Classic Rito

At the beginning of the series, Rito was the personification of the typical teenager: shy and easily overwhelmed by social and romantic anxiety. He was completely in love with Haruna Sairenji, but spent his days suffering in silence. He lacked the courage to express his feelings, preferring to retreat rather than risk rejection. When Lala literally fell into his life (and into his bathtub), Rito's initial reaction was pure panic and denial. He didn't seek out problems; problems found him, and his posture was purely reactive. He accepted the alien oddities and monumental misunderstandings almost as a punishment from fate, without knowing how to dictate the course of his own life. The "old" Rito actively avoided any emotional confrontation. If a situation required him to make a clear choice between his feelings for Lala or Haruna, he froze. This indecision operated as a defense mechanism to avoid hurting others, but ended up prolonging the misunderstandings. Although he had always been a good boy, in the beginning he was so focused on surviving the day-to-day grind of school and his own nervousness that he could hardly see the weight his actions (or lack thereof) had on the hearts of the girls around him.