Like any good romance, the show takes a great focus onto it´s two main characters Usui Kenta and Karin Maaka. Setting aside the random detail of Usui´s stare, the story doesn´t really play into anything too unconventional. It´s plot and a lot of character interactions are practically transcribed form the great book of clichés and the show seems to have little self awareness about it, as it takes such story elements far more seriously than an audience which is aware of them ever could. The usage of tropes doesn´t really make something bad, though, as it can be used as a platform to save time and focus on other things, but the way the plot takes itself so seriously in spit of the lack of attachment the characters have to it , makes it feel expendable and mostly just a way of parading the characters.
By no means, however, are the characters bad. In fact, I would argue they are the best aspect of the show, which is excellent considering this is a romance, a genre which relies on how much and in which way we want characters to interact. Every character, in both isolation and in their relationship with the other characters feels unique and develops organically, which in turns allow you to not only root for them and their progression as characters (even the psychopathic doll) but also look back and suddenly feels nostalgic about those previous moments that you understand better and better over time. As far as characters go, the show is definitely cohesive and through, contrasting with the plot in that the tropes it does use are meaningful, whereas in the plot the tropes fill like just filler.
With felt less cohesive was the mix of drama and humor in this show, which I think wasn´t handled too well. There was an intended progression into darker set ups as the show went along, and well, that much was accomplished, but the insistently repeated jokes that weren´t all that good to begin with (some jokes even being distinctly bad such as a certain Winner Sinclair) and the over the top reactions of pretty much every character to just about everything made the earlier goof feel exhausting and the usage of a plot saturated with cliché turns was enough to dismiss a lot of the drama for me. The first part did allow some contrast with Maaka´s sister, allowing her presence on screen to almost always feel like a breath of fresh air and while the drama wasn´t too effective as drama, it did make me think more deeply about the themes of the show: our nature as people. What makes you be you.
This surprisingly deep and even more surprisingly well-explored thematic grants the show a whole layer of new potential. Whether you allow yourself to go with the tide and can enjoy the humor and drama as they go along without concerning yourself with the disparity or you choose to swim deeper into the river and find the golden themes at the bottom, the show has something for you to taste and to help you immerse in what the characters are going through. Even the ending allows the relief for those that follow through with the drama and also resolves the issue in a way that is rather consistent with it´s worldbuilding that far instead of pulling a deus-ex-machina. The only complaint about this I would have is that the answers the show appears to present to it´s conflicts are vague and dreamy at best which could be rather disappointing.
Overall, Karin is a very "middle" show, good enough to be watched and enjoyed by almost everyone, excelling in the middle but being a little rough on the beginning due to us not caring enough about the characters yet and in the end , due to the repetitive content (unless you have a particular taste for certain themes or the humor of the show). It´s not something I´d go out of my way to recommend to anyone, but it is not a waste of time either , providing and enjoyable twist on the vampire romance trope.
