IttoSara

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“Oh, but, General. If you join the Arataki Gang now, I can show you what dreams are made of.”

— Itto to Sara during his official character demo

IttoSara is the het ship between Arataki Itto and Kujou Sara from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon

Childhood

Itto and Sara share similar childhoods, as they were both orphaned at a very young age and were forced to raise themselves on their own.

It is revealed in Itto's Character Story that the two fights that he will never forget both involve a tengu as his opponent. The first happened in his childhood, where the two engaged in a sumo wrestling match atop Byakko Plain. The duel resulted in the pair tumbling down the mountain, injuring Itto and rendering him immobile. The aforementioned young tengu carried him back to town, where he was able to receive treatment for his injuries. The other battle was the time he lost to Sara, when his Vision was confiscated. It is heavily implied that the tengu from his childhood is Sara herself, but because she was mentioned to have looked more like a boy in her youth due to her haircut, he does not suspect them to be one and the same.

During the Revolution

Itto's Vision was confiscated by Sara after he was defeated by her when the Vision Hunt Decree was put into effect, and has since been determined to have a rematch with her. He as a result, proclaims his intent to duel with her by vandalizing the local bulletin boards, much to the tengu general's annoyance, as she sees no need for one.

When the player speaks to Uesugi of the Tenryou Commission, he talks about Itto and his plan to "take revenge" on Sara. After seeing how he was serious about the rematch and how his fighting spirit was commendable, Sara agrees and decides to pick another day for the duel. Uesugi continues, stating how Itto insisted that, due to some weird Oni rules, the rematch must be a sumo showdown on the crossroads. However, the duel never happened as Itto was dragged away by a masked woman before they could begin.

Through messages left on the Ritou Bulletin Board, Itto calls Sara "Kujou Tengu" and tells her to "stop harassing outlanders all the time." He notifies her to not forget the beating that she gave to him, telling her that she cannot escape their rematch. Sara replies to him, asking him to stop vandalizing the bulletin boards, saying that she will grant his wish of a rematch once the war is over. She tells him to knock if off, and threatens that she would've already sued for harassment if she wasn't an officer of the Kujou Clan.

On the Ritou Harbor Bulletin Board, Itto asks Sara if she ran away again, thinking that she must've fled in the night after hearing his name. He asks her if his name is "scarier than the battlefield", but says that it's fine either way, as he'll wait for her return in the harbor regardless. He tells her to not dare die on the battlefield as she still owes him a rematch. Sara replies to his messages, hoping to make him stop and asking if he's done yet. She says if his message was some kind of blessing before she sets out for war, then she shall gladly accept it. She then reminds the "idiotic Crimson Oni" to not get himself killed, either.

On the Inazuma Commercial Street Bulletin Board, Itto tells Sara to stop hiding, and to "crawl out of whatever hole she's in" to fight him fair and square. Someone, who wasn’t Sara, replies on his messages, saying that Sara promises that she has nothing to do with Itto, and that she will handle these messages immediately.

On the Hanamizaka Bulletin Board, Itto comes back, asking Sara of her whereabouts, saying that he will never forget that she confiscated his vision away. He says that as long he breathes, he will still keep coming to her, and reminds her to not forget that. Someone replies to Itto's messages, saying the same thing as before, advising anyone who reads these messages to not worry as they said that Sara has nothing to do with Itto.

Miscellaneous

In Yoimiya's Story 4, it is stated that the handmade knicknacks she makes are not just popular with the children, but are just as well-loved by adults as well, citing Itto as a prominent example. It is then stated that Itto occasionally comes over to buy some of her handiwork to bring as offerings to "his self-declared nemesis" in hopes of instigating the long awaited rematch she promised him. Interesting enough, Sara has shown to have taken a liking to such trinkets, specifically a spinning top, after receiving one as a gift from a vendor in Hanamizaka.

In his official character demo, Sara confronts him in a flashback to when the Vision Hunt Decree was active, demanding that he surrender his Vision. Itto responds with an invite to join his gang, telling her if she accepts, he can "show her what dreams are made of." After the Vision Hunt Decree was over, Itto goes to the Statue of the Omnipresent God in order to get back his Vision, only to find it at the very bottom, under the pedestal, which greatly enrages him as he believes that it should have been at the top of the statue due to his strength. It is highly possible that Sara purposely placed it there to tease him.

It is also worth noting that, while Itto has invited Sara to join the Arataki Gang right before their duel for his Vision, Itto's take on his gang is that they're "proud to welcome people who've experienced adversity in their lives," who highly discourage fellow members from taking insults geared towards them as "freaks" or "weirdos" to heart. And, how "every member of [the gang] is like family [to him]", with them also sharing the same sentiment. His closing statement being that "whatever happens, both the highs and the lows, the gang will face it together". This is befitting since, from an early age, Sara was conditioned to think her Tengu heritage makes her no better than a "freak" by her surrogate father, thus isolating the young tengu from her peers. This implies that Itto has somehow witnessed her father's prejudice against her firsthand, or may know of prejudice against tengu by humans.

In Sara's "Good Evening" voiceline, she mentions how she adores the sight of the sakura petals at night specifically in Hanamizaka, which is notably Itto's hometown. While Itto's "Good Afternoon" voiceline has him mention the Tenryou Commission (which Sara is in charge of) as a possible hang out spot before immediately taking it back for an unspecified reason.

In Sara's voiceline about Itto, she describes him as "the noisiest person she has ever met" before quickly correcting herself, saying that he's the noisest oni, instead. Implying that she knows about another oni. Though, this was before the introduction of Takuya, which only has Itto as the last known living oni (part oni, in his case). This means she could be indirectly referring to a younger Itto whom she may have also not be aware to be the same person she had a duel with in her youth, making the two share the same circumstances of remembering having dueled with an oni/tengu respectively, but not piecing together that their current rival is one and the same.

In Miko's voiceline about Itto, she reveals that she is the one responsible for his and Sara's bulletin board exchanges to still be left in tact, as she finds their banter quite amusing. Confessing how she made sure the Tenryou Commission not dare remove any of the oni and tengu's exchanges with one another throughout the bulletin boards of Inazuma.

The pair's Special Dishes also compliment each other, with Sara's "Faith Eternal" sweet egg roll befitting Itto's love for sweets while Itto's "Way of the Strong" mixed yakisoba bun fits the description of Sara's preferred "quick-filled meal."

When the player asks Riku, a child NPC next to the Teleport Waypoint of the Narukami Grand Shrine, "What are you doing?" he describes observing what the other characters have wished for. His last line describes that of "a big bro wishing for the Kujou Clan to be prosperous." This could be referring to Itto.

It is also pointed out by fans how Miko's voiceline about Sara not being the brightest tengu she knows parallels that of Paimon's voiceline on Itto not being the brightest oni during his Story Quest.

During the "Almighty Arataki Great & Glorious Drumalong" event, it was revealed that Sara had been invited to the festival, albeit hesitantly. Regarding her overall rejection of attendance, she instead posted at the Amakane Island bulletin board an advisory for any visitors attending the festival. In typical Itto fashion, he declared that he was going to "defeat her fair and square" for what he considered to be blatant bullying of the gang and its festival.

In the last segment (titled Dream of Scattered Petals) of the official Genshin Impact EP: Hanamizaka's Aspiration, Sara can be seen on her way to approach Itto who is admiring the falling sakura petals by the Statue of The Omnipresent God.

In 6:27 of the official "General Gorou and Sister Miko's Inazuma Tour Guide" video, Sara is seen facepalming at Itto trying to look good in front of her and her soldiers.

During Kuki Shinobu's Hangout Event, Itto expresses how the Arataki Gang has a more relaxed "working" environment compared to the military Sara works for. Saying how he's never seen her smile before and "always has the same sour look on her face" while showing concern on his own. Interestingly enough, this hangout event is also the only time in the game wherein Sara is later seen smiling.

In the official Collected Miscellany - "Kuki Shinobu: Dispelling Disaster" video, Itto is seen attempting to square off with Sara, who remains calm. It is also revealed that it was because of a throwaway comment Sara made about Itto that led to Shinobu joining the latter's gang, much to the general's dismay.

During the event "Iridescent Arataki Rockin' for Life Tour de Force of Awesomeness" quest titled "This Ain't Your Daddy's Iridescent Tour…", Kuki mentions how she was told by Itto to prioritize giving invitations to the Tenryou Commission - specifically, to Kujou Sara and Heizou. To which Heizou adds how Itto's invitation also requested Sara to "go totally nuts and have a super rock n' roll sumo wrestling match" together. But, was instead met with rejection alongside a basket of Lavender Melon as "a gift".

In the closing quest, "...It's the Iridescent Arataki Rockin' for Life Tour de Force of Awesomeness!", Paimon tells Itto to stop bothering Kujou before he "gives her a migraine", with Itto agreeing, saying how he is afraid if he bothered Sara too much he might end up getting struck by thunder. And, instead, opted to "throwing paper notes outside Tenshukaku" in hopes of Sara getting the message. Later on, Ei herself shows up and reveals she got an invitation via Sara.

While everyone gathers to hear Itto take the stage front and center, with his opening line being "Raven, took an arrow to the heart."

Quotes

Main article: IttoSara/Quotes

Fanon

Fans have taken note of Sara and Itto's dynamic ever since Inazuma has been released, although the ship only started to gain traction after more information spread about Itto and especially after his design was revealed. People enjoy the rivalry aspect of their relationship, as well as the trope of the loud, active character shipped with the disciplined, analytical character. It is the rival ship of KokoSara, IttoGorou, Ittomiya, and EiSara, and currently has over 540 works in Archive of Our Own.

A lot of fanart pokes fun at their relationship, featuring Itto demanding Sara's attention or being overly affectionate while Sara being annoyed but unadmittedly liking it, as well as several works that have the tengu and oni in their younger years post-duel in Byakko Plains or simply having a younger Sara tend to a younger Itto after the two are bruised and battered as a result of their match. Another trope that can often be observed in fanworks of them is Sara being the dominant "girlboss" partner in the ship that has to keep the more active "malewife", Itto, in check.

At the time where the ship had only started gaining traction, has already been in the spot of controversy. Where some people have claimed their relationship is "unhealthy" due to Itto harrassing Sara, but many disagree with this perspective as Sara is a perfectly capable woman who would not allow such a thing to happen if ever this were true and could easily defend herself when the time comes.

A possible explanation as to why he's the one and only Vision holder to not have lost his ambition after getting his confiscated was that he immediately gained his new ambition in wanting to have a rematch with Sara the moment she confiscated it from him, thus, him still appearing to not have lost his fighting spirit.

It is also heavily implied that Itto and Sara are the descendants of Iwakura Doukei the Oni fighter and Teruyo the Tengu warrior, rival-lovers who fought their last battle on Byakko Plain, instigated by Teruyo herself. After being bested by Doukei in battle, she tells him that she is afraid she must continue on with her duties, thus, telling him to kindly forget about her before bidding him farewell forever.

The alternate thought to Sara putting his Vision at the very bottom of the Statue of the Omnipresent God was that, in addition to teasing him with it, she put it there on purpose so he would have an easier time accessing it, knowing full well that his Vision is very precious to him.

Because of Itto's love for sweets (especially for lollipops), a popular headcanon amongst fans is that he would offer Sara a lollipop in hopes of relieving her stress, as she has stated in her "Least Favorite Food" voiceline that she dislikes sweets as they have a tendency to "make her unwind" which she deems as "slacking off".

Another popular headcanon from fans is how Itto will inevitably enter his rumoured "berserk mode" if ever he sees Sara heavily injured, losing all thought and reason due to going into his feral overprotective mode over the fallen general. As well as Itto only resorting to calling her by her actual first name (in distress) if ever she is permanently defeated during the war.

Another quite popular headcanon has fans believing that Itto carried an unconscious Sara back to town after getting knocked out by La Signora, a parallel to how a tengu (heavily implied to be a young Sara) carried a young Itto back to town after their duel and tumble down Byakko Plain. And because the two both use La Signora's Ashen Heart boss drops as ascension materials, it is also a point of interest for shippers to see the two tag team against the Harbinger, had the Mondstadter not succumb to her fate in the aftermath of her confrontation against the Raiden Shogun.

Because of what she reveals about herself, it is theorized that, as a result, Sara is terribly touch-starved. And because of this, it is highly accepted by the fanbase that Itto would undoubtedly shower her with physical affection without hesitation.

As a result of the two both having yokai blood in their veins, another highly accepted headcanon is how the two secretly admire each other's yokai traits, notably Itto's horns and Sara's wings (which she always keeps under wraps, literally). It is also worth noting that Itto's attitude towards Sara contradicts that of the typical oni known in folklore as being "usually only interested in their own affairs," since he constantly goes out of his way to try and get Sara's attention.

It is also highly speculated by the fandom that, during their childhood, they were each other's only friend due to Sara's strict upbringing and training, and Itto being an outcast for being rambunctious and scarier than the other kids, on top of being part oni.

An AU that has started gaining traction amongst the ship's supporters is how Sara and Itto can theoretically stand in as Razor's biological parents, considering the more than handful similarities the boy raised by wolves has with the two Inazumans, with the only issue being the couple's age gap with the estranged Mondstadter. Wherein a more in-depth analysis is made by Tumblr user ohmygodtheywereparabatai on a blog post.

After Kuki Shinobu and Shikanoin Heizou's character reveals, the ship between the two (in both platonic and romantic sense), ShinZou, is often seen in fan art together with IttoSara, as the former is the deputy leader of The Arataki Gang, and the latter is Kujou Sara's subordinate. As a result, making the fandom classify the two as their bosses' wingmen for each other.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Itto/Sara tag on AO3

Arataki Itto & Kujou Sara tag on AO3

FAN ART

IttoSara tag on Pixiv

DISCORD

Ittosara's Duel on Discord

Ittosara Honmaru on Discord

INSTAGRAM

IttoSara Memes: @daily.ittosara

IttoSara Memes & Fan Art: @dailysaraitto

TWITTER

IttoSara posts on Twitter

荒九 posts on Twitter

いとさら posts on Twitter

いとさらの日 posts on Twitter

Daily IttoSara: @onitenguday

Daily IttoSara: @ittosarasource

Incorrect IttoSara Quotes: @incrctittosara

IttoSara Week 2022: @ittosaraweek22

Trivia

• Yang Menglu (Sara's CN voice actor) reposted an IttoSara edit on her Weibo.
  • Liu Zhaokun (Itto's CN voice actor) has also acknowledged the IttoSara edit by retweeting Menglu's post of it on his personal Weibo.
• Itto, a five-star character was bested by Sara, a four-star character during their battle for his Vision.
  • Additionally, Sara's favorite number is five.
• They both have non-human blood, with Itto having oni blood running through his veins, while Sara having that of a tengu's.
  • They are both also the last of their respective yokai species before Takuya's introduction as being a fellow oni.
  • A parallel between the two is how Itto proudly displays his oni heritage whereas Sara was peer-pressured into hiding her tengu heritage as a result of her father's tutelage.
• People who have lost their Visions are noted to lose their ambitions , some of their memories, and even become apathetic in life. But, Itto instead declared a rematch with Sara and never stopped pursuing her for it even after his Vision was taken away.
• Itto is slightly more childish in the Chinese version, calling Sara stinky tengu (臭天狗) and bastard tengu (混蛋天狗) in the Inazuma Commercial Street Bulletin Board and Ritou Harbor Bulletin Board respectively.
• In one of her Serenitea Pot voicelines, Sara tells the Traveler that a "Red-Horned Lizard" would be a nice pet. With Itto notably possessing red horns.
• They both use Elegance Scrolls as well as La Signora's Ashen Heart from her weekly boss rewards to ascend their talent skills.
• Both Itto and Sara grew up as orphans who were forced to learn how to take care of themselves as a result, becoming well known for their respective strengths at an early age. Thus, resulting to Itto becoming the founder and head of his clan, and for Sara to be taken in by her foster father from the Kujou Military before shortly being promoted to becoming their general.
  • Another similarity would be the fact that both were orphaned yokai who were taken in by human surrogate guardians. Granny Oni for Itto, and Kujou Takayuki for Sara.
  • Whereas a parallel between the two is how, despite having a literal collar and spiky cuffs, Itto has all the freedom in the world whereas Sara, the one between the two to have wings (usually symbolizing freedom), has little to no freedom thanks to how she was brought up, alongside her blind loyalty to the Shogun.
• Byakko Plain, the location where a young Itto had a sumo wrestling match with what's heavily implied to be a young Sara at the time, is the same location wherein the rival-lovers Iwakura and Teruyo fought their last battle from five hundred years prior to the events of the game, as well as where the match for Itto's Vision was held between him and Sara.
  • Byakko Plain's Expedition description reads: " They say that wild foxes will not appear before a traveler with whom their fates are not intertwined twice. A bushy tail disappearing across the horizon is the sign of a final farewell." This coincides with the three instances wherein Byakko Plain was a key location.
  • Whereas a notable parallel between Iwakura and Teruyo, and Itto and Sara were how the two pairs have opposite personalities. With Teruyo being playful and Iwakura being more tame, as opposed to Itto's hyperactiveness that contrasts Sara's more serious nature.
• Itto's line when he invites Sara to join the Arataki Gang, "I can show you what dreams are made of." can translate to "dreaming of one's future together" or "you will be seeing butterflies (if you join my gang)" when the word "dream" is used in this context in Korean, with "seeing butterflies" also meaning "to invite to eat ramen together". While in Japanese, "dream" when used in this context can mean "I can show you what ecstacy feels like." or "I can show you what it feels to be addicted."
  • Interesting enough, the official Chinese dub of Itto's demo has him tell Sara "I've yet to make you have sweet dreams." after inviting her to join the Arataki Gang.
• In the second part of their Ritou Bulletin Board exchange, Itto asks if Sara "lost a fight and is now crying in some corner", followed by him saying he "has no time for her moping" and that she owed him a duel. While in the original Chinese dub, he instead says "I don't have the time to care about you!" written using "心思" (literally meaning "heart" and "good intentions") just after his poor attempt at comforting her.
• In addition to the heavy implication of the pair being the descendants of Iwakura Doukei and Teruyo, Teruyo's line to Doukei, "I will never forget a single one of our duels in these past thirteen years," mirrors that of Itto and Sara's current situation of an indefinitely postponed rematch that follows the events of their initial battle for Itto's Vision.
  • During their thirteen years of sparring, Iwakura and Teruyo only ever fought ten times. This parallels how, when combined, Itto and Sara's names ("One" from "Itto" and "Nine" from "Kujou") add up to the number ten.
• One of the game's official Instagram ads has Sara being interviewed on her thoughts on Itto, with the caption being her voiceline about him in her character profile.
• On February 01, 2022, the official Twitter account of HoYoLAB reposted fan artist Soc Nau's piece with IttoSara and Jeanluc on one of their teams.
• Fan animator Gimnaeng's "Itto vs Kujou intense Sumo battle" animation is sponsored by miHoYo themselves.
• During the official HoYoFair on January 2022, IttoSara (alongside Ayamiya, Kokorou, KazuGorou, and EiMiko) make a handful of cameos throughout the livestream.
• The story between childhood friends turned enemies (on Keisuke's side), Imatani Keisuke and Sakujirou, parallels that of Itto and Sara's relationship. As Paimon even points out "Two best buddies in childhood…one grows up to join the Tenryou Commission, the other grows up to join the Tenryou Commission's most wanted list…". Though, Keisuke and Sakujirou eventually make up in the end, while Itto and Sara are, by no means, enemies.
• It is worth noting that Itto's Story Quest featured Crimson Cyclone (Paimon's large red Onikabuto) engaging in a beetle fight with Stripy Ghost (Daisuke's regular-sized purple Onikabuto), seemingly a nod to how Sara and Itto's complimentary color schemes are that of purple and red while also taking note of the two's height/size difference. Later on, near the end of the Story Quest, the two beetles in question are seen relaxing together with Granny Oni and Daisuke.
• Posters of Itto and Sara's official character art are put up together as advertisement for the game in the streets of Japan. The way they are put up side by side is reminiscent of the fan edit of the two holding hands.
• It should be noted that if the player skips the option to talk to Hirohiko and goes straight to Itto (who's by the small lone island beside Amakane Island) during The Almighty Arataki Great and Glorious Drumalong Festival quest, the dialogue option involving the latter's thoughts on Sara will not be available.
  • During 01:35:18 of Cory Yee's (Gorou's English VA) stream playthrough of the event, after picking the option to ask Itto about Sara and him responding with "Oh, that stupid tengu?", Yee comments "Oh, please. You love her."
• The title of segment wherein Sara appears in during the official Hanamizaka's Aspirations EP, Dream of Scattered Petals, alludes to the falling sakura petals that are present during the sequence. Wherein falling sakura petals often signify the visible sign of spring, the beauty of nature, renewal of life, and first love. But, it can also represent the transiency and fragility of beauty, life (especially a samurai's life), and love.
  • Interestingly, the segment translates to "The Passions of Hanamizaka's Hero" in the official Spanish version.
• Both Itto and Sara appear in Heizou and Shinobu's separate hangouts, albeit not coming into contact with each other.
• IttoSara, alongside EiMiko, Kazuyaka, and Kokorou, appear side by side during the Genshin Impact x Sweets Paradise (Inazuma) collab promo (including its merchandise).
• During the 3.3 web event, Paimon's Starlight Expedition, Itto's page has a Dendrobium as a sticker, with Dendrobiums being one of Sara's ascension materials.
• During the 4.6 event, the spotlights from the stage interestingly only shows in three colors, white, purple, and yellow - of which are all part of both Itto and Sara's color schemes.
  • Also during the 4.6 event, while Itto mentions him and Sara's relationship as "always ribbing each other, but it comes from a place of deep mutual respect", in the CN text, their relationship was instead described by Itto as "交情过命", which means they are "close friends who would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for each other", otherwise known as "a unique and close friendship where both parties would die for each other".

Gallery

Main article: IttoSara/Gallery