Story:
Satelight took the first five volumes of this spinoff-manga (which is set in the alternate universe established in "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya") as work material. It is basically about "how would everything look like if Kyon chose differently" - Which is a world without any aliens, time travelers, ESPs and the SOS Brigade. The story mainly revolves around Yuki and follows her through her life as a shy girl who fell in love. Nothing overly special, but still enjoyable. As consequence, you won't find anything supernatural in this series and there won't be any crazy happenings like you've got to see them in the main series. However, long-time fans who read the novels/watched the original anime series will notice a lot of nods towards it, among them the notorious "Kyon-kun, denwa!" which will probably strike terror into everyone who has seen Season 2. Those small nods were something I really appreciated, but still nothing to get extremely excited for.
Art:
The art is arguably the weakest point of this adaption. They switched the art style (which probably was to be expected, given a different studio was working on it) and the whole thing feels like a downgrade from the main series. Especially Kyon often looks way younger than he should and faces, especially Kyon's, look slightly weird at times. Once you get used to it it's not as bad anymore, but regardless of that, they could've put more effort into it; Though the different style does suit the spinoff well.
Sound:
The original cast has taken over their roles, as it should be. The result of this is some superb voice acting with the VAs doing their best to make the characters sound convincing, which more often than not succeeds. Emotions are carried across well and it rarely feels out of place or badly acted. Especially Minori Chihara did a great job playing the shy, clumsy Yuki Nagato which is a 180° turn from the main series Yuki.
The OP song "Fure Fure Mirai" (which is a play on "Hare Hare Yukai", the ending of the 1st season of the main series) is a typical J-Pop song, rather fast-paced, happy-go-lucky style. Enjoyable, but nothing special.
The ED "Arigatou, Daisuki" on the other hand sounded great, being a slow paced song sung by Minori Chihara. I found myself listening to it every time due to how well it was made.
Characters:
The characters are very distinct, each of them having their own, vastly different personalities. The character development is mainly focused on Yuki and Kyon, however Ryoko and Haruhi also "expand" a bit over time. The other side characters are pretty much stagnant; that being said, there isn't all too much development over the course of the series, but it does exist.
The characters themselves are quite enjoyable as it still feels like they have personality and aren't just bland.
Overall:
Despite lacking some more depth, the mediocre art and other flaws, this is still an enjoyable series with a lot of funny & cute moments. If you are a fan of the main series however, you need to make sure to realize that this is merely a spinoff and you won't find more of the "classic" Haruhi here. No aliens, no supernatural happenings, no sci-fi. Once you can accept this and start watching this with an open mind, it will be much easier for you to enjoy. If you don't, you're most likely going to dislike it. On the same side, people who want an overly convoluted love story with a lot of twists and extremely deep character development, this might not be for you either. Everyone else can give this a shot and will most likely get at least some enjoyment out of it.
