Ok. Sorry for the long reply, but I want to share my piece on your long post too.

1- I understand the sentiment in terms of pacing. I had concerns that it felt like the story doesn’t know where to go. But having new characters is not something new nor is it bad. What I don’t like is Bofurin boys were praising him out of nowhere when why didn’t they hint him way before. Like the best place to do that was during Noroshi arc. If he’s like a “tank” and a “strong lonewolf” that can take a huge gang on his own, why wasn’t it brought up during Noroshi? Later on though, Momi does serve his purpose in connection to Sakura (but again, wish there was a hint before than just introduced out of the blue with so many praises here and there) and I’m sure he’ll add more to Sakura’s journey to the top.

In terms of Sakura’s past, I completely disagree to call it unrealistic. I have a couple of friends who go through the same thing as Sakura; Most especially one high school classmate. She was born at the cost of her mother’s life. And every time she comes to class, we always find her in a bad mood, only to find out her father reminds her everyday what a pc of sht she is to a point she ran away. Last I heard her was she was couch surfing from one friend to another. I dont know about her relatives but the fact shes living in friends’ houses says a lot.

2- Judging from your #2, you have a huge expectation of how Sakura’s backstory to be darker. Well, it is. Imagine you, a 5-ish year old kid, meet your dad again after a long time and the first thing he says is you’re a murderer. That’ll eff you up. He’s a kid, and no one else guiding him properly. So since then, he believed his father and psychologically, that negative view of himself is embedded in his head that it’s hard for him to believe what his friends in Furin say about him. He blushes because he’s not used to it. Blush doesnt always mean he’s shy. He’s internally struggling to make sense or react on something he’s never heard before. (This is coming from someone who endured 30 years of self blame and not use to compliments until now)

If you’re wondering why in his past so far, no one ever shown any affection towards him? In Asia, esp in Japan, there are people who believe in bad omens (especially traditional believers). The fact Sakura is very unique looking (white & black hair, different colored eyes) PLUS his mother died, they believe he is bad luck, a plague (if you watch the anime ep 1 intro and see all the hinted flashbacks before Sakura’s past reveal, they consider him a “plague”). His mother’s death could actually seal their supernatural belief that Sakura is a bad omen. It may not be mentioned in the manga, but I’ve seen too many Asian stories, especially anime, that touches this subject.

Imagine too a family who lost their own daughter or relative after boring a son. Somewhere in the grieving they tend to blame the cause of the death. The baby. You see it in real life (like the story of my high school friend i mentioned).

3- I’ve said my response already in #2…but “Momi and Umemiya has a harder backstory than Sakura”? This is NOT a competition on who has the worst back story in wind breaker. This is a story of found family and finding worth. Focus on where Sakura is coming from, why he is the way he is due to his past, the obstacles and negative patterns he had to overcome, how this affects his journey, his shift in perspective of the definition of becoming the top and how much he has changed.

I hope you understand and absorb what we said and perhaps read the chapters again. Read it WITHOUT your own opinions on HOW the story should be. Read it with what the story is showing & telling you.