I think he simply got burned out or realized if he wants to finish Kingdom, he has to up the pace and the writing suffered for it
You probably know this better than me, but did his editor switch around that time? That could have been a major factor
I used to believe Hara was pushing the pace to get to a specific point and then slow down.
Now, I am starting to believe he just wants to end the manga before he's 60 or something.
It doesn't even have to be that good imo.
For the downfall of the first major state, I think it kinda should.
I won't speak for y'all, but this battle just don't feel as monumental as it should.
Hara could've easily expanded upon this battle, extended it to 20/30 chapters were we actually see what transpires on the centre wing.
That would've been fine. A short battle isn't bad perse.
By comparison, I think Chouyou/ Eikyuu are pretty decent.
I'm getting Nam flashbacks at the meme mention of 20/30 chapter arcs.
Naw, bruva, we need at least 40-50. I think that's been the sweet spot for Hara and where his strongest arcs outside Coalition (100) and Gyou (147) have been.
That said, more than total chapters, I think the issue is that Hara just isn't good at one day battles. He can't adjust his pacing to them properly.