Wow, didn't expect this was Hattori Mitsuru. I thought the art seemed familiar but seeing the name threw me for a loop. I'm more used to his very digital style, like Concerto or Otogi no Machi no Rena. This has the look of pen on paper, whether or not it was done that way.
On the skin color thing, thatismyfetish.jpg, but also I think Japan is odd about this in many ways. Truth be told, Japan is not as monolithic as it seems, and there is a fairly wide range of "Japanese" skin tones. The various regions have strong identities to this day, more so even islands. The main is obviously tanned but I don't think the base assumption is that she's naturally pale either. On a more critical note, it's symbolic of country/city and adult/child (adults in Japan, especially women, usually avoid suntan like it is going to kill them - it's a social no-no). A natural tan with natural hair is as close as I can imagine to the epitome of uncool in Japan.
This is so new that I don't know what to expect, but I am looking forward to seeing where it goes with it in the end.