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Story: 8
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 8

I usually don't pay attention to music and typically don't have complaints about art unless it's noticeably bad.

I went into this show watching the first episode thinking it would be some cliche lighthearted episodic show that would bore me after a few episodes, so I wasn't sure if I was even going to watch past the first episode. In fact, I wasn't planning to watch this show at all before I realized that one of my friends had mentioned it in a school project, so I assumed it was probably good if she liked it that much. However, the second episode ... ended up auto-playing. Wow, was I was surprised when hit with Richard's words to Seigi regarding how he should treat the customers without prejudice or discrimination regardless of differences and then getting introduced to a non-heterosexual character so casually right off the bat.
Now don't get me wrong, this show doesn't specifically focus on romance or even social justice, but to have such as respectful environment and casually integrate this into an anime without straying from its major plot is something that impressed me and I wish other works could follow in its footsteps.

The second episode intrigued me so much that I decided to keep watching, and once again I was very glad I made the decision. If memory serves correctly, the first half of the episodes were mainly episodic, dealing with customers and their stories and though there was nothing bad about them, I wouldn't say they were interesting enough to last a whole show. Then the plot starts to shift its focus to the stories of the main characters, starting with Richard. This shift actually felt quite natural and eventually, the story started dealing with more drama that leaves you wanting to watch more and more. I wouldn't say it's enough to call it a thriller but the feeling I got from the episodes in the second half felt very fulfilling to me and made the show much more interesting.

I found that the characters in this show aren't really anything special by themselves compared to characters from other series. Yet despite that, I think the author does a very good job of getting you interested in them and their development. I expected Tanimoto to be such a plain character at the very beginning but I honestly loved the role the author chose for her by the end of the show. Even Seigi who I thought would annoy me with his goody-two-shoes personality didn't end up annoying me at all by the end to my surprise. If anything the author manages to make you feel pity for him.

I think the main downsides I have for the show are:
1) There's nothing that particularly makes this show stand out compared to other anime, even if it's a work that's well-done for its own story.
2) Due to the 12-episode nature, there were many things cut out from the novel. As a result, there are a few scenes near the end that end up being confusing with a lack of context, and the last episode feels seemingly out of place and rushed even if it's still pretty satisfying. It's somewhat unfair that Richard got so many episodes about his story compared to Seigi but understandable due to anime limitations. I believe this issue isn't there for the novel but I'm not able to fully read it yet.
I recommend looking in the episode 12 discussion for posts by novel readers elaborating on things that were cut out as well as differences between the novel and the anime as a side note if you're as curious as me.

In regards to all the comments about queerbaiting, I don't believe it was the author's intention to make it appear that way. From the beginning, it was already addressed that the show would have a respectful environment for LGBTQ+ characters and the novel has established even more canon queer characters. I've read many posts by novel readers describing things that happen in the novel that don't appear in the anime and I believe it's because of all the cutting and rushing the anime had to do that makes it appear this way. My perception of novel Richard and Seigi is that their relationship can be interpreted in a similar manner to Ash and Eiji from Banana Fish. I'm a biromantic asexual person and these are my personal thoughts, others may have different opinions and I respect that.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this show and how it managed to surpass my expectations of it so I hope anybody else who likes watching shows with drama and slice of life elements will at least feel somewhat similar! It may not be exceptional enough to reach your favourites but it felt like a satisfying watch regardless.

This is my first review and I wasn't expecting to make one at all so apologies for the messy format.