| Overview |
- "I also don't understand what about this city makes it so special. But you do. And if you think that something is truly worth fighting for, then perhaps turning back time and trying again is worth the risk after all."
- — Hazuki to Rindo Kanade
Hazuki Mikagi (御鍵 映月 Mikagi Hazuki), or Haz, is a character in NEO: The World Ends with You. He is the Composer/"Purifier" of Shinjuku and an Angel, and in the Secret Ending, says he was following in the Composer of Shibuya's, his senior Joshua's, footsteps.
Appearance[]
Haz is a fair-skinned young man with dark brown-blond hair that is asymmetrically sideswept with a longer portion on his right side than his left side and brown eyes.
He wears a plain white v-neck T-shirt under an unzipped black track jacket with white phoenix symbols on each side. He wears black pants, dark grey camouflage slip-on shoes, and he accessorizes with a silver necklace and an earring in his left ear.
Personality[]
Although not much of Haz is seen, he seems to be very calm, to the point of potentially coming across slightly emotionless (his sound clip that is meant to express anger only has him mutter a slow and somewhat confused "huhhh...") He also appears to be curious about human nature, as he asks Rindo Kanade various introspective questions. He refers to Rindo as a "friend" and the somewhat overly assertive way he makes Rindo show him around and answer his complex questions despite them being complete strangers to each other confuses and annoys the younger boy to an extent, and he quickly notices there is something off about Haz. He is often smiling and ignores Rindo's attempts to end their tour faster. Though seemingly friendly, he takes his role seriously and does not hesitate to punish his subordinates, as he “exorcised” Kubo. At one point he appears slightly amused when Rindo is struggling with what choice he should make and seemingly silently reacts to the boy's specific thoughts.
Notably, he stops smiling, thinks for a moment and appears sincerely confused and a bit bothered when Rindo tells him he can't think of anything to like about Shibuya anymore or a reason to protect it, as from Haz's point of view he worked hard and got exactly what he wanted by beating the Game and Shibuya and its people still being around. Thus, despite his habit of calling people his "friends,” Haz does not seem to understand actual bonds between people as he does not recognize Rindo's grief for the loss of his friends. However, he accepts Rindo's answer after he explains that his friends made Shibuya special and decides to help him. He pushes Rindo to make the decision on whether or not to turn back time one more time to save Shibuya, at first attempting to make the decision for him and acting like he's leaving to make the boy choose and stop hesitating. He emphasizes to Rindo that he should not waste his new chance, because Haz cannot intervene again due to the Higher Plane's rules.
Haz later clarifies to Joshua that he asked Rindo all these questions to gain a better understanding of why Joshua decided to spare Shibuya and its humans at the end of the first game, as he, like Joshua, seems rather misanthropic, calling humanity "irrational beings" and not really understanding why Rindo would risk the possibility of destroying Shibuya for another chance of rescuing his friends. This misanthropy seems to extend to the Reapers as well, as his actions apparently resulted in nearly all Shinjuku's Reapers being erased, and he is noted in the Secret Reports as being "famously unsympathetic" and "disinterested in the lower planes." It's also mentioned that he takes a long time to make Reports, as well. He matter-of-factly corrects Rindo that Shinjuku was "cleansed," not destroyed, showing how Angels like him consider erasure merely means to clean spaces of impure things while every person who was actually a victim of said Purification considers it terrible destruction.
He does not seem to hate humanity or hold them in contempt as Joshua used to, however, even as he looks down on them. He does seem to ease up on his misanthropy as he repairs the Reaper Pin for Rindo and helps give Shibuya another chance, which he curiously notes is quite irrational and unlike himself to do. During the battle against the Soul Pulvis, he made the unstable matter take the form of Phoenix Cantus so that the Twisters could have a clear target to fight against. Sanae Hanekoma believes this may have represented Haz's internal conflict: his interest in Rindo and his teammates, yet still having an unchanged desire to see Shibuya purified.
As his senior, Joshua considers Haz inexperienced and states that he's been a mess-maker since forever, seemingly because his disinterest in the lower planes can make him treat them with carelessness. Haz claims he wants to follow in his senior's footsteps and claims it is the reason for his actions and that he never meant Shibuya any harm. However, he has tried to provoke Shibuya's Composer and make him break his non-interference rule multiple times for unknown reasons, a pattern which is noticed by Joshua himself who has ignored him each time. Hanekoma mentions Haz's own interference may not have been just an apology to Shibuya, but also a perfect excuse to make Joshua make a move of his own, though Joshua ultimately did not take the bait. When directly talking with Joshua, he at least seemingly acts friendly with him, referring to him as a "friend" and by his first name instead of his nickname.
Story[]
Background[]
Three years prior to NEO, Haz wanted to purify Shinjuku and recruited the Angel Tanzo Kubo to carry it out. Shinjuku's Conductor, the brother of Tsugumi Matsunae, was against this but was erased during the process of trying to stop Kubo.
It is unclear what Haz was doing during the Reapers' Game during NEO. The Secret Reports mention that the Composer is not allowed to interfere with the UG unless it is via their proxy, and that some Angels from the Higher Plane were both for and against Shibuya's purification, suggesting Haz's lack of interference was due to playing by the other rules of the Angels.
Considering his role as Composer and an Angel, it is likely he always had power over both Shiba Miyakaze and Kubo, and was watching over the Reapers' Game. He may have wanted to make a bet with Joshua to see if Kubo could succeed in purifying Shibuya and if Rindo could stop him, with Haz wanting to purify Shibuya while Joshua was against it.
NEO: The World Ends with You[]
Haz first appears indirectly during the conclusion of Week 3's Final Day', exorcising Tanzo Kubo from the UG and erasing the entire murder of Soul Pulvis in one divine blast, thus preventing the Executor from cleansing Shibuya.
Rindo agrees to be Haz's tour guide.
On Final Day'', he approaches Rindo Kanade who is slumped beside the Statue of Hachiko and asks him for a tour of Shibuya. Together, they visit the Scramble Crossing, Miyashita Park, Cat Street, Tower Records, Spain Hill, Center Street, Tipsy Tose Hall, and finally, the Udagawa Back Streets. Each time along the way, Haz asks Rindo different introspective questions: what draws people together, how does one know if someone's important to them, how Rindo feels about emotions, what "respect" means to him, how he'd handle a crisis, if he likes playing games, and if his thoughts are different from his words.
Rindo realizes his friends make Shibuya special.
After Rindo leads him to Udagawa, Haz apologizes for Kubo's actions and explains the circumstances surrounding his time in the UG, Haz concluding with offering Rindo one last chance to change his fate. He does this in order to get Shibuya's Composer, Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu, to intervene in the conflict, but fails as he remains hidden.
Afterwards, Haz modifies the bird Noise born from the temporal distortions to become one being, Phoenix Cantus, making it easier for the party to defeat, but still giving them a challenge as he still wanted to purify Shibuya.
In the Secret Ending, Haz talks with Joshua on top of the 104 Building, apologizing for the mess he made in the UG and lower planes. They talk about his conversation with Rindo.
Relationships[]
Rindo Kanade[]
Hazuki approaches Rindo on the Final Day, after his exorcism of Kubo prevented Rindo's erasure. Although he attempts to engage in small talk with Rindo, his dialogue comes off as strange and socially awkward, and seems to irritate Rindo who is already distraught after the loss of his friends. Hazuki then asks Rindo to give him a tour of Shibuya, which Rindo reluctantly accepts.
Throughout the tour, Hazuki poses various questions on the nature of himself and others. While some of these provoke genuine thought from Rindo, others cause him confusion or downright annoyance. Upon reaching the Udagawa Back Streets, Hazuki tells Rindo he wants to know what makes the city so great. He then reveals himself as the person responsible for Shinjuku's cleansing via Kubo, as well as the one who exorcised Kubo, and apologizes for Kubo's behavior. He offers Rindo one last chance to turn back time and save his friends, with the caveat of Shibuya being at risk of destruction once again, which Rindo accepts. In contrast to his earlier attitude, Rindo has notably warmed up to Hazuki by this point, smiling as he tells him he won't waste the chance he's been given and finally calling him "Haz", the nickname Hazuki had insisted on when they first met. Hazuki tells Rindo he'll be watching before vanishing, and Rindo thanks him as he changes his fate for the final time.
Hanekoma notes in the Secret Reports he has no idea why Hazuki offered Rindo another chance, but that Phoneix Cantus' feathers may represent his internal conflict after taking an interest in Rindo and his teammates, yet still retaining his desire to see Shibuya purified.
Although Hazuki's exorcism of Kubo was an attempt to bait Joshua into breaking the no-interference rule barring Angels from interacting directly with the UG, his brief conversation with Rindo ultimately lead to Hazuki helping him save the city. In the Secret Ending, he expresses confusion over this, not understanding why he aided Rindo and believing his actions to be irrational.
Despite being "famously unsympathetic", it is clear that Rindo brought about some change in Hazuki, even though his views on purification remained the same. In contrast to how he refers to both Joshua and Rindo himself at the beginning of their conversation by the generic term "friend", he later addresses Rindo by name, which may imply he sees a more genuine friendship forming between them.
Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu[]
Joshua and Hazuki catching up.
The secret ending reveals that Hazuki, as Joshua's junior, views him as a role model of sorts. Both of them call each other friends, though Joshua considers him a mess-maker, and seems to be sarcastically mimicking Hazuki's use of the term rather than using it genuinely. In Japanese, he also refers to Hazuki like he does the majority of characters, by his first name but without the "-kun" honorific reserved for people he is fond of, highlighting Joshua does not feel very close to him or possibly looks down on him. It seems that Hazuki may have a bit of a fixation on Joshua, as he may have moved to cleanse Shinjuku after seeing Joshua's initial plans for Shibuya in the first game, and as it is insinuated that he has been trying to draw Joshua out and tempt him into breaking the higher plane's non-interference rule during the events of NEO's Week 3. During their conversation in the Secret Ending, they admit to each other they have both acted a bit irrationally in relation to humanity, in reference to Joshua having faith in their success and Hazuki helping Rindo despite the risk involved with Shibuya's destruction.
Tanzo Kubo[]
As Composer of Shinjuku, Hazuki was assigned Kubo as his Executor in order to facilitate Shinjuku's purification. Not much is known about their relationship outside of that; however, Hazuki later uses Kubo's exorcism as a means to bait Joshua into interfering, implying he didn't particularly value him. He also apologizes for Kubo's actions to both Rindo and Joshua.
Etymology[]
- The name Hazuki means "reflect/reflection, project/projection" (映) (ha) and "moon" (月) (tsuki/zuki). This may be a reference to his attempts to "follow in Joshua's footsteps," as Joshua is associated with the moon throughout the first game via his level 3 fusion and Minamimoto's notes.
- Hazuki's surname Mikagi means "honorable" (御) (mi) and "key" (鍵) (kagi).
Quotes[]
- "Hey, friend."
- "Man, it's a real concrete jungle out there, wouldn't you say? You know. Wild."
- "If earlier's better, I could take us back an hour or two? I'm kidding. If only."
- "Well, not "destroy"-"cleanse." And I didn't "erase" him. I "exorcised" him."
- "As I said, Kubo crossed a line-and for that, I wish to apologize. I have punished him and erased his Noise, and even kept this city of yours from harm."
- "Tell me, Rindo: what is it that you like so much about this city? What makes it so special? Why fight so hard to protect it?"
- "I've already done what I can to make amends for what happened here. Any more and then I'd be the one overstepping."
- "As I said, the decision is yours. But with that decision comes responsibility. You've decided to once again expose this city to the threat of erasure. And to that end, you're now responsible for protecting this city from harm once more."
- "Only time will tell. I'll be watching."
- "I never intended Shibuya any harm. But rest assured that, as Shinjuku's Composer, I have personally eliminated the cause of the problem. Is that enough to earn your forgiveness?"
- "Humans are the most irrational beings."
Trivia[]
- According to Tetsuya Nomura, Hazuki was almost the final boss of the game, but this did not come to be for unclear reasons. His clothes are embellished with the phoenix that became the established final boss, Phoenix Cantus.
- Haz is associated with the phoenix.
- As mentioned above, his jacket has the phoenix symbol.
- In the Secret Reports, it is stated that it was Haz who made the unstable Soul Pulvis to take the Phoenix Cantus form, so that the Wicked Twisters would have a clear one target they could focus all their efforts on.
- When revealing information about the characters, the official Twitter page associates each of them with a different emoji that describes them. Haz's description has the bird emoji (🐦.)
- The nickname "Haz" is not in the Japanese version of the game. In the English version, it is possibly a reference to his senior Yoshiya insisting being called by his nickname “Joshua,” foreshadowing the connection between the two.
- In the Japanese version, Rindo calls Hazuki "Mikagi-san," while Hazuki requests to be addressed by his first name. The use of "Haz" was also most likely a way to localize this, as the characters usually use first names by default in the English version.
- The nickname "Josh" is also an English-only addition, in an attempt to convey the familiarity of Neku calling Joshua by his first name in Japanese. "Haz" also being English-only may instead be a reference to this particular nickname, showing how Hazuki attempts to mimic Joshua but misunderstands the point; while Joshua is given the nickname by Neku and Hanekoma, those close to him, Hazuki chose his himself and keeps insisting Rindo use it.
References[]
- ↑ NEO: The World Ends with You: Official Guidebook + Setting Documents Collection (新すばらしきこのせかい公式ガイドブック＋設定資料集 Shin Subarashiki Kono Sekai Kōshiki Gaidobukku + Settei Shiryōshū) exclusively released in Japan, July 2021.