Right off the bat, there's one thing you need to know if you're considering watching this. The final 8 or so episodes see a dramatic drop in quality and are largely considered to be not worth watching at all (I didn't watch them). This is most likely because Anno's involvement lessened significantly at that point. The show was already plagued with the same time management problems as EVA, and this shows throughout the series.
HOWEVER. Even considering this, episode 18 still offers a perfectly fine resolution of sorts for the main couple. The rest of the characters aren't so lucky, but they weren't particularly developed very much anyway.
AND. Even with production problems and a good amount of lacking animation, colorless frames, and just plain real life footage, the animation and art style still shines in many moments. Often characters are given great expression and motion. Overall, the good outweigh the bad and the problematic moments probably won't sour your experience.
THE MAIN REASONS TO WATCH THIS ANIME - The development of the main couple, both AS a couple but even more importantly as individuals (and the effects that those developments then have on them as a couple), and the style. It's pure late 90's shoujo romcom bliss and I instantly fell in love with it.
Now, to examine some things a bit closer and address some other elements.
As the story progresses, new characters are introduced. Their greatest contribution is to give conflict and resolution arcs to the main couple and therefore act as plot devices for them. They nearly are able to stand on their own as fleshed out, interesting characters (some more than others), but they don't quite get there.
Yukino's seiyou does an excellent job and brings quite a bit to the character. I thought her design wasn't very appealing before watching the anime but I'm pretty sure her seiyou alone was enough to completely change my perspective on her. She's a terrific protagonist altogether. Every moment with her is great.
The two leads aren't black and white. They have somewhat complicated personalities and histories that lend to great development, growth, and relatability. Read the summary on the anime's page and you'll get a better idea of what I mean (it's basically the pitch of the show).
The OST is worth noting because it's excellent. It has this really upbeat like 1920's(or 1950's?) romance vibe to it? It bleeds charm into every other element of the show and only uplifts the animation and the characters, Yukino especially.
This anime subverts some particularly frustrating romcom cliches. Doing so isn't necessarily a mark of good writing on it's own merit, but it's satisfying and a breath of fresh air. I will say though that KareKano's writing is good and the places where those cliches would've appeared in a lesser story, there are good characters and conflicts that only become better and more fleshed out. And the relationships these characters have (and the ones they build through resolving internal and external conflicts) are much more organic and human. And that combined with the silly over the top romcom style is a wonderful combination and reminds me why I even like anime in the first place. The untrained eye could see the over the top style and discount the show for being cheap and shallow, and oftentimes with lesser shows this is the case (not everyone is skilled enough to craft good characters). Anyone familiar with these kinds of shows, the good ones, knows this isn't a rule. You CAN have good characters, human characters, and real conflicts, and also have a ridiculous sense of humor. Kare Kano does this well.
3 cliches in particular caught my eye (these are a tad spoilery):
The beginning of Arima's and Miyazawa's relationship altogether. Romance in anime is usually bogged down with the worst of cliches that seem to do everything they can to avoid giving the audience a satisfying and enjoyable narrative and progression. No garbage here. No irritating irrational misunderstandings. No deus ex machina to interrupt key moments. It just, flows naturally, and the drama is able to come from the foundations the characters are built upon rather than the writer's poor plot/drama construction.
The jealous girl who's in love with Arima tries to sabotage Miyazawa and make her look mean and rude - right when this conflict is introduced, Arima shuts it down and sees right through her. This was honestly so cathartic. And the show was still able to keep the conflict of her being jealous without any problems (although it was rather minor, and resolved quickly and without much consequence).
The jealous girl who turns the class against Miyazawa - after having given Miyazawa the silent treatment for a while, some of the girls are starting to pick up on the fact that their hatred for her is unfounded and unreasonable. Then the most amazing scene happens: they all are gathered in the classroom and they REASON out why it was stupid for them to do, and then they APOLOGIZE to Miyazawa, and THEN they go to the jealous girl and tell her that they've seen through her ploy and even though they can't like her now they still won't be petty and give her the silent treatment in return because they've learned how petty it is. GAH SO REFRESHING.
(Note - the characters in cliche's 2 and 3 are jealous of Miyazawa for different, understandable reasons and they're very different characters.)
Okay, having said all this, as much as I enjoy this anime, the story itself is pretty lowkey. Not particularly gripping in the way that Toradora is. But again, it stands on its own for the reasons I've talked about and I believe it's well worth watching. It's without a doubt one of my favorite romcoms.
HOWEVER. Even considering this, episode 18 still offers a perfectly fine resolution of sorts for the main couple. The rest of the characters aren't so lucky, but they weren't particularly developed very much anyway.
AND. Even with production problems and a good amount of lacking animation, colorless frames, and just plain real life footage, the animation and art style still shines in many moments. Often characters are given great expression and motion. Overall, the good outweigh the bad and the problematic moments probably won't sour your experience.
THE MAIN REASONS TO WATCH THIS ANIME - The development of the main couple, both AS a couple but even more importantly as individuals (and the effects that those developments then have on them as a couple), and the style. It's pure late 90's shoujo romcom bliss and I instantly fell in love with it.
Now, to examine some things a bit closer and address some other elements.
As the story progresses, new characters are introduced. Their greatest contribution is to give conflict and resolution arcs to the main couple and therefore act as plot devices for them. They nearly are able to stand on their own as fleshed out, interesting characters (some more than others), but they don't quite get there.
Yukino's seiyou does an excellent job and brings quite a bit to the character. I thought her design wasn't very appealing before watching the anime but I'm pretty sure her seiyou alone was enough to completely change my perspective on her. She's a terrific protagonist altogether. Every moment with her is great.
The two leads aren't black and white. They have somewhat complicated personalities and histories that lend to great development, growth, and relatability. Read the summary on the anime's page and you'll get a better idea of what I mean (it's basically the pitch of the show).
The OST is worth noting because it's excellent. It has this really upbeat like 1920's(or 1950's?) romance vibe to it? It bleeds charm into every other element of the show and only uplifts the animation and the characters, Yukino especially.
This anime subverts some particularly frustrating romcom cliches. Doing so isn't necessarily a mark of good writing on it's own merit, but it's satisfying and a breath of fresh air. I will say though that KareKano's writing is good and the places where those cliches would've appeared in a lesser story, there are good characters and conflicts that only become better and more fleshed out. And the relationships these characters have (and the ones they build through resolving internal and external conflicts) are much more organic and human. And that combined with the silly over the top romcom style is a wonderful combination and reminds me why I even like anime in the first place. The untrained eye could see the over the top style and discount the show for being cheap and shallow, and oftentimes with lesser shows this is the case (not everyone is skilled enough to craft good characters). Anyone familiar with these kinds of shows, the good ones, knows this isn't a rule. You CAN have good characters, human characters, and real conflicts, and also have a ridiculous sense of humor. Kare Kano does this well.
3 cliches in particular caught my eye (these are a tad spoilery):
The beginning of Arima's and Miyazawa's relationship altogether. Romance in anime is usually bogged down with the worst of cliches that seem to do everything they can to avoid giving the audience a satisfying and enjoyable narrative and progression. No garbage here. No irritating irrational misunderstandings. No deus ex machina to interrupt key moments. It just, flows naturally, and the drama is able to come from the foundations the characters are built upon rather than the writer's poor plot/drama construction.
The jealous girl who's in love with Arima tries to sabotage Miyazawa and make her look mean and rude - right when this conflict is introduced, Arima shuts it down and sees right through her. This was honestly so cathartic. And the show was still able to keep the conflict of her being jealous without any problems (although it was rather minor, and resolved quickly and without much consequence).
The jealous girl who turns the class against Miyazawa - after having given Miyazawa the silent treatment for a while, some of the girls are starting to pick up on the fact that their hatred for her is unfounded and unreasonable. Then the most amazing scene happens: they all are gathered in the classroom and they REASON out why it was stupid for them to do, and then they APOLOGIZE to Miyazawa, and THEN they go to the jealous girl and tell her that they've seen through her ploy and even though they can't like her now they still won't be petty and give her the silent treatment in return because they've learned how petty it is. GAH SO REFRESHING.
(Note - the characters in cliche's 2 and 3 are jealous of Miyazawa for different, understandable reasons and they're very different characters.)
Okay, having said all this, as much as I enjoy this anime, the story itself is pretty lowkey. Not particularly gripping in the way that Toradora is. But again, it stands on its own for the reasons I've talked about and I believe it's well worth watching. It's without a doubt one of my favorite romcoms.