This show has most things you'd come to expect from the Slice of Life and Romance mix. Good bits of fun times mixed in with some drama brought on about various circumstances or just miss understandings that can certainly happen given the setting of the show and age of the cast.
One thing I can say that's different about Golden time is that it takes place in an area of the spectrum that you don't see too often. There are a whole lot of the high school, and a good bit of adulthood Slice of Life and Romance mix but I can't think of one thus far that actually takes place in college, which is the age range literally right before adulthood.
The story itself is truly a bit tragic by nature. Seeing Banri go through his struggle made me really feel sometimes especially because of how it impacted the supporting cast. The show has some really good supporting characters for Banri and they all have their place. Hayashida undoubtedly is his MVP. She is hes light when he gets lost in the fog. I feel most for her. She is definitely the most brave in the show having to carry what she does and my favorite overall character.
We do see a lot of growth from the start of the show to the finsh in almost the whole cast of kids. Hayashida being number one for me, right after her is Kouko. I actually didn't like either of them through most of the show for different reasons but their own growth ended up causing them to grow on me. I can't say much more without spoiling...
Golden time is definitely one of those shows that is gonna be loaded with opinions on how the links ended up. I have my preferences but I am satisfied with how things ended up. Ultimately the three most important ones were "set free" in my opinion. If you like or want to get into either the Slice of Life or Romance genres I say this is a nice place to start. You'll be taken on a little bit of a ride but will more than likely enjoy the experience.
