hi! yes i would definitely agree. similarly to vbs, i think it's partially because both duos (12/34) have relationships that say something specific about the group's overall narrative themes (to break it down further, these are also reflected in their individual characters, too). minoharu's relationship, for example, is unique in that it specifically highlights the way dreams are shared and spread between idol and fan, and the cycle of love and hope (of course) that drives people to want to continue doing what they do (living? that sounds maybe a little more dramatic than i intend, but living is very normal and also very hard). with airi and shizuku i relate both of them and their relationship to being more about the struggle for perfection/difficulties with self image that the idol industry creates and thrives off of (not to mention the commentary on misogyny in idol spaces just under the surface of both of their arcs that i feel like goes unnoticed). these lyrics from hug perfectly tie shizuai/minoharu into one, too: "ah, how many times do i have to worry like this, just by being alive? / i'm only human, so at least for today, it's fine if i look down, right?" IF does a good job at relating these themes together, as does jumpin over, but you're not asking for my comm analysis here, so go seek that out if you want or send me another ask lest i get ahead of myself. the 12/34 split in vbs in self explanatory too so i won't explain that part.

but no the 12/34 split in both vbs and mmj aren't bad things! two duos that come together each to illustrate something very specific with their relationships is simply very methodical writing, the same way each member of niigo other than mafuyu has something important to teach her so she can grow and heal. leoneed are of course going to push unity since their relationship as a friend group is central to their concept in the first place. and with wxs... while i do think there is a lot to be said about tsukaemu and ruinene being very important narratively, i don't get the impression that it's as of much of core importance as more more jump, let alone vivid bad squad.

i am a 12/34 split fan (romantic pairing wise) for all of the units, i don't think that's a secret. that's because i like this approach to telling a story, and the pairings i choose to ship are the ones i feel are the ones that make the most sense. some people might not think like that, and that's okay! you don't have to. but it's not quite as black and white as "12/34 decides everything" or "12/34 means nothing". what would probably fix this problem and following argument on a fandom scale is if everyone stopped acting like acknowledging 12/34 split or lack thereof (depending on unit) means you can't ship things that aren't 12/34, because god, relationships in a narrative are about more than that! but project sekai fans can't talk about story without it devolving into ship wars, so that's not happening.

thank you for the ask :) very nice to put my thoughts on this out there while this seems to be a hot topic