Girlfriend, Girlfriend (2021)

[カノジョも彼女]

Director: Satoshi Kuwabara
Studio: Tezuka Productions
Starring: Junya Enoki, Ayana Taketatsu, Ayane Sakura
Episodes: 12

Synopsis:
When a cute and diligent classmate asks him out, Naoya Mukai can't refuse and so the only solution he can think of is to ask his girlfriend for permission to date both of them.

Impressions:
This seems to be rather contentious in the fan community, but I was hooked right away by the silliness of the premise and enjoyed the ride fully. The original concept comes from the mind that brought us Aho-Girl, so stupidity is at the core of the comedy, which is good fun if you jibe with it, but if you find yourself disconnected, you're only going to pick at all the dumb stuff that happens. If played seriously, a lot of the characters and situations would be terrible, but that was the case with Aho-Girl as well. Our male lead Naoya is straight as an arrow and dumb as a rock at the same time, who charges into situations like a bull in a china shop. I particularly want to praise Ayana Taketatsu's performance as Girlfriend #1 Saki, who really delivers when it comes to reacting to all Naoya's nonsense. There's more than enough to work with just focusing on the misadventures of our core trio, but we can't just have a simple love triangle in a story like this. While I don't like the third love interest Milika, I do appreciate her function in the story for instigating trouble (and keeping Saki and Nagisa from getting complacent). Due to this only being twelve episodes, we only just start to explore Shino the fourth character in the final arc, but we'll get more if there's a sequel. In the end, give the first few episodes a shot and if you're liking the sense of humor, you should consistently enjoy yourself. If not, the style isn't going to change significantly, so spare yourself any further pain. With that caveat in mind, I'm going to say give it a watch.

Rating:
Watch It