Mostly this volume makes me want to re-read old ones and see if that running gag about the park names has been going on for longer than I’ve noticed.
Otherwise, it’s clear that the basic formula of 100 Girlfriends, etc. has been put on lock. New girlfriend arrives, the whole cast tries out their quirk, do some other asides with the girls in smaller groups, rinse and repeat.
And it’s fine, but I’ve gotten a little worn out as this has gone on and I think that the very, very brave attempt to live up to its title has finally sent this to critical mass as far as cast size goes.
By which I mean, it is the first volume where somebody popped up and I had zero idea what their quirky trait was or who they were. I mean, I am old, but I’m not that old. Well, I am, but that’s not the point.
The new girl, Tama, is a literal cat-girl, in the sense that she wants to live as a cat instead of a human. I’m surprised it took this long, honestly, and she has a really great design that I’m less likely to not remember.
Her story is actually kind of tragic, as somebody who had no affection for work and was beaten down by holding a job that it eventually took her to a dark place. It might be too tragic for something this goofy.
Anyway, the rest of it is… fine. I have no regrets continuing with this in its later, less surprising, era, but I do miss the feeling that the earlier volumes had. The jokes were fresher and landed more readily.
I mean, I will at least give a shout-out to the chapter where we meet Karane’s family. Seeing our tsundere girlfriend at home could have gone one of two ways, and, while I believe the most obvious choice was made, I think it might be the best chapter in several volumes.
Otherwise? Pretty much business as usual. If your favourite(s) gets a clever moment or two, well, that’s the best you can hope for and certainly more than enough for some people. Absolutely nothing wrong with that; it’s not like I dislike this, it just doesn’t wow me any more.
3 stars - yeah, it’s fine. I won’t go out of my way for it, but I won’t stop reading it soon either. And it still has Uto, which counts for a lot.