That's pretty much the best way to describe this anime.
Story: 3
The writing is below the level of both David Cage and Uwe Boll's work. "You're less stable than the other girls. I'm an adult. I'm sure I can help you." This is a literal line a character has delivered in this series. Not only does composition repeatedly get dumped in our faces, it has to be in the most awkward ways imaginable.
Happy Sugar Life is anime about a girl named Satou. She had a past of banging random fuckboys and until she stumbled upon a rare wild loli. She caught it and now she oughta protecc it and attacc random badly written losers from capturing it, but most of all, she doesn't give a fucc about everyone else. In fact, she invariably feels the need to state this.
Character: 1
"Oh wow, these type of characters have never been represented before! This is SO edgy!"
Last time I heard that line it was a reaction to "13 Reasons Why". Just like that series, HSL takes the piss out of mental health, but this is on a whole other level. Each character is constantly forced to state their true nature in the most cringe-worthy ways possible. Now I know anime shouldn't be viewed as film, but this anime just buries the 'Show not Tell' rules in ten meters of diarrhea. One of the characters (NO SPOILERS) is a borderline pedophile, but instead of revealing his nature by his actions they have him immediately drool over the loli's picture without any buildup. Although his way of handling is eventually shown, it gets completely destroyed with crank ass straightforward monologue that makes everything feel cheesy and overexaggerated.
This is something you'd see frequently in a Thomas the Tank Engine episode since the mono- and dialogue is that bleak. If you play around with ADULT themes like these, write this series in a way ADULTS can enjoy (and no, I'm not talking about you angsty teenagers).
What did I miss..? Oh yeah, the main female character is a joke. We get it, she is a strong deranged woman who don't need no men. No need to make her constantly repeat that. I can't believe they wasted such a good voice actress like Kana Hanazawa for this bullshit.
The teacher is a plain imbecile; how does that impulsive moron still have a job and isn't locked up somewhere. I guess the loli is the only character that isn't so hyperbolically written. Well maybe because it is a child, but I can give the writers some props for her.
But then again, every character is written like an incongruous child.
Misc - Art: 6 | Sound: 5
Animation-wise, it's plenty for whatever this series requires. The art and character design, namely the combination of grey tones and vibrancy, decently manage to convey the offsetting atmosphere this series is trying to portray -- nothing wrong with those. Its opening animations and song are probably the best assets this series has to offer. Apart from the opening song, the OST is pretty mediocre.
Enjoyment: 5
Aside from the bruises on my forehead I constantly get from slapping it, this series is somewhat enjoyable. It still has you questioning yourself what the fuck will happen next with these poorly written chunks of clay characters my 7-year-old cousin could replicate (figuratively speaking).
(tl;dr)
Overall Final Score: 3
The audiovisual aspects maybe great, but the context of its plot just pisses me the fuck off. I firmly believe that this series just presents character tropes instead of actual characters. The writers misrepresent real mental disorders to make this show seem as edgy as possible. And finally, as the cherry on top of the cake, they don't possess the skill level to handle such themes.
If you want to see an excellent anime with godly written themes regarding mental health, go watch 3-Gatsu No Lion. That's all there is to it.
