Data xx: Transitory is the thirteenth and bonus episode of the DRAMAtical Murder animation and was released as an OVA on December 24, 2014. It features all of the bad endings from the original game.
Summary
The episode starts with Aoba being cornered by Morphine in Oval Tower while Virus and Trip reveal that they are the team's leaders. Aoba, distraught at this news, says it can't be true while Trip confirms it and Virus says they will take Aoba along to "have fun". Everything then fades to black.
Aoba wakes up later, chained and bound naked in an unfamiliar, dark room. His head begins to throb in pain and he passes out, this time waking up in his consciousness which has become blacked and distorted. As he walks on, Desire appears sitting in a chair with a table holding what appears to be a checkers board. He orders Aoba to sit, ignoring the other's questions. Desire tells him that everything is over and demands a switch between them.
Aoba is brought into Koujaku's scrap and must watch on as he fails. He stands behind the bars Koujaku (in beast mode) is now confined in and tries to call out to him, but fails. He notices Desire walk in and asks lovingly if Koujaku has been good that day. He merely laughs as Koujaku bites into his skin and engages with him sexually. Aoba, confused at the scene, yells at Desire to get away from Koujaku but Aoba is suddenly switched in Desire's place, receiving pleasure from Koujaku. Desire tells Aoba that it is useless to hold back, because this is the true outcome and that they are both the same.
Back in Aoba's head, a black chip appears on the checkers board and one white chip overturns on its black side.
Aoba is then brought into Noiz's scrap. Noiz tells him that the world abandoned him and when asked if it is alright to give up, Aoba confirms to Noiz that it is. As everything goes black, Aoba wakes up naked and realizes he had been lying in a pool of blood. He becomes frightened when a hand reaches out to him but is relieved when it's Noiz. Aoba tries to tell him how much pain he's feeling but Noiz ignores him and tells him not to run away. As they continue to come into contact with each other, their flesh rips open, spilling blood. As Noiz forces himself into Aoba, he tells him how happy he is to have both pain and Aoba in his life now, forever. Aoba screams in agony and another black chip falls on the board, this time turning an entire row of white into black.
In Clear's Scrap, Aoba fails by telling Clear to stop and having his voice be heard. As his surroundings fade to a blinding white, he wakes up in a bed with Clear overlooking him. Relieved that they are both seemingly all right, Aoba smiles and falls back asleep. The next time he wakes up, Clear greets him and asks if Aoba hurts anywhere. Aoba denies it and Clear mentions how happy he is to hear that and optimistically hopes he can make more improvements on him. Aoba then asks why he can't see anything. Clear explains that since he can't become human, he would make Aoba his own personal doll to have forever. Aoba is shown to be chained on bars with his legs amputated and a blindfold on. Clear happily states that he also removed his eyes successfully and says that Aoba's arms will be next after biting into it and licking the blood. After saying how beautiful Aoba will be when the process is complete, he hums the Jellyfish Song.
As Desire looks on at them, he chuckles and another black chip falls and overturns two white chips, completing another row of black.
Aoba then finds himself in Mink's scrap, surrounded by a burning forest and seeing innocent people getting shot to death. As he watches on, a young child stumbles in front of Aoba and he goes over to help him. However, he's stopped by Mink who instead helps the boy up and saves him. Aoba smiles at this but is suddenly face to face with Mink after. He explains to them that they need to get out but Mink states that circumstances have changed and he's not sure they will be able to make it out alive. Mink explains that even if he is to die, he won't allow the same to happen to Aoba and will protect him by taking his head, the most sacred place in the body where the soul resides. As he begins to strangle Aoba, Desire then switches, much to Mink's surprise, and states that he is interested in him. Desire states that it's fine if Mink kills him, as long as they "have fun" first. Mink orders for him to shut up but is interrupted by Desire who passionately kisses him. After some time, Mink prays that Aoba's soul finds peace and decapitates him. He holds Aoba's head close and states that now he is safe and they will be together forever.
Aoba is then brought back to his mind and begins to cry at what has become of everyone. Desire smirks on at Aoba as the board is now completely filled with black chips. He tells Aoba that because of his failures, that is why things have becomes the way they are, as well as not accepting Desire. Aoba goes on to say that he has no idea what he is talking about and denies that Desire is a part of him. The latter explains that since he is the only part of Aoba that truly knows everything that he would be the only one to live on in Aoba's body and demands they switch. Aoba continually refuses until Ren, appears behind him. Desire than asks if Aoba even knows what Ren really is, to which the other had no response. Ren, upset Aoba refuses to acknowledge him, goes berserk and begins to literally devour him alive. Aoba begs for Ren to stop through sobs and all fades to black.
Back in the room he was chained in the beginning, Aoba wakes up to the sound of Verter and Hersia appearing alongside Virus and Trip. Virus asks if he's been good today while Trip asks what kind of fun they should have this time around. Aoba is then taken and abused by all four and he screams in utter despair as the episode ends.
Differences Between the Games and Anime
Koujaku
- Aoba was not present during Koujaku's bad end. He was only mentioned by Koujaku who claimed to hear Aoba's voice, which Desire then surpressed completely.
Clear
- In the game, Aoba had the choice of telling Clear that "it's fine to rest" or "it's better to stop now". In the anime, his tone is more desperate as he merely yells at Clear to stop.
- Aoba's vocal chords were cut out around the same time his eyes and legs were removed and was unable to make virtually no sounds. However, in the anime, he maintains his voice.
- In the game, Clear was reprogrammed back to his original settings as an Alpha unit which erased everything including his knowledge of the Jellyfish Song which could counter Dye Music. In the anime, he hums the song's melody, implying he still remembers it.
Mink
- In the game, Aoba is the one who has the choice of saving the villagers in Mink's past or letting them die. In the anime, it's Mink who saves a village boy (although Aoba was about to do so as well).
- Before Mink strangles Aoba in the game, he hugged him first while telling him how he will protect him. In the anime, he immediately starts to choke him while talking.
Ren
- In the game, Ren was infected with a worm which, along with Ren's feelings for Aoba, began to corrupt his functioning state. This led to Aoba having to confirm to Ren his knowledge about him as well as the fact that he loves him. However, it's Desire who taunts Aoba about how he doesn't know what Ren really is which Ren becomes enraged over in the anime, not Aoba's choices.
- Desire was not present with Ren and Aoba during their scrap in the game. He only confronted them both together after Sei died and in Re:code's Morphine route.
- In the anime, Ren first appeared to Aoba in his allmate form. In the game, he was always in his Rhyme mode skin since that was Aoba's image of him.
- Ren's bad end in the anime reflected not only Aoba's lack of knowledge of Ren but also refusing to accept Desire. This is not the case in the games- Desire was not to be accepted or even recognized fully until later in Ren's good end.
Censorship
While the OVA was more explicit than the anime which aired on television, there were still moments which were cut or implied.
- Nudity below the waist was censored with a black filter.
Koujaku, Noiz, Mink, Ren, and Virus and Trip's sex scenes were all only implied onscreen and were cut away or obscured in some way.
- Koujaku giving Desire oral sex was obscured with the back of Koujaku's head being shown against Desire's pelvis.
- The CG in Re:connect in which Noiz is looming over Aoba was replicated with their lower halves obscured by their arms and legs. Noiz was also clearly shown thrusting into Aoba, though off-screen.
- Mink and Desire's sex scene was only heavily implied after they kissed. However, both of their clothes are still on afterward, which was not the case in the game.
- Like Noiz, Ren thrust into Aoba while being covered in black filters.
- Virus and Trip's first game CG with Aoba, Welter and Hersha was also replicated, but again, only panned out so far enough to show them above the waist.
Intense violence was also toned down, the most notable being Mink and Ren's scenes.
- Mink decapitating Aoba was shown offscreen but still heard (as it was in the games). His headless body was shown face down and quickly cut away before reaching the top. Mink himself also obscured the severed part of Aoba's body.
- Ren eating Aoba was toned down significantly. In the game CG, Aoba's entire right shoulder was eaten to the point where bone was showing. In the anime, he is only getting bitten and chewed upon.
- The cuts appearing on Noiz and Aoba were significantly more grotesque in the game than the anime adaption. In the game, Aoba describes that the more they both moved, the more the cuts deepened and eventually left their limbs hanging off and becoming almost like ground up meat. In the anime, they both get cut open and bleed, but not to such a brutal extent.
Video
References
Data 07: Distance • Data 08: Reply • Data 09: Echt • Data 10: Faith • Data 11: Fixer • Data 12: Dawn | |