I'm running around reading reaction posts without having seen the movie. Mostly because I needed to go through my inevitable disappointment re: Finn and how this trilogy seemed to start with dual protagonists but then never followed through.

So I've mostly done that, and I'm actually getting excited by the positive reactions. Mostly from people who had the good sense not to expect Kylo Ren to live; since I'm one of those people as well, I think I'm going to enjoy it. (Agreed that a longer format of some kind would have been more conducive to a "live with your change of heart" situation for Ben Solo, but I'm still boggled that so many fans online genuinely expected him to stick around with the living. Hanging out with the Resistance, or something? IDK.)

I'm not sure what you've consumed for Star Wars, but I've heard that if you do want Anakin, The Clone Wars series is the way to go. But yeah, I really REALLY wanted him in the movie. I guess I'm glad to get that disappointment out of the way in advance as well.