https://anilist.co/anime/18497/YozakuraQuartetHananoUta/ Hana no Uta is what happens when you have a bunch of interesting ideas tied into a loselose plot. Normally something like this would be a mess which it is but it is still an enjoyable kind of mess thanks to its solidly animated action sequences cute art style and quirky characters. You probably heard of animation studios overworking their staff cough MAPPA but sometimes you get to watch something that looks like there arent any compromises made during its making. Hana no Uta is one such case where theres practically nothing to complain about its visuals. In fact there are many details in visuals that add a lot to the experience. Whether the story is laid back or intense the visuals do a great job at keeping things engaging. 400https://i.ur.com/KHaZgL1.jpg Look at the refracted hand at the fish tank. They dont need to go through that effort but still did it. The characters and plot are all half baked. The moment it feels like the story or a character arc is going somewhere it gets sidelined as the next thing pop ups. So the anime struggles a lot to keep a proper tone. The characters would be in a life or death battle then there would be a sudden gag that completely destroys the seriousness of the situation the story built up until the point. And then theres fan service... Look there are moments where I likedhttps://anilist.co/review/20983 and dislikedhttps://anilist.co/review/16651 fan service and this goes into the later section. Reasons are similar as mentioned in the other review Misplaced fan service. Theres also this problem where the anime doesnt make a few points clear so you might get lost in the earlier episodes. The characters arent fleshed out either. The anime does care enough to give screen time for emotional investment but it ultimately falls flat because the characters are ultimately a bunch of soulless ideas roaming without a clear purpose. Ones that do have Juri and Lila are introduced very late into the show and their character arcs arent well paced. The manga Yozakura Quartet has been in serialization since 2006 and so far it has 2 anime adaptations one 2008 a reboot in 2013 and two 3 episodes OVAs. I havent watched 08 adaptation yet but it seems the 2008 has same art style as manga but not faithful to story and 2013 one has different art style but more faithful to the mangas story though some changes were made. Anyway heres the watch order apparently: Hana no Uta EP 18 2013 Hoshi no Umi 13 OVA Hana no Uta EP 913 Tsuki ni Naku 13 OVA I personally found it enjoyable the art style and characters are cute the abilities were interestingly used the characters are all fun I particularly liked Lila but it can ultimately be disappointing once you figure out the manga itself is incomplete and the anime might not get a S2. Conclusion A fun Anime from 2010s backed by a solid budget with plenty of action but the ultimate downfall is its poorly written plot. And this is probably the first time Yuuki Kaji VAd a protagonist that gives a red scarf to his live interest lol.