[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Spoiler for Comparison to Mashiro-iro Symphony:

Because the story develops a certain relationship up to a certain point that could be seen as a logical branch point for a relationship, but then doesn't take it any further because the protagonist doesn't actually love that heroine. You then go on to see in the narrative who he really loves. In both cases, there's no clear confession or clear rejection of the other heroine, so you're left to rely on the context to understand why that relationship failed to progress. It's a relationship that "could have been".

Also, in both cases, a large number of people in the audience were cheering for the relationship that failed. The more an anime builds a relationship that "could have been", the more you'll have people thinking it "should have been" (or was better than what they got).

well, people have different taste.. blame the producers for the false hopes IMHO