The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

Episode 4

On today's episode of 100 Girlfriends, we learn a lesson about the importance of honest communication in relationships. Also, Hakari gets so horny she almost pees herself. Such is the wonder of this show.

Joking aside, this episode tackles a topic that's pretty critical to this story's longevity. If Rentaro is going to amass 100 girlfriends across the story, that means the show will have to balance not just his relationships, but the ones forged between his various partners. For as wacky and over-the-top as the setup is, 100 Girlfriends does have some useful tidbits of relationship advice here. Maintaining any romantic relationship takes a ton of work and care, an emotional labor that increases exponentially for a polycule. Polyamory is a valid form of love, but people are also messy bundles of emotions, and each new addition to a relationship adds another opportunity for friction that has to be navigated. That's true even for Rentaro and his divinely destined soul mates, and this episode is all about our cast learning that lesson together.

The result is honestly really refreshing. So much of romance media – harem or otherwise – loves to delve into petty jealousy and competition to give their stories drama, taking conflicts that could be resolved through patience and empathy, and stretching them out until the characters cease to be likable at all. We got a bit of that in episode two, with Hakari and Karane's shadow war for Rentaro's first kiss, and with a new addition to the polycule, the issue of competition rears its head again. Yet while it mines the girls' fear of comparison for a few jokes, the show swiftly asserts that romance isn't a competition, and certainly not a zero-sum one. Rentaro loves each of his girlfriends for who they are as individuals, and he certainly doesn't have any interest in ranking or comparing them. Love isn't a hierarchy, and everyone needs to be open with their feelings so that they each can trust in that unconditional support.

I appreciate, too, that Rentaro recognizes he has to trust his lovers to resolve things in their own way, allowing them to work out their problems together rather than intervening at the first sign of conflict. The joke may be that he's the ultimate devoted boyfriend who will do anything for his partners, but if this harem is going to function – be it romantically or comedically – he can't babysit these girls and solve every bit of friction. By allowing the other characters to hash things out independently, they're able to demonstrate more rounded and likable personalities than their baseline archetypes. Karane's incurable tsundere-ness allows her to recognize that Shizuka is holding back, and with Hakari's trolling mediation, they demonstrate to the little librarian that she's not just some third wh- er, I guess fourth wheel? Wait that doesn't make any sense either, 4-wheelers are stable. So she is a fourth wheel, in like, a good way?

Whatever. Shizuka's not an interloper, is the point. She's an equal member of this relationship and deserves to have her feelings heard and respected, regardless of who arrived first. That message is all the more valuable for coming from the girls she thought she was intruding upon, and it affirms that the cast can be friendly and funny together rather than constantly jockeying for Rentaro's affections. They're all in this together, and there's no shaming anyone for wanting attention or care or a kiss. Well okay, Hakari could do with a little shame, but mostly for the pee stuff, not the kissing.

In all it makes for a comparatively mellower episode, but one that serves a grander purpose. Building a rapport between the cast means they'll have a rock-solid foundation to build more jokes off of as the show goes on, and sets an assuring precedent for how future girlfriends will be welcomed into the fold. Most importantly, it proves that there's more to this show than just ludicrous gags and an eye-catching premise. As silly as it might seem, 100 Girlfriends is putting in the emotional work to make this work, and it's doing a great job so far.

As promised, here are the alternate review images for this episode.

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.