tbh

lots of internalized homophobia, super common especially in lgbtq people in conservative countries

i mean yeah but the internalized homophobia comes from the society to begin with but the straight people here are all okay with it. the gay friend is the only one reacting that strongly in this manga.

he doesn't consider himself a friend. he's always hated how "normal" being gay was for Ai but again, sure, society is to blame but it doesn't mean he doesn't have internal work to do himself. working on society won't change the fact that we've internalized things. for a conservative person to be open and accepting, they got internal work to do.

i called him a friend bcs i forgot his name, anyway ai considers him his friend.
what would give him so much internalized homophobia if it isn't the conservative society that keeps punishing homosexuality? but their surroundings don't reflect that bcs everyone is accepting except for him the gay man himself. i just think it's odd that the first blatantly homophobic person in the manga is another gay man. but i get where the plot is going, it's more about the characters' self-acceptance ever since the first vol.