Like the review title says, this would be a cute coming-of-age drama but later on there is blatant blackface and homophobia and transphobia. Tbh I didn't catch on to the Obama character right away because I wasn't paying enough attention while watching. This is how I got all the way to a flashback in a later episode (ep 8?) to "American" school that Obama and another teacher went to, wherein all the extras playing basketball were Japanese people in blackface. The reason behind the main character's fear of being open about loving cute and beautiful things is his homophobic/transphobic mother who enforces traditional masculinity. It's been years since I watched this so I can't remember the exact reason for her pressure of conformity, but it was either that her ex-partner came out as a trans woman, a gay man who enjoyed cross dressing, or was cishet but enjoyed crossdressing and cute things. Even if the show is about accepting yourself and cherishing the people who do accept you, this mother getting a redemption-of-sorts by suddenly accepting him in the end (please note main boy is cishet) is really gross in my opinion. Of course I want the characters to be comfortable with and loved by their families, but her awful behaviour is not forgivable to me, even if she accepts her son.