Akuma no Riddle

Riddle Story of Devil

Riddle Story of Devil (悪魔のリドル Akuma no Ridoru?, lit. Devil's Riddle) is a Japanese manga series written by Yun Kōga and illustrated by Sunao Minakata. It started serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine with the September 2012 issue. An anime adaptation directed by Keizō Kusakawa and animated by Diomedéa premiered on April 3, 2014. The series is licensed for streaming by Funimation in North America and Madman Entertainment in Australia.

Plot 

At the private girls' boarding school, Myōjō Academy, thirteen girls are transferred into the academy's "10th Year Black Class" (10年黒組 Jū-nen Kuro-gumi?). Of these thirteen students, twelve are assassins from various backgrounds who are all tasked with assassinating the remaining student, a girl named Haru Ichinose. If they succeed, they will be granted any wish they desire, but if they fail, they are expelled from the class. One of the assassins, Tokaku Azuma, develops feelings for Haru and defects to her side, resolving to protect her from the other assassins.

Characters

Tokaku Azuma (東 兎角 Azuma Tokaku?) Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa The main character. Tokaku is a distant and cold girl. Even at first glance, she has the appearance of an assassin. She eventually grows to care for Haru in time, even coming to the point of calling herself Haru's protector. Azuma dislikes it when other people try to get close to her, and she especially hates being called by her first name, but Haru compromises and calls her "Tokaku-san". She is skilled with using knives, and has exceptionally quick reflexes. It is soon revealed that Azuma has never killed anyone before, despite possessing very useful skills as an assassin. Haru Ichinose (一ノ瀬 晴 Ichinose Haru?) Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto The second main character. Haru is shown to be a bright and cheerful girl of the Black Class. She aims to become friends with everyone, and is essentially the class's moodmaker. She is kind and naive to everyone without fail until they become hostile with her. Haru is the target that everyone in the class is after. She has knife wounds on her thighs, which were discovered by Tokaku by blowing her skirt open. She is later shown to not only have scars on her thighs, but all over her body as well. She is uncomfortable with people looking at them. Nio Hashiri (走り 鳰 Hashiri Nio?) Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō Nio is an energetic and upbeat girl with a knack for peeping into other people's businesses. Despite being a part of the Black Class group, she is also affiliated with the academy in some way. Isuke Inukai (犬飼 伊介 Inukai Isuke?) Voiced by: Azumi Asakura Isuke is a truly sadistic girl who is always shown to be with clothing that show her stomach. She is also very blunt and quick to express her opinion, and likes to command other people, such as making Haruki call her "Isuke-sama". Isuke's family includes her gay parents, who aren't related to her by blood at all. Hitsugi Kirigaya (桐ヶ谷 柩 Kirigaya Hitsugi?) Voiced by: Mami Uchida Hitsugi is a girl with a look that can pass for an elementary school student. She has a bad sense of direction, as demonstrated when she gets lost on her way to Myōjō Academy. Although Hitsugi looks like the horribly unreliable type, she is in reality an assassin known as Angel's Trumpet, who is responsible for the death of daughter of Chitaru Namatame's mentor. She poisons Shiena Kenmochi leading to her removal from the class. After learning Chitaru's true purpose behind coming to Myōjō and actually promising to help, she discloses her identity to Chitaru and subsequently allows Chitaru to kill her with a real dagger during a theatrical play of Romeo and Juliet, where they play the leading roles and the titular characters' mutual suicide at the end. It is then revealed that her wish is to remain together with Chitaru beyond the end of current Black Class (although her initial goal, one prior to meeting Chitaru, was never made clear), leading to Chitaru's suicide. She and Chitaru Namatame are the 5th and 6th students to be removed from Black Class. Chitaru Namatame (生田目 千足 Namatame Chitaru?) Voiced by: Sachika Misawa Chitaru is a girl with a demeanor that's both princely and mature. She was the one who showed Hitsugi Kirigaya the way when the latter got lost on her way to Myōjō Academy and has since almost never been seen without Hitsugi. Though part of Haru's class, she has no real interest in the objective of the class; her real goal is to avenge her mentor's daughter after learning that Angel's Trumpet, the assassin responsible, will join the class as well. She aims to kill Angel's Trumpet so that her mentor could find closure and be happy again. After disclosing her true identity as Angel's Trumpet, Hitsugi allows Chitaru to kill her during a theatrical play of Romeo and Juliet using a real dagger, but immediately afterward Chitaru learns Hitsugi's wish to remain together with her beyond the end of Black Class. Having resolved to grant Hitsugi this wish, Chitaru commits suicide using poison removed from Hitsugi's stash earlier. She and Hitsugi Kirigaya are the 5th and 6th students to be removed from Black Class. Mahiru/Shin'ya Banba (番場 真昼・真夜 Banba Mahiru/Shin'ya?) Voiced by: Yuka Ōtsubo Mahiru is a shy and timid girl who often has troubles speaking for herself. She is easily subject to bullying, and is often defenseless. However, when the sun sets, Mahiru's alternate personality, Banba Shinya, appears. Shinya is the complete opposite of Mahiru, and refers to herself (or even himself) as ore (俺?), which is a rather rough masculine way when referring to oneself. Shinya has an aggressive and borderline insane appearance. Mahiru and Shinya's names also have polar opposite meanings, with Mahiru (真昼?) meaning being "midday" and Shinya (真夜?) meaning being "full night". Kōko Kaminaga (神長 香子 Kaminaga Kōko?) Voiced by: Haruka Yoshimura A girl with glasses who insists of being the 'rep' of everything, such as Black Class' class representative. She is shown to use both improvised and purposed-made explosives as a weapon. Kaminaga is an orphan raised by a church to be an assassin. However despite training, she isn't cut out for the life of an assassin, which she realizes after accidentally blowing up her mentor. Her wish in exchange for killing Haru is to be able to leave the life of being an assassin altogether. She is the second student of Black Class to be expelled. Sumireko Hanabusa (英 純恋子 Hanabusa Sumireko?) Voiced by: Miho Arakawa A girl with a frail body who is the daughter of a company CEO. Shiena Kenmochi (剣持 しえな Kenmochi Shiena?) Voiced by: Yūki Yamada A girl who wears glasses, and can't see anything without them. Shiena is planning to kill Haru on the day of their stage play but she got caught in the act by Hitsugi while she's about to put her notice in Haru's script. On the night of her planned declaration, however, she is caught and then knocked out with poison by Hitsugi in Episode 6. She becomes the fourth student of Black Class to be expelled while remaining hospitalized, as she is judged incapable of resuming the hit before her declaration expires. Suzu Shutō (首藤 涼 Shutō Suzu?) Voiced by: Chika Anzai Likes being "physically active". Her expression matches that to a sly fox. Her wish was to find a cure to the Highlander Syndrome, which caused her to not be able to age normally. When the Black class was in a pool, she installed a bomb with timer in Haru's breather, which can only be opened with a 4-digit password. Tokaku find the password, whereupon Suzu surrenders, becoming the seventh student of Black Class to be expelled. Otoya Takechi (武智 乙哉 Takechi Otoya?) Voiced by: Manami Numakura Dubbed the "Jack the Ripper of the 21st Century" outside of Myōjō Academy for her serial killer antics, Otoya is a sadist who hides her true nature under the guise of an extremely playful girl. Her main obsession is with scissors, which she carries a whole bag of them around her waist. Her reason for wanting to kill Haru Ichinose is so that she can get serial killer insurance, so she can continue her murder spree without any fear of being captured. She is the first student of Black Class to be expelled. Haruki Sagae (寒河江 春樹 Sagae Haruki?) Voiced by: Fumiko Uchimura Tomboyish yet fashionable girl who is always shown eating snacks. Haruki is the typical lazy student who sleeps at class and is always looking for thrills, but is very sensitive about her family, which is full of siblings, and wishes to have them provided for. She is the third student of Black Class to be expelled. Kaiba (カイバ?) Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita A mysterious man who has ties with Tokaku. He periodically sends her riddles via text messages. Ataru Mizorogi (溝呂木 辺 Mizorogi Ataru?) Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai The Black Class' homeroom teacher. He is unaware that the girls in the class are assassins. Whenever a student is expelled after failing to kill Haru, he is told that the student has transferred out due to unknown circumstances.