Im with you gurl!! that what im about to say too.. gosh the bashers lack so much appreciatio. Piece of advice for ya'll let yourself think deeper about "a man falling in love with a child" it just said like that but that doesn't mean in a romantic way.. bruh just think it's his first time to feel warmth and it's just that then he likes the child because he's cheerful and energetic and also the child cares for him which is it's a First time for him too
yes, the fact that he's hella lonely adds a lot to the interpretation
IKR he like fell in love purely after the child gave him warmth u knoww
i read this manga many times, but only now i realized that tatsumi wasn't attracted to the 10y subaru. when subaru returns home, tatsumi finds it difficult to do sexual stuff with him because he still saw subaru as a child (or had the image). i think what confuses everyone is the "falling in love" book, which even confuses me too, but perhaps the author means pure love from the vision of a lonely man