As far as story goes, it's very similar to Anime like "Kaichou aw Maid Sama" and "Kimi ni Todoke" in that the main female lead is a bit closed off due to past experiences and the love interest slowly opens them up with their persistence towards the girl. While I loved Maid-Sama and Kimi nii , there where a few things that kept me from feeling the same about this series.
While this series pretty short, the pacing and build-up towards the character's feelings feels a bit rushed and sloppy. I began watching this series really liking the first episode, though by the second one I felt a little disappointed with where it was heading. It really felt like they could have done a lot more with the plot. Despite that, I wanted to watch every episode to see if the ending would be satisfying and worth watching the whole series. I still had my hopes up, and really wanted to like this Anime as it seemed faily popular. The ending still left me feeling disappointed, unfortunately. There was really no sense of rising action or mystery to what would happen.
Another aspect of the story that bothered me a bit was the message regarding the main character's relationship. That may sound a little vague, but what I mean is that a lot of times it felt a bit sexualized in that a lot of the characters feel that a relationship means nothing unless you do something physically. I do see that the Anime wanted to get across that the characters love can break walls, and that there are genuine people in the world, but that message felt a bit watered down when a lot of the cast is emphasizing that they are closer to the main male character because they slept together. This kind of thing becomes an issue with the main characters so often, that it can confuse what the creators where really trying to get across. The great thing about Maid Sama and Kimi ni Todoke is that they took on the idea of just loving and admiring someone, and only needed that as the plot went on to express comflicts and the general progression of the series (Sorry, if that doesn't entirely make sense ^^;)
I have mentioned characters a bit already, but have yet to review that aspect as a whole. As far as the set of characters in "Sukitte Ii Na Yo", I actually really liked the main two characters. The female lead was very expressive and unique as not a lot of Shoujo Series' got that far with a quiet, introverted character. Her expressions and thoughts alone really portrayed her conflicts with trust and loneliness well, and I'm sure many people can relate to situations this character is seen in. With that said, it does feel like her build up as a guarded individual is kind of for nothing, as the plot dives into her talking to people after being alone and resentful for years.
As far as art and music, I did think the opening was alright, and the song was a good match for this type of plot, but it wasnt anything memorable as I can even recall the melody of the OP or ED song after 13 episodes straight.
The animation, however, was very impressive! The art style was very clean and unique, and the movements where often very fluid and natural looking in combination with the art style. I came into this series being imediately pleased with its visuals, and really enjoyed that aspect alone.
All in all, I really do feel "Sukitte Ii Na Yo" started off with a lot of potential. Gradually, though, flaws became apparent and I was left feeling that this Series should have taken an entirely different route. I do see how this series could have been really good. It wasnt bad, but it definately was not among the better Shoujo Anime I've seen, and I'm generally a big fan of Shoujo as it's one of my favorite genres. While visuals are very good, that definately doesn't make up for the plot.
I really wanted to love "Sukitte Ii Na Yo" but I ended up not being able to. Though, while I thought the plot was way too quick, and it's perception of romance itself was a bit unclear sometimes, you may end up enjoying this Anime if you like a faster pace, and a protagonist who is a bit more angsty than most.
