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Girlfriend, Girlfriend (TV).


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:07 pm Reply with quote


Season 01: Girlfriend, Girlfriend (TV)
Season 02: Girlfriend, Girlfriend (TV 2)

Source: Manga (completed @ 16 volumes, by Hiroyuki)

Demographic: Shounen

Animation Studio:
Season 01: Tezuka Productions
Season 02: SynergySP

Genres: comedy, romance, slice of life

Themes: harem, parody, school

Plot Summary: Naoya just got a girlfriend, the gorgeous Saki-chan, and though their intensities often pit them against each other like ice and fire, they're totally, uncontrollably in love with each other. He vows never to cheat...when out of the blue he receives another confession. Nagisa's cute, sweet, and she's made him lunch to boot. He knows he can't cheat, but he can't let a cutie like this get away...so he does the logical thing: Asks Saki for permission to date them both.

Air Date & Platform:
Season 01: July 12, 2021 (Monday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Season 02: October 6, 2023 (Friday)
Available on: Crunchyroll

Episode Count / Runtime:
Season 01: 12 episodes
Season 02: 12 episodes

Total: 24 episodes
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 12:08 am Reply with quote
Episode 1

So, Saki is bi, right? There was plenty of evidence that Saki herself was/is attracted to Nagisa. Which kind of sounds like a nicer way it could have had Saki agree with it instead of what felt a bit more like him keep pushing her and maybe even shaming her. He apparently hounded her everyday since they were younger to date him.

A explicit poly rom-com is a very curious idea, although at this point it is probably not handling it too well, outside of Naoya being apparently honest. How quickly things move is possibly a problem, although also where the comedy for this episode was.

To be honest, I did not hate this first episode, although I have in general been kind of down on such rom-coms lately, especially harems. But perhaps a theme of a poly harem could work, if it doesn't cross lines of some sort.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Jul 10, 2021 6:44 am Reply with quote
Episode 2

I am actually quite enjoying this show, at least the second episode getting me to laugh. There is Saki being a disaster, having a dirty mind, with the majority of her search history in between game and and cute stuff being dirty things, somehow able to forget after finding out that her search history was gone through. Nagisa is admittedly quite quirky, that she didn't realise that her cooking practice was pretty crazy, and the humour of spending half an hour in the toilet in trying to play it cool from looking up answers on the internet, following up with then spending 3 hours. And Naoya not being able to to a single sentence of pretending to meet Nagisa for the first time without wanting to blurt out the whole relationship thing to the whole class.

It is playing it up well where you don't just have the emotional Naoya getting super sentimental over how sad things are with Nagisa, but Saki too. I think at this point Saki is probably my favourite. And it is playing the stupid character thing well, such that Saki playing straight man, until she is not. But not straight, because Saki is still so bi it will be a wonder if she can sit in a school seat.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:16 am Reply with quote
Episode 4

Saki came back after assured that there are not high expectations on her to win against Nagisa as a girlfriend in doing the things Nagisa is good at, While also that Naoya be a bit more forward in how he can appreciate her. Saki also tried to get a bit closer with Nagisa by playing some games together, finding out that Nagisa is awful it despite playing so much, there are things she is better at. Saki is also kind of really bad at hiding that she was feeling better at seeing Nagisa bad at something.

Something Saki also continues being bad at hiding, that she is attracted to girls. She seemed awfully insistent on pointing out that the streamer, Milika, gets views via using her boobs, that she practically sounded like an incel, and then having to say that Nagisa's big boobs are good though. Kind of sounded like Saki was practically drooling over Milika when meeting her in the flesh, and then channelled it into having something over her before realising that it might actually hurt her and said she obviously wouldn't do that. But sad of Milika, Naoya can't keep secrets for shit and so it is probably coming out. But still decided to insert herself in the poly relationship.
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Piglet the Grate



Joined: 25 May 2021
Posts: 767
Location: North America
PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2021 8:20 pm Reply with quote
The genre tags should include parody (if that is possible), since the show is basically taking every rom-com trope and intentionally extending it into ridiculous territory. But we should expect nothing else from the author of Aho-Girl, except Kanojo mo Kanojo lacks the hard, borderline nasty edge of that show (which may reflect changes over the last 5 years in what is acceptable).
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11446
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:58 pm Reply with quote
Piglet the Grate wrote:
The genre tags should include parody (if that is possible), since the show is basically taking every rom-com trope and intentionally extending it into ridiculous territory.

I try to keep genre tags coinciding with whatever the Encyclopedia allows. Otherwise, if it's a word that still describes the show, I just throw it in themes, which I did for this one.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 3:42 am Reply with quote
Episode 6

Getting more complicated. Naoya trying to get Rika to leave him alone actually made her fall for him, which had her get tsundere, and then fall even more when he defended her from her dad. I did enjoy the sort of storyline where it took the idea that her father could be understandably worried about his daughter, but also that Rika should not at all be made to feel ashamed for streaming, even if she does use her chest to help get views. The threat made to delete her channel was too far, and for Naoya to be the good guy he is supposed to be, he would step in.

Although, kind of rough that they decided to sell off all of Rika's camping gear while she was away to the bathroom. But also put against the fact that they literally had not called the cops on her squating in the backyard.

Also, Naoya's reasoning to want to push so hard to get rid of Rika, because he was genuinely worried he would fall for her, and he really wants to devote his all to his existing girlfriends. Such a sort of weird trip.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 4:00 am Reply with quote
Episode 12 (finale)

We got to see Nagisa's backstory, have Naoya really drive it into her that he wants both her and Saki to be his number 1, so she must not hold back, and Saki's friend, Shino, got confirmation of the relationship. Towards the end of the episode confirming that she too has a crush on Naoya, and learning that he is dating two girls is going to make it hard for her to give up like she had hoped.

I rather enjoyed the show, although the whole using the word "two timing", or whatever Japanese equivalent is, really kind of gives off bad image of him cheating on them. It really doesn't feel like it fits Naoya, as he is entirely open to his girlfriends, and always honest, even to his detriment. It kind of feels like it is a question with this show in how much it possibly could be a sort of serious romantic comedy of a poly triad, and what is meant to be just a silly comedy with stupid characters. Granted, the characters are still stupid either way, this is by the same author as Aho Girl, I believe in the previous episode Naoya answering that a favourite thing is "banana" was a callout to Yoshiko.

Similarly, to whether it would have seriously done the whole poly relationship head on, is whether it would address Saki's obvious bisexuality. There is a good chance that she wasn't even written that way on purpose, but by the author just wanting to make jokes of Nagisa being so cute that Saki is charmed. But it often felt like a defining part of her character, while more obvious bisexual characters in anime is kind of rare. Maybe why a little disappointed that some of the jokes were like Saki saying it was something strange for her even as a woman, when a number of other parts are saki just being interested in both.

Anyway, I had fun with the show, which feels really good because I thought that I had just lost interest in romcom anime with harem like elements, but this show managed to actually keep my interest in it, and was enjoyable. My rating will be Very good (8/10), which might come off a tad high, but I am kind of interested if more shows could manage to even convince me that the genre that I was beginning to lose interest in, could actually feel like an evolution. The male character is completely open about how he feels, the characters being equally fun to watch, and in ways that can feel like a challenge against the general normative ideas of what a relationship should be like.
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Piglet the Grate



Joined: 25 May 2021
Posts: 767
Location: North America
PostPosted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:00 am Reply with quote
DuskyPredator wrote:
...I thought that I had just lost interest in romcom anime with harem like elements, but this show managed to actually keep my interest in it, and was enjoyable....


This show is funny because it sends up all the standard rom-com tropes, as opposed to a show such as Osamake that just recycles all the tropes without bringing anything new or interesting. I will definitely watch a Season 2 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend if it happens, but most likely skip Season 2 of Osamake.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 12:43 pm Reply with quote
Well, the show is back in action and the first episode is just as wacky and fun as the first season. Due to the previous season Sjino has now joined the club to try and break things up and Rika is still as special as she was before and is not giving up. It promises to be an adventure filled with dumb jokes and I am here for it.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
PostPosted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 3:27 pm Reply with quote
Yup, the season is just as dumb (in a good way) as the first. I will probably not write here all too often, given that there is not much of a plot to discuss, but anyone that found the first season remotely fun can safely tune in for the second. At the end of the season I kind of expect some three timing, though I doubt anyone would be surprised if the series went that way.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2023 3:09 pm Reply with quote
Some more episodes have come out and we have had some more romance for all the girls. Even Shino, who seems to be pointlessly denying the truth to herself. As for Rika....she still is very special. she once again has used sleeping drugs to make for some romantic chances, which is presented in a funny matter but is rather horrifying.
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Blanchimont



Joined: 25 Feb 2012
Posts: 3567
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2023 7:37 pm Reply with quote
'Eddy current"? I think they meant turbulence, I've never heard of 'eddy' used with flying, other than in reference to tools used for inspections...
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15576
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Sat Dec 02, 2023 5:15 pm Reply with quote
I could save it for the end of the season, but in general I have been kind of bored with the second season. I just personally don't think it is really improved by having Shino added in as having a crush on Naoya and then just expand it as a harem with Rika pretty much a part too in being given a chance.

Easy comparisons to this season's 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, where I do think there is value to it being upfront with the harem ever expanding, as the main character keeps on keeping up with each one. But I don't feel that with Girlfriend Girlfriend, because one part I really liked in the first season was when Naoya just shut down Rika as he wanted to focus on his existing two.

Maybe this is ridiculous, but I was personally having thoughts that they should have had Shino have a crush on Saki, like her feelings were more than just as a close friend, and seeing that Naoya was allowed to have two girlfriends Saki might be able to have a girlfriend too. It could have felt like an expansion of the strange web of relationships (not just a harem). And I kept on just thinking the parts where Naoya and Shino were interacting could have been so more interesting if it wasn't as guy oblivious to girl having feelings for him, but sort of like when Saki and Nagisa are interacting as the girlfriends to Naoya, but as the boyfriend and girlfriend to Saki.

But also as I thought last season about Saki being one of the more obvious bi characters in anime, a little sad not to take advantage of the concept, rather than being a more straight (forward) harem.
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smurky turkey



Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2023 3:08 pm Reply with quote
I kind of like Shino as a character, her lucky pervert moments and general common sense are welcome to have in the show. As for Mirika, I would personally stay far away from a woman that would drug and/or kidnap me on the drop of a hat. This week's episode shows the difference and results between the two very clearly.
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