It's something very few titles trying to do two very different things at once pull off successfully and why, when one of the successes loses its way (inserting Sono Bisque Doll namecheck for no particular reason), readers pick up on it and won't let go until the balance of the Force is restored. Or something.
I think its fair to say Fukuda is leaning heavily to one side for a while now, but, hopefully and realistically, that inertia will be used to slingshot back to at least equilibrium, if not a dramatic leap forward. Personally, I guess I assess the skill of the author involved, and all the possibilities before I decree they've gone off the rails. Neither of these are Gal Cleaning, so there's that.
I guess the great trap, and the challenge, is to build and advance each aspect concurrently, in what is really a short amount of "time". Giving appropriate gravity to certain situations unsurprisingly requires more "time" (chapters).
Here, we bounce back and forth fairly regularly, getting steady steps of "progress". Its nice, and doesn't strain the investment of either demographic. But at the same time, we don't get the earth-shattering leaps forward, as they'd probably come off abrupt and moderately unrealistic at this stage (think walking towards a chasm and jumping over it from 50 meters away, versus jumping over from the edge). The slow approach here doesn't bother me, as it does keep the themes quite intact.
Different approaches to similar concepts. I find both enjoyable, though I admit they can sometimes be tedious in process, seeming to imply one of the threads is lost, like Sono. Maybe its hope or faith in it being a detour, not a change of destination, eh?