It’s not that at all. I think the pacing is fair, it’s the end result that perplexes me. I’m just of the mindset that Nayuki was deliberately trying with master subtlety to get Yuuichi to like her and the town. It makes her intentions look rather sinister, but I suppose that considering the themes of the route and the parallel that it makes with Yuuichi, this was done to humanize Nayuki and give her room to atone for her mistakes. Like I said, it’s a story of redemption, both for Yuuichi and Nayuki, and I don’t have a problem with that. 
It’s certainly not a bad song. On the one hand, it signifies that the romance is reaching its climax and the people involved are realizing something that they’ve either forgotten or put off for a while. I think it has better uses in other routes, but it’s used fine in this route. On the other hand, by today’s standards, it’s kind of cliche to have a dramatic remix of the main theme in a deliberate romance like this.
That’s an interesting theory. I may have to come back to that one later when I can actually think of something to say. (I’m writing this in the early morning and I’m not fully awake yet…)
Ladies and gentlemen, the fruits of Akiko-san’s parenting. 
In all seriousness, though, Akiko is a half-baked parent. She only focuses on one side of the parental coin: nurturing, which makes sense because she’s the mother. The other side is discipline, which Akiko rarely administers. She doesn’t bother waking Nayuki up to go to school, she does very little to discourage poor choice of actions or words, and…well, I’m not sure if she even told Nayuki that sex outside the bonds of marriage is a no-no. I figure it must have made Akiko herself sound like a hypocrite. It’s just speculation, though.
Applying this speculation to Nayuki, Akiko’s ‘parenting’ never prepared her to be independent, to take care of herself when she’s older. Coupled with the fact that her only guide through life was totaled by a car, it’s understandable that Nayuki breaks down and stops coming to school. That’s where Yuuichi comes in. By that point in the route, he’s regularly disciplined Nayuki to wake up early, with much success, and even served as the logical side to Nayuki’s emotion-focused mindset. Both sides have their faults, some of which they share, but that’s part of what a long-term relationship does. It points out the faults in people, and gradually mends them through teamwork, nurture, and discipline. As long as the two of them understand that, I’m sure they’ll be great parents for their strange child.
YES. That totally adds to the above point. Akiko, without her husband, tried to shield her from the hardships of life, yet completely forgot to teach her about what to avoid. That, in effect, sets up Nayuki for failure right from the start. Nayuki may look innocent, but it doesn’t stop her from doing naughty things if she has no clue of what’s right or wrong to do. Again, that role is passed on to Yuuichi, through his own choice, I might add.
I think another way to pose the question is, When you’re patiently waiting for a greater happiness, how long can you wait until it stops becoming important to you? Keep in mind that humanity, in general, is a forgetful race. In pursuit of what we hold most important, we may forget why we chased it in the first place. We then question ourselves, “Is it really worth doing this?” We may give up, and aim for something less ambitious, or a ‘lesser happiness’. I think this route really embodies that sort of message as Nayuki waited seven years in the hopes of Yuuichi accepting her love, but by the time she has it within her grasp, she’s forgotten why she asked him in the first place. Her actions became more and more selfish, until she settled for a half-baked, temporary happiness that only ended up causing more problems for her and Yuuichi.
In the same vein, my second question involves forgiveness, just like you mentioned. As both Nayuki and Yuuichi’s selfish actions ended up hurting each other deeply, they had a decision to make: live with a knife stuck in the chest or do their best to heal each other’s wounds. The two of them had to understand where they were coming from and what needed fixing, leading to growth and maturity once those problems were overcome and sins forgiven.
You’re not wrong in your speculation, but you asked for my perspective, so that’s how I would have seen it. I hope this shows up in the podcast somehow… 
Thank you. 
I’ve been informally critiquing video games, anime and music for about three years now. My style of critiquing is more of a refinement on my previous critiques on AIR, Little Busters! and Rewrite, as I’m not quite as used to analyzing visual novels as I am with the aforementioned mediums. They’re not terribly organized and full of raw thought, but feel free to use them as templates if you wish. 
It’s kind of sad, though, that no one else’s critiques were worth mentioning in your post… ._.
