The story of Snafu is an easy one to summarize: Its an average Slice-of-Life, but the two main characters are cynical to the point of parady. To say that there's anything particularly original in this concept would be a gross exaggeration; Haruhi Suzumiya did the Cynic Protagonist years ago when it practically codified the Slice-of-Life genre, and in my own opinion it still did it best. That said, the story and writing are fairly good. There's a kernel of a meaningful message deep in there, desperately trying to break out and be insightful, but the show never quite commits to it. Instead it bogs itself down in the typical episodic format that is to be expected of these shows.
That isn't to say Snafu's plot is bad or unenjoyable. On the contrary, there are parts of this show that manage to be very entertaining, but the more i consider it, the lower I have to go on the story. Is it as dramatic as Kokoro Connect? Is it as romantic as Toradora? Is it as interesting as Haruhi? Is it as subversive as Monogatari? Is it as hilarious as Baka-Test? The more I ask myself this and the more I compare it the the stand-out members of its genre, the more I have to say "No, it isn't." As a Romantic Comedy, Snafu isn't very romantic nor is it very comedic.
On to better news: The art is fantastic. As a big fan of Durarara, I'm glad to see that Brain's Base didn't switch away from that general art style. While there are some difference, such as the brighter palette or more pronounced and sharper eyes, its safe to say that if you like the way Durarara looks, you will like the way Snafu looks.
The sound does just barely better than break even. While the voice acting is pretty damn good, great is some places, the music is honestly pretty bad. With the exception of the OP, which is ok, most of the music in this show is pretty grating to the ears. While its certainly not on the level of Himouto (A show with music so bad I dropped it halfway through the first episode solely because its soundtrack was so terrible), The music in the show is certainly not a positive. Luckily, the voice acting and art do make up for this.
The characters in the show are the high point, as well they should be in slice-of-life show. They have fun and enjoyable personalities, even if they aren't exactly likable. While Protagonist's Hachiman and Yukino's cynicism does seem grating at first, their philosophizing and justifications for their actions are interesting enough to keep them from become contemptible, as was the case with Watamote's Protagonist, Tomoko. Next to them you have Yui, an easily peer-pressured cinnamon roll of a person who inexplicably has a crush on Hachiman, Saika, who is in no way just a reskin of Hideyoshi or other trap characters, Shizuka, a shockingly hilarious and blunt teacher who is by far my favorite character, and Hayama, a would be light-novel protagonist who is too nice and optimistic to realize that his methods don't work.
My only problem with these characters is that we've seen some of them before. Saika suffers the most from this, and seems like someone just decided to draw the TVTropes page for Dude Looks Like a Lady. While other side characters certainly have this problem, Saika is the most noticable because of how often he is dragged into the main cast's antics.
Aside from that, it makes me wish the plot had bigger balls and was willing to put these characters into more wild and interesting situations.
Overall, while this show is certainly fun, I don't think its going to change anyone's life. I've yet to start the second season, but as far as season 1 goes, I don't see it getting a rewatch in the foreseeable future.
