[Traece]

Originally Posted by Vicious108

If you're going to quote me, then address my actual points. Don't strawman me, please.

I wont even justify that with a response. I suggest you actually read what I write, instead of automatically attributing everything to yourself.

Realism is perceived differently by different people. What you found to be realistic can simply appear to be out-of-character behavior in the eyes of others. And a more realistic outcome doesn't necessarily make for a better fictional work. One might consider Makishima and Kougami's confrontation in this episode to be more realistic than Makishima and Akane's confrontation in episode 11, but I'll still take the latter's thrilling events over the former's boring "realism" any day of the week.

Makishima has little to no pre-established character. What we've seen in this last episode is more in line with what has been shown than alternative explanations.

He doesn't? Then what do you call a skinny bookworm like him completely schooling a guy with twice his physique and who fights for a living? If you're going to talk about realism as if it should be the indisputable goal of any fictional work then that alone threw it out the window.

He's not a bookworm stereotype. Just because you've never seen his training regiment or him with his shirt off it hardly indicates that he is weak.

In addition, almost all of Makishima's fighting involved countering and throwing Ko. The only real blows struck are the kicks to Ko's midsection half-way through. Because of this, Makishima obviously requires less physical strength to fight effectively against his opponent. Even with that having been said, there is no indication that he lacks strength.

In case you missed it, Makishima has been characterized as someone a tad different from "all people". And more importantly, up until now, he was shown to be someone uninterested in base physical stimulation, usually preferring to observe and test those around him and being generally more concerned with the meaning behind one's actions than the actions themselves. So yes, his behavior in this episode did cheapen his character somewhat, in my view.

This is clearly not true when you consider his personal involvement with Akane, and him killing Yuki by himself. I would categorize his interests as being the potential of those he takes interest in. This seems evident due to him being "disappointed" that those who failed him did not provide him with the entertainment he desires. He wants to see them live up to the potential he seems in them, so that he can be entertained. If he had no interest in a persons' capabilities he wouldn't waste his time putting them in a position to achieve their goals. Whether or not you think the inevitable cheapened his character, well... do as you like.