Characters / Rent-A-Girlfriend

Characters featured in Rent-A-Girlfriend.

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Main characters

Kazuya Kinoshita

Kazuya Kinoshita (木ノ下 和也, Kinoshita Kazuya)

Voiced by: Jun Fukushima (2017 commercial), Haruki Ishiya (2018 commercial), Shun Horie (2020 anime) (Japanese), Aleks Le (English)^{Other voice actors}Luis Navarro (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Ryūsei Ōnishi

The male protagonist. A college student down on his luck after being dumped by his girlfriend Mami Nanami. Using the Diamond app, he rents a girlfriend named Chizuru Mizuhara where he hopes to forget about his ex.

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• Affectionate Nickname: His friends from his grade school days address him as "Kazu-chin".
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: How Kazuya managed to convince an acquaintance from the film club to direct his movie. Kazuya spent weeks going to his acquaintance's classes, taking notes, and even gathering test material. Begging on hands and knees was the final step for the director to accept.
• All Men Are Perverts: Downplayed. Kazuya is constantly thinking with what's inside his pants and not his head, which makes him very easy to manipulate and was one of the reasons Mami dumped him. Although he gets a little better, he can't help but try to get a peek of what's under the girls' clothes and often has perverted fantasies about them, but he refuses to do anything that could possibly hurt them. One example is when Ruka actually offers herself and even bring condoms with her, Kazuya refuses to do it out of his feelings for Chizuru and out of concern that it may break her heart if he actually does it with Ruka.
• Always Someone Better: How Kazuya feels about most of his peers in relation to him, especially Chizuru.
• Apologizes a Lot: Because of how often he lies and screws things up, he does this often. He's even been shown apologizing when he hasn't even done anything.
• Birds of a Feather: Kazuya and Chizuru have more similarities than they care to acknowledge, despite their reluctance to admit it:
  • She feels she is just as foolish and stubborn as he is, even though she tries to conceal it. She is self-aware and considers herself just another university student with a far-fetched dream. While Kazuya's aspiration to introduce a genuine girlfriend to his family seems corny to her, she does not believe that her dream of her grandmother seeing her on the big screen is any less cheesy. They both fear disappointing their families and yearn to possess the same strength as their grandmothers.
  • Although Chizuru quickly calls out Kazuya's lies, she also believes certain falsehoods are necessary if they can bring hope and happiness to others. Her lies seem less self-serving than his as she does it for the sake of her grandparents. She does not want to be looked down upon for telling the truth and prefers to keep up the pretense to maintain her reputation.
  • Kazuya finds it challenging to be truthful about his feelings for Chizuru despite being pressured by her. He fears that his honesty would put her in an uncomfortable spot. Others have tried to make her confess that he means more to her than just a client, but it's evident that she's not entirely honest with herself about her feelings. Little do they know that they're hindering their own progress and not each other's.
  • Despite their individual flaws and insecurities, both possess genuinely good hearts. They are selfless and always willing to help others. However, Kazuya tends to be more open about expressing his helpfulness.
• Blackmail: He actually pulls this on Chizuru in the second chapter of the manga. He begs her to let him rent her because he doesn't want to hurt his grandmother, and when she refuses, he threatens to spill her secret on campus. He makes it clear it's for Nagomi's sake and not his own.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Aside from his self-esteem issues, one of the things holding Kazuya back is a lack of motivation in his life since his future is laid out for him. But give him something to commit himself to, such as making a movie for Chizuru or cheering her up on a date, and he'll do every ounce of research and find the resources necessary to make it happen. As such, he's far more capable than he thinks.
• Butt-Monkey: He becomes this at his own birthday party when Ruka gives him an embarrassing tie as a present, and his family makes him put it on for their amusement. He's not pleased.
• Cant Hold Their Liquor: Subverted as Kazuya is shown to be able to drink obscene amounts of alcohol while staying surprisingly lucid. Whether or not he can stand up straight or make it back home on his own is another matter entirely.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Zigzagged. Kazuya has an extremely hard time confessing to Chizuru that he's in love with her, fearing it would drive her further away from him if he told her the truth. However, by repeatedly denying it to her, he's not actually putting her mind at ease as it's actually affecting her more than they both realize. Down the line, he does tell her that he wants her a couple of times, but it causes them to awkwardly downplay the situation. He knows he hasn't been too subtle about how he feels towards her, but he doesn't know how to deliver a solid and proper Love Confession that she'd be willing to accept. However, he becomes increasingly determined to force the issue and confess.
• Cassandra Truth: Because of his tendency to lie about nearly everything and how often his mind is in the gutter, whenever Chizuru or Ruka think he's slept with the other girl, they don't believe Kazuya at first when he tells them nothing actually happened. His habit of telling lies makes it difficult for others who know of this habit to believe him when he is actually telling the truth.
• Character Development: Although he doesn't completely turn himself around and his bad habits often get the better of him, it's there:
  • He piles on lie after lie about his relationship with Chizuru just to save face and his own ass, but has also tried on numerous occasions to come clean for her sake. As the story progresses, Kazuya insists on putting an end to all the lies because he knows how much it will hurt everyone once they learn the truth, but it's Chizuru who refuses to go through with it, and not solely for the sake of her grandmother's happiness. It's also worth noting that while he's originally motivated to preserve the lie by not wanting to hurt his family's feelings, he later wants to end the lie, largely for Chizuru's sake.
  • He is constantly having impure thoughts and fantasizing about the girls, masturbates often, and wouldn't think twice about walking into a trap if it meant finally getting laid. Not only does he start hating himself for having lustful and impure thoughts about the girls, but when the opportunity presents itself, he refuses to go all the way with Ruka because of his feelings toward Chizuru. And it looks like he's cutting down on the wanking, too. Maybe. Until Chapter 218 when he fell back into that particular habit, that is.
  • Kazuya doesn't have any clear goals or aspirations of his own when he first meets Chizuru, and whenever he tries to make things right for all the problems he's caused her, he does so with little concern to his own well-being. The more he learns about Chizuru's past and goals for the future, and how hard life has been for her, he finds the drive and motivation to help her make her dream a reality. He has a hard time taking a break from making her movie because he's just that committed to it.
  • Early on, Kazuya believes he has no chance with a beauty like Chizuru and holds back confessing to her out of a fear of rejection, believing she'd shove him out of her life. He eventually gains enough confidence to confess to her because he wants to be the one to fill the void of her lonely heart, and is prepared to face the consequences if she turns him down.
• Chivalrous Pervert: There's no doubt Kazuya is a lech who masturbates thinking about pretty girls and fantasizes about his ex, but he's a noble and heroic young man at his core.
• Classical Anti-Hero: Kazuya is absolutely plagued by self-doubt and always sees himself as a hindrance to everyone around him, even though they all think that deep down behind his many faults and flaws, he really is a good guy at heart.
• Consummate Liar: Since he and Chizuru usually end up bumping into his friends and family when they're together and Kazuya tends to bump into her when he's with his friends, he tends to make up multiple lies and cover stories to explain things to them. Chizuru is often quick to call him out on this.
• Cry into Chest: On the receiving end when Chizuru finally breaks down about her grandmother's death on a date with Kazuya. The trigger was him confessing to Chizuru.
• Date Peepers: He does this to Chizuru after he spots her on an apparent date with a guy. He ends up stalking them for a few hours, from the movie theater to the mall, and finally to a fountain where said guy was apparently going to kiss her. Said guy turns out to be an actor, and Kazuya finds out that she is working as a rental girlfriend to brush up on her acting skills.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the No-Respect Guy. Everyone in Kazuya's life up to that point, including his family, always enjoyed poking fun at him and making him the butt of numerous jokes, namely his inability to get a girlfriend. This results in a guy with very low self-esteem who's prone to putting himself down over various things, such as calling himself scum over the fact that he decided to use a rental girlfriend to help him cope with his break-up, and it's hinted that part of the reason he's still interested in Mami is because he thinks Chizuru is too good for him.
• Determinator: What Kibe believes is one of his more admirable qualities, is that he's too stubborn to know when to give up. This is best exemplified when he helps Chizuru turn her dream a reality and stops at absolutely nothing to see it through. The level of research he does to get the ball rolling surprises and impresses her, and towards the end, the team has enough confidence in him to finish what he started.
• Devoted to You: His extreme devotion to Chizuru and making her dream come true is what convinces many characters that his feelings for her has evolved further than simply being "just friends" for those who know of their true relationship and as further evidence that they're perfect for each other for those who think they're already dating.
• Don't Say Such Stupid Things!: Whenever Chizuru gets too down on herself and thinks she has no talent as an actress or is being unprofessional as a rental girlfriend, Kazuya loses control of himself and tells her not to think of herself like that, although he overdoes it and ends up causing a scene.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: What sparked his unwarranted outburst towards Chizuru that got the plot rolling in the first place. In his depression, he found Chizuru acting like an ideal girlfriend (whose specific routine was directly advertised to him) to just be an insincere form of pity. Chizuru angrily reminding him that she was just doing her job makes him realize how unreasonable his assessment was.
• Dude, Not Funny!: When Sayuri claims that she doesn't have long to live, he's genuinely horrified. When she admits that she was kidding, he mirthlessly says "Ha... ha ha..." while thinking "So not funny!"
• Easily Forgiven: Although Chizuru isn't happy with him stalking her on Christmas Eve, causing her to spill her secret of being an actress, and making her friend Umi look bad, she gives Kazuya a mild scolding and still gives him his Christmas "not-a-present". And she doesn't let him take the same train home.
• Encyclopaedic Knowledge: He shows great interest in marine wildlife, enough that his first two dates with Chizuru involve going to an aquarium. He also owns some fish and has a fish tank in his room. His experiences with making the movie has left him with considerable insight to the crowdfunding and moviemaking industry as well.
• Everyone Can See It: Nearly everyone in Kazuya and Chizuru's social circle insist that there is genuine love between the two and that they're perfect for each other. The only problem is getting both to admit it out loud.
• Everyone Has Standards: In Chapter 55, Kazuya refuses to take 200,000 yen from his father to pay back his "debt" to Chizuru, despite the fact that he's strapped for cash enough to need a part-time job, and that it's easier for him to let his father believe he borrowed money from Chizuru. When Chizuru asks if he took the money his father offered, he says, "The hell I did! I have a conscience!"
• Extreme Doormat: The guy has cripplingly low self-esteem. He can't even bring himself to ever call out Mami when she speaks badly about him right in front of his friends. According to Mami, insulting him is practically a routine because he'll always just take it.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: When Kazuya proposes using his own money to help fund Chizuru's movie, she tells him not to, but he insists because it became his dream project. She seems touched by his commitment, until he points out that all he has is 100,000 yen. He is a poor college student after all.
• Forgets to Eat: He frequently neglects to eat while working on the movie project. On one occasion, Chizuru has to go to the store for ingredients to make something for him because all he has in his fridge are energy drinks.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble: The Optimist, as he thinks of doing the right thing, but often without considering logic and rational thinking.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Mostly Phlegmatic.
• Freudian Excuse: He's often His Own Worst Enemy regarding the problems in his life, but it's pretty hard to improve yourself when your own family doesn't have any confidence in you.
• A Friend in Need: A defining characteristic of Kazuya. Though Kazuya is quick to brush it off, his loyalty to his friends and his willingness to lend a hand even to his own detriment does not go unnoticed.
• Gag Penis: Kibe notes that he has one at the open air bathhouse in Chapter 203, which coincidentally aligns with Ruka claiming Bigger Is Better in Bed when she tries to convince Chizuru that she and Kazuya have already had sex with a torn condom wrapper. Chapter 180 sneaks in a brief outline of it^*Calculations here◊. during Kazuya’s shower.
• Generation Xerox: Kazuya is essentially a younger version of Chizuru's grandfather, Katsuhito Ichinose. He's a clumsily, over-optimistic man who constantly gets in over his head and wears his emotions on his sleeve, which causes him to get under Chizuru's skin and stoic demeanor. However, he is utterly devoted towards supporting her dreams and going above and beyond in ensuring that she's happy and will never feel alone; which she appreciates, even if she doesn't always show it. This is one of the reasons why Chizuru warms up to Kazuya, as she frequently is surprised by similar the two of them are.
• Goal in Life: Having his family store being passed down to him is a certainty that has robbed Kazuya of any greater aspirations in life and any real goals of his own to strive for. It's what makes it so easy for him to latch on to Chizuru's goal of becoming an actress and adopt it as his goal.
• Good Angel, Bad Angel: These two pop up in Chapter 40 when Kazuya finds what he believes are Chizuru's panties on his balcony. Problem is, although his devil tells him to keep it, his angel tells him to give it back after he's had some fun with them. They belong to Ruka, and she put them there to mess with Chizuru.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Definitely not; he still likes Mami, despite the fact that she's actually a horrible person.
• Greater Need Than Mine: Kazuya has a habit of putting the needs of others above his own, often at his own expense. Whether it's trying to make up for everything he's put Chizuru through and wanting to see her succeed in her goals, or helping his friend Kuri even if it meant exposing his secret.
• Heroic BSoD: When Mini tells him that she told Chizuru that he likes her, Kazuya nearly passes out and stops functioning altogether, thinking Chizuru gave him the cold shoulder because she doesn't want someone like him falling for her. They quickly find out this isn't the case, thankfully.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Of the non-lethal kind:
  • He saves Ruka from falling down a flight of stairs and takes the brunt of the fall.
  • When Chizuru's friends play a drinking game that could risk exposing her, he repeatedly loses on purpose and gets extremely drunk so she wouldn't.
  • On yet another occasion, he fell 5 meters (roughly 16 feet) into a river from a bridge because he was trying to get rid of a cicada that was interfering with the film shoot. Chizuru later notes that he would have been lucky to have only escaped with serious injuries had he fallen onto solid ground.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: He constantly tells himself that he's a nobody and a nuisance to Chizuru, feels bad for those who have to put up with him, and is very aware of his faults. Because his friends and family pile it on, he has a nasty habit of overdoing it and can't see whatever good traits he has, nor does he give himself credit where it's due, something Chizuru gets on him for.
• Heroic Vow: He vows to Chizuru that he will make her dream come true, no matter what. Through hard work, obsessive dedication and a little help from his friends, he manages to do just that.
• His Own Worst Enemy: He often gets himself into messes and strains his developing relationships by constantly second-guessing the intentions of everyone around him, assuming the worst of every situation, and piling up lies when backed into a corner.
• Humble Hero: Towards the end of the film project, he tells Chizuru that they only made it so far because of everyone else who helped them, but it never would've happened if he hadn't gotten the idea in the first place.
• Hypocritical Humor: He complains about his father jumping to conclusions about his relationship with Chizuru when Kazuo punches him for supposedly borrowing money from Chizuru. A note pointing to Kazuya says, "Also jumps to conclusions a lot."
• I Call Him "Mister Happy": He refers to his penis as "Little Kazuya Junior," or some variant thereof, especially when he's about to have an erection, which he refers to as Little Kazuya Junior "growing up".
• I Can't Do This by Myself: He's willing to enlist and accept the aid of others when it is clear that he is over his head, such as Mini for his crowdfunding campaign despite only just barely knowing her.
• I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: Kazuya can't bring himself to properly confess to Chizuru about his feelings because of his fear that she will be grossed out and avoid him, so he prefers maintaining the professional relationship between them. It's also a reason why he keeps renting her even for non-dating purposes instead of casually asking her out, like Chizuru later on did.
• Innocently Insensitive: When he suggests smiling practice to Sumi during their date, he lambastes her for snickering instead, flustering her:
  (regarding Sumi's snickering expression) "You suck!"
• Insecure Love Interest: While there are hints early on in the story that he genuinely likes Chizuru, his inability to get over Mami and his life being a No-Respect Guy in the eyes of even his own family has put him under the impression that she's out of his league, causing him to keep pining for Mami. When he really does start falling for her, he still thinks that she lives in a different world than him and hasn't earned the right to properly confess to her.
• Interrupted Declaration of Love: Kazuya finally gains the courage to confess to Chizuru in Chapter 174, but just as he's about to say the "L" word, Kibe and his friends show up and Chizuru hides the instant they do. Kazuya thinks she didn't hear it, but it turns out she did.
• It's All My Fault: He blames himself for Ruka breaking Kuri's heart, since because Kazuya had rented Chizuru and showed her off to his friends, Kuri had felt the need to rent Ruka to compete. As a result, Ruka fell for Kazuya, then outed herself as a rental girlfriend in front of Kazuya and Kuri to break things off with Kuri and pursue Kazuya.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed; Kazuya really isn't a jerk as he's just a deeply flawed individual who lacks backbone and whose insecurities often result in him behaving badly, especially constant lying. Nevertheless, he's a good person who's ultimately kind, selfless and caring.
• Jerkass Realization: When he gives Chizuru a piece of his mind at the aquarium and she returns the favor, he realizes she's completely right and he was wrong for taking his anger out on her.
• Just in Time: Just when it seems that Sayuri is on her deathbed and won't live long enough to Chizuru's film debut, Kazuya receives a phone call and storms off. He returns with a projector and the finished version of the movie, leaving Chizuru to watch it alone with Sayuri. Pleased with the movie, and after telling Chizuru how much she loves her and how proud of her she is, Sayuri passes away later that night.
• Kirk Summation: Gives a brief one to Chizuru when Sayuri is on her deathbed, calling her out for dragging out the lie as long as they have, and pretending that she doesn't feel guilty for it. He tries to convince her to come clean for her sake and start putting her own feelings first. Because it would break her grandmother's heart, she doesn't take it well.
• Kiss of Life: On the receiving end from Chizuru in Chapter 15 after nearly drowning himself from rescuing Chizuru from drowning.
• Last-Name Basis: In addition to referring to his friends by their family names, he also almost exclusively refers to Chizuru by her assumed last name, Mizuhara, unless he's around people who don't know about her job. He slips up and calls her "Mizuhara" around his father, who notices it's odd, but Kazuya quickly corrects himself.
• Loser Protagonist: Kazuya is seen as a loser by everyone around him and doesn't see himself any differently. He lacks confidence and courage, lets his emotions get the better of him, lies to save his hide, always has dirty thoughts, and lets people walk all over him. Because his family and friends only bring up his negative traits, he doesn't recognize the positive ones he has and greatly underestimates himself as a result. Despite his growth throughout the series, he has a very difficult time overcoming everything holding him back.
• Love Confessor: Even though he can't bring himself to tell Chizuru that he's in love with her, he's said it to her grandmother Sayuri. He even tells her that if Chizuru never saw him as anything more than a friend, he'd still want to support her for the rest of her life because that's how much she means to him. He's also told Mini that he wants to confess someday, but doesn't know when, and she insists that now is better than later. Ever since Chapter 174, he's become increasingly determined to force the issue and confess.
• Love Epiphany: One that he'd never tell Chizuru if his life depended on it. After the beach trip, he masturbates while fantasizing about Mami, only for his mind to be consumed by Chizuru's kindness instead. He realizes just how real his feelings are the more he learns about Chizuru's dreams and her past.
• Loving a Shadow: In Chapter 239, Chizuru insinuates that the "Chizuru" Kazuya loves isn't the real her, but "Chizuru Mizuhara", the Peerless Love Interest.
• Lying to Protect Your Feelings: He lies to his grandmother about his fake relationship because he fears that it would hurt her.
• Made of Iron: He nearly drowns, fell down a flight of stairs protecting Ruka, fell off the veranda of his apartment, and even fell off a bridge during the film project. He's back on his feet shortly afterwards each time seemingly no worse for wear, or particularly concerned about his health.
• Male Gaze: He tries to fight it, but he can't help but try to look down Chizuru's shirt, get a glimpse of what's under her skirt, or check out her butt whenever the opportunity presents itself. She'll usually smack him if she catches him doing it, and he's prone to doing this with the other girls too.
• Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Kazuya is shown to be a chronic masturbator since he is a virgin who is constantly sexually frustrated, to the point that his Establishing Character Moment in Chapter 1 has him sadly masturbating in his bedroom while fantasizing about his ex-girlfriend Mami having sex with an imaginary new boyfriend. After he starts renting Chizuru, she becomes the Lust Object he masturbates to, and even more often since she's also his neighbor, and he tends to get horny even from everyday things like hearing her taking a shower.
• The McCoy: To Chizuru's Spock. He very openly cares deeply about his friends and family, openly puts everyone's needs and safety above his own, and his emotions almost always get the better of him. As much as he messes things up, he will always try to make things right and gladly pay whatever price it comes with. Because of this, Kazuya finds himself at odds with Chizuru because he wants to stop lying to their families and tell them the truth about their fake relationship, and she refuses because she doesn't want to take her grandmother's happiness away in her final days.
• Men Don't Cry: Averted. Kazuya is not ashamed to cry in front of people when emotionally overwhelmed.
• Moment Killer: When Chizuru thanks him for saying what he did after the play, realizing that he was trying to encourage her, his eyes go straight to her cleavage and she slaps him for it. Twice.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When he realizes that he jumped to the wrong conclusions after stalking Chizuru on Christmas Eve, he's so disgusted at himself that he can barely keep his footing. From that point on, he’s extremely conscious of Chizuru’s boundaries and constantly worrying about whether or not he’s overstepping them with any given interaction.
• Nice Guy: Although he's definitely not flawless, as he's a liar, an Extreme Doormat, a Classical Antihero, impulsive and immature, Kazuya is a good person, and very kind and caring.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: On his first practice date with Sumi, he comes out of the bathroom to find Mami sitting next to her, and he nervously introduces her. Thinking that he's cheating on Chizuru, Mami later looks up Sumi's name and discovers that she's a rental girlfriend, and discovers that Chizuru is one, too. To his credit, she wouldn't have been as enticed if Sumi didn't ramp up the girlfriend act at the wrong time.
• No Poker Face: Whether he's happy, sad, angry, concerned, surprised, excited, annoyed, nervous, determined, embarrassed or overwhelmed, Kazuya's face says it all and he can't hide it for the life of him.
• No-Respect Guy: Despite his efforts, his ex, his friends, and even his own family all seem to enjoy criticizing and belittling him, leaving him feeling dejected and worthless. However, a few people treat him with respect and dignity, namely Sumi and, eventually, Mini and Chizuru, bringing the total number of respectful individuals to three.
• Not What It Looks Like: A frequent victim of these types of incidences as more women begin to fall into his orbit for one reason or another and as his web of lies becomes ever more complicated and difficult to maintain. It does not help that Mami and Ruka deliberately try to place Kazuya in these types of situations.
• Oblivious to Love: Averted for himself. He acknowledges to himself that he has developed romantic feelings for Chizuru, but his cowardly and timid nature prevents him from admitting this to others even when asked directly by Chizuru herself. On the other hand, he's not the slightest bit aware that Sumi has fallen for him. Eventually, it's implied that Chizuru actually does return Kazuya's feelings for her, but he remains woefully blind to any sign that this could be the case. In fact, it takes quite a bit of time for him to consider himself to be anything more than a nuisance to her, much less someone she could have any romantic interest in.
• Obviously Not Fine:
  • He collapses and falls down the stairs to his apartment after getting drunk at Chizuru's birthday party, and tells her that he's fine. She tells him that he's actually bleeding.
  • When Ruka invites herself to the joint birthday party and starts making everything difficult for him, he tells Chizuru over the phone that everything's fine. When Ruka grabs the phone and hangs up on her, Chizuru realizes he's not fine and feels so bad that she decides to go help him.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When he sees Mami sitting across from Sumi on their practice date, he absolutely freaks out.
  • His reaction when he sees Mami and Chizuru at his workplace and figures out that Mami had rented Chizuru for a date in Chapter 46.
  • When his father comes over in Chapter 55, and asks if Kazuya has something to say to him, Kazuya panics, thinking "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
• Once Done, Never Forgotten: The incident at the aquarium where he yelled at Chizuru. Months later on another date, when he asks her if she's ever had any bad incidents occur on her dates, she's quick to remind him of it. He's clearly embarrassed by it and hates who he was at the time.
• Operation: Jealousy: While completely unintended on his part, Mami becomes upset at how quickly he got over her after seeing him bring Chizuru to a mixer thrown by his friends. Upset enough that she tries to deliberately sabotage his relationships throughout the course of the series.
• Opposites Attract: Almost everything Kazuya is, Chizuru is not. Kazuya is full of self-doubt, Chizuru has boundless confidence. Kazuya was robbed of greater purpose and aspirations in life, Chizuru knows what she wants and works for it. Kazuya is open with his emotions, Chizuru bottles them up and keeps them hidden and so forth. All the more reason why they're fated to be together.
• Paralysis by Analysis: Kazuya has a nasty tendency to overthink things whenever it comes to Chizuru, often rendering himself completely stiff because he can't figure out what she's thinking, how she feels about him, or how to proceed with her. Although this is understandable considering the limits she placed on him as a client earlier, it hinders his progress with her, but sometimes also turns out to be the better course of action.
• Playing Sick: Deliberately induces vomiting in front of his boss in Chapter 48 as an excuse to be sent home from work so that he can follow Mami and Chizuru when he see's the two of them on a rental date.
• The Power of Friendship: Whenever Kazuya falls short of his goals, he can always count on his friends to save his skin.
• Prone to Tears: Downplayed somewhat. While he does cry much more frequently than any other character, Kazuya usually only cries when under emotional distress where crying would be expected rather than at the drop of a hat. But he's also incredibly prone to crying Tears of Joy whenever good things happen.
• Properly Paranoid:
  • When Ruka insists on cooking dinner for him because he looks fatigued, Kazuya quickly begins to suspect that she's up to something - not that she's doing a good job of hiding it - but tries to give her the benefit of the doubt. He eventually considers the possibility that she won't go home if it's late at night, which is exactly what her plan was from the start.
  • At the end of the crowdfunding campaign, they receive help from one of Chizuru's friends under the condition that he take her to the theater. Kazuya assumes he has ulterior motives, but Chizuru insists it's nothing but two friends hanging out. Umi does declare his desire to date Chizuru and insists on treating her to dinner, and while she turns him down, he still decides to help them.
• Raging Stiffie: Kazuya is prone to this from time to time, but the first time is the worst; he's hiding with Chizuru in the hospital and she's holding him closely. Too closely. And she notices.
• Secret-Keeper: He goes to great lengths to protect Chizuru's secret of being a rental girlfriend from everyone he can, and has his family convinced that they're really dating, but he does make exceptions. He let Kuri in on his secret to lift his spirits after he was exposed renting Ruka, and told Mini because she overheard and Kazuya thought she would blackmail them.
• Skewed Priorities: Never seems particularly concerned with his own well-being or safety, regularly neglecting to perform even the most basic of tasks such as eating.
• Spoiled Sweet: Kazuya was spoiled by his family as a child, and he's also set to inherit their liquor store. This had the unfortunate side effect of depriving him of a greater purpose in life to shoot for, which earned him the ire of his family, because he feels that everything he needed in life was handed to him. It makes him feel even more inadequate when he sees just how talented and hard-working Chizuru is by comparison, who didn't grow up with the same fortune he had. He's still a very Nice Guy ultimately, despite his ineptitude and his flaws.
• Stalker with a Crush: Even though he's fully aware of how wrong it is, he has a tendency to follow Chizuru behind her back, whether it was his jealousy getting the better of him on Christmas Eve, his concern when he saw her and Mami at his workplace, or his curiosity when attending the play she was in. Chizuru finds out each time, but seeing that he's more upset at himself than she is, she gives Kazuya a mild scolding at worst.
• Stunned Silence: He's so stunned and can barely even function after Sumi spoke to him without her phone and told him that she's going to help him and Chizuru because they're her friends.
• Taking the Bullet: Of the non-lethal variety. When the group begins a drinking game at Chizuru's birthday party, it becomes clear to Kazuya that she's terrible at them. Fearing that she might become too drunk to maintain her disguise or her secrets, he loses repeatedly on purpose to prevent that from happening and renders himself too drunk to stand or take care of himself. Chizuru correctly surmises later that night that Kazuya was intentionally losing for her.
• Tears of Joy: He's often so happy whenever he feels he's made progress with Chizuru that he's often shown smiling with tears all over his face. It weirds her out.
• Think Nothing of It: His usual response to others expressing gratitude towards him.
• Trash of the Titans: A Running Gag is that his room is always a mess, and one of the first things that Chizuru notices whenever she steps inside. It reaches its peak when he tries to get the ball rolling on the crowdfunding project, neglecting to look after himself in pursuit of his new goal.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Chizuru. Although he has long realized his feelings for her, Kazuya has been unable to admit it to Chizuru.
• Unwanted Harem: Since the start of the series, Kazuya has gathered an impressive assortment of women into his inner circle of friends. Under ordinary circumstances, he'd be open to dating any of them, but his situation is far from ordinary.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kibe (and to a lesser extent Kuri). They'll make fun of each other and get into fights, but make no mistake, they're always looking out for each other even if it comes at their own expense.
• What Did I Do Last Night?: After a night of heavy drinking, Kazuya wakes up in his bed not knowing how he got there or what happened. He vaguely recalls Chizuru being in his apartment, but dismisses it as a dream. It isn't until he finds a drink in his fridge with the words "so drunk" on it in Chizuru's handwriting that he realizes that she was indeed in his apartment.
• What You Are in the Dark: Chizuru is left speechless more than once when she learns to what great lengths he is going through to make her movie, such as neglecting to take care of himself and even begging on hands and knees for an acquaintance to direct the movie. All of this without a word, and all for Chizuru.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Chizuru. Most of the cast can clearly see their mutual attraction and compatibility, and Kazuya himself is acutely aware of his romantic feelings toward Chizuru. His foibles and cowardly nature stand in the way of him making definitive action.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: It's difficult for him to grasp this considering how much everyone puts him down and his lack of self-respect, but it's Chizuru who tells him that he actually does have some admirable traits despite what he thinks. She even goes as far as to tell him later on that he really is a good person for helping her. But it's Chizuru's grandmother who tells him that he's had a huge impact on Chizuru's life, even if she doesn't know the truth between them. He's also on the giving and receiving end whenever it comes to Sumi.
• You Are Not Alone: Kazuya tells Chizuru numerous times that that she can talk to him whenever she's bothered by something and her friends and family aren't around. Although she opens up and tells him about her past at first, later on she puts up a barrier and tells him that she's fine. Once she hears his Interrupted Declaration of Love, she finally realizes this and begins approaching him more.

Chizuru Ichinose

Chizuru Ichinose (一ノ瀬 ちづる, Ichinose Chizuru)

Voiced by: Sora Amamiya (2017 commercial and 2020 anime), Aoi Yūki (2018 commercial) (Japanese), Lizzie Freeman (English)^{Other voice actors}Valentina Souza (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Hiyori Sakurada

A college student who works as a rental girlfriend for the Diamond company under the alias "Chizuru Mizuhara". She aspires to be an actress. While she comes across as being mature and well-balanced, she hides a fair share of issues.

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• Agony of the Feet: When her grandfather lied in the hospital dying from injuries sustained in a car crash, Chizuru made 100 nonstop visits to her family shrine to pray, running up and down the long stairway. Eventually, she had to take off her shoes and socks and run barefoot because she's worn blisters into the soles of her feet. They're so bad she couldn't put her footwear back on when she returned to the hospital, and the bottoms of her feet were tarnished with dirt.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Gives the appearance of a confident young woman with a calm demeanor, and is pretty friendly but can be somewhat distant. As the story progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that she is more vulnerable than she thinks, and is setting herself up for a severe emotional breakdown by refusing to show weakness.
• Armor-Piercing Question: When Chizuru pleads for Mami to reconsider how she feels for Kazuya, she asks her if she ever took his feelings seriously or considered if he could be the person to make her happy for the rest of her life. Mami looks visibly shaken but tells Chizuru to mind her own business and leaves.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Or at least the early stages of mutual love. When Kazuya becomes so inebriated that he can't even stand after a night of drinking, Chizuru helps him to his apartment. She stays with him and comforts him while Kazuya retches into his toilet when it is clear that he can't take care of himself. She even tucks him into bed once he falls asleep.
• Bathing Beauty: Chizuru is shown showering or bathing more than the other girls, usually as a retreat whenever she's seriously vexed. Unfortunately for Kazuya, he can hear her whenever she's showering and can't help his mind from going places.
• Beautiful Singing Voice: She's said to have this after she's lured to the karaoke bar where Kazuya works, and her client tells her that he missed out by not hearing it.
• Bespectacled Cutie: When she wears her glasses, she's still gorgeous, and has a somewhat nerdy appearance.
• Birds of a Feather: Chizuru realizes that she and Kazuya share more similarities than they care to acknowledge despite their reluctance to admit it:
  • Despite her efforts to conceal it, she feels that she is just as foolish and stubborn as he is. She is very self-aware and does not consider herself to be anything more than another university student with a far-fetched dream. Although she finds it corny that he aspires to introduce a real girlfriend to his family, she does not think that her dream of her grandmother seeing her on the big screen is any less cheesy. She is equally apprehensive about disappointing her own family, and they both yearn to possess the same strength as their grandmothers.
  • Although she quickly calls out Kazuya's lies, she also believes that some falsehoods are necessary to bring others hope and happiness. While her lies seem to be less self-serving than his, as she does it for the sake of her grandparents, she doesn't want to be looked down upon for telling the truth. In fact, she prefers to keep up the pretense to maintain her reputation.
  • Despite being pressured by her, Kazuya finds it hard to be truthful about his feelings for her. He fears that his honesty would put her in an uncomfortable spot. Others have also tried to make her confess that he means more to her than just a client, but it's evident that she's not entirely honest with herself about her feelings. Little do they know that they're hindering their own progress and not each other's.
  • Despite their individual flaws and insecurities, both of them possess genuinely good hearts. They are selfless and always willing to lend a helping hand to others. However, Kazuya tends to be more open about expressing his helpfulness.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
  • Invoked and played with. When she's first introduced, Chizuru comes across as a cheerful and adorable sweetheart, but after Kazuya gives her a low rating and causes a scene at the aquarium, she completely chews him out and reveals that her real personality is quite the opposite temperament-wise, as she's somewhat irritable and does not like it when her rating percentage goes down. Admittedly, besides the fact that acting like the perfect girlfriend is her job, she had every reason to be angry and harsh towards him, in particular not only for dragging her further into his web of lies, but also because he knew her secret. This counts towards Kazuya, though; otherwise, she's shown to be genuinely friendly towards everyone else, if not a bit distant. This turns out to be heavily downplayed, if not outright subverted in the long run, as in spite of her different acts, her calculative and cynical streak, and the belligerence of her real personality towards the guy she likes, she still is a very good person at heart, whose kindness is genuine, and is ultimately just stuck with some significant emotional baggage, which turned her into a Consummate Professional with a stoic facade.
  • This gets exploited by Mami during the climax of the Paradise and My Girlfriend Arc. Finally fed up with how long Kazuya and Chizuru planned to drag out the facade of their relationship, Mami decides to drop the bombshell and reveals the lie in front of their friends and Kazuya's family. While doing so, she decides to completely recontextualize the nature of the lie by framing Chizuru as being a Manipulative Bitch who was draining Kazuya's bank account and refused to let the lie go, even when her own grandmother was on her death bed.
• Bitch Slap: Did this to Kazuya after hearing his monologue about finding a girl to introduce to his grandparents, which she found cringy and embarrassing, when he looked down her shirt, and again when he slipped and grabbed her chest on a date. In the Senryu Girl Crossover, after Eiji breaks down the fence at the onsen, exposing her and Nanako, she slaps him and Kazuya with both hands at once.
• Blatant Lies:
  • She insists the phone case she gives to Kazuya isn't a Christmas present, but an apology.
  • She's forced to go along with Kazuya's lie that she and Ruka are friends, claiming that they grew up together and grew close due to their parents' friendship. In reality, they only met each other recently, are romantic rivals, although Chizuru isn't quite as hostile toward Ruka as Ruka is toward her, and Chizuru's grandmother is her only remaining family. Ruka almost immediately spoils the lie by claiming to be Kazuya's girlfriend.
  • After her grandmother dies, she insists that she's fine. Kazuya doesn't believe her for a minute.
• Born During a Storm: Chizuru's grandmother tells her that she was born during a rain storm, telling her in her own way to brighten up and not be so cold and distant towards everyone around her.
• Brainy Brunette: She majors in literature and takes a logical approach to whatever problems come her way, often observing the situation and planning a strategy before taking action. Even when she's in a pinch, she's a quick thinker. She's much more grounded in reality than Kazuya is and keeps him in check as well.
• Broken Bird: While many people think Chizuru is incredibly strong for handling herself in such a calm, cool and collected manner, Kazuya later realizes that she's actually hiding a tremendous amount of grief under a stoic or cheerful guise. She's still suffering from the grief of her grandfather's death, aggressively pursued her acting career to honor him by making her dream a reality, and later saw her grandmother as a substitute figure of sorts. With Sayuri's time running out and not wanting her to learn the truth about Kazuya, Chizuru not only dreads the thought of losing the last of her family, but also the thought of her grandmother being sad and disappointed when she dies, and upholds the lie about having a boyfriend to this end.
• Brutal Honesty: At some point she tells Kazuya that while he can be a loser, an idiot, gutless, clumsy, foolish and pathetic, he's not as bad as he thinks she is and hasn't ever regretted meeting him.
• Bully Magnet: She was bullied by several boys when she was young due to her missing parents. However, she fought back.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Chizuru has noticeably large breasts, which causes Mami to feel self-conscious at one point.
• Byronic Heroine: Chizuru has some traits. She is a deeply conflicted and troubled person inside. She's sad and jaded because of her past, but still would like to continue to be a dreamer and is passionate about her desire to become an actress. She tries to be as stoic as possible, but her emotional baggage is definitely too big. She appears friendly, cheerful and outgoing when not behaving calm and collected, but deep down she's just really sad, even more when she loses her grandma, who was the only family member who remained with her. Not to mention she even said she felt so lonely that she'd rather die. She still is a genuinely compassionate and good person despite her troubles, and is not edgy as most examples are.
• Cant Hold Their Liquor: Implied. During a drinking game at her birthday party, Kazuya surmises that a first-time drinker like her wouldn't be able to keep up with heavy drinkers like him or his friends. In a later chapter, she gets inebriated from three glasses of wine.
• Cannot Spit It Out: As much as she tries to hide it, nearly everyone suspects that she's actually fallen for Kazuya. But no matter how hard they try to get her to open up about how she truly feels about him, they can never get her to give them a solid answer. Even when Kazuya tells her that she can talk to him about her problems or when she tries to express her gratitude towards him, she gets nervous and bottles it up, which unintentionally makes her look dismissive instead, something she clearly isn't proud of.
• Cats Are Mean: Invoked and played with. Whenever Chizuru puts her foot down and rebuffs Kazuya, she often is shown with a feline appearance, from cat-like eyes to paws instead of hands, sometimes with a claw out. Chizuru isn't really mean, though; she's just nervous and irritated by a boy who is quite the spineless one.
• Celebrity Is Overrated: Despite Chizuru's passion for acting, she isn't drawn into the glamour and fame often associated with it. She tells Kazuya during the movie project that being an actress doesn't make her better than him or anyone else, and when they attend Umi's party, although she's fairly acquainted with those attending, she's not really a part of that world. Umi had previously tried to sway her to go out with him by taking her to an expensive restaurant filled with industry connections, but she turned him down. It's the art of acting that Chizuru loves, and sees herself as just another ordinary college student otherwise.
• Clark Kenting: To avoid being recognized on campus, Chizuru wears glasses, wears her hair in twin braids and wears boring clothes. It's enough to fool most people.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Has shades of this when Ruka shows up. Though she tries to pass it off as not caring, she doesn't seem too thrilled when Ruka makes moves on Kazuya and repeatedly mentions their fake relationship.
• Closet Geek: Chizuru has a geeky streak: she's very keen on movies and books, and goes to University with big nerdy glasses.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: She's this to Kazuya to an extent; though, Kazuya isn't overly outlandish, just overly idealistic and rather naive, and she tries to keep him grounded in reality. That said, she admits that she still is an "idiot still following a childish dream", and is ultimately not very different from him.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: When Kazuya nearly dies after saving her from drowning, she's more upset that he risked his life for someone who isn't his real girlfriend, as well as the fact that her rescuer now needs rescuing.
• Consummate Professional: She takes whatever job she's handed very seriously, and knows almost exactly what to say and do in a bad situation, all while keeping her cool. Which, thanks to Kazuya, is a lot.
• Cry into Chest: Does this at the climax of the cheer up date when she realizes that she can't hide how devasated she still is following her grandmother's death from Kazuya.
• Cute Bookworm: She's very attractive, is a literature student who loves books and movies, and has a somewhat nerdy appearance while wearing glasses at University.
• The Cynic:
  • At least compared to Kazuya. She's a realist rather than a cynic overall, but despite working hard on pursuing a dream of her own, she believes it's foolish in a world where many of them don't come true. Even as a child, she would constantly get into arguments with her grandfather and put down his idealistic way of thinking. She's very grounded in reality and finds Kazuya's optimism to be just as irresponsible and unrealistic. Despite this, she tells Kuri that she respects "romantics at heart."
    Chizuru: Being pragmatic and practical in life is a difficult thing, but it's even harder to continue to be a dreamer.
  • That said, while she's far more grounded and rational compared to Kazuya, she still follows her dreams, making it a Subverted Trope, admitting she's not very different deep down and seeing herself as dumb.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of The Stoic. On the surface, Chizuru comes across to the others as a strong but slightly distant girl, who carries such a cool air around her, maintaining an impressive composure even under intense situations. Whenever Kazuya worries about how she feels about her career struggles, her grandmother's condition, or when it comes to Mami and Ruka, she tends to become dismissive and doesn't seem to let it bother her. It eventually becomes clear to Kazuya that it's a defense mechanism that she adopts to hide the fact that she's more vulnerable than she lets on.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Understandably, it takes her a very long time to start warming up to Kazuya, but she eventually starts opening up to him and recognizes him as a good guy at heart. She later starts showing a more playful side to him, especially when she finds herself impressed by his commitment to make her dream a reality and even laughing at his shenanigans. It's one of the reasons why her grandmother believes that Kazuya is perfect for her.
• Despair Event Horizon: She's dangerously close to crossing it when she thinks that she won't be able to keep her promise to her grandma that she will see her in a movie before she dies.
• Determinator: She made 100 nonstop visits to her family shrine up and down the long stairs in a desperate effort to get divine forces to acknowledge her prayers to save her grandpa.
• Don't Say Such Stupid Things!: She'll often say this to Kazuya when he gets too down on himself, when he thinks he's being a nuisance when he actually isn't, or whenever he confuses his more positive and noble qualities as an inconvenience. Early on, she would even hit him because he went overboard with his self-pity.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: She doesn't like it when others worry about her, to the point where she finds herself bothered by the notion of Kazuya trying to cheer her up on a date because of her grandmother's death.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: When she sees Kazuya and his family escort Nagomi into their car at the end of Chapter 3, Kazuya notices her watching with a sad and lonely look on her face. He later finds out why.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Zigzagged. Mami asks Chizuru if she's ever had any female clients, and when Chizuru says no, Mami seems almost disappointed, noting that there are a lot of "lonely girls" out there. The only reason Mami hired her was to toy with her. On the other hand, Chapter 13 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend shows Sumi having the same elated reaction (and subsequent overthinking) that Kazuya does at the prospect of going on a date with Chizuru. Her train of thought during and after the date itself is likewise identical to Kazuya’s infatuation. Grandma Nagomi is probably the best example of this, as she downright fawns over Chizuru the same way Kazuya does (to the point of even commissioning a fanbook of her when she hasn't seen her in a while).
• Everyone Can See It: Nearly everyone who knows of Chizuru and Kazuya's relationship insist that, beneath the professional aspects, there is genuine love between the two, and they're practically fated to be together. The only problem is getting both to admit it to the other.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: Chizuru's shown cooking when Kazuya's grandmother visits him, and even though she had no intention of helping him earlier, she comes to his aid pretending that she was late preparing dinner for them, which in Nagomi's eyes makes her an even more ideal future granddaughter-in-law. Chizuru later offers to cook Kazuya dinner when they discuss plans for the movie, and makes him the most delicious omurice he's ever eaten.
• Four-Philosophy Ensemble: Definitely the Realist. She's grounded and professional, with a logical approach to things, though she has her very emotional streak (which she prefers to keep to herself).
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Eclectic. Very eclectic, and her different behaviors demonstrate she has a friendly and playful side, a calmer and quieter one, a more irritable one, and a sad one deep down.
• A Friend in Need:
  • In Chapter 73, when Kazuya is too drunk to take care of himself, she goes to great lengths to help him rather than leave him to deal with his own problems alone. She takes him home, comforts him when he is throwing up and even tucks him into bed.
  • In Chapter 86, she feels bad about not attending Kazuya's birthday party because she's visiting her grandmother instead. When she finds out that Ruka is making everything difficult for him, she feels so terrible for Kazuya that she asks for Sayuri's permission to go, and gets there as fast as possible.
• Girl Next Door: Kazuya is shocked to find out that an S-tier beauty lives right next to him in a run down apartment, but she doesn't want him interacting with her unless it's absolutely necessary. She eventually starts calling him out to speak on the veranda in the back whenever she needs to talk to him, and they tend to have their more open and encouraging conversations right outside their front doors.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: While she's of course less naïve than Kazuya per se, when dealing with Mami it's seen that she counts as this, as, in the end, she doesn't actually see malicious intentions in her. After all, how could Chizuru ask such a sociopath if she ever cared about Kazuya's feelings?
• Greater Need Than Mine: Like Kazuya, she tends to put others above herself and it often comes at her own expense. There are also times where she recognizes her feelings for Kazuya, but struggles with acting on them partially because of Ruka. Chizuru doesn't want her to be hurt, and tells herself if Kazuya has a girlfriend he's happy with, that's all that really matters.
• Green-Eyed Epiphany: As much as she tries to fight it, she does find herself feeling jealous over Ruka's attempts at getting closer to Kazuya, making her question exactly how she feels for him.
• Handshake Refusal: When she first offers Kazuya to keep renting her so it wouldn't hurt Nagomi, Kazuya agrees and offers his hand so they can shake on it. Unhappy with him and the situation, she slaps it aside.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: She's a very talented and hard-working actress, but no matter how hard she tried to land bigger roles, she wasn't getting any closer to achieving her dream and was about to give up on it, until Kazuya suddenly offered Chizuru her biggest movie role yet.
• Heirloom Engagement Ring: Receives the engagement ring Nagomi was given when Kazuya's late grandfather proposed to her in Chapter 88. Though she initially tries to refuse it, Chizuru ends up taking possession of it. It is seen again in Chapter 122 in her pocket apparently keeping it hidden from Mini while the two search through Chizuru's personal belongings for backer rewards for the movie. It returns again in Chapter 189 as the two board a train to depart to a resort for a vacation, with Chizuru apparently intending to return it to Nagomi.
• Her Own Worst Enemy: Like Kazuya, Chizuru is standing in her way of her own happiness in her growing relationship with him because she is so afraid of letting people into her life. After all, she fears reliving the traumatizing pain of losing her entire family to the point of doing whatever it takes to keep up her barriers, including running away from her growing feelings and piling up lies when backed into a corner, which leads to her inability to express herself adequately.
• Heroic BSoD: When Sayuri's health worsens towards the end of the film project, Chizuru starts to suffer from immense guilt over lying to her about Kazuya, and starts to break down, feeling lost, alone and not knowing what to do. Sayuri has just enough strength to tell her that no matter what choices she makes, she will always love her and be proud of her.
• Hidden Depths: She's loved literature since she was a child, appears to be versed in The Art of War and likes Sangokushi, a popular manga based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Kazuya also finds out the hard way that she's been trained in self-defense.
• Hypocritical Heartwarming: She spends most of the first few chapters annoyed with Kazuya when she's not in her girlfriend mode or showing sympathy to him. That said, she gets very upset with Mami when Mami badmouths Kazuya in front of her and his friends.
• Idiot Ball: Despite her gut instinct that Mami was trying to pull something sneaky on the Hawaiians trip and refusing her rental money, Chizuru still confided in her and let herself be vulnerable to her insinuation that Kazuya never truly loved her, even making the situation more complicated by refusing to tell Kazuya anything. That Chizuru didn't consider Mami trying to make her look bad as well is also a glaring flaw, leading to the latter completely flipping the script she fed Chizuru and exposing her rental job in public. This is easily a consequence of the fact that Good Cannot Comprehend Evil.
• I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Later in the story, when she realizes that Kazuya is about to confess to her, she makes up an excuse on the spot and makes a run for it. When this happens at the spa resort, she tells Kazuya that she needs to use the bathroom because she had too much tea. Although it throws him off at first, he's not any less determined to confess to her.
• Informed Attractiveness: Kazuya frequently gushes about how attractive she is during his inner monologues, even though all of the series' main female characters are designed to be attractive.
• Informed Attribute: She's said to be an incredibly popular rental girlfriend, but while she seems to be good at her job, Kazuya is the only client who's regularly shown. The only exception, apart from Kazuya hiring her to go on a date with Kuri, is Mami hiring Chizuru to play mind games with her.
• Intimate Marks: In chapter 318, it is revealed that Chizuru has a small mole on her inner right thigh.
• Irony: Although she's quick to call out Kazuya's behavior, deep down she knows they're more alike than either would like to admit:
  • Although she hides it, she doesn't think she's any less foolish or stubborn than he is. She's very self-conscious and doesn't see herself as anything more than another university student with some starry-eyed dream. Although she thinks it's cheesy that he dreams of introducing a real girlfriend to his family, she doesn't think her dream of her grandmother seeing her on the big screen is any better. She's just as afraid of letting down her own family as he is, and they both want to be as strong as their grandmothers are.
  • She's quick to call out Kazuya's lies, but she also believes that some are necessary if it means that others can be hopeful and happy. And while it seems that her lies are less self-serving than his, doing it for the sake of her grandparents, she actually doesn't want anyone to look down on her by telling the truth, either.
  • Even when she puts him on the spot, Kazuya can't bring himself to be honest about his feelings for her because of how uncomfortable it would make her feel. When others try to get her to admit that he's more than just another client to her, it's clear that she's not being honest with herself about how she feels about him. They also believe they're holding each other back when they're doing it to themselves.
  • In the end, despite their flaws and insecurities, they're both genuinely good hearted individuals, selfless and helpful towards others, although Kazuya is more open about it.
• Japanese Delinquents: Downplayed, but she used to be a bit of a rebel as a younger girl and sometimes was found fighting with boys.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Downplayed since it's more a case of Brutal Honesty than being a Jerkass. She isn't exactly wrong to call out Kazuya's self-pitying Extreme Doormat behavior and tendency to lie to his friends and family. He also did cause her rating to go down for a very petty and irrational reason, something he acknowledges when she calls him out on it.
• Jerkass to One: Downplayed; she's normally a well-meaning and genuinely kind person, but her initial attitude towards Kazuya falls into Jerk with a Heart of Gold territory. Outside of her girlfriend persona, she's incredibly belligerent towards him, due to his irrational behavior, his tendency to lie to his friends and family about their relationship and how much of an Extreme Doormat he is. That being said, she's also willing to keep up the charade to keep his grandmother happy and she's quick to defend him when Mami takes her verbal abuse of him too far. This proves that, despite her more irritable side, she fundamentally is a very kind person at heart.
• Kiss of Life: After Kazuya saves Chizuru from drowning and isn't responsive himself, she ends up having to resort to this to save his life. Kazuya is shocked at first but convinces himself that she only did it to protect her client and nothing more. She on the other hand ends up turning red when she thinks about what he did for her.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Due to her past, she has developed a cynical streak and she doesn't exactly have a positive outlook on life. That said, she is a noble and heroic young woman at heart.
• Last of His Kind: With the passing of her grandmother, Chizuru essentially lost her entire family.
• Living a Double Life: Chizuru doesn't want anyone to find out about her job as a rental girlfriend, adopts a completely different appearance and personality as a college student, and even avoids dates around where she lives and where she attends school to avoid being discovered.
• Lonely Among People: Despite having several college friends and a friendly relationship with her counterparts at the acting school, Chizuru acknowledges to herself in Chapter 166 how lonely she has felt for quite some time:
  "I felt so terribly alone... it felt like I would just curl up and die."
• Lying to Protect Your Feelings: When Mami later accuses Kazuya of being a dangerous stalker, Chizuru is unable to bring herself tell Kazuya that someone he once cared about is slandering his name.
• Master of the Mixed Message: As Chizuru sorts out her feelings for Kazuya over the course of the series, she flips from openly showing affection to hiding behind her professionalism. A stunning example occurs during the climax of the Paradise and My Girlfriend Arc where she gives Kazuya two passionate, emotional kisses. She then flat out tells him that it was just to save face and that the kisses meant nothing, and completely ghosts him for three months starting from the day after the trip... only to reveal that she was mulling over the situation the whole night and couldn't figure out what to text Kazuya.
• Meaningful Name: Chizuru is named after a movie based on the legend of the Thousand Cranes, which is said to make any wish come true. Her grandfather was adamant that anyone could achieve their dreams as long as they never gave up on them, and believed her wish to become an actress would become a reality.
• Men Don't Cry: A female example. Chizuru has only ever cried once in front of Kazuya, when she was about to give up on her dreams of being an actress and Kazuya promised that he would make her dream come true. Since then, she has never cried in front of anyone, even when her grandmother died only hours before. Subverted later on: during Kazuya's "cheer up" date, however, things change after she hears Kazuya's monologue about what he believes is his "perfect girlfriend", clearly referring to her. No longer able to keep up the act, she breaks down and wails into Kazuya's chest for over half an hour.
• The Mentor: She takes Sumi under her wing shortly after meeting her, encouraging her to become better and overcome her struggles.
• Ms. Fanservice: She is regarded as a bombshell by Kazuya's friends to the point that they warn him that having sex with her would destroy his sex life. The reader is regularly treated to Kazuya's perspective whenever he checks her out, and he often fantasizes about her wearing revealing clothes.
• Nerds Are Sexy: She loves literature and has a geeky streak (especially about movies), and while attending college, she has a rather nerdy appearance, with her big glasses and somewhat plain clothing. This doesn't make her any less attractive, though.
• Nice Girl: In spite of having developed a bitter streak due to her past, Chizuru is a very kind and good-hearted person, and always ready to help the ones in need. If you look beyond her belligerence towards Kazuya, she's also very polite, considerate and especially her interactions with Sumi show how genuinely sweet she really is.
• Not in My Contract: Reminds Kazuya from time to time that the things he's asking her for is beyond what her job as a rental girlfriend is, such as meeting his grandmother at his apartment. However, she does allow him to alter the contract slightly, such as letting him rent her for an hour every Wednesday when he visits his grandmother to keep up the charade. As the story progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that they're stretching the rules if not outright breaking them constantly.
• Not So Above It All: Mini is pleasantly surprised to find a sexy dress in Chizuru's closet, which Chizuru claims was a gift from a friend, and even more so when she catches a glimpse of what's inside her underwear drawer. Mini uses this knowledge to convince Kazuya that she's not exactly as refined and proper as everyone thinks and has a sultry side to her, urging him to be the man to fill her secret needs.
• Not So Stoic: Although she tends to maintain her composure whenever problems arise, her mask tends to slip whenever Kazuya causes problems for her, not only because of his untrustworthy nature, but also because she fears that he'll blow her secret of being a rental girlfriend. She also lost it when Kazuya told her that Ruka was one herself, after Chizuru was so afraid that she'd expose her out of jealousy. It's also revealed that she used to be a clingy crybaby when she was a child.
• Obliviously Beautiful: A bit of a downplayed example. Chizuru is aware to an extent that she is a pretty and attractive girl, which is also evident by her strong fashion sense. It's just that she doesn't seem to grasp how beautiful she is, and tends to be dismissive of most compliments regarding her appearance. When Ruka points out how big her breasts are, how smooth her skin is, or how nice her figure is at the resort, Chizuru doesn't think it's really that big of a deal. But it's also shown that she's very self-conscious towards her appearance, especially when she compares herself to the equally attractive Ruka.
• Oblivious to Love: Even though numerous characters try to tell Chizuru that Kazuya has fallen in love with her, she's not convinced and tries to use every excuse to dismiss it as a possibility. When a colleague of hers takes her out and makes numerous passes at her, she doesn't catch on until he spells it out for her. It finally takes an Interrupted Declaration of Love from Kazuya to finally have her realize he has deep feelings for her. Her initial reaction? A strange mix of a Love Epiphany, Oh, Crap!, and My God, What Have I Done?, because she realized the lie that ties both of them could actually drift them apart, make people despise them and make their rivals take revenge on one or both of them if they find out.
• Obviously Not Fine: Whenever Kazuya worries about how she's feeling in regards to her grandmother's worsening health, wanting to support her in her time of need, Chizuru gets annoyed and insists that she's fine every time. When she says this right after her grandmother dies, Kazuya realizes that something is very wrong with her but doesn't know how he can help her without driving her even further away.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When she steps into Kazuya's apartment to discuss Ruka with him, Ruka realizes she's done it before which is against company policy, and Chizuru realizes she let her guard down.
  • Her reaction when she realizes that Mami had rented her under a false name and she had discovered Chizuru's secret job as a rental girlfriend at the end of Chapter 45.
  • After talking with Umi at his party, Kazuya asks her what she thinks "I don't not like you" means since he doesn't know the context behind it. Her entire face erupts in a blush and denies she knows anything.
  • She gets a Naked Freak-Out when she loses the top of her Slippery Swimsuit after going on a water slide with Kazuya. Thankfully, he notices something's up and gets it back for her without anyone noticing.
• Only Sane Woman: Despite her massive emotional issues, Chizuru is by far the most well-balanced and realistic character in the entire series - where, otherwise, we have: a naively idealistic Extreme Doormat who lacks self-confidence and behaves cowardly, a sociopathic, cruel and petty Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, an immature Clingy Jealous Girl and an adorable Shrinking Violet who is practically unable to talk to strangers and socialize.
• Opposites Attract: If Chizuru is yin, then Kazuya is her yang. Where Chizuru is confident in herself, Kazuya is not. Where Chizuru knows her dream and works hard for it, Kazuya lacks any greater aspirations in life. Where Chizuru maintains a stoic facade and unwillingness to show weakness, Kazuya is unashamed to display his emotions. Though she may not be ready to admit it yet, it's only a matter of time.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother died when she was very young, and her father had left long before that, and it's revealed in Chapter 202 that he also died at some point. With the death of her grandmother in Chapter 151, she becomes the only known surviving member of her family.
• Peerless Love Interest: She may as well be the World's Most Beautiful Woman, because while the other girls get their fair share of fawning, everyone sees Chizuru as a gorgeous woman totally out of Kazuya's league. Kazuya himself can't help but see Chizuru as a strong, confident, and utterly perfect person, which only deepens his already huge insecurities.
• Pet the Dog: Despite her cold attitude toward Kazuya early on, she doesn't hesitate to help him home and take care of him when he gets completely drunk on her birthday. She cooks for him when he's nearly malnourished and hasn't been feeding himself while doing research for their project. She's also extremely supportive of Sumi in her goals of being a better rental girlfriend and overcoming her social anxiety.
• Power of Trust: Though she might say otherwise, Chizuru's trust in Kazuya is nigh-absolute. More than one character who know of their true relationship notes that her level of trust in him has gone far beyond "just friends" and one of the many reasons why they suspect that she's developed feelings for Kazuya. For those who think they actually are dating, it's just another reason for why they are perfect together.
• The Promise:
  • She makes a promise to Kazuya to find him a real girlfriend and support him as a rental in the meantime, and tries to convince Mami to get back with him. Naturally, it's around this time that Kazuya wants her as his real girlfriend.
  • When she was younger, she made a promise with her grandfather that she'd be a real actress some day, and he'd be the first to see her movie. Unfortunately, he passed away before that could happen, but she still wants her grandmother to see her on the big screen before she passes.
• Raised by Grandparents: Chizuru's dad left her when she was very young, and her mom passed away shortly after they moved in with her grandparents. Her grandfather passed away before she entered high school, leaving her grandmother as her only remaining family. Even though she tries to prepare herself for when the time comes due to her condition, she's absolutely terrified of losing the last of her living relatives.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Even though she's depicted as having brown hair, she's been described by Kazuya and other characters for having raven black hair and snow white skin.
• Rescue Romance: Kazuya puts his life on the line to rescue her when she accidentally falls off the ferry. She has to save him by giving him a Kiss of Life. The thought of what he did for her makes her blush, and feelings begin to build within her.
• Right Behind You: If she catches Kazuya trapped in his thoughts, she likes to sneak up behind him and poke him just to get a rise out of him.
• Safety in Indifference: As a result of eventually losing her entire family, Chizuru develops a crippling fear of allowing people into her life, let alone being in a meaningful romantic relationship. The painful grief convinces Chizuru that she is better off alone, which becomes the key source of her struggles when it comes to her growing feelings for Kazuya.
• Sex Goddess: She's portrayed as this by Kazuya when asked about his sex life after one year of "relationship" with her.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: When her grandmother's health takes a turn for the worse, Kazuya tries to convince Chizuru to come clean and stop lying to herself by pretending that everything's fine when it's clearly not. Refusing to break her grandmother's heart, she angrily shuts him down and tells him that she despises sad truths.
• Single-Target Sexuality: While she struggles to acknowledge her feelings, Kazuya is the only person in her life who has managed to make her consider the idea of falling in love and forming a romantic relationship. This is despite the fact that the story constantly shows us that countless people consider her to be beautiful or exceptional and would love to date her. Yet, Chizuru never demonstrates any interest in anyone nor does she make any serious effort to make a relationship, until she meets Kazuya.
• Skewed Priorities: When she finds Kazuya unconscious after he saves her from drowning, she's more upset at the idea of endangering a client and says as a rental, he's supposed to use her however he likes. Was he supposed to do nothing and just let her die?
• Smart People Wear Glasses: She's a smart girl and is often depicted wearing glasses, whenever she's not going out on rental dates.
• The Spock: To Kazuya's McCoy. Not that she's unemotional, but she's usually not open about how she feels inside, and she's also able to put on different acts, including a stoic one, while Kazuya wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time. While his actions are almost entirely driven by emotion, Chizuru analyzes situations logically and tends to come off as somewhat emotionless when she's trying to figure out a solution to their problems. She tries to keep Kazuya anchored by reminding him not to let their emotions cause even more problems for them, but as much as she tries to keep their relationship "professional", deep down she does worry about him and struggles a lot with keeping her own emotions in check. As Kazuya does, Chizuru does care a lot about others, but she's naturally not open like him about that.
• Squee: Whenever she sees a play or a movie she really likes, she completely nerds out and erupts like an excited little girl over the actors, direction and other technical aspects.
• Stepford Smiler: In Chapter 152, she smiles brightly at Kazuya and tells him that she's perfectly fine mere hours after her grandmother Sayuri passes away. Kazuya doesn't buy it, though he is at a loss on how to proceed.
• The Stoic: Deconstructed. She comes off this way to the others for keeping herself composed even under the worst situations in such a professional manner, which they find to be strong and admirable. Kazuya learns that she's actually much more vulnerable than she lets off, and when she doesn't seem to be affected when her grandmother's condition worsens, he realizes it's all a front to hide how terrible she really feels. As the series progresses, Kazuya finds himself at a loss on how to break through to her, and finds it increasingly important for him to find a way to allow Chizuru to drop her stoic demeanor and show weakness in a healthy and cathartic way.
• Stunned Silence: Chizuru is left without words more than once when she learns to what great lengths Kazuya is going through to make her movie, such as neglecting to take care of himself and even begging on hands and knees for an acquaintance of his to direct the movie.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Her girlfriend mode notwithstanding, Chizuru normally comes off as being rather reserved, if not slightly distant, and in her interactions with Kazuya, her brash side comes out; she looks stoic, but is pretty quick to temper; that said, she has a genuinely sweet side and is a kind person at heart. Once she's able to let go and open herself around her actor friends and Sumi, she's a completely different person, showing a genuine bright, playful and cheerful side to her. Kazuya rarely catches a glimpse of this side of her, but starts seeing it more as she begins to confide in him more.
• Tender Tears: She's definitely prone to this when in private, whether it's in her flashbacks or when Kazuya proposes a way to make her dream a reality when she's close to giving up.
• Thanks for the Mammary: A frequent victim of this, as her friend Yoko and Nagomi are impressed by the size of her breasts. Ruka grabs her chest looking to see if her heart races for Kazuya, and Kazuya slips and grabs her by accident.
• Took a Level in Kindness: As Chizuru spends more time with Kazuya, she gradually becomes more fond of him. Her initial animosity towards him considerably diminishes as she realizes how similar they are. The turning point comes when he heroically saves her from drowning, risking his own life in the process.
• Tragic Heroine: Very much so. Her father leaves her family, and then her mother dies. She loses her grandpa and then her grandma, who was the only family member who remained with her. The poor girl really feels so lonely that she'd rather die.
• Trying Not to Cry: At the end of the cheer up date, Kazuya finds himself describing what his perfect girlfriend is. Realizing he's talking about her, she becomes overwhelmed by feelings of loneliness now that both of her grandparents are gone, and as hard as she tries to fight it, the walls come crumbling down and she completely breaks down in tears.
• Tsundere: She can be considered as a type B overall, since she's a genuinely nice person by default, but Kazuya's irrational behavior often brings out her more irritable and annoyed side initially. Off the clock, indeed, she acts pretty coldly towards him and dismisses his feelings for her. But despite insisting there's nothing between them and repeatedly telling him not to get the wrong idea, she does help him when he's in a pinch, tries to give him some heartfelt advice when he's down, and tends to call him stupid whenever she's touched by his actions. And while she does try to put up a tough front, she's actually very vulnerable and does become jealous of Ruka.
• Unkempt Beauty: Kazuya notes that even when she's just wearing a plain hoodie and not wearing any makeup, she's still unbelievably gorgeous. Also with glasses, she maintains her beauty.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Kazuya. Nearly the entire cast insist that she has developed feelings for Kazuya. Her unwillingness to admit it to herself or others is what holds her back.
• Wham Line:
  • At the end of Chapter 60, after Kazuya asks her to confide in him, she tells him something important:
    "They're gone. My parents, they aren't around anymore."
  • At the end of Chapter 152, Kazuya recalls what Chizuru said to him right after her grandmother died:
    "I'm fine!"
• What the Hell, Hero?: Does this to Kazuya from time to time, such as when he pleaded with her to pretend to be his girlfriend in front of his grandmother, and later with Mami at the karaoke bar and the beach. Even though she has absolutely no obligation to do these things, Chizuru ends up saving him and continuing her girlfriend act.
• What You Are in the Dark: Although given permission to sell the engagement ring by Kazuya's grandmother in Chapter 88 should Chizuru need to, she refuses to do so and even goes as far as to hide it from Mini. Even when the crowdfunding campaign is in dire straits, it is never considered as an option. Not only that, she also keeps the ring on the same table as her family shrine next to her bed instead of hidden away out of sight.
• When She Smiles: Although it's not unusual to see Chizuru Mizuhara smiling, Kazuya remarks that seeing Chizuru Ichinose laugh and smile is something else, and is smitten by her when he first sees it.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Kazuya. Her friends and family are quick to point out her clear attraction and romantic compatibility with him. The only problem is, they can't get her to admit that to herself.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Although more assertive and temperamental than the standard, Chizuru still fits. She's very beautiful, has dark hair, has an elegant look and a generally calm demeanor, and despite her troubles she's fundamentally a very kind, caring and selfless person, who loves and is devoted to her family members until the end, since all of them end up dying and she's the only one still alive.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: On the giving and receiving end. When Kazuya berates himself for his many personal shortcomings, she declares that while he does have his flaws, he still has admirable qualities and has never once regretted to have known him. Later on, when she derides herself for her perceived lack of acting talent and an inch away from giving up on her dreams, it is Kazuya who tells her that she's more talented than she believes, and not to give up on her acting career.

Mami Nanami

Mami Nanami (七海 麻美, Nanami Mami)

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Japanese), Laura Stahl (English)^{Other voice actors}Verania Ortiz (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Shiori Akita

Kazuya's ex-girlfriend whom he dated for one month until she broke up with him. She's the only villainous character in the series.

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• A-Cup Angst: When Mami first spots Chizuru in a bikini, she stares at her breasts momentarily. She then immediately jumps and zips her jacket up at the same time to hide her smaller breasts.
• Abusive Parents: Her parents were incredibly controlling over her entire life to the extent of sabotaging her relationship with a boy in high school she was genuinely in love with just because they had arranged for her to be married off to someone else.
• Advertised Extra: Downplayed; she gets top billing in official artwork to the point where you'd naturally assume she's a nice person who's friends with the other girls and a main female character in Kazuya's harem whose importance is on par with Chizuru. Even the anime openings and endings add to it by prominently featuring her along with the other girls. In actuality, her role in the series is more of a "despicable antagonist who's the closest thing to a Big Bad in the story and supporting character who only shows up sometimes but not all the time."
• Ambiguous Situation: Mami only agreed to go out with Kazuya to get out of some kind of arrangement that her father is placing on her. She says it could have been anyone and he was the most convenient. Although nothing has been confirmed and it hasn't been brought up since, there are enough signs to suggest it's an Arranged Marriage. Chapter 215 reveals that's exactly what it is.
• Believing Your Own Lies: In order to deal with the heartbreak of her high school boyfriend being forced by her parents to breakup with her and the miscarriage of her child with said boyfriend, she lied to herself that what she felt for him wasn't love but just her desire to be free from her controlling parents. The snap back to the present day reveals that she continues to believe this despite the fact that seeing other couples being happy causes her so much emotional pain that she has to tear them down.
• Big Bad: She conspires against Kazuya and Chizuru in hopes of splitting them up. The trajectory of Ruka's character suggests that Mami might end up having to share the spot.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: She has dark and thick eyebrows, although hers is not as big as Sumi's.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She puts up a pleasant front, but it doesn't take too long to find out that she's very petty and manipulative underneath.
• Blatant Lies: She claims she doesn't judge Chizuru for being a rental girlfriend, before going on to say how angry she is about Kazuya spending so much money just so he can show off Chizuru as his girlfriend. Much later in the series, she accuses Kazuya of being a dangerous stalker among other serious accusations.
• The Bus Came Back: She has a habit of disappearing from the story for long periods of time only to reappear again to cause trouble.
• Date Peepers: She does this to Kazuya and Sumi after she spots them around town, and sees them holding hands. She even sits across from Sumi while at the bowling alley, wondering what kind of relationship they're in after Sumi tries a bit too hard hugging Kazuya's arm as if they were lovers. She also inadvertently finds out that Chizuru is also a rental girlfriend after she searches for Sumi online.
• A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 215 finally reveals Mami's backstory and why she's determined to destroy Kazuya's relationship with Chizuru.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Verbal example. While most of Kazuya's friends enjoy poking fun at him, Mami takes it to borderline sadistic levels, stringing him along for a month only to break up with him and trying to humiliate him in front of Chizuru. She also expects Kazuya to not fight back and even demands that he apologizes on her behalf when Chizuru finally calls her out on it. It is subverted in that Chizuru clearly finds her behavior disgusting and calls her out on it. Even Kazuya's other friends are visibly uncomfortable with how badly Mami verbally lashed him.
• Dude Magnet: Mami catches the eye of nearly every guy that comes into contact with her, and most don't hesitate to make a pass at her. She's either shown blowing them off if she's in a rotten mood, or will seemingly show interest if she can use them to her advantage, Kazuya included.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Her eyes turn this way whenever she's in a rotten mood and wants to be left alone. And it's usually a bunch of unlucky guys that hit on her who end up seeing it. She also shows this when Chizuru suggests that Kazuya could be the person who could make her truly happy.
• Everyone Can See It: Once she learns the truth about Chizuru, even Mami suspects that Kazuya and Chizuru have both actually fallen for each other. Unlike the rest of the cast, it makes her more determined to use this knowledge against them.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: She is genuinely taken aback when Chizuru directly asks her if she cared about Kazuya's feelings. This comes after she made it clear that she only dated Kazuya for convenience's sake.
• Evil Is Petty:
  • Abruptly breaking up with Kazuya after a month is bad enough, but she then tries to actively ruin his relationship with Chizuru, initially unaware that she's actually a rental girlfriend, just because she dislikes how he apparently got over her so quickly. Learning that Chizuru is a rental girlfriend seems to make her even more enthused with sabotaging Kazuya and Chizuru's relationship.
  • Her rental of Chizuru after finding out the truth, with her forcing payment on her as a "prize" for having to date Kazuya and then demanding she sing. Her cheery claim that she's not looking down on Chizuru and her profession also comes across as Blatant Lies as a result, especially when she states the act Chizuru and Kazuya have maintained along with Chizuru's "fake smile" pisses her off.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Next to Sumi, she has possibly the most cheerful and innocent looking face of the girls. She's also the only one who is genuinely cruel, and the pettiest among them.
• Faux Affably Evil: Underneath her sweet and kind demeanor is her manipulative and spiteful personality.
• Favors for the Sexy: In Chapter 5 of the spinoff Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, Sumi watches as a bunch of guys try to hit on Mami, and without moving from her seat, Mami tricks them into writing her report for her and treating her to a meal. When they ask for her name as she leaves, she gives them a fake one.
• Flag Bikini: She wears one with the stars and stripes when she's at the beach with Kazuya and the others.
• Foil: To Chizuru. Both are girls who Kazuya has dated^note  with Chizuru though, it's a technicality due to her being a rental girlfriend and has interests in and constantly finds himself interacting with due to various circumstances. However, while Chizuru, at least outside of her girlfriend persona, is very belligerent and snappy at Kazuya over his Extreme Doormat tendencies and constant lying yet regardless is willing to stand up for him and help him keep up the charade to keep his grandmother happy, Mami puts up a sweet front but is actually a petty, Manipulative Bitch who's trying to ruin Kazuya's relationships seemingly out of spite of the fact that he started dating again so soon after their break-up.
• Forceful Kiss: Does one to Kazuya when she pulls him away from the group to help her search for her missing bracelet at the beach.
• Freudian Excuse: She was born into a wealthy family, but her father was a Control Freak who did everything he could to shape her into whatever he wanted her to be, sparing no thought about what she wanted in life. When Mami was dating someone she loved, who somewhat resembles Kazuya, and learned she was pregnant at 15, hoping the baby would be her one true chance at freedom, she learned her father put her in an Arranged Marriage, her boyfriend was forced to break up with her, and her hopes and dreams died along with her baby from a miscarriage. She convinced herself that she wasn't actually in love, but simply just yearned to be free from her parents' grip. Because of this, she believes that people who talk about love are nothing but liars and it just makes her want to tear it all down whenever she sees it.
• Gaslighting:
  • Her character revolves around manipulating Kazuya into believing he continues to yearn for her even after their abrupt breakup.
  • She later tries to convince Chizuru that Kazuya is actually a stalker that's been manipulating her the entire time and claims they're really on the same side. It doesn't fly.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Despite being the one who broke up with him, Mami immediately becomes incredibly jealous when she sees that Kazuya seemingly got over the break up quickly and started seeing another girl.
• Hate at First Sight:
  • Mami almost immediately becomes jealous of Chizuru, and is rather hostile toward her in all their encounters, even if it isn't immediately obvious. Chizuru doesn't exactly like her, either, although she does briefly hold out hope that Mami and Kazuya can get back together for Kazuya's sake.
  • In Chapter 76, Ruka and Mami almost immediately hate each other after their first face-to-face interaction.
  • In Chapter 5 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, Sumi, observing Mami manipulating a few boys into doing favors for her, realizes that Mami's bad news. However, in Chapter 9, when Mami approaches Sumi, it's revealed that the latter has forgotten who the former is.
• Hate Sink: There is not a single sympathetic quality to her character, for neither the audience nor the cast. Every time a situation arises that makes it seem like she has or is developing redeeming qualities, she does yet another thing that shows she's a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk and The Sociopath. Her backstory does give her some sympathy points, if only by revealing why she's such a twisted person in the present.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Regardless of how rotten she is, there are hints that she had some reasons for her to act the way she did, implying she was trying to escape from an Arranged Marriage by an uptight family. Chapter 215 reveals that this was very much the case, and that her unpleasantness is motivated by a deep emotional pain from her childhood that she never truly got over.
  • Even though it’s all part of a nefarious plan to screw with Kazuya’s love life, Kibe notes that she demonstrated surprising preparation and skill when applying to be an advisor for Nagomi’s website.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: While it has more to do with her own jealousy of Chizuru, Mami's not completely wrong in calling her out for deceiving everyone at their school by pretending to be Kazuya's girlfriend.
• I Just Want to Be Free: Her backstory. She had very controlling parents, and spent much of her life wanting nothing more than to be free from their control.
• I Lied: Early on in the series, she admits that she lied about finding someone else when she broke up with Kazuya. The veracity of any given statement she makes is questionable, but since she hasn't been seen with anyone else, she most likely really had lied back when she broke up with Kazuya.
• Irony:
  • Once she learns the truth about Chizuru, Mami confronts her and calls her out for deceiving everyone, but the thing that bothers her more than anything is the "fake, lying smile" that everyone falls for. Not only does she say this with her own fake, lying smile, but she's far more guilty of doing this than anyone else. And unlike Chizuru, Mami clearly does it for her own selfish gain.
  • She demands that Chizuru mind her own business early in the series, yet has meddled considerably with Kazuya and Chizuru's own life as the story goes on.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • After she humiliates Kazuya in front of their friends and Chizuru, Kazuya admits that all of the embarrassing details about their relationship were true.
  • When she confronts Kazuya about Chizuru being a rental girlfriend and pretends to be nice, it's a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk moment since her thoughts afterwards reveal she thinks Kazuya's a loser. However, there is a lot of truth in her words that to Chizuru, being Kazuya's girlfriend is only a business transaction and that he should save his time and money for a real girlfriend since he'll be too busy with work after college.
  • At the resort, she calls out Chizuru for holding onto the engagement ring and deceiving Kazuya's family, particularly Nagomi, for well over a year. She also talks smack about the Kinoshitas, including Nagomi, for forcing the ring on her in the first place without knowing their real situation and obsessing over Chizuru.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Whenever she's not wearing that bright persona of hers, it's easy to see that she is deceptively manipulative and spiteful, and acts sweet only to manipulate others. Notable examples include:
  • She insulted and laughed off all of Kazuya's attempts at intimacy when they were together, casually dumped him a month later, then proceeds to go great lengths to sabotage his budding relationship with Chizuru.
  • In Chapter 5 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, Sumi pegs Mami off as one when a group of guys hit on her and she answers their questions with brusque replies.
• Living Lie Detector: Although Kazuya is able to fool his family and friends about Chizuru, once she finds out the truth, Mami is able to see past every single lie thrown her way.
• Manipulative Bitch: She has no qualms using her charms to have boys eating out of her hands, and even leads Kazuya on into thinking that she wants him back when she only wants to destroy his relationship with Chizuru. In Chapter 5 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, she manages to get some guys to do her report and pay for her meal.
• Master of the Mixed Message: She keeps sending mixed signals to Kazuya as to whether or not she wants to date him again. She generally seems to be just teasing him, but during moments when Chizuru is around, she seems to want to get back with him.
• Meaningful Echo: It turns out her lie to Kazuya at the beginning of the story about her seeing someone else was the exact same lie her high school boyfriend told her after he was forced to break up with her.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: She acts like she's not very bright and admits she's rather stupid, which hides just how observant and cunning she can be. She figures out Kazuya's plan that if he confesses to Chizuru at the resort and become a real couple, it would allow them to get away with all of the lies they've told everyone as if they never happened.
• Out of Focus: She serves as the central antagonist and a rival for Kazuya's affections early in the story, but disappears from a good chunk of it to focus on Chizuru's background, the movie and its aftermath, and more or less gets replaced by Ruka. Mami finally returns for good several chapters later with a full deck to take her revenge against both Kazuya and Chizuru, since she's befriended Nagomi and spilled the beans on the movie project.
• Precision F-Strike: Mami doesn't usually swear, but she lets one off in Episode 12 of the English dub, when she refers to Chizuru's "fake-ass smile" in a calm but angry tone of voice.
• Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: It's clear that she's gone completely off the rails after she sees Kazuya "dating" Chizuru. Whenever she encounters him at his workplace, his apartment, or at school, it's never a coincidence; she always has ulterior motives and is looking for any kind of dirt she can find on Chizuru. Whenever she appears, you can bet she's only around to cause problems for everyone.
• Put on a Bus: After the trip to the beach, she backs out from the Love Triangle between her, Kazuya and Chizuru, then disappears from the story altogether once Ruka takes her spot, with only occasional appearances. Her last major appearance in the story was in Chapter 78, and she doesn't appear again until Chapter 167.
• Relationship Sabotage: She's unable to process how Kazuya can get over their abrupt breakup and supposedly find a new girlfriend so soon after the fact, to the point that she tries to break him and Chizuru seemingly out of spite.
• Repetitive Name: Her full name is Mami Nanami.
• Secret-Keeper: Promises to keep Chizuru and Kazuya's true nature of their relationship a secret and has so far kept true to her word. However, by the time of the Paradise and My Girlfriend Arc, she had already spilled out other details such as the film project and their trip to the beach, which make Kazuya and Chizuru afraid that she's about to drop the bomb on them.
• The Sociopath: She is manipulative and plays on Kazuya's emotions. She wants to sabotage his budding relationship with Chizuru, not because she truly loved him, but because she is possessively jealous and spiteful of him seemingly moving on after she dumped him.
• Stepford Smiler: She's often shining bright with a cute smile, which hides the rotten maliciousness inside of her. Even when she's interrogating Chizuru after discovering her secret and calling her out, she doesn't drop the happy act until the end.
• Tareme Eyes: She has them, though they definitely don't match her personality, as she's an evil Manipulative Bitch.
• Teen Pregnancy: She became pregnant with her high school sweetheart's child at age 15. She was actually elated when she found out, hoping that it could mean that she could move out with her boyfriend and away from her controlling family. Unfortunately, she ended up miscarrying and her boyfriend was forced by her father to break up with her, turning her into the girl she is in the present.
• This Cannot Be!: Her visible reaction to Chizuru kissing Kazuya in front of everyone, outing herself as a rental girlfriend and stating that their relationship is real.
• Tragic Villain: She lost her first love to her controlling parents and her child to a miscarriage. In order to deal with the pain, she convinced herself that she wasn't actually in love, which in turn became twisted into her believing that love in general was just a farce. Even if she's horribly unpleasant in the present, knowing what made her the way she is does make her somewhat pitiable.
• Tranquil Fury: Unlike the rest of the cast, she never raises her voice whenever she's angry. She'll become distant, speak in a detached tone, or pretend to be all sweet and charming, but she's never shown yelling or screaming. The only exceptions are when she yells at her brother and when she completely rips into Chizuru for holding onto the ring and continuing to deceive Kazuya's family.
• Unrequited Love Switcheroo: When Mami first runs into Kazuya with Chizuru, she suddenly decides to butt back into his life. While he's trying to move on, she seems determined to break him and Chizuru up.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Mami actually used to be a sweet girl. And then her parents ruined it for her by forcing her to breakup with the boy she loved for the sake of an arranged marriage.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • She has a slight one when Chizuru drills her on Kazuya's feelings for her, her eyes become a pale blue with her movement becoming tense. She narrowly avoids completely losing it, but nevertheless lets a portion of her true personality slip when she pries her hand free of Chizuru's grip.
  • After forcing Chizuru to kiss Kazuya, Mami completely snaps becoming visibly angry and raising her voice when she would typically fall back to Tranquil Fury.
• Wham Line: She immediately breaks up with Kazuya at the beginning of the story after having dated for just a month, claiming she fell in love with someone else. He doesn't take it very well, and ends up renting out Chizuru as his new girlfriend and thus setting in motion the rest of the story.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: After Chizuru gives her a tongue lashing for berating Kazuya in front of his friends, Mami immediately turns to him and demands that he apologize for Chizuru's harsh yet truthful words.
• Your Door Was Open: In Chapter 60, she lets herself into Kazuya's apartment at the worst possible time- when Chizuru, having lost her keys, is forced to stay with him.

Ruka Sarashina

Ruka Sarashina (更科 るか, Sarashina Ruka)

Voiced by: Nao Tōyama (Japanese), Sarah Anne Williams (English)^{Other voice actors}Amanda Hinojosa (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Mio Kudo

A high school student who quickly discovers Chizuru's identity as a rental girlfriend. She keeps it a secret under the condition that she's allowed to date Kazuya as a provisional girlfriend. She's also a rental girlfriend, and works at a different agency from Chizuru and Sumi. Very smitten and pushy, she's self-centered and would do any petty and childish deed to be with Kazuya, but is ultimately a decent person.

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• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: She makes Kazuya give her one in Chapter 169 after getting upset that she has to spell out what she expects from him as his (trial) girlfriend, though with no affection on his part. She returns the headpats when she tests him later on and gives him a pass.
• All Love Is Unrequited: She does everything she possibly can to get Kazuya to fall for her, and while he acknowledges that anyone else would be the luckiest guy in the world for it, he doesn't know why he won't let himself fall for her. He nearly makes their relationship official solely out of guilt.
• Always Someone Better: Ruka is immensely jealous of Chizuru and wants to believe she's just as good as she is at everything. But no matter how hard she tries, she just can't surpass her, which frustrates her to no end.
• Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: This begins to set in when she tries to actively interfere in Kazuya's love life. Ruka taking Kazuya to a private room in a love hotel seems to radiate with this intent, and Kazuya even finds himself tempted and fantasizing about making love to Ruka, but it's really just a ploy to squeeze answers out of him about why he overstepped the bounds of the girlfriend rental service with Chizuru. When Ruka develops real and powerful feelings for Kazuya, however, she starts pursuing a blatant sexual relationship.
• Believing Their Own Lies: Despite the fact she's blackmailing him into having her as a trial girlfriend and the clear signs that he likes Chizuru, Ruka seems to believe that they're dating and that they could have a happy, healthy relationship.
• Better Partner Assertion: Ruka constantly does this whenever she explains why she's better suited to be Kazuya's girlfriend over Chizuru.
• Big Bad Ensemble: She starts engaging in active Relationship Sabotage as her desperation to make Kazuya her boyfriend grows, making her a similar threat as Mami.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Behind her gorgeous looks and cheerful demeanor, Ruka is very self-centered and will do whatever she deems necessary to get what she wants. As Kazuya's trial girlfriend, she's constantly demanding things out of him so he can make her happy, even if it comes at his expense, and whenever it seems she's doing something nice for him, there are usually strings attached. She also treats Chizuru as an obstacle in her relationship with Kazuya when it's really the other way around, and does whatever she can to get their eyes off each other. Although Ruka calls a truce when she learns about her grandmother's condition, she tries to discourage Kazuya from helping her and calls off said truce the moment it seems that Chizuru back in good spirits. Despite this, Ruka isn't a bad or malicious person at heart, but her immaturity and desperation to be happy is what pushes her towards the edge. Unfortunately, Kazuya deciding to end their provisional relationship seems to have pushed her over said edge, and she starts playing the character type closer to the hilt.
• Bitch Slap: After she has Kazuya explain the entire situation between him and Chizuru, Ruka slaps him for thinking that their plan to lie to their grandparents is somehow going to work when it's going to end up hurting them instead.
• Blackmail: After exposing Chizuru as a rental girlfriend, Ruka promises to keep it a secret under the condition that Kazuya goes out with her as a trial girlfriend. Chizuru points out that using threats isn't how a good relationship starts, and Kazuya finds dating her to be a living hell at first because he has to meet every one of Ruka's demands lest she spill the beans on Chizuru and the fact that he rented her.
• But Liquor Is Quicker: Attempted. When Kazuya grows suspicious of her while she's cooking for him, she pulls a beer out of his fridge. When he refuses, she pours it into the turtle curry she's cooking. He later finds out that she was planning to spend the night at his place and have sex with him.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Although not quite as generously endowed as Chizuru, she is still recognized for her comparably ample bust.
• Casting Gag: This is the second time Nao Tōyama voices a fake girlfriend with a distinctive hair ribbon, after Nisekoi.
• Cats Are Mean: Like Chizuru, there are times where she gets cat eyes whenever she's not happy with Kazuya. She also pulled out claws just because he complimented Chizuru during the shoot.
• Clingy Jealous Girl:
  • She's extremely clingy towards Kazuya and becomes just as jealous of the girls that surround him. Specifically, the sight of Kazuya being around Chizuru, catching him thinking about her, or the mere mention of her throws Ruka straight into a fit, unable to stand the idea that there's something between them when Chizuru's a rental girlfriend and she's his (trial) girlfriend.
  • When they first start dating, she's very controlling and barely gives Kazuya any time to himself. For example, she demands that he call her twice a day and respond to all her texts. She eventually recognizes that she has this fault.
• Color Motif: Blue. She wears a blue ribbon, her name "Ruka" means "blue summer" and she got a blue Special Edition Title for Episode 7. It's also offcially her favorite color.
• Crash-Into Hello: How she meets Kazuya for the first time. She's not happy that he took a glimpse of her exposed underwear.
• A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 28 and the ending of episode 7 of the anime explores her background and condition, which explains why she's so desperate to have Kazuya fall for her.
• Delicate and Sickly: Ruka has bradycardia, which makes her suffer from an abnormally low heart rate, which has affected her throughout her life. She either becomes dizzy and breathless when she overexerts herself, or her heart rate doesn't increase when she wants it to, making her feel lifeless and robotic. She believes it's only when she's around Kazuya that it raises to the level she desires, but it's also happened during the film project.
• Determinator: It doesn't matter if she's a trial girlfriend or if Kazuya is in love with someone else, Ruka will absolutely not give him up and believes that if she tries hard enough, she'll eventually come out on top with him falling in love with her. She knows she's fighting a losing battle but will not accept it.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • She decided to expose Chizuru's identity as a rental girlfriend just to mess with her, not expecting Kazuya to chase her down and beg her to keep it a secret.
  • While Ruka may have a valid point that getting into an actual relationship with her is more viable than continuing to rent Chizuru, Kazuya points out that there's a hole in Ruka's argument. Namely, how will Kazuya's parents and grandmother react to hear that he dumped Chizuru, whom they adore, and gotten together with another girlfriend? Ruka ignores this, though.
  • Ruka seems to think that once she drives Chizuru out of Kazuya's life, knowing full well that he's completely in love with her, she'll become the object of his affections and they can be happy together, when he's already made it clear that he doesn't love her and already asked her to end the provisional relationship. She doesn't consider the idea that it would break his heart worse than Mami ever did.
• Dude Magnet: Ruka catches the hearts of most men who lay eyes on her. Kuri began falling for her, she turned down a customer at the karaoke bar, and the director of the film project wanted her LINE number. Even her own boss, a married man, likes her.
• Entitled to Have You: Because she's willing to be Kazuya's real girlfriend, and because Chizuru treats him like a client and constantly rejects his advances, she believes that he should have his eyes on her and only her, even if he is in love with someone else. As a trial girlfriend, she attempts to seduce and have sex with Kazuya to seal the deal.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • As mean as she is towards Chizuru, Ruka does show sympathy whenever it comes to her grandmother Sayuri. When she first realizes how bad her situation is, Ruka calls a ceasefire and decides not to expose Chizuru's secret of being a rental girlfriend. She also offers to help out with the crowdfunding project and even expresses her own desire to cheer Chizuru up when she learns that Sayuri passed away. That said, Ruka does not put aside their rivalry when it comes to Kazuya, and while she does allow him to help her in her time of need, she calls off the ceasefire shortly afterward.
  • As much as she wants to tell Kazuya's family the truth behind his actual relationship with Chizuru, she can't bring herself to do it because of how much it would hurt Nagomi. When Mami tells her that she might do it instead, Ruka reacts angrily fearing how Nagomi would take it.
• Expressive Accessory: Her large blue ribbon sometimes acts to reflect her feelings in comedic moments.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: When Ruka offers to cook Kazuya some dinner, she makes him turtle curry, which doesn't exactly sound pleasing at first. It turns out to be so delicious that he seriously can't decide whether Ruka's turtle curry or Chizuru's omurice tastes better.
• First-Name Basis: Despite making Kazuya suspicious of what she really wants for her birthday, it's allowing her to call him by his first name without honorifics.^note That said, she already does use his first name, albeit with the "-kun" honorific. He agrees, not realizing that she intends to rub it into Chizuru's face.
• Foil: Also to Chizuru. Both are introduced as rental girlfriends who are top grade beauties, are top contenders for Kazuya's affections, and are quite jealous of each other. While Chizuru has a hard time coming to terms with her feelings and expressing herself, Ruka is more upfront about how she feels and takes the initiative however she can. Chizuru often holds back because she doesn't want to be a burden on anyone, but Ruka will make herself a nuisance if it means achieving her goals, even if it comes at Kazuya's expense. When it comes to Kazuya's other potential romantic partners, Chizuru doesn't speak ill of them. Ruka on the other hand is quick to antagonize them and lie about how far she's gotten with Kazuya to drive them apart.
• Forceful Kiss: She does this to Kazuya twice when she visits his family for his birthday in hopes to get his mind off Chizuru and much later on when it has become clear that Kazuya intends to confess his love to Chizuru.
• Freudian Excuse: Due to being born with an irregular heartbeat, she was constantly treated delicately out of fear that she'd collapse, leaving her without any strong emotional stimuli in her life. She became a rental girlfriend in order to find someone who could make her heart skip a beat safely to no avail. That was until she met Kazuya. Flashbacks indicate that she was nearly an Empty Shell prior to meeting him.
• Genki Girl: As she wants to live her life in the best way possible, she's very upbeat and energetic, though she's a somewhat meaner and nastier example of the trope. Not that she's actually bad, but she's pretty self-absorbed, pushy and entitled.
• Girlish Pigtails: Had twintails as a child.
• Green-Eyed Monster: She's incredibly jealous of how Kazuya feels about Chizuru when he's got a girl like her, and uses any opportunity she can to upstage Chizuru and rub it in her face to make her jealous. When she first meets Mami and realizes Kazuya knows her, she almost looks possessed and follows them.
• Heel Realization: There are times where Ruka realizes that what she's doing isn't right, such as resorting to blackmail to get Kazuya to go out with her, not giving him any space and rushing their relationship, and how jealous she gets because of Chizuru. Little comes out of it though, as she refuses to let go of Kazuya. After the greatest date arc, actually subverted, as her questionable methods to win Kazuya over and overall toxic behavior get amped up to eleven. The fact Kazuya actually asked her to end the provisional relationship only makes things worse for her.
• Hopeless Suitor: She seems to genuinely fall for Kazuya after she hears about his antics in rescuing Chizuru after falling off a boat, and after he saves her from a fall when she tripped on some stairs. Unfortunately for her, by this time he had already started developing feelings for Chizuru, so is largely turned off by her actions and tries to reject her Love Confession.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: She can tell Mami is no better than her, if not worse, when it comes to wanting Kazuya out of jealousy and selfish desires. Later in the series, she berates Chizuru and correctly points out that she is the one that pushed Ruka towards Kazuya.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Although she feels bad for exposing Kuri by mentioning that he rented her in front of Kazuya, she doesn't regret it and thinks it was necessary so she could go out with Kazuya instead. When she questions how low she'll go when it comes to Kazuya and Chizuru, she adopts this mentality to justify herself if it means driving out Chizuru out of Kazuya's life so she can be with him.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: Despite her motives and methods, all she desperately wants is to be the one girl that Kazuya genuinely loves, and believes that the reason her heart beats for him is because it's love and it's real.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: All she truly wants out of life is to be able to do things just like everyone else without being held back by her heart condition. Although it's not clear if she's told any of the cast about her condition, Chizuru realizes early on that she's unconsciously using Kazuya to fill some kind of void.
• Irony: While she's certainly an angel when compared to Mami, Ruka is still very prone to this:
  • When she first meets Kazuya, assuming that he rented Chizuru for some shallow reason like most others, she starts off treating him like crap under the belief that he's a desperate pervert who would go as far as to use a rental girlfriend service, despite the fact that she's a rental girlfriend who's selling her services to one of his friends.
  • She constantly accuses Chizuru of doing things that she's herself guilty of. Ruka calls her a puppetmaster pulling Kazuya's strings when she's the one blackmailing them, and Ruka often engages in Slut-Shaming when she thinks Chizuru's had her way with him, never mind that Ruka has tried to force herself on Kazuya and offered to have sex with him more than once.
  • When she learns about the reason Kazuya rents Chizuru, she tries convincing him to call things off with Chizuru and introduce her to his grandmother instead, ranting about how his and Chizuru's relationship is doomed to never go anywhere due to her being a rental girlfriend. But again, Ruka's also a rental girlfriend. Admittedly, Kazuya hasn't rented Ruka at any point, and Ruka never saw Kuri as anything more than a client, but Ruka's hardly in a position to judge Chizuru for her profession.
  • She hates the fact that everyone's being deceived by Kazuya and Chizuru, and tries numerous times to put an end to their charade by telling everyone the truth. But she'll also lie about how far she's gone with Kazuya to make Chizuru and Mami jealous.
  • She gets angry when Kazuya tells his parents and grandmother that she's a pathological liar because she kept insisting that she was his girlfriend. Even though Kazuya did this to maintain his ever-expanding web of lies, Ruka isn't being entirely honest, either.
  • She complains to Kazuya that he doesn't take her feelings into consideration, but she's rarely ever shown doing the same for him. Plus, Kazuya is constantly prioritizing her feelings because of the leash he's on.
• It's All About Me: Ruka can actually be incredibly self-centered and tends to make everything about herself whenever Kazuya's around, showing little consideration towards him and how he feels as his trial girlfriend.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Ruka is clearly in the wrong to try to blackmail Kazuya into being her boyfriend and she has even less right to impose herself on both his personal and family life. However, she's right that Chizuru and Kazuya's relationship is dysfunctional, that they're lying to everyone, and that if it is just a fake relationship, then letting her take Chizuru's place would be the smart thing to do. Not only that, but during that period of time, Kazuya's "relationship" with Chizuru was on very shaky grounds and he had absolutely no assurance that it would grow beyond anything more than a "rental girlfriend" relationship, whereas Ruka was legitimately available and willing to be in a real relationship with him.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's pretty nasty at times and definitely self-centered and clingy, but she also has a more selfless side. There aren't many girls who would let their boyfriend pretend that someone else was their girlfriend just to save face, and Ruka handles it pretty well. Even when Ruka tries to inject herself into Kazuya's family gatherings, it's completely understandable. Ruka just wants her boyfriend to be proud of her and to gain the love of his family in the process. Unfortunately, her desperation after Kazuya decides to end their provisional relationship causes her to act a lot more malicious.
• Just a Kid: One of the reasons Kazuya has a hard time falling for her. Not only because she's still in high school while he's old enough to drink, but because she's also very immature and doesn't have a firm grasp on what true love really is, even if she thinks otherwise. She gets a painful reminder of this at Kazuya's birthday party; while Chizuru is able to drink sake with his family, she's stuck with "Goo" brand orange juice.
• Long Game: When her attempts to tell Kazuya's family the truth fails, and she realizes just how important Chizuru is to them, she decides that this is how she plans to win them all over.
• Manipulative Bitch: She's hardly as bad as Mami, but she's still this. She blackmails Kazuya into dating her by threatening to expose Chizuru as a rental girlfriend and constantly demands things from him with said blackmail, even dragging him to a love hotel blindfolded. When she offers to cook for him, it's part of a larger scheme to stay the night at his place and get him drunk so he would have sex with her. She only succeeds in the former, but fools Chizuru into thinking the latter as well.
• Ms. Fanservice: She is not as well-endowed as Chizuru, but she is still known for her ample bust and long, slender legs. When she wears a skirt, her buttocks and panties can be seen, and later she tries to impress Kazuya by wearing a bikini and a maid uniform to appear more seductive.
• Never My Fault:
  • She constantly faults Chizuru as the primary obstacle for Kazuya's affections, even though Ruka forced herself into their lives knowing that he was already in love with Chizuru. She also blames Kazuya for making her resort to dirty tricks to get him to notice her, such as the time she made herself spend the night at his place because he didn't invite her before.
  • Later on, after Kazuya asks Ruka to break up with him, because Chizuru was the one who told Kazuya to go out with her, Ruka tells Chizuru that it's her fault she's Kazuya's (trial) girlfriend, even though Ruka was the one blackmailing them by threatening to expose their secret if he said no.
• No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Though she gives Kazuya a Love Confession and seems to genuinely want to date him, by the time she shows up, he has already started falling for Chizuru. Consequently, he sees Ruka's forceful antics as an annoyance he has to deal with lest she reveal to everyone that Chizuru is just a rental girlfriend.
• Not What It Looks Like: When Ruka drags Kazuya to a love hotel blindfolded, the first thing he sees her do is slip out of her jacket, and then panics when she continues undressing as she proceeds to take her socks off. Naturally, Kazuya assumes Ruka is stripping down for a much more intimate rendezvous, but she stops at getting barefoot and starts interrogating the nature of his relationship with Chizuru. Confused by her intentions, Kazuya asks Ruka why she took her socks off, and she replies that she wanted to get comfy.
• Ocular Gushers: She breaks into tears this way after confronting Mami. They even make rainbows!
• Oh, Crap!: When Kazuya spots her holding the torn condom wrapper, she's soaking in sweat.
• Plucky Girl: Despite her heart condition, she tries to go about her days with a bright smile and positive outlook, even to Genki Girl levels at her best.
• Put on a Bus: After the Paradise and My Girlfriend Arc, Ruka almost completely disappears from the story, barely making any appearances and seldom being mentioned by the cast.
• Relationship Sabotage: She does everything she can to take Kazuya and Chizuru's eyes off each other so she can have him to herself. After he asks her to break off the provisional relationship and reveals his intention to confess to Chizuru, Ruka does whatever she can to keep them from being alone together so he doesn't get the chance. Fearing that Chizuru might actually accept, she shows her a torn condom wrapper to trick her into thinking she already had sex with Kazuya.
• Rescue Romance: Part of what got her interested in Kazuya was when she heard about how he risked his life to save Chizuru after she fell off a ferry. He then breaks her fall after she trips down some stairs, and her heart rate starts to beat much faster. She later states to him that if he did all that for a rental girlfriend, then surely he would treat a real girlfriend even better.
• The Reveal: How else would she know about Chizuru being a rental girlfriend? Because she's one herself.
• The Rival: Clearly one to Chizuru regarding Kazuya's affections, even if Chizuru is in denial about it. Ruka is said to be just as gorgeous as Chizuru, to the point where even Chizuru finds herself jealous of her looks.
• Secret-Keeper: She knows that Chizuru is just a rental girlfriend. Kazuya begs her to keep it a secret, but she initially refuses to. Later she changes her mind, on the condition that he date her for real. When his rejection causes her to start crying and attracting the attention of people walking nearby, Chizuru tells him to date her, at least on a trial basis.
• Sexy Sweater Girl: She frequently wears a turtleneck sweater, which Kazuya occasionally brings up when he looks at her figure.
• Signature Headgear: She wears a blue bow on her head, which can turn into devil horns if she gets angry.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Kazuya, natch. He's the only man who makes her heart beat higher than normal, and is determined to be with him to this end.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Another reason she's determined to be Kazuya's sweetheart is because she had seen everything he was willing to do for his rental girlfriend, and could only imagine what he'd do for a real one. This shows that, underneath her self-absorbedness and hypocrisy, she still looks out for genuine kindness.
• Stalker with a Crush: She'll follow Kazuya wherever he goes, and because she's skeptical that there's more to his relationship with Chizuru, she's prepared to pop up at any time. She even joins the same karaoke bar he works at just to be near him. Over time, her stalker tendencies have gone off the rails by ordering him to stay into his house and crashing into his house only because Kazuya wants to confess to Chizuru and break things with Ruka.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Once she starts falling for Kazuya, she has a tendency to suddenly appear out of nowhere at his school, as well as his apartment.
• Tender Tears: It's enough to take both Kazuya and Chizuru off guard when she cries, which is often.
• Tsurime Eyes: She has the sharpest eyes among the main cast. While they contrast with her childish and immature personality, they match her brashness, aggressiveness and clinginess towards Kazuya.
• Thanks for the Mammary:
  • Kazuya accidentally grabs her chest when he chases her down. She later brags about it to Chizuru, saying that "she's ahead" when it comes to Kazuya. Chizuru isn't pleased.
  • Chizuru of all people does this to her as payback for touching her body while they're bathing at the resort, giving Nagomi the impression that they really are good friends.
• Third-Option Love Interest: At first, she ranks behind Chizuru and Mami when it comes to Kazuya's love interests. When Mami appears to fade out of the picture, she becomes Chizuru's primary rival. Even then, there's no doubt that he'd be far more interested in Sumi if he ever learned her true feelings for him.
• Through His Stomach: She offers to cook for Kazuya in what seems like an attempt at this. It turns out to be the first step of a large scheme that ends with her spending the night at his place.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Ruka's desperation takes a swift dark turn when Kazuya asks her to end the provisional relationship. She not only refuses, but makes it clear that she doesn't care if he loves Chizuru. She becomes even more controlling and doesn't want them anywhere near each other, fearing he'll confess and she'll accept, and goes so far as to try to trick Chizuru by giving her a torn condom wrapper. While her questionable methods early on could be attributed to her jealousy and immaturity, believing that Chizuru couldn't be swayed, Ruka makes a conscious choice to be as cruel and merciless as she needs to be to remove her as an obstacle so she can take Kazuya for herself.
• Troll: She didn't have a particular reason to tell Chizuru that she knew she was a rental girlfriend. She just wanted to mess with her because she thinks everything about it is superficial. She didn't expect Kazuya to chase her down and beg her to keep it a secret, or think that someone could fall for a rental girlfriend.
• Unsportsmanlike Gloating: She'll take any opportunity she can to rub her relationship with Kazuya in Chizuru's face. After her plan to spend the night at Kazuya's place succeeds, she starts shouting about what a wonderful night they had so Chizuru can hear her, tricking her into thinking they had sex when they didn't.
• Wham Line: Her admitting to Kazuya that she's a rental girlfriend.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Aside from not treating her like a real girlfriend, she calls Kazuya out for lying repeatedly to his friends and family about Chizuru. She later chews out Chizuru for stepping outside her bounds as a rental girlfriend and lying as well.

Sumi Sakurasawa

Sumi Sakurasawa (桜沢 墨, Sakurasawa Sumi)

Voiced by: Rie Takahashi (Japanese), Suzie Yeung (English)^{Other voice actors}Polly Huerta (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Aika Sawaguchi

An incredibly shy newcomer to Chizuru's company, and a first-year college student.

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• Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga, her hair is pink, while in the anime it has a more orange sheen to it.
• Advertised Extra: While she's prominently featured in the opening and ending credits of the anime, she doesn't make her debut until the very end of Episode 10.
• Ambiguously Bi: Chapter 13 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend has her swooning and fantasizing over Chizuru in the same way that Kazuya usually does, which suggests that her feelings towards her may be more than platonic.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: She finds herself falling for Kazuya because he treats her kindly and encourages her in spite of her awkwardness, when others have complained and given her low reviews for it. She also thinks the world of Chizuru for being nothing but kind and supportive towards her.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: She has noticeably dark and thick eyebrows, which is unusual for female anime character standards.
• Birds of a Feather: With Kazuya. Part of the reason they get along so well is because of how similar their insecurities are, which is also one of the reasons Chizuru introduces him to her to overcome her shyness.
• Blank White Eyes: Out of everyone in the cast, she's the most prone to having these because of how often she freaks out.
• Breakout Character: She's the star of her own spinoff manga, Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, which is set in the early days of her being a rental girlfriend before and immediately after she met Kazuya.
• Color Motif: Pink. Her last name Sakurasawa means "cherry blossom marsh", and she has pink-red hair and eyes. Pink is also her favorite color.
• Crazy-Prepared: On a special practice date with Kazuya, she is extremely meticulous with planning out the entire date. If it weren't for a couple of unexpected hiccups here and there, she would have executed it to complete perfection.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: She's not very good at sports and slips quite a bit on her first practice date. Later on, when Kazuya finds himself in a tight spot and goes to her for help, the poor girl trips on a rock and falls flat on her face.
• Cute Mute: Played with. Though able to, she very rarely talks but looks no less adorable despite that.
• Daddy's Girl: She appears in Chapter 120 to have lunch with her dad, but when she notices that Kazuya's in a tight spot, she decides to help him instead. She did apologize to her dad, though.
• A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 54 is dedicated to her life outside of being a rental girlfriend. Most of it was adapted into her introduction in Episode 11 of the anime.
• Determinator: She is a hard-working girl, willing to always do her best and very determined to continue working in spite of her social anxiety.
• Didn't Think This Through: When Mami butts in on her first practice date with Kazuya, instead of letting him think of an excuse to fool her with, Sumi suddenly latches onto him. Because of this, Kazuya can't lie about Sumi not being his date, which made Mami even more eager to look her up online and find out that both she and Chizuru are rental girlfriends. In Chapter 9 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, it's revealed that Sumi did this because she misinterpreted the situation between Kazuya and Mami.
• Dude Magnet: On her first practice date with Kazuya, she catches the attention of a bunch of creeps. One of them even tries lifting up her skirt, and Sumi's too frail to fend for herself. Thank goodness Kazuya noticed and rescued her from them.
• Endearingly Dorky: Sumi is very pretty, very shy and can be quite clumsy, and this makes even more adorable than she already looks. This is something Kazuya notices during the practice date.
• Fist Pump: She does this after Kazuya praises her for making a certain date the best one ever.
• Foil: To Mami, and it's surprisingly highlighted in Chapter 5 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend. Both are cute and attractive girls, but the difference lies in their personalities. Sumi is painfully shy, lacks confidence, and is incapable of engaging in conversation with her dates. Above all, she is a genuinely kind person who tries her best at everything she does, and is selfless and supportive of Kazuya and Chizuru. Meanwhile, Mami is confident in herself, so much so that she can talk with three guys at once and get them to do what she wants. Beneath her cheery and polite demeanor, she is very cruel, manipulative, selfish and spiteful, and definitely wants to destroy the relationship between the main protagonists out of sadism.
• A Friend in Need: When she realizes just how much Kazuya and Chizuru need her help after learning that Sayuri passed away, she takes Kazuya to the station with the intent of taking him somewhere far away to clear his mind. When he points out that this goes beyond the rental period, Sumi puts her phone away and tells him that if it's for Chizuru, she wants to do whatever she can to help them, and they're doing this as friends. She may be shy and awkward, but the moment she sees that the people who have helped and supported her are in trouble, she will not shy away from helping them and will do whatever she can to repay them for the kindness they've shown her, no matter the cost.
• Goal in Life: Sumi aspires to be an Idol Singer, but knows she has to become better at expressing herself first.
• Hard Work Hardly Works: In Chapter 6 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, she puts a lot of effort into her date, from researching fashion to following the rental girlfriend tips to the letter, but still ends up with a one-star review that dismisses her as just another pretty face who can't communicate. Her boss acknowledges that she seems to be trying, but insists on seeing results.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: If people could read her thoughts, they'd learn that Sumi is constantly berating herself for being afraid all the time, not being strong enough to overcome her weaknesses, and unable to do basic things like greeting people and thanking them.
• Hidden Depths: She practices calligraphy, but it ends up in the trash every time. She also loves watching a kids anime, specifically a Magical Girl show in the style of Pretty Cure titled Cure Cure, which reportedly discusses the subject of capitalism. She's also intelligent and a good student and loves subjects such as history and literature. As expected by such a shy individual, she dislikes studies about communication.
• High-Pressure Emotion: She's very prone to having her entire face turn red whenever she feels nervous or pressured.
• Hope Spot: In Chapter 6 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, her boss tells her that she needs to do better, since she only has a 10% rate of return customers, far below the agency's usual rate of 85%. She does her best with her next client and leaves feeling more confident in herself, only to end up getting a one-star review due to being unable to communicate.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She falls for Kazuya knowing that he's already in love in Chizuru, but instead of trying to take him for herself, she's happy knowing that he sees her as a friend that he can rely on, and doesn't hesitate to give him advice when it comes to Chizuru. It helps that she also considers Chizuru a good friend and wants her to be happy, too.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Nothing but a sweet girl without a mean bone in her body.
• Inner Monologue: Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend shows that she engages in these, and contrary to her appearance in the main series, she's actually quite the chatterbox.
• Leg Focus: Kazuya points out that while she has a somewhat small chest, her long and slender legs make up for it.
• Meaningful Name: Her first name means "ink", and her hobby of calligraphy is likely a reference to this. Her pet dog's name, Suzuri, also means "inkstone".
• Morality Pet: To a degree for Kazuya and Chizuru. They're undoubtedly good people at heart, but they easily present the best side of themselves whenever she's with them. Kazuya tries to put aside his worst habits around her, and as a result, Sumi sees a far better person than most others do, including himself. Chizuru is also much less guarded around her, allowing Sumi to see that she's not the cold and distant girl that others perceive her as, but instead a real sweetheart who is eager to help those in need.
• Nice Girl: She's easily the sweetest character in the series, is very kind-hearted, and you would really give her a hug, as her shyness makes her even more adorable.
• Oh, Crap!: In Chapter 4 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend when she picks up Ruka's pouch at the arcade and accidentally puts it in her pocket. She freaks out because it looks like she had stolen it.
• Older Than They Look: Her shy demeanor and short stature make her appear to be the youngest of the girls, but she's a college student, meaning she's actually older than Ruka.
• Paralysis by Analysis: Sumi tends to over-analyze everything and stresses herself out worrying about how things can go wrong. The night before her first practice date with Kazuya, she ends up frying her brain overthinking how the date will turn out, and doesn't wake up until the next morning with no time to prepare. And her train of thought when asked on a date with Chizuru is the exact same as his.
• Put on a Bus: She didn’t return to the main series after Chapter 156 until the end of Chapter 260, and she didn’t interact with any of the rest of the cast in the story again until Chapter 266.
• The Quiet One: The poor girl is so shy that she barely speaks at all, and mostly communicates by typing messages out on her phone.
• Rose-Haired Sweetie: Pink hair? Sort of, as it has pink and orange shades. The sweetest girl in the cast? Absolutely.
• Shrinking Violet: Talking to others is incredibly difficult for her, and whenever she tries to, it's usually quiet or in very broken tones.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her practice dates with Kazuya allow her to see just how kind, considerate, and protective he's capable of being. It's after she sees how supportive and devoted he is to Chizuru's goals that she finds herself falling for him.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Chapter 13 of Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend shows that her and Kazuya are even more alike than Chizuru knows, as the prospect of going on a date with Chizuru sends her into the exact same thought process he goes through. Joyful fantasizing, followed by panic at how they compare to one another and great effort to be as presentable as possible. Then she internally fawns over how beautiful and stylish Chizuru is and goes into a state of nervous bliss through the whole thing, culminating in admiring Chizuru’s kindness and lamenting her own self-image. It’s virtually identical to Kazuya’s train of thought, step by step. The◊ resemblance◊ is◊ uncanny◊.
• Talking with Signs: In the form of her smartphone. Whenever she can't say something out loud, she'll type out something on it and show it to whoever she's talking to. She's a speed demon when it comes to texting.
• Tareme Eyes: Fitting with her shy and caring personality.
• Tender Tears: It's an affront to humanity that she's ever in tears, but she's certainly no less adorable for it.
• The Un-Smile: She has a really hard time smiling on her first practice date with Kazuya. She gets better.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: She's on the receiving end of this from both Kazuya and Chizuru, who believe that she has what it takes to become stronger and overcome her shyness. She also comforts Kazuya and tells him that he's a much better person than he thinks he is.
• You Are Not Alone: After hearing out Kazuya out at the end of a special practice date, she assures him that she's also there for him.

Mini Yaemori

Mini Yaemori (八重森 みに, Yaemori Mini)

Voiced by: Yuu Serizawa (Japanese), Lisette Monique Diaz (English)

A first year college student who becomes Kazuya's other neighbor in Volume 13. She's a fairly-known cosplayer and streamer and even attends the same school.

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• All Women Are Lustful: She tells Kazuya that every girl gets frisky at least once a month, and Chizuru is no exception no matter how well she hides it. And he'd better take his chance while the iron is hot:
  "Look, girls get horny too."
• Ambiguously Gay: She's not interested in having a romantic relationship with Kazuya, and also mentions that she has several waifus that change often. When she enters Chizuru's apartment looking for items to give away as backer rewards, she nearly goes into a trance when she finds her underwear drawer.
• Animal-Eared Headband: Shown wearing one with cat ears when she drags Kazuya into her apartment.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: Mini is drawn this way in Chapter 273 when she joins Chizuru for a Furo Scene.
• Big "WHAT?!": She has this reaction when Kazuya tells her that her plan to get him and Chizuru alone together for the final day of filming didn't end up with them getting together and having sex.
• Brutal Honesty: She calls Kazuya gutless for not recognizing what she believes are Chizuru's hidden feelings for him after knowing each other for a year. She also tells Chizuru that despite how great she thinks he is, he's not much of a looker.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She might seem like a goofball who cosplays and takes selfies, but when she offers to help out Kazuya's crowdfunding campaign when it starts to stall, she comes up with a very solid strategy to revive interest and more or less takes over the crowdfunding plan altogether.
• Cloudcuckoolander: She's very keen on geeky topics, curious, cheerful, quite eccentric and goofy, and not very mature. She doesn't outright lack grasp on reality, but very often interprets things in her own eccentric and unique way.
• The Confidant: Assumes this role for Kazuya after learning of his complicated relationship with Chizuru and his underlying feelings for her.
• Contrived Coincidence: Not only does she live next to Kazuya and Chizuru, but she also goes to the same school and has considerable knowledge about crowdfunding, right as the two are encountering problems with their crowdfunding campaign.
• Cosplay Otaku Girl: She streams cosplay online and loves the fact that her master's life resembles a manga.
• Crazy-Prepared: She recorded a video of Ruka confronting Kazuya and Chizuru about breaching the boundaries of their rental-client relationship. Mini had no intent of blackmailing Kazuya into anything, but she kept the video and backed it up just in case there was ever a situation where she’d need an advantage against him.
• Cute Little Fangs: Often depicted with one.
• Didn't Think This Through: Mini's convinced early on that the only reason Kazuya and Chizuru aren't already together is because he's too gutless to tell her how he feels, and tries to accelerate things by doing it herself. She underestimates just how strong Chizuru's iron wall is, and things don't turn out as she hoped they would. Kazuya even wonders how she survived this long by not thinking these things out. Her words do leave a lasting impression on Chizuru, however.
• Dope Slap: More like a punch to the back of the head, but she's on the receiving end of one by Kazuya when she suggests that Chizuru spend even more time with a friend that Kazuya is extremely suspicious of.
• Everyone Can See It: She instantly recognizes the mutual attraction and compatibility between Kazuya and Chizuru the first time she meets them and sees right through Kazuya's denials. Ever since, she has taken it upon herself to make sure the two get together.
• Fangirl: After Kazuya tells her the truth about his relationship with Chizuru, she empathizes with his dating troubles and finds herself admiring him for having his own harem, to the point where she insists on calling him “Master”.
• First-Name Basis: After summer break ends, Kazuya learns that Kuri and Mini know each other due to one of Mini’s friends being in a club with him. Kuri is noticeably the first major character to address Mini by her given name.
• A Friend in Need: Despite knowing Kazuya for only a brief amount of time, she almost immediately devotes herself to helping Kazuya with his crowdfunding problems and romantic pursuits. This shows that, for all of her goofiness and outlandish behavior, she's a very kind person.
• Gamer Chick: She has a controller in her room, and remarks that Chizuru is like "one of those final bosses that don't take damage from physical attacks."
• Genki Girl: Very cheerful, bubbly, energetic and optimistic. She's very enthusiastic and approaches pretty much everything with a positive outlook.
• Hero-Worshipper: She calls Kazuya her Master and says she worships his way of life, mostly because she’s impressed by how devoted he is to Chizuru and how he’s the closest she knows to a real life harem protagonist.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Presumably from her hobby as a cosplayer and streamer, Mini has a keen eye for finding value in seemingly mundane possessions of Chizuru that has value as backer rewards for their crowdfunding campaign. Even something as simple as a hairband has value according to her, even if only because Chizuru wore it.
  • As Kazuya notices, despite her rather goofy and childish behavior, she's a very intelligent and rational person, who's good at finding solutions for most things also thanks to her optimism, creativity and lateral thinking.
• Innocently Insensitive: Is this at times given her tendency to get caught up in the moment and say things bluntly. Understandable given her rather childish nature.
• Ironic Echo: When she’s trying to get Chizuru to think of Kazuya in a romantic light, she unknowingly uses the same words that Chizuru herself said when begging Mami to consider Kazuya’s feelings seriously.
• Last-Name Basis: Almost everyone calls her by her surname. Kuri is the only exception.
• Loon with a Heart of Gold: Mini may be outlandish, goofy and eccentric, but she's definitely a good-hearted Nice Girl who shows her kindness and supportiveness to Kazuya and Chizuru very much.
• Love Informant: While gathering items from Chizuru’s room for crowdfunding backer rewards, she tries to get Chizuru to look Kazuya’s way in regards to a potential boyfriend, and ends up blurting out that Kazuya does admire Chizuru as more than a neighbor/friend/actress. Chizuru continues to deny that Kazuya could have any romantic feelings for her, but Mini doubles down on it.
• Nice Girl: Though she can be immature and blunt, and even pushy, acting on impulse and led by emotions, Mini is very much a kind, considerate and sweet girl at heart, and is supportive of the main protagonists.
• No Sense of Personal Space:
  • When she pulls Kazuya into her room, she gets so close to him that he thinks she's leading him on. When she tries to get him to spill his progress with Chizuru later on and ends up in his room, he points out that she gets too close for comfort.
  • This happens with Chizuru while in her room, as she wants to see all of her clothing and things she has at home, even the more private ones.
• The Not-Love Interest: She's the only cute girl Kazuya frequently interacts with who doesn't harbor feelings toward him. Once she learns about his feelings for Chizuru, she's hellbent on making them a couple.
• Not-So-Innocent Whistle: She attempts to do this in Chapter 123 when Kazuya wonders why Chizuru has suddenly been avoiding him. It doesn't work as she can't whistle.
• Playing Sick: She pretends to have the flu as part of her plan to get Kazuya and Chizuru together on the final day of shooting. She managed to fool Ruka into thinking the shoot was delayed, and gladly paid for it.
• Put on a Bus: Her last appearance prior to Chapter 233 was in Chapter 168. She explains that she went to India for a month in Chapter 234. After this point, she gains a significant increase in page time, surpassing both Sumi and Ruka in the story as a main character.
• Romantic Wingman: Her primary role in the series is serving as one for Kazuya in regards to Chizuru. Mini tries to help him whenever he's confused about her, and has tried to make both of them realize that there really is something special between them and shouldn't be afraid to act on it. But she finds herself frustrated by Kazuya's lies and inability to act his feelings, as well as how stubborn Chizuru is about her feelings toward him. Mini is one of the very few people who isn't fooled by her stoic barrier one bit.
• Selfie Fiend: She takes selfies all the time. She also takes pictures of everything else around her.
• Shipper on Deck: After Kazuya tells her about Chizuru, she's absolutely determined to see that they end up together, and later manipulates events to get them alone in hopes that they get it on.
• Student–Master Team: In her eyes. She insists on calling Kazuya her "Master" and sees herself as his helpful student, even though it's really the other way around considering that he goes to her for help instead.
• Tender Tears: It's usually for laughs but still cute all the same.
• Undying Loyalty: In Chapter 273, Chizuru asks her why she is so dedicated to playing Kazuya’s Romantic Wingman, and Mini explains how she admires his love for Chizuru and that he’s the Determinator when it comes to pursuing those feelings. Mini concludes that even if Chizuru and Kazuya don’t work out together, she will still be in his corner regardless.
• Your Door Was Open: In Chapter 165, Kazuya is so trapped in his thoughts that he didn't notice Mini let herself in and sat down next to him. She tells him she rang the bell and the door was open.

Friends

Yoshiaki Kibe

Yoshiaki Kibe

Voiced by: Masayuki Akasaka (Japanese), Nicolas Roye (English)^{Other voice actors}Pablo Moreno (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Shunya Kaneko

Kazuya's friend, whom he's known since grade school.

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• Childhood Friends: He's known Kazuya since they were kids, to the point where Kazuya's grandmother considers him a family friend.
• Dope Slap: Receives one courtesy of Kazuya when Kibe decides to sneak up on him when he's still suffering from a hangover.
• Hidden Depths: Despite coming off as a perverted idiot for the most part, he actually makes good points that the way Kazuya still pines for Mami can come off as very disrespectful towards the girl he's dating, which everyone thinks is the case with him and Chizuru. It's also implied that he sees, or at least has suspicions about Mami's true nature.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He's pretty tight with Kazuya's grandma and she helps him run a website. Because of this connection, Kazuya is especially cautious around Kibe, knowing that anything Kibe learns about Chizuru could be disclosed to Nagomi.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While he is missing some context and even punches him over it, he's not wrong that Kazuya acting like a lovesick puppy towards Mami, his ex, can come off as very insulting towards Chizuru, who everyone thinks is his girlfriend.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He often takes part in ribbing on Kazuya and he even punched him at one point over how he was apparently treating Chizuru, but he's not wrong that under normal circumstances Kazuya's behavior would mark him as a terrible boyfriend and part of the reason he was so upset over their apparent break-up was because he thought Chizuru was good for Kazuya due to how she stood up to Mami for him.
• Locked Out of the Loop: He doesn't know that Kazuya isn't actually going out with Chizuru or that she's a rental girlfriend, and they can't afford to tell him because he's bad at keeping things to himself. Kazuya also doesn't tell him about the movie they're making because Chizuru doesn't want Nagomi to learn about it.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • His reaction when he hears that Chizuru fell off the ferry and Kazuya dove in after her.
  • When he visits Nagomi to meet the new advisor for his dating website.
    "Mami...chan?"
• Saying Too Much: Kibe says whatever's on his mind and is a reliable source of information, but isn't good at keeping secrets. Because he's good friends with Nagomi, Kazuya has to keep him Locked Out of the Loop regarding anything involving Chizuru. He's also the reason Mami found out where Kazuya works, and realizes too late that maybe he shouldn't have told her.
• Shipper on Deck: For Kazuya and Chizuru, since he seems to be the one person willing to stand up for him and acknowledge his good traits.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kazuya and Kuri. It says a lot when your friend punches you out to knock some sense in to you and tries to get you back together with your girlfriend. And punches you again when you think saving her life isn't real love.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gets into a fight with Kazuya when he suspects that he's breaking up with a girl like Chizuru because he's still lusting over Mami.
  "You're a jerk Kazu, don't ever let your dick run your life!"

Shun "Kuri" Kuribayashi

Shun "Kuri" Kuribayashi

Voiced by: Gakuto Kajiwara (Japanese), Landon McDonald (English)^{Other voice actors}Víctor Guerrero (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Kōsuke Suzuki

Another one of Kazuya's friends who he's known since grade school. He's better known by his nickname, "Kuri."

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• Asian Buck Teeth: Has them as part of his character design, although all the cast of the series is Japanese.
• Casanova Wannabe: When he's showing off Ruka to Kazuya and Chizuru, it goes straight to his head and he acts like he's a lot more smooth and masculine than he really is. He also has shades of this when Kazuya sets him up on a date with another rental girlfriend.
• Dramatic Irony: He's jealous of Kazuya for supposedly having a real girlfriend, and thinks Kazuya doesn't know what it feels like to have to rent one. Not only does he not know that Chizuru is a rental girlfriend, but Kazuya felt similarly jealous back when Kuri introduced Ruka to him, since Kazuya didn't yet know that Ruka was a rental girlfriend.
• Everyone Can See It: When he realizes just how far Kazuya is willing to go to get him out of his funk, and that Chizuru agreed to it, even he suspects that she harbors feelings for Kazuya.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: Since Ruka exposed his secret, he's had nightmares about rental girlfriends and wants nothing to do with love or women if they cause nothing but embarrassment for him. Feeling responsible, Kazuya tries to make things right by setting him up with a surprise rental date, and even then it takes Kuri a while to snap out of it. Kazuya also correctly deducts that the reason Kuri is taking Ruka's betrayal hard is because he started falling for her.
• I Want to Be a Real Man: Kuri is fully aware that he's not masculine or appealing to women, and wishes that he was. After Ruka turned on him, he's done a lot of bouldering to vent his frustrations while trying to become more masculine.
• In-Series Nickname: His surname is often shortened to "Kuri".
• Last-Name Basis: His friends always address him as "Kuri", despite having known him since grade school.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: He's a very Nice Guy despite being kinda obsessed with attractive girls and renting Ruka to make others believe she's his girlfriend. And when he sees Ruka is interested in Kazuya, he suddenly apologizes and admits to his friend he rented her.
• Nice Guy: He's pretty goofy and kind of a lech, but still a kind and friendly guy. Chizuru finds Kuri endearing and is genuinely kind towards him.
• Secret-Keeper: Because Kazuya already knows his secret of renting a girlfriend, he lets Kuri in on his secret as well. Because Kazuya was willing to lose face for the sake of his friend, Kuri decides he won't tell anyone.
• Unmanly Secret: Seeing Kazuya with a top beauty like Chizuru made him feel so inadequate that he ended up renting a girlfriend to feel better about himself. It's bad enough that his secret gets exposed, but it's even worse when the one who exposes it is his rental girlfriend.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kazuya and Kibe. They'll rib on each other, they'll get into fights, but they've got each others backs.

Umi Nakano

Umi Nakano

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Edward Bosco (English)^{Other voice actors}Geezuz González (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Ryōsuke Sato

A friend of Chizuru's who attends the same acting school as she does.

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• Armor-Piercing Question: After Chizuru turns him down, he asks her if she likes Kazuya instead, and in such a way that makes it clear that he knows the truth. Unlike the others, Chizuru gives him a mixed answer instead of completely denying it.
• The Bus Came Back: He makes a reappearance in the cohabitation arc, where he gives a second confession to Chizuru after discovering that she's living together with Kazuya.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: After having been turned down by Chizuru in Chapter 126, it is clear that he has been wounded greatly by it, berating himself for being too foolish to realize that he had already lost to Kazuya before he even began.
• Everyone Can See It: When Chizuru turns him down, he can tell right off the bat that she likes Kazuya, and tells her that it's written all over her face.
• Foil: Umi is everything Kazuya isn't. He's handsome, confident, popular with the ladies, and quite the smooth operator. Kazuya not only has to keep his distance as Chizuru's client, but she's constantly on guard around him. With Umi, they're able to do a lot more things together as friends, and because he's already dating someone else, Chizuru is able to let go and be herself whenever she's around him. On the other hand, while Kazuya selflessly tries to help her achieve her goals expecting little in return, Umi offers to help her but only if she attends a play with him, using the opportunity to have Chizuru all to himself for the day after lying that his (now ex) girlfriend would also be attending. Although he offers to take her to places to increase her connections and further her acting career, it's all to convince Chizuru to go out with him.
• Graceful Loser: After having been turned down by Chizuru in Chapter 126 and realizing he lost to Kazuya, it is obvious that he is unhappy with it, but he has yet to make any other moves on Chizuru since. This is subverted come the cohabitation arc, where he's shown to still be hung up on her and outright confesses to her after he visits her grandmother's house.
• I Lied: When he invites Chizuru to the theater on the last day of the campaign, he reveals that he lied about his girlfriend having a cold and had already broken up with her, using the opportunity to spend time with Chizuru and ask her if she'd be willing to take Nanaho's place as his new girlfriend.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Although he doesn't give up so easily when Chizuru turns him down, when he realizes that she's fallen for someone else, not only does he let her go to help Kazuya and the others, but he keeps his word by promoting their campaign on social media. It's because of him that they're able to surpass their goal. As aforementioned, this is subverted come the cohabitation arc, where he's shown to still be hung up on her.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Although clearly upset that he had lost to Kazuya after being rejected by Chizuru in Chapter 126, he accepts defeat. However, he once again tries to pursue her during the cohabitation arc.
• Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: On the receiving end when Kazuya overhears him speaking on the phone to someone about Chizuru, but Umi specifically mentions her voice and her measurements, which leads Kazuya to think he has much more sinister intentions than he actually does. He was recommending her to a director.
• Pretty Boy: Enough to make Kazuya think that not even Chizuru could resist his charms. When Umi and Chizuru are out together, many onlookers mistake them as a perfect couple or a depressing reminder that pretty girls only date good-looking guys.
• Put on a Bus: After Chapter 126 following being turned down by Chizuru, he doesn’t reappear until over fifty chapters later when Chizuru and Kazuya are invited to a party he’s throwing to celebrate the movie's success.
• Saying Too Much: When Kazuya confronts him about some of the things he and Chizuru said on Christmas Eve, Umi tells him that they were rehearsing a script, not realizing that she was trying to keep her goal of becoming an actress a secret.
• Signature Headgear: Seen wearing a beret often.
• What You Are in the Dark: Agrees to help Chizuru with her movie project by promoting their campaign on social media on the condition that she attend a play with him, much to Kazuya's chagrin. It is quickly revealed that he had the ulterior motive of starting a romantic relationship with Chizuru to which she turns him down. While it is clear that he is unhappy with her answer and (in his mind) having lost to Kazuya, he keeps up his end of the deal.

Family Members

Nagomi Kinoshita

Nagomi Kinoshita

Voiced by: Yukari Nozawa (Japanese), Alex Cazares (English)^{Other voice actors}Teresa Ibarrola (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Hana Kino

Kazuya's grandmother who runs the family liquor store.

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• The Atoner: As hard as it may be to believe, she eventually does start to show remorse for her treatment of Kazuya over the years.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Nagomi trash talks Kazuya every chance she can get, but deep down she does care for him, never letting him know it. She prays for him multiple times offscreen and she was ecstatic when he was born, though that also had to do with Harumi unsuccessfully trying to have a baby for eight years beforehand.
• Brutal Honesty: It's easy to see where a lot of Kazuya's self-esteem issues come from, as Nagomi puts him down constantly. She finds it hard to believe that he's together with a beauty like Chizuru, reminding him that he's not exactly a ladies' man. She also tells him that she finds it difficult to believe that both Chizuru and Ruka actually like him.
• Cool Old Lady: For a woman her age, she's rather tech-savvy and even has a Twitter account.
• Determinator: She took over the family business when her husband died, and on top of raising a family, she was able to maintain what he created.
• Gamer Chick: She often plays games on her phone and is shown with a controller and headset during a call with Kazuya.
• Heirloom Engagement Ring: Gives Chizuru her own engagement ring that her late husband used to propose to her with. What Chizuru does with the ring she leaves up to her.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She's good friends with Kibe and knew him since he was a child. She even advises him on a website he's running. Because of this connection, Kazuya is especially cautious around Kibe, knowing that anything Kibe learns about Chizuru could be disclosed to Nagomi.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's particularly harsh towards Kazuya and wants him to have a girlfriend before she dies. Although he thinks it's for the sake of the store and carrying on the family legacy, Kibe eventually tells him that deep down, what she really wants is for him to be happy and healthy. She still tends to be very mischievous and teases him a lot, making him feel embarrassed.
• Morality Pet: An inadvertent one to Ruka and perhaps even Mami. Both are determined to expose the lie behind Kazuya and Chizuru's relationship for their own reasons, but are more concerned about how it would effect Nagomi. Of course, when it comes to Mami, there's no telling if her concern is genuine or not.
• My Beloved Smother: Harumi admits to Chizuru that Nagomi wasn't easy on her, either. She visited her in the middle of work to "see the real her", butt in to every third date she and Kazuo had, and watched over them like a hawk. In a rare case, Harumi believes this to be a positive trait, as while it is annoying she has the confidence and pride in her family that the former wishes she had.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: In Episode 9 of the English dub, she greets Kazuya and Chizuru with, "Hello, my angel... and Kazuya."
• Never Mess with Granny: Because of what she was able to achieve with her husband's business, her family reveres her as the head and absolute authority of the family. Even though she gets admitted to the hospital often, she has plenty of life left in her. Kazuya and his parents have very good reason to fear her.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • In Chapter 153, she's unusually emotionally restrained while attending Sayuri's wake, calmly offering her condolences to Chizuru, paying her respects and leaving. Kazuya's rather surprised to see Nagomi like this.
  • At the resort, she expresses regret over how she's treated Kazuya over the years, believing that Chizuru staying with him all this time meant that she saw something in him that his grandmother, his own family, didn't. Knowing things may get worse later on, she expresses her gratitude to make up for it, taking Kazuya by complete surprise.
• Shipper on Deck: Even though she doesn't realize that Kazuya and Chizuru aren't in a real relationship, she does whatever she can to get them to be closer to each other, preferrably to consummate it.
• Skinship Grope: Does this to Chizuru when they're bathing together at the onsen, and she doesn't stop with touching Chizuru's breasts.
• Tears of Joy:
  • This is her reaction when Kazuya claims that Chizuru is indeed his girlfriend when she meets her for the first time.
  • In Chapter 206, Harumi reveals Nagomi shed these when Kazuya was born.
• Was Too Hard on Him: After years of belitting and insulting Kazuya, she tells him that she sorry for being a failing grandmother and thanks him for being her grandson.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • She's absolutely furious when she asks Kazuya when Chizuru's birthday is, only to find out it had already passed and he neglected to mention it. When his family celebrates his birthday, she makes it clear that they're actually celebrating Chizuru's belated birthday instead.
  • She gets after Kazuya again after she learns from Mami that he kept Chizuru's acting aspirations and the movie a secret from her, his own family.
• You Are Not Alone: After discussing Sayuri's death at the spa resort with Chizuru, she tells her that people don't grow strong all by themselves and that the Kinoshita family is there for her whenever she's down, and not to feel that she's lost her entire family, because she has one in them.

Kazuo and Harumi Kinoshita

Kazuo and Harumi Kinoshita

Kazuo's voiced by: Yuuki Sanpei (Japanese), Chris Hackney (English)^{Other voice actors}Javier Rivero (Latin Spanish)

Harumi's voiced by: Miki Natsutani (Japanese), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)^{Other voice actors}Karina Altamirano (Latin Spanish)

Kazuo's portrayed by: Oideyasu Oda

Harumi's portrayed by: Kaoru Noguchi

Kazuya's father and mother, as well as Nagomi's son and daughter-in-law.

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• Brutal Honesty: Like his grandmother, they have a hard time believing that Kazuya actually has a girlfriend when they meet Chizuru for the first time.
• But I Can't Be Pregnant!: In Chapter 206, Harumi reveals that it took eight years before she and Kazuo finally had Kazuya.
• A Day in the Limelight: Harumi receives one in Chapter 206 as she tells Chizuru about her past and how much she loves her son.
• Dramatic Irony: Kazuo sees money change hands between Kazuya and Chizuru, then assumes Kazuya is borrowing money from Chizuru. He doesn't realize that Kazuya was paying for renting Chizuru, meaning that Kazuya has been giving Chizuru a lot of money for her services.
• Flat Character: For a long time, Harumi didn't receive much characterization and barely appeared. It's not until Chapter 206 that her personality is shown.
• Like Father, Like Son: Mother in this case as Chapter 206 reveals that Kazuya's tendency to overreact comes from her.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Kazuo confronts Kazuya in Chapter 55 after seeing him exchange money with Chizuru, and punches him for supposedly taking advantage of her kindness and borrowing money from her.
• You Are Not Alone: Harumi tells Chizuru that she can talk to her anytime she feels pressured.

Sayuri Ichinose

Sayuri Ichinose

Voiced by: Sayuri Sadaoka (Japanese), Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)^{Other voice actors}Isabel Romo (Latin Spanish)

Portrayed by: Mayumi Asaka

Chizuru's grandmother, a former actress who is admitted to the same hospital as Nagomi. The two are good friends.

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• Brutal Honesty: Although Sayuri has nothing but love for her granddaughter, she's also worried about how distant and lonely Chizuru is, and doesn't pull punches when it comes to pointing out her flaws right in front of her. She even thought that because she never brought a boy home, she was into girls instead. She's not nearly as bad as everyone else, though.
• Cool Old Lady: She's very friendly towards everyone around her, and is the only character other than Sumi to treat Kazuya with nothing but kindness. She tends to give him the encouragement he needs by telling him that he has some serious potential and is more of a man than he realizes, even though she's aware of his faults and shortcomings.
• Cynic–Idealist Duo: The Cynic to Katsuhito's Idealist. Though again, she is indeed a realist, and basically is what Chizuru is to Kazuya, being just more grounded than her husband, and not overly idealistic like him, making her cynical just in comparison. She wasn't on board with Chizuru becoming an actress, given how hard it really is to make it in show business, but Katsuhito insisted that she follow her dreams as long as it didn't make her suffer.
• Died in Ignorance: Chizuru never really comes clean about the true nature of her relationship with Kazuya, and Sayuri keeps it that way by telling her it's alright not to say it if she thinks it will hurt her.
• Final Speech: On her deathbed, she tells Chizuru that as difficult as life is, while there are no clear choices to make, all she can do is press forward, and believes she's grown up to be someone who can do that. Her last moments with Chizuru are spent telling her how proud she is and how much she loves her.
• Graceful Loser: Before he passed, Sayuri and her husband argued whether Chizuru would succeed in her dream to become an actress. Years later, when it dawns on her that Chizuru's finally going to make her big screen debut, she tearfully admits that her husband won.
• Happily Married: To her late husband, Katsuhito. Even after being married for 35 years, they were still very much lovey-dovey with each other.
• Living Emotional Crutch: She's Chizuru's last living relative, and despite trying to prepare herself for when that moment comes, she's absolutely terrified losing the last of her family.
• Nice Girl: She is a kind old lady, and lacks Kazuya's grandma's harshness and mischief.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Kasumi, her daughter and Chizuru's mother, died before she did.
• Patrick Stewart Speech: She's very fond of giving these to Chizuru, telling her that while Kazuya isn't perfect he's still good for her, and as difficult as life is, all she can do is press forward.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: She pranks Kazuya on a visit by pretending that she might not live enough to see the next day, just to see his reaction. Kazuya is not amused.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: She tells Kazuya that despite his failures and shortcomings, he has incredible potential as a man, and all he can do it keep moving forward. She believes he's a perfect match for Chizuru, and has enough faith in Kazuya that she asks him to take care of her granddaughter when she's gone.
• Your Days Are Numbered: She suffers from a terminal illness that she has no chance of overcoming, and it's because of this that Chizuru is determined to become an actress that she can see on the big screen before Sayuri's time runs out. It finally does in Chapter 151, but the movie is finished just in time for her to see it.

Katsuhito Ichinose

Katsuhito Ichinose

Voiced by: Ryūsei Nakao (Japanese), Landon McDonald (English)^{Other voice actors}Mario Castañeda (Latin Spanish)

Chizuru's grandfather and Sayuri's husband, who passed away before the events of the story.

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• Bumbling Dad: Granddad, but still the same to Chizuru. Whenever he tried to lecture her on life, she'd always have a rebuttal waiting for him and put down his dreamy way of thinking, often in a snarky way. When he said he'd never die, she reminded him that he drinks and used to be a smoker. Nevertheless, they loved each other dearly.
• Cynic–Idealist Duo: The Idealist to Sayuri's Cynic. He always encouraged Chizuru to follow her dreams, lacking the awareness of how hard it really is to make it in the world of show business.
• Happily Married: To Sayuri, who remembers him fondly years after his death.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Seeing that Katsuhito and Sayuri raised Chizuru, he does count as her father figure. Multiple parallels are drawn to how openly supportive, clumsy, and earnest he was to his more cynical wife, which are traits Kazuya has in spades.
• Posthumous Character: He died in an auto accident some time before the start of the story.