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Discovered GA on Nozomi's youtube channel which is curiously still active post Crunchyroll merger. I've binged the first season more times than I care to admit. The dub is fantastic and doesn't get nearly enough love. I put it up there with Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh. Props to the dub cast. It's too bad they didn't really do much else in the anime sphere.

Having never played the games, I had no frame of reference going in and thus couldn't be disappointed. The 15m episode run-time works in its favor. To quote the stage adage, "Leave them wanting more." I did and bought all the ... blu-rays. There's really not much continuity or plot as each episode is more or less self contained. Pure goofiness is understandably not for everyone, but it's something I appreciate - especially when you just want something lighthearted and silly just before bed time. This is anime comfort food.

There's one or two serious episodes sprinkled in each season. Seems the director(s) wanted to experiment with the characters and put them in different, sometimes stressful, scenarios together. It opens up the possibilities and you see a different side to them.

I love the characters, the humor, and the dub. Nothing would please me more than to see this show get dragged back into the daylight to get the love it deserves. It could easily be one of the most meme-able. Crunchyroll should add this show to their lineup having absorbed Rightstuf (I assume Nozomi as well.) If you enjoyed that first season, I highly recommend pursuing the rest on blu-ray before they go out of print.

Main character Tada is basically wallpaper. Nothing to see here. He's a sad-sack amateur photographer whose parents died when he was young. That's it. That's his story. Is he worthy as the love interest of a literal princess? Teresa, our princess, is cute and likeable although I can't fathom the choice of having the English dub cast use a pseudo "euro" accent for her and buddy/bodyguard Alexandra. From what part of Europe is that accent? France? Germany? Transylvania? Who the hell knows. It doesn't work and it's crap.

The other characters exist to drag the story like a boat anchor across the finish line - either ... pushing Tada-kun and Teresa to act on their feelings or as a temporary wedge between them. They don't seem to have much going on in their own lives other than being tropes. They're all in the high school photography club together which is another curiosity. High school kids with expensive DSLR cameras in an age of smartphones. Teresa likes taking pictures of rocks and Tada-kun who could be mistaken for one. Seriously HOW do these two end up together? The girl without an umbrella trope! AND she's staying at the place next to his family's coffee shop AND a foreign exchange student going to his school AND likes taking pictures. Convenient!

The comic relief character Kaoru was about as annoying as one can legally be. He actually might have more screen time than the main characters. I absolutely hated him all the while hoping he'd fall into a well or get mauled by dogs. For real, nobody cares THAT much if their friend gets the girl. Most dudes would merely smirk if their buddy struck out on their big date and give some cliché line like, "There's other fish in the sea. Maybe set your sights on someone more realistic." Oh no, Tada-kun, you MUST get on that plane and get your crush to break off her engagement... because if you two don't end up together nobody has a reason to hang on to this sinking ship.

Studio Doga Kobo once again makes an average show look better than it has any right to. The visuals unfortunately aren't enough to make this anime worth your time. There are better romcoms out there. Tada-kun is devoid of both rom and com, instead you will find blah and cringe. It is further astounding Sentai Filmworks saw fit to give this a premium boxset release. Maybe that's not that big of a surprise since Sentai often promotes the trashiest of trash (re: Redo of Healer) while better anime are held in HIDIVE purgatory.

I'm 10.5 episodes in and I don't understand the high praise for this anime. It seems to be going for style over substance without much explanation of anything. The viewing experience is much like a trip to the dentist - you just want it to be over.

Why is Utena so good with a sword? Why did she enroll at hoity-toity bitch slap academy? Why is this mouse wearing a tie and eating all the GD food? Seriously, why is the mouse even here? Who cares who wins the "rose bride" - why is this important? When is someone going to drag brother-loving Nanami into a ... dark hallway and administer the savage beating she so desperately needs? Who the hell is "End of the world?" Can we please get on with it? Ten episodes in and it's been nothing but bickering and people slapping each other.

This is really a day-time soap opera set in the 18th century (that somehow has electricity and automobiles.) All the characters are women or effeminate men and ALL of them are stupid. I guess this is "defying gender norms?" I'd rather watch Princess Nine if I want to see the girls beat the guys... and at least those characters were likeable. This has literally bored the sh*t out of me and I'm dropping it like a hot turd on a cold winter day. Thud.