Review of The World God Only Knows

The story is exactly as you'd expect from the synopsis - light-hearted episodic fare (each girl he has to conquer takes 1-2 episodes) with comedic elements. With only 12 episodes and having to devote time to building up the personality of the targeted girl up so the audience cares about them, there is very little time for development of the main characters (Keima and Elsie). Character development does not go beyond the minimum required to set up the story as it is a short series, but it is sufficient. (I have since watched season 2 and there is significantly more development of the main charactersthere).

What I enjoyed the most was Kami nomi's commentary and insights into the Dating Simulation genre (which are also applicable to anime). As a prodigy at dating sims, the main character periodically explains the characteristics of the various girl archetypes found in these games, what you need to do to win them, as well as the structure of how dating sims function. The girls he has to save usually fall into the typical stereotypes (sporty-type, princess-type, tsundere, etc) with a twist, so that Keima has to use his knowledge of dating sims, but adapt it to fit into the real world.

I also liked how the director changes the pace of different episodes, based on the type of girl being chased: for example, when the target is a bookish-type, the episode is more slow paced with a lot of inner monologue.

Overall, I think a passing familiarity with harems and Japanese games is needed to appreciate this anime fully. I would not recommend it to someone who has just started watching anime or is unfamiliar with Japanese games as many of the sight gags and plays on tropes would just go over their heads and all you would be left with is a semi-interesting story of a gaming genius using his video game knowledge in the real world.