Haru's mom adopted Ren after Haru was no longer living with her in Canada (he went to Japan to live with his father and half brothers). They didn't grow up together in the same household as brothers. Haru never knew about Ren until he visited Canada for a summer at 17 then forgot he existed after injuring his head in the car accident that killed his parents. The whole story deals with the relative emotional maturity aspect (Haru immature for age, Ren mature for age) and is meant to show that what seems "hella weird" on the surface works for these specific fictional characters. It is a weird relationship, that’s why it’s not boring.
ok thank u for ur perspective, and i definitely see where ur coming from with the emotional maturity aspect of it. it still doesnt change, at least for me, how i really dont like the ages of the characters and how the author sexualizes the two- the age gap could be the same but just older people (say 25 and 33), with the same dynamic of younger is more mature, while older is more childish, and i would read and actually not feel weirded out and uncomfortable
I see what you mean too. If the characters were drawn differently I think it would help. Ren is young looking/small for his age while Haru has looked like a tall 20-something yr old adult since he was 16 in the first chapter. If this was reversed I think the age diff would be more easily tolerated. I’m always glad whenever as the timeline progresses Ren is drawn more mature and their ages appear less far off.
About the legal question, you're right, looks like there are really two thresholds for consent in Japan. Below the age of 13 is 100% not legal and no matter what. From 13-18 if the parents/guardian of the minor approved, the adult would not automatically be charged. The 13-18 standard is likely to give parents/guardians legally responsible for a minor the final say by allowing them to report and have the adult charged with a crime if they did not approve.
the argument that "the age of consent is 13 in japan" doesnt seem very accurate, at least for this specific manga- i believe the story takes place in tokyo, where the age of consent is 18, so technically wouldnt this be illegal? plus you need to take emotional maturity into account, a 17 year old shouldnt be partaking in sexual activities with a 26 (?) year old- it weirds me tf out that some people are going to such lengths to disprove the fact that this relationship is hella weird (also ren is his???? adopted brother?????? wtf)