WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 1 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend, "Even If That Isn't The Right Way" now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Summer 2021 anime season has officially begun, and the season's newest romance, Girlfriend, Girlfriend, is already breaking the mold. The anime follows one Naoya Mukai, a high-schooler who just started dating his childhood friend Saki. But no relationship is without its bumps in the road, so Girlfriend, Girlfriend has another girl, Nagisa Minase, confess to Naoya in the very first episode. Now Naoya is faced with a situation primed for a harem: two girls and only one of him. He really wants to date both of them at the same time, despite the obvious problems over the horizon.
Girlfriend, Girlfriend's first episode really primes viewers for the tone and expectations for the rest of the series. Naoya wastes no time in approaching Saki about solving his problem. To be fair, it takes a lot of guts to ask a current girlfriend for permission to date another girl at the same time. But then, maybe a future potentially filled with as many girlfriends as he can handle is great motivation.
Episode 1 begins with Naoya absolutely fangirling over Saki, his childhood crush who finally agreed to go out with him after years of just being friends. They share a cute moment in the classroom, and while Saki's first impression makes her seem stubborn and demanding, it's obvious that she truly likes Naoya and wants to keep him around. They seem like the perfect couple, albeit loud and overly affectionate. But as soon as Nagisa confesses to Naoya in the very next scene, it's as if Naoya totally forgets about Saki. He just sees another cute girl who is vying for his attention -- Nagisa even practiced cooking so she could give Naoya a delicious bento box to sway his decision. Naoya totally falls for her strategy and wants to date her as well. He explains to her about Saki, but admits how frustrated he is that he simply cannot date both of them at the same time. So he drags Nagisa along to go find Saki.
Unsurprisingly, Nagisa is completely game for his plan to date both of them, satisfied to get at least some of Naoya's attention as opposed to absolutely nothing. When Saki first meets Nagisa, she's overwhelmed by how cute she is and even comments that she wants to go out with her. Later on, she even says that she is curious about girls. At first glance, it seems like Naoya's totally thoughtless idea may actually work out.
When Naoya actually asks Saki if he can go out with both of them at once, she is understandably furious. But between his pleas and Nagisa's willingness, Saki is kind of stuck. She really wants to be with him, so she's essentially cornered into saying yes. And like any good harem anime, Naoya suggests that they just start living together, that very night. Back at his apartment, which he lives in by himself, the three of them try to sort out how their new three-way relationship will work.
Towards the end of the episode, they start to discuss sex and, of course, Naoya has to suggest a threesome -- his ideal sexual situation with both of them. For two high-schoolers who seem to be virgins, this is a lot to handle. While Nagisa seems down for anything, Saki is more reserved as she and Naoya haven't even kissed yet.
Suffice to say that Girlfriend, Girlfriend truly idealizes the male harem fantasy in the purest way possible. Two cute girls, who are totally different from one another, both want to be with Naoya. As a Hail Mary, he tries for a three-way relationship and, so far, he seems to be succeeding. This dynamic will come with many obstacles, and while the first episode of the anime focuses on the sexual, silly nature of their relationship, there will be emotional consequences for this compromise with Saki.
