With the recent episodes of School Days being aired and subbed, the burning desire of fans to go burn Makoto in a fire may have lessened slightly as a lot of the Uber Melodrama which has been kicked up is out of his control.

Still, it’s no secret there was a large crowd that came for the Bad End, which only grew as Makoto did more and more stupid things and as characters did more and more stupid things to Makoto, like fall in love with him.

To that end School Days can almost claim the title of horror-mobile, as the most recent episode almost proves that no one…no one is safe from the Makotomobile. (Hint: You don’t want a ride on it.)

Granted, there’s one girl that has the hots for Taisuke but that goes beyond the realm of horror and into the supernatural, as in “What spell did he cast on her to do that?!”

But the purpose of this post is not to criticize nor support the nearly non-existant bases of the feelings between many of the School Days characters – although, I won’t doubt that this sort of relationship isn’t uncommon in most high schools. Not to mention, show me any anime meganekko and I’ll show you highly biased worshipping.

Perhaps a more important issue for many viewers of the anime is not who has a crush on who or who’s stupid for having a crush on who or who’s stupid for not noticing stupid’s stupid feelings for them but rather when we will get to the slashing (or roof-jumping, or stabbing, or whatnot).

In my previous takes on School Days I’ve tilted toward the kinder end towards Makoto, similarly to perhaps Kotonoha in the anime. Even as Makoto’s brain slowly shifted from his head to his crotch in the later episodes, I stayed on the kinder end of things, suggesting maybe that he live…just not happily ever after. Proverbial life in prison instead of the death sentence.

And in the end I retained some hope for a happy ending, yearning for a Makoto 2.0 that wasn’t a completely hormone-driven two-timing jerk.

But, two-thirds of the way through things continue to change and perhaps I’ve been a little shaken by the fall of even what I thought would be the most Makoto-resistant force to the typically infectious harem vibes that he gives off; it’s hard to say whether a happy ending, a sad ending, or a bad one is the most realistic at this point.

So, it’s time to step back, and take a look at the two-thirds mark as to where this show is taking us. Naturally, there will be more spoilers so I don’t have to talk so ridiculously vaguely after the jump.
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a.k.a. Whose Fault is It Anyway?

Makoto Itou has accumulated more than a fair share of heat for his actions so far through the first half of the soap-opera-slash-harem-slash-love-triangle anime School Days, and by heat I mean rampant flaming. Makoto deserves to die. Makoto deserves a swift kick (or two) to the crotch. Makoto is the worst harem/male lead ever.

Now, having seen up through the raws of episode 6, it’s a nearly impossible task to argue that Makoto is a just person, or a good guy, the typical type of harem lead that one would see in any other anime.

What can be argued, though, is that Makoto is more than a slight victim of circumstances. To put it one way, Makoto is not the only person in the wrong here. That’s right; the girls are at fault too.

It’s really wrong to focus all the attention on Makoto just because he is the center of the anime; we pull up on the earth as much as the earth pulls us down. For each action Makoto makes, it causes – or is caused by – an equal action.

Yeah, perhaps that is just overdramatized writing, a bit of Shioriism, but it can be shown that School Days is not the result of one messed up, horny guy, but many faulty characters.

Not at all, of course, that that is a bad thing, entertainment-wise.
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I’m doing something wrong here. I must be missing something here.

Somehow, I’m lacking that bloody hatred for Makoto, everyone’s “favorite harem lead that needs to die”. Somehow, I’m feeling that he’s salvageable.

Although, he is rather annoying. Perhaps it’d be better to break him up and sell him for scrap parts instead of refurbishing him, but he definitely doesn’t need to be sent to the crusher, just yet. (Controversial statement! Hit jump! Mwahaha.)
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