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OOC INFORMATION
Name: Min
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koutenko
Age: 30+
Other Characters: n/a
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Okada Izō
Age: 27 (at death)
Canon: Fate/Grand Order
Canon Point: Post-GUDAGUDA Legend of the Imperial Grail
Character Information:
Izō was born in 1838 — at the end of the Edo Period — in the Tosa Domain (modern-day Kōchi Province). While there were many issues of social inequality all over the country during the Tokugawa shogunate, nowhere were things worse than in Tosa. A few hundred years before Izō's time, Tosa was ruled by the Chōsokabe clan. However, at the Battle of Sekigahara, the Chōsokabe retainers backed the losing side, so Tosa's rulership was instead granted to the Yamauchi clan. The loyal retainers of the Yamauchi clan would be granted jōshi status, or upper samurai. Meanwhile, the Chōsokabe retainers were gōshi, or lower country samurai, and the rules for the two groups were dramatically different. A gōshi could never hope to rule nor seek an audience with the daimyo. An upper samurai could cut a man down in cold blood in the street and get away with it if the victim was a gōshi. Hundreds of years of this oppression began to strain the young gōshi in Tosa to the breaking point. Izō comes from a gōshi family; his father was an ashigaru, or foot soldier, meaning he was the lowest rank of country samurai.
Growing up, Izō struggled for recognition among his peers. All samurai were provided with a stipend, but it was often far less than what it would cost to sustain a family and household. Izō's family supplemented this by farming. Instead of being commended for his diligence in returning home after his schooling and training to assist with the chores, he was looked down on. A samurai is a special class separate and above the peasantry, focused on mastery of martial arts and devoted to serving his Lord. They were not supposed to be working the earth or dealing in commerce, so by this definition, Izō hardly qualified as a samurai. This is significant because Izō was isolated or othered throughout his life and plays a role in the overall trajectory of his life.
Among the lower class Tosa youth, two recognised Izō — Takechi Hanpeita and Sakamoto Ryouma, nine and three years older than Izō, respectively. Izō rarely uses honourifics with anyone, so it's telling that he never fails to refer to Takechi as "Takechi-sensei". As Izō looked up to Takechi for his wisdom and regarded him as a teacher and eventually an authority figure, the fact that Takechi recognised and acknowledged him as a proper samurai was deeply meaningful and the primary reason he was so committed to serving him.
Izō and Ryouma were best friends and close enough that their minor age gap didn't even matter. Ryouma was the first to call Izō a "genius with a sword" and encouraged him to continue working on his skills. He was also the one who initially got him to care about the state of Tosa and the nation. When Takechi invited Ryouma to join the Tosa Kinnoto (Tosa Loyalist Party), Izō was eagerly next in line to add his name.
Izō was never incredibly studious, nor does he have any aptitude for any particular areas of study (that he's aware of). He was taught according to the curriculum of his day, which mainly included philosophy and teachings imported from China and local history but grasped little of the material and was generally considered ignorant and unintelligent.
His skills in other areas offset his poor performance as a student. Izō has a natural gift for swordsmanship and a unique ability to learn any new sword technique just by seeing it performed once. This is a skill that he possessed even before becoming a Servant, and it's why Takechi took a particular interest in him despite his shortcomings. Eventually, he would help Izō acquire the sponsorship necessary to travel outside Tosa Domain to study at several renowned dojos. Takechi described Izō's swordsmanship as "swift and powerful as a falcon". Ryouma also gave Izō one of the two swords kept as heirlooms of the Sakamoto family — Hizen Tadahiro.
Not long after the formation of the Kinnoto, Sakamoto Ryouma defected from Tosa. At this time, leaving one's domain was viewed as an act of treason, and the family members left behind could be punished for the actions of the one who defected. One of Ryouma's sisters took her own life as "payment", allowing the remaining family to remain in good standing. This was how Izō came to find out that Ryouma had left Tosa at all — he left in the middle of the night, seemingly at random, and without a word of it to Izō. Given how close they were, this is what Izō would eventually refer to when accusing Ryouma of betraying him or the rest of the Kinnoto. Even though Ryouma's reasons for leaving are valid and ultimately needed to happen, Izō did not understand and did not take it well. Without Ryouma — who had given him something to care about in the first place — Izō felt lost and adrift. He threw himself into things with the Kinnoto even more as a result.
While he was eager to participate in the Kinnoto's objectives, his inability to contribute to any higher-level discussions of politics or strategy meant that he was relegated to menial tasks like drawing baths or running errands. Eventually, Izō expressed his desire to help in any way possible to Takechi directly. By this point, Takechi had already orchestrated one assassination, and the Tosa Kinnoto was rising in power — enough that even the jōshi were treating the gōshi with cautious respect. The current daimyo of Tosa was very young and inexperienced. Takechi was able to act as an advisor to steer Tosa's politics in the direction he wished them to go. Things were finally beginning to change, but there was still a lot more that needed to be done. Takechi saw Izō's naive eagerness as an opportunity.
From here, Izō's life would change quite dramatically. Takechi easily manipulated Izō into picking off problematic targets — which he was told was not viewed as murder but Divine Punishment for defying Imperial will. Izō never formed any particular political leanings or opinions of his own, so the only thing that mattered was fulfilling what Takechi desired. This is how he earned his reputation as one of the four infamous hitokiri of the Bakumatsu period. Takechi would have Izō believe that he was indeed a master of delivering Divine Punishment and that it was a job that only he could do. For a time, he was well compensated and could dress well, drink expensive sake, and gamble at his leisure at the highest point in his life.
Izō would encounter Ryouma in Kyoto again during this time and, though he did his best not to let on, he was distraught that Izō had been turned into a tool for Takechi to use to further his plans. As Ryouma was a student of Katsu Kaishu, a very progressive shogunate official who oversaw what passed for the shogunate's navy at the time, he was able to find Izō a job doing bodyguard work.
This would not last, of course. The assassination of a particular high-ranking official (not one that Izō participated in) saw the release of many influential individuals who had been, up until that point, removed from power and kept under house arrest by order of the shogunate. One of them was Yamauchi Yōdō, the former lord of Tosa forced into retirement. Given their history, the Yamauchi clan was very loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate and saw the actions of the Kinnoto as offensive and dangerous. Takechi had seized power in the first place by eliminating Yoshida Tōyō, who was highly favoured by Yōdō and appointed to reform and modernise the domain. Yōdō always suspected Takechi and was also known to have a drinking problem, which likely contributed to his stubborn pursuit to extract a confession from Takechi by any means necessary. As the political landscape began to shift, the Tosa Kinnoto found themselves quickly going from being at the top to enemies of the state who could be arrested just for their stance on whether or not to open the country to foreign trade and visitation.
Now on the run, Izō was no longer living the high life but scraping by on the streets trying to survive. Takechi had returned to Tosa while Izō concealed himself in Kyoto. He stole food offerings from shrines and begged for money. At his lowest point, Izō resorted to petty crime, which eventually saw him arrested by the Shinsengumi. Unsurprisingly, he has nothing good to say about them.
Izō had been living under the alias "Tetsuzo" at this time, but being a samurai meant being exempt from specific punishments. Believing he would receive a more fair sentence, he revealed that he was Okada Izō of Tosa. When they attempted to verify his identity by asking other Tosa samurai, every one of them denied ever meeting Izō. These samurai were his comrades within the Kinnoto, and most definitely knew who he was. Still, all of them (Takechi included) saw Izō as weak and stupid and worried that he might reveal damning evidence, so they tried to deny having any connection to him at all.
With no one willing to vouch for who he was, "Homeless Tetsuzo" was tattooed as a common criminal and banished from Kyoto. That might've been the end of it, but there were other plans in motion. When the Shinsengumi took him out of town to leave him, they released him where he was almost immediately arrested again by authorities from Tosa, who had come when they heard Okada Izō had been apprehended. Izō naturally tried to object as he'd just been punished like a peasant for not being whom he claimed to be, but no one cared about the objections of a lowly foot soldier.
Back in Tosa, Takechi had been arrested by this time. He occupied a unique rank between upper and lower samurai, enough that he was afforded the same jōshi privilege that exempted him from interrogation via torture. He and the other Kinnoto members were not pleased to see Izō, still expecting him to cave under pressure.
Izō endured the horrendous torture he received about as well as anyone could and kept his silence. The others were not convinced, and Takechi arranged for a guard who was loyal to him to deliver Izō a meal of sushi that had been laced with what they assumed to be a lethal amount of opium. Despite eating the sushi, Izō didn't even get a stomach ache and suffered no ill effects of the poisoning at all. However, Izō would come to learn of the attempt on his life — adding one final betrayal to the pile.
Believing every person he ever trusted or cared about had turned on him or abandoned him, Izō felt he had nothing left to lose. He made a full confession and was sentenced to death. Unlike Takechi — who was allowed to perform honourable seppuku — Izō was beheaded and died an ugly, disgraceful death according to the societal beliefs at the time.
Izō became a Heroic Spirit at some unknown point following his death.
Personality:
In his youth, Izō was a highly sensitive and kind person. He is very expressive and has no concept of an indoor voice to speak of. He's easily riled up and quick to leap into a fight by nature, but this rowdy, "hot-blooded" nature is considered a feature of a man's personality in Tosa, not a bug. More than anything, he wanted to be accepted and respected. He grew attached to both Takechi Hanpeita and Sakamoto Ryouma as they were the only two who acknowledged him as a samurai. Izō was incredibly dedicated and loyal to the former, at the expense of his desires and ultimately his life.
Disappointment after disappointment throughout his life eventually led Izō to abandon his outwardly kind persona and hardened him as he became increasingly disillusioned. He began to push people away with an unpleasant or outright threatening attitude, believing that he could protect himself by simply not forming any relationships with anyone. Izō insists that he's supposed to be alone and better off for it, but he suffers for maintaining this distance. Under all the trauma and abuse, Izō is still the sensitive person he always was and is constantly struggling against his nature. He will make exceptions for those he doesn't feel automatically deserve hostility, like children or anyone who genuinely shows him honour and respect. He might feel somewhat guilty for his behaviour in those cases.
Izō engages in much self-destructive and immoderate behaviour. Most significant is his alcoholism, although he would say that he's not doing anything out of the ordinary considering the reputation of those from Tosa is that they love their sake. He will drink with just about anyone who will drink with him and is something of a "fun drunk", at least at first. Get enough drinks in him, and things will change, to the point that he might start talking about things he would ordinarily never reveal to anyone. He also loves gambling even though he says that he never wins and has run up considerable debt in the past.
Sakamoto Ryouma also became a Heroic Spirit and, more specifically, a Counter Guardian and turned up in Chaldea after the Imperial Grail Singularity without being summoned. As one would expect, suddenly having to face Ryouma — and the numerous unresolved issues relating to him — has been difficult for Izō. Ryouma is aware of his past mistakes and wants to repair his relationship with Izō, who, for the most part, remains unforgiving. Progress is slow at best, with Izō's stubborn unwillingness to communicate and his volatile personality. He does want to be closer to Ryouma and still treasures their past together, but his fear of being abandoned and betrayed again makes him continually try to pull away. There is also the matter of Ryouma's "wife", Oryou, who is not the same Oryou of history but an orochi he encountered on a sacred mountain. Oryou and Izō are initially hostile towards each other, but over time their relationship improves as they begin to see how Ryouma genuinely cares for both of them and their mutual desire to protect Ryouma.
Izō is described as a "dual-classed Servant", which is to say that despite being of the Assassin class, he is as strong as a Saber which is usually considered one of the strongest Servant classes. He is exceptionally proud of his skills and will boast about them, which he can generally back up. Izō's immaturity tends to be his greatest weakness both in how he deals with things and when facing others in combat. When he faces Lancer Li Shuwen, they are very closely matched, but Li Shuwen ultimately defeats Izō and cites his inexperience to be the reason. Izō died young and never had an opportunity to grow or meet a foe that genuinely challenged him and never knew the world beyond isolated Japan. It's believed that Heroic Spirits can't change or grow — which would be valid under the Fuyuki system since they lose their memories — but under Chaldea's system, he may have unlimited growth potential. Izō's ability to watch a sword technique once and learn and use it himself would undoubtedly be helpful as he encountered new and different fighting styles. As he possessed the skill as a human, it became a "Mystic Sword" style Noble Phantasm when he became a Heroic Spirit. Until Izō finds a reason to try to improve, however, he's unlikely to gain anything at all. His tendency to self-sabotage or give up on some things without even trying holds him back.
5-10 Key Character Traits:
Opt-Outs:
- Action / Log Example (from Isle of Avalon)
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Name: Min
Contact:
Age: 30+
Other Characters: n/a
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Okada Izō
Age: 27 (at death)
Canon: Fate/Grand Order
Canon Point: Post-GUDAGUDA Legend of the Imperial Grail
Character Information:
- Okada Izou (Type-Moon Wiki)
- Okada Izō (Fate/Grand Order Wiki)
- Imperial Tokyo Singularity (Type-Moon Wiki)
NOTE: Izō is strongly influenced by his early life experiences. Since his backstory is technically external from the Fate/Grand Order canon, I pull from several sources to fill in smaller details. Still, the overall major events on the timeline are the same regardless. For reference, I use a combination of the following:
- Historical sources, such as Samurai Assassins: "Dark Murder" and the Meiji Restoration by Romulus Hillsborough
- Ryōmaden (the NHK Taiga drama)
- Ryōma Goes His Way, a novel by Ryōtarō Shiba
Izō was born in 1838 — at the end of the Edo Period — in the Tosa Domain (modern-day Kōchi Province). While there were many issues of social inequality all over the country during the Tokugawa shogunate, nowhere were things worse than in Tosa. A few hundred years before Izō's time, Tosa was ruled by the Chōsokabe clan. However, at the Battle of Sekigahara, the Chōsokabe retainers backed the losing side, so Tosa's rulership was instead granted to the Yamauchi clan. The loyal retainers of the Yamauchi clan would be granted jōshi status, or upper samurai. Meanwhile, the Chōsokabe retainers were gōshi, or lower country samurai, and the rules for the two groups were dramatically different. A gōshi could never hope to rule nor seek an audience with the daimyo. An upper samurai could cut a man down in cold blood in the street and get away with it if the victim was a gōshi. Hundreds of years of this oppression began to strain the young gōshi in Tosa to the breaking point. Izō comes from a gōshi family; his father was an ashigaru, or foot soldier, meaning he was the lowest rank of country samurai.
Growing up, Izō struggled for recognition among his peers. All samurai were provided with a stipend, but it was often far less than what it would cost to sustain a family and household. Izō's family supplemented this by farming. Instead of being commended for his diligence in returning home after his schooling and training to assist with the chores, he was looked down on. A samurai is a special class separate and above the peasantry, focused on mastery of martial arts and devoted to serving his Lord. They were not supposed to be working the earth or dealing in commerce, so by this definition, Izō hardly qualified as a samurai. This is significant because Izō was isolated or othered throughout his life and plays a role in the overall trajectory of his life.
Among the lower class Tosa youth, two recognised Izō — Takechi Hanpeita and Sakamoto Ryouma, nine and three years older than Izō, respectively. Izō rarely uses honourifics with anyone, so it's telling that he never fails to refer to Takechi as "Takechi-sensei". As Izō looked up to Takechi for his wisdom and regarded him as a teacher and eventually an authority figure, the fact that Takechi recognised and acknowledged him as a proper samurai was deeply meaningful and the primary reason he was so committed to serving him.
Izō and Ryouma were best friends and close enough that their minor age gap didn't even matter. Ryouma was the first to call Izō a "genius with a sword" and encouraged him to continue working on his skills. He was also the one who initially got him to care about the state of Tosa and the nation. When Takechi invited Ryouma to join the Tosa Kinnoto (Tosa Loyalist Party), Izō was eagerly next in line to add his name.
Izō was never incredibly studious, nor does he have any aptitude for any particular areas of study (that he's aware of). He was taught according to the curriculum of his day, which mainly included philosophy and teachings imported from China and local history but grasped little of the material and was generally considered ignorant and unintelligent.
His skills in other areas offset his poor performance as a student. Izō has a natural gift for swordsmanship and a unique ability to learn any new sword technique just by seeing it performed once. This is a skill that he possessed even before becoming a Servant, and it's why Takechi took a particular interest in him despite his shortcomings. Eventually, he would help Izō acquire the sponsorship necessary to travel outside Tosa Domain to study at several renowned dojos. Takechi described Izō's swordsmanship as "swift and powerful as a falcon". Ryouma also gave Izō one of the two swords kept as heirlooms of the Sakamoto family — Hizen Tadahiro.
Not long after the formation of the Kinnoto, Sakamoto Ryouma defected from Tosa. At this time, leaving one's domain was viewed as an act of treason, and the family members left behind could be punished for the actions of the one who defected. One of Ryouma's sisters took her own life as "payment", allowing the remaining family to remain in good standing. This was how Izō came to find out that Ryouma had left Tosa at all — he left in the middle of the night, seemingly at random, and without a word of it to Izō. Given how close they were, this is what Izō would eventually refer to when accusing Ryouma of betraying him or the rest of the Kinnoto. Even though Ryouma's reasons for leaving are valid and ultimately needed to happen, Izō did not understand and did not take it well. Without Ryouma — who had given him something to care about in the first place — Izō felt lost and adrift. He threw himself into things with the Kinnoto even more as a result.
While he was eager to participate in the Kinnoto's objectives, his inability to contribute to any higher-level discussions of politics or strategy meant that he was relegated to menial tasks like drawing baths or running errands. Eventually, Izō expressed his desire to help in any way possible to Takechi directly. By this point, Takechi had already orchestrated one assassination, and the Tosa Kinnoto was rising in power — enough that even the jōshi were treating the gōshi with cautious respect. The current daimyo of Tosa was very young and inexperienced. Takechi was able to act as an advisor to steer Tosa's politics in the direction he wished them to go. Things were finally beginning to change, but there was still a lot more that needed to be done. Takechi saw Izō's naive eagerness as an opportunity.
From here, Izō's life would change quite dramatically. Takechi easily manipulated Izō into picking off problematic targets — which he was told was not viewed as murder but Divine Punishment for defying Imperial will. Izō never formed any particular political leanings or opinions of his own, so the only thing that mattered was fulfilling what Takechi desired. This is how he earned his reputation as one of the four infamous hitokiri of the Bakumatsu period. Takechi would have Izō believe that he was indeed a master of delivering Divine Punishment and that it was a job that only he could do. For a time, he was well compensated and could dress well, drink expensive sake, and gamble at his leisure at the highest point in his life.
Izō would encounter Ryouma in Kyoto again during this time and, though he did his best not to let on, he was distraught that Izō had been turned into a tool for Takechi to use to further his plans. As Ryouma was a student of Katsu Kaishu, a very progressive shogunate official who oversaw what passed for the shogunate's navy at the time, he was able to find Izō a job doing bodyguard work.
This would not last, of course. The assassination of a particular high-ranking official (not one that Izō participated in) saw the release of many influential individuals who had been, up until that point, removed from power and kept under house arrest by order of the shogunate. One of them was Yamauchi Yōdō, the former lord of Tosa forced into retirement. Given their history, the Yamauchi clan was very loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate and saw the actions of the Kinnoto as offensive and dangerous. Takechi had seized power in the first place by eliminating Yoshida Tōyō, who was highly favoured by Yōdō and appointed to reform and modernise the domain. Yōdō always suspected Takechi and was also known to have a drinking problem, which likely contributed to his stubborn pursuit to extract a confession from Takechi by any means necessary. As the political landscape began to shift, the Tosa Kinnoto found themselves quickly going from being at the top to enemies of the state who could be arrested just for their stance on whether or not to open the country to foreign trade and visitation.
Now on the run, Izō was no longer living the high life but scraping by on the streets trying to survive. Takechi had returned to Tosa while Izō concealed himself in Kyoto. He stole food offerings from shrines and begged for money. At his lowest point, Izō resorted to petty crime, which eventually saw him arrested by the Shinsengumi. Unsurprisingly, he has nothing good to say about them.
Izō had been living under the alias "Tetsuzo" at this time, but being a samurai meant being exempt from specific punishments. Believing he would receive a more fair sentence, he revealed that he was Okada Izō of Tosa. When they attempted to verify his identity by asking other Tosa samurai, every one of them denied ever meeting Izō. These samurai were his comrades within the Kinnoto, and most definitely knew who he was. Still, all of them (Takechi included) saw Izō as weak and stupid and worried that he might reveal damning evidence, so they tried to deny having any connection to him at all.
With no one willing to vouch for who he was, "Homeless Tetsuzo" was tattooed as a common criminal and banished from Kyoto. That might've been the end of it, but there were other plans in motion. When the Shinsengumi took him out of town to leave him, they released him where he was almost immediately arrested again by authorities from Tosa, who had come when they heard Okada Izō had been apprehended. Izō naturally tried to object as he'd just been punished like a peasant for not being whom he claimed to be, but no one cared about the objections of a lowly foot soldier.
Back in Tosa, Takechi had been arrested by this time. He occupied a unique rank between upper and lower samurai, enough that he was afforded the same jōshi privilege that exempted him from interrogation via torture. He and the other Kinnoto members were not pleased to see Izō, still expecting him to cave under pressure.
Izō endured the horrendous torture he received about as well as anyone could and kept his silence. The others were not convinced, and Takechi arranged for a guard who was loyal to him to deliver Izō a meal of sushi that had been laced with what they assumed to be a lethal amount of opium. Despite eating the sushi, Izō didn't even get a stomach ache and suffered no ill effects of the poisoning at all. However, Izō would come to learn of the attempt on his life — adding one final betrayal to the pile.
Believing every person he ever trusted or cared about had turned on him or abandoned him, Izō felt he had nothing left to lose. He made a full confession and was sentenced to death. Unlike Takechi — who was allowed to perform honourable seppuku — Izō was beheaded and died an ugly, disgraceful death according to the societal beliefs at the time.
Izō became a Heroic Spirit at some unknown point following his death.
Personality:
"Whaddya want? Why're you so friendly? Aren't you scared of manslayers? Hmph, you're a strange one."Izō often comes across as rude, coarse, and a generally unpleasant person to be around. Even when he's not actively trying to be off-putting, he's still rough around the edges due to his upbringing. Compared to others from his era who would call themselves shishi, Izō is neither a "man of high purpose" nor a scholar. He is a simple person who might have lived a relatively peaceful life if it hadn't been for the turbulent circumstances of the time.
In his youth, Izō was a highly sensitive and kind person. He is very expressive and has no concept of an indoor voice to speak of. He's easily riled up and quick to leap into a fight by nature, but this rowdy, "hot-blooded" nature is considered a feature of a man's personality in Tosa, not a bug. More than anything, he wanted to be accepted and respected. He grew attached to both Takechi Hanpeita and Sakamoto Ryouma as they were the only two who acknowledged him as a samurai. Izō was incredibly dedicated and loyal to the former, at the expense of his desires and ultimately his life.
Disappointment after disappointment throughout his life eventually led Izō to abandon his outwardly kind persona and hardened him as he became increasingly disillusioned. He began to push people away with an unpleasant or outright threatening attitude, believing that he could protect himself by simply not forming any relationships with anyone. Izō insists that he's supposed to be alone and better off for it, but he suffers for maintaining this distance. Under all the trauma and abuse, Izō is still the sensitive person he always was and is constantly struggling against his nature. He will make exceptions for those he doesn't feel automatically deserve hostility, like children or anyone who genuinely shows him honour and respect. He might feel somewhat guilty for his behaviour in those cases.
"I'm a genius with the blade. I can make any technique my own... I will never lose to anyone... Nobody will ever laugh at me... Ever..."Despite how he leans into his Manslayer persona and the pride he takes in being known, Izō does not especially enjoy killing, either presently nor in the past. He takes no pleasure in it and typically only kills if he has a reason — which might be because someone's offended him or because he's been paid to do it. The morality of the issue no longer enters into it. However, just because he accepts killing as a reality — and by extension, considers weapons instruments of death and their only purpose — he is extremely opposed to those who kill and harm innocent people. In the Fate/Grand Order Arcade Version, Izō appears in the Lost Jerusalem chapter and is disturbed to see a road lined in gravestones despite his prior exposure to brutal and inhumane acts. Later, when he finds Georgios and the Crusaders preparing to cut down refugees, he loses it for daring to raise their swords against innocent women and children. As far as taking offence, Izō very openly proclaims that he's killed everyone who ever laughed at or disrespected him. He takes being talked down to or mocked very poorly and instantly goes from calm to furious and out for blood due to his volatility. This is directly related to how he was treated, especially when he was younger, as he describes how good it felt when even jōshi wouldn't bother him when he walked down the street, head held high.
Izō engages in much self-destructive and immoderate behaviour. Most significant is his alcoholism, although he would say that he's not doing anything out of the ordinary considering the reputation of those from Tosa is that they love their sake. He will drink with just about anyone who will drink with him and is something of a "fun drunk", at least at first. Get enough drinks in him, and things will change, to the point that he might start talking about things he would ordinarily never reveal to anyone. He also loves gambling even though he says that he never wins and has run up considerable debt in the past.
"Hey, if there's someone you don't like, just tell me. Your enemy is my enemy! If you tell me to kill them. I'll do it! That's something that I can do... No, that's about all I can do... Sorry, Master. As a manslayer, the only thing I can really do for you is kill people."One of his closest relationships is with the current Master of Chaldea, Fujimaru Ritsuka. Izō was summoned to Chaldea shortly after the resolution of the Imperial Grail Singularity, although he lacks some specific memories of that time. The Singularity had unusual circumstances, but its summoning seemed closer to the Fuyuki system. That is to say that a Servant is summoned into a Grail War with the memories of their life and nothing else, and then the memories of their experience in the Grail War are lost upon their return to the Throne. Under Chaldea's summoning system, new memories are directly written to a Servant's Saint Graph (what essentially serves as their soul). Therefore, even if they are un-summoned and subsequently resummoned, they will still have the memories they gained. There is some discrepancy in that the Singularity was technically a "fake" Singularity that was almost a simulation, and so Izō seems to recall certain things such as Servants encountered during that time. Although Ritsuka can ultimately do little about many of the issues that plague Izō, he has at least given him a sense of purpose and usefulness. He was a part of the team that solved the Okeanos and London Singularities. Izō sees himself as both a protector and a weapon but defers to others when it comes to solving problems in ways that don't involve violence. Izō is often self-deprecating and will volunteer on his own that he's "not very smart" and generally ignorant of things that don't include his combat abilities.
Sakamoto Ryouma also became a Heroic Spirit and, more specifically, a Counter Guardian and turned up in Chaldea after the Imperial Grail Singularity without being summoned. As one would expect, suddenly having to face Ryouma — and the numerous unresolved issues relating to him — has been difficult for Izō. Ryouma is aware of his past mistakes and wants to repair his relationship with Izō, who, for the most part, remains unforgiving. Progress is slow at best, with Izō's stubborn unwillingness to communicate and his volatile personality. He does want to be closer to Ryouma and still treasures their past together, but his fear of being abandoned and betrayed again makes him continually try to pull away. There is also the matter of Ryouma's "wife", Oryou, who is not the same Oryou of history but an orochi he encountered on a sacred mountain. Oryou and Izō are initially hostile towards each other, but over time their relationship improves as they begin to see how Ryouma genuinely cares for both of them and their mutual desire to protect Ryouma.
"I am the Manslayer Izo... Those who don't value their lives should come at me first!"One thing Izō generally won't do is lie without a good reason. He claims to be "a man of his word" as a response to the people who have lied to and hurt him. This is Izō's way not only to claim some moral high ground but also how he assures others that, despite his reputation, he can be trusted. It has also factored into other areas and been used against him, such as people talking him into doing something even when he was angry and prepared to refuse because he had committed to completing a job. For all that he tries to keep his guard up, it's still relatively easy to manipulate him. He is especially susceptible to praise and receiving recognition and tends not to see the markers of being in a bad situation until it's too late. The only occasions where he has deliberately lied usually involve hiding his identity, such as introducing himself using Ryouma's name.
Izō is described as a "dual-classed Servant", which is to say that despite being of the Assassin class, he is as strong as a Saber which is usually considered one of the strongest Servant classes. He is exceptionally proud of his skills and will boast about them, which he can generally back up. Izō's immaturity tends to be his greatest weakness both in how he deals with things and when facing others in combat. When he faces Lancer Li Shuwen, they are very closely matched, but Li Shuwen ultimately defeats Izō and cites his inexperience to be the reason. Izō died young and never had an opportunity to grow or meet a foe that genuinely challenged him and never knew the world beyond isolated Japan. It's believed that Heroic Spirits can't change or grow — which would be valid under the Fuyuki system since they lose their memories — but under Chaldea's system, he may have unlimited growth potential. Izō's ability to watch a sword technique once and learn and use it himself would undoubtedly be helpful as he encountered new and different fighting styles. As he possessed the skill as a human, it became a "Mystic Sword" style Noble Phantasm when he became a Heroic Spirit. Until Izō finds a reason to try to improve, however, he's unlikely to gain anything at all. His tendency to self-sabotage or give up on some things without even trying holds him back.
5-10 Key Character Traits:
- Sensitive
- Volatile
- Loyal
- Disillusioned
- Immoderate
- Self-sabotaging
- Self-deprecating
- Unforgiving
- Boastful
- Stubborn
Opt-Outs:
- Goblin
- Slime
- Shade
- Faerie
- Pooka
- Action / Log Example (from Isle of Avalon)
- Network Example (from Isle of Avalon)