This review contains spoilers; please read at your own risk. This is based solely on the anime and no other source material for Koi to Yobu ni wa Kimochi Warui, also known as Koikimo.

I am going to be honest - I am very disappointed with the ending.

I was excited about this anime since I saw the PV because it looked interesting and I had no idea what it was about - I was interested to see what would come of their relationship considering the age gap, but I see that what I was expecting didn't become reality. While I expected this, I didn't expect them to actually kiss in the ending.

100% I understand that things are different around the world - ideals about relationships with age gaps and whatnot. However, I did not expect them to actually have an underaged character kiss someone much older than her. It left me feeling disappointed by her and the man. I know it's not going to happen, but I wish the ending would have been where she rejects Ryo and pursues someone her age - Tamaru as an example. 17 does not seem young, but you are a lot more smarter at 18 than you are at 17 - and I hope this happens to her somewhere and she realizes that Ryo is not the man she should date and gets out of there.

Realism out of the way, the story was there and it was told. But I wish that things were just a little different. I wish that the story explored Ichika's thoughts more and I wish they actually had some justice for Arie - the best girl in the show who addressed the elephant in the room.

I was disappointed that Arie and Tamaru didn't get a happy ending.

But not everyone does, right?

Regardless of my disappointment with the ending, I thought the art style was cute. I thought the voice acting was good, and I enjoyed the music for the show. The OP and ED were absolute bangers, and while the audio recording for the actors seemed off at times, I didn't mind it. Having a film background, I find that this was probably a stylistic choice. The OP kept me coming back to the show, and I found the plot to be good even if I was disappointed. I feel it could have been told differently, but all stories are full of surprises and don't end as you think they would!

That's what makes anime and TV shows so interesting!

I liked most characters - except Ryo. Rio was on the fence with me because she encouraged it, but I didn't like that Ryo was pushy and persistent. Arie was great because she was headstrong, sweet and knew what she wanted. Regardless, all characters were okay except Ryo who really needed a swift kick in the balls.

I hope Masuda gets a partner and takes pictures of them for years to come. He was my favourite despite being Ryo's best friend. I don't know why... but he was just the one that attracted me the most. Tamaru is great too. I absolutely rooted for him, and I am glad he was considerate of Ichika's feelings and developed as a character - even if it was slightly.