Gramophone Turtle

Composer Form

From a Tumblr Ask.

Main Game Spoilers for: TWEWY, NTWEWY, TWEWY Animation.

I wonder if Joshua is supposed to be naked in Angel Composer form but we can't see it or we turn into dust.

Shorter musing: The SR says that "as the being in the Underground with the highest vibe, lesser Reapers are incapable of perceiving him". From that it sounds like adding or removing clothing probably wouldn't change that. Although, adding larger, more noticeable items like a cape or a tall hat might make him more noticeable, it might also make it more difficult to perceive the details due to the silhouette becoming more confusing. The Animation seems to show more clothing makes you more "intense" and therefore more visible, while the games point to the (suggestion of) clothing being optional.

It's probably already difficult to focus on a hazy/glaring/glowing smudgy figure, so the Composer might try to alter their form to make it easier for the person to perceive them.

Longer musings about the Angelic/Composer form, spoilers from TWEWY and NTWEWY:

In the game, one can infer clothing from the game sprite as if there's a front (half) of a jacket and a (dress) shirt. Then underneath the clothing you can make out the base human shape at times, like the arm and neck. The sprite is the same during the flashback in both the DS and FR versions.

The Composer and Megumi Kitaniji from The World Ends with You from the DS version. Kitaniji questions, End Shibuya? The Composer and Megumi Kitaniji from The World Ends with You: Final Remix version on the Switch. Kitaniji questions, End Shibuya?

(...He got taller between games? Did he put on platform shoes? Is he floating? Or did Kitaniji change his shoes? Mysteries!)

Then in the secret ending it points to "glowy humanoid form". In the FR, they redrew the front facing sprite. It's not just a larger and unblurred dissatisfied face like the DS game, but it's drawn in a similar way like how the legs and the back were in the DS (and Final Remix) versions. Although there's less or no clothes, it's still not quite...human. "Pieces" spike off the body more clearly and he's gained pointy shoulders.

Close of the Composer from The World End's with You Secret Ending. His body is glowing bright white and has a frown on his face. Close of the Composer from The World End's with You: Final Remix's Secret Ending. His body is glowing bright white and has a forced half smile on his face.
Back of the Composer and Hanekoma in The World Ends With You secret ending. Back of the Composer and Hanekoma in The World Ends With You secret ending.

The Animation points in the opposite direction of the game's secret ending. With Hanekoma, we can see the feet and pants still look well defined after he has reached full vibe frequency and takes off. In the flashback, even though he's a little blurry, you can tell the area around the ankles and feet are a little too wide to not be pants. Especially when you compare it to his arms, which are so thin you can almost see through them. If Joshua is wearing the same outfit as his downturned self, then the thinnest parts are his bare arms.

The Composer from The World Ends With You: the Animation, sitting on his throne in the Room of Reckoning. His glowing and blurry form obscures his identity and features. The Composer and Hanekoma from The World Ends With You: The Animation. Hanekoma watches the Composer rise up from the building.

Therefore, when the fiery Animation Angelic/Composer form has clothes, you have a better chance of seeing him. Hmm.

Definitely more in the game, we get a clearer picture of Joshua in the secret ending when Hanekoma is around. Since Hanekoma can perceive Joshua, so maybe we, through him, can see better as well. And perhaps Joshua doesn't need to obscure himself around those who know his true form. Those that can actually handle it.

There's also a potential orb form, but it could be the Universal Form For Changing Planes. In NEO we see a pillar of light when Hazuki presumably ascends up to a higher plane. Do pillars of light work just like orbs? Was the pillar just a fancy display to hide the orb form or is it a replacement or alternate method? Mysteries.

The Composer and Hanekoma rising up from the lower planes at the end of The World Ends With You secret ending. The are two balls of light, rising up into the clear blue sky. The Composer as a ball of light rising up from the top of the 104 building at the end of The World Ends With You: The Animation.
Rindo from NEO: The World Ends With You, covering his eyes from a bright column of light when Hazuki Mikagi leaves to presumably go back to a higher plane.

(Maybe good on Rindo for covering his eyes there. Hazuki was looking on the edge of being really bright for a second.)

If the Higher Plane has less physical, less defined forms, I like to imagine their forms less restricted and less expected to be human like. Want to be a cube? No problem. A floating Mr. Mew cat head? Done. It's just another way to express oneself. If you're going to be working with Reapers and Humans, then the Angel should be comfortable with a human body and follow enough human customs to blend in. If Angels can only come from humans ascending, then it can be a return to familiarity, comfort and/or nostalgia for some.

I like to view the sprites as a freeze frame as if their form is always shifting, pulsating, oscillating, glowing, especially with how it's drawn in the FR Secret Ending. This was one attempt, with just the aura shifting around, and here was a second attempt (eye strain warning) of the head and shoulders included, but that was mostly just playing with layer effects.

In summary, who the heck knows! It seems more clothing might make it easier for lower plane beings to see him. If there's not enough "layers" we might miss him if we're just on the verge of perceiving him. And I imagine if he's too bright, too "dense", he might be painful to look at. Thanks for the ask!