Howl is cute and childish which is one of many qualities I love in a anime boy. Despite his childishness he's no naive child, he is a grown man who knows/has seen a lot.
Sophie was also a source of enjoyment for me. She was neither annoyily indepentant or dependant.
As for the art work and story line, I thought they were both quiet wonderful. The art was beautiful and quite well done, so much so that it is easy to imagine myself in some of these places, and the story line was very unique.
