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We've finally reached the pinnacle of the harem genre.

No longer, brothers and sisters, no longer must we argue and bicker over which girl deserves to win, no longer must there be losers in this game of Win-a-Chance-to-Kiss-in-The-Last-Chapter. Rejoice, for here there are no heroines that go un-loved and un-smooched by the walking testosterone machine that is protagonist Rentarou Aijou.

You've heard of two-timing, you might've heard of three-or-more timing, and if you're reading 100 Girlfriends, you've probably heard of Kanojo mo Kanojo. But I dare you to recount if you have ever heard of such a thing as one-hundred-timing. You may call me a liar, you ... may discard my words as the ramblings of a madman, you may even refute with, "Nobody's dick's that long. Not even Long Dick Johnson, and he had a fucking long dick." But I beckon thee; feast your eyes, unbeliever, and gaze unto Eden, yea, therein originates The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You.

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Allow me to start by admitting that I am a shameless fan of harem manga, be it the aforementioned Kanojo mo Kanojo, the likes of To LOVE-Ru, or even Rental Girlfriend. I can't help but indulge in manga like these, even ones that are super flawed. As such, be mindful of my bias as you read onward, but I will assert here and now that not only is 100 Girlfriends a good harem manga, it's a good manga outright. The chief factor(s) in my assertion are the characters.

The characters of 100 Girlfriends are the bread and butter of this manga. After all, there will be a hundred of them eventually, so it's the one area you really cannot be fucking up. Thankfully, my expectations have been thoroughly exceeded throughout these 92 chapters spanning 18 girlfriends, all of whom I confidently remember the names of (certified Idolm@ster player here).

You'd think that after 15+ girlfriends it'd be inevitable to observe some overlap in archetypes (which admittedly remains to be seen until we hit triple digits), but each girl retains a unique personality and appearance. Take Karane, for example: the stock twin-tail/small-chest/tsundere of the ensemble. Already, we have a winning combination here, but she additionally plays the straight man when the others get out of hand (i.e. every other chapter because this manga gets super wild). The straight man role is shared with Kurumi, yet the two still distinguish themselves from each other with their respective traits and quirks - they are not interchangeable, and neither are any other two characters in this manga. Unlike similar stories with a massive cast (cough cough Komi-san), everyone has two or more distinguishing traits, creating truly unique and memorable characters.

But these characters would be nothing if not for their interactions with each other. The cast affectionately refer to the harem as 'Rentarou's Family', a nickname as endearing as it is accurate. While reading, you get a sense that these people enjoy spending time around one another. Not only do the girlfriends not compete for Rentarou's attention, some of them also get together outside of the love nest that is the school's rooftop, minus - critically - the male lead. Girls from similar manga usually seem incapable of personal agency, never allowing themselves to lead lives detached from the almighty protagonist. You can imagine my pleasant surprise every time a chapter is dedicated to developing two of the girlfriends and their relationship betwixt each other, not Rentarou.

These chapters are often wholesome and heartfelt, giving the reader a look into the minds of the characters. While other harem stories have tried this before, 100 Girlfriends goes above and beyond to endear the reader with meaningful interactions in even the standard story chapters. The result is a complex web of relationships across all the girls: you have Meme's admiration for Mimimi, Mimimi's rivalry with Nano, Nano's fondness of Shizuka, it goes on and on. These characters feel like real people, and by extension make Rentarou's Family feel like an organic group of close friends. Speaking of Rentarou, we can't forget the main character.

Male leads in harem stories are typically antisocial, timid, insecure headcases that desperately need dragging out of their comfort zone by a cute/extroverted/somehow-into-all-the-same-hobbies waifu that will love him unconditionally. They are boys lacking direction and purpose, without any confidence in themselves or their relationships with others.

Rentarou is not one of those boys.

After a hundred rejections throughout his formative years, Rentarou Aijou is ready to put everything into this massively polygamous relationship to make it work no matter what - and he does just that. The amount of dedication, attention, and love he provides to each and every one of his girlfriends is truly, legitimately, unironically admirable. Not only does he always know exactly what to say, but he means it with all of his being. The lengths he goes to in order to satisfy his soulmates are beyond the limits of the human body. But Rentarou does not care, because Rentarou is a goddamned MAN. Rentarou Aijou is a man among men, a king of kings, an exemplar not only to all other harem protagonists, but to all men around the world. Take notes, Kazuya.

Interestingly, a large part of all this development and character interaction is cleverly drawn into the backdrop of panels, so while those in the foreground are moving the plot of the chapter along, the reader can sometimes notice the girlfriends doing something or other in the background. It is here I declare that artist Yukiko Nozawa is the unsung hero of 100 Girlfriends. The attention to detail in these backdrops that some readers might skim over without noticing is superb, and this only increases as more girlfriends join Rentarou's Family. Bear in mind, this is a weekly manga. WEEKLY! Nozawa does such a good job that even the characters of the manga themselves thank her for all her hard work. Wait, so she's not unsung at all, rad.

The comedy of 100 Girlfriends is derived partially from the complete embrace of total levity. This manga does not take itself seriously at ALL, never above poking fun at itself/the author/the genre as a whole. Characters like Karane constantly jab at the wacky situations everyone finds themselves in, fourth wall breaks are frequent, and of course those classic interactions between girlfriends lends itself to hilarity as well. Even during more serious scenes, you can expect a gag to break the tension so unexpectedly that you WILL be caught off-guard.

This lax attitude of 100 Girlfriends does help the reader "turn their brain off", which makes it easier to waive some of the more risque chapters and plotlines. Never mind the ethics of one-hundred-timing, some of Rentarou's girlfriends have, shall we say, significant age differences, not to mention the debatably contentious actions of certain large-chested mothers. All I'm saying is if this manga ever gets an anime adaptation, expect Twitter to be as livid if not more so than when Uzaki came out. That sounds pretty based in my opinion, but if you're concerned about that sort of thing then hey, it's your prerogative, so consider this fair warning before diving into this manga.

While there are no side girls (as in losing girls), there are side characters - characters not belonging to Rentarou's Family, only there to facilitate the story and ground the world of 100 Girlfriends. Personally, what I find separates great stories from truly incredible stories is the supporting cast, for reasons I mentioned in the previous sentence. Too often, harem manga feel like they revolve around the exalted harem protagonist, the world existing only to serve as his hunting ground. But this is not so in 100 Girlfriends, no no; even with the promise of a hundred girlfriends, some women in this world are not meant to be with Rentarou. That's right - despite the impending necessity of writing another ~80 or so unique girlfriends, author Rikito Nakamura has the guts to then sink time into writing unique female characters that are explicitly NOT part of Rentarou's harem. Hats off to him, that is seriously commendable.

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You cements itself as the template for all future harem manga that will inevitably come to be. The greatest strength of 100 Girlfriends is its cast of unique characters and their interactions with each other. My personal favorite so far is Iku, but really they're ALL best girl. Few manga can get me hooked on every single character, but 100 Girlfriends does just that. And them's the facts.