In our review of Rent a Girlfriend episode 1, which you can read here, we discussed how boldly it deals with real-life issues.
The second episode of Rent A Girlfriend is no different and its strength lies in creating a believable personality of an insecure, university student- Kinoshita Kazuya.
So far in the second episode, the story picks up right after Kazu stumbles upon- Chizuru or her real-self- Ichinose in his university which heightens the drama since Kazu knows about Ichinose-san’s secret profession.
Of course, it makes up for a fun, entertaining, and somewhat believable segment, however episode 2 does relies a lot on coincidences which is, unfortunately, not uncommon in Rom-Com anime such as these.
The fact that Kazu and Chizuru go to the same university is fine, but then Chizuru is also Kazu’s next-door neighbor which is absolutely absurd ( even from an anime POV) This does make “Rent A Girlfriend” a conflicting show, which otherwise tries to be genuine in its portrayal, Whether it be its various themes or its characters.
Kazu is an ordinary, insecure, 20 years old virgin who spends most of his time indulging in his over-arching fantasies about his former girlfriend who broke up with him after a month period. This is a believable story arc and its these little moments in between where Kazu is depicted as a vulnerable young adult struggling with his insecurities is something that makes Rent A Girlfriend worth watching. What’s not believable is how Kazu is able to afford to rent a girlfriend every other day, even when his friends mention that he’s poor.
Of course, its a Rom-Com and it delivers on that. However, don’t expect to be jumping off your seats with tongue biting humor because there’s none of that. Rent A Girlfriend however does packs a variety of layers in its story and one of that is how seriously it takes itself at times.
In episode 2 there’s a segment where Kazu is begging Chizuru for his help but she boldly rejects him by saying-
“Putting things off turn people into children.”
On inspecting carefully, it makes it clear that aside from being a fun entertaining series, Rent A Girlfriend is perhaps also trying to make its audience understand how to differentiate life from one’s fantasies. As the series progresses, it’s obvious that Kazu is going to be renting” his fantasies and mixing it with his real-life which is going to make things a whole lot of complex.
Aside from these few issues, the show is however a fresh take on Rom-Com mostly because it portrays a story of a bunch of university students rather than high school ones we are most notably used to. Kazu and his delinquent bunch of friends, ( including his ex-girlfriend) go out for drinks, they talk about sex, they indulge in you-know-what and that’s all a part of being in your 20’s.
Rent A Girlfriend also has its fair share of waifus and that brings us to the animation. Aside from the prominent female characters, everyone looks very stiff and the overall animation looks rough, compared to the picturesque visuals we have known to expect from the anime industry in 2020. However, it’s not much of an issue to distract one from the story or its narrative.
Overall, Rent a Girlfriend is a fresh and promising anime adaptation that requires your attention only when you’re willing to let go of its minor inconveniences.
