Yuko, and, it seems, the kurose women before her, are the epitome of the phrase "hurt people, hurt people". it in no way justifies the pain they've inflicted on others, but you see what drives them to do that, and honestly, I'm sympathetic to their trauma and hopelessness. I also feel like there's something to be said about how the women in this are abused, exploited, controlled and/or repressed by and for the men in their lives (even if other women facilitate said abuse, exploitation, control and repression). and the rebound/backlash of how those women cope with that lands on Reiji. I kind of don't want Yuko to die just for the faint possibility she could reckon with her past and in some way make restitution to Reiji and co. and maybe even find some actual happiness herself (super longshot). but given the low likelihood of that and her strong parallel with Esemori being at the end of his life, death would be both punishment and reprieve for her...
the mangaka is really good at conveying the crushing despair and stifling hopelessness of the characters' situations (a plus), which combined with the length of the series makes even the reader wish for the sweet release of death for the characters, just for the catharsis of a conclusion to the almost stationary spiral that is the plot (mixed bag).
Throughout this whole thing I've been rather perplexed as to why nearly everyone seems fixated on a lovers suicide, and specifically to do it with Reiji. Yeah, it's the catalyst for a lot of things character-wise, but it doesn't make much practical sense to me. I mean, if you're at the point of considering suicide, is it so necessary to have a partner for it? Sure, it'd be that last small happiness in life to know that someone cared so much and mirrored you so well to die with you, but if you were really at the end of your rope, you could do it anyways? Unless you weren't actually that committed to or ready for it. Which may be the point, kinda, with how the manga circles around that will-they-won't-they time and time again. It's both engaging and incredibly frustrating in how much I want to see a happy or at least bittersweet conclusion, but if that's off the table, I'd rather have the bad end quickly. Caught between hope and despair...
wall of text because I needed to get this ramble out of my head after binging