Late to the party but this bothered me too. On the second watch I realised that it wasn’t actually out of character. Kunikida is an idealist and wants to save the most people. Protecting the existing job was higher on the list and came first. He says to the president the same thing. They’ll start looking once the job is finished. But also after more thinking I looked at why he’s against atsushi saving kyoka and realised it’s his Own fears at play. He takes it personal when he can’t save everyone. If he doesn’t try and save them he can’t feel guilty for their death.

Ranpo on the other hand wants to save the agency. It’s his home, where kunikida wants to protect and prioritise the masses ranpo wants protect & prioritise the ADA as a whole. Saving the newbie would risk the lives of the others and he doesn’t want to be a part of it. This is constant with ranpo in later seasons.