【Itsuwaribito】 Action x Comedy! Story about a boy who speaks good lies!!

Itsuwaribito is a Japanese Action-Comedy manga series written and illustrated by Yuuki Iinuma.

This manga series was serialized in Shogakukan’s weekly Shounen Sunday from January 2009 to February 2010. Then from February 2010, the series got transferred to Club Sunday, where it ran till its conclusion in August 2013. It’s 223 individual chapters were compiled and collected into 23 separate volumes. The series received mixed reviews with some enjoying its premise, while others criticizing it for it’s simple and boring characters.

An anime television adaptation of this series is yet to be announced.

“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. And someone who has perfected all of these...... sneaking, tricking, beating, stealing...... someone with this most evil, most awful occupation is called an Itsuwaribito”.

Utsuho Azako lives in an orphanage, lead by an elder named Osho-sama. Azako is a careless boy, often disregarding his duties and showing stupid behavior.

One day, Azako leaves his cleaning duty and goes out fishing. Osho-sama comes looking for him, and gets furious when he sees Azako not on his post.

Azako is fishing by the river, when Iriya, another orphan, comes looking for him. Azako shows little worry about Osho-sama, even calling him the “Village’s gangster”.

Iriya picks up a small cylinder shaped object from beside Azako, asking him about it. Azako tells him that the small cylinder is bomb he made by himself. This really amazes Iriya.

“Did...... did he say he made them? He figured out how to make bombs...... all by himself? “.

That is when Osho-sama shows up behind Azako and gives him an earful for lying and neglecting his duties.

“lying is the worst thing...... a person can do”, says Osho-sama, but Azako runs away in anger.

As he runs through the forest, Azako thinks about what his honesty did to his entire family. When he was just a little boy, some men came to him while he was out playing in the garden. They asked him about his family, how many people lived in his house, the layout of the house. And him being just an honest little kid, told everything to those men.

Later that day, when he came home, he found his entire family slaughtered. Ever since, he blamed himself for what had happened.

Osho-sama and Iriya return to the village, only to find it under attack by a group on bandits. Osho-sama immediately orders the other adults to help evacuate the children, but before they can do anything, they are slaughtered by the bandits.

Azako makes it back to the village and keeps watch on Osho-sama and the bandits from the roof.

In retaliation of the bandits, Osho-sama takes out his gun, warning them to leave the villagers alone. Little does he know, that one of his own children is involved with the bandits.

Iriya’s face holds an evil grin, as he stabs Osho-sama in his back. Iriya starts laughing, revealing himself to be an Itsuwaribito, who infiltrated the orphanage just to kill everyone.

Osho-sama falls to the ground, and with his last breath, speaks to Azako, telling him how lying is not always bad and what happened to his family was never his fault.

Hearing this, Azako jumps into the battlefield and holds the fatally injured Osho-sama.

He gets up and charges at Iriya. The battle begins and Azako decides to lead the bandits outside the village. But when he escapes to a nearby house, he sees the massacred bodies of all the children in the orphanage.

This is when he decides to kill them all. He takes out one of his bombs and says to the bandit’s , “If I throw this, you’ll all blow up! If you don’t want to die, don’t move from that spot “. The bandit’s hesitate from moving.

“Nah...... Just lying. Even if you don’t move, you all die”. He throws the bomb and the bandit’s start running in the opposite direction.

“Nah...... Just lying”. The bomb is a bluff and Azako starts running away. The bandit’s realize this and start chasing him.

“Nah...... I was lying about lying”. As soon as one of the bandit steps on the bomb, it explodes, killing every last one of them and severally damaging Iriya.

Azako goes upto the dying Iriya and makes fun of him. Iriya smirks, saying to Azako that he would make a good Itsuwaribito. Azako replies, “My lies aren’t like yours. They’re Good lies”.

After the battle comes to an end, Osho-sama on his last breath, asks Azako, “How are the children? “. Azako lies again, “Of course! You can’t see them gramps...... but they’re all out front worrying about you”.

“Gramps face when he died...... looked so happy. If I can save someone...... by telling a lie...... I think that’s a good lie”.

Azako visits his gramps grave after his passing. “Gramps...... I’ve decided. I’m going to be an Itsuwaribito”. He bids farewell to his Gramps and heads on a journey.

What awaits Azako on his new path to be an Itsuwaribito?