Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Episode 2 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

A Girlfriend Without a Raised Flag

Tomoya Aki is dismayed to find that Megumi Kato, the girl he thought was destiny, is an ordinary classmate with almost no presence. When Eriri Sawamura and Utaha Kasumigaoka join them, he introduces Megumi as his circle's main heroine; the two reject his proposal again and urge him to quit, but he refuses to give up. He then has Megumi play a famous dating sim and its sequel at his house through the night, and by morning a drowsy Megumi agrees to join his circle.

• An overlooked classmate

  Over dinner Tomoya Aki admits Megumi Kato is cute, but she points out he never noticed her though they have been classmates since first year. She has given the beret from their meeting to a cousin's child and calls herself plain, and Tomoya despairs that she has none of a main heroine's presence.

• Introducing the circle

  Eriri Sawamura and Utaha Kasumigaoka, who were watching from outside, join them. Tomoya introduces them as his circle's illustrator and writer, though neither has agreed, and Megumi as its new member and main heroine; both reject his expanded proposal and urge him to quit, but he vows to keep rewriting until they accept.

• Overnight gaming session

  The next day he brings Megumi home for heroine training with a famous dating sim. She enjoys it, so he talks her into staying the night to play its sequel; by morning, after reaching the true ending, a drowsy Megumi agrees to join his circle.

Recent Timeline

• Pitches rejected and an empty meeting (Episode 1)

  Tomoya Aki pitched his dating-game proposal separately to Eriri Sawamura in the morning and Utaha Kasumigaoka at lunch, and both turned him down. After school the two each came to the audiovisual room he had named, were startled to find the other invited, and traded insults, Eriri claiming she had come only to stop the project, while they waited for Tomoya, who never showed up.

• The girl on the hill (Episode 1)

  Megumi Kato thanked Tomoya Aki for picking up her white beret over spring break, and he realized she was the girl from the hill. Since he could not even get her surname right, he concluded that the destined encounter he had believed in was apparently a misunderstanding.

• Proposal rejected again (Episode 2)

  Tomoya Aki introduced Eriri Sawamura and Utaha Kasumigaoka as his circle's illustrator and writer, and Megumi Kato as its main heroine, but the two rejected his expanded proposal again, saying it failed to convey what players should see and feel or what he truly wanted to make. Tomoya refused to give up, vowing to keep rewriting until they approved and to make Megumi a compelling heroine.

• Overnight game session (Episode 2)

  When Tomoya Aki called the slope near his house the place where they first met, Megumi Kato reminded him that they had actually first met at the entrance ceremony a year earlier. At his house he had her play a famous dating sim and its sequel through the night, and by morning a drowsy Megumi agreed to join his circle.

Character Graph

Eriri Sawamura

student · illustrator

Second-year student in class G, Tomoya's childhood friend and the Art Club ace, secretly the popular adult doujin artist Kashiwagi Eri. Introduced against her will as his circle's illustrator, she glared at Megumi, bickered with Tomoya over how well they know each other, and told him to give up.

• Reluctant illustrator

  Has not agreed to draw for Tomoya's game; she and Utaha rejected his expanded proposal again and urged him to quit.

• Tomoya Aki (Colleague, Mixed)

  Childhood friend who introduces her as his circle's illustrator without her consent; she bristles when he claims to know her true nature.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka (Other, Colleague, Neutral)

  Senior who needles her about her polished facade at school; the two bicker yet jointly reject Tomoya's proposal.

• Megumi Kato (Colleague, Hostility)

  The classmate Tomoya introduces as his main heroine; Eriri eyes her coldly and says she has no interest in what Megumi is to him.

Megumi Kato

student · classmate · circle member

Tomoya's classmate in class B since their first year, an ordinary girl with so little presence that he never noticed her. He declared her his circle's new member and main heroine, and after a night of playing dating sims at his house, she sleepily agreed to join.

• Beret owner

  The girl from Tomoya's spring encounter on the hill, whose white beret he picked up during spring vacation.

• Heroine role

  Tomoya wants to turn her into a main heroine who makes every player's heart race, despite her lack of distinctive traits.

• Past encounter

  Gave the beret from that day to a visiting cousin's child, deflating Tomoya's romantic view of their meeting.

• Tomoya Aki (Colleague, Mixed)

  Classmate since first year who has only now noticed her; he treats her to dinner, laments her lack of presence, and keeps her up all night with dating sims until she agrees to join his circle.

• Eriri Sawamura (Colleague, Hostility)

  School-famous beauty who glared at her when Tomoya introduced her as the main heroine.

Tomoya Aki

student · otaku · game creator

Second-year otaku and well-known blogger, counted among the school's three most famous students for bringing light novels into the library and holding anime screenings. After learning his 'destined' girl was the unremarkable Megumi, he made her his circle's main heroine, vowed to keep rewriting his proposal until Eriri and Utaha accept, and won Megumi over after an all-night gaming session.

• Core ambition

  Wants to create a dating sim with a main heroine who makes every player's heart race, modeled on the girl he met on the hill in spring.

• Game project

  Calls Eriri Sawamura his illustrator and Utaha Kasumigaoka his writer, though neither has agreed; vows to rewrite the proposal until both approve.

• Eriri Sawamura (Colleague, Mixed)

  Childhood friend he introduces as his circle's illustrator though she hasn't agreed; they bicker over how well they know each other.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka (Colleague, Mixed)

  Senior he names as his writer; she scores his expanded proposal zero again and mocks him for standing her up to go on a date with another girl.

• Megumi Kato (Colleague, Mixed)

  Classmate he makes his main heroine; he invites her home for heroine training with dating sims and gets her to join his circle.

Utaha Kasumigaoka

student · writer

Third-year senior and the school's top student, secretly the bestselling light novelist Kasumi Utako. Introduced as Tomoya's writer without having agreed, she scored his expanded proposal zero again and told him he still doesn't see what he truly wants to make.

• Light-novel author

  Has a new series lined up and judges Tomoya's proposals as a working creator, asking what he wants players to see and feel.

• Tomoya Aki (Colleague, Mixed)

  Junior who named her his writer; she rejects his proposal again and mocks him for standing her up to go on a date with another girl.

• Eriri Sawamura (Other, Colleague, Neutral)

  Second-year she trades barbs with, teasing her about her polished facade at school; together they reject Tomoya's proposal.

World Memo

• Tomoya's game circle

  Tomoya Aki has formed a doujin circle to make 'the ultimate dating sim' himself. He recruited his classmate Megumi Kato, the girl from the hill, as its first member and main heroine, and wants Eriri Sawamura as illustrator and Utaha Kasumigaoka as writer, though neither has formally joined yet.

• Doujin artist Kashiwagi Eri

  Eriri Sawamura, Tomoya's childhood friend, is a second-year and the Art Club ace. Though she hides it at school, she is secretly the popular adult doujin artist Kashiwagi Eri.

• Light novelist Kasumi Utako

  Third-year Utaha Kasumigaoka has never lost first place in her year since enrolling, and is secretly the bestselling light novelist Kasumi Utako, with a new series on the way.

• Otaku blogger Tomoya Aki

  Tomoya Aki is a second-year otaku known for his anime and light-novel blog. Having brought light novels into the library and held anime screenings at the school festival, he is counted among the school's three most famous students, and he juggles several part-time jobs for a big goal.

Clue Board

• A childhood friend who keeps her distance at school (Episode 1)

  Eriri Sawamura is Tomoya Aki's childhood friend, yet she insists he not talk to her at school and won't let him bring up her work as a doujin artist there. Why two people who have known each other since childhood keep their distance at school has not been explained.

• Disputed childhood promise (Episode 1)

  A flashback shows a childhood promise that Tomoya Aki would found a game company and hire Eriri Sawamura as its artist. Eriri denies ever making such an implausibly specific promise, so whether it really happened remains in dispute.

• Whether Eriri and Utaha will join (Episode 2)

  Tomoya Aki introduced Eriri Sawamura and Utaha Kasumigaoka as his circle's illustrator and writer, but they rejected his proposal again and urged him to quit. He vowed to keep rewriting until they approve, but whether they will really join is still unknown.

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–2

Convinced a spring encounter on a cherry-blossom hill was destiny, Tomoya Aki sets out to make the ultimate dating sim, but his childhood friend Eriri Sawamura, secretly a popular doujin artist, and senior Utaha Kasumigaoka, a bestselling light novelist, both turn him down. The girl turns out to be Megumi Kato, an ordinary classmate with almost no presence. Tomoya introduces her to Eriri and Utaha as his circle's main heroine; they reject his proposal again and urge him to quit, but he vows to keep rewriting. After a night of playing dating sims at his house, Megumi sleepily agrees to join his circle.

Music Releases

• Kimiiro Signal (OP)
• Colorful. (ED)