There are plenty of delightful character interactions up until the last story arc and I'm grateful that the show allows the time to pass and the characters to mature. There's rather little tension though as Sakuta and Mai are already in an established relationship, while the show is mostly about the relationships around all cute the puberty syndrome -afflicted girls and Sakuta. Especially at the start of the season the puberty syndrome feels like a very loose and contrived thing, bringing a speck of fantasy onto something rather mundane. When there's no meaningful mystery or tension, the show relies on its character designs and visuals, which are fine. Though the general nonchalance and dryness erupting into a burst of emotional action represent the mood the show is known for, even it can get a bit tedious when the viewer's only thing to look for is a juicy bit of flirting against Sakuta's stonewalled demeanour.
The season promises an overaching mystery related to the Santa Claus girl, but in the end the payoff is not there and the parts of the story are very loosely related to the Santa Claus bit. This dampens the whole season as the parts of it lose some meaningfulness. You can watch the season for the enjoyable interactions with the cute quirky girls, but storytelling is notably weaker compared to the show's history.
