This is so irritating for me on too many levels. I was never one of those "eww shoujo manga" insecure people, but holy shit this hit me on all the wrong notes.
1. Male teacher x female student is my anti-fetish. Others find the trope to be enticing, slightly taboo, etc., and it's super popular in shoujo manga. Me, I want to #metoo the motherfucker and throw his ass in jail.
2. The childhood friend is oblivious to the point of cruelty, with a case of learned helplessness. "Cute, cheeky little brothers" to some, callous scum to me.
3. The heroine is wishy-washy af. But she's the least of the problems. Anyone in her situation wouldn't be getting along all that well.
It's not like there aren't great series that are heavy on drama. Honey & Clover is an ocean of tears, Lovely Complex has super dramatic moments, Kare Kano demands a lot of emotional labor at times, and so on. But there needs to be something else to a series like this: lovable characters, fun comedy, an overarching plot, some literary point being made -- just, anything that makes it more than a straight shot of love drama.