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Here's a thread overviewing Finral Roulacase as a character. He's one of my favorites in the series. 
This thread will give three things:
1. A brief overview of his history.
2. How his character traits and interactions are shaped by that history.
3. His development.
This thread will give three things:
1. A brief overview of his history.
2. How his character traits and interactions are shaped by that history.
3. His development.
His family background, combined with how he interacts with other characters and develops makes him interesting.
Finral is normally comedic, cowardly, irresponsible but kind. He was born into a family where offensive spatial mages were the norm. Finral does NOT fit into that norm.
Finral is normally comedic, cowardly, irresponsible but kind. He was born into a family where offensive spatial mages were the norm. Finral does NOT fit into that norm.
They insult the kind of magic he has and reprimand him for not being conventionally aggressive. In Finral's flashback, we see both his lack of offensive spatial magic and his nature land him chastisement from his family. As a result, he gives up on committing himself to anything.
1. This results in an avoidance of commitment and being ambitious.
We see this through multiple of his actions. He's known for flirting so much it distracts from his missions (ch 2). On the way to the underwater temple, while in Noelle's spell, he distracts himself from the mission by thinking of seashells to get women upon his return (ch 59).
After Asta is rescued from the EOTMS, instead of doing his work (as Yami points out), he suggests slacking off with Asta by going to a mixer (Chapter 37). He avoids fighting in the Sea Bed temple arc and runs away from Gifso's fighters, despite there being no killing intent.
Finral's line here is interesting." It's a line of defeat and an acceptance of what he's been told. Regardless of what he did, he was never enough (ch 70). To avoid all of this, he acts the way we see early on in the series.
2. His parents' consistent comparison between him and his brother leads him to develop feelings of inferiority and a lack of self-confidence.
Finral's chapter 70 flashback, we see a consistent juxtaposition of his chastisement with his brother's praise. When he's called a spineless oaf and his magic is insulted, Langris' more offensive spatial magic is praised.
In another flashback, his mother compares them again. sneering that Langris is better than Finral in both athletics and studying. She flat out says she only loves Langris. In fact, Langris, the younger brother, gets appointed the next head of the Vaude household (ch 126).
For Finral, this is devastating because it's like his very character is judged to be inferior in contrast to his younger brother's "better" traits. It gave him the idea that he had no place with people that were supposed to support him in comparison to someone who was "superior."
This taints his interactions with a very clear concern over rank and the respect (or lack of) that comes with it. For example, we see this whenever Finral complains about disrespect from people who he outranks or feels like he cannot afford to let his juniors outperform him.
When commanded by Gauche to take him back to the cave, Finral takes a problem with his tone because he outranks him, and asserts that he's his senior. He only decides to listen to Gauche when he BOWS to him. (ch50). This is repeated in chapter 53 with a comedic tone, of course.
I think that Finral has this fixation on seniority because he was constantly shamed for being outdone by and feels inferior to his younger brother. As a result, when younger/lower ranking people talk down to him or show superiority, they remind him of his comparison with Langris.
This is why after Finral eventually recognizes his own value and moves past the pain of his past experiences, he is able to greater appreciate the abilities of people he has seniority over. This is shown when he comments on Asta's growth in flying with the demon slayer sword.
Finral's development happens in stages. His self-value and confidence gradually increase. This is explored through things like developing a clear ambition and carrying himself with a greater degree of respect.
Firstly, he develops a clear ambition and sticks to it. After watching Asta fight having no magic against Vetto, he resolves to do his best and commit to a goal, one where the Black Bulls reign as the strongest squad. It's a change from running away from any kind of ambition to-
adopting one. At first, his self-value, at least when interacting with Langris directly, is pretty low. He ALLOWS Langris to slander him CONSTANTLY and even prevents Asta from talking back to him, claiming the younger brother is correct. He, however, DOESN'T allow the slander of-
the Black Bulls, the center of his ambitions. His heart beats quickly after the exchange, showing how scary standing up for himself is. These are some good details marking stages in Finral's character development.
THIS panel shows Finral's commitment to finding his own fighting style. After finding out Asta's arms were cursed and that he might not fight again, Finral shows frustration over the possibility of losing a fight partner that allows him to show his skills and shine to the fullest
He develops more in the Witches' Forest arc. He's more assertive when it comes to fighting people way stronger than he is - a contrast to his reluctance in the Vetto scenario. Look at the difference between these two interactions.
Despite this, Finral is determined to engage, shedding more of his cowardly traits. He willingly, instead of reluctantly, engages a much stronger enemy than him. Chapter 93 is a nice touch. Finral is willing to see the fight through to the end.
In the tournament, Finral FULLY puts more faith into his own fighting style - non-aggressive and personal. It's significant because it directly opposes his childhood upbringing that one must be traditionally aggressive, and have a set fighting style, as shown with Langris.
Finral now fully commits to his own personal style of doing things, rejecting his family's philosophy, and doing so with confidence. This is proven in him refusing to run away, despite the ability to, and STANDING UP for himself against Langris, regardless of the consequences.
Look at him go vs Elf Langris.
By this point, Finral has built up a great amount of self-confidence and has a clear goal instead of running away, but he's still developing. We know Finral still has his women problems. He flirts with nearly any woman that comes his way, and he's still growing to control himself
This problem is actually addressed and Finral makes a conscious effort to grow from it.
Just for the point.
I would say Finral's character journey is almost done, but personally, it was a hell of a ride. He goes from a cowardly, somewhat passive character who avoided ambition, to a more assertive, driven one by the Elf Arc, and he's still got more places to grow.
That's it for the thread lol. Let me know what you think.
Some stuff to add. Finral's character development is important because it is him finding his own solution instead of trying to adapt to and match everyone else. It's about finding his own uniqueness and letting that shine. There's nothing wrong with powerful spells, but-
Finral's story is so much better with his uniqueness in magic and fighting style.
