The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You (or simply 100 Kanojo) is a harem, romantic-comedy, parody Manga by Nakamura Rikito and Nozawa Yukiko. It was adapted into a 12-episode anime by Bibury Animation Studios, the same studio that brought you The Quintessential Quintuplets.
Where does one even begin talking about this anime? I am pretty sure this was the result of taking large amounts of MDMA while watching too many gag and harem anime, then seriously going "We need a harem in the triple digits" in an office. 100 Kanojo is a parody of the harem genre while being a fun ride filled with creativity and great jokes, more in a single cour/season than most romantic comedies of the year.
The story centers around Aijou Rentarou, after his 100th rejection he is greeted by God who informs him that there was some “cosmic error”, and he is destined to have 100 different soulmates… With the catch, if he does not reciprocate any one of their feelings, they could literally die. His high school life quickly turns into a circus as he attempts to meet his 100 different soulmates and date ALL of them at the same time.
The concept is too ridiculous to take seriously, when I first heard about it, I choked. What is more insane is the authors' commitment to this series. You would think they would introduce a bunch of random characters and only focus on a select few, but they really are trying to introduce 100 different girlfriends all with their own designs, personalities, quirks, mini-arcs, relationships, struggles, and interactions not just with the main character, but the other girlfriends within the harem as well.
This first season only introduces a mere 6 girlfriends and as of this review, the manga is 16 volumes deep and has only just now reached girlfriend #27. My respect towards the authors for their commitment and execution of this series is overwhelming.
As for humor, the anime is hilarious! If you enjoyed Saiki or Gintama you will really love this.
The creativity of the scenarios and the situations deserve more recognition. While most romantic comedies struggle to deliver even a single joke that does not bore the viewer. 100 Kanojo does this easily every other second. The jokes land well due to the great voice acting and chemistry between the characters.
There is a mountain of references to other media from The Shining to Breaking Bad, even an entire Mission Impossible parody scene, and more. Even includes 4th wall breaking jokes, like when a character wonders if their lines got cut from the manga.
The overall production is very good and overflowing with passion. The art is pretty and the character designs are top-notch. The voice acting has a lot of emotion put in, and the OSTs are appropriate. The opening theme song is performed by the main female cast, reaffirming the passion that was put into this project.
Despite the anime’s insanity... the character writing and the few serious moments are very well executed. Sometimes toning down the absurdity while showing you how much Rentarou genuinely cares for and loves his girlfriends.
The cast is very entertaining. Hakari is incredibly down-bad, Karane is one of the biggest tsundere I have ever seen, Shizuka is a must-protect, Nano is ChatGPT possed Komi-san, and Kusuri the druggie makes magic potions like turning her friends into Resident Evil kiss zombies.
However, Rentarou steals the show. Being borderline superhuman, unbelievably kind and caring towards all his girlfriends, and hilarious to watch whenever he is on screen. Written to be capable, treating all of his multiple girlfriends equally and never regretting the situation he was brought into.
If you love humor like Saiki or Gintama, this is right up your alley. The cast is colorful and the main harem lead will not make you pull your hair out.
I wholeheartedly recommend it, even if you dislike harem anime. At least give this show an episode or two to try, the first episode gives a great introduction and it only gets better from there.
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