Rentaro

Until Next We Meet, 100 Girlfriends!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You S2 Ep 12 Review

Last time on 100 Girlfriends Z, Karane Inda willingly gave up her tsundere-ness due to her own insecurities. But everyone quickly agreed that they preferred Karane the way she was and tried to restore her former self. When Kusuri’s reversing drug failed to solve the problem, it was up to Rentaro to come up with a way to restore the Karane everyone knows and loves. Will his solution make any sense, or will it parody one of the greatest shonen anime of all time? What sort of crazy hijinks will ensue on the season finale? And will we get a third season? All of those questions, except for that last one, get answered now!

Operation: Get Our Tsun On

If the above introduction sounded like the intro to an episode of Dragon Ball Z, then that was the point. The 100 Girlfriends has already garnered attention by its parody of DBZ earlier in the season. However, it’s not done; instead, it double dips in the finale with the Rentaro Family’s attempts to return Karane to normal. Instead of trying to explain it myself, lets just have the anime sum things up:

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That’s right. They’re going to make a tsundere spirit bomb and throw it at Karane. And it is as hilarious as it sounds! But since 100 Girlfriends is a parody, they can do this sort of thing!

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In all seriousness, though, this episode does a good job of continuing the series’ deconstruction of the tsundere. While the last episode showed us how hard being a tsundere can be on one’s mental state, this episode shows us just how amazing Karane is. When Rentaro is holding the tsundere spirit bomb, he’s barely able to withstand the sheer power it radiates and starts saying the opposite of what he really means. The fact that Karane has to overcome this sort of thing every time she expresses her love for Rentaro is nothing short of superhuman. To put it simply, Karane isn’t just a tsundere; she’s the Queen of Tsunderes! And it is great to have her back halfway through the episode.

We Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love Rentaro

The remainder of the season finale can be best described as the anime just having fun with itself and breaking the fourth wall like never before. The fact that the show acknowledges its doing a chapter out of order so it can include Meme and Mimimi, who weren’t there in the manga, is hilarious. The series gives absolutely no f’s about what its doing; it just wants to have fun with its ridiculous premise.

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However, nothing can compare to the final moments of the episode as the anime recreates one of the greatest moments from the entire manga.

This is one of the greatest moments in the history of the harem and rom-com genres. If we had to make a comparison, this is harem equivalent to the legendary Seven-Page-Muda from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Some people openly criticized the anime for apparently skipping over this scene. However, having it wait to use until the finale was genius. And yes, this actually happened in the manga, cementing Rentaro as a CHAD among CHADS!! The ultimate boyfriend that every woman deserves!

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Here’s Hoping We Get a Season Three

Sadly, this is where we must part ways with the 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You. Unfortunately, there is no news as to whether or not the anime will be getting a third season. Which is sad, because that means we won’t get to see all the girlfriends that have yet to be revealed. Then again, if they tried to follow the series to the end, the anime industry might not have enough people to voice everyone.

If this is the end, though, I’d recommend going to read the manga. Because the girlfriends are going to get even crazier from here on out. Some of them you will absolutely adore, while others you will end up hating. However, that’s part of the fun for this series! And I, for one, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

I Give “100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You (89 to go)” a 4/5

Karane Lost her Tsundere?!?

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2 Ep 11 Review

It’s sad to say it, but the second season of The 100 Girlfriends is almost at an end. We’ve met all the new girlfriends, ranging from the big eater to the super shy girl, as they’ve joined the Rentaro Family. However, the show would be remiss to end its sophomore outing without another big arc. Last season ended with the Family saving Hakari…and having her mother join the Family. However, this season is ending with a potentially greater crisis that could change Karane forever: she loses her tsundere-ness!

Karane’s Insecurities Boil Over

Karane Inda was one of the first two girlfriends and serves as the Rentaro Family’s resident tsundere. Whenever she gets flustered or embarrassed, she reacts in a defensive manner and goes, “It’s not like I *insert whatever she is being a tsundere about*!” In keeping with the series deconstructing waifu archetypes, she also serves as the Family’s straight man. She will not hesitate to call out everyone when their nonsense goes too far, and biting remarks are legendary. She is, frankly, the both the ultimate personification and antithesis of the tsundere, an archetype that I adore…but Karane herself hates.

One of the recurring themes surrounding Karane is how deeply insecure she is about herself. Whenever she gets flustered, she says the opposite of what she really feels, and she fears that this might drive Rentaro and the others away for good. And the more she falls in love with Rentaro, the harder it gets for her to express herself, and the worse her insecurities get. So much so that when Kusuri leaves a drug meant to un-tsundereify a person, she takes it. The result? Karane becomes…super nice and normal?!?!

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We Want our Karane Back

After getting over their initial shock (and Hakari enjoying Karane’s newfound honesty), everyone quickly agrees they hate this new, timid Karane—so much so that they want to get started on making a reversing drug right away. However, they’re even more shocked when Karane adamantly refuses to consider taking such a drug. She thinks that she, and everyone else, would be better off if she wasn’t a tsundere, showing just how little self-esteem she really has.

While 100 Girlfriends is first and foremost a comedy/parody, what makes it stand out is its willingness to deconstruct the pitfalls of different waifu archetypes. In this case, Karane is a strong example of how being a tsundere can potentially negatively impact one’s self-esteem. They have to try even harder than most people to express themselves properly. Even then, many protagonists have often been unable to pick up on a tsundere’s true feelings, which only makes things worse.

Thankfully, Rentaro is built different from most harem protagonists. He’s genre-savvy enough to understand that when Karane says she hates something, she usually means the opposite. More importantly, he finds her mixture of pride and shyness to be incredibly endearing, which I wholeheartedly agree with. So, using his CHADtaro powers to remind her that he fell in love with her despite her flaws, Rentaro convinces Karane to restore her normal self.

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There’s one problem: the drug doesn’t work.

This is Going to be Tougher than we Thought

In an interesting twist, the reversing drug doesn’t work. In order for it to take affect, the others need to subject Karane to enough external stimuli to provoke the proper response from her brain. In other words, they have to get her so flustered that she starts tsund-ing again. Sadly, all their efforts while staying at the Hanazono home manage to do is prove two things:

  1. Hakari’s body is incredibly sensitive to touch.
  2. Hahari gets so many nosebleeds, her staff has blood transfusion equipment on standby.
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This is going to be harder than the Family thought, but with one episode left in the season, they’re bound to help Karane return to her usual, lovable self. Without her, the Family won’t have its straight man, which could be disastrous with how they are.

I Give “Tsundere Lost” a 4.5/5