Interestingly enough, no, this is not a typo in the episode title. It’s actually called episode 00. I was wondering why at first, but nope, it’s called episode 00.
Anywho, what was this first episode”oo” about? And what’s the show in general about?
Well right off the bat the girls are in a hot spring. Like…the show opens with them in a hot spring.
At first i was going to judge them for doing this, but them they immediately lampshade it by talking about how animes that put too much fanservice in the first episode are generic and lame, so that made me laugh quite a bit. and the thing that made me laugh even more, they talk about how the male character better not be peeping and we see that the main character was listening in, not to peep, but annoyed they’re talking about anime without him.
After the intro (which is…okay?) We find out that the gang is a group in high school that is working on making a dating sim. They’re heading off on a train to go… somewhere? (they don’t really explain where)
When they arrive at the place, the girls all spread out to do their own thing to get inspiration for the finale of the game. However, all the girls seem to be hitting on the only guy in the show. As far as I can tell, there’s the main writer chick, the artist, the music girl, and the background girl who kinda just sits there and watches stuff.
Afterwards they arrive at the aforementioned hot spring and do stereotypical hot spring activities, namely play ping pong
Eventually they all head back to their rooms. They end up getting drunk and tying up the main character and drag him into their room to do more then likely terrible things to him. However, he’s saved by the quiet girl and they go walk together to talk about how they’re excited their game’s almost done, and…by the way they talk, it almost seems like the rest of the series is a going to be a prequel leading up to this.
And that’s where the episode ends.
So….what in the world do I think of this show? Well….I have mixed feelings. First off, it has all the makings of a very generic harem show. One guy, bunch of girls, none of them coming out and saying their feelings.
However, they DO lampshade a bit of things, and that is enough to spark my interest. The only issue i’m going to have is I don’t know if they’re going to have ENOUGH lampshading. This is the kind of show that if they don’t parody the SHIT out of it, it’s going to get really boring, really fast. However, I think they’re going to.
As this show did an “Episode 0” thing, and it takes place slightly in the future, obviously, I don’t really know a whole lot about the characters and what’s going on, and that’s okay..but it leaves me a little confused.
I’m sure more will be explained later on, because right now i’m like “yep…that sure is a guy that a bunch of girls want the dick of…..”
I do get a huge air of genericness from this show, but I really am hoping they’ll invert it with comedy. This show kind of had a “meh” start, but i’m hoping it will get better with time.
Head: Like I said before, the plot is a tad confusing as they dropped us into a later point when all these characters know each other, and it’s obvious to THEM what’s going on, but other than “oh, they know each other and they’re making a dating sim” it leaves the audience totally lost. As far as harem shows go, it’s…pretty generic, but I can’t say it’s BAD…just…not blowing me away. Head 6
Eye: Overall, the art is pretty okay. It’s not going to win any awards for its elaborateness or its original character design, but it gets the job done. The Moe looks moe, and the sexy looks sexy. There’s only really 2 complaints I have to make on the art and that’s these.
- Sometimes they do this…weird strange colored outline for the characters and it’s really weird and takes away from the art. It’s just…odd. Here. here’s an example.
Se what I mean? it’s like…why is her outline green? It’s not hot or important to the story it’s just…distracting.
The only art thing that bothers me is this. Anybody who reads my reviews knows I love snaggleteeth on anime girls. However…on this one girl.it’s not so much a snaggletooth as it’s part of her mouth. and it look REALLY strange. like they drew her mouth incorrectly.
So..with those two things and the art overall…..7.
Heart: Like I said, it’s a tad jumbled coming in now, however I really do like the lampshading jokes and I think if they keep it up it can be a really funny show. As for the romance, I really don’t care about it because I don’t know who the fuck these people are to give a single shit. Hopefully later in the series…or…earlier as it were i’ll learn who any of these fuckers are and start to care. So yeah. Until I start to give a shit…. 4.
Overall score: 6
So…Yeah, there were a few laughs but in general it started out a bit weak. It’s not looking like it’s going to break new ground or be a cult favorite, but who knows. I could be wrong.
But I guess the big question is, am I going to cover it. And..you know what? This show intrigued me JUST ENOUGH to want to continue watching it. So for now…yeah. I’m going to cover this show. Come on Saenai, show me what you’ve got.
Status: Covering
-Hideki
This might very well be the intended effect all along – to surprise people with an OVA-like premiere, which sets the bar of expectation incredibly low, but with just the right amount of self-awareness as a potential hook for the curious few. The pickier and harder-to-please crowd would disperse right after this premiere (they would be unlikely to buy the BDs to begin with given the subject matter), but the more mainstream crowd would likely stick around which arguably outnumbers the former. Then in the following episodes actually try to “somewhat” surprise the audience with a half-decent story, while turning the fanservice setting down a few notches inconspicuously. I wouldn’t doubt Maruto’s writing ability if he tries, even if this is supposedly one of his lower rated stories. For people either hoping for or worried about a harem end, a cautionary tale: White Album 2
It’s almost like a Nigerian scam, where the email / letters were written atrociously, with the intention to weed out the more cautious type, and allow the easier preys to self-identify. Whether this strategy can convert to commercial success is highly debatable but I can totally see some thought put into this episode 0.
I’m really hoping that we get to see how Tomo feels about having “responsibility” for all these hearts in a sense. I’d like to see his thoughts, rather than him just casually accepting the situation or being awkward about all the attention.
Okay, questions to consider (assuming episode 00 is a flash-forward):
She did say that a lot happened for Tomo (only him?) in the past 6 months, but not for her. All that happened for her is that she grew her hair out ever since Tomo noticed her… to be the main heroine… for some reason, hmm. She’s also the only one he doesn’t introduce on the train.
Why do all the other girls like/feel comfortable being so open/intimate with Tomo?
This is where I’m hoping for some really good explanations, especially given how each was described in the anime’s description. A childhood friend, a cousin and a girl who didn’t take much interest in anyone but Tomo.
Just how mature IS Tomo?
It made an impression on me that he didn’t care much to see their exposed bodies, but wanted to join in on the anime conversation. He also was the one more focused on organizing the material. Granted, Utaha, Michiru and Eriri might have been taking it easier than him since they naturally work harder due to their roles in the game.
Also, I agree with you about Eriri’s fang. Sometimes it’s drawn like a tooth and other times it’s a part of her mouth.
Noteworthy?
They translate the series name as “How to raise a boring girlfriend”. I think this is pointing to Megumi being the one he is/was/or will be in love with. In the opening she’s the “boring” one, yet she may have changed the most given among the girls, given that she bothered growing her hair out since being noticed by him—a small, but confident gesture on her part? Megumi is also the only one he doesn’t introduce and that may very well hint at his feelings for her.