the fact that Sanji has probably never been in love before.
Sanji loves a lot, surely, but beyond the rose tinted glasses of romanticism, has he ever genuinely loved a woman for the person she is rather than her gender that earns her his respect, attention and admiration?
I read people saying how his lovey-dovey reactions are not genuine since he forced himself to do so in WCI with Pudding, an argument which I have to disagree with completely. Sanji was miserable in that arc and he forced himself to be his usual self because the circumstances were desperate and he had lost everything but his future wife whom he would never want to upset. Sanji is usually pretty genuine and the only times I think he’s not is when he’s just being like ‘oh I care for the ladies only’ or ‘oh you guys get the leftovers’ which is obvious that these statements are not really the case.
Anyway, back to the love thing, I also read that Sanji did not like Pudding because he initially didn’t simp for her. I still have to disagree with this one for the same reason mentioned above: Sanji wasn’t having it in WCI and certainly one who feels that sad cannot switch to his usual ❤️w❤️ mode, THATS why I think he’s 100% genuine, so much so that even when he isn’t, we as the audience can read between the lines and understand that. It was refreshing seeing him interact somewhat normally with a woman and I think by the end of WCI, if Sanji got to know Pudding more, I’m certain he would have fallen in love with her.