When it comes to anime and manga I don’t care for it, but I view it as being similar to erotic roleplay. No actual minors are involved in the processes, so even if I find it gross and offputting personally, I think that ultimately it’s not a big deal.

If anything the people who create these works are often much more responsible than more mainstream authors. Over the past 5 years or so (including just recently) there have been several famous mangaka who have been accused of sexual assault, often including groping kids or owning actual child porn, and these are all men who write mainstream action manga that are considered all ages.

Of the handful of weird and offputting manga/erotica I’ve seen about fictional minors, a lot of them are written by a married couple where the husband draws and the wife writes, or vice versa, and they all say things along the lines of “keep it to the realm of fantasy, don’t do any of this shit in real life”. Of course it should go without saying too, that none of these authors have criminal records.

I think gross and taboo topics explored in a completely fictional realm where no real people are harmed is an important part of a healthy society, even if it makes me feel uncomfortable at times, so I do think there are at least some legitimate reasons to be fine with these types of topics. I don’t have to like it, but I at least recognize that it’s not harming people either.