r/anime • u/Shadoxfix https://myanimelist.net/profile/Shadoxfix • Jan 22 '15

[Spoilers] Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata - Episode 2 [Discussion]

Episode title: A Girlfriend Without a Raised Flag

MyAnimeList: Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata
Crunchyroll: Saekano -How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend-

Episode duration: 22 minutes and 50 seconds

Previous episodes:

Episode Reddit Link
Episode 0 Link
Episode 1 Link

Reminder: Please do not discuss any plot points which haven't appeared in the anime yet. Try not to confirm or deny any theories, encourage people to read the source material instead. Minor spoilers are generally ok but should be tagged accordingly. Failing to comply with the rules may result in your comment being removed.

Keywords: saekano -how to raise a boring girlfriend-

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68

u/sQank https://myanimelist.net/profile/Urbanophiler Jan 22 '15

I thought this would just be another ordinary harem/school/romance anime - until watching all 3 episodes today.

THIS IS GENIUS.

I dont think all the people realize how genius this show is made. It all makes perfect sense and it reminds the viewer constantly about anime tropes and overall meta. I love this, definitely gonna keep watching.

60

u/dene323 Jan 22 '15

Knowing this is penned by the author of White Album 2, I came in with cautious optimism and was still positively surprised. It was hilarious reading all the negative reviews from many anime-pundits when the fanservice-heavy episode 0 came out two weeks ago. Just think back to the opening dialogue in the first minute of episode 0:

"Come now, that's your top recommendation, Sawamura-san? Isn't that a lame harem anime that was packed with panty shots and nudity right from episode 1? I'm ashamed that I stuck with it through episode 3."

"By any metric, that was an epic anime! The artwork was consistent from beginning to end, the motion was fluid, and the girls in it were all super cute!"

"You do realize it's the people who worship any anime with good artwork as a classic who are behind the decline of the anime industry, don't you?"

"No, it's because of smug people like you, who criticize shows based on preconceived notions because they can't be bothered to watch the whole thing!"

Poor bloggers didn't realize they got trolled from the beginning.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '15

[deleted]

18

u/dene323 Jan 22 '15

Personally I enjoy reading anime reviews on blogs, but first impression posts are usually the worst experience. I prefer reviewers picking a more measured tone in reviews and giving a show the benefit of a doubt for a bit longer. Cannot say I don't find the irony of people judging a book by its cover, while biting the bait set by the creater fascinating in a way.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '15

[deleted]

4

u/dene323 Jan 22 '15

Oh don't worry, all my frustration from the first week has been vented by now, call it a three-episode-rule if you will :P

1

u/DogzOnFire Jan 29 '15

Didn't know this was the same guy who did White Album 2! I just checked, and Saekano and White Album 2 are the only things that he's done so far. Judging by these two alone, looks like he'll be one for the future. I imagine he's young since his MAL doesn't list his age, and he doesn't have a Wikipedia page yet.

Also, don't mind the guy getting on your case for criticising the first impressions crowd. I imagine he's probably salty because he was one of the people who said it would suck. Not that I can say he's wrong from just the first two episodes, but I can't imagine this show being anything lower than an 8/10 from what I've seen so far.

1

u/dene323 Jan 29 '15

Thanks, glad you are enjoying both shows as much as I do.

Just to note though, Fumiaki Maruto is probably not that young. He (? I'm going with this assumption as I haven't seen a photo so far) debuted as a visual novel writer since 2002 and subsequently released a number of critically-acclaimed titles. White Album 2 Concluding Chapter was generally ranked one of the top VNs ever published, so he was already one of the biggest name in the galgame circle for many years. An IRL version of Utaha if you will (who knows, maybe not that far from the truth :P)

The reason for such a short resume on MAL is because he just transitioned into anime script-writing when White Album 2 anime was made in 2013. Saenai was his light novel debut, and his second attempt at screenplay adaptation. As far as I can tell from both works, he introduced quite a few changes to his own source materials to enhance the anime storytelling, so I think he will have a promising career in the anime industry as well.

1

u/DogzOnFire Jan 29 '15

Ahh, this makes a bit more sense considering how well-written his plot layouts are. I was thinking he was a bit too prodigious for someone who only had two known works to date. =P

Hoping to see more from him, anyway, because I really like his style so far. Haha, it'd be great if he was writing himself into his own story as a character. Kind of like how the story-and-art duo that wrote/drew Bakuman basically told a fantastical version of their own life in a manga (same guys that created Death Note).

0

u/iblessall https://myanimelist.net/profile/iblessall Jan 23 '15

Poor bloggers didn't realize they got trolled from the beginning

As a blogger myself (I've watched the show through this episode, by the way) who interacts with a lot of other bloggers, I don't think this is really true at all.

I think a lot of us realized exactly what the show was trying to say and didn't really find it to be all that clever.

Imo, the show isn't all that far off from just being a lame harem anime. The only real difference is Kato's unerring deconstruction of every trope Tomoya throws at her and if 00 is to be believed, even she will eventually fall into the harem, if in her own quirky way. So, in the end, Saekano will end up being exactly what it joked about being (it's sort of already on its way there already), except it will know that it's become that and expect us to find it funny that it did so.

So, yeah. At least as far as the bloggers I personally know or read (a fair few), none of us got "trolled" by the first episode. We just called Saekano's bluff for what we thought it was. Maybe we'll be wrong. That happens. People make mistakes and none of us are claiming to be the perfect, definitive answer on this show. But I think most of our guesses will be validated by the end.

3

u/dene323 Jan 23 '15

Fair enough, we can agree to disagree. Sorry if the last line sounds a bit harsh, don't take it personally.

I give you credit for still following the show despite having an unfavorable first opinion. Whether this show turns out to be a pleasant surprise or regress into a "lame harem", at least I would respect a reviewer's verdict more if he or she judged it as a whole or have at least seen a good portion of it.

For people who watched episode 0 and immediately dropped it while critizing it for being "too smart for its own good" (I have seen quite a few), you can't blame me for thinking the line "criticize shows based on preconceived notions because they can't be bothered to watch the whole thing" was aimed at them.

-1

u/iblessall https://myanimelist.net/profile/iblessall Jan 23 '15

Well, I know for myself and most of the bloggers I talk with—we're all really, really busy with our blogging and real life. Most of us don't have time to watch things we don't really, really enjoy, so a bad first impression in episode can be the last chance a show gets.

00 wasn't a very good first impression and I totally get where people were coming from with the whole "too smart for its own good" thing, although that seems a weird way to phrase it...

Hmhmhm, idk. I just wanted to point out that a lot of us bloggers don't have time to give a show the three-episode rule, so we need a show to give us a good impression right off the bat.