@comedyxtragedy yeah, age gap becomes more acceptable as you grow older, because it's not so much about a gap in age as it is about a gap in maturity. There is a massive difference between a 10 years old and a 20 years old. One is an adult, the other is a kid. But there isn't that much of a difference between a 60 years old and a 50 years old. Both are adults.
I also agree that this isn't all black or white, we're in a situation where there is a moral dilemma. The fact that he was attracted to her as a kid is fucked up, and it's normal for him to be disgusted by himself for it. It's pedophilia we're talking about after all. He understood how wrong he was and distanced himself from her. Then she came back to him, and now he is realizing he still have a crush on her. The situation is different from the previous situation, because they are both adults now. But the girl is the same girl, and he realizes he's attracted to her only when she acts more like her childhood self.
If I was in his position I wouldn't have pursued the relationship, because I think the moral orders me to drop it. He fell in love with her when she was a kid, which makes the whole relationship fucked up. But there is indeed room for discussion, it's a grey area.
@RozuArison08 he started having a crush on her when she was 11~12, which is still pretty bad.
@metta0king you're missing the point though. Whether he is attracted to Marika and Marika alone or to all children, the fact remains that he was still sexually attracted by a kid as an adult. That's definitely what we call a pedophile. Your definition of a pedophile is so wrong that I have no idea what went through your head when you wrote it. You said "a pedophile is someone that has a romantic and/ or sexual attraction towards someone that is underage ONLY". Well, let's say someone is sexually attracted to both adults and little kids. With your definition that doesn't make him a pedophile just because he also likes adults...? Wtf? That's wrong on so many levels. A pedophile is someone who is attracted to kids. Whether he is also attracted to adults or not is irrelevant. Whether he is attracted to ALL children or just one child is also irrelevant.
You're also missing the point when you talk about age gap. Because the problem isn't the age gap itself, it's about liking a child. If you're 30 years old and you are attracted to a 20 years old girl, it's fine because you are attracted to an adult. But if you are 20 years old and you are attracted to a 10 years old girl, you are attracted to a kid and that makes you a pedophile, even though the age gap is the same. You could legally "wait until she becomes older", but that's fucked up. Instead you should ask yourself : why were you attracted to this kid in the first place? The answer is necessarily because you're a pedophile, because normal people can't be sexually and/or romantically attracted to a kid. And it doesn't matter whether you have a sexual attraction to all children or just one child. It's still pedophilia and it's 100% fucked up.
Now sure they are both adults, and going out with her would be legal. But the question remains : would that be moral? This is still the one girl he fell in love with when she was a kid, he was a pedophile in love with her. The moral dilemma is insanely strong.
He can't even hide it since she knows he fell in love with her when she was a kid. She seems to be absolutely clueless about the implications of it (which, imo, is the one flaw of this manga: the girl seems clueless about the fact that the guy was a pedo, she's 20 years old but she still doesn't understand how bad it was), but she might realize it one day.
So yeah, it's not as easy as "yeah she's legal now, let's smash". There is a real moral question behind it : a pedophile realized how fucked up he was, distanced himself from the girl he was attracted to, and meet her again 8 years later. Should he date her? The answer is neither a hard yes or a hard no. It's a hard question that shouldn't be oversimplified. So far the author made a good job with explaining the dilemma behind it, I hope this doesn't change tbh.