Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

Story – 7 Art – 9 Sound – 9 Enjoyment – 8 Overall - 8 I have always had a feeling about this anime ever since picking it back up after finding out not every episode was going to be like Episode 00 and until recently I have not been able to put those feelings into words. But I believe Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata is a great high school/romance/comedy/ecchi/harem anime. Despite saying all that the story is a 7 for me. It's good, nothing substantial, but not bad. Nothing wrong with wanting to revolutionize the dating sim industry, many of us have dreams of our own. However, discounting all the convenient connections that this Tomoya Aki has, not much (plot-wise) really stands out aside from our "main heroine" and her role in his dream. Even though I say that, the episodes are enjoyable, the humour is on point, and the story flows. The art and sound get one paragraph because I've given them the same score: 9/10. The art is spectacular, not in SHAFT's abstract sense or Kyoto Animation's detail but the fact that it does what it is supposed to do, and it does it extremely well. I'm sure most if not all fans of Utaha will agree with me on this. Not only that, the colours are vibrant, the animation is fluid, and the alternate art style where things are outlined in a different colour is a nice shift that is not jarring at all. The backgrounds are solid, the character designs are good, and I think it's safe to say every pose and movement is what you came for. One thing I might question is the use of CG in some scenes like when a character is typing on a laptop. I find it unnecessary but it isn’t as pervasive as it could have been. As far as sound goes, the songs with vocals are very good (I personally love the opening and ending), and the background music is fitting and does its job. This is not to say that the voice actors/actresses aren't doing a wonderful job with their characters though, they're great and are worthy of praise for bringing out the character’s personalities, emotions, and other nuances. The characters themselves are on par with the story itself as I rate them 7/10. Here is where most of my criticism lies with the series. I've said what I think about the story, but in terms of the characters, they suffer much of the same. They're nothing substantial. They are great in their own respects, don't get me wrong, but they're tropes and clichés. So why do I still give them a 7 which is "good" in terms of scoring? Because they know what they are, we know what they are, and the author certainly wrote them as what they are. But they are done well. I think at least in this instance, you can only go so far on tropes and clichés, but this anime does a very good job of bringing out their qualities and allowing the viewer to enjoy them. The development is another point in regards to the story and characters that is worth mentioning because there isn't that much. By far the most notable character development lies with Katou and Aki for obvious reasons, but the other heroines as well as the main character get an arc of their own which is not bad at all. The development may be nothing ground-breaking, but it's still pleasant with its own charm. As of writing this review, I've given the anime an 8 both overall and as the score for my enjoyment. I think it is an anime that knows what it is trying to be and where it is trying to go, and it succeeds as a possibly shining example of a high school/comedy/romance/ecchi/harem anime.

This show is targeted towards incels. This show is normalizing toxic behavior and the main character is living his incel fantasy where women obey his commands and his toxic beliefs about women. This show is trash and only appeals to incels. The women in this show are unreasonably attracted to an incel who does nothing but make outrageous claims about women. The character depth is also terrible. This show is so garbage because its characters are garbage and it creates incels and well as perpetuates incel thought. I do not recommend watching this show. This show normalizes incel behavior that is not acceptable in reality.

For this review, I will be trying a simple pros and cons, instead of my regular ratings of the different aspects in detail. Saekano is definitely an interesting anime. You could say that this show is just a generic harem ecchi show who stars an otaku setting. I would accept that description. Nevertheless, Saekano is enjoyable. I find this anime very difficult to review because it is very close from a 7 to an 8. I think it shines in certain aspects; however, there are a few weaknesses in its plot and pacing that have hampered my experience a bit. Pros: - Great comedy: Otaku comedy works really well on me, and if you are a big fan of it, they do a solid job at it. There is plenty of references at anime tropes, which have made me laugh pretty hard. -Pretty good characters: The cast is well-rounded and everyone is likeable. Utaha, the black haired senpai, is funny and her design makes me nosebleed LOL. The main girl, Kato, has an unique personality, which creates interesting interactions with our MC, Tomoya. There is also a textbook tsundere, who has pretty pigtails. She may be the least likeable of those three though. -Good art: The art looks vivid and crisp. Being from the same studio who made Shigatsu, it has similar intriguing color usage. -References: There are some random references of other animes explicitly shown throughout the show. I find the activity of searching for them, a fun thing to do, while watching through the anime. -Enjoyable OP and ED Neutral: Fanservice: Some of the fanservice works really well in the episodes. I find this aspect of the anime very hit or miss. Certain shots of legs and bust feel unnecessary and forced, whereas, other scenes have their *ahem* charm. Protagonist: The main character is alright and doesn't make me dislike him. He has the passionate otaku personality. Story: There is not a moment of pure boredom present in Saekano, but during some parts, I have found myself slightly losing interest in watching it. Cons: Drama: The slight bits of drama/tension are not enjoyable imo. Saekano works best as a comedy anime, and the small setback makes me enjoy the anime less in the process. Annoying plothole: The writer says near the beginning, that they need 1 mil yen and Tomoya will be working many jobs. However, the viewers never see him do jobs, as he is dedicated to the programming and other otaku projects full-time. Character pacing: The appearance of a certain girl should have been sooner than what happens. Overall: 7.5/10

This is one of the great anime that I have watched, but it's sad to know that they limit to only 12 episodes. Hoping for a 2nd season. Aki Tomoya, An Otaku who has a BIG goal, to make MEGUMI KATO, the beautiful girl that he encountered, his heroine on his dating sim game, "Cherry Blessing", that will make all the gamers play his game. Tomoya has a great circle in his team. A great illustrator, a great novelist, a great musician and a great-- inspiration. With all of that, he believes in them and that they will create their own game. The art style is great also. Its very attractive to the audience. The music that they use is very appropriate and it does not stop singing in my head. I enjoy all the characters. Whether they are otaku or not, they unite each other and make a great circle. Overall I give it a 10. And I recommended everybody, especially to those who want a romance/ comedy anime to watch this.

The most typical MC you'll find came up with an idea while surfing online a remarkable dream opened up brand new skies he could not just leave this idea behind! By his side was a tsundere queen who he put in charge of drawing the scenes the scripting was done by a playwright who's number one in Japan at only sixteen. Mr. MC was the envy of all of the boys seeing him use all these girls as his toys their envy it seems is as a result of their dreams being crushed by an antisocial NEET. After all has been said and done Most of it was just for the hell of the fun Three bomb-shell hot babes in an unrealistic anime constantly vie for Mr. MC-kun's hot love.

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. -Friedrich Nietzsche Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata is an anime full of promise. It is directed by Kanta Kamei, the mind behind "Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru" and "Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin". At first glance, Saekano seems like your run-of-the-mill harem high school romcom. However, once delving into the pilot episode it is made clear that this is not the case. Saekano is an attempt at a satirical comedy romance show in the vein of Seitokai Yakuindomo and Oreimo, one that pokes fun of all of the harem and romance tropes found in most of the moeshit we see floating around the market these days. It is chock-full of references to these tropes and most of the humor revolves around the industry and culture of otaku. It is an interesting premise, and one that definitely promises to deliver a solid, humorous 12-episode romantic romp. But did it deliver? Firstly, let's start with the backbone of a show like Saekano: the characters. And my, do we have such a colorful assortment of unique, creative, non-cliche characters to choose from (insert sarcasm here). Since this is of course a satire of harem anime, Tomoya needs to have his own harem. Within this harem, Mr. Protagonist over here has a veritable buffet of delicious honeys that are as cookie-cutter as they come: First we have Eriri Spencer Sawamura, the tsundere childhood friend. On the outside she's one of the most popular girls in school. Rich, cute, and seemingly-innocent. However, get to know her and you'll see that she's a secret otaku, famous for writing Fakku-worthy doujins that sell like hotcakes. She's feisty, jealous, and short-tempered. She is the dream, loli tsundere complete with an inferiority complex about her breasts. Christ, she even has twintails and anime girl fangs. Second we have Utaha Kasumigaoka, the sexy, curvaceous tsunshun of the group. Utaha is the other popular girl in school. She's a cold, sexy-ass queen bitch, walking around in boots made for walking. Blessed with an ample chest and ample confidence, Utaha is the smartest girl in school and is the unapproachable hottie. Get to know her though, and you'll find out that she is also a closet otaku, a light novel writer whose books (surprise, surprise) sell like hotcakes. She's cold, bitchy, and just overall beyotch to Tomoya. However, she is actually insecure and jealous (of course), and uses her tsunshun attitude as a shell to get closer to him. Thirdly we have Michiru Hyodo, the lewd, totally comfortable to dry hump you cousin. She's (surprise, surprise) sexy af, with a (more surprise) ample chest and utterly curvaceous body, which she is not shy to let Tomoya see. She's...not really anything else, to be honest. She's presented as someone who is almost Tomoya's sister because of how long they've known each other, but other than that we just know that she loves music and doesn't really like anime. Hm. This is probably because she was introduced near the end of the show due to the pacing. Whatever. Lastly, we have the central character of the harem, and the girl who actually isn't a cliched character. Megumi Kato. She doesn't stand out at all. She's an average girl with average looks, but Tomoya sees within her the potential beauty of a main heroine. She's flat and dry with the way she says things and has the awesome ninja ability of slipping away without anybody noticing. She is the girl who MAKES the show. Her dry commentary of how cliche every other character is saves the show from becoming a generic harem romp. Without her, it is impossible to view this show as something different from any other show within the genre it represents. Still, regardless of how cliche they are, I truly did enjoy some of their scenes, however only if Megumi was there with them. When it was only Tomoya and any other girl by themselves, it seriously felt like a generic romcom scene with nothing to bring to the table. Megumi is the savior of every scene involving romance between Tomoya and his harem, and every scene that doesn't have her to pitch in her two cents, then the quality of just about everything drops. With the characters settled, let's get to the story. The story chronicles the tale of Tomoya Aki and his "circle" of friends in their quest to create a visual novel by that year's Winter Comiket. To be frank, it isn't much of a story. It is a set-up for an episode structure that allows lee-way for the main protagonist to get involved with the women of his harem in misadventures as they strive for their goal. Or that's what I thought it would be. What I saw quite frankly surprised me, because the story was paced very well. It presented every harem member *cough* excuse me, character, in a cliche manner, but almost each one is dedicated at least an episode for us to get to know them. This sounds like a genre trope again, yes, but shows sometimes must follow tropes or else it wouldn't be part of that genre. That being said, Saekano accomplishes this trope pretty well, fleshing out these cookie-cutter characters in ways that I never would have thought possible. The motives to their actions were laid out very plainly, and their feelings propelled them and their interactions in a way that was very entertaining. However, as Michael Bay has proven time and time again, entertaining does not necessarily mean good. Moving away from the character-driven plot, the story's seriousness and brevity never really takes full effect because of the lack of respect the show has for its female characters. Yes, you know what I'm talking about. Fanservice. Dear mother of Primus, it seemed as if with every episode, the amount of fanservice mounted higher and higher. It got the point where dialogue that developed the plot and/or characters was said over compromising slow pans over the characters' bodies. It distracted and undermined the seriousness of the entire anime, and fell into yet another trope of this genre. Pulling back to the pacing, I was worried here once again, because knowing every other 12-episode harem romcom anime with this structure, I was scared that it would spend too much time focusing on a few characters' development, and introduce the last member with lightning-quick development, making them not much of a character at all. Unfortunately, no matter how good this anime's pacing was, it could not save dear Michiru, who was introduced and developed within the span of two last episodes. Other than Michiru, though, the pacing was quite good, although it did fall yet again into the trope of this harem genre. And now, you can see why I quoted Nietzsche. This anime's story attempted to satirize and poke fun at harem romcoms, yet because of this, it fell into those tropes that it was making fun of. It's a classic example of an anime trying to be utterly meta, but tried so hard that it became beta (sorry, Psycho-Pass, I'm looking at you). The fanservice, the quick pacing, the unresolved plot threads, the needless drama, the "gag" scenes (that aren't really funny unless you understand genre tropes), it all just made Saekano an average harem anime. The story was nothing special at all. So was anything else special? Well, let's hit the sound. To be curt, no. The voice actors fulfilled their roles. Tsundere, monotone, tsunshun, tomboy, it's all been done before. When a scene called for emotion, they pulled through. When a scene called for hentaiesque moaning, they definitely pulled through. Mmmm, yes. They did. In terms of music, I have to say that this was one of the drawbacks. Nothing new at all (other than the disco track, ayyhay). Generic opening and generic ending by the girl who did the SAO ending, I assume. The soundtrack is one that after three episodes, you know which track is gonna play over which scene, like somebody is waiting in a boot…

The best way I can describe how I feel after finishing this show is if I went outside, someone ran up to me and kicked my ass, but I was somehow also bored while they were doing it. There are all the pieces of a good anime here, but they forgot to add in a little thing called dramatic tension. That would be bad enough, but I'm a sucker for good romance, so if the romance was good I could forgive it a little. Well its not good, it left me feeling disgusted, sad, and overall wishing I could wash it from my brain like drinking water after a foul meal. Honestly, the whole thing had good writers, good artists, good voice actors, good sound, but felt so utterly soulless that I couldn't get invested in anything that was going on or any of the characters. There were a couple moments where I felt something other than disgust or boredom, or where I got excited about a character or line or plot development, but it felt like someone trying to make a joke at a funeral... so out of place that the enjoyment was tainted by the realization that it was nothing more than a faint flicker of life in a mangled, dying body. I kept watching it because the ratings kept going up as the seasons went on, so I was praying that the ending would redeem at least some of the time and investment I had put in... but the ending was the worst part! When a romance anime ends with a confession that is more or less "You're boring and plain, but that's all I deserve so lets be together"... what the fuck even is this show? It's so so so bad. The only thing that saves it from being a 1 in my book is that the somewhat realistic take on artistic creation in the show was somewhat interesting, and it had a couple moments that were decent.

This show does a service to Otakus and the culture. To top it all of it has harem which in my opinion was done very well executed and developed. You get to see all the character grow and shine in the show. The show takes a parody/comical approach to the classic harem genre that I love. There are so many inside jokes that make the show even better. If you want to see an Otaku nerd who finds and explores love than this a show for you my friends. The show is so wholesome and comical. One of the best harems I have seen no doubt about it. Overall this show is good and I would recommend.

REVIEW: Saenai Heroine no Sodakekata Story (7/10): Aki, Tomoya, an average high school boy who has a hobby, that of being an otaku. One day as he rides his bike down the hill delivering newspapers, a girl's beret flies by catching Aki's attention. As he picks up the beret, a gushing wind of sakura blooms petals blows by his face. As he looks up onto the hill where the beret was blown from, Aki finds a girl standing on top of a hill. Aki is fascinated of her, and as an otaku himself, he randomly comes up with the brilliant idea to make a 'dating sim' as he suddenly inspired to make one. In order to make the dream of making a dating sim come true, he gathers a harem *ahem* his classmates which happen to be coincidentally ALL FEMALE. (The story may sound forced, but is it quite fresh and refreshing to watch a interesting plot unfold.) Art (7/10): It's art is similar that of Shirobako and Nagi no Asukara, where all the character designs look nearly the same from its counterparts. You're probably questioning, "That's how the artist designs are attended to be. You can't help it." Well, if you just add a different style of hair and a use different colors, they look different, right? (I'm sorry to insert my own personal opinion, I, as the viewer find that to be generic as in return bland and dull). But, compared to those anime I mentioned above, their character designs aren't as bad since all of them had distinguishable traits to recognize them by. Their personalities however, that what makes up the characters in general, which you will read in my character section. For the background however, it is what you expect from a modern-day anime. However, something to mention is that I think in either Episode 8 or 9, there were some scenes were Aki and his childhood friend Eriri, were reminiscing over their childhood memories. When they were reminiscing, the scenes were visually creative to look at. Just to keep that note in mind. Sound (8/10): Whilst of writing of this review and watching the last episode yesterday, I find myself repeating the OP over and over again. It was indeed catchy. But for the ED and OST, I forgot the songs in it's entirely unfortunately. Characters (8/10): The characters are what you can expect from your typical harem anime. But there are some characters in particular that you may like as the series progress on. Therefore, I will mention three characters that I found that I liked, that you make like as well throughout the whole anime. Aki, Tomoya: Odd is one word it comes to mind when it comes to this character. But at the same time, very amusing. He's that character that can make brighten one's day, even though's he is bizarre one. Fortunately, this isn't your genetic and dull main character when it usually comes to a harem anime. He has an intriguing personality and is inspired to do whatever means possible to reach his dream. Kasumigaoka, Utaha: When it comes to her characteristics, it fits one piece of a puzzle harem cliché. One of the most beautiful girls in school, has long black hair, has big *ahem* oppai, and you know the rest. When it comes to her personality however, she has two sides of a coin. One side seductive. One side perverted. But, most of the time she is calm, collected and has a reserved character. Her personality may be another anime cliché unfortunately. Despite that, that what makes her a likable character. Katou, Megumi: Easily one of the favorite characters throughout the whole entire anime in my opinion. To see her character come into play, is quite exicitng and refreshing. A character that usually doesn't play into the harem cliché and instead be herself. Innocent and genuine. Most importantly, anyone could relate to her. As she is probably the most 'realistic' character which can be applied to reality itself. You may find her dull and boring, but as a character has a uniqueness to appeal to the viewers. #TeamKato, you'll know what this mean when you finish this anime. Enjoyment (8/10): It was fairly satisfying considering how fresh the plot was. Even so, I sometimes found myself laughing at the screen at times. Sometimes reacting painfully to awkward moments even though they were humorous. The enjoyment of this anime was quite refreshing. Overall: You may be confused when going in into Episode 0, as you do not know where the story has progressed, unless you had read the light novel. What I recommend is to watch Episodes 1-12 then go into Episode 0. But overall, expect to pause a couple of times as the dialogue paces too fast in some cases, unless you know how to read and comprehend fast. But don't let that ruin your enjoyment of the anime. The plot is something to look forward to, as well as new refreshing new art, sound, and characters! It's worth you time! Expect lots of fan-service by the way, which is my advice to you. But, anyways enjoy! RAW SCORE: 7.81/8.00 ROUNDED UP SCORE: 8.00/10.00

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata or Saekano, if you're one of those lazy ass guys like me who can't be bothered to memorize a full length japanese title, is a romcom harem. That's all you need to know. Who actually cares about what's inside since it's going to be another run-of-the-mill harem romcoms, right? Well, that's where I was wrong and why I'm here to tell you why you're kinda wrong as well. Sit back and grab some popcorn coz if you're reading this, this'll be a long ass ride. Now, let's get this straight. I find harem romcoms to be utter shit in most cases but Saekano is kinda different. When I watched this show, I gave it a 3 episode trial and was honestly immersed. In a rare occasion, I actually managed to finish a harem show without puking my guts out in boredom and annoyance. Why is that? What is different w/ saekano that most harem romcoms fail to have? Simple. It has proper pacing and development. This anime has a plot. No, I don't mean big boobs and flat justice, though it really does have those in various sizes *wink* *wink*, but this show actually has its proper story set in place. In this show, the main character dreams of making his very own galge (or hentai games for the uninitiated) and he gathers up multiple stereotypes *ahem* I mean characters to aide him in his plight. Now, normally a harem romcom's story is forgotten amidst the swirling pile of boob shots and ass shots in the show, and while some of 'em actually do travel along the story's goal, it goes by it so subtly that by the time you realize they defeated the demon king, you'll just be like "Err... what happened? last I noticed, there were boobs... and boobs... an ass shot, and more boobs" which basically meant that they weren't paced well at all. Why is that? Because harem romcoms are focused more on characters rather than story. You can basically set the story into any theme and a harem romcom would still work given that your characters are the same kind of stereotype. And this is where I commend this show(although I should likely commend the light novel writer for making something that actually moves in decent consistency). In a span of 12 episodes, the MC managed to recruit a good artist, a good scenario writer, a good music composer, and a good heroine. That shows that the plot, or original purpose of the show, was never forgotten. While some of the scenes and episodes may seem unrelated, it will still show that they are working on the game they're doing, either blatantly pointing it out or saying it in a subtle way. That shows that there's actual story progression, and you don't have to wait 1 billion episodes before this series comes to a conclusion, which likely would be as rushed as flash when his gf says "parents not home". Another thing this show does well compared to most harem romcoms is development. When I say development, I mean character development, and not only MC to heroines but heroine to heroine development as well. One thing I despise about harem romcoms, and which makes me have a stigma against the genre in general, is that they half-ass character development all the time. And that's the rule to it. In harem romcoms, the MC should always have equal standings between all heroines just to balance the playing field (or give everyone a fighting chance for a flexible ending). Basically, it means that when the MC is doing something special with a certain heroine, you should expect that there would be a fallback. Either that the event blows up in a comedic fashion, rendering the character development null, or that all the girls will have a similar character development scene just so everyone is on an equal standing. And you know what I think about that? Dogshit stupid. That basically renders the effort of a heroine to nothing considering either it becomes nothing or everyone gets something, and when everyone is special then no one is. Let's get back to saekano. I mentioned MC to heroine development earlier, and like a normal run-of-the-mill harem, this show gives an episode dedicated character development to all the heroines. But there's a twist. There's a wildcard in the fray. What is it? It's-- nevermind, I won't say names. Anyway saekano's actually doing a good ol jedi mindfck technique. Yes, sure, every girl is getting an episode dedicated to character development, but the director is subtly hinting the viewers to someone else. They're making sure that a certain heroine has a huge advantage, which shows dedication. This show makes it solid that "this girl will win, stop fighting for best grills" and in doing so also makes it sure that every character development scene was put into a different use, either it'd be a set up to an emotional standoff or to strengthen character relationships (to a certain degree). Another thing is, this show doesn't only have MC to heroine progress. There's heroine to heroine progress, which is important because it shows that the heroines are not completely useless without their fcking boyfriend. Stole that line from gigguk lol. Jokes aside, character development in normal romcoms are so heavily dependent on MC to X-heroine that they don't normally interact with each other. That's not the case in saekano, and the show even shortens the gap between certain heroines, just to show that they're not stereotypes to fawn over but actual real characters that were given proper thought and idea. Anyway, that's the main points I wanted to cover. Music is good (catchy OP and ED and holy shit the sorairo days cover on the last ep was legit), art is good (boner popped multiple times courtesy of Utaha tights and Michiru hopes and dreams~), and honestly, the show is really enjoyable. It has its own flair that can make you immersed and feel like you're not just watching a set of stereotypes bumbling around in a story created purely for cashgrab reasons, but with actual characters you can care about and see their growth as a... well... character. And that's the deal I have with most harem romcoms. Everything is so forgettable and generic that you can't even be bothered to care. It exists just for wankers who want cute grills. In the sea of boobs and ass out there, saekano stands out as its own brand of bread and butter doing its own thing and this is why you should give it a try.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ~~~~Warning spoilers ahead~~ Main plot Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata is a romantic, comedy, harem anime about the otaku Tomoya Aki and the three heroines Kato Megumi, Utaha Kasumigaoka and Eriri Spencer Sawamura, gathering together in circle to chase Tomoyas dream, which is to create the ultimate dating sim that will move people to tears. Characters As told above there is four main characters including the main protagonist (Tomoya). Those three other main characters are: Kato Megumi Utaha Kasumigaoka Eriri Spencer Sawamura Both Utaha and Eriri excel at their own special way, with Utaha in writhing and Eriri in art. Utaha is a professional novel writher, and Eriri is a high level 18+ doushinji manga artist. It is clear that both these girls have feeling for Tomoya, but they express them differently. Eriri Kato on the other hand is a very average girl that doesn’t excel at anything, as Tomoya said: “she curves in where she should curve in, and curves out where she should. Overall she is cute.” Later in the series she develops a slight interest in Tomoya but doesn’t say anything. Tomoyas motivation to make the dating sim consisted of two main reasons He wanted to make the best dating sim ever made He wanted to share the feeling to fall in love, after he himself fell in love with the girl that lost her hat down the hill outside Tokoyas house, it is later reviled that the girl is Kato Animation Animation itself is nice and fluid accompanied by a not so fluid 3d animation at some places. The art on the other hand is undetailed and looks in some places very bad, but lets face it this isn’t UBW work so we cant expext any good balance between animation, detail and art. Music The sound track wasn’t half bad, piano where is should be and guitar where it belongs. But its not the best out there nor is it the worst out there. overall the anime is unfinished and end with a cliffhanger, so i cant say that i am satisfied with the results. So i will give it a 7/10 because the comedy was there and was funny.

Saekano is, ironically, pretty much just like dating sim (a.k.a otome game) itself: you can only enjoy it once you understand the rules. In a way, Saekano is a masterpiece in its own right. The characters are straight-up otome-esque (the senpai, the childhood friend, the little sister, another childhood friend/cousin) and they somehow manage to be a united front with a loyal otaku/otome-esque player to create this universe's version of otome game. Imagine the film Inception, but way (I mean, waaaaaayyyyyyy) geekier. Is the setting of Saekano the 'real world'? Definitely. However, recurring changes in coloring keep on suggesting that the perspective on the so-called 'real world' may not always be reliable. Regardless, what differentiates Saekano from similar anime (i.e. D-Frag!) is one: Katou Megumi, a giant flatness of a heroine. Katou Megumi is a blank canvas. Literally. Twelve episodes in and her presence is more fleeting than Kuroko Tatsuya and Aburame Shino combined. Ironically, such 'boring' exterior serves as a perfect muse for her to be mold-able into the perfect heroine-- and that's when the comedy begins. She is too casual to be a 'senpai', too intelligent to be a 'childhood friend', too witty to be a 'little sister', and too supportive to be 'another childhood friend/cousin'. Conclusively, she is simply undefinable. Again, since Saekano flirts with the concept of irony all too well, ironically it is Katou Megumi that continuously brings the story home to the Earth. As good as otome game is in selling the romantic fantasy, Katou Megumi constantly reminds us that no matter what, the best romance is always grounded in reality-- and the reality is, a young romantic maiden can simply be... well, undefinable. My final remarks, Saekano is not the go-to anime for first-time onlookers. Furthermore, one would perhaps look for other anime instead should fan-service happen to be the sole intention to watch. However, for the seasoned audience out there, Saekano might just be your big white whale. Otaku still need something real, and Katou Megumi might be just that. #felixlovesanime

Saekano is a bland sauce series about a bland girl that gets chosen to be a visual novel protagonist, due to the Kirito voiced, spastic protagonist that sees Megumi from afar and has an epiphany about a VN he wants to make. It’s like the creepy painter that claims that seeing a pretty girl nude will somehow burgeon a magnum opus. • Kirito invites Megumi to be his lead heroine. He also has an artist and a writer friend who go to the same school and just happen to be insanely talented. Why DO they help him with his project when he has no other talents aside from being an otaku? My only answer to this is that this show is a fucking harem, so bullshit plots are almost required. • Similar to all of Nisiosin’s works, every option except for the normal girl (Megumi), are beautiful prodigies within their craft. I don’t know if that’s just normal in Japan or what. I thought that after the first season, the second might go somewhere, but is ultimately very forgettable. This show primarily focuses on the appeal of pretty girls, rather than giving you a series of substance. • Much like Sword Art Online’s Kirito this Kirito MK II is even blander and more of a self-insert character. Unlike SAO’s Kirito, this one isn’t talented at anything except for inciting useless drama and having zero usefulness to the story, except making pretty girls fight over him, while Kirito had his talent at… gaming? • There’s the typical tsundere character and the witty Senjougahara copy-paste that has stockings and is obviously the foot fetish character. The most interesting thing for me in the series, was their strife to get their dream recognized, since I’m a sucker for those kind of things and have a major passion for visual novels. • Most of the strife just links back to the tired, prevailing narrative of catty drama reminiscent of the Tenchi Muyo spats, so the struggle seems pathetic. Saekano is pretty to look at, but it’s as deep as a puddle. If you have watched the anime: Nisekoi, then you’ll understand how the vapidity of these two series are comparable. I give the first season on Saekano a 4/10 and the second season a 3/10.

Story & Writing: Right off the bat this thing follows that shitty trope where every cute girl in the vicinity inexplicably wants to suck the protagonist's dick. While this was tolerable at first, it gradually became nigh insufferable due to how immature and passive-aggressive its cast of characters handle the situation. The "conflicts" and "problems" faced by these characters are actually very insubstantial and extremely easy to solve. Why? Because the cause of these conflicts are obscene to begin with. Characters will get mad at one another for just about any reason, and screaming at each other or having a crying party is usually the best resolution that this braindead show can come up with. Also, it irks me that the main selling point of this show - the creative process behind a game - is mostly kicked to the curb in favor of drama, angst, and rom-com antics. If you came here for the game-making then haha fuck you. Now, I don't usually include an entire section for the "characters" in my reviews because I think the characters are a part of the story and writing, and it's better to talk about the characters along with the story. However, Saekano's characters are special and warrant an entire section. Why? Because to understand why Saekano is so bad, we'll have to examine the characters. Characters: Up first is the protagonist, Tomoya, an oh-so-popular otaku and a prime medium for neckbeards to self-insert. He's also a popular blogger and one of the most popular kids at school, and I just cringed out of my fucking skin writing these two sentences. He is not the best of the cast nor the worst either. To me, he's just barely tolerable as a protagonist because he drives the plot forward to some extent and has a somewhat amusing personality. However, the way he treats Katou, the way he undermines her lifestyle and personality and tries to "mold" her into something that is more to his liking, feels extremely bizarre at best and slimy at worst. I don't understand this character dynamic. What is going on? What kind of person is the "right" person? The kind that you can jerk your little ding dong to as opposed to the kind that provides enjoyable companionship and emotionally fulfills you as a human being? Katou was the only saving grace for this anime. She's the definition of chill and does not give a single fuck. I never get bored of watching her deadpan reactions to Tomoya's antics in her monotone voice. There's something so inherently amusing and soothing about her personality. She was a genuinely fun and interesting character who could have made this an enjoyable series but unfortunately, she can't negate the damage done by all the other characters, who are just fucking obnoxious cunts whose only purpose is to stew up some dogshit melodrama and angst. Take Eriri for example: she's a whiny and narcisstic bitch who brags and bluffs to protect her laughable self-esteem but whines and cries whenever things don't go her way. She gets mad at the protagonist for extremely unreasonable things and is always the shit-talker. Her thought process and behavior verge on complete sociopathy, and in my honest opinion this bitch needs professional help more than she needs the protagonist's dick. This misstep in character writing came back to bite Saekano in its ass when Eriri's character arc inevitably comes around, and I am left sitting in front the screen swearing and fuming at how the show still expects me to take this dumb bitch seriously. Utaha is another stupid bitch who holds a grudge against the protagonist for not preemptively reading her work...? For not doing what she wants him to do because it goes against his personal ethics? These two bimbos constantly act as if they hate the protagonist, but the moment he announces that he's going on a date with Katou they become extremely passive-aggressive and obsessive, which is extremely childish at best and absolutely retarded at worst. Man you bitches need Jesus. And by Jesus I mean Tomoya's dick and some Xanax. There is more to talk about here, but I don't feel like sitting here and typing up two or three more paragraphs for the remaining members of Tomoya's harem. I don't wanna spare the effort for Saekano when it clearly can't spare the effort for its audience. tldr: most of the characters are extremely unlikable and they have about as much chemistry with one another as a catholic nun has chemistry with a pimp. Art: Mediocre and uninspired. Sound: Nothing too memorable. Once again, the picture of mediocrity. Enjoyment: 6/10 The rom-com antics were somewhat fun while they lasted - before the show decided to shove its head up its own asshole pretending that it's something it's not. Overall: 5/10

Saekano has been one of my favorite series i had watched in my life... its not as obnoxious as other harem series but the dude it still a dense idiot and sometimes i want to punch him for being such a innocent jerk (he is insensitive without knowing). Don't ge tme wrong... The main character is really not a Jerk, but he is an idiot otaku that can only focus on one thing and think lineal that he indirectly becomes insensitive and hurts the girls accidentally and he is dense enough to not realize it, even if he gets hit for it. He only can see one thing and that's it. I started this with the manga not the novel... and Honestly I thought Utaha was the main heroine since she was the first to show up (and normally the first girl to show up is the main heroine) But Megumi is the main girl and I felt kind of disappointed... mostly i became fan of utaha, but megumi comes a second. (Fortunately, Utaha has her own alternate universe series which she IS the main heroine) I feel bad for Eriri though... she gets the short end of the stick all the way without a pone thrown at her... (She didnt even get her own series) this is one of the reasons I do not like harem stories that much... because too many girls get hurt by that insensitive guy and many broken hearts goes around and I hate that... I hate when girls are used for just drama and comedy relief and end up with broken hearts... (Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru being a sample of this). is it worth using all those girls just for the sake of drama and profit? Anyways, the story centers around an otaku who wants to make a visual novels. He is best friends with a famous novelist (Utaha) who is her senior in school and childhood friend art and illustrator (Eriri); he tries to convince them to join him to make a game and brought many proposals but they always refused. Then one day he has a "fateful encounter" with a girl coming back to his house and he got enchanted by her... thinking on one of his otaku fantasies. And he thought... "This is a heroine of a game..." Turns out the girl goes to the same school and class as him but she is just a "background character" that no one noticed. Tomoya (the main character) then got dissapointed because Megumi (the heroine) its just your ordinary plain Japanese girl with almost to not personality at all and she just "blends in the background" No heroine material... still he chose her so he tries to convince her to be his heroine for his game and drags her in... saying "I will turn you into my perfect heroine for this game". Megumi just went along with it because "Why not?" Now with a heroine, Tomoya proposes his game again to Utaha and Eriri... and out of jealousy and the presence of a new girl they accept to form the circle. So the story goes how Tomoya fights hard to make this game a reality, while the girls (minus Megumi since she just 'meh, what ever') fight hard to gain his attention and approval. - I must say that this is one fine love comedy, and its well executed and not obnoxious. I enjoyed the first season when it first came out very much and planning to see the second once it finishes and is available. The character development is excellent and the conflict and drama within them and how to solve it and the pains of past memories were well made which bring us to feel sympathy for these girls. Why they continue on pursuit to this dense otaku idiot? I dont know... (but in reality is the author and editors' fault). Honestly speaking... Megumi is a dilemma... her character intrigues me. This girl can become a professional poker player with ease. She constantly has a neutral expression as if she doesn't care what happens with the world and rarely shows emotion. How ever she is indeed a good friend and the one who tries to keep everyone together with a clear mind. Funny thing though... her poker face is the strongest when she sees Tomoya in a lucky-pervert situation... but I can see it in her eyes... the annoyance. It seems that deep down she does have feelings for Tomoya but she controls them really well and doesn't let emotions get the better of her like Utaha and Eriri. And also she has been the voice of conscience to the group many times over even if she goes around with a "Meh, what ever" attitude. I also tried to real the original source, the novels, but they are not fully translated unfortunately. In conclusion, Saekano has been a fun ride and I enjoyed it very well. It is one of those series that I do not mind watching again. So i do recommend it.

On the surface, it seems like your typical harem ecchi anime where all the girls fight for the MC's attention and love but if you look closer, you can see that this anime acknowledges that type of genre and makes fun of it with it's great comedy (which also includes breaking the 4th wall). The story line is basic but the character are great and the music is very appealing. However, along with breaking the 4th wall, they do make alot of references to other animes instead of making it up or parodying a known anime which is not neccessarily bad, its just a different approach. Overall, aside from the typical harem ecchi anime moments, this show does have its uniqueness and is very enjoyable nonetheless. Story: 7 Art: 7 Sound: 8 Character: 8 Enjoyment: 9 OVERALL: 8

When you find a show that is so good that it manages to completely subvert the genre, it can be great. What often goes unmentioned but is perhaps equally as interesting, is a show that manges to be totally new and different within the confines of the genre in question.Whilst not being anything of a breakthrough, I felt that Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata was well on the way to being the latter of those. Story: The story was pretty serviceable, interesting enough to keep me interested, not so interesting that my mind was blown. I don't think the story is the real subject of this show however, so I'm willing to let this slide. It's also worth noting that as this is only the first season we're not necessarily going to get THAT much key plot developments, i personally think it's nice to see a show take it's time with it. Art: I'm not so experienced in anime that i can tell too much about the art, what I do know is that if it's enough to make me think 'wow that's some pretty good art' it must be ok. That's about all I have to say on that. Sounds: Opening track is pretty good, OST was somewhat forgettable. The sound never really added to the show but never took away either. Character: The characters for me we're the most interesting part of the show. The main female lead is quite an interesting take on the traditional heroine, although it's not been done before (See The World God Only Knows). The show really plays this to its strength and the juxtaposition between Megumi on the one hand and the exaggerated archetypes of Eriri and Utaha is a lot of fun to watch. The characters also play off of each other in a comedic way really well. This show is a lot smarter than it really deserves to be with some of the gags. Enjoyment: This show is a lot of fun, it brings laughs and the occasional funny feeling. You don't hate any of the characters and no-ones really annoying enough at any point to grate on the nerves. It's light, it's harmless, it's probably fluff, but isn't there a certain charm to that? Overal: Really enjoyed it, looking forward to season 2. It's difficult to really judge when not placed in the context of what comes after it but I think if this show keeps pushing the same kind of buttons and further developing the characters, we could be in for a fun ride. A solid, but not totally exceptional 8/10

For a spoken review, click the link to my video review of this show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVKn113W_Q8 Ah, February. The month of love. What better way to spend the month dedicated to relationships other that watching 2D girls on my TV, and better yet, scantally clad 2D girls at that. So I've decided to dedicate an entire month the a genre known as ecchi. Welcome to the first video of ecchi month on my channel, as each Saturday in the month of February, I will review an ecchi show for your amusement. For the first review of ecchi month, we are going to be reviewing Saekano- How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend. I can honestly say this will probably be the best, and least ecchi show I will be reviewing this month. So without further adue, lets get into the start of ecchi month with a very enjoyable and surprising show, Saekano. Story: Saekano is about the journey of Tomoya Aki, a high school otaku working part time to support his BD hoarding, as he prepares to kickstart his dream of being a dating-sim game creator. With remarkable luck, he bumps head-first into Megumi Kato-the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Naturally, the meeting twists his life into a complicated torrent of relationships. Eriri Spencer Sawamura, his half-foreigner childhood friend who's always valued her relationship with MC. Kasumigaoka Utaha, a cold, composed renowned literary genius who shoves everyone aside from our protagonist. This show is the tale of a small not quite doujin circle, but not quite indie studio's journey through the tough territory of comiket and beyond. Now I believe that, for a series that focuses on mainly slice of life comedy, it's not right to hold it to the same criteria of shows of different genres. This show, as a whole, doesn't have an interesting concept at first glance, but this show has one interesting dynamic that made all the difference to me, and that is the character known as Kato Megumi. The way the show handles her character is the real highlight of the show, and the best example of how this show takes an average concept and turns it into something more. Kato's character is Tomoya's dream main protagonist of his game when he has a perfect encounter on a hill in the spring, but he comes to find out his dream heroine is just an average, unnoticeable, simple girl with no presence or any traits befitting of the main heroine he envisioned. The show's sense of direction revolving around Megumi makes her one of my favorite female characters of all time because the show does an amazing job of portraying her character, adding more to her interesting dynamic. The show uses off-focus camera angles, and many other ways to make even the watcher forget Kato is there. In terms of the show's execution, the real value of shows like these is the character interactions, and the scenarios that are set up, as opposed to incredibly compelling narratives and complex story devices. In this regard, the show does an amazing job of setting up scenarios that make use of all the characters interesting character tropes to always keep the show interesting. It takes a slow pace at first, starting off by taking a few episodes to accumulate all the members of the game-making circle, but afterwards becomes quite steady. In terms of the comedy aspect, this show uses a variety of references from the anime and otaku industry. If you are well versed in these, you will find this show incredibly enjoyable because of the subject matter of the comedy. Further on down the line, Saekano takes a detour through a more romantic/drama route, but doesn't veer off course enough to become to cliché, or to lose focus by keeping it fairly light. For the story, this show has a fairly simple concept, but has enough interesting story elements, and dramatic tension to keep you on your toes. The true appeal in this show is its style of comedy, focusing on anime tropes and otaku culture, and if that interests you this show is right down your alley because it does it exceptionally well. Also, despite this being ecchi month, the ecchi was INCREDIBLY toned down, almost to the point of nonexistancy, until episode 10. This is honestly a plus side for me, given I’m not a huge fan of ecchi, but a downside given that this is ecchi month and it’s kinda the theme of the whole thing xD. Episode 0, however, is full of ecchi. Characters: Out of all the places this anime excels, the characters are the best example. At first glance most of these characters seem like standard anime character archetypes, but they are all given discerning traits that make them different and lovable in their own way, and honestly by the time the show was over I was sad to see them go. Aki Tomoya is described as an otaku and prefers reading comics and light novels, watching anime, and playing visual novels above anything else. After a chance encounter on a hill, he decides to recruit members for a circle to follow his dream of making a dating sim game that will win the hearts of all who play it. He's just one of those harem protagonists who somehow finds a way to have it in with the 2, arguably 3, most beautiful girls in school, despite his personality. As a character, Aki is one of the shallowest, not really having much to him aside from the fact he is an extreme otaku. We are given some insight as to what makes him tick, as well as his personality and outlook, but other than that he's pretty standard. The next character is Eriri Spencer Sawamura. Eriri is one of the most beautiful girls to attend to Toyogasaki High School. Her family is very affluent. Her father is an English diplomat and she lives in a mansion up in the hills. She is the secret illustrator for an over doujinshi circle called: ''Egoistic Lily'' under the alias Eri Kashiwagi when she participates in doujin activities. Eriri on the surface seems like a standard tsundere, but is given some interesting troupes that keep her from being TOO generic, and is also given some very good characterization through backstory and development. At first, I thought she was going to be just your standard tsundere, but she really is given enough to individualize herself beyond her archetype. The next character is Utaha Kasumigaoka. Utaha is a hardworking girl. Her usual disinterested expression strikes others as an unapproachable person. When she is alone with Tomoya's circle, she reverts to her disdainful self who enjoys making sarcastic remarks. She seems to be calm and quiet, but she actually has a sharp tongue, and can be a little aggressive. She is another example of taking a standard archetype and giving them something to individualize them. She may seem like the emotionless type, but is also given a good amount of backstory and characterization. Also, both of these character's (Eriri and Utaha) backstory and development give us insight into the mind of creators, why they create, and who they create for. This really gives them purpose in the show, especially given the context. These two characters showcase perfectly one thing this show excels at: portraying the relationship between consumer and creator. The next character, and the worst in the show is Michiru Hyodo. Michiru currently attends to a girl’s high school and used to be part of all kinds of clubs on campus but recently started an indie band called Icy tail. She is preparing for her live performances every day. Michiru composes the music in the game by Blessing Software. Michiru’s character is the worst in the show for the sole reason that she makes her appearance in episode 10. THAT’S 2 EPISODES FOR ANY AND ALL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Anything related to her felt forced, and while she was a fun character, given her limited screen time, she felt so empty. Now we move on th the final character, the best character in the show, and the holder of best girl, Megumi Kato. Megumi Kato is Tomoya's classmate, who is hardly noticed by others. She went in the same class as Tomoya since first year, but he never noticed he…

It is without question that the harem genre is slowly becoming worse and worse. This is mainly because since roughly around 2011, the anime industry hasn't tried at all to create brand new tropes and ideas and instead use the generic blueprints derived from their predecessors. In this regard, Saekano is the metaphorical parasite of the harem genre. PLOT Let's go off on a tangent for a bit and talk about a little show I call OreShura. In my opinion, I consider OreShura to be one of the few harem shows that a fan of the genre must watch simply because it stands out from the thousands of other harem shows. This is because what OreShura does that many harems refuse to do is generate a unique plot and expand on the typical tropes found in the genre with brand new ideas and interactions between characters. So how does this apply to Saekano? Well, the director of OreShura, Kamei Kanta, also known for his works on a little show called Usagi Drop, was tasked with creating Saekano. Because of this, we can expect a unique perspective of the harem genre, right? Wrong. At first glance Saekano may seem to be another typical harem story. However, Saekano is, as most people would describe, a meta-comedy. To give you uneducated skank niblets an idea about what I'm talking about here, a meta-comedy is a show that constantly insults itself. Something that's very interesting about reviewing meta-comedy anime is that if you're reviewing it from a negative standpoint, you come across as a stupid and incompetent dillweed. This is because most of these reviewers point out the major cliches and stereotypes shown in the anime as if it's still a negative aspect of the show. Unfortunately for them, in the case of meta-comedy, they PURPOSELY insert these negativities as a joke to laugh about. So tell me: would you give an anime a 3/10 just because you didn't like the humor in the show? Again, this is a large reason that Saekano is regarded as one of the best shows of the year simply because nobody's brave enough to look like an absolute nincompoop. Yeah, you didn't expect to see nincompoop in a review, did you? Well, f**k you, this is Saekano CHARACTERS Ahh, the characters. In a show such as Saekano, the characters and many different personalities are arguably the most important aspect of the show. I'll briefly speak about the assortment of buffoons inside Saekano and how they affect the show as a whole. First, let's begin with Rinri-kun, also known as Mr. Ethical. Aki Tomoya is the main protagonist of Saekano and, like most rom-coms, is a male. Not only that, but he's a massive otaku. It's because of these features that many viewers of Saekano found themselves relating to this character and realizing: "Hey, since Tomoya is a male and otaku, I can basically pretend that he's me!" This brings me to my point that Saekano might be a great show, but the amount of fans that it can appeal to is limited and, to put simply, requires a previously aquired taste. 90% of the cliches portrayed in this anime (which is a lot) can be found inside the personalities of Eriri Sawamura Spencer and Kasumigaoka Utaha. From the blonde Tsundere pigtails and snaggletooth to the long flowing black hair accompanied with a calm and cool attitude, these two are what keeps Sakano going. However, Kanmei wasn't stupid enough to just fill their characters with the same bland broth we always taste; he made sure to add some special seasoning of his own. For example, though Eriri is the walking definition of a Tsundere, it's shown that she fakes this personality fearing that if she shows her true otaku self, she may not fit in and find friends. Oh, did I also forget to mention that she's an otaku? Also, Utaha may be that cool and calm girl, but her backstory reveals an interesting previous love interest with Tomoya. Additionally, she has an incredibly pervy side when drunk. The staple girl of Saekano is known as Megumi Kato. Tomoya first encounters her on a hill as the wind blows off her beret. This scene is what influences Tomoya to creste a video game with Megumi as the main character. Personality-wise, Megumi doesn't stand out that much. However, it's precisely because she doesn't stand out that she's the most memorable character in the entire series. Unlike the many other characters in Saekano, Megumi doesn't fall under any specific archetype. In fact, to this day, it's still a debate of confirming what type of dere she falls under. Megumi Kato is considered by many as the best character out of the entire cast of Saekano, and I don't blame them. With harem animes creating the same story over and over again with different characters and such, it's nice to know that some anime are still trying to break boundaries. Finally, onto Michiru. To be honest, Michiru is the worst girl in the entire series. She isn't needed in the show other than the fact that they needed someone to work in music. Eriri and Utaha have that constant rivalry and Megumi is there to make humorous retorts about the two as well as the relationship between her and Tomoya. In the 3 final episodes that Michiru was actually included in, she was a walking fan service bomb, which is the largest aspect people point out when listing negativities of Saekano. Oh, she provides a perspective from a non-otaku point of view? Nice try, we already have Megumi. With the second season of Saekano in the works, I'm predicting a large portion will be focused on Michiru in order to make it appear as if she's important for the show. However, first season-wise, she's less noticeable than Megumi. SOUNDTRACK Though Saekano is revolutionary in the comedy and harem genre, the soundtrack behind the show is painfully generic and would be what you'd expect from a rom-com sort of anime. Not much can be said about the opening and ending other than the female vocals were above average and that the lyrics were a good choice for the opening for Saekano. It's also worth mentioning that both the opening, ending, and entire soundtrack follow a sort of techno-pop sound, which is good considering the anime is about making a video game. Something interesting Saekano does is provide a cover of the Gurren Lagann theme. Referencing other anime music doesn't happen often in other animes—in fact, the only anime I recall doing so was Wake Up Girls. Scenes like this leave a large impression to remember that specific scene, especially if you've seen the anime referenced. ANIMATION/ARTWORK Now for my favorite aspect of Saekano: the animation as well as artwork. In a large amounts of scenes, especially in the beginning of the series, Saekano isn't stingy when providing well-detailed frames. This results with many scenes in Saekano very realistic and enjoyable to watch. Art-wise, A1-Pictures does a fantastic job, especially with the eyes, a large influence whether people watch a show or not. Additionally, viewers may notice occasional palette changes to characters in certain scenes. For those who've seen Ef, this isn't new. Directors may choose to do this in order to display what a character is feeling, or what sort of emotions a scene should evoke. Personally, I consider this technique creative, as a large amount of anime today choose to stay unexplorative and remain with prior techniques. Saekano, on the other hand, chooses to expand the boundaries of what anime should be and take chances. Though the animation and artwork excel is Saekano, I cannot fathom what Kanmei was planning to do in episode 10 where he doesn't even bother to color Tomoya's hair in a large portion throughout the episode. I'm unsure if it was intentional, or the animators were just too lazy to finish their work. Regardless, it was... Different. THE BADS Saekano is an exceptional anime. However, no anime can be perfect and comes with a few flaws, if any. First of all, the audience of Saekano is extremely limited. The jokes are directed towards the anime "otaku" which have seen hundreds of anime…

Spoiler-free should-you-watch review of the entire series: Early warning, in case you don't finish the review: I recommend skipping episode 0 and starting with episode 1, explanation buried below. In short, Saekano is a harem anime with heavy male gaze that tries to stand out by 1) being extremely self-aware, and 2) directing its humor at otaku. These attempts range from cringe-y to super funny, so it's a bit of a mixed bag. Combine that with attractive character designs and a half-hearted drama that strengthens into an emotional romance over time, and you're left with something I'd describe as "pretty dang watchable". I had a good time. I'd even go so far to say that some elements are quite inspired. Though Saekano initially flounders in a sea of otaku humor and fanservice, it hones itself over time into a compelling story about passion and motivation. I'd say Saekano starts off as about 60% comedy, 35% sex appeal, 5% plot. Although disappointing in some respects, it's great if you just want to laugh at something. The comedic dialogue is surprisingly well done, and the situational and character-based comedy is executed well, despite being kind of repetitive. My only real complaint is that some of the otaku-referential humor falls flat, coming off as exclusive and to some degree elitist, which is… embarassing. And yes, if you want the camera to stare at butts and breasts while women are talking, Saekano does that. A lot. It's a bit transparently horny--not quite as tasteful as other anime I've seen--but at least it's honest about it. If that's what you're looking for, it's drawn very nicely, you will not be left wanting. If not, you're kidding yourself if you think that's a valid criticism; Saekano did not decieve you, the male gaze is a major selling point of the anime, don't watch if it you don't want butts and breasts in your face. The art in general is attractive, cute and clean without relying on any kind of unusual style. It gets a little wonky in the first season when people are more than ten feet from the camera, but I give it a pass because it's impeccable the rest of the time, both the seasons and the movie. The animation even manages to sneak in some charming manga-esque details where something interesting happens in the background while characters talk in the foreground in parallel. Given its self-aware-otaku-humor nature, it occasionally makes references to other anime, which are rewarding to recognize but not a big deal if you don't. The characters aren't exactly groundbreaking, but I quite enjoy Megumi as a twist on the "straight man" role; she's delightful. The premise of why she's part of the story is a little cringe-y, but that cringe factor is one of the elements that works best with the self-awareness, and she plays off of those expectations very well. It's yet another series set in high school, but luckily the character designs aren't too homogenized because of it. The voice acting is wonderful, and I frequently noticed it picking up some slack in the writing. I'll admit, it is tiring to watch another terminally uninteresting protagonist receive the seemingly unconditional affection of all the young women around him, but it's ridiculous enough to be funny every once in a while, especially with the fourth wall breaks. That said, the second season is when the show really hooked me. Character development exists in season one, but it's weak and mostly serves the comedy. Due to a weak overarching plot, season one is mostly episodic and any drama is resolved fairly quickly by the characters returning to their archetypes and butting heads again. Season two takes itself a bit more seriously drama-wise. The characters care about real things, and their feelings and frustrations are given a chance to develop into something compelling. This especially helps the protagonist who, like I mentioned, had been pretty bland up until that point. He is still one of the weaker characters, but he's finally given a chance to not only grow, but more importantly show a real flaw that isn't a glorified punchline. The sexualization, otaku humor and self-awareness are still very much present, but they're toned down a LOT to prevent detracting too much from the story. The movie is also good, and maintains the focus on drama while bringing everything to a close. I can't say I was 100% thrilled with the way they handled some of the plotlines, because it felt like the writing regressed a little bit towards the end, but overall it was well done, and I was left quite satisfied. I think it's a bit aggressive to say, as some have said, that Saekano fails to rise above its intentional, self-aware tropes; it too confident for such a broad claim. When people go out of their way to identify and condemn tropes and patterns, they risk pigeon-holing new experiences. Saekano introduces harem anime tropes to poke fun at them. Saekano also indulges in allowing these archetypal characters to play out classic trope-y situations. Does this mean Saekano has failed in its self-awareness? For clarity, I'll go ahead an answer what I'd hoped would be a rhetorical question: no. In fact, I'd say this contradiction is actually one of Saekano's more profound themes: it's okay to consciously recognize how stupid something is while subconsciously being compelled by it. That is the human experience. I'm not saying Saekano is a masterpiece, or even consistently profound, but it maintains its own identity beyond the tropes. It's good at providing different perspective, even if it doesn't take a stand to support one or the other. I wouldn't say it's a weakness in the writing as much as it's simply a choice they made. Lastly, I didn't think I'd have a watch order note for this series, but here we are: I whole-heartedly believe that you should skip Episode 0 (the fan service episode) until after you've finished the first season. I made the mistake of watching it in-order, and it does a terrible job of pulling you into the show. IMO, a fan service episode is best when you already understand and care about the characters. Episode 0 on the other hand dumps you into the middle of an in-progress story, with hasty and uncompelling exposition to prevent you from being totally lost. I guess they put this episode first because they hoped the fan service would draw people in? Whatever the reason, it was a bad call, seriously don't start with that episode. I re-watched it afterward and it was much more enjoyable. So yeah, Saekano is fun and sexy and kind of stupid, and that's what you're asking for in this genre. That said, it does eventually develop a compelling plot, and becomes fairly touching in spite of how cringe-y the premise is. Saekano is both a criticism and a celebration of harem anime tropes, and that's ok.