The Toriningen (鳥人間, "Bird-humans") are a certain group of characters in Yume Nikki. They have long pointed snouts for a noses that appear beak-like, hence their name.
There are three variations, each with a different hairstyle: bunches, ponytail, and bobbed hair, who each have a respective demented state.
Normal Toriningen will not harass Madotsuki, but those in a 'lunatic' state (identifiable by their purple eyes and tongue lolling out of their mouths) will chase her, teleporting her to an enclosed space in an area that is usually different to the one she is currently visiting if they catch her.
The only way to escape from these areas is to use the Medamaude effect or pinching your cheek to wake up.
Stabbing a normal Toriningen makes all Toriningen go into the lunatic state until Madotsuki is caught or wakes up. There is one particular odd lunatic Toriningen in The Mall behind a desk who will not be aggressive, instead changing the color scheme of your menu to a random preset when interacted with.
Lunatic Toriningen can be avoided by using the active function of the Triangle Kerchief effect, which renders Madotsuki invisible to them unless she interacts with them directly. They may also be immobilised using the Stoplight effect, which freezes them in place when the light is red.
Toriningen are unkillable, and it is possible to stab them one or two extra times during the transformation into a lunatic state to no avail. They share this trait with Uboa, the only other character considered to be an "enemy" in the game, since they both teleport Madotsuki to a closed-off area.
The player character in NASU has a similar snout. Toriningen can be portrayed as tengu imagery present in Yume Nikki. Even more, a mythical Japanese creature called the Baku (or 'Dream Eater') is characterized as having a long snout, and can be seen as a dreamer's antagonist since it obviously eats their dream, although this dream eater is in fact meant to be a tapir-like creature.
Locations
Toriningen are spread diversely throughout the Dream world, appearing in many different locations.
Face Carpet Plaza
- A lunatic ponytail Toriningen is found near the center of the map. Traps Madotsuki in The Neon Tile Path.
The Snow World
- A sane bobbed Toriningen is found near a solitary igloo. Traps Madotsuki in Hell.
- A lunatic bobbed Toriningen is found inside one of the five grouped igloos. Traps Madotsuki in Hell. Only appears if the Toriningen outside is made lunatic.
The Candle World
- A sane ponytail Toriningen is found near the Bed. Traps Madotsuki in Hell. Becomes insanely fast when made lunatic.
The Checkered Tile Path
- A lunatic bobbed Toriningen is found in Section 1 near the pyramid. Traps Madotsuki in The Docks.
The Number World
- A sane bunches Toriningen is found in the Bed Room. Randomly traps Madotsuki in the Number World or the Lamp World. Allows Madotsuki to access Mini Hell when made lunatic.
The Guillotine World
- A lunatic bunches Toriningen. Traps Madotsuki in Hell.
- A lunatic ponytail Toriningen. Traps Madotsuki in The Dense Woods A.
- There is a 1 in 8 chance that Madotsuki will find herself in an alternate version of this room, inhabited by eight Toriningen instead of the usual two. These all have the same characteristics as the two in the smaller version of the room.
Hell
- A lunatic ponytail Toriningen. Traps Madotsuki in The Dense Woods A.
- A lunatic bunches Toriningen. Traps Madotsuki in The Teleport Maze.
- A lunatic Bobbed Toriningen. Traps Madotsuki in The Sky Garden
The Wilderness
1-3. The three Toriningen here are having a party and are not capable of being made lunatic, due to the fact that Madotsuki is blocked from reaching them.
The Mall
- A lunatic bunches Toriningen is found behind the counter in The Shop. She appears to be friendly and cannot harm Madotsuki. She allows the player to switch between the original menu color scheme and two others, the black and red version being somewhat rare.