Personality: Ever the stereotyped 'glasses' type of person, Rei Ryugazaki, at face value, is a nerd, plain and simple, but tends to look very ‘cool’. Confident, knowledgable, and smooth, Rei tends to do his best to look smooth and cool in everything that he does. He takes his sports just as seriously as he takes his studies. His grades are high, and he focuses on every minor detail to keep unsightly mistakes out of the way as best as possible. He's great at spotting detail and he focuses a lot on fine-tuning the smaller portions of everything. To classmates and teammates, he's a cool, collected individual who knows where he's headed in the future and has his mind in the right place. But the more one gets to know him, his little quirks that tend to show are rather ridiculous. From his obsession with beautiful things to his struggle for perfecting putting theories into practice, he tends to overreact loudly and panic in very undignified manners.
Rei's heart is in the right place, which makes him a very caring friend. While he worries over smaller things regarding himself and his own performance--like if he's still swimming to the standards of his swim team, if he's letting anyone down--he tends to analyze situations in order to put his own feelings aside. He cares about everyone he spends time with and tends to quietly worry over their well-being, whether it be pointing out helpful tips or trying to make sure people don't run themselves off a small fishing vessel on their way to a nearby island. When he doesn't understand a reaction a friend has, such as his swim team's captain Makoto Tachibana's panic attack in the water when he had gone to rescue a drowning Rei, he asked directly and tried to push a little just so he could understand in order to assist or to refrain from the actions in the future. He doesn't push too hard, but when he does, it's with good intentions; he just wants to help best he can, even though it might take words from someone else to change the subject or tell him to wait or back down. But he takes his friends' word to heart, and always keep his phone handy if someone needs his help.
Although he's young, he's quite responsible for his age outside of this. He promptly prepares himself for school every morning, including packing his own lunch, keeps himself organized, and does many things not asked for because they need to be done. He’s the first to volunteer to assist Nagisa in his studies, as he tends to keep track of Nagisa much as someone would do a sibling or a child. He puts a lot of thought into nutrition and balance, and it shows that despite his age, he’s good to talk with and he proves to be a wonderful listener. Due to his ability to solve problems without his heart getting into the way too much, he can provide insight that many high schoolers are unable to do, which definitely comes into play with his friends. He’s also more understanding because of this, and knows when not to take things personally.
His obsession with beautiful things is almost killer. Beauty comes in perfection, in holding the strongest and most elegant form or from receiving a perfect score on a test. It comes in butterfly charms and the greatest light balance in a photo. It comes in getting to show off his strongest muscles and proving theories he's read about and studied. His aspirations in the swim club were brought to light when he saw Haruka Nanase's dive into the water and a quick freestyle match with an opposing school during a joint practice at Samezuka Academy. He hadn't realized that swimming was more than loud splashing against the water, and began to hope that perhaps he could reach such a level of beauty with his own swimming. Due to his form and his inability to swim, he'd only been able to learn how to swim butterfly, but he did his best to make sure that not only did he excel in it with his team, but that his strokes would be as beautiful as possible. His style has already earned him the title of 'Big Brother Butterfly' by Makoto's younger twin siblings, something that he finds embarrassing but also enjoys. However, it isn't always something as pleasant as swimming: picking a swimsuit had him choosing a bright yellow speedo because he was told he had 'beautiful legs' and believed it would be best to choose a swimsuit to show them off, despite the penguin emblem on the bottom. Many times, Rei opts for choosing something on case of 'beauty', even though it tends to come off as ridiculous to most others. If something doesn’t come off as beautiful to him, he tends to make a dramatic display of explaining why it doesn’t, which is rather unsightly if not amusing to watch.
But his youth and immaturity do show when he speaks freely; as an expressive individual when being openly honest, there are many times when he will tactlessly--almost brutally--criticize a situation or speak an opinion more harshly than what he meant. He does his best to avoid from doing so, but he sometimes can’t help but blurt out what he’s truly feeling. He tends to apologize for it afterward to make amends if necessary, though. He is, however, rather arrogant at times. While he holds himself to high standards, he’s not afraid to boast a bit on them, whether he’s correct or not. He isn’t typically an arrogant person overall, but when his confidence is boosted, he tends to run his mouth a little excessively.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Rei is a smart, smart cookie. The boy knows facts on nearly everything, from important school subjects and track theories to seemingly pointless tidbits on animals. He loves scientific theories, and he can prattle on and on over numerous subjects merely because he does research on everything that catches his eye. A star pupil at school, he's consistently striving for high grades and he has his mind set on the future. What he doesn't understand, he does his best to research and learn until he can put things into practice with minimal flaws on his own. Granted, sometimes they don't work to par (like his first attempts at swimming), but he does his best.
His intelligence doesn't just stop there; while he seems like he's just booksmart, he's amazing at reading situations and understanding underlying problems with his friends. During an earlier argument between a Samezuka high school swimmer, Rin Matsuoka, and his own teammate Haruka Nanase, Rei was able to understand the problems they were having as friends through an outside perspective, enough to intervene by talking with Rin directly. The discussion didn't go quite as planned at first, as Rin and he nearly ended up exchanging fists, but the words were enough to drive home his point of trying to urge Rin to swim in their school relay. Not only then, but during the relays themselves, Rei made a sacrifice to bow out of the competition himself in order to make the relay more meaningful towards his friends. While his original fears were that he wouldn't be good enough, his friends had assured him that he was an irreplaceable team member and he knew their morale as a team, and as friends, would be boosted if they were able to swim that one relay with each other.
He's athletic. Previously a member of the track team, he's fast on his feet and he makes sure to keep himself in top shape by preparing a fairly balanced diet (or so he thinks, which was rebuked by team manager Gou Matsuoka), regular exercise--both through his school clubs and jogging to and from school every day--and extra practice when necessary. After practices, he'd secretly met with Rin in order to improve swimming, and although the extra practice made him more exhausted in class, he was still able to keep up his physical skill. He keeps his muscles strong and well cared-for, and while he's rather lean, he's quite built.
Unfortunately, the boy just cannot float to save his life. Due to his muscular form and his lack of swimming ability, he's able to do the butterfly stroke because the swim style keeps him out of the water, but every other stroke is a challenge. He tends to sink with nearly every style he learns, which makes it difficult for him to swim without floaties unless he's racing. Recently, he managed to learn to stay afloat trying the backstroke, but... he swims it quite poorly. Outside of his one style, there's very little chance he'll be able to swim his way anywhere, which... is pretty sad for him, when ladled with a water-type pokemon. On top of that, he gets seasick.
Rei's biggest weaknesses is Nagisa Hazuki. As his closest friend and classmate, Rei tends to spend a lot of time with Nagisa during the day, despite the fact that he becomes easily frustrated, flustered, and persistently pestered by the smaller swimmer. Nagisa, despite being almost flightly, has a way of tricking Rei into doing things for him, or letting him tag along, or coercing him into some awful idea. In a way, it's nearly manipulative, although Nagisa isn't mean-spirited with his actions. He's fallen privy to many pranks and set-ups because of him, but without Nagisa, Rei wouldn't have joined the swim club at all. As his friend who "changed his world" and brought new friends and people into his life, Nagisa is someone he would sacrifice a lot for... despite griping at him nearly daily.
Rei tends to work himself up over very minor things. Striving to uphold his own levels of aesthetics and keeping in line with rules, he tends to panic or get upset over not being as good. It's gotten him in trouble in the past: struggling with his inability to swim and wanting to prove himself as a strong member of the swim team, he opted for practicing swimming late at night on his own to become stronger, which nearly got him killed in the process. He also gets worked up quite easily over dealing with the most frustrating member and his best friend, Nagisa; his friend easily exasperates him over very small things, to the point where it becomes a game to see how worked up Rei will become over a minor issue.
Rei's obsession with beauty works as a strength and a weakness: while he tends to use striving for perfection as a goal to get stronger, it's also easy to convince him into something if he's told it looks beautiful. He works hard to maintain his level of beauty and maintaining that aesthetic, as he wishes to make sure everything can look as strong and glorious as possible, and his hard work does pay off. But on the other hand, he's easily convinced if something is worth trying or looks good because of his aesthetic, even if it's actually rather awful.
no subject
Rei's heart is in the right place, which makes him a very caring friend. While he worries over smaller things regarding himself and his own performance--like if he's still swimming to the standards of his swim team, if he's letting anyone down--he tends to analyze situations in order to put his own feelings aside. He cares about everyone he spends time with and tends to quietly worry over their well-being, whether it be pointing out helpful tips or trying to make sure people don't run themselves off a small fishing vessel on their way to a nearby island. When he doesn't understand a reaction a friend has, such as his swim team's captain Makoto Tachibana's panic attack in the water when he had gone to rescue a drowning Rei, he asked directly and tried to push a little just so he could understand in order to assist or to refrain from the actions in the future. He doesn't push too hard, but when he does, it's with good intentions; he just wants to help best he can, even though it might take words from someone else to change the subject or tell him to wait or back down. But he takes his friends' word to heart, and always keep his phone handy if someone needs his help.
Although he's young, he's quite responsible for his age outside of this. He promptly prepares himself for school every morning, including packing his own lunch, keeps himself organized, and does many things not asked for because they need to be done. He’s the first to volunteer to assist Nagisa in his studies, as he tends to keep track of Nagisa much as someone would do a sibling or a child. He puts a lot of thought into nutrition and balance, and it shows that despite his age, he’s good to talk with and he proves to be a wonderful listener. Due to his ability to solve problems without his heart getting into the way too much, he can provide insight that many high schoolers are unable to do, which definitely comes into play with his friends. He’s also more understanding because of this, and knows when not to take things personally.
His obsession with beautiful things is almost killer. Beauty comes in perfection, in holding the strongest and most elegant form or from receiving a perfect score on a test. It comes in butterfly charms and the greatest light balance in a photo. It comes in getting to show off his strongest muscles and proving theories he's read about and studied. His aspirations in the swim club were brought to light when he saw Haruka Nanase's dive into the water and a quick freestyle match with an opposing school during a joint practice at Samezuka Academy. He hadn't realized that swimming was more than loud splashing against the water, and began to hope that perhaps he could reach such a level of beauty with his own swimming. Due to his form and his inability to swim, he'd only been able to learn how to swim butterfly, but he did his best to make sure that not only did he excel in it with his team, but that his strokes would be as beautiful as possible. His style has already earned him the title of 'Big Brother Butterfly' by Makoto's younger twin siblings, something that he finds embarrassing but also enjoys. However, it isn't always something as pleasant as swimming: picking a swimsuit had him choosing a bright yellow speedo because he was told he had 'beautiful legs' and believed it would be best to choose a swimsuit to show them off, despite the penguin emblem on the bottom. Many times, Rei opts for choosing something on case of 'beauty', even though it tends to come off as ridiculous to most others. If something doesn’t come off as beautiful to him, he tends to make a dramatic display of explaining why it doesn’t, which is rather unsightly if not amusing to watch.
But his youth and immaturity do show when he speaks freely; as an expressive individual when being openly honest, there are many times when he will tactlessly--almost brutally--criticize a situation or speak an opinion more harshly than what he meant. He does his best to avoid from doing so, but he sometimes can’t help but blurt out what he’s truly feeling. He tends to apologize for it afterward to make amends if necessary, though. He is, however, rather arrogant at times. While he holds himself to high standards, he’s not afraid to boast a bit on them, whether he’s correct or not. He isn’t typically an arrogant person overall, but when his confidence is boosted, he tends to run his mouth a little excessively.
Strengths/Weaknesses:
Rei is a smart, smart cookie. The boy knows facts on nearly everything, from important school subjects and track theories to seemingly pointless tidbits on animals. He loves scientific theories, and he can prattle on and on over numerous subjects merely because he does research on everything that catches his eye. A star pupil at school, he's consistently striving for high grades and he has his mind set on the future. What he doesn't understand, he does his best to research and learn until he can put things into practice with minimal flaws on his own. Granted, sometimes they don't work to par (like his first attempts at swimming), but he does his best.
His intelligence doesn't just stop there; while he seems like he's just booksmart, he's amazing at reading situations and understanding underlying problems with his friends. During an earlier argument between a Samezuka high school swimmer, Rin Matsuoka, and his own teammate Haruka Nanase, Rei was able to understand the problems they were having as friends through an outside perspective, enough to intervene by talking with Rin directly. The discussion didn't go quite as planned at first, as Rin and he nearly ended up exchanging fists, but the words were enough to drive home his point of trying to urge Rin to swim in their school relay. Not only then, but during the relays themselves, Rei made a sacrifice to bow out of the competition himself in order to make the relay more meaningful towards his friends. While his original fears were that he wouldn't be good enough, his friends had assured him that he was an irreplaceable team member and he knew their morale as a team, and as friends, would be boosted if they were able to swim that one relay with each other.
He's athletic. Previously a member of the track team, he's fast on his feet and he makes sure to keep himself in top shape by preparing a fairly balanced diet (or so he thinks, which was rebuked by team manager Gou Matsuoka), regular exercise--both through his school clubs and jogging to and from school every day--and extra practice when necessary. After practices, he'd secretly met with Rin in order to improve swimming, and although the extra practice made him more exhausted in class, he was still able to keep up his physical skill. He keeps his muscles strong and well cared-for, and while he's rather lean, he's quite built.
Unfortunately, the boy just cannot float to save his life. Due to his muscular form and his lack of swimming ability, he's able to do the butterfly stroke because the swim style keeps him out of the water, but every other stroke is a challenge. He tends to sink with nearly every style he learns, which makes it difficult for him to swim without floaties unless he's racing. Recently, he managed to learn to stay afloat trying the backstroke, but... he swims it quite poorly. Outside of his one style, there's very little chance he'll be able to swim his way anywhere, which... is pretty sad for him, when ladled with a water-type pokemon. On top of that, he gets seasick.
Rei's biggest weaknesses is Nagisa Hazuki. As his closest friend and classmate, Rei tends to spend a lot of time with Nagisa during the day, despite the fact that he becomes easily frustrated, flustered, and persistently pestered by the smaller swimmer. Nagisa, despite being almost flightly, has a way of tricking Rei into doing things for him, or letting him tag along, or coercing him into some awful idea. In a way, it's nearly manipulative, although Nagisa isn't mean-spirited with his actions. He's fallen privy to many pranks and set-ups because of him, but without Nagisa, Rei wouldn't have joined the swim club at all. As his friend who "changed his world" and brought new friends and people into his life, Nagisa is someone he would sacrifice a lot for... despite griping at him nearly daily.
Rei tends to work himself up over very minor things. Striving to uphold his own levels of aesthetics and keeping in line with rules, he tends to panic or get upset over not being as good. It's gotten him in trouble in the past: struggling with his inability to swim and wanting to prove himself as a strong member of the swim team, he opted for practicing swimming late at night on his own to become stronger, which nearly got him killed in the process. He also gets worked up quite easily over dealing with the most frustrating member and his best friend, Nagisa; his friend easily exasperates him over very small things, to the point where it becomes a game to see how worked up Rei will become over a minor issue.
Rei's obsession with beauty works as a strength and a weakness: while he tends to use striving for perfection as a goal to get stronger, it's also easy to convince him into something if he's told it looks beautiful. He works hard to maintain his level of beauty and maintaining that aesthetic, as he wishes to make sure everything can look as strong and glorious as possible, and his hard work does pay off. But on the other hand, he's easily convinced if something is worth trying or looks good because of his aesthetic, even if it's actually rather awful.