This manga could have been a masterpiece if it wasn't impossible to take it completely seriously because of an extremely simple and comedy-like drawing style, and the constant joking remarks of some of the characters... Although on the other hand, if this manga had been created in an absolute crude and "reallistic" way, I think it would be too heartbreaking to read, so maybe it's better that way: it's still pretty good, and it depicts the situation from the eyes of a protagonist who is still a child and has a really strong and positive mindset. As a side note, the characters sing more than thosein a Disney musical, I don't know if it is faithful to what Japanese children were like at that time, or if it is a tool used by the author to transmit his feelings to the reader (it must be remembered that this is an autobiographical work).