SAENAI HEROINE NO SODATEKATA

DESCRIPTION

CAST

NOVEL ComedySaenai Heroine no Sodatekata
ANIME ComedySaenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭
MANGA ComedySaenai Heroine no Sodatekata

REVIEWS

• 

  D4NK

  85/100
  A Harem Comedy with a Subtle Romance hidden within it

  *This is my first time writing a review on anything so I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum while sharing my thoughts on this series. These are just my personal opinions and it doesn't mean that you have to think the same way

  What is Love and how is it expressed? Maybe Spending time with your significant other, a hug, or maybe even a kiss. Though all these things are true .... in my opinion Love is nothing but a sacrifice. A sacrifice that you commit happily. And it is in these small sacrifices that you commit, you express your love. And that's what Saekano (Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata) is about. It portrays how in small, subtle, unnoticeable actions one can express his/her feelings of affection,gratitude and admiration for someone else. Though I'm still new when it comes to Anime but i think I have been exposed to quite a few romance series, yet I have only seen a few series show this side of love in a way that Saekano does.
  Saekano was a surprise for me, who was only watching the show cause he wanted to chill and watch some harem comedy.... But what he got was a series that made him realise once again how beautiful anime can be.

  So Saekano is Romance Harem Comedy which explores Aki Tomoya's relationships with three girls (Though there are five but two of them are not that important) as they make a dating simulation game. Now Tomoya-kun is a "self proclaimed" Otaku ... and i emphasize on "Self Proclaimed" because here is where many people start to get the series wrong. Tomoya's character is not of a typical otaku but instead he is actually a pretty lively and energetic personality who is actually pretty well known in his school because of his antics. Tomoya is the kind of guy with whom you can talk to or maybe even just listen to for hours without getting bored and I can see why any girl would fall for him. I have seen many people talk about Tomoya being dense but while i watched this series never did I get that impression. Tomoya seems to avoid relationships because he is stuck with the stereotype of a " Typical Otaku " who has no room for 3D girls in his life, when he is definitely not one. He seems to realize the feelings the other characters have for him yet he doesn't feel like reciprocating them maybe because he just wants things to stay as it is and doesn't want to ruin them. He values them as his friends and can't take the risk of losing them.

  One morning Tomoya has a encounter with a kawaii girl. It looked like as if it was taken straight out of a movie scene. That moment Tomoya was awestruck. A fire ignited inside him reminding him of his dream of once making a dating simulation game. He recruits his friends Sawamura Eriri (An aspiring Doujin artist) and Kasumigaoka Utaha (A young upcoming LN author) to help him achieve his goal. Soon Tomoya meets Kataou Megumi who just happens to be the one whom he encoutered that morning. Tomoya wants her to be the heroine/model for the game..... but there is one problem. Megumi has a very dull and boring personality. Tomoya is hell bent on making her the Heroine so he decides to train her. And so begins this Journey known as Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata or "Raising a Boring Heroine".

  The Character types are nothing new yet they feel fresh. Eriri is your classic childhood friend Tsundere who treasures her moments with Tomoya in the past. And when she seperated from him for a while she realised that she had fallen for him way before she had realised. She acts as an intelligent and elegant girl and is pretty popular in school because of that but in reality she is very childish and crazy. Utaha (my fav character) is a child prodigy who is admired like a God by Tomoya and maybe it was his admiration for her and his lively nature that made her fall head over heels for Tomoya. Utaha is such a fun character. She is beautiful and elegant and is often approached by boys but she blatantly rejects them. She is calm and composed yet when it comes to Tomoya her sexual desires overpower her and she turns into this freak who is always trying to seduce him whenever she gets an opportunity. She is the queen of sarcasm and some of the most hilarious events of this anime occur when she is involved.

  And Finally we come Kataou Megumi. Megumi's character is the one with most significance when it comes to the Romance part of this anime. At the start she is this boring yet cute character with a monotonic voice but as the anime progresses we see her character grow as she starts showing emotions. Now here is my take on Megumi. According to me Megumi fell in love with Tomoya the night He made her stay forcing her to play games. All her life no one had ever seemed to notice her presence. But when Tomoya extended his hand out to her.... even though it was for one of the weirdest reasons, he was like a knight in shining armor to her. Not only did he notice her.... he made her his heroine. All her life she was ignored but now because of Tomoya she had people whom she could call as friends. She is not one who can be open about her feelings so the only way She can show her love to Tomoya is by going out of her way to help him in any way possible. Whether it be a so called "date" to give him ideas for the script, or give him advice or a pep talk to inspire him when he's struggling. She tries to become to heroine Tomoya wants her to be. Here is another theory of mine that when she starts growing her hair it's because the game character that was based on her had long hair. She starts showing emotions as if in an attempt to become the 2D girl of Tomoya 's(An Otaku) dream. Its is her character that makes this series such a beautiful anime for me. I hate to see many people just not being able to realise the beautiful theme that has been implemented so subtly in this comedy.

  As far as Comedic part of this series is concerned ... it hits right on the spot. You are left giggling throughout the series whether it be Utaha's sarcasm or Eriri's tsundere behaviour ( especially that " gweh!! " XD ) or Kato's long unnecessarily detailed sentences and the breaking of the fourth wall etc.. People complain about the Fan Service elements but I never even noticed one except those in Episode 0 which was made specifically for Fan Service Reasons. Art Style and Animation are beautiful and i love it when for some moments the art switches to that inverted colours type of stuff. The Soundtrack blends in perfectly.

  Usually I have atleast one or two things to complain about an Anime series but i can't say i have any when it comes to Saekano. For Me it just does everything in way that's neither less nor excessive. I just fell in love with it.

  Saekano: Was I able to becomes someone's favourite anime.
  Me: Yes You were
  Saekano: Was I able to become your favourite anime ?
  Me: You just barged right into my favourites list.

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• 

  Verbosenothing

  80/100
  Ecci fan service be full of authentic moments and extreme self-awareness as well

  My goodness I don't even know where to begin with this madness. The anime is so ironic. My original chance with it, I watched the first episode which is titled fan service episode. I laughed at how it was self aware but after watching that episode I also realized how shamelessly self aware the episode was. The episode was dedicated nudity with lots of skins and the characters spent in hot springs. Although its self awareness was a plus for me, the amount of skin shown in that was just too much. So after watching episode 0, I decided its sensibilities were too much for me. I didn't remember any of the characters' names nor their personalities other than their stereotypical templatized characteristics: the tsundere, the cold ice queen, the dendere and the imouto.

  I remember applauding them for their degree of self awareness. It was too much so I gave up and I didn't care to see anime girls with that much skin if I don't know who they were to begin with. (On when later after finishing season 1, I realized that the episode 0 was an OVA....) Anyways, after giving up on Saekano after that episode, I only picked it up again yesterday. My goodness wasn't I surprised. I was hit with a lot of genuine moments about serious matters on creative processes, project management, creative team operations and growth as an artist. I really really didn't expect that. Maybe just like what Tomoya said about the rules of dating sim which are 1. the girls should be cute 2. break all the rules. Saekano excelled both. All the female characters were cute in their designs and the anime broke a lot of rules.

  We are not talking about just fourth wall breaking. It was using the most trite template of the genre to tell a story that's so different than its presentation. True the anime was tagged with "ecchi" in Crunchyroll. It all of its normal episodes, it gave the viewers plenty of 'fan service' around specific fetishes "stockings", "short skirts", boobs, backs, showers and all that but it wasn't done distastefully at all. I don't know how to put it correctly. I saw a pure ecchi show the other day "Yunna and the hot spring" which purely put on the show to satisfy these fetishes of the viewers. In contrast, Saekano secretly slips those moments in here and there. Maybe secretly isn't the right word either. At the end of the day, the viewer saw that the animators put there and liked them but it just seem very natural. Also it seems as if when the animators put those scenes there to say "I knew you guys like these" and "I want you guys to have these reactions". They were skillful enough to elicit these responses from us. Maybe this point isn't fully developed yet but the way they handled their ecchi element was definitely different and more pleasing than how other shows of the same genre would have done. It is more natural?

  Now speaking of breaking all the rules, it's like all anime girls have the templatized responses to certain situations for example : getting too close the male protagonist, getting into the room by themselves with the guy, being called cute, spent the night at the guy's house, getting into an emotional authentic moment. If you have watched enough anime, you'd know what the different types of characters would respond:

  Tsundere would snap and automatically hide her true feelings and blush or something like that (Eriri)

  Icy queen would make authentic observations and comment on their current situations and move the conversation forward into the meta domain while seem cool doing it (Utako)

  Dendere would just act all coy and have trouble finish her sentences (Megumi)

  Inmouto would become protective, blush and display the tabooed familial love etc... (Hyoko)

  In this show, all characters are unquestionably templatized for sure but they break their characters in most of their character portrayal. I guess at this point, I shouldn't call them breaking chracters but more of "real people" with these cliched anime character trope tendencies. Their refreshing presense isn't brought about by their tropey character setup but by how real each of them are.

  It is often hard to define at what point characters start to feel real for me but this is definitely one of those when you feel it, you know it moments. The closest thing to justify how real they is through the multiple dimensions of their personalities, desires, fears and growth. I am not saying this work of Saekano presents all the intricacies of character development in its anime adaption. It did enough to show the complexity of its characters to convince me enough to suspend my belief for a second and cheer them on as real people. Yet the irony is how unlikely this group were to actually exist in the first place. It's presentation/display of its ironic setup and its clear awareness of its irony are icings on the cake.

  Let's talk about the characters' dimensions. All of them have feelings for the protagonist but all of them are pursuing something real, something grander than what the anime's setup usually calls for - high school romance and pure moe situations. Eriri is an acclaimed porno illustrator and she aims to achieve her own level of artistic expression. She cared deeply about what she could create and the right moments that she wanted to capture. Utako is a serious light novel writer who really understands the nuances of writing, character building, progression, setup, conversations etc. Megumi starts off as a bland character with Dendere characteristics in her voice and her character design but her branded authentic responses and sharp commentary/observations are such big contrasts against her character trope. Both Eriri and Utako like the protagonist for sure and dislike each for the same reason. But both are able to come to terms with this and respect each others' goals, talents and desires. Because of that respect, both cared for each other's growth and authenticity. These are just some of the moments that really stood out to me.

  Now let's talk about the growth of the characters. To me I saw signs of growth in the cast but they were mere signs. When there was not too much at stake behind the growth, it is hard to relate to the significance of their growth. It is almost as if the cast would have grown even if they didn't make the game together. Let me clarify what I mean by "not much at stake". I know people would say for sure both Eiriri and Utako grew a lot and because of their growth the game was such a success. That part was good. Those two "arcs" definitely had stakes behind each but I can't help but feel that if Eirir and Utako never partake the project, both would have grown nonetheless. I don't know how to put this into words but let me try. It wasn't clear to me what part of them actually grew, especially for Eiriri, it just seems that inspiration dawned suddenly and it was all saved. For Utako, it just seems that she accepted Tomoya's comments about the third route and then worked more and then voila, the game was saved. Maybe both were able to change because both were able to confront something they weren't confront before but that's just not impactful enough. What weren't they able to confront in the first place? Was it Eiriri's double personalities? Was Utako's? I can't even pinpoint what Utako wasn't able to confront as I am writing. However this is not to say the characters didn't grow at all. I am only saying it could have been better?

  What I loved the most about this show was how genuine each cared about their artistic expressions. All were able to be truthful when it came to their 'craft'. All were very much into their crafts in a real way. I really didn't know much about the game development process from the creative angle. This put a lot of light on that although the programming aspect was too unrealistic. It was an narrative about the creative process using a very very unexpected setup. Very very refreshing.

  Anyways, I really really enjoyed the show though not on an emotional level where I connected with the characters but more from an intellectual level where I welcomed the show's ironic setup, character development and cute anime girls. I suppose this statement is itself an irony. Calling the enjoyment of an ecchi-tagged anime purely on the intellectual level is something I never thought I'd say.

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• 

  steinn

  65/100
  A seemingly shallow, cliched harem that manages to be something original and enjoyable along the way.

  I'd like to preface by stating that I hate harem anime. Add in slice of life and ecchi, and you have the unholy trinity. Under no normal circumstances would I decide to start a show of this nature, but because a friend recommended it to me I decided to give it a shot. But after about five minutes of naked girls and blatant fanservice, I immediately went to go make fun of it to another friend. At that point, I was positive I'd hate the series, and only continued for the enjoyment I'd get out of bullying it when I finished.

  Yet, miraculously, I found myself enjoying it -- because in spite of some glaring flaws, Saekano is actually pretty good. MOSTLY SPOILER FREE REVIEW.

  ---

  Story - 6/10
  Saekano begins with a very poor prologue episode that introduces the characters and does it's absolute best to cram in as much fanservice as feasibly possible. Fortunately, however, it says little as to the quality of the overall series, as the actual story begins unraveling after that.
  The story is actually fairly simple: after a "fateful" encounter, the protagonist decides to create his own dating sim, and begins assembling a group of people to help him work toward that goal. It mainly revolves around the development of the dating sim and his interactions with the members of his team -- which are frequently somewhat romantic in nature, given that it is a harem. Even still, I found myself interested in the creative process behind making the game, and how all the characters contributed to that. It's a very slice-of-life story, and I fucking hate that genre. So the fact that I actually enjoyed this frightens me a little bit.

  I will however admit that the story could've been better if not for the over-abundance of fanservice. At some points I found myself getting immensely annoyed with this show due to it, but the wholesome, well-written moments manage to balance it out for me. There's a pretty good romance to be found underneath the off-putting surface.

  Characters - 6/10
  The characters are arguably more important, as they directly influence the plot. And, well... in that category, Saekano has it's ups and downs. What it does right, it manages to do really well, but what it does wrong is often straight up uncomfortable to watch.
  With that out of the way, I'd like to start with the protagonist, Tomoya Aki. He's a giga-weeb who's shamelessly obsessed with otaku culture, and tends to force his passion for it onto others. He's a pretty nice guy at heart, but one could argue that he comes across as invasive and sometimes obnoxious at first. His character isn't particularly outstanding, but it's also an improvement from the standard cardboard MC, so I can't say I didn't like it.
  Next is the main heroine of both Saekano and the dating sim within it, Megumi Katou. She's absolutely what makes this anime, because she has no notable traits at all. Contradictory as that might sound, Saekano manages to add something fresh and original to anime by making her outstandingly regular. She's literally the epitome of a normal girl, and she often fades into the background as a result of it. For that matter, she's treated almost like a side character by the show, but in a way that makes her ever-more likable when she does take center stage. I bet my left limbs that almost anyone who has watched this series will say she's their favorite character.
  Her interactions with Tomoya are honestly the highlight of this show. They often end up in really believable, realistic situations that somehow also manage to be the most entertaining part of Saekano. There's something really enjoyable and kinda wholesome about seeing their personalities clash.
  Then there's Tomoya's tsundere childhood friend, Sawamura Eriri. My main qualm with her is that she's a very stereotypical tsundere, and she's constantly reminding the viewer that she is, in fact, a childhood friend. Because of this, she can be quite annoying at times. However, I'd like to believe that she has some amount of depth beneath that, making her a pretty solid character. I feel safe when she's on the screen because she has a flat chest.
  Kasumigaoka Utaha, on the other hand, evokes great unease. They like to fanservice her a lot, so much so to the point that one begins anticipating an inevitable tiddy shot when she shows up. The sheer amount of it really disappoints me, because underneath that sea of Oh God Please Stop, I actually quite like her character. She's calm and witty, with some interesting dynamics with other characters. She's enjoyable to watch when she's being the somewhat snarky yet nevertheless likable writer I know she can be.
  Then there's Hashima Izumi. She's the most dense in fanservice, what with how much they try to cram in the little amount of screen time that she gets. Oh, and she's 14. Cool! Fuck you Izumi.
  Finally, last and most definitely least, Hyoudou Michiru. Michiru could've been a likable character. She really could've. I'm normally a fan of the carefree, boyish types, but I can't say I like the sex offender type all that much. Yeah. She's the absolute worst part of this show. I can't comment much on her character because it's just fanservice. Oh, and she's Tomoya's cousin. Fuck you Michiru.

  Art and Animation - 8/10
  The art is really pretty, and while the animation could have certainly been more fluid in some areas, it does the show justice. Most notably, they occasionally threw in some scenes where the lining would be all one color (such as blue, pink, yellow, etc) which led to a pretty enjoyable viewing experience. The animators seem to have a really good grasp on the medium.
  I would probably slap a .5 on the end if not for the Questionable Physics in some scenes. But that's the ecchi genre for you.

  Music - 6/10
  Although not particularly remarkable, both the opening and ending of this show were quite nice. Other than that, I can't say any tracks stood out to me, but they certainly served their purpose as background music.

  Enjoyment - 7/10
  All in all, I enjoyed this show a lot more than I thought I would. It started off a little bit slow, but after that I found myself genuinely interested in the characters and story -- which is pretty fucking unusual for a slice-of-life romcom. By all means, Saekano has the recipe for something that I should hate, but for some reason, didn't. Sure, it annoyed me at times, but I can't say it ever bored me.

  ---

  To summarize, Saekano is a show that has the potential to be awful-- and for many people, probably is-- but manages to be something engaging and unique beneath thick layers of cliches and fanservice. It's definitely not for everyone, but I can confidently state that if you don't mind it's aforementioned flaws and enjoy casual romcoms, then you'll probably like this anime.

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