this stems from a deep discussion with my friend about the anime as i’m on my third rewatch (spread out) and i’m gonna use he/him cause we’re talking about ryo and not satan as a whole.

ryo is supposed to be a character that you hate because he ruins everything he touches and drags the whole world to hell with him, right? but by the end of the show you’ve gone on this full journey with him willing or unwilling where his motives have been shrouded in mystery and half truths only to realize alongside him that the only thing that could have made him happy is the one thing he could’ve protected. like if at any point in time prior to akiras death he realized that he was in love with him it could’ve saved everything but he could not even fathom that emotion until it was too late and that’s his tragedy. he is quite literally so inept at feeling anything that it takes the world ending for him to be able to recognize he is feeling something.

my friend hates ryo and feels like he was undeserving and incapable of love. i disagree heavily. i think ryo is supposed to challenge our gut feeling about who can love, what it means to be loved and what we would do for love. if your first instinct is to count out or downplay his feelings for akira, are you not doing what caused this all in the first place?

idk i just feel like there’s no respect on ryos name and hearing people hate on such a well written nb character drives me a lil crazy.

tldr: ryo is definitely a villain but he deserves a lil more conscious thinking. i can clarify, i did just finish watching and it’s like after midnight so sorry if it’s confusing!