Without trying to reveal too much of the story, I will say that there is more to it than what would be considered the "main plot", which, in the end, is not what's important. It's more about what all these characters that we meet are dealing with throughout: struggles, desires, decision making, and especially finding their true self (that's a big one). There are tons of themes and allegories found within, but it may not look like that on the surface. That's because it's being blended in so well that you might not even notice.
It's safe to say that this series is truly character driven, and it's these characters that make the show what it is. In any other series, some of these characters would be introduced in one episode, get a bit of their history, and that would be it. However, here, not only do we get the obvious introductory episode, but we get multiple episodes focusing on the same characters, evenly divided amongst them all. With that, we get to see them flesh out more than you would normally see (it also helps that there are 39 episodes, which makes this possible).
The art is what also makes the show pleasing to the eye. It does have that late 90's anime look to it (seeing that it came out in 1997), but it suited the series well and I believe that was the best time to do it. The character designs, as well as the backdrops, give an aesthetic similar to that of a classic shoujo anime/manga series. However, none of this means that the animation was flawless as there were at least a few instances where either the motions or the character models were a bit off, but that's only being a little picky.
Upon this review being posted, it was the day before when I had finished watching the series after starting it only a few weeks prior. I had known of this series, though vaguely (title floating around, brief glimpses of images, etc.), so this was my first time watching it. And I do say, I can see why people like it. I will admit, I found myself a bit disappointed at first with its conclusion, but after thinking it over, my thoughts on it became what I had written above concerning the story. I had seen the director, Kunihiko Ikuhara's other works, and with this being his first (in terms of being the creator), I can see that he has this unique way of telling a story. I actually look forward to seeing what else he can come up with.
