The World Ends With You
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The World Ends With You

Taboo Noise, known in the Japanese version as Forbidden Noise (禁断ノイズ Kindan noizu), are a form of Noise which are artificially made. Unlike their normal counterparts, Taboo Noise will attack both Players and Reapers at will, unlike normal Noise which will only attack players if brought into battle. They are powerful in comparison to normal Noise and battles against them should be taken with extreme caution. Taboo Noise, except for those appearing in boss battles or scripted events, are only encountered in special Black Noise Symbols and never appear in Red, Yellow, or Green symbols.

Appearance[]

Taboo symbol

Taboo Noise Symbol

Taboo Noise take on a gray-scale monochrome coloration, being a mix of black and a range of grays from dark to a light, near white. All of their eyes are red, which is representative of their aggressive nature. Each taboo noise is a recolor of the noise that came before it in the Noise Report.

Their Noise symbol is also shaded in a monochrome-like manner, being a mid-gray tone in color. Unlike regular Chump Noise symbols which drift harmlessly when Neku scans, or Boss Noise, and Pig Noise, which float in place, Taboo Noise symbols will charge at him in haste to initiate an inescapable battle. Taboo Noise symbols can be dragged away from Neku during a scan to prevent unwanted Taboo Noise battles, but only if they have not already reached him. Taboo Noise symbols can be Chained with Chump Noise and Boss Noise, but not with Negative Noise or Pig Noise.

It should be noted that many Taboo Noise symbols will also contain regular Chump/Negative Noise species alongside at least one Taboo variant.

Creation[]

Unlike regular Noise, which Reapers can create at will, Taboo Noise can only be created using Taboo Noise Refinery Sigils. These are shown as a blue noise symbol surrounded by Japanese writing on walls and floors, which can be seen a few times made by Sho Minamimoto in the timeline. Because they are technically "artificial" Noise, this is the only current method known of how they are made. Creating them also requires a high amount of capability, making it impossible for most Reapers to make them.

In-Battle[]

Fighting Taboo Noise is much harder than their normal counterparts. Due to their high resistance to almost all sources of damage, defeating Taboo Noise requires high level pins and good puck-passing work. Puck-passing (in the DS version) or Cross Combos (in The World Ends with You -Solo Remix- and The World Ends with You Final Remix) are important due to the fact that the player without the puck, or not performing a Cross Combo, will deal considerably less damage to Taboo Noise. They are also on the high end of damage dealing within their respective Noise family, which makes them harder to fight against, and often are more aggressive than their cousins. Many feature unique attacks not shared by the rest of their family as well.

It is impossible to escape from a Taboo battle once forced into one.

Speech Bubble - Exclamation Question SR Spoiler warning: Plot and/or character details follow.

Story[]

Taboo sigil

The Taboo Noise refinery sigil in Udagawa Back Streets.

The Taboo Noise play an important role during Weeks 2 and 3; their first mention is in Joshua, Day 2 where Koki Kariya and Uzuki Yashiro flee from Noise attacking them and Kariya says he thinks it's Taboo Noise. Neku and Joshua are attacked by Taboo Noise the same day. Mitsuki Konishi reports to Megumi Kitaniji on Joshua, Day 4 that Taboo Noise attacked some Reapers on Route 5, and even with Minamimoto going AWOL, Player counts are dropping fast. Konishi says she's investigating the correlation between the Players and Reapers. Also on Week 2, Day 4, Sota and Nao recall fleeing from some "real scary" Noise earlier and Neku, Joshua, Kariya, and Uzuki catch Sho Minamimoto in Udagawa Back Streets making a Taboo Noise refinery sigil. Nobody knows what the sigil is, other than Kariya, who orders Uzuki to immediately report it.

On Joshua, Day 5, Uzuki is called about another sighting of Taboo Noise, which HQ lost sight of near Dogenzaka. Kariya proposes instead of wandering around, they use Neku and Joshua as bait until the Taboo Noise bite. When Neku takes Joshua to the Shibuya River, they're ambushed by a Trance Rhino that forces Joshua to use his true power - a beam of light that vaporises the Noise. Kariya confronts them, concluding Joshua is an illegal alive Player. He threatens Joshua with erasure, but since the Taboo Noise was a nuisance for the Reapers and it's too much work he lets him off the hook with the promise that he won't be lenient next time. The Taboo Noise worsens in Joshua, Day 6, with a Reaper erased at AMX, Sota and Nao being erased by Carcinopunks at Tipsy Tose Hall, and Kariya and Uzuki being attacked at Shibu-Q Heads.

Taboo Noise reappears in mid-late Week 3 where Minamimoto resurrects in his Taboo form at the very end of Beat, Day 4. When Neku and Beat investigate Udagawa on Beat, Day 5, they find Minamimoto's Taboo Noise refinery sigil burnt and broken. Neku sets his camera to four days ago and gets a photo of Hanekoma examining the sigil. Minamimoto attacks Beat and Neku on Beat, Day 6 using his super-powered skills, swearing to find the Shibuya River overthrow the Composer before being crushed under debris by the Composer on Beat, Day 7.

Hanekoma writes in the Secret Reports about a Fallen Angel assisting Minamimoto: on Week 2, Day 2's Report, he talks about the alert of an Angel that broke the code revealing the secrets of Taboo Noise refinery to Minamimoto, and speculates what the Fallen Angel is planning. He contemplates further in the report for Week 2, Day 4, concluding Minamimoto would be the ideal target for a Fallen Angel's plans. While patrolling Shibuya in Beat, Day 1, he finds Minamimoto's sigil and comments on how it's undecodable, possibly a mistake by the Fallen Angel, or a transcription error from Minamimoto. He says there's a low chance of Minamimoto reviving himself, and Hanekoma allegedly neutralizes it. When Minamimoto resurrects, Hanekoma writes that Minamimoto's Imagination is larger than he thought and the Fallen Angel must've corrected his sigil.

Most of the Secret Reports concerning the Fallen Angel are written as if Hanekoma is a bystander. However, in the Another Day report, Hanekoma reveals that he himself is the Fallen Angel who helped Minamimoto, and corrected his sigil to ensure he reincarnated. In the parallel world, Hanekoma hides in Pork City in fear of his alter reporting him on sight. He explains that Minamimoto is his backup plan to prevent Shibuya's destruction if the Composer does not change his mind and accepts the stigma of a Fallen Angel for this cause.

List of Taboo Noise[]

No. Pic. Noise
9
Noise 9
Choirfrog
14
Noise 14
Grunge Wolf
17
Noise 17
Wall of Grizzly
23
Noise 23
Death Metal Mink
38
Noise 38
Chaoti Corehog
41
Noise 41
Eurobeat Boomer
48
Noise 48
Neoclassical Drake
52
Noise 52
Trance Rhino
57
Noise 57
Carcinopunk
86
Noise 86
Sho Minamimoto (Taboo)
92
Noise 92
Leo Cantus

Trivia[]

  • Within the context of how Noise represents a corporeal manifestation of spiritual imbalance and mental disorder, Taboo Noise may likely represent Noise that are created through the active evil and malice of humanity. This is strongly hinted to through Mr. Hanekoma's status as a "fallen angel"; such entities known as fallen angels include that of Lucifer and the Ars Goetia, and specifically that of Satan, who in Christianity is believed to have tempted mankind with the "original sin". Their representative genres are also significant; such genres are considered emotionally powerful, highly technical to grasp, or spiritually moving, being intense forms of music to play and listen to.
  • In Ultimate Mode for battle, all Taboo Noise except Bosses will drop a Shadow Matter. This is the only source of Shadow Matter players can get from.


Noise Families
The World Ends with You
BatBoomerCarcinCorehogDissonanceDrakeFoxFrogGrizzlyJellyMink Noise FormPigPopguinRavenRhinoSharkShrewSprogTabooWolfWoollyReaper

NEO: The World Ends with You
FrogGrizzlyJellyLeonPachyPigPlaguePlayersPopguinPufferRavenRexRhinoSharkShinjuku ReaperShinjuku Reaper Noise FormStingerWolfα (Alpha)

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