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As I am an additive reviewer firstly, I will commend this series for being one of my greater inspirations over the many hardships I've personally gone through. Sakurasou is, in my opinion, one of the best anime series in combining multiple genres, reflecting amazing humor and intense drama at the same time. It teaches life lessons despite being a comedy-based slice-of-life anime, and even though it does not have the flashy character design of typical shounen animes, it is really something to marvel at.

Story - 7
I will have to say that the story is probably THE weakest point of this anime. Because it is a ... slice of life anime, the typical drama that happens tends to take away from the driving force of this show. There is not a real concrete direction that the story goes in, and contains a lot of small stories and events that build up to drama and a lot of problems that the characters sort out eventually. This is an anime that develops its characters through the gradual progression of the story; the plot is not phenomenal, but it is definitely watchable and understandable as it is a highschool slice-of-life story.

Art - 8
Sakurasou is not an anime with amazing art in particular, having a really anime-y feel with less-than-realistic proportions and features, but it's animated that way just to emphasize its cartoon resemblance and its comedic humor. The thing I think is worth mentioning about the art is of its use of bright and vivid colors, especially in Mashiro's painting of Sakurasou (props to the background artists who drew that masterpiece).
A few well-animated sections of this anime are very fluid and are worth noting: Nanami falling into the pool, the falling of petals, et cetera. Other than that, the animation style is very panel-like and situation-specific.

Sound - 10
The openings and endings are kind of skippable, sounding pretty standard for a slice of life anime. Nothing too interesting here,
The voice acting. Oh my god. You do not know how good this voice acting is. Granted I am a sucker for Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, the anime in itself, when based off of the manga, is on a whole other level. So much of the dialogue was ad-libbed and improvised, but it was done so in a way that I loved every bit of it. I actually watched an open convention video on youtube that was about the production and the seiyuus behind the scenes and in the production. The actual amount of effort that the voice actors put in was enormous, considering how much they had to add in themselves and put themselves in the characters' shoes. Nanami's Kansai accent really brought a lot of character into the pictures, and Ai Kayano's Mashiro was spot on with the soft, whispery, innocent impression. The unmistakable voice of Yoshitsugu Matsuoka for Sorata was a great choice and makes the humorous scenes so funny (I personally laugh every time).

Character - 10
All of the characters have their own quirks in the show, and that's exactly why I love all of them. Kanda Sorata is the main character and the only person with common sense. He struggles to find his own identity and to find something that he truly loves to do and to pour his efforts into. He is, in my opinion, the character that viewers will most likely relate the most to. Shiina Mashiro is the innocent airhead that is extremely talented, but this also makes her vulnerable in that she cannot see things from the perspective of normal people. Misaki is the typical genki-girl that always manages to cheer us up, and Jin is the tough-love style 'elder' of the group. Akasaka is in a weird spot, ranging from slightly sympathetic to 'idgaf' to everybody.
I would like to talk about Nanami. In my opinion, Nanami is the most interesting character in the entire show (for reasons besides being best girl). Having a crush on Sorata while also viewing the actions of Mashiro, her reactions can become quite interesting and funny. Also, did I mention her Kansai accent? It's so adorable (I am mentioning this twice just to highlight how much I think it is worth mentioning). While being an open book regarding her fondness towards Sorata, her hardworking side often reaches extremes to where viewers could find it a bit questionable. However, I hate it that the story always keeps beating her down, not giving her even a small bit of victory so that she can build up this self confidence that she so desperately needs.

Enjoyment - 10
I love the comedy, and also the drama, of this series. This series really struck a chord inside me because it reflects a view of how everyone has dreams and struggles to find themselves in the midst of their everyday lives. It also reflects on the struggle when other people are better than you, and how there will always be someone ahead of you. It's every person's struggle to live even their normal lives in an attempt to truly achieve something that they can be proud of. The ending DAYS OF DASH, when read in subs, lifts the viewer's spirit and reminds us all that the greatest feat of all is to hope and keep hoping despite the realization that reality is often cruel and not as rewarding as we hope it to be. I honestly think this anime is worth rewatching: characters are interesting, comical, and feel fleshed out to the point where it's something that us viewers would go through the same episodes of heartwrench and lighthearted laughter just to see them alive on the screen again (disappointed that there are no OVA's, and also that there will never be a second season).

Overall - 10
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is an anime that achieves both the rare comedic humor that animes are able to pull off while also incorporating a powerful message of hope. It is an anime that is very relatable in its message and also very enjoyable in its viewing. For this reason and the reasons above, Sakurasou has to be one of my highest rated, if not highest, anime of all time.
On a side note, the original source material, the manga, goes further than the anime's ending point. And while I would like to point out the rather incomplete ending, I feel as if it is best left this way as the story in the manga gets sadder and more depressing. So, in my opinion, the decision to end the anime at this point and not animate a second season is a wise choice, ending the series on a high note.

This is my first review so please don't judge too harshly >_<;
As I like to review additively and not subtractively, I will first start by highlighting the good parts of this anime and then review things that could have been better in detail in each individual section.

I would like to first start off by praising this anime. Death Parade is really a breath of fresh air from the more recent spam of popcorn ecchi light novel adaptations. Though a lot of anime viewers can appreciate the shounen style of beautiful fight scenes and intricacy of shoujo style love stories, Death Parade has an intensity of ... itself that is best reflected in the growing tension throughout each episode and how the characters eventually reflect more and more of their personality as they remember their memories. The art style and sound were definitely up to the standard that most of us anime watchers tend to expect from modern anime, and there's a reason why the opening is hyped as is.

Story - 9
Death Parade is one of those animes that doesn't have a concrete 'story' or main plotline the way SnK or SAO do. It is a character-driven show that best expresses itself through the development of characters across multiple side stories, and it manages to do just that. The story of a place where human souls are judged by something not entirely human brings to mind vibes of Death Note and Psycho Pass, and the ever-presence of mannequins recalls Another.
Here I would like to talk about the show's intricate themes and lessons. (This ties into the characters section a bit).
Oculus is the incarnation of a rigid, standard law. He is the one who represents the view of someone who appreciates efficiency and quick judgement in light of the rising death rate.
Chiyuki is the impersonation of a good human being, branching off of the fundamental theory of good where each person has a good intention in their heart. She is the character that people most definitely appreciate the most, but not relate to the most. She seems the most sensible and tempered, and is the central figure that the story is based on.
Nona is the defender of humanity and its goodness. She realizes that arbiters, without human emotions, cannot fully appreciate and effectively judge the worth of human lives and souls the way that another human can. My biggest qualm here would be that the show does not explain how Nona comes to this thinking, even though all arbiters are supposedly without emotion and therefore find it hard to justify humans.
Decim is the tin man who grows a heart; that is to say, he wants to understand and comprehend humans and learn from them. In this I think he is successful by the end of the anime, learning to feel emotions and comprehend a small fraction of what it means to truly live.
All of these characters each bring a conflict to light, such as Oculus and Nona: people are dying and need to be judged fast, but it is immoral to judge without consideration on an emotional level. Decim needs to eventually judge Chiyuki before she runs out of time, but refrains from it because he does not want her to leave in a way that would expose too much emotional pain. In many ways the story revolving each character and the way it goes through their personal views and morals is really a marvel.

Art - 8
I gave the artwork of Death Parade a 8 because it was up to the standard of normal anime, but it was not exceptionally unique. As expected from Madhouse Studios, Death Parade really captured the essence of the anime with the pastel-like, faded and darker colors to reflect the darker and reflective nature of the anime. For this reason, and because this anime was essentially practice for newer animators, I bumped my rating of the artwork from 7 to 8. The shounen-esque, more realistic style combined with the color scheme brought a quiet, intriguing atmosphere that made the anime quite amazing at times. The depiction of lighting is something to note in this anime, as lighting plays an important part in the shadowy atmosphere of the surroundings.

Sound - 9
While yes, the opening Flyers by BRADIO is really good, I felt like the ending track suited the anime more in theme and atmosphere. The OST's of this anime (especially Moonlit Night) are much higher than I would expect from normal anime. While it lacks the enormousness or choral nature of something composed by Hiroyuki Sawano or Yuki Kajiura, the music is definitely something you can listen to for hours and not have to switch.
The voice acting is spot-on. As there is a regular quality expected from voice acting, this anime reveals its professionalism through the more intense scenes of tension, especially when characters fight each other or even their inner selves. Crying, screaming, and yelling in this anime were exceptional and very emotion-evoking.

Character - 8
Though the first and second episode may not have been the most interesting, the way that each episode reveals the story of people in the real world and the true tragic nature of death. I feel like one of the later sentences that Nona said to Oculus really summarizes this anime: "People like to live in the moment, and it is even more so in death." People all make mistakes and that is how they are; it is how people choose to amend or deal with the consequences of their life that their true personality shines.
For a 12-episode series, this anime really fleshed out characters more than I would have expected, delivering a large range of emotions and thoughts of side characters within 1-3 episodes. While I certainly commend this show for providing a very deep insight into its characters' personalities and experiences, I must say some characters are a bit flat (not entirely flat, just not as round). Chiyuki, being the anchor of the entire show, is probably my biggest issue. Her stiff morals, whilst redeeming faith in humanity that maybe there are good people in the world, seems to somewhat dull the energy of the show a bit. Though it is necessary for her to be this way to progress the story, it is not as complex as a character who is able to change moral views and perspectives at a larger scale.
Characters in general give off a feel that they are really much more than meets the eye, partly due to the explanatory nature of the anime's storytelling style. For example, at the beginning of the story, we see Oculus as a normal jolly old man overseeing the arbiters, but nearing the end we start to see him in more of an antagonistic nature.

Enjoyment - 10
I love this anime, truly, from the bottom of my heart. Though it's short, it conveys a very powerful message, one of both hope and regret and how we, as living human beings, should appreciate life for what it is, because death is so concrete and unpredictable and life is so short. It's one of the emotional animes that takes a place on my highest shelf and remains very clear in my head when I recommend it to someone. I remember that once I started this anime, I could not stop until I had watched all of it, and through those 12 episodes, I really felt like I had learned something important that made it worth watching.

Overall - 9
Overall, I really feel like Death Parade is one of those hidden gems that really brings a whole feeling of completeness to the anime genre and lifts it from its stereotype of smut and the ubiquitous hentai label. It questions what morals are, what it means to live, and how the aspirations and dreams of people are often left tragically unfulfilled. While it is probably not the best anime of all time, Death Note as a one-shot, one-season production is quite definitely one of my favorite animes of all time and a diamond in the rough.