Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Episode 6 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Deciding the Night for Two

Utaha Kasumigaoka recalls meeting Tomoya Aki at her signing and the rift that began when he refused to read her final volume's manuscript early. Tomoya chases her to Wago City, misses the last train, and spends the night in her hotel room after her editor Sonoko Machida leaves them alone. He explains that the heroine Meguri isn't truly happy and proposes an everyday-romance route alongside the past-life story; they rework the plot until morning, when Utaha welcomes him into the world of creators.

Meanwhile at Rokutenba Mall, Eriri Sawamura teases the abandoned Megumi Kato and finally captures the heroine's sulky expression.

• Past rift over the manuscript

  Utaha Kasumigaoka first met Tomoya Aki, a devoted fan, at her book signing. Half a year ago she asked him to read her final volume's manuscript before release, but he refused, wanting the ending to be her own decision, and they have been at odds since.

• Overnight in Wago City

  Unable to reach Utaha, Tomoya follows her in the rain to Wago City, where she is on a research trip, and misses the last train. Her editor Sonoko Machida switches rooms and leaves the two of them alone.

• Reworking the plot

  Tomoya says the heroine Meguri isn't truly happy and, recalling his day with Megumi Kato, asks for an everyday-romance route while keeping the past-life story as another route. After a night of writing sample lines, Utaha welcomes him into the world of creators.

• Back at Rokutenba Mall

  Meanwhile Eriri Sawamura 'happens' to run into the abandoned Megumi, needles her about being ditched mid-date, and finally sketches the sulky expression she needed for the heroine.

Recent Timeline

• Golden Week deadline and Megumi's performance (Episode 3)

  Eriri Sawamura slipped into Tomoya Aki's home to work on an adult manuscript for a weekend event, having fled her father's garden party; she told him to give up but let slip that she had been worried about him. Utaha Kasumigaoka came to check the work, kept the deadline unchanged, and urged him to get every member seriously involved. Megumi Kato then came back early from Hokkaido and, dressed by Eriri and coached by Utaha, acted out his ideal heroine on the hill; she asked him to make her a happy heroine, and he promised.

• Interview, circle meeting, and Keiichi encounter (Episode 4)

  Tomoya Aki interviewed Utaha Kasumigaoka at her editor's request, and after a stalled session she agreed to join his circle the following week. Eriri Sawamura joined too, and when both called his December finish and Winter Comiket debut impossible, Tomoya ended the dispute by taking on the funding himself. At the restaurant where he works he found Megumi Kato dining with her cousin Keiichi Kato and asked her not to see him until the game was done; when she mentioned their weekend trip to Rokutenba Mall, he told her to go with him instead, and she agreed.

• Dating advice and Utaha's plot (Episode 5)

  When Tomoya Aki asked how to survive shopping with a girl, Eriri Sawamura advised him to go with the flow of the conversation and smile, then realized his real worry was a date with Megumi Kato and blew up. Utaha Kasumigaoka produced a complete romance plot after staying up all night. Tomoya found it exciting and Eriri admired its calculated appeal, though Megumi questioned the sibling premise.

• Plot dispute and mall outing (Episode 5)

  After Tomoya Aki had held up approval of Utaha Kasumigaoka's plot for three days, Eriri Sawamura accused him of stalling production and told him to write it himself; Utaha rebuked her for saying that, then reproached Tomoya for again giving her no answer. When Megumi Kato offered to postpone their outing, Tomoya insisted on making it a date. At the crowded Rokutenba Mall opening sale he planned their route from her floor map and wait-time information, and at the last shop Megumi gave him glasses as thanks for coming along before he apologized and rushed off somewhere.

• Overnight plot revision in Wago City (Episode 6)

  Tomoya Aki followed Utaha Kasumigaoka through the rain to Wago City, missed the last train, and was left alone with her in her hotel room when her editor switched rooms. Overnight he argued that the heroine Meguri was not truly happy bound to her past life and proposed an everyday-romance route, keeping the past-life story as another route, and the two wrote sample lines until morning, when Utaha welcomed him into the world of creators.

  Meanwhile at Rokutenba Mall, Eriri Sawamura 'happened' to run into the abandoned Megumi Kato, teased her about being ditched mid-date, and finally sketched the sulky expression she needed for the heroine.

Character Graph

Keiichi Kato

Cousin of Megumi Kato who goes out to dinner with her.

• Megumi Kato (Family, Affinity)

  Her cousin; they go out to dinner together while their parents attend a play.

Sonoko Machida

Utaha Kasumigaoka's editor and the deputy editor at her publisher, who calls her 'Shii-chan'. She set up Utaha's interview with Tomoya as interviewer, and on the research trip to Wago City she moved to another room, leaving the twin room to Utaha and the rain-soaked Tomoya until morning.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka (Colleague, Mixed)

  Author she edits; she presses her on deadlines, needles her to stop being stubborn about Tomoya, and leaves the two of them alone for the night.

Eriri Sawamura

student · illustrator

Second-year in class G, Tomoya's childhood friend and the circle's character designer, secretly the doujin artist Kashiwagi Eri. After failing to capture Megumi's expressions, she 'happened' to find Megumi alone at Rokutenba Mall, teased her about being ditched mid-date, and finally sketched the sulky face she needed for the heroine.

• Game role

  Designs the characters for Tomoya's game with Megumi as her model; she finally nailed the heroine's sulky expression at the mall.

• Tomoya Aki (Colleague, Mixed)

  Childhood friend and director she accused of stalling production; he left Megumi mid-date to chase after Utaha.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka (Other, Colleague, Mixed)

  Senior who rebuked her for telling Tomoya to write the plot himself.

• Megumi Kato (Colleague, Friend, Mixed)

  Heroine model she ran into at the mall 'by coincidence'; she needled her about being abandoned on a date and sketched her sulky face.

Megumi Kato

student · classmate · circle member

Tomoya's classmate and the circle's main heroine. Left alone at Rokutenba Mall after Tomoya rushed off mid-date, she ran into Eriri, who teased her about being ditched and captured her sulky expression for the heroine design, a face Megumi insists she never made.

• 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, Friend, Affinity)

  Circle leader who left her at the mall to chase after Utaha; he later tells Utaha that she saw him off with a smile and that their ordinary day together was fun.

• Eriri Sawamura (Colleague, Friend, Mixed)

  Illustrator who turned up at the mall, teased her about being abandoned on a date, and finally drew her sulky face, in their first real talk alone together.

• Keiichi Kato (Family, Affinity)

  Her cousin, visiting with his family; she cancelled their weekend trip to Rokutenba Mall to go with Tomoya instead.

Tomoya Aki (Tomoya)

student · otaku · game creator

Second-year otaku and the circle's director, a devoted fan of Utaha's novels who first met her at a book signing. He chased Utaha through the rain to Wago City, missed the last train, and spent the night in her hotel room explaining his retake, an everyday-romance route for the heroine Meguri alongside the past-life story, until Utaha welcomed him into the world of creators.

• 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

  Leads the circle with Eriri Sawamura on character design and Utaha Kasumigaoka on the plot, aiming for a Winter Comiket debut; the plot now gains an everyday-romance route alongside the original past-life story.

• Collaboration with Utaha

  Half a year ago he refused to read her final volume's manuscript before release, wanting the ending to be her decision as a fan; now he has reworked the game's plot with her overnight and been welcomed as a fellow creator.

• Eriri Sawamura (Colleague, Mixed)

  Childhood friend and character designer who accused him of holding up production.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka (Colleague, Mixed)

  Author he idolizes, estranged for half a year after he refused to read her final manuscript early; after a night reworking the plot together she welcomes him as a creator.

• Megumi Kato (Colleague, Friend, Affinity)

  Main heroine he left behind at the mall; his fun, ordinary day with her inspired the everyday-romance route.

Utaha Kasumigaoka (Utaha)

student · writer

Third-year senior and the circle's writer, secretly the bestselling light novelist Kasumi Utako. Still hurt by the rift that began when Tomoya refused to read her final manuscript early, she avoided his calls on her Wago City research trip, but after a night reworking the plot with him she welcomed him into the world of creators.

• Light-novel author

  An award-winning author whose debut series sold 500,000 copies; she first met Tomoya, a devoted fan, at a book signing when she was a second-year.

• Game role

  Writes the plot and scenario; after Tomoya's retake she keeps the past-life story and adds an everyday-romance route.

• Creative conflict with Tomoya

  Half a year ago she offered him her final volume's manuscript before release, ready to change the ending based on his opinion, but he refused; now she welcomes him as a creator and asks him to keep at it with her.

• Tomoya Aki (Colleague, Mentor, Mixed)

  Devoted fan and director who followed her to Wago City; after the night they reworked her plot, she welcomes him into the world of creators.

• Eriri Sawamura (Other, Colleague, Mixed)

  Illustrator she rebuked for telling Tomoya to write the plot himself.

• Megumi Kato (Colleague, Neutral)

  Heroine whose lines she wrote and whose performance she coached strictly.

World Memo

• Tomoya's game circle

  Tomoya Aki is the representative, producer, and director of the doujin circle he formed to make 'the ultimate dating sim'. Eriri Sawamura handles character design and art, Utaha Kasumigaoka the plot and scenario, and his classmate Megumi Kato is the model for the main heroine.

• Schedule and budget

  The game is to be finished in December and debut at Winter Comiket. Tomoya Aki has taken on the production costs, several hundred thousand to a million yen, by himself and is working several part-time jobs to cover them.

• The game's plot

  The game's story will branch into two routes. Utaha Kasumigaoka's past-life story, in which the heroine Meguri recovers memories of being the hero's sister and fights a centuries-old enemy, stays as one route, and a new route is added in which an everyday romance wins out.

• Comiket and doujin circles

  Comiket is a huge convention where doujin circles present works they make themselves, such as doujinshi and doujin games. Eriri Sawamura also runs her own circle as Kashiwagi Eri.

• 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, top of her year since enrolling, is secretly the bestselling light novelist Kasumi Utako. Her five-volume debut series sold 500,000 copies, she is now preparing a new series, and her editor is Sonoko Machida.

• Otaku blogger Tomoya Aki

  Tomoya Aki is a second-year otaku known for his anime and light-novel blog, counted among the school's three most famous students for bringing light novels into the library and holding anime screenings at the school festival. Kasumi Utako's debut series only took off after his blog featured it.

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.

• An 'impossible' December schedule (Episode 4)

  Tomoya Aki plans to finish the game in December and debut it at Winter Comiket, but Eriri Sawamura protests that the schedule is impossible alongside her art club and her own circle. Tomoya must also raise the production costs, several hundred thousand to a million yen, alone through part-time work, so whether the schedule can hold is still unknown.

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–6

Convinced a spring encounter on a cherry-blossom hill was destiny, Tomoya Aki sets out to make the ultimate dating sim, only to learn the girl was his unremarkable classmate Megumi Kato. He recruits Megumi as his circle's main heroine, and her heroine performance on the hill finally draws in his childhood friend Eriri Sawamura, secretly a popular doujin artist, and senior Utaha Kasumigaoka, a bestselling light novelist, who had kept rejecting his proposals.

After a stilted magazine interview Utaha joins, Eriri follows, and the circle aims to debut its game at Winter Comiket with Tomoya covering the costs. Friction builds when Tomoya holds up Utaha's dramatic past-life plot without being able to say why, and after his mall date with Megumi he leaves her behind and rushes off.

He chases Utaha through the rain to Wago City, easing the rift that began six months earlier when he refused to read her final volume's manuscript early. Over a night in her hotel room he argues that the heroine Meguri needs an everyday-romance route alongside the past-life story, and by morning Utaha welcomes him into the world of creators. Meanwhile Eriri, finding the abandoned Megumi at the mall, finally captures the heroine's sulky expression.

Music Releases

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