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Under the production of Bibury Animation Studios, 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 premiered on January 12, 2025. The episode marked the return of Rentaro Aijo, his soulmates, and their exhilarating rom-com story. The esteemed studio perfectly balanced the romance and comedy genre to provide fans with a captivating experience.
From the side-splitting humor to the rich narrative, 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 had everything fans would have wanted from the sequel. Undoubtedly, the series had one of the best starts among the many titles from the Winter 2025 anime line-up.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1.
100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 review: Evaluating the adaptation and Bibury Animation Studio's production
There were plenty of apprehensions prior to the release of 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 regarding the sequel's quality. Days before the show's premiere, the sequel's chief animation directed posted a series of tweets, which sent the show's future in jeopardy. Many fans felt the anime might not turn up as good as the studio had promised.
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However, the premiere of 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 left all the doubts to dust. With crisp and clear animation, excellent voice acting, and solid camera angles, the premiere set the narrative for the sequel in motion.
From an adaptation perspective, the episode covered chapters 23 to 24 and the first few pages of chapter 25 from author Rikito Nakamura and illustrator Yukiko Nozawa's manga series. However, the episode changed a few narrative points here and there for the sake of the anime adaptation.
Additionally, a few anime original contexts were added. For example, 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 commenced with a "refresher" from the God of Love, reminding fans about Rentaro Aijo and his unusual fate.
The opening sequence was a nice addition, as it ensured the audience wouldn't forget about the series. The next moment, 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 returned to the main adaptation. Following the opening scene, the narrative switched to the rooftop, where Hakari Hanazono explained how most relationships go into a period of ennui after three months.
She feared the same could happen to them with Rentaro. Notably, Bibury Production Studios changed a key context from the manga on that scene. In the manga, Hakari broke the fourth wall and mentioned how they had been dating Rentaro since the first chapter of volume one.
She also explained how they were on chapter 23, i.e., at the end of the third volume. The anime, on the other, saw Hakari mention that they last appeared in the first season's final episode in December 2023. In other words, Hakari breaking the fourth wall remained the same, while the context was slightly changed.
Besides that, 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 saw a rather direct adaptation from the manga, with some minor adjustments here and there. Most importantly, the episode didn't reduce the wholesome moments from the manga.
The first half of 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 covered chapter 23, showcasing how Rentaro Aijo's six soulmates had their bodies swapped due to Kusuri's failed experiment. Eventually, they decided to kiss Rentaro to return to their original bodies.
The absurdity of the situation was the highlight, as Hakari, Nano, Kusuri, Hahari, Shizuka, and Karane kissed Rentaro one by one, and passed out. The act transferred their soul to their original bodies. Undoubtedly, the first segment captured the series' essence.
Abundant with side-splitting comedy and rom-com flavor, the segment offered fans a wholesome experience. However, it wouldn't have been possible without the proper voice acting by the Seiyuus (voice actors). Most importantly, the Seiyuus had to mimic the personality of the other soulmates of Rentaro. Therefore, it was an exceedingly tough scene to record.
Besides that, the deliberate goofy art in some frames added to the comedic flavor of the episode. The moments where Rentaro's girlfriends kissed him were also nicely done. Although the segment didn't require the OSTs that much, Bibury Animation Studios has done enough to ensure the audience wouldn't feel bored.
Most importantly, the opening segment for the 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 was key to giving the returning fans a taste of the previous installment. The actual narrative commenced in the second half, with the introduction of Kurumi Haraga, Rentaro Aijo's seventh soulmate.
Voiced by Amane Shindo, Kurumi Haraga's character added another layer of complexity to Rentaro Aijo's harem, with her interesting personality. According to 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1, Kurumi gets "cranky" when she's hungry.
Moroever, her fixation on a specific food is immense, which often leads her to have anger issues. That's why, she lashed at Rentaro Aijo when the boy asked her why she came to the high school's cafeteria when she was from the middle school.
Yet, when Rentaro shared half of his lunch with her, Kurumi realized her mistake and apologized to the boy. Slowly but surely, Kurumi developed feelings for Rentaro. Especially when the boy prepared a sandwich that she badly wanted to eat, Kurumi realized how special Rentaro truly was.
She felt she wanted to eat lunches with him more as his girlfriend. The feeling was mutual for Rentaro, as she couldn't deny Kurumi's feelings. Undoubtedly, Bibury Animation Studios has done a sound job in capturing Rentaro Aijo's chemistry with Kurumi.
Although Kurumi has yet to completely adjust to Rentaro's other girlfriends, the narrative for the 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 has already laid the foundation for that. Yet aside from the narrative, mention has to be made of Bibury Animation Studio's production.
Besides remaining true to the source material, the esteemed studio added many subtle original moments to enhance the episode's appeal. Undoubtedly, the production studio has promised a lot with only one episode.
Conclusion
100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 episode 1 was a brilliant exposition from Bibury Animation Studios, encapsulating the flavors of romance and comedy in a seamless blend.
The episode was truly an exhilarating experience for fans, with all the hilarity and side-splitting comedy. Now, it remains to be seen whether Bibury Animation Studios can maintain the same quality for the rest of the sequel.
Also read:
- 100 Girlfriends Who Really Love You season 2 complete release schedule
- My Happy Marriage season 2 episode 2 review
- Solo Leveling season 2 episode 2 review
