Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat (2017)

[冴えない彼女の育てかた♭]

Director: Kanta Kamei
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Starring: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Kiyono Yasuno, Saori Onishi
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
With Winter Comiket fast approaching, the Blessing Software team struggles to keep their project on track.

Impressions:
Like so many romcoms, the second stage of the story shifts more into character drama. I won't say it's done poorly, but I wouldn't mind to see a comedy actually remain a comedy. Michiru is almost completely removed from the story (something they lampshade in the final episode), which is a shame because I liked her dynamic with Tomoya. This is clearly done to narrow the focus on the quartet of Tomoya, Utaha, Eriri, and Megumi. Megumi's character development is the biggest highlight of the season. It's great watching her steadily learn to assert herself and emote more while still being grounded with the low-key personality that made her so distinct in the first place. Utaha and Eriri growing as a team is also pretty good. As for Tomoya, I noticed a lot of people really reacting negatively to him. His characterization is consistent, so I guess it's just a matter of people who didn't like him from the start and continued to dislike him over the very slow course of his character arc. Overall, I feel good things are being done, but it's not as strong as the first season and the ending is something of a stopgap leading up to the movie, which actually completes the story. If you liked the first season, you'll definitely want to see it. Just expect a bit of a dip.

Rating:
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