There are probably Akechi Defense Squads that number the amount of times Yusuke has probably accidentally drank paint water (read: a lot) so can there be a Ryuji Defense Squad? Because much like Akechi, he gets a lot of flack from fans, but the thing is, Ryuji is probably the most disliked character in Persona 5.
His character gets misinterpreted a lot, especially since Atlus threw him over the wayside after Kamoshida’s Palace since he really had no more plot relevance (unfortunately). His role became to be the comic relief, but by doing so it reduced his character to the traits of being a loudmouth who has no filter and who is greedy for fame, who is considered stupid and rude by a lot of fans because of his actions (against Morgana, for example).
There’s a lot of key differences between the hate between Ryuji and Akechi. Akechi is hated because of his actions, for the fact that he betrays you at the end, but you’ve got to admit that he got the better end of the stick when it came to writing. Out of all the characters, Akechi Goro is one of the few focus characters that was given proper attention. He’s also the most popular character in Persona 5, with a bunch of fans in Japan as well as a heaping helping of divided fans overseas.
But Ryuji? Even Atlus seems to hate him. Thrown to the wolves after Kamoshida’s Palace, getting reduced to comic relief, getting blamed for all the shit that happened with Morgana (don’t even talk to me about that part of the game I hate it), beat up by the girls after Shido’s Palace where he essentially saved their lives (comic relief my ass)… Not to mention that there are fans that automatically write him off as a dude bro who’s perverted because of the way he stares at the girls.
People forget that Ryuji was Akira/Ren’s first friend in Tokyo. That he’s kind and considerate under all those layers of delinquent. That he tries to help others in anyway he could, as shown in his Confidant. That he is an abuse victim, both at home and at school and is probably trying to cope with it. Think about this: the only person Ryuji had in his life before the Phantom Thieves who stayed was his mother. He had no other role models, no other people to look up to, since he never mentioned anyone else he loved other than his mom. He was lonely, an outcast at school because of what Kamoshida had done. That is, until the Phantom Thieves came around.
A lot of fans come to the defense of Akechi, but not as many remember Ryuji gets either as much or more flack from the fandom and even official material, so Ryuji Defense Squad anyone?
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