Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 4

Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 4

Just Wait Until Mami Learns About Ruka

At the start of Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 4, Kazuya and Mami sit down for a chat. This is when Mami reveals that she knows Chizuru is a rental girlfriend. And this isn’t where Kazuya reveals that he already knew Mami knew.

No new information came out of this conversation for me to discuss. But, it did make me think about how Mami would react if she learned of Ruka. Right now, Mami’s under the impression that Chizuru is her only rival. And, to an extent, she’s right about that. Chizuru is the one Kazuya is in love with.

The thing is, Mami and Chizuru don’t seem to be romantic rivals. Chizuru and Ruka are romantic rivals (even if Chizuru won’t admit it). But, as far as we know, Mami doesn’t actually want to date Kazuya. She wants Kazuya’s attention and doesn’t want other girls to date him.

Mami Nanami from the anime series Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 4
Mami Nanami

Let’s assume that Mami’s rivals are any other girls vying for Kazuya’s attention. If that’s the case, Chizuru isn’t her main rival — Ruka is. Ruka’s the one who always wants to be with Kazuya and is actually playing the role of his girlfriend.

Also, what do you think Ruka would say if Mami asked about her relationship with Kazuya? Ruka would say that she’s Kazuya’s girlfriend, which would piss off Mami. Ruka works as a rental girlfriend too, but Kazuya doesn’t rent her. She actually is dating him, even if he sees it as a fake relationship.

And it’s probably best not to even think about what Mami would do if she found out Ruka spent the night. It wouldn’t surprise me if she burned down Kazuya’s entire apartment building. Then, once he’s homeless, she could swoop in and invite him over to her place.

The Ideal Girlfriend

Chizuru is my favorite girl of Kanokari. Let me make that clear. But, I have to admit that Kazuya is making the wrong choice by picking her over Ruka. Chizuru is the ideal girlfriend in theory. Ruka is the ideal girlfriend in practice.

Kazuya admitted that he thinks Ruka is cute. He’s also called her sexy — so her appearance isn’t an issue. Now, I get that Ruka can come on a bit strong. She can be pushy and clingy. But, compare that to how Chizuru acts. Chizuru is a lot more standoffish and cold.

Despite what people — myself included — like to say as a joke, I’d always choose someone who acts like Ruka. Ruka actually wants to be with Kazuya. And I don’t mean that only in that she wants to date him. She wants to spend time with him.

Ruka cooking dinner for Kazuya from the anime series Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 4
Ruka cooking dinner for Kazuya

At the end of the day, a girlfriend who’s actually present is better than one who isn’t. And of the two of them, Ruka’s the one who’s present. She’s the one putting in the effort to build a relationship with Kazuya. If we look at how Ruka acts towards Kazuya in this episode, it looks like a healthy relationship.

Of course, it’s not a healthy relationship because Kazuya’s a bit of a jerk. If he reciprocated Ruka’s feelings, he’d be in a happy relationship. It’s really that simple. And it’s kind of infuriating that he doesn’t recognize this.

Why did Kazuya try to kick Ruka out at night? Because he’s a jerk. And then once she was staying the night, he kept pushing her away for the same reason. He doesn’t have to “betray” Chizuru by sleeping with Ruka. But, he didn’t need to treat her the way he did.

Ruka Spends the Night

In my review of Episode 2, I said that Ruka needed to put her foot down and get Kazuya in line. She attempted to do that in this episode. She wasn’t very successful. But, I respect that she gave it a try.

How did she do this? She told Kazuya that she was going to his apartment to make dinner for him. Kazuya didn’t have a say in this. Ruka laid down the law. And I wouldn’t say she was being too pushy in doing this. In her defense, she’s his girlfriend and she wants to spend time with him.

Now, I don’t agree with the way in which she tried to stay overnight. She should have talked to Kazuya about it instead of trying to sneak her way in. I know, Kazuya still would have tried to kick her out. But, that’s just another time when Ruka needs to put her foot down.

Ruka blushing and holding condoms from the anime series Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 4
Ruka blushing and holding condoms

Did Ruka have ulterior motives going into this date night? It’s hard to say. Yes, the aphrodisiac-infused meal is suspicious. But, I wouldn’t take that as evidence. And, I especially wouldn’t take the fact that she had condoms with her as evidence either.

Here’s the thing about the condoms Ruka had, she didn’t mean for Kazuya to see them. They fell out of her bag and she was clearly embarrassed by this. She wasn’t trying to drop hints by having Kazuya see them.

The biggest piece of evidence in Ruka’s favor is her response to Kazuya asking her about the condoms. She said she brought them “just in case.” And guess what. That was 100% the right call. Even if Ruka didn’t go there intending to have sex, why not be safe? I completely agree with Ruka here.

Conclusion

What do you think of Kanokari 2nd Season Episode 4? Would Mami be madder about Kazuya’s relationship with Ruka than Chizuru? Did this episode make you like Ruka more? And, would you have let her spend the night? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 5 is available now.

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