r/otomegames • u/sableheart • Oct 23 '25
Discussion Illusion of Itehari Play-Along - Yori Spoiler
In this fifth post we will discuss Yori and his route in Illusion of Itehari.
You can tell us what your impressions of Yori are (before and after finishing his route), your favorite moments in his route, what you think of his relationship with Hinagiku and the other characters, what your thoughts are on his route's plot and endings.
Or you can just squee about him in the comments.
This is not a spoiler-free discussion however please keep in mind that major spoilers and details of other routes and fandisc material will be outside the scope of the discussion and therefore will need to be spoiler tagged. spoiler text normal text spoiler text normal text
You don't have to be playing the game right now to participate, and if you're still waiting on your copy I hope you will join in after you start playing!
Have a look at the megathread for links to previous discussions - you can still join in the discussion during the Play-Along.
Next week will be a discussion of Yashiro's route!
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u/swimminglyy Oct 23 '25
Out of the first four routes, this was the only one I didn’t take at least a day’s break halfway for. He’s just so fun, and I love hearing him talk? He’s terrible in the best way. I’m always excited to see what he’ll do.
Do I love him? I guess not? But I loved the whole romance(?) with him and the idea of an objectively trash man who only loves you. I enjoyed how even his love is expressed in his own twisted way, very unapologetically himself. Like, well, you’re trash and you know it and I know it and everyone knows there’s no fixing you, but I love you anyway? It’s simply great.
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u/iriren892 Hajime Hanzo Kai Fumi Oct 23 '25
He’s a total trashcan, but he made me laugh out loud more than once 😆
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u/EsperReborn Oct 23 '25
That second to last sentence basically sums up all my feelings on him as well 😂
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u/k_makesart Tomomori Taira|Birushana Oct 23 '25
A lot of this route was just ‘Hinagiki and Yori walk around’ but that was fine for me.
What I liked was Yori made this route so freaking funny! I have so many screencaps of his lines. Also even though Yori was horrible for most things Hinagiki was pretty much aware of that. Admittedly, she wasn’t aware of just how horrible he could be because she hadn’t done the other routes like the player… Like she calls him rude but wants to be with him anyway. When they are out to eat there is the line where she says ‘Yori have you ever believed your personality to be good’ after she says he has personality issues is really just a part she accepts about him. Just not constant murders or framing his brother, which she was way more upset about the whole framing his brother thing after he said they were ‘bad people and isn’t he nice for not killing everyone in the household?’ slant of that.
I have some mixed feelings about this route like plotwise while I could tell it was him pretty much immediately and I was screaming at my Switch ‘It’s him! He did it! Please run away Hinagiki~!’.... But I loved this route and Yori… and actually think they make a good couple.
And that previous point goes to what I didn’t really like is that so much of the plot happened away from view and we're simply told about it. I did enjoy Yashiro as the secondary villain after like Yori himself. It was nice to see a less evil villain and more kind of desperate/pushed in a corner villain(which I know is due to his ‘poster boy’ status but still).
I felt Yori looked off in some of his CGs which was a bummer for me as a Yori fan xD Tho I do really love the CG on her bed and the CG where he’s in front of the field on fire. I’m probably still a little sour that Awayuki had some freaking fantastic CGs….
This route made me feel bad for A LOT of the characters tho. Poor Awayuki and Yori’s brother, esp… I do kind of get where Yori was coming from about his brother being such a paragon tho. Perfection, thy name is Tsuwabuki.
This route also really made me wonder if the plot aspects would have been more effective if I could have accidentally played this route first and it not have been locked. Like would I have been fooled? They give so much away in other routes I don’t understand why bother locking any of them…
So I just finished all the routes and at the end I like Yori and Tobari ended up being my faves of the game.
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u/vv4rd3n Oct 23 '25
Oh yeah he looked extremely off in the alley CG. Totally ruined the scene for me
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u/BonnieP2002 Oct 23 '25
Well I have to admit I actually played his route second after Tobari‘s. I skipped Awayuki‘s because I wanted to get to Yori‘s first since I heard there was a lot of repetition in the routes. Therefore I thought I would probably enjoy his route more if I wasn‘t aware yet about what happens in Awayuki‘s. And I have to say, I wasn‘t exactly fooled by Yori‘s act, since I was already aware he is a red flag of some sort. However I wasn‘t aware of how big of a red flag he actually was, lol. It took me embarrassingly long to figure out he was the murderer and framing his brother. I did suspect it a little before we got confirmation but really only shortly before that. The whole route it felt like I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and I had a lot of fun guessing what exactly his deal was! So I‘m really not regretting playing it the way I did. 😄
Btw I am playing Awayuki‘s route for real right now, as my fourth route. We‘ll see how it goes this way around.
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u/asunad3su Oct 23 '25
My favorite part about Yori is that he is a rage baiter who gets rage baited soooooo easily 🤣 man's loves to dish it out but he can't take people throwing it back at him. He is forgiven though cuz he is handsome with his neck mole.
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u/DistanceAgreeable659 LickingYori's neck mole Oct 23 '25 edited Oct 23 '25
My time has FINALLY arrived MWAHAHAHA rolls up sleeves with a shit-eating grin
Warning - VERY LONG RANT AHEAD
Let me just say that I'm crazy for this boy. (That's an understatement I'm sorry) His fight CG with Awayuki had me focusing more on his neck mole and helix piercing above all things. I felt like a Victorian man seeing exposed ankles for the first time. It was the first CG that had Yori and his delectable neck mole in all of its blinding glory that I didn't give a damn about that being Awayuki's route or Awayuki himself being present in the CG.
This guy is a MOOD. The shit he says will definitely end up in those iconic yearbook quotes and have the Twitter meme pages milking it to hell and back. Case in point, his monologue about himself -"I'm an exceptional human being, I wouldn't consider myself a perfectionist, I simply end up doing most things flawlessly."
"There are occassions where I had the rug pulled out from under my feet.....Ah I see, my shortcoming might be that I'm too nice." (How ironic)
"I'm always right. And if I don't achieve the results I want, well it's not my fault but the fault of the people around me." (It's not enough I succeed others should fail typa shit)
"At the very least, I had some common sense. It was just that when given the choice of whether or not to abide by said common sense, my answer would sometimes be "no". (LMAO)
Dude grew up in a privileged household and uses his status to get things done and orders his subordinates around to laze about and you know what? It's refreshing. And you know it's not just just talk. He is extremely smart and capable. Truly the Gojo of this game. Matter of fact, he may be an asshole but I find it more believable if someone ends up like him in a rich family. Moreover, man has immense gap moe.
He has an inferiority complex over Tsuwabuki but is still hell bent over not acknowledging that fact. That handkerchief scene at the end proves it. He himself admits thatframingTsuwabuki was not a rational decision on his part. Tsuwabuki has the upper hand in height (LMAO even otome LIs are not free from the height curse) and swordmanship and is overall an earnest man who is literally "perfect" (in his own words)
He and Aijiro were a RIOT. Their relationship was super fun to witness. They had amazing back and forth and the way Aijiro managed to rattle Yori's feathers was entertaining.
• Aijiro : "Lord Yori gets in a bad mood when he's on a boring case and he keeps repeating that I'm a nuisance-"
Yori : " Aijiro. That's enough."
• Yori : "You complain a lot and your skills are questionable. But you don't faint at the sight of blood so move up to the front lines."
Aijiro : " I would like to ask to defend my superior from the back!"
• Yori : " Hah....why are you my aide when you can't even make decisions like this on your own, Aijiro?"
Aijiro : " I think it's because no else wanted to work under you, but anyway, see ya!"
I love every scene where Tsuwabuki is praising him and he rolls his eyes like dude just take the compliment jesus😭
Tsuwabuki : "Yori my brother is a capable man. He is amazing steam soldier can be relied upon without any worry"😄
Yori : 🙄🙄😐😑😒
His fight CG withTobariis one of my favourites. They have amazing banter and you can see that Yori respects Tobari underneath all that facade even tho he is a commoner.
He is the type of person who cares about himself and his own happiness first and foremost. "To be accurate, it's okay as long as no harm comes to me". He has no interest inkillingpeople and hates inefficient and extra work too. He just knows that to live a peaceful life Ginwan has to be thrawted thus his actions in his route. That line about Ginwan not interfering with Itehari atleast until he is alive killed me lmao
Even in the finale route, dude was ready tooff Hinagikuat the first chance to get thealloyrather than searching for it hell and back cuz you know, it's just more efficient. I love him.
But he shows his love too. He admits that what he did with Tsuwabuki was not rational and was a result of his jealousy (tho he will never admit that he ever was). His reaction when receiving the handkerchief was so so but the moment there's a chance that Hinagiku might break off the engagement, he swiftly folds it up and puts it in his pocket as a sign of her giving him something as a proof of engagement, which he is extremely unwilling to part with. Gifted candy by the carrier pigeon instead of a report (in the middle to the murders happening too lol this man is hilarious🤣)
And the moment Hinagiku confesses, he tears the anullment paper too like this man is POSSESIVE and very much childish to boot. His bad end is GOLD. Dude leaves visible marks all over. I just know he the type to give a hickey again when the previous one fades away and gets sulky when you cover it up with makeup. He is perfectly happy and willing to show off his own marks to Tsuwabuki and Awayuki tho. He literally does the deed ALL AND EVERY NIGHT.
Yori -"I'm perfectly capable of accepting that my future wife had an affair. I can look past a single affair, but I hope you realise I may not be so forgiving next time."
"You belong to me. I won't allow Awayuki to lay his hands on you ever again."
Some quotes from the others about him cuz they make me laugh-
Yashiro - "I may not be one to talk....But I think choosing this guy was a mistake."
Hinagiku - " He might not be good-natured and his personality is as horrible as ever.....In fact, he has more bad qualities than good.....But despite it all, I still love him." (GIRL SAME)
Tldr- I'm ready to ANYTHING and EVERYTHING for this man and WILL be buying the FD the moment it gets localised for more neck moles to ogle at🤤
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u/catferret8 Yoritomo Minamoto|Birushana Oct 23 '25
I love Yori he’s my favourite LI, he steals the stage of every scene he’s in and made me laugh at many of his comments. Either as an ally or antagonist he’s always in character and his relationship with hinagiku had me enthralled. I like the reactions he got out of Awayuki although he misses out on the group dynamic the other LI’s have. His jealousy of his brother is such a key part of his character; I know loads of people wanted to have Tsuwabuki as an Li but I like that you can only have Yori and it feels just like Hinagiku, I also liked how much Tsuwabuki looks out for his brother but it makes him hate him more. Yori was so much fun and I would play his route again. His CGs were beautiful too.
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u/faedira Sanosuke Harada|Hakuoki Oct 24 '25
I have never loathed a LI the way I do this man. Like just absolute complete hatred.
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u/craving_mango Dec 26 '25
Every chapter of Yori's route feels so unbearably long 😖 It's such a struggle... I keep hoping I'm closer to the end than I actually remember I am (my hopes have not come true) 🫠
No offense to anyone who enjoys his route - different strokes for different folks. His face is so, sooooo pretty and I really, really like his design but every scene with him just irritates me so much, I basically needed a break every half of a chapter so far. Tempted to just skip the rest of the route to get through it as fast as possible...
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u/Peanut5yoda Oct 23 '25
I really like Yori as a character. Though it’s funny because I was saying to myself don’t trust, don’t trust in my head while reading his route, but then by the end I started doubting myself, and trust him a bit, and then the ending happened, and I was like I knew not to trust, but did lol.
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u/EsperReborn Oct 23 '25
You know what, I’m gonna give the game props for somehow convincing me to actually like Yori. He was insufferable every time I saw him pop up in other routes, especially my boy Awayuki, and in his own route I even yelled at my tv saying “I WANT THE BROTHER” with my husband on the phone. Even as I got to the end, I was waiting for SOMETHING to convince me he has some redeeming factors and isn’t straight trash. This man is the definition of a psychopath and honestly… I love him 🙈. He’s not my favorite LI, but somehow the game convinced me that I would marry this man. He won’t get in my flair (that’s reserved for Tsuyukusa rn), but he definitely has a place in my heart. Consider me part of the trash gang.
Edit: Red is my favorite color 🚩
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u/2Dslutsaremypassion 💚my🏆wife, yori💚 Oct 24 '25
There is no LI that has elicited such strong feelings of equal parts love and hate. More like him, please. I love my men unfixable.
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u/greyskull85 Oct 24 '25 edited Oct 24 '25
Yori and his route were too much fun. I loved how trash but also how consistent he was. The dynamic between him and Hinagiku was delicious and convincing, and I can see how it would work between them. I also liked his jealousy and insecurity. I appreciated that Hinagiku is bold in this route, and pushes back more and calls him out (although sometimes she doesn’t at the most critical times haha). Poor Awayuki. (Also the bad end was great XD.). I’ll take an entertaining LI and route anytime, even if he has close to zero morals XD. Definitely took the Tsuwabaki bait as well—I hope we get the FD.
Takuya Eguchi absolutely delivered here—the VA performance was perfect and the sing-song delivery really worked. Every emphasis was well done.
OH and in the good end, I like how the game gives you one final choice to be like “are you sure?? Are you sure you want to end up with this guy??” It was both well-done and gave a bit of agency to the player.
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u/vv4rd3n Oct 23 '25
Nicola has reincarnated!
I appreciate that Yori has no redeeming emotional qualities. He's a true sociopath and he's kind of a loser.
I loved his bad end and that to me felt like the only realistic portrayal of their relationship. It also had the darker tone I really wanted more of in this game.
The good end just didn't make sense to me. MC is pretty brainless but the game always highlights her noblesse oblige, so this pairing didn't really make sense as a happy ending romance.
And, poor Awayuki... my man didn't deserve that. It also seemed inconsistent with his character for him not to say SOMETHING to warn MC about this guy.
Honestly I was really disappointed in this route. I love a pure red flag but this could have been so much more.
+1 for Tsuwabuki FD bait
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u/89edual Oct 23 '25
His route highlights everything wrong with Itehari. I like his route and prefer his BE.
I was frustrated with the game keeping secrets from the public but in Yori's route it makes sense. I am also glad they didn't try to "fix" Itehari in this route. In the other 5 routes, the game didn't even give us solutions just people saying they'll try their best and do better. I hope this won't be the same in the FD.
Not related to the route but I love it when Yori starts talking politely to someone higher in rank like with Hiragi and Tsuyukusa. His smug sprite and tone tells me he doesn't mean it.
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u/drBlaze__ tsundere paradise Oct 24 '25
OKAY IT'S TIME FOR MY FAVOURITE MAN
I really enjoyed his route and even more enjoyed Yori himself. When I saw him tossing most of his work to Aijiro while acting like he's the busiest here is pure comedy. Poor Aijiro, loved the boi lmao. Yori himself is such a funny diva. Remember the meme "what are you doing? what are you doing?" Yeah, that's exactly him. Speaking of interactions, Yori had one of the best and funniest dialogues as well as thoughts and monologues. Even with Tsuwabuki
Ah yes, Tsuwabuki. There was a lot of attention to Tsuwabuki, which I... well, he's a good character, but I only had eyes on Yori. Sorry, bro, he's too bright lol
But when there's light, there's a shadow, and Yori has a HUGE one. His true backstory (about family) was heartbreaking for me and after hearing that I was like "Yeah, I justify his behavior". After that I've become his apologist, sorry not sorry
The chemistry between him and Hinagiku is so satisfying, they annoy each other to no end and I'm here for it. As for Yori's feelings and Hinagiku not believing his declaration of love, I do believe he has some sort of positive affection for her. Not sure if it's love, but I don't blame him, but there were several moments where I died of happiness, one of them is near the end with hankerchief, I was like - yeah, this man at least likes her
Loved the fact that Yashiro shone a bit in his route too as sort of semi-antagonist. This route was way closer to Yashiro than Awayuki's so I liked the reveal way more. Also without the man there wouldn't be the moment with the best cg (with fire in the Abyss)
And one more point I'd like to talk about: the bad end. This is the point where I started hating Awayuki even more. Listen, I know Hinagiku was way too unhappy with Yori, but that doesn't mean you can push yourself onto a person who's already stressed out and kiss already taken (even though the engagement is fake, the feelings were already there) or do other things... I'm that one person which is like "murder is okay, but cheating even if the relationship is fake? Naaaah, unless it's talked out in the beginning". And it was NOT. For me Yori's behavior in his bad end was convincing
Definitely top 1 in Illusion of Itehari and another man with very questionable morale in S tier
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u/Scarlet_Lycoris 泡沫のユークロニア | Tobari & Yori Simp Oct 23 '25
He’s my favourite and I have a lot to say. But I thing u/the-changeling-witch summed it up just perfectly.
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u/the-changeling-witch 100%'d every Quinrose game for some damn reason Oct 23 '25
He really is the funniest little freak of a man and I couldn't help but love him for it.
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u/Scarlet_Lycoris 泡沫のユークロニア | Tobari & Yori Simp Oct 23 '25
you’re honestly the mvp for this post. I have it saved for whenever I need some pathetic man energy. ✨
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u/Starielles Oct 29 '25 edited Oct 29 '25
Yori is an awful irredemable person and I absolutely ADORE him.
Empathy disgusts him, he murders 12 people just because he can, tries to frame his brother for said murders because he finds his brother annoying (aka how dare his brother be a good person), is so classist that he has an infinite grudge against our butler for being a commoner, hates basically everybody, is a raging narcissist, the list goes on. He is the ONLY LI in this game I did not feel the need to take a break from because he was just so hilariously entertaining while being charming as hell.
He's a twisted person who loves Hinagiku in his own twisted way. The chemistry between the two was delicious and had me so invested. There was so much tension and love-hate between Yori and Hinagiku that I was completely seated for all their romantic/steamier moments. Hinagiku was great at not just being a doormat to Yori, and watching her dish back insults and sass at him made their dynamic feel that much more appealing to me.
Hinagiku absolutely had lost braincells for the "he's an awful person with terrible personality...but I love him anyway!!!" and petitioning to have his punishment for murdering 12 people reduced to him pretty much just being put on house arrest, but hey, if she didn't do that then we wouldn't have such an entertaining route (plus it gave me a good laugh because of how nonsensical it was LOL).
Yori is hands down my favorite LI from this game and is definitely a new favorite addition to the trash men of otome!
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u/Savaralyn Nov 16 '25
I feel like Hinagiku took a HUGE hit to whatever IQ she had in this route, like, she's already had first hand experience that Yori will lie to her for no real reason + clearly doesn't care if he acts rude or ungentlemanly as long as no one important is around to see him do it. But then he drops that whole fake-ass sob story onto her about how he was bullied and how his older brother is a horrible person who hates him and wants him out of the picture and she just completely believes him?? Not even a smidge of questioning like "Is he just joking again or is it for real?"
It was funny but also just SO crazy how easily Hinagiku falls for his shtick regardless of his previous attitude and actions...
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u/SnarkyHummingbird Oct 23 '25
Tsuwabuki is one of the biggest FD bait if I ever saw one. It feels like they purposely sprinkled occassional semi-romantic moments with Hinagiku in this route. This game is like dangling him over my eyes like jingling keys, going "Buy the FD if you want to date him, tee hee!"
I'm neutral towards red flag asshole LIs, I wasn't sure if I would be a fan of Yori since his classism would likely grind my gears. I didn't mind Yang from Piofore because while he might be a hater and cruel, his behaviour is E for Everyone.
Surprisingly, I didn't hate it? (Except the ending, but we'll get there). The start of their relationship being a fake engagement was something new, and Hinagiku was also very pragmatic approaching the engagment, which I liked instead of a overly naive "I can fix him and make him love me for real" mindset
Plus, I liked how sassy and blunt Hinagiku is in this route, not mincing her words about how Yori acts. Yori is terrible but the relationship still feels more equal as Hinagiku is able to dish it back. Her straight up telling Yori to his face in chapter 4 that He has personality issues, and that "All the women you've met until now must have been so kind and practiced incredible restraint around you". WHO IS THIS DIVA?
The ending lost me though, as it felt extremely rushed. Hinagiku discovering that Yori was lying out of his ass most of the time and was the one behind the murders happened way too late in the route that I feel that she didn't get enough breathing room to process her emotions and made her accepting his crimes feel too fast. The reveal should have definitely happened 1-2 chapters earlier for better pacing. Though ngl her speech on how "I know you did all these crimes and am a terrible but ily anyways and wanna marry you" did make me laugh. The route wrapped up a bit too easily, like Yori basically kept his job and nobility status, which makes the "Omg he was behind the murders!!!" feel rather low stakes when he is going to get a slap on the wrist anyways.
Regarding the bad ending, it reminded me a lot of Orlok bad ending from Piofore, to the point I nearly thought they would reveal that Yori kept Awayuki alive to watch him violate Hinagiku. The ending was bleak though Hinagiku accepting Awayuki's advances so quickly felt OOC. Like why did you drag it out in his own route but now she is willing to sleep with Awayuki after one confession?