I have arrived in defense of one of my favorite releases of the season. Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is dramatic angsty beautiful and SO shoujo. https://ancdn.fancaps.net/23459284.jpg As someone who is a massive shoujo consumer be it in manga or anime form I can with confidence say that it has been a while since we got a shoujo adaptation that had a big budget and where the studio didnt seem to give up on it halfway through the season. This is a massive plus in my book because shoujo deserves GOOD adaptations as much the shounen and seinen demographic dont even get me started on josei because we live in the trenches. The story of Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is very dramatic but at the same time also very slice of life. Personally I think that they balanced these two very well. There are some extremely annoying characters in this but also some lovely characters. Our MC Ann is a flawed protagonist shes a hypocrite at times shes idealistic and shes very stubborn. These characteristics however are what make her interesting and multidimensional. We still have a lot to learn about Shall as of now hes mostly a mystery to both the audience and Ann. Im excited to see more of him in July. The side characters are less developed but they all have their own quirks and motivations that we slowly see throughout the season. Mythrill Lid Pod might have been my favorite character of this series his presence is delightful and he brings lots of happiness to the show. The art and color palette are beautiful. The animation is smooth and it is one of the best we have had for shoujo in recent years J.C. Staff did an excellent job. https://media.tenor.com/i7SeAuQbwAAAAC/sugarapplefairytaleshallfenshall.gif Certain aspects of this show such slavery are for sure problematic. Nevertheless theres also commentary on these topics and they arent just brushed off and never brought up again. Most characters are very flawed and the villains are sometimes just too corny. I do like how the story touches on e.g. sexism and misogyny even if it is a fantasy setting. https://ancdn.fancaps.net/23877046.jpg Overall: I can 100 recommend this to fellow shoujo josei fans and if you are new to the demographic I hope you can watch this without bias. Im so happy that the shoujo demographic has received a worthy adaptation and I cant wait for the return of this show