First Impressions / Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

「クライマックスはリテイクで」 (Kuraimakkusu wa Riteiku de)
“Retake the Climax”

Before anyone says anything, yes, there was a noticeable drop in visual quality this episode. Just your weekly reminder that the magical ingredient in all creative works is still time and money. Your passion means nothing without capital! The American Dream is a lie! True love is dead! /wrists

Procrastinate on it later

This week’s episode is not about Tomoya being crushed by the cruel weight of reality; it’s more about him putting reality aside for later. Procrastination: I’ve done it, you’ve done it, and those who never have will get to it at some point. There’s just no getting around inertia (just ask that Newton guy). As a person who nominally writes stuff, Tomoya’s routine is familiar to me. Did you know? Before I even finished the first paragraph of this blog post I had already read three news articles on the online newspaper. Hey, news happens all the time. I need to keep up to date. But only when I have something else I need to do. The internet is truly a double-edged sword; it’s the infinite hub to all of the world’s digital knowledge, but it also prevents one from getting anything important done. Simply because Reddit exists.

Tomoya’s problem, though, isn’t just his terrible work ethic. Starting nothing is always hard, and the first step the hardest. Some call it the ‘tyranny of the blank page’, though considering how many concepts Tomoya has already submitted you’d think he’d have more to work with. He simply has no vision of his end product. Eriri puts it the most bluntly in the subversive epilogue segment: when it comes down to it, Tomoya just wants to make out with his ideal female. Never insert too much of your ego into anything you create. It’ll just be embarrassing later.

Mass produced moé

In an entirely cliche move, hopeless male protagonist Tomoya manages to guilt his friends into helping by his passion alone, though to be fair they did do the responsible thing and try to stage an intervention and nudge him to quit. Megumi goes all the way to play dress-ups to try and motivate Tomoya to inspiration, which would also be the first time we see Megumi actually doing something on her own initiative.

To be honest, Megumi in full moé mode hurts me. The scene made me cringe inside. It was a sweet gesture on her part, sure, and the amount of effort she put into trying to recreate Tomoya’s dream scenario commendable, but it just goes to show how artificial and shallow Tomoya’s little fantasy is. To put it negatively, it was contrived pandering on her part, in the same way an overtly ‘moé’ anime might pander to its audience. But that’s not necessarily bad; an understanding of your demographic is a useful skill, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to appeal. It does feel, though, that Megumi actually loses some of her charm when trying to play Tomoya’s ideal heroine. She gains more of them moé attributes, but becomes more generic as a result. And I don’t really approve of her feeding Tomoya’s self-centred delusion.

All this is why I was pleased to see Megumi go back to her usual non-chalant self (being asleep counts) at the end of the episode. Never change, Megumi. Never change.

39 Comments

      2. I think both other girls (the Non-Katos), and probably the last that has yet to join have tried to gain his interest. They failed, but see this as a way to hopefully break him out of his shell and then they get to pounce on him. As Episode 0 seems to show.

        Dorian
        Reply

    1. Since she was more like her normal self in episode 0, which is significantly further in the story, I imagine that was just a brief deviation from her character and not a permanent change in it. I personally like her usual self and when she was acting moe I was waiting for her to break that character. Not that I hate moe per se, it’s just not her character

      zrnzle500
      Reply

  3. kato megumi best heroine. really like her non-chalant trait. we’ve got too many harem anime where the characters didn’t stand out so much, but saekano did well with the characterization which i believe is something many harem anime these days are lacking

    danes256
    Reply

  10. I am totally baffled by both Utaha and Eriri… truly whether are they S or M?
    one moment they kick MC furiously
    another they help their biggest love rival get mo(r)e interesting for him

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. They’re M because they put up with Tomoya, but they like to think they’re both S. And they’ll even act out like they’re S, but at a basic level, they’re M. Totally ドM.

      Kind of like how some people love to say, “Oh, I’m low-maintenance,” but they’re really INCREDIBLY high-maintenance people who drive you up a freaking wall sometimes.

      s_w
      Reply

  13. I bet that Kato will lose more of her own identity as she try to fit into Tomoya’s “ideal heroine”. I like her the way she is. The hilltop scene was adorable. I hope the MC will like Kato the way she is instead of trying to mold her into one of his 2-D girls.

    animeluv04
    Reply

  14. Yeah, that’s one of the problems with the goal of creating “the ultimate dating sim game”; how exactly will it not be simply everything that’s already been seen countless times before?

    I mean, already, Tomoya’s whole moe main character aspect is something that’s already expected these days.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  16. This episode got so meta for me. An episode about procrastination while I was procastinating writing my thesis myself. Didn’t end up getting anything done, because, eh, “I still got three months”, I excused myself at the end of the night. Dammit, show, stop making me feel self-conscious.

    Anyway, moe Megumi made me cringe as well. She’s best girl because of her down-to-earth nature, remove that and you’ll get every nice-girl anime character ever. Which was probably kind of the point; as much as she’s feeding Tomoya’s desires with that, he got scolded heavily for it (and generally, the girls are right in doing that) and if he wants to make an interesting game it should be about Megumi as she is now. Hope he grows up a little during the show.

    Regardless, this show keeps being interesting. Nice surprise, this.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  17. I doubt Megumi will change… I think… probably… maybe…….. God!! or whoever deity you are!! please, please don’t let the MC succeed!.

    PS: I wonder what kind of sh*t talking about the fans, the next episode will have

    Blahto Blahtoto
    Reply

  18. I was super bummed when Kato went full moe as she is so endearing just being her normal, down to earth self. I do feel as if Tomoya also felt the same way as he was not gushing with enthusiasm when he saw her, that and when he dodgily admitted how much fun he had with her when she was just being herself I’m guessing he is starting for fall more for Kato than his ideal.

    Cenosored
    Reply

  19. Procrastination…. I am guilty of it… Even as a career professional right now.

    Anyway, Kato truly shows that she’s truly like the evil boss in RPG games that Utaha and Eriri has to beat in order to get Tomoya

    https://randomc.net/image/Saenai%20Heroine%20no%20Sodatekata/Saenai%20Heroine%20no%20Sodatekata%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
    Just look at this, it truly feels like the final boss is starting to make her move and that victory pose at the end…..

    https://randomc.net/image/Saenai%20Heroine%20no%20Sodatekata/Saenai%20Heroine%20no%20Sodatekata%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
    Kinda says “Sorry girls, you gotta beat the boss first.”

    https://randomc.net/image/Saenai%20Heroine%20no%20Sodatekata/Saenai%20Heroine%20no%20Sodatekata%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    And is that Haruna from Arpeggio?

    https://randomc.net/image/Aoki%20Hagane%20no%20Arpeggio%20Ars%20Nova/Aoki%20Hagane%20no%20Arpeggio%20Ars%20Nova%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2011.jpg

    Makise Kuristina
    Reply

  21. I doubt Megumi will change into that kind of moe anime-girl considering SaeKano’s Episode 0 is what will happen 6 months from the present.

    Still, “normal girl” Kato Megumi be my Best Girl 2015.

    Red HeartGold ZX
    Reply

  23. Passerby, thanks and kudos for your episode review. You put into words exactly what I would want to express, in a pitch-perfect way.

    Frankly, what keeps me watching and enjoying the show are the girls. Checking up on Tomoya, ending the holidays, tutoring the rival… so far, the MC doesn’t deserve ANY of this. He is still caught in this absurd self-centered fantasy of his, and his angry denial that he’s no moe-ridden otaku made him lose face in my eyes even more. So why do the girls, who are kind AND capable (Eriri/Utaha) and kind and patient (Megumi) endure this and go to these lengths?

    I’m a bit worried that if they drag out the “pre-stories” for too long, Tomoya will be too unpalatable. Until then, please no more of Tomoya’s pseudo-moe, more of the girls, and more backstory.

    Mentar
    Reply

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