You know what I loved about these two?
It's the fact that neither of them let the world destroy who they were.
Both Yuta and Maki experienced rejection from the people who should have loved them most. Yuta grew up isolated and believing he was dangerous to others. Maki grew up in a family that constantly told her she had no worth. Despite that, neither of them became cruel or cynical.
Yuta remained compassionate and wanted to protect others even after everything he went through. Maki, despite her anger toward the Zenin clan, didn't become someone who indiscriminately hated people. She formed close bonds with her friends and fought to protect them.
Despite all the pain, heartbreak, and loss they endured, neither of them became afraid to love. They continued to open their hearts to others. Even after losing their child, Iori, they didn't let grief make them afraid of loving again. The way they chose to spoil Yuka and Tsurugi and gave them the happy childhood they never had shows just how emotionally strong they truly were. What happened to Iori didn't stop them from giving or receiving love.
I know some people argue that "they didn't really have many romantic interactions." But to me, Yuta and Maki had one of the healthiest relationships. The truth is, neither of them knew what a healthy family looked like growing up, yet together they built one that stood the test of time.
The author didn't give them many overtly romantic scenes, but he never forgot to show us glimpses of them together. He let us know that Yuta died after Maki. He showed us that Yuka and Tsurugi grew up to be kind people. He even told us that Yuta and Maki spoiled their grandchildren.
I think those details say far more about their relationship than a few romantic scenes ever could.
Of course, I would have loved to see their love story unfold on the page. But even with just those small glimpses, the author told us everything that truly mattered. Their relationship wasn't defined by grand romantic moments. It was defined by a lifetime of choosing each other, building a family together, and proving that neither of them let their painful pasts decide the kind of people they would become.
Neither Yuta nor Maki let their painful childhoods define the kind of people they became. They both chose hope, connection, and love instead of repeating the cycle of hatred. Whether someone ships them or not, that's a meaningful parallel between their characters.