Hatoful Boyfriend Wiki
Register
Advertisement
AzamiSpoiler
Carve it into your soul, kid!
Major plot spoilers follow.

"This partridge is Iwamine Shuu, the school doctor. He's rather creepy in person, and has a bad reputation among the student body. Everyone knows that even just talking to him can bring you down with aspergillus, psittacosis, or even worse things. And I never even heard him come in the door...ninja doctor!?"
Hiyoko Tosaka[src]
MoaTwitterIconShuu

Shuu Iwamine (岩峰 舟) runs the infirmary at St. Pigeonation's, and is one of the dateable birds in Hatoful Boyfriend: A School of Hope and White Wings. He's a chukar partridge, disliked throughout the school for his unsettling demeanor and habit of threatening to make nosy students into experimental specimens. For this reason, there are rumors the doctor has a hand in the disappearance of students and their subsequent reappearance as cafeteria meat and gift shop quill pens. Students who enter his office will discover he tends to appear from behind without any warning, a disturbing phenomenon which has been deemed one of the Seven Mysteries of St. Pigeonation's.

Physical Description

Shuurefsheet Damurushi

Reference notes by Damurushi, a co-artist of Hatoful Boyfriend, and Shuu Iwamine's character designer.

As a human, Shuu has dull lavender eyes and a dress shirt of the same color. He wears a cream sweater over this, perhaps to represent the chukar's breast of the same color, and a striped tie which bears some resemblance to the wings of a chukar partridge. Shuu sports characteristic red-rimmed glasses meant to evoke the red ring around the eyes of a chukar partridge. His hair is long, the same light brown as the chukar's plumage, and all tied back with a purple ribbon but for his full bangs and two long locks of hair on either side of his face. As a researcher, he always wears an open lab coat. Sometimes in his bird form he is drawn wearing this oversized coat and his tie.

Because the chukar partridge is a comparatively robust bird, Shuu appears more portly than the rest of the cast, though his human form confirms this is not the case.

He has extreme near-sightedness. Removing his glasses makes him very dizzy and unstable.

Shuu's expressions are very subdued. Yuuya describes his pale complexion as "girlish."

After a terrorist attack that left him comatose for 3 days, Shuu became unable to see colors that were not red. This form of colorblindness is called tritanopia.

He also became "somewhat unable to use the right side of his body", and his sensori-motor skills are weakened on his right limbs. This could be from nerve damage or Hemiparesis.

Personality and Traits

Mysterious and difficult to read is the easiest way to describe Shuu. But even though he comes off as antisocial and aloof, he is notoriously known for his very questionable sense of humor. Shuu seems hardly interested in anything unless it can further his "research", to the point it very obviously impacts his health, and the health of others. He takes things seriously, seemingly misunderstanding- and misinterpreting situations as invitations to proceed with his threats. His ability to make every interaction uncomfortable and dangerous appears all over the games.

Shuu speaks in a calm monotone and has an unreactive, antisocial personality. He doesn't connect or empathize with others well and much prefers spending time in the laboratory, though his passion for medical research has earned him a formidable reputation worldwide as an authority on pathology.

His catchphrase is his ominous, low "hohoho" chuckle. In Japanese, the laugh is written as "くくく"(kukuku).

Shuu enjoys threatening, and vocalizing his fantasies about dissecting fellow characters. His bluntness and indifference about death is what sometimes seems to go hand-in-hand with Professor Nanaki, though this is mostly shown in the Drama CDs.

Shuu lives very strictly by his own isolated philosophy; living to garner knowledge, for himself, and not necessarily anyone else. As proven by a scene in Holiday Star, Shuu seems absolutely delighted by the idea of staying in a comatose state forever with just enough brain functionality to discover new things in the world of dreams. He claims that the non-necessity to tend to his physical body is "a truly pure state of being." He generally looks down at just about everyone around him, and will continue to do so unless he deems them more intelligent than himself. Nobirdie is worth his time unless he can use them to further his own research.

Despite having this kind of depressing persona of a total lunatic, there is a chance that, to some degree, it is dishonest. This is supported by his very complicated feelings towards and about Ryuuji Kawara. Ryuuji vastly shaped Shuu and Isa as a human being, during his life, and certainly after his death.

Shuu seems to cherish things that are reminiscent of the doctor, with more and less subtle details. Beside the fact that he apparently displays letters and postcards from Ryuuji in the Infirmary, in Holiday Star, he was also very quick to take Miru & Kaku under his wing, even if they seem like personifications of everything that usually annoys him. By the end of Holiday Star, he seems relatively sympathetic to the twins. All his compassionate actions stem from Ryuuji's influence.

Shuu is most definitely sadistic and has a fascination with dissecting anyone and everyone. Striking fear and pain into people seems to genuinely bring him happiness.

In spite of his poor work habits, Shuu is very intelligent and efficient. Moa described in a series of Tweets that for what he lacks in physical strength, Shuu makes up with tactical decision making and lithe movements.[13] He tends to overwork himself, work for days on end, and skip meals.

Etymology

Shuu consists of the kanji character 舟 (shū), "boat, ship". Iwamine consists of the kanji characters 岩 (iwa), "boulder, rock, cliff", and 峰 (mine), "peak, summit, back of a blade".

Additionally, the Japanese word for "chukar partridge" is 岩鷓鴣/イワシャコ (iwashako). The first character appears in his name.

Mishio consists of the kanji character 深 (mi), "deep, close, profound". Isshiki consists of the kanji characters 一 (i), "one", and 式 (shiki), "ritual, formula".

Souma consists of the kanji characters 湊 (sou), "port, harbor", and 真 (ma), "real, true". Isa consists of the kanji characters 伊 (i), "that one", and 佐 (sa), "assistant, help".

Utsuro consists of the kanji character 虚 (utsuro), "emptiness, fissure, untruth". Ichijou consists of the kanji characters 壱 (ichi), "one", and 条 (jou), "article, clause".

Trivia

  • Hiyoko lists off a few of the chemicals found in the doctor's office: ethylpar (えさるぱら, esarupara), tri-fe (とろふえ, torofue), and lucio benzene (るさおのべんぜ, lusao no benze), all of which are fictional. Ethylpar may be similar to the preservative ethylparaben, while tri-fe might be a compound with iron or, more worryingly, the birth control Tri-Legest Fe. Benzene is highly toxic and a carcinogen, and lucio is latin for light, which would make this "light benzene."
  • There is a bottle in the lower right corner of the infirmary background labeled "C10H15N": a chemical formula that can refer to methamphetamine.
  • According to Hiyoko, Shuu's voice sounds like Snufkin, a character from the Finnish book series Moomin. Shuu's character voice is Takehito Koyasu, who also played Snufkin in the 90's anime adaptations of Moomin.
  • Shuu kills Hiyoko on Valentine's Day. According to Anghel in the webcomic, this is also the day the dark sorcerer Wallenstein was revived.
  • Shuu's preferred Legumentine's bean is racing blend, for its interesting medical properties.
  • Due to his "hohoho" laugh and portly bird self, he has been jokingly portrayed as the partidge in a pear tree in the song "12 Days of Christmas."
  • This partridge's preferred tool is a chinese cleaver, a chuka bocho (中華包丁).
  • Hato Moa jokingly says the doctor's theme song is Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy because "he’s as sweet as a sugar plum."
  • During the summer festival, Shuu comments on his love of fireworks with the line, "If only I could be so grossly incandescent," a reference to the Knight Solaire of Astora who famously uses the same line in Dark Souls while admiring the sun.
  • In Indian mythology, the chukar partridge sometimes symbolizes intense, and often unrequited, love.
  • Shuu is an atheist.
  • All of his names have a trend of containing references to the sea. Moa and Damu have drawn him in sea-related settings as well.
  • "Shuu (or more specifically Isa) can't handle any carbonated drink."[14]
  • Shuu got the Architect (INTJ) personality on the 16personalities test. [15]
  • On the cover for Shuu's designated Webcomic chapter, he stands in front of a corkboard. One of the letters pinned to it is a postcard from Ryuuji Kawara, and another is a Wikipedia article about Hatoful Boyfriend's release, written in a cursive font.[16]

Tips

  • He can be pursued by Hiyoko Tosaka|Hiyoko if she decides to join the infirmary. In the demo, the option to join the infirmary staff is available from the start, whereas in the full and HD versions, the player must complete at least one playthrough before unlocking the choice for the infirmary.
  • His Tanabata wish reads, "Just who will be granting my wish, and how?" If Hiyoko wishes to rule the world from the shadows, it will boost her Wisdom.
  • The doctor is one of the three birds with a normal and a complete ending. Earning the full ending requires a superior Wisdom stat.
  • During battle scenes, if the option is available, aiming for Shuu's left limbs will cripple him.
  • Shuu made an appearance in the first Heavenstrike Rivals collaboration with Hatoful Boyfriend, appearing as a gacha character.

Notes and References

Characters

Main

Hiyoko Tosaka · Ryouta Kawara · Sakuya Le Bel Shirogane · Nageki Fujishiro · Yuuya Sakazaki · Okosan · Kazuaki Nanaki · Shuu Iwamine · Anghel Higure · Tohri Nishikikouji

Side

Albert Alain Alkan · Azami Koshiba · Death · Hitori Uzune · Kazuaki-kun · Kenzaburou Urushihara · Kouichi Sasai · Leone JB · Miru & Kaku · Rabu · Ryuuji Kawara · The King

Other

Amazing Tosaka · Brian Pigeon · Chunkichi Kadomae · Domingo Santos · Hoppe · Kanta · Kokoro · Mino Ichijou · Momo · Nacchin · Pelicano · Punkgeons · Pyonpyon · Sweet Shuu · Terry Mukai · Tsukkun · Yuki Shirojiro · Yuusuke


Advertisement