Makoto Sawatari

Personal Information

Makoto Sawatari (Seiyuu: Mayumi Iizuka), born in January 6, aged 12-14. Height is 159cm (5'3"). Weight is 46kg (101lbs). Measurements are 81cm - 55cm - 79cm (32" - 22" - 31"). Hair and eye color is orange and blue respectively.

From early on, it becomes obvious that Makoto has a mischievous personality, which leads to her performing various pranks. These are done exclusively on Yuuichi because of her strong dislike for him, something she constantly reaffirms. Her persistent attempts at pranks on Yuuichi vary in severity, such as simply dropping food on him or once even throwing lit firecrackers in his room. As time passes and Makoto beings to feel more as a member of the Minase family rather than a stranger, she honestly grows to like Yuuichi, effectively looking beyond her latent distaste for him.

Makoto can be clueless about things that people her age should know, such as the fact that she can buy her own meat buns and manga; Yuuichi had commented once how she lacked common sense due to a lack of social experience. Like Ayu, she too has an idiosyncratic expression, "Aū", which she says when she is frustrated or sad; likewise, it has no real meaning. Another unique speech pattern of hers is that she always refers to herself in the third person. Near the end of her story, Makoto starts to wear two bells around her right wrist and enjoys the sound they make.

Makoto Sawatari is in fact not a human being but instead a fox that Yuuichi Aizawa found ten years ago. At that age, Yuuichi had once again come to stay at his aunt Akiko Minase's house along with her daughter and thus his cousin Nayuki Minase during the summer break from school. Yuuichi first found Makoto, then a young fox, injured on Monomi Hill which over looks the city. Yuuichi decided to take the fox back home with him and bandaged her injured limb so she could recover quicker. For the rest of the summer break, Yuuichi kept the fox hidden in his room and used to talk with her often about various things going on in his own life. However, the fox was not completely hidden as sometimes she would come out of Yuuichi's room without him knowing it, though Akiko was the only other person to know about the fox. Akiko discovered the fox one day when as she was heading out, the bells she kept on her purse jingled and the fox came downstairs to play with them. Despite Akiko knowing that Yuuichi was keeping a wild animal inside the house without her permission, Akiko never told Yuuichi that she knew about it. One day, Yuuichi was recounting to the fox about an older girl that he had a crush on named Makoto Sawatari (The picture on the right), which is where Makoto's name is derived from.

Ultimately, Yuuichi had to go back home once the summer break was over, and thus he knew that he could not take the fox with him. Yuuichi took the fox up to Monomi Hill where he found her and, after placing her on the ground before him, said goodbye and ran in the opposite direction with tears in his eyes. What Yuuichi did not know, though, was that this fox had taken a special liking towards his human kindness, and would remember him even up to the day ten years later when she spots him on the hill on his first day back in town.

Makoto finally makes her move in the shopping district the day after Yuuichi arrived in town for the first time in seven years. Yuuichi walks out of a grocery story when Makoto, draped in a cloth which hid her appearance at first, appeared saying that she will never forgive him for something he did to her in the past. Makoto rips off the cloth, revealing her appearance, and after a short attempt to get into a fist fight with Yuuichi, collapses from hunger and falls unconscious. Yuuichi brings her back home and ultimately discovers that she has amnesia and is unable to remember everything except that she holds a grudge on something Yuuichi did to her in the past; that is he left her on the hill ten years ago. It is decided via Akiko's approval to house Makoto for the time being until they can contact her parents or when she gets her memories back. Yuuichi is not ecstatic about the outcome, but goes along with it anyway.

Almost immediately after starting to live in the Minase house, Makoto tries playing tricks and pranks on Yuuichi which occur primarily at night when Yuuichi would be asleep. Her persistent attempts at pranks on Yuuichi vary in severity, such as simply dropping food on him or once even throwing lit firecrackers in his room. Another time, she filled the entire bath tub with miso soup right before Yuuichi was about to take a bath, something she got summarily scolded for by Yuuichi. Later, Yuuichi thinks that if Makoto got a job, she would have more common sense and not do so many pranks. Akiko eventually helps her get a job at a day care looking after young children, something Makoto was not very ecstatic about doing.

Soon after Makoto begins her job, she finds a stray cat which she later keeps as a pet and names Piro. After an incident where she drops the cat off of a bridge into oncoming traffic, Makoto later feels sorry for what she did and attempts to search for it without anyone knowing. Yuuichi, worried that Makoto did not come home after they had a fight that same day concerning Makoto dropping Piro over a bridge, goes out to search for her, ultimately finding her on Monomi Hill with Piro.

Yuuichi takes her home that night and after this point, Makoto starts to warm up to Yuuichi and stops playing pranks on him. Coinciding with this new side of her, Makoto begins to show signs that she may be sick, such as being unable to hold chopsticks anymore and her legs not being as strong as they once were. During this period in the story, Makoto continuously grows to become attached to Yuuichi. Not long after this starts to happen, Yuuichi finds out about Makoto's true nature from a first year student at his school named Mishio Amano who once went through a similar experience with a different fox in her past. It is at this point that Yuuichi recovers all of his memories concerning meeting Makoto as a fox ten years ago. Knowing that she will continue to deteriorate until she ultimately dies, Yuuichi resigns to stay by Makoto's side and do as much as he can for her while there's still time. Yuuichi even takes a leave from school for the time being.

An important event that marks that Makoto's story is coming to a close is right before Makoto loses most of her cognitive abilities, such as speech and a the strength in her muscles. This is when Makoto asks Yuuichi to buy a cheap 100 yen bracelet for her which has two bronze bells attached to the end of it. Makoto slips the bells on her wrist. Knowing there isn't much time left, Yuuichi suggest that the entire family go out to a restaurant one night so as to feel more like a real family. During their outing, they manage to take a photo in an outdoor photo booth. Not long after this point, Makoto gets a fever which she miraculously recovers from, though has regressed to take on traits more akin to the fox she once was; physically she still appears to be a young human girl, but she acts like a young child. One night, Makoto voices her wish to someday get married with Yuuichi, something Yuuichi knows will never happen. Makoto soon contracts another fever which she recovers from just as the last one, but regresses further.

On Makoto's last day alive, Yuuichi takes her outside to meet with Mishio once more which helps Makoto remember Yuuichi's name, and is even able to someone voice it, though Mishio tells Yuuichi this is only temporary. Yuuichi and Makoto later visit Nayuki at school during lunch break where Nayuki plays with Makoto until she has to leave for class again. After this, Yuuichi takes Makoto to Monomi Hill where they sit down together and eat meat buns together. Hours later around sunset, Yuuichi stands up with Makoto and shows her a wedding veil he bought due to her wishing to get married with Yuuichi. He begins to recite wedding vows for him and Makoto as they stare off into the sunset and Yuuichi proclaims once finished that they are now married and will always be together. Suddenly, a strong wind blows by which catches the veil and soon it flies out of sight. Makoto falls to the ground and begins crying after losing it, which is when Yuuichi holds her in an effort to calm her down. Right before the sun sets completely, Makoto mysteriously disappears right in front of Yuuichi, only leaving behind the bells which fall to the snow.

A few days later, Yuuichi is talking with Mishio at school. Mishio thinks that if just a single fox is able to produce such a miracle as to take human form in exchange for memories and life, then she wonders what would happen if all the foxes with this ability on Monomi Hill combined their power. Mishio suggests that a good use of that miracle would be if it started to rain candy, though Yuuichi tells her she is too unrealistic. Finally, Mishio asks Yuuichi what miracle he would want to happen. While the scene fades out before Yuuichi's answer can be given, the next thing that is shown is Makoto asleep in the spring on Monomi Hill with Piro resting near her. This is meant to show that this is what Yuuichi would have wanted the miracle to be used for.

Photo

The Real Makoto (Fox)

Mai's Bells

The Real Makoto (Human)

Random Screenshots

Source from Wikipedia