Itou starts out as an advisor to the Shinsengumi, but it's eventually exposed that he's been working as a traitor all along—his ambitions were basically weaponized by Takasugi to bring the group down from within. He's got this intense rivalry with Hijikata that drives a lot of his actions; he manages to get Hijikata suspended and even attempts to assassinate Kondo. The plan falls apart thanks to the combined efforts of the Shinsengumi and the Yorozuya, and things go downhill fast from there. After losing his left arm and being defeated by Hijikata in combat, something clicks for him. He starts to genuinely understand what those bonds with the Shinsengumi members meant to him, and how pointless his betrayal was. In the end, he gets one final duel with Hijikata—his old rival—and dies as both a friend and a warrior, which feels like the redemption he needed.
The character is loosely inspired by the historical Itou Kashitarou of the Shinsengumi.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
