There are many different characters in Yume Nikki, some more reactive than others. However, as opposed to patterns in the background, characters will either move, react to Madotsuki or do both.
Note: None of the characters, excluding Madotsuki, have been given official names. All dream characters were named by the fan community. Many characters have not yet been named (See talk page).
Player Characters
Madotsuki
The mysterious protagonist of Yume Nikki and the only character in the game confirmed to actually exist. Madotsuki's dreams provide the game world for the player to explore.
Nasu
The character in the NASU video game, playable on Madotsuki's famicom in her room.
Effect NPCs
These characters give effects when interacted with, although not all effects are received from characters.
Listed in order of the effects on the menu screen.
Frog
A frog which gives the effect of the same name. Two can be found in the game.
Yuki-onna
A short 'snow woman' that roams the Snow World. She gives the Yuki-onna effect.
Medamaude
A hand with an eye on its palm in the Eyeball World. Interacting with it gives the Medamaude effect.
(Sotoburu)
A tall, thin, strobing character found in the Docks that appears to be eating something. He gives the Fat Effect when interacted with.
Etymology of name : 'Strobing' in Japanese.
Dwarf
A.k.a. Kodomo or Midget, the Dwarf is a small, colorful character found running across the Candle World. He gives the Midget effect if you can catch him.
Neon Parrot
A colorful NPC in the Neon World that gives the Neon effect. Holds great resemblance to the charater in NASU.
(Nopperabou Ghost)
A faceless ghost found in the Sewers. Gives the Nopperabo effect when interacted with.
Guillotine
A smiling guillotine guarded by Toriningen in the Guillotine Room. Gives the Severed head effect if you manage to get to it.
Towel
A strange character encountered in the Infinite Wilderness that floats around rippling like a towel in the wind. Gives the Towel effect when interacted with.
(Hiko-Neko)
A weird spinning character that looks like a Cat talisman. It is found in the Shield-folk World and gives the Cat Effect.
Etymology of name : 'Flying cat' in Japanese.
(Raitou-Oka)
A small street lamp with feet where a pole would be. Found in the Lamp World. Interacting with it gives the Lamp effect.
Etymology of name : 'Walking lamp' in Japanese.
Mouth Monsters
The three Mouth Monsters each give one of the effects Long hair, Poop hair effect and Blond hair effect.
(Fleeing Ghost)
A small ghost related to the Nopperabou Ghost found in the Ghost World that flees from Madotsuki. It gives the Triangle Kerchief effect if you can catch it.
(Kimajo)
A small dead tree (Or a creature hiding in a notch of the tree) on Witch Island in the Dense Woods. It gives the Witch effect.
Etymology of name : 'Witch's tree' in Japanese.
FC Demon
A.k.a. Oni or Imp, the FC Demon is a character that appears in the basement of the FC House and gives the Demon Effect.
Buyo Buyo
This strange creature is found surrounded by shrines in an area of the FC World and gives the Buyo buyo effect.
Shitai-san
Meaning 'Mr. Corpse' in Japanese, this man is a seemingly dead body, an unfortunate victim of a traffic accident. He is found on The Road section of Dense Woods B surrounded by traffic cones. Interacting with him gives the Stoplight effect, an obvious reference to traffic accident deaths. Using the Cat effect near him causes him to twitch, which unnerves many people who see it for the first time. He is one of the more popular NPCs in Yume Nikki.
Non-Effect NPCs
These characters do not give effects when interacted with. Listed in alphabetical order.
Alley Demon
Batsu
Curly-looking plant-creatures found in The Wilderness
The Black Cat
A small black cat that can be seen sitting around on the Mall Rooftop, where the Witch event takes place.
Body Parts
The eyeballs, arms, legs, eyes and lips found in the Eyeball World. A pair of hands can also be found in the White Desert next to a door that leads to the Block World.
Closet Madotsuki
Seen by interacting with the closet on the floating island in the Checkered Tile Path.
Dave Spector
e-Man
The character in a room in The Mall, where the Toriningen that changes the window color scheme can be found.
The Fisherman
Found in the Windmill World, if you interact with him, he will you take you to the Docks with him where he likes to fish.
(Following Ghost)
The third relative of the ghosts that give Madotsuki the Nopperabo and Triangle Kerchief Effects. Unlike the other ghosts, this one, found in the Dark World and follows Madotsuki around, has no effects to give.
Jellyfish
The strange characters in the Dense Woods.
Kamakurako
A girl who sleeps within an igloo of the Snow World.
(Lizardmen)
A.k.a. Numbers People. They are found all over the FC World. They are orange-skinned with green hair, and when interacted with, they speak a string of 5 random numbers in a dialogue box.
One of them gives the Buyo Buyo effect.
Madotsuki's Ghost
A spectral apparition of Madotsuki that can be seen in Mini-Hell. It appears similar to Madotsuki when wearing the Traingle Kerchief Effect.
Mafurako
A girl with hat and scarf found in the Block World. At first, she is invisible (only her hat and scarf can be found floating in the air), but she becomes visible when the Stoplight effect is used.
MerutoMaro
A white blob creature found in the FC Basement. Named for its resemblance to a melted marshmellow. It does not interact with Madotsuki.
Monoe
A monochrome girl whose smug face becomes a brief full-screen event.
Monoko
A monochrome girl with pigtails who changes when stopped with the Stoplight effect.
(o-Man)
The NPC that can be found singing in the Mall, in the room where the Flute effect is received.
Organoid
The alien-like creature found in the Sky Garden. It teleports randomly when touched by Madotsuki. If you can kill it with the Knife effect, it always yields 100 yen.
Pirori
A.k.a. Shadow Men. They are widespread throughout the dream world in a variety of environments. They seem to hail from the Barracks Settlement. They chime when interacted with.
Poniko/Uboa
A girl who might change dramatically when you turn off the light switch in her house.
Pissipissini
Found in the Dark World, this character is a dark purple blob with round, red eyes.
Seccom-Masada Sensei
A googly-eyed humanoid alien in a colorless spaceship. He makes musical sounds when interacted with, and stands in front of a window at a control panel that looks like piano keys. Thought by some to be Madotsuki's piano teacher.
Steve 'Leif' Kareha
Tokuto
Tokuto is a NPC of the Mall, it looks like a bucket whose top is bloody. This character is also known as "Blood Bucket-Kun".
Toriningen
Tall, bird-like girls that may chase Madotsuki and teleport her into enclosed areas.
Unnamed (Candle World)
Unnamed (Guillotine World Closet)
Unnamed (Sewer Tunnel 1)
The grey blob that blocks the route east from the Sewer tunnels. When stabbed with the Knife effect, a sad face appears.
Unnamed (Sewage Processing Plant 2)
The submarine creature seen in the pool of sewage in the room where the Nopperabo effect is received. When it rises above the water it is seen as a large eye on a stalk.
(Cube Guru)
The strange character that is found sitting on a red cushion in the Windmill world. Its head spins when interacted with.
Unnamed 1 (Docks)
The flashing creature seen in the water of the Docks that has a round, blue face with a broad smile. (Named by a western fan "Blobby")
Unnamed 2 (Docks)
The creature seen in the water of the Docks that looks like a swimming snake.
Unnamed 1 (FC Basement)
A black creature with one large eye, encountered near the start of the maze.
(Kinoko-san)
The strange mushrooms that are seen outside the FC Demon's door and in his room.
Etymology of name : 'Mushroom' in Japanese.
(Kisu-Tenmetsu)
The Odd flashing creature seen in the water.
Etymology of name : 'Odd flash' in Japanese.
(Dekishi-san)
The NPC in the water that looks somewhat like a drowning man.
Etymology of name : 'Drowning' in Japanese.
(Tasei's Kid)
The creature that can rarely be seen in the pool on the Witch's island. It is sometimes theorised to be related to Tasei-san on Mars due to the similarity in appearance.
Unnamed (The Eye Box)
Stabbing the eye box in the White Desert with the Knife effect has a 1/30 chance of leading you into a dark area where a crowd of people can be seen. They are white and have large eyes for a head.
Unnamed Group (The Traincar)
The Three NPCs seen riding the traincar.
(Spooky Faceless Women)
Long-haired girls with pale purple-tinted skin that can be found at the Lake Shore. There are four of them in this area, simply standing around and not moving anywhere. When the Cat effect is used in the same area as them, though, their appearance briefly changes in a fairly disturbing manner.
Unnamed Group (The Number World)
A group of 4 different types of NPC that are found in the Number World. They look like large, colorful wheels with human legs. They are encountered en masse in the stabbing room.
(Neon Creatures)
All the colorful varieties of NPCs that can be found in the Neon World, Not including the Neon Parrot.
(Nenrikido)
The 4 types of 3D geometric shapes that are found throughout the dreamworld that teleport Madotsuki in and out of Hell when interacted with.
Etylomogy of name : 'Teleportation' in Japanese.
Unnamed Group (Mall)
The 6 types of NPC encountered in the Mall, the young boy, the young girl, the man, the woman, the middle aged man and the middle aged woman. When interacted with they make quiet electronic rattling noises and begin to deform as they walk.
Unnamed Group (Teleport maze)
The Two red creatures that can be found on certain blocks in the teleport maze.
Unnamed Group (FC Courtyard)
The Goblin-esque creatures that can be reached by walking up a long flight of stairs in the FC basement. There are four small ones and one Large one that takes 5 stabs with the Knife effect to kill.
Unnamed Group (Sky Garden Edge)
The three human-like NPC that can be found on the Sky Garden Edge watching the UFOs.
Unnamed Group (Ghost World)
The 3 weird violet shapes that look like chromosomes that are found when navigating the Ghost World.
Non-NPC Characters
These are unusually large characters that do not roam around like the NPCs. Most are made up of background graphics and have limited or no responses to Madotsuki's effects.
Big Red
A character that appears after travelling through the Sewers. He is Big and Red. When Madotsuki is swallowed by him, she is transported to the Windmill World.
KyuuKyuu-Kun
A large red smiling creature rubbing a stair rail in a hidden passage in Number World. 'Kyuu-kyuu' is a sound effect for 'rub-rub', an obvious reference to his rhythmic rubbing of the stair banister
Mars-san
A.k.a. Tasei-san or The Martian
A one-legged, one eyed blue character found on Mars in the tiny steaming hole accessible using the midget effect. It appears to be crying, and interacting with it makes a piano sound. Stabbing it with the Knife effect will leave scars on his foot and change his eye color.
Onsen-san
The strange creature that lives in the Hot Spring House in the Wilderness, sucking up hot spring water in the dark. It changes color when stabbed with the Knife.
Pier Monsters
The frightening white or indigo creatures in the Eyeball World. They somewhat resemble Uboa.
Shield Folk
The fluorescent characters that give the Shield-folk World its name. They have large oval heads and carry oval shields.
Takofuusen
The elusive 'octopus balloon' that is rarely seen floating above the White Desert.
The Thing with the Quivering Jaw
A strange creature found in the place where the thing with the quivering jaw is, a part of the white desert.
UFOs
Strange, flickering objects that are seen a number of times in the game. They can be witnessed in the skies of the Sky Garden Edge, on the Martian Summit or occasionally in the background of the Staircase to the Sky in the Wilderness.
Watching Eyes
Sinister eyes that watch Madotsuki from the trees in the Dark Woods
Unnamed (Barracks settlement)
The orange Seahorse-esque creature seen in on of the huts in the Barracks Settlement.
(Bloody Touching Monster)
The giant, many armed creature seen bleeding as it wades through the white liquid in the background of Uboa's Trap.
Unnamed (Red Docks monster)
The Serpentine Creature seen in the water in the Docks. It is red and has two large green eyes.
Unnamed (Manhole/White Desert)
The Huge Black/Red creature that appears under the manhole between The Road, Dense Woods B and the White Desert. It has 3 eyes and changes appearance depending on how many times Madotsuki travelled along the Infinite Road in the Dense Woods.
Unnamed Group (The Forest World)
The two green and pink types of creatures whose essence 'sticks' to Madotsuki when she touches them in the Forest World.
(Pregnant Cyclops)
The Monsters likened to headless, Pregnant women with fanged mouths on their stomach. They are seen in Footprint Passage 1 in the Eyeball World and one is seen in Hell.
Unnamed Group (Footprint Passage 2)
A group of characters seen in Footprint Passage 2 in the Eyeball World. They sit motionless with a dazed look on their face until Madotsuki touches a nearby button that causes them to violently cough up blood with a loud noise.
(Uterus Monsters)
The Y-shaped purple and red monsters that serve as waypoints when travelling along the Infinite Road in the Dense Woods.