Brody
"Some days you're better off staying in bed."
The main protagonist. He's a slacker who spends most of his time playing street music for money, working odd jobs, hanging out with his
Only Friend Gabriel, and mourning over his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. After winning a staring contest while out playing music for money, he gets the shock of his life when his opponent leaves her van via the roof.
- Be Yourself: Deconstructed. Kagemura demands that Brody destroy all but his most essential belongings so he can focus on his training, to which Brody refuses, citing that Kagemura is trying to change who he is. Given that at this point, Brody has proven to be an out-of-shape slacker who let one break-up ruin his life, Talia rightly points out that he needs to change who he is because who he currently is is not good.
- Character Development: From a depressed, lazy bum to a Badass Occult Detective.
- Character Narrator: He narrates the series with the same tired cynicism as classic Noir detectives.
- Classical Anti-Hero: Despite his cynical quips and rage issues, Brody is a good-hearted guy who, especially early on, was terrible at fights and easily freaked out, as well as being depressed and self-loathing over a bad breakup. He slowly gets better as time passes.
- Domestic Abuse: Although he never physically hit Nicole, his Hair-Trigger Temper, destroying objects, and obvious off-panel verbal abuse causes Nicole to break up with him.
- Fatal Flaw:
- Pride. His decision to stand up to the L47s and confront Landon end up being life-threateningly stupid. He knows it's stupid, he's told they're stupid, but he does it anyway because the idea of letting them walk all over him infuriates him to no end.
- Speaking of infuriating, Rage is the other half of his Flaw, seeing how his worst mistakes in his love life, the Penny Murderer case, and even just getting through the day stem from losing his temper at the worst possible moment.
- Formerly Fat: Before his training, he had a noticeable gut.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: Whenever he cuts his hair, gets a shave, and wears decent clothes, Brody transforms into an upstanding-looking young man.
- Heroic Build: Not at first, but he gets there under Kagemura's tutelage.
- Homeless Hero: He's stuck in a one-room flat in god knows where, and often resorts to begging and odd jobs to make ends meet. Thanks to Landon, he doesn't even have that by the end. Though Nicole and Gabe seem to be helping him out of it.
- Hot-Blooded: Double Subverted. He claims this, but Talia notes that he seems pretty chill for the most part and content with doing his own thing. Later we see that he can get fired up if under enough stress. It's deconstructed, because most of his worst mistakes in his love life, the Penny Murderer case, and even just getting through the day stem from losing his temper at the worst possible moment. His decision to confront Landon after he vandalized Brody's apartment is probably the biggest example.
- Irony: When Brody first learns that the Penny Murderer will kill Nicole during the incoming rainy night, Talia suggests trailing Nicole until the Penny Murderer shows up. The problem is, Brody has been stalking Nicole since he first learned that she is the Penny Murderer's next target, ultimately leading Brody to be seen as a dangerous stalker and being forced to go on the run by Nicole's new mobster boyfriend, Landon. All this makes tailing Nicole out of the question at the moment it would've been the most helpful.
- It Meant Something to Me: While many characters point out how his obsession with Nicole is unhealthy, especially when he ends up being seen as a Stalker with a Crush by both Nicole and Landon, he does truly cherish their past relationship, is regretful of chasing her away due to his temper problems, never blaming her for having any part in their breakup, and is willing to drag himself hell and back to make sure she's safe.
- Mysterious Past: Besides his relationship with Nicole and the reason for their breakup, the miniseries don't further give details of Brody's life.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His stalking of Nicole (even if it's to save her life) not only gets him nowhere with the Penny Murderer case, but it draws the ire of her mob boyfriend, making his job more difficult than it needed to be. Attacking Landon for vandalizing his apartment just makes things worse.
- Not Good with Rejection: He never goes Yandere for Nicole, but his response to their six-month breakup is letting his apartment become a pigsty, reducing himself to begging and odd jobs to survive, and desperately spending whatever money he can scrounge up in a vain attempt to reconnect with her. It's not until his training with Kagemura that he's willing to move on.
- Occult Detective: A variation. He uses his supernatural abilities in his work, but the case he ends up dealing with is a Serial Killer case grounded in reality.
- Psychic Powers: He possesses these that not only allow him to see dead spirits but are also capable of levitating objects, seeing past events, and reading minds.
- Stalker with a Crush: Averted towards Nicole, as it's done in spite of his feelings for her. He does care for her, and he is stalking her, but it's to protect her from the Penny Murderer. Nicole, unfortunately, believes him to be a straight example, with dire consequences.
- The Un-Reveal: Invoked by himself in the narrative in his attempt to reconnect with Nicole in the first volume. He saves the readers the drama by summing it up as "the two of them saying some things until he says some stupid things and blew it in a very bad, very ugly, and very irreversible way". Going by the visuals, Brody starts to have a Rage Breaking Point when Nicole refuses to get back together and was practically throwing a temper tantrum to the point that he was needed to be carried out by the security guards, and toss near the dumpster.
- Took a Level in Badass: From the first volume on, he goes from having the body of a potbellied scarecrow to being totally ripped and able to take on multiple opponents in a fight. This is due to Kagemura's intense training.
Talia
"So let's get on with this. I'm Talia. I've been dead for about five years now. Leukemia. Very depressing story. Don't make me go into it. All you need to know is this. I'm locked out of heaven. They say I can't move on to the afterlife until I've done, like... a super good deed. A 'life task' they call it."
The titular ghost, Talia's a spectre stuck on Earth until she can complete her life task - bring the Penny Murderer to justice. Since she can't interact with anything beyond breaking glass, she ropes Brody into her investigation of the
Serial Killer.
- Beneath the Mask: There are hints beforehand, but there's more to Talia than her snarkiness. She's had to watch her father die of leukemia, witness her mother go insane in her absence, and watch herself get choked to death in an Out Of Body Experience. Her Stepford Snarker persona hides a soul of rage and regret over her life being cut short.
- Deadpan Snarker: Engages in this frequently, especially early on in her relationship with Brody.
- Ghostly Goals: She can't get into Heaven unless she does a "super good deed". She can actually go anytime she wants to, but what she wants is to see her murderer choked to death at Brody's hands.
- Intangible Man: She's a ghost, so aside from breaking windows she can only phase through things. This is the reason why she wants Brody to help her nab the murderer.
- It's Personal: Averted with the Penny Murderer. As much as she loathes him, she doesn't like thinking about the injustice of him living at the expense of his victims, as those thoughts lead down some dark paths. It's actually played straight. As his first victim, Talia's been itching to make him pay from the moment she realised she was a ghost.
- The Unapologetic: There are two instances in the series where she should have apologized, yet didn't do it. The first was for lying to Brody about how she died, after which she can't form the actual words and only says that it was wrong of her to do. The second was at the climax, after admitting that her revenge scheme has led to Brody's life going down the drain. She outright states that this isn't an apology, since he could have refused her any time he wanted...before indirectly asking for his forgiveness.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: By kindly picking up and returning a penny she saw someone drop, Talia inspired a series of murders by the man who witnessed her do it, who wanted to "protect" pure-of-heart women like her.
- Picked Flowers Are Dead: She relates to Brody how there was a vase of flowers in her hospital room when she was dying of leukemia, and she cries as she recalls wondering why people did that, putting them in water as if it was going to keep the flowers from dying. It's clear she's thinking of it in the context of life support. Although she never had leukemia, we later learn that the story is true—her father died of leukemia and had a vase of flowers by his bed.
- Stepford Smiler: A bit of Type 1 and 3. Her optimism hides a woman with a large amount of bitterness over her past life. When in the presence of the Penny Murderer, or when provoked by Brody, the Tranquil Fury she engages in is frightening.
Kagemura
"The training begins at dawn."
A site spectre - a ghost stuck to one specific location - who Talia asks for help in awakening Brody's supernatural talents. He resides in the dilapidated remains of a Shinto shrine.
- Brutal Honesty: He's not one for sugarcoating things, bluntly stating that the training Brody will have to go through will likely kill him, given his piss-poor physique at the time.
- Good is Not Nice: He's got good intentions, but he's rarely straightforward or nice about them, and his focus on the bigger picture makes him unsympathetic to Talia or Brody's concerns.
- Grumpy Old Man: A curmudgeonly, wizened samurai from Feudal Japan, sticking around as a ghost in the near future.
- Knight in Sour Armour: He has a cynical view of the world that Brody lives in, but still intends to train Brody to help people.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He makes it extremely clear he couldn't give a damn about the Penny Murderer, but as he points out to Talia, men like the Penny Murderer are barely a drop in the bucket of problems the world suffers from. He sure isn't going to train Brody just to nab one Serial Killer when he could accomplish much more with his powers.
- Mr. Exposition: His role in the comic is relegated to training Brody and explaining everything he needs to know about his psychic powers.
- My Greatest Failure: Turns out, he was a ghost seer much like Brody, and was in a position where he could have done a lot of good for his people. Unfortunately, he failed, his people were scattered and broken, and he's been swimming in regret since.
- My Greatest Second Chance: His own failures are why he's even considering tutoring Brody on the subject of awakening his powers.
- Sickly Green Glow: The comic is black and white, but whenever he's shown in color on the covers, the ghostly Kagemura has a green tint to him.
Gabriel
"Brody, I'm a cop. I can't explain half of what I see on a daily basis."
Brody's only friend before he met Talia. He works as a cop and provides some aid for Brody over the course of the story.
- By-the-Book Cop: For the most part, Gabe refuses to do any dirty dealings and instead stays on the right sight of laws and regulations. He does allow Brody to sneak into police headquarters, but it was to help prevent another murder.
- The Last DJ: He's one of the last honest cops in the city, to his unending frustration. He refuses to put himself in the mob's pocket despite knowing how well it pays.
- Only Friend: Probably Brody's remaining contact with human society after his break up and before he meets Talia. He remains a good friend to Brody for the entirety of the series.
- Only Sane Man: He's one of the few well-adjusted people in the series.
- Undying Loyalty: To Brody. After learning about his ghost seer abilities and his investigation of the Penny Murderer, he helps him get into police headquarters. When Landon attempts to use him to lure Brody out, he sends a coded message to warn him instead.
Nicole
Brody's ex-girlfriend; a good-natured and sweet, if a little high-maintenance, girl. Breaking up with her derails Brody's life before the story begins, and she later becomes significant as the Penny Murderer's next victim.
- Dies Wide Open: Brody's vision of her death shows her eyes as being slightly open.
- Irony: She tells her new boyfriend that it pays to be honest when he calls her a "girl scout." The thing he called her a girl scout for was her giving back a penny's worth of extra change to a man she bought ice cream from—and since that man was the Penny Murderer, in this instance it definitely didn't pay to be honest.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Due to a series of misunderstandings, Nicole comes to believe that Brody's become a Stalker with a Crush, and reveals everything she knows about him to her new boyfriend. She's then horrified to discover from Gabe that Brody was actually trying to protect her from the Penny Murderer, and her boyfriend had made him a fugitive and nearly had him killed as a result. The first thing she does when she see him again is to tearfully apologize for making things worse for him when he was trying to save her life. Thankfully, Brody forgives her for it.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The Penny Murderer chose her as his next victim when she returned her penny extra in change to him.
The Penny Murderer
A
Serial Killer who has murdered a series of young women, leaving a penny on their foreheads as a calling card. Despite years of activity, the police haven't gotten any closer to catching him.
- Big Bad: There are lots of bad people in the story, but he's the man behind the murders Brody is trying to stop.
- Calling Card: He leaves a penny on the forehead of each girl he kills, the penny extra that they gave back to him when he gave them their change—proof that these women were "pure" enough to take the trouble to return something as worthless as a penny.
- Malevolent Masked Men: Wears a dark mask with two eyeholes when he kills his victims.
- Mask of Sanity: He does an exceptionally good job at playing an ordinary employee to his customers, especially his victims.
- Pretentious Latin Motto: "Malo mori quam foedari" is written on a penny in a vision Brody has while holding one of the murderer's possessions, which Brody translates as "death before disgrace." The killer wanted to preserve the "purity" of the women he killed by ending their lives before they'd really begun.
- Serial Killer: An actual example in that his crimes take place over the course of five years, with an average of one victim per year.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: He's an ice cream vendor at an amusement park.
Landon James
Nicole's new boyfriend, a wealthy hot-shot from the financial district. It's no secret that he has mob connections, and doesn't appreciate Brody stalking his girlfriend. He becomes the secondary antagonist in 2nd half of the miniseries.
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: When he's hailed as the "toast of the town" after accidentally killing the Penny Murder, it didn't take long for him to get a big head and cheated on Nicole behind her back.
- Big Bad Ensemble: While the Penny Murderer is the main concern of Brody and Talia's investigation, Landon ends up being the source of Brody's many woes in the second half of the miniseries.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Not surprisingly, considering that he works in a crime-ridden city.
To Brody: The cops will never side with you in this situation... because my people basically
owns the cops.
- The Dreaded: As stated by the police officer who manages to corner Brody, it takes a "special kind of fool" to cross Landon James.
- Disproportionate Retribution: After Brody fails to heed his threats to stay away from Nicole, he has Brody's flat vandalized, tries to have him assassinated, and then sics the police on him to torture and kill him.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: He gets the credit for bringing the Penny Murderer to justice when he'd actually been trying to shoot Brody in the back.
- Foil: He's definitely one for Brody, especially with their similar facial structures and body build. Brody is a guy who's in Perpetual Poverty, with a Hair-Trigger Temper and an Occult Detective with innate psychic powers. Landon on the other hand is a wealthy hot-shot from the financial district, with a much calmer temperament and a Corrupt Corporate Executive with limitless wealth and connections at his disposal. Despite all the crap that Brody gets in his way throughout the miniseries for his pride and violent temperament, he'll never resort to murder and is very devoted to Nicole, whereas Landon is all the more willing to use Murder Is the Best Solution and cheated on Nicole with another woman after becoming a Fake Ultimate Hero.
- Hero Antagonist: "Hero" is stretching it for this guy, as Landon is involved enough in the mob that he has access to personal firearms, can get two criminals to act as his hitmen, and can order the police to have Brody tortured, murdered, and disappeared, but from his perspective, Brody is a deeply disturbed Stalker with a Crush who's harassing his girlfriend after she's made it clear that what happened between them is over. He's basically trying to keep her safe in an extreme way.
- Karma Houdini: He's certainly a mobster, and is the one responsible for wrecking Brody's life. He's punished by being known as the guy who killed the Penny Murderer.
- No Full Name Given: Averted. Landon James is the only character with his full name revealed compared to the other characters.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Well... as reasonable as a Corrupt Corporate Executive could be. When he first finds Brody "stalking" Nicole right outside his own house, Landon states that he's a reasonable guy and that it's not his style to threaten someone with "issues", and was at least willing to give Brody the benefit of the doubt... until Poor Communication Kills on Brody's end with a poor choice of first words that makes him sounds like The Mentally Disturbed leads Landon to immediately assume the worst.
- Even then, he lets off Brody with a very stern warning to stay away from Nicole, and have some people of his own watch his movements, and will let him know if he crosses the line. When that fails due to a bad coincidence, he had his people trash Brody's apartment, stating that the latter got what was coming to him and got off "easy" in their second confrontation.
- And then he gave Brody one final chance to move out of the city forever, the latter, who's beyond pissed at this point, boldly states that he's not going anywhere. Leading Landon to give a very disappointing toast to Brody for "bad decisions", and sick his two hitmen on the latter.
- What You Are in the Dark: To which Nicole finds out the hard way when he was seeing another woman behind her back after becoming the "toast of the town" for killing the Penny Murderer in the epilogue.
