Ichika Orimura

Ichika Orimura is the main protagonist of the light novel and anime series Infinite Stratos. He is a first year student at the Infinite Stratos Academy and the only male who can operate the Infinite Stratos arms system. He is the younger brother of Chifuyu Orimura and the twin brother of Madoka Orimura. Ichika seeks to prove himself as a skilled Infinite Stratos operator as he views himself as otherwise weak and unimportant.
He gotten attractions from every single girls from the All-Girl school, IS Academy who are in love with him due to being Chifuyu's younger brother and the only man who can operate Infinite Stratos including his childhood friends, Houki Shinonono and Huang Lingyin but made all of the girls became love rivals to gain his affection and nonetheless to marry him.
He is voiced by Kōki Uchiyama in the Japanese version of the anime, and by Jessie James Grelle in the English version of the anime.
==Appearance==
Ichika is a young boy of average height (170cm) with short black hair (blue in the anime) that is parted in the middle, dark brown eyes and a slim but trained body. He commonly wears his IS Academy uniform. For IS practice, he wears a black tank top, revealing his stomach and tight-fitting bermuda shorts. On his right wrist, is Byakushiki's Closed Form:
==Personality==
Having been raised (suggested to be Spartan-trained) by Chifuyu, Ichika has learned to be polite to all girls and respectful to those older than him, and is generally very kind, which is what causes most of the girls in the series to develop feeling for him. However, he is not very bright and quite dense, which results in him often making insensitive remarks that result in him getting beat up by a member of his harem, usually Houki or Rin.
Although he often comes off as a pushover, Ichika does not take any insults to his family or his country lightly, as shown when he first met Cecilia; she was commenting on how a commoner from Japan could handle the class representative, causing him to retort that her country isn't anything special either, even asking how many times her country won the award for worst cooking. When Laura slapped him, he reacted angrily by shouting at her why she did that (LN), and when she used the VT System to copy Chifuyu's data and Yukihira, he wanted to punch Laura, without her IS, as much as he could). He believes, when questioned by Laura, that his strength is his freedom to choose and helping those around him. This is shown when he chose to protect a ship of fishermen who were illegally poaching during the mission against the Silver Gospel.
Ichika can be extremely clueless when it comes to the feelings the girls have for him, as more often than not, he is more worried of the fact that being the only male who can pilot an IS, he does not know the requirements of controlling it, and the fact he has to live among a very large group of girls (he even told Charles that he was very glad that another male transferred in). He believes that there is absolutely no chance for him to get a girlfriend, as he told Chifuyu that he would not be able to match any of the girls' perfect sides (not knowing that he is the type of guy all the girls want). However, in the light novels especially, there are hints that Ichika's not quite as oblivious as he lets on, with Charlotte even suspecting that he's doing it purpose.
Ichika is a person who doesn't seem to be able to facilitate implication in daily life. When it comes to things like holding hands or old promises, for example, Ichika tends to misinterpret or is even completely unaware of the implications of his actions and their respective circumstances, such as turning what one of the girls hopes to be a date into a group activity. This quirk often earns him stress on both the mental and physical level from the girls around him. He is the type who learns with his body rather than his head, as more often than not, he tends to surprise his fellow classmates with questions on matters they take for granted (like when he first met Cecilia, his first question was "What is a Representative Candidate?", causing the other students to do a comical collapse). After sometime, he is able to understand basic fundamentals of IS to help him get by (he is aware, for instance, that his IS has no available bus-slots for an Equalizer).
Ichika has shown to be a very passionate person willing to accept any kind of circumstance for something he has done as long as it was something he either believes in or wants to do. He is willing to help companions or, in general, others as long as it is something he is willing to do. His emotions can get the best of him, and this has happened on several occasions. He was even like this in his childhood. However, his blockheadedness and reckless behavior are flaws that come with his saving grace. That quality is his overpowering will, confidence and passion. He may not be too smart, but he can do what he has to do when he wants.
==Background==
Ichika Orimura is the younger brother of Chifuyu Orimura, a prodigy IS operator. Chifuyu raised her brother after their parents abandon them. This later proved false, as it is revealed he was an artificial human created in a lab. He was considered a failure and was going to be eliminated. However, Chifuyu came to care for him and took him away. She protected him from the truth of their origins by lying that their parents abandoned them, even though they never had parents to start with. She hid their identities by taking up their project name Orimura as their surname.
As a child, he was kidnapped by the IS pirate force Phantom Task while Chifuyu was in the midst of the prestigious Mondo Grosso tournament. Chifuyu had to forfeit her place to save her brother. Ever since the ordeal Ichika has seen himself as weak and a burden to his older sister. Ichika is the only known male who can operate the IS system and in order to prove himself and make up to Chifuyu for his folding her back, Ichika has enrolled at the Infinite Stratos academy to become a professional.
Because of the interface limitation Ichika is naturally the only male student. He tends to be awkward and seemingly oblivious around girls. He is tolerated by the teachers because of his bizarre ability to use IS, but his station as the sole male causes him a variety of social and romantic complications from his fellow students.
==Abilities==
Currently he is the only male in the entire world who is able to operate an IS. Why that is, nobody knows. Even Tabane, the genius who created IS, is also pleasantly surprised as to why he can activate the Byakushiki, since, by right, a male should have zero relation to IS. Due to this, the government is willing to give him his own personal IS, so as to gather data on him.
As stated by his sister in the novel & episode 2, his IS seems to be more offensive in tactics than most, given that he could use the Barrier Void attack that helped his sister win the first Mondo Grosso. But because of this, he is forced to limit his power during class tournaments and practice, due to the amount of damage that could be inflicted on his opponent (He can potentially injure/kill the opponent).
=== Byakushiki ===
Byakushiki (白式?, lit. Type "White") is a 3.5 - 4th Generation Close Range Combat Type developed by Kuromochi Machinery Development and is used by Ichika Orimura. It contains the very first IS core ever made, Core Number 001. Its basic armaments are.
* The Yukihira Type 2
* Fold-Out Armor
=== Special abilities ===
* Ignition Boost
* Reiraku Byakuya
* Barrier Void Attack
=== Second Shift and Armaments ===
Ichika's Byakushiki under goes a transformation where it's armor changes and becomes much more powerful. Bayushiki's 2nd shift form is called Bayushiki Setsura, Its armaments are,
#A large caliber charged particle cannon
#An energy claw for CQC
#An energy shield with One Off attribute
==Overall Role==
NOTICE: The main purpose of the "Overall Franchise Role" section is to highlight the frequent discussions, debates, and arguments of Ichika's verbal and physical abuse that is mentioned everywhere in the Internet (YouTube, Reddit, DeviantArt, etc.). This is NOT to serve as a final judgement or comprehensive reception of Infinite Stratos in a general perspective. Those kinds of thoughts, responses, and sentiments toward the IS franchise (Anime, Manga, Light Novel, etc.) are up to the individual viewer and questioning newcomers. Therefore, the "Overall Franchise Role" portion WON'T be featured in the article of Ichika Orimura within the "Infinite Stratos Wiki" as that wiki is to essentially serve as one of the valid sources for Infinite Stratos' information (Synopsis, Characters, Locations, IS Units, etc.) instead of to share one's opinions about specific features whether positive, negative, or neutral.
Despite being the male protagonist and displaying genuine kindness to his family, "so-called" friends, and a lot of people, Ichika Orimura is constantly mistreated in the cruel manner by his (predominantly) possessive, mean-spirited, selfish, jealous, irresponsible, inconsiderate, insensitive, ungrateful, hypocritical, unjustified, short-tempered, mentally-ill, violent, psychopathic companions (Houki Shinonono, Cecilia Alcott, Lingyin Huang, Charlotte Dunois, and Laura Bodewig) to the point of being portrayed as the scapegoat/black-sheep/punching-bag of Infinite Stratos.
Although the girls aren't completely evil and their reasons are regarding to his unbelievable denseness plus below-average intelligence, they can still be extremely unlikable due to Ichika being unfairly treated like a doormat/lightening-rod/victim from little to no reasons (especially certain times when it is not his fault or he's completely innocent). Another noticeable detail to point out is the fact that the 5 IS Girls NEVER acknowledge, correct, or (at least) criticize each other for all the inappropriate responses (either verbal, physical, or both) toward Ichika whether one or some (if not all) of them involve using IS Units or not. Instead, the IS Girls would strongly believe that all of their actions are "justified" and would join together in giving Ichika the "punishment" he deserves (from their perspectives). It is also no help that the peers around Ichika Orimura and the 5 IS Girls at the Infinite Stratos Academy (classmates, teachers, staff, etc.) frequently remain completely oblivious toward this injustice brought upon to the poor man (even when it is happening right in front of their eyes). 
Whenever the girls hang out with each other (whether Ichika is there or not) and there isn't anything regarding romance involved, they all treat each other as equals like one big family by satisfying all the basic conceptions of bonding, ethnics, morality, friendship, and more. However, they'll immediately throw away those appealing concepts by once again seeing each other as enemies the moment any kind of objectives related to "winning" Ichika's heart is present. Spectators to this melancholy relationship are justified by describing it as incompetent, infuriating, despicable, unacceptable, sad, depressing, vulgar, toxic, and much more.
Some (if not all) of their assaults toward him include the potentials of Ichika actually receiving a severe injury that could remain permanent or being brutally killed (something that the girls continuously fail to realize nor ever learn). Additionally even though Ichika is admired by many (from people at the IS Academy to the general public worldwide) and guys would generally call Ichika's position as "paradise", it should be noted that at this point anyone in Ichika's shoes would retaliate against the girls in anyway possible, remember all the horrible stuff (including pursued assassinations) they've pulled on the character, constantly question themselves if those girls are truly the person's friends, leave the Infinite Stratos Academy for a better life plus future, and develop PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) over time.
In the anime series, the worst of them all was throughout Season 2 Episode 8 when Ichika was pleaded by Tatenashi Sarashiki to pair up with Kanzashi Sarashiki. Upon learning about this, the 5 female protagonists immediately started to behave towards Ichika as their worst enemy to the point of acting like there was never a friendship between them to begin with. Being the dense and ignorant person he is, Ichika is oblivious of the main reasons regarding the girl's extreme hostile treatment towards him recently. It's unknown if they had ever apologized to Ichika for this or acknowledge how cruel they were being for petty reasons. However because of everything they have done before, it can be greatly assumed that they never did and just moved on like they're completely justified (which they really aren't at all).
Although Chifuyu Orimura doesn't abuse Ichika Orimura more often than the 5 female protagonists due to the job of being a teacher, it doesn't change the fact that her relationship with Ichika Orimura (basically one of the only things she has to call a "family") is extremely poor. Prior to the Infinite Stratos, it can be seen a couple of times that the relationship between those two is completely different at the time. Without parents, they have no choice but to look out for each other in order to ensure that nothing bad happens to either one of them. Being the older sister, it's is pretty obvious that it was her job to serve as a role model of what her little brother needs to be upon growing up. However, she immediately dismissed all of that the moment Chifuyu Orimura became involved with the Infinite Stratos. Despite reuniting with her little brother within the Infinite Stratos Academy and the discovery of him being the first male IS Pilot (which is an essential to Infinite Stratos researchers worldwide), her treatment toward Ichika Orimura was nothing positive in which it gradually gets worse as the series (anime, manga, light novel, etc.) progresses. In fact, her most brutal (if not villainous) act is when (Season 2, Episode 2) she ordered Charlotte Dunois (who had no problem or any kind of objection of doing so, therefore displaying one of her antagonistic characteristics) to attack Ichika with her IS unit upon being late for class (in which his only excuse was that he was interacting with another girl). Of course, everyone who was present at the time this occurred continue to remain completely oblivious of Ichika's abusement (and to no surprise none of the other 3 protagonists, who are suppose to be his "friends", came to defend him when they've witness this, thus confirming that they believe he deserves the attack). This proves that despite being a teacher, champion, and legendary brunhilde, she can come off as a terrible person towards Ichika Orimura in who is no longer the sister that he grew up with. It's also safe to say that Ichika Orimura has every right to retaliate against Chifuyu Orimura in any way possible (whether the magnitude of it is minuscule or extreme).
==Trivia==
==External Links==
*http://is.wikia.com/wiki/Ichika_Orimura#Infinite_Stratos_.26_Abilities
*Infinite Stratos - Ichika's Injuries Compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C190MCzk8OM&lc=UgzuGJPsu3l1E15h0ZB4AaABAg.9JGqtSslYAz9LnJYmslw3R
*Ichika Orimura Dense Moments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJq-1yzaf2I&t=552s
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