Yup, squirrel boy's personality definitely hurt the series. Tis a shame since series that are that well made are pretty rare (in terms of animation) nowadays.
Definitely agree with the Amagami thing as well. That crazy chick (Tsukasa I think?) was amazing, lol. I'll be sad if there's none of her or the swimmer in the second season.
Also a bit unrelated (and old), but did anyone else find episode 4 of Natsume's third season really friggin sad? I don't think I've ever teared up that much. Ever. It was so bittersweet. :S