Itsuwaribito, Vol. 1

Itsuwaribito ◆Utsuho◆ #1

by Yuuki Iinuma

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), for T+ audiences. Utsuho's truthfulness as a child resulted in an enormous catastrophe, and he decided to lie from that day forward. Raised in a village of orphans by a monk, Utsuho is an unrepentant troublemaker. The monk eventually inspires him to help people, but there's no way Utsuho's going to lead an honest life! Instead, he's going to use his talents for mischief and deception for good!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Shonen, Comics, Young Adult, Comics Manga

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2010

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need the next volume. This is so good.

[MissAnnThrope · Rating 3 out of 5]

02 March 2013

C'mon, admit it. You picked up Itsuwaribito, Vol. 1 because of this cute little guy:



I know I did. I took one look at this chubby tanuki on the cover and I knew I had to pick this up. Pochi is the abso-freakin-lutely most adorable thing I've ever seen. Every time he was on the page, I just wanted to reach into the page and do this:



After experiencing a tragedy as a child, Utsuho Azako is convinced that he can help save people by telling "good" lies. He's silly and spunky, but don't let his levity fool you. This good-hearted punk will kick your ass seven ways to Sunday.

I enjoyed the artwork in Itsuwaribito. Obviously, Yuuki Iinuma draws cuddly animals really well, but the overall art is beautiful in its simplicity. The style the characters are drawn reminds me of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. I love how Utsuho's obi flows on every page. It brings to mind Spawn's cape, which is also my favorite part of the drawings.

This was a fun read. I'm mostly continuing because I've fallen in love with Pochi and can't get enough of him. I'm curious to see how this story will develop. Utsuho has the potential to be an interesting character, but I don't know how much I'll be able to take his:

"That's poison.
No, I lied. It's the antidote.
I was lying about lying.
No, I was lying about lying about lying.
You guys are so uncool."

At first it was mildly annoying, but I soon found it humorous. If this becomes a redundant dialogue in every single volume, I think I'll lose patience for it. However, I'd likely suffer through it for Pochi. He's so dang cute. Can't wait to see him again in the next volume!

[Guguk · Rating 3 out of 5]

02 Nov 2015 :
Rating masih bisa berubah karena baru baca sampe vol.18 (^,^)/

Gambar : 3 bintang.., khusus untuk Pochi : 4.5 bintang... Ya! Ini bukan subyektif, tapi murni pilih kasih~ (^,,,^)

Cerita : 3 bintang, ada beberapa yang aku suka, kesannya hangat dan menyenangkan, tapi beberapa lagi hanya mengutamakan pertempuran yang sayangnya kurang berkesan ""( >,<)

Berharap ceritanya makin oke sampai akhir (^,,^)
__________________________

Edit - 10 Mei 2016 : karena ada nona bercambuk yang mengingatkanku~ XDD

Sudah tamat di vol.23 (^-^) dan rating tidak ku-ubah...
Secara keseluruhan aku cukup puas walau komik ini ga sampe jadi favorit, atau bacanya ga pake ngakak-kelewat-kenceng-cenderung-gila (macam kalo baca Nozaki atau Sket Dance).

Dengan kadar bromance persahabatan yang kental, otomatis kisah romance yang ada hanya sayup-sayup-sampai~
Aku ngarep banget tadinya... bahwa Utsuho jadian sama Neya (^w^) tapi sepanjang perjalanan kok kayaknya Utsuho lebih deket sama Uzume yang cowok, atau sama Pochi yang hewan ketimbang sama Neya yang tokoh utama ceweknya... *pukpukNeya*(ｏ・_・)ノ”(ノ_<、)

Ya nggak pa-pa-lah~ (^皿^) yang menarik sekaligus sedih... setelah kepergian Nyan-Nyan, Putri malah jadi cat-lady...alias [kayaknya] ga nikah tapi malah melihara kucing yang dia namai "Nyan-Nyan" juga (ಥ﹏ಥ) //thatfeel

[Dorcas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphic violence juxtaposed with the light-hearted main character and his pudgy, baby Tanuki sidekick is very jarring. Still deciding whether I like that effect, because it does give a different reading experience than the one I was expecting from this sort of action manga. Also, he uses comments, "I lied," and "I lied that i lied" so often and predictably, that it reminds me of the older manga where the main characters have an identifying catch phrase (ex. Sailor Moon, "In the name of the Moon, I will punish you"). I'll try a second volume just because i find the idea of a lying hero compelling, also the naive Tanuki is too cute for words.

[Luke Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun first volume in a series that might make lying cool again. Utsuho is crafty and knows what he's doing, even if he lies about four times per chapter. He's currently the most developed character, but we'll see how the tanuki and the doctor guy turn out (I have a feeling the doctor will join the group).


Before Reading:

IS THAT A MANGA SERIES WITH A PROTAGONIST WITH CLOSED EYES?

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit, I only picked it up because of the adorably dopey tankui on the cover, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

This is the story of an "Itsuwaribito," a person who lies, cheats, steals, and should generally be a bad guy. Then we have Utsuho, an Itsuwaribito who only tells "good" lies and helps people. He's really a "know thy enemy" type. Know their tricks and use it against them.

So far, there's not much of an overarching plot. It's Utsuho going around saving the day by being a regular trickster.

So far, I'm really enjoying it.

[Greta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Itsuwaribito was a fun book with plenty of comedy. However, it also included plenty of violence and blood. The main character, Utsuho is alluring for his strength and easy-going nature, but lacking in depth and complexity. All around Itsuwaribito is an interesting book that could have more drive in the plot.

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of many books on loan to me from a social-distance bookswap with a friend, I knew absolutely nothing about Itsuwaribito going into this first volume. The most I knew about it was that my friend has the entire series and they love it a lot, and it's fairly heavy on aspects of Japanese culture that are best understood when you have more context and less of a passing weeb understanding of said culture.

I can absolutely see why my friend Lynn stated as much, with everything thrown at us in this first volume alone. Additionally, this started at 0 and almost immediately flew past 60 within just a few pages. If you were ever considering picking this up to read casually, I will warn you that quite early on, we get a fair amount of blood and gore and tragedy. Nothing too explicit or over the top, but it can be absolutely shocking.

I'm enjoying what I've read here however, because it feels very different from what I'm used to encountering in shonen manga that were published in the 2010s. I'm not entirely sure how to explain this, so I would say your best bet is to really just pick up the first volume and give it a go.
Of course...
I could be lying.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters seemed kind of flat at the start, but I got into it.

[Islad King · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Khyie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was all right but I wasn’t particularly intrigued and I won’t be continuing the series.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to read this a few years ago and couldn't get into it but now I'm really starting to enjoy it. I think Utsuho is a really good character.

[Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.25/5.00 Stars

[Carla · Rating 2 out of 5]

What happens when I wander around the library's manga section and just pick things I haven't read yet? I end up trying books from genres I don't usually enjoy, which sometimes ends super well! Not so much with this one. We have a character who's superpower is lying 😏. I thought this had promise until they started overdoing it with "nah, I was lying about lying" situation every time he admitted to lying... That got old fast.

📚 The gist 📚: After suffering a major tragedy in his past, Utsuho decides to never tell the truth. In fact, he's going to become an Itsuwarebito and live the life of an antihero who tells lies to serve you justice!

💕 For readers looking for 💕: interesting antihero antics, absurd shonen-genre fight scenes, an adorable kitsune buddy, and crazy clothes that could be an appendage all their own.

[Mello ❣ Illium ✮Harry✮ ☀Myrnin☀ Torin Ichimaru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis:

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

My Thoughts:

I ended up enjoying this much more than I was expecting to. I was actually surprised by the level of violence and gore in this. I was expecting something really light-hearted and fun. I did think it was fun, but there were plenty of people losing their heads in this manga. It got pretty bloody. That didn't put me off, but it's just not what I was expecting. Granting, I didn't entirely expect to seriously like this series, so it all took me by surprise.

I found myself taking an instant liking to Utsuho. He's actually a really cool guy and I think he's just awesome. The squinty eyes where it looks like the character shouldn't be able to see at all that I love so much in anime and manga characters like Gin Ichimaru (Bleach) and Kuroudo Akabane (Get Backers). He also opens his eyes when he's really in serious mode the same way that they do. He can make some evil looking faces when he's like that, but they always get directed at the bad guys.

When tragedy strikes and Utsuho is all alone again, he decides that he'll be like the man that took him in and makes it a goal to help people; only he plans to do it by telling lies. When I read that in the synopsis, that's what made me think there wasn't going to be much violence in this series. I was so wrong. Somehow, Utsuho does manage to help people (and even a talking tanuki) by lying and kicking ass at the same time. I do wonder how he became such a good fighter, though. I'm pretty sure he didn't learn that in the orphan village. Perhaps he taught himself?

Anyway, I think I'm really going to enjoy reading about Utsuho, Pochi and Yakuma and their adventures. Yakuma seems like an interesting guy. Perhaps a bit too series, but he'll make a good contrast for Utsuho. Pochi is just cute and good for lightning the mood. I will be reading v.2 soon to see how Utsuho gets them out of their current situation.

[King Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first two pages of Itsuwaribito had me pause.

Someone who steals by sneaking into some place quietly without anyone knowing is called a burglar.
Someone who steals by using words to trick someone is called a swindler.
Someone who steals by using violence to beat someone up is called a thug.
Someone who has perfected all of these... sneaking, tricking, beating, stealing... someone with this most evil, most awful occupation...
...is called an Itsuwaribito.

Could I really get on board with something like that? As catchy as the introduction was worded, it more than implied that the main character, the hero or anti-hero or whatever you will, would be someone who acts as a swindler, a thug, a burglar, and more. While some moral gray area creates intrigue within novels, I also do not like works that almost seem a proponent of questionable acts.

Yeah, I worry a little bit too much about some things, it turns out. I was leery when I began Fullmetal Alchemist because of some of the characters' degrading comments about religion in the first volume. So could I get into Itsuwaribito with an introduction like that? Absolutely.

In fact, I got into this a LOT quicker than I do reading the first volume of most manga. Yuuki Iinuma hooked readers in incredibly quickly, wasting no pages, and leading us into the tale of a protagonist we really can root for - a protagonist who seeks to lie to save the lives of others. And it's entertaining. "Oops, I lied." "Oh, I lied about lying." Our main character's clever tricks and lies upon lies amuse the readers and make us, not just Utsuho's enemies, always wondering what he'll be up to next.

Having just completed the first volume, I do wonder how the story will progress - if it will continue to be a bunch of collected stories as Utsuho travels place to place, or if we will find an overarching storyline connecting the stories together. Still, this was pretty fun to read, and I might just have to see what volume 2 holds.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my students recommended this one and I have to say I'm being generous with that third star. It's more like a 2.5. The art is good, reminding me of Rurouni Kenshin or Naruto somehow. I would put the storyline at Naruto's younger audience level.

It's an interesting idea but the execution isn't quite there. Utsuho was overly honest as a child which lead to his village and parents being murdered by Itsuwaribitos, liars, thieves, criminals, sort of the worst of the worst. He was raised by monks but he spent most of his time getting good at explosions and lying and thieving. Still, the head monk inspired Utsuho and after something terrible happens he wants to use his abilities to lie and cheat to help people who won't find help through honest means.

So an interesting beginning. The next story is also interesting and he acquires his traveling companion, the very naive, young talking tanuki, Poochi.

And then it starts going off the rails a little. Like Naruto, Utsuho is very loud and brash and that's just not my sort of character. Utsuho and Poochi travel the countryside looking for other people to help and basically crossing every other Itsuwaribito they meet. The problem is Utsuho's lies and tricks are too shallow. He says one thing and next panel over, oops no I was lying. Wait that was a lie too. This gets tiring after a while and character development comes to a halt.

If the library system had this, I would maybe read another volume or two but at the time of this review it doesn't. I know this is a rather popular manga but it's not for me.

[Pat Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Itsuwaribito was an good experience. I first picked up the book because the tanuki on the cover looked adorable, but after I read the back of the book I knew I’d want to read all of it. This manga is basically about a person named Utsuho, who had a terrible experience as a child with telling the truth, and decides to become an Itsuwaribito to take on the dream of someone who took care of him. An Itsuwaribito is a person who excels at stealing quietly (a burglar), stealing using words to trick people (a swindler), and stealing using violence (a thug). I found it hilarious when Utsuho basically lies about everything including lying especially when the person he’s lying to gets fooled completely. Pochi, the tanuki, is just great. He’s naive about his surroundings and of himself, but that makes him such a lovable character. Even though Pochi keeps getting tricked over and over again, he still trusts people, and that is an hard thing to do especially when you constantly get tricked. It’s really hard to pick a favorite character when all them have awesome characteristics and personalities. I really enjoyed the first book and I’m hoping to try and get the entire series to read.

[Rosenblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll review this soon.
This manga was fun and a total page turner.
I can't wait to read volume 2.

[Miss Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the art on this. It makes me think of a standardized Kubo Tite; getting across the point without many detailed lines or an excess of screen tones. The premise is a hero who goes around trying to save people by lying (he's had some bad experiences with the consequences of honesty). After reading his backstory I don't think his problem was being honest, it was being very naive with no concept of stranger danger. Honesty doesn't mean you have to answer every single question people ask you. :l I'll probably pick up the next volume, especially if the cast gets larger. I don't think Utsuho has enough depth to sustain my interest on his own without other people to regularly interact with. 3 stars

[K.C. Rivers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of an odd twist to a storyline, I suppose. A "good" liar trying to make the world a better place. I'm not sure that I agree with the whole idea in general, but I'm rather hoping that perhaps he might end up seeing the bright side of telling the truth in the end. I certainly understand the main character's motivation for lying, given that being honesty/innocence is what killed his family, but I'm not sure I agree with it. (Plus I found his tagline of stating "uncool" after every sentence a little annoying.) Still, I'm intrigued enough to want to read the next book in the series just to see what comes of it.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first chapter was sad and hit close to home. At times, I feel as if my whole life is as lie to please those around me. A quote from the volume, how a lie that can help people, save them, is a good lie, describes how I feel. The way Utsuho's obi flows makes him look like a fox spirit, which is fitting since foxes are know for their trickery. In a way, he doesn't use lies...he uses truth. I mean, lying about lying? That's telling the truth. I hope the doctor joins the family. And that little creature is soooo cute!!! Kyah! I'm looking forward to seeing Utsuho grow as a character.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get the trying to establish a clever, smart character who is a master of lying, but there's really not any mastery going on here. The "lies" aren't clever and they aren't interesting. They're basic and rather lax in intelligence. There's a lot more misdirection than it feels like lying going on. And the artwork, having blood and slaughter for the sake of blood and slaughter is poor reasoning. Deaths should establish stakes and you start to lose those stakes if it's too constant in story. He's not at war.

[deedee megadoodoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga is hilariously funny, meanwhile also being probably one of the darkest mangas out there- it has really great and graphic art for all of the goriest parts, and the story is original and clever.

Definitely recommend, but only if you're up for it.

It's a warning, that this manga is indeed, really depressing at times beyond all the heartwarming comedic relief of it.

-Happy readings folks, Zoe.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars? Interesting concept and with clean art that I could see being popular. I'm surprised I don't hear more about this series, but maybe it's been dropped. The concept of lying in order to protect people is intriguing and, of course, makes me think of the scam plotline. The trickster aspect could draw those who are fans of Naruto, but, like that ninja, it seems to get dark very rapidly. Quite violent but yet with humor and a theme of friendship. Will read more.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read about half of this at the store--likable, but painfully generic. Tragic backstory, check! Cute animal sidekick, check! Wacky pointy shonen manga hair, check!

I'm actually a sucker for most of these ridiculous manga tropes, but it some sort of skillful balancing of the whole to make me fall in love with a story.

[Keiji Miashin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty good. The art is nice and clean if not particularly well placed for flow. The story is a simple 'villain of the week' affair and holds up well enough for what it is. Some dialogue from the main character is repetitive and obnoxious, but overall this volume isn't so bad when set against some of its shounen contemporaries.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tonally, it's just plain weird, juxtaposing the absolutely adorable with some fairly graphic violence, with some slapstick on the side. I generally like protagonists with complicated, multilayered plans, but Utsuho's catch phrases are a bit much. I was already getting sick of seeing variations on, "I lied!" by the end of this volume alone.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting series about a boy who decides to become an expert liar in order to save people.

2017- 3 stars. uses a lot of the same words over and over, i.e "cool" "uncool". The story is good, though.