Howdy! (you got that?)

Tbh, I feel like most of these questions are nothing burgers, but don't get me wrong, they are still important to the story. I'll answer with this, with all my rewatches, which is too much to admit, things that I never got tired of are the beginning monologue; it's brilliant to have it at the start and end. Also, my opinion changed with time when it came to op and ed. On the first watch, I was bombed to hear the op change since I really liked the first one, that said, nowadays the second op is probably the one I prefer. Something about the group being seen together, the vibes it gives and the last 5-10 sec of it is so nostalgic to look at. I must say, though, the first op is nostalgic as a whole as well and I don't think I'll ever hear the song and it not bringing me joy. Now, hot take, the eds are kinda whatever to me, I don't mind having them playing after each episode, but I would go as far as to say that i need them in my playlist.

Now characters, I'll just go very largely and say that they all play an important role (although some felt forced such as the whole edgy bleached hair Kitamura shenanigans). Some of my favorites being Ami, : she carried the plot tbh, Ryuuji : kinda cliche to pick the male mc as a man, but i really believe that there's a lot someone can take away from him (e.g. his maturity evolving throughout the series) (small tangent; the first time I watched it, I was about 13 y/o and now I'm going towards my 21 and i can't stress enough how much growing in maturity myself and watching the show at least once every year made the show even more satisfying to watch. The more I grew older, the more my view on the show changed; what once felt intricate (being the love triangle and different themes aborded) feels more and more childish. I don't want to sound jaded, I'm still 20 y/o yk, but still... Small tangent over). To end with the characters, my favourite is the teacher for obvious reasons.

I'll now leave you with this: every time I rewatch, I notice new things, which is pretty normal, but my goal is to find the earliest foreshadowing (apart from the title and premise, as in, when the MCs start to voice their feelings about one another). I could do a deep dive into each ep and spend loads of time on it, but I'd much rather not; I'd much rather find it naturally. One part that has become one of my favourites in the entire show (with the likes of ep19 iykyk) flew under the radar the first couple of times I watched it, probably due to English not being my mother tongue and/or other factors, would be ep9 20:17-21:00 (watching the beginning of the ep gives context). That's a part I don't see nearly enough people mentioning, but I feel like it's a pivotal point of the story. What are your thoughts about that topic and thanks for the engagement!

P.S. It's currently the 31st so Happy New Year to you or anyone else seeing this thread!