It was like reading a novel chapter by chapter. I'm glad it didn't out stay it's welcome and start introducing increasingly silly crap. Overall it was pretty good.
On the topic of art: Visual storytelling at a high level! As they say in the manga it's not about how many words ( a lot of manga could learn from this). I feel the author maybe speaking from the heart with that piece of writing.
On the topic of Japanese audiences and things getting axed...
The interlinking events and background plots and excellent characterisation make this top quality stuff. Also, seeing Jinshi all puppy dog for Maomao is fun.