Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Japan has been known for having some wild and crazy jobs for its citizens. One of which is a rental service where you literally rent actors to act as your mom or family members for a few hours. I shit you not, this is an actual thing in Japan. It was introduced in the early 90s and was meant to give people companionship they didn’t have with their own family and it didn’t stop there. The rental service expanded to coworkers, friends, boyfriends and even girlfriends. If you’ve got the money Japan can rent it out to you. While this service does raise an ethical question it does serve as good social commentary into the state of the word. In the past we put family first and holding our obligations to them high. Now, people are more concerned with making ends meet and mistaking independence with isolation. Over the years there have been a number of movies that have used the rental service concept to tell a story. The first one that comes to mind is Kevin Hart’s movie The Wedding Ringer or something old from the 80s like Can’t Buy Me Love to the present day manga, Rent-A-Girlfriend. Also known as Kanojo, Okarishimasu this was a manga written by Reiji Miyajima from 2017-2022 and is his most famous work. The series would go on to receive mix and positive reviews with fans saying the series was sluggish and a mess at times to saying that the series is relatable and does a good job exploring its characters. In a year that everyone would like to forget, TMS Entertainment (Dr. Stone, Lupin the Third, and Detective Conan) were riding a wave with the success of Dr. Stone S1 and announced this as their next big anime project. The anime would go on to be considered one of the best anime of 2020 and with the second season coming out soon and I thought it’d be fun to check it out see if that was true. Let’s enjoy are make believe lifestyle. This is Rent-A-Girlfriend.
Opening and Ending Theme
Our opening is “Centimeter” by the peggies. This song is nice, upbeat and puts me and a good mood. It honestly sounds like the opening to a dating sim game in my opinion.
The ending is “Kokukahu Bungee Jumping” by halca. Aside from the obligatory metaphor the animation is making throughout ending this song is also good. It’s upbeat but not too upbeat that it distracts you from what an ending song is supposed to do.
Episodes 1-4
The anime starts with our main character Kazuya voiced by Shun Horie, a college student in Tokyo (woah, college kid. Switching it up here I see) who just got dumped by his girlfriend Mami voiced by Aoi Yuki (Tanya from Youjo Senki. Who I want to apologize to because she has the unfortunate job of voicing the most hated character in this series) after one month (Baron: Ha! I got him beat. My girlfriend dumped me after one hour). While sulking in his room he sees an ad for a website that lets you rent a girlfriend for a day. You pay the girl and go on a date with her no questions asked (it’s pretty much an escort service without the sexual harassment. Maybe). In his depressed and desperate state, Kazuya goes to the site and picks a girl named Chizuru voiced by Sora Amamiya (Akame from Akame ga Kill) to be his girlfriend for a day. They have a good time, but Kazuya can’t help but feel empty inside (obviously, what part of rent a girlfriend did you not get?). Dealing with the anger of his breakup and anger from the emptiness he leaves her a bad review and even calls her out for another date the next day (why would you do that? You masochist). After Kazuya makes a scene in the aquarium, Chizuru drags him away and finally gives him a piece of her mind where we see the true Chizuru is quite harsh and blunt (scene here: https://youtu.be/u5kC5pBDQ1U). Just when Kazuya realizes he was in the wrong (completely in the wrong) he receives a call from his parents that his grandma is in the hospital. Kazuya and Chizuru rush to the hospital where we see Kazuya’s grandma is alright and they all believe Chizuru is his girlfriend (he wishes). Chizuru decides to play along with the act earning him some granny points as the family approves of her. Hell, grandma even asks if they’ve had sex already (https://youtu.be/xXtZwLYO-TY, grandma! Scene here: https://youtu.be/sys6X8GmEZU). In a shocking twist we find out that Chizuru’s grandma has also been admitted to this hospital and is actually friends with Kazuya’s grandma (wow, it’s like they were meant to meet). At the end of the day Kazuya apologizes for his actions earlier, thanks Chizuru for her help today, and the two go their separate ways sure that they’ll never meet each other again. The next day arrives where Kazuya is ready to begin his new life as a single man but he gets a surprise when he sees Chizuru goes to the same college as him (if they have the same major than it’s going to get really weird).
So in the first half of episode 2 we see that Chizuru and Kazuya go to the same college. However, Chizuru changes up her appearance in order to not stand out and blend into the college like a wallflower (and you can tell this girl wants to be an actor). As if that wasn’t crazy enough, we find out that they live in the same apartment complex and live next door to each other (scene here: https://youtu.be/LkAQZZy6hvw, it’s almost like God was telling you to get together). Kazuya’s grandma gets released from the hospital and she decides to pay him a visit as well as see Chizuru again. Kazuya begs Chizuru to be his girlfriend again but she says no and tells him to tell the truth (that will be a fun conversation). Kazuya can’t bring himself to tell the truth and his grandma believes that Chizuru dumped him. While she’s not mad she’s rather disappointed in him blowing it with such a great girl. Chizuru overhears the conversation and comes over deciding to play the part of girlfriend and make grandma happy (scene here: https://youtu.be/e58nhBlymAk). Grandma leaves happy and Chizuru says she’ll continue to act as his girlfriend whenever he needs to for a while longer as long as he pays. In the second half of the episode Kazuya’s friends see him with Chizuru in the streets where he passes her off as his girlfriend (and the web of lies continues to grow). The two get invited to a get together at a bar with other students from college where Mami is there (oh fuck). We see that despite being dumped by her, Kazuya still has feelings for Mami (dude, she dumped you for no apparent reason, move the fuck on) and Mami seems to still be interested in Kazuya as she’s jealous of Chizuru (then why the fuck did you dump him if you’re still interested in him!? Don’t tell me, are you one of these possessive girls who believes that whatever she can’t have nobody else can have it?). Mami goes into bitch mode and passive aggressively badmouths Kazuya in front of everyone making him come off as just a horny boy (which he is but they don’t need to know that. TMI). Chizuru hears enough and stands up for Kazuya (since he doesn’t have the balls to do it himself) and he stops her which angers her even more, that she leaves (okay, hand them over. You don’t deserve them. Scene here: https://youtu.be/BdTiQVVPblQ). As everyone goes home, Mami accompanies Kazuya and tries to get him to come to her place (what is with this bitch? You dump him out of nowhere, badmouth him in front of his “girlfriend”, and then you walk home with him all while trying to get inside his pants. What are you on?).
At the start of episode 3 we see Mami continue to flirt with Kazuya who falls for it a little until she badmouths Chizuru and Kazuya stands up for her leaving Mami behind. Once Kazuya gets back to his apartment he apologizes to Chizuru and he cries a little bit as he’s not sure how he feels about Mami (she’s scum and you shouldn’t care about her anymore as she showed her true colors tonight). Sometime later, Kazuya goes to the beach with his friends where Chizuru is also there with her friends from school and this creates a whole platter of awkward moments. Mami catches them talking in the bathroom so Chizuru is forced into girlfriend mode again where she hangs with Kazuya and his friends and more lies ensue (scene here: https://youtu.be/s_oCdY4Rt2E). While Kazuya wants to end this farce he just doesn’t know how or when to do it (and the longer you keep it up the harder it is to stop it. Like a snowball rolling down a hill). As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mami goes into bitch mode and tries to get back together with Kazuya because of her hatred for Chizuru (scene here: https://youtu.be/AcYb-HCKtWc, she might just be a sociopath with no life).
At the start of episode 4 Mami kisses him behind some rocks which makes Kazuya believe that Mami still has feelings for him (trust me she doesn’t and if she does her feelings for you are plastic like her personality). This leads to Kazuya announcing to everyone that he and Chizuru are thinking about breaking up (why the hell would you announce that to everyone you dick? I don’t want to know about your business) and it leads to Kazuya’s best friend Kibe punching him for being a jackass. Kibe’s no fool (just a pervert), he’s been watching Kazuya and knows that he’s been fawning over Mami while she’s been leading him on all while ignoring Chizuru. This leads to a fight between the two until they stop with Chizuru completely on Kazuya’s side believing that he was right to try and end this farce (yes. However, it was stupid of him to announce the breakup to everyone. Scene here: https://youtu.be/HVjhNKlmsTE). While Kazuya goes to cool his head and tend to some of his wounds, Kibe proves to be a good wingman by going up to bat for Kazuya and making him look good to Chizuru (that could not have been easy). Kazuya overhears their conversation and apologizes to Kibe for what happened earlier, and Kibe gives the two some tickets to ride the ferry as a gift. While on the ferry, Kazuya and Chizuru agree once again to end this farce (just do what Kimberly did to Tommy in Power Rangers). Kazuya receives a call from Mami who wants to talk to him and while answering the phone Chizuru falls overboard from dizziness. We end the episode with Kazuya doing the manliest thing we’ve seen him do so far in the anime and dive in to save her (so you do have balls).
Episodes 5-8
So at the beginning of episode 5 Kazuya managed to save Chizuru and swim to safety but needs saving himself as his lungs filled up with water (how the hell you gonna save some one and then need saving yourself?). Chizuru manages to save Kazuya and the two get found by the coast guard and stay the night in the hospital (scene here: scene here: https://youtu.be/GdnsxAZLwfA). After this event Kazuya and the others return home where he realizes that he’s fallen in love with Chizuru. Sometime later, Kazuya goes to a healing spa with his grandma and parents after she gets discharged from the hospital. When they arrive, we see Chizuru’s grandma is there as well with Chizuru as their grandmas have set them up to get great grandchildren (scene here: https://youtu.be/JcQ8LyYMFmM, sneaky women those two). Nothing much really happens after this faithful encounter. Chizuru tries to end this lie but can’t bring herself to disappoint the sneaky (but sweet) grandmas who are happy to see their grandchildren together.
At the start of episode 6 Kazuya asks Chizuru if she can still act like his girlfriend (are you an idiot? Why am I asking that, you’re a guy, of course you’re an idiot). He realizes that he’s pathetic and wants to change for the better so he can get a real girlfriend one day. He feels that with Chizuru around he can change and become a better person (that my friend is what we call love). Kazuya’s words work on Chizuru who agrees to be his fake girlfriend for a bit longer, but he has to keep paying her for each date they go on and her services (perfect, she’s acting like a real girlfriend already). A few days later the two go on a date with Kuri, one of Kazuya’s friends and his girlfriend Ruka voiced by Nao Toyama (Aoi from Kakuriyo. Scene here: https://youtu.be/Mau8hZzd5Wc) who knows that Chizuru is a rental girlfriend. She tries to bust them, but they dodge her bullets (scene here: https://youtu.be/Xlt0O9oAKro). However, Kazuya tries to confront her about this when the date is done where she was waiting for him.
In episode 7 we find out that Ruka is also a rental girlfriend and she wants to date Kazuya (like really wants to date Kazuya). Kazuya of course can’t do this to one of his bros and rejects her (he may be a shitty guy, but he honors the bro code) as he really doesn’t have feelings for her (oh trust me, you’ll get them) and believes she’s just blackmailing him in order to stay quiet about his relationship with Chizuru (scene here: https://youtu.be/UKDyoszQCKU). However, Ruka is serious and wants to date Kazuya. She knows that Kazuya likes Chizuru (is it that obvious?), but she still wants to be his actual girlfriend and is okay with doing a trial period (scene here: https://youtu.be/Pv2vxEi0hbQ). Chizuru tells Kazuya to date her as she can tell she’s not faking and believes there’s something else going on here. During the credits, we learn that she has some heart condition where nothing can make her excited. This made Ruka feel like a robot (Baron: With a very nice body) and she wanted to get her heart beating fast again. When she overheard her friend talk about her first and how excited she was, Ruka decided that if she could fall in love then maybe that would get the heart beating. That’s how she became a rental girlfriend, but everybody she dated couldn’t get her heart racing until she met Kazuya who managed to do the impossible (scene here: https://youtu.be/CUT4-fCRvs4, is this love or is she just living in the moment? Too early to tell).
Moving on to episode 8, the trial period of Ruka gets underway where things seem to be decent. Kazuya and Chizuru haven’t seen each other since he started “dating” Ruka and in all honesty this problem works itself out (she’s cute, energetic, smart, and funny. She’s a little clingy, but I think a good talk could fix that). If Kazuya plays his cards right he can make Ruka his legit girlfriend, but he can’t stop thinking about Chizuru (oh hell, you fell for her didn’t you? That’s the worst thing to do with a rental girlfriend, don’t fall for them). The rest of the episode is hard to sit through (so stupid). Kazuya sees Chizuru with another client and gets the idea in his head that this good-looking guy might be Chizuru’s actual boyfriend (scene here: https://youtu.be/1myakMkx1yM. Ugh~, I normally don’t drink but somebody give me some bourbon before I destroy this boy. Okay, a few things for you, Kazuya. First off, this is an invasion of Chizuru’s privacy and trust. What she does in her own time is none of your business. Second, if this guy was her actual boyfriend don’t you think she would have introduced him to her grandma sooner? Third, even if this is her boyfriend you have no right to interfere. I get that you like her and have developed feelings for her, but she doesn’t feel that way about you. In her eyes, you’re just a client, a very troublesome client who screwed up and introduced her to your family). So, Kazuya follows them on their date where of course he gets the wrong idea, exposes himself, and looks like an ass (an unbelievable ass. If Chizuru were to punch him I would applaud her). Chizuru reveals that she’s trying to become an actress and the reason why she’s a rental girlfriend is for practice because acting school costs too much. The guy she’s with is also a fellow actor who wanted to discuss the script of a play he was in and wanted to introduce her to the director to see if she could get a part in the play. Despite everything that Kazuya has done, Chizuru doesn’t punch him or get upset with him. Instead, she gives him a phone case as a Christmas gift and even apologizes for leaving him to deal with Ruka alone (https://youtu.be/5H-c-NZluPo, did I enter some Twilight Zone?). Kazuya weeps tears of joy for getting a gift from a girl (though honestly, he should be down on knees thanking Chizuru for not punching him for his stupidity).
At the start of episode 9 Chizuru does the smart thing and asks Kazuya if he’s fallen for her (YES! The events of last episode should have been more than enough evidence). He of course says no and Chizuru says good as she wants their relationship to be business only (scene here: https://youtu.be/Q2cKqwP-gZ4, business is slowly becoming personal). Ruka appears and drags Kazuya away for a date where she can tell his heart isn’t in it. Angered by this, she blindfolds him and drags him to a love hotel where Kazuya tells her the full story of their situation. She’s of course shocked and upset by this and says they can’t keep this farce up forever (well to be fair, time is on their side here. Oh God, that was dark even for me). Ruka tells Kazuya to just introduce her as his legitimate girlfriend, but Kazuya is hesitant because one, grandma is in love with Chizuru, and two, it would look suspicious if he jumped from one girl to the next so quickly (Shizuku: He could say, he’s just that popular. *Nitsuj stares blankly at Shizuku for a few seconds before the two start to burst out laughing* (Nitsuj): I actually thought you were serious for a second. (Shizuku): Come on man? This fool is pathetic. Scene here: https://youtu.be/oeecirqO4kY). On New Year’s Day, Kazuya and Chizuru go to dine with Kazuya’s family before a shrine visit where Ruka joins them saying she’s Kazuya’s girlfriend (only in theory. Scene here: https://youtu.be/9gpkijQ6Ffg). Kazuya manages to convince his grandma that Ruka is a pathological liar as well as Chizuru’s friend, so she doesn’t take anything Ruka says seriously. Meanwhile, Ruka confronts Chizuru and accuses her of being in love with Kazuya (how, I have no idea. Okay, he saved her life, big whoop. Is that all it takes to make a woman fall in love with you? If that’s the case, then I should have had at least 6 girls calling me up by now asking for marriage). Chizuru denies this so Ruka tells her that if she’s serious then walk off into the sunset like a rental girlfriend (before it explodes in your face and seriously screws you and him over). After lunch, it’s the shrine visit where Ruka separates grandma from Kazuya and the others to tell her the truth but couldn’t do it because of how much grandma loves Chizuru. Ruka admits defeat for love, but vows to work hard to get Kazuya to fall in love with her and make grandma see her as the better fit for Kazuya.
Nothing much happens in episode 10. One thing I forgot to mention last episode is that Kazuya has taken up a part-time job working at a karaoke bar to supply his Chizuru funds (we might need to have an intervention here soon). Ruka also decides to work at the karaoke bar as a part-timer to spend more time with Kazuya. After this, the episode focuses on Kazuya’s friend, Kuri. Kuri was the guy who hired Ruka to be his girlfriend and was embarrassed by her when she revealed herself to be a rental girlfriend in front of Kazuya. Since then, Kuri has been in a depressive state only coming to classes, not really being there, and writing depressing messages on Twitter (oh please, everyone does that). Kazuya is naturally worried about Kuri’s mental health as he fears that his experience with Ruka will make him stop trusting women (he makes a good point. Speaking from experience a bad interaction with a woman can really screw you up). Kazuya decides to help him, but ever since the Ruka incident things have been awkward between them, so Kazuya decides to even the playing field. He asks Chizuru to go out on a date with Kuri thereby exposing their relationship to someone and this works. Kuri’s desire to have a girlfriend is restored (scene here: https://youtu.be/CGVB15NhY9U) and Kazuya tells Kuri the whole story where the two have a good laugh at how Kazuya royally screwed up. After that, it’s time for Kazuya to return the favor to Chizuru. She wants Kazuya to go on a date with another rental girlfriend named Sumi voiced by Rie Takahashi (Megumin from Konosuba). She’s new but is incredibly shy that she never speaks to her clients and is getting slammed for it. Chizuru wants Kazuya to go on a practice date with her to help her gain confidence.
Nothing much to say about episode 11. Kazuya goes on the date with Sumi who does not talk for like 98% of the date (well give her credit, that shyness does make her cuter). He does save her from some punks and doesn’t give up on her as they go through the date where they run into Mami (and the bitch returns. I knew I felt a disturbance in the anime). At the end of the date it seems like Sumi gained some confidence and thanks Kazuya for his help (scenes here: https://youtu.be/NaQ81lvSGr4, https://youtu.be/noNAoPbDrqk and https://youtu.be/_1cIVdGHenk). As for Chizuru, she’s considering quitting her job (yes, please. You’re basically an escort service without the sex) and she goes on a date with Mami who has found out that she’s a rental girlfriend.
In the final episode, Kazuya decides that if Chizuru is trying to move on then so should he. He goes on a date with Ruka (probably the smartest thing he’s done all anime). Just when he’s about to make Ruka his official girlfriend (https://youtu.be/sq_Fm7qfRQk) he sees Mami with Chizuru (https://youtu.be/XlVOJg23QZ0). He figures out that Mami knows about Chizuru being a rental girlfriend but can’t do anything about it. Mami takes Chizuru to the karaoke bar Kazuya works at where Chizuru is just uncomfortable being in this situation (and you feel it with her). Mami forces her to sing and then the two leave where Kazuya follows them to a bridge. Mami says she has no intention of telling anyone in college, but this whole arrangement does piss her off (which part, the fact that Kazuya found someone better than you or the fact that you’re completely yandere for him?). Mami tells Chizuru to stop this whole charade, but Chizuru turns it around asking Mami what does she truly think about Kazuya and even asks if she ever gave his love a chance in the first place. Mami says that’s none of her business and walks away leaving Chizuru on the bridge and a crying Kazuya who heard the whole conversation taking it all in (scenes here: https://youtu.be/PhwBGbFjD-4 and https://youtu.be/98xRDtUbCi0). Later that night, Kazuya and Chizuru talk where he realizes that he’s in love with her (scene here: https://youtu.be/hrSg8j67FHs, I’ll accept this. I prefer Ruka but Chizuru is also good), but like an idiot he botches the confession big time (https://youtu.be/aY76yGkYSpY).
Final Thoughts
This is a tough anime to grade. On the one hand it actually does a lot of good things here. The drama is good and the themes of what love is and the various levels of it are handled rather well. The female cast is handled incredibly well. Chizuru is a great girl who cares for Kazuya and puts his needs first. Ruka is also great and cares greatly for Kazuya that I feel bad that her feelings aren’t returned because she’s a great girl and Kazuya can see that. They do a good job at making you hate Mami as she had this whole dark and possessive side to her. It almost feels like a part of her likes Kazuya and didn’t want to dump him, but for one reason or another she was forced to break up with him and seeing him with another girl just agitates her to no end. All this stuff is good, but where the anime fails horribly is with Kazuya. He is such a spineless man as his character flip flops between being relatable to unrelatable. He is wimpy, a crybaby, and you could argue he’s a simp. He’s a character who drags this anime down for me big time and does a lot of dumb antics that annoy me. The fact that Chizuru has the patience to deal with him and his stupidity amazes me. The good news is he does get slightly better as the manga progresses but at this point in the anime he’s just unbearable and makes you want to punch him every time he’s on the screen.
The animation is very good here. It does remain faithful to the manga. Even the character designs look like the ones in the manga and I have to admit all the voice actors do match up well with their character and they really bring this anime to life. The music was a hit and miss for me at various points throughout the anime. Some music pieces just felt out of place but there were scenes where the music really matched up with the scene and amplified it.
Final Score
This may be a bit controversial, but I’m giving Rent-A-Girlfriend a 6/10. If I was grading it by the anime alone I give it a 5/10 but since I’ve been reading the manga and know what happens next I’m giving it a little more leeway. Was this one of the best animes from 2020? I don’t think so. But I will admit it is a decent anime and an even greater read. If you do decide to check this anime out, I recommend reading the manga first before checking out the anime as this anime isn’t a good entry point for the series. A second season will be coming out this summer so if you liked the anime and read the manga than this should make you happy. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.