I see. So your "development" means the relationship between Iemori and any girl, not the personal development of each character. But sorry, I still disagree because the romantic development of Iemori and Honoka has become stronger and stronger, enough for Iemori to realize his own feelings.
It's understandable why you got a wrong analysis because you forgot that
Iemori had known Honoka since their second year of junior high (middle school), not just right before graduation. Honoka had a secret crush on him for a whole year till she found a chance to talk to him while cleaning the blackboard at the end of their 2nd year of middle school.
After that, they spent a whole year to become close friends (4 people) till she's sad that he missed the snow school trip. In conclusion, they've been close friends for 3 years before Himari came to this story! They just can't confess their feelings while the other 2 close friends in their group, who also ended up together at the end of the story, already knew this secret. LOL
(The reason I remember details of any manga because I normally read them 5-10 chapters at a time, not just read chapter by chapter. Though I always forgot the characters' names, I remember their stories and what they did. LOL)
IMHO, the author had given her enough scenes to make Iemori consider his real feeling for her. Please do not neglect the scene when they're at the
sensei's house, when they visit old school, when they studied together, when they compensated the school trip, etc. So, I understand why many comments (just on
MangaPlus) didn't want her to lose. (They have so many moments you forgot but the other reader were not.) LOL
Himari’s mistake was declaring from the start that she wouldn't like him, only to change her mind later. So sad. Had she not shut that door initially, she might have stood a chance. However, as
Iemori was forbidden from loving her from the very beginning, falling for her would mean a lack of professionalism in his cleaning job.
Unfortunately for Himari, Iemori is a highly responsible person so he didn't dare let his feelings for her grow beyond friendship. So sad.
The only person I truly feel sorry for is Kanna because she's bright and clear about her feelings from the start. She also gets along well with Iemori's little sister and the story would be better if she becomes a neighbor or live very close to his house. Her screen time was very very limited (I wanted more) though understandably that she is a high school junior, not in the same grade as the others, so she had very few opportunities to see
Iemori. So sad.
Hima-ten is not my favorite manga so I forget characters' names. LOL
I stopped reading it when I felt the plot is a boring NTR like More than a married couple but not lovers manga that locked the FMC already.
I came back to read it after it ends and read the previous chapters to understand how the story reached this point.
It's a rush ending but it's not boring for me as the FMC was not locked. And the ending like this makes Iemori come across as a truly good person who is steadfast in love.
BTW, I don't read the manga about that
Yotsuba so I didn't feel anything. Thanks a lot to
@Cross-21- 's spoiler that save me from reading it. LOL