Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we return to the amorous battlefield of 100 Girlfriends, having crossed into a brave new world from which I can see no hope of return. I had really thought Kusuri was going to define the peak of lunacy for this show, but \u201cRentaro rescues Hakari from her mother by agreeing to also date said mother\u201d has outdone her and then some. I am sorry Rikito Nakamura, I was clearly unfamiliar with your game.<\/span><\/p>\n With Hahari now adopted into the Happy Rentaro Family, I imagine this new threshold of insanity will be subsumed into the group\u2019s general dynamic with preposterous efficiency. Fortunately, there\u2019s always the post-girlfriend cooldown episode to celebrate what some specific new arrival brings to the team, so buckle your seatbelts, folks. Will Rentaro dating both Hakari and her mother somehow illustrate this show\u2019s general emphasis on open communication and attending to your partner\u2019s feelings? I really can\u2019t see how, but this production is nothing if not surprising, so let\u2019s get back to the madness and find out!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 12<\/b><\/p>\n Oh right, we opened on Hahari declaring her intent to presumably bone Rentaro, given she\u2019s the only actual adult in the group. In spite of its premise, 100 Girlfriends is generally pretty chaste as far as harems go \u2013 it\u2019s light on nudity and horny panning shots of the girls, and most of the sexual innuendo is just played for laughs. Keeping the implication of genuine sexual intimacy distant helps maintain its tone as more of a straight comedy, so I imagine Hahari\u2019s provocations will be swiftly defused in some preposterous tone-reasserting manner<\/span><\/p>\n Yeah, we get a sequence that\u2019s framed to look like the two of them having sex, but is presumably just Rentaro giving her a back massage or something<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s an odd balance this sort of harem attempts to strike, where sexual longing is omnipresent, but the relationships remain fundamentally chaste and unfulfilled. Actual sex introduces an element of reality and consequence that these stories are intentionally avoiding; they\u2019re fantasies of what having a relationship <\/span>might<\/span><\/i> be like, and thus they stick to the nascent adolescent dreams of holding hands and going on dates and maybe sneaking a kiss<\/span><\/p>\n This perpetual tension of unfulfillment is of course also a big part of their dramatic fuel \u2013 relationships unconsummated are relationships in flux, where each new flourish of intimacy is a grand and terrifying adventure. By breaking intimacy down into these fragments of alleged \u201cprogress,\u201d the tension can be drawn out for much longer, and more \u201cwill they or won\u2019t they\u201d episodic conceits can be employed<\/span><\/p>\n For these reasons and more, I tend to make a mental partition between harem stories and romance stories. Characters in harems don\u2019t act like characters actually falling in love, for clear dramatic structural reasons<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d forgotten Kusuri and Shizuka\u2019s adorable pajamas. Hahari knows her stuff<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo cutting in line, Mother!\u201d Hakari has of course acclimated to this new reality with frightening efficiency<\/span><\/p>\n As it turns out, Hahari is just dressing up Rentaro in girls\u2019 clothes<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMother! I\u2019m so glad I was born your daughter!\u201d Don\u2019t you think a <\/span>little<\/span><\/i> hesitation would be appropriate here, Hakari?<\/span><\/p>\n Rentaro swiftly passes out from embarrassment, and thus Hahari dresses Nano as the prince to wake him with a kiss, earning wild applause from the rest of the family. Seems like Hahari is swiftly establishing herself as the costume queen, while also supporting the general implication that this is a collectively loving polycule, not just a swathe of independent lines all leading only to Rentaro. The bonds between Rentaro\u2019s girlfriends are quite likely this show\u2019s greatest strength, the X-factor that makes it feel more like a horny, absurdist slice of life than a standard harem<\/span><\/p>\n Oh my god, all their drooling faces as Nano leans in for the kiss. Another key element of this show\u2019s appeal: no one here is ashamed of embracing their sexuality. This is a judgment-free horny zone<\/span><\/p>\n Hakari and Hahari then immediately declare their intent to peep on Rentaro. You know, maybe a little judgment isn\u2019t such a bad thing<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKusuri never seen dong before!\u201d KUSURI STOP IT, DON\u2019T LISTEN TO THOSE TWO<\/span><\/p>\n It falls to Shizuka to attempt to preserve Rentaro\u2019s dignity. Unfortunately, Shizuka is very small, and is thus effortlessly rolled into a blanket sushi roll<\/span><\/p>\n Terrific flailing smears as Kusuri is hung upside down from an upper window. Her loose pajamas naturally support these goofy distortions of form<\/span><\/p>\n And Shizuka remains trapped in her sushi roll. Nakamura seemed to figure out early on that \u201cShizuka is tiny and imperiled\u201d is an extremely good dynamic, and has thus consistently inflicted situations like this on her, whether she\u2019s floating away at the pool, hung from a hanger by her coat, or carried off by a sudden breeze<\/span><\/p>\n The genius animators behind this episode also understand that \u201cShizuka flailing in a blanket roll\u201d is probably the strongest visual concept in human history, and thus rightfully dedicate plenty of time to observing her flap around trying to free herself, then ultimately resolve to simply roll herself down the hallway<\/span><\/p>\n While the cat terrifies our would-be snoops as they sneak through the attic for an aerial view, Shizuka confronts her next challenge: the grand staircase<\/span><\/p>\n Excellent gag as the girls all maintain the same lie in order to deny their snooping, but Karane can\u2019t help but append the gag with an \u201cit\u2019s not like I was trying to snoop\u201d tsundere protest-too-much. If you\u2019re going to be hatching schemes like this, you need to keep a lid on the team tsundere!<\/span><\/p>\n The proliferation of jokes like that is also a significant element of 100 Girlfriends\u2019 genius \u2013 taking these canned archetypal tropes out of their natural habitat, and seeing how they might be used and abused in various other capers. \u201cTsundere in a lie detector test\u201d was another solid example<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cQuit with the cliched romcom schtick, you two.\u201d \u201cNo, if anything, the rest of us should be romcom-ing it up more.\u201d Nano speaks wisdom<\/span><\/p>\n And again, them getting flustered at hands brushing against each other embodies the dance this show must perform, maintaining that tension of first romantic experience even as their romantic experiences pile up<\/span><\/p>\n Hahari excuses herself to light incense for her first love, and Rentaro joins her<\/span><\/p>\n Rentaro urges Hahari to share her burdens with him, and speak of the pain that prompted her to separate herself from others after her first lover\u2019s death. Amazing that this show manages to balance \u201cthe importance of communicating honestly and engaging with your partner\u2019s anxieties\u201d with \u201ceven if that partner is your other girlfriend\u2019s mother\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHakari\u2019s dad and I\u2026 who says you can\u2019t love two people at once!?\u201d An assurance that carries a lot more weight coming from Rentaro, of all people. Clever in its stupidity, the 100 Girlfriends promise<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf my love for you ever stops feeling real, please tell me. In return, I promise to do the same for you.\u201d In this way, 100 Girlfriends is actually <\/span>more<\/span><\/i> realistic to genuine, healthy romance than most romcoms. Canned misunderstandings are an easy way to provoke narrative drama, but they inherently imply a profound fragility in the relationships in question, a total lack of trust and open communication<\/span><\/p>\n Later that night, Hakari at last admits to her prior anxieties, sneaking over to sleep in Rentaro\u2019s arms. Of course, by morning she and Karane end up \u201caccidentally\u201d making out on the next cot over. They\u2019re such good friends<\/span><\/p>\n Rentaro is then visited by the ghost of Hakari\u2019s father, who offers his blessing to Rentaro\u2019s simultaneous romancing of his lover and daughter<\/span><\/p>\n We end on a suitably preposterous stinger, as Hahari\u2019s love prompts her to buy and take charge of the whole damn school<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n My god. What a task, what a man, and what a delightful collection of insane girlfriends. In spite of featuring perhaps the most ridiculous premise of any romcom I\u2019ve experienced, 100 Girlfriends managed to deliver a genuinely charming, heartfelt collection of episodes, digging deeper into the fundamentals of mutually enriching relationships than countless shows with far more grounded premises. Of course, all those moments of endearing intimacy were generously furnished with countless excellent gags, ranging from clever manipulations of genre convention to simple, hilarious bullshit like Kusuri\u2019s potions and Shizuka floating away on the breeze. 100 Girlfriends understands that love should be fun, and through its god-given polyamorous mandate insists that the more love you share, the more love you receive. I\u2019m looking forward to the continuing adventures of the ever-growing Rentaro Family!<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02113110.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02113133.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02113933.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02115024.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02120038.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02121058.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02120640.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02123034.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02124150.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/September02125112.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n