Highlights
- Girlfriend, Girlfriend delivers a subversive take on the harem subgenre, exploring the dynamics of a harem where the characters are already together. It brings heaps of subversive charm and hilarious comedy to the table.
- The characters in Girlfriend, Girlfriend defy traditional harem anime expectations by being supportive of each other's romantic relationships with the protagonist. Genuine feelings of friendship and care develop between the supposed romantic rivals, adding unexpected depth to the narrative.
- The characters in Girlfriend, Girlfriend represent staple character archetypes in anime, but the series adds a unique twist to these archetypes. Naoya, the main character, is a proactive agent who reacts to his romantic and suggestive situations, making him stand out from typical harem MCs.
The following contains spoilers for Girlfriend, Girlfriend, available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Girlfriend, Girlfriend is currently in its second season, picking up from where it left off in its adaptation of Hiroyuki's manga of the same name. While not the most popular title, least of all within the harem subgenre, the series is an interesting exploration of the various tropes that have come to be synonymous with harem anime, beginning with the central element: the harem itself.
With the subgenre inspired largely by visual novels and bishōjo games, the common trajectory of harem anime is for the main character to develop possible romantic relationships but with only one "route" as the endgame; however, Girlfriend, Girlfriend turns this on its very head by positing a harem where the characters are already together. With hilarious comedy and decent emphasis on the emotional aspects of the central romantic dynamic, Girlfriend, Girlfriend brings to the table heaps of subversive charm. Here's how.
To The Max
The first thing about Girlfriend, Girlfriend, is that one must watch it with some level of abandon. The sheer ridiculousness of the characters is very important to the way the plot progresses, as well as the decisions they make (especially the MC), but the value in the narrative lies in its surprisingly consistent foray into more significant emotional matters pertaining to the cast. For instance, the protagonist, Naoya, has been in love with his childhood friend and neighbour, Saki, for years, rolling with rejection after rejection for a long time until she eventually developed feelings for him too, partly due to help from her best friend. On the periphery, Nagisa had been watching and pining for their relationship, falling for Naoya's earnestness and honesty. Naoya's reasoning when it comes to the various solutions he comes to is always simple but fails to recognize nuance and even when he does think about things more thoroughly, he still bulldozes forward led by his own conviction and his desire to make both Nagisa and Saki happy.
On a fundamental level, there is a minor sense of innocence in the dynamic that not only makes their interactions within the relationship particularly devoid of the kind of heated rivalry you'd come to expect, but an actual connection, albeit one built around their relationship with Naoya. So, despite Saki's best friend Shino doing the utmost to put a stop to it and help Saki rapidly progress her relationship with Naoya, Saki also harbours a friendship (perhaps even more) with Nagisa, who is also trying to hold as much space for Saki as she can while doing what she believes is best for her. That isn't to say that they aren't rivals, but that the emphasis has been on the variety of hijinks that take place in the short period of time that they have been living together and dating each other.
What is Competition?
The usual trajectory of a harem anime is that the main character invariably winds up with one of the several love interests presented to them over the course of the narrative; with each of them competing vociferously for the protagonist's affections, often in a dead heat. This aspect is turned on its head in Girlfriend, Girlfriend as Saki actually accepts Naoya's proposition that he date them both after being charmed by Nagisa herself – whether this will develop into Saki and Nagisa dating each other as well is not yet clear, but they are not traditional rivals in romance because they are generally supportive of each other's perceived right to date Naoya. While the Girlfriend, Girlfriend characters are reflective of the development of various harem and romance tropes, and representative of staple character types in anime, the emotional parts of the series add an unexpected depth to the narrative that has otherwise "committed to the bit".
Girlfriend, Girlfriend: The Fireworks Project
Shino hatches a plan to get Naoya and Saki in the right space for their first kiss, but it's far from simple.
Part of this deviation from the norm lies in the development of genuine feelings of friendship and care between the main pair of supposed romantic rivals. As mentioned before, Naoya plays the role of stock male protagonist, anybody that has come to be heavily parodied or subverted in various popular titles like The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. Unlike the stock harem MC, Naoya is particularly open when it comes to talking about his romantic feelings, and isn't in the position where he's trying to decide who to go out with, which gives a rather unique perspective of the harem MC in their relationship after the traditional endgame.
Archetype This
The thing that sets Naoya apart is that he feels less like an audience surrogate who happens to fall into certain romantic or suggestive situations by chance, and more like the agent that reacts to these situations. Saki is an airhead and well-liked character who is technically the childhood friend in the story but is turned into the "school madonna" through Naoya's gaze but is far from extraordinary an element loosely similar to the premise of Saekano, where the heroine was going to be made into the vision of the MC for the sake of a videogame. Nagisa's personality would more closely fit the traditional childhood friend archetype due to her overwhelming feelings of affection for the main character, and how willing she is to change herself for the sake of cultivating a romantic relationship with him. Despite this seemingly dangerous porous sense of self, Nagisa's strongest attribute is her ability to try various things without getting discouraged if they don't go her way.
Milika is the "Ojō-sama" archetype, specifically a "royal brat" with her arrogance and the tantrums she throws whenever things don't go her way, but she's also incredibly passionate and hard-working. Shino is the resident tsundere, but her relationship with herself creates a wildly interesting variation of the archetype. There is a disconnect between Shino's perception of herself and the kindness others see in her particularly resulting from the guilt she feels about the feelings she has for Naoya – feelings she pretends not to have, like the average tsundere. From time to time; however, Shino's gaze softens when she looks at him, and her attempt at kissing him in his sleep shows significant levels of inner turmoil stemming from that one thing. On various levels, Girlfriend, Girlfriend finds ways to play with the expected trajectory of the average harem that make it interesting but also largely successful specifically as a romantic comedy due to the likeability and unexpected personality granted to the cast.