User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 497: The Winter Mage, Review./@comment-73.191.17.103-20160818134854/@comment-25111584-20160818155940

Ending was far too HP-like, but considering how Kubo was rushed, I hardly expected a good ending. Disappointing, but not too much. It's funny how the fandom gets hooked up on shipping tho. XD

I'd rather not have an epilogue as far in the future as to have couples, but if one has to do it, I like how Kubo handled it. Almost no romantic interactions in the manga. Leave them to the period of time between the end and the epilogue, thus allowing the fans to imagine what they want to. This is a battle manga, not a bloody romcom (which have their own place, but not in the middle of supposedly deadly skirmishes). Compared to Mashima, who tosses proper character development and interactions, action and logic for the sake of shitty shipping, Kubo's formula is A1.

Kishi seems to be relaxing before getting ready for a new project. Hopefully Kubo will also be putting out something new, but with a better contract this time. Excited for the possibilities. /o/ But with my luck, they might produce works outside my fields of interest. D: