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Now first and foremost, I must tell you that I absolutely adore Sundome. It's raunchy, it's ridiculous, and it's surprisingly touching.

I found it through the recommended section from the manga series Mysterious Girlfriend X (another one of my favorites) and upon reading the first few chapters, decided it wasn't really for me. And then its tab sat open, on my phone, for a few months. One afternoon I was really bored so I decided to pick it back up, and I'm so, so glad that I did. Sundome is surprisingly deep with complex characters and really well-written relationships. Its humor is very bawdy, but if ... you're into that or can at least look past that fact, then I totally recommend it. I can't say much more without spoiling it since it's the kind of story that's best knowing as little as possible. It also helps to be into at least one of the fetishes in the story (it's mainly s&m and piss) but it touches on a lot of different ones. Then again, if your threshold to put up with weird shit is higher than most other people, then you shouldn't really have any problem with the content of this manga.

The art in it is... eh. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. On my second read-through of it, I didn't mind it as much as I did the first time I read it. The chapter cover art is usually a pin-up of the main character Kirumi, and that's always really well-drawn. And within the actual story, most sexual moments are drawn really dark with striking highlights on the characters. It makes them look weirdly shiny at times, but I wouldn't write it off as completely terrible. I think this artist uses contrast amazingly, in fact. So while the art isn't the best at times, it's not terrible and should not be a reason to not read this manga. The one gripe I do have with it is how when the girls wear their casual clothes, the shorts always are really tight around their.. area. And I mean like, *really* tight. I think someone in the comments on one of the chapters put it best, saying: "Goddamn, whenever they are in their casual clothes they really make that fucking cameltoe look like double mountain meat."

Alright, spoiler warning for the next two paragraphs. Nothing major, but if you want to truly appreciate Sundome how it should be appreciated then maybe skip this part. Again, it's read best knowing as little as possible.

Sundome is devastating. The buildup and the foreshadowing in this are perfect. Even though you know the ending is coming, you can't help but feel crushed when it actually comes. I think that's what surprised me the most on my first read-through of it, I was not at all expecting to be *that* sad. For what it is, it does its job well and gets its point across. It's about teenage relationships and how nothing lasts forever. The first time I read it, I was a lot sadder during the buildup. I cried at all the hints leading up to the final few chapters and then all through the few final ones. On the second readthrough, I feel like the final few chapters hit me a lot harder, even though I knew what was coming. It seems the main criticism for Sundome is that the main two characters are in a toxic relationship, and that's just not true. In fact, their relationship is incredibly endearing. They really love each other and you can tell, and I think that's the main cause for the last few chapter's impact.

However, I feel like the last few chapters can be interpreted very differently. The manga ends very sexually. I mean, the main chick [spoilers] during intercourse. If this manga is more stimulating for you then maybe the last few chapters would be interpreted differently. Still sad, but differently. I was crying so hard the last few chapters, but then again I was also listening to sad music to enhance the story. The first read-through I did I had listened to "My Blueberry Life" by the Current Joys, and then for my second read-through, I listened to "Hello-Sin-Nation" by The Red Pears. I feel like both songs did give a slightly different tone to the ending, so I feel like if you're going to listen to music towards the ending, then go with "My Blueberry Life." "Hello-Sin-Nation" seems more of like a reflection on the final chapter's events rather than the emotions at the moment, which lends well to a second read-through, but not so much the first.

Alright, spoilers over.

To wrap up, I love Sundome. It achieves exactly what it's going for, and it achieves it perfectly. It's gross, it's funny, and it's moving. If you're willing to put up with weird stuff or are into any of the stuff in Sundome, then I highly, highly recommend it. You'd be surprised how good it is.

TLDR; Book good! Book sad. Read book.

I'm writing this from the viewpoint of only watching the anime, I have not yet read the manga or the LN but am planning on doing so. I found this through Isekai Quartet and right away upon seeing Tanya I knew I had to watch this.

Story: 8/10
Solid, interesting story. Captured and held my interest for the duration of the anime.

Art: 7/10
It's good for what it's worth. The janky CGI is jarring at times, but during the times where they have the flying characters transition from CGI to 2D is very pleasing. The character designs are nice, although a lot of the men look boring and ... it's easy to mistake them for one another.

Sound: 7/10
Sound direction is good, though for a few episodes the bomb, gunshot, and explosion sounds are disproportionately loud compared to the rest of the sounds. While yes, I do understand that they are SUPPOSED to be loud, it's annoying to have to turn down the TV during a fight sequence only to have to turn it back up only half a minute later. The soundtrack and other sound effects are just fine and complement the animation well.

Character: 6/10
The main character is cute but. She has the thickest plot armor I've ever seen. She was put into a new world by Being X just to suffer but she doesn't. She gets shot in the arm like what, once? She dodges and blocks everything, is extremely smart, and has adept magical ability. No one questions her. She is an interesting character to watch and get invested in, but there were far too many times where I just sat and thought "seriously? They're gonna let that happen?" Also.... it feels wrong to find her cute since she's actually a middle aged man.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Despite it's issues it's still fun and interesting. I like the characters, I like the plot, I like the music. It's easy to get into and easy to enjoy.

Overall: 8/10
It's a solid anime but could do a lot of things better. Hopefully season 2 gets better.

Story 6/10 - The premise itself is very interesting, though it's sort of a mess and goes all over the place.

Art 6/10 - Sometimes it looks good, sometimes it looks awkward and bad. You can definitely tell that Paru drew this, she has a very recognizable art style.

Character 7/10 - The characters don't change very much, but it's still interesting seeing how they react with the world, especially with Mako's bloody noses. The characters are pretty static and there's no real character development, but for such a short story I don't mind it.

Enjoyment 8/10 - I enjoyed it. Some of the awkward drawings are ... funny and made me laugh and I enjoyed this mess of a story. It's just fun and quick to read.

Overall score - 7

I mean... I really wanted to like this. I tried to watch it 3 times, and I actually finished it on the 3rd try.

I could see how someone could like it, but I can also see how it can turn a lot of people off. It's very, very slow, and very convoluted (though it does all make sense in the end). The only question I have is "why?". Why was a commentary on identity like this needed? I don't see how anyone could relate to this, and in turn I don't see how anyone would care. This anime just feels... really unnecessary if that makes ... any sense. It's not bad, but I feel like what it's trying to tell us has no relatable meaning. It's not going to make you think and revaluate your life or anything important like that. You finish it and go, "Well it wasn't *bad*". It's just. Decent? It's interesting, it kept me watching, but in the end just felt very mediocre. :(

I really wanted to like this. I really, really did. And I did! The first 8 episodes, at least. Everything after that... fell kind of flat and was a big let down. Those first 8 episodes definitely deserved a 10, though. The characters are realistic and believable, and their interactions are honest and reasonable. And I'm not one to really care much about representation, but the way this was structured felt very relatable and somewhat comforting. I teared up at a few of the scenes (though I'd rather not admit that...). Everything after episode 8 just seemed really boring and flat. Nothing stood out. There ... were no real cute scenes or anything like that, the drama between Touko and another one of the characters (won't say for spoilers sake) was annoying and in the end contributed nothing to the plot, and Touko's pushy-ness onto Yuu was kind of creepy and gross, which I feel kind of ruined the relationship between them.

It's a fine anime, all in all. I would still recommend people to watch it, even if just for those first 8 episodes.

Sakamoto is perfect. He gets all the girls. He's at the top of all his classes. He is a key example of why Mary Sues and Gary Stus should not be used.

I had a lot of hope in this anime. I've heard that it's super funny, from both friends and reviews online. I was very let down. Once you've seen the first few episodes, you've seen them all. Very few jokes hit, most of them missed.

It's painfully average. It's OK background noise at the very best. All the characters were forgettable. The last episode was a sorry attempt at a heartfelt moment.

So basically, all ... the characters felt very flat and lots of jokes missed. I was very let down. :(