Cause some of this people think we all have the same kind of mindset! It's their minds that are malicious it's disgusting!
When it comes to the English language saying you are in love with a child is strange, and there’s no other way to put it. It’s purely the connotation being weird. You can say it without the intent of romantic love, but that doesn’t take away the ambiguous and concerning implications from it that will naturally arise from that statement. You can’t blame people for being weirded out because of how those words are used. It is naturally jarring to most and that is undeniable, and this is coming from someone who uses “in love” in platonic contexts.
However, my belief for this story is that there wasn’t any grooming involved, and it wasn’t said that he was “in love” with Subaru as a child, and also Japanese to English translation can be misconstrued easily. A relationship like this IRL would be uncomfortable to think about, but I can’t call this story pedophilia. Their bond wasn’t familial and Subaru interacted with Tatsumi for just a couple of years of his early life and Subaru had other experiences in his life away from Tatsumi growing up. Even so, logistics are endless in a real life setting therefore the dynamic is fragile. It could turn out healthy like in this manga, but it is likely for somebody like Subaru to be attracted to Tatsumi just because he was the only large figure in his life that early on, which can be an unhealthily dependent relationship. I think it’s a very delicate topic that should be taken seriously and handled carefully IRL.
It is very easy to write this kind of story with elements of grooming in it. An example of that is the artist Kawacy who has a similar dynamic with their characters except the adult figure RAISED the child, which is a parental bond. Anyways Sorry for writing so much;;
Saying "im in love with a child" doesnt automatically mean there is a sexual relation to it. It could also mean platonically or dearly. Some parents even say when they see their child for the first time that they fell in love with theIr child. Means saying those words is not automatically something vile. U gotta know some context and apparently, the comic show morally appropriate cues that shouldnt supposed to aggravate any overly sensitive people. But i guess... If ur inflexible then ur inflexibleヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~