Starting with the basics, the animation is distractingly bad. This show definitely probably wouldn't require the large animation budget a lot of other shows need (except possibly some of the in game shots later), they definitely cut it back to the bare minimum: lots of still reaction shots, background art that seems disconnected from the foreground characters, and oh my god the faces. The faces seem like they were outsourced to a country where people's eyes wander around their face more than the plot in a bad fanfic.
Jokes aside, the story and characters are where this anime loses any hope of redemption. The manga isn't funny or sweet purely through the "nerd-culture" content of its jokes, but because the character interaction and great pacing make you feel connected to it. This is a story about people looking to be accepted and wanting to belong, and reading the manga provides a unique feeling of belonging along with them. In stark contrast, this anime feels amazingly routine: uninspired direction causes the character interactions and jokes to fall flat and overall the immersion is totally lost.
I cannot enumerate my disappointment in this show; I was really looking forward to it. There's so much missed opportunity for something amazing, but in the end, this story feels like just one out of a thousand generic anime romcoms. If you're looking for something like this show, Net-juu no Susume's anime walks all over this.
