gosh…
to be sort of(!) spoiler-free about it, i think the subtext really only starts to make sense on the second time you read this. when people start to read, they see this gorgeously drawn art and absolutely nothing that would even suggest a more pessimistic outlook… so we become disappointed and think we’ve “wasted time” on this series… when to someone who’s already read through once, it isn’t.
some stories are just better off reading without that optimistic(?) “oh this is definitely going to end how i think it will because that’s what makes me happy” type… i guess what i’m trying to say is people tend to expect so much from a series that knowing how something ends may completely ruin their experience despite not being able to fully enjoy details that the author puts in… sort of like ignoring the roadside scenery when you take a ride somewhere…
personally, to enjoy this series while thinking of how the characters perceive situations and to appreciate how, again, absolutely breathtaking and subtle the art is… its what i think most people should focus on instead of how they want the ending to go.
