Matsuko Arita

 Matsuko Arita  (有田 松子 Arita Matsuko) is a student in 9 Grade Class 3 in 1998.

Appearance
Matsuko is a girl of average height and fair complexion, with shoulder-length dark brown hair (very similar to Yumi's) and brown eyes.

As a high school student, Matsuko wears the standard female uniform, but during the school trip she can be seen wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt as an undergarment and purple shorts.

Personality
Matsuko seemed to be a cheerful and sociable person as she was often seen with many female classmates. She was apparently good friends with Yumi Ogura and Sachiko Nakajima as she was seen with them most often. However, despite her friendly personality, it could be seen that she supported the broadcast directed by Takako Sugiura which incited everyone to murder Mei Misaki for supposedly being the "dead one".

Plot
Matsuko made her debut in "Rough Sketch", as a background character in class 3-3. She was also present when Mr. Kubodera committed suicide in "Sphere Joint". She and the other students watched in horror as the teacher repeatedly stabbed himself in the neck.

In "Glass eye", she travels to Sakitani Kinenkan along with the rest of the class. There, she shared a room with Sayuri Kakinuma as Yumi Ogura was depressed after the deaths of Aya Ayano and Atsushi Ogura and chose to be alone. During dinner, she shared a table with countermeasures team due to her association with Yumi.

In "Makeup", after she heard Takako Sugiura's broadcast, she and Sayuri left their room to see what the commotion was about. She was present when the others confronted Kouichi Sakakibara after they heard that Mei Misaki was the dead one.

In the chaos that followed ("Stand By Oneself"), Matsuko, having become separated from Sayuri, was left wandering the mansion looking for a way out. Entering one of the rooms, she was caught in an explosion and hurled through a window. Miraculously, Matsuko survived this without serious injuries, though she was a bit worse for wear. Matsuko eventually found her way to Chibiki's car, where she saw Chibiki, Yuuya, and Naoya who escaped the inn coming towards her. She answers when Chibiki questioned that no one else made it yet that she was the only one there. She then helps in looking over the injured Naoya with Yuuya. Later on, she is seen at the car, along with Sayuri, Yukito Tsujii, San Watanabe and Noboru Saruta who had also gotten out of the lodge.

In the series finale, Matsuko was seen visiting the hospital to check on Manabu Maejima, along with Yukito, Yuuya Mochizuki, Noboru and Kouichi, and Daisuke Wakui.

Trivia

 * The name Matsuko means "pine tree, fir tree" (松) (matsu) and "child" (子) (ko).
 * Matsuko's surname Arita means "exist" (有) (ari) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta).
 * Matsuko is ranked A in Another characters ranking.
 * In class, Matsuko sits in the column of seats by the window, the fourth row from the front, behind Yumi Ogura.
 * To her right is seated Takeru Mizuno and Kazue Satou sits behind her.
 * Matsuko's home address is 3-11 Asamida Yomiyama City
 * When Yumi dies, Masuko takes her place in the introduction, which is ironic due to the similarity of the two companions.

Gallery

 * Main article: Matsuko Arita/Image Gallery