I wasn't expecting anything big, but was surprised to find an interesting plot and a lovable cast. While this is tagged as Shounen Ai, things never go further than hugs and Kio and Fraw telling each other that they care about and want to protect each other; in that sense, it falls under the "it's BL if you squint" category. The art isn't the best, especially at first, but it does get better later on (even though it's never that appealing to me). The wings become prettier and more detailed, but most of the characters never quite lose that stiffness.
What I appreciated is that the many side characters get their own personalities and are given things to do, instead of existing on the periphery. They help each other out and grow, so it's fun to see them intervene and not just serve as background decor or to praise or get in the way of the core cast. Kio does suffer from Shounen Protagonist syndrome most of the time — rushes into battle with little regard for himself, is very "ganbatte", is more than meets the eye —, but is endearing enough to not be that annoying. Fraw, by comparison, is fairly one-note as the stoic and cool-headed one who only loses his cool when Kio is threatened, and I didn't find him as interesting.
It is a bit disappointing that, in the end,
Kio doesn't find out about being an archangel. Maybe if the series had more volumes, the story would've eventually gotten to that point. But since it's implied that he still has to train some more until he goes into that role, I guess it's acceptable.
Asterisk is a much better manga than a lot of its time, considering when it came out. The plot is kept interesting throughout, the characters are distinct and fun, and, while the art is fairly dated, I can overlook it most of the time because everything else is so entertaining.