User Profile

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Character: Ryou Naruse (real name: Tomoo Manaka. As he has been going by the name 'Ryou Naruse' for ten years, I will refer to him as that, since he keeps his real name hidden for a reason)
Series/Fandom: Maou (episode five)
Original or Template version: Original

Age: 28
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Sexuality: Heterosexual

Link to picture/PB of character: One, Two
Appearance: Ryou is not the most physically imposing of people; he has a round face with youthful, chubby cheeks that make him look younger than he really is, as well as adding to an appearance of being quite friendly and approachable. His appearance lends itself quite well to the 'angelic lawyer' nickname given to him by the press. In accordance with this rather youthful appearance is his height, which, at approximately 5'5, is hardly impressive. At a little under 50kg, it would be quite safe to say that he hardly has the most impressive build. In short; there are few that would say Ryou is intimidating. Beyond that, Ryou tends to almost permanently be seen wearing a suit, almost giving him the look of the quintessential 'salaryman'.

Other than his build, Ryou's features are also not particularly memorable. Whilst there aren't many that would say he is unattractive in the conventional sense, there are likewise few that would say he is attractive (in the conventional sense, of course) - his features, unless focused, tend to give him a slightly perplexed expression. Due to years of hiding his true self and his feelings on a number of matters, the emotions Ryou shows using his face are often not real - smiles rarely reach his eyes and last mere moments. His eyes, in fact, rarely seem to reflect his feelings when talking with others, remaining somewhat creepily devoid of feeling no matter the conversation. There are few subjects and people that can get a true response from Ryou. He has almost masterfully built up a façade for himself, allowing himself to appear far more 'normal' than he really is.

Personality: Taken on face value, Ryou appears to be polite, quiet and charming - perfectly aware of social status and standing, and how one should speak. His nickname of the 'angelic lawyer' is based on this appearance; that he is friendly and kind almost to a fault. He does, however, appear to be quiet and somewhat aloof. However, if the 'angelic lawyer' face of Ryou were once true, it is currently nothing more than a façade. The 'angelic lawyer' nickname he has been given directly opposes the manner in which Ryou views himself - that he is a 'devil'.

The death of his family changed him from a boy who was cheerful and giving into a youth that was angry at a justice system that allowed such gross miscarriages in the name of 'law'. After finding the Serizawa household and confronting Naoto's father, Ryou swore revenge and his words hinted at the fact that he has a surprising amount of patience and ability to wait for the opportune moment.

It appears that as a boy he was far more outwardly emotional than he is as an adult, where he has an almost permanent appearance of being cool, calm and collected. His words are softly spoken and filled with multiple meanings. Despite his quest for revenge, he tries not to allow emotions to cloud his judgement (in fact, it seems that he is after acknowledgement from Naoto that he did wrong in the past, to feel sorry for his actions and to know how it felt to lose everyone you cared for. He does not believe his actions are right, and he wants Naoto to catch him).

After losing those he loved, Ryou appears to have difficulty in connecting with people on anything more than a superficial level, for which there are multiple reasons - the primary of which must be that he takes so much care in hiding all those aspects of himself that he does not want others to know, going so far as to continue living as his (deceased) best friend.

He is, despite appearances and in accordance with his younger self, incredibly susceptible to emotions and the way others around him are feeling, even if he has difficulty understanding why they might feel that way.

He seems to have a dislike for himself and to a certain extent his actions, almost lamenting the fact that it has 'had' to reach this conclusion for Naoto - or anyone - to understand. After meeting Shiori, his hardened belief in his actions seem to waver, and he shows signs of true regret for some of them, before telling Naoto to 'please hurry up and catch the killer'. In accordance with his dislike, he seems to not want to defile those people he likes and cares for with his true self (particularly Shiori, who seems to, almost unfortunately for Ryou, understand the puppeteer of the killings with surprising clarity, yet she still wants to save him - she understands that he 'must be in pain, too').

Physical Strengths: Ryou has no more physical strength than the average man of his weight, height and build; he is merely human. Having never taken more than a basic interest in sports, Ryou works merely to keep his body in a healthy condition and no more than that since it does not need to be any more than that. As a result, he has a rather average stamina and endurance level, although like most humans, it can be stretched to breaking point.
Psychological Strengths: Ryou is incredibly skilled in determining a person - what drives them, their fears and dislikes. Of course, he puts in the necessary research to do as such, but he has, over the years, developed the skill quite well. As such, he is skilled in tapping into those fears and dreams and manipulating a person to do what he wants them to do, whether it be through words or (anonymous) letters sent in the post.

Physical Weaknesses: In short, it would be that he is human. In a more explained manner, it would simply be that he has never made any effort to build his body up beyond it's natural defence levels. He is only average in the ability to defend himself, and if he were placed against someone who knew what they were doing, he would undoubtedly lose. Also, his build and height work against him in that kind of situation.
Psychological Weaknesses: It would be that he is swayed by his own emotions and that the death of his family has effected him in such a disasturous manner. He is susceptible to words, particularly spoken by people who seem to understand him and his situation, whether they realise it or not. He's a man with mixed up and messed up feelings on the world, and it reflects itself in his mental state.

History: Ryou was the eldest son in a family of four, although his father died when he was young. After his fathers death, the family, which had never been particularly well off to begin with, was left with little money and although they struggled, they weren't unhappy with their situation to any great extent; the two brothers were close, and both got on well with their mother. When he was in high school, his younger brother Hideo was involved in an altercation with another student, and was stabbed and killed. The event devastated both Ryou and his mother, particularly since the boy who had killed Hideo, was not charged. Naoto Serizawa, the other boy involved in the incident was from an incredibly rich family and his father was able to afford a good lawyer who claimed it was self defence. Naoto's father forbid his son from telling the truth - that the incident had been a terrible accident, despite Naoto's own personal wishes. Not long after Hideo's death at Hideo's wake, Ryou's mother also passed away, suffering a heart attack, presumably prompted by stress.

After this event, Ryou (Tomoo) was left without family and was more or less homeless. After finding shelter in an otherwise abandoned building with his best friend, the real Ryou Naruse, a storm caused the building to collapse. The real Ryou Naruse was crushed beneath it. Tomoo's student ID was left near the body and it was presumed the deceased boy was Tomoo Manaka. From this point on, Tomoo took on Ryou's identity and lived as his best friend, using the name change to orchestrate the life and revenge he had otherwise longed for.

Eleven years after his brother and mother's deaths, Ryou had become a highly successful defence lawyer, as if acting out his late brother's dream. As such, his family's death was never far from his mind, and nor was the fact that Naoto had gotten away scot-free, and that Ryou had been unable to help either of them. Despite his position within the law, Ryou was determined to have revenge and to have apt judgement passed on Naoto and those involved with his brother's death and the miscarriage of justice - he wanted to show Naoto the kind of suffering he had been forced to go through because of a perverse legal system that allowed for lies. With the help of meticulously planned manipulation of people who know those whom Ryou wished to wreak revenge on, Ryou systematically orchestrated the murders of various people involved in the eleven year old case. Ryou would 'warn' Naoto - who had since become a detective - of upcoming murders via the use of cryptic clues in the form of letters and, primarily, tarot cards. The tarot card was also sent to the upcoming victim under the pseudonym of 'Amano Makoto' (which he wrote as 'truth's rain', and as an anagram of his real name, Tomoo Manaka).

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