The World Ends With You
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The World Ends With You
Overview

"It's a dog-eat-dog world. A logical hierarchy much like the food chain. The strong reach the top and win the Game, while the weak are left behind, the heels of the proverbial loaf."
— Higashizawa to Shiki

Yodai Higashizawa (東沢 洋大 Higashizawa Yōdai) is a character in The World Ends with You, and a Reaper Officer. He's a minor antagonist in the main story and the main antagonist of Another Day. He is the Game Master during Shiki's chapter.

His Noise form Ovis Cantus is a giant bipedal ram with wings.

Appearance[]

Higashizawa is a dread-locked giant. As a brand-new officer who hasn't learned to control his Noise form yet, his left eye is yellow[1]. He wears a grey jacket with a camouflage design, a necklace, a belt with a large ram skull, blue jeans, and black-and-green shoes.

Personality[]

"A 20-year-old powerhouse overflowing with power and ferocity, Higashizawa can shatter concrete with his fists alone. Although physically dominating, his emotions often get the best of him."
— Game manual description
Higashizawa08

Higashizawa is an intelligent young man. He believes it's a dog-eat-dog world where the strong survive. He has a soft side among the group, as he gets very emotional very quickly. He and Minamimoto didn't get along very well. He takes great pride in his overwhelming strength and ability to split the ground in two. After being defeated, unlike the other game masters, he congratulates the players before being erased.

He also speaks with constant references to food. When he is in a battle, he has several quotes such as "Time for a taste test" or "I'll pound you!" This most likely shows that he treats his battles like he is cooking a meal.

He chose to follow tradition and wait until late in the game to make his appearance in the game, as opposed to Minamimoto and Konishi who both revealed themselves to the Players early on. He is shown to be the only high-ranking officer (Gamemaster and up) to regularly don reaper wings, while most others only reveal them when converting to Noise forms.

In Another Day[]

In Another Day, Higahizawa initially plays the role of an overly flirtatious booth babe. But in actuality, he is a part of the Black Skullers. However, he is very passionate towards Tin Pin Slammer and wishes to "purify" it instead of destroying it. His love of food is referenced by Rhyme calling him a "Great Chef."

Story[]

Main Story[]

YodaiOpeningCinematic

Yodai Higashizawa's appearance in the opening cinematic.

During the first week of the Reapers' Game, Higashizawa acts as Game Master by proxy in the stead of Megumi Kitaniji with the promise of being promoted to Game Master officially if every player is erased. During this time, he sets his sights on Shiki Misaki, fascinated by her jealousy of Eri.

Higashizawa visits Neku and Shiki on the fifth day and informs Neku that he's dead.

On the sixth day, Higashizawa is given full Game Master privileges. On Day 7, he is defeated by Neku and Shiki. Before he is erased he congratulates Shiki on her growth.

Another Day[]

In Another Day, he was formerly one of the original developers of Tin Pin Slammer along with Ken Doi (and presumably, Sho Minamimoto). After the failure of the (New) Solid Slammer line, he watched as Tin Pin Slammer became flooded with what he referred to as "generic, mass-produced fiascos" and became obsessed with "purifying" the game. He would ultimately side with the Black Skullers and serve as a "booth babe" at the Molco Slam-Off and took part in the pin theft that ensued.

When the Kindred Spirits finally caught up with the Black Skullers, he finally revealed that he wasn't on the Skuller's side either. He revealed the executive meddling that ultimately resulted in the (new) Solid Slammer's failure, and still held to his plan to purify Tin Pin Slammer. However, Sho Minamimoto arrived with a new Solid Slammer: Omega Kaiser Phoenix. With it, Shuto Dan was able to defeat Higashizawa. Only then did Higashizawa see the error of his ways, and returned to Tin Pin development along with Ken and Sho.

Relationships[]

Megumi Kitaniji[]

Higashizawa's relationship with Kitaniji is very formal. They both hold the other in very high regard. Kitaniji pushes for Higashizawa to get a promotion which causes Higashizawa to try harder in his work.

Shiki Misaki[]

Higashizawa finds enjoyment out of Shiki's suffering. He is shown to have a great understanding of her past and uses that knowledge to cause for her more emotional pain. He describes the feelings of watching her negative emotions as if he were eating an enjoyable meal. In the end, he commends her for overcoming those negative emotions.

Abilities[]

Noise91 - Ovis Cantus

Higashizawa's Noise Form, Ovis Cantus

His Noise form is a giant, bipedal ram with wings called Ovis Cantus. He is an immobile boss. He does nothing except for inhaling (which absorbs Neku's psychs and prevents Shiki from attacking) until enough damage has been dealt, after which the screen will flash (at which point he is invincible), where he will say, "Now we're boiling!!" and start attacking.

His attacks include:

  • "Time for a taste test." - He inhales, breathing in Neku and Shiki's psychs (if Neku uses a pin, the gauge will act like the pin had been used but the actions of the pin will not be executed, nor will Ovis be damaged, and Shiki's moves won't do anything either). Unavoidable, though the best thing to do would be to stop attacking until Ovis stops inhaling. Most ranged pins, if absorbed, will heal Ovis.
  • "I'll mince you!" - He swipes his claw across the screen, knocking Neku to the other side of the screen, dodged by moving to the bottom or other side of the screen.
  • "I'll pound you!" - He pounds his fist to the ground, creating a small shockwave, dodged by moving away from his fists. He also attacks Shiki with this by chopping her with his hand.
  • "I'll char your bones black!" - Expels balls of energy from his mouth, dodged by dashing away from the energy balls; follows by summoning lightning bolts that damages and immobilizes Neku, dodged by dashing everywhere until the lightning bolts stop coming. He also hits Shiki with a move like this.
  • We've preheated LONG ENOUGH!" - He says this once his health bar has been depleted to just the green one. Does nothing, but show that he is almost erased.

Item[]

The following is the Higashizawa-related item that the player can get in the game:

Etymology[]

The kanji for Higashi-zawa Yo-dai literally translates to: East, swamp, ocean, big.

Quotes[]

  • "That young lady... She has just the ingredient I need. The proof is in the pudding. The pudding... of their doom."
  • "I detest leftovers. No Players were meant to escape yesterday's chowder of destruction. Do you know why you alone survived? Because you are strong. It's a dog-eat-dog world. A logical hierarchy much like the food chain. The strong reach the top and win the Game, while the weak are left behind, the heels of the proverbial loaf."
  • "Sadly, I've had my fill for the day. I only came here to meet you, young lady. To get a closer look, of course. At the charcoal-black envy beneath the barbecue of your heart."
  • "Oh, how deeply you must hate yourself. You have EXACTLY what you always wanted... but it's not enough, is it? No one loves you. You can't love yourself. And so the jealousy consumes you. That friendly sugar coating can't sweeten the selfishness inside you. You think you're more important than anyone else. And THAT'S where jealousy begins... Nothing will change if you are restored to life. You'll just go on hating yourself and being jealous of everybody else."
  • "Ah, hello there, young lady. I've been waiting for this day. !? What's this? The jealousy in your heart-- my secret spice! It's... gone. But... you were green with envy! Begrudging to a light golden brown! So deliciously jealous..."

Non-Canon Appearances[]

The Animation[]

"A beefy Reaper boasting the strength to split the ground with a slam of his fists. Prone to emotional outbursts."
— Higashizawa's description in The Animation's official website

Higashizawa appears in two episodes in The Animation: The Reapers' Game and Erased. He first appears during the credits of The Reapers' Game reporting to Kitaniji in the Dead God's Pad that over half the Players have been erased at the end of Day 3. Minamimoto calls him a beast and Konishi and Kitaniji reprimand him for his rudeness and introduce him as the Game Master. Higashizawa promises to give Kitaniji a good Game; Minamimoto insults him as being a suck-up. Kitaniji says he got the Composer's permission to promote him on the condition to erase every Player.

His role in causing Shiki's emotional breakdown is omitted. Instead, this is done by a passing Eri. Additionally, Shiki is the one who reveals to Neku the truth of the Reapers' Game instead of Higashizawa.

Sweet Talk Tether Apparantly

Neku fights Ovis Cantus

In Erased, he reports to Kitaniji four Players remain and promises to erase them all. On Day 7 he fights Neku and Shiki. He references her envy, but Shiki declares she isn't ashamed anymore. Higashizawa transforms into Ovis Cantus. After struggling with Higashizawa's powerful attacks, Neku and Shiki begin a Fusion Attack. Neku is thrown into the sky by Ovis Cantus, but a large Mr. Mew cushions him, letting him bounce off him and reach Ovis Cantus. Using Sweet Talk Tether, he chains Ovis Cantus, jumps in the air, and makes the finishing blow using Flames Afar, Foes Aflame. Upon being defeated, Higashizawa reverts back. He apologizes to Kitaniji before being erased.

Trivia[]

  • According to Tetsuya Nomura, Shibuya Reapers have a hidden kanji in their names that relate to the Chinese zodiac and represent their Noise forms. The Yo (洋) in Yodai contains the Japanese kanji for the Goat (羊,) which can also be translated as Sheep and Ram.
  • He is similar to Sho in the sense, that they both tend to pepper their speech with specific subjects in normal conversation, though Higashizawa does so to a lesser degree, with his being cooking/food while Sho’s being math.
  • Out of the three Game Masters, Higashizawa is the most loyal to the Conductor, Kitaniji, to a point that Higashizawa could be considered Kitaniji's right-hand man. Ironically both Minamimoto and Konishi are anything but loyal, as they seek to betray Kitaniji.
  • In the Another Day side-chapter, when Neku first enters Molco, Higashizawa is the "booth babe" and refers to Final Fantasy VII by saying "Dilly dally, shilly shally," a line originally said by Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII.
  • A scene in the manga shows that Higashizawa has poor arithmetic skills, and even confuses arithmetic with mathematics, allowing Sho Minamimoto to make fun of him.

References[]

  1. Japanese The World Ends with You Official Complete Guide
Characters in The World Ends with You
Neku SakurabaShiki MisakiBeatJoshuaRhymeSota HonjoNao 777BJCoco AtarashiKoki KariyaMegumi KitanijiMitsuki KonishiSho MinamimotoTenhoUzuki YashiroYodai Higashizawa
Shopkeepers
Aily UenoAkira YoshiiAnna AoiAyu HamaguchiBanzai AyanokojiFumi GotodaFumiko NishimuraHideki KikuchiHikaru KoikeHT MasuokaJun OdajimaKeiichi OkadaKen DoiKyoMakoto MikiMasanori ItoMay KurokawaMie SuzukiMiki KosakaNana MajimaPrincess KRayca HoshiRikako TodaSanae HanekomaShigemi KonnoShigemori IwataShinta IwataTadafumi SatoTak KimuraTatsuya OmuraTsubasaYoji IwataYosh IshinoYumi SheenaYuu Narumi
Other Characters
AiCATEiji OjiEriFutoshiItaru YokoyamadaKen DoiMakoto MikiMinaMr. MewNeku's best friendPin ProfSanae HanekomaShrimpShuto DanTsugumi MatsunaeWizard of SlamVice Wizard of Slam
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