Despite being a whole 26 episodes, it felt very rushed to me. I think overall Strawberry Panic would have been so much better if it didn't try to be a sol for the first 10 or so episodes, cut back on a couple characters, and actually focus on developing the characters the story was supposed to revolve around. Shizuma, Nagisa, Tamao, Yaya, Rokujou, Hikari, and Amane. Every other character just felt "extra" to me. I mean, I enjoyed it, but yeh.
Mhm yeah, the Lulim girls feel pretty disconnected to the rest. I like SoL “breaks” amidst drama, and the friendship with various people than just romance alone helped the characters feel more well-rounded, but it could definitely use some better writing.
Stopani is still ultimately a gag anime meant to make fun of yuri tropes though (Catholic all girl school, ojous, onee-samas, “princes,” tea parties, overly dramatic everything), so its writing is actually above expectation already. I never thought they’d took Kaori backstory that serious and executed it so well. My only wish was Tamao being a more worthy rival for Shizuma. She wasn’t threatening at all lol, which made the “stealing bride” scene at the end more hilarious than epic.
Maria-sama ga Miteru is the masterpiece of good writing. You can try it to see how drama and SoL can blend together.
