I am of the opinion that there is more manga licensed and released in the US than many people realize, therefore quite a few titles fly “under the radar” all the time. This series however (And Yet The Town Moves in English) is almost completely unknown despite having an anime (which is streaming and licensed) and the manga being simulpubbed within a couple of chapters. Perhaps its 100+ chapters are part of the reason why it stays rather low in Crunchyroll’s popularity rankings; it’s quite normal to look at a long series and put it off for another day! Yet I liked the humor in this series much more than I did in many of the more popular titles, and I think a lot of folks would like this comedic slice of life as well!
One might look at the cover and think that high schooler Hotori is working at a stylish maid cafe — and you would be partially right, in that the establishment does serve food and she is wearing a maid uniform — but it’s an outfit more suited to actually cleaning than looking cute and skimpy. It’s true that a fair amount of the story does revolve around Maid Cafe Seaside, but the story uses this as a jumping off point and instead focuses on how Hotori will woo her teacher into letting her work a part time job, going on shopping trips, or the low-key love triangle she’s unknowingly a part of.
The story has an oddball sense of humor. It’s not absurdist (where the conversations and events end somewhere completely different than where they started) but it does go the extra mile to not only have weird events but to try and frame them as “normal” as possible. Not all of the chapter-long gags worked for me; I was rather bored by the chapter centered around Hotori’s siblings, but the mysterious painting and electric scooter skits were entertaining for completely opposite reasons. I feel that the 130+ chapter backlog shouldn’t be an intimidating factor for a series like this, though. The chapters read quickly and each one is largely self-contained so you can read small chunks or binge to your heart’s content.