Mr. Kotowari

> "*A huge spirit with a sharp tool in his hand. It will chase the girls endlessly with its unique cry."*
>
>

Mr. Kotowari is a Spirit that acts as a major antagonist for most of Yomawari: Midnight Shadows. It is, however, revealed that he isn't the main antagonist of the story. Mr. Kotowari is a deity of Haru's and Yui's Town, once worshipped by the Town's inhabitants before eventually becoming forgotten.

## Appearance

Mr. Kotowari appears as a giant hand shrouded in a dark red fog from which protrudes two rows of teeth. He possesses four main arms that hold a gigantic pair of rusty red scissors. On the back of Mr. Kotowari are what to appear to be either arms or fingers, attacking like his tails. Some of his fingers and arms are wrapped in red clothing and stained with red blood or rust.

## Behavior

Mr. Kotowari appears throughout Yomawari: Midnight Shadows, stalking both Haru and Yui, most often as a boss.

He appears in several place (ex: the Library, the Woods) after Haru accidently summoned him by saying: "I can't take anymore!"

He is not as aggressive as he first appears - he mostly teleports around the area, blocking the heroines' path to important objectives, sometimes teleporting so close to the girls that they have a hard time escaping. He attacks in two different patterns with his scissors. One is a very dangerous dash attack that is aim one the girls, which unfortunately shares an audio cue with a simple teleport, keeping players on their toes. The other one is stalking the girls in a fast pace, which will soon lead up with him stopping for a moment to do a couple of snips with his scissors. He usually teleports to a location near the girls after attacking, in order to launch another attack in close range.

When he is fought at his shrine, he gains the ability to summon copies of himself. They are used to attack someone in different directions at the same time. Right before the copies attack, a red fog moves to trace the direction and range the copies will attack.

It is possible to hide from Mr. Kotowari until he leaves. However, that doesn't always work. The main method of escaping Mr. Kotowari is by appeasing him by offering him anything or anyone with hands, feet, and a neck. The offering can be a living being or any object with the resembles of a human being. It can be a straw doll, a toy doll, a robot figurine, a clay statue, or even stone roads that make up a shape of a humanoid figure.

Uniquely, once placated, Mr. Kotowari becomes outright benevolent at times; once Haru resists the suicidal influence of Malice, he appears to destroy the statue blocking the way to Malice's lair, and leaves Haru a pair of scissors that can hurt Malice.

## Mythology and Theories

Mr Kotowari is a deity of the Town of Haru and Yui. A stone monument in mountain path located after the dried dam area reads as follows: "At this shrine, we hold festivals for our god ...wari... This...relationship was merciful... Saves...the distressed people. If you cannot endure and cry out, God will save you." While it seems ambiguous, the "wari" could refer to Mr. Kotowari. Furthermore, he is believed that he is able to create copies of himself to attack Haru in the shrine of the mountain because the shrine belonged to him, so his shrine gives him more power and let him be able to create copies of himself. In addition, he later rescues Haru from the voice pushing her to commit suicide when she cries out that she cannot take it anymore. This strongly suggests Mr. Kotowari is, in fact, the local guardian deity of Haru and Yui's Town, despite his destructive appearance until that point. Its protective role is further evidenced by the fact his scissors are the only way for Haru to press forward and defeat the true antagonist.

Mr. Kotowari may be the god of "farewells", "giving something up", or "refusal/rejection". His name is Japanese for the word "refusal". It plays a major role on how he attacks Haru and Yui because he wanted to refuse their bond that would lead to a tragic end and an unbalance in the natural world (since a living being and a Spirit cannot live together).

## Trivia

* Mr. Kotowari's name comes from the Japanese word "断り" (kotowari), meaning "refusal" or "nonacceptance". It can also be written in different words that mean "reason", "the way of things", or "plea/excuse". His name can also come from the Japanese word "断り方" (kotowarikata), which means "way of cutting off".
	+ His name referring to "refusal" is a reference to how his scissors are used to 'refuse' the the tragic bond between a living (Haru) and a Spirit (Yui).
	+ His name referring to "way of cutting off" is a reference to his scissors, and how they are used to cut the red strings of fate that are used by Malice and bound Haru & Yui together.

## Gallery

A rear view of Mr. Kotowari.Mr. Kotowari Playstation AvatarMr. Kotowari Scissor Cake

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