Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend

Episode 5

Last episode Tomoya somehow managed to wind up getting himself on a date with Megumi. This episode we get to see how that actually plays out. Somewhat surprisingly, it actually ends up not being the disaster that it so easily could have been with someone of Tomoya's disposition involved. In fact, by otaku standards it would be a smashing success, and all Megumi had to do to help make it happen is just be herself – in other words, take absolutely everything in low-key stride, no matter how little she actually understands about what's going on.

Of course, that's not to say at all that she is a dummy. She is, after all, the only “normal” amongst a group whose other members are, to one degree or another, all otaku, and in that role she continues to serve as the voice of the outside observer, the person who isn't deeply steeped in the cultural elements and so can flatly point out how ridiculous some of them are. Her most biting observation actually comes before the date when the quartet is going over the game scenario that Uteha has finalized after an all-nighter, a whacked-out story of love between two souls who aren't blood-related in the modern era but had a forbidden love as siblings in a past life and wind up fighting an apocalyptic battle against monsters (in other words, part of the actual plot of World Break). She comments at one point that no normal person falls in love with her brother, in response to which the others have to explain that it does happen “in the 2D world.” Her inability to muster the kind of anime-typical reactions that Eriri wants also frustrate Eriri, who is trying to use her as a model, to no end, but Megumi also points out that those are not the reactions of normal people, either. Couple those with the self-analysis about how Megumi just doesn't seem to fit one of the normal exciting molds expected of anime/manga characters and the author/director team would seem to be carrying on a running commentary about how weird the standard tropes and archetypes of the anime/manga multiverse are when taken out of context. As much as anime sometimes mimics the mundane elements of reality, they seem to be saying, one should never take it too seriously as a reflection of reality.

A different aspect of that comes into play during the date, which is more a contrast between the otaku world and the real world. Tomoya is used to massive crowds at Comiket, but he finds the big crowd at the shopping mall opening that he goes to with Megumi (which seems somewhat akin to the atmosphere on Black Friday here in the States) exasperating by comparison, as it is far less disciplined and orderly. Only when he takes to strategizing it just like he would a Comiket trip does the experience finally start to click for him, and the efficiency that results in does seem to impress Megumi.

Watching the reactions of the other two girls is amusing, and also interesting in a more serious sense. Neither resorts to interfering, as both appear to recognize that this is best both for Tomoya and for the furthering of the project, but clearly (to the audience) neither is happy about it. Uteha vents through her comically crazed burst of writing inspiration, snarky written and verbal comments to Tomoya, and the silly gusto with which she chomps on Pocky offered by Tomoya, while Eriri complains about being played as a fool in a hypothetical dating scenario but also seems to be keeping an eye on Tomoya as he reaffirms his commitment to the date despite things not going well. Both keep the characters from falling too deeply into established archetype ruts.

The artistry shows further signs of wavering throughout the episode, with several shots that are shaky for being perfectly on-model, but it seems to nail the most important scenes. Fan service is completely absent, but that has become accepted at this point. Really, aside from the occasional artistic dips, the only significant flaw this time around is that the episode cuts off a bit awkwardly at the end. It otherwise delivers well and so gets a higher grade.

Rating: B+

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.