Contrary to other reviewers, I think the heroine's personality is a breath of fresh air. She is extremely painfully embarrassing at times, giving severe second hand embarrassment to the readers that might make you cringe but also laugh at the same time (her meeting with Hiromitsu, for example, is one of my favourite events in the manga.) She's not your typical, meek "I'll be happy as long as the one I love is happy too!" type in shoujo manga that I can admire but not sympathise with. Instead, she pushes for her goal over and over. However the mangaka's main fault is that Hatori never really grows from this. She pushes and pushes and she comes to an understanding, but does she mature? Does she develop, along with her love? No, she doesn't!
Additionally, I believe that a certain side character's sudden personality change and a certain character's interest in the heroine (or more than one) should have been developed a bit more. It all seemed very rushed and shelved in. I like Hatori's character, truly, but others' needed more work.
The art style is fairly cute. It's very shoujo-like, and while not my style, it portrays emotions well.
Story wise, it's the rushed last ten or so chapters that are really disappointing. I would much rather the mangaka had taken MORE time to develop the story and perhaps allow Hatori the chance to properly grow than to take the "safe route". As for the ending, I was sorely disappointed, but the last few pages where at least Hatori learns something, was nice.
Other than that, I think this is a manga worth experiencing - I've been told the live action is better if you wish to invest as little time as possible - purely because the premise is very different to your typical shoujo. Yet sadly, the manga eventually returns to the road oft-travelled.
