Amber Whitmire

In short: It is REALISTIC. It highlights how things don't always go the way you expect, and you will be left questioning. Characters are in highly relatable situations, but lack background and any type of development. The bad: The female lead, Sakura, lacks dimension, besides her obsession with Nozaki. She is only seen home in a scene where she receives a phone call, but the audience is never introduced to her family. The same applies to Nozaki: we never get character development, and the relationship hardly impacts him for his life at all. The character designs were alright, but the side characters had more dimension and complex personalities over the main two. At the end of the season, you are left with more questions than answers. Way too many plot holes, and the storyline was quite confusing to follow along with. For reference, Nozaki was creating art that imitated his life, but was using side characters the whole time, and not his own life. I was disappointed to see that he played with the feelings of the female lead simply for reactions to improve his manga. The good: The story in itself and the dialogue is clever. Emotions portrayed by characters felt more realistic, and it was enjoyable. The background setting was unique, and included gorgeous up-close shots of various plants. The story put you into a world, almost like this one, as happy endings don't always go the way we want. Conclusion: After watching all 12 seasons, I became attached to the characters, because of their relatable situations, and their problematic relationship dynamics. It puts a twist on a romantic anime, because of the unfinished-style ending. I do not recommend watching this unless an OVA is released, but a second season is more necessary for how slow the progression between characters is. ***I regret watching this due to plotholes and unnaturally fit ending.***