Momosuke Yamaoka
Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese) and Grant George (English)
The protagonist. A young author who gets tired of creating riddles for children and now wants to make material for his story. Along the way he finds things that he shouldn’t have…
- Action Survivor: He’s an ordinary human, yet he still manages to get out of trouble with enough thinking and his allies.
- Boy Meets Ghoul: He’s just human and clearly has something for Ogin, who’s undead.
- Break the Cutie: Oh, boy. This show is dedicated to ruining his view of life.
- Character Narrator: He’s the viewpoint character.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Wants to outright be a part of the Ongyo. Never happens.
- I Will Wait for You: The ending has him believing that the Ongyo are still alive and he hopes to see them again.
- The Klutz: Prone to all sorts of injuries. In fact, the very first scene of the show has him slipping and nearly falling to his death.
- Sole Survivor: The only one who got out of the Final Battle alive. Perhaps an Averted Trope with the possibility of the Ongyo being alive.
- Spanner in the Works: While it does end with the Ongyo presumably dead, he’s still able to save the day by stopping what’s going on.
- Took a Level in Cynic: By the end of the series, he’s become far less idealistic after everything he’s dealt with.
- Weirdness Magnet: Well, he has to be if he wants to write facts about monsters.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: At least at first. It slowly ends with him losing this.
- Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Happens quite often. Actually the very first thing you see in the opening is his right eye shrunken in fear.
- Writers Suck: He’s everyone’s Butt-Monkey. He barely goes without dealing with some sort of trouble.
Mataichi
Voiced by: Ryūsei Nakao (Japanese) and Steve Kramer (English)
A short man Momosuke meets one day. As it turns out, he’s the leader of a supernatural group named the Ongyo.
- Affably Evil: While he’s not outright evil, he’s a generally jovial person and takes a genuine liking to Momosuke.
- Catchphrase: “To the next world, we commit thee!”
- Creepy Good: He’s a little disturbing, but in the end is one of Momosuke’s allies.
- Hey, You!: Calls Momosuke “Mr. Author” rather than his name.
- The Leader: Heads the Ongyo and Ogin and Nagamimi follow his word.
- Mr. Exposition: He’s usually the one who gives Momosuke a rundown of what’s been going on in the episode.
- Shorter Means Smarter: He’s the shortest of the main protagonists and is undoubtedly a genius.
Ogin
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (Japanese) and Karen Strassman (English)
A beautiful woman Momosuke meets when looking for the bathroom after finding shelter. She’s the group’s main way of luring the Villain of the Week.
- Broken Bird: Shows shades of this. It turns out that she was murdered by a man posing as her father.
- Creepy Doll: Uses one to dupe her foes.
- Hey, You!: Calls Momosuke “Author”, but she eventually averts it in the end.
- Implied Love Interest: To Momosuke given how she’s the girl he’s been the closest to.
- Impossibly-Low Neckline: Nothing is holding up that dress.
- Marshmallow Hell: Gives one to Momosuke in her second scene.
- Ms. Fanservice: Oh, yes. In fact, the ending song features her naked.
- Naked First Impression: Momosuke meets her practically nude.
- The Tease: Shows shades of this.
- Vapor Wear: She doesn’t wear any undergarments.
Nagamimi
Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese) and Michael McConnohie (English)
A tall man who is able to disguise himself. He meets Momosuke disguised as a motel owner.
- The Big Guy: He’s the tallest of the group. It makes dealing with heavier stuff relatively easier.
- Butt-Monkey: He’s prone to all kinds of attacks. When he disguises as a monk, he gets mauled by dogs and is drowned by the hermits later on.
- Deadpan Snarker: While Mataichi and Ogin show shades of this, it’s especially prominent with him. Their last scene in the first episode has him snark about the pair’s current argument.
- Morphic Resonance: The only part that doesn’t disguise with the rest of him fully is the ears.
- Never Bareheaded: Never seen without that hat of his.
- Voices Are Mental: Has the same voice even in disguise, though the first episode has him able to change his voice. This is potentially Early-Installment Weirdness.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Typically disguises himself to get close to whomever.
