Riko
ESTP
Functional order: Se - Ti - Fe - Ni
Spoiler warning
This article will cover Riko’s analysis with spoilers and references from the first anime season. We’ll avoid talking about the manga, so if you haven’t read that yet, this article is safe for you!
Perceiving Functional Axis
Extroverted Sensing (Se) / Introverted Intuition (Ni)
Riko is a textbook Se dom, as many anime protagonists are. First and foremost, she shows the typical thought process of a high Se user: she takes action before thinking about the consequences, often to a point where she’s reckless and risks her life. A clear example of this is her approach with the Orb Piercer since she clearly didn’t evaluate the situation, leaving her and Reg in danger.
Why does this duo always find itself in perilous contexts? Because Reg can’t properly react as an INFJ with an underdeveloped Se and, regarding Riko, because she’s a young ESTP with an exuberant Se. So, Riko leads them to risks and Reg tries to somehow save them by using his unknown powers in extreme attempts that often lead to more troubles.
Riko is proactive: her mother could be alive, deep in the Abyss? Time to delve its secrets, even if they may kill you. She has the typical issues related to Se in higher positions in the stack, like being impulsive and unaware of the implication of her actions.
However, Riko also shows general and positive traits associated with high Se: she prefers to learn by doing, thus we can see her strong desire to visit the Abyss rather than scheming and studying the layers and their dangers. Riko is an obvious P, she enjoys the freedom of improvisation and doesn’t need routines and plans to feel safe and prepared. She rather adapts to new situations, quickly developing a solution that makes sense (using her auxiliary Ti), directly facing the issue.
Riko’s Se is balanced by an underdeveloped inferior Ni. This isn’t surprising, since she’s a pre-teen, and inferior functions are addressed later on in life. However, generally speaking, it’s undeniable how narrow her view is. As we stated above, Riko hasn’t a plan to follow or even a guideline to traverse the Abyss with: she simply wants to find her mother, and every action she makes blindly conforms to this impulsive desire.
At the same time, her Ni is still present in one particular aspect. Riko has one, clear goal in mind and she dedicates her life to its realization. She hasn’t any idea of how her life will be after this journey, what she really wants long-term. Her Ni is present to a point where she focuses on a single task/project/dream, but it’s underdeveloped, causing her to live without a clear understanding of her potential. This is not properly a flaw though, because Riko is still very young and more awareness from a child her age would only be unrealistic.
Judging Functional Axis
Introverted Thinking (Ti) / Extroverted Feeling (Fe)
Riko has a well-developed judging axis, considering she’s a pre-teen.
First, there’s her Ti. Riko has a clear approach to knowledge: she takes notes about every little detail she encounters in the Abyss, draws sketches, and then she organizes them in a notebook. So, Riko has her personal, subjective way to evaluate and explore reality. All those stored information are used as a way to understand her surroundings, making sense of the Abyss. She still remains a Se dom, so her first thought process is usually about simple and practical action to solve problems. However, Riko’s Ti is developed to a point where it’s able to aid her in a concrete way.
Then, there’s her Fe. There’s a matter we would like to point out here, about feeling functions. Riko can easily be confused for an ESFP, since she may give the idea of a high Fi user. We think that this stems from her strong will towards finding her mother: this isn’t a behavior strictly tied to this function, but rather a natural, human reaction. Riko shows her Se by instantly wanting to reach her deep in the Abyss, however, there aren’t signs of auxiliary Fi in this spontaneous reaction, as it’s not something that has to do with a sense of duty, something she thinks it’s right, or a step she needs to take in order to find her true self. Moreover, her Ti it’s pretty clear, so Fe in a tertiary position it’s implied. So, where can we pinpoint this?
Well, Riko is more aware of the social implication of her action than it may seem. She wants to find her mother not only because she deeply cares about her, but also as a way to be respected by the city of Orth and its inhabitants. Riko, in fact, desires to be acknowledged for her action and wishes for her journey to become legendary as her mother’s. Those are all common Fe traits. Obviously, Fe isn’t only about gaining approval, but when it manifests in this way, as a desire for recognition, (especially in younger Fe user) it’s usually a sign of her presence in some position of the stack.
We would like to reaffirm how Riko also shows healthy and positive traits of a Fe user, like her awareness of the emotional well-being of the environment. This is surprising especially considering how young she is. She has a clear understanding of social norms and she respects them, even if she’s a pre-teen, reckless Se dom - to the point where she often mediates in conflicts and tends to take by heart the general happiness of the people she meets over her own.