Saekano Volume 10: A Creator’s Melancholy

Today, Saekano volume 10 is finally released; and while I haven’t got mine to read this time around, the summary’s basically out. This won’t be a detailed one, but it should cover the important points.

Volume 10 begins on the premise of the game production training camp: basically, Tomoya and other members of his circle, blessing software, went on a trip to the beach “for the sake of completing the game” but inadvertently had Eriri and Utaha joining them. You know the drill: swimsuit, fanservice, and other romcom classics. Or so we thought.

Akane Kousaka, the “final boss”, suddenly appeared and got into criticizing and giving feedback to Eriri and Utaha regarding their work, which went pretty severe. While Eriri could still swallow Akane’s critiques, Utaha on the other hand started losing her confidence by having her work dismissed; the old Utaha-senpai who used to be very confident in herself and love teasing Tomoya is nowhere to be found. Eriri and Utaha then decided to go home in the middle of the camp; it’s especially painful for Utaha to show her weakness to Tomoya.

“Sorry, I can’t be the God that you always want me to be.”

On the way back, Utaha’s tears overflowed in the train, and it’s up to Eriri to support her this time. Tomoya kept thinking about Utaha even throughout the camp, and finally decided later on: he will write a scenario with Utaha as the main heroine, comprising of all the memories from their meeting until now. Sad times, fun times, all of it. And with the help of everyone on the circle, the scenario born from Tomoya’s explosive delusion was completed. The scenario that he wrote basically retells events from previous volumes (especially volume 2, or anime episode 6) in the form of Tomoya’s scenario, along with some new scenes that Tomoya wrote himself.

In the first event, the protagonist of the story meets the heroine at her novel signing event in the bookstore just like Tomoya’s first meeting with Utaha. The second event mirrors the moment Utaha asked Tomoya to give his thought about Koisuru Metronome’s final volume, and he refused. The third and fourth events are basically classic galge events, nothing much to be said.

The fifth event is the original conclusion of the route: the protagonist and the heroine became independent after a conflict with their chief editor and pursued each of their own paths. While this scenario doesn’t exactly present a happy ending, it does shine a similar light with what happened to Tomoya and Utaha in volume 7. This event is not used in the final scenario though, since it is replaced with the one used in chapter 8; this is where things get complicated.

In the game that Utaha played in chapter 8, instead of going separate ways, the protagonist and the heroine worked together to make a new plot and things ended on a happy note — completely different from the original one, which was left in the first draft. The reason Tomoya changed it that way is because he thinks that a cliché happy ending like that fits a moege better, but here’s the problem: he used Utaha herself as the basis of the story. The real Utaha is not someone who can easily back down when faced with a challenge; she will stand up and keep pushing for her ideal. She is a prodigy, a goddess, a creator; even without the protagonist, she should have been able to stand for herself. And that Utaha, that heroine, is not fit to be the main heroine of the game. That is the reason Tomoya scrapped chapter 7’s final event.

“I can’t forgive this scenario.”

Utaha denied the scenario precisely because she is a creator. For one, she can’t accept the way things turned out so easy for the heroine, but the most despicable thing she found about the scenario is the fact that she RELIED on someone else for something she considers her “life” as writer — as a creator. Disregarding the fact that she may love the story, as proven later on by the fact that she continues playing the game in Eriri’s house as written in the epilogue, she definitely can’t accept that ending as a creator, more so because the story itself uses her as the reference. Rather than a simple misinterpretation, it may feel more of an insult to a creator — a thorn to her pride as a writer. Ironically, that “insult” is the best torch that can re-ignite her burning passion to write again, even standing up to Akane’s standard.

“I definitely can’t accept this heroine.”

Those words pierced through Tomoya’s heart. Both of them who used to walk together are now continuing on each of their own path.

On the epilogue, according to what Akane Kousaka said on the day of Summer Comiket, Utaha seems to have returned to her usual self or become even more motivated, definitely caused by Tomoya’s scenario. We are left to wonder whether Tomoya is a genuine creator or a mere prince of Otaku.

This volume basically showed us how ‘greedy’ the woman called Akane Kousaka is, being a monster with both talent and hard work in her disposal. Although the romcom aspect of Saekano is good, showing glimpses of a creator’s pride is definitely one of this series’ charms.

Several relevant details to add:

• It was implicitly said that the circle has held a similar training camp last year, and it was marked as “season 2 spoiler” written in furigana, possibly hinting an original anime episode for the 2nd season.
• Yes, the reason Megumi is mad at Tomoya is because she found out about Utaha stealing his first kiss in volume 7; Tomoya properly explained himself afterwards.
• They do have interactions with first-name basis here.
• For those who asked about Megumi’s portion in the story, I think she has the least amount of screentime due to the chapters mostly focusing on Utaha’s (and Eriri’s) interaction. The other members of blessing software barely get any screentime (like their convo with Tomoya on the train).

While Megumi is not getting much spotlight this time, I am pretty satisfied. The way things ended after volume 9 and Girls Side2 gave me the same weird feeling with Captain America: Civil War’s ending (okay, that’s a pretty outlandish comparison), so it’s nice to have a refreshing new conflict — more so if it may contribute to a character’s development.

Detailed Summary (from the archive of saekanosummaries):

Prologue

Izumi begs Tomoya for them to go to the beach for a training camp. He refuses because of cost issues. Izumi reveals that she has spare tickets for a trip after her friends cancelled and says that it’d be a waste to not take advantage of such a deal. Just when it seems he’s about to convinced, Megumi tells them they can’t go because she invited Eriri and because of that they don’t have enough tickets. Izumi is furious and tells her to not be deceived by Eriri, calling her a traitor, but relents and says she’ll just kick Iori off to make room. However, those plans get crashed when Michiru invites Utaha.

*This chapter reveals that the old circle had done a sort of beach training camp the year before, which will be shown in the anime’s second season.

Chapter 1

The circle is walking to their train. In the end, they settled for a training camp somewhere closer so all seven of them could go. They meet up with Eriri and Utaha, who squabble usually do. Tomoya starts tearing up because he hasn’t seen them squabble for so long. Megumi offers him a handkerchief but overhears Eriri and Utaha squabble. Eriri calls Utaha a zombie, more specifically a romance zombie clinging to a past love. Utaha doesn’t deny it and even agrees to what she said, referencing how, half a year ago, at the platform they were at right now, she “took his life energy.” Having taken the hint, Megumi looks at Tomoya in disgust, takes back her handkerchief, and quickly walks away.

Chapter 2

Iori has Tomoya talk to each of the girls individually to gather reference material for the game.

Izumi – Izumi draws something super erotic, but Tomoya explains to her that you have to save scenes such as sex with the heroine or the death of the heroine until the end because the anticipation and waiting just make that scene better (essentially, gap moe). Izumi realizes she’s had it wrong all along and resolves to draw the perfect tearjerker ending where the blonde heroine gets killed off.

Utaha – Utaha sees through Tomoya’s plan and realizes he’s just there to gather reference material. She tells him she doesn’t mind and that she’ll act out the best senpai route. Utaha does her usual attempt at sexual harassment but Michiru shows up and cockblocks her.

Michiru – Tomoya and Michiru are eating lunch together. Michiru shoves some food into his mouth, giving him an indirect kiss. Tomoya tells her she’s not fit to be a heroine of his game because she’s too close and never acts embarrassed. Michiru tries acting shy, which Tomoya finds surprisingly moe.

Eriri –

We changed trains at Atami, and from the window we could finally see a view for our training camp. In the right window was a mountain full of trees. In the left window was a deep blue see. Sparkling sunlight came in from both windows. And…

“Iiiit’s so hot…I want to hurry up and check in to the hotel and turn up the air conditioning.”

“You volunteered for the training camp and that’s what you say?”

A girl with blonde hair glistening in the sun was sitting next to me. If it wasn’t for her foul mouth she’d be beautiful. What a waste.

“Anyway, are things fine with Megumi?”

“Of course not, but could you not bring it up? Please!”

Finally, there were only two heroines left to choose. They had been together the whole time, and I had been pushing this back since we started this trip before I called out to them. Megumi left my sight as soon as she heard me, leaving me alone with Eriri. Though Megumi’s character has slowly been getting stronger lately, so has her stealth mode. Well, that’s also one part of her character.

“Isn’t it bad that you’ve started this trip with a sudden fight like that? I can help you two make up.”

“…Leave it alone, seriously.”

Considering how things went these past two months and how you asked me to help you make up, hearing that makes me feel irritated. Well, I guess being unable to read the mood is just how she is.

“So, how’s the game coming along?”

“Yeah, just leave it to me!”

Just as I asked, Eriri left me along for a while. After the train stopped at the first station, she casually brought up that subject. It looked like she remembered to ask.

“Just watch, Eriri. I’ll make a game that’ll make everyone’s hearts go racing!”

Well, she probably planned to do so all along.

“…I read the childhood friend route, you know.”

“Oh…”

This is what we wanted to ask each other about. We wanted to know how we both felt about that scenario.

“Um, that was…”

“I’ll remind you, this if fiction, you know?”

“…I know that.”

The scenario was about the blonde twintails, childhood friend Sawamura Spencer Eriri (temporary name). I had just written it. It had my personal experiences, memories, and wounds…no wait, ideals put in. It was an embarrassing, painful, yet dear story.

“After all, like, someone so kind, loyal, and loyal like that main character could never exist in real life.”

“Yeah, and there’s no way such a caring, honest, cute heroine would ever be real.”

“…..”

“…..”

With one story and two readers, of course they would feel differently.

“Really? Was the heroine that honest?”

“Yeah, she was honest? Remember, in the end she admitted her own mistakes and apologized to the main character from the bottom of her heart.”

“Huh, but doesn’t that mean one side is all in the wrong? I can only see that the heroine had no choice and broke for the sake of the protagonist.”

“No no, the heroine was definitely in the wrong, but admitting your own mistakes isn’t something everyone can do. That’s why I support this heroine.”

“That’s not how it is. From what I see, she only apologized for love and approval. Sorry to say, but this script is just cliché.”

“…Are you saying my script is cliché?”

“…Are you saying my interpretation is wrong?”

“…..”

“…..”

Even so, for two people’s opinions to be so opposite to each other…

“B-besides, your interpretation is off! You didn’t read it the way I meant for it to be read!”

“That’s not true! The main character was always looking at her, if anything happened he’d come and defend her, he’d always hold her so gently, he’s just like Selvice…”

“Selvice? This main character, as good as person as him? I wrote him to be a hypocrite.”

“Hold it, isn’t that something you’re not supposed to do in this type of game?”

“Yeah, that’s why it’s not explicit. It’s all behind the scenes.”

“Behind the scenes? If you have to look deep into it just to enjoy it, then as a scenario, it’s just wrong!”

“Nope, not at all! You can enjoy it without looking deep into it!”

“Then tell me why you’re criticizing me for not looking deep into it!”

“Because it was you, I thought you’d get it. In reality, this main character is shallow, lame, and unforgiving of the heroine. Even so, he holds himself back, he’s pathetic!”

“No one would sympathize with such a two-faced protagonist!”

“And no one would fall for such a liar of a heroine!”

“…..”

“…..”

Eriri and I refused to look each other’s way for a while. We just looked at the mountains and the sea, making the mood around us worse and worse. Izumi did her occasional nervous peek at us. Michiru grinned and looked at us from time to time. Iori casually enjoyed the scenery. And as if to say she was tired of following along with our antics, Utaha was absorbed in her reading. Megumi only passed us once, but just when it seemed our eyes were going to meet, she looked somewhere else, quickened her pace and went back to her seat. But, when she was passing, she whispered something very softly that I only barely caught.

“Really, just how much do you love her?”

…Sorry, this last mission just got way harder.

Megumi –

“Um, can you listen for a bit?”

“…..”

Eriri and I kept being cold together as the train went through a couple more stations.

“Um, uh, could you please hear what I have to say for just a little bit?”

“…..”

Finally, when we had only one station left to go, I finally worked up the courage to go.

“Can I sit next to you~?”

I went to see Katou Megumi, the vice representative and cornerstone of our circle.

“…More importantly, are you sure you don’t need to fix things with Eriri?”

“Don’t bring up, please!”

Just how many people am I going to have to bow down to today?

“I sure am looking forward to this training camp~. It’s been nothing but trouble since we’ve left~.”

“T-trouble is part of the journey! Going up and down is one of the basics of scenarios!”

“Right, right~.”

“…What’s with that lazy response?”

It had been about two hours since we left Tokyo Station. I had finally gotten the honor of sitting next to Megumi…Megumi-sama. Though her words hadn’t gotten any friendlier.

“Well, Mr. Representative, you’ve sure got a lot of things going on.~”

“…Uh, Megumi-san.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

This dark atmosphere, pressure, despair. This is what it feels like when Megumi gets dark.

“Um, like, you might be mad about a couple things, but it’s our training camp, so don’t you want to make up with me? Err, would like to?”

I’m amazed Iori put up with this for months. I wouldn’t last a day.

“I’m begging you! Aren’t you the vice representative? If you’re mad, the circle can’t do anything!”

“Tomoya-kun…”

My fear…sincerity finally got to her. She gave me a look that wasn’t cold, and her tone lightened a bit.

“Okay, let’s share information, as representatives.”

“O-oh, yeah, right now I’m getting research material as directed by Iori for the game…”

“And did anything happen between you and Kasumigaoka-senpai?”

“She’s not in the circle, so she has nothing to do with this, right?”

Although she didn’t plan on letting up on the chase.

“Yeah, she doesn’t have anything to with this.”

“Right? No need to say it.”

“Yep. No need to say it.”

“Then…”

“But since we’re sharing information, you won’t mind, right?”

“Huh?”

“If there’s something you wanted to say, you’d have no problems saying it.”

“Well, yeah…”

“Right.”

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

She seriously wasn’t letting up.

“I get it, I get it! I’ll tell you everything! Everything!”

“Huh, what could this all mean?”

I couldn’t believe she was acting this way.

“This is a confession, I’m repenting, so once you’ve heard this, I’m all clear, okay Megumi-sama?”

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re acting this way.”

No, really.

“Hmmmmm”

“…What?”

“Hmm, nothing really. Hmm.”

“This is scary, you know?”

Anyway, I told her everything I knew…experienced. I told her about what happened that April and how in front of Eriri and all those people Utaha and I…well…you know…

“At any rate, I’ve told you everything! Anything to say?”

“Hm, well, it doesn’t look like a lie.”

“…You believed it, just like that.”

“Well, after all, you constantly talk about things so wild and cringeworthy, and yet you do it so cheerfully, you know?”

“Sorry, I don’t get what you’re saying.”

“I believe it because it’s cringeworthy and wild.” Language really is difficult.

“Now I get it… so that’s why Eriri was…”

“Won’t you give this topic a break?”

“Sure, there’s no use blaming you, and it looks like Kasumigaoka-senpai didn’t do anything wrong either.”

“Right, right! No one’s at fault here!”

“Yeah, so once I accept this, this will all be over.”

“So, you’ve accepted this right? Are we finally done?”

“…..”

“…Megumi?”

“Hmmmmmmm.”

“Hey! Your interjections are just getting longer!”

“Even so, our circle is full of weirdos, isn’t it?”

“…They’re the people who come, and the people who leave.”

The seemingly endless torture…interrogation…question time ended at last. Megumi sighed and bitterly smiled.

“They’re eccentric, they have no judgment, and they’re so persistent.”

“…I won’t comment on that.”

I didn’t really get it, like who exactly she was talking about or exactly who was included in that statement.

“But it’s because people like that are making it that we can make something good. And it’s because people like that are the models, people can come to love the heroines.”

“…I won’t comment on that.”

And it’s because I didn’t know who exactly she was talking about that I gave a vague answer.

“I wonder if this is all on the qualities of the representatives.”

“You should realize lately you’ve gotten pretty strong as a vice-representative, you know?”

We were bitterly smiling when the train finally arrived at the station. There was only one problem left unsolved…

“Should I talk to Eriri about that?”

“Please!”

Chapter 3

Tomoya is walking on the beach at night and runs into Akane.

Chapter 4

Akane makes Tomoya wake up Eriri and Utaha and drag them to his room for a meeting. Akane checks on the progress of the game, starting from Eriri. She lets Utaha rest for the time being. She is really harsh on Eriri, and by the time they are done it is morning. Akane and Iori go outside for drinks while Eriri and Tomoya talk. Tomoya complements Eriri on how great she is and how she can stand up to Akane. He says that he’s had nightmares where Akane made Eriri burst into tears and went to Utaha for help. Eriri starts tearing up and tells him he should leave. When he doesn’t, Eriri tells him to stay to give protection. Before she can specify to who, Akane barges in and restarts the meeting, this time with Utaha. Akane is way harsher to Utaha. She calls her talentless and tells her to rewrite the scenario from scratch. In particular, Akane hates the ending, demanding that Utaha write either an all-good or all-bad ending. She calls the current bittersweet ending half-assed and says she wants a scenario that can appeal to everyone. By the end Tomoya realizes that Eriri meant to tell him to protect Utaha, and he regrets how he was powerless to defend her.

Chapter 5

Tomoya, Eriri, and Utaha are at the train station. The two girls have to leave to work on the game. Utaha apologizes for ruining their training camp. She calls herself talentless and laments how Eriri keeps on getting approval within the company while Akane has never approved one of Utaha’s scenarios. Tomoya tells her she’s an amazing writer, but Utaha rejects that. She says that the image he has of her now isn’t real and that she can’t be Tomoya’s heroine. She apologizes for not being able to be Tomoya’s goddess and gets on the train with Eriri. Eriri tries to cheer Utaha up, but Utaha finally breaks down and starts crying.

Chapter 6

The circle has returned from their training camp. Tomoya is working on his game. Megumi shows up to meet him but he’s too busy thinking about Utaha to notice her in the room, so she picks off some of the sunburnt skin on his neck. Tomoya screams in pain and finally notices her. Megumi tells him she’s noticed how depressed he is about Utaha and that he needs to cheer her up. Tomoya asks if it’s okay for him to focus on the ex-circle members instead of the current circle members. Megumi says yes, mentioning how she’s used to him betrayed her ever since he wrote the Eriri route. Tomoya realizes that he has to write an Utaha route.

Chapter 7

First event: rehash of the event at the bookstore signing where Tomoya first meets Utaha

Second event: rehash of the event where Tomoya rejects reading the final volume of Koisuru Metronome ahead of time

Third event: Utaha forces the MC down, forces him to drink soda by pretending it was champagne, holding it in her mouth and kissing him, then implied sex scene

Fourth event: MC forces Utaha down, kisses her, then implied sex scene

Fifth event: Utaha and the MC run into trouble over the plot with the chief editor. MC gets kicked off his position as Utaha’s editor for this, but it’s revealed that the MC had been planning to leave for a while before then. The MC didn’t want to just be by Utaha but wanted to actually make things and stand as an equal to her. Utaha didn’t want to rely on him anymore and wanted to make her own future. They encourage each other to give it their best as they bid each other farewell and swear that they’ll meet again after they’ve risen to the top of the industry.

Chapter 8

Tomoya has Utaha play her route at a café.

“…..”

“…..”

The story was finally at its end. This was the Utaha (temporary name) scenario’s true climax and the final chapter of the game to revive Kasumi Utako. Depending how you looked at it, you could call it coda.

“…..”

“…..”

Utaha-senpai was totally focused on the screen. It was like she had forgotten to breathe. I gulped and looked at her face, making sure not to miss her reaction. After all, this was a test on how my writing had progressed since becoming Utako’s pupil eight months ago. It was also a test on how much I knew about her, as someone who had been with her for two years.

“…hff”

“Ah…”

The music coming from her earphones changed. It was the ending theme Michiru had worked on up until now that just barely made it during our last test playing session.

“It’s over, Ethics-kun.”

In contrast to how much effort was put into the music, the only things on the screen were the words “END.”

“H-how was it?”

Even though her face was so full of emotion earlier, Utaha-senpai’s face now was totally stiff. That was probably because the last part was so painful and unpleasant, but I thought she also probably tried to hide how she felt about the story until the end.

“What…is this?”

“Um…”

Utaha-senpai had bottled up all her feelings toward the conclusion. And now, her expression was going to crumble and those feelings would burst in the form of words.

“Don’t screw with me…are you saying this is the future I want?”

“Ah…”

And those feelings were mostly rage.

“I can’t acknowledge something like this…I’ll never approve this scenario.”

She denied everything she felt and took from this scenario and the road the heroine and the protagonist had resolved to walk.

“What the hell is this? This “love, work, success, everything works out” totally happy ending?”

New event (the fifth event in Chapter 7 didn’t make it past the first draft): The protagonist and Utaha work out a new plot to fit in with the chief editors’ ideas. Happily ever after end, they’ve even been living together for a few days.

It was exactly as Utaha said. This was a totally happy ending, no sadness at all. I had changed the first draft into something completely different. But…

“Is this happy ending bad? Don’t you find this heroine moe?”

I held my ground and argued back against Utaha’s criticism.

“It’s all too convenient! Everything just happened to go right for this heroine! How am I supposed to find this moe? You…”

If you thought about it, it really might have been convenient. Like, with how it ended, imagining what happened after was easy. Pure Love Hectopascal continues, her works keep on selling, they spread to other forms of media, and Kasumi Utako takes her place at the top as a super popular author. Also, Kasumigaoka-senpai and the protagonist keep moving forward together. They treasure each other even more, as a writing duo and as lovers.

“Still, I like this ending.”

Right, it’s because this ending is so happy that the heroine’s smile is so bright and the scenes where they do couple things have pull.

“I might have been fine if you didn’t use me as a model, but…”

“Isn’t this heroine cute?”

“…This has nothing to do with whether or not she’s cute!”

As soon as she denied what I said, her cheeks turned even redder. I still had hope she had at least learned something from seeing that heroine’s choices and actions.

“Then what is this about?”

“That girl isn’t me…I don’t approve of her choices at all!”

Though she still denied the girl on the screen.

“They work together, fix the plot rejected by the chief editor, and make a comeback? Just how cliché is this?”

“Didn’t you say there’s a reason clichés exist?”

“If the characters are good, you can look past the clichés, but…”

“Are you saying my characters aren’t good?”

“I’m…no, that girl isn’t this weak. She’s not this spoiled!”

And denied that the girl on the screen was her.

“If that girl were really a creator, she wouldn’t give up just because someone trampled on her work…”

After all, there was no limit to how much she loved her writing.

“And she wouldn’t get someone’s help for writing her own plot.”

“How can you say that so certainly?”

“Because like how my works are mine alone, her works are hers alone too!”

“Utaha, senpai…”

After all, she had such strong pride in her own talent.

“To rely on someone for something so critical, something you put your life on the line for? I can’t allow that. I won’t allow that. Allowing that is wrong.

After all, she had an unbendable, already established writing style.

“If I mentioned anything else, we’d be here forever. I feel the same about the rest. The reason the chief editor finally acknowledged the two was weak. This is all way too convenient. All these developments are only for you to enjoy. All I see is a complete mess!”

From the start, I knew this heroine resembled Kasumigaoka Utaha, but in the end, it was a total fake. I mean, the real Kasumigaoka Utaha risked her life writing, didn’t do as people say, and believed in her own talent. Once she had decided on something, she wouldn’t budge. She bothered men and did whatever she liked. She was divine.

“But still, I think this ending is the best. Not just that, even after you rejected it, I still think it’s the best.”

“Ethics-kun…”

Yes, even if it was wrong, I thought this scenario was the best. That’s why I left the real Kasumigaoka Utaha locked away in the first draft. She wasn’t a girl an ordinary high school student could get so easily. For example, even if a big wall appeared before her and she was crushed, she would get back up by herself and move forward again. She didn’t need a protagonist. Having one might’ve helped her write, but it would never be essential. The strongest person Utaha-senpai imagined she could be was, like the strongest Utaha-senapi I imagined, not human. That person was a genius, a goddess, and, most importantly, a creator. But someone like that couldn’t be one of my game’s heroines.

“Didn’t I say this earlier? This is a galge.”

“Ethics-kun…”

Right, this was a galge, a medium where the delusions of some creepy otaku mattered more than the truth. It was where everything was convenient for the guy. Those creepy otaku made these delusions putting their soul and life into it.

“It’s better when a heroine seems strong but is actually weak once you look past it. Their reliance on the protagonist at the end is so moe.”

Utaha-senpai had left me, but I still needed her. My game didn’t.

“…So no matter what I say, you’ll still say you’re right?”

“Yep. After all, it’s mine, no, our work.”

When I first showed my scenario to my friends, Megumi, Izumi-chan, Michiru, and Iori all said it was interesting and well-done. Well, maybe this is all cherrypicking, but they acknowledged it was moe.

As part of the young love genre, it might have been a failure. Kasumi Utako, a master of romance fiction, might not have accepted it. If she said it was just a convenient fantasy, then that was what it was. Even so, as a pure love galge, it wouldn’t lose to something from Kasumi Utako.

“Then I have nothing more to say. In the end, you won’t accept my opinion, and I won’t accept this heroine.”

“I see.”

To me, and probably to Utaha-senpai too, those were very important words. They meant this was a farewell for creators. She told me we couldn’t make things together anymore, that the paths we walked were different, and that it was time for us to separate.

“Even so, thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

“Uh, sure.”

At the end, Utaha-senpai’s tone and expression, fierce until now, lightened up. She dropped her offensive. Even so, she ultimately didn’t acknowledge me. She only took consolation that I tried to cheer her up. The scenario I worked so hard on didn’t reach her.

Epilogue 1

Tomoya is going to Comiket when Akane shows up and offers him a ride. As they’re driving along, Tomoya realizes Akane was the one who drove him to Eriri’s place in Volume 6 after seeing how her BMW is the same. He thanks her for driving him there at the time and asks how Utaha is doing. Akane tells him not to worry and reveals that Tomoya’s scenario motivated Utaha to write. She lets him read it and Tomoya is shocked it’s a total bad end. Akane tells him she actually loves the scenario but some executives hated it and ordered it be changed, but she defended Utaha and assured them she’ll change it into a good end by adding a time loop for the protagonists to fix everything.

Later they arrive at Comiket. Tomoya swears to Akane he’ll take back Eriri and Utaha someday. When her reaction is flat, he assumes she doesn’t think he can do it, but she actually says she has no idea. Akane says Eriri and Utaha became such monsters because they met Tomoya and that they believe in his talent. She looks forward to what Tomoya will become in the future. When she says she’ll be the first to clear his game, Tomoya responds saying that she better not skip since the first playthrough of the game is meant to be the best. Akane actually apologizes.

Epilogue 2

Utaha is playing the game again at Eriri’s house, much to her annoyance. She is totally in love with it.