The following contains spoilers for Episode 2 of Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 2, “The Usual Girlfriend” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Following a strong start to the first episode, Kazuya follows through on his promises to Chizuru. He says he would rent her every day in order to assist her and this episode is proof as it is about him taking her out on the rental date. However, it then follows with something akin to a real date, where the two of them go hang out at a batting cage and then go see Chizuru's grandma. The last episode was great for the progression of their relationship, but there was barely any interaction between the two, but fans are sure to enjoy the shift in this episode.
The last episode’s focus was on developing Chizuru’s character, so fans could see how Kazuya could assist her. So far in the story, Kazuya has only been helped by her, but his newly found resolve to aid her gives the story a new focus. Having shifted from him wanting to get back together with Mami or simply getting over his ex, the story has shifted to him.
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Date #1: The Fake One
The episode begins with Kazuya engaging with his two guy friends and discussing their plans now that they are back for their second year. After the opening plays we find Kazuya at work asking someone else at his job for advice on getting a girl to like him. He gets some comedic advice but ultimately realizes any advice he gets will be useless. After all, Chizuru is just a rental girlfriend and the relationship they have is a farce. Having accepted this he heads onward to meet Chizuru for their rental date.
Chizuru gives a lot of reasons as to why they should not go out too often with these rental dates and Kazuya does not have any rebuttals. He has none for the fact they have to hide from Mami, but then we see he does have an explanation for Ruka. Turns out Kazuya had already approached Ruka regarding the matter and got permission from her to take her out on dates. The only condition however is that she needs to see Chizuru act also. If the whole point of Kazuya doing this is to help her accomplish her acting goals then Ruka feels she needs to justify these purchases by watching her act herself. Kazuya agrees, and thus we see they do in fact go on the date.
Date #2: The Real One?!
After their rental date, Chizuru tells Kazuya that she just got off work and asks if he’s busy, so they can go hang out. She takes him to the batting cage where he is watching her hit baseballs while in her skirt. In Kazuya’s mind this is akin to an actual date but unfortunately, Chiziru states that it’s not a date at all. She clarifies the reason she invited him out is that dudes keep gawking at her whenever she comes by herself so having Kazuya there as a deterrent helps. In addition, she adds how she just doesn’t want to keep treating him like a stranger. Kazuya is confused as to why Chizuru is being nice to him, and she explains that she is simply over it. There’s no point in fussing or being upset over the way things turned out, as it’s not his fault he’s her neighbor or how they go to the same school. Once she is done detailing their relationship, she comes out of the batting cage and gives a flustered and embarrassed Kazuya a high five.
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This all seems a bit too convenient for Kazuya though, and when something is too good to be true of course it is. Chizuru only invited Kazuya out because her grandma wanted to see them both, but he didn’t want them to be at the hospital together all day. Thus, she spent time with the 2 of them hanging out and when the visiting hours at the hospital were ending she decided they would visit, so they would not have to be there too long. Even with the visit being short though, Kazuya gets some amazing quality time with the grandmother. They have a one on one conversation where he reveals he saw her play and describes her being so strong and independent, but the mother says she is such a needy and weak girl. This forces Kazuya to recall a moment in the past where Chizuru stated those who seem strong are just masking their weakness. The grandmother ask Kazuya to look after her and he swears he will because he loves her. This scene is amazing at it's him now confessing outwardly to someone regarding his love for her.
Conclusion
This episode was probably one of the series' best so far. Romance shows like Rent-A-Girlfriend tend to be extremely slow burns and the protagonist and main girl move like turtles when it comes to relationship advancement. This episode however had Kazuya see Chizuru in a completely new light. First was him getting her to be natural on the rental date. The next time was the batting cage date where she showed a completely different perspective and became a good friend to him. The biggest was the hospital. There, his conversation with grandma revealed details about Chizuru that Kazuyu never would have imagined. It truly feels like an honest friendship is forming because of Chizuru’s character development.
That is not to take away from the other parts of the episode that made it so good. The episode was humorous from start to finish. Kazuya engaging with his classmates, then with his co-workers and finally seeing him get so flustered and embarrassed around Chizuru was all hilarious. The comedy in the show maintains its pace. On top of it all Kazuya has kept his word and advanced as a character. He is beginning to feel more and more not like the agent actively progressing the story rather than a bystander. The direction the story is going feels nice because while slow burns are enjoyable, readers are tired of the constant cycle of two people having feelings for each other and not being able to confess so Kazuya working to do exactly that and win Chizuru over is amazing. So far this season is living up to its hype.
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