Expert and Girlfriend

Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 3 brings Mini Yaemori into the fold. She’s been around since the first episode of the season. And she even played a major role in Episode 2. But now, she’s part of the gang (not harem, as she doesn’t seem to have feelings for Kazuya).

In the previous episode, Kazuya told Mini Chizuru’s entire life story. But, he left out one, important detail. He apparently never mentioned that they’re currently crowdfunding a movie. I’m not sure why he felt comfortable telling Mini everything else, but not that part.

Anyway, Mini finds out about the crowdfunding effort in Episode 3. And, because she’s an online pro, she knows a thing or two about running crowdfunding campaigns. In fact, she ran one in the past for a cosplay event she organized. So, you could say she’s a bit of an expert.

With Mini on board, it’s time to have a meeting with the whole crew. Kazuya, Chizuru, Mini, and Ruka meet up in Kazuya’s apartment, much to Ruka’s chagrin. She just had to confront Chizuru about being in Kazuya’s apartment the day before. And now Ruka learns that another girl is there. She can’t catch a break.

But, this meeting actually goes very well. Despite how she appears and often acts, Mini can be professional. She looked at the analytics for the crowdfunding campaign and came up with a plan to turn things around. And, she was even considerate enough to give Ruka a job.

As I mentioned only yesterday in the Episode 2 review, Ruka doesn’t bring anything to the table. But, as Mini recognized, Ruka can still do the grunt work that doesn’t require any special talent. So, Ruka’s job is to create the fliers that they’ll be handing out.

Getting the Word Out the Old-Fashioned Way

I wasn’t expecting Mini’s plan to involve handing out fliers in crowded places. That seems like such an antiquated way of raising awareness. When was the last time you accepted a flier from someone on the street? I can’t even remember when that would have been.

And, even if you took a flier, you likely only did so to be nice. Did you actually read what was on the flier and then take the action it directed you to? I highly doubt it. Handing out fliers isn’t any different than handing out literal trash.

In anime, we see characters handing out fliers to spread awareness all the time. Though, I assume this isn’t something that actually occurs all that much. It feels more like a trope than a true representation of something that happens. But, I’ll ask some people living in Japan and report back next week.

Anyway, I was a bit surprised that Mini didn’t offer to exploit her audience. As she revealed to Kazuya in Episode 2, she’s a cosplay streamer. We don’t know how popular of a streamer she is. But, she’s popular enough to be able to crowdfund a cosplay event with some friends.

So, why doesn’t she link the crowdfunding page in her stream? If she actually wanted to help, that seems like the best way to do it. I guarantee that would generate more pledges than handing out fliers will. But, for now, Mini hasn’t offered to do that.

Still, I’m expecting that to happen at some point. If it doesn’t, then what’s the point of making Mini’s character a streamer? Surely the fact that she already has an online audience is going to be important. Otherwise, why not just make her a normal (non-streaming) cosplayer?

Selling Chizuru’s Bathwater

Okay, so they’re not actually selling Chizuru’s bathwater. But, if Mini had her way, they probably would be. You see, handing out fliers wasn’t the only idea Mini had for getting more monetary pledges. She also pointed out that the rewards need to be better.

If you give out better rewards, people will be more likely to pledge more money. So, with that in mind, Mini suggests giving away Chizuru’s possessions. As long as something belonged to Chizuru at one point, it has value. And if it touched her body, it has more value.

Most of the items Chizuru and Mini selected to give away are accessories, like hair bands. They also looked at Chizuru’s clothes. But, from my understanding, they didn’t end up deciding to sell any of those. Well, maybe the Chinese dress. I don’t know what they decided regarding that.

While Chizuru was distracted sorting the accessories, Mini almost hit the jackpot. She spotted Chizuru’s panty drawer and went for it. But, unfortunately for Chizuru fans everywhere, Mini wasn’t quick enough. Chizuru stopped her from going through the drawer’s contents. I guess she’s not that desperate for funding.

Anyway, throughout this process, Mini was taking selfies with the accessories. Was she doing this so they would have pictures of the items to put on the crowdfunding site? If so, I don’t think her selfies are a good idea. Instead, the photos should be of Chizuru wearing the items.

For example, they could sell the Chinese dress for quite a bit of money if there’s a picture of Chizuru wearing it. And they could get even more money for the dress if it also comes with a signed copy of that picture. Now that’s what I call a reward.

Conclusion

What do you think of Kanokari Season 3 Episode 3? Are you surprised that Mini hasn’t promoted the crowdfunding site to her followers? Do you think handing out fliers is a good way to spread awareness? And, how much would you spend on a dress worn by Chizuru? Let me know in the comments.

Did you enjoy this review? Consider sharing it with your friends or followers. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 4 is available now.

It’s Not What You Think, Ruka-chan!

I know what you’re thinking. Why is there a review of Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3 Episode 2 today? Episode 2 came out last week! Well, I was away last week. So, today’s review is going to be of Episode 2 and tomorrow’s review is going to be of Episode 3.

Also, I haven’t watched Episode 3 yet. Any predictions I may make in this review are based on the events of Episode 2 alone. So, let’s get right into a prediction. I’m expecting the decision to allow Ruka to help with the movie to be a bad one.

In this episode, Ruka expressed that she’s against Kazuya helping Chizuru. But, she’s still going to allow it because she’s such a good girlfriend. That’s already a red flag. But, what’s more important to think about here is: What does Ruka bring to the table?

Chizuru brings herself as an actress, her appearance, and her sob story about her grandma. That’s all good for getting crowdfunding money. Kazuya brings his unstoppable drive to help Chizuru in every way possible. And, he’s also serving as the producer of the movie they’re going to make.

But, what about Ruka? Does she have any particular skills that are going to be helpful? Not that we know of. And we didn’t see the trio discuss how she’s going to help out at all. So, I’m expecting her to only get in the way.

And, Kazuya could have avoided all this by manning up and putting his foot down. It doesn’t matter if Ruka is his “girlfriend.” She doesn’t have the right to dictate who he spends time with. Kazuya should have told her she can’t help because she’s his girlfriend. Mixing his personal life and his professional life is a no-no.

The Perfect Couple

Contrary to what her grandmother says in Episode 2, Kazuya isn’t perfect for Chizuru. I’m the only one perfect for Chizuru. Kazuya doesn’t even understand how Chizuru feels. How can he be the perfect one for her? That’s right; he can’t.

So, why do both Chizuru and her grandmother think Kazuya is so great? It’s actually pretty simple. Kazuya is the only one Chizuru allowed to get close. If Chizuru allowed other guys to get close to her, she’d realize how terrible Kazuya is. She thinks Kazuya’s great because she never gave anyone else a chance.

Of course, this also extends to Chizuru’s grandmother. Kazuya is the only guy Chizuru ever introduced her to. I do think Chizuru’s grandmother thinks Kazuya’s a good guy. But, even if she didn’t, what’s she going to do? Is she going to tell Chizuru that Kazuya sucks? Obviously not. That would be rude.

The thing is, all the other characters seem to have the wrong idea about Kazuya. They think he’s such a nice and considerate guy. But, the reality is he’s just indecisive and unable to say no. What part of leading Ruka on is nice?

And, his “relationship” with Ruka isn’t only unfair to Ruka. It’s unfair to Chizuru, too. Chizuru now has to be the third wheel in Kazuya’s fake relationship with Ruka. And yet, she somehow views it as Kazuya being a nice guy for not rejecting Ruka. How delusional is everyone in this series?

Well, actually, there is one character who’s normal. If you guessed Sumi Sakurasawa, you’d be correct. Sure, she’s extremely shy. But, aside from that, Sumi’s a normal girl with normal relationships with other people.

With all that said, Chizuru is still my beloved. She may be delusional, but I can fix her.

Mini Yaemori the Zoomer

After two episodes, I can confidently say that I like Mini Yaemori as a character. She’s cute and different enough from the other girls to warrant her inclusion in the series. But, she also brings out the beta male in Kazuya, which is bad.

I get it, Kazuya is always a cringe beta male. But, usually, he just gets flustered and doesn’t know what to do. When Mini pulled him into her apartment, though, Kazuya’s brain cells got left outside. Why did he think telling Mini everything about Chizuru was a good idea?

Fine, Mini had a video of Ruka referring to Chizuru as a rental girlfriend. That wouldn’t be good if it got out. But, Mini was never planning to release that video to the public. Kazuya’s mind immediately jumped to her blackmailing him and he told her everything.

If anything, Kazuya just did more damage to Chizuru’s reputation than Mini would have. How’s Chizuru going to feel about him spilling her secrets to the new neighbor they met the day before? Now Chizuru has yet another classmate who knows that she works as a rental girlfriend.

The more people who know a secret, the harder it is to keep.

But, Mini said she wouldn’t tell anyone about Chizuru’s secret. So, it’s all going to be okay, right? Well, Mini is a zoomer. And not only that, but she’s a streamer. So, you may be able to figure out what I’m thinking.

Is Mini going to reveal the video by accident on her stream? I’m predicting she will. Then, we could see Kazuya, Chizuru, and Ruka play it off as if that’s actually a piece of marketing. They could make the plot of the movie about Chizuru’s life and pretend it’s fiction.

Conclusion

What do you think of Kanokari Season 3 Episode 2? Could Kazuya have pulled off denying Ruka’s request to help with the movie? Is Kazuya nice, or just a pushover? And, are you expecting Mini to leak the footage she took of Ruka calling Chizuru a rental girlfriend? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 3 is available now.

Let’s Make a Movie (Continued)

The anime of the season has begun. Mushoku Tensei what? Jujutsu Kaisen who? I only know Rent-a-Girlfriend.

But, in reality, Rent-a-Girlfriend (Kanokari, from here on out), isn’t that good. I just had a pretty good time reviewing the episodes of Season 2, so I figured I’d do the same for Season 3. And, after the first episode, I have it rated as a 5/10. Let’s see if that rating goes up or down over the course of the season.

Anyway, Season 3 Episode 1 started off great with a shot of my wife Chizuru taking a bath. In one of the previous seasons (I think Season 2), we got a shower shot of her. So, I’m glad I now have a bath shot to add to my collection.

If only Kazuya knew what he was missing out on.

Moving on from Chizuru’s bath time, I forgot what happened at the end of Season 2. Kazuya proposed that he and Chizuru make a movie. Why? Because Chizuru’s grandmother is dying and likely won’t be around for much longer. And Chizuru wanted her grandmother to see her on the big screen.

Obviously, that means Chizuru is going to star in the movie. And Kazuya is going to serve as the producer. He’s in charge of setting up the crowdfunding and hiring the various staff required. But, is that all that he’s going to do? Is he not going to make an appearance in the movie, too?

I could see it happening. It would kind of make sense for Chizuur to push him into being in the movie, as well. But, my gut feeling is that it won’t happen. Kazuya’s not cut out for acting and is better at being a creep behind the scenes.

Mini Entered the Chat

Kanokari Season 3 Episode 1 also introduced a new character who was teased at the end of Season 2. Enter, Mini Yaemori. She’s a first-year student who attends the same university as Kazuya and Chizuru. And, she also moved in next door to them.

Specifically, Mini moved into apartment 202. Kazuya is in apartment 203 and Chizuru is in apartment 204. And, Mini introduced herself to her new neighbors by asserting her dominance. She told Kazuya and Chizuru to stop being so noisy on their balconies. If they want to be all lovey-dovey, they can do it inside.

To an extent, I agree with Mini. It was late and they were making some noise. However, I don’t see what Kazuya and Chizuru were doing as anything that bad. Does Mini expect her neighbors to be silent? It’s pretty normal for neighbors to speak to each other outside.

Also, once Mini found out that Kazuya is her senpai, her demeanor changed. She began being polite to him. So, does she not think she should be polite to her neighbors by default? I wouldn’t like my new neighbor if they told me to shut up right after moving in.

Now, the big question is: What role is Mini going to play? Kanokari is a harem rom-com, so she’s going to develop a crush on Kazuya. But, that’s not what I mean. What I mean is how is she going to fit into the current dynamic of the series?

My bet is that she’ll be the one who knows about all of Kazuya’s relationships. As his next-door neighbor, she’ll see the other girls coming and going. She already knows about Chizuru. And with Ruka showing up at the end of the episode, Mini probably knows about her, too.

Home Cooking and Girlfriend

In the second half of the episode, Chizuru invites herself over to Kazuya’s apartment. She does this because the two of them still need to discuss the crowdfunding of the movie. And, thanks to Mini, they can’t use the balcony anymore.

Now, if they really want to avoid making noise that would bother Mini, Kazuya’s apartment isn’t the best. His is still right next to Mini’s; they share a wall. I don’t see them being in Kazuya’s apartment being all that different from being outside.

Sure, a wall has more soundproofing than the glass of Mini’s balcony door. But, there’s also a divider between the balconies and it’s not like Kazuya and Chizuru were being that loud. They’re more likely to be loud in Kazuya’s apartment where there’s the illusion of more privacy. They’re not thinking of how thin the walls may be.

The problem, however, is that Chizuru can’t invite Kazuya into her apartment. It’s a better look for her to be in his apartment than for him to be in hers. Also, Chizuru likes having her privacy. And, let’s not forget it could be fatal for Kazuya.

Do you actually think Kazuya could function even somewhat normally in her apartment? He’d be sitting there hyperventilating. Not because there’s anything wrong, but so he can breathe in more air that smells like her. Or, you know, he could pass out from excitement.

We have to remember that Kazuya’s brain doesn’t work properly when girls are involved. And that’s especially true when that girl happens to be Chizuru.

But, things turned out alright in the end for him. He got to spend time with Chizuru. They finished going over the crowdfunding campaign. And he even got to eat a meal cooked by Chizuru.

Conclusion

What do you think of Kanokari Season 3 Episode 1? Do you think Kazuya and Chizuru’s movie is ever going to get made? Where would you rank Mini against the other girls of the series? And, what do you think Mini’s role in the series is going to be? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 2 is available now.

Chizuru’s Backstory

Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season Episode 12 was easily the worst episode of the season. I can’t think of another episode that even comes close. And no, it’s not the worst episode because the season ended. There are actually 2 reasons why I’d say the episode is bad.

The first reason is pretty simple. There was no spice. Nothing that happened in this episode was a big twist, reveal, or otherwise spicy content. There was no kiss, no confession, no wacky misunderstanding. It was a boring episode. I’m sorry, but Chizuru’s backstory isn’t that interesting.

Now, for the second reason, we need to play another episode of “tropes that DoubleSama hates.” I always bring up the fact that I despise school festival episodes. I also often mention how I hate episodes that include stage plays. But, there’s another trope I can’t stand that I don’t bring up as much.

The final episode of an anime is important. A bad final episode can sour the entire season. And one of my least favorite ways anime ruin their final episodes is by focusing on the past. The final episode of a series should never be a flashback episode.

This is the last episode before the series goes on break for a while. Don’t give me a flashback episode that doesn’t move the plot forward. I want something that matters to happen in the final episode. Nothing that matters ever happens in flashback episodes.

Sure, you could argue that Chizuru’s backstory is important to her character development. But it’s a terrible way to end the season. Do that an episode before and then save the final episode for some exciting content. I considered raising my score for this season. But, now that I’ve seen the last episode — not happening.

Dreams Don’t Come True

Chizuru’s grandfather always told her that her dreams would come true as long as she worked hard. He was right. I mean, just look at me. It was always my dream to be writing a review of Kanokari 2nd Season Episode 12 on a Friday afternoon.

Okay, but actually, he’s a filthy liar. Hard work alone isn’t enough to make your dreams come true. But, that’s not actually what I want to discuss now. What I want to discuss is how I’m surprised that Chizuru didn’t give up on her dreams when her grandfather died.

His death could have caused Chizuru to give up. After all, he promised that he’d see her movie debut, but died before he got the chance. So if he lied about that, what else was he lying about? However, this isn’t what Chizuru took away from his death.

With her grandfather dead, Chizuru’s last living family member was her grandmother. And so, Chizuru became determined to at least have her grandmother see her movie debut. Whether she’ll succeed in this goal, I’m not sure. I could actually see it going either way.

If Chizuru’s movie debut comes before her grandmother’s death, great. But, if that happens, I’d expect her grandmother to die shortly after. Once she sees Chizuru’s debut, there’s not really a reason for her character to stick around. So, even if Chizuru succeeds, it’s going to be bittersweet.

The other possibility is that her grandmother dies before she gets to see Chizuru’s debut. To me, this is equally as likely. And if this is indeed what happens, Kazuya can step in to save the day. Chizuru may want to quit acting. But, someone (Kazuya) can be there to encourage her to extend her dream.

Let’s Make a Movie

The best part of the entire episode was Sumi introducing Kazuya to crowdfunding. I liked that rather than explaining it, she just told him to Google it himself. That might have actually been the best Sumi content of the whole season, too.

It’s also a bit odd that Kazuya bragged about being a business administration major later on. He didn’t even know what crowdfunding was before Sumi mentioned it. That doesn’t make him seem like a very good business administration student. And from what I remember, he and Chizuru aren’t freshmen.

Anyway, Kazuya suggests to Chizuru that they make their own movie. Why? Because there’s not much time left before Chizuru’s grandmother dies. And even if Chizuru got a role today, the movie wouldn’t debut in time. But, if they crowdfund and produce an indie movie, it can debut in a month.

Before Kazuya came to her with this idea, Chizuru was thinking about settling in regard to her dream. She knew her grandmother wouldn’t make it to the debut of a movie. And so she was hoping that she’d get a role soon so she could at least tell her grandmother about it.

Do you think crowdfunding an indie movie is cheating? I’m not sure how I feel about it. In this scenario, Chizuru isn’t earning a role in a professional movie. Does it really count then? And if so, at what point would it stop counting?

Could starring in a home video count? It’s still a movie. How professional is professional enough? Or does the quality of the movie not matter as long as it’s viewed in a theater? Will Chizuru’s grandmother even be able to make it to a theater premiere? That seems unlikely.

Conclusion

What do you think about the final episode of Rent-a-Girlfriend 2nd Season? Do you think it was a good episode to end the season on? Were you surprised that Chizuru didn’t waver in her dream after her grandfather’s death? And, as I asked before, do you think starring in an indie movie is cheating? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi for supporting this blog at the Heika and Senpai tiers this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Season 3 Episode 1 is available now.