Ryō is quite tall and has a well-built body. His notable traits include his long, unkempt brownish-black hair and bangs that frame his face and hang just above his chin, as well as his red eyes, which have bags around them, giving him a wild appearance overall. For the most part, Ryō’s facial expression makes him appear lazy, slow, and disheveled. However, his appearance drastically changes when he ties on his bandana, causing his face to become much sharper and fiercer. His new persona is far more intimidating than his standard demeanor. After the Stagiaire, Ryō’s bangs have shortened, now hanging above his cheeks.

Ryō wears a standard Tōtsuki uniform; however, he tends to keep his jacket unbuttoned and does not wear the standard tie. He also wears a dark-colored tank top under his uniform. Like Sōma, Ryō has a signature piece of headwear that he wears on occasion. He wears a long, flame-patterned crimson bandana when he wants to have a more serious, intimidating look. When he is not wearing it, it is tied around his right wrist. His cooking uniform is generally a sleeveless, Chinese-styled top, and he also wears wristbands.

n his youth, many of his traits remained the same, though his hair was much shorter. He still had his trademark bandana, but his general outfit was a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a white apron whenever he cooked.

For the most part, Ryō is normally very slow, lazy, and gloomy. His general demeanor lacks any sort of interest in what is going on around him, but he remains attentive to the needs of Alice. He is not shy about speaking his mind or criticizing Alice in this form but generally speaks only when necessary if he is with anyone other than her. Because of the bond the two formed in their youth, Ryō is obedient to Alice’s requests and protects her from any sort of threat. Many have likened his relationship with her to that of a dog protecting its master. His speech is formal and simple, but slow.

However, Ryō has a much more passionate personality that only emerges once he wears his signature bandana or any sort of tight-fitting headgear, like a swim cap. This new demeanor is much bolder, wilder, and untamed, akin to a wild beast, fittingly called his “Berserk Mode,” according to Alice. His facial expressions also become much more savage and can instantly intimidate most people with a single glance. His speech becomes more aggressive, and he has no qualms about whom he talks to, even having violent outbursts in an instant. Even in his youth, his “mad dog” persona could intimidate the most sea-battered sailors and seasoned ruffian cooks into submission. However, if someone were to remove his headband, he would instantly revert to his usual gloomy personality even mid-sentence. He is well aware of his personality duality.

According to Alice, Ryō has a strong drive to win in competitions stemming from his rough childhood, where useless chefs would be cast out of the pub he worked in. Ryō considers all kitchens to be a battlefield, with the food a chef makes representing their power. He thus loathes bonds between chefs, as he believes such soft feelings weaken a chef’s true capabilities. To Ryō, making a consumer submit to the dishes one makes is the only thing important for a chef. As such, he has yet to find an opponent who holds the same fiery spirit he has when he cooks and becomes annoyed when an opponent is either too meek or too calm. However, he does show respect to those who earn it, such as Megumi during their quarterfinal match, despite his initial view of her. Regardless of the state of his personality, Ryō retains his wild instincts, which he honed to become a master of seafood.

Ryō grew up in a port town in Denmark, where he worked at a local pub as one of its chefs. It was a rough environment that would have easily cast him out if he ever showed weakness. To survive, he had to rely solely on his own skills, developing a tenacious fighting spirit in order to endure the hardships in the kitchen. Despite his young age, he eventually became the head chef of the pub and commanded complete authority over his fellow, much older chefs. Thanks to Ryō’s skills, the pub became the talk of the town, and news soon reached the Nakiri International Company.

One day, after hearing rumors of the pub, Alice Nakiri paid it a visit. Though Ryō told her that the shop was temporarily closed so he could rest, Alice barged right in. Ryō grabbed her shoulder and told her that she could not be rude since he was the chef of the pub. Alice took an immediate interest in him and soon brought her mother, Leonora Nakiri, to convince her to let her “adopt” Ryō as her aide.

Annoyed by her insistence to make him her aide, Alice convinced him to duel her, with Ryō becoming her aide if he lost. In their very first duel, Alice won decisively, but Ryō was not satisfied. The two engaged in hundreds of duels afterward, but Ryō never won. After two years, all three judges voted for Ryō, and he finally earned his first victory against Alice. Although she was upset by her first loss, Ryō finally acknowledged Alice and called her “Milady” for the first time. Soon after, Alice invited Ryō to accompany her to Tōtsuki, and he gladly accepted.

Spending the next few years with Alice, Ryō entered Tōtsuki Culinary Academy’s middle school section along with her as part of the new 92nd Tōtsuki Generation. Sometime during their final middle school years, Alice challenged the president of the Cutting-Edge Cooking RS, Kyōichi Makime, to a Shokugeki and won. As Ryō helped Alice clean out the Cutting-Edge Cooking RS clubroom, Kyōichi tried to attack her, but Ryō stopped him with little effort. Eventually, Ryō completed middle school and entered the high school section of Tōtsuki Academy.