Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d stop back in with Rentaro and the gang, as we explore the trials and triumphs of their increasingly unwieldy family. Last episode’s water park trip served as a natural celebration of how absurd this show has become, with one girlfriend after another suffering some disastrous complication on their group date. Karane was assailed by insecurities about her figure, Nano and Hakari ran into those inescapable letches that always hang around anime pools, and Shizuka was lost at sea entirely. By all accounts, it was a date that could easily have ended in disaster.

Of course, in the end, their pool trip served as an affirmation of their collective concern and growing mutual trust. Yes, there were the requisite swooning swimsuit pans, but the actual meat of the episode concerned things like Nano learning to trust in Rentaro’s affection, Karane taking pride in her body, and Shizuka expressing herself in her own voice, knowing that her prince would surely come. While 100 Girlfriends opened by leaning on the inherent absurdity of applying swooning romantic iconography to multiple simultaneous romances, it has by this point morphed into something far more strange and unwieldy, a towering testament to the fact that Love is Love, a force that brightens your life in whatever form you find it. Let’s see what nonsense we’re in for next!

Episode 7

“Say Hello to the Chemistry Girl.” Welp, time for girlfriend number five. I suppose it was only a matter of time before our family claimed their resident mad scientist

We open on a low angle shot of the whole gang marching down the hall, a layout that successfully builds a clear sense of momentum and mystery. Also love how you can immediately tell Karane by her long saggy socks – this show understands the cruciality of distinctive charm points

“Today’s the day we score those five limited ‘Passion’s Pair Pancakes!’” Their quest only affirms how ridiculous their situation has become, and also how gleefully committed their entire polycule is to their collective romantic adventure. I feel like by season three, Rentaro will be scrambling down the hall propelled by a stampede of twenty girlfriends

But what’s this!? As he passes the chemistry lab, he experiences the spark of true love!

It’s funny how this show’s premise was initially predicated on the idea of “destined soulmates,” because its actual drama consistently demonstrates how love is nothing like destiny at all. Love is a practice, a conversation, a perpetual navigation of distinct needs and desires, and 100 Girlfriends consistently emphasizes how finding the “right partner” is only the first of many steps in building an enriching, mutually supportive relationship

That focus is all the more appreciated given some of the usual romantic drama trends, which so often emphasize concealing information from your loved one, only revealing your feelings in isolated breaking-point outbursts, and expressing your love primarily through grand, ridiculous acts of passion. All that makes for more intense drama, yes, but it would never make for a healthy long-term relationship. For all the absurdity baked into its premise, 100 Girlfriends’ articulation of the practice of love is actually somehow more realistic than many traditional romances

The busty, older-looking woman in the chemistry lab is emphatically not the girl from the opening, so it seems she is indeed some kind of supernaturally gifted shape-changing mad scientist

The actual soulmate is a chipmunk of a girl wearing an oversized lab coat that fits her more like a dress

Her name is Kusuri Yakazen

Apparently “nano-da” is her scientist-style vocal tic

She also refers to herself in the third person, as all great scientists must

“If her chemistry is too advanced, I won’t even know what’s special about it.” A thoughtful concern by Rentaro, but he shouldn’t worry; this is a nonsense gag manga, I’m sure the chemistry will be equally ridiculous

“Human magnet medicine!” There we go

Kusuri goes on to excitedly explain how she’s looking forward to trying meth

Of course, this is all a long-winded path to Kusuri drinking the oppositely poled medicine (sure, okay), and thus instantly being magnetically bonded to Rentaro. She is certainly pretty adorable, in her carefree medical malpractice sort of way

Even her ahoge forms a heart shape. I feel like this show’s aesthetic of charm calls back to the ‘00s era of steady visual novel adaptations, in a good way. Modern light novel love interests tend to be as insular as their protagonists, even if that simplicity of characterization is expressed as opposition to those protagonists’ interests

And right when I’m praising this show’s approach, Kusuri announces that she has to pee on him

The first thing that attracts Rentaro to the real Kusuri is how happy she gets while expressing her passion. He is always at his happiest himself seeing the people he cares about flourishing

“You’re bamboozled by Kusuri’s cuteness, aye?” These translators are doing an excellent job with Kusuri’s goofy vocabulary and vocal affectations

Kusuri’s apparently already tricked Rentaro with a love potion, and swiftly asks him out. After the hesitant Shizuka and Nano, I suppose it makes sense that we’d circle back to a girl who knows what she wants and friggin’ goes for it

“He hates the idea of going out with Kusuri that much!?” No, he just hates the idea of being manipulated into love. These relationships have to be earnest from the start, Kusuri!

Excellent smears and oversized tear-waterfalls as she throws a love tantrum. Kusuri’s already seeming like a delightfully ridiculous addition to the family

And of course, Rentaro starts convulsing so dramatically she can only administer the antidote via a kiss. Romance!

“What if… Rentaro’s body rejected the love potion because he already loved Kusuri? His heart was already full! Maximum love!” This show’s interpretation of science is so advanced

“Love you so much! As much as drugs!” Even within the context of 100 Girlfriends, this episode is a fever dream

At this point, Kusuri transforms back into Big Kusuri, which is apparently her true form. Her pintsize form is the result of a failed immortality experiment, of course

Rentaro thus immediately accepts her affections, making this the most efficient girlfriend-get yet. Even the other girls are used to the routine at this point, efficiently shuffling through her girlfriend interview process

At this point, the density of girlfriends is so intense that we can only fit in their corner-of-panel reactions through actually sneaking them into the corner of the anime frame, rather than dedicating a whole cut to realizing such reaction faces. I actually quite like that; gag manga often falter in adaptation because the pacing is all wrong if you treat cutaways like that to full shifts in layout, so attempting to more closely mirror the manga’s incidental reactions seems like a smart choice, particularly given how many reactions this story will swiftly be invoking

Oh my god, Kusuri’s face as she thumbs-up about her drug use. Fantastic

Of course, as a considerate co-girlfriend, she brought enough drugs for everyone

“It actually felt good being in the Boston Karane.” This has been an eventful and perhaps too illuminating day for our poor boy

Hakari’s vision of “increased sexiness” is like that Shirobako Jiggly Heaven nightmare. There can indeed be too much of a good thing, Hakari

Kusuri’s drugs basically let all of them explore new realms of horniness, from Shizuka having sensitive bunny ears to Nano carrying Rentaro in her prehensile hair. Things will never be the same

“Well, I guess these drugs have got their uses.” No moral today, just sharing in the magic of drugs

Kusuri explains her dream is to join a prestigious research team. That actually makes me realize we haven’t learned what any of our other characters are planning for the future, which makes sense given the lunacy of the show’s premise, but at the same time chafes against its commitment to portraying genuinely healthy, mutually supportive relationships. Supporting your partner’s dream is a crucial part of a long-term relationship, so I’ll be interested to see how this thread develops now that it’s been introduced

“I don’t need some drug to want to kiss you!” I suppose that’s our relational takeaway here: if you’re in a healthy relationship, you shouldn’t need to deceive your partner into meeting your desires

Kusuri is flung into the distance while the rest of the girls go mad with kiss-hunger

A brief flourish of the anxiety that will presumably inform the second half of this apparent two-episode arc, as we see that Kusuri’s passion for, uh, making highly dangerous chemical compounds has a tendency to push people away

“Nothing but the desire to kiss remains in these four!”

And Done

Well that was just total fucking madness! Kusuri has immediately proven herself the most ridiculous and flat-out dangerous of Rentaro’s girlfriends, from the powerful horny chaos generated by her potions to more mundane absurdity like her refusal to go to the friggin’ bathroom. 100 Girlfriends generally trends towards a blend of off-kilter romantic absurdity and genuine relational life lessons, but with a girl as preposterous as Kusuri entering the fray, the madness was instantly kicked into high gear. We’re gonna have to teach this girl some lessons about medical consent and probably a few other things, but in the meantime, I’m eager to see Rentaro face off with his zombified horde of lovers.

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