Rant on shipping incoming, sails ahoy!
The way i see it, really, most of the claims that the show is "boring" and "predictable" and the ones of similar nature regarding a possible Charlotte ending
is shipping. I can't really take it much different than "This show would be so much better if would look like my favorite girl is about to win" ... no, really
I question the implied notion that the writing of this show would have benefited in any way if they were gearing towards another end.
Predictable ? It would be no less predictable if it was steering towards another direction (assuming the writer cares about development), because we would be seeing different developments on screen. What is mostly seen as "predictable" for the most part just means the show is having coherent narrative and is consistent in the aims it is trying to achieve. If the writer has a specific ending in mind, he must develop the story in a way the destination makes sense once you are there and look back at the journey. The word is almost being used as a flaw of the show, it isn't necessarily the case. This show is, besides other things, a romance show. Which means it is about relationships. If the goal of this show is a Charlotte ending, it makes sense she and her developments with Teppei take up a good portion of the screentime; the journey should be able to support the ending, and devoting screentime towards supporting the foundation for that is required. It would be the same if the show was aiming for, say, Seika's ending - we would see Seika spending time with Teppei in some manner, her issues being brought to front so Teppei can focus on them and as an extension towards her, and so forth. Same for any other girl.
The writing or storytelling techniques wouldn't really change much - what would change is about whom the story is mostly writing about. It is indeed perfectly normal to have preferences between characters and wanting to see more of X over Y, but just because a show isn't delivering what you specifically want is no flaw of the show. It is easy to make claims like "boring", but in the end that says more about your expectations (or more likely: what you want) than it does about the show. One might find Seika interesting and wants more focus on her. I believe the absence of her very existence would make for a superior viewing experience. So which one of us would be right ? Which of those would be the "correct" option for the show to take ? Neither, really, and if we aren't careful in such notions they can be easily blown out of proportion to the point where we start seeing our unfulfilled wishes as flaws of the show to some magnitude.
If the show continues on the current vein, keeps allocating screentime to interactions between Charlotte and Teppei and developing their relationship, and ends with them as a couple on the final note, then i can look back and say the show had decent writing (depending on how we get there, but lets ignore this part for now). If they are indeed building up said ending, they are doing a reasonable job thus far, and the focus is generally in the right place. Not focusing on something else isn't necessarily a flaw of the show either. It could be nice, it could be bad, it could be beneficial, it could be deterring - deeper focus on the other girls (Which we may still get to some degree) can be any number of things, but isn't a requirement if they are setting up a definite eventual couple from the start. It doesn't need to be "unpredictable" to be good - most of the time, as far as relationships are involved, the verdict seems to be the opposite in the end.
So ..yea, do excuse my rant, but i felt like getting this out of the way - i have experienced more shipping wars in the past than i would care about, and while this one here isn't nearly as bad some of the echoes from the past, there is definitely something brewing under the surface. Lets not go there to keep the atmosphere of the thread enjoyable, rather than frustrating
(And please no Shuffle comparisons, there is a reason why that show is considered to have several trainwreck moments in terms of writing )