This Self-Conscious Harem Anime Should End Its Story

Harem anime is akin to junk meals within the anime world. It’s crammed with empty plot energy, overloaded with the moment gratification of fanservice, and binge-watching it as a sole supply of leisure is loopy work. Like shonen and isekai anime—which equally stay a mainstay in seasonal anime releases—harem anime’s mass enchantment comes from it serving up self-insert fantasies for younger boys who dream of effortlessly charming coloration swatches of fairly ladies with the barest degree of human decency.

That mentioned, not all junk meals is created equal, and there’s nothing unsuitable with often indulging in a small deal with. Though most harem anime takes itself too critically whereas being a degenerate mess, one new Crunchyroll sequence winds up on the opposite finish of the bell curve by poking enjoyable on the style—all whereas setting itself as much as be its god-king emperor by setting the file for many soulmates in a single sequence.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Actually, Actually, Actually, Actually, REALLY Love You, animated by Bibury Animation Studios, is an adaptation of mangaka authors Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa’s 2019 parody rom-com. It follows a boy named Rentaro Aijo, a mannequin pupil and a genuinely good man. The one downside is that he’s recent off his hundredth failed confession in center faculty, and now he’s pessimistic about his probabilities in highschool. Like Eddie Brock in Spider-Man 3, Rentaro prays to God to discover a soulmate. Serendipitously, God seems in entrance of him to report an oopsie on his half that (whereas distractedly watching his favourite cleaning soap opera, as gods are wont to do) he mistakenly made it so Rentaro would have 100 soulmates. Ought to Rentaro flip any ladies down, they’ll die of heartbreak.

At this juncture, it’s crucial to reiterate that this harem sequence is conscious of how dumb its premise is. And but, that isn’t stopping it from committing to the bit by changing into the Avengers: Endgame rom-com of the style. 100 Girlfriends performs all of the hits of harem anime tropes like seaside episodes, king’s sport periods, and the like. The present can also be crammed with referential anime humor to exhibits like Tokyo Ghoul, Ashita no Joe, and games like Avenue Fighter, making it a popular culture hivemind alongside all of the harem stuff. However the present has garnered a fanbase for deconstructing harem clichés, going past meet-cutes. Every episode sees Rentaro do the leg work, creating deep bonds with every of his soul mates in each hilarious and disarming methods. In flip, 100 Girlfriends transforms its rising ensemble from being cardboard cutouts of character archetypes that proliferate the style into distinctive heroines with some texture.

It’s value noting that the present’s title alone created excessive expectations, setting it up both to satisfy the problem or fail (by getting canceled) in its quest to stay as much as its title. Elsewhere, different harem anime generally have an ensemble of 5 one-dimensional archetypes: the childhood good friend, the brand new lady at college, the bratty one, the monotone one who had no probability in hell anyway, and the optionally available older/youthful sister to one of many above. Ultimately, Protag-kun sometimes goes for the brand new lady regardless, so the style desperately wants exhibits like 100 Girlfriends to flip the script and shoot for the moon. In what has turn out to be an earnest underdog story, the anime group has been cheering for the present to succeed and fulfill its promise.

I coloured one of many manga panels of all time
from The 100 Girlfriends Who Actually, Actually, Actually, Actually, Actually Love You!#100カノ pic.twitter.com/kUEg9aUkSC

— Yash | On Hiatus (@YAAAAASH_) July 27, 2023

Whereas the anime remains to be rounding 10 soulmates in Rentaro’s surprisingly wholesome polycule with a spread of archetypes like tsundere, kuudere, and even a mother thrown into the combo, the manga is additional alongside, having simply handed 31 soulmates, so there’s nonetheless hope but that it’s going to end its story nevertheless that can pan out.

Please make no mistake: all reward apart, the present remains to be degenerate and self-indulgent, however of all of the sequence which have come and gone, its lofty goals alone make it one thing value rooting for. If something, it’s far more value people’ time than tuning in to exhibits about incels which are perpetually spinning their wheels (cough cough Rent-a-Girlfriend).

If this text miraculously enticed you to open the proverbial cookie container—regardless of the eye drawn by the noise of its plastic bindings drawing wavering eyes—you possibly can watch the primary season and the presently airing second season of 100 Girlfriends on Crunchyroll.

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