This will be quick and direct

Story 7/10: A slice-of-life story doesn't need to be deep or complex, because, in the end, nobody's life is complex, quoting Yamazaki from Welcome to the NHK! "A drama has a progressive thought, an emotional climax and a resolution, but our lives aren't like that. All we get day after day, are a bunch of vague anxieties that are never really resolved" .

This is what Pumpkin & Mayonnaise is, a simple and realist despiction of a relationship: the drama isn't chessy, the pacing is slow and mundane, the lives of the characters don't feel like something out of reality, Pumpkin & Mayonnaise is realist, in the end the manga shows what it promises us: the everyday life of Sei, an idealistic songwriter, and Miho, the young woman who struggles to support the both of them.

Art 7/10: Clean, minimalistic, relatable, elegant, unlike "Blue", by the same author the art actually can tell the story. Is not realist, nor "moe", the character desings are quite generical, but we all are generic characters.
The backgrounds are there, showing us the enviroment they are not detailed nor realist, so you may not notice them, which, in my opinion gives a feel of desolation.

Character 9/10: Yeah, the most important part of a slice-of-life story are the characters, how can you tell a story about someone's life if they don't feel real?

Kiriko Nananan knows this, so she makes her characters relatable, they make mistakes, they feel annoyed over little things, they acknowledge their mistakes, she gives them small details about their personalities that makes the experience even more real.

This is a josei, the onee-chan of shoujo, this needs to be mature, so, the main character Miho, like any other heroine feels confused and makes stupid decisions, but it doesn't feel like the cliched annoying shoujo girl, you can actually simpathize with her.

Enjoyment ? That's up to you.

Overall 8/10: With a bittersweet ending, and a small but memorable run, Pumpkin & Mayonnaise is way better than most of the popular romance stuff out there