I think a good start is telling how I even became aware of this anime.

For those unaware, the writer of the anime was Kotaro Uchikoshi, who is probably best known for the Zero Escape Series (999, Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma), as well as AI: The Somnium Files and it's sequel, Nirvana Initiative. I enjoyed all of these games, but I don't feel they're as quality as the first Somnium Files which is easily one of my favorite games.

As for the director, they have a few good series under their belt, like directing the 2nd Gurren Lagann Movie, some FLCL, and a few others. Plenty of series that can go over the top ridiculous and it can be greatly entertaining (you can tell from how dope the fight scenes in this anime are, holy hell), but...

So on my search for what else the writer has done, I find this. I like his work, but I had no idea how to feel about this anime. Perhaps I came into this anime with the wrong mindset, and kept it throughout the series.

The initial idea was about a guy who would destroy the world if he got too aroused. The joke being, how in anime, nosebleeds would be used as an absurd reaction in seeing pantyshots (which is also supposed to be a joke, Panty Line -> Punch Line). But taken to an absurd extreme as he would cause a meteor to crash into the earth and destroy everyone.

...The anime barely follows this. I don't know if they were finding it hard to keep with the premise or wanted to include more into the concept to keep it going, but there's plenty of very interesting concepts like body swapping, time travel, secret government conspiracy, and cute girls doing cute girl things. I think there's a lot to explore here with these things, but either due to time or episodes, they don't feel like they went as far as you might expect from a writer with plenty of rather high-concept ideas in the games they directed.

The animation is great and the music can be really damn good (It's MAPPA). I think I could recommend this anime on that alone and it would be a rather cute watch with not too much commitment. The characters have pretty good designs and they get a decent amount of development, thanks to the smaller, more focused cast.

I like this anime, but it's hard to recommend to people on the basis the tone shifts so early and doesn't feel intentional like Madoka. It's initial premise, at least shown in effect in the first three episodes, Sucks. It's really jarring, considering the later plot elements, and I think it prevents people from actually attempting to get into the cute and somewhat deep story on display here due to it's abrupt and conflicting tone. Thankfully, they kind of use the gag less and less, but it doesn't help when it's on full display in the intro each episode, as well as the bumpers in the middle of the episode. The art is great, but as the series goes on, it feels more and more jarring.

I think my original dissatisfaction with Punch Line is the expectation of something really well developed in the story section, due to the main writer's previous works. I'm fine with something more lighthearted, and this can be a rather fun anime when it wants to be. I like the music, the animation is amazing, and I like the designs of the characters.

There's plenty to explore here, but what pains me the most is that the anime doesn't do that. A brand new thing that doesn't really connect with the main focus is introduced every few episodes, and isn't really resolved or explored enough, and after only three episodes I feel the original concept is lost and struggles to be developed. I think if this anime wanted to do less, I would appreciate it more. I'm just glad a lot of what's presented here gets reused again for the writer's next big work, Somnium Files, and is partially explored a bit more in the game and the followup manga, all three headed by the main writer.