I'm one of those people who doesn't necessarily have a problem with his loudmouthed anger (though I did tire of it real fast -- but that's more of a personal taste thing than an actual issue with the writing). I am legit just pressed about the creepy anime tropes that get put on him. He's so outraged by how the girls treated by Kamoshida and then spends the rest of the game creeping on Ann, trying to pick up girls when they're clearly not interested, wanting to use his fame to get laid, etc. It is regressive. As much as we'd all like to handwave away those parts of his character as "eh it's just silly anime bullshit" it doesn't actually erase the fact that it's very much a present and consistent problem with his writing.
"Spends the rest of the game creeping on Ann" is patently untrue, though. He has 3 notable instances of where he creeps on Ann, and
all of them are shitty comedy gag moments that aren't funny. If anything, his interactions with Ann are pretty good, since it's a non-gimmicky guy/girl relationship that's layered with familiarity and a strong friendship.
I just emphatically disagree with his character regressing after the first arc. His conceit is helping the helpless, and that literally never changes (though he definitely loses sight of said goal and becomes conceited). There seems to be this weird sentiment wherein Ryuji personally being
disgusted by Kamoshida's warped treatment of highschool girls somehow conflicts with his perverted moments later on. I mean it's a somewhat misguided mindset, but there's still a HUGE different between Kamoshida's actions and Ryuji's idiotic perversions. And real talk, I don't expect an idiot like Ryuji (
or the developers) to pick up on the subtleties of sexism at the tender age of 16. Anyway, Juvenile gag scenes aside (which literally
all of the boys sans Akechi indulge in) I don't have a problem with him wanting to use his fame to get laid. It's a childish indulgence of someone who's on a power trip, a character who's spent nearly his entire life being abused and neglected, resulting in his desire to want more out of life. It's
not a gag aspect of his character either, because Ryuji is incredibly upset when Morgana calls him out on it.
But there's a follow up to that
I can't get enough of that shit. It's all part of a character arc that actually
amounts to something in the end.