I feel compelled to write this: I RECOMMEND THIS ANIME! If you enjoy romance stories, reverse harems, shoujo manga, just watch it, there's no shame! Some of the criticism I see is that it's full of negative shoujo stereotypes. It's not. The FL is hard working and driven, and ends up having a career around something she loves. She is *not* a stumbling crybaby whose only redeemable quality consists of cooking skills (now that would be a shoujo stereotype!). The male characters are not toxic at all, they all have positive hobbies or ambitions; they generally solve their conflicts using their words; having a long-standing friendshipwith the FL, they care about her and about each other, and generally behave as well as one can expect a 16 years old to. Some have a crush, maybe they are a bit pushy or competitive, or maybe they are oblivious or not honest about their feelings at all. That's the beauty of having a sparkling adolescence, which kind of is the message of this season at least.

There were a few things that I liked from the beginning: the use of two timelines (makes the story much more interesting), the slow progression and quiet atmosphere focused more on their interactions and conversations (which gave me the feeling of really seeing someone's memories).

Overall I liked the character design, they are all quite distinctive and memorable. And gorgeous, it's anime, it's to be expected. The animation quality has issues, some angles and proportions are not the best and there's a lot of stills, but at least it's consistent throughout. I didn't feel it worsening terribly towards the end like I've seen in other shows recently.

I am not a big fan of the opening with the blurry camera frames, nor the songs, nor did I like that they draw "extras" using stick figures but at least it helps you follow the story more easily.

I think there was certainly some room for improvement, and I don't know how long the story will take nor how well the relationships will evolve, but I honestly enjoyed watching it. To me this season was consistent and I am looking forward to the next one. If anything, I wish there were more reverse harems with actual romance and a decent storyline.