WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 1, streaming now on Crunchyroll.
For all the wild and wacky adventures, the romantic missteps, the lies, the scheming and the fun, Season 1 of Rent-A-Girlfriend (also known as Kanojo, Okarishimasu) really didn't solve much of anything plot-wise. After 12 entertaining -- and, at times, frustrating or even bewildering -- episodes, the story leaves off with far more questions than answers.
The endlessly pathetic protagonist Kazuya Kinoshita remains effectively single and no wiser on girls and relationships than he was at the start. Chizuru Mizuhara remains torn on a major life decision and has never been transparent on her potential feelings for Kazuya or anyone else. Ruka Sarashina, Kazuya's largely ignored provisional girlfriend, is left in limbo after nearly being confessed to and then left out in the cold. Sumi Sakurasawa, Chizuru's fellow rental girlfriend worker, only appears in one episode, which leaves her path forward mostly unclear.
Let's take a look at four of the main characters and the most burning issues they will still face when Season 2 arrives.
Will Kazuya Ever Tell His Friends and Family The Truth?
From the show's premiere on, Kazuya fails to come clean after initially lying to his family and friends that Chizuru is his real girlfriend. Predictably, the lies have numerous consequences not just for Kazuya, but those around him as well. Chizuru repeatedly scolds him while helping clean up his mistakes. Ruka uses the information to blackmail him into a relationship, and his ex-girlfriend Mami discovers the truth and uses it to toy with Chizuru in the Season 1 finale.
The general lack of character development shows that Kazuya is no more ready for a serious relationship than he was at the start. A major part of growing up and earning the respect of others is owning up to one's mistakes and lies and then working to fix the harm those lies have been inflicted on others. Kazuya may have strong feelings for Chizuru -- and it may be mutual -- but he can't make meaningful progress with the girl he loves until he makes more progress with himself.
Will Chizuru really quit the rental girlfriend business?
Many questions surround Chizuru at this point in time. For all the time the co-protagonist spends on screen, a lot remains unknown about the girl behind the constant rental girlfriend act. That said, a major revelation comes when she tells Kazuya that she's an aspiring actress who works as a rental girlfriend to sharpen her acting skills. After landing a part in a major play, she debates whether or not to quit her job and pursue her acting dream full time, while knowing it will have a major effect on Kazuya, among others.
For some strange reason, she likes spending time with Kazuya. Even after all the trouble he's caused her -- as well as Ruka's passionate plea for Chizuru to leave him alone since he finally has a (somewhat) legitimate girlfriend, not to mention Mami's claim that she's doing Kazuya more harm than good -- Chizuru always seems to stick around. It's clear she has feelings for Kazuya even if she's nowhere close to saying it aloud, but like him, she has other aspects of her life that need to be sorted out first.
Where does Kazuya's final decision leave Ruka?
Despite only joining the cast halfway through the season, Ruka has had a roller coaster of a journey thus far. She worked as a rental girlfriend for Kazuya's friend Shun, only to genuinely fall head over heels for Kazuya. For as bluntly honest and passionate as she is, why she uses her heart rate (BPM) to measure her feelings for another person remains a mystery.
Ruka is introduced as a significant danger to Kazuya and Chizuru's secrets, which she uses to blackmail Kazuya into a provisional relationship. Despite her declaration of love and desire for a long-term relationship, Kazuya never even remotely reciprocates her feelings. This is, until the finale when he resolves to get out of Chizuru's life so she can pursue her acting dream and decides to give Ruka an honest effort at their relationship -- only to change his mind shortly after realizing the only girl he wants is Chizuru. Kazuya's wishy-washy approach constantly affects everyone around him, and Ruka's role in his life has only become less clear.
What exactly is Sumi's role?
Sumi's introduction as an extremely shy and clumsy yet sweet and earnest girl marked a refreshing contrast to the band of largely outgoing, self-serving and perverted characters Chizuru has to deal with. Unfortunately, Sumi was only introduced in the penultimate episode of Season 1, leaving her role in Kazuya's story and the overall series unclear.
How might she affect the dynamic between Kazuya and Chizuru? Her only appearance so far provided Kazuya the chance to do a favor for Chizuru -- go on a rental date with Sumi and help her come out of her shell -- but he did so successfully as Sumi takes a genuine liking to him. Might she spend more time with Kazuya if Chizuru quits the rental girlfriend business? It seems a good deal of the Season 2 plot hinges on Chizuru's decision -- not just for herself, but for all of Sumi, Ruka and Kazuya.
