§ Overview
Our main character Nukumizu went to a random restaurant to eat. He sees Anna with her childhood friend. Anna likes this guy, but this guy likes another girl, so even if she is hurt (a losing heroine), he encourages this guy to pursue her. Once Anna is alone, Nukumizu sees her doing some creepy stuff, and Anna soon realises that she is being watched. So she goes over to Nukumizu, and this is the start of an unlikely friendship.
Eventually, Nukumizu joins the literature club and he meets other girls in the club, namely Lemon and Komari, who like Anna are the losing heroines in our story.
§ Characters
We have our three losing heroines, Anna, Lemon, and Komari. Choosing which of them is the best girl is a subjective matter. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. But Anna's personality and her gluttony are quirks that make her charming as an anime character (but insufferable if I ever meet someone like her in real life).
But aside from these three, the supporting cast is also great, some of which will have their own arcs in any future season of the anime. A case can be made that a supporting character may turn out to be interesting if given enough screen time. I'm thinking of someone like Teiara.
§ Animation and Visuals
It has superb animation. Even in its opening song, the listing of credits and the personnel behind the animation are part of the animation, not something added to it in post-production. This has a big budget, and it shows.
It has three different endings keyed to the three different arcs, and the first ED even includes some cel animation, or so they say.
§ Points of Interest
It is supposed to be a romantic comedy, but it doesn't feel like one. It is unlike, say, The Quintessential Quintuplets or even Alya, that are guilty pleasures. It doesn't use the usual devices of rom-coms, and if there's anything funny with it, it is executed differently. Its humour is rather dry.
Its musical score doesn't seem to fit the rom-com genre, which sometimes makes me feel that it is drama. It's not quite a drama, but there's an underlying sadness behind it, like Anna with her tears as she stands on the rooftop.
I had mixed feelings watching this at first because it is easy to lose track of the narrative if each episode is a weekly affair plus you're watching other stuff. Upon rewatching, I had a better experience. I am more or less familiar with the characters so I can see the big picture and analyse how each episode flows to the next.
Hence, I recommend binge-watching this, or at least watching every episode as soon as possible.
The ending is polarasing. Episode 12 is an anime original written by the author himself. The ending of Komari's arc is so emotional and probably a high point, which is why some believe that it should have been Episode 12.
On the other hand, the anime original Episode 12 is so light-hearted and so funny. Perhaps the producers wanted this anime to be remembered more as a funny show rather than a drama, although it doesn't help that it has lots of moments in the anime that are more fitting for a drama rather than a rom-com.
§ Conclusion
It's an unusual romcom with a compelling cast and arguably underrated supporting characters. It has a superb animation. Finally, it deserves a second season so we can get to know even more characters that had barely any screen time.
