I know, lol. A lot of us joked about that. We were all saying that if Minato is middle aged, we're all senile and half in the grave by 40.
I put him at 28 because in the first episode he told Shin that he graduated high school 10 years ago. I thought that if he was 18, he'd be 28 now. But he might even be younger, because some kids are 17 when they graduate, meaning 10 years later he could be 27.
The show is presenting the age gap as an issue because, yes, society is sometimes uncomfortable with large age gaps (although 10 years is not that large). And, yes, the age gap is the primary theme of the show, so it's not amiss for someone to comment on it.
However, the OP did not present this notion in a rational manner as you did. She came off like an uptight church lady saying that the character was not only "creepy," but had also "assaulted" the teenager in ep 4. I react strongly whenever girls start sprinkling their comments with politically loaded jargon such as "sexual assault."
In 90% of the cases, it does not apply to the situation at hand and, hence, cheapens true cases of sexual assault. Hell, nobody even pays attention anymore when they hear that term because it's used so widely that it's become meaningless. The OP just used it to describe a goofy little scene of a guy tripping and falling on top of his friend. So how can we take the term seriously when REAL sexual assault happens in this world?
These girls toss about these terms because they think it makes them sound smart. However, it actually makes them sound foolish. Worse, comments like that are bad for our society because it cheapens the very definition of what true sexual assault means. Her comment was also offensive because it cheapens the definition of predatory pedophiles.
Nothing in this show fits the description of a creepy older man acting as a predator. Just as nothing in this show fits the description of sexual assault. These are serious terms and should only be used in serious cases. Otherwise, it is disrespectful to both true victims of such crimes, as well as to the whole issue itself.
If you think it's creepy for a 28 year old and a legal 18 year old to date then it's your own personal hang-up, and not the problem of the people who created the show.
Moreover, the older guy is not portrayed as chasing the younger one, nor even grooming the younger one. To the contrary, he's doing everything in his power to avoid the younger guy -- despite the fact that it's perfectly legal to date the younger guy.
It would be legal in Japan where the age of consent is as low as 13 with parental permission, and 16 to 17 without parental permission. It would also be legal in my own country, the USA, where the age of consent is as low as 16 in some states, and 18 overall. If one is considered an adult who can go to war at 18, and kill and die in foreign lands, then they are certainly old enough to give consent, right?
So most logical people consider 18-year-olds to be young adults who can make these decisions on their own. Hence, the relationship in this show is only creepy in the mind of a sexual puritan. But it's not a problem in the legal world, nor in the normal world of logical, tolerant people. You see, the fans of this show are logical, tolerant people.
Am I the only one seeing the sexual tension when Shin was touching Akira's cheek ? I love it! Akira was attracted…
Oh, for real! I mean, he almost kissed Shin in this episode! He even dreamed about Shin! Of course, he is in such denial that the dream made Shin the aggressor, but he still had a dream with Shin kissing his neck.
Ah, ok. I guess you know this from reading the manga, right? How much older is he? I mean, I don't want this whole show to be a frustrating exercise in guys who are chasing older guys who reject them.
It's already gotten frustrating to watch. On the one hand, I love the show and the characters. On the other hand, it's frustrating to watch, because I don't think it's a big deal for an 18 year old to date a 28 year old, especially when they have such great chemistry, which Shin and Minato do. And even more so, when it's the younger guy who's doing the chasing, not the older guy.
The 2 of them have every reason to date, so I am like, oh for god sake, just kiss already. I don't want 12 episodes of almost kisses and then Shin saying "No, you're too young," every time.
And now you are telling me that Asuka is going to fall for this guy Hiiragi, who is also older, which makes me think, shoot, it's going to be the same frustrating thing with Asuka and Hiiragi for the rest of the episodes.
When Minato stood up after falling on Shin in the laundromat, he had some dialogue, but then there was a line in parenthesis, as if it was something he was thinking to himself. It made no sense whatsoever. It said:
Well, I guess we won't be getting that Pete/Vegas series I'd hoped for in the future. They just killed off the…
Thank you all so much for telling me to go back and watch AFTER the credits. Vegas lives!
But really, what is up with running a crucial plot point after the credits of a series' final episode? They did the same in "Follow My Sunshine" where we all thought the boyfriend died in a car accident. If you shut the show when the credits rolled that's how the show ended for you. You would have to stay until AFTER the credits to know it was just a dream. I'm sure many people still think that the character died in that show.
Well, I guess we won't be getting that Pete/Vegas series I'd hoped for in the future. They just killed off the star. I'm sure there'll be a Kinn/Porsche sequel, but I won't watch it because their love story had wrapped up 2/3 into the season. It was just repetitious lovey-duvey scenes after that. I was here for Vegas/Pete after that.
Well, actually, I was here for Vegas. Vegas, man. I was all about Vegas. The one guy they freaking killed off! Ouch, that hurts.
Ok, so Minato is not afraid of Shin being illegal. Hence, I suppose it is more about what I had said in my original post about how Minato might think their life experiences are too different. But I can't help but think that Minato is fighting against his attraction a bit harder than he should.
He does not like shin but a character named sakuma hiiragi (minato's high school teacher younger brother and also…
Well I hope that at least this cutie pie classmate gets his man, because I have already heard from you guys who read the manga that Shin and Minato never hook up and I am kind of bummed that this is going to be 12 eps when nobody actually falls in love. So maybe it will be worth it if at least the secondary characters fall in love.
He does not like shin but a character named sakuma hiiragi (minato's high school teacher younger brother and also…
Well I hope that at least this cutie pie classmate gets his man, because I have already heard from you guys who read the manga that Shin and Minato never hook up and I am kind of bummed that this is going to be 12 eps when nobody actually falls in love. So maybe it will be worth it if at least the secondary characters fall in love.
Really? I know that the age of consent is 16 in most states in the USA (where I live), but not all states. In Japan, I read that it was 18. But I also know that Japan has this odd thing called "Consent by Authority" whereby you can have sex as young as 13 if the parents give permission. It's supposedly some holdover law from years ago back when girls actually got married that young.
Can someone who's read the manga give me a spoiler and tell me if the adorable boy in Shin's class (who's clearly also gay), has a crush on Shin, or if he ends up having a crush on some other character who is introduced in the show later on?
I don't think the age gap is unethical. After all, Shin is 17 and if he has a bday soon, he'll be legal. Minato said he graduated 10 years ago, so he's only 27. They clearly have terrific social chemistry and physical attraction. So the only real problem is how hard it would be for a guy who's been working, paying bills, and running a business to relate to a kid whose biggest responsibility at this point is to study for a History test and turn in homework on time. lol
1 
I put him at 28 because in the first episode he told Shin that he graduated high school 10 years ago. I thought that if he was 18, he'd be 28 now. But he might even be younger, because some kids are 17 when they graduate, meaning 10 years later he could be 27.
However, the OP did not present this notion in a rational manner as you did. She came off like an uptight church lady saying that the character was not only "creepy," but had also "assaulted" the teenager in ep 4. I react strongly whenever girls start sprinkling their comments with politically loaded jargon such as "sexual assault."
In 90% of the cases, it does not apply to the situation at hand and, hence, cheapens true cases of sexual assault. Hell, nobody even pays attention anymore when they hear that term because it's used so widely that it's become meaningless. The OP just used it to describe a goofy little scene of a guy tripping and falling on top of his friend. So how can we take the term seriously when REAL sexual assault happens in this world?
These girls toss about these terms because they think it makes them sound smart. However, it actually makes them sound foolish. Worse, comments like that are bad for our society because it cheapens the very definition of what true sexual assault means. Her comment was also offensive because it cheapens the definition of predatory pedophiles.
Nothing in this show fits the description of a creepy older man acting as a predator. Just as nothing in this show fits the description of sexual assault. These are serious terms and should only be used in serious cases. Otherwise, it is disrespectful to both true victims of such crimes, as well as to the whole issue itself.
Moreover, the older guy is not portrayed as chasing the younger one, nor even grooming the younger one. To the contrary, he's doing everything in his power to avoid the younger guy -- despite the fact that it's perfectly legal to date the younger guy.
It would be legal in Japan where the age of consent is as low as 13 with parental permission, and 16 to 17 without parental permission. It would also be legal in my own country, the USA, where the age of consent is as low as 16 in some states, and 18 overall. If one is considered an adult who can go to war at 18, and kill and die in foreign lands, then they are certainly old enough to give consent, right?
So most logical people consider 18-year-olds to be young adults who can make these decisions on their own. Hence, the relationship in this show is only creepy in the mind of a sexual puritan. But it's not a problem in the legal world, nor in the normal world of logical, tolerant people. You see, the fans of this show are logical, tolerant people.
It's already gotten frustrating to watch. On the one hand, I love the show and the characters. On the other hand, it's frustrating to watch, because I don't think it's a big deal for an 18 year old to date a 28 year old, especially when they have such great chemistry, which Shin and Minato do. And even more so, when it's the younger guy who's doing the chasing, not the older guy.
The 2 of them have every reason to date, so I am like, oh for god sake, just kiss already. I don't want 12 episodes of almost kisses and then Shin saying "No, you're too young," every time.
And now you are telling me that Asuka is going to fall for this guy Hiiragi, who is also older, which makes me think, shoot, it's going to be the same frustrating thing with Asuka and Hiiragi for the rest of the episodes.
"Do not wash blankets or mattresses."
What the hell did that mean?
But really, what is up with running a crucial plot point after the credits of a series' final episode? They did the same in "Follow My Sunshine" where we all thought the boyfriend died in a car accident. If you shut the show when the credits rolled that's how the show ended for you. You would have to stay until AFTER the credits to know it was just a dream. I'm sure many people still think that the character died in that show.
If he's alive I'll go back!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
Well, actually, I was here for Vegas. Vegas, man. I was all about Vegas. The one guy they freaking killed off! Ouch, that hurts.
this is going to be 12 eps when nobody actually falls in love. So maybe it will be worth it if at least the secondary characters fall in love.
this is going to be 12 eps when nobody actually falls in love. So maybe it will be worth it if at least the secondary characters fall in love.
But I also know that Japan has this odd thing called "Consent by Authority" whereby you can have sex as young as 13 if the parents give permission. It's supposedly some holdover law from years ago back when girls actually got married that young.