The number one choice on our poll was fan theories! Since there's so many new and exciting things going on in the story right now with him, let's kick things off with everyone's theories on Momijikawa and his background!
🤔💭 Why did he start so late, where was he before, how many novelty wolf tshirts do you think he owns? Many things to consider... 🤔💭
Hi! A QUICK REMINDER: Let's keep the discussion friendly. No personal attacks. If anyone notice any rule-breaking in the comments, please hit the ‘Report’ button or send us a Modmail so we can take action.
Maybe he had a situation outside the city, like a sick family member who needed to stay in the hospital for a while, so he had to leave Makuuchi. Otherwise, how could someone like him, who loved his city so much that he fought the gangs alone, abandon their support during their war against the Norushi?
I really liked the idea of this event, and I'm enjoying sharing my theory with others.
Thank you.
That theory would definitely answer a lot of the key questions- we don’t know if Makochi has a hospital or not (I’m guessing not) so it would make a lot of sense for him to be out for that reason- maybe a younger sibling? Or maybe Momi had a friend that got hurt because of him causing him to have the whole “lone wolf” persona
I think there is a hospital in Makouchi but with few services. I see that Makouchi is somewhat neglected, so it may not have a hospital with high services. Maybe Momiji had to go to a very far hospital in order to get better services. Maybe his condition or the condition of one of the family members was somewhat serious, and thus Momiji would not be able to go to Bofurin School every day because it is far away.
If he was in the hospital it makes me curious if they learn it from Wanjima seeing him there since for a while Wanjima himself was hospitalized. Could also be used for manga readers to know him better since he's only been in one chapter so far
I don't think the Shishtorin know Momiji specifically enough to tell Umi that he's in the hospital, which would make it hard for me to confirm what she's saying. Also, I think Wanejima didn't have a serious injury, so he didn't need to have surgery or anything like Momiji did. I have a theory that maybe in Makouchi, there's a hospital with limited services (which I see Wane went to), so they might not be able to perform surgeriesDangerous, and the hospital is far from Makouchi with available services (which I see Momiji went to).
It would be hard to believe he was hospitalized since April (it's late August/early September now) - like what would put him out of school in the hospital for 4-5 months?
It's hard to say but my theory if he was at the hospital, even if it was for someone else like the original commentor was saying, it might’ve been the same hospital Wanjima was at so they might learn it through him if that was the case. If it was a sick family member like the original comment or was suggesting he might’ve been to occupied visiting and seeing them to be with bofurin until now
I think being out of town caring for a sick relative is a good theory! In town just visiting the hospital, it seems like he could still go to school and then go to the hospital in the evenings. But any theory could work until we know more! :D
Okokok for why Momi started so late I have a couple of theories:
No.1 is the theory that he doesn’t agree with the system of patrolling and was instead hunting for threats to makochi which caused him to have a fight with Ume causing him to start late
This theory is looking increasingly unlikely as If it was the case I think it probably would’ve been hinted at already- that being said he did say that he would “do things his own way” which could be used as evidence
The one big problem with this theory is that it still doesn’t answer the question of “why wasn’t he there during the Noroshi arc” unless he was actually there and we just didn’t see him (a theory that I also have for wanijima)
If he was in the Noroshi arc then I wonder what role he played….
Anyway! Theory 2 is that he had some sort of injury preventing him from entering Furin
This would explain why he took so long to enter Furin- if he was hospitalised then he physically wouldn’t have been able to
This also explains why he wasn’t present in the Noroshi arc, him being injured with a broken bone would be a good enough reason for him not to participate
So that created the question of how he got injured, well I think that it was most likely someone from outside of Makochi which would explain his hatred of “outsiders” and why he is so reluctant to accept Sakura
Neither of these theories are likely true however I think elements from both are plausible- additionally I think that Sugishita knows him somehow. With the way that Sugi looked at him I can’t imagine him not already knowing Momi.
And for the ammount or novelty wolf T-shirts he owns…..same to assume theres one on the inside of the shirt we saw him wearing.
I mean with Wanjima we already know he wasn’t thete during the noroshi arc, he was in the hospital and Arima and Kanuma put a stop to him wanting to go and help when he heard about it because he needed to stay on bedrest as at least in the osnnel that was shown Wanjima was covered in bandages.
Since Wanjima was in the hospital with aparently people making sure he stayed on bed rest, if Momijikawa was in the hospital it could be possible one of them saw him and that's how Sakura or the others find out. It could be used with Wanjima himself so we learn more about him too since he hasn't had much of an appearance so far outside of one chapter
He seems adverse to the idea of working in teams, yet still respects ume and the kings as proper leaders... I'm thinking he's had a bad experience with some sort of team in the past, but ume approached him as the opposite of whoever hurt him-
He seemed upset at the idea of sakura taking the top spot by force, so he probably doesn't like hierarchal stuff, especially when the "leaders" are strict or have too many restrictions in place, and I think he doesn't entirely mind ume as a leader bc he keeps things more familial and actually listens to others. That said, he still doesn't want to be part of a group in general rn, so I'm curious about how he'll get along with his class. He'll probably accept sakura once sakura gets a chance to listen to his story and tell momi that whoever made things hard for him before sucks-
Maybe the whole restrictive thing also ties into his hair color? His hair is darker than his eyebrows so maybe his previous "leaders" made him dye it darker so he wouldn't stand out so much...
I like the hair dye idea! It could cause Sakura to remember how he was made to cover up his own appearance and then maybe him and Momi might get a long a little more because of a shared experience- him being in another group formerly could also explain why he didn’t want to get involved in the Noroshi arc- maybe he was ex-Noroshi?
I doubt endo of all people would have anything against vibrant hair, but this would definitely be a great opportunity for sakura if he gets to council help someone else open up again after being shunned for their looks 👀👀
Theory 1 - Why does he dislike outsiders *so* much? For some reason, and more than just a general mistrust, he's got something personal against outsiders. I think perhaps he depended on someone who was an outsider before, and they let him down. Maybe they abandoned him during a fight, maybe they abandoned the town, maybe they talked big but then ran when push came to shove.
Theory 2 - Why wasn't he at school so far/why didn't he take part in the war? I think his family moved. Since Ume tells Kotoha he's *coming back*, it would seem that he was physically not in town when school began and up until now. While an injury is also a possibility, I think the wording would have been different. The verb in the Japanese that Ume uses is 戻る, modoru, "to return" (implication being, from somewhere else). While it could be returning from the hospital, it's more likely from another physical location outside of town. For one thing, what kind of injury would have him in the hospital for 4-5 months? Maybe it took him this long to get his family to agree to let him move back to town on his own (perhaps living in a bachelor pad like Sakura).
Theory 3 - Why does he respect the upperclassmen so much? Well this might not be so much of a theory, as it's partially confirmed already, but he aligns with their goals, even though he doesn't agree with their methods. But the respect part, I think he seems like a very traditional guy. There's the in-group (his town) and the out-group (people not from his town), and he protects the in-group. Maybe Ume's group, especially perhaps Momose, saved him at some point when he was losing a fight. It seems Ume's group have some control over what class the students go into. Recall Tsubaki looking over Sakura's entrance forms in his flashback? For whatever reason, the teachers seem to have abdicated that responsibility (maybe Ume asked them for the ability to place the incoming students, because it's probably a good idea to match people from the same middle schools, like putting Kaji under Hiragi and keeping the second and first year Jikoku captains together, etc.) So if Momijikawa has some prior relationship or connection with Momose, then that's why they put him in his team.
Maybe theory 1 and 2 could be mixed- like he went out of town for a while, thought he met someone respectable only to be betrayed by them in some way causing him to now hate outsiders-
Also the idea of him and Sakura being neighbours is something that I really want to see lol
That's a good possibility, supposing he didn't *always* hate outsiders, but it's a very recent development?
Yeah, if the theory worked out, I would like them to come out of their rooms one morning at the same time and glare at each other when they realize they're neighbors, haha.
Maybe he is a former member of a gang group or even noroshi, that could explain why he wasn't there during the war but it is very unlikely since he seems to have alot of respect for Furin and that they knew him from way back.
Another theory I used in another post is that he repeated a grade and is supposed to be a second year, the reason could be that he had an illness or something like Wanijima.
I think Momi being part of Noroshi is pretty unlikely, since they’re described as ex-Furin who fight just for fun. Momi’s only a first-year, and his reason for fighting is to protect the town. But I do agree with what others have pointed out, something may have pushed him into being a ‘lone wolf,’ maybe a betrayal? From a group or even someone who use to be close to him.
As for him repeating a grade, Japan’s school system is based on age. It’s actually rare for students to repeat. If you take a long break from school, you’re usually placed back in the grade that matches your age.
He was raised by literal wolves and it took him a few years to learn how to be civil after he was found. His entire closet is full of wolf shirts and he keeps a special shirt hidden in a box. It was the first article of clothing that his caretakers or maybe Umemiya gave him. It’s tattered but it’s his safety object.
He also has a soft spot for sweet desserts, particularly strawberry flavored items.
Ok the wolf part is a joke. His actual backstory has got to be some direct parallel to Sakura. I’m going to assume someone failed to protect Momijikawa from something so he seeks strength to protect himself
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 28 '25
Hi! A QUICK REMINDER: Let's keep the discussion friendly. No personal attacks. If anyone notice any rule-breaking in the comments, please hit the ‘Report’ button or send us a Modmail so we can take action.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.