In the second season of Rent-a-Girlfriend, the show follows the lives of four friends as they try to find a way to make ends meet while living together. In this episode, we follow one of the friends, who is trying to find a way to make rent on her own and pay for her apartment. The first thing that we see in this episode is that all four friends have been struggling to make ends meet. They all have different ways of making money and none of them seem to be working out very well. One friend even suggests that they all start a business together but no one seems interested in doing that. Eventually, one of the friends comes up with a plan to make rent on her own and pay for her apartment using some extra money she has saved up. This plan works out well for her and she can finally afford to live on her own. However, it does not work out so well for the other three friends who are still struggling to make ends meet.
Season 2 Episode 1 of Rent a Girlfriend Recap
Let me start my Rent-a-Girlfriend review by clarifying something that I was unsure of. You may notice that there is no second season if you watch the series on Crunchyroll. Crunchyroll listed this episode instead of the first of the 2nd season as the 13th of Season.
This could continue throughout the season. It’s not clear. For the sake of these reviews, however, I will refer to episodes with their second Season episode numbers. This is the Season 2 Episode 1 Review.
This being said, I’d like to praise the episode for its recap of Season 1. Recaps are never enjoyable. It’s not always fun. However, the recap at episode’s beginning was my favorite part of the episode.
It’s been 2 years since I last watched Season 1. I don’t know how it ended. I also forgot that Ruka and Kazuya were dating. To be fair, though, I have the impression that Kazuya forgot this, too. Poor Ruka. Poor Ruka.
Another reason I enjoyed this recap was the fact that it featured the main four girls from their perspectives. There was some overlap. It made the recap much more interesting. It would have been boring if it had been done entirely from Kazuya’s perspective.
Finally, I loved that each girl gave a recap and we were able to see them in different outfits. The best thing about Kanokari is its fashion sense and the way that character outfits change all the time. It’s cute to see the girls wearing different clothes.
Remaining true to the status quo
This could be considered a spoiler. One thing I do know about Kanokari’s future is that it prefers to keep things the same. Major developments don’t happen. So, I would like to use this general knowledge to predict what won’t happen.
Chizuru didn’t confirm that she was not selected for the role in the big play. She heard Shiori speak with the director and she assumed he chose her. Shiori and the director did not say that Shiori was his choice.
Naturally, I thought that it was all a misinterpretation. Kanokari is built on misunderstandings. Chizuru believed Shiori was the one who got the role. In fact, Chizuru had the role. He would have fit in perfectly. When Shiori asked Chizuru to speak to her at the end, I assumed that was what the episode would be about.
However, would Chizuru’s acceptance of the role be a significant departure from the status quo if she is actually granted it? If it did happen, her plan was to quit as a rental girl. It’s not something I can see her doing. Chizuru is the entire premise of the show.
Kazuya is also confused. He believes that Chizuru will cut all contact with him if he stops being a renter girlfriend. We know that this is not the case. It is quite obvious that Chizuru feels for Kazuya.
I don’t think Kazuya is too blind to see that. Yes, he’s dumb. It’s Chizuru’s job to act like he likes her. In his mind, Chizuru acts only because she is playing a part.
Season 2 Episode 1 of Rent-a-Girlfriend: Does Chizuru stop being a rental girlfriend?
Chizuru questions Kazuya about what he’s doing outside the theater after they meet accidentally. He praises her while she is talking about nonsensical topics. He says that her performance was very moving and tells her that the audience loved him. Kazuya then explains that he accepts that Kazuya wants to pursue acting and is not available to rent his girlfriend. Chizuru is puzzled by his conclusion and questions why.
Kazuya tells Chizuru about the acting opportunity she mentioned to her, and after watching her performance, he believes that the director selected her. Chizuru’s expression changes briefly, and she tells Kazuya she wasn’t offered a role by the director because she isn’t good enough.
Kazuya is aware that she is not optimistic, despite her trying to sound positive. He knows that Chizuru was a rent girlfriend in order to make money for acting classes. Now that she isn’t getting any good opportunities, it seems that her financial woes are not over.
Kazuya has promised to support her and to hire her as his rental girlfriend, even though he must work overtime to make enough money. Kazuya has made such a huge decision because of his emotional attachment to Chizuru. Let’s just say that Chizuru is still a rental girl and will continue to be hired by Kazuya more often in future episodes.
Despite her outstanding performance, Chizuru does not get an acting opportunity from the director
Chizuru begins to pack up after the play ends. She hopes to return home as soon as possible. However, she hears Shiori, the girl who plays the lead role in this play, talking to the famous director, who is looking for people to cast his next project. She is selected because she has been associated with a well-known sponsor since elementary school. The whole selection process was rigged against Chizuru who was hoping for a big break. Instead of complaining, she took the blame on herself and told Kazuya she was not given the role by the director because her performance was not satisfactory.
