We got another poll suggested by lollylopmr. We can't really specify all types of love interests, so go with that list.

You can submit poll ideas here: https://www.mangaupdates.com/topic/kilkdnn/site-manga-poll-suggestions

Previous Poll Results:

Question: Have you ever done martial/sword arts/fighting?

Choices:

• Yes - I learned some from friends - votes: 43 (2.1%)
• Yes - Self-taught - votes: 39 (1.9%)
• Yes - Formal instruction for less than a year - votes: 309 (14.8%)
• Yes - Formal instruction for more than a year - votes: 268 (12.8%)
• Yes - I got to the upper rankings before stopping - votes: 91 (4.3%)
• Yes - I got to the upper rankings and still involved - votes: 22 (1.1%)
• No - No interest - votes: 645 (30.8%)
• No - I am interested but lack time/money - votes: 498 (23.8%)
• No - Health issue - votes: 86 (4.1%)
• No - I plan to in the future - votes: 91 (4.3%)

There were 2092 total votes. The poll ended: December 20, 2025

For those 22 experts, good for you!

A just ruler amongst tyrants

As much as I'd like to pretend to be a hashtag cool badass who isn't affected by anything, I do think Usagi Drop traumatized a whole bunch of people from reading any sort of manga about a father-daughter relationship

There's a HUGE difference between "extreme age gap" and loli/shota, like I'm okay with something between a 30 year old and a 50 year old (or often in fantasy it's a 25 year old and a 1000 year old lmao), but "loli/shota" is just a cute term for pedophilia, which is simply never okay.

I still picked that option because obviously pedo is the worst, but I also really hate how common the usagi drop trope is, so if actual pedophilia wasn't on the list I would have definitely voted for that instead.

I voted i like all romance... but yeah the once which mentioned chilsren are a bit problematic, but phrased so vaguely that i can name a couple that i liked. Problem is not in actual love interest type, problem is in specific execution of it... like even loli who is in love with her teacher can be executed in a way where teacher is a sensible person and putting her on a straight path... basically it doesn't have to be pedo to qualify for that category, that is why i said it is vague...

If there was an option for love triangle/cheating that is what i would have voted for... (adopted child might not always qualify for that, as it might be a single parent in some cases, such as widow/widower)

I am envoy from nowhere in nowhere. Nobody and nothing have sent me. And though it is impossible I exist. © Trimutius

The poll is about which one is more problematic, so I'd have to say the adopted one, although the extreme age gap is close. A parent-child love affair sounds quite bad always. Where as loli/shota may include the classic 1000 year old loli or shota characters. And there is the matter of fantasy races with different lifespans in manga and body shapes.

I was tempted to vote "Loli/Shota or extreme age gap" ...but then I noticed "Adopted child becomes lover", wondered which is worse, for a second ...before realising that it automatically involves a "Loli/Shota or extreme age gap" PLUS parent-child relation (even if adopted, so not necessarily from birth, and also not by blood), so...

No full-on incest included, eh? You could say that would be an obvious choice over the others, if included ...except that one of the existing options is "Loli/Shota or extreme age gap", so...
Paedophilia vs incest isn't necessarily an obvious choice, unless we're talking parent-child incest, where both are combined.
With sibling incest, however...
Is that worse than paedophilia? I don't think so.
Both are horrible, sure, but...

How anyone would vote for "Childhood friend", or why that is even included, however, I cannot, for the life of me, understand. I mean, I kinda think it's weird that people who are supposed to have been friends since they were 2-5, don't feel like they're sibling, and the anti-incest instincts don't trigger, but... it's not incest, in any way, so...

Quote from Ceiye

/.../ I do think Usagi Drop /.../

Ah, that one. When I heard about it, it first sounded like a potentially nice and lovely little series
...until I heard about what their relationship develops into... 🤢

Everybody's number one choice should be "loli/shota" because it's actualy pedophilia in English and this type of materials should not be promoted and imported from Japan.

*Age difference is ok only if both are adults, or if one is a 200 vampire but looks 20.

I fail to see the "Childhood friend" trope as problematic.

Quote from Ruruskadoo

There's a HUGE difference between "extreme age gap" and loli/shota, like I'm okay with something between a 30 year old and a 50 year old (or often in fantasy it's a 25 year old and a 1000 year old lmao)

Depends on what you consider an extreme age gap.
Generally speaking, the higher the ages, the greater a gap is okay. (though it's not an entirely linear thing, pre-adulthood, of course)
You can maybe argue 30 vs 50 is okay, and not an extreme gap (I'm not entirely sure I agree, but... it can be argued)
BUT I don't see any possible way to say, that 25 vs 1000 is anything other than indefensible!
Related pic

Also: "Adopted child becomes lover", automatically includes pedo, so... (unless we're talking an adult adoption, but I'd say it's implied, that that isn't what's meant, so... Also, I'll never get how inherited Japanese family businesses, without a good male heir, adopt an heir, and marry him to their daughter. I get doing one or the other, but combining them, needlessly makes it incest. You can just have him take her family name. No need to adopt!)

Quote from LazyCat3

Everybody's number one choice should be "loli/shota" because it's actualy pedophilia in English

...
HOW is the language supposed to have any impact, on whether or not it's paedophilia!?
So it's paedophilia in English, but if we're speaking Japanese, then it isn't, and it's perfectly fine and unproblematic!?

and this type of materials should not be promoted and imported from Japan.

So you're saying it's okay when it's within Japan, but not outside of it?
...

Fiction is fiction. Toss anything you want at me author-sensei.

Please note, that reincarnated characters' ages, should be counted as the age when they were born + the time since they reincarnated.

You often have reincarnations, who are, mentally, 20-40 years old, getting into relationships with kids who are 6-15...
Sure, they may be physically of a similar age, but that's still clearly paedophilia! Naturally, anyone attracted to a reincarnation, where there is no (mental) problematic age gap, who aren't aware of that (i.e. they think the person is as old as the body they reincarnated into), are also pedos.

So in, e.g., Honzuki no Gekokujou:
Main×Lutz (what, at first, seems to be the intended pairing) would be clear paedophilia, despite them supposedly being the same age. When they first meet, she's 22 (the age when she died and isekai'ed), and he's about six.
Main×Benno, given that she is about 23 (supposedly 6) and he is about 32years, when he is first seen (when recalculating his age of 28 [420 days in a year], to our calendar) is kinda problematic
...and Main×Ferdinand would be fine. She is about 24 [supposedly 7] and he about 23 [20, by their calendar], when they fist meet. (it would appear like a massive age gap ...but wouldn't be)
The latter two pairings don't seem, in any way, to be plausible pairings, in large part due to the apparent age gap. At least not as far as I've read. (I've not read all)

Quote from nicoelson2

Fiction is fiction. Toss anything you want at me author-sensei.

Problematic is problematic!
There are some incest and/or pedo stuff, that I nevertheless enjoy (I'd only be disgusted by it, if it were real, but as it's fiction, I can kinda ignore it), but...
That's despite the problematic issues, which do detract from my it.

I was going to choose loli/shota because when the loli/shota is really a kid it's worse than an adopted child becoming a lover as an adult. Not by much, just a tiny little bit. So tiny that I'm not sure. They are both very problematic options.

But I can't think of a context where an adopted child becomes lover isn't very problematic while I can for loli/shota and extreme age gaps. Loli/shota isn't as bad when it's just the body type and the character is actually an adult. As for extreme age gaps those can also mean a 20 years old with a 60 years that meet as adults. Or extreme gaps because of it involves fantastic beings.

So my vote goes for adopted child becomes lover. Maybe it would be different if the options were formulated in a different way.

I just don't understand the childhood friend option. I get thinking non-blood related siblings is problematic, but childhood friends? Why? Are there people that genuinely believe it's problematic?

Edit to add: I also don't get the "hate all romance" or "like all romance" options. I don't think it has anything to do with what is problematic or not. You can think something is problematic, but still enjoy reading it. Or think it isn't problematic at all, but hate reading it. It would have been better to have "all are equally problematic" or "none are problematic".

Quote from Trimutius

like even loli who is in love with her teacher can be executed in a way where teacher is a sensible person and putting her on a straight path...

Oh yeah. I just assumed it was about relationships, but it does say "love interest", so it can include one-sided ones. A kid having a crush on an adult, is perfectly acceptable. It's not great, but... You can't blame them
...but the adult reciprocating, however, or an adult having a crush on a kid, just generally...

Still, I think you can probably ignore the former, for the purposes of this poll.