Am I the only one who hates Angel?

Angel was 26 years old (according to the wiki) when he was turned, so he doesn't even have the half-baked Twilight reasoning of having a teenage brain forever to justify his predatory behavior towards Buffy! He saw her at 14 (I've been corrected that she was 15, but be so for real that doesn't change my point) and decided that was the love of his life and not a single adult called him out on it?

Giles didn't do anything when Buffy OR Cordelia (remember the Watcher guy?) were pursued by adult men. Joyce barely did, but if I was a mother and saw a grown adult hanging around my kid let alone dating them I'd be calling the police reporting a murder by my own hands.

No, Buffy having extra responsibility and strength from being the slayer DOES NOT justify him being a total creep! She only had 16 years of experience, none as an adult and 10 less than 26 years, let alone 200+ years. She would have no clue when and how he could manipulate her or shape her to his liking. Him having a soul didn't make him good, it just made it easier to hide his evil. People with souls can be bad, or even evil, too.

Since Angel got his own separate show I could watch Buffy and pretend everyone realized the problem there and moved on, but the dude still comes back occasionally just to get continuously praised as Buffy's true love and such a good guy. Give me a break!

Obviously, Joss Whedon had a thing for teen girls (hence why he wasn't allowed alone in a room with Michelle Trachtenberg who played Dawn) so that's why no character ever pointed out the obvious. I wish it was more discussed in media conversation surrounding Buffy. I love the show, but this is a major flaw I cannot forgive.

Edit: 1) People keep saying, "if you don't like age gaps don't want vampire media" but my issue isn't vampires are old, it's that teenagers are children. Teens shouldn't date adults because it's bad for them. Depicting unhealthy relationships it is one thing, not everything in media needs to be good and wholesome (trust me I watch Desperate Housewives and that is literally anything but wholesome), but glamorizing it as Angel being Buffy's #1 soulmate is the gross part. If Buffy met Angel as an adult with some experience under her belt I wouldn't be bothered by his supernatural 200 years on her. If the show acknowledged how Angel and Buffy are not star crossed lovers but an adult grooming a child, I wouldn't have made this post.

2) People are correcting me on my Joss Whedon comment. Apparently he wasn't allowed alone with her because he was cruel, not predatory. Him setting Dawn up with Xander in the comics (when Xander is his admitted self insert) makes me uncomfortable, but I will admit when I'm wrong to avoid spreading misinformation.

3) Other relationships like Anya and Xander are also gross. They tried to make it better by dumbing down Anya and honestly it made her character so boring. Like lady is a full blown witch turned demon turned human, 1000s of years old, and all they could think of for her character is "what if she loved sex with Xander and money." Terrible writing.

4) On a positive note, I genuinely love the show! All works of art have flaws, especially ones going through production companies and running for many years. Buffy is an incredibly compelling character, Willow is effervescent and charming, Giles is refreshing as a mentor, I adore Tara, and the corny but still cool action scenes are so fun even today.

5) I didn't know Wesley was that important to people 😅 to me he was very random and forgettable. Oops.