Highlights
- Kazuya's dedication to Chizuru's movie is evident as he becomes the producer and works tirelessly to ensure a smooth production.
- Despite their agreement to keep their relationship professional, Kazuya and Chizuru find themselves in awkward situations due to Yaemori's interference and their chemistry.
- Yaemori's scheming continues as she plans a surprise trip for Kazuya and Chizuru, further bringing them closer and testing their feelings for each other.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3, Episode 5, "Filming and Girlfriend," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
With the crowdfunding project reaching its goal at the last second, preparations for filming Chizuru's movie are in full swing. As the two navigate through their newfound actor-producer relationship, Kazuha finds himself falling for his ex-rental girlfriend over every glance he takes. In front of Chizuru, however, Kazuya is a headstrong director focused on making their movie-making endeavor a success.
Despite a mutual agreement on putting their rental relationship behind, the two keep on finding themselves in awkward situations. This can largely be attributed to Yaemori's efforts in forging a true relationship between Kazuya and Chizuru, yet the chemistry between the two seems to also be at play here. Despite Yaemori’s stringent schemes, the two are adamant on keeping their relationship professional, though only time will tell whether these efforts trickle down to something meaningful or they simply remain barren.
The Movie Making Begins
With Kazuya's crowdfunding campaign a success, the next step for Kazuya was to fulfill his promise to Chiuzuru. Staying true to his word, the production of the movie finally initiates, with Kazuya leading the helm as the producer of the movie. During the entire filming process, Kazuya's earnest devotion to Chizuru dreams shines through, evident from his laborious efforts in ensuring a smooth production for the film.
To focus solely on the project and keep his own feelings at bay, Kazuya avoided any unnecessary interaction with Chizuru during the entire filming process. While Chizuru clearly admires Kazuya's industrious efforts in putting together the entire thing, she can't help but notice his absence and avoidance. Unaware of what's brewing underneath, she believes that her actions may have put off Kazuya – a presumption that is far from the truth.
While the two remain lost in their own presumptuous thoughts, the movie magic continues as the crew members give it their all to make the movie a success. Days fly by as the shooting continues every day, with Kazuya ensuring a smooth process not just for Chizuru but all parties involved. However, with just one last scene remaining to be filmed, Kazuya and Chizuru are left on their own to finish what they started.
A Surprise Trip
The entire filming process for the movie was skimmed through within half an episode, with an implication that weeks had passed by within this time frame. Considering the movie project is just a side-premise, it makes sense for Rent-a-Girlfriend to keep its main focus on Kazuya and Chizuru’s volatile relationship. With shooting for the film almost done, the crew only has one more scene to film – a mesmerizing ending among the stars.
Since most of the crew was borrowed from the college’s Media Club, the students had to focus on their own film project, entrusting Kazuya with the responsibility of filming the final scene. The scene is supposed to be shot in Madarao, a scenic hill station within the Nagano prefecture, meaning Kazuya would have to travel alone with Chizuru for the final frame. With the deadline for the film coming up soon, Kazuya is forced to take up the final task and fulfill his role as the producer.
While Kazuya may have taken the helm as the producer of this movie, he still has a ways to go before he takes control of his own love life. Knowing full well what a solo trip with Chizuru would mean, Kazuya opted for a safer route, one which involved calling in the rest of his harem. With a trip involving Ruka and Yaemori, the awkwardness between him and Chizuru would have easily dissipated. However, Yaemori had goals of her own as she came up with a last-second scheme for her self-proclaimed master.
Yaemori’s Interventions
Mini Yaemori, the newest addition to Rent-a-Girlfriend’s character roster, has been the only driving force behind getting Kazuya and Chizuru together. Keeping her previous streak maintained, Yaemori sets her schemes in motion once more, albeit this time with a sneaky touch. Since she was in-charge of planning the trip and inviting Ruka, Kazuya remained entirely unaware of the plotting that took place behind his back.
Instead of planning the trip for all four, Yaemori purposely keeps Ruka out of the loop while canceling her own arrival with the excuse of catching the flu. Before boarding the train, Kazuya confirms if Chizuru still wants to travel with him, since she was aware of the perpetrator behind the miscommunication. To Kazuya’s surprise, Chizuru agrees to go to Madarao despite knowing full well what it could possibly lead to.
Chizuru’s willingness to go on a trip with Kazuya clearly indicates her emotions, as she truly reciprocates his sentiments of love. However, a confession landing from either side is still unlikely as both parties seem to be testing waters. Nevertheless, Yaemori’s constant persuading might have stemmed the right idea in Chizuru and Kazuya’s minds, making their eventual relationship slightly closer to reality.