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Characters that appear in Dark Gathering.


Contains unmarked spoilers!

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Main Characters

    Yayoi Houzuki 

Yayoi Houzuki

Voiced by: Yū Sasahara (Japanese), Natalie Rial (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yayoi_visual.png

Yayoi is an elementary student who lost her parents in a car accident. Unbeknownst to most, her parents were killed by the demon fetus Kuubou, who took her mother's soul. Swearing on their grave and her father's ghost, she vows to bring her back. She has polycoria, as well as a skull-shaped symbol in her eyes, which allows her to see both physical and spiritual objects.


  • The Ace: Yayoi not only has an abnormally high IQ and impressive physical capabilities, she has captured ghosts that are considered troublesome even by seasoned exorcists.
  • Appeal to Force: Any ghosts that she captures will be thrown inside her room and be beaten by the other ghosts into submission.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: She formed a team of specialists largely by promising to protect them, a promise she has always lived up to.
  • Badass Adorable: She's a cute (other than her eyes) elementary student who has beaten over a hundred ghosts through wit and determination.
  • Benevolent Boss: Her friendship with Keitarou matures her into a tolerant leader who organizes non-haunted trips to keep up morale and protects her subordinates far more than they do her.
  • Black-and-Gray Morality: Yayoi keeps evil ghosts in line through threats of torture and feeds weaker ghosts to strong ones to keep them powerful. On the other hand, she's also much more benevolent and sympathetic towards ghosts who were victimized in life and treats them much better, helping the ones who aren't made for combat pass on and even helps them with their grudges against certain evil spirits before they could do so.
  • Blush Sticker: She has permanent blush marks on her cheeks.
  • Character Catchphrase:
    • She habitually says "Let's go! Ghost!" before the start of a hunt.
    • In a Shout-Out to Pokémon, Yayoi says "[Ghost] Getto da ze!" every time she captures a new ghost.
  • Child Prodigy: Yayoi possesses genius intelligence, and while it hasn't been displayed academically, it shows in how she can quickly analyze her opponent in tense situations and think of a plan to take them down.
  • Collector of the Strange: She collects dangerous ghosts and traps them inside her stuffed animals.
  • Contrived Coincidence: She obtained two of her graduates through luck. One was just sitting on his own grave, and the other possessing a cheap mirror at a flea market (though the latter became powerful by eating all her previously captured ghosts first).
  • Conveniently Seated: At school, she sits on the second-last seat with the window on the left.
  • Creepy Child: She's unnervingly calm in whatever she does, is otherwise merciless towards any ghosts and captures them brutally and efficiently.
  • Creepy Good: Yayoi is one of the heroes, but her near complete lack of emotion and ruthlessness when it comes to subjecting ghosts to her control make Keitarou find her almost as scary as the ghosts they face.
  • Creepy Monotone: She's a Creepy Child who always speaks in monotone.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Yayoi is a Creepy Child with skull symbols on her eyes and she's almost always carrying stuffed dolls that have a terrifying spirit inside. Despite the many scary things about her, she's ultimately a hero who defeats evil ghosts and will do anything to protect her loved ones.
  • Determinator: She will stop at nothing to save her mother.
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: She literally gives the middle finger to the unnamed Kami and calls him a paedophile, declares that she can easily defeat him and make him a slave.
    Yayoi: I'm not going to lose to some groomer god.
  • Emotionless Girl: Her ability to physically emote seems stunted since she mostly stays in a single expression even when happy.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Even she's creeped out by Eiko's stalking of Keitarou after catching her in the act of using surveillance equipment on him to spy on him. The only reason Yayoi "approves" of it afterwards is due to her realizing the benefits it could bring Yayoi for her ghost hunting.
  • Exotic Eye Designs: She has skull symbols in her eyes, which are oddly never commented on by anyone. Her pupils have been checked on by doctors, so having polycoria isn't caused by the symbols.
  • Experienced Protagonist: By the time she meets Keitarou, Yayoi has been hunting ghosts for two years and already has sealed three S-ranked ghosts.
  • Girlish Pigtails: She's a little girl with her hair tied into low pigtails.
  • Girls Love Stuffed Animals: Most of her substitute dolls are stuffed animal dolls, either due to preference, a logical cover since nobody would suspect a young girl would have so many dolls, or them being easy to fix.
  • Good Is Not Nice: She doesn't hesitate to discipline her ghosts by strangling them or feeding them to stronger ghosts to get a stronger army.
  • Happily Adopted: Happy isn't exactly accurate, but she is extremely grateful to be adopted by her cousin's family, and is unwilling to cause them any trouble. The only reason she goes to school rather than prioritizing saving her mother is because she's unwilling to trouble them by skipping school.
  • Hidden Purpose Test: After capturing a large group of ghosts, she asks them individually if they want someone else to suffer in their place. The ones who refuse are sent to a shrine to be purified. The ones who say yes soon learn what life is like in a penal battalion.
  • Idiot Hair: A very large ahoge on top of her head, adding to her oddness.
  • Improbably High I.Q.: Due to her car accident, she gained an IQ of over 160.
  • I See Dead People: Before her car accident, Yayoi presumes the fuzzy shadows were just a consequence of her polycoria, but once the accident corrected her vision, she realized they were ghosts.
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: She identifies the main culprit of Eiko's possession by capturing all the ghosts responsible and driving nails into their heads until they betray the perpetrator.
  • Kid Hero: She's the heroic ghost hunter protagonist and an elementary school student.
  • Kleptomaniac Hero: The matron of the Awamiya Shrine hates her because she smashed all its jizo statues to conscript the ghosts held within. In an earlier chapter, she takes sanctified rope and the ghost it was binding from a different shrine.
  • Little Miss Badass: She's a small child, yet is the one responsible for fighting ghosts that have been haunting places for years.
  • Logical Weakness: She can see ghosts, but only if there's enough light to see anything in the first place.
  • Military Brat: Yayoi's father was a soldier, which presumably influenced her combative mindset.
  • Nephewism: After the death of her parents, she was adopted by her uncle's family.
  • Nerves of Steel: She doesn't break a sweat going into haunted spots to face ghosts who murdered countless people, doesn't panic when they attack and always make decision quickly. Not to mention she has no problem sleeping in a room with a hundred ghosts all wanting to kill her.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Aside from her mission, she is personally interested in ghosts; she claims to be similar to Eiko, who borderline lusts after them.
  • Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: When she asks Keitarou to give her his fingernails, he refuses because he thinks she wants to curse him. Actually, Yayoi just wanted to put his fingernails in her dolls to protect Keitarou from ghost attacks.
  • Not So Above It All: At first she's creeped out that Eiko placed surveillance equipment on Keitarou, but after realizing that it can be used to observe if ghosts are around Keitarou, she approves of it, even joining in on Eiko in commenting on Keitarou's progress in socializing.
  • The Paladin: She has dedicated her life to slaying evil, which she does very well. A big reason Keitarou joins the fight is because he trusts Yayoi to be there backing him up.
  • Pet the Dog: Has a very notable one at the end of season 1, where she actually puts her goal of killing Kuubou on hold for the sake of rescuing Ai.
  • Precision F-Strike: When being pursued by the Black Asura of the Eclipse, to the point where Keitarou is shocked at her sudden profanity:
    "Payback time. Come at me, motherf***er."
  • Pretend to Be Brainwashed: To get information about the Replaced and Kuubou, Yayoi tricks Dorothy by claiming to also be a ghost possessing a human body.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: She has red eyes and while one of the heroes, she's a very dangerous and intimidating ghost hunter.
  • Rei Ayanami Expy: She's a purple-haired, red-eyed young girl who appears emotionless most of the time.
  • Ring of Power: After the battle with the demon Marbas, Yayoi gains a ring that gives her the power to crush a target's heart.
  • Shipper with an Agenda: For the sake of team morale, she asks Eiko to comfort Keitarou after a particularly shocking battle.
  • Shorter Means Smarter: Yayoi is a Child Prodigy who is quite short, even when compared to her fellow elementary schoolers.
  • The Stoic: She rarely shows emotions, especially not fear.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: In spite of being seemingly emotionless, she frequently jokes around with Keitarou and Eiko, is generally cheerful and energetic, and is able to make friends with people.
  • Sympathy for the Devil: She shows sympathy towards ghosts who only became evil due to horrible circumstances when they were alive, especially ones who went insane from the desire to avenge their family.
  • Terror Hero: Ghosts usually avoid Yayoi because they're terrified of her (and/or the slave ghosts she carries with her).
  • Token Mini-Moe: She's the youngest of the three main characters. Keitarou and Eiko are college students while Yayoi is in elementary school.
  • Tranquil Fury: When the unnamed Kami splashed blood on her family photo, she calmly says she can easily defeat him, calls him a paedophile and declares she will make him a slave in her army.
  • Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Yayoi is in elementary school, yet she hunts ghosts on a nearly daily basis and has already captured multiple S-rank ghosts. She also swears, knows what sex and rape are, and is already far more capable of dealing with high-level spirits and evil gods than exorcists with decades of experience.
  • Unscrupulous Hero: Yayoi wants to defeat evil spirits and save her mother's soul from the ghost fetus that's keeping her captive, but she also has no qualms with throwing away human ethic and morality for the sake of her goals.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Yayoi has no interest in getting formal training in spiritual techniques to fight spirits, instead choosing to hunt down and capture very powerful ghosts to fight for her. Her methods are still much more effective than those of spiritualists with many years of experience, given that she's the only one who actually stands a chance to defeat the god Taisui Xingjun, while every professional spiritualist knows they would never survive a battle with such a powerful being.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Before the accident, she was a sweet and innocent child who had caring parents. After it she has never smiled, risks her life to save her mother and is brutally pragmatic in dealing with ghosts.
  • Wounded Gazelle Gambit: In the first chapter, she blackmails Keitarou by threatening to frame him for pedophilia. It's played for laughs.
  • Young and in Charge: She's the leader of the main trio despite being the youngest by several years.

    Keitarou Gentouga 

Keitarou Gentouga

Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki, Aino Shimada [child] (Japanese), Clint Bickham (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_gathering_keitaro_0.png

Keitarou is a first year college student, born with the ability to sense ghosts, as well as being Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious. After an incident two years ago, he became cursed to have nerves grow out of his right hand, which he has to regularly get surgically removed to prevent it from hurting him. Due to this incident also causing his Childhood Friend Eiko to be cursed, he shuts himself away in his room, believing he would bring disaster for others. After being convinced by Eiko that he could lead a normal life, he studied hard to enter college along with her. To get back his social skills, Eiko suggests becoming a tutor to gain confidence, not knowing it was a plot to make him work together with Yayoi on her mission.


  • The Ace: He is the top scorer in his college's entrance exams, above even Eiko (who represented Japan in the Informatic Olympiad).
  • Action Survivor: Besides his sensing ability, he is pretty much a normal human, barely surviving against multiple mass-murdering ghosts all aiming to eat him.
  • Affectionate Nickname: Eiko calls him "Kei-kun," while his grandmother Touko calls him "Kei-chan."
  • All-Loving Hero: He often expresses sympathy towards ghosts when he sees their past, even after they tried killing him.
  • Always Save the Girl: He vows to protect Eiko and stay by her side, as well as Yayoi, who he promises to join in on her mission for as long as she desires and fight along side her.
  • Audience Surrogate: Out of all the main characters, Keitarou is the only one who could really be described as a normal person. As such, he's the one to whom most of the exposition is delivered.
  • The Bait: Since he's the target for the ghosts most of the time, his role is to draw the ghost out and use the items Yayoi gave him for self-defense to survive until Yayoi figures out a plan for capture.
  • Big Brother Instinct: In spite of his fear of ghosts, when he hears Yayoi is endangering herself to find a way to break his curse, he uses himself as bait so that Yayoi could escape.
  • Blessed with Suck: His sensing abilities means he can usually avoid any haunted spot and detect the presence of ghosts nearby, which allows him to warn others. However, those with spiritual abilities are those who are usually targeted by ghosts in the first place, and Keitarou is exceptional in that regard; it's a 100% certainty he would meet one in a haunted spot, where it's one third of a chance for Yayoi and even less for normal humans.
  • Body Horror: He has nerves growing out of his right arm that need to be regularly removed.
  • Born Unlucky: He was born with his powers, only surviving to adulthood because of his grandmother's advice. Even at a random social gathering with zero involvement from Yayoi, he still nearly got killed by a ghost.
  • Butt-Monkey: His teammates push him around pretty easily, whether by making him put up their camping tents or (secretly) commentating stressful events in his life.
  • The Champion: There isn't much he won't do for Eiko, whether it's bungee-jumping off a bridge at night or taking classes he hates.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: He's been friends with Eiko since elementary school. They become boyfriend and girlfriend early in the story.
  • Classical Anti-Hero: He starts the story as a former Hikikomori who struggles in social situations due to the aftereffects of his social isolation and ability to attract ghosts. He initially doesn't want to partake in Yayoi's ghost hunting because he doesn't want to get himself and those around him in danger, but soon grows out of it as he accepts he has to learn to protect himself and Eiko from ghosts to avoid becoming cursed again.
  • Conspicuous Gloves: He wears a glove to cover his cursed right hand.
  • Cooldown Hug: After Eiko is shellshocked in chapter 45, he hugs her and tells her they're safe now.
  • Distressed Dude: In most of the ghost cases, Keitarou gets captured and/or cursed, needing Yayoi and Eiko to rescue him from the evil spirit.
  • The Dulcinea Effect: He was willing to risk his life to help Ai, the student he was tutoring for a few hours at best.
  • Extreme Doormat: At the start, he was dragged along by Yayoi and Eiko, not being able to refuse because he was worried about their safety.
  • Eye Scream: Nearly suffers this by the spirit of the old F tunnel. He only avoids it because a substitute doll took the damage.
  • Heroic Willpower: When he gets cursed by the ghost of the Kubizuka Daimyojin Shrine that orders him to kill Eiko, Keitarou is able to fight off the curse and stop himself from hurting Eiko.
  • Hikikomori: After an incident in middle school resulted in him and Eiko getting cursed, Keitarou felt so guilty and terrified that he locked himself in his room. Thanks to Eiko staying close to him no matter what happened, he was able to get over his fear of going outside and reintegrated into society.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Wants nothing to do with ghosts and doesn't want danger to befall the people around him, but realizes that if he wants to lead a normal life, he has to know how to defend it, because ghosts aren't going anywhere and he's going to meet one whether he likes it or not.
  • In the Blood: His grandmother also has messy hair and a tendency to yell.
  • Lady and Knight: The Knight to Eiko's Lady. Before asking her out for the first time, he holds her hand to his head and vows to always protect her.
  • Lovable Coward: His fear of ghosts is completely rational and held in check by his concern for Yayoi's life.
  • Magnetic Medium: Because of his especially strong spiritual sensitivity, Keitarou attracts ghosts to him like a magnet.
  • My Girl Is Not a Slut: He taunts Otogiri, who has taken Eiko's form to seduce him, with the fact that the real Eiko would never treat sex so cheaply.
  • My Greatest Failure: Involving Eiko in the incident that led to him being cursed. His primary motivation to help Yayoi is to find a way to get rid of said curse.
  • Naïve Newcomer: Before meeting Yayoi, he avoids haunted spots as much as possible and protects himself with advice from his grandmother, the owner of a shrine. It's not until he finally decides to willingly help Yayoi in her ghost hunting that he finally starts learning more of the world of ghosts.
  • Non-Action Protagonist: His role is to support Yayoi by baiting the ghosts and gathering information; the combat role is given to the Deuteragonist Yayoi.
  • No Social Skills: His social skills deteriorated when he became a shut-in, so he's awkward when he needs to converse with strangers his age.
  • Not Distracted by the Sexy: Despite having his face in "Eiko's" rather sizable bosom, he was able to realize it wasn't Eiko and was more creeped out than anything.
  • Nothing but Skin and Bones: Keitarou was briefly caught in the Demon Sergeant's curse and ended up looking like he didn't eat for a week.
  • Official Couple: He gets together with Eiko pretty early on in the story.
  • Older Sidekick: Yayoi makes him her sidekick in her ghost hunting. Yayoi is in elementary school and Keitarou is in college.
  • Only Sane Man: Compared to Creepy Child Yayoi and Yandere Nightmare Fetishist Eiko, he's the only one who is scared of ghosts like a normal person.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Knowing Eiko isn't the type to be so openly seductive, he becomes suspicious of her imposter once she tried to seduce him into doing what she says.
  • Opposites Attract: With Eiko. He's an introverted and unpopular Lovable Coward, whilst she's an extroverted and popular Nightmare Fetishist.
  • Power Incontinence: He can't turn off his spiritual sense, meaning he is always shivering in the presence of ghosts, and constantly their target for attacks.
  • Powers via Possession: Abe no Seimei possesses Keitarou's body to release Zenki and Goki's true forms as Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, and fight against Taisui's shikigami at full strength. Abe no Seimei also notices that the especially high spiritual energy in Keitarou's body makes the onmyoji techniques even stronger than when Abe no Seimei was at his prime.
  • The Power of Love: His unwavering love for Eiko, which enables him to throw off a violently misogynistic ghost's possession long enough to alert Yayoi.
  • Private Tutor: To improve his social skills, he got a job as an academic tutor for younger students. So far, his two students are the elementary schooler Yayoi and the high schooler Ai.
  • Red String of Fate: His and Eiko's curse, which takes the form of many white strings on their hands, may be considered a variant of this trope. Romantic scenes often emphasize the motion of their hands.
  • Sensor Character: He can identify the number and positions of ghosts almost perfectly, regardless of darkness or distance.
  • Shrinking Violet: Even before he became a shut-in, he seemingly lacked any friends beside Eiko, and currently lacks self-confidence in talking with people.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: A gender-inverted example. He loves Eiko because not only did she not blame him for her curse, she remained friends with him afterwards and helped him recover from his trauma.
  • Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious: Generally anybody with spiritual powers are considered targets by ghosts, but Keitarou is especially so, with a 100% rate of encountering ghosts should he go to a haunted spot, compared to Yayoi, where it happens a third of the time.
  • Superpowerful Genetics: Keitarou's family are the caretakers of a shrine and have so much experience with magic that they accepted and were able to alleviate his curse.
  • Supporting Protagonist: While the story is mostly from his point of view, Yayoi's mission to create a ghost army and save her mother from Kuubou is the central plot. It could be said that Keitarou is The Watson to Yayoi's Holmes.
  • The Symbiote: The huge amount of spiritual energy he possesses means spirits can feed off of him indefinitely (provided they stay intangible). The shikigami readily agree to protect him because they can do the former.
  • The Watson: Due to his lack of knowledge regarding ghosts and exorcising them, he is the one who Yayoi explains to how it works as well as tell him the plan to take them out.
  • Weirdness Magnet: There's a 100% certainty that a ghost will show up everywhere Keitarou goes. This is why Yayoi recruits him for her ghost hunting, and also why Eiko finds him irresistible.

    Eiko Houzuki 

Eiko Houzuki

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Karlii Hoch (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_gathering_eiko.png

Eiko is Yayoi's older cousin and Keitarou's Childhood Friend, being the one responsible for them meeting. Knowing about Yayoi's interest in ghosts (though initially unaware that she captures them) and Keitarou's need to readapt to society, she tells Keitarou to be a tutor, then tells Yayoi of his ability so that they can choose Keitarou for the job. Initially she was just the driver for them as she owns a car and license, but later joins them actively on their missions. She's maintained a crush on Keitarou since they were kids.


  • The Ace: As the representative for Japan in the Informatic Olympiad, she is a master in programming, and is able to modify a pair of glasses to spy Keitarou, from location to his heartbeat. Not to mention very beautiful and popular, pretty wealthy from investments and a pretty good driver.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: The first time a ghost actually targets her instead, she is scared out of her wits and nearly dies. She reconsidered her interest in ghosts and almost gave up, but regained her desires by visiting a famous haunted spot to test her resolve.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Stalking and manipulation notwithstanding, Eiko is a genuinely friendly and kindhearted person. But when she discovers that Anna, who she thought was a friend, was just leading her into a trap, she took revenge by trapping her in a self-repairing substitute doll, making her suffer from ghost attacks endlessly, while also locking her in a small box to be locked away in darkness.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Zigzagged. Outwardly, she is a cheerful, supportive and kindhearted woman who loves Keitarou dearly. But while she does genuinely love him, she still manipulates him in order to fulfil her own personal interest in horror and uses spying equipment to observe him, which can be Played for Laughs or Played for Horror depending on the situation. Nonetheless, she is willing to risk her life to protect Yayoi and Keitarou and is genuinely kind to others.
  • Black Eyes of Crazy: Shows this whenever she does something questionable, usually with a Slasher Smile.
  • Body Horror: She has the same curse as Keitarou on her left hand, causing her nerves to grow outside of her skin.
  • Bridal Carry: She asks Keitarou to bulk up so they can invoke the trope. In fact, it serves as her motivation to survive a grotesque instance of Womb Horror.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Played With. When Keitarou was struggling with depression and anxiety after his cursed hand drove him to become a Hikikomori, Eiko gave him unconditional love and support so he could get over his fears and reintegrate into society. However, Eiko also has a thrill-seeking and darkly manipulative nature that she hides from Keitarou as she secretly wants to make him embrace the love for terror to make him the same as her.
  • Childhood Friend Romance: She's been in love with Keitarou since the they were kids, with the two becoming an Official Couple early into the story.
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: While she doesn't mind Keitarou interacting with other women, the moment there's a possibility someone is interested in him, she silently pressures Keitarou to affirm their relationship.
  • Conspicuous Gloves: Like Keitarou, she wears gloves to cover her cursed hand.
  • Consummate Liar: It's several chapters before events reveal just how much she lied by omission in her introduction, and Keitarou hasn't learned most of the truth in all the years he's known her.
  • Cool Big Sis: She acts as an understanding older sister figure towards her cousin Yayoi, with the two confiding their personal issues with each other. Both also tend towards silly antics.
  • Corrupt the Cutie: When Eiko sees Nakiri express similar emotions to what she feels about the supernatural, she encourages the latter to seek her advice, interested in teaching her about her fetish.
  • Cute and Psycho: While Eiko acts like a sweet and loving girlfriend to Keitarou, she is ecstatic at the chance of meeting the supernatural and almost gets turned on by the mere idea of her and Keitarou getting almost killed by ghosts on a nearly daily basis. There's also the various stalker-ish things she does, like filling her room with photos of Keitarou and numerous spying equipment.
  • Damsel out of Distress: When Keitarou is carrying her to safety when they're attacked by the F tunnel ghost, Keitarou is attacked by one of the F tunnel ghost's torture victims but is fought off by Eiko throwing salt on him.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The anime's ending theme songs "Haiiro" and "Intaglio" are both sung by Kana Hanazawa, Eiko's voice actress.
  • Drives Like Crazy: In no small part due to Yayoi, who occasionally forces her leg and foot down on the gas pedal.
  • Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: Downplayed. Her dark, glossy eyebrows are heavily emphasized when she's making questionable decisions (although those decisions are not evil by most standards).
  • Extreme Libido: Her first reaction to visiting a haunted love hotel is to stare at Keitarou and pressure him to go to one with her.
  • The Fashionista: Eiko wears highly fashionable clothing.
  • Femme Fatale: Downplayed. She's not interested in killing anyone, quite the opposite, but she definitely wants her boyfriend to fear that he's about to die. All the protagonists have some predatory instincts, but Eiko's are easily the closest to the surface.
  • Flower Motifs: The volume 2 cover and a promotional poster show her carrying a spider lily.
  • Functional Addict: Her addiction to victory might get her killed, but she does her utmost to prevent that, and it doesn't stop her from living an otherwise healthy, successful life.
  • Genki Girl: An energetic, self-motivated woman who bounces back fast from near-death experiences.
  • Girl Next Door: To Keitarou, Eiko plays the role of the approachable and supportive childhood friend who later becomes his girlfriend. Although, her being a Stalker with a Crush and borderline Yandere subverts the "wholesome" appeal of the trope.
  • Goal in Life: She has two: to research the supernatural and to be with Keitarou.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: She instantly arrives from nowhere when Yayoi sent a message suggesting Keitarou is with another woman.
  • Haunted House Historian: Eiko usually provides the exposition of the haunted places that the trio visits for ghost hunting.
  • Insecure Love Interest: Her stalking comes from an extreme, completely irrational fear that Keitarou will somehow leave her if she doesn't force things. In one scene, she's touched and ashamed by his statement that he simply trusts her not to cheat (when she, by comparison, suggests he put a tracking device on her to be sure). In another, she's overjoyed when his attempts to be socially independent fail.
    Eiko: I knew it, Kei's totally hopeless without me!
    Yayoi: You seem happy about that, Eiko.
  • I See Dead People: Thanks to Abe no Seimei, Eiko gains the ability to see spirits, much to her joy.
  • Lady and Knight: The Lady to Keitarou's Knight. He will do anything to protect her from danger and joins Yayoi in ghost hunting to break the curse for Eiko's sake.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: She's obsessed with Keitarou and frequently showers him with affection, but mostly hides the fact that she's a creepy, perverted stalker.
  • Mad Scientist: To enable her field research of ghosts, she mass-produces substitute dolls and locks Anna in an immortal prison.
  • Manipulative Bitch: She introduced Keitarou and his abilities to Yayoi so that she could recruit him while also suggesting that Keitarou try tutoring to regain his social skills, not telling him that he was going to teach her cousin until he arrived. Later on, she tells him about her interest in the supernatural while simultaneously confessing her love, all to inspire Keitarou to join Yayoi to gain knowledge on ghosts and protect her (Eiko).
  • Mistaken Age: In contrast to her boyfriend Keitaro, who is drawn relatively youthful, Eiko's appearance is more mature than her actual age would imply. This was acknowledged when she came to pick up Yayoi, as the latter's classmate thought she was Yayoi's mother, much to Eiko's chagrin.
  • Ms. Vice Girl: She wants to form a symbiotic group where everyone, not just her, has their thanatos acknowledged and validated. Her belief that this is what the members of the group want is true.
  • Nice Girl: So long as neither of her obsessions get the better of her, she's a sweet and caring young woman who looks out for her cousin Yayoi and genuinely loves her childhood friend-turned-boyfriend Keitaro.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Her obsession with the supernatural borders on lust, outright blushing and panting after an encounter, though she hides it around people.
  • Official Couple: She's Keitarou's official girlfriend from early on.
  • Opposites Attract: With Keitarou. She's an extroverted and popular Nightmare Fetishist, whilst he's an introverted and unpopular Lovable Coward.
  • Psychological Projection: She believes Keitarou is as much of a horror lover as she is, just in denial.
  • Redheads Are Ravishing: Eiko is a gorgeous, redheaded Ms. Fanservice with a well-endowed figure.
  • Romantic Spoonfeeding: In chapter 45, she asks Keitarou to feed her sweets by hand, both as a romantic thing and because her terrified shaking is making it hard for her to move. Then she asks him to chew them for her, to which he says no.
  • Secretly Selfish: Keitarou has no idea that Eiko dragged him into the supernatural knowing that his constitution will attract ghosts so that 1. she can satisfy her interest in the supernatural, and 2. Keitarou will risk his life to protect her, satisfying her lust for him.
  • Sexy Sweater Girl: A good number of her outfits have her wearing sweaters that accentuate her large chest.
  • Single-Target Sexuality: She has shown zero interest in any man that isn't Keitarou.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She fell for Keitarou because he regularly helps people by warning them whenever he senses a ghost, showing that he has a good heart in spite of people avoiding him because of his curse.
  • The Smart Girl: She plays this role for the main trio. Eiko is the expert in technology, computers, and information gathering of haunted locations.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Eiko's room is filled with photos of her beloved Keitarou, and she places spying equipment in the gifts she gives him.
  • Team Chef: She takes care of the cooking on camping trips and rewards the team with cake in an early scene.
  • The Team Normal: She has not a jot of spiritual sensitivity. Unless an attack has already started or she's specifically targeted by a ghost, she can't see them.
  • Thrill Seeker: She eagerly joins Yayoi and Keitarou in the ghost hunting because she absolutely loves the thrill of throwing herself into life-or-death situations. In fact, Keitarou being such a Weirdness Magnet is a massive turn on for her.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Downplayed. While she isn't exactly evil and truly cares about Keitarou and Yayoi, Eiko's love for horror, manipulative nature, obsessive stalkerish behavior towards Keitarou, and eagerness to test rather morally questionable experiments with ghosts certainly make her the most unethical member of the main trio.
  • To Unmasque the World: She wants to prove that ghosts like the one that attacked her are real. Her technological studies and adventures with the group help her to gather proof towards this end.
We can wrench open the door to the wondrous horrors hidden within our world and shine our light on them.
  • Uncanny Valley Girl: Eiko is famous at college for her achievements and beauty, and has multiple friends and an active social life. She looks like Keitarou's dream girlfriend in every way, but then it's revealed she's addicted to terror and secretly stalks Keitarou because his natural ability to attract ghosts is a highly arousing for her.
  • Uncle Pennybags: She purchases a house (a rundown, haunted one, but still) so Yayoi can store her ghosts where no neighbours will get hurt.
  • Unlimited Wardrobe: She rarely wears the same outfit twice. In fact, the author actually has fans submit different outfits for Eiko to wear, meaning that most clothes she wears are decided by audience participation.
  • What Does She See in Him?: Most of the people around her tend to be baffled at the idea of Keitarou being her boyfriend.
  • Yandere: Downplayed; she acts relatively normal around Keitarou, and is more embarrassed than anything when Yayoi finds out about her feelings for him. She only acts jealous if it's hinted that a woman has actual interest in Keitarou. Her craziness comes from her being obsessive and manipulating Keitarou.

Other Humans

    Ai Kamiyo 

Ai Kamiyo

Voiced by: Rina Kawaguchi (Japanese), Alyssa Marek (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_gathering_ai_6.png

Ai is a new student of Keitarou. She was rejected by her family due to ghosts gathering around her. Ai's brother took her with him to live in Tokyo, not caring about the dangers. However, he dies protecting her from falling steel beams, and his dying words was to beg her not to cry, or he would not be able to die in peace. Due to this, she stays cheerful and optimistic, even if she constantly suffers from bad luck. Believing that her brother is protecting her from other ghosts, she approaches Yayoi to help exorcise them so that he could pass on. However, she is cursed to die when she turns 20, since she is set to be wed to a Kami, who will take her soul, and is the one whom Ai's brother is protecting her from.


  • Book Dumb: She's very bad at studying. She hires Keitarou as a tutor to improve her grades and he quickly discovers she's a piece of work when she fails all the practice test questions in their lesson.
  • Born Unlucky: Her luck is just the worst. This is due to the god haunting her attracting negative energy and bad spirits.
  • Break the Cutie: Being rejected by her family, her loving brother dying in front of her after saving her and the last she sees of her brother's ghost in him trying to strangle her. She breaks down in tears afterwards.
  • Butt-Monkey: While the god deflects any physical harm aimed at her to other people, Ai still has a lot of mishaps due to her terribly bad luck and clumsiness.
  • Claimed by the Supernatural: The stars on her eyes are the mark of the god that has claimed her as his "bride".
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: Her first meeting with Keitarou has her tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground.
  • Damsel in Distress: She's going to be sacrificed to an evil god when she turns 20. To save her life, Yayoi and Keitarou are going to defeat the god before Ai is sacrificed.
  • Demonic Possession: While being a god, the unnamed Kami is an evil entity who can take over Ai's body at anytime to control her actions.
  • The Ditz: She fails to solve even a single question given by Keitarou and is pretty clumsy as well.
  • Dumb Blonde: She's, at the very least, very Book Dumb, and her hair is blonde, dyed or otherwise.
  • Exotic Eye Designs: She has five-pointed stars on her eyes. It's not a fashion statement — it's the mark of a god.
  • Famous Ancestor: She's a distant descendant of Abe no Seimei.
  • Genki Girl: A very energetic and cheerful teenage girl. Even more so after her brother's death so that he could rest in peace.
  • Gyaru Girl: She has excessive makeup and a flashy fashion sense.
  • Human Sacrifice: Set to die at age 20 to be given to the unnamed god.
  • Idiot Hair: She's something of a Dumb Blonde and has a small ahoge on top of her head.
  • The Jinx: Her family told her to move because the ghosts attracted to her are harming other members of the family. To normal people she seems to bring bad luck, since any attacks by ghosts are deflected off her and transferred to the nearest person.
  • Joshikousei: A first year in high school.
  • Living Macguffin: She is the bride of a Kami, who has placed his seal on her. This seal protects her from danger, but also leaks out energy that attracts ghosts to feed.
  • Magical Star Symbols: The symbol of the unnamed Kami, which is also the pentagram found in onmyodo, hinting at his powers.
  • Marriage to a God: Her family is going to offer her as a "bride" to a god when she turns 20. In reality, she's basically a Human Sacrifice to said god.
  • Mercy Kill: Her brother wanted to do this to her, since the unnamed Kami is a sadistic monster who tortures the souls of the women he wed, and he can't take Ai until she's 20.
  • Minor Living Alone: Since her brother died, she has been living alone in his apartment.
  • No Sense of Personal Space: She can get very close to people she just met.
  • Parental Abandonment: Her father told her to leave the house due to the danger she brings to others.
  • Stepford Smiler: Despite all her misfortune, she tries her best to stay happy to fulfill her brother's dying wish.
  • Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious: The energy leaking from her seal attracts ghosts to feed on it.
  • Walking Disaster Area: While Ai suffers petty personal injuries due to the spirits lured to her, actual attacks which would harm are are redirected by the god to instead hurt those around her. She was banished from her family home due to the bad luck she brought on the household while her older brother died due to being near her.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: She's scheduled to die at 20 years old, since she's going to marry a god and become a Human Sacrifice to him.

    Touko Awamiya 

Touko Awamiya

Voiced by: Fumi Hirano (Japanese), Shelley Calene-Black (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/touko_awamiya.png
Keitarou's grandmother and head of the Awamiya shrine. She's the one who helped Keitarou as a child to handle his ghost attracting abilities.
  • Cool Old Lady: The head of a shrine and experienced Shinto priest, she is responsible for helping Keitarou with his ghost problems before Yayoi.
  • Doting Grandparent: Very protective of Keitarou, who she calls "Kei-chan", an affectionate term usually reserved for children.
  • Miko: The head of a Shinto shrine.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Basically looks like Keitarou's mother, only with white hair and more wrinkles.
  • You Monster!: Her first impression of Yayoi. This is due to Yayoi smashing multiple Jizo statues and surrounded by their angry spirits.

    Yuzuki and Akari Gentouga 

Yuzuki and Akari Gentouga

Yuzuki is voiced by: Sayaka Kikuchi
Akari is voiced by: Shuri Miyumi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuzuki_gentouga.png
Yuzuki
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akari_gentouga.png
Akari

Keitarou's younger twin sisters.


    Namiko Shami 

Namiko Shami

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/namiko_shami.png

The elder twin sister of Nagiko Shami. An experienced spiritualist who warned her little sister to be careful of ghosts stealing other people's bodies, and vows revenge on the one who killed her.


  • The Ace: She considers her sister to be without talent, but the latter was able to exorcize an A level spirit, and the spirit possessing her was able to exorcize a cursed knife that killed other spiritualists, and said spirit considered the body a high quality one.
  • Ancestral Weapon: Says anyone who trains under her gets a chance to use one.
  • Angsty Surviving Twin: Defied. She laments hearing the news of her twin sister having been replaced by an evil ghost and then killed. However, she refuses to cry over Nagiko's death and instead swears to get revenge on the spirit that stole her sister's body.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She knew of the danger of being famous and tried warning her sister, but she didn't listen.
  • Identical Twin ID Tag: She looks exactly like her twin sister, except for her bangs; Namiko combs them to the right side while Nagiko combed them to the left side.
  • Old Master: Looks to be in her 50s, but is a master spiritualist.
  • Slasher Smile: When Yayoi informs her of the plan to take on the spirits that are stealing bodies, she lets out one of these and agrees immediately.
  • Stronger Sibling: She's way stronger than her sister Nagiko.
  • Theme Twin Naming: Her name is Namiko and her twin sister is Nagiko.
  • Tranquil Fury: Despite her sister's death, she keeps her cool and try to gather information on the spirits who killed her before taking her revenge.

    Youko Nakiri 

Youko Nakiri

Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/youko_nakiri.png

The class president of Yayoi's class.


  • Bespectacled Cutie: A responsible cute young girl wearing glasses.
  • Black Eyes of Crazy: Displays the same as Eiko when the latter encourages her to understand that excitement she felt when adventuring with Yayoi.
  • Class Representative: Has both the role and the expected personality.
  • Corrupt the Cutie: Eiko seems interested in developing similar Nightmare Fetishist tendencies in her.
  • Innocent Bystander: She was dragged into the Mr Sakashita incident because she was making sure her classmates won't get into trouble.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: She expressed similar emotions of addiction to terror as Eiko did when she got a taste of adventuring with Yayoi.
  • Only Sane Woman: The only one who opposed to the idea of investigating the school's mysteries.
  • Uptight Loves Wild: Seems to have become attracted to Yayoi as the latter fearlessly fought against the ghost while protecting her.

    Tamamura Kyuusaku 

Tamamura Kyuusaku

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg2.PNG
A shady spritualist that owns a shop sells items that deal with curses.
  • Cool Shades: Hasn't been seen without them.
  • Determinator: Powers through deciphering the Senji Ryakketsu even though it's killing him.
  • Double Take: Didn't expect that Yayoi would give the Senji Ryakketsu so easily.
  • Expy: His design resemble Kisuke Urahara from Bleach, with the same traditional Japanese clothing and coat as well as a bucket hat, and is an eccentric shop owner dealing with ghosts.
  • Heroic RRoD: Was nearly killed by Seimei's curse when he tried deciphering the Senji Ryakketsu.
  • Opaque Lenses: He wears circular lenses that hide his eyes.
  • Protective Charm: Has several of these that takes the damage of curses for him.
  • Snake Oil Salesman: Downplayed. The gloves he traded with Yayoi that he claimed can remove souls were indeed fake, but he did teach her the trick to actually do so.
  • Tears of Blood: Has these as well from his nose and mouth due to Seimei's curse.
  • Weak, but Skilled: He describes himself as weak, not being able to deal with the strong spirits around Kyoto, but he is knowledgeable in dealing with curses and have tools to protect himself from them, as well as divination and pressure points.

Ghosts

    General 
  • Bad Powers, Bad People: If a ghost has special powers, than it's usually evil ones like setting people on fire.
  • Cannibalism Superpower: Ghosts grow more powerful by eating each other.
  • Ghostly Goals: They usually don't pass on due to regrets or hatred, and would kill anyone just to sustain their life on earth.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Normal ghosts all have glowing eyes and mouths, while it's a toss up for stronger ghosts.
  • Kill and Replace: Some ghosts can do this, by replacing their victim's souls with their own.
  • Killing Intent: The other element that decides a ghost's power is their desire to kill, either because they're bloodthirsty psychos or unstoppable rage.
  • Made of Iron: Ghosts can get injured, but won't die even if they're dismembered or set on fire, just incapacitate them until they recover.
  • No Name Given: Only one of them have said their own name, and since Yayoi doesn't bother to ask, most of them don't have names.
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: The ones who haunt and murder people are similar to the onryō, malevolent evil beings twisted by desire and hatred.
  • Takes One to Kill One: Ghosts can be sealed or banished by humans, but the only way they can die is for their spiritual energy to be exhausted by either time or another spirit devouring them.
  • Your Soul Is Mine!: They will kill their victims and devour their souls.

Ghosts in Yayoi's possession

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg21.JPG

  • Army of Thieves and Whores: Yayoi specifically chooses evil ghosts for their aggressiveness and power, and with most having body counts in the double digits, she can freely punish them with threats of torture to keep them in line without feeling guilty.
  • Balance of Power: They are of roughly equal strength, which prevents them from eating each other.
  • Creepy Doll: Essentially what they are when they're trapped inside the dolls.
  • Demonic Possession: They are trapped inside the doll, though can still attack anything within arm's reach.
  • Do with Him as You Will: Yayoi allows the ghosts to take out their anger on any new meat, since they're freshly pissed at taking damage for her.
  • Evil vs. Evil: Most of them has a significant body count, and are forced to fight other similar ghosts.
  • Mutually Assured Destruction: Essentially the only way they can hurt Yayoi is to attack her with enough force to destroy the doll and her, which would destroy them as well. The other ghosts who don't want to die will stop those that do.
  • Supernatural Sealing: The ghost possessing a doll can still move within a certain distance from the doll, but can't leave it.
  • Sympathetic Magic: By placing a hair or nail inside the dolls the ghosts are possessing, any attacks from a ghost are transferred to the ghost in the doll instead. The doll's physical state is synchronized with the ghost, so by damaging the doll, the ghost is also damaged and vice versa. Likewise, by repairing the doll, the ghost inside can heal, though this depends on the ghost.

    Kuubou 

Kuubou

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kubo_first_color.png
Click here to see its second form 

The spirit who took Yayoi's mother. A giant fetus spirit that grows stronger by going around eating powerful spirits.


  • The Antichrist: A powerful evil entity that has fed on a god and still waiting to be born, with an evil group preparing for its birth.
  • Arch-Enemy: For Yayoi, where It's Personal for kiling her parents.
  • Combat Tentacles: It's telekinesis is upgraded to arms that can stretch for long distances, which is more energy efficient and faster than before, allowing it to kill faster.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Was handed one by the unnamed Kami, and delivered one to Hariti by taking advantage of her weakness.
  • Dark Is Evil: Is a giant black fetus surrounded by skeletons, and is a remorseless killer.
  • The Dreaded: For most ghosts. It is implied that some ghosts gathered together in groups to protect themselves when normally they would attack each other.
  • Evil Counterpart: For Yayoi. Both are going around hunting for ghosts in search for power. Both are intelligent for their age and formulate strategies against enemies they can't defeat. It has also gained the same skull symbol in its eyes when it reached its second form. With Kuubou inhabitating Yayoi's mother, it would also technically be Yayoi's sibling as well.
  • Fetus Terrible: Still just a fetus but already killed hundreds.
  • Instant Expert: Managed to instantly figure out what the unnamed Kami taught it when he criticized its abilities, and then upgraded his abilities soon afterwards.
  • It Can Think: Despite being a fetus, it's already smart enough to talk and strategize.
  • Mind over Matter: It's power is to radiate a field of energy that allows to move the objects caught in it.
  • Next Tier Power-Up: After eating Hariti, it gained a new form.
  • Parasitic Horror: Entered Yayoi's mother through her mouth, and made her eat ghosts it couldn't feed on itself.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: Caused a subway train to crash in its fight with the unnamed Kami.
  • Womb Horror: Yayoi's mother is selected to be its host, with her soul becoming pregnant with it.

    Chitose Houzuki 

Chitose Houzuki

Voiced by: Yurika Hino (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yayoi_mom.png

Yayoi's late mother. She was killed by Kuubou and her ghost has become its hostage, forcing her to act as its "mother".


  • Deceased Parents Are the Best: Yayoi's memories show her as a loving mother who worried about her daughter's ability to see things she didn't understand.
  • Forced into Evil: Kuubou tortures her to force her into eating Hariti, drastically increasing Kuubou's power as a result.
  • Full-Frontal Assault: She has to move around as a giant naked ghost while pregnant with Kuubou, who forces her to eat Hariti. After eating Hariti, she gains clothes.
  • Idiot Hair: Much more subtle than her daughter, but she does have an ahoge sticking out of her hair.
  • Magical Floating Shawl: After she eats Hariti, she absorbs some of her divine power and her ghost becomes dressed in a kimono with a hagoromo that floats over her shoulders.
  • Parents in Distress: She's used to host the ghost fetus Kuubou, who drags her body around to eat any ghosts it can find, all while she's crying for her daughter. Yayoi's main goal is to hunt down Kuubou, defeat it, and free her mother's soul so she can rest in peace.
  • Pregnant Hostage: A rare case in which the pregnant woman is a hostage to the fetus itself. Kuubou killed her and forced itself inside her ghost's womb to use her as its "mother".

    Hand ghost 
The ghost clinging to Keitarou's hand.
  • Dem Bones: It appears to be a blindingly bright skeleton with prehensile 'hair', and was found in a school several years ago.

    Hariti 

Hariti

Voiced by: Kujira (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg10.JPG
A Bunrei, spirits created by splitting part of the original's soul, of Hariti, a goddess in Buddhism that protects children. She was corrupted by the hundreds of infant spirits that she failed to cleanse.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: She is genuinely protective of children, making her unwilling to harm Kuubou after it called her "mama," causing her to leave herself open to attack. At Kuubou's mercy, she begged it to not kill her, to no avail.
  • Badass and Baby: As a goddess, she is more powerful than most ghosts, and is surrounded by the ghosts of countless babies.
  • Enfant Terrible: The babies around her attack anyone who goes near the shrine.
  • Evil-Detecting Baby: Despite being evil themselves, the baby spirits can sense that Kuubou is a really dangerous threat that needs to be killed immediately.
  • Friend to All Children: Didn't even want to hurt Yayoi, she just wanted to keep Yayoi safe from the baby spirits, though that involves restraining Yayoi and keeping her captive.
  • Magical Floating Shawl: She's a Buddhist goddess who sports a floating hagoromo shawl as part of her attire.
  • Mama Bear: She instantly goes berserk at the sight of the spirit babies getting eaten.
  • Pieces of God: What she essentially is, a piece of the original Hariti. A finger of hers was broken off by Yayoi to be used as a weapon, basically functioning as a finger-mounted laser cutter.
  • Wouldn't Hurt a Child: This is what led to her downfall. Because she can't harm children, the evil baby spirits could corrupt her into an evil god. Then, Kuubou took advantage of this to eat her without resistance.

    Ai's older brother 

Voiced by: Yohei Azakami (Japanese), James Marler (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg18.JPG
Ai's older brother. After Ai's family made her leave her the house, he brought her to Tokyo to live with him, but was killed when he pushed Ai out of the way of falling steel beams.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Allowed Ai to live with him despite the risks and instantly pushed Ai out of the way when she was in danger.
  • Last Request: In his last moments before his human death, he tried comforting Ai by telling her not to cry.
  • Mercy Kill: Tried killing Ai before she turned 20 so that she wouldn't be taken by the unnamed Kami.
  • No Full Name Given: Since he's Ai's brother, his surname is Kamiyo, but his first name isn't mentioned.
  • Race Against the Clock: Since he didn't eat any ghosts, he only had 49 days to kill Ai before he passes on.

    The God 

The God / Star God Taisui Xingjun

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/taisai_seikun_vol14.png

A god with the appearance of a child. He has chosen Ai as his bride and is set to take her soul when she turns 20. An evil god who enjoys facing challenging enemies, which was why he allowed Yayoi and co to live despite being able to kill them, so that they could build up their forces to face him.


  • The Archmage: He's a master of Onmyōdō, so much so that he treats Abe no Seimei, the most famous onmyōji in Japanese history with disrespect.
  • Ax-Crazy: A violent god who takes the souls of innocent women for no reason beyond torturing them.
  • Bad Powers, Bad People: He revels in violence and destruction. His offensive powers are annihilation to a molecular level.
  • Berserk Button: Being called a paedophile. When Yayoi called him that, he attacked her with such force it caused the heads of the substitute dolls to explode.
  • Blood Knight: He spared Yayoi and Kuubou because they had potential to be interesting opponents, even giving advice to the latter on how to properly use its powers.
  • Bring It: When Yayoi claims she has the means to take him down, he welcomes her challenge. Likewise, he welcomes the idea of having a challenge when he's attacked by Kuubou and witnesses it kill one of his Shikigami. Impressed, he heals Kuubou after he beats it and gives it some pointers on how to get up to his level.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": His true name is unknown at first, so Yayoi and her friends just refer to him as god. His true identity is Taisui Xingjun, the Taoist deity of the star Taisui.
  • Eyes Do Not Belong There: When he reveals his Game Face, he gets extra eyeballs on his forehead, hands, and feet. He also has another set of eyeballs growing from his back and forming a circle at the back of his head.
  • Fair-Play Villain: Despite vastly overpowering both Yayoi and Kuubou in his first encounter with them, he lets both of them walk out unscatched so that they can get stronger and prepare for a rematch, seemingly itching at the chance for someone to actually challenge him.
  • God Is Evil: The first god shown in the series, and is quite evil.
  • Healing Factor: The yang half of his "Star of Annihilation" takes the form of a lump of flesh covered in eyeballs that grant him instant regeneration from any wounds.
  • No-Sell: His Shikigami can take damage for attacks meant for him.
  • Offing the Mouth: Tried doing this when Yayoi essentially calls him a pedophile.
  • Power of the Void: His ultimate power the "Star of Annihilation" causes total annihilation on even a microscopic level at its normal amount. At its highest, the result is complete genetic deletion for the target.
  • Really 700 Years Old: He looks like a child, but is at least over 1000 years old, considering he knows Abe no Seimei.
  • Sadist: Promises that after he defeats Yayoi, their souls will become his playthings for eternity.
  • Slasher Smile: He puts on a creepy grin whenever he finds something he deems interesting.
  • Smug Snake: His biggest weakness is his arrogance. He's completely confident that no one will ever be able to defeat him and deliberately provokes individuals who can offer a challenge for him, like Yayoi and Kuubou. Seimei believes Yayoi actually has a chance of beating the powerful god and him underestimating her could prove fatal for him.
  • Sorting Algorithm of Evil: He's the strongest entity shown in the early part of the series, far and above all the ghosts Yayoi has faced.
  • Villain Takes an Interest: When Yayoi claims she still has aces up her sleeves that can defeat him, he gets interested and takes her challenge.
  • Wake-Up Call Boss: Until he showed up, all enemies beforehand could be defeated through strategy or overpowering them with Yayoi's ghosts. He proceeds to take on all of the ghosts at once and Yayoi admits if he wasn't a Blood Knight, they would be dead. In order to defeat him, Yayoi has to visit haunted spots that are considerably more dangerous than before.
  • White Hair, Black Heart: He's an evil god who appears as a child with white hair.
  • The Worf Effect: Before he arrived, Yayoi's room of ghosts seemed invincible. While individually they could be defeated, once a ghost entered the room they were toast. The unnamed Kami took them down effortlessly.
  • You Don't Look Like You: Taisui Xingjun is often pictured as a six-armed and three-headed man with many skulls on his neck. Here, he's a rather normal-looking, white-haired little boy dressed in Japanese clothes.

    The God's Brides 

Mei Kamiyo is voiced by: Miho Hayashi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg20.JPG

The women from the Kamiyo family who have been offered to the malevolent god as brides for generations. Ai's aunt Mei was the most recent bride and Ai is supposed to succeed her when she turns 20.


  • Barred from the Afterlife: Their souls can't pass on because they're trapped by the god who consumes them to keep his vast power.
  • Fate Worse than Death: The wives include a female soul tied up by rope and had her organs eaten, as well as dozens of souls left with disembodied heads.
  • Half the Woman She Used to Be: The body of the latest bride has been devoured from the waist down, allowing the god to easily eat her intestines.
  • Marriage to a God: The god forces the women in Ai's bloodline to become his "brides", but they're really Human Sacrifices to him.
  • One Degree of Separation: Mei was Tamamura's friend when she was alive. Tamamura wants to help Yayoi defeat the evil god so Mei's soul can finally rest in peace.
  • Uncanny Family Resemblance: Ai's aunt Mei looked just like her, but with black hair.

    Old lady ghost 

Voiced by: Taiki Matsuno

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg26.JPG
An old lady ghost that was found in the H castle ruins. Leads unsuspecting victims to the waterfall while telling them about the history of the mass suicide that happened there. Was originally thought to be one of the Bunrei created by the spirit of H castle ruins, but was actually planted there by the one who placed a cursed arm to keep watch on it.
  • Evil Minions: Is one for the group who is planting curse objects in haunted spots.
  • Evil Old Folks: The ghost of an evil old lady.
  • Eye Scream: The finger of Hariti stabbed her in the eye when she tried eating it.
  • Out-of-Character Alert: Yayoi notices that Keitarou is suprisingly calm despite usually being scared shitless by haunted areas.
  • The Storyteller: Talks about the history about the place to any visitors.
  • Water Torture: Her boss does this to her in order to interrogate her on where the cursed arm was taken, which somehow works despite her being a ghost.

    Spirits of the abandoned love hotel 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg36.JPG
The ghosts of dozens of innocent women kidnapped by Yakuza and trapped in a love hotel to be raped. They died either from drug overdose or from being beaten to death. Each of them were killed in different rooms, but their fear and desire to escape merged together to create an originally non-existent room which their ghosts try to escape from. This room is normally inaccessible, but since all the female ghosts are trying to avoid it, by changing the number tags of the rooms around them, they will go towards the room while believing they were moving away from it.
  • The Dog Bites Back: Innocent women who were raped, abused and killed. They took their revenge on the Yakuza by killing them and trapping their souls in a closet, tormenting them until their hatred is quenched.
  • Grand Theft Me: One of the female ghost tried to exchange bodies with Keitarou but failed.
  • Hell Hotel: An abandoned love hotel filled with wandering female ghosts. At best you see them get tortured, at worst they will try to steal your bodies and/or kill you.
  • Living Shadow: Human-shaped shadows that moves on the walls and attack the female ghosts. These aren't ghosts though, since Keitarou can't sense them, but rather creations born from the fear and pain they suffered.
  • Non-Malicious Monster: With the exception of one, most of them aren't interested in attacking visitors, just don't piss them off.
  • Rape and Revenge: They were raped and killed, and will not stop torturing the Yakuza who did this to them until they can pass on.
  • Road-Sign Reversal: By changing the number tags on the rooms, they will mistakenly walk towards the false room they were trying to avoid.
  • Secret Room: A false room that never existed was created from their collective desire to escape the room they suffered in.
  • A Taste of Their Own Medicine: Now the Yakuza are the ones who are on the receiving end of being trapped and tortured.
  • Tulpa: The only possible reason for the wall shadows that attack the female ghosts to exist. Some of the female ghosts are still traumatized by their experiences and accidentally created them.
  • The Walls Have Eyes: When they find someone trespassing in the hotel, eyes form on the walls to look at them.

    Abe no Seimei 

Abe no Seimei

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg52.JPG
The ghost of the most famous onmyōji who lived in the Heian period. He meets Yayoi at the Seimei Shrine and takes interest in her, deciding to aid her in the battle against the god that has claimed Ai as a bride.
  • The Atoner: He left the god Taisui Xingjun as a guardian to his descendants, but that only resulted in the women of the Kamiyo family being forced to become the god's "brides" for many generations. He provides support for Yayoi in the battle against Taisui Xingjun to rectify the misfortune that his mistake brought to his descendants.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: It was hinted at chapter 20 that another spirit was present at the Seimei Shrine when the statue of Seimei shook, and 20 chapters later he was revealed.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Thanks to his divination, he can prepare himself for facing a major threat in advance. When he foresaw Shuten Douji's revival, he carefully prepared a ritual to summon five dragons, allowing him to defeat and reseal Shuten Douji almost immediately.
  • Cute Little Fangs: He has long fangs, possibly due to the legend claiming that Abe no Seimei's mother was an Asian Fox Spirit.
  • Friendly Ghost: He's by far the most benevolent and heroic ghost in the series. The only reason why he hasn't done anything about Taisui for centuries is that his power is very limited compared to when he was alive, so he can only provide support for Yayoi's group.
  • Historical Domain Character: Abe no Seimei is a real Onmyodo practitioner from the Heian period.
  • Mysterious Backer: Gives Yayoi some useful tools to help her defeat the evil god, but his motivations are kept a mystery.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Placed a curse killing anyone besides Yayoi if they tried reading the Senji Ryakketsu, but Yayoi couldn't actually read it due to not knowing ancient Kanji, and then neglected to tell Kyuusaku when he is about to decipher it for her.
  • Old Master: He's over a thousand years old and he's known as the most powerful onmyōji for good reason. When possessing Keitarou's body, he can go all out and control two bunrei of Japan's sun and moon deities.
  • Seer: He can use divination to predict the future. This is how he was able to foresee and prepare for Shuten Douji escaping from his seal.
  • Slasher Smile: Gives one when he saw the curse on Keitarou's arm, which may suggest he's not as friendly as he appears.
  • Spirit Advisor: He's a spirit who provides exposition and some assistance as he supports Yayoi in the battle against the god Taisui Xingjun.
  • Super-Empowering: He grants Eiko the power to see spirits.

    Zenki and Goki 

Zenki and Goki / Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg53.JPG
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg54.JPG
A pair of shikigami that are possessing Keitarou. They will summon themselves to protect Keitarou whenever his soul is in danger, but doing so greatly drains Keitarou.
  • Attack the Mouth: Goki immediately attacks the spirit of F park's mouth when she tries to use her power.
  • Blinded by the Light: Zenki attacks while his opponent is blinded by the light he produces.
  • Cast from Hit Points: They drain Keitarou's energy whenever they appear.
  • Cool Mask: Both have cool masks based on the sun and moon respectively.
  • Empathic Healer: Subverted, they heal their own injuries by transferring it to their host.
  • Fire/Ice Duo: Zenki represents the sun and uses heat-based attacks. Goki represents the moon and uses ice-based attacks.
  • The Gloves Come Off: The moment Abe no Seimei possesses Keitarou, he unleashes Zenki and Goki's true forms as the gods Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Then they proceed to deliver a One-Hit Kill on two of Taisui's shikigami.
  • Holy Halo: Zenki has a bright halo on his back.
  • An Ice Person: Goki fights with an ice scythe and can freeze her opponents.
  • Kill It with Fire: Zenki can use fire to create a barrier that also sets his enemy on fire if they touch it.
  • Light 'em Up: Zenki produces a blinding light when he appears.
  • Lunacy: Goki's powers are based on the moon.
  • Male Sun, Female Moon: The male Zenki represents Yang and thus the sun, while the female Goki is Yin, thus the moon.
  • Night and Day Duo: When Zenki appears, a light as blinding as the sun covers the area, while Goki envelops the surrounding in darkness. Taken further when they're revealed to be the sun deity Amaterasu and the moon deity Tsukuyomi.
  • Pieces of God: Their true forms are fragments of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, two of the most powerful Japanese deities.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: They are based on the Shikigami of En no Gyoja, and are a red and blue oni respectively.
  • Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: Currently sealed inside Keitarou, and comes out when he's in danger.
  • Self-Healing Phlebotinum: Goki's scythe, being made of ice, can be repaired easily by absorbing water.
  • Sinister Scythe: Goki uses a giant scythe made of ice.
  • Slasher Smile: Goki gives a big one before landing the final blow.
  • The Snack Is More Interesting: In this case, the snack is the enemy's head, as Zenki doesn't bother looking at his foe as he chopped into him while eating a head.
  • The Speechless: They don't talk, even though they look human and seem sapient.
  • Step into the Blinding Fight: Goki can blind the opponent using her curse, filling their eyes with darkness from the dark side of the moon.
  • Water Is Womanly: Goki, the female of the duo, can control water and ice.
  • Wreathed in Flames: Zenki can cover himself in flames.

    Shinigami 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dg.PNG
Spirits that look like dark mist. They absorb the souls of the deceased, with the faces of said souls appearing on their head.
  • Psychopomp: Downplayed. They're not responsible for helping all ghosts into the afterlife, but only appear to prevent an overpopulation of ghosts in a certain area. They mostly appear in hospitals or on battlefields, but something linger around and follow people who are about to die.
  • Shinigami: Due to their nature of gathering near people who are about to die, Yayoi dubs them the "shinigami".
  • Soul Eating: Does this to the recently deceased, though whether or not it's eating or are they transferring them to the afterlife is unknown.

The Replaced

    Oswald 

Oswald

Voiced by: Taku Yashiro

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oswald_dark_gathering.png
A foreign exorcist that had his body taken over by a ghost.
  • Body Snatcher: The current Oswald had his body taken by a ghost.
  • Dirty Old Monk: He's trained as a buddhist priest, and helped his friend hide porn magazines.
  • Faux Affably Evil: He puts on a facade of being affable and easygoing when he's really an evil and cruel spirit possessing a human body.
  • Lured into a Trap: By exploiting his host's connections, he is able to trick competent exorcists into going to haunted places where his allies will ambush them and take their bodies.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His underling couldn't report to him the existence of Yayoi's group and how they stole the artifact due to being drowned and killed.
  • Power Parasite: He has all the skills the original Oswald had by reading his memories.
  • Something Only They Would Say: By reading the original Oswald's memories, the current Oswald was able to prove himself to be the real deal by declaring he knows that his friend was hiding porn magazines during their training.
  • Water Torture: Used this to punish the ghost responsible for looking after the cursed artifact.
  • You Have Failed Me: Pissed that the guard watching over the artifact failed, he killed her before she could actually report what happened.

    Nankoubou 

Nankoubou

Voiced by: Masashi Ebara

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0015_044.png

An old man sitting in a wheelchair and is as thin as a skeleton. He works with Oswald and the other Replaced.


  • An Arm and a Leg: He's missing his right arm.
  • Bald of Evil: He's an evil old man with a bald head.
  • The Corrupter: He was the one who suggested to Saki to go through the ritual that would allow her to give birth to an "angel", leading her down the path that drove her to commit Parental Incest and mass murder.
  • Evil Cripple: He uses a wheelchair and is very evil.
  • Evil Old Folks: He's an evil and decrepit old man.

    Nagiko Shami 

Nagiko Shami

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_gathering_shami.png
Click here to see her true form 
A spiritualist that hosted a ghost show that eventually had her body taken by another ghost. Said ghost was haunting the old K tunnel, based on the real life old Komine tunnel.
  • Always Identical Twins: She looks exactly like her twin.
  • Body Snatcher: The current Nagiko had her body taken by a ghost.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Her older sister knows of the danger of being famous and tried warning her, but she didn't listen.
  • "Pop!" Goes the Human: Nagiko's body was blown up from the inside into little pieces.
  • Sell-Out: Due to not being skilled enough to make a living off exorcising alone, she make ends meet by being the star of her own ghost show.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: The only moments we saw of the original Nagiko was some of her exploits and her cowering in fear as she was taken over, and with her body destroyed she probably isn't coming back.

Tropes applying to the ghost

  • Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Contorts her body so that her head is upside down.
  • Cop Killer: After being severely weakened, she killed a bunch of cops to regain power.
  • Creepy Souvenir: Keeps the heads of the soul of her victims, who continuously repeat the word "head".
  • Faking the Dead: Pretended to be dead after being defeated and hid underwater to avoid detection.
  • Fangs Are Evil: She's a terrifying evil spirit with long fangs.
  • Madness Mantra: However she kills, her victims are left mindless Empty Shells with their brains full of holes, repeatedly saying "return my head" until they eventually die
  • Magic Hair: Her hair can be used to make clones of people she killed.
  • Outside Ride: Followed Yayoi's group by latching on the roof of their car.
  • Prehensile Hair: One of her powers is using her hair to create puppets and strangle her victims.
  • Schmuck Bait: Managed to draw a policeman to a secluded corner in order to kill him by using this. Said bait features a creepy girl that runs away after being seen and appears from nowhere in the middle of the night in a police station.
  • Worf Effect: Was nearly killed by the ghost of the old I Watergate to show off his power.

    Dorothy Flamsteed 

Dorothy Flamsteed

Voiced by: Miyuri Shimabukuro

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dorothy_flamsteed_color.png
A child studying at the same school as Yayoi, and also has spiritual powers, but had her body taken over by a ghost haunting a doll, while the original Dorothy was forced into the doll and tormented by the ghost. The ghost is part of the organization responsible for the creation of Kuubou, and calls Oswald "Onii-sama", though whether or not they're actual siblings is still unrevealed. Since little is known about the original Dorothy, most tropes here would be describing the ghosts possessing her.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She seems friendly and cheerful, but her smiles are for more sadistic and cruel reasons.
  • Cannot Keep a Secret: Spills out that she was responsible for the latest incident and that she knows about Kuubou... before Yayoi figured to pretend to be her ally. She also admits she just couldn't be bothered with the impersonation. Her using a brain of a child is noted as a possible reason.
  • Cover Identity Anomaly: She dresses so differently from the original Dorothy that most people are weirded out by her change, and the only reason she isn't revealed is that nobody knows about ghosts.
  • Creepy Blue Eyes: She has deep blue eyes and the fact that she's an evil spirit possessing the body of a child makes her very creepy.
  • Creepy Child: While the original Dorothy seemed normal, the possessed one dresses in elaborate gothic attire, wears make up and encourages her classmates to venture into haunted places around school. However, the ghost possessing her might not be an actual child.
  • Creepy Doll: Carries around a doll with bleeding eyes. However, those are the tears of an innocent girl that is trapped. Since she was the one who possessed in beforehand, it was presumably just as creepy back then.
  • Cute and Psycho: She appears as a cute little girl dressed like an Elegant Gothic Lolita, but is definitely a psycho.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Changes from the original Dorothy's plain white dress to a mostly black gothic dress.
  • Empty Eyes: Her blank white eyes seem considerably evil.
  • Evil Counterpart: Seems to be one for Yayoi. Both dresses oddly, carry around dolls containing ghosts, enjoy ghost stories and visiting haunted places, is unnaturally intelligent for the ages, possess knowledge in capturing and powering up ghosts and are the youngest member of their group. But personality wise they're complete opposites. Yayoi is cautious, emotionless, responsible and has a strong sense of justice, while Dorothy is careless, smiles all the time, drags innocents into her plan and is sadistic. Yayoi only act ruthlessly towards evil spirits, while Dorothy so far has only played with innocent spirits.
  • Evil Gloating: She constantly reminds the original Dorothy that she's stuck in a doll and can never escape. Not to mention giving information about their group's plan to Yayoi even without needing to.
  • Faux Affably Evil: She pretends to be a polite child while around others, but is callous and sadistic, drawing the entire school into her evil plan to test Yayoi.
  • Formal Characters Use Keigo: She speaks in a flowery Keigo manner. She apparently wants to be seen as a high-class lady, as evidenced by her preference for gothic lolita dresses.
  • Grand Theft Me: Stole Dorothy's body and identity.
  • Hime Cut: She dresses in Elegant Gothic Lolita fashion and her hairstyle is composed of blunt bangs, cheek-length sidelocks, and knee-length straight hair.
  • Kick the Dog: Reminds the actual Dorothy every day that her body was stolen, just for sadistic kicks.
  • Lack of Empathy: Even towards fellow ghosts, who she feeds to Mr. Sakashita to power him up.
  • Makeup Is Evil: She wears heavy lipstick for an elementary schooler, making her stand out as one of the humans possessed by an evil ghost.
  • The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: Yayoi theorizes that Dorothy's intelligence is limited by possessing a child's body, making her easier to fool than the other Replaced.
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: While trying to test Yayoi and her friend's identities and knowledge, was fed false information while giving away that they created Kuubou and there was a whole group of ghosts taking over bodies, setting Yayoi on their trail. Not to mention Yayoi was having trouble with the lack of time due to school, which due to Dorothy's plan causing the school to close temporarily, the former has now all the free time to enact her own plans.
  • Parasol of Prettiness: She usually carries around a frilly parasol to complement her Elegant Gothic Lolita clothing.
  • Tears of Blood: The original Dorothy cries tears of blood everyday as she is helpless imprisoned in a doll.
  • Token Mini-Moe: Out of the Replaced, Dorothy is the only one to be possessing the body of a child.
  • Underestimating Badassery: She underestimates Yayoi, thinking of her as a child who she can easily corner at any time. Anyone who has seen Yayoi fight S-class ghosts knows how wrong Dorothy is.
  • White Hair, Black Heart: She has pure white hair, and the evil to match.

Past Characters

    The Stepmother 

The Stepmother

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stepmother_dark_gathering.png

The stepmother of the ghost boy haunting the old I Watergate. After she got caught cheating on her husband and her lover killed him, she killed her lover and stepson, and turned them into meatballs to dispose of the corpse.


  • A Deadly Affair: Her husband caught her cheating on him with another man, prompting her lover to kill him. She then killed her lover and her stepson as well.
  • Dismembering the Body: After the murders, she dismembered the bodies of her husband, lover and stepson, and then turned them into meatballs to dispose of them at the I Watergate.
  • Karmic Death: After she killed her stepson, he came back as a Vengeful Ghost and killed her brutally.
  • Leave No Witnesses: Her lover killed her husband and she helped him dispose of the body. Then she stabbed her lover to death. Since her stepson was a witness throughout all this, she killed him too.
  • Posthumous Character: She was killed by her stepson's ghost and only appears as part of his origin story.
  • Psycho Knife Nut: She stabbed her lover and stepson to death with a kitchen knife.
  • Unnamed Parent: Her stepson only calls her "Mom" and her name isn't revealed.
  • Wicked Stepmother: She cruelly abused her stepson; beat him, neglected him, starved him, and locked him in a cold balcony as she forced him to watch her eat all the food and have sex with her lover. After he saw her killing her lover, she killed her stepson.
  • Would Hurt a Child: She used to beat her young stepson. After he witnessed her committing murder, she brutally stabbed him to death and turned his body into meatballs.

    Kurenai 

Kurenai

Voiced by: Hisako Kanemoto

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kurenai_dark_gathering.png

Otogiri's apprentice. She was jealous of Otogiri's beauty and success, driving her to cause her downfall in life.


  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She pretended to be polite and respectful towards Otogiri until she poisoned Otogiri's lover and framed her for the crime. After Otogiri lost her job and beauty, Kurenai taunted her over having stolen everything from her.
  • Deceptive Disciple: Otogiri was responsible for her training as a courtesan. Being jealous of Otogiri, she betrayed her to steal her job and lover from her.
  • Driven by Envy: She envied Otogiri for her beauty and position as a high-class courtesan. When Otogiri was about to be bought by a rich man who wanted to marry her, Kurenai poisoned the man and made him believe Otogiri was the culprit, causing him to dump her and beat her up. After Otogiri lost her job and beauty, Kurenai mocked her over how she managed to take everything from her, including her lover. At least Otogiri got the last laugh when she took Kurenai down with her as revenge.
  • Floral Theme Naming: Like her fellow courtesan Otogiri, Kurenai has a flower's name.
  • Hidden Disdain Reveal: After she managed to take everything from Otogiri, Kurenai went to see her just to admit she was the one who poisoned the man who wanted to marry Otogiri because she had always hated and envied her for being a more beautiful and experienced courtesan than her.
  • Karmic Death: She stole Otogiri's lover and spot as top courtesan out of jealousy. After she mocked the impoverished and ill Otogiri's ugly face, Otogiri took her revenge by setting herself and Kurenai on fire.
  • Kill It with Fire: Otogiri killed her by setting her on fire along with herself.
  • Lascivious Beauty Mark: She worked as a courtesan and had a beauty mark on the right corner of her mouth.
  • Posthumous Character: She was killed by Otogiri centuries ago and only appears in Otogiri's backstory.
  • Pride: She was convinced she was the one who deserved to be the most beautiful courtesan in Yoshiwara and hated Otogiri for being successful enough as to have a rich man offer to buy her freedom, driving her to betray her and ruin her life.
  • Stupid Evil: Kurenai succeeded in framing Otogiri and stealing her lover from her, but she couldn't resist doing major Evil Gloating in front of Otogiri by admitting that she ruined her life out of petty jealousy. Unsurprisingly, taunting a woman who had nothing left to live for and giving her a perfect reason to kill her didn't end well for Kurenai.

    Ayako and her parents 

Ayako and her parents

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0040_024.png

Ayako was the daughter of the ghost that created the "red dress" curse at the Kubizuka Daimyojin Shrine. Actually, she was the daughter of her mother's lover. When Ayako was going to get married, she told the truth to her stepfather and uninvited him from her wedding because she wanted her real father to attend instead of him. In retaliation, the man went mad and brutally killed everyone at the wedding.


  • Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: Ayako's wedding dress was completely stained with her blood when her stepfather murdered her.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Ayako's father got his limbs chopped off with a chainsaw and that the lower half of his body chopped in half.
  • A Deadly Affair: Ayako's mother had been having an affair since before she was married. Once the truth was revealed, the cuckolded husband killed his ex-wife, her lover and Ayako, along with everyone at Ayako's wedding.
  • Intentional Heartbreaker: Ayako's mother never loved the man she married, having only done so because the man she really loved asked her to make another man into an Emasculated Cuckold for his own amusement. When Ayako wanted her real father to go to her wedding, the mother was quick to hand over the divorce papers, leaving her husband devastated.
  • It Amused Me: Ayako's real father made her mother marry another man and had said man raise his daughter for twenty years while keeping him unaware of the affair the entire time, all because he got sick amusement out of watching the poor guy working hard to raise a girl who wasn't even his.
  • Jerkass: They fooled a man for twenty years and made him believe he had a loving wife and daughter, only to reveal they were seeing Ayako's real father in secret the entire time and neither of them ever cared about the stepfather. Ayako takes the cake because she coldly told the man who lovingly raised her that she didn't even want him at her wedding because she preferred her rich biological father over him.
  • Karmic Death: After Ayako exposed the affair and callously uninvited her stepfather from her wedding, he crashed the wedding and brutally murdered all the attendees. Ayako and her parents were left for last and got the most violent deaths.
  • Not Blood, Not Family: Ayako was aware of her biological father's identity since she was five years old. She never saw her stepfather as family, even though he raised her as his own when he was unaware that his wife was unfaithful. Ayako eventually revealed her mother's affair to her stepfather and coldly told him she didn't want him at her wedding because she wanted her biological father to attend instead.
  • Off with Her Head!: Ayako and her mother were beheaded with a chainsaw.
  • Smoking Hot Sex: Ayako's real father is shown having a smoke while naked in bed with the mother.
  • Ungrateful Bitch: While Ayako knew who was her biological father all along, her stepfather raised her and cared for her as she was growing up. Ayako still made very clear he meant nothing to her when she was quick to uninvite her stepfather from her wedding and basically cut him out of her life completely without hesitation.
  • Unnamed Parent: Neither of Ayako's parents is named.


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