I get that he's dead, but I hope they don't rush the ending for the other characters. For example, Ruby/Sarina still haven't learned the truth about her biological mother. Did Kana become an actress again? And what about the side characters like Taiki? He's still their brother, so he'd probably have a reaction to Hikaru's death as well.
Yeah sure, my ships are going to break and I be sad that Aqua will gone but I think it's a much better ending if they let him rest in peace. He's gone through a lot already. Well even if he survive, it's not like he's gonna move on that easily unless they insert a timeskip. Cuz it be bad that after these event he suddenly change and act like everything is alright.
Honestly I don't know if "romance" is still relevant anymore. Obi stayed with Shirayuki for 3 or 5 years since they left the capital, while Zen only met her every once in a while. I started watching this for Zen & Shirayuki but when the story separates them, I don't feel the chemistry it has on its early days.
Then when Obi became Shirayuki body guard he was there as witness to every achievement she got, face dangers together & supporting each other's back. This made me want to ship them instead.






I get that Akane is the stable one here cuz she already knew Aqua plans but in the remaining chapters I hope they showed us Ruby point of view, to this as well. She's the most close one to Aqua since she was still Sarina. Even when the Hikaru as their dad reveal, the story doesn't include her side like how she feels about it.