Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d return to the trials of Rentaro and his soon-to-be hundred girlfriends, and see how the happiest harem in history is coming along. Having won over the diminutive Shizuka, tsundere Karane, and charmingly oversexed Hakari, Rentaro has clearly proven himself a lover beyond compare – so is it time now to adopt a fourth member of the flock, or are we off on some other bizarre adventure?
Regardless, our last episode served as a fine demonstration of one of the most important ways 100 Girlfriends distinguishes itself from other harems. First, as I’ve discussed previously, it’s crucial that Rentaro himself is profoundly likable – that he’s as much of a catch as any of his lovers, and thus actually, convincingly deserving of their love. But secondly, it’s also crucial that Rentaro’s girlfriends are also each other’s girlfriends, that they appreciate and care about each other as much as they love their darling boy.
If these girls were only bonded via their mutual love of Rentaro, he’d still have all the power here – and frankly, such a situation would profoundly limit the effectiveness of future drama, as many “everyone knows the hero, but barely know each other” stories have proven. For 100 Girlfriends to remain a charming ensemble drama, the girlfriends must be a part of each other’s lives as much as they are a part of Rentaro’s, and last episode’s getting-to-know-you shenanigans more than demonstrated Rikito Nakamura’s dedication to fostering such bonds. With Nakamura’s sage understanding of harem dynamics proven once more, let’s see what awaits for Rentaro and his merry maidens!
Episode 5
“The Hyper-Efficient Girl.” Welp, seems like we’re onto the next girlfriend, and if character designs are anything to go by this will likely be our kuudere – a frosty girl who rarely expresses her emotions, falling in the grand tradition of Rei Ayanami’s descendants
Character design cliches are cliches because they work; our minds are accustomed to associating bright, loud colors like orange with characters like Karane, and cool colors like blue or silver with similarly cool personalities. Even hair length carries certain dramatic undertones; short hair can convey either confidence or androgyny, while long hair can convey either insecurity (like how Shizuka seems lost within her floof) or traditional femininity
Our three current girlfriends have already settled into a comfortable friendship, wondering if Rentaro has found his phone while they wait for exam results to be posted
All are again dazzled by Rentaro’s adoration. A tidy way to further align them once they’ve joined the group, by having them share in reactions to Rentaro’s behavior
Returning to the classroom to retrieve his phone, Rentaro finds himself alone with our cool beauty, the silver-haired Eiai-san
“I know I have the top score. Checking would be a waste of time.” Yep, as expected – no-nonsense attitude, with a low and nearly monotone voice
He again invites her to join him in checking the scores, and she declines. This one might not be so easy
Interestingly, Rentaro places the worst out of all his girlfriends. I appreciate that – he’s not brilliant at everything, he’s really just a genius of being a considerate boyfriend, as his earnest admiration of their performances demonstrates
Another welcome facet of this show’s general themes: you don’t have to be the best at anything to find love, you just have to genuinely care about your partner, and show that concern in whatever ways you can
Eiai “pursues efficiency and precision in all things”
Her given name is “Nano,” appropriate for a girl who’s framed as an AI
“I’m paired up with Eiai-san.” Efficient forced cooperation as they pair up for biology class. You don’t have to overthink your meet-cutes, there’s pretty much always some incidental way to force characters into cooperation
“Eiai-san is more the elegant and beautiful type.” A clear necessity for a well-balanced harem
Rather than viewing cells through the microscope, Eiai is directly copying the answer from the book, because it’s “more efficient.” Seems like an easy theme for her adoption into the group – Eiai learning how active experience can be more enriching than simply rushing to the answer
“Practicals are meaningless. Scientists already gave us the answer. Retracing their steps is a waste of time.” Yeah, we’re definitely gonna be pushing in a “nothing can take the place of experiencing life/love for yourself” direction with Nano
Good comedy beat of her just putting the textbook on the microscope at Rentaro’s request. Beyond its structural understanding of how to make an emotionally compelling harem, 100 Girlfriends is also just persistently inventive in its humor, another essential strength
We then take this “maximum efficiency” mantra in the horniest possible direction, with Nano using the anti-microbial agents in her saliva to disinfect his finger
We keep cutting back to the existing girlfriend crew working on their own biology assignment, which I assume was relegated to corner-of-panel shenanigans in the original manga. I’ve seen a variety of shows do their best to resolve this fundamental distinction between manga and anime storytelling; in manga, it is possible to create something like a “sidebar,” an inclusion of miniaturized, super-deformed commentary that exists parallel to a panel’s primary drama. This is a privilege of manga and comics’ ability to convey time uniquely, as a sort of slow progression that all exists within a single panel. In contrast, you can only really have one speaker and one subject in a given moment of animated time, so supplementary commentary must either be spotlighted like this or abandoned altogether. I can see how these sidebars would be an extremely useful tool for keeping all the girlfriends engaged in the drama, so I’ll be interested in seeing how the show handles this as more characters drop in, making the inclusion of full digressions to the peanut gallery like this more temporally costly
Rentaro hopes to repay Nano with a soda, one of his go-to moves
“I’d say having a fun chat is meaningful. Just like time spent on holidays and hobbies.” As expected, Rentaro’s counter to her philosophy is the meaning we can find in idle things. Pursuing total efficiency robs us of much of what makes existence special
“In this world, anything that doesn’t improve your future prospects is meaningless.” Frankly, even by her own standards she’s making big mistakes. Establishing comfortable friendships with others is crucial early on, when the stakes are low. Later in life, if you can’t interact comfortably with coworkers, you’re unlikely to succeed in whatever field you choose
“Having fun is the meaning of life!” Rentaro clearly a “work to live” type, like myself. The universe doesn’t total up your productivity score and give you a prize on the day you die; life is the prize, so make of it whatever you can
Love Nano’s extremely Nano-like room, with bare white walls and no personal effects whatsoever
Alone in her room, Nano can admit that sucking on Rentaro’s finger was perhaps not the most efficient of choices. Not even reciting digits of pi can get her mind right
Having analyzed the situation and come to the conclusion of love, Nano asks Rentaro out the next day, only to decline his accepting response
“Romance only leads to matrimony and childbirth.” A grim prediction
Ahaha, love Rentaro using his “power of being rejected one hundred times” for good
“If I can’t win you over in one day, I promise I’ll give up on you.” An excellent arbitrary hurdle. Though I think my one issue with this partner is that I’m not entirely sure why Rentaro loves Nano; this one seems a bit more “girl hot” than the growing affection of his prior girlfriends, but I’m sure he’ll explain himself eventually
And thus Rentaro goes on his first-ever date with Nano, in spite of already having three girlfriends. Goddamn, my man
“Why does an amusement facility have a horse riding simulator?” Alright, I’m beginning to see Nano’s appeal
Rentaro then takes her to a haunted house, which is of course bound to disappoint
Nano can see only madness in the spinning teacups. Liking her more by the second
“If only humans could come up with self-driving. We could navigate these mazes and life with ease.” Nano’s own words point to the dead end of her philosophy: she hopes only to pass by everything, never actually finding fulfillment in life
We finally reach an irrationality Nano cannot deny: her fear of heights
And though there’s no clear “logic” to it, Rentaro’s hand in hers helps her feel better. There are times when logic alone cannot sustain us, and in such times, it helps to lean on the “irrational” support of our loved ones
“But you’re really enjoying yourself in this one.” “Correct. How can you tell? People often tell me I seem emotionless.” Some more top shelf Rentaro here, as he swiftly comes to understand the nuances of expression that define Nano’s feelings. A clear indication of how closely he’s observing her, how sympathetic to her moods he’s becoming, how much he wants to make her happy
“It’s not hard if I pay attention.” The key lessons of love
“No two people share the same experience. I’m happy you told me straight up what you thought instead of lying about it.” And honest communication! 100 Girlfriends is going to teach its whole audience to be a more attentive lover, goddamnit!
But in spite of her words, she can’t let the day’s photos be burned. “You can’t lose what you don’t have. You gained something today, Eiai.”
“I want to spend these meaningful times that I never knew about with you.” Great, that’s settled. Now time to introduce the existing crew
Fortunately, they’re all just mad they didn’t get to join the theme park date. Time for a pool date episode!
And Done
Thus Rentaro’s harem expands to encompass a fourth soulmate, the taciturn but ultimately charming Eiai Nano. It was interesting seeing how Rentaro handled a soulmate who wasn’t actually into him right from the start; few of the “I must win her over” tropes actually translate to genuine, thoughtful romantic pursuits, so I was impressed to see 100 Girlfriends navigate that line with such grace. Rentaro’s own desires were still secondary – rather than winning Nano for himself, he was mostly concerned with showing her how idle time spent with friends possesses profound value, regardless of who those friends happen to be. Once again, we’ve all learned a little something about love from the most improbable of sources, with attention to your partner’s needs, genuine concern for their feelings, and honest communication of perspective winning the day. Good luck, soulmate squad!
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