The gimmick of the series is bizarre to grab the audience's attention, but it immediately lets you know that sexism is very much a baked in part of this world and you're just going to have to make peace with that if you want to watch it. I have never read and hadn't previously heard of the manga - I just know that the show didn't make me want to pick it up despite leaving so many unanswered questions in an attempt to pique my curiosity - so don't let my observations color that experience for you.

Unfortunately, the poster is much cooler than the actual show itself. At first, I appreciated that Hina has a backbone and is more than willing to stick up for herself, but then the writing decided that it was more important for the guys to pass her around like she has no autonomy. Even her younger brother (for what it's worth, they call him a siscon) is possessive of her and treats her like she can't make her own decisions just because she suddenly forgot her backbone and acts naive in clearly dangerous situations!

Despite trying to enjoy it for what it is, I kept getting the feeling that the show was trying to help itself to some of Ouran's pie. The plot does a really half-hearted job of showing a "reverse harem", instead focusing on what is very clearly the endgame relationship and occasionally reminding the audience that there is "third wheel" pining from the sidelines. That being said, the hate ships between the Student Council and main 5 + Hina bred such complex ship geometry that I struggled to keep up. There was so much potential in the budding friendship storyline that I wish more opportunities had been taken to really flesh it out, but I suppose there weren't enough episodes to focus on that.

Like Ouran, the finale tries to be big and raise the stakes to get the audience interested in the manga. It's admittedly a fun episode to watch and some of the character interactions from earlier in the season come full circle, but it just left me wishing that more of the season had been like that or that the story had been built up better to earn the emotional payoff it was hoping for. I think the actors did the best they could with the script they were given and it looked like they were at least having fun, so after a while I was able to feel like I was having a nice time with them.

If you can suspend your disbelief for the plot, easily ignore the overt sexism, not get caught up on unanswered questions and open endings, and reign supreme against secondhand awkwardness... this show is a pretty good way to spend your free time!