Rent-A-Girlfriend is a series that is difficult to recommend wholeheartedly, but I consider it a bit of a guilty pleasure that I enjoy in spite of its flaws.
The story is about a young man named Kazuya who, having recently been dumped by his first girlfriend, hires a rental girlfriend named Chizuru to fill the hole in his heart. Kazuya's friends and family come to believe that he is in a romantic relationship with Chizuru, and he is forced to keep up this lie.
The characters are a mixed bag in terms of likeability. Kazuya is, to be blunt, a loser at the start of the series, since he can often be pathetic and creepy, although he arguably has understandable reasons for acting the way he does. He does get better over time, although much of his Character Development occurs after the anime's first season ends.
Chizuru is somewhat more likeable than Kazuya is, especially considering that she has much more common sense. She isn't perfect, though, and she does have her own reasons to keep the lie going, but it's easy to understand why she's the way she is and sympathize with her.
Mami is probably the worst character in the manga. She's cartoonishly evil in how she tries to sabotage Kazuya and Sumi's relationship out of spite, and comes off as a one-dimensional villain.
Ruka is almost as bad as Mami, particularly how aggressively she pursues Kazuya, which serves little purpose but injecting additional conflict into the story.
The pacing is glacial, even for a romcom. Kazuya and Chizuru grapple with the question of whether to keep up the lie or come clean and break up for much of the series (apparently not even considering whether to give a real relationship a try). It doesn't help that most chapters don't cover much ground, at least for weekly manga.
The story struggles with forward momentum. Early on, Kazuya and Chizuru are constantly about to break up, only to end up postponing the decision for one reason or another. It also occasionally falls back on introducing romantic rivals to stir up conflict and drive the plot forward(e.g. Ruka), a bit like Citrus did.
That said, the story isn't entirely bad. The romance between Kazuya and Chizuru can be genuinely heartwarming, especially when it helps Kazuya start to become a better person. If I'm frustrated with the pacing, it's because I became invested in their relationship; I'd have dropped the series if I didn't care about them.
The art is well-done and has a number of nice touches, such as the small asides that are drawn on the screen in the anime, such as dialogue boxes commenting on when Kazuya does something particularly foolish. The artist is also good with small details, like the crack on Kazuya's smartphone's screen.
If you don't like stories in which you spend much of the time wishing the main couple would stop dragging their feet and get together, this is not for you. If you're willing to keep an open mind and put up with its flaws, you should give it a try.
A Guilty Pleasure
This review covers up to Chapter 158
Rent-A-Girlfriend is a series that is difficult to recommend wholeheartedly, but I consider it a bit of a guilty pleasure that I enjoy in spite of its flaws.
The story is about a young man named Kazuya who, having recently been dumped by his first girlfriend, hires a rental girlfriend named Chizuru to fill the hole in his heart. Kazuya's friends and family come to believe that he is in a romantic relationship with Chizuru, and he is forced to keep up this lie.
The characters are a mixed bag in terms of likeability. Kazuya is, to be blunt, a loser at the start of the series, since he can often be pathetic and creepy, although he arguably has understandable reasons for acting the way he does. He does get better over time, although much of his Character Development occurs after the anime's first season ends.
Chizuru is somewhat more likeable than Kazuya is, especially considering that she has much more common sense. She isn't perfect, though, and she does have her own reasons to keep the lie going, but it's easy to understand why she's the way she is and sympathize with her.
Mami is probably the worst character in the manga. She's cartoonishly evil in how she tries to sabotage Kazuya and Sumi's relationship out of spite, and comes off as a one-dimensional villain.
Ruka is almost as bad as Mami, particularly how aggressively she pursues Kazuya, which serves little purpose but injecting additional conflict into the story.
The pacing is glacial, even for a romcom. Kazuya and Chizuru grapple with the question of whether to keep up the lie or come clean and break up for much of the series (apparently not even considering whether to give a real relationship a try). It doesn't help that most chapters don't cover much ground, at least for weekly manga.
The story struggles with forward momentum. Early on, Kazuya and Chizuru are constantly about to break up, only to end up postponing the decision for one reason or another. It also occasionally falls back on introducing romantic rivals to stir up conflict and drive the plot forward(e.g. Ruka), a bit like Citrus did.
That said, the story isn't entirely bad. The romance between Kazuya and Chizuru can be genuinely heartwarming, especially when it helps Kazuya start to become a better person. If I'm frustrated with the pacing, it's because I became invested in their relationship; I'd have dropped the series if I didn't care about them.
The art is well-done and has a number of nice touches, such as the small asides that are drawn on the screen in the anime, such as dialogue boxes commenting on when Kazuya does something particularly foolish. The artist is also good with small details, like the crack on Kazuya's smartphone's screen.
If you don't like stories in which you spend much of the time wishing the main couple would stop dragging their feet and get together, this is not for you. If you're willing to keep an open mind and put up with its flaws, you should give it a try.