I initially didn't like Kannazuki no Miko when I started watching it. The characters annoyed me and the plot seemed almost nonsensical. But by the time I got to around episode 3, I started enjoying it. I realized that Kannazuki no Miko isn't about the action or plot itself. Rather, those things are meant to be parallels regarding the relationship between the three main characters.

Kannazuki no Miko is a love triangle and I usually hate love triangles. Love triangles are usually extremely predictable and they lead to a plot that goes nowhere. However, the love triangle in Kannazuki no Miko is actually interesting and it's difficult to tell who will end up with who. I initially disliked the main characters, but they endeared themselves to me as the show went on. I became invested in the love triangle and I didn't want either of the characters vying for Himeko's heart to end up alone. They were both genuinely likable characters who were selfless, only focusing on what Himeko wanted, rather than what they desired.

...Or so I thought. Kannazuki no Miko jumps the shark during its last quarter. A certain character completely abandons their moral principles (that were shown to be rock solid during the show, by the way) and does things that make you dislike them. Which is a shame because the show spent all this time building this character up, getting you to sympathize with them, only to throw all that development in your face. It's jarring and frankly, quite sad. I was eating this show up before this rapid change, greatly invested in the love triangle and the (somewhat nonsensical) plot. Sure, one could've seen this coming. The show was kind of giving you signs that a certain character or character(s) had to become a villain, but it could've been handled much better. Kannazuki no Miko could've villianized this character without throwing the sympathy the viewer has for them in the trash.

Now, onto some other critiques I guess. The music is pretty good. The OP and ED are some of Kotoko's best and I loved how the beginning of the ED would play before the credits rolled. It really fit here and made the epic endings of certain episodes much better. The OST is generally piano tracks, which fits since Chikane does play piano, and they complement the scenes they're used in perfectly.

The show has aged amazingly well in terms of presentation. There are some beautiful scenes, due to lighting effects and other uses of color. The character designs are also amazing. The designs for the main trio and the villains are super memorable and embody what I love most about character designs from the 2000s.

As for the animation in terms of fluidity... it's not the best. Nothing too rigid and very little uses of what I like to call "slideshow" scenes (basically where they just show pictures instead of animating things), but there's nothing that really stands out. It's telling that there's only one scene from this show on sakugabooru.

And given that this is a show that uses mecha... yeah. The mechs are moreso used for metaphors than anything else, so don't expect any awesome mech battles.

This show is also terribly 2000s in terms of how it treats lesbian relationships. If you want good yuri with mecha, this isn't the one to watch. Because both the yuri and mecha aspects are not the greatest.

All in all, this is a show that was pretty entertaining junk food that ends up being quite disappointing. I feel like Kannazuki no Miko could've definitely benefited from being slightly longer, but then the show would run the risk of dragging on to long. Evidently, my biggest gripe with the show is the shitty character change. If it was handled better, I wouldn't have minded, but it was handled lazily and in ways that contradicted that character's moral philosophy.

So, after all that rambling, do I recommend Kannazuki no Miko? I guess I'd say yes. It's pretty fun for the majority of its runtime. Just be prepared to get mad at this show after it spent episodes endearing its characters to you.