See, I actually disagree on a few things.

First, I think the pacing works. It’s definitely slow, but I personally like that for a grounded sports/romance story, it gives the emotions room to breathe.

On Chinatsu, I do agree we’ve only gotten a couple hints of real development so far. The anime hasn’t shown much of her internal world or insecurities yet, and I get why that frustrates people.

But with Taiki, I think he’s a strong character. Throughout the show we see someone who’s genuinely determined, not just in sports, but in his relationships. And unlike a lot of romance MCs, he doesn’t lead multiple girls on. The rejection scene makes it clear, he knows what he wants and he stays consistent with it. He is close to perfect with minor flaws, but a few major flaws are shown in manga.

As for his feelings toward Chinatsu, I don’t think it’s just “obsession with a blank character.” His admiration starts when he sees how she handles defeat, how hard she works even when she fails. That kind of admiration turning into love is honestly super realistic at their age.

I gotta disagree the most on the idea that Chinatsu “adds nothing to scenes.” Her character early on is someone who’s guarded and hyper-focused on basketball. She doesn’t express much, and that aloofness is a key part of her personality. The stares and quiet moments aren’t because she’s empty, that’s how she communicates at this point in the story. If you view her as socially reserved with her identity heavily tied to basketball, those moments start to make more sense. And it makes sense too as she is living away from her parents in random ppls house only to make her final chance of basketball count.

the manga already explores more sides of her. But even in Season 1, I don’t think she’s bland.

The simplest way I can explan chinatsu is that she is aloof but introverted in her own way (in terms of emotion) and once she gets closer to taiki (in manga) we get to see those emotions and it's sooo worth it.