The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2

Episode 16

You can't just title your episode "Super Soaked Maid Party." I mean, you can, especially if you're The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, but at what cost? What lofty expectations are being set for this series that's so soundly split the difference between horny and wholesome? Rentaro just added Meido the maid to his harem last episode, he has to get to know her somehow, but must soaking be the best method for that? The answer, as it so often does with this show, turns out to be "Yes," but only after an initial attempt at a mildly more normal approach.

Rentaro at first attends a one-on-one date with Meido to try to figure out what makes her tick and, more importantly for him, figure out how best to make her happy as her boyfriend. This immediately trips into the obvious irony of the situation: Rentaro, the world's most selfless partner, finds himself confronted with someone who lives entirely to serve others. Meido's catchphrase is "As you wish," like she's Westley from The Princess Bride, except I don't see her going into piracy any time soon. She's a joyfully subservient puppy girl of a servant, and the too-pure Rentaro struggles to accommodate that in a way that doesn't just wind up being a kink for either of them.

This whole segment is honestly a little low-key by the usual uproarious standards of 100 Girlfriends. It takes place against the lovely backdrop of cherry blossom viewing season, Rentaro and Meido occupying a cloth on the ground as she attempts to helpfully hover around him. There are some cute laughs like Rentaro realizing he's inadvertently got his new girlfriend playing fetch. But otherwise, it's all light attempts at insight that, for whatever reason, ignore the possibility of more interiority or information on Meido herself. It's definitely by design since Meido's backstory gets delivered as irreverent Yada Yada post-credits. The bit seems to be that Meido's past is just a little too heavy to be properly covered in this cacophonous comedy cartoon, hence skimming over it. But it leaves her feeling like more of a puzzle for Rentaro to solve than a character on her own at this point.

That said, Rentaro mulling over the maid does let him show off pretty well. It turns out his oblique orders to not help him are less about tricking Meido into some sort of successful selflessness, and more about demonstrating for her the value of her own life. In line with the simpler setup that defines this segment, it's sweet in a very forward way and presents one pretty pointed answer to the question of "what is love" in a show that's necessarily going to have a lot of angles to that. That love makes life worth it, and that's enough for Meido to stick around with Rentaro.

So just as viewers are soaking in that sweet sentiment, it's time to see some maids get soaked! It turns out to primarily be Hahari's concept, which I should have expected. That mom's been getting progressively less normal as her time in the season has gone on (which is saying a lot, given where she started) now fully outing herself as a disaster bisexual with the ulterior motive of watching cute girls frolic around in maid uniforms squirting each other with water guns. I wonder where Hakari gets it from. If this is the group bonding activity they worked their way up to for Meido, I cannot fathom what future girlfriends will get to do.

As it should, the major selling point of this segment is how hard the production team commits to animating this high-stakes hydro-hunting party as awesomely as possible. Even a played-out Matrix reference works when it's put to the screen so confidently. This is the 100 Girlfriends people show up for, and they're going to reward those viewers with some knowingly screencap-worthy shots of squirtgun-soaked maids. They keep it equal-opportunity too, as Rentaro gets put in a butler outfit and winds up similarly hosed down by the end. Smartest television show.

It's an overall great bit that gives all the girls their own moments to show off and lets the audience learn a little more about Meido (and Hahari!) along the way—arguably more than Meido's dedicated date in the episode's first half. Seeing how her subservience manifests with her primary master Hahari, and the intersectional care Hahari and Meido have for one another, it articulates how Meido views her personal and professional relationships. Like a maid dutifully supporting her master, this stronger second half of the episode props up the whole thing. 100 Girlfriends is necessarily uneven, but I'm glad it knows how to make things work on balance.

If the show's going to supply these thirsty pin-ups of women in wet maid outfits, then I have no choice but to oblige them by uploading them as this episode's alternate review images.

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Sundays.

Chris has watched at least 100 anime, and really really really really really thought most of them were at least okay. You can peruse his thoughts on those and other subjects over on his blog, or see which cartoon girlfriends he's reposting art of over on his BlueSky.