A first glimpse of Kannagi will make you think the anime is overly simplistic and cliche. Don't be fooled! The everyday comedy throughout the early half of the show, plus the references to certain other anime/show, makes Kannagi a good one-day-marathon candidate. In fact, I would recommend even to those who are not interested to just spend a few hours to watch the entire series (takes no more than 5 hours of your lifetime).
As to be expected from a 13 episodes series, the story was a bit lacking, especially when attempting to clarify who Nagi really is at the end. Surprisingly it did not feel like the show was rushed, however the lack of explanation and the blurry conclusion really hurt the show near the end. As expressed by a fellow MAL member, "...and true the series did take a nose-dive when things got too serious [in the latter half]." - Master_M2K
But from a comedy anime perspective, Kannagi was an outstanding piece of art. Of course, there are other factors that also contributed to the overall success of this show as this review continues to break it down into components.
Perhaps the first thing that caught your attention about Kannagi is the high quality animation and superb soundtrack in the OP. Later you may find that the scenery too, are of exceptional quality. But strangely, there seems to be some slight inconsistency with the level of animation throughout the series leading to some attractive looking characters end up looking rather ugly at times. Fortunately, for the most part the background animation quality remain unchanged.
The CV of Kannagi, while most of them being fairly new to the industry, did a fantastic job in performing each character to their fullest. But if you are knowledgeable in the seiyu world and and are looking for big names, then you will probably be disappointed (well Mai Nakahara being perhaps the only exception, but her role in Kannagi was pretty limited in many ways).
The main casts have a decent amount of character development in the show at the expense of the side/supporting casts. Most of these developments were through daily interaction with one another as the viewers slowly take a deeper understanding of the general concept of the show. However, it gives the impression that the sidelined characters are somewhat "hollow" as very little was actually revealed about them. For instance, it would have been great to actually get a clear view of how Shino actually look with her eyes open.
Overall, Kannagi has proven its worth as one of the more entertaining show of 2008. While it may not top the chart in any particular category, it is still one that should not be missed by any anime lovers or hardcore otaku.
