The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 2 Ep 4 Review
Of all the waifu archetypes in anime, one of the oldest and most respected is that of the maid. The cute outfits, the respectful behavior, the willingness to serve their masters loyally. Many a male anime fan has dreamed of having a cute maid as their girlfriend! However, there’s the expectations, and then there’s the reality of what that’s like. And as Rentaro finds out when he starts a relationship with the Hanazono’s maid, Mei Meido, being a perfect maid does not immediately correlate to being a girlfriend.
Also, I would like to amend my review for the season premiere. It turns out that the first half of the episode wasn’t anime-original. It was a chapter that I had forgotten about.
Mei has some serious issues!
Sad puppy Meido…..#100Girlfriends #hyakkano #アニメ100カノ pic.twitter.com/SWRY0K9GWa
— Anime Culture (@AnimeCulture00) February 3, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
So, having gotten Hahari’s blessing to date Rentaro, Mei shows up at his house so that they can have their first real date. As said before, many young guys would kill for the chance to date a pretty maid girl like Mei. However, Rentaro soon discovers that Mei…has some issues.
Mei is so devoted to her life as Hahari’s maid that she has no interests outside of serving her mistress. When he asks her what she likes, all she can answer with are himself and lady Hahari. Then she tries to drive to both their residences, despite just leaving his!
It gets worse. While she does endear herself with a pre-made lunch, her maid mentality is so thoroughly ingrained into her that Mei needs someone to give her a command. If she had fallen in love with someone with fewer scruples, she could be asked to do things that some might seem indecent. The anime even lampshades how fortunate it is that Rentaro’s love far outweighs his lust. Its pretty clear, though, that, like many of the other girlfriends, Mei has her own, deep-seated issues. And while the anime tries to make light of it with a joke in the stinger, the accompanying flashback makes it clear that Mei’s problems should be taken seriously.
Spoiler alert: Mei’s deadbeat, debt-ridden parents abandoned her in the cold. If Hahari hadn’t found her in time, she would’ve died. Thankfully, not only did Hahari find her, she even offered to adopt her as her daughter. In other words, her non-existent self-esteem led Mei to become slavishly loyal to Hahari.
CHADtaro powers, ACTIVATE!
This looks like a job for…CHADtaro! In this case, he gives Mei thus command to not be of any use to him whatsoever, only to then point out how thats impossible. Why? Because her very existence is helpful to him!
Season 2 episode 3 Mei officially joins the family. I love how the anime handled the segment where she can’t follow Rentarou order to stop making him happy, even more they included her backstory from the bonus chapters, still too dark#100Girlfriends #hyakkano #アニメ100カノ https://t.co/OzCrBIbB79 pic.twitter.com/nVo23RhMCB
— Gabriel Benton (@GabrielBenton10) February 5, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The logic and execution behind it seems crazy, but you can understand what Rentaro is going for. He’s trying to build up Mei’s self-esteem by showing her that she doesn’t need to do anything for him to make him happy. Just existing is enough for him because he’s a CHAD among CHADS. It doesn’t fully snap her out of this way of thinking, but none of the other girlfriends have fully gotten rid of their issues. Nor do they need to, because Rentaro accepts them, faults and all.
And with that, girlfriend #8 has been secured. On to the celebration.
Squirt Gun Fight!
It should be a recognizable formula by one: once Rentaro secures a girlfriend, the Rentaro Family will spend half an episode or a whole episode attempting to integrate the newcomer through comedic hijinks. In this case, Hahari has them all dress up as maids and have a water gun shootout. The winner gets a hug and kiss from Butler Rentaro!
The fight itself is funny due to how seriously (or not) the girls take it. The anime really leans into each girlfriends unique quirks to demonstrate how they win or lose. And, since this is a rom-com harem, each girl gets a gratuitous money shot of them soaked in their maid outfits. Unfortunately, Mei’s loyalty to Hahari leads to none of the girls winning…wait, that’s not unfortunate. They all get a kiss from the best boyfriend in harem anime…and a money shot of Butler Rentaro.
The Greatest punchline to end an Episode!#100Girlfriends #hyakkano #アニメ100カノ pic.twitter.com/5sLH5In71u
— Mandozone (@Beako_MZ) February 2, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
One might think that having the series down to a formula would get boring, but what matters more is the execution. And with how many girlfriends with different personalities will be joining the Family, this isn’t going to get old anytime soon.
Though, admitedly, some of Hahari’s motivations can get grating if they’re not used in moderation. The fact that Hahari saved Mei mainly because she was cute is not something we needed to know!
LOL We all seen it coming…#100Girlfriends #hyakkano #アニメ100カノ pic.twitter.com/aENI0WXp0Z
— Andrew (OtakuSpirit) (@OtakuSpirited) February 2, 2025 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
By the way, they updated the ED since they don’t need to hide Mei anymore! Secret route UNLOCKED!!!
