This failure wasn't entirely unexpected. If the anime industry can screw up Non-Non Biyori, they can screw up any slice-of-life. Poor Flying Witch did not even receive an imaginative screw-up. It simply was poorly drawn and animated, with cringeworthy scripting and acting. Especially the dude drove me up the wall every time he spoke. Inukai was a tremendous disappointment, too. I think it was terrible all around, but bloggers lapped it up (in particular, CKS and SDS). Seen 8.

UPDATE: Evirus liked it too, quotes "idyllic, laid back atmosphere and pace".

UPDATE 2016/12/26: CKS eventually admitted that he although he enjoyed the series, he "can't tell you why in any coherent way". He still claims that it "executed well". But baby steps. Well, I can meet him halfway by agreeing that it had "a great sense of place and of imagination". Sadly most of the rest was garbage, especially in the execution. I'm sure all the characters were brilliant in the script, but they didn't translate at all. That is precisely what a failure to execute looks like.