Rent-A-Girlfriend was the biggest romantic comedy to come out of 2020 for a lot of reasons. It had really cute girls, even by anime standards, decent humor, catchy songs, and a good amount of relationship drama. Naturally, this series will be getting a second season this July. With that in mind, now would be a good idea to get caught up on the plot.
The story revolves around Kinoshita Kazuya, a 20-year-old college student who was recently dumped by his girlfriend. He tries dating Ichinose Chizuru, a rental girlfriend. He feels it's going well but soon suspects the rental of putting up a facade and calls her out on it. She pulls him to the side to reveal her ill-tempered personality. Unfortunately, circumstances arise that lead to Kazuya's friends and family believing that he and Chizuru are actually dating. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, especially not Kazuya's grandmother, Kazuya and Chizuru resolve to keep the charade going for as long as they can.
As for whether Kazuya likes Chizuru, that's another story entirely. At first, he continues dating her as a rental girlfriend, even paying the appropriate fees. However, the more time he spends with Chizuru, the more he recognizes her charms and begins to genuinely fall for her. However, he doesn't know how to admit this and maintains their basic business relationship.
Chizuru's feelings are a little harder to pin down. Not only does she consider her relationship with Kazuya a simple job, but she has aspirations of her own. She wants to become an actress and only uses the rental girlfriend job to earn money for acting lessons; the job itself is also a form of acting practice. She's content to cut ties with Kazuya at the first opportunity. At least, that's how it is on the surface.
Whether Chizuru knows it or not, she seems to have feelings of her own for Kazuya. She's moved by some of his cooler moments, though she's not sure why. She also seems to get jealous when she's with other girls, but she never admits this. Whatever Chizuru's feelings, it's clear that Kazuya has become more than just a client to her.
Matters between Kazuya and Chizuru are further complicated by the introduction of other girls. The first one to create tension is Nanami Mami, Kazuya's ex-girlfriend. She doesn't regret dumping Kazuya too badly, though she does look back on their time together fondly. She's still friendly towards Kazuya and likes to put his "girlfriend" to the test. She even found out Chizuru was a rental girlfriend. Chizuru, however, still insists that Kazuya is her actual boyfriend, so Mami doesn't press the matter, nor does she intend to expose the two. As for whether she wants Kazuya back, that's still up for debate.
Another girl problem comes in the form of Sarashina Ruka. For reasons that haven't yet been elaborated on, Ruka has taken a liking to Kazuya and openly admits it to everyone. She also finds out that Chizuru is a rental girlfriend, just like her, and that she and Kazuya aren't an actual couple. She's willing to let Kazuya and Chizuru continue to pretend in front of their friends and family on the condition that Kazuya makes her his real girlfriend. She recognizes Kazuya's budding feelings for Chizuru, so she resolves to make him fall in love with her instead.
One more girl that's been thrown into the mix is Sakurasawa Sumi, another rental girlfriend and Chizuru's junior. Chizuru asked Kazuya to date Sumi so she could get more practice and, hopefully, overcome her shyness. Since she didn't show up until late in the season, not much can be gleaned in terms of how she feels about Kazuya. However, given how prominently she's featured in the opening among the other three girls, it's likely that she's slated to have a much bigger role.
Besides Kazuya and these girls, there are a few more characters to keep in mind. Kazuya and Chizuru's grandmothers are elated by their relationship, which is the primary reason they can't just break up. Kazuya's friends Kibe and Kuribayashi like to rag on him for being a virgin, but they'll always have his back; also, Kuribayashi is one of the only people to learn Kazuya and Chizuru's secret. There's also Nakano Umi, Chizuru's friend from her acting classes. The rest of the cast has yet to have a meaningful impact on Kazuya's romantic life.
With this, Kazuya and Chizuru's fake relationship carries on. So far, Ruka is the second-biggest contender for Kazuya's heart, though the other girls could be getting ready for something big. Chizuru's desire to move on with her acting career may also complicate matters. All of these plot points should continue to develop and branch out in Rent-A-Girlfriend 2nd Season.