Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
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Alright, can't believe I'm having to talk about this with the haha funny harem show but let's really dig into this for a second, friend. I want you to consider, for a moment, why you feel it's necessary for Shizuka to speak "normally" to be happy. Like, really interrogate that impulse. Would you say the same if, say, her speech problem was purely physical, and she had some sort of issue with her vocal cords or tongue that made it difficult to speak? Why does it strike you as "wrong" for somebody to express and receive physical and emotional affection without speaking? Why is your first instinct that somebody with a neurological disorder (because yes, as over-the-top the portrayal, that's what Shizuka's not-so-selective mutism is) needs to be fixed in order to be happy? Would being able to speak without an assistive device be a practical good for Shizuka? Sure, in the same way that somebody who uses a wheelchair would have an easier time getting around if they didn't need it. It would reduce friction with a world largely designed by and for people without disabilities or neurological conditions. But that doesn't preclude Shizuka from finding happiness and living a fulfilling and worthwhile life even if she uses her assistive device for the rest of her life. Just in this episode she's found not only a romantic partner, but multiple friends who accept her, care about her, and are able to interact with her perfectly well without her speaking. If that feels "wrong" to you, then I genuinely think you need to figure out why a disabled person being happy without being "fixed" upsets you so much. |
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DRosencraft
Posts: 671 |
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When I was in elementary school, there was a girl in my class - I'll call her J. Was extremely shy. Didn't talk at all in class, mostly stayed by herself. Teachers even knew not to call on her in class because she wouldn't speak. We were relatively close so we would play together and when she did talk it was the quietest mouse voice ever. Really was a sweet girl. In any case, her family was poor, so affording private therapy was out of the question. Didn't get much help from social programs to deal with it (it was likely at best seen as a mental health issue, worst seen as a non-issue a kid will grow out of, and that means even today help is hard to come by, let alone two decades ago). Our school didn't have a special needs class, so there wasn't another class for her to be in. Can't stay out of school because mom and dad both work, so no one to look after kid during the day. So, they just accommodated her as best they could as one of about 30 kids in a class. She got to write answers to questions, would whisper answers to the teacher, stuff like that. We were usually paired up from any group activities and she would be given tasks to do that didn't require her to do too much interacting with others.
Point being, yes, it is possible for a person to be almost as socially averse as presented in this anime. There is some exaggeration, but it's not as much as some people seem to be suggesting. The "answers" I see people suggesting also trike me as tone-deaf, or at the least failing to recognize that situations and circumstances vary. Is her situation common? No. But neither is it absurd. |
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Dark Mac
Posts: 321 |
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It really sucked that the girls never tickled each in ep 4. Felt like if the author really wanted to build relationships between the girls instead of just between them and Rentaro, there should've been more interactions between them.
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Gnarth
Posts: 175 |
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I realize this is going off topic as I'm obviously not suggesting a comedy show should address any of these serious issues, but it's an interesting topic so I like to discuss it. The main point you're missing here is that what you negatively call "fixing" is not necessarily an evil act of forcingly conforming (or discriminating) someone because of their peculiar characteristics. Disorders have a negative impact on the life and the happiness of the affected; treating them is good for their sake. You word it in a way that seems suggesting adverse medical conditions are the same as neutral traits like skin color or something. You also can't compare this to a physical variant that cannot be cured or treated. In that case it wouldn't be related to shyness or personality and it would be a completely different situation in which of course a speech helper would be great and I wouldn't have any complaints. Because what I find "wrong" is not the fact she does anything while being unable to speak in itself, but rather how this inability is presented as caused by social anxiety, which would need to be so extreme that she couldn't do anything we see her do in this episode. If the show acknowledged this and made her incoherent personality a running joke, then great, it's an absurd comedy. But I didn't sense that and therefore her behavior just felt wrong and not in a funny way. I don't know about you, but I know social anxiety much better than I'd like to, so I feel qualified to say all of this, as I oh so wish someone "fixed" me way back then. |
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Gan_HOPE326
Posts: 34 |
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So honestly I'm sort of in between between you two on this. I agree that obviously talking completely freely would make Shizuka's life easier, the way using a text-to-speech app makes it easier compared to just pointing sentences in a book. And obviously part of the point here is that Shizuka merely lampoons a whole trend of extremely shy mute girls in anime (Komi-san, or Nanako from Senryuu Shojo) by taking it to the extreme, as pretty much all girlfriends in this show do. As for the incompatibility of her mutism with her otherwise normal sociality, I think one can handwave it as her past trauma cementing that specific anxiety with talking as its own thing, which somehow persists even when overall she feels pretty relaxed and at ease. Of course it's not particularly realistic, very little about this story is, and it's only going to get wilder. In the end the obvious balance is that people can benefit from changing certain things about themselves and overcoming anxieties or other limits, but only insofar as the journey there is not so painful as to completely offset those benefits. It's a trade off, and one view point focuses on the pros ("think how much easier her life would be if she could talk" - true) and the other on the cons ("obviously if she keeps doing this despite what it costs her it must mean it would be very painful for her to stop" - also true). That said, yes, IRL, if someone had Shizuka's quirk, they probably would benefit from counselling and psychological support to slowly get over it, at whichever pace best fits them. It's a delicate thing though, and one can imagine why even well-meaning non professionals without the necessary tact (including worried parents, friends or romantic partners) may do more harm than good if they try to force the issue. |
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Shay Guy
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To add some input of my own… in episode 3, we saw flashbacks of the peers and authority figures in Shizuka’s life demanding she talk normally and stop being so Wrong and Bad and Defective. It seems clear she’s lived with that for a long time. And… I’ve been there. I still am there, a lot of the time. I haven’t had it as bad as a lot of people — I was never put through ABA — but I know what it’s like to live with the sense that the world demands your mental health, that it’s a duty you must perform. I know what it’s like to internalize that shame, to the point of no longer being able to find your own desires under the weight of externally imposed obligation.
It can’t be overstated how important it is that Shizuka finally has a place where she’s not shamed and pressured because of her speech problems. (“Quotes from a specific book” is still a silly restriction for AAC, but you gotta work in the bungaku shoujo trope somehow.) |
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lossthief
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 1440 |
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Thank you for putting it so eloquently. Yeah, Shizuka could certainly benefit from eventually being able to speak, but that has to be something she wants for herself, not something demanded from others. In the same way Rentaro puts his trust in the girls in episode 4, it's important that he trust Shizuka to make her own decisions for what will make her happiest at any given time. He can be her support, and go above and beyond in providing it, but being "the ultimate boyfriend" doesn't entail solving all her circumstances for her or deciding what will make her happiest on his own. spoiler[Funnily enough, this sentiment is covered again, way later with Karane of all people in a much sillier but no-less sweet storyline in the manga. ] |
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Shay Guy
Posts: 2296 |
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And of course the whole conflict in this episode turns out to be about Shizuka's need to recognize and acknowledge her own desires, instead of suppressing them like she's gotten in the habit of doing. …You know, I'm reminded of a couple other characters known for speaking in quotes, Mrs. Who from A Wrinkle in Time (no relation to any doctors) and Susanna Hopkins from Genshiken. There's a few big differences from Shizuka -- one, they quote a variety of sources; two, the quotes they use are real. Of course, it's the fact that Shizuka deviates from the second that lets her deviate from the first; Hyakkano is a gag series, so Circlet Love Story can have an arbitrarily large number of lines that more or less fit whatever her purposes are. Three, the other characters don't have difficulty speaking out loud; it's purely a matter of putting sentences together, Mrs. Who because she doesn't think quite like a human and Sue because she's speaking a foreign language.
I know autistic readers have found a lot to identify with in both characters. But honestly, my favorite thing about Shizuka isn't even the neurodivergent vibes… spoiler[it's the fact that she gets some of the BEST slapstick material] (later-this-season material, no plot points). Last edited by Shay Guy on Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Reddread2
Posts: 26 |
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We will get there, for the First 10 girlfriends or so it doesn’t have as much GF to GF Interactions (But it does increase starting from here. Later chapters of the manga have more interactions whether it be as a large group, small group dates with Rentaro, or certain girlfriends hanging out allowing for some good character development. |
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MFrontier
Posts: 13677 |
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I really like how they're handling the Harem dynamic. It's not just important that the girls all love Rentaro and Rentaro all loves them, it's that they learn to get along with and support each other even when he's not there.
And on top of all that it's just so well-animated, acted, and directed. |
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L0ken
Posts: 81 |
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I always really liked Nano introduction and date in the manga and anime naturally adapted it beautifully. The OST and direction of this episode gave me kinda Monogatari-vibes, I found her humor translating into the anime medium really well (the whole "Human House" was perfect) and date ending rather emotional, plus seeing calculated Ren is always delight.
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Gnarth
Posts: 175 |
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I was a bit critical last time, but I just gotta say this episode was absolutely perfect. Funny, absurd, but still touching and relatable, as well as surprisingly grounded for such an over-the-top series like this. Nano is by far best girl, I'm totally in love.
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gsilver
Posts: 649 |
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Uh... WTF is going on with that girl's right arm in the review picture?
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blahmoomoo
Posts: 500 |
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That's Rinaro's (the guy's) arm/shoulder/chest. Her right arm is obscured, aside from her hand. |
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MFrontier
Posts: 13677 |
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This was one of the best pool episodes of all time and one of the best episodes of a Harem romcom of all time.
All the girls got moments, deepened their relationship with each other, got moments with Rentaro, got actual character development, Rentaro got to really shine as the perfect boyfriend, and we got plenty of great swimsuit fanservice. And it only gets better from here! |
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