A GREAT romance anime is somewhat rare and this is one of those rare instances. This was a touching story with strong protagonists, heartfelt moments and a brilliant character arc.
This is one of the stories where, after watching the finale, you can't help but remember how the characters were at the beginning and how far along they've come. The story is a journey, especially for the character of Miyo. We all experience this journey with her. That connection with the characters made this anime very satisfying.
I love Miyo's character arc. If you see the 1st episode, her character setup isn't exactly unique. It's something we see in many shoujo anime, and it's similar to Cinderella's back story. But if you keep that aside and just think about her character, it's a very complex character to progress. That's why I'm so impressed, because this anime did it almost perfectly. I never felt that Miyo was acting out of character, I could always sympathize with her actions, and still I can feel how far her character has come after the finale.
I also really cared for Kudo's character. That's another strong point for this anime - the fact that I cared for BOTH these characters. That's what makes a great romance - when a viewer is invested in BOTH the characters, can understand BOTH their perspectives, and that's why they want them to be together so much.
This story also had a surprise factor to it - the supernatural world building. I know fans are saying it's unnecessary and I thought of it as a flaw initially too. But when I thought about it, every situation that this supernatural part of the story created, eventually made me root for our protagonists' marriage, which is what the story is about.
The story does get repetitive at times in the middle though, when every family is coming after Miyo.
The animation might be the best this season (at least out of non-sequels). The soundtrack from Evan Call (composer of Violet Evergarden) wasn't that notable in the 1st watch, but I might catch it in a re-watch.
Overall, this was a great anime and a great romance. It's on Netflix worldwide.
