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I came looking for copper and I found gold.

Yes, I have seen the Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata anime, and of course, wanted more content to the story. As we all know there is unfortunately no available English translation of the original light novels anywhere which is why I decided to read this. Basically, I was only expecting a simple Utaha route, but this manga is so much more than that. This manga gives us a little inside view of everything that happens in the production and creation of the anime that we love to watch, the Light Novels and manga that we love to read, ... and the games that we love to play. It showcases the many challenges that creators have to face as they strive to make an impact in the Otaku world. Probably, the most important thing we can get from it is that all those anime we have seen and manga/light novels we have read were extremely far from easy to make. It showed us how the authors can get torn up with all the decisions they have to make regarding the flow of their story as well as the complexity of making an anime due to the various factors hey need to consider such as casting, character design, storyboards, schedule, etc.

As for the romance aspect which a lot of readers have come for, it was indeed a wholesome journey that Kasumigaoka Utaha fans would enjoy. The story revolves around four characters: Utaha, Tomoya, Machida, and Sagara, all of whom have appeared in the main Saekano series except for Sagara who is an exclusive character for this story. That's all I'm gonna say in order to avoid any spoilers.

The characters in the story were presented pretty well. They were given proper introductions despite being a spin-off, making it possible for people who haven’t seen/read the main Saekano storyline to enjoy this manga. In other words, this can be read as a whole story in itself and not be thought of as plainly “another route”. Although, there were some references that could only be understood if you have watched/read the main storyline. For the art, it looked clean and beautiful. It did not look exactly the same as the anime, though, which gives it a sense of originality. Additionally, there were quite a handful of “chibi” scenes, but they were utilized appropriately so because they were not used during important and intense scenes.

Overall, this manga was truly amazing and had exceeded my expectations. One thing is for sure: it gave me a newfound respect for all creators, as well as the production and marketing staff. As a final word, I recommend this manga even to those who have not seen or did not like Saekano as it indulges the readers into a behind-the-scenes aspect of the Otaku culture while telling a romantic and hardship-filled tale of a writer, editor, and an artist as they create an instant hit novel series.

SPOILER FREE

If you're still doubting whether to watch this series or not because of it's somewhat low ratings, then this is the review for you. To be honest, I also had my doubts at first because some people claimed it to boring, but I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover. Personally, I found this anime really fun and enjoyable. The only dull moments would probably be the bear explaining some difficult concepts and I can see how that would bore some people, but other than that, I had my eyes glued on the screen; it was pure entertaining and wholesome content. ... I would love to see more of this in the future!

Boarding School Juliet

If anyone asks for Manga recommendations, this one will definitely be up in my list. It had me laughing in tears from all the funny characters, sitting on the edge of my seat from all the intense moments, and most importantly, had me smiling at the beautiful love story of Romio and Juliet. I have only recently started reading manga (the list in my profile is incomplete though). However, after finishing Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet, I suddenly found myself craving for more. I'd like to believe that Shakepspeare himself would be proud of this.

I only wish it were a bit longer, but nonetheless, ... it was a total masterpiece. There is no reason to not read this piece of art.