COLLAR x MALICE ~Introduction~

「 All is connected to rebirth…… 」

COLLAR x MALICE (カラー x マリス) is one of Otomate’s upcoming games for the PS Vita to be released on July 28th!! The game will be directed by Motegi Aya, the director of Binary Star, and the producer is Shima Reiko, who directed Clock Zero — the art is by the lovely Hanamura Mai!! (who did the art for AMNESIA) I know I briefly introduced this in my other Otomate post, but there was a lot of information included in this month’s B’s Log so here I am~ \o/

Edit (09/10) – updated with ‘world’ section
Edit (10/20) – updated with cast

---

~ STORY ~

---

The heroine is a police officer working in Shinjuku, an area which became listed as a danger zone after the occurrence of a serial crime, known as the X-Day Incident.
She works hard to ensure the safety of Shinjuku. One night, however, she is attacked, and a collar laced with poison is put on her neck.

Five men, all with questionable backgrounds, appear before the confused heroine.
It seems that all of them worked for the police force in the past, and claim that they are investigating the incident on their own accord. 

While lost in deciding whether or not she should trust these men, the heroine suddenly finds herself in possession of the key to this major case.

To remove the collar of death,
and to protect Shinjuku,
she begins to investigate with them——

Who has the heroine’s life in their hands?
Will Shinjuku’s day of 「 rebirth 」 ever come——

---

~ WORLD ~

---

The year of 20XX: “X-Day Incidents” dye Shinjuku in the colour of blood——

X-Day

Serial crimes which began to occur only within Shinjuku on the 1st of April, 20XX.
Left repeatedly at the crime scene are coded romaji characters and a coin.
The police and the government believe that this is an act of terrorism committed by multiple culprits or an organisation of some sort. The cases, as well as the warning of murders, all seem to publicly reveal the secrets and scandals hidden within the police force.

---

The Quarantine of Shinjuku (隔離措置)

On the 1st of September, five months after the first case, the government listed Shinjuku as a danger zone. To contain the threat, the area was isolated behind a thick wall. The quarantine meant that no one could enter nor leave Shinjuku.

---

Lifting on Laws Regarding Firearms and Swords (銃刀法の解除)

Along with the quarantine of Shinjuku, laws controlling the possession of firearms and swords were removed. Guns distributed to citizens were registered and coded; very broad rules were applied to the use of these weapons.

---

The Collar with Built-in “Poison” (“毒”内蔵の首輪)

The collar placed on the heroine’s neck contains built-in poison, causing her to fear for her own life. At the same time, the collar is an important key that connects to the criminal, aiding Aiji and the others on their investigation.

 

---

The Detective Agency (探偵事務所)

An organisation made up of people who are investigating the X-Day Incident, founded by Yanagi Aiji.
Though they call themselves a detective agency, they are not open for business, and most of their investigations are done individually.

---

Office for the Prevention of Crime in Special Regions (特殊地域防犯対策室)

The section that the heroine belongs to, also known as Tokubou. (特防, lit. Special Prevention) A newly-established part of the police force caused by the complexity of the X-Day Incident.
They are able to provide assistance, answer queries, and deal with any reports worth taking action against.
As it is part of their job to relieve the worries of citizens, they are also put on patrol around Shinjuku.

---

~ CHARACTERS ~

---

Hoshino Ichika (星野 市香)

‘Who put this collar on me?’

‘I……as a police officer, I want to enforce justice.’

21 years old.
A rookie who has worked as a police officer for half a year.
Though she lacks experience, she is determined to help all those who are within her reach.
Under the impression that the collar on her neck is the key to solving the X-Day Incident, she begins to investigate the case.

I saw some ppl talking about this on twitter too but tHERE’S NO WAY HER HAIR SUITABLE FOR WORK LOL at least tie all your hair back(つД`)
oh well it’s cute at least ^^”

---

Former 1st division inspector who possesses a unique sense of justice:
Yanagi Aiji (柳 愛時)
cv. Morita Masakazu

‘I won’t make any more mistakes. I won’t make you cry.
……for that reason, I’ll pull the trigger.’

‘Don’t give up now. Whenever you feel like you’re about to fall, you can always lean on me.’

28 years old.
A former inspector who used to work in the 1st division of the police force but quit for certain reasons. He is doing an independent investigation on the X-Day Incident. Thoughtful, rational, and has a strong sense of justice. He appears shocked when he first meets the heroine, for unknown reasons.

………I tried not to make the association but he really does reminds me of shin wwww maybe bc shin’s route in amnesia is just crime-solving anyway lmao so I guess this basically him a few years into the future (and not as tsun ahaha) ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄

---

Genius sniper who possesses a gentle heart and a sharp eye:
Okazaki Kei (岡崎 契)
cv. Kaji Yuuki

‘Why did it have to be you, I wonder.
If it it hadn’t been you, I would’ve been able to focus solely on my job.’

‘I……can’t protect you.’

26 years old.
A security police officer who acts as a guard for the rest of the group.
He has calm personality, does everything at his own pace, and can seem quite air-headed at times. His reasons for joining this investigation as a guard are unknown.

oh nooooooooo he’s the standard cute ‘my pace’ character IM SO WEAK TO THESEヾ(;´▽｀“ｱｾｱｾ

---

Former riot policeman and a troublemaker who
charges headfirst into all situations:
Enomoto Mineo (榎本 峰雄)
cv. Saitou Souma

‘I’m telling you, don’t make that face.
There’s nothing to worry about — just leave it to me, the great Mineo-sama!’

‘Why are you this cute. It annoys me!’

23 years old.
Cheerful, optimistic, and honest. Even when the heroine suspects him of being connected to the case, at his own will, he sheds light on the secrets he has hidden in his heart. Due to a certain incident in his past, he becomes unable to trust others.

おおお for some reason he’s dressed in a really wafuu-style unlike everyone else BUT IT CUTE he cute ah and maybe it’s just the ponytail but I’m getting heisuke vibes lol

---

Former cyber crime investigator who has a trauma of ‘guns’:
Sasazuka Takeru (笹塚 尊)
cv. Namikawa Daisuke (cue loud screaming)

‘……how can you still call yourself a police officer like that?
If you don’t intend on investigating the case, get lost.’

‘Follow my orders, stupid cat.’

24 years old.
Though he was assigned to the cyber crime unit, he resigns after only a few months. While he is intelligent, he has a sharp-tongue and only thinks about himself. He generally acts cool, but he has a cute side to him too, in that he loves sweets. (donuts in particular)

his hair is so fluffy!!!!!!モフモフしたい( ´ ▽ ` *) seriously though 24?? HOW he looks younger than me are u sure he’s not actually 14

---

Eccentric x mysterious profiler:
Shiraishi Kageyuki (白石 景之)
cv. Kimura Ryouhei

‘Ahaha, you suspect that I’m the criminal, right?’

‘You can’t go further than that.
——do you have a death wish?’

28 years old.
Currently working for the police force as a forensic researcher.
Specialises in profiling. He always has a smile on his face, but no one can ever tell what he is really thinking.
He expresses an strange interest in the heroine’s collar……

i have nothing to say except for hE HAS CAT EARS AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
(you can’t see it in this picture but the clip on his tie is also this huge cat A++++ fashion sense)

---

 ~ THOUGHTS ~

---

edit (10/20): NAMIKAWA DAISUKE IS IN TTHI S……….I’m sold this is all I need goodbYE
though personally I would’ve been happier if they swapped namikawa and kaji’s roles??? maybe because I like kaji’s character more but namikawa is my 本命wwww but I’m so glad about saitou souma and kimuryou!!!! don’t really know who morita is but at this point it doesn’t even matter anymore wwwwww

waaaaaaa everything is so pretty everyone is so cute what do I do hnnnnn(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) I mentioned this in the other post too but I’m so happy that hanamura and shima are working on the same project;v;;; I’ve never played any of motegi’s works, but I’ve heard good things about binary star so it’s alright to have high expectations for this game……right???(￣v￣；)

I’m not really sure how I feel about the story rn (especially since it’s so vague lol what even is the X-Day incident???? I just know the criminal ‘announces’ the X-Day from the pv ah a) as a fan of detective novels and whatnot, I’m just really really hoping that the story will actually be planned out and written well//// ah speaking of which, I was under the impression that this group of dudes were all investigating the case on their own and somehow met each other along the way but from kei’s description, I guess they’ve been working together on this since the very beginning?? I hope this means we’ll get to see funny moments with the guys idk why but I really like seeing bromance and ギャグ in otome games ww

anyway I’m really liking the character designs so far!! I really hope the cast list is released soon(*´艸`*) the ui is really similar to amnesia’s (the dialogue also comes up in a shoujo manga bubble w) I guess the same people who designed amnesia are working on this game too BUT REST ASSURED THE BACKGROUNDS ARE ACTUALLY IN COLOUR THIS TIME\o/ not that I really disliked the gradient thing in amnesia but everything else was fully coloured so the backgrounds just felt really plain lol OH AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT THIS OUT — aren’t these people too young to be quitting their jobs??? they’re all in their twenties lmao wHAT A WASTE OF A PERFECTLY GOOD CAREER………o<–< I’m genuinely upset like yoooooo one of you was working in the fIRST DIVISION that’s basically the top you probably earned a lot……….wwwww

tldr; I’M VERY EXCITED okay actually I feel like I need to know a bit more (like a final push lmao) if I want this i.e. cast list but I’m definitely very tempted…….ヾ(￣∇￣=)will update this post when more info is released~♡

---

「 I will now announce the X-Day. 」