[arenaninja]

Not the OP but after trying out React, it feels like the way I've always wanted to structure components in JavaScript. I did a once-over of the Angular tutorials and the kitchen-sink approach doesn't really do it for me. React is about your Views, and the logic contained therein, and that's it.

Without virtual DOM considerations on the line, after about a week of it it's very intuitive. The whole component lifecycle thing seems overkill until you realize you have full control over the components. Things are a little trickier if you have to use it as I do (with jQuery), but even then, your biggest hurdle is understanding props vs state -- once that's cleared up, the sky's the limit.