
Spotting the many subtle references and jokes for yourself is a big part of the fun.

Episode zero is here to bring you the swimsuit. Do yourself a solid and be sure read the lengthy TVtropes page for this anime only after having fully watched it once, unspoiled. As always, Utaha and Eriri are fighting, Michiru is doing her own thing, and of course Megumi is being aloof. Note that episode zero serves as an out-of sequence introduction to all the characters' fully developed personalities and relationships - couched, of course, as an in-story discussion of how to best introduce the characters in the game they're working on. Expect to laugh all the way through Saekano, and to interrupt your own linear watching by replaying scenes multiple times, so as to fully enjoy the layer cake of entertainment. The show occasionally leans on or breaks the fourth wall and lampshades what it's doing as part of its thorough audit of popular anime tropes.

At the same time the viewer gets to enjoy the characters paralleling those tropes in their own lives. As the fledgling game development team works to assemble itself and the dating sim they are creating, the in-universe characters discuss the many tropes the game is following, trying not to overuse, or outright violating.
