It starts off a little slow - at least for me, the start was boring. But soon you get attached to the characters; each of them has their own problems shown, from the protagonist to the "antagonist" to the cheery friend who you'd expect to only be a background character. The characters are always the best part of a work to me, and Shounen Note's do not fail expectations at all (besides one character that's brushed off as Aoi graduates and is never spoken of again). Here's a hook for you: it even has a canon transgendered character who's portrayed in a serious light (!!!!)

To me, Shounen Note is a beautiful piece of work (in terms of visuals AND characterization - the plot is rather cliche but that's the least of my thoughts of this manga, honestly) that gives me a safe world to disappear into and a warm fuzzy feeling. I only hope it's not too late for me to buy all the volumes and chapters to support the artist for giving us such a work.