chitaru. She shows a possessiveness of Chitaru, getting enraged at and poisoning Shiena for daring to have feelings for her, leading to Shiena's removal from the class. After learning Chitaru's true purpose behind coming to Myōjō and actually promising to help, she discloses her identity to Chitaru and subsequently allows Chitaru to kill her with a real dagger during a theatrical play of Romeo and Juliet, where they play the leading roles and the title characters' mutual suicide at the end. It is then revealed through Nio that Hitsugi's wish was to remain together with Chitaru beyond the end of Class Black, although her initial goal, the one prior to meeting Chitaru, is never made clear. She and Chitaru Namatame are the 5th and 6th students to be removed from Class Black. It is later revealed that she and Chitaru survived, and Hitsugi is seen visiting Chitaru while she is undergoing rehab at the hospital.

Shiena Kenmochi (剣持 しえな, Kenmochi Shiena)

Voiced by: Yūki Yamada (Japanese); Anastasia Muñoz (English) No. 5 of Class Black, a cheerful girl and slightly scatterbrained girl. She is better at analysis than she is at assassination, and was able to figure out Chitaru's and Hitsugi's fighting styles just by watching them closely. Shiena is part of an organization named the Collective Dismissal, made up of victims of severe bullying. As a result, Shiena is very unforgiving of those who bully. Shiena was planning to kill Haru on the day of their stage play; however, on the night of her planned declaration, she was caught and then knocked out with poison by Hitsugi, who personally poisoned her for daring to have feelings for Chitaru. She becomes the 4th student of Class Black to be expelled while remaining hospitalized, as she is judged incapable of resuming the hit before her declaration expires. The ending of the anime reveals her to be a skilled hacker; following her expulsion, she is seen attempting to hack into the academy in order to expose it to the public. No mention is made of her backstory nor her motive for killing Haru.

Haruki Sagae (寒河江 春紀, Sagae Haruki)

Voiced by: Fumiko Uchimura (Japanese); Carli Mosier (English) No. 6 of Class Black, a tomboyish yet fashionable girl who is always shown eating pocky. Haruki is rather carefree, calm and relaxed—to the point where she even views her own death in a calm fashion—but is sensitive about her adoptive family, in which she has many siblings, and wants to keep them protected and safe at all costs. Haruki is shown to go to extremes in order to achieve her goals—when she learnt from Nio that her own death would still ensure her wish was granted even if she failed to kill Haru, Haruki set up a trap with the intention of taking her own life. Though she survived, Haruki was only merely disappointed about her failure. Haruki is the 3rd student of Class Black to be expelled. Following her expulsion, she works as a construction worker and studies to get into college.

Suzu Shutō (首藤 涼, Shutō Suzu)

Voiced by: Chika Anzai (Japanese); Michelle Rojas (English) No. 7 of Class Black, a somewhat sly girl who likes being physically active and fit. Her wish was to find a cure to her Highlander Syndrome, which prevents her body from aging and has kept her alive for so long that she is unsure exactly how old she is. When Class Black was participating in a pool party, Suzu installed a timed bomb in Haru's breather, which can only be opened with a 4-digit password that spells the birth date (July 15) of her past love. Tokaku manages to find the password and deactivates the bomb, whereupon Suzu surrenders. She is the 7th student of Class Black to be expelled. She is seen in the finale at her past lover's grave, bidding him farewell for the last time and resolving to live her life to the fullest.

Otoya Takechi (武智 乙哉, Takechi Otoya)

Voiced by: Manami Numakura (Japanese); Colleen Clinkenbeard (English) No. 8 of Class Black, dubbed the "Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century" outside of Myōjō Academy for her serial killer antics, Otoya is a sadist who hides her true nature under the guise of an extremely playful girl. Her main obsession is with scissors, which she carries a whole bag of them around her waist. Her reason for wanting to kill Haru Ichinose is so that she can get serial killer insurance, so she can continue her murder spree without any fear of being captured. Otoya is notably seen to be scared of Nio, showing that she knows of Nio's true nature. Otoya is the 1st student of Class Black to be expelled. She later breaks out of prison, and attempts to attack Haru again, but is thwarted by Sumireko and captured once again by Nio. She is seen back in jail during the finale, planning her next escape though admitting that it will be years in the making.

Chitaru Namatame (生田目 千足, Namatame Chitaru)

Voiced by: Sachika Misawa (Japanese); Monica Rial (English) No. 9 of Class Black, a girl with a demeanor that is both princely and mature. She was the one who showed Hitsugi the way when the latter got lost on her way to Myōjō Academy, and has since almost never been seen without Hitsugi. Though part of Haru's class, she has no real interest in the objective of the class; her real goal is to avenge her mentor's daughter after learning that Angel's Trumpet, the assassin responsible, will join the class as well. She aims to kill Angel's Trumpet so that her mentor could find closure and be happy again. After disclosing her true identity as Angel's Trumpet, Hitsugi allows Chitaru to kill her during a theatrical play of Romeo and Juliet using a real dagger, but immediately afterward Chitaru learns Hitsugi's wish was to remain together with her beyond the end of Class Black. Having resolved to grant Hitsugi this wish, Chitaru commits suicide using poison removed from Hitsugi's stash earlier. She and Hitsugi Kirigaya are the 5th and 6th students to be removed from Class Black. It is later revealed that she and Hitsugi survived, though Chitaru's state was negatively affected by the poison she drank, and that Chitaru is undergoing rehab at the hospital.

Nio Hashiri (走り 鳰, Hashiri Nio) / Nio Kuzunoha (葛葉 鳰, Kuzunoha Nio)

Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō (Japanese); Lauren Landa (English) No. 10 of Class Black, Nio is an energetic and upbeat girl with a knack for peeping into other people's businesses, though she occasionally shows a more dangerous side. Despite being part of Class Black, she is also affiliated with the academy in some way, working for the chairwoman Meichi Yuri. Nio is always seen wearing full body outfits in order to conceal the large, bird-like tattoos she bears. It is revealed that Nio comes from the infamous Kuzunoha family, a feared family of skilled assassins that use illusions, and has no relatives. Upon meeting Meichi, Nio fell in adoration with her and vowed to give up her whole life to serve her. Meichi took her in, with Nio changing her last name from "Kuzunoha" to "Hashiri". Later, Nio attempts to assassinate Haru, while disguised as Tokaku, but ends up stabbed in the chest by the real Tokaku. Nio survives from being stabbed, despite no explanation being given on how it comes to pass, and in monologue congratulates everyone for graduating from Class Black.

Sumireko Hanabusa (英 純恋子, Hanabusa Sumireko)

Voiced by: Miho Arakawa (Japanese); Bryn Apprill (English) No. 11 of Class Black, a girl with a frail body who is the daughter of a company CEO. It is revealed that, much like Haru, she had been targeted most of her life, and had lost her limbs in an attack. These were replaced with limbs with powerful robotic parts, that can be swapped out for various gadgets and weapons, thus making her into a cyborg. She invites Haru to a tea party and then attempts to attack her, wanting to prove she is the strongest "queen", but is outsmarted by Haru and knocked off the side of a building. She is the 10th student to be removed from Class Black. Following her expulsion, she decides to pursue a career in cooking rather than succeeding her father as the company CEO. The creator has stated that Sumireko has a crush on her roommate, Banba. In the manga, Sumireko takes Banba back home to her mansion to help her recover following Banba's failed assassination attempt.

Mahiru Banba (番場 真昼, Banba Mahiru) / Shinya Banba (番場 真夜, Banba Shin'ya)

Voiced by: Yuka Ōtsubo (Japanese); Mikaela Krantz (English) No. 12 of Class Black, Mahiru is a shy and timid girl who often has troubles speaking for herself. She is easily subject to bullying, and is often defenseless. However, when the sun sets, Mahiru's split personality, Shinya, takes over. Shinya is the complete opposite of Mahiru, having an aggressive, hostile and almost unstable personality. Mahiru's split personality was created as protection due to abuse as a child, implied to be sexual in nature, which involved camera flashes that left her afraid of bright light; this is why Shinya only comes out at night and is sensitive to light. She obtained the scar on the right side of her face from when snapped and she killed her abuser. Shinya has a form of super strength that allows her to use heavy weapons such as sledgehammers; however she cannot sustain this ability over too long a period of time, and must rest every now and then. It turns out that although Shinya seems hostile and unstable, she is only acting on Mahiru's orders and wishes, hinting that Mahiru is in fact the more unstable of the two. Since Mahiru is too timid to carry out crimes and murders, Shinya does it for her. Even so, Shinya cares deeply for Mahiru and seeks to bring her protection and happiness, and neither personalities have a wish to fulfill by killing Haru, as it was already granted when Haru shared a handmade charm with Mahiru, since Mahiru is in fact a collector of relics from people she kills or expects to kill someday. Shinya teams up with and is betrayed by Isuke, being knocked unconscious by her, thus becoming the 8th student of Class Black to be expelled. Following her expulsion, Mahiru loses her split personality, but she comes to terms with it and is not scared of the light anymore. In the manga, Sumireko takes Banba back home to her mansion to help her recover following Banba's failed assassination attempt.

Kaiba (カイバ)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Robert McCollum (English) A mysterious man who is Tokaku's teacher. Kaiba is often seen rolling dice, and has a black-and-white motif and colour scheme. He periodically sends Tokaku riddles via text messages, though these riddles actually have no answers; he wants to coach Tokaku into finding answers for herself.

Ataru Mizorogi (溝呂木 辺, Mizorogi Ataru)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Ricco Fajardo (English) Class Black's homeroom teacher; an eccentric, enthusiastic, and dedicated man who is unaware that the girls in his class are assassins. Whenever a student is expelled after failing to kill Haru, he is told that the student has transferred out due to unknown circumstances.

Meichi Yuri (百合 目一, Yuri Meichi)

Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara (Japanese); Rachel Robinson (English) The chairwoman of the school and the supervisor of Class Black, who shares the same clan as Haru. She assembled Class Black in order to test if Haru could survive against twelve assassins, in order to awaken her queen bee ability and gain her status as the newest primer of her clan. Meichi is also Nio's caretaker, having taken her in from the Kuzunoha clan, and is said to have saved Nio using her own queen bee ability.

Manga

Riddle Story of Devil is written by Yun Kōga and illustrated by Sunao Minakata. It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine between the September 2012 and November 2016 issues. Kadokawa Shoten published five tankōbon volumes between July 9, 2013 and December 10, 2016. Seven Seas Entertainment released the series in North America from 2015 to 2016. The English version is available on Kadokawa's website BookWallker. A series of supplementary dōjinshi books, titled Koakuma no Riddle (小悪魔のリドル, lit. "Small Devil's Riddle"), have been released by Minakata and Akiko Morishima. Seven volumes have been released between December 29, 2014 and December 30, 2016.

Anime

An anime adaptation directed by Keizō Kusakawa and produced by Diomedéa aired in Japan between April 3, 2014 and June 19, 2014. The screenplay is written by Kiyoko Yoshimura and chief animation director Naomi Ide bases the character designs used in the anime on Sunao Minakata original designs. The opening theme is "Sōshō Innocence" (創傷イノセンス, "Wounded Innocence") by Maaya Uchida, while each episode features a different ending theme sung by the main thirteen voice actresses of the anime. Episode 12 contains an insert song titled "Aogeba Tōtoshi" (仰げば尊し) sung by the main thirteen voice actresses. The series is licensed for streaming by Funimation in North America and Madman Entertainment in Australia, and is being simulcast by Crunchyroll outside of North America. Anime Limited acquired the series for a release in the United Kingdom.