IttoSara

2

“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.

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 200 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.

Quotes

Character Voicelines

“Tsk... I can't help but get a little irate when his name comes up. He kicked up a big fuss when I confiscated his Vision, by far the noisiest person... no, the noisiest oni I've ever encountered. He showed he was enough of a man to admit defeat, but the rematch he insisted upon... Tsk. To this day, I still don't want to talk about it. If you really must know, you can go and ask him yourself.”

— Sara's voiceline "About: Arataki Itto"

“You know what? Yeah, she beat me during the Vision Hunt Decree. I'm not ashamed to admit it! When you lose, you admit defeat, and when you screw up, you take it on the chin, like a man! And anyway, let's not forget which one of us won't agree to a rematch — her, the tengu warrior! It's just a sumo street fight, I mean, what's she so afraid of? If she keeps snubbing me, I'm gonna have to stop calling her Kujou Tengu and start calling her Kujou Chicken! Heh, we'll see what she thinks of that.”

— Itto's voiceline "About: Kujou Sara"

“Ah, the oddball oni. Heh, I hear that he's been quite a pain for the Kujou Clan. The Tenryou Commission wanted to remove his messages on the bulletin boards, claiming that they were "harmful to public order." I made quite sure they stayed put, haha. He's an entertaining character…you don't often see oni like him in this day and age.”

— Yae Miko’s voiceline ”About: Arataki Itto"

Paimon – “Okay, he's not the sharpest horn on the oni…”

Yae Miko – “Not the sharpest tengu in the forest…she certainly didn't inherit the brilliant mind of Daddy Tengu, that's for sure.”

— Paimon and Yae's separate voicelines on the two

Bulletin Boards

“Tengu of the Kujou Clan, hear me! You'll pay for taking away my Vision! Don't you forget about our duel!”

— Itto to Sara, on the Uyuu Restaurant Bulletin Board

“Kujou Tengu, I've arrived at Ritou! Stop harrassing outlanders all the time and don't forget the beating that you gave me! You can't escape our rematch, you hear me?”

— Arataki "The Supreme" Itto, on the Ritou Bulletin Board

“Bet you lost a fight and can't show your face outside anymore, eh? Hope you're not crying in some corner with your bald wings wrapped around you or anything!...Come on, don't worry about it! You win some you lose some, am I right?”

— Arataki "Burning Passion for Battle" Itto, on the Ritou Bulletin Board

“Kujou Tengu, I'm still in Ritou! Did you flee again? ...You must've fled in the night after hearing my name, eh? Hahaha, is my name scarier than the battlefield? That's fine, I'll wait for your return here at the harbor!...Don't you dare die on the battlefield, Kujou Tengu! You still owe me a duel!”

— Arataki "The Oni Sumo King" Itto, on the Ritou Harbor Bulletin Board

“If this is some kind of blessing before I set out to war, then I will accept it. You don't get yourself killed either, you idiotic Crimson Oni.”

— Sara's response to Itto, on the Ritou Harbor Bulletin Board

“Ahahaha! Ever since I got my Vision back, I've been super motivated! Guess who's back? That's right, I'm back! C'mon, Kujou Tengu, I heard you went to hiding and had to flee all the way back there. I'm practically laughing myself silly over here, you know? Ahahahaha! I'll be waiting for you at the port just for an extra laugh, and don't forget about our duel!”

— Arataki "A Vision Returned" Itto, on the Ritou Harbor Bulletin Board

“Kujou Tengu, I am here again! Where are you? I will never forget that you took my Vision away! As long as I still breathe, I will keep coming for you!”

— Arataki "The First" Itto, on the Hanamizaka Bulletin Board

“Kujou Tengu! I think the entrance to Hanamizaka is a good spot for a sumo duel! Where are you?! Put all that military and governance stuff aside for a day and let's have a good match! Or did you leave your samurai honor on the battlefield where you dropped it?”

— Arataki "The Man" Itto, on the Hanamizaka Bulletin Board

“Kujou Tengu! I'm here on the Commercial Street, stop hiding and crawl out of whatever hole you're in and fight me fair and square! This one's for taking my Vision away, an eye for an eye!”

— Arataki "The Strongest" Itto, on the Inazuma Commercial Street Bulletin Board

Miscellaneous

“Nice of you to join us, General Kujou. Are you here to make me beg for mercy, too?”

— Itto to Sara in his official character demo

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

— Itto to Sara in his official character demo

“Regarding the various contests he has been in, there are two that still weigh on Itto's mind quite heavily. One of them is the rematch that he demanded of Kujou Sara, who defeated him and took his Vision as part of her duties in the Tenryou Commission. To this day, the Kujou has not agreed to the street corner sumo match, something that frustrates Itto to no end. The other incident happened many years ago when Itto was young. Then, he had gotten into an argument with a young tengu, the result of which was a sumo match in the Byakko Plain. Unexpectedly, the ensuing furor sent them both rolling down a mountain. In the end, it was the tengu who carried Itto, who could not walk after spraining his ankle, all the way home. Of course, the match went unsettled. Just his luck, Itto often thinks, that both such incidents had to do with tengu! Also, how on earth were these tengu all so strong despite looking so skinny?”

— Itto's unforgettable battles, Arataki Itto: Character Story 4

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Itto/Sara tag on AO3

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

DISCORD

Ittosara's Duel on Discord

Ittosara Honmaru on Discord

INSTAGRAM

IttoSara Memes: @daily.ittosara

IttoSara Memes & Fan Art: @dailysaraitto

PIXIV

IttoSara tag on Pixiv

Trivia

• Yang Menglu (Sara's CN voice actor) reposted an IttoSara edit on her Weibo.
  • Liu Zhaoku (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 Boardm 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.

Gallery

Canon

Mash-up edit of their official character artwork

Itto and Sara's namecard comparison

Official Instagram Ad

Battle for Itto's Vision (Arataki Itto Official Character Demo)

Fan Art

Art by MMLYNO

Art by n24385042

Art by Soc Nau; Fan art reposted by HoYoLAB on their Twitter

HoYoFair 2022 Livestream: IttoSara and KazuGorou having dinner together

HoYoFair 2022 Livestream: IttoSara, AyaMiya, Kokorou, and Eimiko watching the fireworks

HoYoFair 2022 Livestream: Lumine and Paimon tailing Itto and Sara under a Sakura tree

Yoimiya watching IttoSara bantering by the Sakura trees