Hot Take: Minato had no close friends, and even now still doesn't.
Heavy spoilers for the manga and ending, you have been warned:
So we all know the 90% of the series, he's never had friends that genuinely connect with him. Yota for example is a "friend" of convenience rather than connection, Yota has not once to my remembering truly cared or worried much about Minato. Miki is in the same boat, she sometimes worries for a bit but doesn't care or stress too much.
It's ironic because the series shows Koyuki as the one with walls up but really Minato has even higher walls in a different way. And it's genuinely sad that no one ever cared. Koyuki was the only one to ever understand how much she has hurt him, Yota and Miki don't care or even acknowledge that Koyuki's actions have hurt Minato deeply.
A lot of this is Minato's own doing, not gonna deny that. But there's a lot of hypocrisy in the fandom when Minato and Koyuki are compared. Both are products of their circumstances and have a large share of blame for their own suffering in present day due to their actions or inactions. Yet Koyuki is put on a pedestal and infantilized while Minato is crucified. This to a lesser extent exists in the series also. Like how Miki wanted to curse out Minato for trying to move on with Momoka. And Yota barely even being present in these moments is more telling than anything.
Let's not even mention how Miki and Yota completely exclude Minato when hanging out with Koyuki at the start of the series. None of these are done maliciously, but there's a clear pattern of not even worrying or caring about Minato. Yota's infamous "It's just Minato" line was the nail in the coffin for me. Yota and Minato are not friends, more like long term acquaintances out of convenience, I feel similarly about Miki. Minato probably has friends outside of this main cast that genuinely care more like the ones who remembered his birthday.
Another point is Minato was there for Yota when he needed to talk about Miki. Where was Yota when Minato needs him? Then the Christmas party Yuki, Miki, Yota and Koyuki have 2 days before Koyuki's date with Minato. Minato wasn't invited. Small things but they happen consistently over and over.
I hated how this series glossed over this part completely, it felt like bad writing to me. There was no true realization of how shallow and superficial this friendship group is when it comes to Minato. And there was no growth on this either. Manga finished up in 17 chapters after the whole breakup. That means the core problem to our knowledge was never addressed, other than Minato trying to communicate more from now on. Maybe Minato can build meaningful relationships and friendship from this point forward, but Yota and Miki are failures as friends in my opinion. The real friends are Yota, Miki and Koyuki, Minato was always an outsider.
Sorry for ranting like crazy, I evidently feel very strongly about the injustices against my boy Minato. Let me know what y'all think and let's keep in civil.