Harem is a popular anime genre, but lately, its popularity is experiencing a downward spiral. The audience is past the eye-roll-worthy tropes and the same story copy-pasted with a different title. Harem anime used to be a lighthearted, fun, and guilty pleasure watch. There are fewer and fewer harem shows every season that can capture the viewers’ attention. Only a few decent hits like A Couple of Cuckoos, The Quintessential Quintuplets, In Another World With My Smartphone, and more have recently redeemed the genre.
Another successful harem series that has established itself through several seasons is Rent-A-Girlfriend. Based on the popular manga of the same name written and illustrated by Reiji Miyajima, Rent-A-Girlfriend has hooked fans to its rom-com aura and messy love story. The show has successfully entertained fans through two seasons and continues the saga with a third installation that premiered on July 7th.
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What is Rent-A-Girlfriend About?
The concept of fake girlfriends isn’t new, but Rent-A-Girlfriend takes it up a notch by inspiring its story from real-life apps. The anime series is about a college guy named Kazuya Kinosh*ta who suddenly has to deal with a one-sided breakup. When his wonderfully cheery girlfriend, Mami Nanami, breaks up with Kazuya out of nowhere, the 20-year-old resorts to seeking help on the internet. Kazuya hires a rental girlfriend named Chizuru Mizuhara to deal with the heartbreak. At first, things go smoothly as Kazuya starts to open up to Chizuru’s bubbly and caring personality. But when looking over the app's reviews of Chizuru, Kazuya realizes she’s putting on an act.
Baffled and somewhat angered by Kazuya’s poor rating of her on the app, Chizuru is forced to reveal her true personality, which is far from her delicate persona as a rental girlfriend. However, during their altercation, Kazuya receives news that his grandmother has collapsed, and both of them rush to her aid. Just like how real boys use girlfriend-renting apps to deal with family pressure, Kazuya found himself in a similar situation with his grandmother. To quench his grandma’s curiosity about Chizuru, Kazuya introduces her as his girlfriend and ends up with a classic fake relationship trope.
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That’s just the beginning of the messy love saga that gets complicated when other rental girlfriends and Kazuya’s ex get involved. Seeing how caring Kazuya is with Chizuru and other rental girlfriends, Ruka and Sumi also start to develop feelings for Kazuya. The transition from a heartbroken guy to the center of attention of four girls is a real spin on Kazuya’s otherwise boring life. Rent-A-Girlfriend spends a good two seasons establishing Kazuya’s character. It also deviates a bit from the harem cliché of an airheaded male protagonist, introducing a strong character.
Kazuya’s ex Mami is still on the loose, trying to prove that there’s something fishy about his new relationship. She’s still arrogant enough to believe that he can’t get anyone as good as her, so she wants to get the dirt on him and maybe exploit Kazuya’s secret for personal agendas. As Rent-A-Girlfriend enters into its third installation, it’s going to be difficult for Kazuya to work things out with Chizuru now that so many other contenders in the mix.
When Do New Episodes of Rent-A-Girlfriend Come Out?
Rent-A-Girlfriend season 3 is a highly anticipated anime sequel that broke onto the scene in 2023. Season 3 premiered on July 7th, and has released three episodes. New episodes come out every week on Saturday, and Episode 4 releases on July 29th, 2023. The new season will probably focus on Chizuru’s dream of becoming an actress before her grandmother passes away. It’s possible that a great deal of season 3 will focus on Chizuru and Kazuya’s budding relationship as the latter helps her by promising to crowd-fund her movie project. There’s no telling how this adventure would work out for their “fake” relationship, but fans are hopeful this is the season where at least one of the girls makes some real progress with Kazuya.
On the other hand, the introduction of a new female character hints at the complicated love story getting more crowded. Mini Yaemori is Kazuya’s fellow university student and also his and Chizuru’s neighbor. She’s a social media influencer, but there’s no telling whether she’s another candidate, a secret rental girlfriend, or simply a means of bringing Chizuru and Kazuya closer. With so many girls trying to push for Kazuya’s approval, whether out of jealousy or love, Yaemori could be the friend he desperately needs on his side.
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How Many Episodes Will Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 3 Have?
There’s no official word yet, but it’s rumored that the latest season of Rent-A-Girlfriend will feature 12 episodes. Since most of the season’s arc will be based on Chizuru’s movie-making project, it’s possible that this delightfully whacky harem may not wrap things up this season. Most of the production staff and voice actors will be returning for the third season. However, Shinya Une will be directing the new season instead of Kazuomi Koga.
The talented Sora Amamiya will voice Chizuru Mizuhara, and Shun Horie will be returning as Kazuya Kinosh*ta, while Aoi Yuki will give her voice to Mami Nanami. Rie Takahashi and Nao Toyoma will also be returning as Sumi Sakurasawa and Ruka Sarashina, respectively. The latest to join the harem gang is Mini Yaemori, who will be voiced by Yu Serizawa.
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Even though Rent-A-Girlfriend’s prospects seem promising, fans weren’t quite happy with the developments of season two. As a harem show, it’s moving at a snail’s pace, considering that the series indulged in all the clichés. However, that’s also a good thing because harem anime rarely take the time to explore the characters' background stories. Rent-A-Girlfriend is one of the more successful harem series to come out in recent years, but it really needs to avoid the usual tropes if it wants to continue its success streak. Rent-A-Girlfriend is currently airing on several platforms in Japan but is exclusively available on Crunchyroll outside Asian territories.
