I never thought about that! Tbh I've lived in Japan and almost all if not all are very into fitting in, thus me not realizing its a problem and the prominent gender roles. I've been reading this since 2020 and haven't realized this! I just thought this was an interesting comment!
It just feels for me like this manga was created in the early 2000s instead of current times lol
So i just read this start from finish rn. And i think this is just an EXTREMELY standard shojo manga, the only thing separating it from the early 2000s is that Lemon-kun is not an asshole and actually tells the FL shit without hiding which in case of something like Bokura ga ita, would never be the case. It really doing nothing new, it's not bad either. It's just a gateway into shojo for beginners ig. The gender roles might still be prevalent cuz I went thru some shit in College of all places so i wouldn't write it off. But anyway, the entire thing felt quite dated.
Again, not saying it's bad. It's just taking me waaay back. It's very similar to things I've read when i was younger.
My only problems with this manga are that it's very, how do I say this, stuck on traditional gender roles?? Like the whole "girls dress up" or "haunted houses are too scary for girls". I'm only on chapter 50 but we didn't even get to see the boys dress up in yukatas during the festival like so many other shoujo manga have done. Plus, the whole "lemme touch your boobs" scene in the bath house would be sexual harassment irl bc no girls do this at all...I only see this in like male gaze manga so it was disappointing to see it here. There were also waaay too many female rivals.
Other than this, I've been loving this manga so far, and can't wait for the anime adaption!!