WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 1, streaming now on Crunchyroll.
Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 1 has been a roller coaster of a rom-com so far, to say the least. Protagonist Kazuya Kinoshita is pretty horrible -- not in the sense that he's mean, or mistreats people, but rather that he's pathetic. He spends much of his time moping because he can't get over his even more awful ex-girlfriend who dumped him 15 seconds into the premiere episode. His low confidence and pettiness lead him to try renting a girlfriend, where a series of misadventures force Kazuya, and his grudging partner-in-crime, Chizuru Mizuhara, to keep up a lie that they are an actual loving couple.
Opinions on the show's run thus far have predictably been divided. One of the most hyped rom-coms of the summer season, Rent-A-Girlfriend's average rating on MyAnimeList started strongly but continues to drop with each new episode. Conversely, however, the show has consistently ranked in the top five on Anime Trending since its debut and has ranked #1 for the last two weeks in a row. So while viewers are enjoying the show less and less, they continue to tune in anyway. These two data points, while seemingly contradictory on the surface, actually make perfect sense for this particular anime.
Kazuya is the self-aware, self-deprecating type. He and his college friends tend to be quite perverted, and viewers are reminded of this in every episode. As shown by his relationship with his first girlfriend Mami Nanami, he's also a poor judge of character -- even after being unceremoniously dumped. Of course, as terrible as Mami is, it's hard to argue she made the wrong decision since the show makes it clear Kazuya was mostly dating her for her looks. He continuously acknowledges his character flaws and pledges to do better, but then goes on lying and/or making bad decisions.
Characters develop at different rates depending on a variety of circumstances, but the constant teases of genuine growth for Kazuya are hindered by frustrating setbacks. Kazuya and Chizuru save each other's lives after she falls over a ferry railing and nearly drowns. Is this life-threatening experience what Kazuya needs to finally mature? The very same episode sees him "getting his groove on" in his apartment using a photo of his ex-girlfriend Mami, but then he starts thinking of Chizuru as well. It becomes a contest to see which girl is "winning" his affections in the grossest way possible. A scene like this was always going to be controversial at best, but combined with Kazuya's lack of growth as a person, viewers are understandably growing more nonplussed with each passing week.
There's another issue: aside from Kazuya's rented girlfriend, co-protagonist Chizuru, no one else in the show is especially likable, either. Most of their friends are selfish and/or petty like Kazuya, and even adults like Kazuya's grandmother Nagomi are not immune to immature shenanigans and perversion, despite also doling out important life advice. It's a wonder why Chizuru bothers spending time with these people or continues going out of her way to aid Kazuya in lying to his friends and family. Frankly, she has the patience of a saint and must be wondering what she did wrong in a previous life.
All that said, at its core, Rent-A-Girlfriend remains an intriguing, action-packed rom-com and a semi-developing love story. The suspense aspect remains as well: as the lies pile up, will Kazuya and Chizuru ever be exposed as a rental couple? Will their feelings evolve over time? Why does Chizuru work as a rented girlfriend at all? How will the new girl on the scene, Ruka Sarashina, affect the dynamic?
Despite being a hot mess of a series so far, plenty of intrigue -- and perhaps some morbid curiosity -- still remains. The show is nothing if not entertaining. Kazuya may or may not be completely hopeless, but a desire to see him grow into an actual adult along with hints at true romance are keeping viewers around -- for now.