I cannot say that, and it pains me. Thus why I feel obligated to write this review, so that those out there, like me, who find themselves on the fence about this show will know that it is not for everyone and could be called a failure in its key aspect.
But enough of that now, onto the first section.
Story:
This here is the key to my entire disappointment, this section will cover the only flaw I find in the show(albeit one which breaks this show) that's worth a really, really low score.
As I intend to keep this spoiler free, I will do my best to be vague and as objective as a human can be. Anyway, to start off, I do have to give some sum up. The show is about two people(Ryuuji and Taiga) who try to help each other find love with their respective friends(Minori and Yuusaku), but end up falling for each other. Basic. Simple. Unusual for anime, but not unheard of in other medium. Yet somehow, the writers fail to appropriately dictate this correctly and botched much of could have made this show great.
Now then, let's point out some positives, as I'm sure you all are sick of my negativity. This show has a great start, the two leads were fun to watch and their hijinks involved with the rest of the group, especially their attempts to woo their love interests was hilarious. They kept stale traits of high school anime refreshing with new spins on old ideas that managed to really make them shine in comparison to any other show in the genre. There's just one problem, there is no romantic chemistry between the leads, no build up in what should have been the best place for us to see them as developing feelings for each other.
In fact, the show almost negates feelings for these two, by showing how much interest each of them has in their two friends, Ryuuji and Minori have some great moments mid series that really show growth in their relationship and for the most part, there is a lot of reason to be seen of Taiga and Yuusaku becoming a genuine couple given time.
We even get another potential love interest for Ryuuji in Yuusaku's childhood friend, Ami Kawashima, who manages to steal a lot screen time and show a lot of chemistry also Ryuuji. Which is not something that can be said of the leads and their relationship. It is rather stagnant, with their characters establishing their relationship in this mess together early and hardly ever changing.
That is, until the writers realized this error and rushed basically the last quarter of the show with episodes shoving the two down our throats. Everything becomes about their relationship, everything. The side characters? They push it forward or are obstacles that only drag it out another episode. The story? In the early series was a great mix of realistic setting with realistic reactions, to realistic settings with either ostentatious reactions or ones that are made entirely to drive the romance plot to its fulfillment in the last episode.
In case this section is TL;DR: Most of the show and it's plot are good, but it fails in its most important moments and aspects. Therefore it gets a 3 in story.
Art:
There is probably nothing bad to say about this show's animation. It's fluid, energetic, and fits the show like a glove. So for this section, the show gets a 9.
Sound:
Not something I am the most capable of explaining, so forgive my lackluster review of sound. The music is fun and normally sets the ambience of a scene rather well, but never really hit a nerve in me. Voice actors were great too, even the dub can probably be found enjoyable or considered decent by most people. Therefore, for sound, this show gets an 8.
Characters:
Ah, we come to the absolute best part of this show and the key reason why I still hate how this show ended. Every character, for the most part, is unique. They feel like real people you'd meet, rather than fleshed out archetypes of a given cliche.
Save Taiga. She's a tsundere, and that is who she is, for the most part. How she develops beyond that is more often a reinforcement or explanation of her tsundere-ness. It as though the writers crafted from pure tsundere the character that is Taiga, and this works to her benefit and detriment. By which I mean to say that she pours out a lot of either aspect of tsundere, either she is full on tsun or full on dere. The show usually managed to balance the aspects out, but there were often times where her tsun was simply overwhelming for those less appreciative of that character trait.
Again, though, beyond her, the cast is well rounded and, for the most part, real. They act, they care, and they again, for the most part, grow as people. It is rare that I find myself so attached to a group of characters, but this show captured my attention almost from episode 1 with them. They were like friends I would have had in my high school days, which was perfect.
This section gets a 10, without a doubt.
Enjoyment:
I'll keep this section short, as I feel it is best summed up in the other parts. Like I said, I enjoyed a lot of this show, from the beginning until late midway(give 9 or so eps left in the series), but the last section, where it tries to come all together breaks it, leaving us an ending that I personally found almost tragic, if truly studied beyond its assumed happily ever after, as one realizes much of what was said and done in those last episodes were done in the heat of the moment. Many of those scenes were also then the cause of this show's end, which unfortunately means a rushed performance for the viewers and likely more than a few mistakes that could end in disaster for the characters.
Even though I had such a great time with this series, the bitter taste in my mouth and realization of the show's true end cannot let me give this part more than a 6.
Overall:
To bring it all around, I did have fun, I probably will still rewatch the earlier episodes on occasion. But, a show like this thrives on its ending, which leaves a lot to be desired. A pity, because this show was bound by its promise in concept, it failed to find what really mattered in it. A story should be dictated by the characters and how they developed throughout, as this leaves them with the greatest, lasting triumph of being close to real. It came so close, too.
The overall score is 7, for the earlier episodes, great music, art, and characters.
