VTOVL is always a compromise between launch aerodynamics and reentry aerodynamics. During launch you want a long, skinny thing with no drag. During reentry you want a squat thing that looks like an Apollo capsule.

Vehicles like the Phoenix or Roton were such compromises, and so is the Japanese vehicle.

You can come back pointy-end first, like DC-Y was going to, but it gets really hot, all your weight is on the wrong end, and you have to do some horrible end-over-end flip on the way to the ground to land on your tail.

Personally, I hope to see enough advances in structure and propulsion technology in the near future to allow a spaceplane to be developed that can take off from an airport, go to orbit, and return to an airport, all in one piece like God intended. There have been such designs in the past, and a number of outfits are pursuing this goal today.