The Reaper Networking Service.
The Reaper Networking Service 死神SNS (Shinigami SNS), abbreviated to RNS, is a social networking service managed by the Reapers in the UG in NEO: The World Ends with You. It was developed by Kaie Ono. The sound of an RNS notification is a mischievous giggle. The official Reaper account posts information about the Reapers' Game. Shoka Sakurane is in charge of registering new Players onto it.
Story[]
The Reaper Networking Service's first appearance in NEO: The World Ends with You is when Rindo Kanade and Tosai "Fret" Furesawa first meet Shoka at the end of the Prologue. She registers them as Players of the game. In GeT✖TWISTeD (Week 1, Day 2), Rindo and Fret meet RNS developer Kaie Ono. He updates their RNS app for the day's mission so it guides them towards the graffiti they need for the mission. When Rindo is locked inside O-EAST's concert hall in Noisrevni (Week 2, Day 5), he communicates the mission to the rest of the Wicked Twisters through the RNS. On that day Kaie again updates Fret's, Nagi Usui's, and Beat's phones so they can view each other's cameras for one of the mission's puzzles.
It is mentioned in the Secret Reports that the RNS measures each individual's vibes and Imagination, making it a useful tool for the management of both Players and Reapers. By making this information viewable, the RNS can be viewed from the Realground. While no vibe modulation is needed for an RG person to use it, they need to have previous knowledge of the UG and proficiency with online networks[1]. Rhyme, in the search for her missing brother Beat, is able to hack into the RNS and communicate with Kaie.
The RNS also seems to be able to connect with social media in the RG - Shoka under her Swallow account in the UG was able to communicate with Rindo who was an RG person with no knowledge of the UG, using his regular messaging app. Hanekoma notes that Reapers face very little restrictions on the RNS and are able to communicate with the RG if they don't reveal their identities. When Shoka was demoted to a Player, her Swallow account was restricted and replaced with a separate Player account.
Etymology[]
RNS is on the pattern of SNS, an acronym meaning social networking service.
References[]
- ↑ The English localization of Secret Report No. 11 simply says "networks", leaving it vague if a prospective RG person would need to know about internet networks or interconnected systems more generally. In the Japanese version, Hanekoma uses ネットワーク nettowaaku, a chiefly computing term.