Media literacy is dead.
You don't need to read much between the lines to realize that Naoto has some very deep seated issues about women and is probably a rather unreliable narrator.
Unreliable narrator? Do you say that about every story to justify contrived writing? The women's ulterior motives are probably not Naoto being an unreliable narrator, but rather just the author contriving shit to give Naoto's actions a justification (though ultimately a thin one, which the story acknowledges as thin and punishes Naoto for). Saying it's an unreliable narrator is just you assuming cleverness from the author first and foremost. It makes sense for Naoto to be an unreliable narrator, sure, but it doesn't seem so overwhelmingly certain that that's actually the case to justify you talking shit in such a smarmy way; it could just as easily simply be contrived writing, which is what
I assumed before assuming the mangaka was more clever than he let on.
What's even the point of this comment of yours, though? It's not like you actually challenged my main point, which was that it was weird, distasteful, and annoying that Naoto was cucking Shinji at all, whether the women really had the motives they were portrayed as having or if those motives were Naoto making shit up; of course, the manga thinks so as well, with it being a major character moment for Naoto to realize just how fucked it was for him to do so, so I guess me saying so was redundant, maybe. I do think I made more points than just that, though, so I think my comment is fine; but what about this reply? Did you just wanna brag about your supposed media literacy? Cause nothing you had to say that was worth shit; you're just interpreting that Naoto was written as an unreliable narrator, as opposed to my own interpretation that it was just contrived writing as a wafer-thin justification for Naoto's dumbass actions. My interpretation seems closer, frankly; if they didn't really have the motives, that weakens the impact of Naoto's idiocy and folly. The point seems more that, while the women did have these ulterior motives, Naoto was ultimately never justified in the actions he took using those ulterior motives to justify. If it was Naoto being an unreliable narrator, then it loses so much sauce; instead of him engaging in folly with the best of intentions, being a twisted guy whose barely had a real friend in his life, and making a massive mistake, he's just a terrible person.
At least, that's my interpretation of things; we could discuss our interpretations of the story, but you've ruined the air, and you're just a weirdo. You're using your assumptive
interpretation to belittle others and ride high on your little horse; supposedly with media literacy up there. You're pathetic. Fuck you, and fuck off.