Rent-A-Girlfriend
An anime television series adaptation by TMS Entertainment aired from July to September 2020 on MBS's Super Animeism block. A second season will premiere in July 2022. Plot. Kazuya Kinoshita is dumped by his girlfriend Mami Nanami after dating for a month. He then decides to use an online dating app to rent a girlfriend named Chizuru Mizuhara, a beautiful and attractive girl. However, because he thinks she was inauthentic, he gives her a low rating. When Chizuru berates him for that during their next meeting, he realizes she is meaner than he expected. However, when  Kazuya's grandmother is hospitalized following a collapse, he brings Chizuru along and his grandmother is smitten with how great she is. As such, Kazuya continues renting Chizuru in order to keep up appearances with his family and friends, but things get complicated when they discover they are next-door apartment neighbors and attend the same college. Later, other girls from the rental girlfriend business also join in. Media. Manga. Written and illustrated by Reiji Miyajima, the series began serialization in Kodansha's "Weekly Shōnen Magazine" on July 12, 2017. It has been compiled into twenty-five volumes as of  February 2022. The series is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA, which released the first volume in English on June 2, 2020. Kodansha published an anthology of the series on August 17, 2020. A spin-off manga series, titled , also written and illustrated by Miyajima, has been serialized in Kodansha's "Magazine Pocket" app since June 21, 2020. The series focuses on the character Sumi Sakurasawa. It has been compiled into two volumes as of February 2021. The series is also published in North America by Kodansha USA. Anime. An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 15 , 2019. The series was animated by TMS Entertainment and directed by Kazuomi Koga, with Mitsutaka Hirota handling series composition, Kanna Hirayama designing the characters, and Hyadain composing the music. The Peggies performed the opening theme . Halca performed the first ending theme starting from Episodes 2–6 and 8–11, while Halca also performed the second ending theme "First Drop" for Episode 7, and Sora Amamiya performed the third ending theme for Episode 12. It aired from July 11 to September 26, 2020 on the Super Animeism programming block on MBS and other networks. The anime ran for 12 episodes. On September 25 , 2020, shortly before the first season's finale was streamed internationally, it was announced that a second season had been greenlit for production. The main cast and staff are reprising their roles, with Studio Comet cooperating in the production. The second season will premiere in July 2022. The series is licensed by Crunchyroll outside of Asia. On August 11, 2020, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub, which premiered on August 28. In Southeast Asia and South Asia, the series is licensed by Muse Communication and released on the streaming service iQIYI in Southeast Asia. Animax later  began airing the series. On May 18, 2021, it was announced Sentai Filmworks picked up the home video rights. Video game. On June 17, 2021, a crossover smartphone game, titled "Kanojo, Okarishimasu Heroine All-Stars", was announced. The game will be developed by Enish and feature Chizuru, Mami, Ruka, and Sumi along with female characters from other "Weekly Shōnen Magazine" manga series like "Fairy Tail", "The Seven Deadly Sins", "Domestic Girlfriend", "Girlfriend, Girlfriend", "Fire Force", "Boarding School Juliet", "Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches", and "Negima! Magister Negi Magi". Reception. The series has received mixed to positive reviews. Joe Ballard  of Comic Book Resources (CBR) described the anime adaptation as a "hot mess" with sluggish pacing but also an "intriguing, action-packed rom-com and a semi-developing love story." Meanwhile, Ethan Wescoatt of CBR praised the story, which he called "mature" for a harem anime, in addition to the male and female leads, noting that Chizuru is an intriguing character due to hiding her true, multidimensional personality behind her perfect girlfriend façade and that Kazuya's struggles are relatable to the audience. As of December 2021, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation. Rent-A-Girlfriend An