Honestly it is a manga and you're allowed to feel about it however you want. However, Masahiro being that young is integral. If he were a college student or an adult, he'd have so many avenues to help himself, he'd be able to move out on his own dollar, he'd be able to establish the life he wants to live. But, because he's a teenager who has little rights and privileges because of that, he can't help himself. He needs a "hero". That's why it's Hitorijime My HERO and not My Boyfriend, like the first manga where they're equals. Is it problematic? Yeah, in real life. Which this is not, because it's an 18+ comic. So.
I watched the anime when I was younger too but stopped bcs i got the ick lmao. I didn’t even think it was wrong at the time bcs i was so young but even I cringed by the teacher flirting with his student at school and being sappy like… you’re old why you’re acting a boyfriend to this kid
Plot did NOT age well.
I read this when I was younger and it originally came out which was the 2000s.
I was used to this kind of storyline with somebody close to my age. So I didn't see a problem with it but now that I'm older I'm so sad that the author went with a 15-year-old (now 17 in the storyline.)
They could have easily made it about college life, then the whole teacher and student aspect would still be there but they would at least be legal adults.
It's crazy how the legal age of adulthood in Japan is 20 but the legal age of consent is 15 to 16 years of age. They really need to change that.
Also though, America still has 31 states with the legal age of consent at 16 so I guess we need to change our laws to. Ugh