English Dub Review: Rent-a-Girlfriend “Legitimate Girlfriend”

Overview:

Chizuru did as Mami said to try to convince everyone. How will they, and Kazuya, react?

Our Take(Spoilers):

I don’t want you to think that with the title of this episode, there has been any progress. Chizuru and Kazuya are about as “legitimate” as they were previously. I remember what made me want to read the manga of this was that it was a rom-com that was set in the character’s college years. I thought, “Surely, since it’s set in college, the characters will be more mature, and it won’t take 300 chapters to have any progress.” I could not have been more wrong.

The way that the kiss between Kazuya and Chizuru is treated makes it feel like neither of them has kissed or been kissed before. We’re essentially getting a typical high school rom-com, but having a high schooler “rent” a girl would be problematic, so it’s in college instead. We’ve all been through puberty, so I get that sometimes our bodies do things we can’t control. But again, these characters are supposed to be in college, so when Kazuya pops a boner for all to see during the kiss, it’s not funny; it’s sad. I know it’s too good to be true, but when Kazuya and Chizuru get back from this trip, I hope they really do break up.