Since the whole world has been experiencing the migration from rural areas to the big cities for about a century, the adventures of a young city girl in the countryside sounds curious. This isn't a bad story, but most of the time it is just forgettable. It is average in the beginning, but after a while it declines. The most interesting moments are when the conservative views of the country folk clash with Nozomi's modern perspective. Unfortunately this ideology clash quickly becomes mere detail in the overall. It is also great when the stories involve the bad aspects of living in the countryside like the gossip. When you live in a small village, everybody knows everything about everybody. There is little concern about privacy. Since this is a light comedy/drama, it never delves too deep into these subjects. It is more of a "I know how that feels like" for the readers who have lived in the sticks. It is regrettable that most of the time we are stuck with undistinguished tales of the various members of the family that always have predictable happy endings. After some chapters, this formulaic method of telling a story becomes dull and tiresome.
The most interesting character is Kin Yamada, the 88 year old head of the family. Despite her age, she is sharp as a knife and is known as MacArthur (based on General Douglas MacArthur) due to her voice of authority. She is always paying attention to everything that is occurring under her roof and she has the wisdom to guide those troubled. Unfortunately after a while this becomes too recursive. It feels like if the manga was much shorter, this wouldn't be a problem.
