Episode 13:
Don't get me wrong, the final message of "We need to stay together" is same as in Jellyfish, but the way we got to it is way different. Girls got frustrated with each other, miscommunicated, fought, and actually worked things out in meaningful ways while staying together. They worked together to stay together through even through tough times.
Where Jellyfish is like a cheap American Christmas romcom, this show has actual story and character development, does not shy away from strong emotions and the need to work on them, and even the ending is way more realistic and... Stronger in its message. I mean, things did not work out as well as they hoped to, but both the characters and the viewers share the feeling that "things are moving forward".
And this show is still quite lighthearted. It tried things to be more optimistic, but the way everything was presented was just better. Humor was better as well, and part of that is how the studio worked the camera and those little animations. They were not using CGI for the sake of using CGI and (potentially) cutting costs: they used it as an actual story-telling tool, and it looked great.
The music, as well. Jellyfish was also supposed to be about music, although obviously with more emphasis on art as well, but it barely had any music in it. GBC has lots of music, not only like actual songs (most of which are quite good on their own), but also music during scenes, and it just adds to the overall experience.
I would dare say, that this anime was the best anime this season. There were good ones, of course, but overall they were all missing something here or there, while GBC felt like a complete and (mostly) polished experience.
