Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a brand-spanking new production, as we explore the first episode of the currently airing 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You. Just by that title, it seems we’re in for a tongue-in-cheek take on the distinguished harem genre, a genre that was actually instrumental in both my original induction into anime fandom (Love Hina), as well as my migration to professional anime writing (Bakemonogatari). Though the base concept of “one protagonist surrounded by a crowd of romantic prospects” might not seem like the most thoughtful or poignant of premises, the genre frequently exhibits uncommon flexibility, ranging from hilarious sex comedies to trenchant explorations of the human condition.

As for The 100 Girlfriends, I’ve heard plenty of positive things about its manga, which fans praise as both funny and frequently heartwarming, with a cast who all seem to like each other on the whole, and not just exist in parallel orbit of our central protagonist. That all sounds like a good time to me, so let’s dispense with the preamble here, and see what these hundred girlfriends have in store for us!

Episode 1

Opening on bright pink cherry blossoms against a blue sky, an eternal sign of rejuvenation, new beginnings, and presumably the new school year

Lush color design as we pan in on our presumed protagonist, confessing to a girl in one of the most archetypal situations imaginable: a long-awaited declaration by the side of the school, just as your middle school years slip behind you

The characters offer a nice mix of simplified, iconic mid-distance designs and significantly more detailed closeups, complete with lots of eye highlights and thin, expressive linework

Our MC’s name is Aijo

“You’re so cheerful, friendly, and straightforward. And you’re nice to everyone.” Already, our protagonist seems defined as a more gregarious, well-adjusted person than your usual harem lead

A brief peak of hope ends in a crushing rejection

Aijo Rentaro is his full name

“Quit looking like a doomer falling into darkness, dude.” His friend is known only as “Friend A.” Is this how kids talk these days? I’m too old to even pretend I could parse convincing youth slang these days

Feels like a quiet riff on harem convention to have his buddy defined only by a letter, not an actual name. Characters like this frequently show up for just the first or second chapters, just to give the protagonist someone to riff off before the love interests are introduced. Even Love Hina made jokes about how forgettable and irrelevant Keitaro’s two friends became

Nice expressions of ultimate sorrow as Rentaro admits this was his hundredth rejection

Our director Hikaru Sato has experience with both key animation and directing sitcoms, so he seems well-positioned for this production, which will presumably lean heavily on lots of funny faces. Series composer is Takashi Aoshima, whose resume is absolutely brimming with sitcoms

Rentaro’s big eyebrows and sorrowful eyes give him a sort of naturally hangdog look, which can break into quite the soulful smile. As his friend says, it’s actually a mystery why he’s been rejected so much, given his good looks and likable personality

Rentaro prays for love at a local shrine, only for the local shrine deity to show up and personally promise him a girlfriend. It seems the original manga was heavy on dramatic hatched shading for impactful panels, which the anime is doing its best to replicate

“My ideal… romantic partner?” I like the inherent, ongoing gag of teenage romantic entanglement being treated as some mystical universal force. Less enthused by the call-and-response reference gags, like Rentaro taking on a Tokyo Ghoul look only for this deity to say “what are you, some kind of Ghoul from Tokyo?”

I know it’s a boke and tsukkomi staple for the tsukkomi to basically explain the joke, but I’m not sure it will ever feel like elevating rather than deflating the comedy to me. Surprise and timing are the essence of comedy! Explaining the joke is the opposite of both!

Apparently girls know immediately when they’ve met their soulmate, whereas boys only realize it over time. Sounds reasonable enough

I do appreciate this god griping about getting lines cut for time in the adaptation. It’s true, spoken lines consume way more real estate than written ones!

“If you’re lying, can I burn down this shrine?” And then the show actually fast-forwards to Rentaro’s next relevant punchline. They’re making the self-awareness work for them

Yeah, the show’s active disinterest in boilerplate connective tissue is quite charming. Rentaro swiftly ushers us along to his new high school life, wasting no time on tedious events like the entrance ceremony

Also a nice play on convention for him to bump into two romantic prospects simultaneously, immediately muddling the normal convention of “whoever the protagonist meets first is his eventual destined love”

The sound design is also working hard to elevate this material, offering appropriately bombastic backing for Rentaro’s cosmically ordained hookups

More effectively quiet gags playing on convention, as he extends a hand to both of them while asking if they’re okay

Pink-hair immediately plays up her fall, saying she must have twisted her ankle

While she is all-in on seducing Rentaro, Rentaro himself is sobbing over his crime, ashamed to have twisted the ankle of his beloved soulmate. A delightful inversion of convention, and further confirmation that none of these romances are going to proceed in any sort of sane fashion

Really, my number one complaint with a lot of older harems is “I wish the girls could be proactive and interested in romance too,” and I’m glad this new era is allowing for more equal opportunity horny harems

“Yeah, I twisted my ankle. You got a problem with that?” Meanwhile, pigtails is going for the most exaggerated tsundere routine imaginable. A bold play!

“What kind of messed-up way do you have to walk to hurt everyone you touch!?” Oh my god Rentaro. This is such a good play on convention, having him be oblivious to romantic overtures in the most self-effacing way imaginable. This helps to explain why he’s so far failed in romance, while also providing continuous opportunities for the layered comedic payoff of absurdist reactions to meet-cute and underlying commentary on the inherently contrived nature of anime meet-cutes

The two girls briefly forget their alleged sprained ankles in their rush to stop Rentaro. Excellent snappy timing on the transition from this realization to them back clutching their ankles, complemented by appropriately unconvincing pained noises

“What is even going on?” Rentaro becoming a well-meaning yet entirely bewildered love magnet is an excellent transformation. The guy’s so harmless and honestly intentioned that it almost feels like he’s being bullied by love

The two girls are Karane Inda and Hakari Hanazono

Upon hearing of a four leaf clover love confession courtyard, the two rush off to seize their destiny

Another nice beat of skipping the dull stuff, as we jump to first the standard end of class, then four hours after that, because apparently nothing interesting happened in the interim

“I didn’t expect to help a teacher find his contacts after school, nor did I expect it to take a whole four hours.” I’m sure it’s obvious that I tend to prefer comedies of restraint to comedies of exaggeration, so all of these deadpan punchlines and plays on structural expectations are candy to me

“Have they been looking for a four-leaf clover for four hours? And they’re trying so hard, too…” The persistent fact that it’s two girls simultaneously playing through these beats adds such a delightful note of absurdism to these hoary harem staples. This is basically the opening of Nisekoi, played with the same tone of fated connection for two love interests at the same time

“I’m being kinda gross, huh? We’ve only just met and all.” Rentaro’s mundane acts of courtesy leading into willing self-effacement never fails

Really like the loose, thin approach to linework for the character closeups. Their faces feel expressive in an appropriately disheveled, clearly love-struck sort of way, and there’s a lot of personality in the wild folds of their hair

Hakari attempts to snag an indirect kiss by asking Rentaro to drink half her can of juice, but he just so happens to have a smaller can on hand for her instead. “Rentaro is too considerate for these girls’ obvious romantic ploys to work” is the gift that keeps on giving

In response, she claims she still simply cannot handle the hurdle of that extra fifteen milliliters. You fight for it, girl

The contrast between these goofy plays on convention and the absolute sincerity with which the show articulates moments like Rentaro offering his handkerchief is a very winning combination

And in response to this gallant offer, Hakari confesses her love. Well, with one hundred girlfriends to get through, there’s really no time to waste!

Karane then arrives with payback juices in hand, devastated to have been preempted by Hakari

“They’re your soulmates, both your ideal romantic partner.” I like how this show’s fast and loose interpretation of “soulmates” just sort of inherently deflates the whole concept. While the show plays up the tropes of destined love or love at first sight, its base concept emphasizes that “true love” can be found with whoever makes you happy

The God of Love admits Rentaro has 100 soulmates because he was busy watching Castle in the Sky while filling out Rentaro’s paperwork. Another nice quiet gag in the very idea of having to fill out a box for how many soulmates someone will have

The god further states that if you don’t match with your soulmate, vast misfortune will befall you. So I suppose Rentaro is now morally obligated to date all one hundred of them

Lovely worm-like animation as Rentaro laments his task

After briefly contemplating hiding his dating of each from the other, he remembers how brave they were to confess their feelings, and gallantly declares his desire to date both of them at once. Truly an icon of chivalry and compassion

Once again, the entirely sincere musical backing to this brave confession is an all-star

And thus Rentaro’s heroic quest begins, with the first two of his prospective girlfriends at his side!

And Done

Aw man, what a delightful dash of nonsense that was. This production’s base structural riffs on the standard assumptions of harem comedies made for a generous sampling of both overt and unspoken comedy payoffs, sending up the goofiness and predictability of harem stylings even while lovingly recreating them. And perhaps most importantly, Rentaro himself is an extremely endearing lead, hungry for romance yet oblivious to even the most obvious of seduction techniques, pushing forward gallantly with his determination to make one hundred girls the luckiest lovers in the world. Sharp in its genre savviness yet sincere in its affection both for and between its characters, I can already see why 100 Girlfriends is such a fan favorite. Good luck, Rentaro!

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