Lie About Lying

- aUaC

(I couldn’t find any watermelon art so here’s the group with popsicles! Also, my brain juices weren’t creative enough to come up with unique headcanons so I’ve formatted this response a lil differently~)

The-eats-it-in-slices-like-a-normal-person-squad:

Neya, Yakuma, Chouza, Tsukumo

They’ll also sprinkle on a little bit of salt.

The-insists-on-doing-suika-wari-squad:

Utsuho and Uzume.

Suika wari literally translates into “watermelon breaking”. It’s a game where the player tries to strike a watermelon while blindfolded.

For heaven’s sake, please don’t let Uzume play unless you’re okay with eating nothing but watermelon dust.

The-eats-it-as-watermelon-cubes-or-juice-squad:

Pochi and Minamo.

This is usually because the people around them insists on cutting/juicing it up for them. Namely Utsuho, Neya, and Uzume. 

Any leftover watermelon rinds can fit onto Pochi’s head like a hat.

The-unusual-way-of-eating-squad:

Iwashi and Hikae.

Iwashi will somehow make a watermelon cocktail, complete with the little toothpick parasol.

Or the drink is purple and making demonic sounds and probably needs an exorcism. One or the other. There is no in between.

This is something I’ve wanted to write for the longest time because I have too many thoughts. If there is a character you’d like me to take an in-depth look at, drop them in the ask box! Otherwise I’ll periodically write these in gang order (or whatever it’s called...)

First impressions:

It’s a common trope in manga/anime that characters with slanted, closed eyes are mischievous and cunning, and Utsuho certainly isn’t exempt from that stereotype. That spiky white hair, shit-eating grin, and his preference for speaking informally to almost everyone he meets only adds to that crafty, rebellious persona. 

Name: 天邪狐　空 (Azako Utsuho)

Every character in Itsuwaribito Utsuho, save for one or two NPCs, has some sort of animal included in their name. The kanji for ko in Utsuho’s last name, 狐, means fox, which just adds to Utsuho’s fox-like character. Another interesting thing to note is the first half of his last name, 天邪, is also used in the word 天邪鬼 (Amanojaku). In Japanese folktales, Amanojakus are said to be demons or oni that are notorious liars. The kanji 空 is commonly read as sora (sky) or kara/kuu (empty), and it is uncommon to be read as utsuho. 

Physical analysis:

According to Iinuma-Sensei, Utsuho is 175.5 cm tall and weighs 58 kg (5′8″ and 128 lbs). While he, Yakuma, and Uzume are about the same height, out of the three Utsuho is the lightest. From this information, it kind of makes sense why he relies on trickery and bombs; he’s more dexterous and quick than he is strong, and I bet that out of all the guys he would have the most trouble in pure hand-to-hand combat. 

Body definition wise, I imagine he’s pretty skinny? Like, closer to lithe than buff but not underweight either. His muscles probably aren’t incredibly defined but still toned. 

Personality analysis:

Out of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types, my guess is Utsuho is an ESTP.

E for extroversion: He’s not afraid to talk to strangers, and the way he pulls pranks and draws people towards him makes me think he’s actually a sucker for attention and likes to be around people.

S for sensing: He’s quick to notice what’s around him and remember things to the smallest detail (remember the game he played with Hikae? Dude literally memorized every wood plank by their grain patterns). He’s incredibly intelligent with a lot of book smarts, and I reckon he’s prone to trusting his knowledge first and foremost before making any decisions. 

T for thinking: He can be impersonal with his choices, and it seems to me that he relies more on his thoughts and logic than his feelings. But because of this natural imbalance, whenever his emotions become too much to contain it results in some explosive outbursts... sometimes literally (Cue the whole Kin/Gin arc). 

P for perceiving: Despite his logical way of thinking we can’t deny that Utsuho is spontaneous and does as he please. Rather than making a fixed schedule he seems to prefer going dealing with whatever shit is thrown at him that day and is therefore open to new thoughts and experiences.

Past vs. present vs. future:

Past Utsuho is completely different from Present Utsuho but it’s plainly obvious that his childhood haunts him to this day. During the Tanuki Village arc, we saw that Utsuho still isn’t completely accustomed to his white hair, and he fucking waged war on an entire nation to avenge his family.

If that isn’t trauma, I don’t know what to tell you. Hell, he started lying nonstop because he was too truthful, and that started his entire journey. 

The epilogue stated that Utsuho continued to travel, helping people anywhere he went using his lies. But considering how his obsession with lies and deceit came out of trauma I think it would be great if as he got older, he started to heal and learned to be more honest, at least around those he trusts. 

Personal thoughts:

I remember reading Itsuwaribito Utsuho for the first time and being surprised at how Utsuho cried in the very first chapter. At first glance, he seemed all about trickery and deceit (which he is) and oh-I-know-everything-you-don’t (which he kinda does), and overall a cool badass type of guy that never cries. So that stark contrast was an incredibly memorable first impression.

It paints my mind that despite being a genius, Utsuho is in fact, still a kid with unhealed scars and uncontainable curiosity and I love it. I love balanced characters. 

There were several times where I was like “goddammit, Utsuho”, especially when he kicks Yakuma around or had verbal fights with Gin in Iinuma-Sensei’s mini blog comics but it reminds me once again how he hasn’t reached full maturity. It makes me wonder how much more he’ll change. Well, I guess that’s up to us as a fandom.

I'm not sure about you, but if I had to deal with a prankster who also happens to be a fucking genius I don't think I could get out of that without a headache LOL

(I'm assuming you're asking for the Utsuho gang? If not, lmk!)

Utsuho:

A good portion of the rainy day is spent experimenting with his bombs and poisons. After all, explosions and dust clouds don’t do well in moisture; how can he improve upon them in case the odds are ever turned against him?

The rest of the day is spent playing with Pochi and Uzume and giving Yakuma migraines with his usual mischief. You know, the usual.

Pochi:

If Pochi is out in the rain, a lot of their time will be spent looking for snails. It’s cute to watch, both the snails and Pochi.

There was one time where Neya taught them how to make a teru teru bouzu (see image), as a charm to pray for the rain to stop. But could it really be called one when it’s partially ripped, has thorns coming out of it, and has a face akin to a Lovecraftian horror?

Yakuma:

He spends most of the day collecting and drying herbs, concocting medicine, and nagging Utsuho like the good mother-doctor he is.

You might see him chasing after a wet Utsuho and Uzume with a towel.

Neya:

Her evenings are spent bathing a mud and rain-covered Pochi. She’s careful not to dunk any snails into the soapy bathwater. 

Any mollusks are tossed out the window. Somehow, they always land perfectly and safely on a leaf. Neya’s the gang’s best sharpshooter, don’t forget.

Hikae:

Rain? Snow? Sun? When you’ve lived for five hundred years, a change in weather is as significant as losing a single strand of hair. There isn’t much difference in what he does on a rainy day compared to what he does on a sunny day.

Unless it starts raining cats and dogs. He secretly hopes that idiom will actually come to life one day. 

Iwashi:

Iwashi is already meticulous as hell regarding skincare, but during the rainy season in June an extra ten steps are added to her beauty regime. The heat and humidity are gateways for sweat and acne, after all.

On raining traveling days, she’ll wear a fashionably modified version of a hikimawashi-kappa, or a waterproof traveler’s cape. If you ask her about it, she’ll happily style one for you :)

Uzume:

Don’t let him go out to play unless you’re okay with seeing (and cleaning) a Uzume caked with more mud than a swamp-dwelling alligator. 

Seriously, it’s already been an hour since you’ve started cleaning. How could there be more mud to clean off?

Chouza:

The bookworm (or scrollworm?) he is, Chouza can be found sitting by a window, listening to the rain as he reads.

There was a brief period where he thought the rain was beneficial as it would make his bangs stick to his face, covering his tattoos even more. But it resulted in Yakuma incessantly telling him to dry himself off so... Nevermind. 

Minamo:

Like Chouza, she enjoys meditating to the sound of the rain. There have been times though, where she was found napping instead. Maybe the rain was too calming?

If she goes outside, she likes to search for frogs. Just imagine Minamo with an umbrella in hand, curiously observing a small frog perched on a leaf...

(ugh, there goes my heart)

Tsukumo:

They’re part of the nature-appreciation trio with Pochi and Minamo. I’m not sure what creature they like the most, but they have a fondness for hydrangeas.

(Tsubame, Tsukumo, their names are so similar...)

This is a tough one because Iinuma-Sensei never posted a profile for Tsubame on their blog, with their reasoning being that it’s practically the same as Tsukumo’s.

They also added that they didn’t want to discuss Tsubame’s past any more than what’s given in the manga. What the fuck are you hiding, Iinuma-Sensei

What we do know, however, is that Tsubame was a skilled fighter. Most likely he was a mercenary or an assassin for hire, as he mentioned he worked for many people in the past.  

He grew up as a street urchin- stealing from merchants, running from guards, and pulling pranks with friends. The territory he lived in was rather poor and filled with strife, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when it fell into war.

Rather, Tsubame welcomed it at first. Becoming a mercenary means getting paid, and his exceptional hearing and experiences stealing, fleeing, and fighting made him desirable to many. This did come back to bite him, however, as we saw in the manga.

On a much brighter note, his time spent with Tsukumo in the Tanuki Village was full of mundane, yet fun activities. Their favorite pastime was to go on mini adventures and explore the mountains surrounding the village.

I've added this into the Rules & Info page but I thought I'd make a post about it as well. Regarding character asks, if no specific character(s) are specified, I'll default to the main gang which is Utsuho, Pochi, Yakuma, Neya, Hikae, Iwashi, Uzume, Chouza, Minamo, and Tsukumo. But because there are so many characters the number of headcanons for each will decrease. The opposite applies as well- the fewer characters there are in an ask, the more headcanons I can write!

The same applies to scenarios as well. I won't put a hard limit but I would prefer fewer characters unless you don't mind waiting (-w-;;)

Thanks for understanding, have a good day <3

Yes I can!

A matchup is essentially me playing as cupid. Tell me a little bit about yourself, and I'll tell you who I think would be a good significant other/best friend! What information you send to me is up to you and what you're comfortable sharing, but here are some things that would help me greatly:

personality (Myers-Briggs is a big bonus)

likes/dislikes

maybe a hobby or two

gender preference

romantic or platonic matchup?

If the last two aren't specified, I'll default to an all-gendered, platonic matchup. Pochi and Minamo will not be included in romantic matchups. I'm not sure if I'll include Tsukumo in that as well. I dunno. Shapeshifters make my head hurt. 

Yes I did!! The previous pictures were super low quality and since I was updating the character profile photos, I thought to update the header&icon as well.

(Ngl, my obsession for long haired 2D men started with Yakuma) Some headcanons regarding Yakuma and his profession:

As we all know, Yakuma’s mainly versed in Western medicine and its practices such as surgery. But considering how throughout the manga he’s been able to identify plants and herbs for consumption, it’s safe to say he’s also well-versed in pharmacognosy. 

I imagine he relied more on these herbal medicines for minor illnesses such as the common cold while traveling as they’re easier to obtain, process, and carry.

Since Yakuma didn’t get along with the other doctors at the imperial palace, much of this knowledge comes from self-studying. After returning from overseas, he spent much of his time reading up on books and journals borrowed from the library.

Oh my lord.

It’s been five years.

FIVE. FUCKING. YEARS.

I’m laughing. But anyway.

I probably owe you all an explanation, huh? So life update. I started college. I’m surviving college. At what cost? A lot, but that’s not the point. Regardless I’ll be graduating in a semester. Which is hilarious, considering my last post was me talking about how I was about to graduate high school. Time flew by in a blink of an eye, then it came back to slap me in the face as a reminder of everything I had forgotten and left behind. 

I’m doing better now though, and I’m much happier then I was five years ago, so that’s a good thing.

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So what’s going to happen to this blog?

To be frank, I’m not sure. I still love Itsuwaribito very much, but I feel as though the already small fandom has diminished greatly. (To the people who dropped messages in dms and the ask box, thank you so much!! I appreciate you ;w;) Combine that with finishing up school, finding jobs, and other hobbies this blog will most likely go back onto the backburner again. I’ll try to come back and drop something every once in a while, but I don’t want to bring your hopes up and crush them into smithereens. Then come back another five years later. So please don’t expect much from me.

This is me, being honest; I’m not sure what the future awaits. But let’s take it day by day and see where it goes, shall we? 

Love you guys. Itsuwaribito means a lot to me, and it’s incredible how, despite its low notoriety, people gather to declare their love to this masterpiece.