The highlight in Granbelm for me is the relationship between Mangetsu and Shingetsu; and the former is a very likeable POV to follows.
I think Anna's hysterical tendency is enjoyable to look at, but not on how her story is handled. Everyone related to her chooses the most horrible choice of words to help her out, but her tendency to go explosive doesn't make me side with her either. While the story tries to address it by saying that is Magiaconatos's influence, the fact that the other two participants (Kuon and Nene) are fairly stable doesn't help that at its core, she is just like that and contribute on her own falls.
Which is, just like you guys pointed out, similar with Shinji.