Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5

Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5

A Date with Sumi-chan

Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5 wasn’t as good as the previous 2 episodes. I’m thinking the fact that it was a Sumi episode may be a big part of why. Don’t get me wrong, I like Sumi — she’s cute. But, she’s not the most engaging character.

That could change in the future, as I’ll get to later on. But, for now, Sumi’s general lack of dialogue is holding her back. Throughout her whole date with Kazuya, she said about two sentences. Every other time she wanted to tell him something she either typed it out or played charades.

I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t think Sumi can be a good or complex character without more dialogue. She definitely can be. And I still think she’s currently better than Mami. But, she can’t have much of a back-and-forth with Kazuya as the other girls can.

Sumi Sakurasawa blushing from the anime series Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5
Sumi Sakurasawa blushing

Anyway, the reason Kazuya hired Sumi to go on a date with him was so that he could ask for her help. It’s Chizuru’s birthday and Kazuya doesn’t know what to get her. So, since Sumi is one of Chizuru’s friends, Kazuya figured she might have an idea.

But, I don’t remember Chizuru and Sumi being particularly close. Wasn’t Sumi introduced as one of Chizuru’s kouhai at the rental girlfriend agency? Just because they’re in the same line of work and are friendly with each other doesn’t mean they’re friends. Have we ever seen them spending time together?

Also, it was a bit rude of Kazuya to bring up another girl while on a date with Sumi. I know Kazuya doesn’t realize Sumi likes him. But, this is still meant to be a date. I’d like to say that he should know better, but Kazuya’s not the brightest.

Sumi Joins the Harem

I’m not sure if I’d say that Sumi was a member of Kazuya’s harem before now. We know Chizuru has feelings for Kazuya. Ruka makes her feelings for him clear. And Mami has some sort of feelings for him, though it could just be spite.

Sumi has been different from those three from the start, though. Mami is the ex, Chizuru is the crush, and Ruka is the “girlfriend.” Sumi doesn’t have a relationship with Kazuya like any of the others. The only reason they began interacting was so Kazuya could boost Sumi’s confidence.

I don’t remember too much about how Sumi felt about Kazuya in the 1st Season. But, she definitely has feelings for him now. And her asking him when his birthday is at the end of the episode is the first time she’s shown initiative. So, because of that, I’m willing to put her in the harem now.

Sumi Sakurasawa watching a hero show from the anime series Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5
Sumi Sakurasawa watching a hero show

Sumi has officially transitioned from someone on the sidelines to an active participant. That also means that Chizuru is now her rival — even if she did try to help Kazuya find a gift for Chizuru. But, as far as I know, Sumi doesn’t know about her other rivals.

Sumi never would have come into contact with Mami. So, she doesn’t realize how dangerous vying for Kazuya’s love actually is. I’m not so sure Sumi would be able to handle it if Mami began slandering her on her private Twitter account.

Also, what would Sumi think if she found out Kazuya already has a girlfriend? In my Episode 4 review, I asked a similar question about Mami. Something tells me Sumi would take finding out about Ruka a lot better than Mami would. It wouldn’t change all that much for her.

Chizuru’s Birthday

When Kazuya was trying to find a present for Chizuru, I knew he was going to pick something bad. I didn’t expect him to choose something as bad as pickled plums. But, I did expect him to choose something that would have a meaning he didn’t intend.

For example, at one point he passes a girl who says she got a ring for her birthday from her boyfriend. So, that made me think that Kazuya might try something similar. But, of course, if he got Chizuru a ring, he’d somehow manage to make her think he was proposing.

I could see him fumbling and dropping the ring on the ground. Then, he’d get down on a knee to pick it up and try to give it to her from there, not realizing what he’s doing. That would be a classic Kazuya move.

Chizuru Ichinose fresh out of the shower from the anime series Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5
Chizuru Ichinose fresh out of the shower

Along with the gift he ended up giving her, I also didn’t expect Kazuya to not see Chizuru on her birthday. I can understand not renting her out on her birthday. She might not have been accepting any dates on that day. But, I thought they’d come face to face at some point.

He didn’t even make an attempt to see her, which I thought was weird. I guess he thought he’d only be a bother if he tried to give the gift to her in person. But, he missed out on a great opportunity to invite Chizuru over.

She didn’t feel like making herself dinner when she got home. So, if he had spoken to her, he could have invited her over for dinner. That may have served as some form of damage control after what happened with Ruka previously. Though, Chizuru wouldn’t have spent the night.

Conclusion

What do you think of Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 5? Do you like the Sumi episodes? How do you think Sumi would react to learning Kazuya is dating Ruka? And, what would you have gotten Chizuru for her birthday? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 6 is available now.

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