To start with, I personally think the magic aspect of this show is its biggest flaw. It is entirely unnecessary and could easily be cut out. For starters, the magic system hasn't been explained yet. From what I understand, some people are just born with supernatural abilities, however we're never told what the limits are, if it's common, how they're ranked, etc. I initially thought that every person had one specific magic ability (like fire usage, telepathy, etc), however a few characters are shown to use multiple types of elemental magic. The supernatural system is completely underwhelming and incredibly lazily written. This makes it hard to engage with that side of the story and I found myself growing increasingly more frustrated the further we went with the magic plot.
As a few other reviewers have pointed out, the character writing is not the most consistent. This story worked best when it was small and self-contained. Giving Miyo a very rare and powerful ability and this mysterious bloodline was a disappointing and cliche decision. It would've been much more interesting to explore her role in society as a non-magic user and how she would fit it with the more elite members of society. Instead, the mangaka opted for a more dramatic and action-like plot. As her ability begins to manifest (because her mother sealed it off for some reason...) suddenly it seems everyone and their mothers want her. It undos everything that the previous 7 episodes established. What was the point of her father essentially giving her away to the Kudo family if the Tatsuishi family now wants her? Why did her maternal family wait so long to find her? How exactly was her mother cut off from her family when her ability is telepathy for God's sake. The further in I got, the more plotholes appeared and the more annoyed I became.
Finally, we get to Miyo herself. At first, she was fine. Her actions were understandable and I enjoyed watching her gradually come out of her shell as she grew more comfortable with the Kudo family. Her reunion with Hana was very sweet and touching. Additionally, though it was very dramatic and convenient of her to forget her protection charm, I didn't mind the kidnapping arc as much. It provided closure for Miyo and the viewer about her family. Could it have been done better? Undoubtably. But I don't mind what we got. I was very pleasantly surprised when she didn't give in to her step-sister and step-mother's demands. However, after this big moment of change for Miyo I expected more to come from it. Instead, she doesn't appear to have much growth. She still doesn't confide in her husband about her nightmares and illness because she worries about bothering him despite the fact that he staged a rescue and essentially helped burn her family home down in order to rescue her. Where is the logic? Furthermore, Miyo is very rarely given any agency. All her motivations for her life surround being a "good wife" for Kiyoka. That is fine, I guess, this is a romance anime, however I wish she had something more than that. Her personality is completely revolved around essentially being a servant. And I understand this anime is set in an old time period (my guess is Taisho based off the clothing but idk for sure), so women's rights are not exactly huge yet, but it was still frustrating to see how little autonomy she is given. While Kiyoka and Arata discuss her future, she sits there meekly and doesn't say a word.
All this to say, this anime was alright. If you like shoujo anime and don't mind cliches and tropes, you will like this. Just don't think about it too hard or everything starts to fall apart.
