On the last Bombcast, Jeff mentioned that Sega didn't bother rebalancing the game after they cut content. Has anyone run into issues with this? Not leveling up enough to hold your own in a fight? Stuff like that? I'm just curious because I'm interested in playing, but I don't want to get frustrated from the fighting system...

It shouldn't be a problem as long as you do everything that is open for you

I don't know exactly what they are talking about. I just got to tokyo, my character has hit their fifth tier of development for each attribute to upgrade (soul, technique, body, etc) I've also pretty much breezed through most fights, except for boss fights which ramp up the difficulty quite quickly. 
 
What was cut was a series of sidequests, not necessarily quests just associated with the hostess clubs which is incredibly troubling. Speaking of hostess clubs, each of the girls is datable and you can find them....strangely enough just hanging out at the Smile Burgers, and the exp that you receive with their quests are still there. 
 
One thing that got my attention within a few minutes of play, is that even though they cut probably roughly 15% or more of this game, there's still a bagillion things to do and I never have found a drought of places to get exp yet. I'll agree on one thing though: The way they cut stuff out was sloppy. Hostess clubs, specifically the one you apparently run, is referenced all over the place within the game. The cutting of content seems more in-line with the concept that these guys had a shit schedule to localize this, versus any "cultural differences" that they're initial bullshit response was ladled with.

 I can't see this being a problem, you can always just go round all the shops eating all the food if you really wanted, cos you earn experience points doing that! As for the money thing, you can spend it all in the casino on Blackjack or Poker if you wanted, so the money still has a purpose in the game...just, I think most of it would have got spent buying the girls clothes and items etc if the Hostess Clubs were in the game.
 
I have to say, while most of what was said on GiantBomb is true...in that it is basically not moving with the times, you can't fault the game for not letting you fight in the "city mode". Cos this is an RPG, it's just the same as say Mass Effect 2, you can't get your gun out and start firing while onboard the Normandy or in the Citadel etc It's the same here, you have battle mode, walkaround mode, minigame mode etc etc Same as pretty much every RPG ever created! So that was a bit unfair, I personally love the game, for all it's crazy Japanessness! :) 

Yeah it's nothing game-breaking. Trust me, you'll get plenty of xp enough to make your Kazuma a bad ass. Right now I'm in Premium Adventure mode (having beaten it once) and just from the xp I got beating the game, the random fights, food and sidequests (of which I'm maybe halfway through the list) and I've got lvl 8 in two of my stats, 9 in another and the last one MAX. 
 
Jeff has a lot of valid points and I'd love to see a lot of changes to this series, but don't be miseld, the game is awesome. It just has some archaic systems/presentation of certain elements. You just have to dig a little deeper to get to the good stuff. :)