The opening episodes were a whirlwind of comedic poise and interesting character chemistries. I wanted to know more about every character, especially Alec. I understood that each character was created with a VERY FIRM caricature of stereotypes, but I believed the screenwriters could mold them into something dynamic. Tada-kun seemed like the generic despondent MC (similar to Decim from Death Parade) whose nature would slowly develop from being around an energetic foil (Teresa). Every other character had their own pairings to develop chemistry with and bring their own unique personalities to form a fun group to be around.
BUT NO.
THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
Tada-kun after episode 5 this anime becomes the 2nd half of the bagel. It slows down into a snails pace of a romantic-comedy that doesn't really understand its own potential. It focuses too much on the idea of trying to create this forced narrative between Tada and Teresa that pays little homage to other potential romances like Sugimoto and Hasegawa or Alec and Charles (even though it seems written on the wall.)
It keeps petering along with the Slice of Life aspects making all the romance come to a halt to allow for its comedy bits to shine. While I didn't find those shorts skits funny, I did find them to be enjoyable fluff.
I do share various sentiments with other reviews of this anime being invariably disappointed with how this show turned out. But, that doesn't mean I think it should be rated lower than a 6.
It's an above-average anime that was only helped with Wotakoi airing at the same time. I don't hope for a second season because the ending that was given to us was fairly closed-ended, unless Doga Kobo decides to go forward with less Slice of Life and more Romantic progression.
