Why Shuu Iwamine Hatoful Boyfriend Is Autistic (a shy essay by me)
Well Shuu Iwamine is certainly... a character. A lot of things have happened to him. So it is difficult to judge and diagnose him with anything, because most if not all of his traits can be explained with âwell, he is like this because of his upbringingâ or âhe is traumatized by like 4 different thingsâ. But Iâve put a lot of hours into analyzing him from a different perspective, enough to develop an entire AU dedicated to digging out the vulnerable parts of Shuu, so please allow me to... explain what I mean...
By the way, I am a huge Hatoful-addict so for the sake of this post, I am applying every piece of media that Iâve found. Every timeline, the manga, the doujins, and the Drama CDs. Ekhem.
Very obviously Shuu is obsessed with research and his interests are only related to scientific work. Especially dissection and biology. He can ârecall scientific facts with crystal clear brilliance, but completely forgets whatever he isnât interested in.â Also a popular headcanon among the fandom is that Shuu has a thing for the sea, because all his names are related to the sea, and Damurushi (his character designer) and Moa have included mysterious sea imagery in some doodles of him.
He is generally low-energy and antisocial so heâs never seen âexcitedly info-dumpingâ, but Iâm pretty sure that almost all scenes with him quickly turn into him changing the subject to: dissection and experimentation.
His lack of empathy is also something commonly found in autistic folk... even if itâs a bit of a demeaning stereotype; Shuu is a doctor and a lot of things about him might give the impression that he doesnât care about the well-being of other people, and simply enjoys working with medicine itself. Shuu appears to be a sadist, or at least because he delights in experimentation, even if it is uncomfortable and/or lethal for his subjects. But there are definite moments where this doesnât seem so true. He takes his job seriously, he doesnât half-ass it. Which leads me to...
2. Absolutely misunderstanding social cues.
This is the reason why everything in Hatoful Boyfriend went wrong. LMAO. Misunderstanding world peace for exterminating an entire species... His strange confused love for Ryuuji...
His creepy smiling, which are portrayed as him being totally evil and sociopathic...
As Souma, he was completely pokerfaced and even more obviously coded as autistic. While Tohri isnât entirely reasonable and innocent himself, Souma isnât the nicest to him and he doesnât try hiding it. Also some of his interactions with Ryuuji are very sweet and implying. Again, it can be explained with âhe has never experienced fondness and intimacy prior to meeting himâ but please remember that even 13 whole years later, he still is stoic and plain socially awkward.
3. Cynicism. Black and white morality.
Shuu is cynical as hell. Being raised by neglectful and ignorant parents only fueled his worldview, probably. He is morally grey, and that unfortunately led to him growing up in the deeply broken Hawk Party labs that encouraged a lack of ethics. He has no attachment to the Hawks though, as he is willing to betray everything and kill himself (with Hiyokoâs head in his arms) the moment he thinks his life is at its peak. (Because letâs think about it. Why did Shuu even kill himself? Because he is desperately lonely, and would rather kill a person thatâs still friendly to him before they can change their mind, and then himself, to die knowing that heâs loved by at least one person. The whole morality of him and Hiyoko is a different topic. Different textpost. Personally I see it less as âhe accepts Hiyokoâs pseudo-romantic advancesâ and more as âhe rejects her romantic advances, but feeling unconditionally appreciated is enough to make him go crazyâ. Whether Hiyoko had that intention or not is also... up for interpretation...)
4. Possible sensory issues.
It might seem like him being gentlemanly, and he doesnât seem to mind touching other birds if it means heâll get to dissect or pluck something out of them. However if it is him whoâs being hugged, then he suffers through it. Mirukaku show this, definitely. âStop clinging to me, you two. It is uncomfortably warm.â He avoids the sun, and avoids crowds of people. The only thing that can make him peek into a crowd of birds is the promise that there is a dead body in there somewhere.
But more importantly: Shuu Iwamine!! Please eat food!!!
Although heâs fluffy and I think Hiyoko does call him a fat bird at some point(s), itâs implied that heâs actually underweight. He rarely eats. It is a chore for him to eat. âI donât particularly like food.â he says in the Drama CD. Cooking seems to be a hobby, but he doesnât really like eating himself. At least not consistent and nutritious meals. Sure, you can have very low appetite and still be overweight, as some Hatoful fanartists have drawn, but I see his fluffy bird form as more of a âHe is so lanky that heâs cold, and birds naturally fluff up to preserve heatâ. I mean, in human form, he is super lanky and looks malnourished, and he wears three layers too...
Also. His clothes. On concept art from the old Hatoful website, Moa made a note about Shuu saying âHe doesn't mind if the vest is too stretched out, as he enjoys casual and comfortable clothes. His complexion is bad. He seems to wear a labcoat both at work, and at home.â
... This dude... has been wearing the same sweater vest since 10+ years... and lab coat too, possibly... Is he just sentimental, or is he absolutely attached to old things that he is familiar with? Iâd say both.
And considering he is absolutely delighted with dissection and is often drawn by Damu and Moa making a bloody mess with a smile, I think it can be said that he likes the slimy squishy textures of internal organs too. Y-Yikes. But you know.
Chuckling. Now hear me out. He does chuckle when heâs being Slimy And Evil, but he also chuckles for seemingly no reason at times. Itâs shown in the manga when Yuuya is spying to him and Shuu keeps making laughing noises while performing science by himself... because heâs enjoying himself... You can also theorize that itâs echolalia as well... Obviously itâs intended as a ~creepy effect~ just like his most other traits...
And while on the topic of his extreme attachments, he is without a doubt very obsessed with Ryuuji Kawara. He feels like Ryuuji Kawara is a crucial part of him, and as long as he thinks that heâs fulfilling his last wish, he can live with a smug smile. Hohoho.
6. And now for some more trivial things one-sentence things...
Such bad posture. Hates warmth and the sun. Maybe light as a whole. (Sure this can be related to trauma from bomb explosions, but I imagine both of these things loop into each other.) Savant syndrome; He is an absolute medical prodigy and he would be able to surpass Ryuuji, but itâs feelings that are holding him back, as proven by Sweet Shuu. âHe didnât know how to grow up, so he stayed a chrysalis forever.â Dear god does he take everything literally. He absolutely does not care about anything or anyone except science and related to it. There is a chance that he pretends to not remember Tohri to avoid unnecessary conflict, but if he literally doesnât remember him, then like, thatâs peculiar isnât it. Response to unpleasant situation; walk away. Extremely shut-in and uncomfortable in crowds.
...So yes. Maybe Iâll keep adding things to this post. By the way, if you are curious about the sources of some of these claims, send me an ask and Iâll do my best to find The Evidence.
Shuu Iwamine has Aspergers. Thank you very much for reading. My name is Kiro. And goodnight.
