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FYI, I will be talking in regards to the entire series, not just the first season.

Where do I even start this? Do I talk about finding this series by pure accident, as a result of confusing Shoujo and Shoujo Ai genres? Or my usual dislike of old series? Do I talk about the staples of yuri, how catholic high school is a frequent setting, and senpai-kohai relationships are almost expected?

None of that really matters. I've started the series with no expectations, over a decade after it was made, and it completely took over my attention. I found the setting to be charmingly quaint, characters ... to be alien but sincere, and story unsurprising but gripping.

I don't really have any issues with he show, apart from one ark that felt a bit forced, and lack of proper ending. It's just so delightfully weird and captivating, I absolutely recommend that you check it out and make your own conclusions.

This show is different, but I could not figure out why. But my theory is that it's meant to be a satire on... stuff. On shonen, on fantasy, on anime culture as a whole, probably some other stuff that flew over my head.

Sometimes is obvious, like when it's making fun of anime figurines or shallow character tropes. But often it's subtle, where you feel something is off, not following the usual anime path, but not sure what it is exactly.

I found that to be delightfully fresh and enjoyable.

I don't even want to spoil anything, because in reality, there is nothing to ... spoil. Show does not have any incredible twists or reveals, it's as close as you can get to a "slice of life" in a fantasy world.

It reminds me of Spice and Wolf, not with setting or story, but emotionally. It's also a very comfy, warm anime, that does not really tell any especially interesting sorties, but it still grips your attention and does not let go.

I have a strange relationship with this series. On one hand, I absolutely hated it for good 4-6 episodes, and almost dropped it. And the second half, while being much better written, still had nothing spectacular. On the other hand, it had the biggest emotional impact on me, out of all shows I've ever watched (not just anime).

I rarely cry to anime or movies, but this one got me. And I had a lump in the throat feeling for the rest of the day. So I can't deny the emotional side of this show.

Spoilers ahead.

But it's not really the show. As I've said, ... I did not really like it, because it was a rather uninsured tale of some middle schoolers falling in love, but ultimately not being able to be together. And most shows would of ended it there, or maybe not even show the bittersweet end scene.

But what really got me were the credits. Just some still images and their conversation over text. But it had bigger impact on me than the entire show up to that point. But I'm not dismissing the rest of the show, because I believe it built the foundation for the end to have such impact. And the last art piece just hits you hard.

This is an unorthodox show, and it's hard to watch, but if you want to feel something, this is probably as good as it gets.

I'll put it bluntly, if you wanted to watch a heart warming yuti romance story, don't waste your time. This one gives you false hope initially, before degrading in to cliché filled mediocrity.

Spoilers from this point on.

The show keep up a decent façade in the first half, but suffers from "why am I still watching this?" syndrome midway, when you realize nothing really happened so far and probably will not. And that's exactly the case. Ending pretty much gives up on the romance aspect, and the entire second half is pointless. All in all this is your typical one-sided love story with a ... yuri twist on it, but it fails to explore either of the subjects, and ends up wasting your time.

Even something as blatantly fan-service focused like Sakura Trick had more value as a romantic anime, so don't waste your time here.