I don't like where this is going
I am not satisfied with the direction the main character's development is heading. In Year 1, as could be understood from his inner monologues, Ayano was like a normal high school teenager. Especially during the times he had an interest in Kushida, he seemed to possess human-like traits alongside his superior abilities. He was even trying to make friends to experience these human traits better. This made his character much more interesting and relatable.
However, in the later parts of the story, instead of understanding human emotions more and perhaps developing empathy for them, he began to view people as mere tools and think of nothing but himself. Furthermore, because the author portrays the side characters as completely helpless against Ayano and nowhere near his level to compete, I have entirely lost interest in his character and growth.
I’ve been following the story for the sake of the side characters since the middle of the first year. Their designs and character development were definitely much more interesting and realistic than Ayano's. But frankly, I am starting to lose interest in them as well due to the progression of the story. I wish characters like Ryuen, Horikita, Sakayanagi, Nagumo, and Kushida could have at least challenged Ayano a bit by now thanks to their growth. According to the story we are reading now, none of them seem to stand a chance against him, and I really dislike that.
Ryuen is the character whose development the author has shown best, and he is my favorite character; yet, despite all his growth since that notorious incident in the first year, he doesn't seem to have closed the gap at all. While mentioning the best, I must also mention the worst: I believe Ichinose—especially considering the upcoming new volume—is one of the great potentials whose character has been completely ruined.
The Ichinose we read about in the first two years is not this person. Ichinose is someone deeply loved and respected by her classmates for her affectionate personality. She is a character chosen as a leader by her peers completely without the use of brute force or manipulation, which is a truly rare phenomenon. Her suddenly becoming obsessively attached to Ayano and turning into a "yandere" character doesn't feel natural to me. It makes no sense that a girl who was practically like an angel and maintained her integrity even in the face of major conflicts and attacks against her for two years would end up like this in just a few volumes.
To be honest, by Year 3, I have completely lost interest in the main character, whom I had already started cooling down on since the middle of the first year. As I said, my interest in the side characters is also fading away because of the course of the story. I don't know about you, but I don't want to read about a main character who can win every challenge whenever he wants, who lacks empathy, and who has no soul—being nothing more than a mere power fantasy. It just isn't interesting to me anymore.
I dunno how many people will read this but i would like to hear your thoughts on that.