Story:
The overall concept of a boy sold by his parents and becoming the butler of the woman he tried to kidnap in order to pay the debt is an amusing one, particularly the way that it comes about. From this plotline alone you can tell that you're going to get a healthy dose of comedy along with drama, and on those fronts the manga does not disappoint. The plot though as it unfolds leaves much to desire and honestly becomes a bit too ridiculous, particularly some of the supernatural elements. At points I yearned for the earlier, simpler slice-of-life chapters.
Character: The two main characters develop in satisfying ways, however for the side characters growth is uneven or the same lesson seems to be learned multiple times without further progress. Unfortunately the characters' actions at the end of the series don't seem to match up with the insights they have gained about themselves, with the author seemingly unaware of it. Overall though the characters are the strength of this series.
Wrap-up: With a little more courage from the author or perhaps a willingness to accept the direction his characters had gone in, this could have gone down as one of my top series and one I returned to every few years. While that ended up not being the case, I enjoyed my time with the series and will continue to remember it fondly.
