"Persona 3: Reload" and letting go

Major spoilers for the events of Persona 3: Reload. I'll be discussing the ending in its entirety.

The main character of Persona 3: Reload is a character marked by death from the very start of the game. I mean, it shouldn't come as a surprise when the main method of using magic (summoning Personas) requires the characters to aim a gun to their head and shoot it. So it also shouldn't be very surprising that a lot of the characters in this game, including the main character, have experienced death firsthand. These experiences undoubtedly shaped these characters and how they carry themselves; the main character's rather direct relationship with death, however, forces the characters around him to contend with death in a new way. It forces them to live, despite it all.

https://www.pcgamer.com/persona-3-reload-review/, The main character summoning a persona.

Upon first meeting many of the characters in the game, it is hard to notice any immediate relationship between them and death. There are a few tragic backstories here and there, but the characters themselves behave in a way that conceals the damage these various tragedies has done to them. You, as the main character, don't really find out much about them until you spend more time with them, and build closer relationships. This takes time. And unfortunately, that means more tragedy can befall them as time goes on. I found this to be more often the case with many of the characters--they start out reasonably happy, and then something terrible happens over the course of your relationship.

A prime example of this would be Junpei, who is considered the main character's best friend. He's clumsy, and a bit of a goofball, but he also cares a lot about you and his friends. He's pretty much an open book of a character, comparatively at least. This all changes when he falls in love; a girl named Chidori, who happens to be involved with an opposing organization called Strega, one of the main antagonists of the game. A classic Romeo and Juliet situation; and based off of Shakespeare's reputation, a situation like that can only end one way. Chidori ends up giving her life to save Junpei, and she dies in Junpei's arms.

This death changes Junpei fundamentally (literally, his Persona changes--Chidori's persona combines with his). He isn't really so happy-go-lucky anymore. Compared to other games in the series, its quite the stark contrast from the other "best friend" archetypes. Junpei undergoes incredible change in the face of tragedy--at least to me. He isn't who he was at the start of the game. I think the same can be said for the rest of the characters as well.

The game culminates into, literally, a battle for the entire world. The avatar of Nyx seeks to bring the end of the world in an effort to ease the suffering of the people in it--a suffering that, by now, the player and the other characters of the game are well acquainted with. It is the final boss of the game, and the only way to defeat them is for the main character to sacrifice themself to seal the avatar away. The player actually finds out that this was the main character's purpose all along--he was bestowed a great power with the sole purpose of stopping Nyx. And yet, the main character has built these relationships and made countless friends, only to have to leave them all behind. The main character doesn't hesitate to lay down his life in order to save humanity. If anything, it's the other characters that object to this. But the main character is only further strengthened by the people around him; those who have touched his life now give him the power to put an end to Nyx.

And yet, the colorful cast of Persona 3: Reload is subjected to death once more--this time of their close friend. The last day of the game is a "last words" situation, giving the player the option to talk with all of the friends you've made (as the main character) before your timely death. The game ends as the main character drifts away, quietly, as if he were just falling asleep. Ultimately, he does get a happy ending: dying surrounded by the ones he loved, living his life as he chose. But no one will truly know the sacrifice he has made, except him and his friends, of course. But to me, his death is a request to them all, as someone who understands the pain they have been through. He asks them not to fall into darkness, but to live their lives instead.

Persona 3: Reload is a story about letting go. Things will constantly be changing, but despite that turmoil, everyone has the choice to carve their own path.