Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are privileged to be checking back in with a family we all know and love, a family which only seems to grow stronger and more preposterous with every passing episode. That\u2019s right, we\u2019re returning to the adventures of Rentaro and his soon-to-be one hundred girlfriends, their ranks just recently bolstered by the addition of initial girlfriend Hakari\u2019s <\/span>mother<\/span><\/i> Hahari.<\/span><\/p>\n With Rentaro now dating a fellow student and her mom at the same time, there is effectively no known boundary for the coming absurdity. Of course, even more preposterous than 100 Girlfriends\u2019 premise is the fact that it actually, consistently demonstrates the fundamentals of mutually loving relationships, demonstrating more clarity of affection and constancy of consideration than many traditional romances. As I\u2019ve said before, 100 Girlfriends\u2019 secret weapon is that Rentaro himself is utterly charming; far from the nebbish creeper harems often set as audience surrogate, Rentaro is actually easy to fall in love with, and consistently proves himself a paragon of romantic gallantry. With the family secure and the future bright, let\u2019s return to 100 Girlfriends!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 13<\/b><\/p>\n We open with a refresher from God on soulmates, the ostensible motivation for this whole 100 Girlfriends project. I actually appreciate that this quest was basically never mentioned outside of the first episode; the show is not about fantastical obligations, it is about the charming process of fostering bonds between individuals. The story should be character-driven, not gimmick-driven<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAn embarrassment of bitches.\u201d Rentaro would never say that, but I appreciate the punwork by the translators<\/span><\/p>\n A nice energetic \u201cgirlfriend team assemble\u201d cut as the first season\u2019s heroes take the stage. 100 Girlfriends is generally a pretty aesthetically reserved show, mostly impressing through the detailed still-frame articulation of characters\u2019 eyes and hair, but productions always tend to put their best foot forward for season openings<\/span><\/p>\n Our second OP actually learns further into the idea that this is actually a group song the girlfriends are all sharing, even including interlude sequences of all them bickering over who\u2019s fucking up or hogging too much attention<\/span><\/p>\n That itself points to another of 100 Girlfriends\u2019 main strengths \u2013 the fact that Rentaro\u2019s girlfriends aren\u2019t just connected to each other via him, they\u2019re actually a group of close friends with lots of unique bonds of their own. This operation won\u2019t work if it\u2019s just Rentaro trailing one hundred followers, it has to be a fully, collectively loving polycule<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s a lesson a lot more shows could take to heart; not that every main character needs to be in the same romantic polycule, but that relationships must be defined laterally as well as in relation to the protagonist. I\u2019ve seen too many shows where it seems like none of the characters would communicate if not for the protagonist acting as translator<\/span><\/p>\n And now we\u2019ve got Rentaro in a monkey suit for some reason. Another key Rentaro strength: he\u2019s certainly gallant and can be manly when he needs to, but he\u2019ll never ever put his own ego over the happiness of his girlfriends. If a monkey suit is what his true love wants, that is exactly what she will get<\/span><\/p>\n So it seems this season will at least include an athlete, a food-lover, an ojou type, and a bashful girl whose bangs cover her eyes. Rikito Nakamura clearly being forced to stray further from the default harem types as we stretch towards a dozen heroines<\/span><\/p>\n Playful translations in general \u2013 Hakari\u2019s \u201call of you\u201d is translated as \u201cladies and ladies,\u201d an added joke that fits naturally into the scene<\/span><\/p>\n And of course, our self-aware heroines are already congratulating themselves for reaching season two<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen was the last episode of season one, when we started dating Rentaro-kun?\u201d Oh my god. They\u2019re actually making season two\u2019s development time a dramatic hurdle to overcome<\/span><\/p>\n Hakari of course commissioned Kusuri to develop a drug to counter this three month relationship ennui period. Those two are far too powerful together \u2013 Kusuri has the most dangerous skills of any girlfriend, and Hakari by far the most dangerous mind<\/span><\/p>\n But then Kusuri\u2019s drug explodes, and yep, we\u2019re in a body swap episode. Body swap episode, everyone!<\/span><\/p>\n It makes sense \u2013 100 Girlfriends generally spends an episode or two establishing a \u201cnew normal\u201d with each girlfriend before moving on to the next one. Of course, in this story\u2019s case, \u201cnew normal\u201d still means something like a group Freaky Friday experience<\/span><\/p>\n Everyone is desperate to avoid getting sued for Your Name copyright infringement. This ridiculous production<\/span><\/p>\n Quite a fun exercise for the voice actresses here; Shizuka with Nano\u2019s affectation is really something<\/span><\/p>\n Hakari-in-Nano is of course eager to use this opportunity for anonymous horniness. Told you she was the most dangerous girlfriend<\/span><\/p>\n In true Rentaro fashion, he immediately recognizes her as Hakari, but takes her flagrant performance at face value. Our pure and honest boy<\/span><\/p>\n Lots of delightfully contorted expressions and playful smears as Hahari and Karane run wild in their new bodies. 100 Girlfriends\u2019 narrative is defined by buoyant, jubilant energy, and these aesthetic tricks are essentially the visual embodiment of that tone<\/span><\/p>\n Shizuka-in-Karane is probably the most extreme reversal, and the show gets a good gag out of that. For Karane, staying quiet and fidgeting would mean she\u2019s so angry she can\u2019t even speak, but for Shizuka that\u2019s just the standard state of affairs. A joke that underlines how this Freaky Friday concept demands a certain degree of multifaceted characterization; if your characters aren\u2019t affiliated with a specific array of behavior patterns <\/span>before<\/span><\/i> the switch, there will be no drama or satisfaction in seeing how they express themselves in new bodies. A credit to 100 Girlfriends\u2019 characterization, and also a lesson that applies to narrative twists on the whole: \u201caudiences must be invested in a given state of affairs for a twist\/alteration on that state of affairs to feel meaningful.\u201d Many, many narratives lean on \u201cbut what you thought was true was actually false!\u201d without working to ensure the audience was invested in that ostensibly true first scenario. Twists have no power without preexisting audience buy-in!<\/span><\/p>\n Seeing Hakari making Kusuri\u2019s chipmunk expressions feels almost perverse somehow<\/span><\/p>\n And then we get Hahari-in-Kusuri petting Rentaro and calling him a good boy. We\u2019re building a top notch \u201cI hope this doesn\u2019t awaken something in me\u201d episode here<\/span><\/p>\n They ultimately elect to reorient themselves via out-of-body kisses, which will presumably send their souls first floating into the air and then returning to their original bodies. Look, if you wanted an excuse to all kiss Rentaro, you could have chosen something less far-fetched than that<\/span><\/p>\n Apparently Hakari\u2019s body has its own internal horniness generation engine, as Kusuri finds herself overwhelmed by lust<\/span><\/p>\n Smol floof Karane and tsun-tsun Hahari. We\u2019re ringing in the season with a full-length exercise in gap moe<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was exciting, but I honestly like you all better the way you are.\u201d The only way this could have ended \u2013 Rentaro loves his girlfriends for who they are, and that love only grows as he learns more about them. You don\u2019t need gimmicks like this to maintain the passion if your fundamentals are strong; it\u2019s always good to try new things, but the strongest couples love each other for who they are, not who they want each other to be<\/span><\/p>\n With reintroductions concluded, we meet our next girlfriend, who\u2019s currently trudging through the halls with eyes concealed, hoodie up, and headphones on \u2013 about as \u201cdon\u2019t talk to me\u201d posture as you could conceive<\/span><\/p>\n Just a flourish of fourth wall breaking here, as Rentaro bumps into the dialogue balloon explaining why he\u2019s buying lunch<\/span><\/p>\n As always, the eyes and hair are 100 Girlfriends\u2019 top visual priority. Our first actual glimpse of this new girl is dazzling, with her hoodie accent colors reflected in her eyes, and just a touch of soft focus around the hair to draw our attention all the more fully towards those eyes<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHuh, you got a problem?\u201d Well, since Karane was among the first two, I suppose we\u2019re due for another adversarial girlfriend<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s apparently a middle schooler, and also forgot her wallet. Gallant but not overbearing, Rentaro offers to split his lunch with her<\/span><\/p>\n Clear visual conveyance of her letting her guard down as she removes the hoodie-headphone combo<\/span><\/p>\n Right, this is our food-loving girl. Her love of food is put in the starkest possible terms through a reference to Ghibli meals, the most luxurious slices of bread and egg in animation history<\/span><\/p>\n She admits she gets hungry easily and cranky as a result, apologizing for her earlier behavior. Already we\u2019re moving beyond individual archetypes to more fully realized experiences, emphasizing how people are more than single, stable affectations<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s such an obsessive foody that she actually uses the hoodie and headphones to block out potential cravings<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the least I could do for the food.\u201d As always, Rentaro\u2019s affection is not based in immediate physical attraction, but in his admiration for the passions of the people he loves<\/span><\/p>\n Sadly, he doesn\u2019t even get her name before she reverts to hangry mode<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhy am I always like this? I get cranky and take it out on others, leaving myself alone.\u201d Like Shizuka, Nano, and Kusuri before her, this girl needs not just a boyfriend, but a community that understands and appreciates her. The Rentaro Family is essentially becoming a group home for misunderstood girls<\/span><\/p>\n And of course, Rentaro learns to connect with her by speaking in her own language, and actually making one of the sandwiches she\u2019s been craving<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou say you get hungry too easily, but I think that\u2019s why you can love food so much.\u201d Rentaro\u2019s appreciation of his girlfriends\u2019 quirks helps them to accept and even love themselves more, which is basically the essence of a fulfilling relationship. It can\u2019t be one-sided \u2013 Rentaro isn\u2019t benevolently showering affection on his lessers, he is helping the people he loves understand how special they are<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSharing a meal with someone enjoying their food makes it taste that much better.\u201d A truism that applies to far more than food; if you associate with people who find joy in what they love, that joy will shine on you as well<\/span><\/p>\n Thus our newest girlfriend actually pops the question herself. Alright, you might want to sit down for this next part, girl<\/span><\/p>\n Her name is Kurumi Haraga<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat have we got this time? Punk? Magical girl?\u201d Karane can\u2019t even pretend to be surprised anymore<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHungry, hungry GF.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s not an aesthetic.\u201d Look, we can\u2019t all be as obvious as your tsundere self, Karane<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t spend time with you all because I need to. I do it because I love you all.\u201d Nano of all people offers the punchline, and the fundamental promise of the Rentaro Family<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Thus our newest girlfriend is acquired, and the stage is set for a preposterous group food fight! Well, I didn\u2019t expect us to actually charge all the way through a girlfriend acquisition in the first episode, but <\/span>I suppose things are a touch easier when the route to a girl\u2019s heart is so obviously through her stomach. Regardless, I\u2019m glad that Karane now has a fellow Grumpy Girlfriend to bond with, and remain charmed by how well 100 Girlfriends manages to demonstrate the genuine fundamentals of healthy, mutually enriching relationships in spite of its completely ridiculous premise. You\u2019ve stolen our hearts again, Rentaro!<\/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\/2025\/02\/February19101740.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n