Why is Akio Kozue’s “Daddy Long-Legs”?
In episode 26, Nanami sees Kozue outside of her dorm late one night. She explains that she’s meeting her Daddy Long-Legs (or あしながおじさん in Japanese).
This is likely a reference to the 1990 anime 私のあしながおじさん (My Daddy-Long-Legs), which is an adaptation of the 1912 novel by Jean Webster.
The story follows an orphaned girl, Judy, who is sent to college by an anonymous benefactor. She him “Daddy-Long-Legs”. This benefactor requires that she sends him letters. Eventually, following her graduation, her friend’s uncle proposes marriage to her, which Judy denies. She did not believe herself to be high enough status to marry him. She later finds out that this uncle was her benefactor all along. When he falls deathly ill, she agrees to marry him.
Kozue’s reference is rather clear. She is aware of the power imbalance between herself and Akio, but she accepts their “relationship” either way. There is a perceived benefit to his abuse. She sees her connection to him as a way to shed her purity, and grow up faster.
Unlike Mitsuru, she’s well versed in the ideas of being a “grown-up”. This of course does not mean she is one, and this is through no fault of her own. It’s rather naive to believe she’s an adult, when she’s only thirteen.
Kozue sees herself as an orphan. She feels no connection to her parents, and has no affection for them. They have not protected her from the world as a parent should.
Akio almost reads as an avuncular figure to Kozue. He gives her a sense of sheltered freedom. She’s able to rebel, while still having a real adult by her side. He is the one with the power between there of them.
Kozue’s reference to Daddy-Long-Legs solidifies the idea that Kozue believes her abuse is transactional.