Didnīt know how many episode thereīd be, but I figured itīd be at least close to the end.

Anyway, I donīt know about that wrist-slashing angst, but a bit less one-dimensional writing would have been nice, yeah. I happen to forgot the titles of anime I saw quickly, so I cannot name many examples of what anime did it better imo, but one example would be Clannad. That anime was clearly filled with "love", but it made an effort to lead the plot towards that love, not have it be the end all of the story. Or for a newer example, Ano Mita Hi ... also featured a nice love story that wasnīt self-contained by a love-theme, but worked hard to create a broader scenery.
Sure, youīre probably going to wave all that aside and say "those arenīt comparable to Ano Natsu", but then Iīll disagree and reply that Ano Natsu indeed IS comparable to those above anime, but simply felt more simple, cheaper in direct comparison. Thatīs my opinion, anyway.