Summer 2026 is shaping up to be a solid season for romantic comedy fans, with the anime industry steering clear of the typical seasonal pitfalls that plague the genre. While the heat outside might be brutal, the lineup offers plenty of doki-doki-goodness to keep viewers entertained.

Two sequel seasons stand out as the season's highlights. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You returns with even more escalation than before. The production team is wasting no time introducing fresh additions to Rentaro's impossibly growing roster—everything from characters of wildly different heights to international love interests, and yes, even a blood relative. It's a development that raises eyebrows, though the series frames it as an inevitable step toward that mythical three-digit goal.

This season's version appears to lean even harder into metahumor and fourth-wall-breaking than its predecessor, a choice that tracks with the show's increasingly absurd premise. The only way to justify expanding the harem further is to embrace even more unreality, letting the comedy break free from conventional logic entirely.

You and I Are Polar Opposites, the other major returning romcom, offers something closer to grounded fantasy—a welcome counterpoint to 100 Girlfriends' outlandish antics. The series had a brief absence, during which fans might've confused it with another romantic property from the same period. For dedicated viewers, the return of their favorite is long overdue, and the show's charming execution and distinctive character design (shout-out to the pink hair representation) make it worth catching up on if you've fallen behind.

The contrast between these two shows nicely illustrates summer's approach to the genre: acknowledge that romantic fantasies come in different flavors, and give fans the full spectrum. While most people won't relate to chasing one hundred partners—that particular dream belongs to Rentaro alone—the more grounded takes on romance still hit harder when they're surrounded by the chaos of its more unhinged cousin.

It's a smart season for romcom fans.