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彼女、お借りします [Kanojo, Okarishimasu] #1
Rental Girlfriend, Band 1
Kazuya ist ein ganz normaler Student, der gerade böse von seiner Freundin abserviert wurde. Völlig niedergeschlagen und vereinsamt rafft er sich dazu auf, die App "Diamond" zu benutzen, um sich mit Chizuru Mizuhara zu verabreden – einer Miet-Freundin. Schon beim ersten Treffen merkt er, dass sie das Mädchen seiner Träume ist, doch es scheint noch mehr dahinter zu stecken. Als dann auch noch die Omas der beiden ins Spiel kommen, drehen Kazuya und Chizuru völlig ab. Kann dieses Arrangement in einer echten Beziehung enden...? Feinste Slice-of-Life-Comedy mit Charme!
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2017
211 people are currently reading
1863 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews
June 14, 2021
It delivers, what one would expect if you availed yourself of a ubiquitously Japanese service of a girlfriend rental in order to move on from the pain and shame of being dumped by a girl, a total cringe fest. It is totally cringey but once you start reading the first volume, it is totally hard to put down. You want to know what happens next.
This is a solid first volume. It introduces a beautifully drawn and designed (the author outdid himself here) female lead, and a scummy but relatable male lead. The author implants the idea that perhaps this two people of such contrasting but similar circumstances could end up together, and the reader totally buys that. It also reveals that the true villain of this would-be romantic comedy is the ex-girlfriend. (She's totally a bitch; i.e. Chapter 5.)
This is a solid first volume. It introduces a beautifully drawn and designed (the author outdid himself here) female lead, and a scummy but relatable male lead. The author implants the idea that perhaps this two people of such contrasting but similar circumstances could end up together, and the reader totally buys that. It also reveals that the true villain of this would-be romantic comedy is the ex-girlfriend. (She's totally a bitch; i.e. Chapter 5.)
January 10, 2025
Reread: 10/01/2025
This was such fun rereading it and love the dynamic between the characters and the awkward meet ups between Kazuya and Mizuru and how many times they are in the same place and like the stuff with their grandmother is so cute and its the start of another epic love story and the ending was wild.. so many dramatic moments!
_____________________________________________________________________
This was actually pretty cute!
Kazuya has recently broken up with his GF but then he gets a new one maybe and we see this relationship forming between the two.. naa actually its an app that lets you rent GF and he meets the girl Chizuru and well she acts al cute but what happens when Kazuya acts all crazy and she has to reveal her real self and its funny and well as fate would have it they go to the same school and maybe live in the same building and then there is the stuff with their grandmother and the drama there and what happens when his friend meets them in one of their sessions and ex gf of Kazuya also shows up on an outing!
OMG this manga volume was so cute and I love how its pretty much a random series of coincidences and its just so cute and I love the random happenstance between the two and the awkward meeting and the beginning of the romance and the stuff with his grandmother is so funny and really brings so much light-heartedness into the manga! I love it, plus the art is so good and so it makes for an awesome read!
This was such fun rereading it and love the dynamic between the characters and the awkward meet ups between Kazuya and Mizuru and how many times they are in the same place and like the stuff with their grandmother is so cute and its the start of another epic love story and the ending was wild.. so many dramatic moments!
_____________________________________________________________________
This was actually pretty cute!
Kazuya has recently broken up with his GF but then he gets a new one maybe and we see this relationship forming between the two.. naa actually its an app that lets you rent GF and he meets the girl Chizuru and well she acts al cute but what happens when Kazuya acts all crazy and she has to reveal her real self and its funny and well as fate would have it they go to the same school and maybe live in the same building and then there is the stuff with their grandmother and the drama there and what happens when his friend meets them in one of their sessions and ex gf of Kazuya also shows up on an outing!
OMG this manga volume was so cute and I love how its pretty much a random series of coincidences and its just so cute and I love the random happenstance between the two and the awkward meeting and the beginning of the romance and the stuff with his grandmother is so funny and really brings so much light-heartedness into the manga! I love it, plus the art is so good and so it makes for an awesome read!
March 25, 2021
So Kazuya just got dumped by his girlfriend and he feels pretty shitty. We've all been there, haven't we? So what is his next step? To rent a girlfriend of course!
Renting a girlfriend is basically having a girlfriend show you off. Walk around, go on dates, but nothing beyond that. No sex, no real contact, no happy endings. This is just to make you feel better about yourself by dating someone even if you're paying them to do so. It's pretty simple idea, and it somehow works, and it helps Kazuya is a pretty funny protagonist here. I really enjoyed the situations he and the girl got into, and I also loved his Grandma, she was the star of this manga in terms of comedy.
I did feel bad for the main girl because of how annoying Kazuya can come across. Always begging for her to do things and she gets suckered into it. I actually like the fact she has a backbone and doesn't wanna deal with his bullshit half the time. Makes for a much funnier and better duel protagonist.
Overall fun, cheerful, and cute manga with some good moments. I'll be grabbing volume 2.
Renting a girlfriend is basically having a girlfriend show you off. Walk around, go on dates, but nothing beyond that. No sex, no real contact, no happy endings. This is just to make you feel better about yourself by dating someone even if you're paying them to do so. It's pretty simple idea, and it somehow works, and it helps Kazuya is a pretty funny protagonist here. I really enjoyed the situations he and the girl got into, and I also loved his Grandma, she was the star of this manga in terms of comedy.
I did feel bad for the main girl because of how annoying Kazuya can come across. Always begging for her to do things and she gets suckered into it. I actually like the fact she has a backbone and doesn't wanna deal with his bullshit half the time. Makes for a much funnier and better duel protagonist.
Overall fun, cheerful, and cute manga with some good moments. I'll be grabbing volume 2.
August 2, 2021
I'll be honest idk what to think yet since it's only volume 1.. its suppose to be a cute one but so far Kazuya is meh.. I feel bad for him he seems like a joke to his family and friends and when he had a girlfriend she was mean I don't know what he sees In her since we saw that dinner scene where she publicly humiliated him.. infont of his new "girlfriend" and how Kaz treated Cbizuru in that scene was bad she was standing up for him and he just shot her down and let his ex talk that way.
I like Chizuru so far shes a great character doing her duty and being a rent a girl to get that cash.. shes the reason I might stick around for another volume... to see if ill stick it out.
Ow drama, drama,
Recommend-ehh
Cover-⭐⭐⭐
Heat level-🌶
I like Chizuru so far shes a great character doing her duty and being a rent a girl to get that cash.. shes the reason I might stick around for another volume... to see if ill stick it out.
Ow drama, drama,
Recommend-ehh
Cover-⭐⭐⭐
Heat level-🌶
July 2, 2024
1 star
People read this unironically and this is wild to me.
People read this unironically and this is wild to me.
June 5, 2023
This was an interesting read. I've read fake gf/bf novels but never a manga. While this is only volume one, I'm very eager to read more of the series to see it progress.
Read
August 22, 2020
May 4, 2021
Avevo grandi aspettative e, nonostante questo, sono rimasta sorpresa da questa lettura! Un manga di base leggero che ha del potenziale per esplorare in profondità temi importanti e attuali. Molto simpatico, è riuscito a intrattenermi e a farmi staccare la spina
Read
April 20, 2023pierwsza manga w moim życiu. jest dziwnie, ale buja. mocno się wciągnęłam i nie mogę sie doczekać kontynuacji
May 18, 2023
Cute, funny, hilarious, oh boy that MC, sometimes I wanted to punch the MC because he was just so over the top and should just get NO is NO DONE, Chizuru is fun but I am not a fan of her other side, grandma!!! best character in the manga, lovely art I love it.
September 20, 2024
I really enjoyed this manga... even though Kazuya gives me a ton of second hand embarrassment!
I wasn't too sure I was going to enjoy this because the whole idea of renting a girlfriend seems a bit much to me... but I'm glad I gave it a try! I actually really enjoying it so far and I freaking love Chizuru! She's the best! Though I don't know how Chizuru doesn't lose her mind (even more than she does) with Kazuya because he's really put her into some awkward situations.
And don't even get me started with Mami! That girl better get some character development or something because she is literally the worst! She may look all cute and sweet but she's definitely not!
Thankfully I already have Volume 2 so, I'm going to be starting that now :)
I wasn't too sure I was going to enjoy this because the whole idea of renting a girlfriend seems a bit much to me... but I'm glad I gave it a try! I actually really enjoying it so far and I freaking love Chizuru! She's the best! Though I don't know how Chizuru doesn't lose her mind (even more than she does) with Kazuya because he's really put her into some awkward situations.
And don't even get me started with Mami! That girl better get some character development or something because she is literally the worst! She may look all cute and sweet but she's definitely not!
Thankfully I already have Volume 2 so, I'm going to be starting that now :)
June 2, 2022
This was terrible. The mc is one step away from becoming a incel. The grandma kept pushing him to marry a woman, like him being gay or not wanting to marry was impossible. Also he’s only 20, she may be pushing him to marry soon because she’s not long for the world and wants to see him married but he has to live with the marriage after she’s gone. Rushing marriage just to please someone else is a terrible idea. The mc was so awful, he kept calling the female lead selfish and blackmailed her, even though she did him favors that put her job on the line. The way he continuously lied to her, repeatedly breaking his promise to her wasn’t funny it was just irritating.
The friends were terrible, they based a persons partner value solely on their looks.
The friends were terrible, they based a persons partner value solely on their looks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2020
3.5
This was a surprisingly good romantic comedy with a clear heart at its center. Sure, Kazuya doesn't know how to treat a girlfriend, but that seems to be because he's gotten all of his ideas from porn and his semi-loser friends. I'm curious as to why Chizuru is working as a rental girlfriend in the first place and Granny reminds me of my (late) Great-Aunt Marilyn, so I'm interested to see where this goes.
This was a surprisingly good romantic comedy with a clear heart at its center. Sure, Kazuya doesn't know how to treat a girlfriend, but that seems to be because he's gotten all of his ideas from porn and his semi-loser friends. I'm curious as to why Chizuru is working as a rental girlfriend in the first place and Granny reminds me of my (late) Great-Aunt Marilyn, so I'm interested to see where this goes.
November 7, 2020
Three stars in general, four for a romantic comedy.
I don't know how to define "season" in the following statement, but in any case the ecchi romantic comedy that caught my attention last season was Domestic Girlfriend, by Kei Sasuga. That one wanted a depth beyond its improbable premise and the zaniness it sold, and for plenty of chapters it actually managed to sell real pain and the realistic implications of the weird relationships its characters were getting into. But then, Sasuga might as well have said "fuck it" audibly, and the last hundred or hundred fifty chapters were an increasing disaster, with the ending so ludicrously terrible that it might have been an elaborate joke played on all of us. But I was in a mood to get into some lighthearted, somewhat perverted romantic comedy, and this one I'm reviewing seems to be the most approachable this season.
It's the story of an eighteen years old freshman at college whose girlfriend of a month (his first ever) just broke up with him without even having the courtesy of taking his virginity. Grieving whenever he isn't masturbating (which he does in most scenes when he's alone at home), he decided to sacrifice the remainder of his dignity and hire an escort (the series uses the term "rental girlfriend", which I suppose is a real thing in Japan) for an afternoon. The rules are that he should never touch her, and that they'll revert to being strangers whenever the false date ends.
The protagonist, along with us, meets the ten out of ten who ends up becoming the coprotagonist of this tale: it's a maybe twenty one year old with a perfect body and who carries herself with a beaming sweetness. They enjoy coffee together, they visit the aquarium. They go as far as walking hand in hand. By the end of the fake date, the guy is head over heels for this girl way out of his league. When he comes back to his small apartment, he's about to write a review for the date in the appropriate agency's website, only to realize, reading other reviews, that the girl does the same thing for every lonely soul that hires her. Something so blatantly obvious becomes the fuse for the first in a very, very long line of irrational, infuriating decisions that our protagonist makes. The guy is fucking retarded. Lacking if not straight up pathetic main characters are a staple of mediocre to bad ecchi stories from the dawn of time, but my biggest obstacle to enjoy this series fully is that the protagonist keeps making promises just to break them almost immediately, that he lies because he doesn't want to or can't stand up for himself, and that keeps making trouble for everyone in his life. Obviously that ends up reflecting terribly in the people who decide to keep associating with him, mainly in the coprotagonist, this rental girlfriend, because otherwise she's one of the coolest, most realistic characters I've seen in Japanese fiction recently (I've gone a bit further in this story than what I've read in the manga).
In any case, the infuriated protagonist writes a one star review for the girl, berating her for not knowing anything about fish. However, masturbating endlessly to his ex girlfriend isn't filling that hole in his soul, so he rents the girl again. Although she puts on her best act, and even mentions that she had learned more about aquatic life (the guy had the guts to bring her to the aquarium again), he's acting all weird: "aren't you disappointed with this life? Why don't you stop pretending that you are having a good time?". She takes him aside and showing her real face she berates him for acting strange: he knew what he had hired, what she is, and she won't tolerate this kind of bullshit. If he doesn't want to continue with the fake date, they'll just go their separate ways. However, he gets a call: his beloved grandma, the matriarch of his family, has fainted and is in the hospital. Somehow both protagonists end up visiting the grandmother. She's overjoyed that her grandson, whom she accurately took for a forever alone fool, got himself a girlfriend, and that the girl is so beautiful, as if an angel came down from heaven. The girl keeps acting like his girlfriend during that visit, believing that it will be a one time thing.
When they leave the hospital, she says that they have seen each other for the last time. He's convinced that now he's gained the confidence, somehow, to get a real girlfriend to present to his grandma, and that he'll never have to use escorts again.
But this is an ecchi romantic comedy, so when he attends his campus, while he's being teased by a couple of loserish friends he realizes that the escort also attends classes at that college. She's dressed like an introverted librarian type, so she's mostly unrecognizable. Afterwards both protagonists argue for a bit. She's terrified that he'll tell anybody about her job. Somehow that transitions into hiring her again to visit his grandmother at the hospital. The girl seems more worried this time, and we later learn that her own grandmother had been hospitalized there. Things as they tend to be, turns out that both grandmothers are friends. The protagonists attempt to hide in a vacant room. They end up hiding under the covers, him on top of her, his erection rubbing against the crotch of the increasingly troubled escort. His blood flowing out of his brain, he believes that he can simply go for it, but she kicks him away and yells that such a thing will never happen between them. This video is a link to that scene in the reasonably decent anime adaptation. I don't know why I'm linking it (EDIT: oh shit, it's Aqua's voice actress!). In any case, both grandmas find them, and they realize that they'll need to keep this charade going for a bit longer, because otherwise they'll both have familial troubles.
This being an ecchi romantic comedy, they find out that they live next to each other in the same crappy residential building for students and poor people in general. She makes him promise that he'll never approach her outside of the time he buys from her, but his grandma ends up leaving the hotel to visit him, and she expects him to bring his girlfriend. He begs and begs for the increasingly disturbed and angry coprotagonist to let herself be bought for a while, but she refuses. With the grandma waiting in the protagonist's apartment, the grandmother surmises that they broke up, that the beautiful girl wisened up and realized that she'd be throwing her life away if she let herself be impregnated, or even looked at, by such a gigantic loser, but that at least she (the grandma) is happy that she was allowed to believe in such a nice dream for a while. The escort had heard those words from her balcony, and ends up making an appearance as the guy's girlfriend, delaying the inevitable moment when the protagonist's actions catch up to him. After the grandmother leaves, she allows him to buy her once a week, just to visit his grandmother.
One of those days, though, as they were walking hand in hand and attracting every man's gaze, they come across the protagonist's two college pals. They believe that the escort must be a recruiter for some cult, but when he proudly states her position as his girlfriend, she goes along with it. The two guys, recovering from the revelation, are pleased however to know that he haven't had sex with her yet. They argue that coming into such a bombshell will ruin his sex life forever after she inevitably leaves. The guys don't have enough with ruining the moment and invite both to a mixer, which the protagonist's ex girlfriend also is attending. The atmosphere becomes tense until the ex girlfriend, showing her true colors for the first time, attempts to ridicule the guy for how much of a creepy boyfriend he was with her, but the escort gets irate and defends him. However, he refuses to stand up for himself. He says that his ex girlfriend had just spoken the truth. The escort has had enough of this loser, and storms off.
The idiotic protagonist decides that he might as well get drunk. When they get out of the building, his pals urge him to call his girlfriend to make sure she won't break up with him so soon. As the guy is stumbling his way home, the shady ex girlfriend intercepts him and after some talk, in which she pretends to be some shy girl that couldn't defend herself against the assertive escort, she offers him to go up to her apartment.
That's where this volume ends. Pretty good ecchi romantic comedy stuff. Very expressive drawings, often over the top but not breaking the tone like in FMA. The author has a good sense of pace, as stuff keeps hitting one after the other, and despite the protagonist's idiotic persona they get into situations in which they are reasonably forced to go deeper into their particular rabbit hole. Will he ever get outed as a creepy forever alone guy who hires escorts? Will she get outed for selling her time and looks to make creepy losers feel better for a while? Plenty of chapters to go.
I don't know how to define "season" in the following statement, but in any case the ecchi romantic comedy that caught my attention last season was Domestic Girlfriend, by Kei Sasuga. That one wanted a depth beyond its improbable premise and the zaniness it sold, and for plenty of chapters it actually managed to sell real pain and the realistic implications of the weird relationships its characters were getting into. But then, Sasuga might as well have said "fuck it" audibly, and the last hundred or hundred fifty chapters were an increasing disaster, with the ending so ludicrously terrible that it might have been an elaborate joke played on all of us. But I was in a mood to get into some lighthearted, somewhat perverted romantic comedy, and this one I'm reviewing seems to be the most approachable this season.
It's the story of an eighteen years old freshman at college whose girlfriend of a month (his first ever) just broke up with him without even having the courtesy of taking his virginity. Grieving whenever he isn't masturbating (which he does in most scenes when he's alone at home), he decided to sacrifice the remainder of his dignity and hire an escort (the series uses the term "rental girlfriend", which I suppose is a real thing in Japan) for an afternoon. The rules are that he should never touch her, and that they'll revert to being strangers whenever the false date ends.
The protagonist, along with us, meets the ten out of ten who ends up becoming the coprotagonist of this tale: it's a maybe twenty one year old with a perfect body and who carries herself with a beaming sweetness. They enjoy coffee together, they visit the aquarium. They go as far as walking hand in hand. By the end of the fake date, the guy is head over heels for this girl way out of his league. When he comes back to his small apartment, he's about to write a review for the date in the appropriate agency's website, only to realize, reading other reviews, that the girl does the same thing for every lonely soul that hires her. Something so blatantly obvious becomes the fuse for the first in a very, very long line of irrational, infuriating decisions that our protagonist makes. The guy is fucking retarded. Lacking if not straight up pathetic main characters are a staple of mediocre to bad ecchi stories from the dawn of time, but my biggest obstacle to enjoy this series fully is that the protagonist keeps making promises just to break them almost immediately, that he lies because he doesn't want to or can't stand up for himself, and that keeps making trouble for everyone in his life. Obviously that ends up reflecting terribly in the people who decide to keep associating with him, mainly in the coprotagonist, this rental girlfriend, because otherwise she's one of the coolest, most realistic characters I've seen in Japanese fiction recently (I've gone a bit further in this story than what I've read in the manga).
In any case, the infuriated protagonist writes a one star review for the girl, berating her for not knowing anything about fish. However, masturbating endlessly to his ex girlfriend isn't filling that hole in his soul, so he rents the girl again. Although she puts on her best act, and even mentions that she had learned more about aquatic life (the guy had the guts to bring her to the aquarium again), he's acting all weird: "aren't you disappointed with this life? Why don't you stop pretending that you are having a good time?". She takes him aside and showing her real face she berates him for acting strange: he knew what he had hired, what she is, and she won't tolerate this kind of bullshit. If he doesn't want to continue with the fake date, they'll just go their separate ways. However, he gets a call: his beloved grandma, the matriarch of his family, has fainted and is in the hospital. Somehow both protagonists end up visiting the grandmother. She's overjoyed that her grandson, whom she accurately took for a forever alone fool, got himself a girlfriend, and that the girl is so beautiful, as if an angel came down from heaven. The girl keeps acting like his girlfriend during that visit, believing that it will be a one time thing.
When they leave the hospital, she says that they have seen each other for the last time. He's convinced that now he's gained the confidence, somehow, to get a real girlfriend to present to his grandma, and that he'll never have to use escorts again.
But this is an ecchi romantic comedy, so when he attends his campus, while he's being teased by a couple of loserish friends he realizes that the escort also attends classes at that college. She's dressed like an introverted librarian type, so she's mostly unrecognizable. Afterwards both protagonists argue for a bit. She's terrified that he'll tell anybody about her job. Somehow that transitions into hiring her again to visit his grandmother at the hospital. The girl seems more worried this time, and we later learn that her own grandmother had been hospitalized there. Things as they tend to be, turns out that both grandmothers are friends. The protagonists attempt to hide in a vacant room. They end up hiding under the covers, him on top of her, his erection rubbing against the crotch of the increasingly troubled escort. His blood flowing out of his brain, he believes that he can simply go for it, but she kicks him away and yells that such a thing will never happen between them. This video is a link to that scene in the reasonably decent anime adaptation. I don't know why I'm linking it (EDIT: oh shit, it's Aqua's voice actress!). In any case, both grandmas find them, and they realize that they'll need to keep this charade going for a bit longer, because otherwise they'll both have familial troubles.
This being an ecchi romantic comedy, they find out that they live next to each other in the same crappy residential building for students and poor people in general. She makes him promise that he'll never approach her outside of the time he buys from her, but his grandma ends up leaving the hotel to visit him, and she expects him to bring his girlfriend. He begs and begs for the increasingly disturbed and angry coprotagonist to let herself be bought for a while, but she refuses. With the grandma waiting in the protagonist's apartment, the grandmother surmises that they broke up, that the beautiful girl wisened up and realized that she'd be throwing her life away if she let herself be impregnated, or even looked at, by such a gigantic loser, but that at least she (the grandma) is happy that she was allowed to believe in such a nice dream for a while. The escort had heard those words from her balcony, and ends up making an appearance as the guy's girlfriend, delaying the inevitable moment when the protagonist's actions catch up to him. After the grandmother leaves, she allows him to buy her once a week, just to visit his grandmother.
One of those days, though, as they were walking hand in hand and attracting every man's gaze, they come across the protagonist's two college pals. They believe that the escort must be a recruiter for some cult, but when he proudly states her position as his girlfriend, she goes along with it. The two guys, recovering from the revelation, are pleased however to know that he haven't had sex with her yet. They argue that coming into such a bombshell will ruin his sex life forever after she inevitably leaves. The guys don't have enough with ruining the moment and invite both to a mixer, which the protagonist's ex girlfriend also is attending. The atmosphere becomes tense until the ex girlfriend, showing her true colors for the first time, attempts to ridicule the guy for how much of a creepy boyfriend he was with her, but the escort gets irate and defends him. However, he refuses to stand up for himself. He says that his ex girlfriend had just spoken the truth. The escort has had enough of this loser, and storms off.
The idiotic protagonist decides that he might as well get drunk. When they get out of the building, his pals urge him to call his girlfriend to make sure she won't break up with him so soon. As the guy is stumbling his way home, the shady ex girlfriend intercepts him and after some talk, in which she pretends to be some shy girl that couldn't defend herself against the assertive escort, she offers him to go up to her apartment.
That's where this volume ends. Pretty good ecchi romantic comedy stuff. Very expressive drawings, often over the top but not breaking the tone like in FMA. The author has a good sense of pace, as stuff keeps hitting one after the other, and despite the protagonist's idiotic persona they get into situations in which they are reasonably forced to go deeper into their particular rabbit hole. Will he ever get outed as a creepy forever alone guy who hires escorts? Will she get outed for selling her time and looks to make creepy losers feel better for a while? Plenty of chapters to go.
January 12, 2021
5 stars for Chizuru (we all know how much she loves a 5 star rating *winky*). Asides from the romcom, this manga might offer a cute explanation for why simps do what they do =)) The characters' drawings seem a bit tricky as it resonates with past popular anime, which might explain its growing popularity.
June 5, 2020
I was hoping to like this one more than I did, but I’ll definitely be back for another volume since what I did like I liked a lot.
First off, the art has this weird style that reminds me of something I cannot for the life of me remember, but it has a singularly unique quality to it while still adhering to basic manga aesthetic and I loved it quite a bit.
Chizuru is a great character, strong and unique in the ways Kazuya is not, and it’s not hard to see why she’s so popular at her job and the sharp contrast between that and her real persona was a great touch. She and Kazuya have clear affection for one another when they can cut through everything around them.
Kazuya is my sticking point so far; he’s got a completely rotten attitude at the start that his useless friends and lingering virginity can only partially account for. He does get smoothed out as we go; his obvious affection for his wacky grandmother (she’s something else, mostly in a good way) certainly helps.
There’s also a brutally awkward scene towards the end where he gets dragged by his ex and, while every single criticism is valid, you can’t help but feel bad for the guy. He’s got a lot to learn, but public shaming like that never really helped anybody.
His ex, Mami, is clearly going to be a factor in things going forward and she’s very interesting because of how hard she is to read from this first volume. She clearly isn’t as over Kazuya as she says, but she also has a lot of problems with him. If I had to make a guess from the way the volume closes out, she might be more jealous of Kazuya’s new relationship than anything else, but it’s going to be fun finding that out...
First off, the art has this weird style that reminds me of something I cannot for the life of me remember, but it has a singularly unique quality to it while still adhering to basic manga aesthetic and I loved it quite a bit.
Chizuru is a great character, strong and unique in the ways Kazuya is not, and it’s not hard to see why she’s so popular at her job and the sharp contrast between that and her real persona was a great touch. She and Kazuya have clear affection for one another when they can cut through everything around them.
Kazuya is my sticking point so far; he’s got a completely rotten attitude at the start that his useless friends and lingering virginity can only partially account for. He does get smoothed out as we go; his obvious affection for his wacky grandmother (she’s something else, mostly in a good way) certainly helps.
There’s also a brutally awkward scene towards the end where he gets dragged by his ex and, while every single criticism is valid, you can’t help but feel bad for the guy. He’s got a lot to learn, but public shaming like that never really helped anybody.
His ex, Mami, is clearly going to be a factor in things going forward and she’s very interesting because of how hard she is to read from this first volume. She clearly isn’t as over Kazuya as she says, but she also has a lot of problems with him. If I had to make a guess from the way the volume closes out, she might be more jealous of Kazuya’s new relationship than anything else, but it’s going to be fun finding that out...
August 5, 2022
Kazuya is a college freshman slacker living off the money his parents gave him as their last attempt to support him. He gets savagely dumped by his smiling girlfriend and is tragically down in the dumps. He learns of a girlfriend rental service and gives it a shot, meeting the beautiful Chizuru and their date gets him back in the spirits. Yet once he see their fun was all part of her job and tells her off, he sees a shockingly different side of her and their “relationship” will bring not-so-romantic surprises.
While it’s not a sweet and emotional story that the plot makes it out to be, it’s still a hilarious tale about romance that goes in its own direction. Chizuru is the reason to read this series as her sweet and feisty side keeps it enjoyable, while Kazuya is almost likable if you ignore his many faults. All in all, not a love story yet but a funny story about love. B+ (83%/Very Good)
While it’s not a sweet and emotional story that the plot makes it out to be, it’s still a hilarious tale about romance that goes in its own direction. Chizuru is the reason to read this series as her sweet and feisty side keeps it enjoyable, while Kazuya is almost likable if you ignore his many faults. All in all, not a love story yet but a funny story about love. B+ (83%/Very Good)
December 30, 2024
Even though Chizuru was very well written Kazuya was soo creepy I couldn't digest it.
November 30, 2020
This was my first manga and it was definitely interesting! I enjoyed the drawings and seeing the emotions of the characters captured. The characters were a whole different story though. They were so annoying to me. The male protagonist seemed like a wuss and the rent a girlfriend girl was so one dimensional.
The ending was a cliff-hanger and I will pick up the 2nd book just to see where this story goes. Because the manga left me wanting more, I rated it pretty high for me (3 stars). I would recommend this read to anyone interested in Japanese manga and I enjoyed it even though I was never really a huge fan of manga.
The ending was a cliff-hanger and I will pick up the 2nd book just to see where this story goes. Because the manga left me wanting more, I rated it pretty high for me (3 stars). I would recommend this read to anyone interested in Japanese manga and I enjoyed it even though I was never really a huge fan of manga.
June 23, 2021
I mean the illustrations were obviously fantastic, really cute. And the title/description is very accurate so I can’t really give this book a lower review, especially as I haven’t read their whole series. But some people recommended this as a ‘not cheesey’ and ‘funny’ girly read, it’s not.
I just didn’t warm to the characters at all really, which was disappointing. They both felt cold, confusing and they were both horrible. The minor characters were unnecessary and boring. So I didn’t really want to continue pretty early on.
The story line, again I got a bit confused, maybe because I’m new to manga or because the layout is different for me? But I did get a bit lost twice. I understand that the story line can’t be too long or complex due to the style and length, but nothing happened? Or more accurately, the same thing kept happening over and over.
Kazunya was a real arse! Talk about toxic and entitled. I really dislike him, he’s disrespectful. I don’t want them to even try and improve his character. The fact there are even more girls in the future volumes makes me wanna cry. Mizuhara was cute and later on sassy until she started allowing him to walk all over her, then she became the typical female character. I don’t like it when females just become a play toy.
TW: there are a lot of references in regards to the female figure, sex ect so don’t read if you’re triggered by objectified standards of women.
It’s just not for me. Probably my fault for giving it a go, but I shan’t be continuing.
I just didn’t warm to the characters at all really, which was disappointing. They both felt cold, confusing and they were both horrible. The minor characters were unnecessary and boring. So I didn’t really want to continue pretty early on.
The story line, again I got a bit confused, maybe because I’m new to manga or because the layout is different for me? But I did get a bit lost twice. I understand that the story line can’t be too long or complex due to the style and length, but nothing happened? Or more accurately, the same thing kept happening over and over.
Kazunya was a real arse! Talk about toxic and entitled. I really dislike him, he’s disrespectful. I don’t want them to even try and improve his character. The fact there are even more girls in the future volumes makes me wanna cry. Mizuhara was cute and later on sassy until she started allowing him to walk all over her, then she became the typical female character. I don’t like it when females just become a play toy.
TW: there are a lot of references in regards to the female figure, sex ect so don’t read if you’re triggered by objectified standards of women.
It’s just not for me. Probably my fault for giving it a go, but I shan’t be continuing.
January 23, 2023
review: What do I even say about this one? Yet another entry in the Hopeless Young Man Inexplicably Acquires Hot Girlfriend And/Or Devoted Harem genre. At least she didn’t fall out of the sky and into his open arms. I do think it’s a more plausible angle on the genre—the plot hinges on the growing “rental companion” industry in Japan. He literally has to pay his girlfriend to put up with him. The usual cringeworthy ecchi rom-com hijinks ensue. Chizuru (female lead) carried the story and was quite cool, actually. Can’t be bothered continuing, though.
★★★☆☆ | 3.00 stars | RTC
★★★☆☆ | 3.00 stars | RTC
December 8, 2021
Ahhh cringe!! Too much cringe!
I never had been so annoyed with the main character while reading a story in a while. But Kazuya is just pathetic. Really how pathetic can you be?
If you like rom-com and searching for one to read you can read it. It has a somewhat decent but weird plot. I also liked the art. So, If you can get pass the stupidity of a horny main character and don't cringe often then its really a good read to pass time.
I never had been so annoyed with the main character while reading a story in a while. But Kazuya is just pathetic. Really how pathetic can you be?
If you like rom-com and searching for one to read you can read it. It has a somewhat decent but weird plot. I also liked the art. So, If you can get pass the stupidity of a horny main character and don't cringe often then its really a good read to pass time.
November 11, 2020
Kazuya is a virgin for a reason.
December 13, 2020
I forgot how badly I hate Kazuya :)
September 14, 2022
Beautiful drawings, infuriating long drawn out plot.
September 15, 2021
Eh, I'm willing to give volume 2 a chance before I decide to drop/keep up with it.
April 7, 2023
It was cute, but a very strange premise 😂
June 28, 2022
Die Reihe „Rental Girlfriend“ ist mir bereits mehrfach aufgefallen. Und ähnliche Mangas mit einer ähnlichen Thematik kenne ich ebenfalls. Das Cover sieht ganz niedlich aus, aber dennoch war ich immer skeptisch. So ganz angesprochen hatte mich die Serie nicht. Jetzt habe ich aber leihweise die Möglichkeit, einmal hineinzuschnuppern.
Während das Cover sehr schön gestaltet ist und ich mich damit durchaus anfreunden kann, kann der Zeichenstil bei mir so gar nicht punkten. Er ist ganz ok. Hat aber auch große Schwächen. Im Großen und Ganzen wirken die auftretenden Charaktere zweidimensional. Während Chizuru gut dargestellt wird, wird Kazuya gleich als Pfeife der ersten Stunde dargestellt. Der Typ kriegt nicht nur nichts auf die Reihe, er sieht sogar schon danach aus.
Was ich ebenfalls unlogisch finde, ist, dass er als BWL-Student (!!!) sein Geld regelrecht für eine Mietfreundin zum Fenster hinauswirft. Das Geld nicht auf Bäumen wächst, sollte er wissen. Und selbst das Geld, was seine Eltern ihm fürs Studium gegeben haben, wird nicht ewig reichen. Besonders nicht bei Chizurus Stundenlohn. *hust*
Die Story ist als humorvolle Slice-of-Life-Serie angelegt. Witzig finde ich sie nicht. Frauen werden hier teilweise aus Sexobjekte und Wichsvorlagen für Männer dargestellt. Wenn eine Frau nicht hübsch ist, verdient sie keine Beachtung. Sie ist nur gut genug, um als erste Erfahrung für eine männliche Jungfrau herzuhalten. Absolut diskriminierend. Immerhin ist das Mädel geschäftlich erfolgreicher und anscheinend auch wesentlich intelligenter als der Protagonist Kazuya. Humor kommt daher bei mir gar nicht an. Der wird zu Gunsten der gesamten weiblichen Bevölkerung verballert und das nervt. Frauen haben mehr Respekt verdient als das, was der Mangaka hier abliefert.
Der einzige Charakter, den ich mochte, war ja Kazuyas Großmutter. Die war witzig. Sie wäre einer der Charaktere, die es wert wären, in Band 2 hineinzulesen. Aber derzeit bin ich nicht bereit, meine wertvolle Lesezeit mit einem schlecht durchdachten Konzept zu verschwenden, das Frauen diskriminiert.
Während das Cover sehr schön gestaltet ist und ich mich damit durchaus anfreunden kann, kann der Zeichenstil bei mir so gar nicht punkten. Er ist ganz ok. Hat aber auch große Schwächen. Im Großen und Ganzen wirken die auftretenden Charaktere zweidimensional. Während Chizuru gut dargestellt wird, wird Kazuya gleich als Pfeife der ersten Stunde dargestellt. Der Typ kriegt nicht nur nichts auf die Reihe, er sieht sogar schon danach aus.
Was ich ebenfalls unlogisch finde, ist, dass er als BWL-Student (!!!) sein Geld regelrecht für eine Mietfreundin zum Fenster hinauswirft. Das Geld nicht auf Bäumen wächst, sollte er wissen. Und selbst das Geld, was seine Eltern ihm fürs Studium gegeben haben, wird nicht ewig reichen. Besonders nicht bei Chizurus Stundenlohn. *hust*
Die Story ist als humorvolle Slice-of-Life-Serie angelegt. Witzig finde ich sie nicht. Frauen werden hier teilweise aus Sexobjekte und Wichsvorlagen für Männer dargestellt. Wenn eine Frau nicht hübsch ist, verdient sie keine Beachtung. Sie ist nur gut genug, um als erste Erfahrung für eine männliche Jungfrau herzuhalten. Absolut diskriminierend. Immerhin ist das Mädel geschäftlich erfolgreicher und anscheinend auch wesentlich intelligenter als der Protagonist Kazuya. Humor kommt daher bei mir gar nicht an. Der wird zu Gunsten der gesamten weiblichen Bevölkerung verballert und das nervt. Frauen haben mehr Respekt verdient als das, was der Mangaka hier abliefert.
Der einzige Charakter, den ich mochte, war ja Kazuyas Großmutter. Die war witzig. Sie wäre einer der Charaktere, die es wert wären, in Band 2 hineinzulesen. Aber derzeit bin ich nicht bereit, meine wertvolle Lesezeit mit einem schlecht durchdachten Konzept zu verschwenden, das Frauen diskriminiert.
June 17, 2021
This book has its problems, but I think it's a good setup to what could be an interesting series.
The humor is there, and the tone is pretty on point. I definitely found myself cracking up a few times and wanting to know more about the characters. But that's also where my main worry comes in.
Chizuru, the "Rent-A-Girlfriend", is AWESOME. I mean she's focused, she has goals, and while she has a temper, it isn't used for just slapstick comedy and seems to have a real purpose. I mean, without spoiling anything, she's been put in a pretty tough spot and her anger seems justified.
Kazuya, on the other hand, SUCKS. I hated him so much because, to be honest, he felt too realistic to people I knew during my late high school years. I empathize with him because I understand the self-esteem issues and self-doubt that comes with remaining loveless, but there are just plenty of times where he acts like a selfish jerk who horniness knows no bounds throughout the book. If he actually develops as the story goes on and grows up, I could see this series being fantastic. If he doesn't, I could see it getting old quick since he's the driving force of the series.
My other biggest problem with this book was the sheer number of convenient things keeping these two bound together. I get it, and I know I'm kinda supposed to turn my brain off and enjoy it, but it just seemed like every chapter started with some new problem and they weren't too creatively done.
Either way, I'm excited to read more and hopeful this series gets better with each book because I really find the premise interesting!
The humor is there, and the tone is pretty on point. I definitely found myself cracking up a few times and wanting to know more about the characters. But that's also where my main worry comes in.
Chizuru, the "Rent-A-Girlfriend", is AWESOME. I mean she's focused, she has goals, and while she has a temper, it isn't used for just slapstick comedy and seems to have a real purpose. I mean, without spoiling anything, she's been put in a pretty tough spot and her anger seems justified.
Kazuya, on the other hand, SUCKS. I hated him so much because, to be honest, he felt too realistic to people I knew during my late high school years. I empathize with him because I understand the self-esteem issues and self-doubt that comes with remaining loveless, but there are just plenty of times where he acts like a selfish jerk who horniness knows no bounds throughout the book. If he actually develops as the story goes on and grows up, I could see this series being fantastic. If he doesn't, I could see it getting old quick since he's the driving force of the series.
My other biggest problem with this book was the sheer number of convenient things keeping these two bound together. I get it, and I know I'm kinda supposed to turn my brain off and enjoy it, but it just seemed like every chapter started with some new problem and they weren't too creatively done.
Either way, I'm excited to read more and hopeful this series gets better with each book because I really find the premise interesting!
April 14, 2021
https://lapommequirougit.com/2021/04/...
Je remercie les Éditions Noeve grafx pour l’envoi de cette lecture. J’avais vu l’anime quand ce dernier était sortie et j’avais tellement aimé, tellement ris ! Je n’arrêtais pas de dire à mon chéri « il faut que le manga soit licencié en France ! » et Noeve grafx à exaucé mon souhait !
Kazuya est une élève comme n’importe quelle autre. Il va à la fac, à une petite amie, sa toute première. Enfin, avait… Oui, elle vient juste de le quitter, après un mois de relation, pour quelqu’un d’autre.
Dévasté, il fait des recherches sur Internet et le hasard va le mener à découvrir les petites amies à louer. C’est ainsi qu’il va finir par en louer une, la plus populaire de toutes : Chizuru. Ce qu’il ignore, c’est qu’il va s’embarquer dans une histoire qui le dépasse !
Je ne suis pas étonnée d’aimer ce manga vu que j’avais adoré l’anime. L’humour est toujours présent et en plus, j’aime vraiment beaucoup le style graphique du manga à côté de l’anime.
La mise en scène du manga est vraiment dynamique, prenant et chaque page est bourré de dialogue. Autant vous dire, pour ceux qui ont vu l’anime, ses deux premiers tomes regroupés facilement les 8-9 premiers épisodes !
En bref, le manga est beau, les personnages sont touchants et l’histoire est prenante. C’est simple, j’ai autant aimé que je l’espérais et je suis déjà impatiente de voir les autres tomes paraître.
Je remercie les Éditions Noeve grafx pour l’envoi de cette lecture. J’avais vu l’anime quand ce dernier était sortie et j’avais tellement aimé, tellement ris ! Je n’arrêtais pas de dire à mon chéri « il faut que le manga soit licencié en France ! » et Noeve grafx à exaucé mon souhait !
Kazuya est une élève comme n’importe quelle autre. Il va à la fac, à une petite amie, sa toute première. Enfin, avait… Oui, elle vient juste de le quitter, après un mois de relation, pour quelqu’un d’autre.
Dévasté, il fait des recherches sur Internet et le hasard va le mener à découvrir les petites amies à louer. C’est ainsi qu’il va finir par en louer une, la plus populaire de toutes : Chizuru. Ce qu’il ignore, c’est qu’il va s’embarquer dans une histoire qui le dépasse !
Je ne suis pas étonnée d’aimer ce manga vu que j’avais adoré l’anime. L’humour est toujours présent et en plus, j’aime vraiment beaucoup le style graphique du manga à côté de l’anime.
La mise en scène du manga est vraiment dynamique, prenant et chaque page est bourré de dialogue. Autant vous dire, pour ceux qui ont vu l’anime, ses deux premiers tomes regroupés facilement les 8-9 premiers épisodes !
En bref, le manga est beau, les personnages sont touchants et l’histoire est prenante. C’est simple, j’ai autant aimé que je l’espérais et je suis déjà impatiente de voir les autres tomes paraître.
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