I originally rated this route a four, but upon this rereading, I’m legitimately considering giving it a five. This is Maeda’s best-written route out of the three he wrote for this novel, even though it’s not without its own tiny problems.
My approach in analyzing this route is going to be a bit different. I have no Key Points for this route, because the route pretty much does all the deep thinking for us. Still, I wanted to point out my own personal thoughts and feelings on the characters and themes of the route in the same vein as Nayuki, just with less open-ended discussion. And it definitely isn’t because my Key Points for common or Nayuki were complete garbage or anything… ._.
Makoto can be best described as a child in a teenager’s body; she’s curious, playful, and has no clue about how the world works. It is her strict purpose, she believes, that Yuuichi is the source of all her problems, such as the loss of her memory and her poor treatment around the house. Yuuichi takes it upon himself to rectify her childish behavior, and as the route progresses he becomes something of a father figure to her, for better or worse. Yuuichi’s actions, however, are not quite in her best interest until the 17th, when he discovers that she really has no home to go back to. Yuuichi and Makoto both are shown to be conscientious characters, in that they mean no harm to each other in truth, and only interpret each other’s actions as malicious because it conflicts with their own personal desires and standards. Yuuichi especially develops as a character through his increasing interactions with Makoto, subtly coming to understand the value of human life and coming out of his own selfish circle. The change is small but significant, as the ending hints at him coming to tolerate the more mundane parts of life that only Makoto seemed to care about.
The backbone of the whole route, however, takes the form of Mishio Amano, a quiet girl who takes interest in Yuuichi upon recognizing his relationship with Makoto.
EDIT: While I was originally going to talk about her here, my notes are simply too large to place here without getting flagged for being more about her than Makoto. Instead, you can read my unabridged notes on her character here.
Just to point this out, I noticed the presence of several objects and themes that Maeda would later go on to use in future stories. The dilemma of Makoto’s fading lifeforce reminds me of a similar dilemma in AIR, particularly the curse of the girl in the sky as mentioned in Misuzu’s route and Summer. Family and friendship are both prominent themes in this route, and said themes would get a much greater focus in AIR, CLANNAD and Little Busters. And speaking of Little Busters, those who have read even some of it would know that Rin and Makoto share a similar taste in accessories and pets.
Just thought I’d put that out there. :3
Anyway, I also wanted to point out, as another excellent use of background music, how Winter Fireworks is used here. From my personal notes:
Now comes the inevitable question surrounding everything that happens in this route: was it all worthwhile? Regardless of what I or others have said before me, I believe that, in the grand scheme of things, this was an excellent, thought-provoking route. I’d even go so far to say it’s one of my favorite Key routes ever. What makes me appreciate it even more among others is that it is definitely the beginning of something far bigger for Maeda, something that would help him come out of his own hole as well.
Mai’s next, I assume? Better make sure my skip button works and I have lots of ginger candy.
