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So, I just finished this series today. It was DEFINITELY one of the better series I've seen at it's high points. But, it made a couple of crucial mistakes. It may have been like this in the game, I don't know, but I judge an anime based on storyline as much as the adaptation.
First off, episode 04 and 08 were complete disasters. Through the first 3 episodes, they built up a very good situation. Girl is getting picked on, alone, and a boy is willing to spend his life with her alone. And then to cut it with a fanservice episode with a character who had no relevance to the plot... I didn't like that much at all. And Hamaji as a male was COMPLETELY unneeded. It was good for a gag, but it wasn't worth it later on.
Episode 08 was just plain stupid, and I would've gone without, no question. It resolved Otoha, yes, but it was un-needed. They could've done it without that stupid magical girl stuff.
Second, the ending of the last ED got to me. Kohinata should have stayed dead to create a bitter sweet end, not a happy one. It was much more meaningful that way. Also, isn't that going to create a bit of a dilemna, since he's already married to that one girl?
Third, I was not a fan of the direction they took with Yui-san. I liked where the story was going at the start. Making her be a bully was a strong move, since she's not the type you'd see. But then changing it to be Hotaru's grandfather made it have less impact. Yui-san makes it be a very "Everyone vs. Kohinata", while the grandfather makes it seem like "Senile vs. Kohinata". If Yui-san continued to bully and stopped being comic relief, it'd be a much better storyline.
Now, the positives. First, I LOVED the use of greens in this show. It created an atmosphere unlike any other show I've seen. Second, I LOVED the music. The little irish and the pipe mixed in with it all, it was really good. Quite a good change from the usual synth you get in most shows. And third, I liked the plot. It was a good story, although it seemed to resolve problems too quickly (For instance, how as soon as Hotaru accepted Kohinata, everyone did).
Overall, this show has strong characters, strong plot, and strong aesthetics. It just had a few flaws here and there with bad episodes and taking the plot a suddenly new direction and discarding the old problems. It gets a 9 in my books.
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