[...] to grasp the distinctions among the characters or follow development at a short length, or the comedy might not translate. My favorites are those where simply defined but funny characters play variations on their usual [...]

It’s too bad this book misses the mark. It sounds like a promising premise.”

Though in actuality (i have read this book)
Its better in 4-koma style. :) i think it fits, because the jokes dont drag on, like they sometimes did in the mentioned work, Azumanga Daioh. (which i have also read) That book is a 4-koma, but the extra stories that were regular comic style dragged on in my opinion.
Personally i LOVE the 4-koma style of manga and i never get tired of re-reading this book! I highly suggest it

[...] Note: A few others have written reviews for this manga, and I have to say that on some respects I agree with their [...]

[...] About.com. I picked it up this weekend and it looks awesome. Ed Sizemore has a thoughtful review of vol. 1 of S.S. Astro at Comics Worth Reading. Carlo Santos reviews vol. 5 of Alive, Theron Martin reads vol. 1 of Black [...]

I agree. It seems to me the strips should be dropped in favor of a traditional format.

Also, as you said, light-hearted stories would be the way to go. They would allow the humor to flow naturally rather than trying to force a joke, as the strip format would seem to require.

In the hands of the right director, these could be turned into an amazing anime series, if they dumped the joke format and just told light-hearted stories.

I agree the comic strip format doesn’t sound like the ideal format for this type of series. It seems to me that this type of arrangment would disrupt the flow and humor of the story.

It’s too bad this book misses the mark. It sounds like a promising premise.