The creator of the popular rom-com Rent-a-Girlfriend gave the series' main character aspects of his own personality.
As detailed on Anime Senpai, Reiji Miyajima explained during a recent interview how he shares many things in common with Rent-a-Girlfriend's main protagonist, Kazuya Kinoshita. When asked if any parts of Kazuya reflected his own personality, Miyajima stated that they both have trouble dealing with emotional pain. "Like Kazuya, there are things I cannot endure no matter the effort, like dealing with pain," Miyajima said. "I say what I want through Kazuya. As a result, readers tell me the story is funny and relatable, and that helps me emotionally."
Miyajima also broke down the main inspiration behind Rent-a-Girlfriend's story, which begins when Kazuya Kinoshita uses an online dating application to "rent" a girlfriend after his ex, Mami Nanami, dumps him. While the artist already knew about the existence of such services, he became more enthusiastic about using the setup for a rom-com after reading an article about how Chinese families put pressure on their sons to bring home girlfriends during the Chinese New Year. This often leads to young men using the apps in order to appease their parents. Miyajima found this to be rather endearing and drew inspiration from the scenario when creating Kazuya's character. "Their desire to reassure their parents feels genuine, but I am sure they also want to show off. Those mixed-up feelings are what make up Kazuya."
The Rent-a-Girlfriend Manga
In the manga, Kazuya's actions are also influenced by his family. Shortly after he meets Chizuru Mizuhara through the dating app, Kazuya's grandmother is hospitalized. When Chizuru and Kazuya go to the hospital to visit her, she believes them to be a genuine couple and expresses relief that her grandson has found someone to be with. Despite initially giving Chizuru a low rating on the app, Kazuya continues to date her to keep up appearances with his grandmother and other family members. According to Miyajima, he and Chizuru also share certain personality traits. "She is a hard worker, but definitely an unlucky girl. She doesn't give up in spite of that. I believe the world is cruel like that sometimes, and my stoicism is reflected in her.
The Rent-a-Girlfriend manga series launched in Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine in July 2017. TMS Entertainment's popular anime adaptation premiered in July 2020 and currently consists of two seasons. The studio renewed the series for a third season, which is slated to debut this July. As Season 2 covered the tragic details behind Chizuru's backstory, Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3 is expected to cover Chizuru's first self-made film project, which she aims to complete before her sick grandmother passes away.
Rent-a-Girlfriend is available to stream on Disney+ and Crunchyroll. The manga is available in English from Kodansha US.
Source: Anime Senpai