>>3057710The two big problems with SM's anime's designs is that they are too angular and desaturated. The eyes, faces, and hair of characters is too sharp or stringy. There's none of the softness or fullness to them that Carnelian's designs have. TE might have looked okay with sharp designs, but not SM.
Something that neither anime would benefit from is the desaturation. Characters in the SM VN "popped." This was done by juxtoposing colorful, vibrant characters against grey or depressing backdrops. This helped highlight another juxtoposition, that of moe or sexy girls against the brutality and desperation of death and oppression. It was very effecting in endearing you to these characters. Ironically enough, TE's VN was somewhat desaturated, especially in comparison to SM, and the characters tended to blend in with their surroundings more.