Wait, by "subsuming oneself in" do you mean "taking care of"? Because it seems to me there are people who self-actualize by taking care of others, although I'm certainly not one. I mean, for the greater part of history that was how women were conditioned to self-actualize, and I suspect a few even managed to do it.

So maybe Shuuji isn't the solution so much as one possible solution, if a solution is needed. But Takemoto had stumbled his way onto a path by series end, too, so doesn't he represent another option?