I am giving this a reread, I forgot a lot about this story, but this is something I remember and didn't like... how spineless Tsutomu is.
Mind you... I don't think he is wrong, he is too young and just a normal kid, all this is beyond his capacity to process... but the guy whines a lot, even when things are happening, and decisiveness is needed, he keeps whining.
I can't quite remember, but I think it gets better as the story goes on... or better said, Tsutomu's screentime gets lower, can't remember which really.