I'm with you on Ryuko being OOC in this game in regards to killing. Maybe it's because it's a fighting game and all, but the complete lack of regard for killing Nui and Ragyo just doesn't seem like the Ryuko from the anime, who ultimately declined to kill both of them.
Ryuko: Yeah, yeah. Are you gonna die already, or what!
Yeah, as charming as the game is, one of my biggest complaints (so far! I still haven’t finished it ^^;) is honestly Ryuko’s attitude about killing.
Of course, you could argue that Ryuko doesn’t kill Nui and Ragyo in the anime because she undergoes character growth that doesn’t get to happen in the game due to the expedited pace, but I seriously, really don’t think Ryuko was ever genuinely a person who was cool with murdering people she doesn’t like.
I’ve written more on the subject here, but to keep it short, Ryuko only tries to take Nui’s life when she’s convinced herself that she’s a monster, and her development is less about her becoming less okay with killing people and more about how she won’t let her anger and rage control her. What makes Ryuko’s attitude so different in the end isn’t that she’s reconsidered her thoughts on murder but that she’s composed. Come episode 22, Ryuko ain’t saying that she’s gonna kill anyone to sound tough or to intimidate. She keeps her cool even against her worst enemies.
But that’s just what I think! Maybe I’ve interpreted the character all wrong. But Ryuko’s freak-out after she goes berserk and hurts others in episode 12, her devotion to defending even people she’s just met… I just struggle to see her as someone who’s actually a-okay with killing. The fact that Ryuko’s perfect fantasy in episode 20 depicts her as a sweet girl without any of the violent tendencies that she has in reality also points this way; not to mention, Ryuko outright admits that her picking fights and causing trouble are bad things when remarking on her childhood in episode 8.
And Ryuko? She doesn’t want to be bad. All the poor girl’s ever wanted is love, and I can’t imagine she’d ever think that getting angry and killing people would get her a lot of that.
