Yukari suffers from a peculiar malady. As a child, he was relentlessly bullied by girls and now, as a teenager, speaking to or making contact with a girl causes him to break out in a rash and hives dot his face. Upon arriving home from school, he accidentally walks in on his “friend” (of the tsundere variety) and neighbor Kirie Kojima in the bathroom who accuses him of peeping. Sending Yukari into a drawn bath via a roundhouse kick to the face, he is magically transported to Seiren, a planet occupied entirely by women. Sitting in a bathhouse, not only is Yukari surprised to find the lovely Miharu standing over him, he does not experience an allergic reaction from her presence. Thus begins a wacky adventure as Miharu plants her herself into Yukari’s semi-normal life.
Girls Bravo, a harem comedy, is pretty shameless in its sexuality. Although Yukari is a kind soul who doesn’t take advantage of women nor actively pursues them, the same cannot be said for his foil, Kazuharu Fukuyama. Whenever he is on screen, you can count on women getting roughly fondled, skirts lifted, panties and bras exposed with wreckless and lustful abandon. Normally, such antics tend to get tired after awhile, but in Girls Bravo, the more Kazuharu behaves like this, the quicker it gets uncomfortable considering he is one sexual act away from becoming a full fledged rapist. The worst part about these antics is that most of the female cast tends to brush off his behavior. Granted, Kirie will beat Kazuharu within an inch of his life every time he gets his hands on her, but it still feels uncomfortable.
That is not the extent of the series’ sexuality, merely the tip of the iceberg. Kazuharu’s sister has a female bodyguard under her employ who develops a crush on Kirie and will not stop until she can get the young girl into bed. By far the most uncomfortable moment in the series involves Miharu eating bananas in the most ridiculously suggestive way possible before developing a fetish for them. The list goes on and on. Obviously, Girls Bravo is not intended for young audiences. There is more skin on display here than an art symposium on nudes.
I couldn’t help but feel anger over the treatment of Yukari. From the get go, he is the recipient of constant physical abuse by the opposite sex, especially Kirie. Kirie punches before she thinks, resulting in many instances in which Yukari is punished for actions that are out of his control or her own fault. Yukari is a genuinely nice guy who cares greatly for others more than himself and wants nothing more to live an average life. And yet, he is constantly harassed, beaten and dragged into trouble because of those around him.
That said, Girls Bravo will find an audience with those who enjoy and appreciate the harem genre. Just be aware of the series’ gratuitous sexual content and a character that delights in molesting women as much as possible.
Girls Bravo
FUNimation, 2011
directed by Akira Watanabe
560 minutes, Number of Discs: 4
Company Age Rating: 16
Related to: Girls Bravo by Mario Kaneda
