My First Girlfriend is a Gal

Episode 8

This week, My First Girlfriend is a Gal takes its turn on a familiar anime setup: the cast takes a summertime getaway, where pervy guys construct an elaborate plan to peep on girls, only to be thwarted by the male lead. Granted, this situation is virtually obligatory for a fanservice-fueled romantic comedy, and avoiding this setup when Junichi's trio of friends are present would have seemed incongruous, but I really wish these series would come up with some fresher angles – like perhaps having the girls peep on the guys too, for instance.

This week's entire “go full-blown military to peep on the girls in an open-air bath” scenario is essentially a recreation of the well-known Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu? episode of the same premise, and boy does it pale in comparison! Even the way the naughty bits are covered up in the most blatant fanservice scenes is handled less gracefully, although there is something at least a little amusing about the censorship icons in Hajimete no Gal. (The Fumoffu episode relied on conveniently-placed objects, often with a comedic twist, to cleverly obscure the screen.) Most of the rest of the episode is pretty standard stuff: girls feeling each other up in the bath, big-breasted babes cavorting around on the beach in bikinis and pressing themselves against Junichi, semi-erotic applications of suntan lotion, and so forth. And yes, there's the sadly familiar scenes of Minoru perving on little girls. There's an art to making creepy things funny, and this series isn't even close to understanding it. At least the fanservice is plentiful for those who prefer their women busty.

For all the episode's wallowing in generic fanservice elements, it also maintains the series' tradition of occasionally inserting moments to indicate that at least a little thought and effort has gone into the series. When Yukana decides to get the more modestly-chested Yui involved in the group's groping antics, Yui is surprised at first but then reciprocates in the spirit of fun that Yukana clearly intended. (Ranko, on the other hand, undoubtedly had more lascivious intent in starting the incident.) It may be a strange way to demonstrate inclusiveness, but that's exactly what it's intended to be, as Yui lets her hair down to just have some crass fun with the girls. It may well be a turning point for her character. One scene near the end, where Ranko, Yui, and Nene all watch Yukana talking to Junichi about a future date while their sparklers pointedly fizzle out one by one, also struck me as a nice bit of symbolism concerning the status of their romantic chances with either side of the central couple.

With the series now being two-thirds done, the time for a crisis that will set up the series' finale is at hand, and the epilogue suggests a big shakeup in the appearance Yukana's supposed ex, or at least a guy has a strong past connection to her. I can see all kinds of room for Junichi to feel inadequate by comparison here, but we'll save that discussion for next episode.

Rating: C+

My First Girlfriend is a Gal is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.