Rent-A-Girlfriend, I Was About to Switch It Off. Then Came Chizuru and I Started Watching It. 

I finished watching Solo Leveling, left the credits running and started doing something on my laptop. Crunchyroll decided that was the perfect moment to introduce me to Rent-A-Girlfriend. I reached for the remote to exit, got distracted by what was happening on screen, and here we are.

Solo Leveling will get its own review. But right now, I need to confess my love for Chizuru Mizuhara. Please give me a minute. Unlike Kazuya, I intend to finish the sentence.

I never expected to enjoy this anime, adapted from Reiji Miyajima’s manga, quite this much. The title alone made me curious, but I thought it would be something playing in the background while I worked.

Season one introduces Kazuya, a college student who gets dumped and rents a girlfriend to make himself feel better. Unfortunately, a temporary arrangement with Chizuru turns into a growing collection of lies involving their families and friends.

You know when telling the truth would be embarrassing, so you make things approximately forty times worse? That is Kazuya. The boy can turn a normal conversation into something I need to watch through my fingers.

But beneath the awkwardness, the series starts giving you reasons to care. Season two lets us see more of Chizuru’s acting ambitions and the person behind that carefully managed smile. By season three, the film project and her relationship with her grandmother give the story a much stronger emotional pull.

Suddenly, I am watching these two try to make something meaningful happen, and Kazuya is actually being useful. More of this, mate. You are much better when you stop holding emergency meetings inside your head. I hate those inner monologues, to be honest.

And Chizuru? (Anime-style sigh…)

Yes, she is beautiful. But what interests me is the difference between how confidently she handles her rental-girlfriend role and how difficult she finds dealing with her own feelings. She can make somebody else feel comfortable while keeping so much of herself hidden.

Her ambition matters too. She has something she wants to achieve beyond being somebody’s girlfriend. She works for it, gets disappointed and keeps going. Then you see the vulnerable side, especially around her grandmother, and that confident exterior feels much more human.

Some people might not call her the ideal girlfriend. Fair enough. She can be frustrating, guarded and very good at avoiding a conversation that desperately needs to happen.

But I do not need her to be perfect. Those little moments when she lets someone in are exactly what keep me watching.

Chizuru, I love you, but please tell the poor boy how you feel. Even I am getting tired of guessing.

I enjoyed the other characters too. Sumi brings some much-needed sweetness, Mini seems willing to push things forward, and Mami can make an ordinary conversation feel deeply suspicious.

Then there is Ruka Sarashina.

I really liked Ruka’s energy and how openly she showed her feelings. In a series where everyone spends so much time hesitating, somebody knowing what she wants is quite refreshing.

But in the later seasons, that determination started getting on my nerves. The jealousy, the pressure and the constant attempts to hold on to Kazuya sometimes made me want to ask her to give everyone a little breathing room.

I still like her. I also occasionally want her to leave the room. It is a complicated arrangement.

Seasons four and five take the tension into the Hawaiians resort trip and its aftermath, where keeping the whole rental relationship hidden becomes increasingly difficult. There are moments when the drama properly pulls you in.

There are also moments when it feels stretched.

Another misunderstanding. Another interrupted conversation. Another long panic over something that could probably be cleared up with one honest sentence. Sometimes I was ready for the next development while the series was still examining the previous facial expression.

I liked the slow romance, but as the latest season moved towards its ending, I became even more interested. Just when I wanted to see where this changing relationship would go, I was back watching credits.

AAAHHH. Now I want the next season.

Rent-A-Girlfriend is funny, cringy, occasionally boring and far more emotionally involving than I expected. I thought I liked it. Somewhere along the way, that became love.

Especially where Mizuhara is concerned. I believe I have been quite clear about that.

Crunchyroll, you may choose the next show for me. And Chizuru Mizuhara, you already have my attention.
Aki Malik