Known for its cute yet creepy art style, the Yomawari series has surprisingly dark narratives that discuss sensitive subject matters. It involves young characters exploring spirit-infested towns, and picking up items along the way to help them reach their goal, whether that be finding their sister, best friend, or locating their forgotten memories.
Although the Yomawari series doesn’t have lots of characters, they’re pivotal to their respective games’ overall narrative and the overarching themes of the story. You become attached to the characters as you play, which urges you to carry on through the haunted town to find out the end of their stories.
This article contains references to sensitive themes, including suicide and animal death.
There are spoilers for all three Yomawari games below.
7 Just Purrfect: Mugi (Yomawari: Lost In The Dark)
Mugi is a white cat that belongs to the protagonist of Yomawari: Lost in the Dark - Yuzu. Mugi is an affectionate cat, shielding Yuzu from spirits and showing her the right way to go to progress.
Sadly, at the end of the game, it’s revealed that Mugi died prior to the game’s events. In fact, Mugi stayed with Yuzu as a spirit to protect her from the effects of the curse, thanks to the bell it wears on its collar. Although Mugi has a minor part in the story, it’s paramount to the game’s overarching narrative as Yuzu has to accept Mugi’s death to be free from the curse.
6 Titular Spirit: Mr. Yomawari (Yomawari: Night Alone)
The namesake of the Yomawari series, Mr. Yomawari is a unique spirit who has a penchant for kidnapping children. Despite its motivations being largely unknown, Mr. Yomawari originates from a cautionary tale, where it abducts children who wander alone at nighttime.
In Yomawari: Night Alone, Mr. Yomawari kidnaps the protagonist’s sister, leading the protagonist to search for her. The spirit can take two different forms, with its appearance and behavior changing accordingly. In its regular form, Mr. Yomawari resembles a black, slug-like monster with tentacle appendages, whereas its other form is aggressive and has a fleshy appearance.
5 Girl From Your Memories: Kotori (Yomawari: Lost In The Dark)
Kotori is an enigmatic character in Yomawari 3. She’s involved in Yuzu’s past, appearing in her forgotten memories, and much like the protagonist, is inflicted with the God’s curse. It’s revealed through the memories that Yuzu befriended Kotori before she became afflicted with the curse; however, due to Yuzu hiding from the truth about Mugi, Kotori succumbed to it.
Discovering Kotori’s relationship with the protagonist through Yuzu’s forgotten memories is one of the most fulfilling parts of Yomawari 3, as Kotori’s character is key to unraveling the mystery surrounding the curse and the story as a whole. Although you don’t recover Yuzu’s true memories until the latter half of the game, seeing the relationship between Kotori and Yuzu unfold makes the conclusion all the more tragic.
4 The Saddest Backstory: Yui (Yomawari: Midnight Shadows)
In comparison to her best friend Haru, Yui has a lively personality, despite her neglectful upbringing. In Midnight Shadows, Yui and Haru search for one another throughout the town when they become separated after watching a fireworks show. Yui took her own life after the death of her beloved dog; however, she has no recollection of this, and is unaware that she’s a spirit.
She is an empathetic character who cares deeply for Haru and her dogs, telling Haru to look after her other dog before moving on from the living world. Her character is befallen by tragedy, and you’re unable to do anything to reverse her fate.
3 Sacrifices Had To Be Made: Haru (Yomawari: Midnight Shadows)
Alongside Yui, Haru is the protagonist of Midnight Shadows, where she searches for Yui, who appears to have disappeared without a trace. She scours different locations around town to find her friend, despite the imminent danger of the spirits haunting the area.
Although Haru has a reserved personality, she’s willing to go into harm’s way looking for Yui, encountering malicious spirits that will attempt to kill her on sight. Near the end of the game, Haru is forced to sacrifice a limb to sever the red strings of fate tying her to Yui, separating the two friends forever as Yui’s spirit can now move on.
2 Break The Curse: Yuzu (Yomawari: Lost In The Dark)
The protagonist of Yomawari: Lost in the Dark, Yuzu is a young girl with a curse placed upon her that can only be broken by exploring multiple locations in town, finding items to help Yuzu uncover her lost memories. Despite being a young girl, Yuzu is steadfast in her goal, encountering various spirits but managing to escape each time by closing her eyes or running for her life.
Yuzu is also shown to be somewhat under-confident and doesn’t stand up to her classmates who relentlessly bully her. It’s only by journeying through the town in search of a way to break the curse that Yuzu is able to come to terms with her past, ultimately finding the confidence to refuse the bullies’ demands.
1 Caring Little Sis: Protagonist (Yomawari: Night Alone)
The protagonist of Yomawari: Night Alone, referred to as Kotomo in the Midnight Shadows novelization, is a young girl who explores the spirit-infested town to find her sister and dog, Poro. The protagonist is able to bargain with the Mountain Spirit and escape with her sister, albeit at the cost of one of her eyes.
Similar to the other Yomawari protagonists, Night Alone’s main character is determined to locate her sibling, in spite of the horrors she faces. She reappears in Midnight Shadows, as Haru can meet her in multiple locations in town after you complete the game.