Rent-A-Girlfriend (2020 TV series)

Kazuya Kinoshita is dumped by his girlfriend, Mami Nanami, after one month of dating. Feeling dejected, he uses a mobile app to rent a girlfriend and meets Chizuru Mizuhara. After an initially rocky start where Kazuya calls out her "authentic" act, the two are forced into a fake relationship when Kazuya's grandmother is hospitalized and becomes smitten with Chizuru. They soon discover they are next-door neighbors and attend the same university.

An anime television series adaptation was announced in December 2019.^[2] The series was animated by TMS Entertainment and directed by Kazuomi Koga [ja], with Mitsutaka Hirota handling series composition, Kanna Hirayama designing the characters, and Hyadain composing the music.^[2] It aired from July 11 to September 26, 2020, on the Super Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS and their affiliates.^[3][4][c] The first season ran for 12 episodes.^[3]

Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia.^[5] On August 11, 2020, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub,^[6] which premiered on August 28.^[7] In Southeast Asia and South Asia, the series is licensed by Muse Communication and released on the streaming service iQIYI in Southeast Asia.^[8] Animax Asia later began airing the series.^[9]

In September 2020, shortly before the first season's finale was streamed internationally, it was announced that a second season had been greenlit for production.^[10] The main cast and staff reprised their roles, with Studio Comet cooperating in the production. The second season aired from July 2 to September 17, 2022.^[11][12][d]

On May 18, 2021, it was announced Sentai Filmworks picked up the home video rights.^[14]

After the final episode of the second season, a third season was announced, with Shinya Une replacing Kazuomi Koga as director.^[15][16] It aired from July 8 to September 30, 2023.^[e]

In July 2024, a fourth season was announced.^[18] The staff and cast from the previous seasons once again reprised their roles, with Kazuomi Koga returning as director. Originally scheduled to be released in two split cours,^[19][20] the fourth season ended up being released as a single cours, airing from July 5 to September 20, 2025, on the Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS, CBC Television as well as RKB, HBC, BS-TBS and AT-X.^[21][f][g]

A fifth season, which was originally intended to be the second cours of the previous season, premiered on April 11, 2026.^{[19][20][h][i]}

The musical score for the series is composed by Hyadain.^[2] For the first season, the Peggies performed the opening theme "Centimeter" (センチメートル, Senchimētoru).^[27] Halca performed the first ending theme "Kokuhaku Bungee Jump" (告白バンジージャンプ; "Confession Bungee Jump") starting from Episodes 2–6 and 8–11,^[28][j] while Halca also performed the second ending theme "First Drop" for Episode 7,^[29][k] and Sora Amamiya performed the third ending theme "Kimi wo Tousite" (君を通して; "Through You") for Episode 12.^[30]

For the second season, the opening theme is "Himitsu Koi-Gokoro" (ヒミツ恋ゴコロ; "Secret Love Heart") by CHiCO with HoneyWorks, while the ending theme is "Ienai" (言えない; "Can't Say") by MIMiNARI featuring asmi.^[31]

For the third season, the opening theme is "Renai Miri Film" (恋愛ミリフィルム; "Love Millimeter Film") by Halca.^[17][l] Amber's performed the first ending theme "End Roll" (エンドロール) from Episodes 25–31 and 34–36,^[32] and the second ending theme "End Roll (Ballad Version)" (エンドロール (Ballad Version)) from Episodes 32–33.^[m]

For the fourth season, the opening theme song is "Umitsuki" performed by ClariS, while the ending theme song is "Boku no Vega" (ぼくのベガ; "My Vega") performed by Regal Lily.^[33]

For the fifth season, the opening theme song is "Non Scenario Etude" (ノンシナリオ・エチュード) performed by Sora Amamiya, while the ending theme song is "204-gōshitsu" (204号室; "Room 204") performed by Nakigoto.^[34] For the ending of episode 52, an acoustic version of "Boku no Vega" was used.^[35]

The series received a mixed reception from various critics. Joe Ballard of Comic Book Resources (CBR) described the anime adaptation as a "hot mess" with sluggish pacing but also an "intriguing, action-packed rom-com and a semi-developing love story".^[36] Meanwhile, Ethan Wescoatt of CBR praised the story, which he called "mature" for a harem anime, in addition to the male and female leads, noting that Chizuru was an intriguing character due to hiding her true, multidimensional personality behind her perfect girlfriend façade and that Kazuya's struggles were relatable to the audience.^[1]

Alex Henderson of Anime Feminist described the series premiere as "comedy of errors with a horny streak" but noted that but it also hinted at deeper themes. They further noted that the dynamic between Kazuya and Chizuru was intriguingly balanced despite the slapstick violence. Henderson praised the anime for touching on the social implications of the rental girlfriend business, treating Chizuru with respect and highlighting her agency.^[37] Meanwhile, Dee of Anime Feminist, who reviewed the first three episodes of the anime, noted that the series initially showed promise as a refreshing and potentially progressive rom-com anime adding that Chizuru was a well-developed character and Kazuya having potential for growth. However, Dee criticized the reveal of Mami's manipulative and abusive behavior in the third episode, stating it "suck all the joy out of the series". Dee further stated that the episode reduced Kazuya to a stereotypical "boilerplate hapless harem protagonist".^[38]

Nicholas Dupree of Anime News Network described the first two seasons as being tedious, with an interesting conflict introduced only at the last minute, while the preceding episodes were filled with repetitive and uninteresting rom-com antics. He added that while expectations for season three were low, the series "surprisingly" delivered a compelling romantic dramedy that addressed the flaws of Kazuya and found a "solid" narrative focus. Dupree concluded that the third season's production quality was consistent with previous seasons, focusing on character appeal, especially for the female characters. He noted that despite flaws, the third season offered the best material in a while, addressing key issues and delivering a compelling story.^[39]