YMMV / Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

• Anti-Climax Boss: Mary Kujou is not fought in the RPG-like interface of the majority of spirits, but in a series of three Live or Die choices, and the correct answer to each is often spelled out before the choice. The biggest challenge is remembering which arm to put the seal in (the one with the Mark), and the game outright provides a visual with the answer just before asking the question.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: Mary being Evil All Along isn't exactly very well-hidden, considering that the character knows way too much about what's going on and all other suspects can fall victim to Permadeath, which would result in Schrödinger's Question being raised.
• Complete Monster:
  • Mary is responsible for all the horrors that occurred in the game. A diabolical doll born from the curse and the hatred of the curse's victims, Mary was given sapience and dark power, which she used to create the Kannon Soldier to sate her bloodlust. She was sealed away by the Kujou family, but reawakened after Masamune Kujou released the seal when it weakened. Regaining her power slowly, she marked the area around her as cursed land, where anyone who died there were transformed into monsters who instinctively kill innocents, with the purpose of spreading fear. After fully regaining her power, she murders Saya Kujou at her home, and cursed her brother Masamune with the Death Mark with the purpose of extracting fear from him. Giving the ghosts she created the power of the Death Mark, she tricks Masamune into helping other mark bearers as a way to bring them to the brink of death to take their despair and to spread further dread in the city. After Masamune realizes that Mary was responsible, she explains her sadistic lust and transforms into a horrific monster before trying to kill him.
  • The depraved principal of H Elementary is the man behind Hanahiko's horrific past. Renowned and respected by the public, the principal is secretly a pedophile who abuses his adopted son for the latter's feminine practices in public, damaging his reputation. Taking him to a hidden room inside the school late at night, the principal would have his way with his son for his own satisfaction. This happened for years, slowly worsening his son's health before succumbing. Even among the vengeful spirits, the principal stands out as being a truly evil monster.
• Ho Yay: There's a sizeable portion of the fanbase that pairs main character Kazuo Yashiki with Hardboiled Detective Satoru Mashita, due to their interactions in-game. Satoru Mashita's significance in Chapter 6, from having more dialogue between them relative to other characters in the Chapter, on top of Mashita saving Yashiki from being thrown off the building by Red Riding Hood appears to show that the creators recognize the popularity of the pairing.
• Magnificent Bastard: The protagonist's true identity: Masamune Kujou, is a member of the Kujou Clan whose duty is to protect the world of living from spirits no matter the cost. Learning the family's Arch-Enemy, the evil spirit Mary's seal is breaking and ready to unleash chaos upon the world, Masamune decides to remove the seal himself to purify it so he can use it again to seal Mary once more, even knowing this would give Mary time to terrorize freely and kill many. When Mary was able to regain her full power before the seal was ready and cast the Death Mark on Masamune, realizing he'll soon his lose his identity and be helpless to her manipulation, prepared back-up plans to help himself after his memory loss, acquiring the assistance of the homeless man Banshee and leaving numerous hints to himself on defeating spirits to guide himself against Mary's tricks. Under the identity Kazuo Yashiki, he was able to slowly regain his memories back thanks to his prepared schemes, ultimately leading to Mary's defeat and stopping the Death Mark curse.
• Nightmare Retardant: Usually when women are seen in CGs being attacked or killed by spirits, they will be in extremely fanservicey positions, which at times can detract from the serious tone the game presents itself in. This is especially jarring when encountered for the first time, where Hanahiko's female victim's rear seems to be the main focus of the image.
• Woolseyism: A Deadly Choice during Hanayome's chapter has you answering her questions while following Eita's hint to avoid saying the word "eye". In Japanese, this involved avoiding words that were pronounced like either the Japanese or the English words for "eye", such as love ("ai") and green ("midori"). In the English translation, the incorrect answers have additional words in them with a hard "I" sound, such as "most likely" and "my".