Itsuwaribito

Itsuwaribito (Japanese: いつわりびと◆空◆, Hepburn: Itsuwaribito Utsuho) is a manga series created by Yuuki Iinuma. The manga officially ended on August 20, 2013, with a total of 222 chapters, and 23 volumes.^[1]

Plot

Utsuho’s truthfulness as a child resulted in an enormous catastrophe, and he decided to lie from that day forward. Raised in a village of orphans by a monk, Utsuho is an unrepentant troublemaker. The monk eventually inspires him to help people, but there’s no way Utsuho’s going to lead an honest life! Instead, he’s going to use his talents for mischief and deception for good!^[2]

As he travels, he meets Pochi, an innocent tanuki, Yakuma, a serious, skilled young doctor, and Neya, an elegant teenaged girl who is an itsuwaribito with an innocent personality. With these 3 main companions, Utsuho travels Japan to increase the numbers of his family and save people with his lies.

Characters

The main characters of Itsuwaribito. Counter-clockwise from bottom center: Utsuho (with Pochi in front of him), Neya, Iwashi, Hikae, Uzume, Minamo, Chouza, Yakuma.

Utsuho Azako (天邪狐 空, Azako Utsuho) 

Utsuho is the trouble-making protagonist of "Itsuwaribito". An itsuwaribito with the motto of "karma". Utsuho is a white-haired teen-aged boy, his hair spiked straight up with a headband. Early in the series, he never let his hair down, however, later on, he often has it let down. It is unknown where he originally comes from, but he speaks with a Kansai dialect. Originally the son of a government official, he is an orphan due to the murder of his parents by thieves as a child. He knows that since he could only tell the truth when he was a child and told the thieves the entire layout of the house, it is his fault that his parents and servants were killed so easily. As such, as a teenager, he believed telling the truth was for idiots, and always lied as an Itswarubito. However, the priest who took him in told Utsuho on his deathbed that he wanted Utsuho to believe in people, and not always rely on lies. Taking the priest's final wish of wanting to save 1,000 people, Utsuho decides to go on a journey to complete this goal as an Itsuwaribito. He has skills in fishing, bomb making, weapon wielding, minor medical aid and quick disguises, and fights through his cleverness. He did have a butterfly blade hidden in his sleeve for close combat, but it was broken by the enemy in chapter 39. After this, he obtains dual blades, and he now often uses these. He wields his weapons and battle strategies aloofly, and has confidence in his ability to not be tricked. He loves playing pranks and tricking people with his lies, and often has the most fun tricking Yakuma, but does not try and trick Uzume or Pochi as often. On the other hand, he absolutely hates to be tricked, and also hates troublesome things. He is quite studied and has knowledge on many things, but that knowledge was all learned from books in the village of the orphans, so when he experiences something he's never seen before, he has a tendency of getting excited. His catchphrases are "That's uncool," and "I was lying about lying".

Pochi/Ponpokoriichitchoriina III (ぽち / ぽんぽこりーちっちょリーナIII世, Pochi/Ponpokoriichicchoriina San Se) 

A tanuki who can speak the human language. It speaks about himself in the first person in the Japanese manga. Its gender is unknown, and when it met with Utsuho, it was around eight months old. Pochi puts "san" (a rough equivalent of Mr. or Ms.) at the end of everyone's name he meets, and speaks in polite speech. Its mother was killed by a cruel trapper, and was saved by Utsuho when it seemed Pochi was going to be captured as well. It then becomes "family" with Utsuho, and goes on his journey to save 1,000 people with him as the first member of his party. It has a very strong bond with Utsuho, and likely has the most amount of trust with him. It is very polite and has very good manners, but has some faults in its thinking, and is quite an optimistic airhead. Because of this, Pochi often causes trouble for the other members of the party. When Pochi's heart is moved by something, it has a habit of clapping its hands in applause. Pochi is the opposite of Utsho, as it has no skills in lying in the least, and is quite simple. However, thanks to that simpleness, Pochi was able to obtain one of the 9 Treasures, the "Seven-Colored Rainbow" very easily, which the others could not do. At the beginning of the series, Pochi was very weak-willed, but in later developments Pochi has gained the courage to draw on the enemy's faces or try to save Utsuho from danger. As Pochi has been "raised" by Utsuho, Pochi has come to not know fear. Pochi has a tendency to draw out his sentences, adding "～" marks to the end of his speech to show his slow-speaking personality.

Koshiro Yakuma (薬馬 小四郎, Yakuma Koshirou) 

An 18-year-old stellar doctor who is looking for a remedy for one of his patients in the capital. He plays the tsukkomi role in the series. He is a very serious (if not too serious) young man with long black hair and sharp, blue eyes. However, in the battle against Chouza, his hair got cut in one of his attacks, and is now a little above his shoulders as a semi-long cut. He does not use weapons, but can take many hits, and has the power that can take down even a large man with a single attack. Utsuho recognizes that skill and his seriousness, and he is one of the allies he relies on the most, along with Pochi and Neya. Although his sense of responsibility and power of judgement are very strong, he often gets tricked, and to this there are many times that Utsuho chides him for it. His power of analysis is very high, as he was able to know the identity of a cross-dressing man, and was able to notice the feelings of love Neya holds for Utsuho.

He hates Itsuwaribito, and at first, Utsuho was no exception and Yakuma distrusted him. However, after working with him and Pochi for a while, he was able to trust him very much. At the same time, he gets a tendency to always worry about the big-mouthed Utsuho and Pochi, and gets called "Mom" or "sister-in-law" by them for it. As the elder member of the group, he often cheers up Neya, and also cheers on her love towards Utsuho. He is in fact a foreigner, which is proved by his knowledge of foreign surgeries, knowing foreign stories the others do not know, and also not knowing Japanese tales which all the others do.

In fact, in order to save the emperor, he was called to the imperial palace directly by the emperor, and has long aquainatances within the palace. He has feelings more than obligation towards the empress, and in order to receive favor from her, he is determined to find a cure for the emperor.

Neya Muito (六兎 閨, Muito Neya) 

A 16-year-old female Itsuwaribito who was exiled to Nadeshiko Island who is not related to any crimes. She speaks in a royal, high-class lady speak in the Japanese version. She has crimson eyes and hair that is lightly colored with a cherry blossom pink. She used to wear her hair in joined pigtails, but since her hair ornaments she always wore were discovered to be one of the 9 treasures, the ornate hairpin, "Peacock Feather", she now wears her hair in a ponytail. She is very good with lies, so good that she was able to trick Utsuho once. She is quite down-to-earth and has it together, but there are times that she is very clumsy, and often causes many mistakes that cannot even be joked about. Chouza even says, "She doesn't look like she'd be any help in battle". Her main weapon is a bow and arrow, but in fact, it is a tool to help hide her true weapon of kunai. Her prison time on Nadeshiko Island was in fact far over, but she stayed on the island and helped to take care of the island's many children. However, the people of the island wished for Neya to be free and go to the mainland, and with their plans, they tricked Neya to go with Utsuho. At the same time, she received the villager's sincerity, and became determined to create a village on the mainland for all of them. She continues to aim to recruit Yakuma as the village's doctor. She is in love with Utsuho, and always tries to help him, but these efforts often end up with no results. Utsuho has shown some slight signs of affection towards her.

An orphan, Neya was taken in by a princess who was called "Oni-hime" (lit. Ogre Princess), and became her body double due to her striking similarity in appearance. Due to this, her speech changed to one of a high-class lady. She and the princess were best friends, and had a relationship similar to sisters. However, when the castle was under attack and all the guards were killed, the princess wanted Neya to live, so she gave her hair ornament (Which was actually one of the nine treasures, "Peacock Feather" (孔雀の羽; Kujaku no Hane) and entrusted her with it. The princess was killed in place of Neya, and in order to hide away, Neya went to Nadeshiko Island.

Hikae Nibyou (弐猫 控, Nibyou Hikae) 

A man who is the guard to one of the 9 Treasures, the jewel, "Eye Stone" (JP: 瞳石;Hitomi Ishi). He has hanging eyes like a beast, and short, green spiky hair with a long bandana headband tied on his forehead. He is an itsuwaribito, and Hikae himself says that he has lived at least 500 years, which is actually quite possible, as there is much evidence that he is in fact immortal. Poisons and hallucinogens do not work on him, and if he is injured, it will cure within a moment. This is the same even if he receives a wound that should be fatal, and he takes fatal wounds quite calmly. He is quite an enigma to the entire party, including even Utsuho. He acts very aloof and never shows his true intentions to the party, quite similar to Utsuho. He has the thinking process of, "Life isn't worth anything if there's nothing interesting in it," and as such, if things are interesting, he doesn't care about common sense or morals. He hates anything boring, and also hates Neya and Yakuma. On the other hand, he likes Utsuho and Pochi. Later, when she joins their party, he gets along very well with Iwashi, and their ways of thinking often mach. After travelling for a time with Neya, he comes to hold her dear, but still hates Yakuma, who is very serious. In a trial in which the group had to hand over a treasure, he suffered a mental breakdown along with Utsuho, and after Utsuho completed the trial and received the treasure, Utsuho told him, "If you're free, come with us.", and so Hikae became one of their allies. Because Hikae is a guardsman of one of the 9 Treasures, he is quite knowledgeable on them, and as such, many times the destinations of the party is decided on this information, and he is a vital asset. However, there are many times when he says inappropriate things, and often has falling-outs with members of the party. His weapons are tekko kagi, which are gloves with blades like claws. He has fighting strength that is even recognized by Chouza, and with this he easily defeated Manta. He has become a being that has no need for food intake or sleep, and because of this he is always on lookout at night.

Iwashi Yashima (八嶋 岩清, Yashima Iwashi) 

A 20-year-old princess who was enthroned after she took over the village that banned men and elderly, "Yome Mura" (lit. Bride Village). A beautiful woman with black short-cut hair. She ends her sentences with the inflection "~n" in the Japanese version, which is very rare. She has one of the 9 Treasures, the face powder, "Cherry Blossom Rouge" in her possession. Her skin, which is praised as the most beautiful in Japan, is her pride, and she holds quite a bit of confidence when it comes to her physique, and as such wears many clothes that expose her body. When she was in her village, she hated filthy and ugly things. Because of this hate, she demolished and rebuilt the entire village, and exiled animals, human males, the sick and such other people from the village. When she met Utsuho for the first time at the Hydrangea Flower Mansion, they were met with grave danger when Iriya incited a raid, and she saved Utsuho from a dangerous situation.

In return for "The most beautiful thing in this world", she promises to hand over her treasure to Utsuho and his party. To meet this request, Utsuho gave her a mirror, telling her that the most beautiful thing in the world could be seen in it when she held it. Touched, she now calls Utsuho "Utsuho-sama" or "My lord", and decides to continue on their journey along with them. She also allowed the people she had kicked out of the village to return. She is unexpectedly quite a hard worker and her heart is very kind. So kind, that she even gets along very well with her rival in love, Neya, saying "It is a wonderful thing when the amount of beautiful things increases in the world," and even helps her with her fashion. She is not affected by formality, and is a very flexible type of person. She is also very good with her hands, and because of this is a very reliable person. There are times when she uses seduction in order to get enemies to let down their guard.

Uzume (烏頭目, Uzume) 

A 19-year-old warrior who is one of Kuroha's allies. He is a peppy, simple man, and is quite stupid. He often says saying and difficult words incorrectly, making him mostly comic relief. He is most often seen smiling with a wide open mouth. His weapon is a three-section staff with a small sickle attached, and has such power to the weapon that it does not matter if he is close or far in range to his opponent. He once told Utsuho, "My head's empty, but I get pissed." What he lacks in brains, he makes up with fighting power, which is top-class. It might be because he is quite honest, but his mouth more than often slips, letting out vital information. As an enemy, Utsuho called him "Bird brain", but once they became allies, Utsuho began calling him by his name.

Ever since the time Uzume was born, he was not treated like a human and was ostracized. Possibly due him receiving irrational violence and abuse, he came to think that it would be best to break anything he hated as he lived his life. On the other hand, he is quite friendly, and there are times when he gets lonely like a child. He also holds feelings that Kuroha and Chouza, who he likes, are precious to him. There was a time when he was being chased by Iriya and Utsuho proposed that they fight together, but thinking about Kuroha, he turned him down. He likes Utsuho and has a crush on Neya (apparently, she's exactly his type), and thinks of them both as his friends. At the Black Fortress, when he talked to Utsuho, he decided that he wanted to live a life without killing people. However, this decision led to a wall being made between himself and Kuroha, who he held dearly.

In the battle against Iriya at Bride Village, he saves his allies, but knowing that he was not trusted by Kuroha, he left Kuroha's group along with Chouza and Minamo to act with just the three of them. In the capital, Kuroha says some parting words, but Uzume wasn't satisfied, confirms Kuroha's real intentions, and travels with her once again.

Deeply hurt at the death of Kuroha and Saiha, he fights Iriya and wins, getting revenge for the two. After he learned the importance of people's lives, he swears in his heart to never kill another person ever again, and in order to make a world where no one suffers, he decides to join Utsuho's group along with Chouza and Minamo.

Glossary

Terminology

Itsuwaribito (偽り人, Itsuwaribito) 

The title for a person who has successfully mastered all arts of thievery, swindling, and mugging. :There are many kinds of Itsuwaribito, but many are bad, using their skills of lies for themselves.

The 9 Treasures (ここのつ(九つ), Kokonotsu;lit. Nine) 

The 9 treasures gifted to an honest young person by God, who also granted him a magical ship. Since no one could get near the ship where the person lived in happiness, a liar tricked the honest person to coming down, killed the person, and took the treasures. Later, Neya learns from Minamo that the liar was, in fact, God. Since this ship can still be seen hanging upside down, floating from the ceiling in the cave on Tsukushi Island, this old story is considered true by most all.

Since the young honest person who is spoken of in the story is in fact a woman (previously unknown to Utsuho's group), most of the 9 Treasures are women's accessories.

Places

Village of the Orphans (孤児の里, Koji no Sato) 

A village in which orphans are taken in and raised. There are only six adults in the entire village. There are mines near the village, which is how they gain the money to raise the children.

Nadeshiko Shima (撫子島, Nadeshiko Jima) 

An island of exile for Itsuwaribito. There is an extremely harsh current surrounding the island, so leaving the island is nearly impossible. For the exiled who have committed exceptionally heinous crimes, they are marked with a tattoo around one side of their mouths. The name of the island comes from the nadeshiko flower.

Village of Dolls (人形の里, Ningyou no Sato) 

A village famous for its dolls. In the past, it was used as a tourist attraction, but the master of the town used the power of one of the 9 Treasures in order to make the dolls come alive and attack people.

The 9 Treasures

So far, 8 out of the 9 treasures have been discovered.

Eye Stone (瞳石, Hitomi Ishi) 

The gemstone. Inside of the stone, there seems to be an eye of some kind of beast with veins, hence the name. The owner is Utsuho (although Hikae once protected it).

Seven-Colored Rainbow (七色の虹, Nanairo no Niji) 

The comb. It sparkles in seven colors like a rainbow. The owner is Pochi.

Dual Flowers (双対の華, Soutai no Hana) 

^[3]

The Zori. The owner is Hiruko.

Ancient Robe (古の巻物, Inishie no Makimono) 

The kimono. Once you wear it, you can't take it off, but even if one is cut, not even a scratch will touch the wearer's skin. The kimono changes itself to match the person who wears it. The owner is Minamo.

Agate Drinking Cup (瑪瑙の杯, Menou no Sakazuki) 

The drinking cup. It is said to weigh the worth of people. When a person with no worth touch the cup, their blood instantly evaporates and their brain explodes. The owner is Uzume.

Cherry Blossom Rouge (桜紅, Sakura) 

The face powder. When the treasures are all assembled, and a maiden applies this powder and offers a dance, God will come down the Earth, bringing the treasure with him. A person with beautiful skin must apply this powder. If the person does not have beautiful skin, the wearer will burst out in rash. The owner is Iwashi.

Peacock Feather (孔雀の羽, Kujaku no Hane) 

The ornate hair pin. Only the owner with light, cherry-blossom colored beautiful hair can wear it. The owner is Neya.

Sapphire Magatama (青玉の勾玉, Seigyoku no Magatama) 

The magatama. It can heal any wound, even if that wound is a severed limb. The owner is Yakuma.

Volumes

Reception

Carlo Santos, writing for Anime News Network, felt that the series was a generic shonen adventure series but enjoyed the lead's moral ambiguity,^[18] feeling it spiced up fight scenes. He criticised the poor pacing in the second volume.^[19] Katherine Dacey described the manga as a "tonal mess", contrasting the bloody fight scenes with the cute talking tanuki and the "uncomplicated" protagonist.^[20] Leroy Douresseaux felt the series had potential,^[21] enjoying the premise, and feeling that the series hit its stride more in the second volume.^[22] Danica Davidson felt that the lead became more sympathetic during the first volume.^[23] Holly von Winckel noted the extreme violence used by the author to distinguish the protagonist from the 'real' bad guys, feeling that the tanuki character was an "antidote" to this strong violence.^[24] Patti Martinson felt that the premise was gimmicky, but that the second volume "explored" the issue more than she had hoped.^[25] Nick Smith describes the lead character as being an "even less likeable version of Naruto", summing up the first volume as being both enjoyable and frustrating.^[26] Deb Aoki noted the combination of gore and cute elements, making the first volume "difficult to recommend".^[27] Davey C. Jones enjoyed the fast pace of the second volume.^[28]

References

External links

• WebSunday's official Itsuwaribito website (Japanese)
• Shogakukan's official Itsuwaribito website (Japanese)
• Yuuki Iinuma's official blog (Japanese)
• Itsuwaribito (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia