JJR1971

My feelings about this anime are very mixed.  I really like the main character Misaki, she truly is a strong female lead, and I especially like Monica Rial's performance in the English dub.

Misaki is a classic Tsundere and the ending pays off, but JESUS this anime ventures into some dark and creepy and downright rape-y territory to get there, sometimes subtle (School retreat episode) sometimes not so subtle (rival school student council president attempting to force himself on her).  Misaki is a very endearing character, but it's hard to watch episode after episode of men being shitty and creepy to her or outright trying to rape her.  

Even the male love interest, Usui, is ambivalent and slightly creepy himself and acts as if he doesn't fully grasp the notion of "consent", though he does get better on this point as the anime progresses, basically waiting on Misaki to be true to herself and give final consent to take their relationship to the next level.

The childhood best friend rival seems like an afterthought and is basically a sacrificial lamb in service of the plot, merely serving to spur Usui to take Misaki and his feelings for her more seriously and stop dragging things out.  I never believed the childhood best friend ever had a chance.  He enters the plot far too late to make a credible rival.  The rest of the supporting cast is fairly entertaining as comic relief.  Some of the characters could've been better written, like the supposedly reformed pop star idol who allgedly cares for one of Misaki's friends.

But all in all, they stick the landing so I suppose I'm satisfied with this flawed RomCom.  It would've been better if she could've just learned to live with everyone knowing about her job at the Maid Cafe, but getting a loving, kind, and generous boyfriend isn't such a bad deal.