I would've done this last week but....didn't feel right if you catch my drift. Obviously didn't watch everything and behind on some so feel free to fill in the gaps. Without further adou:
I've read the Manga
Scooped up an S-Rank Adventurer: Standard 'guy gets booted from his party because he's so good they don't notice him helping them' fair. Have noticed they have changed things compared to the manga and can't tell if censored or not. It doesn't feel like creative changes like with others I see.
The Headliners
DandaDan S2: unfortunately no Creepy Nuts opening but this one isn't bad. It just feels more crazy and fun than last time with everything to suicide inducing giant worms with a cult, soccer playing possession, a musical fight and even Kaiju battle.
My Dress up Darling S2:Yep she's back, the one girl where we both appreciate the fanservice but also 'please get with HIM!' First episode along was funny with the bunny girl outfit and Gojo remembeting he is a teenage man!
Kaiju No 8 S2: Still some hyped battles and scenes though didn't feel as pulling as first season, could just be me.
Up for Personal tastes
Shield Hero S4:Nearly getting back to Season 1 quality at least, do prefer up of who he is against in this season.
Reborn as a Vending Machine S2: is still to the formula as last one only they raised the stakes with the attack of the demon lord with accomplices.
Clevatess: Now this one is interesting, episode one was double in length and features the heros getting bodied by the beast lord then their kingdom Annihilated with only a baby left alive taken by the beast lord after the pleas of a dying guardian and one of the slain heros brought back to life to serve as effectively a nanny. A lot more of a dark fantasy vibe.
Gachiakuta: A city divided in two between a prestine city where everything not perfect is dumped as trash and slums with below that a world of just trash. It's gotba nice soundtrack and visuals and not far into it but going to try to watch more of it.
Lots I haven't caught up on like Dr Stone but I will give a honourable mention to this: Takopu's Original Sin, I was planning on watching it when I was in the right mood as it's apparently dark as fuck at times but, well, never felt positive enough so put it on the back burner. Feel free for those who watched it to provide a review for that and others missed off as only one dude lol.
I think in a way its because there is a strong "purity" culture still in Japan, and they want their escapism to maintain that as much as possible. Especially with the heavy industry focus on waifuism.
So if they show them in a relationship, they have to show progress in that regard and that risks upsetting a lot of people if they do stuff that people do in relationships. Because otherwise you get stuck in the "what has actually changed from before they got together" rut, and that's even more frustrating because there isn't even a big tension building payoff waiting at the end of it.
As a recommendation for some manga for your hunt, Do Chokkyuu Kareshi x Kanojo is one of the loudest series ever written that gets them together like 1/3 into its run time and Arakure Ojousama wa Monmon Shiteiru actually made the long "will they" pay off through the character's developments and is still ongoing (though the TL is incredibly slow and keeps getting dropped) after they got together.
On the flipside, Japan's heavy purity focus is one of the things that has held feminism and the like back for so long. They will bankrupt entire companies if a girl in one game is shown to have a boyfriend she has sex with, and will do so violently and aggressively. Its why Idol culture is as strict as it is, because even the hint of sexuality or desire from these girls is like blood in the water for fans to abandon and destroy them.
There is already a huge push in the industry for "sluts are actually good!" and its clearly being used for subversion. Rent A Girlfriend is the famous one, but I've stumbled upon far too many that aren't just NTR bait and are trying to sway perception in an unhealthy manner to our Western Hedonism and Degeneracy.
So while I bemoan how much its effecting the arts, I think for a political purpose its better to keep it this way than the alternative.
The "loli harem" genre is so common that it can even be called a genre, and its one of those things so inherent to the industry that I can't even find it more than an oddity despite it being offensively awful to so many (which is why the "loli question" is so prevalent in the online sphere). Perhaps I've just been around anime so long that its become numb to me in terms of its existence, but the fact that it is so commonplace, yet Japan doesn't have seemingly any large amount of pedo nonsense in real life makes it hard to even get mad about its existence outside of "gross and not for me."
You are right they represent more ends of the spectrum with little middle, though that's a deep enough problem that its above me to find a solid solving of that without tipping the balanced scale too hard in one direction. I've seen a considerable enough "subversion" take over the industry where characters break out of those two assumed extremes, though the Japs fucking love their standard generic stuff across all things. Its why isekai is so popular right now, why every female character has a named stereotype it falls into, and why we can predict so much. Its a bigger problem than just this in regards to what they love in media.
I think the bigger problem in this regard is the economic one. Like, we have it bad in terms of people not buying houses or having children because of how expensive it is, but we have more freedom and options in regards to offsetting it somewhat.
The Japs don't have that, they are struggling with the economic issues of the modern world meeting the traditional culture of relationships and careers and seem to be taking the worst of both worlds. Like an office drone who works 14 hours a day until he can barely stand from stress and exhaustion is a standard part of their life, but that guy can no longer support a family on his income (like all of us) meaning now he either doesn't find a girl or his girl has to work too. Both of which means she is less attracted to most men and even less likely to breed with the ones she does attach to.
I enjoyed Horimiya until the "first" ending. Where the main couple's story basically ended and it became like 8 volumes of "and here is what everyone else is doing!" My dislike of it was to talk about the downside of the "continue after they get together doing filler" option, in how badly it can end up.
Its amusing to think of a healthy adult couple from "girl who gets sexually aroused from him raising his hand to hit her, and keeps trying to provoke him into doing so." I get what you are saying, but its very funny to remember that plot point in this conversation.