Routes

Routes

Music Route

Manga Route

Novel Route

Anime Route

Kagerou Project consists of many Routes (ルート Rūto) (i.e. timelines) that feature alternative plots, endings, and in some cases, beginnings. Each Route starts with Azami's beginning and ends with Marry, following the deaths of her friends by the Snake of Clearing Eyes, rewinding the world back to its starting point, after which the next Route starts.

According to Jin, the story has an established backstory which segues into the Music Route, then to the Manga Route, followed by the Novel Route. The second Route depicted in the manga ("Manga Route 2") has been shown to have taken place before the Music Route. Kagerou Daze -in a day's- is set at an unclear point, though it is after Manga Route 2 due to Shintaro having his eye ability. It is noted that there is an uncounted number of Routes besides the ones shown. Mekakucity Actors is the final Route of the series.

Backstory

Portions of the Kagerou Project backstory are meant to be mostly consistent (Manga Route 2 partially differs) throughout the routes. Several songs are included:

xx.xx. (Unknown Month/Day) -xxx (Unknown) Years Before Present

• Azami comes to existence and creates the Snake of Clearing Eyes and the Snake of Combining Eyes.
  • The Snake of Combining Eyes creates the world as a setting where Azami can learn about herself.
• Azami creates the Snakes of Awakening Eyes and Stealing Eyes to have a physical body and to understand other living beings, respectively.
• Azami explores the world and comes in contact with humans, creating the rest of her snakes (excluding the Snake of Favoring Eyes).
• Azami uses Drawing Eyes and Focusing Eyes to find a spot in a forest in Japan where she can stay away from humans forever.
• Azami meets and falls in love with Tsukihiko, who creates a cottage for her in the forest, and gives birth to Shion. She then creates the Snake of Favoring Eyes.
• The Snake of Clearing Eyes gains sentience and advises Azami how to create the Kagerou Daze so that she can live there with her family forever.
• After humans attack her family, Azami enters the Kagerou Daze by herself.
  • Shinigami Record
• Tsukihiko dies, possibly from old age.

xx.xx. -1xx Years

• Shion, who still lives in Azami's cottage, gives birth to Marry. While raising her, she forbids Marry from going outside.
  • Gunjou Rain (visually depicted in an extra chapter).
• Marry's father dies.

08.15. -1xx Years

• Marry and Shion are killed by humans, and, in an attempt to save them, Azami orders the Kagerou Daze to swallow them.
• Azami gives Marry the Snake of Combining Eyes to act as a surrogate life, and Marry returns to the real world.
• Azami can no longer control the Kagerou Daze, which will now continue her order to swallow people that die on August 15th.

xx.xx. -5 to 15 Years

• In their separate backstories, Kido, Seto, Kano, and Momo enter the Kagerou Daze and receive their snakes.
• Kido, Seto and Kano end up in the same orphanage and become friends.
• Kido, Seto, and Kano are taken in as foster children by Ayaka and Kenjirou Tateyama.
• Ayano forms the Mekakushi Dan to help Kido, Seto, and Kano feel better about their eye abilities.
• Seto finds Marry in her cottage and becomes her first friend.
  • Kuusou Forest
  • Shounen Brave
• Hibiya and Hiyori befriend each other as small children.

Music Route (Music)

Main page: Music Route

Manga Route (Kagerou Daze)

Kagerou Daze features the Manga Route, at the end of which the Snake of Retaining Eyes tells Shintaro the events of another Route. To separate the two Routes, some call the main Manga Route "Manga Route 1" and the Route told by the Snake of Retaining Eyes "Manga Route 2".

Main page: Manga Route

Novel Route (Kagerou Daze)

Main page: Novel Route

Anime Route (Mekakucity Actors)

Main page: Anime Route

Other Routes

Route XX

Route XX is shown in Losstime Memory and follows Shintaro in a black hoodie in events that occur in the Music Route, according to official timeline guides. In Route XX, Shintaro remains depressed in his home with Ene, who is shown in the outfit she wears in Jinzou Enemy. On August 15th, after dreaming of Ayano (possibly the Snake of Retaining Eyes) and being woken up by Ene, he kills Ene and then commits suicide by stabbing himself in the throat with red scissors. In the Kagerou Daze, he briefly meets Azami and then Ayano, but he is incapable of moving forward and begs her not to leave him. The Losstime Memory MV ends Route XX with Shintaro shown laying awake in his bed.

Route 1

Depicted in Losstime Memory, Route 1 follows Shintaro in a red jersey leaving his house on August 15th and going to the Mekakushi Dan's hideout to meet them. He briefly hears Ayano (possibly the Snake of Retaining Eyes) calling out to him and turns towards her direction, but he does not see anything. Later, the Mekakushi Dan observes the Snake of Clearing Eyes taking over Konoha's body. Konoha, briefly gaining control, puts a gun to his own head, but Shintaro pushes him and takes the shot instead, dying instantly. In the Kagerou Daze, he walks past Azami and confronts Ayano with a smile. Ayano smiles back and gives him her scarf, and his eye ability activates.

Kagerou Daze -in a day's- Route

It's unclear when this route takes place, though likely after Manga Route 2 due to Shintaro having his eye ability. Sidu said this route has a sequel called "route-2", but did not go into detail. Besides character design changes, this is an alternate version of the terrorist plot. There is notably a member of the terrorist group that has an eye ability, which Shintaro noticed. He and the Dan mistook the leader as having the eye ability, but after the incident he realized it was someone else. A bomb goes off in the building at the end of the movie, leaving what happens unclear.

the old days/my little daze Route

Depicted in the Drama CD and booklet accompanying, respectively, Limited Editions A and B of the daze days album. In this route, Ayano spaces out during the opening ceremony of her second year of middle school, earning a scolding from her teacher. During their conversation, Shintaro's mom calls the teacher, apologizing for Shintaro's absence from the ceremony. Ayano's teacher tells her about how Shintaro is incredibly smart, but as a consequence he sees no value in human contact and isolates himself, thus having no friends. Ayano requests her teacher to be assigned a seat by Shintaro's side, in an attempt to befriend him. About a month later, Ayano was unsuccessful in approaching Shintaro, and due to having done badly in her midterms, she is given extra assignments by her teacher. Ayano decides to stay at school to work on them, but ends up falling asleep. Meanwhile, Shintaro has forgotten his wallet at school, and so he returns there in the evening. Once he reaches the classroom, Shintaro is scared by Ayano, who then takes the opportunity to formally introduce herself to him. Ayano asks for Shintaro's help with her assignment, to which he reluctantly agrees. While helping her, Ayano commends Shintaro for his academic prowess, claiming he must study a lot. He reveals that, in truth, he can memorize anything once he sees it once, both for good and for bad. Ayano assures him that she will help him make good memories from that point on. They leave the school building together and head home. At the ending scene, the Snake of Retaining Eyes talks to Shintaro as the timeline is about to end. She assures him that she'll always be in his heart, and makes him promise that they'll say "long time no see" next time they see each other again.

Post-Good End

Eventually, the Snake of Clearing Eyes is defeated, with the Mekakushi Dan (besides Konoha) and Haruka surviving. This outcome is currently only shown in Mekakucity Actors' Route and in the ending theme Summertime Record. It is shown in Mekakucity Actors and in the post-Summertime Record chapter Lost Day Hour that Ayano and Hiyori survive as well. Jin has expressed interest in writing about a "new Mekakushi Dan" in the future. In a November 28, 2018 interview he said he wants the next story to be about a "future saga" and is currently experimenting on a new light novel and might do a new manga series as well.

Manga

• Lost Day Hour

Music

• Shissou Word (partially)
• Lost Day Hour
• Remind Blue

Kagerou Daze No.9

A spin-off set 3 years later titled Kagerou Daze No.9, was announced on June 8, 2019. It also consists of Music, Manga, Anime, and Light Novels, with one currently being written.The anime was originally planned screened in January 2020, but has since been indefinitely delayed.

Images

Timeline guide from daze/days (2014).

Newest timeline guide from the Kagerou Project Perfect Guide (2016).