Critical reception
The series' characters were praised by several reviewers. Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku acclaimed the "flawed" main characters as being "very human", with particular praise for their development through the narrative. He also commended the show's straightforward depiction of Haruka and Yu navigating their relationship, which he felt avoided the common cliche of having a series end right as a relationship began.[17] Similarly, Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post spoke positively of the "great character arc" that "focuse[d] on the relationship itself" in relation to the show's themes of interpersonal connection and dependence.[18]
Critics differed on opinions regarding the series' visual portrayal of the characters. Anime UK News praised the "very well executed" scenes, which were compared favorably to ecchi anime for being a "lot less exploitative".[19] In contrast, Carlos Ross of THEM Anime Reviews felt that the anime's visuals were "exploitative" at times, and that the show was "very much" driven by fan service.[20] Erica Friedman of Yuricon wrote that the manga had "much less pervasive" fan service and gave the characters a 7/10 rating for being "two and a half dimensional".[21]
The series' representation of lesbian relationships received mixed-to-positive reviews. Ross argued that while there was a "certain earnest sweetness" to the relationships, the show lacked a "serious treatment" of LGBT themes.[20] On the other hand, Beveridge commended the anime as a "positive" and "accessible" show that stood out for having lesbian lead characters, a rare occurrence at the time of release.[18] Similarly, Eisenbeis praised the show's approach to social issues in Japan, opining that the story showed that social acceptance of same-sex relationships was possible.[17]
The plot and story were divisive among critics. Many critics felt that the story lacked depth, with Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network describing it as "fluff" and Carl Kimlinger of the same site opining that it had a "general distaste for substance".[22] Friedman, reviewing the debut manga volume, declared that the story value was "none",[23] though she improved her assessment for the second volume.[21] Eisenbeis was more enthused, opining that the anime's plot stood out from other slice-of-life shows by having episodes connect into a "greater narrative", which he felt preserved an "overriding continuity" while allowing "fun standalone stories".[17] Anime UK News argued that despite the show's appearance, it was an "must-see" for yuri fans for the quality of the story's romantic comedy elements.[19]
The anime's production value was generally well received. Anime UK News called it a "good-looking" series for its use of colors and textures and compared it favorably to the director's previous work, Hidamari Sketch.[19] Eisenbeis concurred, praising the "clever direction" of the visuals, such as the use of symbols to represent characters during transitional scenes. He concluded that the show "succeeded in what it was trying to do in every way" and named it as his favorite anime of the Winter 2014 season.[17] Beveridge was enthused with the "great character designs" and "very enjoyable pacing", and in a retrospective review ten years after release, he remarked that it "[held] up pretty well".[18]
