This story is dragging this melodrama out way too long, and I mean that in a critical way, not on a "oh it hurts so good" way. It's not just the relationship that's suffering from all this melodrama (which was the writer's intention), but the story itself is suffering too.

The context for this arc isn't helping either. We got new side characters for this arc and wrote off literally everyone the main couple knew before the time skip (ballsy because it also means we only have the two main cast to be familiar with for this arc and our protagonists now have zero support network). The pacing has also been far more focused on the drama and not much else tbh (even most of the cutesy/fun moments, what few there were, were connected to the underlying drama). We also had a massive break on a melodramatic cliffhanger which further set the tone for the arc as mainly unease one compared to previous arcs. Also it feels like even the musical motifs have taken a backseat to the drama (might've been intentional on the author's part to show Mitsuki's disconnect to music atm, but it's done in such a way that it makes the arc feel more flat since now it's literally no different from any other melodramatic young love story).

But the worst part is: it's the same fucking bullshit we got last time and every fucking time with this manga: No heart to heart communication until things blow up and then they one of them has to do some over the top gesture to resolve things and I'm calling the author out on it.

It's literally happened every plot arc.

Original Plot: Mitsuki and Aya refused to talk about Aya mistaking Mitsuki for a hot guy until things blew up and Mitsuki did a performance for her.

Next plot: Mitsuki and Aya refused to talk about wanting to be closer friends until things blew up and Aya climbed through Mitsuki's window to confront her it.

Next plot: Mitsuki and Aya refused to talk about their personal problems (Aya with study anxiety and Mitsuki with her musical career) AND Mitsuki and Aya didn't talk about their relationship changing from close friendship to something deeper (especially on the wake of Mitsuki's sudden popularity) until things blew up and they had a very cheesy but sweet prom night.

Now: Mitsuki and Aya can't talk openly about Mitsuki's anxiety with music after multiple failed bands (don't pretend Aya snapping at and confronting Mitsuki after midnight was genuine communication, that was just more melodramatic bullshit from the author) and now Mitsuki just assuming Aya is getting ready to leave her instead of AGAIN just talking things out with her lover. So again, things are blowing up and may blow up even further given how the plot has been getting more melodramatic with every new chapter.

I'm also expecting some more drama like another even bigger fight or them sulking until some outside party forces some sense into one or both of them because I fully don't expect the author to have either of them do it of their own accord with how their writing has been going. As for the over the top gesture, Mitsuki finally faces her fears and picks up the guitar again (maybe with the event her coworker was telling her about) to show Aya the music she wants to do and not just the music she was forced to do with her old bands and show Aya she wants her to hear that music too. Incidentally, I'm expecting the author to also say Mitsuki was sooo hung up on not showing/doing anything musical with Aya because she both was ashamed of what she did show her and wasn't confident in finding her music after so many bad band fits.

It's dramatic, it's cliche and I'm sure some people will eat it up... but honestly it all could've and should've been summed up in a midway chapter having a heart to heart and then the rest of the volume focusing on Mitsuki establishing her own band. But instead the entire arc seems focused solely around their inability to communicate and dragging it out for months on end.

As it stands, the manga is experiencing sitcom levels of character development: reset all character growth and communication skills at the end of every episode (or plot arc in this manga's case) to milk the same drama later on, again and again until it's no longer profitable. That style of writing is fucking over this story's potential and the writer needs to stop relying on it.

The author fucked up with thinking relationship drama was all that important to the story when the couple's journey through life was what truly made this story shine.

I'm hoping the author learns how to do proper character development for the main couple and have them deal with new plot arcs with their developed characterizations instead of resetting Mitsuki's and Aya's communication and critical thinking skills to Chapter 1 levels of development every fucking new plot arc.

That way, we don't get them STILL having over melodramatic relationship issues due to them not being able to healthily communicate for the entire fucking series and developing an honestly dysfunctional relationship. Instead I want to get more interesting stories about them tackling life's challenges together as a couple and still arguing at times and facing hardships that make them cling tightly together as they navigate through the storms and eventually find they've lived a full life well-lived and well-loved together.