ANIME REVIEW: Girlfriend, Girlfriend Season 1 (Spoiler)

My motivation for rewatching this marathon of cringe was fueled by, obviously the start of the series’ “highly-anticipated” second season, and I want to make sure that my initial judgement of it wasn’t just driven by the amount of fanfare this series received when the first season was aired. Also, I’ve now read the manga and I want to do the obligatory comparison.

I’ve watched my fair share of romantic comedy anime, and they often thrive on misunderstandings and miscommunications, and the characters’ actions are often nuanced. Toradora! for instance, was exceptionally good at this. But then there’s “Girlfriend, Girlfriend (Kanojo mo Kanojo or Kano Kano),” a series that flips the script and asks the audience, “How far do you think we can take this?” This might be the first time I’m seeing an MC being too kind and honest, albeit to everyone’s detriment.

Our protagonist, Naoya Mukai, is your typical high school boy who recently entered the world of high school romance. He musters the courage to ask his childhood friend, Saki Saki (yes, her first and last names are spelled differently), to be his girlfriend, and she says yes. Naoya is enthusiastic, candid, and genuinely sweet, but things take an unexpected turn when another classmate, Nagisa Minase, declares her affection for him. She does it in style, too, by making a mind-blowingly delicious bento that deserves a Michelin star. What’s more, Nagisa has been honing her culinary skills for weeks just to impress Naoya.

This extraordinary effort from Nagisa sends Naoya into a whirlwind of emotions. He can’t simply turn her down, nor does he want to break up with Saki Saki, whom he cares about deeply. And he definitely doesn’t want to be a two-timing scoundrel.

So, what’s Naoya’s ingenious plan? Well, he proposes the idea of a de-facto polyamorous relationship to both Saki and Nagisa. Yeah, you read it correctly. This series presented the argument for making two-timing in a relationship plausible.

Saki’s immediate reaction is to knock Naoya out cold, but after some heartfelt discussions with Nagisa, she warms up to the idea. After all, they all care about Naoya in their own unique ways. And Nagisa’s cooking is to die for, plus she’s just an all-around sweetheart, making Saki’s heart flutter too.

Well, let’s face it, the ensemble in “Girlfriend, Girlfriend” could easily pass as a bunch of, shall we say, romantically enthusiastic dimwits. But here’s the kicker – despite their raging hormones, this show manages to keep the fanservice to a minimum. It’s almost as rare as finding a unicorn wearing sunglasses. Surprisingly, you won’t stumble upon your typical dose of fanservice until the last two episodes, where they decide it’s finally time to deliver what you’d normally expect.

Now, while the series is by no means “groundbreaking,” I can appreciate that the humor in it from the characters’ tendency to overshare and overreact, making it an honest and a refreshing take on romantic comedy. It’s a show that proves you can have a hilarious romance even when everyone is upfront and candid with each other.  It’s just a delightful balance of sweet and stupid in all the right ways. I can recommend the series if you’re into characters that are self-aware of how dumb their decisions are but have the resolve to fully commit.