Saekano How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Review

I think what drew me to this series was the title. I think it is weird and a little funny at the same time. I just wanted to know how it worked. I knew it was just going to be another harem series. But just because I knew it was going to be just another harem series did that really make it turn out like other ones or did it turn into something more. Did it turn into something I really did not expect? Well perhaps it did in this harem romantic comedy. I would also like to add this was the top of the poll for shows that people would like me to review for the winter season.

The Plot:

Tomoya Aki is seen as the average otaku who is obsessed with just about anything anime, dating sims, and merchandise related. During his spring vacation he has a fateful encounter with a mysterious girl. This makes him inspired to make a visual novel. Once school starts up again he asks two of the well-known beauties of the school, who happen to be secretly experts in the Light Novel community and dojin community. Before long he meets that girl from the spring break. She is quiet and does not stand out much. Tomoya tries to bring her into the world of dating sims and wants to make her the main heroine in the visual novel he wants to make in time for winter Comiket.

The Characters:

Tomoya Aki: He is the head of the circle and the main person in charge of making sure that the project is going as planned. He is a huge otaku. He was childhood friends with Eriri, as well as known Utaha for some time. He also becomes the manager for his cousins band.

Megumi Kato: She is the “Main Heroine,” both figuratively and literally. She is the basis for the character in the game they wish to create. She also helps working on the game while at the same time playing dating sims on her own and dealing with Tomoya. She is invisible to a lot of people, including Tomoya at first.

Eriri Spencer Sawamura: She is the childhood friend to Tomoya. In their past although they shared playing dating sims together the two had an argument and became estranged for some time. She works under a pseudonym to make adult manga as an illustrator. She is in charge off all the drawings. It is also clearly stated that she is part British, which in anime is clear since she is blonde.

Utaha Kasumigaoka: She has known Tomoya for some time. She also works under a pseudonym as a famous novelist. She is seen as one of the smartest girls in school. Often times she calls Tomoya Mr. Ethical. She is in charge of the script and scenario writing.

Michiru Hyodo: She is Tomoya’s cousin. She works in a band in her spare time. In all honestly she was not in the show long enough. However it was known that they knew each other for a long time. She can be a little violent and is good at anything only she does not stay with it for long. She is in charge of the music for the game.

Everything Else:

Really going in on Episode 0, there are a lot of problems. At the same time it is a very misleading episode in general. It really gave the set up that it would be just another harem anime. I loved how they did the humor throughout it all, but after episode 0, you gain so much more as the true form of the series starts to show. The humor, the lack of fan service compared to episode 0, it really feels like the show is more analyzing the harem genre and going over the clichés found in it rather than taking full part in the harem genre at times. At some points it really felt more as if they were trying to make a game rather than it being a harem series, which can be were the series shines the most and breaks away from the norms that made it better than what the prologue episode made it out to be.

Bonus and Minus Points:

– The prologue is very misleading since there is way too much fan service compared to the fact there is not much throughout the rest of the series

– Because of the Prologue taking place after where the show ends, to get to that point a second season needs to happen, unfortunately this could be taken as cliffhanger.

? So many other anime references found in the bed room, Date A Live is plentiful

+ There is a lot of meta against the harem genre and at times they poke fun at it despite this series being one

+ Does not feel like a Harem series despite being one, a lot of focus seems to be at talking about the genre rather than being part of it. (major redeeming factor)

– Michiru showed up in the next to last episode giving hardly any development in character compared to the others.

+ Although Michiru showed up in the next to last episode the last three only focused on her and gave some answers that were not previously established thanks to episode 0 and saved her from being left out.

? The White hair thing found in episode 11, not sure why since it was clearly not done on purpose. (I do not minus points for animation)

+ The main heroine is different compared to any out there, where at times she can be just a background character.

Overall Score

90/100 My personal suggestion is just to not watch episode 0 you do not really gain anything other than a brief intro to the characters and fan service. Taking episode 0 out of the equation this series is a lot better than it first appears. Even then all that follows after it make up for that single episode.

Saekano is licensed in the North America by Aniplex of America, and for streaming by Crunchyroll.

What did you think of this series if you watched it?

Before I do my normal thing at the end I just want to say one thing. I am team Megumi!

If you like what you read feel free to follow me here or on Twitter. I am also taken suggestions for some reviews, while others are voted for by the end of the current anime season, if there is a poll it can either be found on the home page or the list of reviews page.

– Joe