Strengths: Mental/Emotional: Perhaps ironically given that he is a personification of death, Ryoji actually places great value on life. Not so much on his own, but then again he sees his life as having brought suffering to others, and in any event, he knows he can’t really die. However, because of the humanity he has been given, he has a great love of life and for life. His sorrow and guilt over having to be the end of it brings him to tears.
Along with that, he does not like to see those he cares about suffer. He is willing, when he is able, to sacrifice his own well-being if he thinks it will ease the suffering of others, as seen in the choice he offers SEES to have Minato kill him as Ryoji. By being killed in this form, he would eliminate the Dark Hour and take away their memories of it, so that they could live their last few months in peace, without the suffering he thinks they would endure by living their last month, knowing they are in their last days.
He also has great respect for freedom and is willing to let people have time to think over decisions, as when he gives SEES a month to absorb what he tells them about The Fall and make their choice to fight to the end or to have a time of ignorant happiness before it all ends. Even if he might try six ways from Sunday to convince Minato to kill him, in the end he respects the choice made and does what he can to help prepare them.
In other circumstances (i.e. when he doesn’t think the end of the world is imminent and isn’t feeling guilty or sad over something), Ryoji is resiliently cheerful. While he can be made sad or worried (hey, exams are totally things to worry over even if he winds up not taking them), usually he is quite upbeat and quick to laughter, which is a strength that keeps him from getting downtrodden over small things (like rejection from a girl).
Also his shameless flirting with all the girls in the school is totally a strength – it demonstrates his complete lack of shame and a near complete lack of fear! ;)
…. And he has a strong (personal) working knowledge of Tarot!
Physical/Powers/etc.: He is not human. He is a Shadow, but not an ordinary one. Rather, he is an amalgam of many lesser Shadows, transformed into The Appriser who both summons Nyx (though neither willingly nor in any way he has conscious control over – it’s just something his mere existence does) and ultimately becomes a part of Nyx in the form of Nyx’s Avatar. Nixing Nyx herself, he is the final boss of the game and consequently is actually quite powerful. A detailed list of what Nyx Avatar is capable of can be found on the page on it linked in the history section, and notably, since it is made of powerful shadows representing the first thirteen Major Arcana, it can switch between its apparent Arcana (and thus strengths and weaknesses), though its true Arcana is Death, and it is likely that in Luceti, it will only ever be Death, unless there’s some good reason for it to change.
Although he as Ryoji Mochizuki can die and he as Nyx Avatar can be defeated for a time in battle, it’s impossible to truly destroy him, because you cannot really destroy Death. And even if you were going to try to defeat him, he has a lot of HP, and you can only deplete one bar at a time is extremely durable.
It should be noted that even in a human form, Ryoji can still access at least some of his power. It is unclear how much or what limitations there are to this, however, since the only time we really see him exercise his power in human form is when Aigis confronts him on the Moonlight Bridge. At this point, he is able to simply prevent any of her attacks from touching him. Perhaps he is projecting a form of Moonless Gown here? Or perhaps it is simply some unnamed ability to absorb and possibly rebound the energy Aigis puts into it. Either way, Aigis ends up breaking in the fight without doing any physical damage to Ryoji.
Luceti-nerfing? Clearly he can be killed (as much as anyone can in Luceti, at any rate). It’s just… probably harder to kill him than it is to kill an average human, especially if he’s in either his Death or Nyx Avatar forms. Also, there would be a general weakening of his power – the magic he can wield and his durability, etc. For a specific example, perhaps if he were to make use of the power of ‘Moonless Gown,’ it would either not be able to reflect everything or it would only be sustainable for very, very short amounts of time and require a lot of effort to do so. It probably would also not reflect things back just as strongly as they hit it, anymore.
Importantly, his presence in Luceti will *not* summon Nyx here, because of course the barrier around it prevents any communication with things outside of said barrier, and presumably the bulk of Nyx (besides the part that is Ryoji) is outside of the barrier.
On the subject of other forms, he retains the ability to shift between his human form and his shadow form at will, even if he’s extremely unlikely to exercise it because he likes being human, thank you very much. It is possible he may transform under certain conditions, however. For example, if someone asked to see what his true form was and he had no reason to deny them, or if danger were to draw near, and he wished to offer protection to others.
In addition, while theoretically he can also return to his Nyx Avatar state, as that is very much a part of him now, it’s an option he will never, ever willingly take unless, perhaps, he had no choice. But that is more obligation than willingness. But it probably takes quite a bit of effort to go from Ryoji to Nyx Avatar, and he’d likely be very drained (physically and emotionally) when he returned to being Ryoji so even if it were something he did do or was made to do, it is not something he could just lightly switch on and off.
Weaknesses: Mental/Emotional: When it seems as though the end is inevitable, Ryoji despairs instead of hopes. Although perhaps seeing what Minato accomplishes with the Great Seal may teach Ryoji about having hope and a will to keep going, even when all seems lost, still it is not easy for him to move past inevitability and look for another option or avoid sinking into despair and especially guilt.
Even if it’s something he cannot actually control and cannot help, if something about him – such as his purpose of existence – brings pain and suffering to others, Ryoji will feel immense guilt. And really, he is more emotionally vulnerable than his normal cheer would let on, but this is in part because he’s still new to this whole living and being human thing. And when he comes to Luceti, he’ll be sorting out his thoughts and feelings about everything that happened and figuring out where to go as a person, which leaves him in a vulnerable state at present…
His over-enthusiasm when it comes to girls has gotten him into trouble a time or two, because let’s face it, sadly not all girls enjoy being hit on by him, nor do they appreciate being ‘accidentally’ spied upon in hot springs…
But interestingly, as can be seen through his social link with Minako in her version of events, when he is really serious about a girl, he drops some of the cheer and the flirting and strives to be very sincere and honest. And he also admits that being alone scares him. And the fear of being alone is another emotional weakness (and quite possibly one of the reasons he is so flirtatious).
Also, he does not place great value on his own life and own existence. He knows he cannot truly die, anyway, so he is willing to be killed if by his death as Ryoji, he can ease or prevent the suffering of his friends. I speculate that it is because he sees himself as a cause of the suffering and mental pain of others that he disappears for the month of December, even though he is still at that point Ryoji. He wishes to be out of their sight, because he knows what he is and the knowledge he has imparted has upset them.
Also, rather than actively fighting his own fate, he simply resigns himself to it. Of course, whether it would have been possible for him to fight becoming Nyx Avatar is open for debate, but we’ll never know if it was possible, since he says it isn’t and thus doesn’t try.
Powers/Physical/etc.: As Ryoji Mochizuki, he’s not very strong physically, for all his durability. A human body is a human body, after all, and his is that of a skinny teenage boy.
His exact “elemental” weakness and whatnot varies with whatever Arcana he is embodying at a given moment, though most of the time he will theoretically default to Death, as that is his true Arcana.
The first time we see him use his power in human form against Aigis, he later collapses, but it is unclear if his exhaustion is from the battle, from the shock of the returned memories or both. Still, it can be assumed that although he has a lot of energy, it is not boundless, and he can’t really defend himself if he’s unconscious.
… but honestly, Death doesn’t really… have much in the way of physical weaknesses per se…. being the eternal anthropomorphic personification of part of the tarot deck and all…
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Strengths:
Mental/Emotional: Perhaps ironically given that he is a personification of death, Ryoji actually places great value on life. Not so much on his own, but then again he sees his life as having brought suffering to others, and in any event, he knows he can’t really die. However, because of the humanity he has been given, he has a great love of life and for life. His sorrow and guilt over having to be the end of it brings him to tears.
Along with that, he does not like to see those he cares about suffer. He is willing, when he is able, to sacrifice his own well-being if he thinks it will ease the suffering of others, as seen in the choice he offers SEES to have Minato kill him as Ryoji. By being killed in this form, he would eliminate the Dark Hour and take away their memories of it, so that they could live their last few months in peace, without the suffering he thinks they would endure by living their last month, knowing they are in their last days.
He also has great respect for freedom and is willing to let people have time to think over decisions, as when he gives SEES a month to absorb what he tells them about The Fall and make their choice to fight to the end or to have a time of ignorant happiness before it all ends. Even if he might try six ways from Sunday to convince Minato to kill him, in the end he respects the choice made and does what he can to help prepare them.
In other circumstances (i.e. when he doesn’t think the end of the world is imminent and isn’t feeling guilty or sad over something), Ryoji is resiliently cheerful. While he can be made sad or worried (hey, exams are totally things to worry over
even if he winds up not taking them), usually he is quite upbeat and quick to laughter, which is a strength that keeps him from getting downtrodden over small things (like rejection from a girl).Also his shameless flirting with all the girls in the school is totally a strength – it demonstrates his complete lack of shame and a near complete lack of fear! ;)
…. And he has a strong (personal) working knowledge of Tarot!
Physical/Powers/etc.:
He is not human. He is a Shadow, but not an ordinary one. Rather, he is an amalgam of many lesser Shadows, transformed into The Appriser who both summons Nyx (though neither willingly nor in any way he has conscious control over – it’s just something his mere existence does) and ultimately becomes a part of Nyx in the form of Nyx’s Avatar. Nixing Nyx herself, he is the final boss of the game and consequently is actually quite powerful. A detailed list of what Nyx Avatar is capable of can be found on the page on it linked in the history section, and notably, since it is made of powerful shadows representing the first thirteen Major Arcana, it can switch between its apparent Arcana (and thus strengths and weaknesses), though its true Arcana is Death, and it is likely that in Luceti, it will only ever be Death, unless there’s some good reason for it to change.
Although he as Ryoji Mochizuki can die and he as Nyx Avatar can be defeated for a time in battle, it’s impossible to truly destroy him, because you cannot really destroy Death. And even if you were going to try to defeat him, he
has a lot of HP, and you can only deplete one bar at a timeis extremely durable.It should be noted that even in a human form, Ryoji can still access at least some of his power. It is unclear how much or what limitations there are to this, however, since the only time we really see him exercise his power in human form is when Aigis confronts him on the Moonlight Bridge. At this point, he is able to simply prevent any of her attacks from touching him. Perhaps he is projecting a form of Moonless Gown here? Or perhaps it is simply some unnamed ability to absorb and possibly rebound the energy Aigis puts into it. Either way, Aigis ends up breaking in the fight without doing any physical damage to Ryoji.
Luceti-nerfing? Clearly he can be killed (as much as anyone can in Luceti, at any rate). It’s just… probably harder to kill him than it is to kill an average human, especially if he’s in either his Death or Nyx Avatar forms. Also, there would be a general weakening of his power – the magic he can wield and his durability, etc. For a specific example, perhaps if he were to make use of the power of ‘Moonless Gown,’ it would either not be able to reflect everything or it would only be sustainable for very, very short amounts of time and require a lot of effort to do so. It probably would also not reflect things back just as strongly as they hit it, anymore.
Importantly, his presence in Luceti will *not* summon Nyx here, because of course the barrier around it prevents any communication with things outside of said barrier, and presumably the bulk of Nyx (besides the part that is Ryoji) is outside of the barrier.
On the subject of other forms, he retains the ability to shift between his human form and his shadow form at will, even if he’s extremely unlikely to exercise it because he likes being human, thank you very much. It is possible he may transform under certain conditions, however. For example, if someone asked to see what his true form was and he had no reason to deny them, or if danger were to draw near, and he wished to offer protection to others.
In addition, while theoretically he can also return to his Nyx Avatar state, as that is very much a part of him now, it’s an option he will never, ever willingly take unless, perhaps, he had no choice. But that is more obligation than willingness. But it probably takes quite a bit of effort to go from Ryoji to Nyx Avatar, and he’d likely be very drained (physically and emotionally) when he returned to being Ryoji so even if it were something he did do or was made to do, it is not something he could just lightly switch on and off.
Weaknesses:
Mental/Emotional: When it seems as though the end is inevitable, Ryoji despairs instead of hopes. Although perhaps seeing what Minato accomplishes with the Great Seal may teach Ryoji about having hope and a will to keep going, even when all seems lost, still it is not easy for him to move past inevitability and look for another option or avoid sinking into despair and especially guilt.
Even if it’s something he cannot actually control and cannot help, if something about him – such as his purpose of existence – brings pain and suffering to others, Ryoji will feel immense guilt. And really, he is more emotionally vulnerable than his normal cheer would let on, but this is in part because he’s still new to this whole living and being human thing. And when he comes to Luceti, he’ll be sorting out his thoughts and feelings about everything that happened and figuring out where to go as a person, which leaves him in a vulnerable state at present…
His over-enthusiasm when it comes to girls has gotten him into trouble a time or two, because let’s face it,
sadlynot all girls enjoy being hit on by him, nor do they appreciate being ‘accidentally’ spied upon in hot springs…But interestingly, as can be seen through his social link with Minako in her version of events, when he is really serious about a girl, he drops some of the cheer and the flirting and strives to be very sincere and honest. And he also admits that being alone scares him. And the fear of being alone is another emotional weakness (and quite possibly one of the reasons he is so flirtatious).
Also, he does not place great value on his own life and own existence. He knows he cannot truly die, anyway, so he is willing to be killed if by his death as Ryoji, he can ease or prevent the suffering of his friends. I speculate that it is because he sees himself as a cause of the suffering and mental pain of others that he disappears for the month of December, even though he is still at that point Ryoji. He wishes to be out of their sight, because he knows what he is and the knowledge he has imparted has upset them.
Also, rather than actively fighting his own fate, he simply resigns himself to it. Of course, whether it would have been possible for him to fight becoming Nyx Avatar is open for debate, but we’ll never know if it was possible, since he says it isn’t and thus doesn’t try.
Powers/Physical/etc.: As Ryoji Mochizuki, he’s not very strong physically, for all his durability. A human body is a human body, after all, and his is that of a skinny teenage boy.
His exact “elemental” weakness and whatnot varies with whatever Arcana he is embodying at a given moment, though most of the time he will theoretically default to Death, as that is his true Arcana.
The first time we see him use his power in human form against Aigis, he later collapses, but it is unclear if his exhaustion is from the battle, from the shock of the returned memories or both. Still, it can be assumed that although he has a lot of energy, it is not boundless, and he can’t really defend himself if he’s unconscious.
… but honestly, Death doesn’t really… have much in the way of physical weaknesses per se…. being the eternal anthropomorphic personification of part of the tarot deck and all…