-Kazami Yuuji
This quote describes this adaptation rather accurately. The content cut for the sake of the adaptation cannot be replaced, no matter how well the adaptation is done.
As an adaptation, Grisaia no Kajitsu was doomed from the start. No matter how you look at it, 13 episodes is not even nearly enough to adapt the 70+ hours of content in the visual novel. Facing other limitations like having to convert to a harem format, the struggle to fit everything into 13 episodes and maintaining the harem's status quo can lead to nothing else than disaster.
The end result is a mess devoid of any kind of character development. The story is only a shadow of the original work, having been cut, rearranged, rushed and changed considerably. The sad thing is that even what remained was ruined by poor pacing. I must admit that after my first watchthrough, I had trouble remembering which of the girls was which (something I've never had trouble with).
If it had been a 24+ episode anime (and preferably done by J.C. Staff) it would've without a doubt have been better. Each of the heroines deserved atleast 3-4 episodes for their story arc, with the remaining episodes going to the vital character development and building the base for the individual arcs, something that the anime never managed to do.
The soundtrack is basically a direct import from the visual novel. It's not the greatest and most memorable sountrack ever, but it does it's job well enough. My only complaint would be that a couple of my favourite songs from the visual novel didn't make the cut.
By far my favourite thing about Grisaia is it's characters. It's main selling points are it's (sometimes overly sexual) comedy and the contrasting dark psychological aspects. The characters perform both these roles admirably, and manage to remain interesting and unique while doing so. What makes them so amazing is that although they might at first seem extremely stereotypical, they characters' personalities are actually far deeper and more complicated. Being a harem anime, there's plenty of attractive girls to pick from, and there's most certainly something for everyone (unless you're looking for traps, in which case you'll have to wait until Grisaia no Meikyuu.)
The choice of Sakurai Takahiro as Yuuji's voice actor was probably the best decision made regarding the anime adaptation. Delivering his sarcastic comedy with deadly precision, he gives a fitting voice to the once mute protagonist.
My overall score for Grisaia no Kajitsu is 7/10. Despite all it's fallbacks, it still has a part of the essence of my favourite visual novel. It was good enough that I felt it was still somewhat enjoyable to watch, and I don't regret watching it in hindsight. However, if you've played the visual novel or intend to do so in the near future (which I recommend you do if you have even faint interest in the VN genre), I suggest you pass on this, as you'll probably just end up dissappointed or spoil the far superior VN for the sake of a mediocre anime adaptation.
