
I think they're just concerned for a situation like grooming, which is not the case here since the boy has one-sided feelings for her at this point in time and she views and treats him like a child as she should. Once the boy is older it should be fine but like right now I can't really get into the whole romance aspect until he's older. But yeah once they're both adults the age gap isn't so big a deal, but again it would not be okay if the fl was looking at a child romantically, like a lot of couples with age gaps meet when they're both adults so there's no concern for it. But yes hopefully she only begins viewing him that way once he's grown :)

I don't really think the age gap is necessarily the issue. It's the fact that at 11 you have a totally different mentality than someone who is 16. I don't think people would care as much if it was 20 and 25, but the fact that it's someone in elementary compared to someone in high school. Theres much more of a power dynamic, since you can argue a 16 year old can manipulate an 11 year old and show predatory behavior. You can still enjoy the manga, just acknowledge you probably shouldn't enjoy seeing this behavior in real life.

if she was having a romantic relationship with him, yes it would be predatory. if she was having feelings for him, yes it would be weird and kind of problematic . but, he is the one having feelings for her. there is no power dynamic thing going on here as they arent in a relationship, and he currently has one sided feelings for her.
For everyone who says that there's a huge age gap between the two mcs... That's not true?
I mean, she's 16 and he's 11/12 — in the end 4/5 years isn't such a big gap; some people marry even if they have a difference of 10 years (or more).
Plus, I bet many of you wouldn't complain if the girl was the younger one and not the opposite, so be coherent.
The 75% of you fav male leds is older than the female leads by 3 years - at least - and you never complain...