Common Name: Saekano
Alternative Names: Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata, Saenai Kanojo no Sodatekata, How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend
Score: 8/10, 5/5
Length: 1 Season of 12 Episodes, 1 Season of 11 Episodes, 2 OVAs
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Harem, Ecchi, School Life
Summary: Ever since he was a child, Aki Tomoya has been what you might call a consumer of the otaku culture. He loves everything from anime to games and light novels, thinking himself something of a connoisseur of the industry. Now in high school, he has dreams of crossing the divide from an otaku consumer to a creator in the industry. All he lacks are the skills to draw, write, or program. Perhaps none of those are necessary since there are several hidden talents that attend his school. If only he can find the inspiration, he might be able to direct these up-and-comers in the industry and create one of the best games the industry has seen yet. But, honestly, what are the chances of that happening?
Review: Once again, I find myself in a position to examine a show that, in many ways, could be considered a parody. A parody of the harem genre. A parody of the doujin (similar to the western concept of "indie") games industry. A parody of all the tired stereotypes, those the fans of the industry have come to love and hate, that uses all these things to lure in an audience and give them something they probably didn't expect--the most down-to-earth and geeky romantic comedy I have ever seen, and doubt I'll ever see again. At least, that's what this show eventually turns into.
For the majority of the first season, we see all the things that can be found on the character and plot check list--otaku, tsundere, seductress, tomboy, kuudere, etc. We watch as the general plot is established and the characters are assigned their places and act out their parts in a manner that is both typical and critical of their assigned type. To be wholly honest, though, I wasn't a big fan of the first season because there wasn't enough meat to the story yet. There was too much standard and not enough parody. For the most part, it felt like a standard harem anime with a geeky, otaku protagonist who drags other people into his ambitions while all the girls steadily fall in love with him and he is crowned "king of the weebs" or something. There were a few great gags, one-liners, and quirky scenarios to warrant a few good laughs, but it still felt off. It was like Saekano was turning into one of the shows it was trying to parody.
I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Once the second season started to come into focus though, it was made clear that an honest-to-God parody was the intention all along--not just one of those "self-aware" parodies that are a dime a dozen. Though it might be easy to put oneself in the geeky shoes of Aki Tomoya and live out the fantasy of his harem life, Saekano is ultimately a tale of growth for the cast and the game that Tomoya is attempting to make. As the series goes on, more and more girls are added to the doujin team/harem and work to push Tomoya to his limits so they can make the game he's always dreamed of--so he can finally grow out of just being a consumer and haughty elitist in the industry. What I find particularly interesting though is the manner in which the girls push him. While there is certainly a lot of just beating on him emotionally, since he is kind of a nobody, they all flirt with him and act like stereotypical characters who are little more than their descriptors. In the first season, this comes across as them being nothing more than that. Kasumigaoka Utaha, Tomoya's upperclassman and favorite light novel author, is something of a black widow-esque seductress. Sawamura Eriri, Tomoya's childhood friend and a secret ero-manga artist, is the typical twin-tail tsundere character with the added baggage of being a childhood friend. Hyoudou Michiru, Tomoya's cousin and fairly talented musician, is the nerd-bashing tomboy who couldn't care less about the game but wants to support her weirdo cousin. Lastly, Katou Megumi, the titular "Boring Girlfriend" and Tomoya's muse, plays the part of the ever-calm and emotionless kuudere. The thing is, though, there are a few moments in the first season where all the descriptors fall away and make way for a more serious character, particularly when Tomoya isn't around. It's almost as if they were just putting on an act to make things easier for Tomoya, speaking his language as it were.
Incidentally, the aloof nature of "weeb-talk" also gives the girls a means of expressing their affection
for Tomoya in a way he'd never take seriously; letting them flirt without overextending into an actual relationship during their work.
Once the second season rolls around though, the characters are done setting the stage. They're ready to start working seriously and the descriptors become little more than costumes the girls assume while they play out their professional roles. They express themselves, fight, and make mistakes that bring out their truer natures, the nature of the actor rather than the character. While this goes on, the girls continue to push Tomoya to grow into a better and stronger producer in his own right, proving time and again that he needs to actually work to keep his rising star staff on board. That is, after all, how doujin groups work. Members have the ability to leave or be replaced at any point in the process since it's not like they're getting paid or will get much professional recognition. So, as Tomoya works to keep his Circle's star power, his own character begins to grow as well--realizing where his flaws lie, the faults in his preconceptions, and his general lack of experience in the art of leading a group of creators. Eventually, it becomes pretty difficult to stay in Tomoya's shoes. There's just not enough room in there for two people. Though it does take a long time for him to reach this point, Tomoya does become something of an actual person at the end of this show, rather than a blank slate. He reaches a level of personality comparable to where most of his creative team started when they began their journey. He grows into a person who is flawed and despicable on several levels but has the kind of passion and considerate nature that could engage and hold the attention of less experienced talents. Rather than letting his otaku badge define him, it just becomes an accessory to his personality, an obnoxious and elitist nerd costume he can put on when it's appropriate. It is worth noting, however, that Tomoya isn't the only person who grows a personality over the course of the show.
So, now we get to why the show has such a weird name.
On top of being a show where Tomoya grows into a rough but experienced producer, a good portion of the show is spent monitoring the growth of the show and game's "boring" heroine/girlfriend, Katou Megumi. As I explained previously, Katou is something of a kuudere in terms of her descriptors, meaning she is generally a quiet and stoic personality. While she is reserved, it would be more accurate to state that Katou is actually an outgoing person, a ninja extrovert as it were. If anything she is simply unassuming and not someone a show or game would typically shine a light on. Where the "Raising" and growth comes into play though is her interest and investment into Tomoya's passion project. She starts the show as a non-entity but is drawn into everything because the mere sight of her inspires Tomoya to work. She is his unwitting muse, and one who isn't all that interested in the project, to begin with, but sees it as a way to pass the time and hang out with her friend Eriri. As the show goes on though, she puts in more of her own opinions and starts to act out a little more as the team's support staff. Either out of an interest in Tomoya or a personal desire to grow, it's never explicitly stated, she even grows into a low-key fan of games and one of the team's main programmers. While her story is not nearly as engaging or compelling as Tomoya's, Katou does grow into the heroine of the show. Calling the support character a "heroine" might seem a bit bold, but it is through her quiet efforts that the Circle's game ever got off the ground. It is through her rock-solid dedication that things don't fall apart when personalities clash. In the end, though, it is her love of gaming (and maybe even Tomoya too) that Tomoya finds the passion to keep going and keep growing as a professional in the industry, one who might just reach the same level of competence as Utaha and Eriri in a few years time.
What truly makes this show a parody in my eyes, though, is how it goes about telling its story. In the first season, we see lots of the tags and descriptors that are found in anime everywhere. We see flat and outrageously emotional caricatures take the stage and play out their roles in much the same way so many other characters have. Then, the parody seeps into the performance. First, it manifests on commentary the industry and the show itself. Later, it abandons the sky-high absurdity in most harem shows and plummets to the ground, turning into one of the most solid and compelling character dramas I've seen in a while. The humor remains throughout but becomes far more low-key in the face of the believable and relatable drama the second season prides itself on. It is that undermining of standards and the creation of profound thoughts from basic concepts that make this a parody in my eyes. It's a parody that made me think and question what I knew about the topics this show address and the roles its characters played over the whole experience. Perhaps I'm just trying to sound high-brow, but I felt like a lot of thought and consideration went into the crafting of this work. It felt like it was of an entirely different species than its contemporaries, one that was capable of insightful commentary rather than just easily achieved titillation. This means, however, that Saekano isn't one of those shows that's for everyone. If you want to sit back and think about what you're watching, then this show is right up your alley...even if I did kinda reveal where it all ends up. If you want some thoughtless and silly fun though, there's plenty of similar options out there.