What’s a guy to do when he’s destined to have 100 girlfriends? Love them right, of course!
Not everyone has a stellar opinion on harem anime. More often than not it’s trashy, doesn’t get anything right, and leaves us feeling frustrated about the entire drama and dynamic between those involved.
But when the 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You! anime (which we’ll call Hyakkano from now on because that title is ridiculously long) came out, boy did it turn the harem trope on its head.
The first season offered hilarious moments, peppered with wholesome scenes and a bit of drama to boot–and it all started from a moment that’s so ridiculous and unbelievable, you can’t help but shake your head.
Warning: light spoilers ahead!
Quickly, Hyakkano established itself as a show that aimed to unravel the stereotypes that harem was known for, all the while being up-to-date with current pop culture with its numerous meme-worthy references. I couldn’t count how many times I doubled over in laughter at this show, even though in the beginning I was apprehensive about how it would establish itself differently from all the harem rom-coms I’ve seen in the past. At the end of Season 1, it solidified itself as one of my favourite brain-empty shows to watch of all time.
So it’s no surprise to me that this absurd rom-com got a second season.
Hyakkano Season 2; what is it all about?
Hyakkano Season 2 continues off on its silly premise introduced in Season 1: Aijou Rentarou has been rejected by his crushes 100 times, and as he laments the fact that no one wants to be his girlfriend, he goes to a shrine to pray for a future soulmate. At the shrine, Rentarou encounters the god of love, who tells him that due to an incredibly stupid mistake on his part, Rentarou is destined to have 100 soulmates in his life.
But it doesn’t end there. If Rentarou doesn’t return any of his soulmates’ feelings for him, a terrible fate (AKA death) awaits them! As such, Rentarou resolves to find all of his soulmates and love them all equally, thereby saving their lives while getting the ladies of his dreams.
Season 1 finished with Rentarou gaining six out of 100 girlfriends, namely: Hakari Hanazono, a busty, ladylike girl with a perverted streak, Karane Inda, the resident tsundere, Shizuka Yamamoto, the shy and reserved bookworm, Nano Eiai, the robotic cool beauty, Kusuri Yakuzen, the weird upperclassman whose obsessed with making medicine, and finally, Hahari Hanazono… who so happens to be Hakari’s mother.
Yep, you read that right. I won’t go into detail about that, but let’s just say it’s weird.
That aside, Season 2 is filled with–you guessed it–the introduction of new soulmates! Rentarou’s harem, which he calls ‘Rentarou’s Family’, expands to 11 with five new additions in Kurumi Haraga, the always hangry middle schooler, Mei Meido, Hakari and Hahari’s family maid, Iku Suto, the sporty masochist, Mimimi Utsukushisugi, the vain upperclassman who’s obsessed with beauty, and Meme Kakure, Rentarou’s classmate who wants nothing more than to be a background character.
The season features tons of events revolving around Rentarou and his girlfriends’ hijinks in daily life, while also imparting some touching scenarios that boosts this anime’s wholesomeness level to over 100%–something you wouldn’t expect in a rom-com harem, right? But that’s what Hyakkano, funnily, does best: it presents viewers with incredibly wholesome, heartwarming moments that can’t help but make you kick your feet in delight.
Wholesome harem, how is that even a thing?
Harem doesn’t have a great reputation at being wholesome. But Hyakkano, even though it does have its fan-service-y moments, focuses more on the innocent love that occurs between Rentarou and all of his girlfriends.
It’s evident that Rentarou is, for all intents and purposes, a chad. He’s written to be a green-flag love interest who only wants what’s best for all of his girlfriends, and he’ll do whatever it takes; shave his head, sacrifice his bodily well-being, and even find a way to save the entire world if it means that his girlfriends are happy, satisfied, and safe.
Rentarou continues to be a positive influence on his girlfriends this season, finding ways to bring them out of their shells and assuring them that he loves them throughout all of their faults. It’s evident with Kurumi especially, whose walls Rentarou breaks down, as she’s basically the second tsundere of the group. It's also evident with Mei, whose desire for servitude and unwavering loyalty impedes on her expressing her wants and desires, and with Iku, who struggles with a traumatic event that hinders her at performing her best at her beloved sport.
But the wholesomeness doesn’t stop with Rentarou alone. Even the girlfriends do their best throughout this absurd situation, opening their arms to each other without so much as a complaint or a word said in anger. The girls genuinely love Rentarou and each other, and have built an unbreakable bond with Rentarou at the center. There’s no annoying drama here. The show wants its viewers to feel good, and does it incredibly well.
Irreverent, meme-worthy comedy that surpasses the first season
The star of Hyakkano is definitely its comedy. The show is incredibly self-aware about its ridiculousness, and doesn’t shy away from breaking the third wall time and time again when it comes to its references regarding its manga counterpart.
Hyakkano continues to do its comedy well, and I argue it does even better with its second season, which is a treat to a fan like me because more often than not, a second season sometimes fails expectations (*cough*My Happy Marriage Season 2*cough*).
Besides that, Season 2 has tons of references to pop culture and other media too, like: Studio Ghibli, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Shoukegi no Soma, and a running gag featuring the classic anime like Heidi. There's even a reference to Warhammer 40,000 (the moment I saw Hahari say “blood for the blood mom!” I pointed at my TV like that one Leonardo Di Caprio meme, true story).
I watched the Japanese dub for Hyakkano Season 2, but I’m sure the English dub was also chock-full of other references specific to its localisation. Either way, I’m sure it’s as funny as it was in Japanese, which I appreciate so much since the last time we got this kind of comedy was in Kaguya-sama: Love is War.
But to me, the crowning comedic glory of this season was the last few minutes of the season finale, where that iconic panel from the manga finally made its way to the anime. Seeing Rentarou list out everything he loves about his girlfriends without even taking a break to breathe for what felt like 2 minutes was everything I’ve ever wanted to see in a romance anime; it’s mad hilarious how he’s obsessed with his girlfriends, while also affirming his position as the greenest flag boyfriend in anime history.
Big props to the production team for this season. Their adaptation brings justice to the source material, and we can’t not highlight the voice performances of the cast. It’s one of the best for the Winter 2025 season, because I have to admit: it’s incredibly difficult to make yourself memorable when you’re one out of potentially 100 girlfriends in a rom-com, but each cast member injected so much life and personality into their characters that I’m equally invested in every single one.
So if you’re looking for a show to watch where you can turn off your brain and have a good laugh, why not give Hyakkano a shot?
