The premise was very interesting. A romcom involving middle school students might not be everyone's cup of tea but its quite wholesome. The comedy and friendship is also great. It's from the romance that the issues start cropping up. This series focuses heavily on comedy at the start while the romance is slow to start. Usually, the appeal of a slowburn romance is that there is a big emotional payoff at the end for the readers. But here, it is quite underwhelming and isn't worth it. As to why, let's look at each couple one by one. Maki/Yan: They are the main couple of the series. Makiis the best drawn character in the manga with some beautifully portrayed expressions of various emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, joyful laughter, anxiety, guilt and shock that other characters don't really show to such extent. So it was totally unexpected when the author screwed up Maki's Valentine situation royally. The process of Yan agonizing over the situation only to admit he was wrong after splitting the chocolate felt very contrived. Even without opening the chocolate head, Maki makes it crystal clear that she loves Yan by mentioning his name. Despite Maki piling on the mistakes, it was a heartfelt confession to Yan both in words as well as in action. She even specifically mentions him by name with no logical room for misunderstanding. There is no realistic way to misinterpret this even if the glasses made of candy were missing and even if the chocolate resembles the body pillow drawing. The most natural thing for him to do in that situation is to confirm with her directly or at least delay the answer while he makes sure of Maki's feelings. Instead, he immediately rejects her based on assumptions with no proof. This is nothing like the calm and collected Yan we were shown for the whole series that Maki fell in love with. Worst part is that by the time they finally fight, apologize, reconcile and admit their feelings for each other, the manga is already over. Just one scene where Maki accepts Yan's apology and that's it. There are no scenes of them as lovers to reward the readers. No beautifully drawn big panels with both of them smiling and having fun in each others company. Readers are left wondering why Maki loves a jerk like Yan in the first place since he isn't redeemed properly. It felt like the author just rushed the manga's ending to get it over with. There is an extra chapter that shows them dating in high school and Yan meeting Maki's father for his approval but that was too little and too late given how poorly the confession arc was handled

Riko/Nagi:
Probably the most satisfactory romance in the series. Riko was a terrible match for Nagi at the start. Constantly infuriating him deliberately, beating him up, and worst of all forgetting him and their their childhood history altogether. But, she makes up for it by being completely honest with her feelings and her intentions to the point that other characters are also inspired to do the same. Nagi wastes time by delaying things for no reason but at least he liked Riko from the beginning. Riko's straightforwardness and sincerity even when nervous and embarassed was refreshing to watch

Eno/Toda:
The most undercooked romance of the series. Eno likes prince types. Toda is a prince type. He helps her when she is carsick on the bus. And that's why she likes him. For his part, Toda starts liking Eno when she scolds him during the council exchange meeting. There isn't much depth to this couple as to why they like each other. There are also no detailed scenes showing their interactions as lovers

Suzu/Ren:
The couple with good potential but got cut off because both were minor characters. Despite Ren chasing Maki, he has a more realistic connection to Suzu. He starts off haughty and problematic but mellows down as he interacts more with Suzu, making her like him more and more. Probably the most natural "shojo manga" type romance in the series. Unfortunately, it was never explored in depth despite Suzu having the best character development of all

Sayo/Yamazaki:
The worst and unnecessary couple of the series. This is basically a one-sided crush on Yamazaki's part. Sayo is a sadist who insults him, ignores him, does less than the bare minimum of being a girlfriend while Yamazaki is a masochist who is just happy with the label of being Sayo's boyfriend. There is nothing cute or romantic about this couple. While Sayo's character as a miser and general dislike of romance does result in some good jokes, the romance life of Sayo might as well be non-existent as her masochist boyfriend only exists to induce cringe. The tsundere argument doesn't work for Sayo as she isn't embarrassed to properly treat Yamazaki as a boyfriend. She just doesn't care and it shows. This is an example of a situation where not every character needs to have a romantic partner. Sayo would have been better off single and she would add to the comedy and friendship just fine

There were also pretty good characters who could have been explored in depth. The lazy teacher could have gotten more screen time. She would definitely make the readers laugh. There could have been a touching backstory as to why Eno's brother became a NEET and how he struggles through his guilt and shame to overcome his weakness and land a job to regain the respect of his sister. Maki's relationship with her elder sister could also have been explored as they are on good terms with each other. It is also never really explained why Maki is obsessed with romance in the first place to the point of creating her body pillow and imagining that to be her boyfriend for the romance practice.

All in all, this manga is a good read only if you are in it for the comedy and friendship aspect. Just don't expect anything good from the romance part. With only one out of the five couples having a satisfactory romance, and the main couple's valentine messed up, it's hard to say this is a good recommendation for romance.