I have watched Saekano fairly recently, but this movie has completely blown my mind, so here I am writing a review about it.

#Story

The story follows the development of Tomoya Aki's second game, How to raise a boring girlfriend, after Utaha and Eriri have left his circle to work on Fields Chronicle. He now has new members in his circle, that being Izumi and Iori Hashima, but he soon will have to make a decision which will put his relationship to everyone under a test. The story is totally amazing in my opinion, as it for one further deepens the bond between everyone but also shows how much Tomoya is growing as a creator. The most critical plot point here is obviously his choice to work on Fields Chronicle. It certainly would be a "or" situation for most people but Tomoya does both. He helps out to fill the void, which Akane's absence caused, but he stays commited to his own project and the dream to create the game he dreamt of to make. The movie obviously doesn't miss the comedy from two seasons prior and uses it a lot to lighten up the mood, but I would also say the movie is a lot more serious as a whole. There are a lot of dramatic and emotional scenes, such as when Utaha and Eriri decide to help Tomoya to get happy with Megumi or the conversation between Tomoya and Megumi, before Tomoya leaves to help Eriri and Utaha. The highlight here is the confession scene, in which Tomoya tells Megumi his feeling. The way it has been built up until there, through the seasons before and the movie itself, was just amazing. It was obvious that is was going to happen, since there always has been a strong connection between Tomoya and Megumi, as they have been together ever since their faithful meeting, but that isn't a bad thing, since it shows how good the build-up was. I also want to mention the scene where Michiru and Izumi talk about Megumi's relationship with Tomoya to her, as it was structured in a really interesting way. You only get to see part of it at first, where Megumi says that Tomoya is nothing special to her and it makes the viewer think "obviously she is still at him, right?". But then during the confession scene, it is being revealed that this is the reason, she thinks he is the one for her and that she wants him to be hers. This creates a moment of relief and an "ooooh" effect.

#Characters

Tomoya Aki:

Tomoya is just the typical Otaku at the start, but developed through the course of the show and has grown as a person and creator. The way Megumi describes him is pretty much pinpoint: "Maybe he isn't your typical guy, but he is not a genius like you or Kasumigaoka-senpai either". He is neither completely normal, nor is she an exceptional talent. That makes him very aproachable, as he just pursues his passion and his dream, regardless of what others say. He also is the engine that keeps the whole train running, with his determination.

Megumi Katou:

The main heroine, who couldn't be more boring. For the most characters that would be a flaw but being boring is Megumi's greatest strength. Compared to other anime characters, with overexaggerated personalities, she is just a normal girl without any hobbies or friends and if she hadn't met Tomoya, that would've stayed this way. This is why I like her so much. Similar to Tomoya she is very approachable and in some way even relatable as a character. She was a blank sheet at the beginning of the anime but as time passed and she spent more time with Tomoya and the others, the sheet started to fill, yet she remained normal. That makes her such a unique character as she gets so much development but yet she is still the same character. She develops more emotions as she gets more attached to Blessing Software. This peaks in the movie when she makes clear that Tomoya is the one for her, in tears.

Eriri Spencer Sawamura:

You could say Eriri is your typical tsundere but I do think she has more to offer than that. She obviously has her tsundere side to her but what I think makes her special, just like Utaha, is the split personality. At day she is Eriri Spencer Sawamura and at night Eri Kashiwagi. She obviously has a strong connection to Tomoya as his childhood friend and shows that on several occasions. She also grows into a lot more thoughtful and direct person as the anime goes on. The development of the relationship between her and Utaha is great too as they start out as toxic individuals who are forced to work together, into rivals who respect each other.

Utaha Kasumigaoka:

Utaha is, similar to Eriri, interesting due to her split personality. She is Utaha Kasumigaoka, the smart and lonely girl in one moment and Utako Kasumi, the novelist, in the next moment. I would say she is a very reasonable character. She always approaches things logically and is very honest. But despite that there is also moments where she acts in a very funny way, be it deceiving Tomoya or making very ambiguous comments. As I mentioned before, the devlopment between her and Eriri is brilliant.

Michiru Hyoudou:

Michiru may not as developed as the other characters, yet I think she is a good asset to Blessing Software and boosts the overall mood, due to her personality. She is very positive and developed by being more acceptive of the Otaku culture as a whole.

Izumi Hashima:

Similar to Michiru, Izumi didn't get as much development but is a good character in my opinion. She acts as a rival for Eriri but in a different way as Eriri is with Utaha.

#Sound and Animation

The animation, as already in the TV series, has been great. I do feel like the colors and overall art looks a little more vibrant here, which I always enjoy. The music has been brilliant. The insert songs and the ending theme were extremely good and perfectly fit in. I have had the lyrics of Megumi's "ULTIMATE♭" stuck in my head as they are so good (go read them when you have time). It may also be because the song just made the confession scene so much better. The voice acting is top notch as usual. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka does a tremendous job by making the best noises I have ever heard and Kiyono Yasuno gives Megumi a heavenly voice.

#Conclusion

I love this movie a lot. It's potentially my favorite of all time. Everything just falls into place so well and it caps off the series in a perfect way. It's all I could have ever wanted and even more.
(I haven't written a review in a while, so this is a little rough lol)