Series synopsis
Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, also known as 冴えない彼女の育てかた is a Japanese animation comedy television series that premiered on Fuji TV on January 16, 2015. It ended on June 23, 2017. It stars Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Kiyono Yasuno, Saori Onishi and Ai Kayano.
Tomoya Aki is an otaku who has a dream. His dream is to create the best visual novel game ever. The main heroine for this game and the inspiration for this dream is a background character named Megumi Kato who somehow stumbles into main character-esque traits in his eyes. To complete the game in time he has to call upon the aid of his anime loving professional friends who aren't so keen on the choice of his main heroine.
Premise
Tomoya Aki is an otaku who has a dream. His dream is to create the best visual novel game ever. The main heroine for this game and the inspiration for this dream is a background character named Megumi Kato who somehow stumbles into main character-esque traits in his eyes. To complete the game in time he has to call upon the aid of his anime loving professional friends who aren't so keen on the choice of his main heroine.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Aki Tomoya (voice)
- Kiyono Yasuno as Megumi Kato (voice)
- Saori Onishi as Eriri Spencer Sawamura (voice)
- Ai Kayano as Utaha Kasumigaoka (voice)
- Sayuri Yahagi as Michiru Hyodo (voice)
- Chinatsu Akasaki as Izumi Hashima (voice)
- Tetsuya Kakihara as Iori Hashima (voice)
Guest cast
- Keiko Nemoto as Female Teacher (voice)
- Nobuaki Kanemitsu as Mister (voice)
- Mina Nagashima as Female Student A (voice)
- Asaka Imai as Female Student B (voice)
- Yuuki Kitao as Male Student A (voice)
- Reiou Tsuchida as Male Student B (voice)
- Sakura Tange as Heroine (voice)
- Soma Saito as Keiichi Katō (voice)
- Takahiro Mizushima as Naoto (voice)
- Madoka Yonezawa as Sayuka (voice)
- Isamu Yusen as Station Announcement (voice)
- Yoshiki Nakajima as Man (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 3 seasons with 25 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 2 | January 9, 2015 | April 6, 2017 |
| Season 1 | 12 | January 16, 2015 | April 3, 2015 |
| Season 2 | 11 | April 14, 2017 | June 23, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Fan Service of Love and Youth An otaku high school student, Tomoya Aki, designs his very own dating-simulation game. In order to make his desire a reality, Tomoya must persuade a few eccentric "creators" from his school. |
January 9, 2015 |
| 2 |
Fan Service of Love and Pure Heart The team has come to the pool of a luxury hotel to do research for a swimsuit event for their game. As always, Utaha and Eriri are fighting, Michiru is doing her own thing, and of course Megumi is being aloof. Episode zero is here to bring you the swimsuit episode fans have been waiting for! |
April 6, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
An Error-Ridden Prologue A chance encounter with a beautiful girl during spring break inspires Tomoya to make a dating simulation video game. He tries recruiting Eriri and Utaha to assist him. |
January 16, 2015 |
| 2 |
A Girlfriend Without a Raised Flag Tomoya asks Megumi out and gives her a lecture on how a perfect heroine should be like. He invites her to his home for an even more detailed lesson! |
January 23, 2015 |
| 3 |
Retake the Climax Tomoya continues to procrastinate despite a fast approaching deadline for his project proposal. Eriri and Utaha wonder if he's really serious about creating a dating sim. |
January 30, 2015 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Way of Two Boring Rivals' Encounter One and a half years ago at Toyogasaki Academy. Utaha confirms that the library is carrying the light novel she wrote Metronome in Love. She leaves and gets stopped along the way by Eriri Spencer Sawamura. We finally get to see how Eriri and Utaha meet. What exactly happened between them?! |
April 14, 2017 |
| 2 |
Turning Point of Earnest and Real Utaha and Tomoya go out on a date in Ikebukuro to celebrate the completion of the script. After going around to a book store and movie theater, they have dinner at a restaurant. That's when Utaha asks Tomoya whether she should attend a nearby university or one located in Kansai for college. Tomoya gives her his answer at the end of the date. Hearing it, Utaha decides to take a certain action. |
April 21, 2017 |
| 3 |
First Draft, Second Draft and Great Long Thinking Tomoya and the others arrive to meet Izumi, but to their surprise, Iori is there waiting as well. Iori reveals that his Dōjin Team, Rouge en Rouge, is making a new game that is in the same genre as the game Blessing Software is working on, and that Izumi will be in charge of its art. Tomoya believes in his team members, but Iori tells him that he is confident his game's story will be better. |
April 28, 2017 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Fuji TV |
|---|---|
| First aired | January 16, 2015 |
| Last aired | June 23, 2017 |
| Runtime | 23 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Thursday at 00:55:00 |