Thoughts on Shu (NG+)
Rant. Spoilers for NG+ endings.
Does anyone else think Shu gets forgiven way too easily?
He secretly drugged Hinako with White Claudia pills because he couldn't admit his feelings. And sure, maybe he didn't think Hinako would OD in ending 1, but he already knew she was developing a dependency on drugs. She gets her meds from him, he knew when she started asking for too much. In the Clinical Trial papers, it says it takes a few weeks before the red pills start showing effects. That means Shu was giving them to her prior to the start of the game. He had every opportunity to tell Hinako what they actually do and give her the choice whether to take them herself, but he doesn't.
His confession in Ending 2 sucks. He admits to what he did, and then makes it all about himself and how "he just wanted her to see how much he cares" instead of acknowledging he messed up and took advantage of her trust. Kanta had a better apology than Shu did, he explained his behavior while also acknowledging he was in the wrong. He doesn't try to make excuses for himself or tell Hinako how she should feel. You know who does? Shu.
And don't get me started on his "boss fight", if you can even call it that. It was basically Hinako comforting Shu and saying what an "awesome and nice guy" he is. Like girl, did you already forget he secretly drugged you? You could be more pissed off at him. Why are you just talking about how great he is and coddling him? This wasn't an accident, he knew he was being selfish and jealous and still did it. He only confesses here and in ending 1 because Hinako didn't act the way he wanted her to. In the 3rd ending he doesn't even confess at all bc Hinako "sided" with him, he felt justified in drugging her.
Also, Hinako talking to Shu in ending 2 just makes him worse? He became even more entitled over her in the ending where she's getting married. It leads to Kotoyuki and Shu bickering over her like a toy... At least in Ending 3 Hinako wasn't trying to comfort Kotoyuki during their fight and talk about how "sweet and kind" he's been. She actually got to say what she wants. Kotoyuki working hard for her sake doesn't mean she's obligated to marry him. Ntm Kotoyuki actually respects her wishes and lets her go in the end. A completely different outcome from Shu acting like Hinako still belongs to him after she "fights" him.
I ended up sympathizing with every character in this game (even the abusive dad!) but Shu's the only one I just can't forgive. He betrayed Hinako's trust, knew what he was doing was wrong, kept doing it anyway, and then only felt bad about it when it didn't work. He has both Rinko and Sakuko's worst traits (childish and self-righteous) but he's treated much better than they are. He's the most coddled character in the game despite being the biggest backstabber.
tl;dr: Shu sucks.