Overall |
8 |
Story |
0 |
Art |
0 |
Character |
0 |
Enjoyment |
0 |
An incredibly oblivious and overprotective pastor 'Lawrence' and the lazy saint 'Cecilia' who loves him, treasure one another's company as they live together in a church.
The entire story is about the two main characters, their daily life activities, and their interactions with other characters. Narrative-wise, it's a slice-of-life story that portrays the themes of love and kindness, and plot-wise, it's a love story that gradually reveals each of the character's personalities and pasts and develops the relationships between them. There are hints of a side romance, but it didn't dwell on it too much (so far).
Though it's a slice-of-life/romance, I think a better term to
describe it would be an 'Iyashikei' (Think of Anime like Natsume, except it's more of a romance).
As far as I can tell, Iyashikei stories are feel-good series that are meant to relax the viewer/reader, and an obvious technique is to progress the plot slowly, letting the audience connect with the characters, setting, and world.
I'm not sure what's considered the average chapter length, but each chapter in this manga is pretty long. Half or more than half of the chapter will be filled with easily readable and funny character interactions, while the rest of the chapter puts more emphasis on the drama side, like talking about someone's past, their own feelings, etc. which are often filled with plain characterization or setting rules.
The fantasy element isn't something extravagant that is filled with different types of creatures or power systems but is more akin to a fairy tale, like the fairies which only exist as small glowing orbs of light or the protection spell that the saint often blesses with. The fantasy is not brimming with logic derived from some grand mythology with heavy references or such, it's only shown as a cause-and-effect kind, where the magic is reflected through the characters' actions and emotions.
And the art is gorgeous, perfectly capturing the magic within the story and characters.
I guess the writer, Hazano Kazutake (who's also the artist), likes this overprotective-tall-guy-and-clingy-short-girl combo because his other work Hakanai Kimi wa Moukou wo Hajimeru, is pretty much same as this, except it's just a regular slice of life.
I would also recommend that if you like this one.
Who should watch this?
As I said before, the plot progression is slow, and so far, there are indications for a greater conflict than just realizing true feelings and I'm just waiting in anticipation for that.
If you like the overprotective-tall-guy-and-clingy-short-girl combo, then read this, or wait for the Anime adaptation that's gonna air in 2023.
If you don't like the 'clearly in love but are not realizing it' or 'dense main character' kind of love story, then you probably won't like it. The characters aren't dumb or act illogical though, I can guarantee it.
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