My Girlfriend is Shobitch (Season One)

For the longest time, Haruka Shinozaki has had a crush on Akiho Kousaka but never acted on it. Now that they’re in the same class, he’s finally going to do it. What’s the worst that could happen?
My Girlfriend is Shobitch (Season One)
What did you watch?
This was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment sort of decision. I’d seen My Girlfriend is Shobitch advertised on HiDive for quite some time but never really given it much thought. Clearly, repetitive advertising works because I saw it pop up again and decided to give it a go. I’m a sucker for the goofy high school romance ecchi title and this seemed to tick all the boxes. I’ll admit I was intrigued by the word Shobitch too and wanted to see exactly what one was. Ironically, the series never uses the word or explains it, but it’s an amalgamation of shoujo and bitch which is supposed to mean slutty virgin… Intrigue intensifies! Anyhow, let’s get into it.

What happened?
It took him all of his courage and he had no idea what to expect. So, you can imagine his surprise when she said yes and since he was her first boyfriend, she would learn all forty-eight positions… Haruka took a moment to really understand what Akiho had just said. Anyhow, she was his girlfriend now and that was what he set out to achieve. It was time to head home for the day and Haruka found Shizuku, his childhood friend and Kanata his little sister waiting to walk home together. They were busy teasing him so he figured he would tell them later.
Back at school, Haruka found out that Akiho wasn’t joking about the positions. She also had a number of questions so that they could get to know each other better. The first question was what was his sexual fantasy… Haruka asked if she needed to know that so soon and she told him that in order to be a good girlfriend, it was essential. As the day continued, Haruka learnt more and more about Akiho while she made some wild assumptions about him. Just wait until she meets Shizuku and Kanata. Things are going to get wild!

What did you think?
The first thing you need to know about this series is that there is a lot of lewd humour. If you like innuendos then this is the series for you because it is packed full of them and they are hilarious. Some will leave you speechless or pausing to check that you heard correctly. More often than not, you did. It doesn’t hold back when it comes to the innuendos which is a good thing in my book. If anything, I’d say the ecchi side was much calmer which made me think about Ao-chan Can’t Study. There is a romantic element to it and lots of fun characters. Its strength is definitely in the innuendo department and insane misunderstandings.

What was your favourite moment?
There was a large section in the eighth episode after the classes had come back from the school camping trip. Everyone was a little bit closer and this was upsetting the class representative, Saori Igarashi. She saw one couple come out of a darkened room and went in believing there would be more people. There was, however, it wasn’t who she was expecting. It was Sayo Shizumori, another class representative and she was hiding in a closet to watch the couples. Saori was disappointed, but then Sayo pulled her into the closet with her when they heard others coming.
It was Haruka and Kanata, but they didn’t know Kanata or that she was his little sister. There were a lot of innuendoes and then Kanata squeezed a milk cartoon and it squirted everywhere. Sayo and Saori assumed it was something far lewder and couldn’t contain themselves. Haruka found them and tried to explain, but that made things worse. Later that day, Saori stopped Haruka in the corridor and asked him to come with her – no doubt to discipline him, but when she turned her skirt was tucked into her panties. He tried to warn her subtly, but that didn’t go so well. Then, Akiho arrived and made things even worse. When Saori finally realised what had happened and that he was trying to help her they both walked away maintaining a level of unrivalled ambivalence.

What was your least favourite moment?
It became quite apparent that Shizuku, the childhood friend had also developed feelings for Haruka. He hadn’t noticed and was quite drawn to Akiho anyhow. However, there was a moment where they got to spend some time together and it was funny and ridiculous, but also kind of sweet when you look at what she was going through. The next day there was a cooking contest at school and Shizuku was going to make him a lunch box. Akiho decided she would make one too to make up for missing their last date. All of this was fine and when Haruka demanded that Akiho let him eat her box, even though she couldn’t cook was hilarious. Then, it showed Shizuku walking away with two lunch boxes. It was quite the downer which is why I think they had an extended scene after the ED with Shizuku and Akiho teasing Haruka together.

Who was your favourite character?
This is a really hard one… I liked all of the characters and I think they worked well as an ensemble. The characters worked really well together too and there were natural groupings that seemed to maximise the level of innuendoes. I think I’ve probably got it down to two which are Akiho and Shizuku which made the romantic side of things a little harder as I wanted Akiho to succeed but also didn’t want Shizuku to be unhappy. I also feel like the Sayo and Saori pairing was incredible and whenever they were together things got even funnier.

Who was your least favourite character?
There was one teacher who was also the school nurse, Aoi Koshimizu who had a couple of brief moments. I think one was funny and the others were kind of blah. I’m not sure if the teachers really added anything to the series and the time they took up could have been better spent on the core group of students. There’s definitely more that they could have done with the time, especially as this is only ten episodes long. They weren’t awful characters, they just didn’t add anything.

Would you like some more?
I would love some more and it hinted at there being more at the end of the tenth episode. However, this series aired in 2017 so the likelihood of another season appearing is almost insignificant. There are lots of shows like this one, although I’ve not seen one that goes quite so hard on innuendoes. Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist came close so there’s always going to be more even if it’s not the second season of this one.

What have you learnt?
I love to vary what I watch and am often surprised by how much I enjoy a good romantic comedy. Anyhow, I think there’s a lot to be learnt from exploring different genres and styles. Everything has tropes that are specific to it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t borrow from one and put it in another. The more you vary your shows, the more you’ll learn and the better you understand the tropes, the easier you’ll find it to use them and even subvert them.
Bizarrely, there’s always someone complaining about tropes, but if they weren’t there, you can bet there would be a lot more people that would be unhappy. Some tropes have to be there or the audience feels cheated or betrayed. One thing I’ve noticed of late which may be a difference between Western and Eastern storytelling is that a romance in the East doesn’t necessarily have to end with a kiss or even some grand gesture. Sometimes, it’s just the fact that we’ve seen these two characters move their relationship forwards. Maybe, they’re just more comfortable with one another. I’ve noticed that can upset people who are watching it through a Western lens. Yet another reason to vary what you watch.

Other Posts in the Series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – No, Don’t Open it So Wide Please…
- Episode 2 – Just Whip it Out Now!” …Can I say that?
- Episode 3 – Ah, This is My First Time Having Two at Once…
- Episode 4 – S-So This is How it Goes, Huh…
- Episode 5 – It Tore… What do I do?!
- Episode 6 – D-Don’t Show This to Anyone Else, Okay?
- Episode 7 – Jeez…I Can’t Get My Mind Off of It…
- Episode 8 – I-I’m Not Saying You Can Take It That Far!
- Episode 9 – I Told You, Not So Suddenly!!
- Episode 10 – I Can’t… Take It… Any Longer!
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