I follow the author on twitter, and upon the latest release of the new chapter - the author had to clarify that rather than just depicting the romance, the author also wanted to show the personal growth in each of Yusuke and Maki's lives and so right now, were at a phase where they're both focusing on thinking about their lives. Hence, why we're getting the Yusuke band arc and why the romance has been pushed back.
Looks like even the Japanese readers are getting fed up by the dragged out plot, for the author having to tweet this. That said, I get what they mean about wanting to show personal growth in their characters because that's important to show too. But I'll be honest, if their intention was to show this - they really didn't show much personal growth for Maki. I feel like Maki truly has been sidelined as a character since this arc. All she's doing is focus on her study, and then worry about Yusuke. Heck, she's even going out of her way to help Yusuke with his band and career. I don't even know what exactly she wants to do in the future. I wished the author had balanced this better, I consider Maki to be a main lead to this story, as much as Yusuke. But it's also pretty clear that Yusuke and his story is far more intriguing to the author.
I follow the author on twitter, and upon the latest release of the new chapter - the author had to clarify that rather than just depicting the romance, the author also wanted to show the personal growth in each of Yusuke and Maki's lives and so right now, were at a phase where they're both focusing on thinking about their lives. Hence, why we're getting the Yusuke band arc and why the romance has been pushed back.
Looks like even the Japanese readers are getting fed up by the dragged out plot, for the author having to tweet this. That said, I get what they mean about wanting to show personal growth in their characters because that's important to show too. But I'll be honest, if their intention was to show this - they really didn't show much personal growth for Maki. I feel like Maki truly has been sidelined as a character since this arc. All she's doing is focus on her study, and then worry about Yusuke. Heck, she's even going out of her way to help Yusuke with his band and career. I don't even know what exactly she wants to do in the future. I wished the author had balanced this better, I consider Maki to be a main lead to this story, as much as Yusuke. But it's also pretty clear that Yusuke and his story is far more intriguing to the author.