In Japan does it take a year or so of showing each other by many clues in their behavior how they feel about each other, for a couple to get around to kissing or confessing? Does it take a similar amount of time for a young man to get over AGONIZING about the awful fact that he desires a girl, and wants to be close to her? Is the standard rule on emotions there a general rule that you just don't talk about them hardly ever? And when you do, does it make a guy, at least, feel so ashamed of himself he wants to die?
In other words: 1) in what culture are teenagers this utterly non-functional in interacting with each other, and this ignorant of every aspect of sexuality, including the most basic one that women are actually interested in sex, so you're not insulting them by kissing them on the lips or giving them a big hug?
2.) Such a culture must exist somewhere, because stories have to have some relation to reality for people to keep reading them for hundreds of episodes.
3.) And clearly lots of people did keep reading, and ended up liking this thing, so what's going on? Is Japan so puritanistic that the idiotic behavior of the male lead in this thing seems realistic? Or are you all about 12 years old?
Stopped reading it about half way through. If anyone can explain why the men is many romance manga are as pathetic as this guy is, and yet people will sit through them, I would be very grateful.