Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata: Ai to Seishun no Service-kai

Long time fan. I think this OVA does an okay job portraying the feelings that the characters have for each other. The story is a straight 10 out of 10 because of the blonde girl which happens to be one of my favorite characters.

The art is very saekano-y so that deserves a 10 as well.

The characters are female. As a male viewer this pleases me. So i have to give a 10 for this one.
The enjoyment the series give me is comparable to getting that first kill ever in the wilderness with your trusty rune scimitar.

Overall i think this ova is simply an ... outstanding addition to the series if you are truly a saekanoseur.

Just to be clear, this is not a prequel. Contrary to what others say, this episode happens around in the latter part of the novels and it's not really important plot-wise. Why did they air this first? No idea. /me facepalms.

Don't judge the show by this episode alone, this is more of a filler episode for the series.

Let's do a brief intro. Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata is about Tomoya Aki who is an avarage otaku and proud of it. Now, he doesn't want to be the consumer anymore, he wants to create his own goods. But he doesn't have a story for his eroge, ... not until he saw the the most bland girl in his entire life. He now pledges to make that girl into a heroine that everybody will love via eroge. He recuits the 4 girls, makes a game circle to make the ultimate dating sim.

Story: Unfortunately, we don't see any development regarding the plot. What do you expect, it's a fanservice OVA.

Characters: although they represent each of their own archtypes and pander about it, they don't really do anything to move away from the cliche. We may see more developments when we see the anime.

Sound: was good. The OP and ED was catchy though its your generic moe tune. VAs did a good job portraying their characters except for the main character which sounds like any show he's been worked on.

Art: The animation was your typical A-1 production. "More animation and less details". This was actually a wrong move on their part. The source material was famous (aside from the story) for its gorgeous detailed art. So the Light novel fans will be pissed about this. Another side effect of it, well, the show loves close-ups and the result looks really bad. And like any other A-1 works, the 3DCG was obnoxious. May it be hands, falling leaves and vehicles.

All in all, not a bad fanservice episode. Has comedic moments here and there. But if you wanted plot and not PLOT. I suggest avoiding this and watch the main show instead.

I've never been compelled to write a review before, but I have to after seeing one particular scene in this special.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata's Episode 0 starts off with an onsen scene as the girls forming the harem discuss anime. The male lead and center of the harem is frustrated as he pushes his face against the wall, angered that his is missing out... on the anime discussion. Funny, and I thoroughly enjoyed this segment. I appreciate how the show pokes fun at harems and the character introduction was silly as well.

The MC is voiced by Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, whom you may know as Sora from ... NGNL, Kantoku from Denki Gai or Kirito from SAO. I love this voice actor, and he definitely suits the otaku MC. I don't know much about the other voice actresses, but I have yet to watch a non-enjoyable anime featuring Matsuoka-san, so this was another green light for this series.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Despite the silly initial plot and character introductions, the biggest turn off for me was the rape scene. I don't care what any of you say about it because, like it or not, that was rape. The MC repeatedly says "no" and "stop" as one of the girls touches him and begins to sexually assault him. This triggered me and I immediately had an anxiety attack. They brush it off in the next scene as the "main heroine" is said to have "rescued" him, trivializing the issue. He is not traumatized and it is swept under the rug as just a comedic result of the girls' desire for him as the center of the harem. There is no retaliation, punishment or confrontation with the rapist. This is not something that should have been included in the show, let alone dismissed as comedy. Many people have not been educated on the issue that no means no, and, unfortunately, I am fearful that the dismissal of the incident in the show could actually influence people (to some extent) to think that going along after someone says no is somehow more okay. YES, I KNOW NOT EVERYTHING IN ANIME/MEDIA IS REALISTIC OR SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, BUT SOME PEOPLE MIGHT. Rape is a very serious issue, and it made me highly uncomfortable that it is taken so lightly in this show.

Needless to say, I will not continue to watch this series due to the disturbing content that was put in as harmless fun when it is actually reducing a more serious issue to a gimmick.