Kanojo, Okarishimasu
Rent-A-Girlfriend

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I want to make a case for the protagonist, Kazuya Kinoshita.
I analyzed his character and I wanted to share it with you guys:

Kazuya is a heavily misunderstood protagonist. Hes actually peak writing. IMO hes the best written anime/manga, and he is above Joe Yabuki, Reinhard, Johan Liebert etc etc. Yk, in most cases I do agree that writing is subjective, but not with Kazuya. Kazuya is objectively the best written anime/manga character, and possibly even the best written character in all of fiction.

Development:

One critique I hear many people say is that when he gets development, he just returns to his former self really quickly. ... Well, thats the beauty of his character!! I want to make a parralel of Kazuya and the “Underground Man” from the book “Notes from the Underground” by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Both characters undergo moments of self-discovery and growth, only to regress or stagnate at times. The Underground Man grapples with his own existential angst and the constraints of society, often oscillating between moments of clarity and nihilistic despair. Similarly, Kazuya confronts his insecurities and fears throughout the series, experiencing moments of personal growth and emotional maturity.

However, unlike the Underground Man, Kazuyas development is not linear. He frequently encounters setbacks and struggles with relapses into old patterns of behavior. Despite his efforts to overcome his insecurities and embrace authenticity, Kazuya often finds himself reverting to familiar coping mechanisms or succumbing to self-doubt. This is what makes Kazuya better than the Underground Man.

This cyclical nature of personal growth and regression is a poignant reflection of the human condition, characterized by its complexities and contradictions. Both Kazuya and the Underground Man navigate the internal conflicts and external pressures that shape their identities, often wrestling with conflicting desires and existential dilemas.

Kazuyas development mirrors the existential themes explored by Dostoevsky in Notes from Underground, highlighting the inherent struggle of individuals to reconcile their inner selves with the demands of society. Like the Underground Man, Kazuyas journey towards self-discovery is fraugt (its either spelt fraugt or fraught. Im not really sure) with challenges and uncertainties. When he gets development, both Kazuya and the Underground Man experience discomfort when confronted with the prospect of change or growth. This discomfort arises from a variety of factors, including fear of the unknown, societal expectations, and deeply ingrained habits and beliefs. In response to this discomfort, both characters may revert to familiar, albeit unhealthy, patterns of behavior as a defense mechanism. For the Underground Man, this may manifest as a retreat into cynicism and nihilism, as he struggles to reconcile his desires with the realities of the world around him... Similarly, Kazuya may find himself reverting to his former "pathetic" self when confronted with challenges or moments of self-doubt. However, Kazuya possesses a glimmer of humanity that compels him to keep fighting, even in the face of adversity. This innate resilience and determination set him apart from the Underground Man, suggesting that despite his flaws and insecurities, Kazuya is capable of growth and change. Id like to compare this side of him to Sisyphus. In mythology, Sisyphus is condemed by gods, and punished for eternity to lift the boulder up a hill. Everytime Sisyphus gets close, the boulder comes crashing down. Kazuyas character symbolizes this struggle. Kazuya is just so close to becoming a well-developed character, but it all crashes down. But Kazuyas spirit hasnt given up! Its still pushing up the boulder! You know whats the obstacle the rock encounteres while Kazuya struggles to lift the rock up the hill? ITS HIMSELF! He is the one bringing himself down, subconsiouscly of course. He is scared, and afraid, and he is very traumatized, but he keeps on fighting! This is the indomitable human spirit everyone! With this writing comparison, he is already better than all the anime characters in writing. Now, Ill have to write more to the point that he becomes better written then ANY fictional character.

Kazuyas love life:

Kazuyas love life is a journey filled with highs, lows, and everything in between and stuff. From his initial decision to rent a girlfriend to fill the void left by a recent breakup, to his evolving relationships with Chizuru Mizuhara, Ruka Sarashina, and Sumi Sakurasawa, Kazuyas romantic journey is a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences.
At the cire of Kazuyas love life is his complicated relationship with Chizuru. What begins as a transactional arrangement quickly becomes something more as Kazuya and Chizuru navigate the blurred lines between reality and performance. Their dynamic is characterized by moments of tension, tenderness, and genuine emotion as they grapple with their own insecurities and desires.
Despite their undeniable chemistry, Kazuya and Chizurus relationship is far from smooth sailing. Misunderstandings, miscommunications, and external pressures constantly threaten to derail their budding romance, forcing Kazuya to confront his own feelings and the true nature of their connection.
In addition to Chizuru, Kazuyas love life is further complicated by his interactions with other love interests. His relationship with Ruka Sarashina, a fellow rental girlfriend, introduces new challenges and dynamics as Kazuya navigates the complexities of honesty, communication, and commitment. Similarly, his encounters with Sumi Sakurasawa, a shy and reserved rental girlfriend, offer moments of introspection and growth as Kazuya learns valuable lessons about empathy, patience, and the importance of mutual respect in relationships.

Throughout his romantic journey, Kazuya experiences moments of passion, longing, and heartache as he navigates the complexities of love and desire. His relationships with Chizuru, Ruka, and Sumi serve as catalysts for personal growth and self-discovery, forcing Kazuya to confront his own insecurities and vulnerabilities.

Despite the challenges he faces, Kazuyas unwavering determination to find love and genuine human connection shines through, serving as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

There are a lot of characters I can bring up parallels for, for Kauyas love life. Kazuyas romantic journey reflects timeless themes explored in literature, drawing parallels to iconic characters such as Holden Caulfield from "The Catcher in the Rye," Jay Gatsby from "The Great Gatsby," and Romeo from "Romeo and Juliet."

Kazuyas search for authenticity and connection mirrors Holden Caulfields quest for truth amidst a world filled with phoniness. Both characters grapple with feelings of alienation and disillusionment, longing for genuine human connection amidst societal expectations. Kazuyas interactions with Chizuru, Ruka, and Sumi echo Holdens desire to break free from superficiality and find meaningful relationships.

Similarly, Kazuyas romantic pursuit shares similarities with Jay Gatsbys relentless quest for a love that transcends societal barriers. Both characters are driven by an idealized vision of romance, often to the point of obsession. Kazuyas infatuation with Chizuru mirrors Gatsbys pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, both fueled by a longing for a love that seems just out of reach.

Monologues:

Now this is his weakes point. His monologues are horrible. Chapter 218 of the manga is a testement of this.
Firstly, they often disrupt the flow of the story, halting the momentum of key scenes with extended internal reflections. This interrupts the natural progression of events.

Secondly, Kazuyas monologues tend to be repetitive, reiterating the same thoughts and emotions multiple times throughout the series. This repetition can feel redundant and tiresome.

Additionally, Kazuyas monologues sometimes veer into melodrama, exaggerating his emotional reactions and undermining the authenticity of his character. This excessive dramatization comes across as forced and insincere.
I didnt write about it in detail, but that doesnt mean that it isnt a big deal. No, it is a big deal, and its horrible, I just don’t know what else to write about lol.

Ok, in these 3 sections, I talked about pretty important stuff about his character. I wrote about his monologues, Internal and external conflict, characterization, symbolism, love life, development, parallels. Everything was perfectly done, except for monologue, which were horrible, so because of this one flaw, he isnt really one of the best fictional characters. He is the best ani/manga character tho in writing. If you disagree with this take, then sure, thats fine, but you have to agree that he has one of the best developments. Btw, yes, him developing and reverting to his old self is development. Ohh yeah, he is also very consistent in this, making him a very consistent character.

Also, yes, the manga has a lot of flaws like fan service and bland and annoying characters, which makes the manga bad, but the protagonist is absolutely peak. Geniuenly one of the best written characters of all time. Just because of the protagonist, I think this is the best manga ever written.

Also, while I was doing re-search for my analysis, I came across this reddit post, and I wanted to share it with you guys: Many of the readers are infuriated by Kazuyas behavior because he still acts like a teenager. But do you know that actually Kazuya also tries hard when helping others like Chizuru, Ruka, Sumi, Mami and Yaemori. Like chizuru sank on the seabed and was saved by kazuya, chizuru's dream of becoming a film artist was finally realized by idea of kazuya. Ruka almost crashed on the stairs and then saved by Kazuya, ruka could finally feel "normal human being in love". Sumi who was almost harassed by perverted men in public places and then rescued by Kazuya and thanks to that sumi became brave to talk with people. Mami, who always uses the nature of manipulating others, but now she wants a "truelove" because of the relationship between Kazuya and Chizuru.

There is tons of other reviews that will lend insight into whether this is for you or not. My best way for you to decide is: "Would you watch a train wreck happen every week?" This manga feels exactly like that for me. If you see an ambulance or a crash and are hyper focused on that while you driving, this manga is for you. It is a mess through and through with the MC. I was drawn by the premise, and truly stayed to watch the mess unfold. The MC hate is very justifiable, but for some reason I just cannot look away from ... what unfolds week after week. I am deep into this series, and I can truly say I do not know if I like it or not. But every week I see it populate on my updates and think "Well, better clear some time to read this wreck". For that aspect alone, I can do nothing but give thanks to the author.

There are no other titles that I consistently read on a weekly basis that I feel this way about. It is unique to itself entirely. It is not the sunk cost fallacy that I felt with something like Food Wars. It is entirely different all to itself.

If you think that this feeling and concept would draw you in an keep you captivated, then definitely pick this series up. If not, stay far far away.

If you had told me today "Youre going to write a review on Rent-a-girlfriend today" I would have told you "what are you talking about?". But somehow here I am, here I am.

This manga is trash. MC is horrible, and no, Ive seen that guy who compared it to some other characters and that him reverting to his former state is a piece of art, and although I will admit that I havent read all of his review this is NOT how you make such a protagonist. If you make him revert him to his pathetic self over and over again then there wont be ... any surprised after some point. I can just make a fanfic with a main character reverting back to his former self and make it way more interesting.

The cast if forgettable and mostly archetypes. we had a "popular girl" one I think, thats Chizuru, shes hot and so hes popular. One girl whos cartoonishly evil for no reason afai can remember, one girl who liked the MC for some reason and one very shy and timid one. I only remember one of their names and its certainly not because I liked her writing. Thats horrible, bro.

To be honest I dont get how a pitiful guy such as Kazuyas journey would be enjoyable to watch, if youre watching this to kill time then its a bad decision, if you want to turn your brain off and watch some harem its a bad decision, if youre confronted with the harshness of life and resorted to watching anime in order to cope with the meaning of your existence (or the lack thereof) then it is a horrible decision.

Only reason I can think of how reading this can be a good read is to if youre some kind of unique masochist who is persistent on not going to that six number site but would rather sit and read this, blueballing yourself in the process and finding some weird enjoyment at that or just reading this through to laugh because how this is made. Or if youre new to this media and turned your brain off just to relax, but even then there are actually good ones I would rather recommend

Also, there is a reason its popularity is 98 but the rating is atrocious. Its a dumpster fire, but even as a dumpster fire it doesnt function correctly and there are better (ignore the implication that this Rent-a-girlfriend dumpster fire is good) dumpster fires like Domestic Kanojo