Am I the only one who thinks Dandadan has fallen off hard since Chapter 163?

I genuinely loved this manga before Chapter 163. The pacing was great, the characters kept developing and every arc felt like it actually mattered. Most importantly, the relationship between Momo and Okarun was progressing naturally.

But ever since Chapter 163, it feels like the story has been stuck in place.

The biggest problem for me is the romance. Every single time it seems like Momo and Okarun are finally going to move forward, the story throws in another excuse to stall them. First, Momo stays tiny for what feels like forever. Then, the moment that is finally resolved, she gets amnesia. Seriously?

At this point, it feels like the manga is terrified of letting these two actually become a couple.

I read in batches every few months, and whenever I catch up, I am shocked by how little has actually happened. If you cut out all the romance stalling and repetitive detours, I honestly think everything since Chapter 163 could be condensed into ten chapters.

The worst part is that the characters do not even feel like they are developing anymore. They feel like they are regressing. We keep getting artificial obstacles instead of meaningful progression. Especially Jiji and Aira feel off to me in these later chapters. Sometimes I genuinely question whether they have Momo's and Okarun's best interests in mind or whether they are just there to keep the romantic drama going.

I still enjoy the art, and there are individual chapters and moments that I like, but my investment in the story has dropped massively. I used to be excited whenever I had a big batch of chapters to catch up on. Now I finish reading and feel like the story barely moved forward at all.

At this point, I honestly hope the anime makes some major changes at the end of the Danmara Arc and after that because I am simply not enjoying this part of the story anymore. I am even considering dropping the manga until it is finished. At the current pace, it feels like we are not going to see Momo and Okarun become a couple until Chapter 300, with half of that time spent creating new excuses to delay it. And the more chapters I read, the less I find myself caring about the characters.