General
- We see that Makoto truly didn’t have any friends before the events of the story.
- The continuing deterioration of Makoto and Sae's relationship both in the story and the Interrogation Room.
- Everything regarding Shiho. The poor girl is one of the people who suffers the most in this story.
Chapter 10
- While it is heartwarming Makoto got to spend time with her friends, Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana, it is sad that she hasn’t been able to enjoy a birthday for years.
- When Sae is confronting Makoto on her coming home late, she barely lets her sister say a word. Even though Makoto has done a lot of work and studying, Sae dismissed it and said she should be studying. It ends with Makoto angrily telling Sae that it is her birthday. Makoto realizes that Sae forgot about her birthday, and Sae doesn’t have much of a response either.
- Morgana doesn’t seem convinced that Sae truly has Makoto's best interests in mind.
Chapter 14
- The Phan-Site has turned out to be a double-edged sword for the Phantom Thieves. Right after Makoto and Ren finish off having a great time in the batting cages, they find out a request to change Makoto's heart, which is heavily implied to be from Ann. It doesn't stop there, as there are multiple requests made about Ren, with arguments that have little to no evidence to support them and are all a product of Gossip Evolution. And this is supposed to be a prestigious school?!
Chapter 18
- Yusuke learning the hard truth he's been trying to deny for so long. Madarame sees him as nothing but a tool, which is enforced by his sensei's cognition of him. It is as sad as it is horrifying.
Chapter 19
- The final will seed shows the exact moment in which Madarame let Yua die of a seizure in order to claim the Sayuri as his own painting. Yusuke is seeing both his mother's death in full detail and the moment his sensei's desires became distorted.
Chapter 21
- Is hard to not feel sorry for Eiko after her brother outright tells her that she is a failure for not being able to pass her exams, in spite of Eiko doing much better that she did in the past. Her spirits have been completely brought down by those hurtful words and her usual peppy personality is gone.
- She then goes to a therapy session with Dr. Maruki as a suggestion from Kasumi. Eiko tells him that even she sees herself as a failure and that Makoto is her Only Friend.
Chapter 23
- Sae's dismissal of Ren despite Makoto vouching for him. It is an unfortunate case of Surprisingly Realistic Outcome since most parents and guardian figures would dismiss someone who was charged with a crime even if they were framed. As far as she’s concerned associating with Ren would do her nothing for her other than bring her down.
- The argument Makoto and Ann have in front of Shiho, with the latter accusing the former of sweeping Kamoshida's crimes under the rug and only visiting Shiho to give herself a good image. Makoto then asks her what did she do for Shiho while she was suffering, only for Ann to not have a rebuttal for that question. The one who takes it the worst is definitely Shiho, who can't stand seeing her two friends arguing.
Chapter 24
- Ann's reaction to Makoto being a Phantom Thief is a cross between this and heartwarming. She cries her heart out, apologizes to Makoto for making a post about her in the Phan-Site, and it is made clear that what happened to Shiho has hit her very hard, as she regrets being unabale to do anything to stop Kamoshida from harming her.
Chapter 26
- After defending Ryuji from his former track team teammates and Nakaoka telling her to look into the volleyball team, Makoto expresses concern for Shiho, hoping that no one blames her for the state the volleyball team is in like they blame Ryuji for what happened to the track team.
- Makoto realizes that the only reason Ryuji is being blamed for what happened to the track team is because he stood up to Kamoshida, and because of his position Kamoshida was able to get away with his crimes. She realizes that this is the reason why some abuse victims don't speak up, because they are afraid of being blamed for the actions of their abusers. This doubles as Nightmare Fuel.
Chapter 27
- As despicable as the principal can be, one can't help but feel bad for him given that the will seeds show that he has been treated like a doormat all his life and that caused him to grow desperate to prove that he can be as powerful and important as others by increasing his reputation via Shujin Academy, even if that means giving up on what he thinks it's right and turning into the Dean Bitterman he is today. The Moirae Sisters in his palace seem to represent this idea, as the three of them constantly talk about how Kobayakawa is "fated for greatness" and that the Phantom Thieves can't do anything about it. Even when Clotho and Lachesis have been taken out, Atropos still insists that Kobayakawa is going achieve great things, what he may very well know deep down that is just not going to happen.
Chapter 33
- Tachibana asks Ohya tips for becoming a journalist once she graduates. Ohya just tells her to give up all hope if she wants to show everyone the truth and expose corruption because society doesn't care about the truth and publications would rather ignore it in favour of keeping people happy. Tachibana tries to keep optimistic about it, but Ohya simply scoffs at her.
Chapter 34
- The title of the chapter is "Useless". It is as sad as the title implies.
- Makoto and Sae are having dinner together. Makoto asks Sae what would their father have thought about the Phantom Thieves, only for Sae to lash out at Makoto for bringing up the subject (which she had told Makoto that she had no problem discussing about seconds ago), and calls Makoto useless. Unlike in the game however, Makoto emotionally explodes, shouts at Sae and tells her to shut up (translation: "stop insulting me"). Sae, realizing what she had done, tells Makoto that she will be having dinner out from that moment onwards. That's right, not even a single apology.
- As if that wasn't enough, Makoto, completely heartbroken, types Sae's name on the Metaverse App and finds out that she has a palace. She proceeds to cry herself to sleep, believing herself to be useless and unable to save anyone.
- Back to the present, in the interrogation room, this line from Makoto sums up her relationship with Sae very well, sadly.Makoto: "The injuries hurt... but what hurts even more is that I feel like you don't care."
- When Makoto refuses to sell out her teammates again, Sae asks Makoto if she thinks that they, alongside her boyfriend (who she doesn't know is Ren yet), really care about her given that one of them betrayed her and the rest of them abandoned her to be captured by the police (or so she thinks). Before she can finish the sentence, Makoto cuts her off with three harsh biting words: “More than you!”. Sae, with her voice cracking, changes the topic.
- Makoto tells Ryuji that he shouldn't feel guilty about what happened to the Track team given that a victim-blaming mentality is not healthy. Makoto cried herself to sleep while thinking she was "useless" during the previous night.
