Key Takeaways
- "Girlfriend, Girlfriend" Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, with the trio's complicated relationship and the introduction of Shino's romantic feelings for Naoya.
- The first episode retains the same charm and ridiculousness as the first season, with a focus on Nagisa's academic struggles and the trio's desperate mission to help her pass her exams.
- The episode showcases the characters' defining traits and introduces some wild developments, including Shino moving in with the trio and Milika's tantrum over Shino's presence. More comedy and ridiculousness are expected in the upcoming season.
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The following contains spoilers for Girlfriend, Girlfriend Season 2, Episode 1, "Get 'Em Go Go Summer Break!!", available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
Girlfriend, Girlfriend is back in full swing, and it picks up right from where it left off, with the reveal of the main trio's relationship with Saki's best friend; Shino. The wackiness continues in this first episode of season 2, titled, "Get 'Em Go Go Summer Break!!" which follows the trio's desperate mission to get Nagisa's academics back on track, or risk having her end up where no student ever wants to be: summer school.
The first episode of season 2 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend was full of life and comedy, retaining much of the first season's charm and sheer ridiculousness. So how did it manage to build off what season 1 set-up?
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Obsession
The episode kicks off with a recap of last season, with focus on Shino's brewing romantic feelings for Naoya, and the reason why she is so invested in his and Saki's relationship. She even has an investigation board complete with photos of Saki, Naoya, even the wildcard that is Milika, not to mention a concerning high-detail sketch of Nagisa (as if the board itself wasn't already weird enough). As seen at the end of last season, Shino is trying to kill her own feelings for Naoya for the obvious reason that he is Saki's boyfriend, and he has always been in love with her, so she never thought it necessary to confront nor confess those feelings because it always seemed like an exercise in futility.
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As someone who has been on the sidelines to witness the development of the relationship from that of a childhood friendship to full-blown romance, Shino had fully given up on Naoya before Nagisa's arrival, which rekindles the feelings she is trying to extinguish because it means she still has a chance. When Saki trick Shino into coming to their residence, she arrives only to be presented with their dilemma: if Nagisa fails three of her coming exams, she won't be able to go on their planned summer vacation trip, meaning that she'll be missing out on quality time with Naoya (and Saki).
Tsundere
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Before asking Shino for help, Saki and Naoya, who are both fairing a little better than Nagisa in their academics try to help her out, but Naoya's only method of approaching any scenario is to brute force and cram, which isn't helpful given that they don't have the time and Nagisa burns out quickly. Saki is smarter than Naoya, but she realizes that if Nagisa has to go to summer school, then she and Naoya will have alone time while on vacation. She comically begins feeding the wrong information to sweet Nagisa who is ever so trusting, but Naoya puts a stop to the sabotage, but as we know, the friendly struggle between Saki and Nagisa continues. When she arrives at Naoya's place, Shino is shocked to find out that the three of them have actually been living together for about a month and a half now, with not a parent in sight.
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While she is intelligent and perceptive, Shino is also very shy, perhaps even a little prudish, so their whole arrangement sounds rather "indecent" to her innocent ears; however, they assure her that no perverse activity has taken place. Nagisa's predicament is because she totally slacked off after achieving her desired relationship with Naoya – her whole reason for pushing herself academically in middle school was to attend the same school as Naoya and catch his attention. When that goal was achieved, Nagisa stopped caring about school, so she is several weeks behind where she should be. Shino initially shows no interest in helping the girl who she sees as a threat to her best friend's relationship, and expresses her contempt towards Nagisa; however, after Naoya himself begs and pleads with his usual unmistakable sincerity by deleting the video that Nagisa took last season as blackmail to keep her quiet about the polyamory. Shino folds, revealing a rather kind and caring interior that is a gap from her prickly personality.
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Illogical Conclusion
The best thing about Girlfriend, Girlfriend is that each of the characters lean heavily into their defining traits to the point of it being utterly ridiculous – Naoya is stupid but honest and pure to a fault; Nagisa is stupid but extremely caring and hardworking, Saki is stupid but also lazy and easily influenced; Milika is stupid but also crazy; while Shino is the smart the one – her opinion is greatly appreciated by the main trio, who all manage to pass their exams because of her. The wildest development of the first episode is when Shino decides to move in with them during summer break to prove to them that "two-timing doesn't work", which offends Milika because when she wanted to move in, they made her live in the backyard.
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Milika owns the second half of the episode as she barricades herself at Naoya's front door to avoid Shino's move, throwing a tantrum and accusing her of having a crush on Naoya too. Introducing Risa, Milika's younger sister and fellow MeTuber who is taken aback by the level of stupidity exhibited by her usually capable older sister. Earlier, Milika drugged Naoya and brought him back to her house to meet Risa, in an attempt to appeal to Naoya, who told her that he's always wanted a little sister. She saw this as an opportunity to appeal to Naoya, claiming that he can become a big brother through marrying her; but he points out that if Milika would much rather date someone who isn't dating her with ulterior motives, let alone a motive as dubious as that. The episode ends with Milika moving into the apartment building next door, setting up for more ridiculousness and comedy in the season ahead.
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MORE: Girlfriend, Girlfriend: What to Expect From Season 2 (According to the Manga)