Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 4 Review

The Biggest Surprise in Anime History

Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 4 had one of the biggest twists in anime history. How could anyone have possibly foreseen that Kazuya has a crush on Chizuru? Honestly, I’m as shocked as Chizuru was when she heard it from Mini.

Like Chizuru, I’m still in denial. There’s no way Kazuya actually has feelings for her. After all, he said he doesn’t. And, it’s not like he’s ever acted in a way that would imply he likes her. There’s no evidence pointing toward what Mini said being true.

So, with that in mind, Chizuru should assume she’s going to be single forever. I mean, it’s clear that she likes Kazuya and so she doesn’t want to be with anyone else. But, since there’s no way he likes her in return, I guess there’s nothing left to do.

Really, though, I don’t understand how Kazuya and Chizuru continue to think this way. Well, actually, I kind of understand why Kazuya does. He’s not the brightest guy and seems to struggle with social cues. So, we shouldn’t be blaming him for not seeing the obvious. But, I can’t say the same about Chizuru.

Chizuru is smart and has good social skills. So, the fact that she’s still in denial about how Kazuya feels is baffling. Now, I say “in denial” because I’m pretty sure she knows. The thing is, she wants to keep telling herself that it isn’t true for some reason.

I’m not sure why that is, though. It’s not like acknowledging that Kazuya likes her — or that she likes him — is a problem. I guess it would mean Kazuya can’t rent her out anymore. But, it wouldn’t stop Chizuru from being a rental girlfriend or acting. It’s a non-issue.

D-Day and Girlfriend

So, here we are in the final week of the crowdfunding campaign. And do you know what still hasn’t happened? Mini still hasn’t leveraged her online following. But, Chizuru is planning to leverage the online following of her acting friend Umi. How does that work?

Like, yes, Chizuru should ask Umi to post her campaign to his 200,000+ followers. But, considering Mini’s actually involved in the campaign, she should be posting it too. I’m really not sure why nobody’s brought this up yet. Or, at least why Kazuya and Mini haven’t. I don’t know if Chizuru and Ruka know.

At the very least, Chizuru and Ruka know that Mini has experience with crowdfunding. I guess it’s possible that Mini doesn’t want other people to know that she’s a cosplay streamer. But, she didn’t hide it from Kazuya. And it would be a bit hypocritical considering what she knows about Chizuru.

Anyway, in return for sharing her campaign on his social media, Umi asks for a date. Well, not directly. But, when he said he would share her campaign, he also invited her to see a play. So, the implication was there that the social media post and going to see the play were linked.

Chizuru, in all her naivety, doesn’t believe this is a transaction. In her mind, Umi just happened to invite her to the play at the same time. And, he even told her that she wasn’t his first choice. He invited Chizuru because his girlfriend couldn’t make it.

But, Mini sees through all this. She knows there’s a transaction here and she’s not going to let Kazuya stop it. As we’d expect, Kazuya is against Chizuru going on this “date.” But, Mini’s able to convince him to let Chizuru go.

A Date with Umi-kun

So, how did Chizuru’s date with Umi go? At first, it went well. The play was performed by a popular troupe that Chizuru wanted to see. And, she had a great time watching it. But, after the play is when things started going south.

Before the play, Umi was saying things that were a bit flirty. That’s fine, as it seemed that he was only teasing Chizuru. However, the flirting got a little weird as they were leaving the theater. Chizuru had a lot to say about the play. But, Umi was only talking about one thing — Chizuru.

He didn’t mention what he thought of the play a single time. Instead, he said that he was watching Chizuru throughout the play. That’s a red flag right there. That’s borderline stalker behavior. But, Chizuru didn’t react to that much and kept bringing the conversation back to the play.

We then find out that Umi’s girlfriend was never going to come. He broke up with her the week before. So, while the story about Chizuru being the backup wasn’t exactly a lie, it wasn’t the truth. And, this is the point when Chizuru realizes that she’s in a bad situation.

Though, by bad, I don’t mean bad. Chizuru wasn’t in danger by being with Umi or anything. But, she was in a situation that she didn’t want to be in. Sure, Umi’s hot. But, Chizuru doesn’t view him as a potential romantic partner.

And, I have to say, hitting on Chizuru a week after he broke up with his girlfriend is another red flag. Oh, and so is the fact that he kept trying to pressure her into going to dinner with him. At least Chizuru was able to stand her ground and get out of the situation.

Conclusion

What do you think of Kanokari Season 3 Episode 4? Do you think Chizuru knows that Kazuya likes her? Do you expect we’ll ever get a reason why Mini didn’t leverage her followers? And, how do you feel about what Umi did to Chizuru? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 5 is available now.