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

Episode 6

One of the great tragedies of the modern anime age is the decline of the Beach/Pool episode. Back in the day, any anime that needed to pad out a couple of episodes would rely on the old standard of sticking the cast in swimsuits and getting up to aquatic shenanigans. Sadly, that tradition has faded as anime production moved to tight, single-cour stories with no room for wacky filler hijinks. You can still find them in some romcoms, but even dedicated harem anime have started relegating them to OVAs and specials. Beach episodes are starting to feel like a dying species, but thankfully, 100 Girlfriends is here to keep this important tradition alive, chilling out at the poolside and casually delivering its silliest, horniest, and best episode yet.

I don't mean that “best” part as any sort of hyperbole. This show is always at its funniest when the whole cast is together, letting their disparate personalities bounce off each other and build comedic momentum. Some characters are funny on their own like Shizuka declaring she is “not suited to naval warfare.” Others get way funnier when paired together, like Nano's ruthless efficiency and Hakari's insatiable horniness leaving Rentaro wrist deep in their double-breasted assault, and so overwhelmed he bleeds out. Much like Karane's tsundere violence, boob jokes and nosebleeds should be too passe to elicit anything but a beleaguered sigh from me. Yet by filtering it through these characters' personalities and letting things shoot past the point of reason – like the beyond ridiculous trio of bullies trying to pick the girls up – it breathes new life into hoary old punchlines to make them feel fresh.

At the same time, each group episode with a new girlfriend is an opportunity to build relationships with the rest of the cast, rather than just Rentaro. That's all on display here, as each girl gets a romantic moment with their shared boyfriend, while Nano in particular starts to learn what being part of this weird little polycule means. It doesn't matter if she's the latest to arrive (for now) – he loves them all equally and unconditionally – that's something that Hakari is well aware of, and it's sweet to see the girls looking out for one another the same way Rentaro would. There's no hierarchy to love, and Nano's just as welcome and important as everyone else.

That's a lesson Karane learns too, though her conflict resolves in a much more galaxy-brained way. I can't say I ever expected an anime to sincerely use this decade-old shitpost as the catalyst for a genuinely romantic moment, but that's the kind of brilliant thinking that makes this show so unique. Its characters and storylines may be ridiculous, and probably only make sense to somebody who's soaked their grey matter in unhealthy amounts of harem anime, but it can still take them just seriously enough to express something touching.

Of course, this is still an episode built entirely around the conceit of swimsuits, and the episode goes whole hog on it. I've never been big on cheesecake-heavy anime, but 100 Girlfriends leans so hard into the conceit that it manages to make the unending parade of bikini-bound bazongas funny rather than tedious. There's nary a frame of Hakari moving that doesn't have conspicuous, gravity-defying jiggle. The amount of detail on the girls' anatomy lets you know that the anime staff let the real perverts loose in this episode. I've had to sit through enough boring, poorly illustrated fanservice shows that I can appreciate when it's delivered well, even if I don't exactly find it sexy.

Most of all, it's conspicuously lacking any of the embarrassment or voyeurism that usually characterizes this style of fanservice. Instead, there's an almost refreshing level of enthusiasm from all involved, once Karane gets over her worries. The girls are more than happy (in Hakari's case maybe a little too happy) to have Rentaro's attention, and while it's still too ridiculous to find titillating, without that layer of slime that so often accompanies swimsuit episodes, it can synergize with the characters and comedy rather than detracting from them. Together, it all makes for the platonic ideal of a 100 Girlfriends episode: equal parts wacky, salacious, and sentimental, making it all go down smoothly through some kind of alchemy.

As always, I have provided alternative review images to give each current girlfriend equal representation.

Rating:

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