>>542347864
There might be a few options here:
>Devs love him and want to put effort into him, but, for some reason, management doesn't. That seems unlikely since there are options like making him free S-rank (see Harumasa). Also, Ban Yue exists, so it's not like devs are afraid of releasing males. Aaaaand it doesn't explain a full-blown animated trailer.
>He was meant to be an S-rank, what we're getting now are basically scraps of his agent story (I don't believe that 2bqhwy)
>Ranks are just arbitrarty numerical stuff and they have no effect on characters and their presence in the story. Manato is getting gigashilled (like Nicole) is because he is the new Nicole, i.e. the first character we meet in the new area and the character who sets the entire plot in motion. Rememeber that the main plotline of 2.x is the powerstruggle around Porcelumex and Manato is the character, who, in some sense, kickstarted all of it with his side quest. Also, devs want to show that A-ranks are real, long-lasting characters and not disposable dummies.
>DANGEROUS COPE AREA: he will be more important in the future; considering his role in the struggle against Porcelumex and potential connections to Ban Yue he might be the second character to receive and SP.
I think the third option is the most realistic, and ranks don't really matter when it comes to the story. I won't be surprised if Manato gets more attention than Lucia and Yidhari in 2.4/2.5