. p r o f i l e .
[ Character's Name ] : Ren Ichimoku
[ Character's Age ] : Looks to be in his 20s; actual age is at least a couple hundred years.
[ Series ] : Jigoku Shoujo
[ Canon Point ] : Post-Futakomori
[ History ] :
Imagine a katana that's been used in countless battles.
Imagine a blue straw doll that holds someone's fate.
Imagine your average (albeit good-looking) guy-the kind who socializes with his colleagues amiably, but usually doesn't quite stick out-working multiple jobs.
Imagine someone who's one of three assistants to a girl who ferries people to Hell.
Now imagine that these are all the same being. Namely, one Ichimoku Ren.
He started off as a katana. To be specific, he became a tsukumogami-i.e. an object that gained sentience after its 100th birthday. In his case, as stated, he is the spirit of a katana. If you were to ask him how many owners he's had or how many people he's slain, he wouldn't be able to tell you, as he doesn't even remember himself. All he knows is that, for a long time, he could do nothing but watch as he drew more and more blood-until one day, his final owner was slain and he was left abandoned. As one can imagine, his future seemed bleak after that. It'd be a rather boring existence, to be able to do nothing but watch, and watch, and watch.
Fortunately, it didn't come down to that. Enma Ai, the Jigoku Shoujo, came across him and invited him to come along with her. In return, she freed him and gave him a human form. It can be assumed that after this, he took on the name 'Ichimoku Ren'. Either way, from that point on, he became a part of the Hell Correspondence.
The world is full of hatred and grudges-and so, Hell Correspondence deals with that. While the methods have changed throughout the years-never let it be said that they don't keep up with the times-the basic idea always remains the same. Write down the name of someone you wish to send to Hell, and you will meet with Jigoku Shoujo. She will then give you a straw doll; one of her assistants transformed. Should you pull the red string tied around the doll, you will enter a contract with her. The person will be sent to Hell, but as payment, the client will also go to Hell after they die. If the target actually wronged someone (no, actually deserving to go to Hell isn't a requirement to be a target), Ren and co. typically, for a lack of a better word, mindrape/mindscrew the person before Ai sends them to Hell. Altogether, the morality of this can be called into question, as they're not picky about whether the deal is justified or not. For Ai, and by association her assistants, there are strict rules she must follow, set down by the Lord of Hell. Needless to say, disobeying them isn't exactly the wisest idea, for the sake of self-preservation.
In the modern day, Hell Correspondence is accessed through a website. The job of Ren and his fellow assistants, Wanyuudou and Hone Onna, is to investigate the situation, regarding both the (sometimes only potential) client and target. They do this in a variety of ways. Taking a part-time job that'll allow them to blend themselves in with ease is often a part of it, but Ren's own abilities, which allow him to spy on others easily, also come in handy for this. Generally, a mixture of both is used. In the former case, Ren often goes by the aliases of 'Moku' or 'Ishimoto Ren'.
Overall, the series itself follows a mostly episodic format. The first season deals with Ai's past, as she tries to kill the descendants-a reporter and his daughter-of the boy who betrayed her when she was a mortal. Ren, Hone Onna, and Wanyuudo attempt to stop her, as her punishment for such an action would be being sent to Hell, but they're no match for her. Ultimately, though, things resolve themselves through said descendants, and Ai chooses to leave them alone.
While things appear to return to normal, Ai's feelings towards her past are brought up again in the second season, several years later. The group encounters a boy whose situation mirrors her own, to some extent. To save his life, Ai decides not to send him to Hell, blatantly disobeying the rules set upon her. Consequently, she is made mortal, losing her memories of her assistants, and ultimately killed by the townspeople while trying to protect the boy. Realizing that this is the path she chose for herself, Ren and the others force themselves to not intervene, instead watching as their mistress is beaten to death.
Afterwards, the three decide to stay in the human world, before parting ways.
[ Personality ] :
If you were to meet Ren on the street, this is who he would be:
He's a friendly guy, simply put. Cheerful, charismatic, and laidback for the most part too. If you were to pick a jokester between him and his associates, he would probably come to mind. He's not quite a clown, but he's not above being somewhat silly at times. In Wanyuudou's words, he can be "a complete idiot" during those moments, though far from as bad as the usual example. He can a bit nosy on occasion, but overall? He's kind of nondescript. The most he's got going for him are his good looks, which he's not above being vain about or using to his advantage, but really, he doesn't stand out too much. Just your standard amiable guy, to be honest.
-At least, that's what he wants you to think. If you were to meet Ren and force him to be honest, this is who he would be:
First of all, that's not to say he isn't friendly. He's capable of showing mild irritation just as often as everyone else, but again, for the most part, he is affable, if not fairly nonchalant. His posture alone is the picture definition of casual, even. This wouldn't be questionable if he led a normal life. However, what he and the others actually do couldn't be called normal under any circumstances, making his attitude seem somewhat callous. He's friendly and cheerful during his day job; he's the same when he's busy screwing with your head and taunting you over the horrible things you've done. He's not above making comments that undermine the seriousness of the situation, even being reprimanded for it at least once. When I said that he's 'fairly nonchalant', what wasn't mentioned that he's scarily so underneath his personable exterior. It's part of what allows him to be so flexible in his personality, lying smoothly and acting the part of whatever role he needs to. He does hold some genuine compassion for his human acquaintances, but when you get down to it, he wouldn't call any of them friends. Once the job's done with, he moves on and leaves them behind-a connection that was never really formed.
It's also this nonchalance that allows him to deal with all the horrors that come with working for Ai. For the past few hundred years, he's dealt with the worst sides of humanity, both in terms of the clients and targets-and everything that comes in between. Not all who gets sent to Hell because of them have sinned, but he's accepted that. He doesn't see what they do as a form of justice. It's simply their job. If that means sending an innocent person to Hell, then so be it. He's not completely uncaring about this, but he's not particularly concerned either by this point. In the end, each time an innocent person is condemned, it's all just another job done for him, as it is to the others as well. After all, there are rules forbidding him from interfering with the contracts, meaning his ultimate role is to observe, even if it means others' deaths. It's cold, but considering that he's lived for hundreds of years, exposed to violence and cruelty since he gained sentience, it's hardly a surprise that he deals with it without too many problems. All in all, it's also no surprise that he's developed a jaded view of humanity. Well, arguably cynical, arguably just objective, but either way, he's far from idealistic.
This isn't to say that he's necessarily a cruel person altogether, though. He by no means approves of the horrible things people have done (and it can possibly be said that his and the others' taunting to the criminals is their way of showing their contempt). In fact, he does have a strong sense of right and wrong, and inwardly, he sides with the former. Even during his time in the form of a katana, he's never liked the needless killing and pain that humans inflict upon each other. And while his opinion of humans is far from the most positive, he does seem to hold some sincere compassion for them, as stated. It's not uncommon for him to be seen supporting or comforting someone, or at least showing sympathy for when things hit the despair event horizon, as he's not forbidden from that. His passive stance is because of his job, not because he's heartless.
Back when he first met Ai, she stated that he was searching for something. While it's never explicitly stated what he was seeking, there are two likely options, and either form a part of who he is. First, his desire to understand humanity. While his job means that he doesn't play an active role in things, that doesn't mean he has no attachment to the things he witnesses. He's curious about people and what makes them tick. After all, he isn't human and never was. He had no semblance of a childhood to instill into him any understanding of the world, unless you count 'killing countless people without a voice' an acceptable childhood. As a result, he is occasionally puzzled by the things people do or the bonds they form, occasionally going off on his own to investigate further. Even after watching people for hundreds of years, he doesn't entirely understand their quirks and idiosyncrasies.
The other option as to what he was seeking could be companionship. For longer than he can likely recall, he was alone. A katana has owners, but no friends. It's an empty life to lead, merely killing others over and over again, unable to say anything. And so, although he doesn't form attachments easily, he's close to the few connections he does have-i.e. Ai and her assistants. In fact, he considers them to be kazoku-family-with the context implying that that's a step up above even nakama. If he's sincerely himself with anyone, it's with them. While he has his moments where he's closed off even from them, it's at least clear, in that he doesn't put up acts around them. In all honesty, they're what make life worth living for him, and his rare moments of strong emotion are generally reserved for them/their behalf. And, like with all her other assistants, he is indebted to Ai for rescuing him from a desolate life. Despite the focus on his job, it's not his job or even the Lord of Hell that he's especially loyal to-it's her. For her sake, he wouldn't hesitate to go against said Lord of Hell, which is no small feat.
Overall, Ren seems like your typical amiable guy, but there's more to him than meets the eye (pun unintended). Good luck getting him to admit it, though.
[ Strengths/Weaknesses ] :
Note that he probably has a few more abilities, but it's difficult to make out what's his own power and what's part of Ai's reality warping, so for the sake of simplicitly, I'm only listing the ones that he for sure has and/or are applicable to Vatheon.
Firstly, physically. Ren possesses abnormal agility and speed (compared to a human, that is). This, combined with his ability to teleport at will, makes getting around, dodging attacks, etc. quite easy. It can probably be assumed that, as he's a supernatural being, he possesses some degree of invulnerability or regeneration, as he never actually seems to be injured. As a spirit, it'd be very difficult to kill him, at least (if not impossible in canon through human means).
He also has the ability to 'create misconceptions' regarding himself, as it's put. In other words, people don't realize that he is, at the same time, their teacher, doctor, policeman, employee, etc. without him even needing to change his appearance because of said misconceptions. Even outright retconning himself from their memory is possible, though usually not needed. However, it's possible to be immune to this (though not randomly).
As well as that, he can transform in a blue straw doll and back.
What makes Ren distinct from his fellow assistants who share these abilities, though, is his ability to watch. Specifically, he can cast a giant eye on any surface, be it a ceiling, wall, or even someone's body. With it, he can spy on others-and while you'd think that a giant eye wouldn't exactly be inconspicuous, it seems he can make it visible or invisible to others at will. He can also use it to radiate blinding light.
There's more to him than just fighting and spying, however. Firstly, he seems to possess a rather strong memory, capable of remembering deals and recognizing faces from several years ago without trouble. He's also a talented actor and liar. It's part of his job description, even-to be able to blend in with whatever situation. On top of that, he's rather strong emotionally as well. After all that he's witnessed over the past hundreds of years, not much affects him deeply anymore. Traumatizing him or the like would be just about impossible, frankly. His many, many experiences also mean that he's good at not letting his emotions get the best of him (in most cases), allowing him to see things from a more objective viewpoint.
That being said, on the flip side, he also doesn't understand humans as well as you might expect, as mentioned. He's seen all sorts of twisted mindsets, but he himself has difficulty truly empathizing with them or gaining a deeper understanding outside of what he's already learned. Additionally, while he's be able to defeat ordinary humans without difficulty, he's not necessarily invincible. It's possible to knock him out or cancel out his powers. For that matter, his own abilities don't seem especially combat-oriented, or at least on the offensive side. Not to mention that he generally tries to keep up the image of a normal human being, so although he's no pushover even when pretending, he's not likely to abuse his powers.
[ Other Important Facts ] :
Again, he's a tsukumogami-a katana, to be exact. As he's technically a spirit, he doesn't age, need to eat, get sick, etc.
[ Character's Age ] : Looks to be in his 20s; actual age is at least a couple hundred years.
[ Series ] : Jigoku Shoujo
[ Canon Point ] : Post-Futakomori
[ History ] :
Imagine a katana that's been used in countless battles.
Imagine a blue straw doll that holds someone's fate.
Imagine your average (albeit good-looking) guy-the kind who socializes with his colleagues amiably, but usually doesn't quite stick out-working multiple jobs.
Imagine someone who's one of three assistants to a girl who ferries people to Hell.
Now imagine that these are all the same being. Namely, one Ichimoku Ren.
He started off as a katana. To be specific, he became a tsukumogami-i.e. an object that gained sentience after its 100th birthday. In his case, as stated, he is the spirit of a katana. If you were to ask him how many owners he's had or how many people he's slain, he wouldn't be able to tell you, as he doesn't even remember himself. All he knows is that, for a long time, he could do nothing but watch as he drew more and more blood-until one day, his final owner was slain and he was left abandoned. As one can imagine, his future seemed bleak after that. It'd be a rather boring existence, to be able to do nothing but watch, and watch, and watch.
Fortunately, it didn't come down to that. Enma Ai, the Jigoku Shoujo, came across him and invited him to come along with her. In return, she freed him and gave him a human form. It can be assumed that after this, he took on the name 'Ichimoku Ren'. Either way, from that point on, he became a part of the Hell Correspondence.
The world is full of hatred and grudges-and so, Hell Correspondence deals with that. While the methods have changed throughout the years-never let it be said that they don't keep up with the times-the basic idea always remains the same. Write down the name of someone you wish to send to Hell, and you will meet with Jigoku Shoujo. She will then give you a straw doll; one of her assistants transformed. Should you pull the red string tied around the doll, you will enter a contract with her. The person will be sent to Hell, but as payment, the client will also go to Hell after they die. If the target actually wronged someone (no, actually deserving to go to Hell isn't a requirement to be a target), Ren and co. typically, for a lack of a better word, mindrape/mindscrew the person before Ai sends them to Hell. Altogether, the morality of this can be called into question, as they're not picky about whether the deal is justified or not. For Ai, and by association her assistants, there are strict rules she must follow, set down by the Lord of Hell. Needless to say, disobeying them isn't exactly the wisest idea, for the sake of self-preservation.
In the modern day, Hell Correspondence is accessed through a website. The job of Ren and his fellow assistants, Wanyuudou and Hone Onna, is to investigate the situation, regarding both the (sometimes only potential) client and target. They do this in a variety of ways. Taking a part-time job that'll allow them to blend themselves in with ease is often a part of it, but Ren's own abilities, which allow him to spy on others easily, also come in handy for this. Generally, a mixture of both is used. In the former case, Ren often goes by the aliases of 'Moku' or 'Ishimoto Ren'.
Overall, the series itself follows a mostly episodic format. The first season deals with Ai's past, as she tries to kill the descendants-a reporter and his daughter-of the boy who betrayed her when she was a mortal. Ren, Hone Onna, and Wanyuudo attempt to stop her, as her punishment for such an action would be being sent to Hell, but they're no match for her. Ultimately, though, things resolve themselves through said descendants, and Ai chooses to leave them alone.
While things appear to return to normal, Ai's feelings towards her past are brought up again in the second season, several years later. The group encounters a boy whose situation mirrors her own, to some extent. To save his life, Ai decides not to send him to Hell, blatantly disobeying the rules set upon her. Consequently, she is made mortal, losing her memories of her assistants, and ultimately killed by the townspeople while trying to protect the boy. Realizing that this is the path she chose for herself, Ren and the others force themselves to not intervene, instead watching as their mistress is beaten to death.
Afterwards, the three decide to stay in the human world, before parting ways.
[ Personality ] :
If you were to meet Ren on the street, this is who he would be:
He's a friendly guy, simply put. Cheerful, charismatic, and laidback for the most part too. If you were to pick a jokester between him and his associates, he would probably come to mind. He's not quite a clown, but he's not above being somewhat silly at times. In Wanyuudou's words, he can be "a complete idiot" during those moments, though far from as bad as the usual example. He can a bit nosy on occasion, but overall? He's kind of nondescript. The most he's got going for him are his good looks, which he's not above being vain about or using to his advantage, but really, he doesn't stand out too much. Just your standard amiable guy, to be honest.
-At least, that's what he wants you to think. If you were to meet Ren and force him to be honest, this is who he would be:
First of all, that's not to say he isn't friendly. He's capable of showing mild irritation just as often as everyone else, but again, for the most part, he is affable, if not fairly nonchalant. His posture alone is the picture definition of casual, even. This wouldn't be questionable if he led a normal life. However, what he and the others actually do couldn't be called normal under any circumstances, making his attitude seem somewhat callous. He's friendly and cheerful during his day job; he's the same when he's busy screwing with your head and taunting you over the horrible things you've done. He's not above making comments that undermine the seriousness of the situation, even being reprimanded for it at least once. When I said that he's 'fairly nonchalant', what wasn't mentioned that he's scarily so underneath his personable exterior. It's part of what allows him to be so flexible in his personality, lying smoothly and acting the part of whatever role he needs to. He does hold some genuine compassion for his human acquaintances, but when you get down to it, he wouldn't call any of them friends. Once the job's done with, he moves on and leaves them behind-a connection that was never really formed.
It's also this nonchalance that allows him to deal with all the horrors that come with working for Ai. For the past few hundred years, he's dealt with the worst sides of humanity, both in terms of the clients and targets-and everything that comes in between. Not all who gets sent to Hell because of them have sinned, but he's accepted that. He doesn't see what they do as a form of justice. It's simply their job. If that means sending an innocent person to Hell, then so be it. He's not completely uncaring about this, but he's not particularly concerned either by this point. In the end, each time an innocent person is condemned, it's all just another job done for him, as it is to the others as well. After all, there are rules forbidding him from interfering with the contracts, meaning his ultimate role is to observe, even if it means others' deaths. It's cold, but considering that he's lived for hundreds of years, exposed to violence and cruelty since he gained sentience, it's hardly a surprise that he deals with it without too many problems. All in all, it's also no surprise that he's developed a jaded view of humanity. Well, arguably cynical, arguably just objective, but either way, he's far from idealistic.
This isn't to say that he's necessarily a cruel person altogether, though. He by no means approves of the horrible things people have done (and it can possibly be said that his and the others' taunting to the criminals is their way of showing their contempt). In fact, he does have a strong sense of right and wrong, and inwardly, he sides with the former. Even during his time in the form of a katana, he's never liked the needless killing and pain that humans inflict upon each other. And while his opinion of humans is far from the most positive, he does seem to hold some sincere compassion for them, as stated. It's not uncommon for him to be seen supporting or comforting someone, or at least showing sympathy for when things hit the despair event horizon, as he's not forbidden from that. His passive stance is because of his job, not because he's heartless.
Back when he first met Ai, she stated that he was searching for something. While it's never explicitly stated what he was seeking, there are two likely options, and either form a part of who he is. First, his desire to understand humanity. While his job means that he doesn't play an active role in things, that doesn't mean he has no attachment to the things he witnesses. He's curious about people and what makes them tick. After all, he isn't human and never was. He had no semblance of a childhood to instill into him any understanding of the world, unless you count 'killing countless people without a voice' an acceptable childhood. As a result, he is occasionally puzzled by the things people do or the bonds they form, occasionally going off on his own to investigate further. Even after watching people for hundreds of years, he doesn't entirely understand their quirks and idiosyncrasies.
The other option as to what he was seeking could be companionship. For longer than he can likely recall, he was alone. A katana has owners, but no friends. It's an empty life to lead, merely killing others over and over again, unable to say anything. And so, although he doesn't form attachments easily, he's close to the few connections he does have-i.e. Ai and her assistants. In fact, he considers them to be kazoku-family-with the context implying that that's a step up above even nakama. If he's sincerely himself with anyone, it's with them. While he has his moments where he's closed off even from them, it's at least clear, in that he doesn't put up acts around them. In all honesty, they're what make life worth living for him, and his rare moments of strong emotion are generally reserved for them/their behalf. And, like with all her other assistants, he is indebted to Ai for rescuing him from a desolate life. Despite the focus on his job, it's not his job or even the Lord of Hell that he's especially loyal to-it's her. For her sake, he wouldn't hesitate to go against said Lord of Hell, which is no small feat.
Overall, Ren seems like your typical amiable guy, but there's more to him than meets the eye (pun unintended). Good luck getting him to admit it, though.
[ Strengths/Weaknesses ] :
Note that he probably has a few more abilities, but it's difficult to make out what's his own power and what's part of Ai's reality warping, so for the sake of simplicitly, I'm only listing the ones that he for sure has and/or are applicable to Vatheon.
Firstly, physically. Ren possesses abnormal agility and speed (compared to a human, that is). This, combined with his ability to teleport at will, makes getting around, dodging attacks, etc. quite easy. It can probably be assumed that, as he's a supernatural being, he possesses some degree of invulnerability or regeneration, as he never actually seems to be injured. As a spirit, it'd be very difficult to kill him, at least (if not impossible in canon through human means).
He also has the ability to 'create misconceptions' regarding himself, as it's put. In other words, people don't realize that he is, at the same time, their teacher, doctor, policeman, employee, etc. without him even needing to change his appearance because of said misconceptions. Even outright retconning himself from their memory is possible, though usually not needed. However, it's possible to be immune to this (though not randomly).
As well as that, he can transform in a blue straw doll and back.
What makes Ren distinct from his fellow assistants who share these abilities, though, is his ability to watch. Specifically, he can cast a giant eye on any surface, be it a ceiling, wall, or even someone's body. With it, he can spy on others-and while you'd think that a giant eye wouldn't exactly be inconspicuous, it seems he can make it visible or invisible to others at will. He can also use it to radiate blinding light.
There's more to him than just fighting and spying, however. Firstly, he seems to possess a rather strong memory, capable of remembering deals and recognizing faces from several years ago without trouble. He's also a talented actor and liar. It's part of his job description, even-to be able to blend in with whatever situation. On top of that, he's rather strong emotionally as well. After all that he's witnessed over the past hundreds of years, not much affects him deeply anymore. Traumatizing him or the like would be just about impossible, frankly. His many, many experiences also mean that he's good at not letting his emotions get the best of him (in most cases), allowing him to see things from a more objective viewpoint.
That being said, on the flip side, he also doesn't understand humans as well as you might expect, as mentioned. He's seen all sorts of twisted mindsets, but he himself has difficulty truly empathizing with them or gaining a deeper understanding outside of what he's already learned. Additionally, while he's be able to defeat ordinary humans without difficulty, he's not necessarily invincible. It's possible to knock him out or cancel out his powers. For that matter, his own abilities don't seem especially combat-oriented, or at least on the offensive side. Not to mention that he generally tries to keep up the image of a normal human being, so although he's no pushover even when pretending, he's not likely to abuse his powers.
[ Other Important Facts ] :
Again, he's a tsukumogami-a katana, to be exact. As he's technically a spirit, he doesn't age, need to eat, get sick, etc.