Okay I said I was done but that was a lie, so under the read more and the flanderization of Asra's character that I have issues with:
It was the most glaring that the devs ran more with what is in line with fandom interpretations for these characters especially within the most current three routes. Unfortunately they have all been hit hard but it was increasingly obvious with Asra, Julian and Portia herself. (I won't focus on the Devoraks since I frankly do not pay much attention to them in the context of analysis).
I find it just a bit disheartening they chose to wash him of his more mysterious aspects in order to be more of the "comedy relief". He is playful and fun but now it has turned into a rather tasteless poke at him being "hur hur poor and not paying rent" when his background was that he grew up on the streets and used street tricks to gain experience. I also find it even more tasteless that they ran with the joke that he and Julian are scarily incompetent when together when both are at their worst and never properly reconcile what was done to either of them in Muriel's route.
Earlier it had called Asra out on the way he resurrected the apprentice through Muriel and had set out the start of what was his best friend finding him detached from morals at the time. I had hoped this would have been build up for interactions between the original four and some sort of reconciliation there. But they seemed to have switched the writing to be more like that of the short holiday stories... which are sadly lacking in any substance aside from kookie hijinx.
I am a bit weary that they have sanitized his character so much into base jokes from when the series started, especially, as he is one of the major POC characters that had already been pushed to the side by fandom. The devs continuing the fandom trend of "sweet bubbly UwU best boi useless" gives me huge pause as it's growing infantilization not allowing POC characters to be allowed to be competent and move past their own traumas.
THIS!! I couldn’t exactly put my finger on why I was so disappointed with Asra’s portrayal in Muriel’s upright ending, and you nailed it.
His pairing with Julian was super unrealistic too, like I get it was a year later but it just felt so forced, like oh let’s just run with some half-assed tumblr ship and make jokes about them the whole time instead of actually staying true to their characters. I haven’t played the reversed ending but I really didn’t like the upright. Also I’ve gone on too many Asra rants in the past, but I’m so sick of the rent jokes. It’s literally never even been implied in canon except in that most recent chapter and I feel like it’s just another way for the fandom to fit him into that comedy relief role you talked about.