I think the comparison between
Ai Baby and
Kurenai is likely to turn out to be pretty superficial (like the comparison with
Seirei). That was super-cute, and had its serious moments, but this show seems a bit more serious at heart.
Murasaki is a lot less
tsuntsun than I expected. She seems quick and adaptable, despite her severe upbringing.
I'd like to say how much I'm enjoying the side characters. I thought the father was brilliantly played, by
Kuroda Takaya (Darcia in
Wolf's Rain). And I loved both Benika (
Ishige Sawa voiced Art in
Moonphase, Haruna in
Negima) and Yamie (the woman with the skull,
Kimura Haruka, who has had only bit parts up to now).
I think most Japanese would be aware of the original Murasaki, the ten-year-old who was kidnapped by Prince Genji in the
Tale of Genji (novel from about 1000 AD), who raised her and then made her his wife. If you haven't read the novel, you must. It was written by a court lady in Kyoto and is sometimes considered the first real novel in the history of the world. It's almost like Jane Austen, who wrote 800 years later.
I hasten to add that I don't see that happening here. If there's any love-interest, I expect it will be either Ginko or Yuuno.