Yume Nikki:Yume Nikki (manga)

The manga's cover.

As one of Project Yume Nikki's works, an official manga was made for Yume Nikki. It was released exclusively online between the dates of May 20, 2013 and March 13, 2014, in English, Japanese, and Spanish. Made by Vocaloid musician and writer Machigerita and artist Hitoshi Tomizawa, known for his work on Alien Nine.

The story revolves around Madotsuki, who is the sixth in a line of dreamers who inhabit the collective dream world. Effects act as good memories that are scattered throughout the dreams of Madotsuki and other dreamers by Seccom Masada-sensei under the command of Mars-san. As Madotsuki eventually grows increasingly violent and becomes a threat to the dream world and its inhabitants, it is up to Poniko and Seccom Masada-sensei to stop her as the dream world collapses.

Plot

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Dream

The manga begins just like the start of the game, with Madotsuki standing alone in her room. She documents a recurring dream about her seeing a room full of doors beyond her bedroom, though she admits she has not traveled far enough to see what is beyond the doors. Eventually mustering enough courage to visit the Nexus again, she goes back to bed and exits her dream world to decide where to go. She decided to go through the Number World door, only to immediately flee and choose Forest World instead. Finding the world peaceful, Madotsuki walks around Forest World before coming across a gate, taking her to the Face Carpet Plaza. Startled by the sudden change, a lunatic Toriningen begins to chase her, though she makes it out safely. After escaping the plaza, she finds a frog which she picks up. She is initially interested in the frog before it leaps into her mouth, traveling down her throat and causing her to collapse. Upon getting up, Madotsuki attempts to pinch her cheek to wake up but finds that she is unable to after having transformed with the Frog effect.

Chapter 2: The Forest World

Madotsuki enters the Face Carpet Plaza.

Madotsuki continues to wander throughout Forest World, attempting to wake up by continuously pinching herself. She tries to find the way back to The Nexus but instead finds several Namekuji that she touches. The Namekuji tie themselves around Madotsuki’s body, leaking drool that almost completely covers Madotsuki before she dives for the Forest World exit, making it safely to the Nexus. She remains in her Frog form before her throat begins to greatly swell. Her normal face emerges from the swollen frog's throat as it dissolves into triangular particles, leaving behind a Frog effect egg with the Forest World frog inside. Now with the Frog effect gone, she pinches herself awake and goes to write her findings in her diary, only to be met with a strange message scrawled in her diary stating to "collect the effects". She is initially surprised and attempts to leave her room, though her door is locked, leaving her unable to leave. Madotsuki decides to play NASU for some time before eventually going back to sleep.

Chapter 3: Effects

Realizing that she must collect the effects, Madotsuki returns to The Nexus and wonders how to find them. She returns to the Frog effect egg and realizes the effects must be collected from normal objects in abnormal worlds. Madotsuki heads through the door to Block World, enjoying the landscape as the White Desert gate watches from above. After wandering for a bit, Madotsuki encounters the Hat & Scarf effect and takes it along with her back to The Nexus. The Hat & Scarf immediately turns into particles and morphs into another effect egg next to the Frog egg. Madotsuki continues the journey by heading for Puddle World, though is met with largely darkness. She flickers the light of a lamppost and finds the Umbrella effect, opening it up and causing it to rain. She immediately seeks shelter under a small tunnel, though she begins to question why she did not immediately head back for the world's door. Suddenly, a large hand tugs her through the tunnel, causing her to fall into the Dense Woods as she realizes it was a trap. Madotsuki investigates a Vending machine while realizing that the dream world has many doors that do not appear to be normal. She continues down the long road of the Dense Woods, hoping to go back to The Nexus. Eventually, she encounters a Jellyfish and reaches out to touch it, teleporting her to Shitai-san. Alarmed by the dead body, she reluctantly reaches out to it to see if it is a warp to another world. Instead, her body fades into particles and she is transformed into the Stoplight effect, causing her to fall onto her back. While lying back, Madotsuki begins to wonder how large the dream world may be and if she is truly able to collect all of the effects.

Chapter 4: Global Search

Madotsuki (with the Frog effect) riding the balloon to Poniko's house.

Madotsuki continues to run through the Dense Woods, this time on the Infinite Road inhabited by Floyag. She realizes she has looped back to Shitai-san and lies back down on the ground in frustration, wondering how to get rid of the Stoplight effect. She turns and suddenly notices a disc on the floor with an umbrella symbol. She steps on the disc, instantly giving her the Umbrella effect. She spots another disc and steps on it, transforming her back into a stoplight. Now realizing how to swap her effects, she returns to normal and pinches herself awake, realizing that her task may be easier now that she knows how the effects are controlled. She falls asleep again and returns to The Nexus before realizing the Umbrella and Stoplight discs have vanished. She also finds that the design on her shirt has changed to resemble a window with an eye on it, now rumbling on her outfit. The design opens up like a box, revealing the effect discs to Madotsuki. She stores the discs inside of her clothing design, as well as takes back the Hat & Scarf and Frog effects, before heading into Snow World. Upon entering the freezing world, Madotsuki equips the Hat & Scarf effect, comforted by its warmness. She passed a friendly Toriningen while thinking of the effects as friends. Spotting an igloo, she rushes over to it and finds a small puddle inside. A large hand reaches from the puddle and drags her in, taking her to an island in the Pink Sea. Madotsuki is initially discouraged after not finding the effect in Snow World, though she instead spots a balloon on another island. Using the Frog effect, she swims across the sea and grabs the balloon, taking her to a larger island in the Pink Sea. The balloon descends as Madotsuki thanks it, now switching from the Frog effect to the Umbrella effect as she enters a larger building made of coral. Inside, she is surprised at the sight of a seemingly normal person: Poniko.

Chapter 5: Anger

Wondering if Poniko will be her friend, Madotsuki looks around, complimenting Poniko's cute room and clothes. She attempts to speak to Poniko, though she suddenly transforms into Uboa in front of her. The room completely changes as Uboa snatches Madotsuki's umbrella from her hands. She demands it back, though Uboa hits her over the head with it before proceeding to beat her with the umbrella. With Madotsuki beaten and on the floor, Uboa reaches out with its mouth and surrounds Madotsuki's head while reaching out a hand into her shirt design. The design opens as Uboa steals the effect discs. Madotsuki once again asks for the effect back, though Uboa reaches out to her with a large hand, smothering her face until she sinks through the floor. Madotsuki sinks through the floor of Poniko's room, falling into a goo-like substance in Uboa's Trap. She immediately wakes up to escape the trap, traumatized by the event. In anger, she stabs her pen through her dream diary and exacts to kill Uboa. Madotsuki returns to The Nexus in search of a weapon. She decides between the doors to Eyeball World and Shield-Folk World before feeling that the door to Dark World is special. She enters into the darkness and searches, eventually finding and collecting the Knife effect. While Madotsuki heads back for The Nexus, the ink from her pen begins to flow out onto the diary. As she enters The Nexus, the ink spurts and Madotsuki begins to lose her thoughts, forgetting what room Uboa was in and eventually forgetting that she is inside the dream world. The ink from Madotsuki's pen begins to leak onto the pages of the diary, then onto the desk, and finally overflowing onto the room's floor as the words "Help me stop her from waking" appear in the diary.

Chapter 6: Confusion

Masada finds Madotsuki slaughtering the Nopperabou Witches.

The ink from the dream diary continues to overflow, forming a large puddle on the floor that begins to bubble and morph. A figure begins to form from the ink, manifesting into Seccom Masada-sensei. Finding the pen stabbed into the diary, Masada neatly arranges the pen back next to the diary before looking over at Madotsuki, stuck in the dream world. Masada enters the bed with Madotsuki, falling asleep alongside her to enter the dream world and pursue her. Upon entering the Nexus, Masada finds it ruined and in disarray. Masada reaches into his chest, pulling out an effect tab that summons an organ that he plays to summon a large Paracas figure from the Nexus. He asks them where Madotsuki went before they point to the Eyeball World door. Masada pulls another effect from his chest, this time a knife, which he uses to stab the Eyeball World’s door while remembering various other girls who became lost in the dream world, them being Monoko, Monoe, Kamakurako, and Mafurako. Masada eventually travels to Witch’s Island where many of the dream world’s aspects, characters, and structures have been strewn about the trees as the dream world collapses. Along the boardwalk of the island, many dead Nopperabou Witches can be seen, slowly revealing that Madotsuki is the one killing them. Madotsuki turns to face Masada, now with her face contorted to resemble Uboa. Now confronted with Masada, she realizes that he was the one to lock her in her room. Meanwhile, in the Nexus, Poniko jumps from one of the doors and pulls out the effects she stole from Madotsuki as Uboa, realizing that now is the time to escape the dream world.

Chapter 7: Mood Change

Deep within Mars, Mars-san keeps watch of a machine as it begins to overheat and burn before announcing that a system failure is imminent due to the dream world's collapse. In the Nexus, Poniko uses her stolen effects to form a set of stairs, which she uses to reach the floating door to Madotsuki’s Room. Meanwhile, on the Witch’s Island, Madotsuki dumps one of the Nopperabou Witch's bodies into the water, which begins to froth and bubble into a foamy, white liquid. She approaches Masada with the Knife, suddenly lunging as Masada keeps her back with his hand. He notices a lump growing from Madotsuki’s ear, which begins to grow and morph around Madotsuki’s body. Masada recalls a similar occurrence with Poniko, which caused her to have her Uboa form. Seeing the lump and not wanting another Uboa to form, Masada uses his knife to cut the boardwalk to isolate Madotsuki before attempting to stab Madotsuki, only to be impaled by an umbrella. Masada awakens and it is revealed that Poniko, as Uboa, was the one who stabbed Masada with the umbrella. The lump forming around Madotsuki slowly cracks away as she returns to normal, no longer resembling Uboa. She pinches her cheek to wake up, revisiting the strange message left in her diary.

Chapter 8: Give and Take

Madotsuki returning to a Nexus in ruin.

Uboa confronts Masada in Madotsuki’s Room. Masada questions how Poniko was able to reach him before she reveals it was by using various effects. Realizing her rogue nature and the fact that Poniko was able to begin collecting effects, Masada realizes she is much more of a threat. Uboa demands that Masada obey them, to which Masada refuses, only to once again be stabbed with the umbrella. Uboa decides they will go to see Masada’s “boss” about the collapsing dream world as they transform back into Poniko, continuing to violently attack Masada with the umbrella before decapitating him and carrying his still-sentient head with her. In Madotsuki’s Room, Madotsuki reencounters the message written in her diary and replies to it by writing below it. She writes that she prefers to continue cutting, causing a disturbance as Mars-san questions the response. Poniko, carrying Masada's head, talks to him and reveals that she made the giant hand traps leading to the Dense Woods and the Pink Sea to kill time. Masada realizes that Poniko is much more intelligent than once thought and realizes he failed to properly hide the effects to keep Poniko isolated. Inside the ruined Nexus, the gate from the Forest World appears as entities spill out into the Nexus. Arms, Zippertiles, and lunatic Toriningen fill the Nexus, attempting to fix it and deeming Madotsuki a dream destroyer due to her violent nature. Madotsuki simply spins in her chair and writes again in her diary, asking where the exit to her room is. Realizing Mars-san will not respond, she heads back to sleep and returns to a ruined Nexus now filled with dream world denizens. She begins stabbing the Wheelies to satisfy her violent intentions, only to be caught by a Toriningen that sends her to Hell. Madotsuki, however, simply wakes up and returns to sleep, reentering the Nexus and continuing her killing spree. Poniko and Masada reach the end of the Staircase of Hands and extinguish the flames in Underground World, passing by a Mouth Monster in the process. Poniko confronts Mars-san, Masada’s boss. Mars-san decides to grant Poniko the ability to start over her life in the dream, though only in exchange for terminating the violent Madotsuki.

Chapter 9: Entertainer

The creature made of bad memories forms to destroy the Nexus.

Mars-san hurries Poniko to kill Madotsuki, revealing the latter is the “sixth” in the line of dreamers. Masada’s decapitated head is transformed into a knife as Masada appears now as a window design on Poniko’s shirt, similar to Madotsuki’s design. Overseeing her mission, Mars-san watches as Poniko goes to confront Madotsuki. Poniko appears on Madotsuki’s balcony, approaching Madotsuki asleep in her bed. Masada hurries Poniko, urging her to kill Madotsuki before she continues killing the dream world’s inhabitants. However, Poniko refuses Masada’s order and instead stabs the dream diary on Madotsuki’s desk, much to Masada’s disbelief. Masada yells at Poniko, pleading for her to stop due to the collapse of the dream world, and questions why she would put the dream world at risk. Poniko reveals that she wants to go back to the real world, though not in the way Masada and his dream system intended. She wanted to remain herself while returning to the real world, without following Masada and Mars-san's system of reliving trauma through dreams while collecting effects. As Poniko reveals her plan, a large goopy monster emerges from Madotsuki’s window design forming into a gigantic monster resembling a Henkei Shita, intent on devouring the dream world.

Masada panics at Poniko’s choices, stating that the evil creature just unleashed will destroy and devour the dream world. Poniko simply pulls Masada’s head out of her shirt design and tells him to shut up. She reveals she still has all of the effects due to the dream world being a collective dream. Poniko must simply leave the effects in the Nexus in order for the stairs to the exit of the dream to appear. As soon as Poniko opens the door to Madotsuki’s Room, the Henkei Shita-like creature notices her and attacks, grabbing her and causing both the effect tabs and Masada’s head to fling back into Madotsuki’s room. The creature attacking Poniko is revealed to still retain Madotsuki’s memories, as it clearly remembers Poniko beating Madotsuki as Uboa. As revenge, the creature consumes Poniko and continues on its rampage. Masada sees the effects scattered on the ground and stumbles on what to do before remembering that the effects are actually good memories, which will combat the bad memories manifesting into the creature devouring the Nexus. Masada flops onto one of the effects, transforming with the Stoplight effect and regaining his legs. He runs over to the door to confront the Nexus-destroying creature and kicks the effect tabs into its mouth, causing it to eat them up. The creature suddenly puckers its face as it regains Madotsuki’s other memories. The bad memories, disgusted by all of Madotsuki’s other previous memories, pinches its cheek and explodes into a mass of particles, leaving all of the effects to fall into the Nexus, transforming into effect eggs as they land. The Stoplight effect fades away from Masada and his disembodied head lies in Madotsuki's Room as the door closes. Madotsuki suddenly awakens from her dream and looks over to see Masada’s head, startling her. Masada reassures her that she is still dreaming and that something has occurred on her balcony. Madotsuki gets out of bed and goes outside to see a set of stairs leading over the railing has appeared on her balcony. She steps up to the stairs and stands at the top, ready to leave her dream behind.

Reception

In the time that it has been released, the manga has received overall criticism from fans, although there are some that feel it is a great reimagining of the original game. Most of the fans criticize it for various reasons, particularly the new story. In the manga, an entirely new plot and backstory are revealed, though this is never shown in the original game, in which things were left to the player's interpretation. The presence of character dialogue also heavily contrasts the source material, which almost never uses text. There are also mixed opinions on the manga's art style, as some seem to dislike the interpretations of some of the game's sprites while others enjoy the detailed interpretations of the dream world's environments shown in the manga (such as the Nexus and Dense Woods).

Trivia

Madotsuki's apartment uses a 3D model similar to the one that appeared in the music video for Yume Nikki no Tame no Waltz, a song by Machigerita, the writer of the manga.
The buckles on Madotsuki's shoes change through the manga. Their shape occasionally foreshadows events she experiences in the story:
- She first starts off with buckles resembling a frog's head, which foreshadows her obtaining the Frog effect in Forest World.
- After seeing the message mysteriously written in her diary, the buckles change to resemble Poniko's head, foreshadowing her visiting the Pink Sea and Poniko's house.
- Upon entering Poniko's room, the buckles change to resemble a knife, foreshadowing her obtaining the Knife effect in Dark World.
- Before entering the Dark World door in the Nexus, the buckles change to resemble her head and pigtails.
- Upon confronting Masada on Witch's Island, the buckles finally change to resemble her dream diary, possibly foreshadowing its destruction by Poniko.