Episode 03

**Episode 03**Gallery

## Third Riddle - "What's Red, But Isn't Red?"

***Third Riddle - "What's Red, But Isn't Red?"*** (赤いのに赤くないのは?) is the third episode of the *Riddle Story of Devil* anime series.

The episode was originally broadcasted in Japan on April 17th, 2014 and simulcasted with English subtitles by Funimation on the same day.

## Summary

Tokaku switches sides to Haru, but the game is still on and the first official Class Black assassination attempt is made.
## Gallery

*For episode screencaps, see: **Episode 03/Gallery***
## Plot

As Tokaku Azuma continued to rip up her Advance Kill Notice, she threatened the other assassins in the room that they'd have to go through her if any one of them attempted to kill Haru Ichinose. Nio regained her composure as the others questioned if Tokaku abandoning the assignment all together was permitted by the rules. Nio quickly phoned the woman seen in a previous episode, who gave Tokaku permission to assume the role of Haru's "protector", and she noted this was an expected turn of events. With this, Nio ended the orientation.

The next morning in Dorm Room #5, Otoya Takechi and Shiena Kenmochi were awoken by Shiena's alarm clock which caused Otoya to slam her hand down on the nightstand, missing the alarm clock and smashing Shiena's glasses instead. After a brief banter over Shiena's missing spare glasses (during which it is implied Otoya took them) Otoya skillfully sliced up a magazine with her scissors to create a message for her Advance Kill Notice that read:

***"TO HARU-CHAn"
"coming to TAke your LIFE"***

In Dorm Room #1, Tokaku watched over Haru as she wondered how she was going to protect her, or even if she should just kill Haru now to get it over with. She was interrupted by Haru talking in her sleep about her mom, then chewing on her blanket, which made Tokaku firmly wake her up. Later, the pair walked to school when Otoya suddenly made an appearance and asked to walk with Haru, to which the latter happily agreed.

In the classroom, while the others were distracted by Sumireko Hanabusa's extravagant desk, Haru reached into her own desk to find Otoya's Advance Kill Notice as Otoya quietly watched her reaction. Tokaku took notice of Haru's sudden change in disposition, but before she could do anything Mr. Mizorogi entered the room. In the bathroom during a break between classes, Haru firmly resolved that she wouldn't tell Tokaku about the Advance Kill Notice because she didn't want anyone else to die for her sake, and that she would survive it on her own.

While she waited for Haru to come out of the bathroom, Tokaku received a text from Kaiba with his third riddle:

***"What's Red, But Isn't Red?"***

Later, Class Black had their first Biology lesson in the botanical garden. During the lesson, Mr. Mizorogi heard and pointed out a bird call, the Bull Finch which would later prove to be very important. Otoya then enthusiastically talked with Haru in an effort to get close to her, claiming they had many things in common. An annoyed Tokaku interrupted the exchange, telling Otoya to leave; however, Haru jumped to her defense and stated she was happy they had so much in common.

That night, an angry but concerned Tokaku scolded Haru for believing in Otoya's lies, and said she only claimed to have so much in common with Haru to get her to let her guard down in order to kill her. Tokaku then explained Class Black's rules, but Haru tried to reason that since Tokaku had decided to protect her, then it could be possible that Otoya might want to do the same. She further explained if she could get everyone in the class to be friends with her, then no one had to die and they could all graduate together.

In the botanical garden, Otoya placed a butterfly in a spider’s web and seemed to unsettlingly enjoy watching it get eaten before Nio Hashiri appeared behind her. Nio informed Oyota they needed to discuss what her wish would be should she succeed in assassinating Haru. Otoya answered she wants "Serial Killer Insurance"- i.e. the freedom to kill as she pleases without the worry of being arrested. Nio agreed to this wish.

The following day during lunch, Otoya attempted to chat with Mahiru Banba about the charms Haru gifted to the both of them, but Mahiru mimed an invisible box around the charm and said she "locked *it* away". This action confused Otoya and prompted her to say that maybe she should talk to Mahiru after the sun had set, but then with a sinister aura implied she and Mahiru had a lot more in common, which shocked Mahiru. Otoya explained that she and Mahiru understood the *true* value of the charm, before being interrupted by Haru and Tokaku.

That evening, Tokaku texted Kaiba an update, and thought to herself how she planned to protect Haru whenever she received an Advance Kill Notice, but then quickly realized that she might've already gotten one. Tokaku ran to where Haru last was in the classroom but she had already left to go with Otoya to the botanical garden.

At the botanical garden, Otoya gifted Haru with a bouquet of flowers as a thank you for the phone charm. Then, in a flirtatious manner, Otoya said she's happy to have Haru "all to herself" for a change, and asked if Haru felt unsafe without Tokaku around to protect her from the assassins. Before Haru is able to answer, Otoya reassured her that she can protect her too now, then revealed that she knew Haru received an Advance Kill Notice and claimed it had been sent by her roommate Shiena.

Otoya explained that she shattered Shiena's glasses in order to protect Haru, but this all proved to be a distraction as Otoya suddenly shoved the bouquet of flowers into Haru's face, and revealed they are a type of flower called **Gelsemium Elegans** which contains a debilitating neurotoxin.

Still trying to locate Haru, Tokaku ended up in their shared dorm room. Otoya met her there and claimed she saw Haru and Shiena go into the basement, which resulted in Tokaku getting locked in as a trap.

At the same time, as some of the other members of Class Black shared a communal bath together and some conversation, Suzu Shuto told them about Otoya; she is a serial killer nicknamed **"21st Century Jack the Ripper"** that exclusively murders women in order to feel sexual gratification. Shiena was disturbed and upset over this revelation, as suddenly Tokaku dropped into the room from the vent and demanded to know what she did with Haru. Shiena quickly answered that the Notice hadn't come from her, but from Otoya.

Back at the botanical garden, Otoya had bound and gagged Haru and removed most of her clothing, and disturbingly rambled to her about how she planned to take her time in torturing Haru. She continued to ramble, before she ecstatically proclaimed how beautiful Haru's scars were, and how she had never had dotted lines to cut along before. She punctuated that remark by stabbing a scar on Haru's thigh with a pair of scissors, much to Otoya's sexual delight. Otoya then received a call from an angry Tokaku, who demanded to know where they were. Miffed, Otoya taunted Tokaku by twisting her scissors in Haru's thigh, which caused Haru to scream against her ball gag. Haru managed to get away by kicking Otoya when she became distracted, which caused the scissors Otoya was holding to drop down and cut through the binds on Haru's legs. Still on the line, Tokaku yelled into the phone and overheard a bird, the Bull Finch, and realized that Haru and Otoya were in the botanical garden.

Haru managed to free herself from the binds on her hands, and removed the ball-gag from her mouth as Otoya, now wielding a pair of large saws, found her. Two gunshots suddenly rang out, one grazing Otoya's cheek, as Otoya saw Tokaku. The two then briefly fought, culminating with Otoya gaining the upper hand which allowed her to nearly stab Tokaku in the eye with her saw, only to be interrupted by Haru using the Gelsemium Elegans flowers from before to render Otoya unconscious with an apology.

Otoya awoke the next morning, still in the botanical garden, with Nio hovering over her. She gleefully informed Otoya her 48 hours were up and she was expelled as per the rules. Otoya tried to desperately protest, and even offered to give up the chance for the reward just to kill Haru. Nio rejected it, and an angered Otoya used her scissors to slice off part of Nio's uniform, which revealed something on Nio's body that horrified Otoya.

In the classroom, Mr. Mizorogi informed the attending members of Class Black that Otoya had transferred out of the class, evident by the vase of mountain lilies on her desk. He also noted that Tokaku, Haru, and Nio were tardy. In Dorm Room #1, Tokaku watched over a recovering Haru, and promised she was safe as she clutched her hand.

## Opening & Ending

Riddle Story of Devil -- Official English Subtitled OpeningRiddle Story of Devil - Official 3rd Ending - Concentration (Otoya Takechi)
## Manga and Anime Differences

Chapter 09

* The secret orientation ends after Tokaku declares herself as Haru's protector; there is no discussion about whether this is in line with Class Black's rules.

Chapter 10

* Otoya does not use magazine clippings to spell her message in her Advance Notice, and simply writes the note instead.
* Tokaku notices immediately when Haru finds Otoya's Advance Notice in her desk and tells her not to touch it, saying it was meant for her. Otoya says she could be right and that she meant to place the letter in Tokaku's desk.
* There is a flashback to Otoya discussing her reward with Nio should she succeed, and tells her she will be giving her Advance Notice the next morning. In the anime this conversation does not take place until after Otoya has already given notice.
* When Otoya is talking to Mahiru about the phone strap Haru gave her, she takes the strap from her and teasingly holds it out of reach which greatly upsets Mahiru. Sumireko intervenes to return the strap to Mahiru and reprimand Otoya for bullying.
* Tokaku is seen staring at the Advance Notice and thinking to herself that Otoya has bad handwriting.

Chapter 11

* Mahiru approaches Sumireko to thank her for standing up for her earlier, and Sumireko asks if they could have lunch together. Mahiru nervously declines which visibly surprises Sumireko and leaves her disappointed.
* Chitaru and Hitsugi have a conversation about their reasons for joining Class Black; this conversation does not happen until a later episode of the anime.
* Mr. Mizorogi does not hold a biology lesson in the botanical garden; the scene in which Otoya asks Haru about her birthday and favorite foods takes place in the classroom instead.

Chapter 12

* Nio visits the director's office to ask her if Tokaku is permitted to assume the role of Haru's guardian; they had this conversation over the phone during the orientation at the beginning of the episode.
* There's a scene in which Otoya gives Mr. Mizorogi a flower arrangement she made with flowers she cut from the botanical garden. In the same scene she playfully teases Shiena, which prompts Shiena to very seriously state that she will never forgive people who bully.
* During class, Otoya passes Haru a note asking if she would like to go to the botanical garden with her, to which Haru happily agrees. This angers Tokaku and she has Haru exchange phone numbers with her, then tells Haru to contact her if anything happens.
* Otoya does not claim the Advance Notice was from Shiena as both Haru and Tokaku already know that Otoya had sent it. She also does not knock Haru out using the flowers or lock Tokaku in the basement.
* In the botanical garden, Otoya does not bind and gag Haru or remove her clothing. She simply attacks Haru after telling her that beautiful things must die while they are still beautiful.

Chapter 13

* Tokaku doesn't call to find out where Otoya is; she simply goes to get Haru when it's time for dinner since she knew she was at the botanical garden.
* Otoya fights Tokaku using her scissors instead of hand saws.
* While hiding, Haru comes across a poisonous herb garden where she obtains the flowers she uses to render Otoya unconscious.

## Promotional Material

Riddle Story of Devil - Episode 3 Advertisement**(Uploaded: April 15, 2014)**
## Trivia

* **Commercial Insert Information:** *"**Myojo Private School Botanical Garden** - Under the purview of the college and a treasure trove of various plants, the GELSEMIUM ELEGANS is an evergreen shrub of the Gelsemiaceae family."*
* **Kaiba's After Credits Message:** *"It's said that a teacher's favorite student are not the ones who excel, but often the ones who struggle the most. However in the end, nothing tops competency! Yo, Tokaku, do you truly comprehend why you were enrolled in Class Black?"*
* The flowers put on Otoya's desk are called "mountain lilies", or "yamayuri" (山百合) in Japan. They are said to mean "joy of life", indicating Otoya's love for her serial killer life style, or possibly ironic as she kills people.

## References

1. ↑ 'lösen' can also mean 'solving' something, this makes the title a pun.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 **Anime News Network:** Funimation Reveals Riddle Story of Devil's English Dub Cast (September 23rd, 2015)
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 **anime2you.de:** Deutsche Synchronsprecher von »Akuma no Riddle” bekannt (April 3rd, 2015) (German)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 **Funimation:** Funimation Reveals More Riddle Story of Devil English Cast (September 24th, 2015)