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Story – 7
Art – 9
Sound – 9
Enjoyment – 8
Overall - 8

I have always had a feeling about this anime ever since picking it back up after finding out not every episode was going to be like Episode 00 and until recently I have not been able to put those feelings into words. But I believe Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata is a great high school/romance/comedy/ecchi/harem anime.

Despite saying all that the story is a 7 for me. It's good, nothing substantial, but not bad. Nothing wrong with wanting to revolutionize the dating sim industry, many of us have dreams of our own. However, discounting all the convenient ... connections that this Tomoya Aki has, not much (plot-wise) really stands out aside from our "main heroine" and her role in his dream. Even though I say that, the episodes are enjoyable, the humour is on point, and the story flows.

The art and sound get one paragraph because I've given them the same score: 9/10. The art is spectacular, not in SHAFT's abstract sense or Kyoto Animation's detail but the fact that it does what it is supposed to do, and it does it extremely well. I'm sure most if not all fans of Utaha will agree with me on this. Not only that, the colours are vibrant, the animation is fluid, and the alternate art style where things are outlined in a different colour is a nice shift that is not jarring at all. The backgrounds are solid, the character designs are good, and I think it's safe to say every pose and movement is what you came for. One thing I might question is the use of CG in some scenes like when a character is typing on a laptop. I find it unnecessary but it isn’t as pervasive as it could have been. As far as sound goes, the songs with vocals are very good (I personally love the opening and ending), and the background music is fitting and does its job. This is not to say that the voice actors/actresses aren't doing a wonderful job with their characters though, they're great and are worthy of praise for bringing out the character’s personalities, emotions, and other nuances.

The characters themselves are on par with the story itself as I rate them 7/10. Here is where most of my criticism lies with the series. I've said what I think about the story, but in terms of the characters, they suffer much of the same. They're nothing substantial. They are great in their own respects, don't get me wrong, but they're tropes and clichés. So why do I still give them a 7 which is "good" in terms of scoring? Because they know what they are, we know what they are, and the author certainly wrote them as what they are. But they are done well. I think at least in this instance, you can only go so far on tropes and clichés, but this anime does a very good job of bringing out their qualities and allowing the viewer to enjoy them. The development is another point in regards to the story and characters that is worth mentioning because there isn't that much. By far the most notable character development lies with Katou and Aki for obvious reasons, but the other heroines as well as the main character get an arc of their own which is not bad at all. The development may be nothing ground-breaking, but it's still pleasant with its own charm.

As of writing this review, I've given the anime an 8 both overall and as the score for my enjoyment. I think it is an anime that knows what it is trying to be and where it is trying to go, and it succeeds as a possibly shining example of a high school/comedy/romance/ecchi/harem anime.