OKAY I know that itās like a year later and there have been wonderful metas on Reigen in the new episode, and I know that as an anime-only Iām way behind to write an actual good analysis, but itās 12 am and I rewatched the second half again, and I needed to ramble a bit.Ā
Reigenās character development does not only happen when he reflects on his relationship with Mob. it does play a major role of course, but aside that, the part that really stood up for me was this part:Ā
I know that itās hilarious and all, but listen. Reigen is tired of acting all pleasant and satisfactory. look at him at the beginning of the conference. He stammers; heās obviously trying to be civil (thanking people who have stalked him, called him a fraud, ruined his career and forced him to hold a press conference for coming there. I mean itās the normal thing to do, but not for Reigen), he wants to make them satisfied. he printed out his motherās apology letter, ready to say it and end the whole mess. He wants to be the good guy. He has been trying to do so since Mob left him.Ā
Aside from the huge amount of secondhand embarrassment, the thing that really bothered me about this arc was how hard Reigen was trying to run away from himself.Ā
as far as I saw, this scene was viewed asĀ āReigen getting over his depression and trying to overcome the problemsā. But I donāt think so. He threw himself to his work, started overworking, trying his best to help the others and make himself known, not as a way of curing depression and his drag, but as an escape. He asks himself,Ā āwho am I?ā and the answer he tries to achieve is notĀ āReigen Aratakaā, itās another version of himself, a successful man in his work that does not need friends or Mob specifically. Thatās the whole reason that he decides to go to television, not out of selfishness or ego or self-confidence. He was desperate to show himself that he can be popular, to run away from his crushing loneliness. you wonāt need friends if youāre popular and successful, isnāt it right? If Mob was around in that period of time, I highly doubt that Reigen would take the risk to go to national TV, or even take Mob to the show to exorcise a ghost. the whole mess starts from his desperation.
(Iād like to point this out that later in theĀ press conferenceĀ he DOES NOT say anything about Mogami situation which is very important. he could easily take all the credit, bragging about it there. but he knows that itād involve Mob, and he does not want to put more pressure on him. yes Reigen is trash and selfish but he also cares about Mob deeply.)
The act of being nice and pleasant goes on. Reigen is not himself in ep 6 and the first half of ep 7. Heās not the man we know, the witty one with solutions up his sleeve. But suddenly, he gives up. his career is ruined, he has lost everything, so why does he need to be pleasant anymore?Ā āItās pretty common to suddenly get tired of allĀ this shit at the last minute.ā heās not talking about the press conference, the pressure of people tailing him and asking questions and so on. heās talking about running away, acting as someone else.his true self resurfaces again, calling the press on their bullshit.
there goes the reporters,
Again I know that the main focus was on Reigen and Mobās relationship and how they affected each other, saved each other. but this part was necessary, for Reigen to stop running away and face what he has done, and what he truly is. only then he starts reflecting on his wrongdoings, and the harmful things he has said to Mob.
TL;DR: Reigen Arataka was running away for whole two episodes, and heās starting to accept himself and who he is, with Mobās help ofc. also he is a sad man and needs a hug. plenty of hugs. save him.Ā
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