On the Misconception of Shizuo Heiwajima
From the perspective of one Izaya Orihara - thoughts on what Izaya means when he says that Shizuo is unpredictable. A comment was made recently that caused me to think about this: that Izaya’s claim is strange because Shizuo appears predictable. Shizuo smash. Which is true to an extent, in the sense that knowing Shizuo has a temper means one can expect Shizuo to destroy things at some point. However, I don’t believe Izaya is really addressing this when he talks about Shizuo.
Izaya sees all people (for the most part) the same way - as toys to play with or subjects to experiment with. Shinra may look like the scientist but Izaya takes experimentation significantly further in the story. Shizuo does not fit into his control test. Shizuo does not operate like other humans. Shizuo cannot be manipulated, coaxed or coerced into decisions/directions. Izaya is a professional manipulator. He understands how minds (and emotions) work and he knows how to suggest something to a person, all the while making the person think it was their idea. (The scene with Rio is the closest we get to seeing just how this can play out in the anime but I don’t think it really encompasses it completely).
When Izaya talks about Shizuo being unpredictable it’s because Shizuo does not respond to these kinds of tactics in a way that is remotely close to what he has observed in humans. Further, how Shizuo might respond to any given situation isn’t predictable at all. What sets Shizuo off can change, quite literally, on a daily basis. Something that might set him off one day, won’t the next but instead he’ll go off about something else. The only exception to this chaotic anger management issue is, of course, Izaya. That part is predictable and Izaya is clearly aware of it. It’s everything else about Shizuo’s behaviour that is inconsistent. It’s completely irrational and has no pattern to it.
Which, if you like to play god like Izaya - carefully setting up the board to witness the outcome - would definitely make you hate the one piece on the board that you have absolutely no control over, no matter what you try to do. Izaya can respect people who outmaneuver him but with Shizuo, it isn’t that he’s being outmaneuvered. Shizuo isn’t intelligent. He’s just pure malevolent disruption, all the time.
