If there's one word to describe Hourou Musuko, it's meandering. It's long, and it feels long. You cover a group of kids' entire school days in the span of the manga, which is pretty impressive. In that way, you do grow attached to the characters. They're with you for so long that they become very familiar.

And I think they will be with you a long time, because this really isn't a manga to storm through in a couple of "can't wait for the next chapter, must keep reading!" sittings. There aren't many cliffhangers, and the pace can seem quite glacial at times, circling back on itself, or fixated on small things. That's not to say that Hourou Musuko doesn't have high points where it's a joy to experience, it does. They're just scattered throughout quite a long span, so you're likely going to pace yourself with this series.

The themes are quite complex, and handled delicately. To some extent, I wanted the author to bite right in, instead of nibbling around the edges, but I guess it does build up the tone of kids trying to figure themselves out quite well. The tone is absolutely slice-of-life, with underlying plots running as themes throughout, but often not being the main focus.