Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 5 Episode 1 Review: A Character Arc That Actually Delivers

Rent-a-Girlfriend is finally back with another season, and more misery for Kazuya. However, the highlight of first episode was someone else.

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SUMMARY

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Rent-a-Girlfriend is back with another season, and things are not looking good for Kazuya. In the last season, during a holiday trip, Mami started forcing Chizuru to reveal the truth and return the ring to Kazuya’s grandmother, while Kazuya was trying his best to finally confess to Chizuru.

The main conflict is simple: Mami wants to ruin everything, while Kazuya is desperately trying to turn the lie into truth. The first episode of Season 5 lacked the animation quality, but the art is as amazing as always. Furthermore, we finally got a key background arc. Let’s dive in.

Mami’s Background With Her Father

Credit: TMS Entertainment Credit: TMS Entertainment Credit: TMS Entertainment Credit: TMS Entertainment Credit: TMS Entertainment Credit: TMS Entertainment

The episode began with the much-needed background information on Mami. So far, over the last four seasons, we have all been wondering, “Why is Mami so cruel?” The thing about Mami was that she had no benefit from doing everything she was, however, she was still going out of her way to ruin the relationships.

Turns out, it is a result of a twisted personality that she developed due to a not-so-normal childhood. When Mami was just 4 years old, her toys were thrown in the trash, which doesn’t sound like a big thing – but it is a big thing for a 4-year-old. Furthermore, her marriage was already decided to someone she barely knew.

The primary factor for her weird childhood was her overly traditional father. Her father even had made some unknown deals with Mami’s teacher and school principal. He would get into her room in her absence and throw out everything that he felt was not needed for her “ideal daughter”.

The Day Mami Lost Her Innocence

When Mami finally got a hand-me-down phone, she managed to connect with a boy through the same game they were playing. Soon, they started dating. For her, everything was going perfectly, and she even rebelled properly against her father when she snuck out of her house in the middle of the night.

However, when her father found out, he made her boyfriend break up with her in the worst possible way: over text. That day, as Mami mentioned in her monologue, something inside her changed, and she lost her innocence. It is because of this experience, she explains, that she just can’t see two people happy together with the labels of love or romance.

This is the part that was truly needed in this anime. From this background, now we know why Mami is the way she is – though her past doesn’t justify anything that she is doing right now – but some fans may be able to empathize with her now.

Ruka And Shun Finally Expressed Themselves

Some time was given to Ruka and Shun (Kazuya’s friend, who once rented Ruka) in this episode as well. In an awkward turn of events, both of them ended up on the same trip with Kazuya’s family – and so far, they’d just been avoiding each other.

However, mustering his courage, Shun finally decided that he had to talk to Ruka about something, that something which Ruka assumed to be words full of anger. To Ruka’s surprise, what Shun had to offer was an apology instead. He apologized for the way he treated Ruka and mentioned how it was his own inability to get a real girlfriend that made him rent her. This lack of communication is what Kazuya lacks, which gets him into all these complicated situations.

The Continued Confrontation Between Mami and Chizuru

The episode ended with a continued confrontation between Mami and Chizuru. In this episode, Mami was practically dragging Chizuru to where Kazuya’s grandmother is. However, after seeing the ring, she was going to make Chizuru return to Kazuya’s family, but she started bad-mouthing them, calling the entire family stupid.

Chizuru did not take that well; she slapped Mami’s hand away. Chizuru had finally made her decision: she is not going to reveal the truth without first communicating with Kazuya, as, according to her, he deserves to know the most. The episode ended with a dark look on Mami’s face, showing that she is actually done with Chizuru.

Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 5 Episode 1: Final Verdict

This episode finally started moving the holiday arc forward at a good pace. Mami’s backstory was the much-needed addition, as she had been one of the primary characters in the anime for the last 4 seasons. This episode was not perfect, but it did whatever it was going to do perfectly.

While this episode didn’t give the protagonist, Kazuya, any time at all, it did tie up some loose ends, such as the tension between Ruka and Shun. Furthermore, Chizuru finally makes her decision rather than being manipulated by Mami, which makes this episode a standout highlight of the entire anime.

Anyways, what are your thoughts on this episode? Let us know in the comments.

Rent a Girlfriend Season 5 is streaming on Crunchyroll

Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 5 Episode 1 Review: A Character Arc That Actually Delivers

6AlrightPiyush GautamThis episode finally showed the backstory we all needed to see. It's not the best episode of this anime, but it did its job just fine. 🎮 Take a short break — play a quick game