[x81ublu8x]

I wish I had joined this discussion earlier. I have been reading most of the posts in this thread and can see pretty much everything concerning Makoto has already been covered. Nevertheless, I would like to share my thougths on this character in hopes of discussing anything that hasn't been boiled down up till now.

Makoto Itou was, what I consider, a normal teenager at the beginning of the story. Being there so many sources for adult material available nowadays, it was no surprise his mind was already filled with images of naked women dancing around him and all sorts of media that stimulate a 15 year old lad's libido. The magazines and tissue box he had under his bed are proof enough.

When he finally saw a girl from his world, a schoolmate, being a step ahead from the rest in the process of becoming a woman, and a very attractive one at that, it was only natural for him to develop an interest in her. Just an interest. He was smart enough to know the difference between a fantasy and his real life. Coupled with his shyness that didn't allow him to even speak to her, Makoto was happy just being a spectator.

Then, one day, he jumped from being a stranger to this girl to becoming her boyfriend. All of this due to Sekai's intervention; a girl he was not really interested in befriending; and who began doing him favors he did not ask for. Was he prepared for this? Evidently not. The mistakes he made on his first and second date were laughable but would it be fair to call him a jerk for that? My answer would be no. Just like Kotonoha, he had no experience dating someone, but most importantly that he was not yet ready to abandon his world of harmless entertainment (the best example is the magazine he was skimming right in front of her in the bookstore.)

When he later realized this fact, Makoto was honest to report it to Sekai by telling her he was stressed and tired of playing the boyfriend role. Perhaps he wasn't able to picture why things weren't working out like he had imagined, but he felt it and complained. All of us have had this feeling before, especially when little, when we decided not to do something because we felt it was wrong or made us uncomfortable rather than understanding why.

This is where I believe Makoto made his first real mistake: allowing Sekai to decide for him. Sekai appeared to be quite a dependable character, always having an answer for everything and giving Makoto advice at every turn. The truth was she was just as inexperienced as Makoto, and I would dare say less mature for not being able to confess her feelings the way he did; creating instead this "game" of hers where she was the master in charge of educating him. The situation obviously got out of control in little time and Sekai stepped down from being the master to become a player herself and leaving no one in charge. It's right here where Makoto should have realized the problem she was going through and put a halt to it. Contrary to this he gave in to his desires, which Sekai helped awaken in him, knowing she was more likely to give him what Kotonoha refused. Sekai's pregnancy was a clear signal of how unprepared those two were...

From that day on, things just began to get worse for everyone, fueled by Makoto's inability to decide on his own. Setsuna barged in next, harassing him to keep Kotonoha away, especially in a time when she needed his support. She always argued it was to help out Sekai, but was it really? She had her own little secret that gave her confidence to act without feeling guilty, thinking it wouldn't make a difference if nobody became aware of it. Or at least she thought so until she watched the school play and opened her eyes. Still, she secretly visited him one more time before leaving Japan, putting her precious friendship on the line. It turned out she wasn't as loyal as everybody believed, although deep in her heart Sekai was more important to her.

The rest of the girls Makoto was involved with were the worst. Hikari betrayed Sekai without giving it much thought then quietly withdrew to avoid being part of the problem. Kumi, Natsumi and the other girl that bullied Kotonoha lost respect for Otome and did their own thing with him. Let's remember these girls even talked about giving it a go with Kumi's boyfriend when Makoto was no longer an ideal candidate. It all proves the lack of principles many of these students had, placing their own interests on top of others, and taking no responsibility.

Makoto's mistakes can be summed up in a single term: passiveness. He was stupid and careless to think his problems weren't such a big deal and would eventually disappear as a result. He was shunned for it at the same time he created a thick layer of tension around himself. Then, just before he was about to collapse, something meaningful happened: Fate. The cellphone charm had been at last fulfilled. Only the image of a mentally deteriorated Kotonoha was strong enough to make him understand what he had done, allowing Kotonoha to come back to her senses in the process. They had saved each other.

Unfortunately, saving Kotonoha was equal to abandoning Sekai, who had also taken a large amount of psychological abuse up to this point. The night she saw her dinner piled up in the garbage was the last straw, she realized she had been defeated and that there was nothing she could possibly do to change it. A simple issue left unresolved quickly snowballed into a relentless problem that claimed his life when it became unbearable for Sekai.

It is clear that Makoto was the main culprit in all of this, but it wouldn't be fair to pour all the hatred on him when everybody else took a hand in. I don't agree with the people who say "he got what he deserved" since he wasn't fully aware of his actions, unlike a womanizer who is just waiting for his next chance to score. His conduct was rebukable, I cannot argue with that, but by no means did it justify someone to slaughter him like an pig.

Fair or not, that was the outcome and it didn't stop Kotonoha from being reunited with Makoto. So, were they really meant to be? That's a question left open for the viewer to decide, but I would like to believe so. Maybe if they had met under different circumstances the would've had a brighter future together, but it would not have changed the fact that they were bound to be together. (Please note my opinion is based on the anime and has nothing to do with the PC game.)

I wish to share with all of you how I will remember this young couple:




And they lived happily ever after.

Exactly, he didn't deserve to die like that just because he had sex with lots of chicks in high school, he just did it with the wrong people.