Yo it's time
This is a "why Rean is underrated" post
I'm making this because I fully intend to convince each and every one of you that Rean is actually an amazing character despite what you might htink, and that you've all been looking at him the wrong way. Oh man, I can totally see the reactions now:
"Rean was a good character the entire time?! Gosh, if only I had known sooner..."
"Ahhhh, so the headpats were a deconstrunction!"
"Thanks PK-sama ♥"
Yeah
right. I'm not arrogant enough to think that my opinion is 100% correct, and I know better than to suggest that Rean doesn't really have flaws. Rean absolutely has flaws! He's an immensely selfless, immensely talented lady killer with an imouto that wants to bang him, loads of people who love and care for him and even the antagonists who love and care for him. There's no denying he's pretty archetypical, and it's a shame they don't really do much subvert it. Rean is overly selfless, and with the exception of one great instance, it's almost always framed in a positive light. A sort of "you're such a goody two shoes but that's what makes you special" thing that's common to pretty much every protagonist ever. The more unique aspects of his character (his belief that he'll never measure up) doesn't get enough exposure.
THAT SAID, I don't think people are giving him enough credit. While the aforementioned traits are an indelible part of his character, Falcom does good things with him. For starters, Rean is a
fun audience surrogate. He has a
sassiness that isn't overbearing,
is a natural at carrying conversations, and
generally strong dialogue. In story scenes, he has a
refreshing assertiveness for a protagonist (rather than being someone who just reacts to things) some
genuinely great moments (
<-- MAJOR CS2 SPOILERS), and he's given juuust enough backstory so that he actually feels like he exists in the game's universe, rather than being just some nobody clearly there for the audience to self insert into. Yeah he's got cheesy friendship speeches up the ass, but
they don't hesitate to poke fun at him for it. (<---
CS1 Spoilers) Also worth noting that his English VA absolutely KILLS IT, nailing dialogue that would ordinarily sound completely terrible (his JP VA is basically terrible in comparison, lmao).
Ultimately, while cliched and disappointing in several aspects, I don't think that Rean is actually that bad of a character in practice. I can honestly say I like Rean despite his flaws. I know that makes me a tool, but whatever! I like Estelle! I'll probably like Lloyd and that guy from 3rd too! I'd be hard pressed to suggest Rean is a great protagonist, but I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that he isn't a blatantly terrible one either. And with CS2's epilogue, I think he's got a genuine shot of being a great protagonist, though it's purely up in the air atm.
That's my 2 mira, PEACE