Harsh as that sounds, let me say upfront that I do want to recommend this anime. Maybe because of their budgeting or whatever, but this anime chooses its battles very wisely. In the first half (episodes 1-4) the anime introduces its characters haphazardly and its cliche plots even more haphazardly. As such, the anime comes off as satirical and self-depreciating without actually aiming to be a parody (like Gintama). That satire, paired with the characters' hurried introduction and banter, gives the anime humor where none should be.
The second half of the anime (episodes 5-10) has a drastically different format from the first: two episodes make up one convoluted story, while the following episode--sometimes painfully--is unrelated to it and given a lighter tone. We are granted more insight about the characters, but not much. In fact, I was mistaken about one of the characters' relationship in the beginning until more clarification is given in later episodes.
The reason why that's important is because Hatenkou Yuugi thrives in simplicity. The simpler the story, the wittier the story is allowed to be. For how rushed the characters were in the beginning, we're given a superficial view of their relationship and thus are at least able to follow along. For the more convoluted episodes later on, it becomes terribly obvious how crammed and ill-paced the story is, even going as far as to skip transitional scenes that could have made it emotionally impactful.
There's also the ending, which...I really shouldn't have expected a decent ending from an anime with only 10 episodes. Just like its opening, it ends as hurried as it starts, and even worse, it introduces characters and plot points that will never be expanded on. I feel strongly encouraged to read the manga, but from what I've seen from some JP fans on the newest and concluding volume, it might be better to stick with the anime, weaknesses and all.
Conclusion: With all that said, Hatenkou Yuugi was an extremely enjoyable watch. Its shining points is definitely the main characters, their (ambiguously polygamous-but-not-quite) relationship, and the anime's self-depreciation. Each character, while filling a certain "trope", has little specks here and there that might keep your interest. Overall, the anime snatches more than it gives back, but does its best to entertain you along the way.
