History Characters / TrailsSeriesReanSchwarzer

-->'''Rean:''' ...Instructor, do you mind if I cry a little?
-->'''Sara:''' Oh, just deal with it.

* AceCustom: Subverted in ''Cold Steel III''. If he's not piloting Valimar, he just uses a regular Drakkhen to teach the class. [[spoiler:Played straight in ''Origins'' where he has custom aschen-colored mech named "Tyrfing S".]]

[[center: [-[[Characters/TrailsSeries Main Character Page]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesLiberlRoyaltyAndMilitary Liberl Royalty and Military]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesLiberlCivillians Liberl Civilians]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesCrossbellGovernmentAndInfluentialGroups Crossbell Government and Influencial Groups]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesCrossbellPoliceAndMilitary Crossbell Self-Defense Force, Police and Special Support Section]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesCrossbellCivillians Crossbell Civillians]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaNobility Erebonia Imperial Family and Four Great Houses]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaChancellorOsborne Gilliath Osborne]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaIronblood The Ironbloods]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaMilitary Erebonia Military]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaThorsStaffAndInstructors Thors' Staff and Instructors]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaThorsClassVII Thors Class VII]] | '''Rean Schwarzer''' | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesCrowArmbrust Crow Armbrust]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaThorsMainCampusClasses Thors Main Campus Classes]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaThorsBranchCampus Thors Branch Campus]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesEreboniaOthers Erebonia Civillians and Major Groups]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesImperialLiberationFront Imperial Liberation Front]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesTheBracerGuild The Bracer Guild]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesOuroboros Ouroboros]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesJaegerCorps Jaeger Corps]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesSeptianChurch Septian Church]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesAncientZemurianCivilization Ancient Zemurian Civilization]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesSeptTerrionsAndHolyBeasts The Sept-Terrions and the Holy Beasts]] | [[Characters/TrailsSeriesPosthumousCharacters Posthumous Characters]]]]-]

* BroughtDownToBadass: [[spoiler:In ''Cold Steel IV'', Rean ends up losing his ogre power by the end of the game. However, this doesn't mean all that much, as by the time he lost it, he had already become a Divine Blade of the Eight Leaves One Blade style, something he accomplishes in a test against Cassius ''without'' using Spirit Unification.]]

*** [[spoiler:During the Ouroboros attack on the ''Pantagruel'', Musse orders a [[RammingAlwaysWorks suicide attack]] on the ''Glorious'', which is averted when Olivert reveals himself to be alive and arrives in the ''Courageous II''. After the attack is repelled, Rean reveals that he overheard her order and approaches her calm but clearly angry, telling her that he needs to talk with her about being willing to needlessly throw her life away like that.]]

* GenreRefugee: He would rather fit right in as a StockLightNovelHero and win in story arcs rather than in a ''Trails'' game where all of the most dangerous villains and masterminds gather.

* LimitBreak: His S-Craft in ''Cold Steel I'' is "Flame Slash", which would later be upgraded into "Azure Flame Slash" by the end of the game. In ''Cold Steel II'', he gains a second one known as "Termination Slash: Dawn" during the final chapter. It's also his main S-Craft during his and Altina's boss battle in the Divertissement Chapter. For ''Cold Steel III'', his S-Craft is "7th Slash: Fallen Leaves"[[labelnote:*]]"Ashen Slash: Fatal Leaves" when in Spirit Unification[[/labelnote]], which would later be upgraded in Chapter 4 into "7th Slash: Shredded Leaves"[[labelnote:*]]"Ashen Slash: Mortal Leaves" when in Spirit Unification[[/labelnote]]. Whenever he pilots Valimar in all four ''Cold Steel'' games, [[spoiler:or his Tyrfing S in ''Origins'']], his finishing move is "Enlightened Domination"[[labelnote:*]]"Elysion Domination" only during the final "[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown battle]]" of ''Cold Steel III''[[/labelnote]]. Finally, his union attack in ''Cold Steel III'', ''Cold Steel IV'', and ''Origins'' is "Starfall Slash.".

* AllYourPowersCombined: [[spoiler:His final S-Craft in ''Cold Steel IV'' combines all of the forms of the Eight Leaves One Blade style; Helix, Gale, Karma Flame, Autumn Leaves, Morning Moon, Scarlet Sky, Void, and ends with Lotus before sheathing his sword.]]

* FatalFlaw: His MartyrWithoutACause tendencies that a lot of people call him out on. [[spoiler:This can result in him potentially dying in the normal ending of ''Cold Steel IV'' as he's quick to decide on sacrificing himself rather than try to find another way like in the true ending.]]

* RedBaron: Comes to be known as the ''Ashen Chevalier'' after his actions in both the Erebonian Civil War and in the Crossbell campaign. He is referred as this by a lot of people in the following games. [[spoiler:Although he does become Divine Blade by ''Cold Steel IV'', he doesn't come up with his own spin of the title though his friends come up with a few names like "Divine Blade of Ash", "Divine Blade of Flash", "Divine Blade of Dawn", or "Divine Blade of Zero", although the best one is arguably the "Divine Blade of [[TitleDrop Cold Steel]]."]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Rean as he appears as of ''Cold Steel III'']]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rean.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Rean as he appears in ''Cold Steel II'']]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Rean as he appears in ''Cold Steel III'']][[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_legend_of_heroes_trails_of_cold_steel_iii_2017_03_16_17_001.jpg]][[/labelnote]]]]

** Following the swimming challenge on ''II'''s final free day, everyone plays tag following Millium's suggestion.

* BattleCouple: If he officially romances one of the Old Class VII girls in ''IV'', the two become this.

** A huge part of his character development is centered around his understanding of the Eight Leaves One Blade 7th form: Void. Initially, Rean has difficulty grasping the true meaning behind the words "Form Is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form." The phrase essentially boils down to the idea that nothing (Void) is separate from anything else and that everything is connected. Yun Ka Fai teaches him this concept in the hopes that he will realize that it applies to his own life, that his existence is an indelible part of everyone else's life and vice versa. While Rean is able to grasp the meaning of these words by ''Cold Steel II'', he is only able to reach true understanding in ''IV''.

** Then there's the Zemurian Ore sword that he has forged for Valimar's use, guaranteed to cut through almost anything that isn't made of the same material or is stronger. [[spoiler:It unfortunately gets destroyed during the finale of ''Cold Steel III'' during the battle against the final boss, but is later restored at some point of ''IV''. However, by that point, Rean has already switched over to the [[InfinityOnePlusSword Sword of Demise]] which allows him to even defeat a ''Divine Beast''.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Any of the luck fortunes that he draws in ''Cold Steel I'' foreshadows a lot of events ''II''.

* FutileHandReach: Does this in ''III'' where [[spoiler:he reaches out his hand towards Azure Siegfried and asking the latter if he forgot everything they've been through. He also does this in Alisa's first bonding event in ''IV'' where he tries reaching out to her to try and comfort her but doesn't get to.]]

* HypocriticalHumor: In ''Cold Steel II'', he claims that he's going to duel with Crow without the help of his classmates. Yet despite that he subconsciously ends up pulling off ARCUS links with all of them to beat him. Crow calls him out on this. At the end of Chapter 1 in ''III'', he berates his students for disobeying a military order of staying put at the Derfflinger due to the danger. Elliot, Laura, and Fie are quick to remind him that they and the old Class VII did exactly just that at the climax of ''I''.

* IGaveMyWord: Promises Towa, Angelica, and George in ''Cold Steel II'' that he will bring back Crow. Tragically, he fails. [[spoiler:However, he's finally able to live up to the promise in ''IV'' as he successfully convinces a resurrected Crow to join them after preventing him from sacrificing himself to power up Valimar.]]

* JackOfAllStats: His Brave Orders in ''Cold Steel III'' and ''IV'' are standard attack and defense buffs, no casting time for arts, and, if unlocked, increased critical hit rates. None of these are too powerful, but they're so useful and cost effective that players end up using a lot of them especially during duel boss fights.

* LightningBruiser: He fits into this in all four Cold Steel games. His Strength and Speed are are typically very good, and his durability and ATS stats tend to be solid. In the first two Cold Steel games, he excelled at delaying enemy turns. In ''III and ''IV'', he excels at breaking enemies and has some of the best Brave Orders in the game. Spirit Unification lets him go beyond a LightningBruiser straight into GameBreaker territory.

* LimitBreak: His S-Craft in ''Cold Steel I'' is "Flame Slash", which would later be upgraded into "Azure Flame Slash" by the end of the game. In ''Cold Steel II'', he gains a second one known as "Termination Slash: Dawn" during the final chapter. It's also his main S-Craft during his and Altina's boss battle in the Divertissement Chapter. For ''Cold Steel III'', his S-Craft is "7th Slash: Fallen Leaves"[[labelnote:*]]"Ashen Slash: Fatal Leaves" when in Spirit Unification[[/labelnote]], which would later be upgraded in Chapter 4 into "7th Slash: Shredded Leaves"[[labelnote:*]]"Ashen Slash: Mortal Leaves" when in Spirit Unification[[/labelnote]]. Whenever he pilots Valimar in all four games, his finishing move is "Enlightened Domination"[[labelnote:*]]"Elysion Domination" only during the final "[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown battle]]" of ''Cold Steel III''[[/labelnote]], whilst his union attack in ''III'' and ''IV'' is "Starfall Slash.".

** ''Cold Steel III'' and ''IV'' nerfed his Morning Moon craft in Divine Knight fights, as it does not all Rean to dodge attacks that hit [[HerdHittingAttack all allied mecha]].

** Prior to that, there's also Rean's mission in Crossbell, which save for the Divertissement Chapter in ''Cold Steel II'' and Juna's flashback in ''III'', we don't really get to see much of.

* OnceAnEpisode: In every ''Cold Steel'' game, he'll be a boss fight. This rule is at its loosest in ''III'', where he is only fought while piloting Valimar.

* TheProtagonist: Of the Erebonia arc, the longest of any arc in the ''Trails'' series, spanning four games (''Cold Steel I'', ''II'', ''III'', and ''IV''). He's also [[RotatingProtagonist one of three protagonists]] in ''Origins'', alongside Lloyd Bannings (protagonist of the [[VideoGame/ZeroNoKiseki Crossbell arc]]) and C (the game's newly introduced main protagonist)
* ProtagonistPowerUpPrivileges: In ''Cold Steel III'' and ''IV'', his status as the protagonist makes him the only character to have more than one Brave Order. In fact, he has a grand total of ''four''.

*** Though somewhat still played straight in Origins [[spoiler: Where he gains a standard, but cutting edge prototype Mech as well as the ability to simulate his original Ogre powers via his own energy giving him his protagonist abilities back, albeit at a weaker level than they were before. He even regains his original power of Valimar and his Ogre power do to what's going on in the game's plot, but loses them again at the end of the story.]]

* RousingSpeech: He often does this that his classmates start wondering how he even manages to say these things with a straight face. Lampshaded by Millium in ''II'':

* SuperMode: In ''Cold Steel II'' Rean comes to terms with his power and gains the ability ''Spirit Unification'' which allows him to tap into it at will. For three turns, it boosts his stats, makes him immune to status ailments and changes his Crafts to even more powerful ones.

* TaughtByExperience: Many things that he's learned for ''Cold Steel I'' and ''II'' have applied by ''III''. Best shown during his first foray with the new Class VII where he warns them right away to watch out for the floor underneath them which comes to pass when a trap door opens up much like it did with Rean and his friends.

* TechnicolorFire: While his flame attacks and his first [[LimitBreak S-Craft]] are the regular red color, his upgraded S-Craft, Azure Flame Slash, is blue. In his SuperpoweredEvilSide, the color of the flames are purple, though it's back to blue after he masters his SuperMode in ''Cold Steel II''. It becomes purple again in ''III'' and ''IV'', [[spoiler:including his second S-Craft where in his base self, they all different colors but in his Spirit Unification, it's all purple.]]

* WeaponTwirling: [[spoiler:His final S-Craft in ''IV'' has him twirling his sword twice before sheathing it and then starts attacking the enemy by unsheathing his blade and forming a TornadoMove for his first attack.]]

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The main reason why he's so hesitant about fighting at his full strength. As beneficial as it is, using his ogre power results in Rean becoming more aggressive and feral the more he draws strength from it and will eventually lose control of himself. Being a pacifist at heart, the idea of this frightens Rean. He makes motions to try and get his ogre power under control and somewhat succeeds by ''Cold Steel II'' after his talk with Alfin leads to an epiphany about himself, but this eventually revealed to be only temporary as by ''III'' his power has started growing even stronger than it was before and he now needs outside help to control it. [[spoiler:Sadly this is for naught as at the end of ''Cold Steel III'' he loses control and butchers the Nameless One out of revenge for Millium's death.]]

** [[spoiler:In ''Origins'', one of the short stories of the future Calvard arc is him visiting Calvard for a vacation with his family and searching for his master. While there, he strolls out in the middle of the night and is attacked by a bunch of ninjas. And while he was winning, a woman by the name of "Princess" comes out and destroys his tachi [[BigDamnVillains while saving the leader of the assassins]] and tells him that Yun, ''both her and Rean's master'', isn't there.]]

* WreckedWeapon: [[spoiler:During the climax of the story, Rean's Zemurian Tachi he forged for Valimar gets wrecked after the beast bites it. He then obtains a new sword from Millium's soul after she dies protecting him.]]

* InstantExpert: Played with in regards to Valimar during their first outing. Though he was given knowledge on how to pilot Valimar through their contract with each other, it doesn't mean that Rean would become automatically ''good'' a piloting him either. While he does well enough against Scarlet in her Spiegel, his fight against Crow and Ordine [[CurbStompBattle ends up less than successful]].

* StockLightNovelHero: He definitely hits all the high notes of the trope. He's also a ''huge'' deconstruction in the ''Trails'' series where everything that goes wrong ''will'' go wrong.

* AceCustom: Subverted in ''Cold Steel III''. If he's not piloting Valimar, he just uses a regular Drakkhen to teach the class. [[spoiler:Played straight in ''Origins'' where he has custom aschen-colored mech.]]

* AcePilot: In real life, for a pilot to be considered an ace, they need to take down 5 enemy vehicles (8 by the standards of Erebonia's [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany historic]] [[UsefulNotes/PrussiansInPickelhauben counterpart]] ). By the end of the second game, he and Valimar have defeated a magic knight, over a dozen Panzer Soldats, as well as Crow (who has 3 years more experience) and delivered the finishing blow on Testa-Rossa. During the Divertissement he entered the battlefield by cutting down two of Calvard's airships, which prompted them to retreat. And in Juna's backstory, Rean appears right away and one-shots a Calvard airship like it was nothing. He's a combination of both a Steamroller and a Plugger. By ''Origins'', he's gotten so good at piloting that a basic Drakkhen can no longer keep up with his reflexes when he has a friendly duel with Kurt and Ash in the "Tyrfing Project" minigame.

* AcePilot: In real life, for a pilot to be considered an ace, they need to take down 5 enemy vehicles (8 by the standards of Erebonia's [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany historic]] [[UsefulNotes/PrussiansInPickelhauben counterpart]] ). By the end of the second game, he and Valimar have defeated a magic knight, over a dozen Panzer Soldats, as well as Crow (who has 3 years more experience) and delivered the finishing blow on Testa-Rossa. During the Divertissement he entered the battlefield by cutting down two of Calvard's airships, which prompted them to retreat. And in Juna's backstory, Rean appears right away and one-shots a Calvard airship like it was nothing. He's a combination of both a Steamroller and a Plugger.

The main protagonist of the ''Trails of Cold Steel'' saga of the Trails franchise. He is the adopted son of Baron Teo Schwarzer of Ymir. A kind and respectable young man, his insecurities regarding himself leads Rean to enroll at Thors Military Academy in order to find purpose in his life and a place to belong. Due to circumstance, he ends up being assigned as a member of the newly established Class VII together with eight other students. Thanks to his personality and actions throughout the games, he ends up becoming the unofficial leader of the group. As an "Eight Leaves One Blade" style practitioner, he uses a tachi in combat.

In ''Cold Steel III'', over a year and a half after the events of the second game, Rean finally graduates from Thors. Instead of signing on with the military, he instead takes up a teaching position at Thors Second Branch Campus wherein he ends up becoming the instructor of the new Class VII.

* AboveTheInfluence: Much to Musse's dismay, he will not hit on her even when she forces herself on him. Even when she starts influencing his head, Rean still manages to snap out of it albeit barely. [[spoiler:He almost gives into the temptations if the player go through her romantic bonding events in ''Cold Steel IV'', but mentions to Musse that she should wait until she's graduated before she can get an answer from him.]]

** And again for a [[RuleOfThree third time]] during an optional sidequest in the second game involving a monster near the hotsprings in Ymir. Just as the girls notice it, Rean rushes in and catches a view of all of them in their towels. [[PervertRevengeMode They make sure to punish him off-screen afterwards after the monsters have been caught.]]
** Following the swimming challenge on the final free day, everyone plays tag following Millium's suggestion.

* AceCustom: Subverted in ''Cold Steel III''. If he's not piloting Valimar, he just uses a regular Drakkhen to teach the class.

* ArchnemesisDad: Osborne, who is his actual biological father. Rean has little love for him after the events of Crow's death and the annexation of Crossbell. [[spoiler:However, it's not until the climax of ''Cold Steel III'' that the two finally come to blows with one another as Rean tries to stop his father from potentially dooming Erebonia. Averted by the final battle in ''Cold Steel IV'' as it's clear that Rean doesn't hate Osborne for what he had to go through to truly get rid of Erebonia's real issue.]]
* ArmorPiercingAttack: His final S-Craft in ''Cold Steel IV'' cancels all defense guards and reflects before applying damage. [[spoiler:He also pierces through [=McBurn's=] defenses by summoning Valimar and using Millium as his sword to defeat the king.]]
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Gives one towards Claire during the Epilogue of ''Cold Steel II'', asking if she really didn't know that Osborne was his true biological father. She replies no, but she did have her suspicions. Rean curtly leaves her after this though he quickly comes to regret his behavior afterwards.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: He might be one of the nicest guys in Class VII, but if you start threatening an innocent person, especially his little sister, he'll make sure that you'll be paying for it.

* BigBrotherInstinct: He's fiercely protective of Elise, something that dates back to an incident from their childhood wherein SuperpoweredEvilSide activated for the first time and he defended her from a monster. Also extends to some of his younger peers as well.

* BookEnds: Throughout the first two games. The first time Rean and Crow fight together was against a gigantic mech. The last time they fight together is inside their HumongousMecha taking on ''an even bigger mecha'' in the form of the Vermillion Apocalypse.

* BroughtDownToBadass: [[spoiler:In ''Cold Steel IV'', Rean ends up losing his ogre powers by the end of the game. However, this doesn't mean he's been weakened all that much as he's still an experienced fighter and a Divine Blade of the Eight Leaves One Blade style. It's noted that with training he'll eventually get back to former level of strength in no time.]]

-->'''Sara:''' Oh just deal with it.
* ChickMagnet: Oh so very much. It's lampshaded repeatedly by other characters that Rean is someone blessed by Aidios to have so many women pining over him. Both Randy and Joshua compare him to Lloyd over this and note that Rean is the greater one of the two by way of looks, reputation, and sheer number of women. By the time ''Cold Steel IV'' rolls around, he can potentially get together with [[ImpliedLoveInterest Alisa]], [[BirdsOfAFeather Laura]], [[CuteWitch Emma]], [[ChildSoldier Fie]], [[HotTeacher Sara]], [[StudentCouncilPresident Towa]], Alfin, [[NotBloodSiblings Elise]], [[GenkiGirl Juna]], [[ArtificialHuman Altina]], or [[TheTease Musse]]. Then there's the ShipTease he gets with [[AnIcePerson Claire]]...
* TheChosenOne: He's ''chosen'' by Valimar after completing a series of trials during the first game. When Valimar speaks to him during the epilogue of the second game, it's made clear that he and Valimar both must choose the other in order to form a contract.

* CoolBoard: Gets to ride in one in the snowboard mini game of the second game.
* CoolMask: Ends up wearing one in the opening of ''Cold Steel IV'', however it doesn't show up in-game other than being part of DLC.

* CoolTeacher: Develops into this in ''Cold Steel III'', after becoming the instructor of the new Class VII. This also extends to pretty much the entire student body of Thors Second Branch Campus as Rean is more than willing to help and motivate any student in need.

* DanceOfRomance: Potentially in the first game where Rean can get girls to dance with him if he has a high bonding level with them. The guys meanwhile don't get any dancing scene but instead have them sitting down right away. Happens again in ''Cold Steel III'' where, during Alfin's debut party, Rean ends up dancing with Elise, Alfin, Alisa, Towa/Sharon, Altina, and Juna. Though only the former three can be considered as such due to their crushes on Rean with Alisa being potentially his girlfriend by that point if the player chooses her.

* DareToBeBadass: Gives a pre-recorded speech saying this to Juna to snap her out of her HeroicBSOD in Chapter 2 of the third game.

* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler: PlayedWith in ''Cold Steel IV''. In their first bonding events, Laura accuses Rean of searching for a place to die and Emma [[WhatTheHellHero yells]] at him for accepting his role as a sacrifice. For his part, Rean claims he's accepted that he may die, but he does want to live.]]

** And in the second game, he thought his parents died and his hometown nearly razed, gets separated again from his classmates after reuniting with them, fails to save Vulcan to make him atone for his crimes, fails to save Crow from his HeroicSacrifice, finds out his real dad and that his dad is the EvilChancellor all along, and finds himself going to war with another state that he has no reason to fight against other than being shackled with the responsibilities of being a national hero. It's a wonder the worst thing he did in the epilogue was to slightly snap at Claire for thinking that she hid information about who his dad was.

** Right before that, he's the first confirmed character onscreen to make [[spoiler:''Cassius Bright'' '''''kneel!''''' Granted the guy comes back up really quickly but ''still!'' Even the party in ''The Third'' couldn't make him kneel after his boss fight.]]

* EpiphanyTherapy: After a much needed pep talk with Alfin that he's not alone and that he should not be using Elise as an excuse for his place in the war, he finally starts accepting his ogre power and masters it.

* ExperiencedProtagonist: By the time of ''Cold Steel III'', he's pretty much this after the events of the first two games. During the timeskip, Rean had also taken part in other conflicts on Erebonia's behalf thanks to his status as the ''Ashen Chevalier''. To reflect this in gameplay, he will always be a few levels ahead of his students.

* FatalFlaw: His MartyrWithoutACause tendencies that a lot of people call him out on.

* FireForgedFriends: In his case, it's with Altina, who goes from kidnapping his sister and the princess, to working together at Crossbell. It's enough that the both of them can activate an ARCUS link just fine.

** To Alisa. Thanks to their respective backgrounds, both are neither truly a noble nor truly a commoner. Both also tend to be meddlers at heart and have similar reasons for studying at Thors with Rean wanting to live separately from his family and [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife find a purpose for himself]] and Alisa wanting to assert her independence from her family. However, whereas Rean tends to be calm and rational, Alisa tends to be somewhat more hotheaded. Rean also comes from a loving and supportive family whereas Alisa comes from a broken shell of one thanks to her mother's actions. [[GuysSmashGirlsShoot Not to mention that Rean uses a sword while Alisa uses a bow]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Any of the luck fortunes that he draws in the first game foreshadows a lot of events in the second game.

* GotVolunteered: He ends up helping out the Student Council in the original ''Cold Steel'' because Instructor Sara "volunteered" him for it. He agrees to Sara's request to get the journals from Towa in the Student Council room, but when he gets there, Towa tells him "thank you for everything," and he's confused, she clarifies about how pleased she is that he agreed to help out the Student Council with their work on his free days. Of course, he agreed to no such thing, but upon seeing how overworked Towa already appears, he can hardly refuse.
* HammyHerald: While Valimar is his mecha, he has to ham it up, complete with arm gestures and language that oozes ham.

* HeroDoesPublicService: During his first free day in the first game, he's more or less forced into the role because of Sara. Though being the reliable guy that he is, Rean quickly adapts to it. He also does it to help lighten the work load on Towa's shoulders despite the latter's worries that he's wasting away his precious free days. Lampshaded by Machias during the epilogue of ''Cold Steel II'', calling him the "ever reliable gofer". He still continues doing this in ''Cold Steel III'' that Michael has to call him out on it, though Aurelia steps in and encourages this behavior to have a good relationship with the people living at Leeves.

* HeroicSacrifice: Attempted to do this when Class VII is thoroughly defeated by Scarlet with a Soldat equipped with a [[NoSell Reactive Armor]] by him tapping in his SuperpoweredEvilSide. He never goes through with it because this is when Valimar shows himself to Rean for the first time. [[spoiler:The normal ending of ''Cold Steel IV'' has him sacrificing his life (along Crow and Millium who join him) to get rid of the Great One for good.]]

* HeroicSuicide: [[spoiler:In the normal ending of ''Cold Steel IV'', he's forced to destroy himself and Valimar in order not to be taken in by Ishmelga's influence who is craving for the completed Great One's power. He's then joined by Crow and Millium as their lives are also tied by the Great One.]]

* HeroOnHiatus: [[spoiler:Though still the titular protagonist of ''Cold Steel IV'', Rean ends up being unplayable for both the prologue and first chapter of the game due to being held captive within the Black Workshop. He later returns to action full-time in the Intermission and afterwards the following chapters.]]

* HorrifyingTheHorror: [[spoiler:For one last time in ''Cold Steel IV'', Ishmelga tries to make a deal with Rean to save his skin in exchange for Rean to become much stronger than before. Rean refuses and cuts him down into two, claiming that it's time for humanity to move on. Ishmelga's shock and expression despite being nothing more than just a bunch of eyes really says it all as it's clear that he's shaking.]]
* HotBlooded: Downplayed in that he's much cooler than any other hot blooded heroes as even Laura is more hot blooded than him. Put him with Crow however, and all the hot blooded passion is in full view.

* HypocriticalHumor: In ''Cold Steel II'', he claims that he's going to duel with Crow without the help of his classmates. Yet despite that he subconsciously ends up pulling off ARCUS links with all of them to beat him. Crow calls him out on this. In ''Cold Steel III'', at the end of Chapter 1, he berates his students for disobeying a military order of staying put at the Derfflinger due to the danger. Elliot, Laura, and Fie end reminding him that they and the old Class VII did exactly just that at the climax of ''Cold Steel I''.
* IaijutsuPractitioner: Shown especially in his Arc Slash where he sheathes his blade before he pulls it out. Also in his first craft Autumn Leaf Cutter. [[spoiler:This is the stance he uses in ''Cold Steel IV'' to finally defeat Ishmelga in their SingleStrokeBattle.]]
* IAmAMonster: What he feels in regards to himself due to his unknownpowers after an incident where he brutally butchered a monster as a child.

-->'''Rean''': Eight Leaves, One-Blade, intermediate level. I, Rean Schwarzer, will be your opponent!
* IDieFree: [[spoiler:Chooses to explode himself rather than getting possessed by Ishmelga in the normal ending of ''Cold Steel IV''.]]

* ImprobableAge: Starts teaching in school at 19 years old in ''Cold Steel III''.[[note]]It's stated in-game by him and Elliot in a phone call that his birthday is on May which is chapter 2 and they have the conversation on April.[[/note]]
* InASingleBound: Showing in ''Cold Steel II'' during his escape aboard the Pantagruel where, while carrying Alfin in his arms, he jumps really high twice to reach another floor in order to escape both Duvalie and Bleublanc. In ''Cold Steel IV'', [[spoiler:he jumps towards the portal from a really great height with Millium following him.]]

* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: During the second game, Crow is his number one priority. Vita and Duke Cayenne by comparison aren't that much important.
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: After Rean uses Valimar to subdue the Noble Alliance and help end the war, he is portrayed in the press as a war hero and strong-armed by the Intelligence Division into assisting in the Imperial Army's occupation of Crossbell. He goes along without complaint, but it's abundantly clear to everyone who knows him that the burdens of the civil war, Crow's death, and the empire's militarism are taking a heavy toll on him.

* JackOfAllStats: His Brave Orders in ''Cold Steel III'' are standard attack and defense buffs, no casting time for arts for a short time, and if unlocked, increased critical hit rates. None too powerful but they're so useful that players end up using a lot of them especially during duel boss fights.

* {{Kiai}}: He does this anytime he uses Arc Slash.

* LimitBreak: His first S-Craft is "Flame Slash", which would later be upgraded into "Azure Flame Slash" by the end of the first game. In ''Cold Steel II'', he gains a second one known as "Termination Slash: Dawn" during the finale. It's also his main S-Craft during the Divertissement Chapter in his and Altina's boss battle. For ''Cold Steel III'', his S-Craft is "7th Slash: Fallen Leaves"[[labelnote:*]]"Ashen Slash: Fatal Leaves" when in Spirit Unification[[/labelnote]], which would later be upgraded in Chapter 4 into "7th Slash: Shredded Leaves"[[labelnote:*]]"Ashen Slash: Mortal Leaves" when in Spirit Unification[[/labelnote]]. Whenever he pilots Valimar in all four games, his finishing move is "Enlightened Domination"[[labelnote:*]]"Elysion Domination" only during the final "[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown battle]]" of ''Cold Steel III''[[/labelnote]], whilst his union attack in ''III'' and ''IV'' is "Starfall Slash.".

* MistakenForPedophile: In ''Cold Steel III'', both Juna and Kurt assume the worst when Altina starts narrating that Rean walked in on her sleeping and did things to her. Rean has to explain that it didn't happen that way.

* MrFanservice: Already noted to be handsome in the first two games, he becomes even more so by ''Cold Steel III'' as mentioned by Alisa and several others. He also got really ripped after the TimeSkip as demonstrated in swimming classes where he's also the advisor.

* MyGreatestFailure: How he thinks about him failing to bring back Crow alive. [[spoiler:Then in ''Cold Steel III'', Millium's death is another one for him.]]
** [[spoiler:He has a hard time letting go of the fact that he doomed the world by killing the Nameless One and ushering in the Great Twilight. He doesn't let it stop him from doing what needs to be done, however.]]
* MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: Thanks to his mixed ogre powers, he can detect if a person is a Divergent being or not, [=McBurn=] being the guy he usually senses thanks to the latter's mixed self. Osborne is the other person he reacts to [[spoiler:and that's because his heart originally belonged to his biological dad.]]
* MySisterIsOffLimits: As Patrick finds out, he won't let anybody just have Elise until said person is screened by Rean. Unfortunate for Elise as she's interested in Rean, whom himself doesn't have any romantic feelings for her. In ''Cold Steel III'', this extends to his students at Thors II.

** In ''Cold Steel III'', he no longer has his Arc Slash but instead is replaced with a cheaper attack that deals burn and impede damage but no longer delays enemies.

** ''Cold Steel III'' and ''IV'' nerfed his Morning Moon craft in Divine Knight fights where Rean cannot dodge the attack if the attack done by the enemy is a HerdHittingAttack.
* {{Nephewism}}: [[spoiler:As he finds out in ''Cold Steel III'', his adopted father is technically his adopted uncle because his father's adopted older brother is Osborne.]]
* NiceGuy: Jusis would attest to that, especially in ''Cold Steel II''.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:His killing of the Nameless One ends up engulfing ''entire continent'' in darkness. Though to be fair to Rean, he had no idea it was going to happen as he was not himself at that point.]]

* ObiWanMoment: [[spoiler:Tells his students and friends goodbye before he, Crow, and Millium die to destroy the Great One for good in the normal ending.]]
* ObliviousToLove: He's not very good at picking up on the fact that Elise's feelings for him go just a little bit beyond sisterly. He's also this towards his potential love interests as he fails to notice their feelings for him unless they outright spit it out. Randy puts it best in ''Cold Steel IV'':

* OnceAnEpisode: Once per game, he'll be a boss fight.

* PowerDyesYourHair: His hair turns white when he accesses his hidden power.

* TheProtagonist: Of the ''Cold Steel'' saga, just like how it was for [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Estelle Bright, Kevin Graham,]] and [[VideoGame/ZeroNoKiseki Lloyd Bannings]] in their own games. He's also notably the longest running protagonist that the franchise has had, being the protagonist of four games compared to Estelle and Lloyd being the protagonist of only two.
* ProtagonistPowerUpPrivileges: Out of the four protagonists, he gains ''a lot'' of power-ups throughout the Erebonia arc. In order: his SuperRobot, his controlled SuperpoweredEvilSide, his Zemurian Ore sword, and [[spoiler:Millium becoming the Originator Zero sword. By the end of ''Cold Steel IV'', he loses all of them.]]

* RousingSpeech: He often does this that his classmates start wondering how he even manages to say these things with a straight face. Lampshaded by Millium in the sequel:

* SingleIssuePsychology: He was well-adjusted as a kid until he finds out that he has a SuperpoweredEvilSide. It then proceeds to haunt him for the rest of his life even as a young adult.

* SuperpoweredEvilSide: When trying to protect Elise, his hair turns silver, [[RedEyesTakeWarning his eyes turn red]] and he develops a dark aura. Plus in this state, he will kill his enemies. [[spoiler:''Cold Steel III'' shows off what happens when he fully loses control of it and in it, he keeps on hacking the final boss after it's long dead over and over again. It's horrifying to say the least.]]

* TaughtByExperience: Many things that he's learned for both the first and second games have applied by ''Cold Steel III''. Best shown during his first foray with the new Class VII where he warns them right away to watch out for the floor underneath them which comes to pass when a trap door opens up much like it did with Rean and his friends.
* TeacherStudentRomance: He can develop one in 4 cases: with Sara on the teacher end, and Juna, Altina, or Musse on the student end.

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: After defeating the final boss in Cold Steel III, [[spoiler:he starts hacking at it so many times that even when it's lying on the ground and dying, he still keeps on doing it over and over till the corpse finally disappears.]]
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: His basic reaction when Laura and Fie team to fight him and Machias after their spar at Mater Park during Chapter 4 of the first game. Also, whenever an opponent catches their second wind and/or reveals they were holding back.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Claims that he has to leave Class VII to go to the Infernal Castle by himself because Crow is waiting for him there. Class VII, Towa, and Angelica won't let him.

* TookALevelInBadass: Takes several leaps in strength throughout the games. The most notable example of which would be how he initially fares against Crow both on foot and in their Divine Knights. He was initially outclassed on both fronts, but several months of training and fighting for the former and over a month of piloting for the latter helps him to eventually close the gap and allow him to defeat Crow.

* TookALevelInCynic: After the series of whams he gets after the end of the second game from Crow dying, to lashing out at Osborne for not being dead so Crow can get some closure, to finding out that Osborne's his real dad, to participating in the war against Crosbell, he starts to act very cynically. The way he talks with Claire after arriving at Trista in the epilogue starts it all off and he even has this to say once he exits the station:

* TookALevelInJerkass: Briefly at the beginning of the second game towards Celine for forcing Valimar away from the fight against Ordine, possibly leaving all his friends to die as a result. Again in the epilogue towards Claire, having become upset at her because he thought that she knew the truth about his real father being Osborne. Much like with Celine, this is only brief as he later apologizes to her.

* TranquilFury: One of the side quests in ''Cold Steel III'' has him very furious at the fact that one of the suspects decided to stroke his sister's cheeks and being all generally creepy.

* UpbringingMakesTheHero: Thanks to his kind and loving adopted parents, his very understanding little sister (who has a crush on him but he doesn't know that), Rean actually turned out far better than if he were ever raised by Osborne and[=/=]or people being scared by his super powered evil self.
* UnskilledButStrong: As an Awakener, Rean is able to pilot Valimar, who is higher specced than the mass produced Soldats. However, he lacks experience in mech fighting as seen when he gets stomped twice by Crow who had three more years worth of experience as an Awakener. Averted by the end of the second game, where he finally manages to defeat Crow/Ordine in their third battle.

* WillfullyWeak: Something other characters note that he's hesitating whenever he fights. During his bonding time with Sara at Roer in the second game, Sara notes that Rean could at land a proper hit on her if he just used his SuperMode but Rean doesn't use it though he still manages to draw against her. Fortunately for the players in ''Cold Steel III'', he holds back a lot in his duel against Jessica as he doesn't use any Brave Orders, and any other tool (casting arts aside) that he could do when he's playable. In ''Cold Steel III'', he's called out on this by both Shirley and [=McBurn=] though they both don't know that his ogre powers are gradually breaking his body and Rean's starting to lose control over it.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: His ogre powers in general where he hesitates in using it because he ends up harming people too much which is why he duels Victor in ''Cold Steel I'' so that he could start accepting it. He does in ''Cold Steel II'' after a pep talk from Alfin but by ''Cold Steel III'', his powers are growing so fast that he [[spoiler:lost control over it at North Ambria]] and thus doesn't use it at the beginning of the game. He does get to use it again but only after Emma gives him a pendant to stave off the harmful effects [[spoiler:but even it doesn't hold it back when Rean is fully consumed by his ogre powers when Millium dies. He's brought back by his students and classmates in ''Cold Steel IV'' but it's made clear that he'll never use his Spirit Unification powers unless any member of Class VII is by his side. In terms of gameplay, it means that Rean is uncontrollable after his three turns are up.]]

** On the giving end, he did this to Jusis and Emma when reuniting with them in Cold Steel 2 when they're both clouded by self-doubt for keeping secrets of their identities, and connections to the rebels respectively. A good chunk of his supports with Altina in Cold Steel 3 involve him doing this to the latter in regards to her insecurities.
** His lack of self-worth has resulted in him being on the receiving end of this on numerous occasions. Whether its due to his angst at being adopted into a noble family and thinking he's a burden to them, his fears of his powers, failing to bring back Crow alive, his actions as the Ashen Chevalier [[spoiler: and especially after bringing out the Great Twilight at the end of Cold Steel 3. How well he takes them to heart is instrumental to whether or not [[EarnYourHappyEnding he'll survive]] or lose his life in a HeroicSacrifice at the end of the fourth game.]]
* YouAreNotAlone: During the epilogue in the second game, he's starting to feel the burden of being a national hero, who then joined the war at Crossbell and ended it much quicker. Fortunately enough, his friends all tell him that he really shouldn't be holding onto all those burdens. [[spoiler:This is the focus of his character development in ''Cold Steel IV'', with the main theme of the game itself being the lesson of people being stronger and better when they work together. Rean can only finish Ishmelga off if he accepts the help of not only the Holy Beast of Earth, but also from all his friends and comrades, who gave him enough energy through the ARCUS to expel Ishmelga out of his body. The last boss fight is also all the 39 characters against Ishmelga, with Rean finishing it off for good with Millium's help and Osborne's guidance.]]

* BiTheWay: A notable aversion - Rean can choose to partner with the male members of Class VII for the "romance" events at the end of each game, but the relationships remain clearly platonic (as opposed to the girls, who form actual romantic partnerships with Rean).

* ChickMagnet: Oh so very much. It's lampshaded repeatedly by other characters that Rean is someone blessed by Aidios to have so many women pining over him. Both Randy and Joshua compare him to Lloyd over this and note that Rean is the greater one of the two by way of looks, reputation, and sheer number of women. By the time ''Cold Steel IV'' rolls around, he can potentially get together with [[ImpliedLoveInterest Alisa]], [[BirdsOfAFeather Laura]], [[CuteWitch Emma]], [[ChildSoldier Fie]], [[HotTeacher Sara]], [[StudentCouncilPresident Towa]], [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Alfin]], [[NotBloodSiblings Elise]], [[GenkiGirl Juna]], [[ArtificialHuman Altina]], or [[TheTease Musse]]. Then there's the ShipTease he gets with [[AnIcePerson Claire]]...

* AbsoluteCleavage: His long coat DLC costume has him wearing his coat that is buttoned right in the middle, leaving a V.

* HasTwoMommies: Somewhat the case with his adoptive father Teo Schwarzer and biological father Giliath Osborne. [[spoiler:Before his final battle begins, Osborne also names Kasia, Lucia, and Lianne as Rean's mothers.]]

* MookHorrorShow: In ''Cold Steel II'', after finding out that his father was shot and bleeding while his mother was lying on the floor, he unleashes his SuperpoweredEvilSide and starts slicing and dicing the Northern Jaegers who invaded Ymir.

* NoShirtLongJacket: His coat in his DLC for the second game has him wearing a black coat with no shirt underneath him.

* Pun: [[spoiler: Since Rean's biological father is the reincarnation of Dreichels the Lionheart, and Osborne had to transplant his heart into Rean in order for Rean to survive, you could technically say Rean has a "Lion Heart".]]

* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: Pulls this a number of times when questioned about the [[ChickMagnet nature of his relationship with his female classmates from Class VII]]. Notable with Victor, Laura's dad and Erebonia's greatest swordsman, and Xeno and Leonidas, Fie's old comrades from her days with Zephyr. [[PapaWolf All three men]] more or less warn Rean of what would happen if he did anything "inappropriate" towards them. Rean is justifiably unnerved both times.

** His lack of self-worth has resulted in him being on the receiving end of this on numerous occasions. Whether its due to his angst at being adopted into a noble family and thinking he's a burden to them, his fears of his powers, failing to bring back Crow alive, his actions as the Ashen Chevalier [[spoiler: and especially after bringing out the Great Twilight at the end of Cold Steel 3. How well he takes tthem to heart is instrumental to whether or not [[EarnYourHappyEnding he'll survive]] or lose his life in a HeroicSacrifice at the end of the fourth game.]]

* PurpleEyes: His natural eye color and he's [[ProtagonistPowerUpPrivileges definitely]] [[TheChosenOne special]] compared to the other protagonists.