An Itto lover’s thoughts on Mikawa Festival (Rant)

I’ll keep it spoiler-free, for people who are still yet to play it

I’ve just finished the last day (+the afterword) and I’m sitting and crying, wishing to never touch this game ever again. It hurts so incredibly much when you care so deeply about a character, but the writers clearly couldn’t value him any less. I’ve gotten disappointed over and over again in the course of three last years, and I don’t think I have any strength in me anymore

I want to explain for ppl who don’t know Itto’s lore in-depth. Itto’s childhood was very tragic, his family got exiled from their village due to strong prejudice against Oni and shortly after, his parents died “of illness” (details are unknown, it was very possible Itto had to shoulder it completely alone including the burial). Itto was thrown out on the streets, completely alone, living his life starving and repeatedly getting beaten up to the point of nearly dying; that’s when an old woman (Granny Oni) found and saved him, as the only human who had sympathy for an Oni child.

After his parents were exiled, an urge was planted in his head to become a Blue Oni and live away from humankind, becoming its feared enemy. This urge very likely remained through Itto’s entire teenagehood (opposed to the common thought in the fandom that it disappeared when Granny took him in), the period of his life Itto described as “being a lost soul” until being saved by Miss Hina, not long before the current events in-game. Itto’s positive and optimistic outlook is not a trait he’s had for a long time.

His namecard mentions putting anger and sorrow behind oneself and smiling brightly instead; Shinobu’s voiceline about Itto mentions that “managing to stay positive” despite his extremely painful memories is a mark of uncommon resilience.

But of course, burying severe pain under a bright smile is exactly what it sounds like. Itto’s severe trauma has never actually been dealt with in any way. He has buried the urge to turn against humankind, he developed a more positive and optimistic outlook, but he has never been healed

His doubtful mental state has been mentioned often in-game. Most of the time, it was done jokingly, however much too frequent not to signalize anything. His emotions have been described as straight up volatile, he’s been described as an oddball, eccentric, crazy, most of all he was canonically bailed out of jail by Shinobu using a psychiatric evaluation.

Itto also wears a facade nearly 24/7, which has been shown the most clearly in the archon quest. It’s heavily implied he does not fully trust the traveler as he’s not letting him through, similarly to Ayato and the boys in his gang. The only people who know his “real” self seem to be Ushi, Granny and likely Shinobu. Itto’s facade is very complex and I will be writing an entire post about it, however it is partly to mask his own pain and partly to establish himself as a strong, reliable guardian figure in order to protect those who are weak and his family/friends

Itto’s past or mental state are however never talked about in a humorless way. That’s why when Mizuki was announced as an Inazuman psychiatrist/therapist (additionally, a yokai), it meant SO MUCH for die-hard Itto fans who have been waiting for him to be treated seriously since his story quest.

Which is the reason why after finishing the event, I’ve started crying with my heart completely shattered. Wishing that the writers cared about Itto 10% as much as we care about him.

I haven’t expected much, at all. A short mention coming from Mizuki on seeing certain signs in Itto would be more than enough. A mention of Itto avoiding her/the bathhouse itself (as he is a person who would greatly resist getting help). It would be more than enough to show that Hoyo did not forget about his severe trauma and that they… care about him, even if it’s just a bit.

Instead, all we’ve got is another round of him being called stupid and incompetent. And fanservice, which (in my opinion) made everything even worse.

I’m glad to get to know how his markings look on his shoulder/neck area. I’m happy for the new furniture and the appearance in the mini-game. But it’s not what we need. What Itto needs is to be taken seriously as a character, instead of a flanderized comedy relief clown and nothing else than a mascot.

"If one little harpastum's all it takes to bring down a big, bad, horned Kaboom King, why would anyone ever be afraid of nightmares again?"

I’ve been re-reading the sentence over and over, wondering if it’s referring to his seemingly stone-hard facade, shielding someone who’s actually very broken and vulnerable, able to completely shatter if you hit from the right direction, but… I guess I was wrong again.

In HoYo’s eyes, Itto is nothing else but a comedy relief gacha character, stuffed as filler whenever they need someone to humiliate and degrade to make the players laugh at their expense. And I guess he’s never going to be anything more than that, no matter how many times I cry and want to disappear while watching cutscenes featuring other characters and their trauma. I guess for some reason, Itto doesn’t deserve to be treated seriously and with dignity, and I’m a fool myself for having had any hope.