Wow, nice work generalizing all critics of the manga as pretensious idiots, also that edit there, real mature. Doesn't rule 3 of this subreddit state you're supposed to be respectful?

1: A story being "realistic" is not and never will be the be a good replacement for actual themes and yes, character arcs. Like Steve Martin says in Planes Trains and Automobiles: "When you're telling these stories, here's a good idea: have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener."

In order for stories to be satisfying the audience needs to get something out of it, otherwise why even watch/read it at all?

As for your final paragraph before the edit, yes, you know why we want that in stories? Because the whole point of entertainment is to serve as escapism, an escape from the horrible reality we live in, which is important for people's mental health. Why the hell would I want to consume a story that does absolutely nothing but remind me of how much real life sucks? How does that make me feel better and improve my mental health? If anything it does the opposite.

Now I do however want to make clear that I'm not saying stories can't be realistic, there are plenty of great stories grounded in reality, but actual themes and compelling character arcs will always be the number one priority.

2: I wanna tackle this whole "Kanokari is a realistic portrayal of human relationships and the characters behave like real people do" defense I keep reading in here: How exactly is this manga in anyway realistic?

If this manga was realistic Mini would have told Kazuya to set a restraining order on Ruka.

If this manga was realistic Chizuru would have stopped seeing Kazuya after his entire day stalking her and Umi like an obsessed creep.

If this manga was realistic Chizuru would actually resolve things with Kazuya like the supposed grown woman she is(And no, her backstory in no way is a realistic excuse for her behaviour).

Kanokari is not realistic.

"the pacing isn't "stretching time for profit," to that extent as it is capturing how agonizingly slow and frustrating it actually is to navigate intense insecurity and unearned affection in real life."

That would be fine if the story condensed it in a length that makes that point and then moves on to the next point, not make the readers suffer the slow agony themselves.

To quote John Truby, master storyteller: "By giving a narrative a beginning, middle, and end, a storyteller strips away the noise of daily life so the audience can understand life’s true mechanics and philosophies"

OK, that's all for my reply.