#ah I'm afraid I'm not too good at analyzing thoroughly but I hope you enjoy this :D!!

[chirpos-pencil]

Reading Makoto Naegi’s Secret File again, there’s one thing about it that I disagree. It says at the end that Makoto getting the HPA invite is zenith of his bad luck because of the despair inducing killing game. But if Makoto didn’t get enrolled to Hope’s Peak than he and Komaru would be dead or in hiding. Junko will still be alive and the killing game will succeed to plunge the world into unfixable despair. Frankly, Makoto and the entire world are very lucky that he was enrolled because only he could have stopped the killing game.

Oh yes, I can completely see your point! However, I can think of reasons why Kodaka included that part about the HPA invitation being a stroke of very, very bad luck, instead.

Perhaps Kodaka wanted to end this little story impactfully by instilling a sense of dread in the back of his reader's minds.

In the story, Makoto experiences a whole day of misfortune from losing a simple game of rock-paper-scissors to getting into a hostage situation.

But by the end, all these unlucky incidents get resolved with the robber arrested and Makoto getting an acceptance letter from a prestigious academy.

Now, remember that throughout most of this story, you're in Makoto's point of view.

After everything he had gone through that day, when he recieves the letter, he gets happy. He sees that letter as a gift for making it through. He says it here - an undeniable reversal of his unluckiness.

But then, the narrator voice pops up - "Ah, but do you really think that's all? Do you really think this is the end of Makoto's unluckiness? Well, this poor bastard doesn't know what's coming!" - with these lines:

Personally, I believe this immediate switch of POVs (Makoto and the narrator) in the end makes for a greater impact - a haunting conclusion to the story. Especially with these lines:

So, I believe the mention of the acceptance letter being a stroke of bad luck here is fitting!

Then there's another question that dwells on my mind.

Who can actually decide if Makoto's receival of HPA's acceptance letter is lucky or unlucky?

Let's imagine you ask Makoto himself whether he feels lucky or unlucky about his acception now.

Lucky? Because ultimately, he stops the killing game, saves his remaining friends from falling into despair, dismantles Ultimate Despair (since it's mentioned that majority of its members committed suicide after Junko's death), and is hailed as a hero and 'Ultimate Hope' by the world. Many, many people gaze upon him with starry eyes.

Unlucky? Because, eventhough he escapes the killing game with his survivor friends, that trauma and immense guilt lingers on. He has lost several of his friends. He has to bear the guilt of sentencing his classmates to death, lest they all get killed. He has inadvertently caused Komaru's imprisonment (for his motive) and his parents are missing, presumably even dead. He has to face a mountain load of burden that comes with being an 'Ultimate Hope' to people in a despair-ridden world.

The damage has already been done, no matter how good things turn out to be in the end.

Maybe in the eyes of the world, they see Makoto's acceptance into HPA as lucky.

But how does Makoto personally see it?

Maybe lucky. He has ended up saving the world, gaining inseperable friends, and earning great respect.

Maybe unlucky. He has to go through the most painful moments in his life, developing trauma and guilt that might follow him until his death.

Or maybe, he sees it as just is - neither lucky or unlucky. It just . . . happened. It's all just how things are. It's all just how things turn out to be.

Like life itself, you see? Many things happen out of your control - good things and bad things. Life is neutral like that. Maybe you can accept that aspect of life and keep moving forward, striving for change in the future - just like Makoto!

Like the old man said:

There you go! ( •̀ ө •́ )✧