I'd like to preface by stating that I hate harem anime. Add in slice of life and ecchi, and you have the unholy trinity. Under no normal circumstances would I decide to start a show of this nature, but because a friend recommended it to me I decided to give it a shot. But after about five minutes of naked girls and blatant fanservice, I immediately went to go make fun of it to another friend. At that point, I was positive I'd hate the series, and only continued for the enjoyment I'd get out of bullying it when I finished.

Yet, miraculously, I found myself enjoying it -- because in spite of some glaring flaws, Saekano is actually pretty good. MOSTLY SPOILER FREE REVIEW.
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Story - 6/10
Saekano begins with a very poor prologue episode that introduces the characters and does it's absolute best to cram in as much fanservice as feasibly possible. Fortunately, however, it says little as to the quality of the overall series, as the actual story begins unraveling after that.
The story is actually fairly simple: after a "fateful" encounter, the protagonist decides to create his own dating sim, and begins assembling a group of people to help him work toward that goal. It mainly revolves around the development of the dating sim and his interactions with the members of his team -- which are frequently somewhat romantic in nature, given that it is a harem. Even still, I found myself interested in the creative process behind making the game, and how all the characters contributed to that. It's a very slice-of-life story, and I fucking hate that genre. So the fact that I actually enjoyed this frightens me a little bit.

I will however admit that the story could've been better if not for the over-abundance of fanservice. At some points I found myself getting immensely annoyed with this show due to it, but the wholesome, well-written moments manage to balance it out for me. There's a pretty good romance to be found underneath the off-putting surface.

Characters - 6/10
The characters are arguably more important, as they directly influence the plot. And, well... in that category, Saekano has it's ups and downs. What it does right, it manages to do really well, but what it does wrong is often straight up uncomfortable to watch.
With that out of the way, I'd like to start with the protagonist, Tomoya Aki. He's a giga-weeb who's shamelessly obsessed with otaku culture, and tends to force his passion for it onto others. He's a pretty nice guy at heart, but one could argue that he comes across as invasive and sometimes obnoxious at first. His character isn't particularly outstanding, but it's also an improvement from the standard cardboard MC, so I can't say I didn't like it.
Next is the main heroine of both Saekano and the dating sim within it, Megumi Katou. She's absolutely what makes this anime, because she has no notable traits at all. Contradictory as that might sound, Saekano manages to add something fresh and original to anime by making her outstandingly regular. She's literally the epitome of a normal girl, and she often fades into the background as a result of it. For that matter, she's treated almost like a side character by the show, but in a way that makes her ever-more likable when she does take center stage. I bet my left limbs that almost anyone who has watched this series will say she's their favorite character.
Her interactions with Tomoya are honestly the highlight of this show. They often end up in really believable, realistic situations that somehow also manage to be the most entertaining part of Saekano. There's something really enjoyable and kinda wholesome about seeing their personalities clash.
Then there's Tomoya's tsundere childhood friend, Sawamura Eriri. My main qualm with her is that she's a very stereotypical tsundere, and she's constantly reminding the viewer that she is, in fact, a childhood friend. Because of this, she can be quite annoying at times. However, I'd like to believe that she has some amount of depth beneath that, making her a pretty solid character. I feel safe when she's on the screen because she has a flat chest.
Kasumigaoka Utaha, on the other hand, evokes great unease. They like to fanservice her a lot, so much so to the point that one begins anticipating an inevitable tiddy shot when she shows up. The sheer amount of it really disappoints me, because underneath that sea of Oh God Please Stop, I actually quite like her character. She's calm and witty, with some interesting dynamics with other characters. She's enjoyable to watch when she's being the somewhat snarky yet nevertheless likable writer I know she can be.
Then there's Hashima Izumi. She's the most dense in fanservice, what with how much they try to cram in the little amount of screen time that she gets. Oh, and she's 14. Cool! Fuck you Izumi.
Finally, last and most definitely least, Hyoudou Michiru. Michiru could've been a likable character. She really could've. I'm normally a fan of the carefree, boyish types, but I can't say I like the sex offender type all that much. Yeah. She's the absolute worst part of this show. I can't comment much on her character because it's just fanservice. Oh, and she's Tomoya's cousin. Fuck you Michiru.

Art and Animation - 8/10
The art is really pretty, and while the animation could have certainly been more fluid in some areas, it does the show justice. Most notably, they occasionally threw in some scenes where the lining would be all one color (such as blue, pink, yellow, etc) which led to a pretty enjoyable viewing experience. The animators seem to have a really good grasp on the medium.
I would probably slap a .5 on the end if not for the Questionable Physics in some scenes. But that's the ecchi genre for you.

Music - 6/10
Although not particularly remarkable, both the opening and ending of this show were quite nice. Other than that, I can't say any tracks stood out to me, but they certainly served their purpose as background music.

Enjoyment - 7/10
All in all, I enjoyed this show a lot more than I thought I would. It started off a little bit slow, but after that I found myself genuinely interested in the characters and story -- which is pretty fucking unusual for a slice-of-life romcom. By all means, Saekano has the recipe for something that I should hate, but for some reason, didn't. Sure, it annoyed me at times, but I can't say it ever bored me.

To summarize, Saekano is a show that has the potential to be awful-- and for many people, probably is-- but manages to be something engaging and unique beneath thick layers of cliches and fanservice. It's definitely not for everyone, but I can confidently state that if you don't mind it's aforementioned flaws and enjoy casual romcoms, then you'll probably like this anime.