Prior to breaking into the mainstream Tokumi Yuiko used to publish doujins under the name Hakka-ya. She become a pretty well known doujin writer and developed a passionate albeit small cult following, which I was long a part of.
As a major fan of her work I naturally had big expectations going into this series, which is her first original manga. Did this series meet my expectations? Um... weeeeellll... kind of. There were a lot of things about this series I didn't expect from Hakka-ya. First of all, this is a 4-koma. She never wrote 4-koma in the past. Secondly, her doujins were dramatic, heavy, and had a haunting atmosphere as well as really well-written romance. This manga in contrast is not a romance series (although it does have some subtext).
However, once I got over my surprise I still liked the series to a degree. It does have Hakka-ya's trademark heavy and dramatic aura enshrouding it, so if you're expecting this to be yet another cute 4-koma about cute girls doing cute things then read something else. That's not what this is. It's a sometimes funny, but more often dramatic slice of life series about the lives of a group of highschool girls. The premise is not intrinsically interesting but it's elevated by her talent as a storyteller. It's well written, the characters accumulate some nice depth as it goes along, and it has the unique feel and atmosphere that can be expected from Hakka-ya.
On the other hand the 4-koma format doesn't really fit her style. She can draw beautiful art but you really don't get to see it here. The dramatic elements of the story also feel awkwardly crammed into the 4-koma format and don't have room to breathe.
Overall, however, this was still good. I can't deny I was disappointed though. I think Hakka-ya has the potential to write something better than good. She has the talent to write something great, and I hope she aims a little higher with her next manga (and ditches the 4-koma format... please).