I thought this manga would be annoying to read especially on how the characters act at a glance. I stopped reading at chapter nine, five years ago because it didn't sit well with me, and it doesn't help that it stopped getting any updates until I forgotten all about. I still have it bookmarked though and upon seeing that all of it have been translated. I gave it another read. I've always liked it despite the initial impression that I've bring up just now, but it goes beyond expectation. This is definitely something I hold dear to a lot and think back a lot about it.
Even when I started to gave it a second chance and scan through upon it to get back to where I last left off, I still feel the same way I did five years ago. I was frustrated at the story thinking it would be cliché and drama-esque based on the way it was heading to.
I didn't like Yadorigi as much, I might even say that I hate her but as the story went on, she becomes essential part to the story and changed how I would look at a similar character as herself in different settings. I love her as much as I love the other characters now. Her character development is really nice, the explanation and understanding from Saijou, Kitashiro and Shinonome, their thought process actually helped her gets her own good ending in a way compared to if she stayed the same by doing what she does with the whole stealing other people partners. She was able to actually pinpoint her behaviour, like on why she steals other people partner. The line that goes something like she steals other people partner because of her perceived value makes sense to why she acts like that.
Afterwards, her whole attitude in general and not giving Saijou up even though she used quite some devious means for it like trying to make Shinonome stray away from Saijou was still not morally correct, but I can't help to not hate her for it. She changed from a character I despise to a character I can root for.
That is not to say that I did not root for Kitashiro and Shinonome at all. I rooted for all of them equally. This manga is not a manga where who we want to end up with the mc but how everyone can identify their feelings and sort it out. I just wanted to see them be happy. I really did thought that Kitashiro would end up with Saijou nearing the end. The story is really unpredictable but that might just be me. Even so, the unpredictable part is somewhat true as it is only human nature that people could be unsure about their feelings and act hesitantly about this topic didnt help give us an idea on who will end up with Saijou.
I think the more I say about this, the more dumb I make myself sound, if anything take what I said as a someone that has a lack of better words. I just wanted to let this out as I, as the reader feels like I'm in the same shoe as Yadorigi and Kitashiro. The hallow feeling where you could not see someone anymore and can only keep them in your thoughts.
I don't think I needed to be lengthy about it in the first place but I'm glad to read about how other people feel about this, the good and the bad, I can especially agree VINT64 saying about that it felt natural and how professionally the story was told. Whether we agree or not as a whole or with the outcome and feel who's more suitable, I think the whole story was really refreshing, insightful and impactful, even with the complaints I've read regarding this elsewhere. I appreciated that there wasn't much over the board romance drama, the characters are true with their standing on the matter and I will continue to imagine that their future relationship among each other will only be better in the future as how "good" they as a human being are.