Even when Ryouichi was introduced for the very first time in Hanakimi, he was labeled as a selfish person with a bad personality, through Umeda's point of view but nevertheless, it did count when he happens to be Ryouichi's good friend, and when next to nothing is known about the man in his present years. His character of twelve years ago constituted the inner complexity of the man; his intentions to create a perfect image of himself, his emotional bond to Masato for reasons that will certainly grant a headache just trying to comprehend, and most of all, the way he chose to look at things.
Then there's that small look into Ryouichi's true self, how Umeda was able to crack through his barrier - how the guy actually broke down right in front of him. He didn't fight back and remain in his little angst bubble when Umeda slapped him with the reality of what he was doing; Ryouichi accepted it because all along, he knew it was the truth, which was why he was using the difference between their family backgrounds as a justification instead of flat-out denying it. It's one of the little aspects of the story that finally made Ryouichi a believable character to me, that he truly wasn't a bastard because he didn't ignore or punch Umeda's lights out, and how it managed to crack deeper and finally went pass the whole 'it's fun to tease Umeda and make his feelings spiral' line Ryouichi set between them.
Twelve years later, he still seemed to be as frustratingly complicated, this time, revolving around his true nature and the glimmers of his personality shown briefly in Hanakimi. Yume Miru Happa, however, dwells deeper into his personality, and portrays a confident, generally cheerful young man, a far cry from his stubborn and confused self years ago. What is retained, amusingly, is his manipulative streak, which seems to grow larger over the years. *grins* And so, while he undoubtedly had his issues finally sorted out, Ryouichi, for better or worse, will always be an ass, no matter which manga he appeared in. (We can blame that assumption on the lack of screen time Nakajo gave him, excluding the fact that he has his very own manga, because it was done way before Hanakimi... and I'd like to see something about him with Umeda's influence so I’d like to be proven wrong, and 'kay, I'll shut up now.)
But though Ryouichi may be exasperating, it seems he did know when to draw the line. The ending of Yume Miru Happa ended with Futaba hugging Masato from behind, after his confrontation with Ryouichi. The man had came to his senses then, and quietly, but surely, supports Masato's happiness. I believe that though he might've done some things that people didn't like, if Ryouichi had - truly - upset someone, he would reflect on it (with a little push, naturally), and indeed, he was redeemed in the eyes of many readers for his final dialogue before Yume Miru Happa ends.
The man did have a hell of a messy childhood, which Nakajo sensei explained was the cause of his warped personality. Even though that doesn't completely justify his behavior since he is living with good-natured people now, evident by the friendly atmosphere compared to fourteen years ago, it did somewhat explain to me why he'll always work in his own pace, and why he’ll always perceive things slightly differently than the rest of them.
Touching on another related issue… really now, as much as I adore that little thing (for lack of a better word) Umeda has with Ryouichi, I, for the life of me, can't figure out why he liked everything about the man. Accepting his flaws, possibly; liking his flaws is another story.
But maybe it has to do with loving Ryouichi as a whole. His enthusiastic nature when he first met Futaba in Yume Miru Happa? Pleasantly surprising, and check. Managing a fortune-telling business? It adds to the cool factor, so check. Helping out in business when others aren't available? Not much, but where the man is concerned - check. Allowing Umeda to crumble him and then kiss him in his teens? Oh yes, check. How they positively reek of sex whenever they're together, cigarettes and all? CHECK. Okay, so the last one didn't count, and I should probably stop with the gleeful nitpicking.
Then there're the flaws; deceiving and manipulating Masato (which he did seem to reflect on later), the little things that Ryouichi did that made Umeda twitch - perhaps it has more to do with the fact that they are best friends that Ryouichi thinks he could indeed get away with it. (And did Umeda ever let him. =D) They're comfortable with each other, Umeda knows about Ryouichi's true nature, Ryouichi shopping coats and perfume for him (which, for the love of everything that's holy, actually reminded me of the actions of a fussy wife more than a pushy bastard.... Umeda’s comical reactions to that were definitely not helping), and how there's that relaxed air whenever they're together.
I've always wondered about that vibe when Umeda and Ryouichi got together again for that date, until it struck me: that they were able to talk about Masato with so much ease now, when it was a subject so sensitive to them a long time ago, shows how much steps they took beyond what was shown to us in their past. They do get along together in the few scenes Hanakimi showed, and I'm assuming it's also the same in all the times they were together (it wasn’t the first time they’ve hung out since the coat Umeda wore in that school trip in Volume 7/8+ was given by Ryouichi, and apparently, Umeda has been seeing Ryouichi quite regularly.)
Ryouichi is by no means a saint, nor is he out to torment Umeda or the people around him and actually - enjoy - it. Maybe he would to some extent twelve years ago, just for kicks, but being able to let go of his attachment to Masato years later and able to let Umeda see the whole of him really did point out how much he had changed, in some ways. Even Nakajo made light of Ryouichi's (generally) egocentric streak when she teased Umeda, which somewhat implies that people who care about Ryouichi really weren't suffering from it, as they've come to accept and like him for who he is.
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