I've seen a lot of romance anime, and this is right up there. The romance/sports combination isn't very common, but when it's done well it's an absolute joy to watch. You really get attached to the characters, and you wish them well in both romance and sports. Also have to mention the art/animation, because WOW!

I haven't watched a lot of romance anime, but I think this had a lot of very interesting and fresh perspectives. It's a really well-written show with characters that are easy to love and relate to. I do wish we had slightly more sports in the second half - it felt a little disbalanced compared to the sports focus in the first cour.

It's a beautifully done slow-paced romance story with a really well done sports story woven in there. The slow pace might bother some people, but it gives them the time to actually develop everyone into actual characters instead of cliches. I personally don't like the ending, though I can see where he is coming from.