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Warning: due to the nature of the game, spoilers are unmarked.
The Main Group
Rin Yamazaki
The protagonist, a college student on vacation with her three friends. Rather rude, hot-headed, and academically ignorant.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Rin and Seitaro have moments of this. While they are frequently calling each other names and generally being unpleasant to each other, Seitaro runs into the bathroom to check on Rin when he hears her screaming, goes out into the dangerous fog to find her when she goes missing, and lends her his jacket when she complains about the cold. And on Rin's side, he's always the one she goes to for advice, she jokes about wanting to sleep with him, and if he dies, she goes over the Despair Event Horizon.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Rin and Seitaro frequently quarrel, call each other names, and yell at each other. They also spend more time with each other than anyone else, and if Rin has a problem, Seitaro is always the first person she talks to.
- Big "NO!": Rin lets out one upon seeing Yuka's dead body, if the player previously lit the fireplace in her room.
- Book Dumb: She does not know who Ophelia is and has to ask Seitaro about how to read or understand a lot of things she comes across. She's also very quick at figuring out puzzles that would have other people stumped, somehow realizing that the way to save Yuuta is to tear down the Ophelia pictures after remembering how Yuuta had looked at the paintings prior, and basically is a genius when she doesn't have to read something.
- Brain Bleach: Rin says she needs this after accidentally overhearing Yuuta masturbating to thoughts of a bloated, diseased, and ugly Yuka.
- Cassandra Truth:
- Seitaro refuses to believe her when she tries to tell him about Yuuta trying to kill her and about the mermaid's curse.
- In the "Yaobikuni" bad ending, a possessed Yukio locks Rin in the room with the mermaids in hopes of starving her. When he returns several days later and finds that she has gone mad, he decides to let her go because of this trope; even if she managed to coherently tell someone what happened, no one would believe her.
- Driven to Madness: In the "Yaobikuni" bad ending, she completely loses it because of her traumatic stay at the mansion, seeing her friends die, being locked in a room with five bloated corpses, and having to eat one of them.
- Driven to Suicide: In two endings. If Yuka and Yuuta both die, but Seitaro survives to the end along with Rin, it's strongly implied that they both drown themselves after realizing they can't escape the house. And in the ending where Yuka and Yuuta don't die (yet) but Seitaro does, Rin commits suicide to be with Seitaro.
- Dumb Blonde: Zig-zagged. She's portrayed as being dim at certain points, but she manages to solve some complex puzzles. It's also worth noting that she's pursing a major in history in the remake, indicating that she may be smart, but not as smart as Seitaro.
- He Knows Too Much: In "Yaobikuni", she is locked up in the room with the mermaids to prevent her from spilling the beans, and she's only let out when it's discovered that she's become so utterly insane that no one would listen to her even if she did tell.
- I'm a Humanitarian: If you get the ending where everyone dies except her, she ends up eating the flesh of one of the mermaids after being locked in the basement with them for several days.
- It's All My Fault: She blames herself if Yuka dies because Rin lit a fireplace to try and warm Yuka up, but it ends up killing her. If Seitaro dies, it sends her into a Heroic BSoD because she couldn't stop Seitaro from throwing himself into the lake.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She is obnoxious, foul-mouthed, and has a tendency to call Seitaro names. She is also very protective of her friends, especially Seitaro, and gives her all to make sure everyone is okay.
- Laughing Mad: After undergoing serious Sanity Slippage in the bad end "Yaobikuni", she runs into a forest, and the last thing heard is of her laughing like a maniac, thinking that she is immortal.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: Rin pounds Seitaro when he accidentally sees her naked early on.
- Psychic Powers: The game subtly implies that Rin might have them. She is the only character who never becomes possessed in any way (as the Golden Ending reveals that Yuka's illness was likely also a case of this), as well as the only one having meaningful dreams connected to the mystery of the Tsuchida family.
- Sanity Slippage: In the "Yaobikuni" ending where her companions all die. She ends up locked in the place where the mermaids are kept for several days, and during this time becomes incredibly hungry. So she eats the flesh of one of the mermaids. After that, it is an easy task for Yukio to convince her that she's become immortal and send her on her merry way, completely insane.
- Together in Death: In the ending "Forever Deep", she and Seitaro both decide that they will never escape, and are last seen wondering what it would be like to drown themselves. It is strongly implied that they do it, remaining together in their last moments.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She's boisterous, rebellious, and has a fiery temper, but still likes girlish things (such as her pink outfit in the 2018 remake). According to
Word of God, this is what makes her immune to the Tsuchida spirits. She's too headstrong to be possessed by the mermaids and she's too masculine for the Tsuchida men. - Tsundere: Her and Seitaro towards each other. They regularly call each other names and act like they can't stand each other. However, in a few endings, especially the good ending, it's implied that their constant banter and insults are their way of hiding their feelings for each other. In one scene, Seitaro will believe her about the mermaid's curse because he believes that the only reason why he would hug her and want her to be by his side is because of a curse. Even Rin is surprised by the logic he uses to dismiss any claims of being romantically attracted to her. The Twitter comic about Seitaro's point of view confirms that he's right. When he hugs Rin, his head is filled with thoughts about "dominating" Rin and he's aware that these aren't his thoughts at all.
Seitaro Wakasugi
A college student and friend of Rin, though due to their personalities, they tend to come to blows a lot.
- Accidental Pervert: He runs into the bathroom to check on Rin when she screams upon discovering her bath filled with swamp water. She'd just gotten out of the bath and is not wearing a thing.
- And I Must Scream: While Yuuta doesn't remember his brief stint of going crazy/being possessed, Seitaro remembers his. According to Seitaro, he was aware the whole time, he just couldn't stop.
- Anger Born of Worry: Twice after Rin gets lost going into the forest and almost drowns while swimming in the swamp, Seitaro yells at her for endangering herself.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Rin and Seitaro have moments of this. While they are frequently calling each other names and generally being unpleasant to each other, Seitaro runs into the bathroom to check on Rin when he hears her screaming, goes out into the dangerous fog to find her when she goes missing, and lends her his jacket when she complains about the cold. And on Rin's side, he's always the one she goes to for advice, she jokes about wanting to sleep with him, and if he dies, she goes over the Despair Event Horizon.
- Beat the Curse Out of Him: If you choose not to have Rin dodge him when he tries to attack her, she kicks him in the stomach until it brings him to his senses.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Rin and Seitaro frequently quarrel, call each other names, and yell at each other. They also spend more time with each other than anyone else, and if Rin has a problem, Seitaro is always the first person she talks to.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: If Rin dodges when a crazed Seitaro tries to attack her, he falls through the floor and ends up with the axe in his own chest. He comes back to his senses and thinks having an axe in him is not a dignified way to go, so he makes Rin pull the axe out and then he goes out to the swamp to drown himself.
- Demonic Possession: Falls victim to this courtesy of the Tsuchida spirits. He initially tries to deceive Rin and drowns her if she falls for it; if she sees through it, he chases her with an axe.
- Driven to Suicide: If Yuka and Yuuta both die, but Seitaro survives to the end along with Rin, it's strongly implied that they both drown themselves after realizing they can't escape the house.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is a know-it-all, more than a little bossy and pushy, and can name-call as well as Rin. He is also very protective of his friends, especially Rin, and he gives his all to make sure everyone is okay.
- No Guy Wants an Amazon: Seitaro claims he'd never fall in love with Rin because she's crude, unrefined, and violent. Subverted with several indications that he has fallen for her but refuses to admit it.
- Skeptic No Longer: Seitaro is forced to acknowledge that the mermaid's curse is true when it nearly made him kill Rin.
- Sympathy for the Devil: The Twitter comic from his point of view shows that he feels this for the Tsuchida spirits and Yukio. When Seitaro was possessed, his head was filled with thoughts about "dominating" Rin, and after he returns to normal, he deduces this is how the Tsuchida men felt every moment of their lives regarding women. He also muses that while Rin was there for him, Yukio didn't have anyone, so he was overcome by the family's fixation.
- Together in Death: In the ending "Forever Deep", he and Rin both decide that they will never escape, and are last seen wondering what it would be like to drown themselves. It is strongly implied that they do it, remaining together in their last moments.
- Tsundere: Him and Rin towards each other. They regularly call each other names and act like they can't stand each other. However, in a few endings, especially the good ending, it's implied that their constant banter and insults are their way of hiding their feelings for each other. In one scene, Seitaro will believe her about the mermaid's curse because he believes that the only reason why he would hug her and want her to be by his side is because of a curse. Even Rin is surprised by the logic he uses to dismiss any claims of being romantically attracted to her. The Twitter comic about Seitaro's point of view confirms that he's right. When he hugs Rin, his head is filled with thoughts about "dominating" Rin and he's aware that these aren't his thoughts at all.
- You Must Be Cold: If he survives, when he and Rin head towards the room where the "mermaids" are kept, she complains about the cold. He gives her his coat to wear.
Yuka Kikuchi
A college student and Rin's best friend.
- Body Horror: She somehow contracts a strange illness that causes her to swell up horribly. Lighting the fire adds to the factor, with the shot of her corpse implying she literally exploded.
- Damsel in Distress: The entire game is spent trying to escape the swamp so Rin and the others can get her into a hospital and save her from her Demonic Possession.
- Fate Worse than Death: In the ending "Secrets", all her friends die, leaving Yuka alone and unprotected, her condition not having improved a bit.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: She's feminine, quiet, and softspoken. Unfortunately, that's the reason she's targeted by the mermaids and the Tsuchida spirits.
Yuuta Takahashi
A college student and friend of Rin.
- Caught with Your Pants Down: At one point, Rin accidentally catches him masturbating. He was not in his right mind at the time.
- Demonic Possession: Falls victim to this courtesy of the Tsuchida spirits. Yuuta acts perverted concerning Yuka, and eventually becomes violent; depending on the story path, he either kills himself or chases Rin with a knife.
- Driven to Suicide: If Yuka dies, he is so distraught that he stabs himself. It is actually revealed that he was possessed, only regaining consciousness seconds before he dies.
- He Knows Too Much: In "Secrets", with Yuka still sick and Seitaro and Rin both dead, Yuuta is the only one in any condition to do anything, and he is promptly shot.
- Psychic-Assisted Suicide: In story paths where he stabs himself, he's still under Demonic Possession at the time, and when he comes to, he realizes he's bleeding to death and doesn't know why.
Inhabitants of the Swamp House
The Old Man/Yukio Tsuchida
The current owner of the Tsuchida house who allowed the students to stay the night.
- Admiring the Abomination: In the Good End, he admits that he loved the “mermaids” just as much as his ancestors because of how repulsive, yet beautiful they were.
- The Atoner: He is deeply troubled by the imprisoning of the mermaids done by his ancestors, and desires to save them.
- Demonic Possession: In the Yaobikuni ending, it is implied that he gets possessed by a Tsuchida spirit, and the Good Ending indicates that he has been constantly trying to fight off attempts to possess him.
- Walking Spoiler: His true motives are not revealed until the Good Ending.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to save the mermaids, but his own fascination for them prevented him from doing so. So he intentionally cuts off contact with the outside world, trapping Rin and her friends inside, to get them to do it for him, knowing that the spirits will come after them.
Saeko Kawamoto
Yukio's late wife.
- He Knows Too Much: Implied to be the reason she and her children died. The newspaper says that they drowned themselves to death in an accident, but that seems unlikely. It is eventually revealed in the Good Ending that the women from the Tsuchida family (whom they were from) knew about the family fixation about keeping girls in tanks, but said nothing because they were afraid of being turned into mermaids by the men of the family. In the flashback, it is revealed that Saeko decided to abandon the Tsuchidas and Chiyo and Chie tagged along with her, so it is implied that they were killed by the Tsuchidas in order to prevent them from spilling the beans.
- Mama Bear: She took her own children with her away from the Tsuchida house to give them a chance at a normal life.
- Posthumous Character: By the time of the story, she is dead from drowning.
- Walking Spoiler: Her role in the story spoils a bit of background on the reveal that the Tsuchidas were a Big, Screwed-Up Family.
Chiyo and Chie Tsuchida
The deceased children of Yukio and Saeko.
- Gender-Blender Name: Chie, who is the boy of the two.
- He Knows Too Much: Implied to be the reason behind their and Saeko’s deaths. The newspaper says that they drowned themselves to death in an accident, but that seems unlikely. It is eventually revealed in the Good Ending that the women from the Tsuchida family (whom they were from) knew about the family fixation about keeping girls in tanks, but said nothing because they were afraid of being turned into mermaids by the men of the family. In the flashback, it is revealed that Saeko decided to abandon the Tsuchidas and Chiyo and Chie tagged along with her, so it is implied that they were killed by the Tsuchidas in order to prevent them from spilling the beans.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Subverted and Inverted. Chiyo, seemingly a boy but actually a girl, has a blue-colored mat, while Chie, seemingly a girl but actually a boy, has a pink-colored one.
- Pink Means Feminine: Subverted. Chie has a pink-colored mat and initially seems to be a girl in contrast to Chiyo, who has a blue-colored mat, but Chie is a boy and Chiyo a girl.
- Posthumous Character: By the time of the story, they are dead from drowning, although their spirits are indicated to still be lingering in the house.
- Red Herring: At first, it seems that Chiyo is the boy and Chie is the girl; aside from their names corresponding to that gender, Chiyo has a blue-colored mat while Chie has a pink-colored one. Until then you find out about the fixations of the Tsuchida family about mermaids, making Chie (who loves the mermaids as well) a boy and Chiyo (who is afraid of them) a girl.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Chie is much more upbeat, and loves the mermaids and his dad; Chiyo is rather morose and says in a diary that she hates the mermaids and her dad.
- Walking Spoiler: From their genders being the reverse of what they seemed to be to their role in the Big, Screwed-Up Family that is the Tsuchidas, it is impossible to talk about them without spoiling something.
The Mermaids
The spirits who haunt the house and posses Yuka. Though initially built up as the antagonists, they really just want to be freed from their imprisonment.
- And I Must Scream: Being made into a mermaid is this. The young women who were the basis for the mermaid legend were kept in tanks of water, with preservatives to keep them from becoming infected. Eventually, this destroyed their health.
- Bathtub Mermaid: The mermaids are kept in aquariums and septic tanks by the men of the Tsuchida family.
- Body Horror: They were kept alive in tanks filled with disinfectant. Their bodies swelled up as a result.
- Demonic Possession: One of them possesses Yuka, turning her into a bloated monstrosity much like them.
- Disc-One Final Boss: They initially seem to be the ones responsible for trapping Rin and her friends in the house, but they are really victims of the Tsuchida spirits.
- Due to the Dead: In the ending "Underwater Dream", it is discovered that the "Take me back!" message Rin kept getting was from the mermaids, who wished to be returned to the earth. Rin and Seitaro solve this by blowing up the place where the mermaids were kept with dynamite, causing a cave-in and ensuring that the mermaids, now buried in earth, could rest in peace.
- Fate Worse than Death: The mermaid suffered this in the legend, as being forced to live in swamp water in a tank destroyed her slowly. The actual not-really-mermaids suffered this as well, being forced to live in tanks until they finally died of health complications.
- Good All Along: Though they seem to be malevolent creatures, they really just want to be freed, and did not possess Yuka out of malice but as a cry for help.
- People Jars: The mermaid in the legend was kept in a tank of swamp water. The women who were the basis for the legend were also kept in tanks of water.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: One of them appears as this in the basement where Rin finds the map. Rin promptly faints.
- Walking Spoiler: Their true nature as non-malicious trapped spirits is only revealed in the Good Ending.
Spoiler Character
The Tsuchida Spirits
The spirits of the Tsuchida men who continue to haunt the house and the true antagonists of the game. They are the ones who kidnapped the girls and turned them into the mermaids, and will do anything to prevent Rin and her friends from uncovering their secret.- Abduction Is Love: Their belief towards their kidnapping of the young women and turning them into mermaids to fuel their fetish for underwater girls.
- Big Bad: They are the ones who are holding the mermaids captive, and Yuka's possession is indirectly a result of that. Yukio trapping Rin and her friends in the house was to get them to save the mermaids, and the spirits spend the game trying to kill them to keep the mermaids trapped.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: They are responsible for the creation of the so-called mermaids by kidnapping innocent women and trapping them in fish tanks, and their obsession with them spreads throughout the family men.
- Demonic Possession: They inflict this upon any males within the vicinity, mainly Yuuta, Seitaro, and Yukio.
- Dirty Old Man: One of the jumpscares is a close-up of a decrepit old man's eyes staring directly at the viewer, which really unsettles Rin. And rather than being depicted in a CGI, this jumpscare seems to be the photo of a real person.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: While possessing the men, they throw sexist insults at Rin, dismissing her for not being as 'lady-like' as Yuka and calling her a 'bitch' for defying them. It is also indicated in flashbacks that, in life, they did not treat the women of the family much kinder — both Saeko and the grandmother express desires of wanting to flee.
- Walking Spoiler: Their mere existence is a spoiler, and them being the real villains (rather than the mermaids) is a major reveal.
