If You’re a Demon, You Need to Smile; Why I Prefer the Alternate Concept of Iori Being More Expressive
Part Five - Final Part
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4 - Previous]
This is the fifth and final part on my analysis on the FSR art and design interview confirming that Takeuchi and Rei Wataru chose to mute Iori's expressiveness on purpose. Takeuchi said in the FSR art and design interview that "He'd be a really flat character if his characterization showed in his design".
I'm talking about how I get the vibes of Iori being a smug bad boy when he's good, and a crazy bad boy when he becomes the Sword Demon, from the vibes in his writing. I'm also talking about why the creators may have chosen to make this design choice, and how that has affected the public perception.
I'll also be bringing up Okada Izou's similarities to Iori to prove my point, and Hazbin Hotel as well because Nasu loved it because of its similar themes to TM.
Continuing:
These two fanarts of how Iori would look like as a Sword Demon are perfect to me. The subtle smile in the first one with the moon in the background, and the second one has a crazy Joker smile.
The first is from yyeyhr on Bluesky, and the second is from sigrid99 on Pixiv.
My friend told me that if Sword Demon Iori was dramatic and theatrical, he would be like Okada Izou.
Okada Izou from the Bakumatsu period was known as a talented swordsman and man-slayer who was arrogant in his abilities.
These are the similarities between him and Iori:
They're both naturally talented. (The second part is from Berserker Musashi's Servant Material).
They copy their moves from other people.
They were never able to find true success as swordsmen, which is the point of both of their characters.
This is what Okada Izou's Bond 10 CE "The Sky on That Day" says about his failure.
My friend told me that Izou’s FGO lines of his inferiority-superiority complex (being arrogant, and not wanting to be looked down upon) are similar to how I interpret ETD Iori - wanting to stand above them all because of how traumatized he was from the Yagorou Gang incident in his home port town.
When I looked up Izou fanart, I was so happy. This is how I’ve always imagined ETD Iori! Not just looking crazy or smug, but the hint of concerned eyebrows that show the vulnerability as well.
Finally, I'll bring up the last part of my analysis which involves something from Hazbin Hotel.
Hazbin Hotel's statement on smiles
Hazbin Hotel is a Western animation about Charlie Morningstar, the Princess of Hell, who wants to redeem her people of sinners to keep them from being killed by Heaven. This lines up with Nasu’s themes of believing evil people can be saved.
Nasu has said that he loved the show on his Bamboo Broom Diary, and his favorite character was Alastor. Alastor is an Overlord who is helping Charlie with her hotel, and likes to observe how people are living and struggling.
People have said that Merlin is a character who feels like a Nasu self-insert by saying he moves from story to story, observes humans, and loves the tales they make. Nasu liking Alastor makes sense because he feels like the kind of character that Nasu is similar to.
Alastor told Charlie that a smile doesn’t mean that someone is happy, and that it’s a tool used to inspire your friends and stay in control.
We know that Iori inspires his servant Takeru to stop the Waxing Moon Ritual for the safety of Edo until the ETD ending, and that he wants to feel in control of his drive to become the strongest until the end.
TLDR; Nasu loved a show that has his kind of themes. The character he liked most which feels like his characters he identifies with said that a smile is a tool used to inspire your friends, warn off your enemies, and feel in control, which is Iori’s arc in FSR.
Iori finally smiling in his FGO anniversary CE
When I saw Iori's FGO 10th Anniversary CE, I was so happy. I thought, "Finally! Now everyone else can see how I've always imagined him!" I guess Rei Wataru just said, "Fuck it, let's show him confident and happy." But I was just so happy regardless of why.
Something someone said on Twitter made me laugh. "Everyone is horny for smug yakuza Iori rn when that's not his personality!"
Well, the gooners are going to be horny regardless. It's all they can talk about, lmao. So I'm so glad I finally got official art of him that makes me happy and lines up with my vision of him.
Mugetsu seems to prefer stoic Iori, however, from this art they made of the CE.
I have mixed feelings on Mugetsu's manga adaptation so far - I don't like this and making the foreshadowing too obvious. But I like how they kept Iori's kindness to hammer it in in the beginning (people have already gotten mad at how Iori used the back of his blade to not kill the thugs because it ruined their edgy headcanon, LMFAO!), and how they've illustrated Takeru better than Rei Wataru, imo. But that's for another analysis!
That’s everything I wanted to say! So let me summarize up this entire analysis post.
Summary
Takeuchi’s statement of saying that Iori would be a really flat character if his characterization showed in his design.
Iori’s moments where him looking stoic or troubled does make sense, like him thinking about how to deal with things, which humanizes him.
Why I interpret Iori as a “smug bad boy”, because of his character arc where his downfall is his arrogance.
How I can feel the mismatch between Bazett’s writing and her FGO art, which means this isn’t the first instance of me feeling thrown off by a TM character’s facial expressions.
Iori’s similarities to Hawkfrost, my favorite character as a child, and how people interpreted his facial expressions from his book’s writing.
Takeuchi’s decision of wanting to keep the Iori twist hidden because he’s a unique character, which I know comes from love of the character but I still respectfully disagree with because it’s not how the “true nature” twist TM characters are handled.
My distaste at the Koei Tecmo team for treating Iori’s character as “shock value” for how they handled the NG+ scenes and the logbook descriptions.
My two theories on why KT may have chosen to make Iori less expressive - either not wanting people to idolize him too much, or not wanting people to feel too intimidated by him when he came to FGO.
My theory of the old man in the prologue being Iori in the endings where he didn’t die.
Emotionless Sword Demon Iori in canon being supported by Celestial Demon Musashi and PHH Musashi’s portrayals.
My preference of crazy Joker Sword Demon Iori being supported by Angra Mainyu’s statement and Okada Izou’s similarities to Iori.
Hazbin Hotel's statement on why people smile, a show that Nasu loved because it has his favorite kinds of themes.
What an analysis! I should really make separate threads for some of these parts too, because they should stand on their own. But I needed to prove that it’s valid for me to prefer 😈 Iori over 🗿 Iori.
I'm really glad I made this. Thinking of the endings where he does live on even if he struggles reminded me of why I loved him in the first place - feeling hope that I can keep living.
And analyzing the emotionless Sword Demons of both Musashis vs my take on Iori made me accept that everyone who genuinely loves Iori has a valid take on him, even if they interpret him differently, like my friend.
