combing through various comments on the series, one of the complaints ive seen most often about nekuyan is that the series is taking too long, or that they keep getting caught up in one situation after another that further delays the inevitable reveal. and well i definitely can't deny that 15 whole volumes can be a bit overkill, but one thing i have to stand by is that i really do, genuinely believe that not a Single arc thus far was without a purpose. in their relationship that was built upon layer after layer of deceit, it takes a lot to peel it away that i think this manga did pretty well for as long as it did.
first off being yuuma and shuumei's respective reveals to both tsubaki and yuzuru, especially the latter's. it was a step towards being able to be more open and knowing that they'll still be accepted by their closest friends, even the two eventually connecting the dots on their own about their friend's crush's identities and moving on to work together to help them out from the sidelines, as seen in the school festival arc. they both have someone to support them unconditionally, an assurance that to go without definitely wouldn't have let them get as far as they did.
second case was hanayama's debut. a kidnapping by a delinquent gang is a pretty standard trope, but considering where shuumei and yuuma were at in their relationship being no more than just barely acquainted yet i-cant-leave-you-alone sort of deal, a bit of progress was made there when shuumei without a second thought wiped the floor with them after a single glimpse of yuuma being hurt, however minor, even if he ended up chalking it up to the fact she looked just a little bit like hana at the time. adding onto hanayamas role was the fact with his so openly pining for and pursuing kanoko, it too let mei and hana reassess themselves and their own situation of appearing as a girl crushing on another girl, and the affirmation that queerness is in no way something the other would be against at all.
jun's involvement with the two went strong over the course of the series, sparking meis jealousy and internal conflict over the fact she's backed herself and "shuumei" into a corner by befriending (and being loved by) hana as mei, whatever her initial intentions were. compared to jun, she can't just as easily confess her love for or ask to date hana while hiding behind her supposed persona as mei forever, but her conviction in the end being to let hana be happy with whoever she chose culminated in hana, even as an accident, still choosing her in the end with her sudden confession at their reunion.
shizuku's arc could easily be read as that of a trans woman and the problems that festered between her and her family from her identity and her inability to come out to them, though the manga wasn't exactly decided on this seeing as how she was still only regarded as someone who enjoyed crossdressing. either way, the fact that she was an openly queer adult figure in hana's life, one who (not without struggle) managed to find closure and happiness again with her loved ones, gave reason to hope for herself as well. adding to the overall events that occured over the festival, there was also her reflecting on her own impression towards shuumei with how shizuku viewed and knew him to be, and how he wasn't a bad guy at all.
then came ayane and tsutsuji's brief spotlight in the subsequent volume. seeing two women in a loving and happy relationship with each other, and even accidentally catching them kiss, mei and hana had to face the facts yet again what and just how much they wanted more, and the fact they can't have it the way they are now. especially for hana, realizing how cornered she must have made mei feel with her confession all that time ago while still keeping her identity from her, in the end coming to the decision to pull away entirely and disappearing from mei's life. in her sincere belief there wasn't any possible future between the two, she chose to leave first as to protect her own heart from any possibility of rejection from mei.
this disappearance and break in their relationship did, however, allow for a considerable amount of progress as yuuma and shuumei. while up until now it had been a slow but steady burn between them, the warehouse incident established that they really do (however repressed, especially from yuumas side) care about the other, and no longer have a reason to hate each other. shuumei sees and aknowledges yuuma as an important friend he can't leave be, though yuuma in question can't make such a huge leap just yet but still affirmed that whatever hostility he held was more or less gone.
not all that long afterwards hana's running into and discovering makoto and his secret was another catalyst for her final decision to come out to mei. watching as the rest of the maids at roman came to accept him (though she Did still doubt she'd get the same fanfare if she were to ever come out to them) gave her the courage to take a step to fixing her own mess, and come out to mei once and for all regardless of the outcome.
and our latest debut here is kippei/kaede. this one ive seen the most mixed opinions of, mine not exempt. while it does seem like a sudden decision and character created solely to produce worthwhile drama to drag the plot along, i don't think it wasn't without its reasons either, and in all honesty its pretty in line still with the tone of the story thus far. (shuu)mei came face to face with someone who truly knew and (although a bit twisted) loved hana no matter what, and even to some extent was accepted by hana as well in knowing about his crossdressing hobby, and when mei was faced with the possible truth of hana and her true identity that's when her inevitable conflict takes him over completely. yuuma and hana being one in the same wasn't something she could so easily be upset at her over, having done the exact same thing for all this time.
the overall story does plenty of developments between the two (four) leads and all the dynamics between them that would definitely take too long for me to get into individually as well, so all that is to say: this series may be taking forever but forever is also what im willing to take if it means they can get their happy ending in a satisfying way as the author intends for it to be
