A pretty pessimistic read. Sobering for some maybe, but not really my kind of thing, though I did like the breakup between Fue and Asuna. Compared to the rest of the characters, their relationship was one I could believe in, and empathize with.
You can really tell how much Morinaga loved the look of Mari. A lot of the characters in her books look quite similar to her.
In fact, she's pretty much become something of an archetype.