That makes it even more of an age gap.
And if you're 18 then you're legally adult, even if you're still in high school. No legal rights are conditional on graduating high school.
they actually are in japan. you're not legally an adult if you're still a student. and this takes place in japan, therefore applies
[Citation needed]
I mean, it's not even mandatory to go to high school in the first place, compulsory education stops after junior high.
The more obvious complication is that Japan's age of full adulthood has been 20. But voting age was lowered to 18 in 2022, age of consent has been 16 or 18 depending on prefecture.
And for whether Age Gap applies, the sensibilities of the readers are most relevant.
i'm not talking vague or speculation here. that is the actual law. if someone is not in high school and turns 18, they're an adult, but all high school students are legally treated as minors. this is a legit thing. you see references to it in fiction or social media sometimes too. don't ask me WHY that is because i also think it's stupid, but it's real.
also i'm personally against tagging mikiritsu anything agegap because they're equals and peers as idols, so there's no power imbalance. it's just numbers at that point. ricchan is good at acting mature but she's pretty childish herself at times (cute point)
edit: have had this conversation in detail with a native jp friend, so if you really want citations i can poke her about it.
last edited at May 14, 2026 6:33PM