An interestingly long list onReddithas started a discussion aboutPersona 5’s Makoto Niijima. And while it reads like a troll post, it does list some pretty convincing reasons (a whopping 17 pages' worth of reasons, mind you) for why her character is just bland and downright annoying from the moment she first appeares in the story.
The first point of criticism — which many fansagreewith — is how the game tries to sell her as this smarty pants that no one can compare to, when she has nothing to prove. The fan points out how she immediately tries to lead the Phantom Thieves, even though she has no experience with their work and the ambiguous nature of the palaces (and that’s not even getting into her infamous Yakuza infiltration scene, which was the dumbest decision a so-called ‘brains of the phantom theives’ character and a high schooler could do).
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The fan also argues that Makoto doesn’t really add anything substantial to the Phantom Thieves' modus operandi. In fact, they share an extensive list of individual contributions that prove the members actively analyze their surroundings and make constructive decisions in both the real world and the Metaverse. Meanwhile, Makoto comes up with the most brain-dead deductions like “If you have to go, you need to go” and other meaningless nonsense.
The fan’s pet peeve with Makoto extends to her personality, which is indeed pretty high-horsey, we’ll give them that. There’s even that infamous scene where she says spending time with you isn’t worthwhile to her (and that you need to fix yourself and become smart enough according to the game’s rules to be able to stand in her presence). However, and as Miki-Corkreimentions, Makoto never really fixes her own self. She continues to be bossy and admonish everyone around her for not being a straight-A student like her all the time.
There are several other observations, like how the game dumps Morgana for Makoto, even though the two have really similar skill sets. Her social link requirring extra charm for no logical purpose other than to give her an advantage and makes her feel better about herself. And finally, there’s the way Ryuji is treated inthatscene by not just Makoto but all the girls. Talk about a deep-seated grudge, but at least it’s fun enough to write a report about.
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