All Monsters in Ghostwire Tokyo Explained 

The fact that 90% of these are somehow born from bad working/school conditions makes me feel like this game is trying to say something very specific about japanese work and education culture.

Some of descriptions I found to be missing, just complementing SHB description: -Walkers are a mix between office workers that were often overworked to (literal) death and Noppera-bō, or faceless ghost, though often described as just spirits that scare people, the ones from GWT clearly are corrupted versions, and, interestingly enough, all form the bottom top of the ladder of hierarchy (from the common salaryman to the rich director/CEO), kinda meaning that even reaching the top, they still became "nobodies". -Shrine Dancers are based on the Teruteru-bozo, a small traditional handmade doll made of white paper or cloth that people hang outside of their window by a string. Being hanged head up is wishing for rain to stop, head down is wishing for a rainy day. -Lamentation are based on the Teke Teke, a Japanese urban legend about the ghost of a schoolgirl who is said to have fallen onto a railway line, where her body was cut in half by a train. Meeting one will make it run after the person and slash them half in the torso, much like the way they died. -Wanderer, aside the ghost cloth mentioned, also have a hitaikakushi (forehead-hider) or tenkan (heaven's crown), a triangular piece of cloth also commonly associated with ghosts in japanese pop culture, possibly as a way to grant spirit passage to the afterlife and/or protect it against malevolent spirits. -Shiromuku, for the ice attacks and bride attire, are most likely based on the Tsurara onna (Icicle woman), which only exists during winter, leaving their husbands on spring even if they loved each other very much. Though their description leans more towards a woman who died without ever marrying someone and envies anyone who managed to. Aside that, you forgot the Tanuki, the raccoon dog that turn into pots. EDIT: There was also a knife in the bathroom that belonged to Hanako-san, the Japanese version of Bloody Mary. I'm sure there were lots of other mythological creatures references even on items, quests or random dialogue bits, but I think that would require a lot more of research into the game.

One of the fascinating things I notice is that all of the enemies in the game are based on modern Japanese life. Meanwhile, all the yokai of folklore are completely passive, even the traditionally violent ones.

The yokai are so innocent, meanwhile its all the human spirits who are aggressive.

Just a slight correction with the Rokurokubi, they're not able to detach their head, they just are able to to extend their neck a great distance. The one that's able to detach its head is called a Nukekubi, and is a reletive of the Rokurokubi :)

What I really love about Japanese ghosts and demons is that they're not just mindless killers but actually something born from a really tragic event... Kuchisake Onna for example, her mouth was literally slit by her own husband

you know, the fact that these monsters are born from ACTUAL problems Japan faces right now, makes them feel so much more real. like, to the point where I could genuinely believe they really exist.

Oni in Japanese folklore: “Let’s devour an entire village of humans before relentlessly torturing sinners in Hell!” Oni in Ghostwire Tokyo: “Do you want to pet my dog? He’s really nice!”

I like the attacks for the Forlorn/Forsaken; they blow a whistle to make a loud noise to summon other enemies. This is actually common in Japan as now, school children are given devices (don't know the specific name) which makes a loud beeping or alarm noise when they feel threatened or approached by a suspicious stranger. This alerts the attention of any adult in the area who quickly understand the child is in possibly danger and rush to help or contact the police. Very nice detail

Rokurokkubi is actually a harmless youkai. Yes they may give many a scare but during the day they can be any random girl but at night their necks grow and grow to find lamp oil and it only eats the lamp oil not people so it is quite harmless.

I’ve read the monster descriptions myself, and too me, the visitors sound less like the ghostly souls of the dead and more like demons born from bad emotions. Is there any way to tell which interpretation is right?

I like the fact that all the enemies were borne from negative emotions (but also seem like fusions with well-known Japanese mythology like the slit-mouthed woman, the shrine dancer, the teke-teke and yuki onna are just the ones I recognized). IMO it really explains why Mr. Hannya mask has so much resentment towards the world of the living cus its like.. 'freedom from your earthly toils' and all that.

You can always tell how much work goes into making a video of this quality - getting close up shots and the scripts! Thank you Mike!

6:05 Those are also called teru teru bouzu. They are dolls that are supposed to make the rain go away. I'm guessing they are also supposed to absorb the rain since they made out of tissues. Nowadays they are often made by kids at school when it's raining outside, wishing for the rain to go away so tomorrow would be sunny. It's really symbolic when you consider how it's raining while they are flying around. They're just absorbing all the stress of life but the sunny day never comes.

Imagine being a highly dangerous creature that feasts on life forces of those who live in misery only to be cut in half by some guy wearing street wear doing agressive hand gestures and finger pointing.

6:45 the Lamentation appeares to be an amalgamation of 3 infamous ghostly figures, Teke-Teke (walking on arms and lacking a lower torso), Raikou Kashima (the violent and aggressive nature when seeing the player) and Hanako-san (by the clothes being an obvious no-brainer).

This is so fascinating, I love it when you explain monsters or ghosts :)

Mike may become a Rainwalker with how hard he works for us. In all seriousness love your content and I hope we see more of this!

Kuchisake-onna is created by family to warn their children about stranger danger. Story goes that a young and beautiful woman was caught with another man by her samurai husband and she was punished by having her mouth slit to ear to ear leaving a bloody twisted smile on her face and her husband tell her "who will think your beautiful now?" She die from her wounds and came back as a vengeful spirit. It's say that if you walk alone in a alley way, she appear before you and go close to your face, and ask you a question. There are four events will happen to you: she'll ask you "Am I pretty?" If you say "yes" she'll remove her mask, scarf or hand fan to show her wick smile and ask you again "am I pretty now?" Two event will happen if you say "no" she'll cut you in half but if you say "yes" she'll give you the same wick smile she got from her husband. The second event will happen if you say "no" after she asks her questions. You will be killed by her scissors, knife, machete or scythe. The third event will happen by children tricking Kuchisake onna, after the woman ask her question you must reply with "so-so" make her confused long enough for you to escaped. The four event will happen if you have bird seeds, money or hard candies, if you see the woman coming to you. You must throw the bird seeds, money or hard candies on the ground, she'll get distracted by the items on the ground and she'll pick up the items while you run away to safe. There another way like if you say like special word to Kuchisake onna she'll get scared but I just put four event s that will happen to you if you meet the masked woman.

I WAS WAITING FOR THIS! After you finished the game, I wanted moreeee and I was sad because it seems like it doesn't have large fanbase :( but anyways, thank you so much for this video and I just want to say that I really, very much enjoyed your gameplay of this game :3

Seeing monsters I recognise is great- onis are a ghost type in phasmophobia and it's nice to finally see their origins. Ironically, yokai are also a ghost type in the game.

4:36 "The Students of Misery are found in abundance in this nightmare rendition of Tokyo" _And Real Life Tokyo in General !_

Just to complete this review, Mike missed The Tanooki, which is basically a Shapeshifting Racoon from Japanese Myth. The Catch is though, whatever they turn into will have a Racoon Tail strapped onto it.

3:10 One thing you didn't mention is his hammer. It's called Uchide no kozuchi and is often seen in the hands of the deity daikokuten. It's often a symbol of luck and wealth and when you swing it you can give or wish for anything and it'll appear. The guy is also dressed well so it seems like a boss, probably abusing his power for wealth. Don't know about that one tho. They are also dressed like yakuza.

Finished the game a few days ago and i loved it. The enemy designs were awesome as usual from TangoGameworks, and some of those boss fights were really good. Especially that one Spider fight near the end of the story

I’m actually impressed that these developers did their homework.

Forlorn truly reminds me of Six from Little Nightmares and the description fits as well since Six is a child who is forced to live in a tormenting world

wow, i am slowly realizing how much i love listening to Mike explain all these monsters. it just... its special

5:20 that was a butterfly kick followed by a 360 kick. Also I've realized something, if I had a ghost it would be unstoppable based on the lores of each ghosts and how they came to be

I watched your full playthrough and I was fascinated by these monsters and there story

you made the series really enjoyable to watch, and tysm for this monster explain too, it adds another layer of excitement to the already great game

Seeing as I don't own a PS5, I shall live vicariously through your videos on Ghostwire. I also have 3 games that may fit your aesthetic of analysis videos! Those being Lost in Random, my best choice, Tandem: A Tale of Shadows and In Nightmare.

The students being headless kind of make it seems that the students have no identity.

These spirits give me more of a vibe of curses. Like if you watch jujutsu kaisen they are born from negative energy. I think rather than souls getting turned into angered spirits it’s more like imitations of the human with each unique negative birth that’s why a lot of them look identical. It’s like there were no more human souls to contain the negative energy, these curses were born with the amount of concentrated negative energy out in the open.

0:48 this rain slasher appears so sweet in this shot🥺. Look at her smile.

1:56 she looks so happy though, look at her, all smiley... Am i the only one that found it cute when they were doing their own things, not killing anyone?

Lamentation's design also makes me think of Teke-Teke or Kashima Reiko - a vengeful "spirit" of a girl who was bullied into jumping off a bridge onto railway tracks, thus having her body torn in half, and always in search of her missing legs. The red dress is also reminiscent of Hanako, the ghost of a young girl said to haunt Japanese school toilets (though there are many variations on the story of Hanako)

Scene Selection 0:00 - Intro 0:31 - Walkers 4:20 - Students 5:57 - Shrine Dancers 6:45 - Lamentation 7:50 - Dolls 9:21 - Forlorn/Forsaken 10:04 - Wanderers 10:39 - Kuchisake 11:36 - Shiromuku 12:21 - Kappa 13:19 - Tengu 14:27 - Nurikabe 15:12 - Zashiki Warashi 15:54 - Karakasa Kozo 16:34 - Rokurokubi 17:22 - Kodama 18:12 - Ittan-Momen 18:54 - Oni 19:53 - Kamaitachi 20:40 - Nekomata 21:29 - Sojutsuki 22:29 - Byotara 23:51 - Tsuchigumo 24:42 - Hanngon 26:03 - Outro

I've been so excited for this video since I saw you play the game! Can't thank you enough for introducing me to Ghostwire it's truly a unique masterpiece

some bits of the yokais folklore even tho SHB says some of this in the video kappa- Kappa have been used to warn children of the dangers lurking in rivers and lakes, as kappa have been often said to try to lure people to water and pull them in. tengu- tengu, in Japanese folklore, a type of mischievous supernatural being, sometimes considered the reincarnated spirit of one who was proud and arrogant in life. Tengu are renowned swordsmen and are said to have taught the military arts to the Minamoto hero Yoshitsune. They live in trees in mountainous areas. nurikabe- The nurikabe is a yōkai, or spirit, from Japanese folklore. Its name translates to "plaster wall", and it is said to manifest as an invisible wall that impedes or misdirects travelers walking at night. zashiki-warashi, - Zashiki-warashi, sometimes also called zashiki bokko, are spirit-like beings told about mostly in the Iwate Prefecture. They are said to be yokai that live in parlors or storage rooms, and that perform pranks, and that people who see one would be visited with good fortune. Karakasa kozō Karakasa kozō are not particularly fearsome as far as yōkai go. Their favorite method of surprising humans is to sneak up on them and deliver a large, oily lick with their enormous tongues-which may be traumatic even though it isn’t dangerous. Caution is advised, however. There are other umbrella tsukumogami which are dangerous to humans, and care should be taken not to confuse them with this more playful spirit. rokurokubi- Unlike most yōkai which are born as monsters, rokurokubi and their close relatives nukekubi are former humans-transformed by a curse resulting from some evil or misdeed. Perhaps they sinned against the gods or nature, or perhaps they were unfaithful to their husbands. In many cases, their husbands or fathers actually committed the sin. By some cruel twist of fate the men escape punishment and the women receive the curse instead. In any case, the rokurokubi curse only affects women. kodama- Deep in the mountainous forests of Japan, the souls of the trees are animated as spirits called kodama. These souls wander outside of their hosts, tending to their groves and maintaining the balance of nature. Kodama are rarely ever seen, but are often heard-particularly as echoes that take just a little longer to return than they should. When they do appear, they resemble faint orbs of light in the distance; or occasionally a tiny, funny shaped vaguely humanoid figure. A kodama’s life force is directly tied to the tree it inhabits; if either the tree or the kodama dies, the other cannot live.. ittan momen- Ittan momen are long, narrow sheets of cloth normally used to make clothes, but reanimated as tsukumogami. They are native to Kagoshima, and can be seen flying through the sky at night. Ittan momen attack by wrapping their bodies around a person’s face and neck, strangling or smothering them to death. As far as tsukumogami go, they are fairly malicious and even deadly. oni- Oni are born when truly wicked humans die and end up in one of the many Buddhist hells. Transformed into oni, they become the ogreish and brutal servants of Great Lord Enma, ruler of hell. Wielding great iron clubs, they crush and destroy humans solely for enjoyment. An oni’s job is to mete out horrible punishments such as peeling off skins, crushing bones, and rendering other torments too horrible to describe. All these tortures are for wicked sinners-but only those not quite wicked enough to be reborn as oni themselves. Hell is full of oni. They make up the armies of the great generals of the underworld. Occasionally, when a human is so utterly wicked that his soul is beyond any redemption, he transforms into an oni while still alive. He then remains on earth to terrorize the living. These transformed oni are the ones most legends tell about, and the ones who pose the most danger to humankind kamaitachi- Kama itachi travel and attack in threes, striking out at people from thin air. The first kama itachi slices at its victim’s legs, knocking him to the ground. The second one uses its fore and hind legs to slice up the prone victim with thousands of dreadful cuts. The third one then applies a magical salve which heals up the majority of the wounds instantly, so that none of them proves fatal. It is said that the kama itachi strikes with such precision that it can carve out entire chunks of flesh from its victims without spilling even a drop of blood. The attack and the healing happen so fast that the victim cannot perceive them; from his perspective he merely trips and gets up with a bit of pain and a few scratches here and there. nekomata- One particularly monstrous breed of bakeneko is the two-tailed variety known as nekomata. Nekomata are found in cities and villages and are born in the same way as other bakeneko. However, only the oldest, largest cats with the longest tails-and thus the most intelligence-become this powerful variety. When a nekomata transforms into a yōkai, its tail splits down the center into two identical tails. These monster cats are most likely seen walking around on their hind legs and speaking human languages. While not all bakeneko are malicious or violent towards their masters, all nekomata are; they look upon humans with contempt. Nekomata summon fireballs and start great conflagrations, killing many people. They control corpses like puppet-masters with their necromantic powers, and they use their powerful influence to blackmail or enslave humans.

Really well done video! Another thing to note is that the shrine dancers take the form of teru teru bozu, Japanese dolls used on rainy days to bring good weather. They look a lot cuter compared to their visitor counterparts.

I love the social commentary behind the ghost's and what they suffered in life.

I'm not really good in English, so it's kinda difficult to understand the information on foreign language and to find a good channel about horror games. But all about your voice - its' tone, pace and intonation, - is gorgeous and you are so good in explanation! Thank you a lot, I'm very grateful for your work

Finally its out, Thank you for making this I watched all your game play videos on this game and it was awesome! Keep up on the good work!

I love the explanation videos you do because if I don't watch one of your place rooms or a playthrough of the game that you're talking about this at least gives me an idea of what happens or what the creatures are like, and then I go and watch the video to see what it's like and I usually end up enjoying it

Coming back to this now that Spider's Thread has dropped. I really hope you'll cover the new content as it was your channel that reminded me of how excited for this game I was, and got me to buy it right away and it's one of my favorite games of all time now!

Yes finally ive been waiting for this

I was so happy when I realized that I recognized every yokai

I love all your videos, but I’m a sucker for backstories and lore so your monsters explained videos are definitely my favourites! :D

This is really cool Superhorrorbro makes the best videos and I love that there are Yo-Kai in the game it makes me think of Yo-Kai Watch

Monsters in Ghostwire Tokyo: 0:31 - Walkers 4:19 - Students 5:57 - Shrine Dancers 6:45 - Lamentation 7:49 - Dolls 9:21 - Forlorn/Forsaken 10:04 - Wanderers 10:39 - Kuchisake 11:37 - Shiromuku 12:21 - Kappa 13:19 - Tengu 14:27 - Nurikabe 15:12 - Zashiki Warashi 15:55 - Karakasa Kozo 16:33 - Rokurokubi 17:22 - Kodama 18:12 - Ittan-Momen 18:54 - Oni 19:53 - Kamaitachi 20:40 - Nekomata 21:29 - Sojutsuki 22:29 - Byotara 23:50 - Tsuchigumo 24:43 - Hanngon

as i watched your play through, i loved the detail out into the visitors. it makes the game more fun because you can experience them throughout the game and in side missions 😊

I have been waiting for this!! Thank you for the video SHB :))

I really love this channel❤️ Even though I am afraid of ghost or horror-themed things to sum it all, I feel safe, enjoy and entertained here!! I became more curious about this stuffs and likely forgetting my fear of it haha!😅 And also I love you too, man HAHAHA thanks for making me face my fear!❤️ I kinda feel that this is one of my favorite home!❤️

Great video! Some of the ghosts I find trickier than normal to associate the design with their rage-type, but there are some great designs (Erica's being my favourite).

Something to added to the student of misery if you remain far from her or get to a angle where she can't reach you she will throw a extenable staff at you the student of pain does the same thing but throws 2 instead of 1

This is so cool; I love it when you explain about the monsters and ghosts.

Love your videos. I feel like they're very calming.

Thanks for the content!

Glorious. Well done Mikey.

I've watched every episode! I'm so glad to see another vid on this game!

I always love watching your monsters explained like these are so entertaining.And tbh some of these ghosts relates to my life..

Please post the story explained video. I just can't wait

I gonna be real here! SHB is my everything! Without him uploading these crazy good videos.. idk who'll be watching playing and explaining crazy and creepy games...❤❤❤

I love these type of videos. Can’t wait for story explained on Tokyo

I've been waiting for this one. Thank ya!

The walkers actually remind me more of the hollowgasts from the peculiar children book series. Especially their appearance in the film.

Hi SHB! You did a pretty good job with your explanations, sadly however, I must say they seem to be a bit lacking in the understanding of Japanese culture. Take for example the Shrine Dancers are supposed to represent teru teru bozu in Japanese culture and folklore. The teru teru bozu are typically used to wish for good luck and rain, which makes sense when you tie it to the description of the Shrine Dancers as spirits of those whose wishes were unfulfilled. The spirits in the game not only tie into Japanese folklore and culture, they also are a commentary to Japanese society today; as such although your explanations are great, it is not entirely well-rounded. But hey, that's the joy of learning about new cultures and information; we are always adding to each other's knowledge. The effort your placed into your video is much appreciated!

Really enjoyed this video and the close ups of the creatures in this game. Because I watched your playthrough, I finally was feeling really desperate to get my hands on it and a ps5. Somehow ended up being one of the lucky people to pick one up at Game Stop on April 2nd (even being first in line and only one of 3 people there), because everyone thought it was an April Fool's day prank about the restock. Sadly, they had no copies of Ghostwire. But I plan on getting it asap! Thank you for bringing this game to my attention.

Thank you for covering all the enemies and Yokai that prowl the streets of Tokyo and their backstories I really enjoyed your play through.

can you make a story explained video, since you looked at the ghouls, specters and spooks within ghostwire Tokyo?

HE IS SO INFORMATIVE.

Love love love this shb ! Thank you so much for all the awesome content

Finally!! I've been waiting for this 😫💞💞

0:31 Walkers = 0:51 Rain Walker 1:26 Rugged Walker 1:55 Rain Slasher 2:24 Shadow Hunter 3:06 Relentless Walker 3:46 Rage Walker 4:34 Students of Misery 5:24 Students of Pain 5:56 Shrine Dancers 6:44 Lamentation 7:48 Dolls = 8:39 Paper Doll 8:53 The Passenger 9:04 The Marinette 9:19 Forlorn/Forsaken 10:03 Wanderers 10:38 Kuchisake 11:36 Shiromuku 12:21 Kappa 13:20 Tengu 14:27 Nurikabe 15:12 Zashiki Warashi 15:54 Karakasa Kozo 16:34 Rokurokubi 17:22 Kodama 18:12 Ittan-Momen 18:54 Oni 19:53 Kamaitachi 20:41 Nekomata 21:29 Sojutsuki (Yaseotoko) 22:29 Byotara (Ko-omote) 23:50 Tsuchigumo (Okina) 24:43 Hanngon (Hannya)

Interesting, I should look into Japanese folklore more.

Nice analysis Mike! Loved this!

I was waiting for this one. Thnks man

This is why I love Japanese Spirits and Yokais, they are not only terrifying but they are so symbolical and metaphoric that can reflect either the past or even the present of modern day Japan and how each Spirit/Yokai were once humans or animals who became conscious deep within their selves that they acknowledge of who they are and became the Spirit/Yokai that they are right now. I really love Japanese Urban Legends and Mythology so much!

I would most likely become a shrine dancer in this game. Because it reflects my life

YES I love your videos and I've been looking forward to this one :D

Great video, Mike! :3

I got some trivia, Hannya are female demons born of jealousy, but the antagonist Hannya, being a man, is most likely a reference to the use of the hannya masks in Noh theater, which was all men until the around the 40's which had a few exceptions. Side note, I don't think Rain Slashers are using bone saws, they look more looked like nata, Japanese machete/hatchets, similar to a billhook

I saw this pop up and said, "Yaaaaasss, 🤴." I love these types of videos.

5:16 Is it just me or do those two, in particular, look like Chie and Yukiko from Persona 4 colorwise? Oh no, what happened to you two lksdjflksdjf- Thanks for this, I liked learning about the ghosts in this game since they are really scary to fight, especially the school girls/boys, the lamentation (SHB's first fight with one, oh boy that one was scary), and the scissor lady. :D Aaaw the Kappa story about wrestling is adorable, I'm glad to know of it now. Thanks for the yokai stories!

The Students Of Misery Are The Weakest Enemies In The Game They Only Take 3 Hits From Wind To Expose Their Core, 1 Hit From Charged Water, And 1 Hit From Charged Fire. The Shrine Dancers Are Based Off Of Japanese Paper Dolls Named Teru Teru Bozu.

The descriptions of some monsters kinda makes me thought of Dark Deception's monsters.

I have been waiting for this video

YES!!!! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO SINCE THE PLAYTHROUGH FIRST STARTED!!!

Can we get more story explained videos please😎

Intresting Fact, Tengu was a way in old Japan to dehumanize your enemy clans, calling them a clan of evil Tengu

hell yeah , was looking forward to this ever since u played the game 🤲🏻✨

Great video, well put together, might actually buy this

19:11 It's such a bummer that we didn't get to have an Oni Boss fight. We got blueballed so many times in this goddamn game. First by The Ink Dragon then by This Red Gremlin.

If all of these enemies were just given some love during their lives they wouldn’t have ended up like this

I've actually fallen asleep to these kinds of videos, and it's amazing

Yess I've been waiting for this.

Kind of wish this game had more enemies types than just more variants of the same enemy type.

That was so amazing I loved it so much I was waiting for the monsters in Ghostwire Tokyo and it was worth the wait.

Hey SHB u finnaly upload.U done a great explanation and i know its realy hard for u to think what are these monsters.