Agree. I think those people hating on the manga and its readers are just making this an excuse to be angry cuz they have so much frustrations in life that when they see a chance to be angry, they grab it. I mean the story is cute. I don't see how this is considered pedophilia. The older guy doesn't see him as a love interest. It's just up to people of they're reading this with a dirty mind.
True! I already read some “shotacon” stories and it became an awareness to me that things like that can also happened to young boys, that I didn't really expect since I'm new into this things before I also learned about pedophile and other stuffs. It doesn't mean that you read it you already support it.
Let it be known that we're always bound to find media with many different content anywhere. Ofc course, this can include taboo content. Rule 34 of the internet; if it exists, there's probably porn of it. And that will always exist. I don't avidly read or prefer shotacon, but I have stumbled upon and read a few. That doesn't mean I'm now attracted to kids in real life, or want to see them engaged in sexual relations, wtf is that logic lmao. Personally, I think that as long as people are able to consume media healthily, stories featuring taboo subjects should be okay to read.
(And sometimes it can even bring greater awareness to actual pedophilia, such as through stories like Harada's "Nii-chan".)
HOWEVER, for this story, there's literally no point in arguing because there is NOTHING nsfw, nor is there any hint of sexual attraction towards the kid. Quite wholesome actually. People who instantly comment "YalL ArE pEdOs" on a manga that doesn't contain pedophilia, are literally wasting their time.
And for correction, "Shota" exists as its own word, meaning young boy. Although it has been associated with the Shotacon genre often, don't assume upon seeing the word Shota, that there is always going to be something sexual.
Reagrdless of anything, it's simple. Just read what you wanna read and mind your business. People will read what they want at the end of the day, and there's no point in bothering others about fictional stories and characters people read about on their own time.
And for the people who are easily telling others to die just for READING something, it is ironically telling me that you may need therapy instead. That isn't a healthy thinking mechanism, and I hope your mindset becomes better with time.