Bad Girl

Episode 8

For as weird as it sounds, this might be the best episode of Bad Girl yet, explicitly because the show's lead, Yuu Yuutani, is used more sparingly. For a show where the entire appeal is its ensemble cast of wacky lesbians bouncing off each other, you'd think that it would give the wackiest lesbian, Yuu, as much screen time as possible. However, in this episode, Yuu is deployed more strategically and her wildest tendencies are tempered, resulting in one of the most grounded and enjoyable episodes of Bad Girl yet.

The opening segment features Suzu, Atori, and later Kiyoraka running into each other at a shopping mall. After trying to bail on a social interaction that she hasn't budgeted the energy for (mood), Suzu notes that Atori is dressed weirdly in a t-shirt that reads “Rejoice” over a multi-colored long-sleeve that does not match. Atori explains that she chose her outfit because she felt like the clothes were calling to her, and I now firmly believe that Atori is a person who's been coasting entirely on her pretty privilege and innate academic ability. This girl does not have a lick of common sense, and she's never had to learn things like how to dress herself or other kinds of social decorum, as she can succeed in more defined social structures, while most people will bend over backwards to accommodate her.

It's been clear since more or less the first episode that Atori should not be placed on the pedestal Yuu puts her on, but seeing the specific ways in which Atori is also a little weirdo adds some much-needed depth to her character and gives her some good juxtaposition with the more worldly and intimidating Suzu.

As this segment goes on, Suzu and Kiyoraka take Atori shopping for a new outfit, with Suzu advocating for a perfectly respectable fit and Kiyoraka, ever eager to see how far she can push things, encouraging Atori to wear an even stranger ensemble. In the best joke of the episode, if not the season, Suzu decides to send Yuu pictures of Atori in both outfits to have her pick the better one. Though expected, but no less hilarious, Yuu responds with a novel-length text that's far too enthusiastic and weirds out the three other girls. The anime speeding up Yuu enthusiastically reading her text message was a great touch, and even if this is a retread of the 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Love You season two finale joke, it's still phenomenal.

The middle segment features Yuu having Suzu pretend to be Atori so she can practice asking her crush out on a school-sponsored camping trip. While Yuu's adorable struggles to even pretend to ask Atori out are cute and mildly entertaining, the real draw of this part comes from Suzu's reaction to the experience. She's despondent, frustrated, and even a little harsh with Yuu, and as the audience, we know it's because she's crushing on Yuu and a part of her wishes she were getting this level of affection from her friend. The ending to this segment also seems to hint that Atori is aware of Suzu's feelings towards Yuu, which means that the vague love triangle at the core of this show might finally be taking shape! Last up is a longer ending segment that features Yuu wildly over-preparing for this camping trip, and Suzu having to help her friend figure out what camping equipment she should actually take with her. Between this relatable over-packing impulse and Yuu and Suzu accidentally blinding themselves with a military grade flashlight, I got a lot of laughs out of these teenagers acting like real-world dumbass teenagers. This is only further proof that Bad Girl is at its best when its characters and situations are more grounded.

The back half of this ending segment focuses on Yuu having to take a separate bus to the campground from either Suzu or Atori, and it was both surprising and interesting to see how despondent and awkward the normally enthusiastic Yuu was without either girl to use as a social crutch! While Yuu's over-the-top mannerisms are usually played for laughs and normalized by the cast, this bit reveals that she's over-reliant on her friends and is maybe fixating on Atori to avoid working on herself. It's doubtful that she'll have the time to do that on this trip, though, as the end of episode 8 sets up the next with both Yuu and Atori being left behind at a rest stop by the buses.

The post-credits scene of this episode features Atori glomping Suzu in their school's hallway, and Atori admitting to Kiyoraka that she's more playful with Suzu because she doesn't adore her like much of the student body. This season of Bad Girl will have a very strong finish if the following episodes can keep up this caliber of grounded character writing and execution on the relationship drama that seems about ready to boil over.

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Lucas DeRuyter is the de facto Bad Boy of anime reviews (no one else was using the moniker). He rolls with ANN's This Week and Anime crew, and you can check out his coolest work in his portfolio. You can also find him sticking it to the man on his Bluesky account.

Bad Girl is currently streaming on HIDIVE.