The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3 Ep 12 Review
All right, 100 Girlfriends, you finished your third season, but it might be the most chaotic season to date, and you missed out on a lot of fun, one-off adventures. I plan to go over some of them later, but for now, it’s time to get serious. As you’ll recall, in the second half of the last episode, Shizuka’s mom took her phone away because she didn’t want her daughter to keep talking with it so she can be “normal.” Nano figured something was up and got Rentaro on the wire so that he can take care of business. And now, we get to see the thrilling conclusion.
LESSONS ON PARENTING
Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush when it comes to this since a.) I read the manga, and b.) we all know how this will end. Mrs. Yoshimoto tries the whole spiel about how Shizuka needs to act normal if she wants to fit in with society. That she will be seen as a freak if she can’t speak for herself. Honestly, though, I wasn’t even listening because I saw this for what it was: misguided parenting.
First off, why does Shizuka need to talk to communicate? People who are mute or unable to communicate verbally have been able to speak up for themselves for decades thanks to computers. Secondly, even if we don’t know exactly it is, it’s rather obvious that Shizuka has special needs. Fans of the series have even debated about whether she’s neurodivergent or not. Speaking as someone who has ADHD and is on the Autism Spectrum and who spent a lot of time around other special needs people in school (a friend of mine even needed a TTS device), I can tell that she is and people need to be respectful of that. Lastly, did her mom ever ask her daughter what she wanted?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that there is no universal definition of what’s right or normal. One person’s normal is weird for others. Not only that, but no one in the Rentaro Family has a problem with Shizuka talking the way she does. Far from it, they find it only adding onto her natural cuteness. And as we have seen before, making her cry is a surefire way to make them declare war. As far as everyone else is concerned, Shizuka’s mom is the only one with the problem.
And so, thanks to the CHADness of Rentaro, Shizuka is finally able to get through to her mother. And all is right with the world, with their relationship repaired.
And then the manga jumps back fifty chapters to where it should be: a day in the life of Rentaro.
A Day in the Life of Rentaro
The second half of the episode is basically a montage showing just what Rentaro does every day with the Rentaro family. It’s honestly one of the sweeter moments in the series, because it shows just how much care he gives each of them. It also reminds us once again just how amazing a boyfriend he is with all of the over-the-top stuff he does. Whether it’s helping Iku with her training, giving Yaku and Kishika piggyback rides, giving sexy polaroids to the Hanazonos, or writing entire books for Shizuka, Nano, and Karane…yeah this kid has to be superhuman. He’s lucky he’s in a gag manga so this can make sense.
He also ends wind up back at the shrine of the Love God that started this whole mess, and he makes it clear in no uncertain terms that he hates him. He hates him for putting his girlfriend’s lives in danger, and, it’s implied that he hates him for making suffer fifteen years worth of rejection until he met Hakari and Karane. Both valid reasons to not like the unlikeable Love God, if you ask me.
Ultimately, the season ends with Rentaro waking up in the prescence of his girlfriends, who, after finding him passed out from exhaustion, all gave him a collective lap pillow. Which is another callback to a manga chapter that we skipped over! And as the credits roll with the S1 OP, we are left wondering whether or not we will be getting a season 4. We had better get one, because the next girlfriend to be introduced is one of the most popular ones in the series. Until then, though, I’m taking matters into my own hands.
That’s right. I’m going to be covering all of the one-off adventures that the anime decided to skip over, and I will not be stopped!
