Nope, not at all lol I purchased all the chapters on Tappy, went back and reread the entire series from the beginning and it became even clearer just how much the quality drops off was once S3 starts. It felt like watching a great anime only to then watch low budget OVAs. So if you feel this way, it's not in your head and you're not being nostalgic. It's just not that great compared to the other two. But it's still worth some entertainment. As long as you go in with low expectations you'll be fine.
I mean honestly I've been reading this for SO many fucking years that I can tell you yes, the first seasons give me a lot of nostalgia. But also, the story was completely different, it was darker before, and now that the kingdom has more freedom than before they can chill out, yk? The story seems more relaxed. I know what you mean though, I also dislike the whole "now the story focuses on their child and their adventures yada yada" which is *very* used. Cough, cough-- InuYasha (,I will never forgive them), cough, Naruto, cough. I'll still read it of course, but it's okay to not enjoy it as much as you did before, sometimes it happens (/TДT)/
Or just Bi maybe. Feels like they're going in that direction with the introduction of the doctor who's more than likely the person she's been texting and stressing over. Because why else would we need to know that the doctor has an arranged marriage??
If that's the case they could have just introduced the neighbor as a completely new female character who happens to get close to Motochika instead of her being the tutor
But I liked it better when we just had the images of the 10-yr skip and we could imagine how they were doing. Learning that Ue has been Hiiragi and Shizu as band support all this time is...disappointing? I had the fairytale that given had risen to fame, and they were touring. Now that bubble is burst lol Sometimes the less you know the better
And just assume ol' girl is a bit autistic...