I'll agree with the forced lighthearted tone, although the prostitution mechanic of "looks, technique and mind" had made me reflect on how that works similar to real life, with looks and mind usually dropping down after each *interaction*, and technique *maybe* improving.
You can see tell they understood the weariness of being a prostitute, but they wanted to approach the entire game lighthearted and flashy persona 5 style, instead of a dark serious tone like persona 3.
That said, I can still see how scary being in a prostitution ring might be, even under all that cheeriness.