NEO: The World Ends With You cannot be called an unfashionable game. The characters are decked out in cool outfits and different types of clothes serve as your characters' equipment, providing them with important stats and neat abilities.
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As a result, branding is a huge part of the game and interacts in a significant way with the combat system and the Social Network feature. There are fifteen brands in the game – some of them returning from the original – and they all have very different aesthetics. Fashion is subjective, but it's interesting to imagine how popular these brands would be in the real world.
Croaky Panic
Croaky panic is not exactly trying to be fashionable with its wares. It's ostensibly a costume shop that has managed to build up quite a bit of brand recognition for itself. One look at the vibrant and joyous shopkeeper should tell you all you need to know.
Croaky Panic's pins are quite nice though. They all have a cartoony aesthetic that often features frogs and kappas and look quite like cute children's drawings.
Black Honey Chili Cookie
Black Honey Chili Cookie is so reviled that even the game throws shade at it. Every single article of clothing is described as sweet, spicy, and rancid. They're rock bottom of the Threads section of the Collection and the brand doesn't even have any Pins to collect.
Some of the pieces are nice enough – the B.H.C.C. T-Shirt is perfectly serviceable if a bit dated. That said, a feathered Panama hat and fur-trimmed shoes are two massive no-nos.
Cony x Cony
This brand is definitely a "love it or hate it" situation. Cony x Cony appeals to the gothic lolita crowd and it shows – there are frills and ruffles and enough belts to satiate Tetsuya Nomura. The clothes might be grand for some extravagant cosplay, but their mainstream appeal is rather lacking.
Cony x Cony's Pin collection is really stylish, however – it's full of gothic bunnies and ice-theming. The Pins certainly wouldn't look out of place adorning the backpack of an ex-goth, placed in the memory of the days when that sort of thing was actually fashionable.
Natural Puppy
Natural Puppy's brand seems to be "cute yet functional" as it's full of pretty standard and non-controversial pieces. They sell clothes made to be versatile and flexible, as evidenced by many of their descriptions recommending potential outfit pairings.
Their Pins also follow the same theme. They're quite easy to fit into any Pin Deck thanks to the spammable nature of their Rapid-tap Beams and Launchers. The Pins themselves are also really pleasing to the eye, with lovely pastels and some penguins here and there.
RyuGu
RyuGu's aesthetic is very obviously inspired by traditional eastern fashions and aims for an air of elegance. They accomplish this well, with stylish kimonos and very pretty accessories. Something they love to do is mixing vivid patterns with swathes of block colors, which looks really nice.
As you'd expect from a brand with "Ryu" in the name, their Pins feature dragons a lot. They're drawn in a style evoking traditional Japanese art and accompany other appropriate motifs such as butterflies and flowers, which reinforces the elegance of the brand.
Top o' Topo
Cute is the word of the day when it comes to Top o' Topo. It's a brand of summery clothes in pastel colors that look exceedingly comfortable and bright. They have a rather small collection at the moment, but their Topo Hat steals the show as a mascot hat that manages to look understated enough to wear in public.
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Their Pins, however, do not match up with their overall aesthetic. Some of their Pins feature adorable mice and attractive, stylized household objects like clocks, but others are emblazoned with vials of poison and actual bombs. It's something of a clash of tastes.
Joli Bécot
Joli bécot is a very modern brand full of contemporary fashions. It sells chic, feminine accessories and bold pieces that exude glamour, such as their Marble Jeans and Trendy Two-Piece. People shopping here would probably be looking for great outfits to wear on a night out with friends – it's that sort of vibe.
Their Pins are one of the most striking sets in the game – full of electric purples and greens and featuring powerful motifs such as rampaging bulls, nightclubs, and cocktails. The fact that one of their Pins is named Bad Romance might tell you all you need to know.
Hog Fang
Hog Fang is an interesting brand that embraces all things American and adapts them into retro fashions. From the Flannel Shirt to the letterman jackets, the brand exudes a "high-school movie from 2005" air that is somehow quite captivating. Notable pieces include their Patched-up Sneakers and cool Retroesque Boombox.
You don't get bolder than Hog Fang's Pins, however. Apart from the predictable warthog-themed Pins, the collection leans in on the American angle in a big way that almost feel stereotypical – there are Pins referencing space flight, roadside diners, and American football.
Shepherd House
The shop name "Simple and Clean" really exemplifies what this brand is about (and is a neat Kingdom Hearts reference). Shepherd House is all about clean, simple designs that manage to be attractive to the eye. Some of their pieces feature their signature pop of red and their Sheepy T-Shirt would undoubtedly be a popular one in the real world.
Their Pin collection is also really well-themed. Each Pin features their mascot sheep in a huge variety of different situations, and they all have a lovely art style with clean lines and bright colors.
Tigre Punks
The quintessential choice for any would-be punk. Tigre Punks returns from the original game with its extremely bold fashion choices full of belts, leather, and metal studs. Their merchandise with red plaid is particularly eye-catching and would make great statement pieces.
A full Tigre Punks Pin collection is a mess of yellow, red, and black art evoking images of tigers and their vicious claws. This brand is one where the Pins really match the clothing and wouldn't look out place paired together.
Garagara
Avoiding the word "hippy" when it's time to talk about garagara is a mistake. This brand is for the most chill, coolest hippies and it's unashamed. The clothes are gorgeous examples of comfort that relax even the eyes, with their muted shades of brown and blue marked by striking yet understated designs.
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Their Pins draw on nature for their artwork, with various animals on show and a remarkable Pin emblazoned with psychedelic-looking mushrooms. This is another brand where their Pins really match the aesthetic of their fashion.
Il Cavallo Del Re
Replacing the original game's Pegaso as the current "overly expensive yet powerful" brand, Il Cavallo Del Re is the definition of a high-end premium fashion house. This is the place to go for your formalwear – their suits are snappy, their dresses are gorgeous, and their perfume is expensive.
This brand's Pin collection seems to be themed around natural disasters, and this makes sense as you'd probably need a huge insurance payout to be able to afford any of their clothes. That said, the Pins have a cool pixelated quality that unites them in aesthetic.
Monocrow
The pun in this brand's name should be immediately obvious. This brand's "thing" is monochromatic designs and it does them really well. Their range has a lot of sportswear but even those items manage to look suitably fashionable with block patterns and a blend of tight-fitting and loose fabric.
Monocrow's Pin range is very striking. Their art features lots of geometric shapes and their designs are usually themed after crows or some sort of chemistry that seems reminiscent of Breaking Bad.
Jupiter Of The Monkey
This brand is an absolute classic returning from the original game where it was Neku's shop of choice. They keep up their aesthetic well, still committed to purple, orange, and white as their color palette and putting out comfortable, casual designs.
Pin-wise this brand has exquisite taste. Every individual Pin looks extremely different but when the collection is put together the similar colors and abstract shapes make it a very cohesive collection that anyone would want.
Gatto Nero
It looks like Shiki from the first game followed her dream and created her own brand with Mr. Mew at the forefront of the branding. Gatto Nero ("Black Cat" in Italian) had predominantly black clothing with splashes of color here and there – but never enough to let you mistake them for any other brand. They also use Mr. Mew a lot in their accessories, which is a lovely touch.
Gatto Nero's Pins are surprisingly colorful. They're full of psychedelic designs that often incorporate the iconic mascot. The Black Cat range of Pins is hard to acquire but is possibly the nicest looking set of Pin designs in the entire game.
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