The art is simultaneously engaging and inconsistent, with solid use of color and visual comedy, paired with moments of almost amateurish animation and shot composition. The best part of the art is the character designs, managing to make a huge cast look distinct and recognizable from afar.
The sound is generally awful from start to finish, with a stilted, artificial OST and sound effects which sound as though they are occurring at the end of a long tunnel. I don't know how else to describe it, but many of the sounds of life sound distant and echoey. The voice acting meets all the standards of quality, but doesn't make up for the rest of the sound design.
The characters are this show's greatest strength, feeling believable for the world they're in as they play off each other quite well. If I had to choose my favorites, I'd choose Torako and Suzume, not only because they feel like the narrative core of this anime, but also because the last few episodes really developed them as characters. In fact, i'm not sure if I would have made that decision if those final episodes hadn't happened. This speaks to how I feel about Hyakko overall. In the end, it's a show which is especially sloppy in the beginning, developing into a better show as it clumsily stumbles to its feet. If the entire anime was like those last few episodes, than this would have gotten a higher rating, even with all its flaws.