Also, I'm not a fan of someone confessing their feelings and somehow it's the person being confessed to who has to be responsible for that. Like it's their fault the person has feelings for them. Wtf. The stories I hear from my best friend are so....different but familiar. Mangas imitating true life in some of these mangas. Their view of relationships feel skewed somehow.
Is this a real norm??? I remember watching a YT interview of Jap people on the street that gave me a weird vibe. Apparently women can be okay with their partners/spouses engaging prostitutes for sexual relief and do not consider it cheating. Like as long as no feelings are involved it's all good(???) I dunno about the rest of the world, but if that happened where I'm from, it ain't going down easy....
Case in point, (this happened way before she got married) my best friend who lives in Japan was engaged to her longtime Japanese boyfriend. Everybody knew this. Her coworkers knew this. Still, one particular coworker who also had a stable girlfriend, relentlessly confessed and pursued my best friend. Stuff like, "I really, truly love you. Please go out with me," "I will cherish you and love you. Please go out with me."
It sounded so uncomfortable. I could only imagine how my best friend felt. Whenever people asked him what about his girlfriend, his simple answer was, "I love her too. But this is different. I can break up with her if I have to."
??????? Beautiful as Japan is, there really is something inherently wrong with some of their social norms.