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“And then...she knows everything.” ― The narrator, following Iori's awakening.[source]
- For the chapter of the same name, see Chapter 62.
Iori Samura (
She is a major ally and a central character in the Sword Bearer Assassination Arc.
Appearance[]
Iori is a teenage girl of average height with black eyes and black hair standing slightly shorter than Chihiro. Part of her hair consists of bangs, with much of the rest tied in two parts that usually drape across her shoulders.
During the events leading up to and occurring at the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel, Iori wore a standard school uniform.
Personality[]
Having lived as a civilian following her memory wipe at the hands of the Masumi, Iori appears as a fairly standard student; nice, with some snark when irritated. She is understandably concerned when her school is attacked by the Hishaku, and displays great courage standing up against Kuguri to protect her classmate Ikura, while also possessing great mental fortitude to be capable of subconsciously breaking the seal on her memories on her own. With life-threatening situations being completely alien to her, Iori is understandably confused and scared during the events leading up to and occurring at the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel.
Iori's compassion is evident as seen when despite having heard Chihiro was a murderer, she was quick to assume it was a misunderstanding, and she continuously thinks of how her classmates and school will be affected by the events occurring around her.
Much like her father, Iori is quick to feel guilt when others suffer because of her, in her case because her school and the Masumi were attacked by the Hishaku due to her subconscious interference with the seal placed on her memory, and nearly broke down over this guilt. After the seal on her memories was fully broken and Iori gained a newfound determination to protect ordinary life, she was able to move past her guilt and advance into combat without hesitation.
Relationships[]
Family[]
Seiichi Samura[]
Iori was initially on bad terms with her father, Inori having told her about how Seiichi had abandoned them and kept focusing on the past. The two often competed in competitions and contests of the sorts, Iori closing her eyes in apparent fairness to her father. Eventually, the two grew closer, and one such contest turned into a collaborative effort to make a bento for Inori, who was thrilled after tasting it.
Iori and Seiichi had a very close relationship, with an extremely poignant memory within Iori's subconscious being one of her and her father holding hands when she was younger, which was able to break through the Masumi's memory-suppressing seal. Once the seal had fully disintegrated, one of Iori's immediate desires was to see her father again.
Seiichi was deeply against the idea of the Kamunabi placing Iori under strict observation like himself, and had the Masumi fake Iori's death and remove her memories of himself in order to guarantee her safety, showing a great deal of care on his part, despite the fact that they would never see each other again. He additionally appears to have taught Iori in the ways of swordsmanship.
In addition, Seiichi is innately against the idea of Iori suffering because of his own actions, having divorced with his wife Inori due to believing himself having committed too much sin to raise a child, and later leaving Iori with her aunt when it became clear she was receiving harassment due to her relation and proximity to himself.
Both the Hishaku and the Masumi place enough consideration into Seiichi's relationship with his daughter to the point that Iori serves as both groups' primary objective in order to gain an advantage over Seiichi.
Inori[]
After her parents divorced when she was young, Iori spent much of younger years living with her mother. The two were very close, often cooking together. She was very reluctant to leave her and live with Seiichi after Inori was hospitalised, but did so at Inori's request. Iori and Seiichi later made a bento together to give to Inori, who greatly enjoyed it. After Inori's death, Iori was devastated, and became more determined than ever not to lose any other members of her family.
Allies[]
Masumi[]
As the daughter of one of their chosen masters, the Masumi are loyal and protective toward Iori, faking her death and sealing away her memories and identity prior to the series at Samura's request in hopes of protecting her from the consequences of being the child of such an infamous swordsman.[2]
Sumi is shown to be protective of Iori once they reunite and she becomes the Masumi's ward, repeatedly assuring Iori that she will be safe as long as she remains under their protection.[3][4] Ro respects Iori's autonomy by revealing Iori about her true identity for her to make a choice, while giving her a snack to take it easy.[5] While initially taken aback by Chihiro's decision to let Iori make her own choice, he quickly acquiesced and agreed to the idea.
In return, Iori is shown to be grateful for their protection but burdened by the idea people would willingly risk their lives to protect her, seeing it as her fault should they get hurt; in a manner similar in some respects to her father.[6]
Ikura[]
Iori and Ikura are good friends, casually talking and spending time in their school. Despite some of her classmates disparaging Ikura and bemoaning that Iori had to sit next to him, Iori greeted him cordially and asked if he wanted to be friends when she was assigned to sit next to him. Moved and grateful, Ikura decided to return the greeting, and the two became friends.
Ikura was concerned about Iori's circumstances and decided to patrol the Kyoto underworld and follow Toto to the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel in order to help her. Despite being terrified after hiding from Hiruhiko's massacre of the hotel staff, he ultimately summoned his determination to help his friend and progressed onwards.
Later, when Iori was despairing and breaking down over the circumstances and bloodshed surrounding her, Ikura reached the roof and shouted about how important she was and how she had to come back to school. Through seeing Ikura, Iori awakened her desire to fight to protect ordinary life, the seal on her memory life eroding completely. Remembering her swordmanship skill, she took a katana and immediately rushed to block an attack aimed at Ikura.
Chihiro Rokuhira[]
Initially Iori thought of Chihiro as a murderer after witnessing his kills on the TV news, and told off Ikura for trying to mimic him.[7] After Chihiro defended her against the Hishaku's attempts at capturing her, Iori became more grateful to Chihiro, changing her initial impression of him.[8]
The two later talked cordially, Chihiro emphasising with Iori's struggle enough to reveal his identity as Kunishige Rokuhira's son to her, displaying how he wished to help her through her decision to erase her memories or not. Throughout the entire chaotic situation Iori was undergoing, Chihiro continuously voiced that he would support her decision, whatever it would be. Iori is understandably shocked at how easily Chihiro enters violent situations, but Chihiro only views it as more reason for her to consider her choice; unlike her, he did not give himself a choice.[9]
After Iori broke the seal on her memories in full, Chihiro was initially shocked that Iori knew how to use a katana but quickly acclimated and correctly reasoned her father had taught her in the past, the two seamlessly fighting together on the field of battle. Iori trusted Chihiro enough to share her thoughts regarding her father and her desire to see him again, and Chihiro immediately followed her request and unsheathed Enten to bring Samura to their location.[10]
Abilities[]
Overall Abilities: Prior to fully uncovering her memories of her past, Iori was a normal civilian with no particular combat ability. After the seal on her memories fully disintegrated, Iori recalled her memories and experience with sword fighting, becoming able to stand her ground against members of the yakuza.
Combat Prowess[]
Iori's non-lethal swordsmanship.
Expert Swordsman: Much like her father, Iori is proficient in the Iai White Purity Style. While not focused on killing, Iori was able to skillfully disarm multiple enemy yakuza by precisely severing their fingertips, preventing them from using their katana, even during the first time she had used a real sword. Iori closes her eyes while in combat, a holdover from when she was young and frequently imitating her father when participating in activities with him. Through keeping her eyes closed, Iori blocks out any irrelevant thoughts in favour of concentrating on her sword.[11][12]
Skill Sets[]
Cooking[]
As a young child, Iori learned to cook from Inori and the two frequently cooked together. When Iori made a meal for her father, Samura noted the food was amazing. Later Iori and Seiichi participated in cooking contests and ended up collaborating to make a meal for Inori, who praised the meal and stated it was delicious.
Notably, in order to make things 'fair' during their contests, Iori closed her eyes while cooking, and was still able to make quality meals (albeit with Samura's supervision to ensure she didn't hurt herself.)[13]
Equipment[]
Katana: After remembering her expertise with swords on the roof of the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel, Iori stole a katana from a yakuza member and used it in battle. Notably, it is the first real sword she has used in combat, having trained primarily with bokken prior.
Etymology[]
座 (Sa): Means "seat".村 (Mura): Means "village" or "settlement".
The name Iori (イヲリ|Iwori) is made up of katakana and has no particular meaning.
Trivia[]
- Iori was featured in the Me & Robocco manga series' chapter 232.
References[]
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 66 (Page 2).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 61 (Pages 10-13).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 63 (Page 9).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 69 (Page 5).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 65 (Pages 1-3).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 69 (Pages 5-6).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 62.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 65 (Page 10).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 67 (Pages 8-17).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 74.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 70 (Pages 15-16).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 72 (Pages 17-18).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 71 (Pages 8-11).
[]
| List of Characters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chihiro's Allies | Rokuhira Swordsmith | Chihiro Rokuhira • Kunishige Rokuhira† | |
| Sorcerers | Togo Shiba • Soshiro Azami • Hakuri Sazanami • Hiyuki Kagari • Tafuku Mihara • Iori Samura | ||
| Other | Hinao • Char Kyonagi | ||
| Kamunabi | Leaders | Kudo • Soshiro Azami | |
| Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces | Ikuto Hagiwara • Kazane Machi • Shiyumi Harima† • Hajime Kugara† • Kiyohiko Uzuki† • Makoto Kasahara† | ||
| Other Members | Hiyuki Kagari • Tafuku Mihara | ||
| Masumi | Ro • Sumi • Moku | ||
| Seitei War Enchanted Blade Wielders | Misaka† • Yoji Uruha† • Seiichi Samura • Subaru • "Master Swordsman" | ||
| Hishaku | Yura • Hishaku Sorcerer • Hiruhiko • Kuguri • Toto | ||
| Sazanami Clan | Kyora Sazanami† • Soya Sazanami‽ • Tenri Sazanami† • Tamaki Sazanami • Enji Sazanami | ||
| Other Characters | Sojo's Group | Genichi Sojo† • Norisaku Madoka† • Mohawk Henchmen† | |
| Independent Sorcerers | Clone Sorcerer† • Trauma Sorcerer† • Oni Mask Sorcerer • Yojiro Sengoku† • Itsuo Shirakai‽ | ||
| Non-Sorcerers | Yuu • Ikura | ||