I agree with everyone who feels that the relationships were extremely rushed. I would much rather have seen a gradual leading up to that stage of their lives (which could have been accomplished in half an episode) as opposed to the abrupt time-skip we ended up getting. I can understand Maria/Saki because we, the audience, were shown hints of it in earlier episodes, but Shun/Satoru came completely out of nowhere. Looking back I can't see any indication that those two were ever going to pair up. For me it was just as ridiculous as say . . . Mamoru and Satoru
For that matter, why does Maria have the only English name? In a cast where everyone else has a Japanese name hers sticks out like a sore thumb. Is this ever addressed in the novel or manga? Does anyone have any ideas?