Warning: The following contains spoilers for Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3, Episode 3, "Expert and Girlfriend," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
After an ambitious start to Kazuya’s crowdfunding project, the initial momentum seems to have died out, leaving Kazuya and Chizuru in yet another predicament. In a surprising turn of events, however, Rent-a-Girlfriend’s entire harem has joined hands to make this project a success. Mini Yaemori is at the forefront of the fervent efforts to revive this dying project, though the rest of Kazuya’s beguiling beauties are also keen on playing their part.
With a strategy now in place, dubbed ‘Operation 203,’ the entire harem is off to make Chizuru’s dream a reality. While the movie may serve as a distraction and keep Chizuru and Kazuya’s feelings at bay, it’s only a matter of time before the two express their sentiments for one another.
Kazuya’s Dying Project
Kazuya’s crowdfunding project was off to an incredible start with backers lining up to pledge for Chizuru’s movie project. However, Kazuya’s lack of experience in the crowdfunding department led to a few stumps along the way, leading to backers canceling their pledges and page views slowly dwindling. With the target being over a million Yen away, Kazuya is truly backed in a corner.
Despite his ardent efforts in developing an attractive homepage for the project, Kazuya failed to update any progress or add more enticing rewards for the backers. With page views close to zero, Kazuya has no other choice but to seek expert help. Knowing his profound feelings for Chizuru, backing out for Kazuya isn’t even an option, a fact that has been cemented by his ardent efforts in launching the project for Chizuru.
An Unexpected Help
The newest addition to Rent-a-Girlfriend’s lineup of beauties, Mini Yaemori is a mysterious character with many tricks up her sleeve. Fans have already been acquainted with her cosplay streaming work, though another development has added some more depth to her character. Turns out, Kazuya isn’t the only one in the crowdfunding business as Yaemori has previously dabbled in this field as well.
Since Yaemori’s project turned out to be a success, Kazuya has finally found an expert to guide him through the slumps. While nothing is certain for now, Chizuru’s dream of starring in a movie is one step closer to fruition. Still, the entire ordeal has a long way to go before anything becomes concrete, especially since producing a movie is an intricate process. With the help lining up for Kazuya, however, it’s only a matter of time before Chizuru’s dream becomes a reality.
Yaemori’s investment in the entire ordeal is also quite intriguing, especially since she gains nothing out of the crowdfunding project. Moreover, her lack of romantic feelings for Kazuya makes her an interesting character in a harem-themed anime, since viewers are bound to expect another cutie head-over-heels for the protagonist. Making Yaemori a supporting character instead of another depthless harem-babe serves as a breath of fresh air in this genre of stale narratives.
Operation 203
After a thorough analysis of the project’s analytics, Yaemori calls a strategic meeting between all four parties involved in the matter. Arguments and fights were bound to take over, especially with Ruka being involved in the matter. However, Yarmori’s tenacious voice was able to cut through the noise and delegate a strategic plan of action. She was successful in quelling Ruka’s petty arguments, along with satisfying Chizuru and Kazuya on the project’s next direction.
Since the entire strategic meeting took place in Kazuya’s apartment, Yaemori named the plan of action after his apartment number – Operation 203. The name of the operation may not have a profound meaning at face value, yet it holds considerable significance for the two main parties involved. The crowdfunding project was conceived in Kazuya’s apartment, and naming the strategic plan after the apartment’s number signifies where it all began.
Kazuya and Chizuru’s Current Feelings
Kazuya and Chizuru’s feelings for each other have mostly been lost to the entire movie-making ordeal. Still, one person is eager to see the two end up together – Mini Yaemori. Instead of gunning for Kazuya like the other girls, Yaemori is rooting for Chizuru to end up with him. Since Kazuya and Chizuru had already made it clear to each other that their relationship is nothing more than a rental one, any opportunity for them to confess their feelings had been thwarted.
With Yaemori bridging the gap, Kazuya and Yaemori are presented with another opportunity to express their true sentiments. From convincing Kazuya that Chizuru is actually in love with him to pestering Chizuru to acknowledge her true feelings, Yaemori is truly doing an act of service for the both of them. However, it’s going to take a lot more than third-party persuasion for the two to actually confess their feelings, making Rent-a-Girlfriend’s premise all the more exciting.