Riddle Story of Devil (Anime)

*This page is about the anime series. For the manga series, see: Riddle Story of Devil (Manga).*

**Riddle Story of Devil (Anime)**Gallery

## Series Name (Other Languages)

### Japanese

悪魔のリドル
*Akuma no Riddle*

### Other

惡魔的謎語
*Èmó de Míyǔ*

## Production Details

### Original Release

April 3rd, 2014 to
June 19th, 2014
December 17th, 2014 (OVA)

***Riddle Story of Devil*** (悪魔のリドル, *Akuma no Riddle*) is an abridged anime series based on Yun Kouga and Sunao Minakata's *Riddle Story of Devil* manga series.

The series was produced by animation studio Diomedéa and directed by Keizō Kusakawa. The series ran for 12 episodes from April 3rd, 2014 to June 19th, 2014, with an exclusive OVA Episode included in DVD releases. The series has been licensed for English release by Funimation, who have produced both a subtitled version and a full English dubbed version. A full German dub has also been released by KAZÉ. A Taiwanese-Mandarin subbed version was released by Muse Kapok.

The original Japanese title, *Akuma no Riddle* lit. *Devil's Riddle*, is a pun on the *Violin Sonata in G minor (Tartini)*, more commonly known as the *Devil's Trill Sonata* (悪魔のトリル, *Akuma no Toriru*) by Giuseppe Tartini.

## Synopsis

"Tokaku Azuma is a heartless teenage assassin on a mission of death. She’s been sent to a prestigious, all-girls boarding school to compete in an assassination game against eleven other beautiful killers. Their heinous mission: send the innocent and cheerful Haru Ichinose to an early grave." - **Official synopsis**
## Development

 The anime series was first announced in the July 2013 issue of Newtype where it showcased sketches and stated the anime would be released sometime in 2014.

Later, on December 29th, 2013, several pieces of promotional art material were released showcasing the animation style as well as the first preview video.

## Broadcasts & Physical Releases

*For more details, see: **DVDs and Blurays**.*
### Japanese

In Japan, the series aired between April 3rd and June 19th, 2014 on MBS, then later aired on TBS, CBC, AT-X, and BS-TBS.

Pony Canyon was the distributor of the series on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan, releasing the first volume on June 18th, 2014.

The series was released in 7 volumes of two episodes each, with the exception of Volume 7, which contained the unaired OVA Episode and a complete recording of the live event *All Cast Live Event "Kurogumi PARTY!"*.

Each volume release came bundled with a profile art booklet which contained commentary by various voice actresses and staff, and sets of illustrative character postcards.

### English

On August 9th, 2014, Funimation revealed they acquired the North American home video rights to *Riddle Story of Devil*, which was originally simulcast in Japanese with English subtitles through their streaming service. The cast list for the English dub was revealed on September 22nd, September 23rd, and September 24th, 2015.

The full series was released as a DVD standard edition on December 8th, 2015 with both English and Japanese audio options. A limited edition version set was also released on December 8th, 2015 in a collectible box. A Funimation "Super Amazing Value Edition" (S.A.V.E.) was later released on December 26th, 2017, which included the full series on DVD but at a lower price point.

The series is licensed for streaming by Funimation in North America and Madman Entertainment in Australia through AnimeLab, and was simulcast by Crunchyroll outside of North America until December 11th, 2018. It was also avaible for streaming in the United Kingdom by the defunct streaming service Animax.

Anime Limited acquired the series for a DVD and Collector's Edition Blu-ray set release on March 14th, 2016 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, but they later announced on May 8th, 2018 through their social media account that the company cancelled the release due to no longer having the rights.

### German

On January 11th, 2015, KAZÉ announced they acquired the rights to dub the *Riddle Story of Devil* anime adaptation in the German language and release it on home video on DVD and Bluray. The German dub was streamed to premium members of the Anime on Demand streaming service.

The cast list for the German dub was later revealed on April 3rd, 2015.

On the Anime on Demand streaming service, episodes were released online alongside the volume releases. Episodes 1 - 4 were released on April 3rd, 2015, Episodes 5 - 7 were released on June 28th, 2015, Episodes 8 - 10 were released on September 2nd, 2015, and Episodes 11 - 13 were released on November 2nd, 2015.

The Limited Edition of Volume 1 contained the full profile art booklet, postcards and came in a cardboard sleeve. After it sold out, a standard edition was released.

### Taiwanese-Mandarin

The series was confirmed for licensing by Muse Kapok on April 18th, 2014 in Taiwan. In June 2014, the series was released by on-demand video LiTV. However, months after the release, it was removed on October 30th, 2014 due to insufficient video capacity.

[*citation needed*]

On April 18th, 2019, the entire series including the OVA was officially licensed again by Muse Kapok and released for streaming on YouTube fully subbed in Taiwanese-Mandarin with Japanese audio.

## Music

### *Soushou Innocence*

*Riddle Story of Devil* has one opening theme - *Soushou Innocence*, performed by Maaya Uchida. It is used throughout the entire series. There is one minor variation for video of the opening theme from Episode 3 onward where Haru's scars are visible during her undressed scenes.

Riddle Story of Devil -- Official English Subtitled Opening
### *Aogeba Toutoshi*

Episode 12 contains an insert song titled "*Aogeba Toutoshi*" (仰げば尊し) sung by the main Japanese thirteen voice actresses. It received an English dub and that version was sung by Haru's English voice actress Alexis Tipton.

### Ending Themes

Every episode of *Riddle Story of Devil* has a unique ending theme. Most of the ending themes corresponds with the character that attempted to assassinate Haru in that episode as well as being performed by said character. Shiena Kenmochi is the only character who does not have a solo ending theme.

The final two ending themes, *QUEEN* and *THE LAST PARTY* are performed as a group by the Class Black students.

## Reception

### 2014 Anime Awards

On October 11th, 2014, Newtype announced the results of their 2014 Anime Awards. The awards were presented during a live stage at the Machi Asobi event in Tokushima, Japan. Results were collected through a series of online polls from their website.

### Online Polls

In April 2014, Japanese streaming site Niconico released their Spring 2014 anime premiere rankings that were collected through the Nico Live surveys. *Riddle Story of Devil* ranked 13th out of 15 alongside statitcs of the voters: Out of 29,058 people, 59.1% thought the premiere was very good, 25.4% thought it was good, 10.8% thought the premiere was just average while 2.1% thought it was not good enough. Meanwhile, 2.6% of the survey’s respondents stated that the premiere was not very good.

Also in April 2014, Sony released their rankings for the Spring 2014 Anime Season of people using their PlayStation 3 Torne digital recording device to record anime. The anime ranked 3rd out of 20.

English news site *SGCafe* complied a list of the "Top 10 Anime of 2014" as judged and selected by their staff. *Riddle Story of Devil* ranked 4th.

Japanese polling website *Akiba Souken* hosted a poll from February 1st to February 29th, 2016 where anime fans could vote for the "Top 20 Yuri Anime Series". Out of 4884 votes, *Riddle Story of Devil* ranked 19 and tied with *DokiDoki! PreCure*.

Japanese polling site Charapedia hosted a poll from March 24th to March 30th, 2016 where anime fans could vote on the question: "Which female anime voice actor is your favorite?". Out of the Top 20, Yoshino Nanjō (Nio Hashiri) ranked 11th and Maaya Uchida, who performed the opening theme *Soushou Innocence* ranked 8th.

## External Links

* **Akuma-Riddle.com:** *Akuma no Riddle* (Japanese)
* **Twitter.com:** *@akuma\_riddle* (Japanese)
	+ **Twitter.com:** *@akumariddleQA* (Archived) (Japanese)
* **MBS.jp:** *Akuma no Riddle* (Japanese)
* **Funimation.com:** *Riddle Story of Devil* (English; Official Streaming)
* **Crunchyroll.com:** *Riddle Story of Devil* (English; Official Streaming)
* **Anime-on-Demand.de:** *Akuma no Riddle* (German)

## References

1. ↑ *Akuma no Riddle ~ Kurogumi Official Guidebook ~* (Official *Akuma no Riddle* anime adaptation guidebook)
2. ↑ **Funimation:** Watch Riddle Story Of Devil Episodes Sub & Dub
3. ↑ **sgcafe.com:** Newtype Magazine announces that ‘Akuma no Riddle’ manga to get anime adaptation (June 9th, 2013)
4. ↑ **Anime News Network:** Riddle Story of Devil Anime's 1st Promo Samples Animation (December 30th, 2013)
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 **Anime News Network:** Funimation Reveals Riddle Story of Devil's English Dub Cast (September 23rd, 2015)
6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 **anime2you.de:** Deutsche Synchronsprecher von »Akuma no Riddle” bekannt (April 3rd, 2015) (German) Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "German VAs" defined multiple times with different content
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 **Funimation:** Funimation Reveals More Riddle Story of Devil English Cast (September 24th, 2015)
8. ↑ **Funimation:** Home Video Announcements from Otakon (August 9th, 2014)
9. ↑ **Funimation:** FUNimation’s 2014 Spring Season (April 1st, 2014)
10. ↑ **Funimation:** *Riddle Story of Devil* English Cast Announcement – Round 1 (September 22nd, 2015)
11. ↑ **Funimation:** *Riddle Story of Devil* English Cast Announcement – Round 2 (September 23rd, 2015)
12. ↑ **Funimation:** *Riddle Story of Devil* English Cast Announcement – Final Round (September 24th, 2015)
13. ↑ **Funimation:** *Riddle Story of Devil: The Complete Series*
14. ↑ **Funimation:** *Riddle Story of Devil: The Complete Series - Limited Edition*
15. ↑ **Funimation:** *Riddle Story of Devil: The Complete Series - S.A.V.E. - DVD*
16. ↑ **Funimation:** December 2017 Home Video Releases (September 16th, 2017)
17. ↑ **Anime News Network:** Australia's Madman Ent. to Stream Date A Live II, Riddle Story of Devil, Dai - Shogun (April 6th, 2014)
18. ↑ **Anime News Network:** Madman Entertainment Launch Anime Streaming Site AnimeLab (May 28th, 2014)
19. ↑ **Anime News Network:** Crunchyroll Streams Riddle Story of Devil Outside N. America & Schedules Mekakucity Actors, Gokuaku Ganbo (April 10th, 2014)
20. ↑ **Anime News Network:** Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato Anime Also Removed From Crunchyroll (December 11th, 2018)
21. ↑ **Anime News Network:** Animax UK Announces New Simulcasts (June 4th, 2014)
22. ↑ **UK Anime News:** Anime Limited acquire Riddle Story of Devil, Noein and Lord Marksman and Vanadis (May 19th, 2018)
23. ↑ **Amazon.uk:** Riddle Story of Devil Collector's Edition (Blu-ray) (Archived Only)
24. ↑ **Forbidden Planet:** Riddle Story Of Devil: Collector’s Edition (Blu-Ray) (Archived Only)
25. ↑ **Anime UK News:** Anime Limited Cancels Riddle Story of Devil Home Video Release (May 19th, 2018)
26. ↑  **Anime News Network:** Anime Limited Delists Ten Titles (May 20th, 2018)
27. ↑ **anime2you.de:** *KAZÉ mit weiteren Details über VÖ von »Akuma no Riddle« & »One Week Friends«* (January 11th, 2015) (German)
28. ↑ **japaniac.de:** *Nisekoi & Akuma no Riddle bald auf DVD und Blu-ray* (July 20th, 2014) (German)
29. ↑ **anime2you.de:** *Anime on Demand: »Akuma no Riddle« Folgen 5-7 online* (June 28th, 2015) (German)
30. ↑ **anime2you.de:** *Anime on Demand: »Akuma no Riddle« Folgen 8-10 online* (September 2nd, 2015) (German)
31. ↑ **anime2you.de:** *Anime on Demand: »Akuma no Riddle« Folgen 11-13 online* (November 2nd, 2015) (German)
32. ↑ **YouTube:** 惡魔的謎語 (Taiwanese-Mandarin; Archived)
33. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – June 2014 Anime Popularity Ranking (June 7th, 2014)
34. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – July 2014 Anime Popularity Ranking (July 15th, 2014)
35. ↑ **sgcafe.com:** Sword Art Online dominates the Newtype rankings for August 2014 (July 11th, 2014)
36. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – September 2014 Anime Popularity Ranking (September 11th, 2014)
37. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – December 2014 Anime Popularity Ranking (November 23rd, 2014)
38. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – January 2015 Anime Popularity Ranking (December 22nd, 2014)
39. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – February 2015 Anime Popularity Ranking (January 31st, 2015)
40. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** NewType – March 2015 Anime Popularity Ranking (February 18th, 2015)
41. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** Top 10 Male and Female Anime Characters from Newtype’s April 2015 Issue (April 20th, 2015)
42. ↑ **haruhichan.com:** Studio Trigger’s Kill La Kill and A-1 Pictures’ The iDOLM@STER Movie Dominates the Newtype Anime Awards (October 14th, 2014)
43. ↑ **sgcafe.com:** Which Spring 2014 anime premiere left the strongest impression for viewers in Niconico? (April 13th, 2014)
44. ↑ **sgcafe.com:** Sony announces the initial Tornado Anime rankings for Spring 2014 (April 20th, 2014)
45. ↑ **sgcafe.com:** The SGCafe New Year Special: The Top 10 anime of 2014 (January 1st, 2015)
46. ↑ **akiba-souken.com:** あなたの思うベスト百合アニメは？ (Japanese)
47. ↑ **charapedia.jp:** 人気声優ランキング２０１６ TOP20!（女性声優編） (March 31st, 2016) (Japanese)