Summer 2021 Anime: Girlfriend, Girlfriend

Synopsis

Naoya Mukai is a first-year high school student who has been confessing his feelings for his childhood friend, Saki Saki, every month since he was in the first grade of elementary school. Finally, upon entering high school, she said yes and they started dating.

Naoya is at the height of his happiness.

One day, a beautiful girl named Nagisa Minase appears in front of him and out of the blue asks Naoya to go out with her. She’s bubbly, hard-working, and a great cook. His reaction is shocked by how good she is, so he brings Saki and Nagisa together, then makes a proposal.

(Source: Muse Asia)

Comments

Dany Muhammad (The Indonesian Anime Times)

Don’t cheat on me secretly, okay?
Then I want to two-time you fair and square

I know there are many people diminishing this anime as problematic, and maybe it really is. In Girlfriend, Girlfriend, Naoya promises his girlfriend Saki to never secretly cheat on her. But after Nagisa confesses her love to Naoya, he becomes confused; Nagisa is just too cute. His solution? Ask Saki so he can cheat on her openly. Saki, is reasonably angry, of course. Yet, she can’t fully reject his idea because… she also agrees that Nagisa is cute? What? Really, if you think the premise is stupid, I don’t blame you.

However, when I examine how the first episode constructs its joke, I feel there is something more. For example, when Naoya promises that he won’t cheat on her secretly, doesn’t that mean it makes sense for him to cheat openly? And that’s how most of the jokes build in the first episode. It’s like a war between logic and common sense, where one character takes logic too literally and forgetting the context behind it. It creates a situation of total absurdity, and that absurdity is executed brilliantly. At this point, you’ll laugh because your common sense can point out how wrong the characters are.

So, should you watch this anime? Well, if you are looking for a comedy, I genuinely recommend it. It’s one of the funniest anime this season. Some people will say this anime is stupid but understanding that its stupidity is part of the charm. An Indonesian comedian has said, “people laugh not simply because something is funny, it is also because they understand”. If you understand how stupid the premise is, then you should watch Girlfriend, Girlfriend.

Girlfriend, Girlfriend is currently streaming on Muse Asia

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times