To be fair MNO does open up in reassuring fashion, conveying all the romantic gestures you'd expect from a romance-based anime, and it almost succeeds in pulling some emotional heartstrings while stirring some deep curiosity in the personalities of the key characters. However, beyond episode 3, the promising plot disintegrates, and eventually to the point where it fails to even develop the hidden romance between the two main characters.
The random style of some episodes is a nice diversion from what is otherwise a plot with as much depth as a sheet of tracing paper; it just never seems to address any meaningful conclusion, goal, or resolution regarding the relationship between a passive Takumi and a pretentious Fumino... surely a dissapointment for romantics. For that matter you might as well focus as much attention on the other characters, since their storylines have about the same depth as the main two characters.
Having said that, MNO is by no means detestable - throughout the anime the characters remain somewhat likeable, thanks in no small part to the charming and high quality art, along with the usual winning (abeit cliched) anime poses you'd expect to see in harem type anime. Loosen your focus on the main characters and avoid trying to follow a goaless story here, and MNO is an enjoyable enough anime at least to pass the time on a rainy weekend.
