Anime Review: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Love You

Coming into an anime like this, you are of course, aware that it's a piece of fluff, a show obviously made to appeal to the demographic that prefers heaps of fanservice in their anime. It's no masterwork destined to make a lasting change in humanity or the course of history, tackling grand ideas that would tear apart the very fabric of our society... except.. maybe... it can tear down the concept that monogamy is the only viable relationship configuration in which you can expect loyalty?

Hear me out. Despite the (deeply rooted in male fantasy) and cookie cutter harem idea that a unremarkable nobody, rejected 100 times, MC like Rentaro would end up with 2, 3, 5 or even 100 girlfriends is preposterous; the idea that he would love and respect all 100 (or at least the initial 5) of them equally is what really throws the wrench into this harem comedy. Because the thing is, it managed to make me believe it.

Rentaro is so earnestly pure-hearted and set on ensuring the best outcome for each of his soulmates,  without a hint of malice or self-serving gain, that he is the shinning beacon of what all men seeking a polyamorous relationships should aspire to.

He also has that uncanny ability to read the room or glean his current (and sometimes concurrent) girlfriend's needs and provide what they didn't even know they needed at the time. Maybe this is a male harem fantasy from a female perspective, because having your emotional needs met is girl fantasy land. But I lay too much praise on the hero of this anime, since this "keenly attuned understand the unspoken" trope is quite common with average would-otherwise-be-NPCs male harem leads (Tadano from Komi-chan possesses a similar talent which downright verges on mind-reading).

I know I chose this anime because I like low camera angles in my rom-coms and while 100 Gfs did not overdeliver on the fanservice, it certainly did not under-deliver. There could've been more opportunities to glimpse Hakari's thigh/butt mole, but maybe I wouldn't be so entranced by it's allure if it was always shoved in my face. Each girl's unique charm had it's chance to shine, and although I admit I had prejudices against some of the character types, I, like Rentaro, ended up wholly appreciating each girl's quirks (with the exception of Kusuri, ok no, not even! her "no da!" reminds me of Chichiri from Fushigi Yugi and I was a little sad to not see it subtitled as "ya know!" maybe the translator was not familiar with FY... I digress).

Either way, I found myself laughing out loud IRL at least once per episode sometimes more than that, and that's better writing than I can give credit to a bunch of other stuff that I've tried to watch recently.

But back to the original argument I was trying to make. While other shows like Girlfriend x Girlfriend have delved into similar territory, and I do like this trend to (maybe not normalize but at least to) explore the dynamics of non-monogamous relationships, 100 Gfs is a solid (and healthy!) entry on the subject. It almost feels as if, anime with polyamorous relationships are forced to have better conflict resolution and more kind-hearted partners precisely because so many hearts are at stake.

But that could just be my own polyamorous bias speaking...

For a person that has been watching anime for over 20 years, and certainly had mid expectations for this show, I was left thoroughly satisfied, entertained, and wanting more. While a part of me dreads bloated casts, being keenly aware that 100 different girls will have to be introduced (and Hakari is best girl, so why cut down her screen time?), each girl was so exquisitely drawn that I don't mind seeing their take on 95 more anime cuties, a few of which are hinted at in the closing credits of the last episode.

Do I recommend it? Yes. Is it the best ever? Probably not.

But you could be watching worse things, with less cute girls, and less funny writing. So might as well waste your time with this one and join the Hakari-chan butt mole sight-seeing society like the rest of us cultured folks.

Cherry on top: the dub is excellent! What more do you need? Go give this a watch.