So the concept of the anime is very similar to Anohana, and I think that may be part of the reason why people hate it so much - it seems like a bland copy. But just because the concept is similar, it doesn't necessarily mean that Shichisei no Subaru is a complete ripoff. Yes, there are some similarities, but Subaru does execute them differently (though it's hard to be specific about this without spoiling). The main difference though, is the fantasy and action aspect. I think these were implemented well enough to give the anime an original feel, and the monsters were surprisingly cool sometimes.I also enjoyed the characters for the most part. Some of them were similar to anohana, painfully so. But they were still given development at least (the main ones anyway) and character development is always nice to see.

My main problem is that it just feels incomplete. I hope we get a season 2 or something to tie up the story, but if the reception there is anything like the reception over here then unfortunately we'll be stuck with this incomplete story.

TL;DR It's not as good as Anohana, but it's still good and worth a watch as long as you don't compare them too much.