Reality

2023-10-30

Tropes

Reality is a psychological manga that delves into the perception of reality, identity, and the human psyche. It revolves around three high school students, Alice, David, and Jacob, who, after interacting with the mysterious character Sean, find their realities shifting in inexplicable ways.

Tropes found in Reality:

• An Aesop: The story imparts a lesson about the nature of reality and how it's influenced by perception and belief.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear whether the altered reality is a shared delusion or if it's genuinely changing around the characters.
• Character Development: As the narrative unfolds, each main character evolves, grappling with their sense of self and understanding of the world.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Sean, whose internalized and limited perspective seems to warp reality for others.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Hinted at with Alice's scars and her struggles with her identity and self-worth.
• Deadpan Snarker: Jacob, who uses sarcasm as a coping mechanism for his pessimistic view of the world.
• Eldritch Location: The school and town, which subtly change and shift, challenging the characters' perceptions of reality.
• Empty Classroom: Used to create a sense of unease and to emphasize the distorted reality.
• Forgotten Friend, New Foe: The characters grapple with the haunting possibility of a friend being erased from existence, leading to suspicion and mistrust.
• High School: The primary setting, which becomes increasingly eerie as reality distorts.
• Invisible to Normals: The changes in reality seem to go unnoticed by everyone except the main characters.
• Mistaken for Apocalypse: The characters initially wonder if the world is ending or if they're the last people left.
• Nothing Is Scarier: The manga employs this trope effectively, with many scenes filled with tension and an eerie silence.
• Reality Warper: Sean's presence seems to have this effect, though it's ambiguous whether he's causing the changes or if he's just a manifestation of them.
• School Uniforms Are the New Black: A recurrent visual motif. Alice, David, and Jacob are often depicted in their school uniforms, which play a significant role in the manga's aesthetic.
• The Stoic: David, who values honesty and is straightforward but also possesses high emotional intelligence.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Sean's mere presence and perception seem to trigger the reality shifts, though he's seemingly unaware of his effect on the world.
• Wham Episode: Several throughout the manga, where the characters confront the harsh truths of their reality, leading to paradigm shifts in the narrative.
• You Can't Fight Fate: A central theme, as the characters try to resist the shifting reality but find themselves powerless against it.