You got quite a bit spot on that struck me while I reread this manga after quite a few years! It's a shame because the prequel is so brilliantly developed with its endearing characters and sweet plotline, absent of so many tropes that make yaoi frustrating (except for the reason Ryuu fell in love with Shima, that was a bit unrealistic), but everything else was good.
It's a shame because I read this manga when I was much younger and very taken by the charismatic Tetsuya and beautiful Tora, and always thought the former to be 19 to the latter's 16; not ideal, but not bad either. I don't know why I thought that.
1. Ye, Tetsuya had no real development like Tora and was always in the right.
2. Honestly, I understood Tora's fears and reluctance to get into a relationship with Tetsuya, but 10 years was a bit of a stretch when a little communication could've gone a long way. For all they claimed to love each other, they didn't really give their all into restoring their relationship and kinda half-assed it.
3. Ye, the forced sex/rape scene through me off because usually I hate manga with those scenes yet I remembered loving this. Guess that was a result of my young age at the time though.
4. Y'know, a youtube called MattPatz (?sp) made a video about the cultural difference of 'no' when said in Japan in respect to sex. It's really informative so you could check that out.
5. Honestly, Tetsuya was hella hot for me ⁄(⁄ ⁄·⁄ω⁄·⁄ ⁄)⁄ Don't get me wrong, Tora is also gorgeous; but, more so in a really pretty way - more effeminately. Both his younger and older self, and I preferred the younger tbh because the latter was too hobo, was really hot but that's personal preference. I think the chicks being after Tetsuya was a) first case - girls of the gang which he presided over, and they were mostly adults so I doubt they'd be attracted to a snot-nosed high schooler like Tora who wasn't even part of the gang but was still doted on, as opposed to their handsome, charismatic, adult leader; and b) Mayu admired his bike skills and didn't like him.
6. Ye, that horrified me when I rediscovered this manga and learnt that their ages weren't 16 & 19 as I mistakenly believed, but 16 and 20s which is just ick. Ofc, the age of consent in Japan ranges from 16-18, but under 20 is still not an adult, so Tetsuya had sex with a minor. Yikes.
7. Tbh, there was only two fight scenes, both in which Tora's hesitance can be explained. No.1 involving his brother had him shocked by the words the other guy said because they poked at his insecurities and delayed his reaction time. No.2 Tetsuya reacted first, that's it. The manga didn't really focus on fights so I get the decisions the mangaka made, but the above points I agree with.
The precursor comic to this "Nirameba Koi" (featuring Ryuunosuke / Shima) took some interesting and vaguely refreshing departures from the plethora of tropes plaguing yaoi these days. But somehow, this sequel took a nosedive straight back into the old, familiar formula, and it's frustrating.
1. Seme is older and respected, the best, always right, desirable, and a mysterious enigma to his gang members, etc (eyeroll)
2. Uke is annoyingly stubborn for seemingly no reason other than to drag out the page count (sigh)
3. Seme rapes uke despite the uke constantly saying "no" and for him to "stop" (the first time they had sex after the time skip). Tetsuya is not privy like we are to Tora's internal monologue so he does not get a pass on this. (scowl)
4. Then, the seme gets to be right about the forced sex in that "the uke actually wanted it" because, turns out, he did, even though all context the seme was given at the time was that the uke did NOT want it. (facepalm)
5. Seme/Tetsuya is chased after by lots of girls despite the art making him one of the ugliest dudes in both mangas. Tora should've been the chick magnet since he's actually drawn to be attractive. (ugh)
6. Vaguely creepy age gap. (if the exact ages were mentioned, I missed it) Tora had just started high school (14-15) when they first met. Tora "I'm 25". Tetsuya, "Then, in 6mos it'll be 10 years since we met". Tora joined the gang a year after meeting Tetsuya (15-16). Tetsuya, "The me back then was the same age you are now. Nah, just a little younger." The age gap appears to be 8 years (24 Tetsuya - 16 Tora), but more to the point, is that a 24 year old pressured a 16 year old into sex. (cringe)
7. Lack of consistency for Tora's character from previous manga into this one. Previous manga focused hard on how Tora was a badass fighter and used to fight people in his HS days, and now Ryuu's fighting Tora's fights for him so he wouldn't be bothered, etc. Nowhere in this manga was Tora shown as a good fighter, or fighting anyone in high school, or whatever. (rubs bridge of nose with vexation)
I don't expect my boy-on-boy smut to be high works of art, but at least do better than this. >:/