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Dated 7 September 2021: Kanojo mo Kanojo is a great show because it is preposterous

Nagisa, Naoya, and Saki
It's a pragmatic solution. Don't just dismiss it out of hand.

Not having a whole lot else to watch from the Summer 2021 anime season, I decided to give Kanojo mo Kanojo (Girlfriend, Girlfriend) a try on a goof. It turns out it's sort of fantastic. I initially assumed it was going to another one of those dreary harem comedies with a loathsome male protagonist surrounded by multiple girls who are entirely out of his league and yet inexplicably attracted to him. Or that it was going to be on of those dreary harem comedies where Potato-kun is actually sort of an all right dude, but is inexplicably incapable of noticing that every girl he comes into contact with keeps throwing her panties at him. It turns out Kanojo mo Kanojo is neither of those things. Rather, it's got some manner of Möbius strip horseshoe theory thing going on where all the environmental factors and character decisions that should be working to the show's detriment end up making it better.

Naoya and Nagisa
Busted.

It's no accident Kanojo mo Kanojo is working out this way. The recurring focus of the show's various dilemmas is on an unending series of incorruptibly honest decisions to pursue uncompromising choices that should result in self-destructive consequences by any reasonable objective standard. And yet it all continues to work out. I can't vouch for the manga source material, but the anime embraces the absurdity of its premise and absolutely succeeds in its execution.

Naoya and Saki
Never gonna happen.

Significantly, there is no hint of melodrama. That is something Girlfriend, Girlfriend really cannot afford. If Kanojo mo Kanojo ever decides to examine the consequences and societal frictions associated with polyamorous relationships, or attempts to position the various love interests against each other from hostile postures of envy or jealousy, it will do so at its peril. There had also better not be any of that typical harem comedy bullshit where a series gets its viewers to root for one of the girls to "win." (If it does, the erstwhile winner will probably be First Girl Childhood Friend, even though she has nothing in her favor compared to her rivals except for her hair.)

Rika, Naoya, Nagisa, and Saki
Busted.

Even though I only started watching Girlfriend, Girlfriend a short while ago, it did not take long before I caught up. There are currently 10 episodes out so far and only two to go. Since the source manga still seems to be running (I think eight volumes are out), a non-ending ending to the anime is probably basically guaranteed. I don't know how far Kanojo mo Kanojo can take its premise without getting derailed, but I would be in favor of additional seasons if it can keep up the show's high-intensity, relentless pace episode after episode without running out of steam.

Dated 7 November 2023: There sure is a lot of polygamy this season

Shino and Naoya
Potential Girlfriend Number Three might be Best Girl.

The second season of Kanojo mo Kanojo (Girlfriend, Girlfriend) is currently airing. It's maybe not quite as absurd as its first season, but it's still pretty wild. It's definitely not a series the viewer is meant to take too seriously, but the characters are earnest. If a show about a two-timer forcing himself to keep potential girlfriends numbers three and four at bay isn't wacky enough, this season also includes the anime adaptation of 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 or Hyakkano for short).

Karana, Rentarou, and Hakari
Thanks to divine intervention, Potato-kun pulls chicks like none other.

Spoilers: There aren't really 100 girlfriends in 100 Girlfriends, at least not yet. I presume there eventually will be, but I don't believe the source material has gotten anywhere near that goal yet. I've read some of the manga, and it's reasonably funny, although not really my sort of thing. It's at least successful in running with its ridiculous premise. However, I didn't like the anime as much; I dropped it after only one episode. That's not to say you should avoid the series. Hyakkano seems pretty popular this season (more so than Kanojo mo Kanojo Season 2). I'm simply following too many other anime this season, so a lot of stuff I might watch at other times got cut.