Art:
the art design just doesn't appeal to me. my friend says it's the most unique art design and stuff, but it looks hideous, especially when their eyes go O.O the character design isn't too bad in a way.. lots of diversity, but i honestly thought Hagu chan was the prof's daughter in the beginning.. lol.. in fact i thought so until the love square actually developed.. and i was like "u gotta be kidding me".. the only character i liked was Yamada. The backgrounds are honestly pretty excellent, but i can recommend so many other animes with mind-blowing backgrounds.
Story:
H&C tries to depict life, but keeps on focusing on the love triangles and squares, in which they try to make you tear up at every scene. it's also ridiculous that there are only 2 main girls(with super complicated relationships), and a ton of guys. I mean, most of u should know how many hotties u can find in the art departments. and yet, 2 students and 1 professor are fighting over a kid. #$%#$@&#$$@!!! the story about Morita was quite fresh, but it wasn't a very prominent plot in the story. i related so much to Kaoru and i liked the way they depicted the forked road. I think H&C wastes too much time depicting the love drama and never really tells u wat happened, their past and their goals. The only plot which was beautifully depicted was Morita and Kaoru's, but it was probably thought of by the author as a side-story or something.. The ending didn't feel much like an ending.. it felt like a cut in the middle.. it also didnt feel like a new beginning, which would have given room for a sequel. it's like, the couplings are decided, so we end the story here. sheesh.. I thought H&C2 would imply a real sequel, but it's the same thing all over again. but after seeing the ending, i understand why it isn't a sequel. there's just no sequel to make.
Character:
Hagu-chan is probably the worst character i've seen in a very very long time.. I just don't understand why a kid has to be the center of the biggest love confusion. what the heck is this anime trying to imply? she doesn't look 18 at all. fine, some girls really have little bodies because of some defections, but it was never mentioned in the anime, and those guys who like her just seem like lolicons and arseholes to me. the other characters are also very boring and i can't relate much to them because they seem like they dont have a past at all..
Enjoyment:
I didn't enjoy this much in part because i knew i would be disappointed, but i've watched animes which i thought at first that it would turn out bad, but actually loving them in the end. TBRH, there's just nothing much to like about H&C. It seems like one of the most overrated anime of all time to me rather than the best anime of all time as some ppl would say. i just dont see how anyone can really love H&C if they have watched other animes with similar genre. it's just not as realistic or romantic as it seems. I would probably only recommend this to ppl who would be satisfied with only great art, and very shallow plots. for example, my friend who loves this anime but can't even finish Higurashi n Monster.
Overall:
I think it's essential to compare it with other romance/slice of life animes to see how H&C doesn't live up to it's ratings. First of all is ef. There's no need to say anything about the art style. it just blows ur mind away. the storyline might seem very fantasy-like compared to H&C, but it's so much more realistic, with lots of side-characters and even a few neutral characters. in addition, the characters are so much more diverse and unique. i also personally like how they depict the monologues in ef. H&C tries to depict it in a romantic way, but it's just too boring and doesn't really show how intense the self-debate is. ef, in contrast depicts exactly how ppl spend so much time in limbo during those stages in life.
then, for the more popular genre, we have toradora. ok, it has a chibi too, but at least she doesn't look like a 10 year old. the art is obviously more popular too, and i haven't seen ppl complaining about the plot yet, just debate about couplings.
