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彼女、人見知ります [Kanojo, Hitomishirimasu] #2
Rent-A-(Really Shy!)-Girlfriend, Vol. 2
A PRACTICE DATE
Sumi Sakurasawa’s in some real hot water. The perpetually shy young woman’s about to lose her new Rent-A- Girlfriend job because of low customer satisfaction! Fortunately, her friend, Chizuru Mizuhara, might have the solution. She knows someone Sumi can rehearse with to get over her dating dilemmas. And who should that person be, but mister clueless himself, Kazuya! Will Sumi be able to overcome her social anxiety and keep her job?
Sumi Sakurasawa’s in some real hot water. The perpetually shy young woman’s about to lose her new Rent-A- Girlfriend job because of low customer satisfaction! Fortunately, her friend, Chizuru Mizuhara, might have the solution. She knows someone Sumi can rehearse with to get over her dating dilemmas. And who should that person be, but mister clueless himself, Kazuya! Will Sumi be able to overcome her social anxiety and keep her job?
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2021
8 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 16, 2022
So, Sumi. Yes, the shy girl is back for more being inept at talking to people and trying to go beyond her awkward nature. Between sushi belts and guest appearances, there are plenty of chances to revel in the discomfort of our lead. Lucky us.
Spin-offs that don’t take their characters out of the narrative that spawned them have a fundamental flaw in justifying their existence, since you can’t expect much to happen in the new series as you have to assume any major developments will stay in the main one.
Which I doubt anybody considered for five seconds before making this side story. This is clearly meant to riff on Komi Can’t Communicate and they even nakedly crib from Kaguya-sama: Love is War! this time while they’re at it. Loftier goals are not something to be considered here.
If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, I don’t know that I would suggest reading this series. My problem with this is that watching Sumi get increasingly discomfited
by everything is actually more torturous than it is fun.
Now, that isn’t necessarily the case with Komi, so what’s the difference? I think it comes down to two things, starting with the internal monologue - we don’t hear how difficult this is for Komi, but we constantly do with Sumi and it’s a real downer seeing that she’s so miserable when she’s fighting her anxiety.
Secondly, there’s no friend network for Sumi. Komi works because she has support and the huge character pool means that we are focused on helping her, not wallowing. Sumi is all wallow, all the time, minus a scant couple of instances where Chizuru or Kazuya show up (it’s a nice touch to have Mami lurch into view to be miserable when Kazuya’s around, admittedly).
Most assuredly, the intent here is for the reader to sympathize with Sumi and think she is adorable and awkward and in need of protection. Meanwhile, for me it’s totally triggering of any other time I’ve known people who clearly needed more help than a pat on the back, but wouldn’t listen, and that includes myself.
If you approach this with the actual intent of the creators, as nakedly profiteering as it may be, and enjoy watching Sumi’s misery parade (not judging, clearly somebody wanted this series), you’ll almost certainly like this better than I do.
And it’s not all bad. The visual stylings they use during the photography story, for example, are clever and inventive, make no mistake. That turns out to be quite fun - I genuinely laughed when her nerves turn out to be contagious - even as it involves forcing a smile out of somebody for a picture, which I always dislike. It’s a standout of the volume.
3 stars - I waffled on my score, but this isn’t a disaster, it’s just difficult for certain people and I am definitely certain people. If you take this as presented, without digging into the premise, you’ll probably enjoy it. I may give this another volume, but I am finding it a bit too uncomfortable to claim it as reading “enjoyment”.
Honestly, they should have just spun Mami off into You Can’t Rent This Awful Ex-Girlfriend instead.
Spin-offs that don’t take their characters out of the narrative that spawned them have a fundamental flaw in justifying their existence, since you can’t expect much to happen in the new series as you have to assume any major developments will stay in the main one.
Which I doubt anybody considered for five seconds before making this side story. This is clearly meant to riff on Komi Can’t Communicate and they even nakedly crib from Kaguya-sama: Love is War! this time while they’re at it. Loftier goals are not something to be considered here.
If you suffer from an anxiety disorder, I don’t know that I would suggest reading this series. My problem with this is that watching Sumi get increasingly discomfited
by everything is actually more torturous than it is fun.
Now, that isn’t necessarily the case with Komi, so what’s the difference? I think it comes down to two things, starting with the internal monologue - we don’t hear how difficult this is for Komi, but we constantly do with Sumi and it’s a real downer seeing that she’s so miserable when she’s fighting her anxiety.
Secondly, there’s no friend network for Sumi. Komi works because she has support and the huge character pool means that we are focused on helping her, not wallowing. Sumi is all wallow, all the time, minus a scant couple of instances where Chizuru or Kazuya show up (it’s a nice touch to have Mami lurch into view to be miserable when Kazuya’s around, admittedly).
Most assuredly, the intent here is for the reader to sympathize with Sumi and think she is adorable and awkward and in need of protection. Meanwhile, for me it’s totally triggering of any other time I’ve known people who clearly needed more help than a pat on the back, but wouldn’t listen, and that includes myself.
If you approach this with the actual intent of the creators, as nakedly profiteering as it may be, and enjoy watching Sumi’s misery parade (not judging, clearly somebody wanted this series), you’ll almost certainly like this better than I do.
And it’s not all bad. The visual stylings they use during the photography story, for example, are clever and inventive, make no mistake. That turns out to be quite fun - I genuinely laughed when her nerves turn out to be contagious - even as it involves forcing a smile out of somebody for a picture, which I always dislike. It’s a standout of the volume.
3 stars - I waffled on my score, but this isn’t a disaster, it’s just difficult for certain people and I am definitely certain people. If you take this as presented, without digging into the premise, you’ll probably enjoy it. I may give this another volume, but I am finding it a bit too uncomfortable to claim it as reading “enjoyment”.
Honestly, they should have just spun Mami off into You Can’t Rent This Awful Ex-Girlfriend instead.
June 29, 2023
Still enjoying seeing things from the original series from Sumi’s perspective.
September 23, 2023
3.5 stars
January 12, 2022
This was better than the first volume. It is nice to get more detail about Sumi and her day to day life but it still is missing the elements that make a side story compelling for me. None of this content helps flesh out and complete the main series. It also suffers from being too similar to Komi Can't Communicate. Mami, once again has the best scene in the volume. There is also a chuckle inducing chapter with Sumi at a sushi restaurant.
April 13, 2022
↦ 97/ 108
Inkstone, her dog, is so precious, I love him.
Sumi as a Minecraft character is the best thing I've seen all year.
The young boy's eyeball during the sushi scene deeply unsettled me more than any Junji Ito or Kazuo Umezz work I've ever read.
Inkstone, her dog, is so precious, I love him.
Sumi as a Minecraft character is the best thing I've seen all year.
The young boy's eyeball during the sushi scene deeply unsettled me more than any Junji Ito or Kazuo Umezz work I've ever read.
May 20, 2022
Adorable Sumi tries to come over her shyness once again. I want to say that this is better than the first volume, however, it is still not 4 stars. It is lacking some depth and I wish the story was longer rather than just 2-3 days.
November 1, 2023
Super cute! But the situations all feel kind of the same after reading 3 books dedicated to the same character. The art style, & difference in adventures was nice to see though, even though it was a bit repetitive I enjoyed this mini series very much :)
January 16, 2022
I loved the practice date with Kazuya from Sumi's point of view. The perfect slice of life read. Can't wait to see what happens with her most current client! (Poor Sumi!)
January 17, 2022
"Lovers don't hold hands to make sure they're still in love...they're taking each other's hands...so they can grow together."
April 21, 2022
oh you playing minecraft, I like ya cut G
January 23, 2023
Cute, but sadly I feel like it’s not much progression for me… 😅
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2023
This is all just too Darn Cute! I love sumi in the main series but I think I like her even more now I've begun reading this one!
February 4, 2025
Best girl still trying her best! I love her and would protect her if I could! This is such a sweet little manga with some definite funny moments. :)
March 17, 2023
This contains Sumi’s perspective of the first date with Kazuya, basically retelling the story in a more appropriate Sumi fashion. Plus, it has more stories of Sumi being adorable.
I have made the transition from the main Rent-A-Girlfriend series to this spin-off. I was once Team Chizuru, then Team Ruka, then back to Team Chizuru; but they are all problematic capture targets with toxic personalities. I have made the switch to Team Sumi and have not looked back since.
I have made the transition from the main Rent-A-Girlfriend series to this spin-off. I was once Team Chizuru, then Team Ruka, then back to Team Chizuru; but they are all problematic capture targets with toxic personalities. I have made the switch to Team Sumi and have not looked back since.
February 18, 2023
I love how hard the main character tries to be a good girlfriend. She's so cute.
July 25, 2022
3.0
Nothing wrong with this, just kind of dull. Will not be continuing with the series.
Nothing wrong with this, just kind of dull. Will not be continuing with the series.
September 17, 2024
Segundo tomo del spin-off de Rent-A-Girlfriend.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews