SAENAI HEROINE NO SODATEKATA: KOISURU METRONOME

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

NOVEL ComedySaenai Heroine no Sodatekata

REVIEWS

• 

  nflstreet

  65/100
  While the manga takes a nosedive at the end, Utaha fans should still read it

  

  Koisuru Metronome is a manga spin-off of the Saenai Herine no Sodekata light novel series (which has had two anime seasons and has a movie coming out in the fall of 2019). Koisuru Metronome stars Utaha Kasumigaoka from the main series, with Aki Tomoya, the MC from the main series, becoming her editor. This manga exists in an alternative universe where the main events of the Light Novel and the anime never happened, and is strictly for those who are Utaha fans. The manga has great art and well-defined characters, but ultimately has a rushed ending that compromises the story.

  Koisuru Metronome takes place after Utaha has finished writing her first light novel series, ‘Koisuru Metronome’. Aki is hired on to be her editor, and helps her on her new series ‘Pure Love Hectopascal’. In Koisuru Metronome, Utaha is the only girl that is after Aki, removing the harem element that the anime series have. The illustrator to Utaha’s new light novel, Sagara Mayu, is introduced in the third volume of the manga. Sagara adds extra personality to the manga, with her ‘cute’ style clashing with Utaha’s ‘mature’ style.

  The main strength of the Saekano series is that all of the main characters are rememberable and worth way more than the sum of the tropes they convey. Koisuru Metronome is no different than the Saekano anime. The main difference it that Utaha now gets the spotlight for herself, unlike in the anime where she has to fight with two others for screen time. Sagara is only featured in this manga, but she also has her own charm that’s unique to herself. None of the characters in this manga are dull and cookie-cutter, unlike in many other similar series.

  With all of that being said, the manga’s story becomes less interesting in the second half when it is becomes noticeable that it is being rushed. The time skips between the chapters become larger and the plot becomes hard to follow. The ending, while having what every Utaha fan would want, is a cop-out and won’t leave readers satisfied. It’s like the mangaka of was told on short notice that the manga was ending soon. It would make sense, as the light novel series ended the year before (2017) and there was nothing else of the series being released at the time. It’s still very disappointing though since the mangaka had a very clear vision of what he wanted to do with the manga. I don’t know if the abrupt ending was due to the manga being canceled or due to general deadlines, but nevertheless it’s heartbreaking to see.

  Koisuru Metronome is a definite read for those who’ve finished watching the Saekano anime. The art is magnificent, and the characters are unique. The story takes a nosedive near the end, but it’s still worth the read if you like Utaha.

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• 

  Hayahayasakasaka

  90/100
  More than just an Utaha route

  I came looking for copper and I found gold.

  Yes, I have seen the Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata anime, and of course, wanted more content to the story. As we all know there is unfortunately no available English translation of the original light novels anywhere which is why I decided to read this. Basically, I was only expecting a simple Utaha route, but this manga is so much more than that. This manga gives us a little inside view of everything that happens in the production and creation of the anime that we love to watch, the Light Novels and manga that we love to read, and the games that we love to play. It showcases the many challenges that creators have to face as they strive to make an impact in the Otaku world. Probably, the most important thing we can get from it is that all those anime we have seen and manga/light novels we have read were extremely far from easy to make. It showed us how the authors can get torn up with all the decisions they have to make regarding the flow of their story as well as the complexity of making an anime due to the various factors hey need to consider such as casting, character design, storyboards, schedule, etc.

  As for the romance aspect which a lot of readers have come for, it was indeed a wholesome journey that Kasumigaoka Utaha fans would enjoy. The story revolves around four characters: Utaha, Tomoya, Machida, and Sagara, all of whom have appeared in the main Saekano series except for Sagara who is an exclusive character for this story. That's all I'm gonna say in order to avoid any spoilers.

  The characters in the story were presented pretty well. They were given proper introductions despite being a spin-off, making it possible for people who haven’t seen/read the main Saekano storyline to enjoy this manga. In other words, this can be read as a whole story in itself and not be thought of as plainly “another route”. Although, there were some references that could only be understood if you have watched/read the main storyline. For the art, it looked clean and beautiful. It did not look exactly the same as the anime, though, which gives it a sense of originality. Additionally, there were quite a handful of “chibi” scenes, but they were utilized appropriately so because they were not used during important and intense scenes.

  Overall, this manga was truly amazing and had exceeded my expectations. One thing is for sure: it gave me a newfound respect for all creators, as well as the production and marketing staff. As a final word, I recommend this manga even to those who have not seen or did not like Saekano as it indulges the readers into a behind-the-scenes aspect of the Otaku culture while telling a romantic and hardship-filled tale of a writer, editor, and an artist as they create an instant hit novel series.

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