the english subtitled release of kotoura-san (aka: "the troubled life of miss kotoura") received various reviews from sources that do reviews for anime. theron martin from anime news network gave the series a b+ rating saying that while some may find the opening 10 minutes "overkill", the series is a great mix of "effectively funny, sincere, and heartfelt content". martin also praised the musical score, but called the artwork mediocre. chris beveridge from "the fandom post" also gave the series a b+ rating saying that it has "a lot going for it". beveridge points out that it is engaging to watch how haruka comes out of her indescribable childhood with a largely positive attitude. while she doesn't do it alone, he says that there are lots of moments where she "stands for herself" in order to do things she wouldn't normally do. tim jones from them anime reviews gave the series a "very low" 2/5 star rating calling it rushed with no pacing at all. in his review he criticized the usual high school troupes such as "festivals, beaches, fights, perverted male fantasy sequences, and parent troubles", and goes on to say that many of the characters' arcs are left "unfinished or just brushed off".