Saekano

Not to be confused with Saikano.

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend
The cover for the first light novel volume featuring Eriri Spencer Sawamura
冴えない彼女（ヒロイン）の育てかた
(Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata)
Genre
Created byFumiaki Maruto
Light novel
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Illustrated byKurehito Misaki
Published byFujimi Shobo
ImprintFujimi Fantasia Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runJuly 20, 2012 – October 20, 2017
Volumes13 (List of volumes)
Further information
Manga
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Illustrated byTakeshi Moriki
Published byFujimi Shobo
English publisher
MagazineMonthly Dragon Age
DemographicShōnen
Original runJanuary 9, 2013 – August 9, 2016
Volumes8 (List of volumes)
Manga
Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Egoistic-Lily
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Illustrated byNiito
Published byKadokawa Shoten
MagazineYoung Ace
DemographicSeinen
Original runFebruary 4, 2013 – May 2, 2014
Volumes3 (List of volumes)
Manga
Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Koisuru Metronome
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Illustrated bySabu Musha
Published bySquare Enix
MagazineBig Gangan
DemographicSeinen
Original runAugust 24, 2013 – April 25, 2018
Volumes10 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed byKanta Kamei
Produced by
  • Takeshi Hagiwara
  • Shinichirou Kawashida
  • Akitoshi Mori
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Music byHajime Hyakkoku
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Amazon Video (streaming)
Original networkFuji TV, KTV (Noitamina)
English network
Original run January 9, 2015 – March 27, 2015
Episodes13 (List of episodes)
Light novel
Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Girls Side
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Illustrated byKurehito Misaki
Published byFujimi Shobo
ImprintFujimi Fantasia Bunko
DemographicMale
Original runFebruary 20, 2015 – June 20, 2017
Volumes3 (List of volumes)
Manga
Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Girls Side
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Illustrated byTakeshi Moriki
Published byKadokawa
MagazineDragon Age
DemographicMale
Original runSeptember 9, 2016 – June 9, 2017
Volumes2 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Flat
Directed byKanta Kamei
Produced by
  • Manabu Jinguuji
  • Takumi Morii
Written byFumiaki Maruto
Music byHajime Hyakkoku
StudioA-1 Pictures
Licensed byAmazon Video
Original networkFuji TV, Kansai TV (Noitamina)
Original run April 14, 2017 – June 23, 2017
Episodes11 + Special (List of episodes)
Anime film
icon Anime and manga portal

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, known in Japan as Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata[Jp. 1] and the short form Saekano,[Jp. 2][3] is a Japanese romantic comedy light novel series written by Fumiaki Maruto, with illustrations by Kurehito Misaki. Fujimi Shobo published thirteen volumes between July 2012 and October 2017 under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint. The story follows high school student Tomoya Aki, who recruits a trio of beautiful girls to help him develop a visual novel to sell at the Comiket convention.

Saekano has received a manga adaptation in addition to three spin-off manga adaptations. An anime television series adaptation by A-1 Pictures aired between January 9 and March 27, 2015 on Fuji TV's noitamina block, which has been licensed by Aniplex of America. A second season aired from April 6, 2017 to June 23, 2017, and was streamed exclusively on Amazon Video. A visual novel based on the anime, titled Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata -Blessing Flowers-, was released on April 30, 2015. An animated film, titled Saekano the Movie: Finale, was produced by CloverWorks and premiered on October 26, 2019.

Premise

[edit]
See also: List of Saekano characters

Tomoya Aki, a male high school teenager who works part-time to fund his otaku lifestyle (light novels, manga, anime, video games like visual novels and dating sims, and related merchandise) encounters a beautiful girl one day during spring vacation. A month later, he finds out that the girl is his classmate, Megumi Kato, who is hardly noticeable to her classmates. Hoping to create a visual novel computer game, he turns to school beauties Eriri Spencer Sawamura for designing the art, and Utaha Kasumigaoka for writing the game scenario. Tomoya then recruits Megumi to star as the "heroine" (the main character's love interest) of his game, thus forming the development team "Blessing Software", in which the three most renowned students in the school (Tomoya, Eriri, and Utaha) work on one of the least noticeable (Megumi). The series follows their adventures in developing the game and their plans to sell it at the Comiket convention, as well as the emotional entanglements among the team.[4]

Publication

[edit]
Main article: List of Saekano volumes § Light novels

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend began as a light novel series written by Fumiaki Maruto,[5] with illustrations provided by Kurehito Misaki.[6] The first light novel volume was published by Fujimi Shobo under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint on July 20, 2012.[7] In the twelfth volume, Maruto announced that the series would end in the thirteenth volume,[8] which was released on October 20, 2017.[9] As of November 2018, thirteen volumes and two short story collections have been published.

Media

[edit]

Manga

[edit]
Main article: List of Saekano volumes § Manga

A manga adaptation with art by Takeshi Moriki was serialized from January 9, 2013 to August 9, 2016 in Fujimi Shobo's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age.[10][11] It has been collected in eight tankōbon volumes between August 2013 and November 2016.[12] It has also been published in English by Yen Press between January 2016 and December 2017.[13]

A spin-off manga titled Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Egoistic-Lily[Jp. 3] with art by Niito was serialized from February 4, 2013 to May 2, 2014 in Kadokawa Shoten's seinen manga magazine Young Ace.[14][15] It has been collected in three tankōbon volumes. Another spin-off manga titled Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Koisuru Metronome[Jp. 4] with art by Sabu Musha was serialized from August 24, 2013 to April 25, 2018 in Square Enix's seinen manga magazine Big Gangan.[16][17] It has been collected in ten tankōbon volumes.[18] A manga adaptation of Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Girls Side was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age magazine from September 9, 2016 to June 9, 2017.[11][19] It has been collected in two tankōbon volumes.

Anime series

[edit]
See also: List of Saekano episodes

An anime television series adaptation of the light novel series was announced in March 2014 to premiere on Fuji TV's Noitamina block in January 2015.[20] The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Kanta Kamei, with scripts written by series creator Fumiaki Maruto, character designs by Tomoaki Takase and music by Hajime Hyakkoku.[21] The opening theme song for the anime was "Kimiiro Signal"[Jp. 5] by Luna Haruna, while the ending theme song was "Colorful."[Jp. 6] by Miku Sawai. The series began airing on January 9, 2015 and finished airing on March 27, 2015 with a total of 13 episodes.[22] The first season has been licensed for North America by Aniplex of America.[23]

A second season to the anime series, titled Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat,[Jp. 7][24] was announced on May 3, 2015,[25] with the main staff and cast returning from the previous season to reprise their roles.[26] It aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina block from April 13, 2017 to June 23, 2017 running for 12 episodes,[27][28] with the web-only episode 0 streamed on April 5, 2017. The opening theme song for the second season is "Stella Breeze"[Jp. 8] by Luna Haruna,[29] while the ending theme song are "Pink Diary"[Jp. 9] for episode 0 to 10 and "Youth Prologue"[Jp. 10] for episode 11, both sung by Moso Calibration.[30] The second season streamed exclusively on Amazon Video.[31]

Theatrical film

[edit]
Main article: Saekano the Movie: Finale

An anime film was announced at the "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Fes. flat -glistening moment-" event on December 3, 2017.[32] The all-new film, titled Saekano the Movie: Finale,[Jp. 11] was produced by CloverWorks and directed by Akihisa Shibata, with Kanta Kamei serving as chief director. The rest of the main staff and cast from the anime series returned to reprise their roles. It premiered in Japan on October 26, 2019.[33] The theme song "glory days", was sung by Luna Haruna, with Miku Sawai composing.[34][35]

Video game

[edit]

A PlayStation Vita visual novel based on the anime, titled Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata -Blessing Flowers-,[Jp. 12] was released on April 30, 2015.[36] A limited edition with an original soundtrack CD and a B2-size cloth poster retailed for 8,800 yen (about US$74), a regular edition for 6,800 yen (US$57), and a download edition for 6,000 yen (US$51). The first copies of all editions included a download code for an original custom PS Vita theme. The game utilizes Live2D software, which moves the characters with CGI but retains their two-dimensional look.[37]

Reception

[edit]

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend ranked 10th place on the "Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series" with 227,314 copies sold in the period between November 2014 and May 2015,[38] and later ranked 16th place with 313,744 copies sold between November 2014 and November 2015.[39]

See also

[edit]
  • White Album 2, a video game whose scenario is written by Fumiaki Maruto

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: 冴えない彼女(ヒロイン)の育てかた, Hepburn: Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata
  2. ^ 冴えカノ
  3. ^ 冴えない彼女(ヒロイン)の育てかた～egoistic-lily～, Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata ~Egoistic-Lily~
  4. ^ 冴えない彼女(ヒロイン)の育てかた 恋するメトロノーム, Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata Koisuru Metoronōmu
  5. ^ 君色シグナル, Kimiiro Shigunaru
  6. ^ カラフル。, Karafuru.
  7. ^ 冴えない彼女(ヒロイン)の育てかた♭, Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata Furatto
  8. ^ ステラブリーズ, Sutera Burīzu
  9. ^ 桜色ダイアリー, Sakurairo Daiarī
  10. ^ 青春プロローグ, Seishun Purorōgu
  11. ^ 冴えない彼女(ヒロイン)の育てかた Fine(フィーネ), Saenai Hiroin no Sodatekata Fīne
  12. ^ 冴えない彼女(ヒロイン)の育てかた -blessing flowers-

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Chapman, Hope (January 8, 2015). "Saekano -How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend- - The Winter 2015 Anime Preview Guide - Anime News Network". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Chapman, Paul (October 21, 2018). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Fine Film Hits Japanese Theaters in Fall of 2019". Crunchyroll. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Maruto, Fumiaki (August 20, 2014). 『冴えない彼女の育てかた FD』 [Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Fan Disc] (in Japanese). Fujimi Shobo. p. 284. ISBN 978-4-04-070282-7.
  4. ^ Valente, Adriano (July 11, 2020). "15 Anime To Watch If You Like Nisekoi". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  5. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 4, 2021). "Saekano's Fumiaki Maruto Writes New Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Nascimento, Vitor (March 24, 2019). "SAENAI HEROINE NO SODATEKATA – FILME TEM TRAILER ANUNCIADO". Anime United (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "冴えない彼女の育てかた at Fujimishobo.co.jp" (in Japanese). Fujimi Shobo. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  8. ^ Ressler, Karen (March 18, 2017). "How to Raise A Boring Girlfriend Light Novel Series Ends in 13th Volume". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  9. ^ 冴えない彼女の育てかた13 (in Japanese). Fujimi Shobo. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  10. ^ 「地獄ようちえん」など新連載4本が一挙始動、Dエイジで. Natalie (in Japanese). January 9, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 14, 2016). "How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Manga Ends, Girls Side Sequel Starts in September". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ 冴えない彼女の育てかた 1 (ドラゴンコミックスエイジ も 3-2-1) (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. August 2013. ISBN 978-4047128934.
  13. ^ Ressler, Karen (July 5, 2015). "Yen Press Licenses My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected, How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, Baccano!, More". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  14. ^ 「冴えない彼女の育てかた」ヤングエースでコミカライズ. Natalie (in Japanese). February 4, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  15. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (April 28, 2014). "Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata ~egoistic-lily~ Manga Ends". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  16. ^ 「冴えない彼女の育てかた」ヒロインは女子高生ラノベ作家. Natalie (in Japanese). August 26, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 14, 2018). "Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata: Koi-suru Metronome Manga Ends on April 25". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  18. ^ 冴えない彼女の育てかた 恋するメトロノーム(10) (ビッグガンガンコミックス) (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. June 25, 2018. ISBN 9784757557291. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  19. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 19, 2017). "How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend: Girls Side Manga Ends". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Loo, Egan (March 21, 2014). "Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata Light Novels Get Anime on Noitamina". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  21. ^ Loo, Egan (April 21, 2014). "Bunny Drop's Kamei Helms Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  22. ^ Loo, Egan (December 6, 2014). "Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata's New Video Previews Otaku Romantic Comedy". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  23. ^ Ressler, Karen (December 17, 2014). "Aniplex USA Licenses Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  24. ^ Ressler, Karen (February 14, 2017). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat Anime Reveals New Key Visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  25. ^ Nelkin, Sarah (May 3, 2015). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Anime Gets Sequel". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  26. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 19, 2016). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Staff Confirmed to Return for Sequel". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  27. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 17, 2016). "Saekano's TV Anime Sequel to Premiere on Noitamina in April 2017". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  28. ^ "BD&DVD VOL.6". saenai.tv (in Japanese). Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  29. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (February 16, 2017). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat's Video Previews Luna Haruna Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  30. ^ Ressler, Karen (March 9, 2017). "Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata Flat Anime's Video Previews Moso Calibration's Ending Theme". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  31. ^ Ressler, Karen (April 5, 2017). "Amazon's Anime Strike Announces Full Spring Lineup, Premiere Dates". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  32. ^ Loo, Egan (December 3, 2017). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Anime Gets Theatrical Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  33. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (October 21, 2018). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Anime Film Reveals Title, Visual, Fall 2019 Debut". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  34. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 30, 2019). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Anime Film Reveals October 26 Debut, Luna Haruna Theme Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  35. ^ Mateo, Alex (August 21, 2019). "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Anime Film Unveils Theme Song Info, Visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  36. ^ Chao, Thi (April 20, 2015). "Two Teaser Trailers for Saekano -Blessing Flowers- Visual Novels". Good e-Reader. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  37. ^ "「冴えない彼女の育てかた-blessing flowers-」4月30日発売決定！". saenai.tv (in Japanese). January 26, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  38. ^ Loo, Egan (May 31, 2015). "Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series: 2015 (First Half)". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  39. ^ Loo, Egan (November 29, 2015). "Top-Selling Light Novels in Japan by Series: 2015". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
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