Mental health is something that has been increasingly important to me personally and this show tackles the topic literally head-on. I am nowhere near the same level as Sato, who seriously struggles to live and do basic things in life, but it would be a lie for me to not connect with some of the problems that various characters deal with throughout the show. To see these things openly discussed was very satisfying for me. Just to name a few off the top of my head, things that are mentioned or shown in the anime are isolation, loneliness, depression, misogyny, obsessions, nihilism, problem of evil, delusions, paranoia, drug abuse, game addiction, sex addiction, self-hatred, social anxiety, coercion, desire, suicide and death, parental pressure, expectations, bullying, and physical abuse. This show organically includes a ton of different problems that you may or may not have personally experienced. The things that I could relate to, however, I thought were masterfully and tastefully touched on.
In terms of the story, it's actually pretty interesting to me because depending on how you look at it, there's both a ton and also little progression for Sato. Without spoilers, I think that the story is fairly strong- it is a depiction of the entire cast's struggles as each of them tries to handle each of their issues. The execution of handling both the very light and very dark moments were really well done.
The art/animation is for the most part pretty decent for its time- there are several parts where for some reason the quality severely struggles, and the characters look like they're melting. But for the most part it was pretty ok.
The music is tastefully done, and I think that it definitely enhances the dark and light moments of the show.
I think the cast is by far one of the strongest parts of the show- each of the characters is actually incredibly complex, and I could seriously write an entire essay about how the show uses character development to essentially drive the entire show. The four main characters, Misaki, Sato, Hitomi, and Yamazaki are all extremely deep and have various nuances. For example, too many anime have the "otaku" character, but none of them are nearly as human as Yamazaki feels. Yes, he is crazed about his figurines and waifus, and yes he has problems with women. But it's the way that it is shown, characterized, and his interactions with Sato that make the entire world of difference. Also, Misaki is by far my favorite character of the show. For the entire show, we wonder about the motives of Misaki as she seems to be (and Sato also sees her) as a random angel that appears in Sato's life, but we see throughout that this is definitely not so, and she is definitely not as innocent as she plays herself as. Everyone in the show exists in the morally grey, which is exactly what real life is like- no one is a perfect character, and I'd argue in this show nobody is even a great person either. However, they are real people with real problems, and the show is a masterpiece with that.
Personally, I really enjoyed the show, and I would strongly recommend it to almost anyone. I think it does a really good job at tackling some really hard topics to talk about. There are some parts that I think are uncomfortable to watch, some are overly dramatic, and some are downright confusing. But these parts are few and far in between, and personally I believe the show will stand the test of time for sure.
__Story: 95/100
Art/Animation: 70/100
Music: 85/100
Characters/Development: 98/100
Enjoyment: 98/100
Personal impact/unforgettable quality: 98/100
Holistic overall: 93/100__
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