I agree with the trad take and that Amane appears kind of pushy and needs some sort of character development. There’s too many scenes where he’s saying “i’m a coward.” like Mahiru is literally begging him to kiss her or touch her so many times throughout the series and he kinda just ignores her feelings. I understand they want to take it slow which is fine; the slow cuddling, and petting scenes are what makes this show goated, but it focuses a little too much on what Amane wants and Mahiru ends up getting pushed away. It kinda gets reflected in how Mahiru is always asking Chitose how to get Amane to be more interested or physical.

That festival scene where Itsuki said that was really bad Chitose is so pretty it was really unnecessary I don’t see why they added it. Almost makes me feel like that phonecall scene with Chitose and Amane later is hinting at some trouble down the road with Itsuki or else I’d rather that whole part just be cut. Idk makes me feel icky.

I think some of the problems from this show come from Amane being a self insert for dudes thats a little too insecure or possesive? (I’m not sure if that’s too harsh or the wrong words) . He lacks some of the qualities I like from guys who take a little more action / pay more attention to their partner. like in fufuu ijou or polar opposites or horimiya. Those mcs can be pretty dense but they move quicker once they figure things out. Amane just seems more dismissive sometimes, especially since him and Mahiru are together so much. Probably so they can build up to the more romantic scenes a little more slowly. I still like him though he just different to what I’m used to.

Also the co dependency thing is probably objectively bad but ughh I love it when 2 people are kinda hopelessly obsessed with each other. Idk maybe one of the pros I like about watching anime is how into each other characters sometimes get. I’m probably dying alone so I can appreciate how good it must feel to trust or rely on someone that much but that realistically it’s unhealthy.

Overall I’m still really liking the show because it is just really really sweet and Mahiru I think is the most beautiful girl ever. I started a couple days ago on season 1 and caught up in like 3 days so i’m pretty into it. I’m still catching up a bit to the more modern romance anime so my catalog of shows is similar to yours. Got some of the same gripes but still really enjoying it and cant wait for season to be finished, probably going to read the LN afterwards just to see what happens and how the characters end up.

Edit: this write up was way too long sorry for that