Absolutely, and it's always been like that. Since the 2016, when we had only 2 skk scenes, they were the most popular ship by large. I can see why they're shipped, but if you step back and observe through anything but rosy lenses you'd see that popularity is overblown. Marketing is money, I can't blame authors for wanting to profit more, but you gotta wonder how it affects their writing choices.

Honestly I don't have some radical opinions, just that it's crystal clear Asagiri either doesn't know what to do with Chuuya in manga or that he's afraid to utilize him for anything more risky. Look no further than how he was treated in cannibalism arc and how little agency he had in Meursault game. I vividly recall bsd fandom throwing a massive fit and even tearing their mangas when chap101 dropped, even if it was clear as day Chuuya wouldn't drown (I mean you need two braincells to deduce 1) Dazai wouldn't kill him or anyone else from his side 2) Fyodor, the main villain we knew nothing about, dying by drowning would be shitty writing). Chuuya's character mostly ties to Dazai and usage of his ability, Chuuya himself as a sole person is given very if any screentime. Of course, he's a side character, but Asagiri showed us times and times again he can make characters even with minimal screentime. Ik people would scream 'go read the novels' here but just because he's a well rounded complex character in the novels doesn't mean he has to stop being so in the manga