Talk:Rito Yuuki/@comment-26804024-20151231023311/@comment-26804024-20151231182957

I understand where you're coming from, but I think what makes Rito as good as he is (to me) is that he's not SUPPOSED to be overly-developing, multiple layers sort of character. He is who he is, and he does what he can/what he needs to to make it day to day. He may lack initiative, but I think of it like this: he's like Alice from Alice in Wonderland. He has opinions and outlooks on the curious things surrounding him, and he often questions them when compared to his opinion of a normal world. But he's in the story as an observer; as someone who picks up new characters along the way as he travels from point A to point B in the plot as oppposed to his changing from one person to another. And even then, he actually has had some development: he's not as shy as he used to be, he now realizes that he wants more than just Haruna and his birth-family in his life, and his recent decision to let Nemesis live inside him until she recovers has opened up a figurative window into the inner workings of his mind due to her ability to see and assess his thinking and feelings. Is this massive development? No, but it's as much as there needs to be. Nobody comes to TLR expecting the emotional torment that FMA Brotherhood provides or the philosophy of survival and war that Attack on Titan gives, but that's the point. With all the shit there is in the world, you need things that help you sleep at night as opposed to keep you up asking questions. You need a Calvin and Hobbes/The Far Side for every serious news article. You need a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for every Doctor Who. You need a good laugh or a heartwarming backpat for everything in life that might get you down; you need balance and variety. I know I might be going off on a tandem here, but this is what TLR is to me, and by extension, what Rito is to me. Nothing explicitly complex. Nothing overly strenuous to think about when you see the words "To be continued" at the end of each manga chapter. Just some smiles and some entertainment to help keep the good times coming whenever they're needed. Rito may "lack initiative", but for me he makes up for it by just being part of something I'm glad to call myself a fan of. And he has "become better than himself"; he has become more tolerant and more understanding with Lala, more confident to approach and interact with Haruna, more willing to give Yami his kindness despite their first encounter, etc. To Love-Ru may not be the deepest or most complicated anime ever, but again, we need that sort of diversity in order to enjoy the rest of our meal. And Rito is the perfect mild sauce to go with that kind of tasty steak.

Sorry, was that too much of an explanation or did I say too much?