goes through a complex emotional journey that includes many self-conscious emotions like pride, shame, guilt, and embarrassment. A particularly powerful instance of his experience involves guilt, which serves as a compelling example to examine the psychological factors and appraisals that trigger this emotion in Okabe. One of the most significant moments of guilt for Okabe occurs as a result of Mayuri Shiina's repeated deaths. Throughout multiple timelines, Okabe seeing Mayuri die over and over again. Despite his desperate attempts to save her by using the D-Mail and later the time leap machine, every timeline he creates still seems to lead to her inevitable death. Okabe feels personally responsible because it was his own pursuit of discovery and meddling with time that set off the chain of events leading to Mayuri's suffering.

This situation can be characterized as uncontrollable repetition which Okabe is forced to relive Mayuri's death repeatedly, which compounds his sense of personal responsibility. He also sees himself as the cause, attributing the consequences directly to his actions, particularly because he invented and used the time-travel technology. Okabe's guilt stems from several key appraisals. Okabe attributes the chain of events leading to Mayuri's death directly to his own actions, especially the invention and use of the time machine. He believes that his ambition caused unintended harm. Okabe also feels that he failed in his moral obligation to protect Mayuri, who is extremely important to him. He was unable to fulfill his promise to protect her, which violates his internal moral code. Okabe has deep empathy for Mayuri, which strengthens his feelings of guilt. Seeing her in pain evokes an intense emotional response that compounds the distress he feels. These attributions make guilt the most fitting self-conscious emotion here. He perceives himself as being in control of the events that resulted in Mayuri's suffering, despite the fact that his intentions were never malevolent.

Okabe feels guilt rather than shame or embarrassment because Okabe’s focus is on his specific actions, inventing and misusing time travel, and the impact of these actions on Mayuri. He does not feel inherently worthless or a failure as a whole person, which would be characteristic of shame. Instead, he feels a powerful need to make amends for the consequences of his actions. Also in Okabe's case, his emotional struggle is deeply moral, rather than social or image-based. He is not worried about others judging him, which he is tormented by the internal moral conflict and the sense that he failed to protect Mayuri. Embarrassment would be inappropriate here because his focus is not on how others view him but on the impact of his actions on someone he loves dearly.

While Okabe does experience pride at other moments in the series, such as in his "mad scientist" persona as Hououin Kyouma, these moments of pride are tied to his intelligence, his successes in inventing. They are, in a sense, a defense mechanism to maintain his confidence amidst difficult situations. However, in the case of Mayuri's suffering, there is no pride because Okabe recognizes the deep moral failure and negative consequences of his ambition. He cannot take pride in his technological success because the unintended consequences far outweigh any personal achievements.

Rintaro Okabe's experience of guilt is primarily driven by his sense of personal responsibility and moral failing regarding Mayuri's repeated deaths. His appraisal of the situation focuses on the harm caused to someone he loves, which he attributes to his own actions. This leads to guilt rather than shame or embarrassment, as the focus is on the specific wrongdoing rather than a negative evaluation of his entire self or a concern for social perceptions. Guilt fits better because Okabe wishes to make amends, which becomes the core motivator for his continued efforts to find a world line where Mayuri survives. The narrative poignantly portrays guilt as a powerful force that pushes Okabe towards redemption and the ultimate determination to protect his friends, no matter the cost.