"this rom-com full of fuck-ups and failures"
Yes, you said it was a rom-com.
I guess I'm okay with this end? I wish there'd been more time for Ryoko to be introspective about who she really wants to be, but I feel like that was always going to be a "shoehorned into the last chapter haphazardly"...
Yes! You're escaping the goddess's malicious influence, girl! Now take the final step. Reach beyond Tomino, beyond Gundam. The key to victory is at hand, if you have the courage to grasp it! King of Braves GaoGaiGar will change your life forever!
Goddess, stop being evil! We don't want to drive the newcomers away, we want to show them the glory of mecha in all its forms! Give the girl some non-Tomino works to cleanse her palate... and not Evangelion either!