It’s pretty sad because they’re treating what Hiromi wants as this lofty ideal that’s basically impossible, when all he wants is to have a wife and kids to cherish.
He and his girlfriend are NOT incompatible. They both genuinely like each other and have no weird agendas or anything. They are both a bit damaged and have insecurities, but they perfectly normal concerns that show how much they care about the other person and want it to work. All they need is to compromise a little here and there and they’ll make it work.
I don't think the author is treating the life he envisions as impossible at all. I think she's treating it as
naïve, which is a significant difference. Hiromi grew up as an orphan, and he romanticizes the notion of a traditional nuclear family and thinks that's his "endgame", where he'll be truly happy. I think his arc over the manga is to get to the point where he understands that's where the work
begins, not ends. Happiness isn't something you secure for yourself and then enjoy. It's something you get up and choose to make for yourself every day for the rest of your life.
The whole arc with Nonoka is interesting to me because I think her place in the story is to disabuse Hiromi of that notion that it's really just as simple as finding a traditional girl and settling down with her. She represents everything he thinks he wants, and he's rebounding hard into her arms without really taking the time to understand who she is and what she wants out of life other than "a partner". And her insecurity as a person feels very real, too: she needs to be needed, and doesn't know how to define herself except through the eyes of another person. I think my largest gripe with this story arc is just that because she's not one of the main cast, I doubt we'll get to see her own journey to full maturity. I think her character and story are more interesting than, for example, Mio, whose arc has been fairly predictable and straightforward.
