In terms of storytelling, YagaKimi has always been more like a traditional prose novel or theatrical drama than contemporary manga or anime. It’s been extremely methodical in developing its scenes and characters—there have been no major plot swerves, no characters suddenly introduced to pump up the conflict, no sudden shifts in tone, etc., and while there have been some slight plot digressions (the cafe couple and Sayaka, Koyomi’s interludes), even those relate fairly directly to the main plot.
The strength of the series has always been in its finely controlled execution rather than its sheer emotional intensity or its inventiveness in terms of plot. (The play was a great example—we knew what it what going to be like, and it was presented to us in full. Sayaka’s confession was another sequence that was in the cards from near the start and that we were eventually given in a fully developed and beautifully crafted series of scenes, even though the outcome was never really in doubt.)
That doesn’t mean that the storytelling was always predictable (I thought both Yuu’s confession and her pre-play rooftop scene with Touko played out in some unexpected ways), but expecting this series to execute its story like an average manga was always a bad bet.