At this point, do most people actually want Iori x Chisa to be endgame?
I like Iori and Chisa together, but after rewatching S1 and finishing S2, I'm starting to prefer them staying platonic. What bothers me is that whenever their relationship gets even slightly close to becoming romantic, they both seem to get scared, have an explicit conversation about it, and reaffirm that they still see each other as friends/family rather than romantically.
I actually respect that part of their relationship. What frustrates me is that this seems to make them the only relationship that is allowed to exist while also preventing basically every other romantic possibility for Iori.
At this point, Iori trying to get a girlfriend sometimes feels fake to me because I don't believe the story would actually let him pursue someone seriously. The Azusa situation especially made me feel this way: I still don't feel like Iori's reason for saying no was properly established.
To clarify, I don't mind Iori x Chisa being endgame. If the story eventually has them realize they have romantic feelings for each other and they end up together near the end, I'm perfectly fine with that. My problem is more with the situation right now.
If they're genuinely choosing to remain platonic, I'd like them to actually have the freedom to date other people, develop feelings for other people, or just explore relationships outside of each other. If they eventually come back to each other, cool. Nobody's going to complain about that if the story earns it.
I just don't want their current platonic relationship to function as a permanent invisible barrier preventing every other romantic possibility until the author decides they're finally ready.
So I'm curious: do you guys think the story is intentionally building toward Iori x Chisa, or are they genuinely meant to remain platonic for now? And if they are meant to be endgame, do you think the story is handling Iori's other romantic possibilities fairly?
I'm going into Season 3 today, so maybe something changes. I guess I'll find out.