Matsuko Arita

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

Appearance
Matsuko has straight shoulder-length brown hair that has bangs hanging on the right side and brown eyes.

She is usually seen wearing the standard school female uniform. Apparently, she wears a yellow camisole and blue shorts underneath her uniform, as can be seen on the school trip when she was escaping the burning inn.

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. Despite the tragedies that have befallen her and her classmates, she mostly maintained her sanguine nature, unlike Naoya Teshigawara.

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 (Matsuko's classmate), along with Yukito, Yuuya Mochizuki, Noboru and Kouichi, before they were later joined by Daisuke Wakui.

Etymology

 * 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).

Trivia

 * 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

Gallery

 * Main article: Matsuko Arita/Image Gallery