Dating and romantic comedies in anime have usually been fluffy affairs. But three anime, Hyakkano, KanoKano S2, and Kimizero, turn comedy into bombshells and landmines in the Fall 2023 season. All three anime focus on a lead boy character with no experience dating girlfriends. The girls, in turn, enthusiastically agree to enter a relationship with him, no matter how strange the situation might be.
Kimizero (経験済みなキミと、経験ゼロなオレが、お付き合いする話。, Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi., Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me) follows a more traditional path of a nerdy high school boy accidentally dating a flashy gyaru. Think of Hajimete no Gal, My Dress-Up Darling, and More than a Married Couple but Not Lovers for the general feel of romantic beats and comedy.
Both KanoKano (カノジョも彼女, Kanojo mo Kanojo, Girlfriend, Girlfriend) and Hyakkano (君のことが大大大大大好きな100人の彼女, Kimi no Koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You) are absurdist romantic comedies specializing in outrageous slapstick antics.
Usually, an anime season will have only one comedy where a nerd (or other social outcast) dates a girlfriend outside his social hierarchy. This fall season has three! An avid anime fan can’t help comparing these three romantic comedies. Are they the same? How are they different? We have two absurdist harem premises and one potential heartbreaker, so let’s start with Kimizero.
Kimizero — A Question of “Should He Get the Girlfriend,” Not “Will He?”
Kimizero touts itself as a nerdy fish out of water tale, and that guppy starts swimming with a flashy shark. Our hapless self-insert character, Ryuuto, asks out the prettiest, flashiest gyaru in school, Luna, as punishment for scoring higher on midterms than his buddies have. He did not expect her to say yes! Luna is an odd choice for a girlfriend in a comedy. Why? Because she has actual sexual experience. In high school. Those character parameters regularly appear in dramas or in comedic side characters. The audience should not have to consider the virginity gap between an “easy girl” we’re supposed to root for. Kimizero is an anime comedy, not Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Can’t Buy Me Love. Will the audience accept how our inexperienced lead character hopes to instill virtue back into an experienced gyaru? That sounds too heavy for funny themes.
Happy Ending Girlfriend or Good End?
Anime fans can forgive a lot in a show if its art quality exceeds its storytelling reach. Unfortunately, studio ENGI does itself no favors with its bland character designs and lackluster color palette. Kimizero is the sort of anime where background characters need to tell you how beautiful characters are because they look the same. Ryuuto’s anxiety and doubts about Luna’s sincerity for going out with him ring true but border on the cringy simp vibes of Rent-A-Girlfriend. For Luna’s part, she’s never been a girlfriend who didn’t smash on the first date. Remember, in high school. From Ryuuto’s perspective on the bottom rung of the high school hierarchy, she’s an angel who comes to visit him from heaven. The view from the top of the heap is not as kind, specifically from the popular boys who have already sampled her wares.
Kimizero appears to be the high school equivalent of a regular at a strip club falling for a dancer and hoping to “change her.” That similar parasocial air permeated Rent-A-Girlfriend and quickly wore thin. Kimizero is not the second coming of Hajimete no Gal. Ryuuto and Luna’s friends look like they have better stories to tell, so I’m still watching to find out what they are.
Kimizero (Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles.
Hyakkano and KanoKano — Ridiculously Fun Harem Comedies
I watched the first season of KanoKano and laughed every time the overly earnest Naoya declared his love for two girlfriends in embarrassingly overt ways. KanoKano gave me secondary chuckles when the dumbest characters confidently agreed with absurd logic, saying “確かに (たしかに, tashikani — surely, certainly).” Don’t play the “tashikani” drinking game during KanoKano. Your liver will thank me. The second season starts with Shino, Sakisaki’s best friend, moving into the harem house over summer break. She claims she’s there to stop Naoya from two-timing Sakisaki with Nagisa, but she has a predictable ulterior motive. Delicious harem dynamics! While Nagisa and Sakisaki end up in over-the-top sexy encounters to competitively prove their feelings for Naoya, Shino has a different superpower: she’s the lucky lecher girlfriend Naoya needs in his life! Things are already hectic because Rika, the live streamer, moved in next door.
Hyakkano relies on a supernatural mistake to gather a hundred soulmates in Rentarou’s arms. He gained two in one swoop from the accidental corner-turn maneuver on the first day of school. That’s efficient soulmating! We can see from the opening and ending credits that Rentarou will collect five soulmate girlfriends this season. Are you ready to watch nineteen more seasons of Hyakkano? I bet the god’s clerical error will find a correction before then. If “tashikani” is the rallying cry of KanoKano, “suki” is the word for Hyakkano. The first two soulmates, twin-tailed tsundere Karane and thicc, thigh-mole Hakari, say they love Rentarou so many times. The competitive spirit to gain harem points runs through both Hyakkano and KanoKano. How do you spend an afternoon cutting class to achieve a first kiss with blindfolds and throwing dice? Hyakkano found a way.
Love This Girlfriend Quality, Surely
KanoKano S2 has a new studio handling production, with SnergySP taking over from Tezuka Productions, but I can’t see any differences. It has a different director and character designer, but the series composition remains the same under Keichirou Oochi. The high-energy baka jokes will fly fast and furiously. Tashikani!
The character designs for Hyakkano impressed me! Hakari’s soft, fleshy thighs are costars in their own right. Thank Akane Yano and Bibury Animation Studios for adapting the original character designer Yukiko Nozawa’s style from Rikito Nakamura’s manga. I look for Hakari’s thigh-mole every chance I get. Also, for anime fans of culture, Hyakkano has uncensored string pantsu. Kitties love them!
Both KanoKano S2 (Girlfriend, Girlfriend) and Hyakkano (The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You) stream on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles.
Will you be watching Kimizero? How about KanoKano S2? Will you practice your pause trigger to find Hakari’s mole in Hyakkano? Let us know in the comments below or online on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord.
Would you like an experienced gal girlfriend like Luna? J-List has some inspiration for your fantasies in Issa Miyamoto’s Iikedo, Naishone — Okay, But Keep it a Secret. I love that Tanned Waifus tag!
