As much as I liked it, it's uneven. The story of Hinako, a 10 and then 11 year old girl who attaches herself to the group, seemed like filler, it was not glaringly bad but it didn't really develop the core characters, and it was a bit offputting that it involved our protagonist trying to hook up a 10-year-old girl with a friend his own age.
The series is also apparently known for its incest content. It definitely is a subplot, but there's nothing explicit, it's implied (albeit heavily). This is no Koi Kaze, it's not all about incest... unless it's a huge issue for you I don't think you'll have a problem with this anime.
All of that said, I loved this series. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, it's just a good drama anime about a circle of high school friends who come of age somewhat painfully. The main characters are just done very well, with good character development and strong storytelling as it concerns the core narrative. It's a series with many great scenes, and that's where its strength is, rather than having a breakthrough style or a completely new story. When the characters have a lighthearted BBQ by the river early in the series, it's just a perfectly executed scene, it does everything it needs to extremely well. A scene or two like that in most episodes, and it made for something very enjoyable.
I can see how people wouldn't like this, and it's definitely got some blemishes, but in terms of personal enjoyment I'd put this one right up there with "Clannad: After Story" although I confess that objectively, it's at least a notch under that level.
