#Jiro Higuchi

[sugurushimura]

Hi! I was curious about the family dynamics between the Yotsuba members and their parents, more specifically Higuchi and Hatori (since he's the illegitimate son of the Yotsuba CEO). What do you think their relationships with their parents are like?

ooh, i have a lot of thoughts on this, particularly hatori.

hatori's father is yotsuba dainosuke, president of the yotsuba group, and he had him out of wedlock, like you said. we don't know any information about hatori's mother or home situation as a child, but we do know that he uses his father's position to his advantage within the company, according to htr.

i've seen this interpreted before to mean that hatori blackmails his dad, but imo it's more just a case of nepotism. L didn't seem to make his profiles of the yotsuba guys that in-depth, so if he knows about hatori's parentage, it's probably not a well-kept secret. i also just don't think hatori has it in him to outright blackmail someone on his own -- he'd get way too nervous and probably feel really guilty. besides, the other yotsuba guys seem to have low opinions of hatori, and i imagine the way he attained his job is part of that. of course, higuchi and namikawa also have dads who work for yotsuba, but it's okay for them to do it since they're not bastards! they're just going into the family business!

my personal headcanon is that hatori was raised by his mother with financial support from but no physical presence on the part of his father. yotsuba is probably married and might even have children with his wife (i like to think he has a daughter), and i doubt his wife is very happy about hatori existing in the first place. plus, i just... don't think yotsuba is a very caring person. hatori wasn't meant to happen, and yotsuba never wanted to be his father. any consideration he took for his son was out of obligation.

by the time hatori's adult life rolls around and he decides he wants to work for yotsuba, his dad has had enough time to think on things that he feels kind of bad for neglecting hatori so long. he hires him as a way of slapping a band-aid on it, but he isn't really that interested in hatori as a person. their relationship is professional and very awkward. on yotsuba's end, he feels sort of bad about the whole thing but is also kind of annoyed that hatori made him look bad by asking for a job at his company.

hatori... mostly just resents yotsuba for his lack of presence in his life, but a part of him will always want his father's affection and approval after he was deprived of it for so long. he's never going to get it, though -- certainly not his affection -- and he knows that. a professional relationship is the closest he's going to get to a father-son bond, and it stings, but he still works with the man. part of this is because, subconsciously, he wants to be near to and loved by his father, and part of this is because he wants to be normal.

his entire life, he's been something of an outcast because of his parentage. his main interests (literature and ceramics) are artistic, and his hair (bleached, imo) is unprofessional, and yet he works as vp of marketing for a large company. he wants to be normal! he wants to be accepted by the people who have rejected him all his life! he wants to be like them! it's because he's been denied normalcy and the perceived community it brings with it for his entire life, entirely due to his parentage. yotsuba certainly didn't intend for that to be the case, but he also doesn't care enough to mitigate it, because he barely knows hatori and doesn't really want to know him. it's a sad state of affairs for poor arayoshi, and he knows it, and he resents his father for it.

my thoughts on hatori's relationship with his mother are less in-depth. she hadn't wanted a child, imo, and being the single mother of a wealthy executive's son comes with social stigma that she probably blamed hatori for without meaning to. i don't think she was cruel to him, but rather distant. they're on decent terms in hatori's adulthood, but they're not close. part of the reason he doesn't really resent her is because, compared to yotsuba, at least she was physically there for his childhood. he probably also has a step-father with whom he isn't close.

higuchi also has big issues with his father, but they're different in nature from hatori's. i've always imagined higuchi jiro as a strict, severe man -- not purposefully cruel, but often aloof and unforgiving. he made his expectations for kyosuke -- academic and social excellence, exceptional skills in the workplace -- very known, and likewise made his disapproval known when kyosuke failed to meet those expectations.

kyosuke was never an awful student, but he went through spurts of apathy, and when he did care, he still only did moderately well. he had friends, but none of them really liked him or were loyal to him. his work performance was just barely subpar. for a more loving father, all this might have been fine, but jiro only tolerated it with obvious dissatisfaction.

similarly to hatori, i think higuchi both resents his father and aches for his approval. the fact that he has never been able to stand on his own without his father or live up to the standard set by him grates on him constantly for his entire life, as does the fact that, imo, jiro seems to prefer namikawa... which, come to think of it, yotsuba does too. hatori doesn't have Debilitating Higuchi Jealousy Syndrome, though, so he kind of just deals with it, meanwhile higuchi wants to chew on namikawa and shake him around like a dog toy.

i actually think kyosuke's resentment for his father and frustration with being funneled into a professional job reached a boiling point after he graduated high school, when he decided he didn't want to go to college and bought a plane ticket to america without telling anyone. he spent a few weeks wandering around new york before he ended up in a fight, got arrested, had to call his dad to bail him out, got shipped back to japan with his tail between his legs, and ended up in college anyways. i hope to elaborate on this in a pretty extensive higuchi fic i've been formulating in my head for a while.

again, my thoughts on kyosuke's relationship with his mother are less fleshed-out. i headcanon her as significantly younger than jiro and nursing an awful alcohol habit. this habit and her dissatisfaction with her marriage led her to be distant and at times mean-spirited towards her son. he's definitely internalized it, but he hasn't ever really stopped to think about it, whereas he constantly fumes over his relationship with his father.

...i've kind of gone on for a while, so i'll keep the rest more concise. if you'd like to hear anything about any of them in particular, let me know and i'll be happy to elaborate! pretty much all of this is just headcanon, haha.

namikawa's parents both treated him pretty well as a child. he was raised with affection and consideration, and while he was expected to go into the business world or a similar profession, he was never pressed into it against his wishes. both of his parents really love him. however, his mother has always kind of stepped all over his father, and she's probably having an affair that he's too scared to do anything about. witnessing this as a child led namikawa to view the world as a very "use or get used" place and is part of the reason he's... the way he is: he doesn't want to be the type of person to get used, so he has to use instead. ironic, considering he's ultimately a pawn in kira's game. anyways, namikawa respects his mother but secretly looks down on his father. he cares about them both to some extent, but not as much as they care about him.

ooi's biological father was a second-generation nigerian immigrant in the technology industry who died when ooi was a child. he was a good, gentle parent who cared about his son a lot. his mother was an incredibly strong, compassionate woman who was raised in rural japan and had an incredibly close relationship with her son. she remarried soon after her first husband's death in order to give ooi a father and a stable financial situation, and her second husband is the man referred to as ooi's father in L's profiles on the yotsuba group (and the one whose family name is ooi). ooi's stepfather is a tough, military sort of guy, but he gets along well with ooi, who more or less sees him as a father figure. he's also got a younger half-brother who he's taken under his wing.

mido is the only yotsuba to ever discuss one of her parents in canon! higuchi asks her to call her dad up and ask him to get sakura tv's kira program taken off the air. her reaction is to say no and look incredibly annoyed about it, but this is probably because she hates higuchi and doesn't want to help him (besides, it's a stupid idea). i also happen to think she doesn't get along with her parents. they put an incredible amount of pressure on her to succeed from a young age, and as a result she's very much a burnt out gifted kid. she resents them for it. they're also generally aloof and cold, especially her father.

takahashi has a good relationship with his parents. they're both decent people, although their relationship as a couple goes through phases of good and bad, and eiichi probably inherited his womanizing habits from his father. i don't have much thoughts on it beyond that, honestly... i also think eiichi has an older brother.

shimura's parents were never married, and his dad left his mother before suguru was born. in fact, he pretty much disappeared off the face of the planet, probably to another country. shimura's mother, meanwhile, was an unhealthy woman both physically and psychologically, and she took a lot of it out on him. their financial situation was also pretty dire, and since she had a difficult time keeping a job, he had to work from a young age. she passed away when he was in college, and his feelings about her are never really resolved. his closest familial relationship is with his maternal aunt, who used to visit and help out sometimes when he was a child. they still talk from time to time.

kida's parents are both biology professors. imo they worked in human biology and exposed their son to some of their work when he was a child, which has led him to be sort of desensitized to blood and stuff like that. i think he appreciates the access he was given to their work, honestly. outside of that, though, his parents were very strict, especially academically, and had rigid social expectations for masahiko -- his mother was more concerned with his academic performance and his father was more concerned with his social performance. unlike mido, though, kida doesn't really realize this wasn't great for him and has a great deal of respect for his parents, even if they aren't close. he's very concerned with living up to their expectations -- which, for the record, he does, so they're pretty cordial with him as an adult. they probably wouldn't be if they knew he was gay tho :/

and there you have it! i hope this wasn't too rambling for you, haha. again, i'd be happy to elaborate on any of these or chat about them with you! thanks for the ask!

[demifiendrsa]

Weekly Shonen Jump 55th anniversary appendix in Weekly Shonen Jump 2023 issue #33

1968 Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #1 Otoko Ippiki Gaki-Daisho by Hiroshi Motomiya 1969 Dr. Toilet by Kazuyoshi Torii 1970 The Gutsy Frog by Yasumi Yoshizawa 1971 Tezuka Manga Award 1st Edition Samurai Giants by Ikki Kajiwara & Ko Inoue Boy of the Wilderness Isamu by Soji Yamakawa & Noboru Kawasaki 1972 Astro Kyudan by Shiro Tōzaki & Norihiro Nakajima 1973 Play Ball by Akio Chiba Hochonin Ajihei by Jiro Gyu & Jo Big 1974 Akatsuka Manga Award 1st Edition 1975 The Circuit Wolf by Satoshi Ikezawa Doberman Deka by Buronson & Shinji Hiramatsu 1976 Toudai Icchokusen by Yoshinori Kobayashi Kochikame by Osamu Akimoto 1977 Ring ni Kakero by Masami Kurumada Susume!! Pirates by Hisashi Eguchi 1978 Cobra by Buichi Terasawa 1979 Kinnikuman by Yudetamago 1980 Dr. Slump by Akira Toriyama 1981 Captain Tsubasa by Yoichi Takahashi Cat's Eye by Tsukasa Hojo Stop!! Hibari-kun! by Hisashi Eguchi 1982 High School! Kimengumi by Motoei Shinzawa 1983 Fist of the North Star by Buronson & Tetsuo Hara Ginga -Nagareboshi Gin- by Yoshihiro Takahashi 1984 DRAGON BALL by Akira Toriyama 1985 City Hunter by Tsukasa Hojo Miraculous Tonchinkan by Koichi Endo Sakigake!! Otokojuku by Akira Miyashita 1986 Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada 1987 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki The Burning Wild Man by Tadashi Sato 1988 Bastard!! by Kazushi Hagiwara Jungle King Tar-chan by Masaya Tokuhiro Rokudenashi BLUES by Masanori Morita Magical Taluluto by Tatsuya Egawa 1989 Weekly Shonen Jump reaches 5.000.000 copies in circulation Dragon Quest: The Great Adventure of Dai by Riku Sanjo & Koji Inada Video Girl Ai by Masakazu Katsura 1990 SLAM DUNK by Takehiko Inoue Chinyuki by Man Gataro Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi 1992 Hareluya II Boy by Haruto Umezawa 1993 Tottemo! Luckyman by Hiroshi Gamo Hell Teacher Nube by Makura Sho & Takeshi Okano 1994 Midori no Makibao by Tsunomaru Rurouni Kenshin by Nobuhiro Watsuki 1995 Weekly Shonen Jump reaches 6.530.000 copies in circulation Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoi yo!! Masaru-san by Kyosuke Usuta 1996 Hoshin Engi by Ryu Fujisaki Yu-Gi-Oh! by Kazuki Takahashi Kochikame 20th Anniversary & Chapter 1000 1997 I's by Masakazu Katsura Seikimatsu Leader den Takeshi! by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro ONE PIECE by Eiichiro Oda 1998 Rookies by Masanori Morita Whistle! by Daisuke Higuchi HUNTERXHUNTER by Yoshihiro Togashi 1999 Hikaru no Go by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata The Prince of Tennis by Takeshi Konomi NARUTO by Masashi Kishimoto 2000 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean by Hirohiko Araki BLACK CAT by Kentaro Yabuki 2001 Bobobobo Bobobo by Yoshio Sawai BLEACH by Tite Kubo 2002 Strawberry 100% by Mizuki Kawashita Eyeshield 21 by Riichiro Inagaki & Yusuke Murata 2004 Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi Katekyo Hitman Reborn! by Akira Amano D.Gray-man by Katsura Hoshino Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by Yoshiyuki Nishi 2005 Neuro: Supernatural Detective by Yusei Matsui 2006 To Love Ru by Saki Hasemi & Kentaro Yabuki 2007 Sket Dance by Kenta Shinohara 2008 Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan by Hiroshi Shiibashi Toriko by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro Bakuman. by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata 2009 Kuroko's Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki Beelzebub by Ryuhei Tamura Medaka Box by Nisio Isin & Akira Akatsuki 2010 ONE PIECE New World Begins 2011 Nisekoi by Naoshi Komi 2012 Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. by Shuichi Aso Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma by Yuto Tsukuda & Shun Saeki 2013 World Trigger by Daisuke Ashihara Isobe Isobee Monogatari by Ryo Nakama 2014 Hinomaru Zumo by Kawada My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi 2015 Black Clover by Yuki Tabata 2016 Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs by Tadahiro Miura Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge BORUTO by Mikio Ikemoto & Ukyo Kodachi The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai & Posuka Demizu Kochikame 40th Anniversary and Serialization End 2017 We Never Learn by Taishi Tsutsui Dr. STONE by Riichiro Inagaki & Boichi 2018 Jujutsu Kaisen by Akutami Gege

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[widowspeakconnoisseur]

Do you have any head cannons about Kyosuke Higuchi and his father Jiro Higuchi?

I've finally gotten round to answering this ask. Apologies for the lengthy wait.

Okay, so I'm probably going to approach this ask as more of a mini-essay explaining parts of Higuchi's childhood (likely in an incredibly incoherent manner) and his relationship with his father. In fact, I think that Higuchi's childhood is where all the majorly problematic parts of his personality begin, and then they're pedalled even further by his time at Yotsuba.

I'm going to refer to Higuchi as Higuchi and his father as Jiro to avoid confusion.

It's no secret that Higuchi was a golden spoon child, what with his family being essentially elites, but I never took this as "Higuchi came from an affluent upbringing, therefore he was spoiled". In fact, I always assumed that his relationship with his family, especially his father was comprised of desperately searching for his approval as his father was disengaged as a parent. My personal headcanon, which I believe I have mentioned on this blog before, is that Higuchi is German-Japanese. His mother was the daughter of a prominent business figure in North Germany and so was heavily encouraged to marry Jiro to unite the businesses. They didn't have much chemistry and so when Higuchi was born, he just served as a reminder of the obligations Jiro had to a family he never asked for. As well as this, Higuchi being half-white meant that Jiro's son was obviously not fully Japanese. In Japan, there is quite a heavy social stigma surrounding interracial couples and mixed-race children, particularly due to one of the parents being a foreigner. This meant that there was always a hint of Jiro being unhappy with Higuchi as a whole. He always privately viewed his son as defective and felt embarrassed by him, as it was obvious to other adults and children that Higuchi was not purely Japanese. As a result of this, most of Higuchi's childhood is full of exactly what you'd expect: trying at any opportunity to gain his father's approval, feelings of inferiority and always falling short, not understanding what is "wrong" with himself and desperately looking for love where there sadly isn't any. From day one he was discriminated against by his own father and I think the theme of discrimination in Higuchi's life is very important. Not only was he mixed-race but he was also conventionally unattractive his whole life, which in Japan are the two most polarising things a person can be. I imagine Higuchi's sharp features to have been prevalent as a child as well and that often made him stick out even more, furthering his feelings of social exclusion. Jiro often gave Higuchi the cold shoulder because he wanted a good-looking Japanese baby, which according to Japanese standards, Higuchi could never live up to.

We can see the aftermath of these experiences in Higuchi as an adult man. He always felt like the underdog at Yotsuba even if his circumstances were more favourable than some of his co-workers (like Hatori) and it's pretty clear that Higuchi is constantly over-compensating for his negative traits because he is so painfully aware of them, as well as over-compensating for positive traits because he's worried others don't see them that way. As an adult, Higuchi and his father basically don't communicate at all outside of business-related endeavours and his mother is fairly checked out as well, leaving him pretty much on his own. I also don't imagine that Higuchi had many friends as a child, partly because of his experiences with his father quickly souring his personality but also because people didn't like Jiro much either so didn't want their kids talking to his son. Like father, like son and so on. Jiro, in my head, is a pretty cold man who isn't necessarily in active conflict with his son but is more so a stranger to him. I doubt Jiro would be able to tell you when Higuchi's birthday is or his favourite colour for example. This would've left a big mark on Higuchi as a child because I think he would've initially looked up to his father and wanted to be like him. Jiro, however, did not care much for anything his son was doing. He didn't attend any school events to see him, he didn't spend quality time with him at home (instead leaving him to his own devices) and he never really told him that he loved or appreciated him. As a result of the minimal effort put into Higuchi's childhood, he ends up as the guy we all know and (maybe) love, jaded by the lack of attention and care from his father.

I hope that wasn't too much word vomit and you feel that I sufficiently answered the question. And I'm again sorry for putting this ask off for such a long time. I had a lot of assignments to attend to and tend to struggle to articulate my thoughts, so I end up spending far too long on things like this than I should lol. Thank you for the ask!

[sickficideas]

@aces-doughboys tagged me in 10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags and I decided to do it in a separate post since that original is so long lol :)))

Thank you for the tag!! I don't usually do these but I figured I would since I only talk about BSD on here usually lol...I'm only actively in the top 2 here I had to really mentally dig to make it have 10 on this list lol

1. Bungo Stray Dogs - Akutagawa (+ Higuchi)

2. Moriarty the Patriot - William (+ Louis ...and Fred)

3. Chainsaw Man - Denji

4. My Hero Academia - Jiro (+ Denki)

5. Demon Slayer - Genya (+ Rengoku)

6. Fairy Tail - Lyon (+ Chelia)

7. Jujutsu Kaisen - Megumi (+ Maki)

8. Seraph of the End - Guren (+ Shinya)

9. Yugioh GX - Atticus/Fubuki

10. Pokémon - Lance/Wataru

10 tags: @bugbytez13 @potatopersonal @pokemonispain @stomach-tummy-whump-lover @chrxnicdaydream @whumpprentice @spiral-abuse @ethereousdelirious and...anyone else who wants to do this!! I can't think of anyone else to tag lol

[shinsengumi-archives]

The Shinsengumi and the Battle of Shirakawaguchi

The Battle of Shirakawaguchi (a.k.a. Battle of Shirakawa Castle, not to be mistaken with the Battle of Shirakawa) took place from leap April 20 to July 14, 1868 (Lunar calendar) or June 10 to August 31, 1868 (Western calendar). It was fought between the Northern Alliance and the New Government Army

At this point, Kondo Isami had already been executed (he died on May 17, 1868, Western calendar) and Hijikata Toshizo was absent due to the injury he got from the Battle of Utsunomiya on May 14 (western), so Saito Hajime (using the name Yamaguchi Jiro) was the Commander the Shinsengumi during the Battle of Shirakawaguchi.

The Shinsengumi and the Aizu forces captured Shirakawa Castle from the New Government Army on Apr 20 (lunar). On May 1 (lunar), the New Government Forces then recaptured Shirakawa Castle with only 700 men against the 2500 men from the Northern Alliance (along with the Shinsengumi) who were guarding the castle. The Northern Alliance (along with the Shinsengumi) increased their troops to 4500 and tried 7 times (from May 26 to July 14) to retake the castle, but failed.

Maps of the New Government Army’s progress

(image source)

(image source)

Details

(source: Wikipedia)

See: Map of places mentioned in this post

On leap April 20, Keio 4 (lunar), the Shinsengumi and the Aizu soldiers led by Sanai, the son of Tanaka Harukiyo (Matsudaira Katamori’s chief retainer), invaded and occupied Shirakawa Castle, which was being defended by the soldiers of the Nihonmatsu Domain. After taking the castle, Toyama Iemon, the commander of the Aizu guerrilla corps, and the Shinsengumi (commanded by Saito Hajime) stationed themselves at the Shirasaka barrier to the south of the castle.

After winning the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle on April 23 (lunar), the New Government Army had secured Utsunomiya as a their base. They consisted mainly of soldiers from the Satsuma Domain, as well as soldiers from the Ogaki Domain, the Choshu Domain, and the Oshi Domain. They had marched from Utsunomiya to Otawara, but after learning about the occupation of Shirakawa Castle by Aizu, they advanced to Shirakawa on orders from Edo .

At dawn on leap April 25th (lunar), several hundred advance troops of the New Government Forces made a surprise attack on Shirasaka barrier. The Aizu guerilla forces and the Shinsengumi engaged them in a fierce battle. Hinata Shigetaro (leader of the Suzaku corps), who learned of this battle, attacked the New Government Army from the flank with Higuchi artillery and fought them to a standstill. Other forces then attacked the New Government Army from many directions. The New Government forces had no choice but to flee in the face of these fierce attacks from all sides. While retreating, they was stuck in the muddy fields caused by heavy rain. Due to a combination of fatigue, the lack of ammunition from the deadly fighting at the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle, the exhaustion of the march from Utsunomiya and the lack of familiarity with the area, they withdrew to Ashino (a town about 12km south-west from Shirasaka barrier, a 2.5hr walk).

(image source)

On the following day, the 26th, Saigo Tanomo, a retainer of the Aizu Domain, entered Shirakawa Castle as governor of Shirakawa-guchi. Reinforcements from the Sendai, Tanagura, and Nihonmatsu clans also arrived. Saito Hajime and Miyagawa Rokuro of the Jungitai offered to defend Shirasaka barrier, but Saigo Tanomo rejected the idea, saying “We are superior in terms of military strength, so it is unnecessary”. Yamaguchi and the Junyitai were deployed at Shirakawaguchi to protect the main camp. Furthermore, Saigo focused his troops on Mt. Inari, located south of Shirakawa Castle, and deployed his main force and artillery.

[Continue reading]

Timeline of Saito Hajime’s participation in the Battle of Shirakawaguchi 

(Dates are based on the Lunar calendar)

Since Saito was the Commander of the Shinsengumi, we can assume that he was involved in everything that the Shinsengumi was involved in.

19-Apr Hijikata captures Utsunomiya Castle

23-Apr The New Government Army recaptures Utsunomiya Castle, Hijikata gets shot in the foot

25-Apr Kondo Isami was executed at Itabashi, Musashi (near Edo)

28-Apr The Shinsengumi encamped in Akatsu inn going by way of Shirakawa from Nagareyama

29-Apr The Shinsengumi and Hijikata arrives and joins Aizu At this time there is no proof that Saitou was participating in both repeat month

5-Apr (leap) Matsudaira Katamori has an audience with the Shinsengumi, Saitou as one of the Captain’s of the Shinsengumi is ordered to go to the front, to Shirakawa district

6-Apr (leap) Saitou leads the Shinsengumi and departs from Aizu Wakamatsu to the front and encamps at Akatsu inn

21-Apr (leap) The Shinsengumi goes to the front aiming for Shirakawa Castle from Sendai

22-Apr (leap) Shinsengumi encamps at Shirakawa Komine Jouka inn

23-Apr (leap) The Shinsengumi defends the Shirasaka Kanmon (Shirasaka barrier)

25-Apr (leap) The New government army attacks the Shirasaka barrier

26-Apr (leap) The Shinsengumi defends the Shirasaka barrier from the Shirakawa attack of the New Government Army

29-Apr (leap) Shinsengumi defended the Shirasaka barrier and took the place of Sendai soldier. They took a rest at a two storied building at Shirakawa Jouka Nikaidate, encampment was done at Wakimoto Yanagi-ya (Yanagi inn)

1-May The Shirakawa Komine castle was captured by the attack of the New Government Army. The Shinsengumi group that was commanded by Saitou was defeated at the Kurokawa battle and they stayed at Seishidou lodging

2-May They leave the Seishidou inn, encampment in Sendai

26-May The Shinsengumi could not recover Shirakawa Komine castle and they withdraw to Kamigoya (Kamikoya) village for encampment and the New Government Army captures Shirakawa

27-May While they head to Ooyachi village from Shirakawa Komine they met the New Government Army and engage in war but since there were no support soldiers, they retreat to Makinouchi Recently in Sendai, Saitou’s name appears as a commander of the Shinsengumi Taishi in “Aizu Sendai Hisashi Jinja Meibo” (comment: Unsure of exact name but translates to “Aizu Sendai member list of names”)

30-May Okita Souji dies from tuberculosis in Sentagaya, Edo

3-Jun When the Aizu feudal lord Matsudaira makes an official business trip to Yoshinori, Saitou and company returns from Sendai to have an audience with him Saitou and company receives 25 ryo as war funds

6-Jun Saitou who leads the Shinsengumi goes to the front departing to Oohira-kuchi

12-Jun Saitou’s group is once again defeated as it tries to recapture Shirakawa Komine from Hata village

16-Jun He returned from Hata village to Fukura, staying at Senjuin lodging

25-Jun The battle to re-capture Shirakawa Komine castle is done but it is unsuccesful

1-Jul Although the Shinsengumi goes to war from Hata village and invades the Tenjin mountain to capture Shirakawa Komine castle, they are beaten by the New Government Army and withdraws from Hatori to Fukura to re-organize the preparations

7-Jul It went to war from Fukura to Moriya-machi (Moriya town)

8-Jul It went from Moriya-machi to Naganuma encamping there to rest

25-Jul The fight to recapture Shirakawa Komine castle is done and it loses for the 7th time, they leave. The sending of troops to Shirakawa ended substantially

(source: shinsengumi.net)

[qonspiracy]

[five-rivers]

"'Scuse me," said Higuchi, drawing attention to herself again.

Izuku attempted to refrain from fidgeting, but... there was just so much going on. So much new information about quirks, about his friends, about One for All... it was all he could do to keep from fidgeting, either with his own hands or with One for All's hands. He wanted to whip out his notebook and start writing, but the seats in the Demonstration Hall were close together, and Kacchan was nearby and some memories from junior high were deep...

One of the hands of One for All (Nana's, maybe?) fluffed his hair in a vaguely chiding way, and he muttered an apology.

"Okay," said Higuchi, "now that y'all've got that, some other housekeeping details. First off, none of the quirk manifestations will take much in the way of weight. More'n a few extra pounds per square inch, and they'll go poof. As long as it's within my three day time limit, they'll reform, but they'll take the energy to do that from you. In fact, y'all might be noticing that forming them in the first place took something out of you. Other things... don't try to feed them. Don't set 'em on fire - that always gets weird, even if they don't poof."

Izuku wasn't the only one to look at Todoroki's already-on-fire bird.

"Don't try to eat them... And don't try to get to far away from them. That can cause them to disperse and reform, too, and how far away you have to get for that is different for each person. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's it." She gave the students a little wave. "Have fun with your quirks, everyone!"

"Wow," said Izuku, "I wonder why she didn't become a hero with such a convenient ability."

"What do you mean, Midoriya?" asked Mineta. His change was subtle, just a moving ooze-like pattern over his hair balls.

"Well, it sounds like her ability could be used to create instant weak spots. Even for a quirk like Kirishima's, if you can keep making the manifestation, um, poof, then you can eventually wear down the person."

"It's because she wanted to teach elementary school," said Aizawa. Izuku jumped. He'd somehow forgotten he was there.

He blamed all of the fascinating physical quirk manifestations around him. Yaoyorozu, sitting just on the other side of Mineta, glowed. It really added to her image as a goddess!

"Oh," said Izuku, "I bet it's really useful there, too." Especially with early quirk counseling. Well... That assumed she had an occupational use license... not that the lack of one had stopped the teachers at Aldera...

Anyway! No time to think about that! He had quirks to study! Including, and especially, One for All!

Principal Nezu got back up on the stage. "Please take the rest of the day to familiarize yourself with your quirks," he said. "Starting tomorrow, we will be running special lessons that take them into account."

And with that, the were dismissed. 1-A naturally gravitated to Ground Alpha, where they were sure to have lots of room for practice... or just to spread out and compare quirk effects.

"Alright!" said Kaminari, grinning at them and holding up his quirk manifestation, a long, pale yellow creature with long ears that was otherwise somewhere between a weasel and a hedgehog. "Who else has a new little animal bestie?"

"Me! Me!" said Ashido, jumping up and down. "Look at this cutie!"

Izuku... didn't know if he'd call that cute, exactly, but it was visually interesting. Like a wide, flat sea slug that folded over Ashido's shoulders like a cloak.

Other than her and Todoroki... yeah, that was it, actually.

"Do you think we could battle them like Pokemon?" asked Kaminari.

"Hm," said Todoroki, glaring lightly at his two birds (which were still fighting). "Pass."

As Kaminari and Ashido tried to battle each other, Izuku turned his attention to his other classmates. Some hardly looked changed, but for others... Kirishima had patterns on his skin that were reminiscent of what he looked like when he activated Hardening. Jiro's showed lines leading from her jacks and ears that went all over her body. Aoyama had both glitter and sickly-looking cracks radiating out from his stomach. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow had become much more solid-looking, almost like a double following him around.

It was amazing, it was fascinating, it was--

A bit strange, the way that he wasn't able to get a closer look at anyone.

"Todoroki, do you feel like... people are avoiding us?" asked Izuku. One of the hands patted his shoulder in a reassuring way. Absentmindedly, he patted one back.

"No," said Todoroki, who was staring intently at One for All's hands.

"Must just be a coincidence, then," said Izuku. His eyes wandered over to Aizawa and All Might, who were supervising them. Both of them were looking at him.

Coincidence.

Maybe there was something unusual about his quirk manifestation? He hadn't even thought about that, really, and he should have. He missed too much when it came to this quirk, like when he hadn't realized that All Might had been quirkless. What if he gave away the secret of One for All?

Another reassuring pat made him take a deep breath. No. Surely, hands weren't that unusual.

He looked at them. Seven pairs and one extra, for a total of fifteen hands. He brushed his fingers over the golden extra, the one he was sure corresponded to All Might. The shape was right.

What would they do if he activated One for All...?

He pulled up Full Cowl, and the grip of the hands became firmer. He could feel them, ready to lend him their strength. All Might's hand wrapped around his right wrist, giving the aching bones just that little bit extra relief.

He smiled, and whispered his thanks.

He loved quirks, and he was going to make the most of this one.

Class 1a are hit with a quirk that cause them to show ways of how their quirks effect them like aizawa's hair floats and eyes stay permanently red while bakugou's palms glow and momo's skin glows(like a goddess)

but ofa manifests like 8 pairs of glowing hands wrapped around izuku like a hug or pat on the back

feels re assuring for izuku, looks really creepy for everyone else

Izuku has a hand ruffling his hair, a fist pressed to his heart, a splayed palm on his back pushing him forward, a pair on his shoulders in reassurance, hands wrapped around him in a hug, some holding to his arms to balance him, some around his legs to lift him up. It's strange, but not uncomfortable- it feels nice, even

Except Class 1A, who've all seen Shigaraki in his full Hands McMike outfit at USJ, are having flashbacks and nervously trying to figure out why a strength quirk looks like that.

[sugurushimura]

Either I made this up or this definitely was a thing but I remember reading one of your posts about what higuchi's childhood was like and the economic situations of the time. at the end of the post you suggested you might expand on it in the future so I was wondering if you had any fresh thoughts on the topic?

yes, i mentioned this briefly in my higuchi analysis! @mikami also talked about this topic before here, and i recommend giving that post a read since it's a large part of what got me thinking about the circumstances of higuchi's youth in the first place.

i'm not a huge expert on the japanese economy, especially from before i was born, but i do have a few more thoughts on this. higuchi was born in 1972, at the very tail end of the japanese economic miracle. the 1973 oil crisis marks the end of it, but the japanese economy withstood the impact and remained strong (from my limited understanding) until the asset price bubble burst in 1992, which just so happens to be the year higuchi turned 20.

so higuchi grew up during a very strong time for the japanese economy. since he's from a wealthy family, i imagine he would have lived well even if the economy had been worse; what's more important imo is that times were good and the higuchi family was optimistic. since the japanese economic miracle started in 1955, depending on his parents' ages, it's possible that they didn't even remember a time before the miracle. (personally i think his father is older than that, but ymmv.)

higuchi grew up in a financially optimistic environment and had the idea that his bright future was not just a possibility, but a certainty. as he went through his schooling, i think he always had the idea that it was all stupid and not worth putting effort into since he was going to get a cushy corporate job when he grew up anyway. he was a mediocre student; he had enough resources to ensure that his work was passable, but was only rarely motivated enough to do particularly well. higuchi jiro, in my mind, was always a strict and cold man, and while higuchi never exactly fell behind his peers, he certainly fell short in his father's eyes.

more than academic success, i think higuchi focused a lot on his social standing and what his peers thought of him. unfortunately, he struggled to find somewhere he fit in. despite being a rich kid, the idea of rebellion was always cool to higuchi, and deep down he longed to be special and rebellious in a way that you can never fully be when you're trying (however halfheartedly) to live up to higuchi jiro's expectations. the other rich kids who he hung out with only tolerated him; every counterculture movement he brushed shoulders with rejected him. his luck with women was never very good, either; the few relationships he had in school were mostly shallow and ended unceremoniously. by the time he graduated, higuchi had grown into a somewhat lonely person thirsting for approval and belonging.

eventually he graduates and goes to university for the customary degree before setting out for an office job. i really don't think there was any significance in picking political science except that it's generally employable and seemed more interesting to study as an 18 year old than business or a similar degree did.

i've grown fond of the idea that at some point between high school and yotsuba, higuchi decided to quit college and flee to the states before very quickly being robbed of his illusions and returning to japan. i've tossed it back and forth, and i think what happens is this: the economy crashes in the middle of higuchi's college years, and he realizes abruptly that getting a job might be harder than he thought, and that the job itself will almost certainly be more difficult to maintain. he grows angry at the world for seemingly fucking him over right before he could've benefited from the economy as a working adult, and it occurs to him that maybe all this work won't be worth it in the end. in a moment of anger and desperation, he books a plane ticket to america, embarking on what was supposed to be some sort of glamorous soul-finding journey. this doesn't go as well as he'd hoped, and ultimately he returns to japan with a man his father hired to find him. this unpleasant, embarrassing experience resigns higuchi to the corporate life he'd planned on previously.

so ends his life as a child and begins his life as a childish adult, and so cements a strong "i deserve better than this and everyone/the world is out to undermine me" complex. i guess that's what happens when you don't get the future you feel you were promised.

[aic-asian]

Actor Nakamura Utaemon IV as the Boatman Matsuemon, actually Higuchi Jiro Kanemitsu (Sendo Matsuemon, jissha Higuchi Jiro Kanemitsu), Utagawa Kunisada I, 1849, Art Institute of Chicago: Asian Art

Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Fischer Fund Medium: Color woodblock print; oban

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/236197/

[iristial]

Release date for the photobook (titled Avatar Change!) been changed to February 21st!

Contents include:

Character solo shots and Q&A sessions

Donbrothers crosstalk

Kouhei Higuchi (Taro) & Raizou Ishikawa (Jiro) cross talk

Yuki Beppu (Saruhara) & Kohaku Shida (Haruka) crosstalk

Hirofumi Suzuki (Kijino) & Totaro (Tsubasa) crosstalk

A Donbrothers and Noto section featuring “oden time”, crosstalks, “two shots” and off-shots

Kouhei Higuchi & Yuya Tominaga (Sonoi)

Totaro & Amisa Miyazaki (Sononi)

Kohaku Shida & Shinnosuke Takahashi (Sonoza)

A section focusing on the Donbrothers cast (excluding Noto trio), photoshoot wise and doing a round table talk

Handwritten comments by the whole cast, including Kiita Komagine (Don!Kaito)

Donbrothers is slated to have a photobook release for the end of January 2023!

[vocalist2d]

Shipping info

Takes a deep breath... (Content warning: -all fictional- incest, underaged character x adult character and possibly abusive relationship mentions. If those make you uncomfortable, the cut is underneath for a reason. Don’t interact with the post if they do. Thank you.)

The World Ends With You: Joshua x Neku, Joshua x Hanekoma, Nagi x Minamimoto, Fret x Rindo, Beat x Rhyme, Uzuki x Kariya

One Piece: Sanji x Zoro, Luffy x Ace 

Sk8: Langa x Reki, Tadashi x Adam, Tadashi x Reki

HypMic: Saburo x Jiro, Jiro x Ichiro, Jakurai x Ramuda, Dice x Ramuda, Samatoki x Ichiro, Ramuda x almost every HypMic character honestly, Doppo x Hifumi, Sasara x Rosho, Rei x Ichijiku, Rei x Otome, Kanaria x Nemu

Kingdom Hearts: Axel x Kairi, Sora x Donald Duck

The Gray Garden: Kcalb x Etihw, Adauchi x Emalf, Yosafire x Froze

Wadanohara AtGBS: Samekichi x Wadanohara

Other Okegom ships: Gris x Idate

Enstars: Rei x Ritsu, Ritsu x Mao

A3!: Misumi x Tenma, Itaru x Citron, Juza x Banri, Muku x Yuki

Pokémon: Ash/Satoshi x Goh/Gou, N x Hilbert

Persona 5: Akira x Akechi, Ryuji x Ann

Magi: Ja’far x Sinbad, Judal x Hakuryuu, Ja’far x Judal, Ja’far x Alibaba, Kougyoku x Sinbad, Alibaba x Aladdin, Alibaba x Morgiana, Vittel x Mahad, Drakon x Sinbad

Hamatora: Ratio x Birthday

Final Fantasy 15: Noctis x Prompto

Banana Fish: Eiji x Ash

Arcana Famiglia: Liberta x Nova, Felicita x Luca

As Miss Beelzebub Likes: Beelzebub x Mullin, Belphegor x Azazel, Astaroth x Sargatanas, Eurynome x Dantalion

Resident Evil: Ada x Leon, Claire x Steve

Pretty Boy Detective Club: Mayumi x Lai, Hyouta x Rei

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai x Atsushi, Akutagawa x Higuchi, Kyouka x Atsushi, Junichirou x Naomi, Edogawa Ranpo x Edgar Allan Poe

Danganronpa: Togami x Touko, Kirigiri x Makoto

Dramatical Murder: Aoba x Noiz, Aoba x Clear

Fate: Rin Tohsaka x Archer

Hitorijime My Hero: Kousuke x Setagawa

Horimiya: Miyamura x Hori

Ikebukuro West Gate Park (more focused on the live action version, anime form of the ship is good too): Makoto x King

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun: Hanako x Nene, Minamoto x Mitsuba

Junjou Romantica: Misaki x Usagi, Shinobu x Miyagi

Blood Blockade Battlefront: Zapp x Leo, Chain x Steven, William x Leo, William x Mary

Talentless Nana: Nana x Michiru

Nanbaka: Juugo x Uno, Momoko x Hajime

Osomatsu-San: Todomatsu x Karamatsu, Ichimatsu x Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu x Karamatsu, Osomatsu x Choromatsu

Pandora Hearts: Gilbert x Oz

Yuri On Ice!!!: Yuri x Victor, Otabek x Yurio, Phicit x Yuri

Yarichin Bitch-bu: Yuri x Tooru

Haikyuu: Kageyama x Hinata, Kuro x Kenma

Thor movies: Thor x Loki

Genshin Impact: Lumine x Childe, Lumine x Kaeya, Lumine x Venti

[imasallstars]

EVENT UPDATE

The Bandai Namco Ent. Festival 2nd Live artists have been announced! The event will occur on the 6th and 7th of February 2021! All the idolm@ster brances will be appearing on both days (so the full cast list will be posted for posterity)

FEBRUARY 6TH STAGE

IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls 　LOVE LAIKA: Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta), Sumire Uesaka (Anastasia) 　ENJIN: Yuko Hara (Takumi Mukai), Mayumi Kaneko (Rina Fujimoto), Haruka Chisuga (Ryo Matsunaga), Tomo Muranaka (Aki Yamato), Kiyono Yasuno (Natsuki Kimura) 　Dimension-3: Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Shiki Aoki (Asuka Ninomiya)

IDOLM@STER Million Live 　Haruka Yamazaki (Mirai Kasuga), Azusa Tadakoro (Shizuka Mogami), Machico (Tsubasa Ibuki), Yukiyo Fujii (Megumi Tokoro), Kotori Koiwai (Tomoka Tenkubashi), Yuu Kahara (Emily Stewart), Megumi Toda (Ayumu Maihara), Rika Abe (Mizuki Makabe), Saki Minami (Tsumugi Shiraishi)

DEEN, misono, BACK-ON

Aikatsu! 　Aikatsu!/Aikatsu Stars!: Waka Kirishima, Ruka Endo, Sena Horikoshi, Risuko Sasakama, Rie Fujishiro 　Aikatsu Friends!: Akane Matsunaga (Aine Yuki), Ibuki Kido (Mio Minato) 　Aikatsu Parade!: Rin Aira (Raki Kiseki) 　Aikatsu Planet!: Kaya Date (Mao Otoha/Hana), Rio Ogura (Ruli Tamaki/Ruli), Mizuki (Ayumi Tsukishiro/Q-PIT), Shizune Nagao (Kyoko Umekoji/Beat),  Rion Watanabe (Shiori Motoya/Shiori), Amy (Ann Kurimu/Ann), Narumi Uno (Meisa Hinata/Rose), Rurika Uno (Sala Itoi/Sala)

FEBRUARY 7TH STAGE

IDOLM@STER 765PRO ALL STARS 　 Eriko Nakamura (Haruka Amami), Asami Imai (Chihaya Kisaragi), Mayako Nigo (Yayoi Takatsuki), Naomi Wakabayashi (Ritsuko Akizuki), Chiaki Takahashi (Azusa Miura), Rie Kugimiya (Iori Minase), Hiromi Hirata (Makoto Kikuchi), Akiko Hasegawa (Miki Hoshii)

IDOLM@STER SideM 　Café Parade: Sho Karino (Yukihiro Kamiya), Takuya Kodama (Makio Uzuki), Daiki Kobayashi (Saki Mizushima) 　S.E.M: Yoshiki Nakajima (Jiro Yamashita) 　THE Kogado: Junta Terashima (Takeru Taiga), Daiki Hamano (Michiru Enjoji)   　Legenders: Jun Kasama (Amehiko Kuzunoha),  Fumiyoshi Shioya (Sora Kitamura), Wataru Komada (Chris Koron)

IDOLM@STER Shiny Colors 　Illumination Stars: Hitomi Sekine (Mano Sakuragi), Reina Kondo (Hiori Kazano), Mayu Mineda (Meguru Hachimiya) 　L’Antica: Karin Isobe (Kogane Tsukioka), Chisa Suganuma (Mamimi Tanaka), Anna Yamaki (Sakuya Shirase), Runa Narumi (Yuika Mitsumine), Mizuki Yuina (Kiriko Yukoku) 　Houkago Climax Girls: Mariko Nagai (Juri Saijo), Wakana Maruoka (Rinze Morino), Akiho Suzumoto (Natsuha Arisugawa) 　Alstoremeria: Honoka Kuroki (Amana Osaki), Ryoko Maekawa (Tenka Osaki), Noriko Shibasaki (Chiyuki Kuwayama) 　Straylight: Yuki Tanaka (Asahi Serizawa), Eri Yukimura (Fuyuko Mayuzumi), Sayaka Kitahara (Mei Izumi) 　Noctchill: Yuu Wakui (Toru Asakura), Rio Tsuchiya (Madoka Higuchi), Saran Tajima (Koito Fukumaru), Miho Okasaki (Hinana Ichikawa) 

DENON-BU 　Sotokanda Literature: Yuuka Shidomi (Reina Hidaka LIVE set), Miho Amane (Kazyne Shinonome LIVE set), Sena Horikoshi (Futaba Kayano LIVE set) 　Jungumae Sandou: Yurie Kozakai (Mimito Sakurano LIVE set), Nichika Omori (Hina Minakami LIVE set), Rena Hasegawa (Shina Inubosaki LIVE set)

TAKANORI NISHIKAWA

LOVE LIVE! SCHOOL IDOL PROJECT 　AZALEA: Nanaka Suwa (Kanan Matsuura), Arisa Komiya (Dia Kurosawa), Kanako Takatsuki (Hanamaru Kunikida) 　Riko Sakurauchi&You Watanabe: Rikako Aida (Riko Sakurauchi), Shuka Saito (You Watanabe) 　Hanamaru Kunikida&Ruby Kurosawa: Kanako Takatsuki (Hanamaru Kunikida), Ai Furihata (Ruby Kurosawa) 　SAINT SNOW: Asami Tano (Sarah Kazuno), Hinata Sato (Leah Kazuno)

LOVE LIVE! NIJIGASAKI SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　 Aguri Onishi (Ayumu Uehara), Mayu Sagara (Kasumi Nakasu), Kaori Maeda (Shizuku Osaka), Miyu Kubota (Karin Asaka), Natsumi Murakami (Ai Miyashita), Tomori Kusunoki (Setsuna Yuki), Maria Sashide (Emma Verde), Chiemi Tanaka (Rina Tennoji), Moeka Koizumi (Shioriko Mifune)

[bleedingflowers]

[aidendh]

BSD! RAU! Atsushi Nakajima |RM

{Redesign}

Crush: Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Eventually gets with him

Birth: 5th May

Age, 18

Often used as a shield against mental Abilities

Wears bandages in honer of 'Dazai-Sensei' for saving him

Wears his tie backwards and is often pulled back by it

Guessed Dazai's past job after multiple tries

Saw through his entrance exam but still went along with it,

Smashed the bomb thinking it would stop it

Has empathy and can tell if people are near him

Fukuzawa knows there is more to Atsushi's Ability that's locked away

(Proceeds to gradually unlock it)

(First, levitation)

Follows Akutagawa around like a lost puppy

'I'll will befriend him if its the last thing I do!'-AN

He had trouble learning Kanji

Likes having leaves in his hair

His past memories are vauge

He can't swim and will grab onto the nearest object or person to him

He often curls up to get comfy or feel safe

--

Death: War (smashed torso)

He has a big butterfly shaped scare covering his back

His back is really sensitive

Past Life: Clawacorn(OC) (Minecraft Diaries)

Aura: Blue

--

He believes in Minecraft logic

When plauged by nightmares he will be in a bad mood until he gets a good nights sleep

Often the one to help Dazai from his Suicides unless he is in a bad mood then, "Suffer."

He is passive aggressive when someone pisses him off

He is very clingy and touchy

Loves play fights

Sees his fights with Akutagawa as spars

He is motherly and protective as the tiger

He finds out about his ability at the normal time, but already knows that the tiger is a part of him

He isn't effected by mental powers

He claims Kyoka as his sister

He cleans and bandeges the curse kid after taking one look at their injury and afterwards he kidna-'adopts' them, "Kyoka! You're an aunt now!"

Great at infiltration

He can understand cats, dogs and horses

Prefers close combat

(Swords, Daggers, Claws)

--

An vauge memories Incarnate, dubbed the ADA's trouble magnet

Death: Smashed in torso (War)

Past Life: Clawacorn (MCD)

--

Doesn't understand technology or many vehicles

{First mission}

Thinks something is off with Higuchi

Thinks Akutagawa looks cool

Swipes one of Dazai's Knives

Dodges easily

Asks how a gun works and swipes one to try out

Brakes Higuchi's arm

Noticed Akutagawa before he attacked

'Confuse your enemy with banter'

Subtly controls knife with levitation

Goes for the kill and shows concerning experience

(Did fight in a war in their past life)

Higuchi(broken arm) and Akutagawa survive

{Miraculous}

"I need someone that can move undetected and who's immune to their power."-MDC

Tiger / Torakat - Left hand - (Main)

Dog / Jinro

Black Cat / Jinko - left hand - No longer trusted with it after Cataclysming the Akumatized Villain

--

RAU! Atsushi Nakajima

Uninfected by mental Abilities and greatly skilled in combat

Miraculous: Tiger (Panjas bracelet (left hand))

--

--

RAU! Atsushi Nakajima

No longer trusted with Cataclysm after using it directly on the Akumatized Villain

Miraculous:BlackCat(Ring(right))

--

--

RAU! Atsushi Nakajima

Jiro - Werewolf in Japanese

Power: Tracker

Miraculous: Dog (Choker)

--

[jgfiles]

Odagiri/Tobisaki Hiroyuki’s character profile: Part 1 (Joker Game Universe)

Odagiri/Tobisaki Hiroyuki’s character profile: Part 1 (Joker Game Universe)

(Very tentative version as no translation for 'XX Double Cross' novel or D no Maō version had been released)

Spy Surname: Odagiri - 小田切（おだぎり） Spy Name: Unknown Real name: Tobisaki Hiroyuki - 飛崎 弘行（とびさき ひろゆき） (Only according to the Anime) Rank: Army Second Lieutenant (陸軍少尉 - Rikugun-Shōi) [prior to joining D Agency], Army First Lieutenant (陸軍中尉 - Rikugun-Chūi) [After leaving it] Role at D Agency: Spy (スパイ - Spy) Direct superior officer: Lieutenant Colonel Yūki (結城中佐 - Yūki-Chūsa) Affiliation: D Agency (Ｄ機関 - D Kikan) Height: Unknown (172 cm according to the Anime) Age: Unknown Impersonates: Military Police Superior Private (上等兵- Kenpei Jōtōhei), Geisha (芸者- Geisha) (According to D no Maō), Tobisaki Hiroyuki (飛崎 弘行) (According to the Novel and D no Maō) Appearances: Novel: Vol. 1 Chapter 1 “Joker Game” (ジョーカー・ゲーム - Joker Game) [mentioned], Vol. 1 Chapter 5 “XX Double Cross” (XX ダブル・クロス - XX Double Cross) [as the spy Tobisaki Hiroyuki] D no Maō manga: Vol. 3 chap 4-6 XX Double Cross” (XX ダブル・クロス - XX Double Cross) [as the spy Tobisaki Hiroyuki] Anime: Ep 1-2 “Joker Game” (ジョーカー・ゲーム - Joker Game), EP 12 “XX Double Cross” (XX ダブル・クロス - XX Double Cross), OAV “Adventure of Black Cat Yoru” (黒猫ヨルの冒険 - Kuroneko Yoru no Bōken) Joker Game The Animation Manga: Chap 1, 2, 3 “Joker Game” (ジョーカー・ゲーム - Joker Game), 5 “Miscalculation” (誤算 - Gosan), 10 “Asia Express” (アジア・エクスプレス - Asia Express) Drama cd: “Joker Game” Drama CD Metropolitan Police Department D Section Investigation Files (「ジョーカー・ゲーム」ドラマCD 警視庁D課捜査ファイル - “Joker Game” Drama CD Keishichō D-ka sōsa files), “Joker Game” Drama CD Go For It! Year 2 Class D Sakuma Sensei (「ジョーカー・ゲーム」ドラマCD それいけ！2年D組佐久間先生 - “Joker Game” Drama CD Sore ike! 2-Nen D-gumi Sakuma sensei ) Live Action Movie: Joker Game Voice Actor: Hosoya Yoshimasa - 細谷 佳正（ほそや よしまさ） Live Action Movie actor: Yamamoto Hiroshi - 山本浩司（やまもと ひろし） Stage project actor: Abe Kaisei - 阿部快征（あべ かいせい）

Brief introduction

In the novel Odagiri is mentioned merely as one of the twelve (twelve, not eight as in the anime) D Agency students belonging to the first batch of trainees, and he probably took part to the search in Gordon’s house (though we’ve no confirmation about this). The D no Maō manga doesn’t mention him at all.

The anime though (and, as a consequence of this, the ‘Joker Game The Animation’ Manga) decided that Odagiri is also the spy who appears in the novel chapter ‘XX Double Cross’ (also transposed in the D no Maō manga) giving him his backstory, through slightly altered.

So, while in the novel Odagiri and Tobisaki Hiroyuki likely weren’t planned to be one and the same (and Tobisaki Hiroyuki is just the identity a D Agency spy takes during his mission) and the D no Maō manga makes clear the spy taking the alias of Tobisaki Hiroyuki couldn’t be involved in ‘Joker Game’ by placing his recruitment chronologically after ‘Joker Game’, in the anime they’re one and the same and Tobisaki Hiroyuki is Odagiri’s true name.

So, according to the Anime, Tobisaki Hiroyuki’s parents died, his grandparents didn’t really want to take care of him and first entrusts him to Nishiyama Chizuru, then inscribes him to the Military school. However when a soldier falls ill and Tobisaki’s superior officer still insisted he should keep on training, Tobisaki (who was a second lieutenant back then) argues with the officer and hits him. This causes him to be put under military trial. That’s when he meets Yūki who invites him to join D Agency.

Tobisaki agrees, passes the selection and takes the name of Odagiri. He takes part to the investigation of Gordon’s house, then, later, he is tasked with the duty to keep Karl Schneider under surveillance in what will become his graduation case. In fact Schneider dies but Odagiri continues to investigate and discovers who murdered him (Yasuhara Miyoko in the anime, Nogami Yuriko in the novel and in the D no Maō manga).

Odagiri realizes his judgement had been compromised because Nogami Yuriko reminded him of Nishiyama Chizuru and understood he couldn’t become a D Agency spy because he couldn’t completely detach himself from others. He therefore asked to quit D Agency and was reassigned by the Army with the grade of First Lieutenant (in Kwantung in Machuria in the anime, in north China in the novel and in the D no Maō manga).

In the Live Action Movie, which is only inspired to the novels, Odagiri is a spy tasked with supporting a spy named Katō in retrieving the Black Note by providing him equipment. He seems to die in an explosion but it turns out he survived and merely faked his death as he will meet up again with Katō. His spy tools though are stolen by a female spy named Rin. Later he will be assigned for a mission in Germany.

Personality

In D no Maō, Tobisaki cared for his Army companions to the point he attacked his superior officer to protect one of them and didn’t seem to get along well with the other spies. He’s also more prone to tears than his anime version.

According to the Anime, Odagiri still cared for his Army companions to the point he attacked his superior officer to protect one of them, though he only pushed away the man while in D no Maō he punched him. Anime Odagiri is silent and hardly smiles. Although he goes out with the others and take parts to their same activities and Fukumoto gets along well with him, Odagiri feels as if there was a wall between him and them.

Odagiri can still be considerate. After seeing that Sakuma didn’t realize he’d been tricked when playing poker he told him the truth and he also seemed to care for Yoru, who obeyed and trusted him and to whom he smiled.

He holds dear the memory of Nishiyama Chizuru, who raised him, to the point that when he sees Nogami Yuriko and realizes she resembles her, he loses his objectivity and his concentration. This helps him to realize he can’t cut tie with this memory.

Odagiri is strict with himself. When he realizes Schneider, his target, died, he labels the mission as an INEXCUSABLE failure, as if there was something he could have done to prevent it.

In the Live Action Movie Odagiri is shown always in a good mood and likes to make fun of the spy going by the name of Katō (whose back story is ironically based on the one of novel Tobisaki Hiroyuki) because he comes from the Army while Odagiri, as everyone else in D Agency, is a civilian.

Physical appearance

We can’t see how Odagiri looks in D no Maō, though we can see how the spy who goes under the alias of Tobisaki Hiroyuki looks like. He’s tall, slender, handsome and has a mole under his left eye.

In the Anime Shirō Miwa decided his character design would be quadrangle-like in attempt to bring out a seriousness that was different from Sakuma and to make him look like he doesn’t know how to swim with the tide. He’s therefore less slender and with broader shoulders compared to D no Maō, he has no mole and his face isn’t oval but more ‘quadrangle like.

In both version he has black hair, though they’re longer in D no Maō and cover his right eye while in the anime both his eyes and his forehead are clearly visible.

During his time as second lieutenant in the Army he wore an uniform, in D no Maō a Type 98 while in the anime it’s a Type 5. Since in the Anime we see him acting in cold weather though, we see that his uniform is covered by an Army coat.

After joining D Agency he starts to wear a suit. In D no Maō it’s a two piece suits, in the Anime it’s a three piece suit.

In D no Maō he also disguises himself as a geisha, wearing their typical kimono and wig while, when keeping Schneider under surveillance, he wore typical Japanese clothes.

After he left D Agency he returned wearing a Military uniform, a Type 98, with the ranking of First Lieutenant.

In the Live Action Movie Odagiri almost always wears glasses, he’s shorter than Katō and smokes.

In the Stage Project he still seems to wear a three piece suit, only much clearer compared to the one he has in the anime.

Relationships

Mutō

The two never interacted but we know that Mutō finds D Agency a thorn to his side and sent Sakuma there in the hope one of Yūki’s students would make a mistake that would allow him to close the place.

Yūki

In the novel and in the D no Maō manga we don’t see Yūki and Odagiri interact, just Yūki and the spy who took the name of Tobisaki.

In the anime Yūki is the one who seek out Odagiri and invited him to try and see if he could pass his exam to be admitted as a D Agency student. He also hands him the Schneider case and, after Schneider’s death, he’ll instruct him to investigate on the woman on the crime scene (in the novel and in D no D no Maō this happens to the spy who takes the name of Tobisaki Hiroyuki). In the Anime when Odagiri will resign Yūki will tell him he’s reassigned in Kwantung in Machuria (in north China in the novel and in the D no Maō manga). Odagiri will bow to him and he’ll be told not to bow while wearing a suit.

In the Live Action Movie Yūki, supported by Kaminaga, gives him the task to cooperate with Katō and Jitsui to retrieve the Black Note.

Sakuma

Sakuma’s interaction with Odagiri is extremely small.

In Novel Odagiri is merely listed as one of the D Agency students while Sakuma is being the liaison but we don’t know if they ever interacted. He’s never mentioned in D no Maō.

In the Anime, during the Joker Game, Odagiri is the one who peeks at Sakuma’s cards and give signs to everyone, but he’s also the one who confesses this, revealing to Sakuma how the other had defeated him at poker. When the others laugh at Sakuma Odagiri doesn’t.

Odagiri’s smile, if so can be called, was also the weakest among the spies when it looked like they couldn’t find the cipher and Sakuma would have to commit Harakiri.

In a strip from Miwa Shirō we see that, after deciding to leave D Agency, Odagiri and Sakuma went to drink together and discussed what Yūki told Odagiri when Odagiri was about to leave (who salutes while wearing a business suit?). During this moment Sakuma will confess to Odagiri he was also told the same and that Yūki made him pay fines for insisting on saluting.

Miyoshi

There’s no known interaction between Miyoshi and Odagiri in the novel beyond that they’re both D Agency students and Odagiri likely took also part to the raid at Gordon’s house in which Miyoshi played the role of interpreter.

A character named Odagiri doesn’t appear in the D no Maō manga and the spy taking the name of Tobisaki Hiroyuki, as far as we know, doesn’t interact with Miyoshi and, although they are both trained at D Agency, Miyoshi likely completed his training way before Tobisaki Hiroyuki joined D Agency.

In the anime in Ep 1 Odagiri, Miyoshi, Kaminaga Jitsui and Amari play poker (or the Joker Game) until Odagiri surrenders.

Miyoshi was also likely one of the spies who used Odagiri’s signals to beat Sakuma at poker. As it’s Miyoshi the one who invited Sakuma to play poker with them, it’s possible Miyoshi went so far as to stage up the whole thing, giving Odagiri the role of spying Sakuma by making it look like Odagiri was leaving the game because he lost one of too many times.

In the Joker Game The Animation Manga, when Miyoshi informed the others he had Sakuma agree to be the captain of their fake Military Police team when they would inspect Gordon’s house, Odagiri looked none too pleased.

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 4, when Miyoshi and Hatano are talking about rats playing the antagonist in western fairy tales, Odagiri surprised them by mentioning Japanese fairy tales involving rats (which apparently aren’t evil). When Miyoshi asks him if he’s implying Japanese rats are different Odagiri says he’s fine with them widening their insight from books but dinner time is up and they should hurry and come because if their meal will get cold Fukumoto will make a fuss.

In Ep 12 Miyoshi demands Odagiri to explain Schneider’s suicide note, since it seems Odagiri is supporting the idea that Schneider was killed.

Miyoshi is later tasked to investigate the latest developments at the German and Soviet embassies and, reported the results of his investigation to Odagiri. In his report he says nothing unusual had happened at the German and Soviet embassies, but someone new might have taken over Schneider’s spy network. Odagiri, who had no idea he would report to him, was surprised by this and, being confused by this and by all the others who had reported to him, gripped Miyoshi’s shoulder, stopping him from leaving and forcefully turning him toward himself and demanded to know why he was reporting this to him.

Miyoshi is first confused by Odagiri’s question then irritated, pushes away the other’s arm and inform him this is his (graduation) case before leaving. Odagiri is very surprised by this.

Successively the two meet at the theatre, after Nogami Yuriko’s performance. Miyoshi comments (looking pleased) that she wasn’t the murderer in the Schneider case to which Odagiri agrees, claiming her tears couldn’t be faked before asking Miyoshi what he discovered about Schneider’s accomplices. Miyoshi will report Odagiri’s theory was right and that by tailing the man removing the flowers from the theatre he discovered the guy stopped to a florist that doubles as a secret post for Soviet spies to exchange intel who communicate among them using a flower called chamomile. Miyoshi also discovered that two Soviet spies contacted Schneider, one was the florist who collected the flowers the other was Yasuhara Miyoko.

Miyoshi then asks Odagiri what tipped him off and Odagiri replies it was simple as he connected the scent in Schneider’s apartment with the one of the flowers delivered to Yasuhara Miyoko, which, to him, hinted to another connection between the two of them. Odagiri then proceeded to explain Schneider likely planned to become a triple spy and pass information to the British so the Soviets set up his assassination as well as the whole plan for the assassination. Though his explanation Miyoshi smiles and asks up how Yasuhara Miyoko got the note written by Schneider and Odagiri explains this as well.

In the Live Action Movie Miyoshi and Odagiri (along with Jitsui and Katō) cooperate to retrieve the Black Note, though Miyoshi had a rather different task from Odagiri and the two meet up only at the end where Miyoshi will hand him his next assignment.

Kaminaga

There’s no known interaction between Kaminaga and Odagiri in the novel, beyond that they’re both D Agency students.

A character named Odagiri doesn’t appear in the D no Maō manga and the spy taking the name of Tobisaki Hiroyuki, as far as we know, doesn’t interact with Kaminaga (nor with Izawa Kazuo who, in the D no Maō manga, is clearly NOT Kaminaga) and, although they are both trained at D Agency, Kaminaga likely completed his training way before he joined D Agency.

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 3, I might be mistaken as they’re both giving their back to the viewer, but the two who fought together seem to be Odagiri and Kaminaga, with Odagiri having successfully pushed on the ground Kaminaga.

In Ep 12 since it seems Odagiri is supporting the idea that Schneider was killed, Kaminaga asks him if he believed the note was forged. He’s later tasked to investigate whoever got inside Schneider’s house and reported the results of his investigation to Odagiri, telling him that there was no suspicious activity from the people who went into Schneider’s home. Odagiri, who had no idea he would report to him, was surprised by this.

In the Live Action Movie Kaminaga, along with Yūki gives him the task to cooperate with Katō and Jitsui to retrieve the Black Note.

Hatano

There’s no known interaction between Hatano and Odagiri in the novel beyond that they’re both D Agency students.

Characters named Odagiri or Hatano or Shimano Ryosuke don’t appear in the D no Maō manga.

In the preview for Ep 3 Hatano and Odagiri talk together. Hatano asks Odagiri if he can remember that incident, to which Odagiri answers he can’t. At this Hatano says memories aren’t important and he took the right choice. We don’t know which was the incident they’re talking about though.

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 4, when Miyoshi and Hatano are talking about rats playing the antagonist in western fairy tales, Odagiri surprised them by mentioning Japanese fairy tales involving rats (which apparently aren’t evil). When Miyoshi asks him if he’s implying Japanese rats are different Odagiri says he’s fine with them widening their insight from books but dinner time is up and they should hurry and come because if their meal will get cold Fukumoto will make a fuss.

In Ep 12 when Odagiri is supporting the idea that Schneider was killed, Hatano points out they should reject the idea considering the information Odagiri himself has given to them (the women screamed just after they entered inside the house and no one else got out from the door). He’s later tasked to double-check Schneider’s suicide note and reported the results of his investigation to Odagiri, informing him that no invisible ink was used and the paper was bought from a local store. Odagiri, who had no idea he would report to him, was surprised by this.

Amari

There’s no known interaction between Amari and Odagiri in the novel beyond that they’re both D Agency students.

Characters named Odagiri or Amari or Utsumi Osamu don’t appear in the D no Maō manga.

In Ep 1 Amari was one of the spies who used Odagiri’s signals to beat Sakuma at poker as Odagiri pulled out a cigarette pack and then acted as if it was empty and asked him a cigarette, to which he replied by handing him a full pack which seemed to hint at how Amari won Odagiri on his side (the manga seemed to imply how he was on Jitsui’s side before).

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 3, Odagiri, seeing Amari and Jitsui together and Amari laughing, asked them what they were talking about, to which Amari replied they were saying it would have been good to have a mission in France where the charming ladies are.

In the preview for Ep 11 Odagiri and Amari talk together and we learn that Amari broke up again with his woman as he sees no point in remaining together with them for a long time.

In Ep 12 Amari was the one who, studying the photos of Shneider’s murder scene, observed that Schneider was fluent in English and that on a corner on his suicide note there were two XX. He’s later tasked to investigate the native English speakers living next to Schneider and, likely, reported the results of his investigation to Odagiri.

Jitsui

There’s no known interaction between Jitsui and Odagiri in the novel beyond that they’re both D Agency students.

Characters named Odagiri or Jitsui or Morishima Kunio don’t appear in the D no Maō manga.

In Ep 1 Jitsui was one of the spies who used Odagiri’s signals to beat Sakuma at poker. In the manga it’s implied Odagiri ‘betrayed him’ and made an allegiance with Amari when he asked Amari for a cigarette.

In Ep 12 Jitsui points out that Schneider’s suicide note was written by Schneider himself, since it seems Odagiri is supporting the idea that Schneider was killed.

In the Live Action Movie Odagiri and Jitsui support the investigations of Katō in order to retrieve the Black Note. They seem to get along well together.

Tazaki

There’s no character named Tazaki in the novel.

Characters named Odagiri or Tazaki or Seto Reiji don’t appear in the D no Maō manga.

In Ep 12 Tazaki is tasked to investigate into the wine import channels and reported the results of his investigation to Odagiri, telling him that no wine importing company was connected to an intelligence agency. Odagiri, who had no idea he would report to him, was surprised by this.

Fukumoto

There’s no character named Fukumoto in the novel.

Characters named Odagiri or Fukumoto don’t appear in the D no Maō manga and it’s never said if the spy going by the name of Tobisaki Hiroyuki and the spy going by the name of Shiozuka Hajime ever met, although they were both D Agency students.

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 3, when Odagiri, sees Amari and Jitsui together Fukumoto is right behind Odagiri and Odagiri is saying ‘that’s all for today’ a hint that Fukumoto and Odagiri might have been working together till a moment before.

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 4, when Odagiri tells Miyoshi and Hatano to hurry coming eating their dinner he reminds them that if their meal will get cold Fukumoto will make a fuss. Also, in one of the covers for the episode, Fukumoto and Odagiri are shown eating together at a restaurant, with Odagiri ordering something else to a maid.

In Ep 12 Fukumoto is the one that tells that two cross in English can be read also as ‘double cross’ or betray, and comments this could mean that Schneider either betray or was betrayed by someone.

In a set of cards we have Fukumoto and Odagiri ‘talking’ together. To be exact Fukumoto talks to Odagiri but Odagiri never replies.

It seems that in the ‘Joker Game talk show’ it was said that when Odagiri accompanies Fukumoto to get groceries… though we don’t see this happening in the OAV.

John Gordon

John Gordon is merely the target of D Agency’s investigation. The two don’t really interact, Odagiri was merely just one of the D Agency men who inspected his house (it’s unclear if he did the same in the novel and in D no Maō).

Karl Schneider

Karl Schneider is merely the target of D Agency’s investigation. Odagiri and Schneider don’t really interact, Odagiri was merely keeping him under surveillance (in the novel and in D no Maō this was done by the spy going by the name of Tobisaki Hiroyuki).

Nishiyama Chizuru

In the novel and in the D no Maō manga Nishiyama Chizuru is the girl who raised the spy going by the name of Tobisaki Hiroyuki, in the anime she’s the girl who raised Odagiri. Although she’s dead he can’t forget her and her memory still affects him to the point he understand he can’t get rid of him and that, therefore, he’s not fit for being a spy.

Nogami Yuriko

Due to her strong resemblance with Nishiyama Chizuru, in all the medias Tobisaki Hiroyuki/Odagiri loses his impartiality when she’s involved and ends up being distracted. In the Anime they won’t really meet although he watched her perform more than once, in the D no Maō manga she’ll confess him she murdered Schneider.

Yasuhara Miyoko

Odagiri/Tobisaki and Yasuhara Miyoko won’t really interact. In the anime he’ll figure out that she’s the culprit, in the other media, as she’s innocent, he only will understand that Nogami Yuriko decided to murder Karl Schneider because she caught Yasuhara Miyoko and Karl Schneider having sex together.

Gamo Jirō

In the preview for Ep 9 Gamo and Odagiri are playing chess. Gamo asks Odagiri what’s wrong to which Odagiri replies that in chess one has to destroy the adversary’s composure to win. Gamo replies that chess isn’t about winning or losing but about living or dying.

Yoru

When Yoru intrudes in D Agency’s kitchen Odagiri picks him up. The cat at first is not pleased by this development but, as soon as Odagiri tells him to calm down, Yoru does. Odagiri gently puts him outside D Agency, smiles at him and tells him next time he should hide himself better or the ‘demon king’ (Yūki’s nickname) will eat him.

Osanai

In the D no Maō manga Osanai is the one who will do what Miyoshi does in the anime during EP 12, demanding Tobisaki to explain Schneider’s suicide note, since it seems Tobisaki is supporting the idea that Schneider was killed. Osanai will also points out about the double cross on Schneider suicide note and will be tasked with investigating some aspects of the Schneider case and will report his findings to Tobisaki. Tobisaki, who had no idea he would report to him, was surprised by this and, being confused by this and by all the others who had reported to him, grips his arm, stopping him from leaving and demanding to know why he was reporting this to him.

Osanai will push away the other’s arm and inform him this is his (graduation) case before leaving.

Munakata, Higuchi and Akimoto

In the D no Maō manga Munakata, Higuchi and Akimoto get the roles Kaminaga, Jitsui, Hatano, Amari, Tazaki and Fukumoto have in the anime.

Katō Jirō

In the Live Action Movie Katō and Odagiri cooperate to retrieve the Black Note. Odagiri provides him spy tool and, occasionally, makes fun of him for having been an Army soldier or for his interest in Rin.

Rin

In the movie Odagiri has no interest for Rin’s survival and Rin manages to steal Odagiri’s spy tools.

Abilities

In the opening Odagiri is showed handling a communication system. It might be a coincidence as we know all the students were trained to use one but it can also hint he was particularly good with them (and a nod to how in the drama cd he’s using LINE to communicate).

In a preview Odagiri is shown playing chess with Gamo, a hint he evidently knows how to play this game.

When Odagiri picks up Yoru, the cat, and tells him not to be scared, Yoru immediately obey to him and calm down.

In the OAV Odagiri is shown as he’s about to drive a car.

Trivia

During the lessons Odagiri sits on the first row.

We never see Odagiri smoking though he asked for a cigarette to Amari during the Joker Game and received a full pack. As a result the I.G. store used Odagiri as ‘testimonial’ for the "GOLDEN KITE" cocoa cigarettes, chocolate shaped as cigarettes and sold in “Golden Kite” cigarette packs.

During the Joker Game Odagiri looked like he was reading a book. While this was probably a way to disguise the fact he was tattling out Sakuma’s cards to the others, likely Odagiri loves reading (as many others in the cast).

When inspecting Gordon’s house Odagiri was the one who confirmed that the garden was clear.

After the spies declared they couldn’t find the ciphers in Gordon’s house, which would mean Sakuma would have to commit Harakiri, they all smiled. Odagiri though is the one with the smile less pronounced and in the original draw for that scene one can speculate he’s not smiling at all. It ties nicely with how, in the manga, he didn’t seem happy at all with Miyoshi involving Sakuma in the mission.

In the Joker Game The Animation version of Ep 5, it seems that Odagiri was among the ones at whom the truth serum was injected and that he’s dealing with the effects of it by covering his face with his hands.

In EP 12 we hear the other spies using “Kisama” (貴様 “you”) when talking to Odagiri. In contemporary Japanese, “Kisama” is insulting and rude (it’s often translated as “you, bastard”) but it wasn’t always like that. "Kisama" was originally a respectful term for a higher ranking person, and had been used by the warrior classes mainly (you might have noticed how it ends with ‘-sama’ 様, which is usually a very respectful suffix) but, by the middle of the 18th century, the respect which this word expressed had considerably weakened and in the first half of the 19th century it was a formal expression used by officers of the Imperial Japanese Army to address to each other. It also often appeared in military songs and literature and was probably similar to today's お前. Outside of the army, it was considered a very rough but friendly expression. In short, while addressing to someone using ‘you’ in Japanese is always less polite than using that person’s name, the guys aren’t being jerk and calling Odagiri ‘you, bastard’.

Same as Sakuma, when Odagiri bowed and remained bowed to Yūki , he wasn’t just bowing at him in greeting like any ordinary Japanese man. That was the military salute, which prompted Yūki ’s question "Who bows while wearing a business suit?" (probably a better translation would have been "Who salutes while wearing a business suit?") which is probably meant to be a hint that, although Yūki had just called him First Lieutenant Tobisaki Hiroyuki, he still doesn’t consider him just a soldier but one of his men.

In the Joker Game the Animation manga Odagiri is familiar with Japanese folklore tales involving mice.

In a couple of chibi pictures Odagiri is shown being completely plastered which might be a hint to him having low alcohol tolerance.

Itazu Yoshimi, the author of the end cards, said that when instructed to draw the end cards he was told to “Draw the spies in their daily lives that aren’t seen in the main animation” and that Director Nomura gave him information on the character’s personality and whom they get along with. In his end cards we see Odagiri walking in the Asakusa district with Fukumoto, Hatano and Tazaki, at Ueno-Hirokuji with Fukumoto and Tazaki, in front of Shibuya station with Tazaki, Hatano and Jitsui and then him walking in Ichigaya with Fukumoto, Kaminaga and Amari. The last card he drew is a ‘group picture’ of some sort as all the spies, Yūki included, are in them. Although ultimately Odagiri is seen in the end cards with most of the cast, he’s definitely drawn more frequently with Fukumoto and Tazaki (4 times), second comes Hatano (3 times), third Jitsui, Kaminaga and Amari (2 times). It’s worth to note he’s drawn with Miyoshi only in the last end card (the one with the group picture). While this is no proof, we can speculate Odagiri, in addition to the canonically confirmed Fukumoto, was meant to better get along with Tazaki and Hatano and had the worst compatibility with Miyoshi.

In the Live Action Movie there’s a spy going by the name of Odagiri. Ironically the main character, a spy going by the name of Katō Jirō, received as a background story, a story pretty close to the one of Tobisaki Hiroyuki (he’s a soldier who, to protect another soldier from a superior officer, attacked his superior officer. The man died and he was condemned by a military trial to be executed when Yūki appeared and invited him to join D Agency).

[ichigopanhpff]

BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 17

Read Ch. 16 | Masterlist

SPOILER ALERT: We in the U.A. Festival Arc now. You’ve been warned!

The final preparations in U.A. were in full swing and tomorrow was the big day. Everyone was so busy, no one in 1-A had time to goad Ren about the sleeping photo, much to her relief. But that didn’t stop Tomoe and Seri from tag-teaming their interrogation skills while working on finalizing staging props and curtains.

“We all fell asleep in the common area. That’s all that happened. I swear,” Ren hard confirmed, holding up defensive hands.

“Do you want me to cut his hands off?” Seri glowered and transformed her nails into talons.

“N-No!” the pink-haired girl stuttered out. “And put those away! You’re gonna tear up the curtain!”

“Think he has a thing for you?” Tomoe asked in a teasing tone while tending to the curtain’s draw rope. “It’s not uncommon, y’know.”

Ren choked on her rice ball upon hearing that and chased the stuck kernels down by chugging her bottle of green tea. She sighed aloud having the coughing fit pass.

“I assure you, he doesn’t,” she deadpanned. “Admittedly, he has been much more sociable as of late and is making the effort to change himself,” she finished with a small smile on her lips.

Her two friends audibly hummed and looked on with deceptive interest, their chins resting on their hands with matching single arched brows.

“Seems like you’ve been paying a lot of attention then,” Seri ridiculed with a devilish smirk.

“I have to write weekly updates to Aizawa-sensei to let him know his hatchlings are behaving!” she defended with a huff.

“If you wanna put it that way, sure,” Tomoe dismissed with a tone of dubiousness.

“Okay. You got me.” Ren heaved a loud defeated sigh and crossed her arms. “You guys obviously know something I don’t, so you may as well spill it.”

Seri and Tomoe looked at each other with a blank stare and then back to their annoyed but lovable friend.

“You’ve been smiling a lot more,” they simultaneously blurted out.

“Well, it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Tomoe added.

“But you’ve been changing as well, Ren-Ren, as oblivious as you are with most things,” Seri finished with a gentle smile. “Our juniors have had quite the influence on you.”

Before she could respond, a sudden slap of a harisen* slammed down by their feet, making all of their shoulders jolt from shock. The three gingerly creaked their heads up to see their very irate Miyake staring down.

“I see your lips moving more than your hands. Isn’t that nice you three can be this free the night before the festival,” 2-A’s class rep glowered with obvious irritation. A visible vein pulsated on his right temple.

“Holy shit, his aura’s pitch black,” Tomoe quivered out and nervously gulped.

“C-Class rep, we’ll be fine,” Ren stammered unconvincingly. “The rehearsals are going fine and the costumes are nearly done. Tomorrow will be–”

A sudden high-pitched scream interrupted the conversation. The entire class ran to the center of the gym to see a girl with long ink black hair keeled over, holding her ankle and sobbing.

“Hayasaka! Are you okay?!” one of the performers asked.

“I think… I sprained my ankle,” the girl whimpered out and winced when she tried to move. “I don’t think I can stand.”

“I’ll take her to Recovery Girl. You guys stay put,” Miyake instructed and carried the injured girl bridal style. While their classmate was being examined, dress rehearsal grind to a halt. 2-A stood idly by with worry until they saw their class rep come back alone moments later.

“How’s Yui-chan doing?” Seri asked with concern.

He heaved a heavy sigh before answering.

“Sprained ankle and turns out she had small stress fractures on her tibia,” he gravely announced. “Recovery Girl’s done what she can, but the swelling won’t go down for a few days.”

“What are we gonna do?! The show’s tomorrow and she’s one of our leads!” one student panicked.

Miyake closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pointing to Ren.

“Takahiro, you will take Hayasaka’s place tomorrow,” Miyake declared.

“Wait, me?!” she exclaimed and pointed to herself with a startled look. “I don’t even know the choreography, let alone fit in the costume!”

“We don’t have anyone else!” he barked back, the stress finally overtaking him. “I originally let you slide in performing because I wanted you to focus on the manuscript. And our class already lacks the manpower due to our size!”

“Takahiro please,” her classmates pleaded.

“This is your show and we all worked so hard at it,” Ito requested.

Lightly gritting her teeth, Ren clicked her tongue in annoyance and ruffled the back of her head. It would be a damn shame to the guests if they couldn’t perform because of one small mishap. Everyone put in their maximum efforts to produce this. She had to shove her pride aside.

“… I’ll do my best,” she grumbled out with slumped shoulders. The whole class erupted into cheers of relief. She then turned to Higuchi, the choreographer. “Just give me the basics of the moves.”

“We’re going about this in a very lassiez-faire way. If you want to improv, you’re more than welcome to,” Higuchi encouraged.

Rehearsals continued with Ren in the mix, trying to nail down the feelings of a scene, choreography and frantic last minute costume adjustments. Hound dog-sensei eventually came by to kick them out at 9pm when making his rounds. A sense of unease bubbled at the pit of her stomach.

Of all the people to injure themselves, it had to be one of the primadonnas of the show!

Hayasaka Yui was the class beauty of 2-A and had talent to boot; her quirk was perfect to fill the role too. On top of that, she’s the class rep’s girlfriend. Taking Yui out of commission put a lot of pressure on her to perform.

If Ren were to make a comparison, it was like replacing a graceful dancing Japanese Red Crown Crane with a muskovy duck.

What shitty luck, she thought to herself and face palmed. Her brain at this point was running on fumes and didn’t want to think anymore. The balls of her feet were aching and so were her deltoids from holding proper dance form for over three hours. She entered the dorms the same time as the rest of 1-A, where they tiredly greeted one another. Dragging herself to the common area, she flopped down on a free spot next to Iida like a rag doll.

“Senpai? You okay?” Kaminari voiced out. “You look like you aged ten years.”

“If I wasn’t so tired right now,” Ren groaned out. “I’d punch you in your stupid face.”

She told them what happened during dress rehearsals today and revealed her sudden impromptu involvement.

“That’s very unfortunate to hear,” Iida commented with a sympathetic tone. “I hope your classmate recovers soon. But you’ll be able to pull it off. You’re a very capable senpai, after all.”

“Where will your performance be anyway?” Jiro asked. “I wanna see it after we’re done with ours.”

“I think it’s at Gym Gamma...” she blurted out tiredly and rubbed her face. “We’re one of the last shows of the day after the beauty pageant.”

Ren heaved out a heavy sigh like she was near death.

“Maybe if I keep telling myself ‘it’ll be fine’, it’ll happen.”

“You’ve gone through worse,” Todoroki voiced out. “You’ll be fine.”

“Oh, the boyfriend speaks,” Ashido chided.

“Boyfriend?” Ren asked with a confused tone. Her body suddenly found the energy reserves and jolted up from the couch upon remembering the photo. Her ears started going red. “N-No! Mina-chan! It’s not like that!”

“That photo said otherwise,” the pink girl teased in a singsong tone with a grin.

“Todo-kun! Explain what happened that morning!” Ren demanded. He merely stared at her in confusion.

“She’s talking ‘bout this, dude.” Kaminari pulled up the photo to show him.

“Don’t show him the picture!” Their R.A. whisper screamed since some people already went to sleep and gripped her hair by the roots.

Todoroki glanced over at Kaminari’s phone and simply let out an “oh.”

“I can see how that can be misinterpreted,” the hetero-chromatic boy realized. “Ren-senpai just looked really comfortable to sleep next to, that’s all.”

“She does have some really good shoulders to lean on,” Jiro admitted. “Like all your worries are whisked away.”

“Okay. Neither one of those statements helped. At all,” she blankly responded with a drooped shoulders.

“But you were though,” he repeated with a sense of innocence. Jiro, Kirishima and Kaminari were snickering and not trying their hardest to hold their laughter in.

“I’m gonna go shower and sleep.” Ren immediately got off of the couch and detached herself from the conversation; she knew nothing she said now would fix the misunderstanding.

“Do you need Todoroki to cuddle you to sleep tonight too?” Jiro playfully teased.

Not having enough energy for a verbal threat, the R.A. merely walked away flipping her off. She went up and grabbed her stuff before teleporting down to the girls’ bathroom to wash up. Feeling completely relaxed and refreshed 20 minutes later, she zipped back up to the 4th floor and saw the silhouette of a familiar two-toned hair colored boy waiting by her room door in the dark hallway.

“Todo-kun, what’s wrong?” she whispered to grab his attention, trying not to wake up anyone else.

All he did was point to the door, indicating he wanted to talk inside. She opened it and let him in before gently closing it. Perhaps it was the mood lighting in her room at night, but he found his heart slowly calming down after entering. He parked his seat on the carpeted floor right at the foot of her bed.

“So… what’s up?” she spoke softly and went into the bathroom to drape her used towel onto the rack before coming back out to sit across from him.

“Did I… do something wrong?” he suddenly asked.

“I… don’t think so?” she replied in confusion with matching eyebrows.

“It’s just that you seemed upset about the photo of us Jiro sent around.”

“I wasn’t upset, just...” She awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t like misunderstandings, is all.”

“What was there to misunderstand though?” he asked with genuine confusion. “We were all sleeping in the common room together. So why did they make a big deal with just us?”

Ren didn’t know whether his mind was really that pure or he really didn’t have a clue as she stared at him incredulously.

“It was the way we were sleeping,” she elaborated. “And when I was trying to move away this morning, you pulled me into your chest. This is stuff… couples do.”

She stared at him as he processed what she said and the look on his face was like a light bulb going off.

“Oh. Well, we should clarify it with everyone.”

“I think we’re well past that point,” she replied with a tone of dejection with a wry smirk. “Just leave ‘em be. Anything we say now will just make it worse.”

“I’ll be better next time,” he apologized and scratched the side of his face with his index finger. “I’ve never been good at reading social situations like these.”

“As long as you’re making the effort, it’s fine,” she reassured with a small smile.

“I’m just glad we cleared things up,” Todoroki said with a gentle grin gracing his lips. “You really were comfortable to sleep next to though,” he confessed.

Ren couldn’t do anything other than let out a chuckle and lightly shook her head.

“Was I really?” she playfully questioned and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It’s one of the better sleeps I’ve had as of late.”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m just… able to fully relax when I’m around you for some reason.”

The pink-haired girl could immediately feel the apples of her cheeks get warm and gripped the hem of her over-sized pajama shirt.

“You should… phrase your words better, Todo-kun,” she blurted out and looked away. “Were you to say that to anyone else, they may think you’re interested in them romantically.”

“Is that so?” he blinked dumbly. “I’ll be more careful.”

Todoroki shifted from where he was and made his way next to Ren. He then gently placed his head on her right shoulder, catching the fresh scent of her apple and mint shampoo with a hint of eucalyptus on his nose and closed his eyes.

“Todo-kun?”

“I just need five minutes, then I’ll go back to my room,” he spoke in a hushed manner by her ear. The bass in his voice shot tingles down her neck.

Huffing a light sigh of defeat, she let him remain and naturally found herself leaning her head on top of his.

“Just don’t fall asleep here. We’ll never hear the end of it from everyone.”

* Slapping fan made from paper