After being put off by many reviewers, it's clear that this anime is a hit or miss depending on how you view it. I've never written a review before, however, I'm attempting to in order to justify one of the most intriguing series I've watched to date.
The series' story revolves around Ayanokoji, who is placed in the worst class in the school due to his poor entrance exam grades. While many people trash the story for being too "slow" or "mundane", I feel like the story itself shouldn't be the main focus of the anime but it instead should be seen as something that supports what I will be discussing next.
If the story of the school isn't the main focus of this anime, what is? The answer to this is the characters. While many early reviewers see the characters as boring and unattractive, they are only considering what the anime has directly given to them in a blunt way. Nothing about the characters' personality and/or motives are shown directly at first. This should have been obvious by how at the end of the first episode, the viewer realizes they know absolutely nothing about any of the characters' pasts or motives, including the MC.
Youkoso is interesting because the viewer is led to wonder what each character's reasons for doing things are. Of course everyone is boring in this high school, you know why? It's because over half the characters wear masks to hide their true personalities. Actions and clues lead the viewer on a fascinating journey as pieces are put together in a way so that learning more and more about the main character and his classmates has a ton of impact. As more and more is revealed to the story letting the viewer understand the characters, the series becomes more fascinating and understandable, which creates the point that this series cannot be judged prematurely.
Although I won't go too much into the art and music, I can say that I really like both and think they pair well with the anime, being fitted in at right times. Youkoso's construction is slow, but boy is it one hell of a ride once you get into it.
To summarize this review, if you are able to think for yourself and lead yourself to wonder what each characters' true personality, then you will most likely enjoy this anime.