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

Zenshu Gets a Happy Ending! TAKE THAT, HAG BIRD!

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

Zenshu Ep 12 Review

And that’s a wrap, people! After three months, twelve episodes, and a ton of shout-outs to great anime and the people who made them, Zenshu is over! And what an ending it was! At the end of the last episode, it looked as though Kametaro’s horrendously depressing ending was going to come true. In his grief over the loss of Natsuko, Luke had destroyed the final Soul Future, heralding the arrival of the Ultimate Void. Yet, there’s something that that old bag of a director never understood about humanity: that no matter how bad things may get for us, we keep looking for a light in the dark. In this case, that light’s name is Natsuko Hirose.

Don’t put too much stock into Destiny

Picking up where the previous episode left off, the transformation of Luke into the Ultimate Void helps us to understand why the mindless monsters are called Voids. In a nutshell, they’re the personification of the despair that people can hit when they begin to think that nothing they do matters. It’s something that everyone will experience at some point in their lives, and they’re left with two options. They can either give into despair like Luke, or they can do what Natsuko does: roll up their sleeves and tell despair to shove it. And does Natsuko tell despair and hopelessness to shove it.

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Even as the entire world begins to fall to pieces and everyone gets the Thanos dusting treatment, Natsuko refuses to give up. She draws harder than she’s ever drawn anything before. She draws an army of Lukes and throws them at the personification of hopelessness and despair. There’s probably some sort of deeper meaning behind it, but it’s hard to find over the sheer amount of awesome animation.

Despite being the last one standing, Natsuko gets some unexpected aid from someone she thought was gone for good: QJ! Memeln and her friends gathered the fragments of his body and rebuilt him just in time for him to come to Natsuko’s aid. And together, the two of them manage to do the impossible. They change the ending of the story.

Not the first time I’ve seen a world remade

Some people might complain about how Natsuko effectively rebuilt the entire world into one where the Voids no longer exist. They may take Kametaro’s side and say that it’s a lame cop-out that makes no sense. I, on the other hand, think that it’s the right kind of deus ex machina. Then again, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a protagonist recreate the world from nothing, nor will it be the last.

Sadly, the happy ending is mired by the fact that Natsuko returns to her world, with Luke vowing to come find her, somehow. No explanation as to how the film was capable of creating an alternate world given, nor any explanation as to why Natsuko got summoned to it or got her powers. Nor do we get a chance to see Luke and Natsuko kiss. In fact, the only proof that this wasn’t a dream brought on by a near-death experience is that Natsuko kept Unio’s horn as a hairpin.

That being said, this is still a monumentally better ending than what A Tale of Perishing was in the film version.

Top-Tier Ending for a Top-Tier Anime

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Debunked dream theories aside, I was right about this whole experience changing Natsuko for the better. The ending has her adopt a more open nature towards her coworkers, symbolized by the fact that she no longer hides her face behind her hair. And because she’s learned how to work in a team, her rom-com film becomes a massive success. However, the ending leaves things ambiguous regarding whether or not Luke finds his way to her world, which is a little frustrating. But not enough to take away from the fact that this was a good ending. A bit cliche, maybe, but still a good ending!

And with that, Zenshu has come to an end. It may have had its ups and downs at times, but as whole, it was one of the great shows of 2025. You can tell that Studio Mappa put a lot of love into this original creation of theirs. It pays tribute to the Isekai genre in a unique way. It pays tribute to the people who make anime possible. Most importantly, though, it shows a great deal of respect for the fans that drive entertainment forward and how they can find ways to improve on what has come before. In this case, that means taking a terrible ending by a woman who didn’t  know what she was doing and make it into an uplifting story about first love and daring to hope in the face of impossible odds.

Also, it proves that sometimes the fans can do a better job than the creators!

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I Give “Zenshu” a 4.5/5

The Power of Hope over Despair

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

Zenshu Episode 11 Review

The moment that everyone dreaded to see has finally arrived: A Tale of Perishing has seemingly gotten back on track for its horrendously sad ending. With the Last Town reeling over the loss of QJ, everyone turned on Natsuko. They blamed her for everything going wrong and the Voids copying her drawings. Then, in the biggest wham moment of the entire series, Natsuko and Unio were seemingly killed by one of those new Voids. And now, Luke begins to succumb to despair.

But where there is despair, there is also hope.

This is Heartbreaking to Watch

The first half of this episode is, frankly, the visual embodiment of despair. The Voids start to slaughter both the cultists and the mob (no lost tears for the latter) while the rest of the named characters are fighting for their lives. Through it all, Luke has the thousand-yard stare as his mind starts to fall apart. You can practically hear the sound of glass shattering as he goes into full-on denial of the people he’s lost. Once Natsuko’s pegbar dissolves into light, though, he fully breaks. It’s like taking every sad moment in a Shonen series and rolling it into one.

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Meanwhile, Natsuko is still alive inside the Void, and she’s in the middle of her own form of despair. She sees everyone she’s ever known mocking her, calling her drawings trash and saying she’s not as good as she thought she was. In other words, Natsuko is dealing with the bane of every creator to ever exist: haters. And they get to her.

Natsuko herself doesn’t like to touch upon it, but the series itself has no such compunctions as it shows just how much stress she was under before she got isekai’d. Everyone’s expectations for her were sky-high, and she was under so much pressure to meet them, even though she didn’t know what she was doing. It’s one of the biggest drawbacks to this kind of runaway success. When people expect you to keep topping whatever you did last, eventually it becomes…impossible.

Natsuko Completes her Character Development

I loved this part of the episode because it went so in-depth into Natsuko’s insecurities. Underneath her carefree attitude is a women whose suffering from a very realistic fear of failing. Nobody likes to fail, especially when people place so much trust into them. However, failure is going to happen one way or another at some point in our lives. What matters is if we can recover from it. And if we can’t, that’s what having other people around is for.

Which is why the anime’s choice of having Unio being the one to get through to Natsuko is brilliant. As he was the one who was most at odds with Natsuko, having him admit that she’s the only one who can help him has the most impact. Which leads into yet another amazing moment for the episode.

There’s Nothing Wrong With Loving Fictional Characters

As a proud nerd who isn’t afraid to show his love for works of fiction, I’ve never understood why people feel the need to mock someone because they love a fictional character. People get called weirdos because they’re obsessed with this one character from their favorite show or movie. However, what those people fail to understand is that when you truly love a character from fiction, then they can remain a positive influence on your everyday life. They can encourage you when you’re feeling down about life, which will happen often. Their actions can serve as an example of how you should live your life. Seeing what they do could very well inspire someone to do something great with their lives. It could spark a lifetime of love for something. Donte and Aaron had the characters of Dragon Ball, and I can’t keep count of how many characters have inspired me over the years!

And for Natsuko, that character was Luke.

Natsuko has likely been in love with Luke ever since she first saw A Tale of Perishing for the first time. It took her getting to meet the real Luke to get her to realize her love, though. Which, honestly, seems like a dream come true for everyone whose ever had a crush on a fictional character. It’s great that she gets to live the dream.

So, with Natsuko’s confidence restored and Unio by her side, the two head back into the world to save it from a bad ending. And not a moment too soon, because Luke is about to commit a canon event. Though, just like in the Spiderverse films, screw the canon events!

I Give “Despair” a 4.5/5

This is Overkill for Course-Correction!

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

Zenshu Ep 10 Review

Interesting thing about me: there is only so much sadness that I can handle. That’s true for everyone, but I have a harder time than others handling sad moments due to how my brain works. So, when faced with a story that veers into the realm of overwhelmingly depressing, my mind reacts in the only way it can: it waits. It waits for things to get better before it lets me go back to something. In the case of Zenshu, the ending to the last episode, coupled with the spoilers for this one, made me do just that. Otherwise, I would’ve plunged into despair like Natsuko does as the story goes from correcting itself to over-correcting.

Rock. Bottom

QJ is dead, to begin with, and the entire Last Town is nearing rock bottom. People have been forced to flee from their homes as refugees, and Luke is pushing himself to his breaking point once more. Except, unlike before, he does not have Natsuko to save him, because she’s handling QJ’s death even worse.

In a nutshell, this entire episode can be summed as Natsuko being pushed further and further into despair. She blames her hesitation for making QJ sacrifice himself. She blames her drawings for being used as fuel for the Voids. And to make matters worse, Elder Baobab drops a big bombshell about the prophecy of the Nine Soldiers: it’s a lie. It was something someone made up to give people hope that they could survive the end of the world. Whoever came up with that prophecy wanted to give people hope against impossible odds, but they didn’t believe it would come true.

This is Barbaric Overkill

There was probably some big, Game of Thrones-type lesson that Kametaro wanted to teach people when she created this story. However, it’s beyond me. Prophecies can wind up being hit or miss in fiction, so that doesn’t help things. What makes things worse, though, is how the world of the story begins to overstep its bounds trying to correct itself. Firstly, Destiny tells Natsuko that she’s going to marry the Chairman after all. Then, out of nowhere, the townsfolk start believing that Natsuko is a traitor because her drawings turn into Voids. The craziest part, though, is the fact that the Void Cult returns and starts saying Natsuko is their antichrist.

No matter how you slice it, whatever the world is doing to make things turn out like this is overkill! Natsuko herself recognizes this as an angry mob tries to kill her right as more Voids attack. However, I think the fact that things start turning out this way is the whole point. The story is trying so hard to get “back on track” that it’s made things far worse. The most sinister aspect of this railroading, though, is what it does for Natsuko. It effectively has her take Destiny’s place in the story as the one whose death will send Luke over the edge.

This is Why I Waited

This is why I had to wait until the next episode to review this. If I hadn’t done that, I would’ve spent the entire week driving myself crazy over what happens next! It’s chaos, plain and simple!

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Luckily for us, the anime will have already finished by the time this goes out. Here’s hoping that it winds up being a banger.

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I Give “Chaos” a 4/5

When the Story Starts to Clap Back

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

Zenshu Ep 9 Review

I owe everyone an explanation about why I suddenly stopped putting up reviews for each episode of Zenshu. I am a sucker for spoilers; once I see them, I can’t forget them. So, despite not finishing episode 8, I wound up spoiling myself with clips from the next episodes. And once I saw what was going to happen, I knew I would have to binge everything. Things get incredibly dark incredibly fast as Kametaro’s warnings to Natsuko start to ring true. The story of A Tale of Perishing is now beginning to clap back against Natsuko’s changes…and it leads to tragic results.

Luke has had a terrible Life

The firet third of the episode comes in the form of an extended flashback as the series retells events from Luke’s perspective. Zenshu has gradually revealed bits and pieces about the Nine Soldiers’ past, but this offers the most detailed look at Luke’s life. Through his own inner monologues, we see just how hard the burden of being a hero had become for him. He thinks he’s failing in his role as the hero, and because of that, his friends and the rest of the whole world suffers. As we learn later, the events of the movie would only be the final nail in this coffin of despair.

Then Natsuko arrived and she changed everything.

Once Natsuko appears in his life, Luke’s mindset starts to change for the better. The man was close to his breaking point, but by virtue of being herself, Natsuko gave him hope and joy for the first time in forever. That’s what leads Luke to fall in love with Natsuko: to him, she’s the embodiment of hope and joy. She made his life better simply by being in it; that’s something that is true for many couples in both fiction and in real life.

The question is, though: does Natsuko love Luke back?

When Natsuko comes to back in the Last Town, she has no idea how to react to Luke’s love for her. Her lack of experience with romance shows once more, and this leads to some rather humorous moments. Alas, Natsuko doesn’t have the chance to think about this new feeling, as the Spectre of Kametaro’s words hangs over her.

How It Originally Ended

Over the course of the series, Natsuko’s inner thoughts have gradually revealed the ending to A Tale of Perishing. However, it’s during a conversation with QJ that we finally learn what was supposed to happen:

  • Everyone turns on Luke and Destiny after Memmeln’s death. The former for killing his comrade, the latter for “seducing” Luke
  • Destiny dies in the next Void attack
  • This drives Luke over the edge, leading to him destroying the Soul Future, bringing forth the Ultimate Void and ending the world.

Good grief, no wonder A Tale of Perishing was panned by audiences and critics. That ending is as depressing as they come! While one could argue that endings like that do play out in real life, most people don’t want to be reminded about that! They want to see stories that will ultimately help them forget about their troubles, not make them want to give up on existing! The world can already be dark enough as it is!

Regardless of how much people may think the story’s ending may stink, the story itself doesn’t seem to care. And just as QJ gives Natsuko a pep-talk, the story steps ups its attempts to course correct to new levels. During the next Void attack, Natsuko sees, to her horror, that the monsters aren’t just coming up with original ideas anymore. Now, they’re copying her own drawings! The story is weaponizing plagiarism to mess with Natsuko.

The worst part? It works. The knowledge that whatever she may draw could be used against her, coupled with Kametaro’s words, causes her to doubt herself long enough for things to start to course-correct.

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RIP QJ

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And in the end, one of the Nine Soldiers does lose their life. However, it’s not Unio; instead, it’s QJ.

From a storytelling perspective, QJ dying makes the most sense. He had the least amount of importance to the plot as a whole until this episode. However, his decision to sacrifice himself achieves the same results that it would have had Unio done so. The only difference is that it breaks Natsuko the most.

This is what TV Tropes calls a case of Cerberus Syndrome: the point in which a light-hearted story takes a darker and more serious tone. And it’s not going to let up over the remaining episodes as we now approach the endgame. Which, by the time this goes out, will have already taken place! Since I didn’t watch it (mostly) yet, fingers crossed things get better.

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I Give “Hero” a 4/5

Natsuko+Luke 4Ever

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

Zenshu Ep 8 Review

Firstly, I would like to apologize for how long this review took to get out. I got so busy that I wasn’t able to keep up with watching Zenshu until there were already multiple episodes out. Thus, I wrote the reviews for the next four episodes at the same time so I could be caught up in time for the finale. Which will likely already be on Crunchyroll by the time this goes out. I am sorry for that.

That being said, my belief that things would begin to pick up in the second half of Zenshu was valid. Natsuko has gotten to the point where she’s content with her life in World of Perishing. More importantly, though, she’s starting to understand the importance of teamwork and opening yourself up to others. Unfortunately, she still has no idea how to deal with things like love and romance, which is about to become a big problem for her. In addition, she also learns that the mystery bird that’s been stalking her doesn’t have good intentions for this world.

That Dumb Bird!

Over several episodes, Natsuko’s been harassed by this mysterious, talking bird that keeps saying her efforts are “no use.” At the end of my review of the last episode, I speculated that the bird was an in-universe avatar for the creator of A Tale of Perishing, Kametaro Tsuruyama. It turns out that I was close: the bird is the late director herself.

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Like Natsuko, Kametaro Tsuruyama died back in Japan (from eating bad clams, no less) only to find herself in the world of her creation. Whereas Natsuko gained the power to alter the original story, though, it’s unclear what powers Kametaro got, if she got any. Nor is it made clear what force allowed both women to reincarnate in the World of Perishing. However, once Natsuko manages to corner her (and finish gushing over meeting her hero), one thing is made clear: Kametaro isn’t happy about Natsuko’s meddling.

Unlike Natsuko, who actively changed the story, Kametaro wants to see events play out in the way that she wrote them. Instead of being flattered by Natsuko’s adoration for her, she derides her, saying her “fan edits” are pointless and ruining “her masterpiece.”

The Bird=The Worst Kind of Creator

I’ve repeatedly said that part of the appeal behind Zenshu is how it feels like a commentary on the relationship between stories, storytellers, and fans of said stories. In this case, Kametaro serves as a rather brilliant foil to Natsuko. Both are talented storytellers who put everything into their creations, which is something every great storyteller should strive to achieve. What makes them different, though, is how they view their own creations. Despite loving A Tale of Perishing, Natsuko hasn’t been afraid to point out its flaws and plotholes. She’s open and willing to change things to suit the story better. In contrast, Kametaro sees A Tale of Perishing as her perfect masterpiece and refuses to accept any other opinion. She wants her story to be this angsty, depressing downer which ends with the entire world being destroyed, regardless of what will happen to her or the people in it.

Okay, real talk.  Kametaro Tsuruyama is, in my opinion, the worst kind of creator that we can get. She refuses to let the world she created grow and develop on its own. She may or may not be actively trying to course correct it, despite knowing that the original ending will kill her too. And worst of all, she’s critical of Natsuko for changing the story. It’s OK to take pride in your own creation, but if the majority of people can’t even watch it because it’s so depressing, you might want to rethink things. In addition, despite the stance some authors and creators have against fan-created content, you’d be surprised at how good some of it can get. I.E. Allen Blaster’s Shield Hero series is so good, it’s been called better than the canon story!

Natsuko is Like, “DOES NOT COMPUTE”

However, everything that Kametaro says to Natsuko takes a backseat for most of the episode. The real focus is on something that most people saw coming, but could still enjoy: Luke is in love with Natsuko.

The show hasn’t been subtle about the fact that Luke has fallen for Natsuko. Nor, hilariously, is Luke subtle when he decides to confess his love to her.

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Seeing Luke tell Natsuko that he loves her over and over is the right kind of cringe. The kind where you want to look away because it’s so awkward, but you can’t help but keep watching. However, it’s the reactions of Natsuko, who’s just as inept at romance, that makes the entire sequence enjoyable. The shock of the confession is so great that she has to go into denial over the fact that the world she’s in is as real as hers!

Thankfully, the show doesn’t linger on the cringeworthy moments for long. Thanks to good advice from ultimate wing-man Justice (thank you, Justice), Luke takes Natsuko on a genuinely romantic date to a hot spring! They do bathe out of site on opposite sides, but that’s besides the point.

Hot Spring Time

In many anime, hot springs are often used for one of two things: fanservice and letting characters discuss their thoughts and feelings. In this regard, the writers of Zenshu nailed both. The setting itself is incredibly detailed and well drawn, with good use of various cool colors to give it an otherworldly feel. The fanservice isn’t over-the-top, with Luke ending up showing more while Natsuko winds up averting any big money shots. And hearing the two bond over their mutual love of their comrades is very sweet. It’s these kinds of moments that the strongest forms of love are built on.

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Too bad a wandering Void shows up. To make matters worse, this isn’t just a Void Natsuko’s never seen before: it has the powers of her drawings back during the first episode. AKA her expy of the God Warrior from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Thankfully, with Luke’s swordsmanship, and Natsuko drawing a freaking Gundam, the two manage to vanquish the monster! And at the very end, as Natsuko experiences the same thing the people who fell for her did around her.

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Just like I predicted, Natsuko and Luke have fallen for each other…and I wholeheartedly ship them! They make for a very sweet couple! However, any excitement one may feel over the fact that Natsuko is finally experiencing love is overshadowed by the stinger. Each episode only reveals an image over the title for the next episode, but the appearance of this next one is very bleak. Combined with Kametaro’s warnings about Natsuko’s efforts being pointless and how the story seems to be trying to course correct, it paints a very grim picture.

And we were right to think like that. This episode basically marks the last time we can experience something lighthearted in Zenshu. The next episode, things start to hit the fan.

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I Give “Confession” a 4.5/5

Solo Leveling Just had the Biggest Anime Fight of the Year

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

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadows S2 EP 12 PRAISING SESSION

Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone who identifies as neither, this is the episode that we all waited to see. The Jeju Island Raid Arc has all come down to this: Sung Jin-woo, the Black Air Force Hunter with max-level charisma, vs the second coming of Meruem, the Ant King! And it is no exaggeration to say that this was a fight that Solo Leveling fans have waited to see since the days of the manwha! And despite some concerns over it being limited to a single episode, the studio managed to deliver! When the time comes for the best anime moments of 2025, this fight will be on the list!

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Straight Up Aura Farming

For those wondering how Jin-woo got to Jeju Island so fast, it’s part of a new ability he recently acquired: Shadow Exchange. He can swap places with one of his Shadows, allowing him to fast travel to their location. Thankfully, he thought ahead by planting Shadows on all the Hunters in case things went south like they did. Now that he’s at the island, though, he’s ready to do some pest control.

Everyone who’s been watching Solo Leveling already knows how strong Jin-woo is. Most of the Hunters present have an idea about how strong Jin-woo is. However, this marks the first chance for everyone in-universe to see what happens when Jin-woo cuts loose.

The real show, though, starts when the Ant King returns to the nest and his subjects. The two of them start aura farming as they approach each other like Jotaro and DIO, with the Ant King demanding to know if Jin-woo is the King of the Humans. All Jin-woo does is mock the Ant King for being a talking bug, prompting the ant to use intimidating shout on him, to no effect. Then the two start trading blows like they’re in an extreme boxing match on steroids. To the Ant King’s credit, he manages to trip Jin-woo up for a moment using poison to paralyze him. However, Jin-woo has gotten to the point where poison no longer works on him.

PEAK CINEMA

And this is where the real fight begins, as the Ant King goes one-winged angel mode, complete with the angelic pose, to try and overwhelm Jin-woo in a test of speed. For added effect, the anime takes a page from Attack on Titan and starts belting out angelic choir music! When that happens in an anime, it’s a sign that things are about to get crazy. And the fight that followed was beyond crazy.

As someone who wanted this entire Arc to get the movie treatment, I must admit, I was concerned that the anime wouldn’t live up to the hype. Having read the manwha and played the gacha game in advance, I had very high expectations for this moment. Thankfully, the anime knew where it had to put its animation budget, because from here on out, the fight was a textbook definition of sakuga animation.

This Was Worth the Wait!

I only started reading Solo Leveling after the anime debuted, so I only had to wait a year for this to come out. However, the die-hard fans who loved this series from its manwha days had to wait half a decade to see this in animated form! Regardless of how long we had to wait for this, it was worth every second! This is why Solo Leveling is now considered the top-rated anime series of all time. The new gold standard for anime! It deserves all the praise!

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Once the fight is over, though, Jin-woo has to deal with the consequences of him not being there when the others needed him. Multiple Hunters are already dead, but the one that concerns Jin-woo the most is Cha Hae-in. She’s on the verge of death, and for all of his power, Jin-woo seems incapable of saving her. For the first time since he got his black air forces, Jin-woo feels utterly powerless. He outright admits to himself that he messed up not joining them from the getgo. The fact taht he addressed the criticisms about himself is a sign of how good a character he is. Sadly, the episode decides to end on another cliffhanger right as things look hopeless for Cha Hae.

Cliffhanger or not, this episode was worth the wait. It deserves all the awards and the praise! If you have not watched Solo Leveling yet, then what are you doing with your life?

I Give “King of the Humans” a 5/5

Rentaro’s Newest Girlfriend Has Ninja Powers!

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

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2, Episode 10 Review

Shy girls; there’s just something about them in anime that makes them endearing. Their lack of confidence in themselves and what they can do makes many anime fans naturally want to root for them. We want to see them break out of their shells and achieve whatever goal they have in life, whether it’s to make a hundred friends like Komi or get the boy they like, like Hinata or Sylphie. The 100 Girlfriends already has a shy girl in the form of Shizuka, but Rentaro’s next girlfriend makes her look like a social butterfly in comparison!

Also, that comparison to Hinata is very accurate.

Girlfriend #11-Meme Kakure

As the Family is having a class on maintaining beauty, Rentaro is headed home when he runs into a girl in his class. A girl who normally keeps her face hidden underneath her bangs, until the wind (and a runaway sign) give Rentaro a look at what’s underneath and…ZING!

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Everyone, meet our 11th soulmate, Meme Kakure, AKA the super, super, super shy girl. She wants nothing more than to spend her life acting like she’s a background character, never standing out or attracting attention. Unfortunately for her, her appearance deliberately invokes the kind of attractive, faceless girl you would find in a trashy doujinshi. Complete with a figure that would make readers drool and girls envious. She actually has to bind her chest to keep it under control, and even then, it matches Hakari’s in size. In reality, she’s big enough to make even Hakari jealous!!

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Meme takes the shy girl archetype to new levels, making Komi and Hinata look like the most social people ever. The Hinata comparison isn’t arbitrary, either. She’s mastered the substitution jutsu to the point where she’ll vanish even when someone is looking at her! All that you’ll find is a cute toy she knitted in her place!

Meme proves to be a challenge for Rentaro to win over, as she keeps vanishing whenever he talks to her. It gets to the point where the story has a fake-out ending, acting like he’s the one girl that Rentaro couldn’t save. In true CHADtaro fashion, though, he flips the script and manages to beat her in a battle of attrition. One quick talk using his max level charisma, and Meme is convinced to give their love a chance.

Who Doesn’t Love Hide and Seek

The second half of the episode sees the Rentaro Family’s traditional welcoming of their newest member. And it might be the sweetest one yet, as all the girls are quickly enamored by Meme’s shyness and talent at knitting. So, to help her become more comfortable, everyone decides to play the most hardcore game of hide-and-seek. Rentaro has to find everyone, and the winner will get a kiss from him (that was Hahari’s idea.)

For me, the parts where the newest girlfriend integrates into the group are some of the best parts to the series. As more and more of them join, we get to see the entertaining interactions between them as they have fun. In this case, getting to see them try and hide from Rentaro, only to get caught in weird positions is hilarious.

Of course Hakari and Karane would end up in this kind of situation. I’m fully convinced that if it weren’t for Rentaro, the two of them would be soulmates.

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The beauty queen and mini Kusuri sleeping like a master and pet is cute!

So was Shizuka and Nano’s hiding spot.

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Poor Kurumi. She shouldn’t have chosen to hide with the biggest pervert in the Family.

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Iku and Mei have impressive endurance.

As for Meme…she’s great at hide-and-seek.

And with that, we now have every girlfriend meant to be introduced this season. However, the season still has 2-3 episodes left, meaning that it’s got something big planned. I don’t know what it could be, but I’m looking forward to seeing it play out!!

I Give “Peekaboy-Meets-Girl” a 4.5/5

That Time Hahari Had a Bad Hair Day

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll, Dubs & Subs , , , , , , , , , ,

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2, Episode 9 Review

Tentacle p***. Of the 18+ concepts to come out of Japan, few are as storied or infamous as tentacle p***. The sight of tentacles or something similar has been a popular subject to parody in anime, especially in the ecchi/harem genres. Knowing that, and knowing that 100 Girlfriends illustrator, Yukiko Nozawa has done doujinshis, it was only a matter of time before 100 Girlfriends did it. Being the ultimate harem anime, it decides to go all out on this.

When Hair Attacks

So, viewers may recall how during the beauty search contest, Rentaro resorted to shaving his head and eyebrows to force a draw. Despite looking like it came back, this episode reveals he was wearing a wig and tape-on eyebrows. So the girls decide to have a hair-styling day, and the cuteness makes Rentaro’s hair grow back. It’s the rule of funny in effect.

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However, things turn when Hahari chooses to down Kusuri’s hair-controlling and it proceeds to come to life. Then, acting on instinct, it proceeds to act out Hahari’s deepest desire: pet anything and everything she considers cute!

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Which leads to some incredibly suggestive scenes that can only be described as softcore tentacle p***. The characters acknowledge how whats happening feels like something of To-Love-Ru, another ecchi/harem that Shonen Jump published.

So This is What Tentacle P*** is Like

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Full disclosure: I am not a big fan of the concept of tentacle p***. I think it’s too out there for me and I dont get why some people like it so much. That said, I appreciate how 100 Girlfriends has the guts to take something often parodied and use it to full effect. In this case, the sight of Hahari’s hair covering the entire world is some next-level ridiculousness. Some people may not like it, but I appreciate the humor behind how silly this is.

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In the end, the hair manages to get almost everyone except Rentaro, Mei, and Shizuka. They grab the Hanazono family helicopter (because, of course, Hahari has one), and Rentaro dives in and uses his CHADtaro powers to save the day.

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They also somehow manage to send all the excess hair into the sun. That doesn’t really make sense, but this is still a comedy series operating on the rule of funny. According to the rule of funny, anything that violates the laws of the universe is permissible so long as the end result is considered humorous. And as much as I dont like tentacle p***, seeing Hahari’s hair give everyone in the world a collective hug is pretty funny.

Don’t…Don’t Question This

As a bonus, the excess hair somehow refuels the sun and prevents a new ice age. Again, it doesn’t make sense but doesn’t have to.

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So, thanks to Hahari’s impulses and Kusuri’s drug, the world is saved. Hahari does spend several days feeling guilt-ridden, but the Family helps her by pointing out no one got hurt. Some even liked what happened.

And that was the day that Hahari Hanazono became a mother to the entire world. And it was all thanks to the power of SFW tentacle p***.

I can’t lie: I didn’t think they would adapt this little arc from the manga. I thought we would slip this part and head straight to the next girlfriend. However, I cannot complain with how things turned out!

Hope you enjoyed the episode! By the way, WatchMojo recently acknowledged this as one of the best anime of the winter 2025 season. Congrats!

I Give “The World Hair Only Grows” a 4/5