Anime Review: Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend/Heroine

Here's another surprise series that took my heart and flew away with it (in no less than 12 episodes + 1 fanservice ep).  Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (Saekano in short), is a harem anime series of the meta sort, requiring a bit of level up before being able to really get into the series.

As it is, I feel like I'm missing 20% of the in-jokes mentioned, and there seem to be a lot of things lost in translation (culturally specific stuff).  But despite that, the only thing I can say about this series is that IT IS TOO DAMN SHORT.

Personally, I do feel that this series is a cross between  Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai (or Haganai) and The World God Only Knows.  Both are harem type animes, and both are well worth your time watching.  In Saekano, you get the generic high school protagonist who is the love interest of just about every interesting girl out there, who joins/forms a club/blog that eventually helps the group/circle develop their relationship/infatuation with the main guy.

The anime is quite self-aware, often mocking it's own use of over-used tropes, breaking the fourth wall (well, maybe 3.5) several times.  I liked these breaks, and the story, simple as it is, moves along as the main focus is always about character interaction and development.

The first half of the series is pretty devoid of fanservice (upskirts, pantyshots, strategically placed/misplaced camera angles), but the latter third is rife with it.  The 13th episode (or episode 00) is pretty much a fanservice episode and, while I'm not complaining, I'd like to consider myself (slightly) above such antics (right).

The art and animation is top notch, reminding me of the Monogatari series with its use of different coloured lines, but without the overly stylised (and distracting) stuffing, though they did have their share of head-tilts.

If you like harem anime, bump this up your queue (if you haven't seen the series yet, that is, it's in a lot of must watch lists, near the top 5 usually).  I've half a mind to rewatch it since it is really too short.

Verdict: 5/5 Must Watch Immediately!

Details:
Title: Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend/Heroine
Genre: Harem Anime, Slice of Life
Date Aired: January 8, 2015 – March 26, 2015
Number of Episodes: 13

Anime Review: Hanamayata

TL;DR: Hanamayata
+ You get to see the lead character, Naru Sekiya, grow from a super shy girl into someone less so
+ This is pretty much about friendship between middle school  girls
+ Yasakoi (folk dance) animation is pretty nice and fluid
- I'm not really the target audience for this series

I watched Hanayamata after reading Kotaku's Talk Amongst Yourselves recommendation, which is to say I didn't exactly go in blindly.  However, after watching an episode while at the gym, I was ready to move onto another series, out of embarrassment than anything (the entire thing looks so... girly).  However, having soldiered on, I found the story to be pretty inoffensive, perfect for younger audiences (of the female sort, I suppose).  It basically chronicles the budding friendship of five middle school girls and the formation of a Yasokai (traditionally a Japanese Folk Dance, now a freestyle dance).

Animation quality is pretty typical, except for the Yasokai dance sequences (even during practice): it's just very fluid and seems to almost be motion captured.  Probably the highlight

If you're looking for something non-stressful and feel-good to watch, this series is it.