You and I are polar opposites manga spoilers ahead!!! 🚨
Just yapping about some of my thoughts after finishing it last night
Honestly, not to have Taira and Azuma together by the end of the series is a crazy decision. I'm not saying it's a bad decision, I'm saying it's a decision with a LOT of guts and backbone--to spend what felt like ~40% of the second half with them (sooooo much less time with Yamada and Nisshi for example! And honestly not that much with our main characters either!!), and then not to continue the manga long enough for them to get together, is gutsy as hell.
I'm actually really glad I had their manga ending spoiled for me (otherwise I would have been VERY UPSET) but I agree with the people who aren't mad about the manga ending. They both have, and Taira especially has, a LOT of development to go through before he can be ready to be in a relationship that's healthy; and jumping into an unhealthy relationship would be antithetical to Azuma's character arc. We don't want to see that. She herself even, at multiple points, was like "dating him wouldn't make this all better" which is an extremely mature insight especially for someone with her history. I think this time will be really good for them, and I can't see them not staying in touch, you know? Taira has just realized that Azuma is someone he can be vulnerable in front of and, speaking from experience as someone with a history of struggling to open up, those relationships are extremely precious and not easily let go of. Plus Azuma is a determined shonen protagonist in her mission of staying in touch.
I think the way they were handled really cemented this for me as a story that was a lot more grounded than I expected when I picked up the anime. I was surprised how it felt like the story matured along with the characters, until we could get scenes and arcs like "Suzuki and Tani navigating where their dreams for the future clash with their desire to stay together" and "Nisshi working out her inability to articulate her desires about anything in a thankfully safe environment with a thankfully safe boyfriend" and "Azuma developing feelings but recognizing that acting on them would be a bad call" and "Taira finally figuring out what's wrong with himself and owning up to his problems on his own (and recognizing that he's not in a position to accept someone's romantic love yet)."
Seen from another angle, leaving so many open questions at the end of the series is a GALAXY-BRAIN move by the author. That's one way to guarantee your fanbase stays rabid!!! Don't quite give them what they want!! 😂