Izaya Orihara [APPROVED, 4-2]

Izaya has the appearance and expression of one who is extremely crafty and confident, an appearance which he lives up to. He claims to love humanity, and greatly enjoys putting people in miserable or chaotic situations in order to observe their reactions. With a thorough understanding of human behavior and tendencies, he is able to determine people's thoughts and predict their reactions with high accuracy. Izaya is cunning and charming, but he's not very interested in women and women are not interested in him. He has a very jolly and mocking personality, speaking informally with most people as if they are close friends and often using nicknames (such as "Shizu-chan" for Shizuo Hiwajima).

He even talks like a girl on occassion, especially online where he actually does pretend to be female. He plays on both sides, so that whoever wins, he will have an advantage.
Although Izaya 'loves' all humans, he has no interest in loving individuals, even his own family, whom he considers as friends.

Izaya is constantly stating that he loves humanity, but that if an individual were to love him, he wouldn't be able to return their concentrated love, but would much rather love the individual's enemies and rivals, in an sense of dawning interest. He finishes with a short and subtle plea representing suicide (not his of course) and that he wishes for them to stay and not stop loving him, because he can't bear losing the only person who returns his love, but again, not romantically since Izaya is rather despised and it's been shown by many.

It's not that he's never been loved, however, he always denies such access to him. As long as he loves others, he feels connected to them and satisfied. When he wants to use a person, he does allow them to get close to him, but always keeps a certain distance. Even if someone tries to persuade him to change himself, he would probably never let their words sink into his heart. What Izaya feels for his own person is still a mystery. He also has a masochistic side, claiming that even if his beloved humans treat him like a worm, he would still 'love' them. Moreover, he adds that maybe one day he'll be able to meet someone whom he would be dying to be used by and since he's in love with all human race he could survive on his masochistic pleasure alone even if he's used.

Izaya Orihara likes to play a twisted board game which involves moving a combination of Chess, Othello or possibly Go, and Shogi pieces on a Chinese Go board. He plays this game by himself in his room. The combination of games may be a representation of the many plots being acted out throughout Ikebukuro, illustrating how Izaya watches over and manipulates the various people.
Izaya Orihara's personal board game which involves moving a combination of Chess, Othello, and Shogi pieces on a Chinese Go board.The rules he plays by are also beyond normal people, which seems to be a metaphor for the way he lives his life. He does not think his board game is a serious representation of the world, however, as he usually prefers to observe people acting as they see fit instead of controlling them, once even setting fire to his board game in his excitement.
Although Izaya enjoys conflict, often showing up wherever there is potential for one, he usually stays out of it, preferring to observe the fight instead of directly taking part in it. However, when provoked, he quickly puts his opponent in his place, simply proving his superiority without actually beating the other person. Therefore he is usually seen as the one starting fights, but hiding in the shadows instead of directly taking part.

Shizuo finds him untrustworthy, saying whenever there is trouble, "99% of the time you're (Izaya) behind it." Izaya had often framed Shizuo for crimes he didn't commit, causing him no end of trouble. During this period, Izaya begins to collect "followers" for his own purposes, of which most are traumatized teenage girls, ranged from gothic lolitas to gyarus (though the majority of them simply took Izaya to be a fortune teller of sorts) who would do whatever he said and worshipped him in an almost cult-like fashion (like Saki). Most of them were usually depressed and/or suicidal and have all been victims of pretty severe levels of violence from their families or lovers. Those girls were lost and desperate for someone to believe in, making them especially easy to use. They weren't really in love with the families or boyfriends concerned, they simply put their faith in them. All Izaya did was shift their faith to him. If he wanted them to die, they would probably have gone ahead and died, even if they had doubts. Izaya's fans conflict between the students in several Ikebukuro high schools, leading to a protracted period of unrest. Shizuo rises to local fame after he becomes the center of this conflict despite his wish to remain outside of it.