#Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

yay

[cursedxwt]

Happy Death Mark II release to all who celebrate!

[self-indulgentmanic]

AND HERE COMEA AKIRA WITH THE ELBOW DROP

[shouts-into-the-void]

I love Spirit Hunter: Death Mark's approach to the amnesia trope and the question of "If you can't remember who you were, are you even the same person?"

A lot of narratives play around with the weight of that, only to turn around and say "Of course you're the same, who else would you be?" The character gets their memories back and they're suddenly exactly as they were before, maybe with a life lesson along the way.

But Death Mark doesn't. Without all the knowledge and experiences of Masamune Kujou, Yashiki is fundamentally a kinder and less apathetic person, without any sort of prompting. Even when confronting dangerous spirits out to kill him, he takes the time to learn their stories and show them some small form of kindness. He listens to the recording of who he used to be, and he can't reconcile the callousness that Masamune had towards the deaths caused by his mistake with the way he feels about them, to the point where he doesn't even go back to using the identity that he's worked so hard to remember. Even when the game gives you the option to forgive Masamune, the options are still "It had to be done" and "I can't forgive him" because Kazuo Yashiki and Masamune Kujou are not the same.

And I think that's a way more interesting take than the protagonist just reverting back into the same person they were despite all the experiences we saw them go through.

[kodotamatori]

[k8uh8]

yeah...

[sleepyminty]

Death mark 2 is such a brilliant game we have two grown ass men making cat noises in a haunted forest

[linkdiangelo247]

i cannot be the only person who thought of this

[bloodraynebeast]

A relationship I like thinking about that's not explored as much, is the one between Shou and Yashiki. While Shou looking up to Mashita as a brash, older brother is amusing and I love thinking about that dynamic too, him and Yashiki I imagine to be unexpectedly wholesome. I'd love to see more scenes of them.

I can see Shou whether realising it or not, trying to impress Yashiki or seek some kind of approval in one way or other. Maybe he'll attempt researching about something Yashiki mentions in a conversation and later comes back with a couple facts, because that's all he could stomach. Is proud of himself for something he achieved and Yashiki becomes one of the first he shares it with. If Yashiki seems off or nobody's heard from him in a while, he'll instinctively want to charge in unannounced. Sticks with the investigations, even if it involves spirits because the old man needs help and he wants to be seen as reliable. And whenever he feels like he's disappointed the man by acting impulsively, it stings. It really stings.

Meanwhile Yashiki is mostly confused about what he talks about, likes and dislikes, used to his abrasiveness and can find their interactions sometimes tiring, but he still enjoys the company and sees that Shou is honest and trying his best. He has faith that Shou will succeed in whatever he strives to do in life.

Found - traumatised - family feels strikes again.

[kujourabbit]

heard this was mashita's office or something

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

daishiki yearning horror-romance possession fancomic now available on the internet near you: <itchio link>

every "i'm making something" post the past few months was leading up to this

[cursedxwt]

humble offering to the death mark fandom [original]

[self-indulgentmanic]

Old man deprived of his daily dose of validation..

[shouts-into-the-void]

"He would not fucking do that" but it's Mashita immediately deciding Michiho must be evil when Yashiki confessed to murdering her

[kodotamatori]

Yashiki in the first chapter probably

[k8uh8]

something back from 2022 i never got around to finishing