Rent-A-Girlfriend

[Madoka]

aww you guys spoil me, i am gone for a few days and have all this to read! Only issue is, i got lots to reply to and it's slowly creeping on 2am, so i will try to pince out the main bits (even though that will still be massive hehe.
(sorry if i reply to something and then a furthered develop reply... i am in too much of a hurry hehe)

Spoiler: Full on Rental prices included below

About how she's only spent this time with him because of the grandmothers? Is i

I wont quote the whole paragraph as it's chunky but whilst Chizuru really really isn't my type... at all (easily ranks last of the girls), i will (begrudgingly) agree to this, i don't care for a Chizuru episode but some POV would of really helped us understand more, sure Kazu is her crush but as you say, just how far does she herself see this, she knows it a little but some inside to how deep her feelings run, what she generally thinks of his behaviour, her old hag.. ahem, grand mothers health and situation, i do actually agree, as boring as she is, we know little about her other than she sells dates to go to acting class and... well i dunno, drink? no way that cash goes on classes alone... and living next to Kazuya would be enough to turn anyone to the good stuff.

If you ask me, the only logical reaction would be for them to have sex with each other.

i see i see, this logic makes perfect sense to me, i see can't fault it to be fair.

So...secretly following her ex-boyfriend to then ambush his female companion when he goes to the bathroom so that she can then wait around to subtly threaten him about it is better because it only took a couple of hours?

hmmm not really, i did state it doesn't make her right, but as i said, morally (despite her intention) is she wrong for seeing something wrong and learning more? yes, she is wrong in method, but as used in my example above, if your best friend's girl was spotted rather conspicuously close to say another guy and they seemed a little too close, would you walk on and ignore what you see or would you take some interest? The story implies they went bowling right after, so she essentially followed them down the road and shortly after confronted them.
As said, i am not justifying this and still agree it was certainly wrong to do... but even is she planned to use that information maliciously, she is still 'playing the good guy', if Chizuru was his real girl friend (as Mami believed) he is clearly cheating on her, threats or not, morally she is doing the right thing by spilling the beans.. granted she doesn't know the true story but hell, if i was Mami i would certainly be confused how this piece of trash who isn't even anything good to look at pulled a girl like chizuru and THEN proceeds to cheat on her with another hot girl, couldn't blame her for wanting to find the bottom of the mystery there.
As said, i don't think she is right and again don't agree with her actions but i do believe they are closer to being justified than hiding in bushes and follow couples into movies to... well err watch them? (he had no real reason than jealousy...)

Do most people have their full names associated with their social media accounts? Am I that out of the loop? I assumed everyone was still using handles and screen names. And that Facebook was a boomers-only platform, these days.

haha this made me laugh, reminds me of when i was 11 and the net was just at that point it was becoming common place in peoples homes. On to the topic, go google your name, it's very uncommon to find yourself quickly. so in theory, Mami hitting up Sumi's name wouldn't hit a real result so fast, she would likely be bumped forward because her agency though but that high? unlikely. Go search your colleagues name on facebook (who isn't a friend) and it will likely be in the first few related searches, just because the way FB reads your mutual friends, locations, where you work ect ect it can deduce Friend A is someone you know by probability, and friend F isn't your guy, obviously stating Mami really wouldn't get anywhere on google vs other media...
Though, as said, it is being petty there, i don't need a social media based anime thanks.

Actually...I'm rewatching this scene, and that dude is even more aggressive than I remembered. Who the hell wrote this?

Yup, regardless what she was wearing, he knew what he was doing, it wasn't to "check" what she was wearing (well, maybe in hopes to see under it).

Chizuru knows you're out with Sumi--so Mami has no power over you, dumbass.

This is the main point, he isn't doing anything wrong (kinda), granted he should defend himself if he still is attracted to Mami, cheating isn't the best way to win a girl back after all... though then again, Pretending your now happily dating a beauty isn't really either (it's usually the exact opposite funny enough).

He knows he should step in to get Sumi out of there, but he's afraid the three bigger dudes are gonna beat him up.

I actually hold a point of contention here. Myself in person (real life) am a rather slim built person, not a muscle bag or anything, pretty slim of average height, not built for a fight or whatever, but i would of jumped in if it was my girl. I know it's dumb but you are in the right and them the wrong, i would probably do it instinctively, realisticly i wouldn't expect these men to respond at all, you aren't stopping them with a stranger, your stopping them harassing your girl, and again, in a building with lots of witnesses, they would do nothing to challenge you, and even if they did and you did get hurt, they would suffer a lot more by the police (in punishments). there are limited thugs that stupid to get locked up for butting in between a guy and his girl.
Not saying things would be all perfect but i can bet these guys wouldn't cause a ruckus... like how they didn't when he stepped in, they said some things about her she is out he league and that was that. I didn't expect Kazuya to march in covered in amour and a sword at his side on his white horse to save mi'lady, but to sit around as the situation got worse - he is just trash.
Sure you could challenge she isn't his real girlfriend but then what kind of man does he expect to be if one day that was his girl, will he sit hiding again?

(No, literally, she has her own series, now.)

wait... this is a joke... right?
Cute as she is, i could imagine the dialogue
Character A - Hi, what's your name
Sumi - ........
Character A - Errr, Hello?
Sumi - ..........
Character A - Are you ignoring me?
Sumi - .........
Character A - Ignorant...
Sumi - ......

oft, sounds fun.

I agree that it is funny he wants a girlfriend when he technically has one. But, of course, he clearly doesn't consider her his girlfriend.

I said this before but he could get a lot further with Ruka too, not supporting the idea of him using her but its undeniable, someone in his place who is desperate for the closure would be all over someone like Ruka who is throwing herself at you.

Yuru Camp.

Seen it. Loved It. Can't wait for more!

Hell yeah. See you in the thread for s2 in January boys!

I was gonna remind everyone a S2 is coming but thankfully, @Nekus wasn't letting me down here, even gave us the right season (i would have had to check that one lol). Good to know i can expect the regulars in that thread too!

virgin-ically

Is this a word? it should be!

I am not sure how I could enjoy her company for the whole day.

I can't quote the whole thing but this! Sure she is cute but your paying a lot of money for someone to follow you and never respond? Unless your rich, what's the point? I am assuming people hiring rentals want a girl to hang with all day, to feel like it's their girlfriend, not a cute walking doll to look at. She struggles (and doesn't) hold clients hands either, it's minor but apparently a big part of other rentals charms. You really get nothing for hiring her just a cute object that follows you.
Unless you really wanna vent without a reply, it's pretty hard to imagine hiring her. Even if you hire just for company, you want someone to respond to you, heck, people who hire to vent want someone to say they are right or tell them it's not their fault or things will be okay, not someone who might nod if your lucky.
Sumi is cute and can be and i like her innocence but her and this job do not make sense...

least use it to make Kazuya go with Sumi to play..I don't know..golf? Haha! Speaking about golf - I have never seen it in anime. It would be an interesting change. And Kazuya could show her by guiding her, holding her hands, being close behind her..uhm..no..I am going back to anime clichés! Aaaa!

I actually woudl think this would be more fun than what we got, him trying to position the swing and stuff, hands by hips... more action than Kazuya could imagine right there!
Golf anime when?

Like, I don't mean to give the series more credit than it deserves,

It's okay... it doesn't deserve any to begin with hahahah (okay i jest, sorry, i been writing this reply for a good hour whilst trying to respond to people on discord, i needed a laugh... even if it wasn't funny).

 

[interregnum]

Spoiler: Re-Return

I have gone back to do research, and:

@Nekus
Ah! You're right--and, by extension, I mean @Madoka was right (well done!)--about them explaining Sumi's being a rent-a-girl. I just originally thought she was explaining that she couldn't respond with words and (per Kazuya's extrapolation) that she was working on being able to.

Now, whether I thought that because I didn't see or pay attention to Kazuya's actual question or because I simply misinterpreted the flow of that back-and-forth, I can't say for certain. But it's clearly there (assuming Kazuya's assumption is there for our sake and not just as representative of his own feelings) that she's doing it 'cus she's uber-shy.

Which...boy is that backwards. That she started out being fine with it and then just got embarrassed would make more sense: start thinking it'd be fine, get worse, then have Chizuru send her to Kazuya to get her confidence back up.

[makes note of point at which @Madoka response notice pops up, the clockwork son of a gun]

@Scalpelexis
Yeah, he doesn't give Ruka the spank bank treatment. I mean, I didn't fully re-watch all the episodes with Ruka in them, but I scrubbed through and we are not treated to one of those scenes, no.

I can only assume it's the nature of how she intersects his life that puts her in that category of not receiving the "but what if we banged?" treatment: first she's who he thinks is his friend's girlfriend (which he's surprisingly noble about (in terms of how he sees her)); then she's an aggressive suitor who's getting in the way of his pursuit of Chizuru; then she's (maybe-)clingy. If it's not just a fluke of writing, I'd say Ruka just hit all the wrong flags on her way to being with him. So she doesn't make the cut, despite being...well, I mean, Ruka.

He does risk his physical safety to save her, though, when she falls down the stairs. Which is roughly a Chizuru-level action, on his part. Sumi didn't get that reaction from him.

If we want to be extra-generous, though, we'd see the three non-Chizuru girls as aspects of his attraction to Chizuru, which means they'll never get his full attention the way Chizuru does.

it's slowly creeping on 2am

...I sometimes wonder if the rest of the world appreciates the sacrifices we make so strangers on the internet can hear our opinions about the minutia in anime series no one else is talking about.

Also, what time do you have to get up, in the morning? Are you looking at 4 hours of sleep before the alarm goes off, at this point, or can you sleep until, like, 9AM?

Spoiler: 'doka 'doka

if Chizuru was his real girl friend (as Mami believed) he is clearly cheating on her

I dunno. I think "jealous ex-girlfriend who follows and confronts ex-boyfriend for maybe-cheating ('cus, remember, she has no idea if he's still with his new girlfriend and, honestly, only just saw that he was walking with a pretty girl who wasn't the girl she last saw him dating and followed him because, what, he can't have female friends?) but who really just wants an excuse to ruin whatever relationship he's in that isn't with her" hits at least as low on the scale as Kazuya panic-following his not-girlfriend for an afternoon because he's desperate and pathetic and afraid she's legitimately off the table as a romantic option, no matter how long each instance turns out to be.

But that's me.

On to the topic, go google your name, it's very uncommon to find yourself quickly

[finds self immediately; finds old coworkers immediately; finds college girlfriend's old boyfriend immediately]

[wonders if he is secretly very famous]

granted he should defend himself if he still is attracted to Mami,

His main goal is to keep Mami from running off an making trouble by telling people he was cheating on Chizuru. If his secondary goal is keep Mami as a romantic option--and I don't think that's the case (regardless of what he says to himself in his despair in the previous episode)--the goal is kind of the same: make it clear that he's not cheating...but either make it clear that this isn't a date or that he and Chizuru aren't really dating anymore (and this IS a date, but he and Sumi are keeping it casual, "Right Sumi???" and then she blushes and looks at the floor).

Regardless, the correct answer was not to bumble about like a twit.

He's his own worst enemy, really.

I actually hold a point of contention here.

I think his "I'd never be able to look Mizuhara in the eye" line is less about Chizuru than about his perception of himself ("what kind of man can I claim to be") being worthy of Chizuru.

But, okay, thought experiment:

Honestly, I'd wander over and say something, as well, if that was my girl/"girl." And I'd assume the guys wouldn't do anything crazy...while also fearing at every passing second that one of them would stab me to death.

So.

Am I trash? Am I a scumbag? If I do it because I think the girl will break up with me if I don't intervene, am I a righteous hero? Am I more of a man than I would be if I saw the problem, got scared, and then took a moment to psych myself up before stepping in? If my instincts tell me that the guys are dangerous and that I should get help from someone in authority instead of going over on my own, am I a jerk or a good guy? If I do the right thing because it's the right thing, but my thought process to getting there isn't forthright and righteous, am I no longer a good person, in that moment of doing the right thing? If I want to run away but then think about how angry my mother would be for failing to live up to how she raised me and decide to intervene, am I to be looked down upon?

Also: you guys have awfully high confidence in the cops finding and arresting and prosecuting these guys.

Also also: I just think it's interesting that Kazuya reacting like a coward (to no one's surprise) and then overcoming his cowardice warrants the same reaction that he'd get if he didn't step in at all.

 

[Nekus]

On to the topic, go google your name, it's very uncommon to find yourself quickly.

**Goes on google to search himself**
I'm the first and fourth result. Stupid rare name...

Cute as she is, i could imagine the dialogue

Just make it a yuri, problem solved! Sumi seems to be able to speak to girls pretty well.

Chizuru-level action

I just want to say that I love all the expressions we all came up with while discussing this show, they make me laugh every time!

finds self immediately

So I'm not alone in that!

Spoiler: BOWLING ALLEY SCENE AND MORALITY

thought experiment

Ok so with this we go into the debate about what is more important on a moral level, actions or intentions. I have two problems with that scene.
1) The setting and ACTIONS:
Now, In another setting I would have no problem with all the doubts that a normal person might have that you listed. If they were in a street alley or even just somewhere with few people, I would agree 100% with you. Hell I might even say that instead of stepping him Kazuya should have straight up called the cops.
But we are in a bowling alley.
A business.
Filled with people.
There has to be staff around.
There are security cameras.
I don't know where you live but while I might be scared of getting stabbed in the streets at night, there really is no chance of that happening in a place like that. What are they gonna do? Any action that they take other that leaving is gonna make the staff act or make them directly call the cops.
So his action of being scared to act before doing that is made unreasonable by the setting.

Also: you guys have awfully high confidence in the cops finding and arresting and prosecuting these guys.

To be fair, I went and re read the previous post and yeah, maybe they wouldn't be found and arrested for sure if they left after that so I'll give you that.
But if they stayed and caused trouble? Then I really think they would have been caught pretty fast.

Now let's ignore the problems with the setting in the next section:

2) Kazuya's thought process and INTENTIONS:
Considering Kazuya's Actions: hesitating and then going to stop the dudes, it's comprehensible. It makes sense that someone would think twice before doing something like that, 3 dudes like that would be scary.
But I think we have two different interpretations of the line "I can't look Mizuhara in the eye if I wimp out here".
If we take your generous interpretation:

I think his "I'd never be able to look Mizuhara in the eye" line is less about Chizuru than about his perception of himself ("what kind of man can I claim to be") being worthy of Chizuru.

Then that would have worked. I once again have no problem with YOUR show lol.
We would have reasonable actions, as explained above, with reasonable intentions of trying to be a good person and doing good things.
My interpretations is way more negative and more literal, to me that line was way more to the point and less abstract. I think Kazuya was really just thinking about Chizuru and didn't want to look bad in front of her.
In my interpretation his Actions would have been fine but his intentions and reasoning would have not been.
Having said that, there is no hard rule that the protagonist HAS to be a good person. I would be fine with a selfish mc! But then the narrative would have to acknowledge that and not portray him as the good guy. How could do that? It's pretty simple, maybe when Sumi shows her gratitude to him make him feel a little bit guilty in his thoughts by thinking something like "oh she's thanking me but I didn't really do it for her..."
But now I'm going off in a tangent.

Also also: I just think it's interesting that Kazuya reacting like a coward (to no one's surprise) and then overcoming his cowardice warrants the same reaction that he'd get if he didn't step in at all.

To summarize, I think Kazuya acted like a coward in a setting that didn't merit that, he then overcame that cowardice for morally wrong reasons and finally he got praised for his behaviour. And that's why I didn't like the scene.

I don't have any final decisive take on the Action/Intentions moral debate as of yet (Thought I really think that whoever judges moral actions only by Consequences has some kind of problem...) I'm still thinking about it, but for now I think the easiest way is to analyze both.

P.S. I find it really funny that I'm doing more in depth philosophical discussions here on an anime forum than I ever did elsewhere.

P.S.S. I also find it really funny that I thought more about this show I hate than some I really like thanks to this thread

 

[interregnum]

P.S. I find it really funny that I'm doing more in depth philosophical discussions here on an anime forum than I ever did elsewhere.

P.S.S. I also find it really funny that I thought more about this show I hate than some I really like thanks to this thread

It's the benefit of having someone as ludicrously committed to garbage as I am in the thread.

Wait, not "benefit."

Fault. I meant to say "fault."

Spoiler: Morality Play

"The ethical man knows it is wrong to cheat on his wife, whereas the moral man actually wouldn't."

So his action of being scared to act before doing that is made unreasonable by the setting.

Ah. So, really, it's the exaggerated cower-behind-a-pillar that's at issue. Hesitating is fine (as would be the dramatically extended inner monologue that seems to take forever but is actually really taking a moment or two), but acting as though he'd spotted a rival gang about to break into his hideout was a little too much. That's...yes, that's fair.

What's interesting is that the whole of the scene is exaggerated--needlessly--if you think about it, given that the cliché roving gang of "show you a good time" punks went so far as to lift Sumi's skirt/skort, which means the narrative "rules" of the bowling alley setting were already broken. So, Kazuya's over-the-top cowering is probably more justified in that context--it's just that the context precipitating his reaction is, itself, overdone.

After all...why did the punks act that way in a bowling alley? Why did no one else in the bowling alley react or intervene?

I don't know where you live but while I might be scared of getting stabbed in the streets at night, there really is no chance of that happening in a place like that. What are they gonna do?

Well, generally, I'd agree with you. In fact, my immediate instinct is that this is the baseline from which to assess a situation.

That said, recent history has shown me that wearing a neutral t-shirt when passing by a group of people with, um, affiliated t-shirts can get you beaten to a bloody pulp. In daylight. In front of news cameras.

I don't think I can say this would stop me from intervening on behalf of someone I know...but I might take a moment or two longer than I otherwise would to game it out, first. And I'd definitely take a minute to weigh how or even whether to intervene on behalf of a stranger.

Thought I really think that whoever judges moral actions only by Consequences has some kind of problem...

There's a lot to unpack with that line, but I think, specific to here, I would point out that we have the unusual fiction-benefit of seeing Kazuya's thought process in realtime: Sumi's in trouble; if I go over, it might come to blows, which is bad; maybe they'll go away on their own; no, I have to act, or I would never be able to look Chizuru in the eye.

The result is he intercedes, the punks don't do anything, and Sumi thanks him.

ACTIONS-BASED MORALITY
The right thing to do is to intervene. Kazuya knows the right thing to do is to intervene. He intervenes.

In this case, he will get the same result if he goes over immediately for purely righteous reasons, deliberates until he finds suitable justification (grudging or otherwise) for intervening, or if he'd gone over there (regardless of timing) for specifically selfish reasons.

He is moral because he acts to ensure the right thing is done.

INTENTIONS-BASED MORALITY
The right thing to do is to intervene--but it must be purely for the right reason. Kazuya knows the right thing to do is to intervene. He intervenes...but he does it for (technically) "impure" reasons.

In this case, while he will get the result discussed above, because he is not spurred to action solely because he is witnessing an injustice, he is (technically) not moral. Because there are no extenuating circumstances or context when it comes to morals--morals are a constant.​

...so:

He does the right thing (moral)...because it's the right thing (moral)...but not solely because it's the right thing (immoral).

We only know he is acting with (technically) immoral intentions because we are privy to his thought process as it happens. (Meaning his actions would be the only in-universe metric by which to judge him.) But we can also see that his (technically) immoral intentions are not strictly selfish--in that, while he may not be thinking entirely of the dilemma immediately in front of him, he is not motivated purely by selfishness: yes, he wants to help Sumi because of Chizuru (whatever we decide that means), but he also wants to help Sumi because he knows he should help Sumi. He's just afraid to act immediately.

Also note that his action is not motivated by a reward but by the fear of a punishment: he's not hoping to brag to Chizuru, nor is he hoping Sumi will tell Chizuru how cool he was--he just hopes, in one sense or another, not to further diminish himself in relation to her.

In other words, he is less afraid of getting hurt than of failing his pursuit of Chizuru.

The question is, then: why does it matter that Chizuru is the bit of courage he needs to do what he knows is right, when his intention is to help Sumi regardless?

I just want to say that I love all the expressions we all came up with while discussing this show, they make me laugh every time!

It's fun, isn't it?

Man, I hope there's an equally fun show, next season.

 

[Nekus]

Spoiler: Confusion

I'm sorry but I think I missed something in the post about your final question (it might have something to do with the fact that it's 3:38 am lol)

The question is, then: why does it matter that Chizuru is the bit of courage he needs to do what he knows is right, when his intention is to help Sumi regardless?

Isn't the answer simplys this:

but not solely because it's the right thing (immoral).

?
If we know that his actions are at least in part immoral, is it not fair to criticize them?
Of course I'm not saying: "how dare he not be perfect!?!?" but this started simply by discussing how much we disliked him as a person rather than as a character, right?

Let's make an example:
A) Rich dude (A) 1 gives 10000$ to charity.
B) Rich dude's brother (B) also gives 10000$ after that. But that night when drunk says that he only did it to not look worse than his brother in front of his wife
Now, they both did a morally good action but with different intentions.
If I now criticize B, given the knowledge of his intentions I now possess, isn't that fair?

TL;DR I said I disliked Kazuya as a person because he had shitty reasonings. Where's the issue?

 

[Madoka]

...I sometimes wonder if the rest of the world appreciates the sacrifices we make so strangers on the internet can hear our opinions about the minutia in anime series no one else is talking about.

My sentiments exactly! We sit up all night costing our sleep, spend a hour here and there to let the world know our opinions and matters, the world should show us it appreciates our hard effort.

Also, what time do you have to get up, in the morning? Are you looking at 4 hours of sleep before the alarm goes off, at this point, or can you sleep until, like, 9AM?

Depends, on weekends it's rare to see me awake before 10am lol, bad habits and all - i always been a night bird.
When i have work, i am lucky and can get up for 8am (08:04am to be precise... them 4 minutes count!), thankfully i don't need to be at work until 09:30 so i got lucky here. However sometimes i start at 8am, which means i get up around 06:45... i try to be in bed by 2am on them days but yeah, 4 hours is not uncommon. And they are rare but i work some nights, in the office on my own (it's kind of creepy actually, big old victorian building at 2am isn't as fun as i thought), i just post all night then. But generally i work to 5 hours - 6 hours sleep (3am - 8am or 2am on a early night - 8 ^^).

I got off topic there...

Spoiler

but who really just wants an excuse to ruin whatever relationship he's in that isn't with her

wait... had to double check we wasn't talking about me... lol
I am a spiteful person and love some suffering (i am someone who enjoyed "Scums Wish" after all, i don't care what others say!).

[finds self immediately; finds old coworkers immediately; finds college girlfriend's old boyfriend immediately]

[wonders if he is secretly very famous]

Oh, damn, i am talking to a celeb? Elon, is that you?!

**Goes on google to search himself**
I'm the first and fourth result. Stupid rare name...

Wait... maybe i just have a really common name... i did have someone 2 years below me in high school with the exact same name...

But, okay, thought experiment:

1)

I could quote a lot here but @Nekus seems to have said it for me. Outside in a open space, heck even a open park with some people present i would grant the idea you set in motion, and i would not blame anyone for thinking twice. As said by Nekus, bowling, public place full of staff, cameras ect, and as he said, i doubt i will get stabbed in such a confined public place, too risky for the offender.
My post isn't about faith in police capturing them but honestly, they probably would, if there is 20-30 people around the area including staff, bowlers, public passing through, eating, drinking, Mami stalking ect, that's 30 people to offer witness statements, the likely cameras ect, the guys would (in reality) be pretty easy to find and prosecute unless they vanish underground, and these strike me as some local thugs, not some gang out for a kill, likely some guys who are a bit rough but wouldn't wanna over step their mark. Maybe i give the police credit? I dunno, i know my local cops are pretty quick and skilled so maybe i am projecting that on a global scale.

To summarize, I think Kazuya acted like a coward in a setting that didn't merit that, he then overcame that cowardice for morally wrong reasons and finally he got praised for his behaviour. And that's why I didn't like the scene.

...
yeah, what @Nekus said (this guy is like my minds double it seems lol).

P.S. I find it really funny that I'm doing more in depth philosophical discussions here on an anime forum than I ever did elsewhere.

P.S.S. I also find it really funny that I thought more about this show I hate than some I really like thanks to this thread

haha, yeah i do the same, more effort into anime discussions than i ever do elsewhere, and weirdly, it's usually the shows we don't like, though not limited to. I think that is more though not that we don't like them but we argue what is wrong (and could/should be fixed or better).

Spoiler

What's interesting is that the whole of the scene is exaggerated--needlessly--if you think about it, given that the cliché roving gang of "show you a good time" punks went so far as to lift Sumi's skirt/skort, which means the narrative "rules" of the bowling alley setting were already broken. So, Kazuya's over-the-top cowering is probably more justified in that context--it's just that the context precipitating his reaction is, itself, overdone.

After all...why did the punks act that way in a bowling alley? Why did no one else in the bowling alley react or intervene?

This is one of my issues with the scene, not just the show, it isn't the first and wont be the last to do these scenes, the "show you a good time" guys will always be used, it's kind of crude anyways as a cliche to make a MC look good or become a hero or to just show bad guys who but it really is out of place, the idea these guys are in a bowling alley is one thing, whilst they could just be bowling,it seems like they had other plans, so why are they there and as you say, why would no one step in. I said in my original post about how stupid the skirt lift felt so yeah, i still stand by that narrative.
(Seriously, on punks like this, why "come with us for a good time" - like when would that ever work, ever? Even a girl who is out looking for a one nighter or something, likely would reject this offer, 3 thugs ((they are always in 3's??)) who could be who knows who are what, but yeah, sure, nothing like a good time as they say, but they always go for A rank beauty's... like yes, sure most girls will say no but you take the cake by going for the top level girls at that, man these guys are dumb... as a cliche the whole thing is dumb in any and every series!).

Man, I hope there's an equally fun show, next season.

For sure! Whilst i got some big hits on my list (Golden Kamuy, Higurashi, Gochuumon wa useagi desu ka ect)- none quite strike me as big discussions, I hope i am wrong and there is some fun shows coming! (though i wont be around for the start of the season, so there is that i guess lol).

The stuff about Kazu being morally a bad person or whatever... too much for me to get into tonight. 3:19am, already haha. I thought i would be asleep by 2:45 but i got caught typing again! Better lucky next time!

 

[interregnum]

Spoiler: One more time--but I should be sleeping, so...who knows.

If we know that his actions are at least in part immoral, is it not fair to criticize them?

Oh, it's fair to criticize, regardless.

My point has always been that the criticism levied against him originally ("scumbag") was, to me, too harsh, because his lack of absolute purity of effort did not rise to the level of total or despicable self-interest, which is how I would see fit to then call him (or anyone) "trash."

His initial instinct is cowardly--because he knows he could and, by social contract and social expectation, should act, but doesn't. He is pathetic, as a core character trait, so this is not unexpected. It's also not a good look.

But then he does act. This is a better look.

But he acts not strictly from a sense of justice. Partly he does (elsewise he would not feel guilt at his inaction), but not wholly. If he fails the purity test, then he is not a hero. And we should not treat him as such. Because we know his actions were not forthright.

But he still does the good thing. And we know his actions were not malicious and not selfish. Self-centered, maybe, but not selfish.

To wit:

they both did a morally good action but with different intentions.

Does the charity or those who are helped by it benefit more from the money donated with purity of spirit than from the money donated without that purity?

Sure, the man with purer intentions seems more "moral" than the one with an ulterior motive. But the latter man still did an objectively good thing. He didn't have to. And he didn't hurt or leverage the charity in so doing. No one was put at a disadvantage by his actions.

I doubt Sumi would have turned Kazuya's help away had she known the decision to stop being a coward was prompted by a thought of Chizuru--specifically, he remembers the faith/"faith" she shows in him as a "nice guy." He didn't want to give her a reason to doubt that.

How many times has a hero been spurred to act, when he thought all was hopeless, because he remembered someone believed in him? Do all of those people fail the purity test? Are they scumbags?

I'm not holding Kazuya up as a hero, here. He's not. In fact, he should be kicking himself for being such a wuss. (Hesitation, understandable. Cowardice, wussy.) I'm just saying he A) wanted to do the right thing and did it, in the end, and B) it doesn't make a difference that he had to think of Chizuru to actually do it.

He's an idiot and a coward and cannot think on his feet to save his life--literally, it seems. But I cannot justify accusing him of being a garbage dude for finding the strength to overcome his cowardice and do the right thing. Pathetically. Emphasizing how much of an idiot and a coward he was, in retrospect, because it took virtually no effort at all to thwart the three punks he was afraid of.

 

[Nekus]

My point has always been that the criticism levied against him originally ("scumbag") was, to me, too harsh, because his lack of absolute purity of effort did not rise to the level of total or despicable self-interest, which is how I would see fit to then call him (or anyone) "trash."

If we only take a look at this action then you are absolutely in the right! This was just a small bad thing on top of the other things that made me hate him. If another mc had the same scene I still wouldn't have liked it but I wouldn't call him trash just for that.

it doesn't make a difference

Here instead we just disagree on the basic concept, to me it does in fact make a difference with what intentions actions were made

 

[bucketwater]

The manga is so much better than the anime and that is a fact.

 

[Scalpelexis]

The manga is so much better than the anime and that is a fact.

I read it after the previous episode pretty far upfront, almost to the newest chapters..and comparing it to anime? It is similar which means not very good.

 

[MisterDapper]

Ep 12

Spoiler

Why did he have to take back his confession? They've spent an entire year together and still no confession. Probably won't be watching the second season (if there is one) since the author just likes to feed you crumbs.

 

[Etue]

Final Thoughts:

Honestly, I'd like to say that I liked the concept more than the anime. But realised that's not really true. The first few episode get a interesting situation going but the anime just had so many situations that were baffling. I don't expect the characters to always make the correct choice in every situation but this anime was really grasping for plotlines.

I think it honestly got worse as the series went on. This anime relies so much on characters making the worst most illogical decision for it to work that it sometimes just feels like you got brain-damaged by the stupidity of the plot. There's also a problem with character writing other than the two leads. Other than Mami who's an intentional enigma om her weird motivations there's the other characters barely get enough screentime to flesh them out enough to qualify as a character. Ruka's introduction episode flows well and then the next episode feels like an abrupt cut and what follows are another few abrupt cuts. Ruka as a character for a few episodes feels like a weird patch job in the way she's put in and the scenes don't flow well with the jumping around.

Sumi is basically a checkbox with ''move the plot forward: mark with x'' due to how after her introduction the series basically ends. Which maybe can't be helped but it just ruins the flow of things.

I think this series other than the quite badly thought out means to move the plot forward is mostly negatively effected by how choppy things got especially after Ruka's introduction but there was some choppiness before that I've seen non sequential 4koma how better scene to scene flow than this anime in it's later half.

Second season, that's fine, it's at least interesting...
Honestly, this episode's setup with how it interacted with Mami was the most organic plot development that this series had for a while. Sumi and Ruka's introductions still feel strangely forced. Sumi esepcially feels like the author decided in the spur of the moment to add another girl. I think it's probably an adaptation fault as if Sumi had more build-up scenes before meeting the male lead that her quest to better herself would have resonated more.

Fixing everything from Ruka's second episode onward in terms of pacing would require a bloody miracle worker though, seriously.



ps:
also: male lead is a piece of shit.

 

[Scalpelexis]

Episode 12 and final thoughts

Spoiler

Holy moly, what a drag. I hoped this episode would continue with at least that feeble attempt to create some tension from the previous episode, but nooooo. The Chizuru - Mami date was abnormaly boring and it did nothing. Mami may be hot, but I find her voice super-grating so my ear suffered some cramps. Mami tried to force Chizuru to drop the facade, but..did it resolve? Did it happen? We then only see Mami going away with promising to keep the secret. Maybe something happened off the screen, but that would be quite lame. Lame was also Mami dodging the "feelings for Kazuya" question completely and turning it around, meanwhile Chizuru drops to lower IQ level by not firing back.

And then we have the main trainwreck of a trash, Kazuya. Not only he is the worst stalker I have seen (for God's sake, do you understand the term "privacy"? Why do you spy on the Karaoke and then so embarassingly on that bridge?!), he is preocupied and worried about the most useless of worries, he dodges, lies and retracts statements he said before and then he..

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Haha, what? You pathological lying lowly bug, you just took back your confession you told to Chizuru! Not only, Ruka is melting near you and even Sumi would snapdate you, meanwhile I don't think convincing Mami for a ride in bed would take too much effort too? What got my jaw dropped was also him telling Ruka to make the dating official? Wha..wha..where did that come from suddenly? Half of the episode I was pointing my middle finger at him. I have enough..enough of him. Another hated character to my collection.

Also, we get no Sumi but in the after credits we get..uh..uhm? #KilltheGrandma Skyping with Kido..? Why? What did I miss?

I hated the stupid dramatic music used in this episode.


Conclusion

Sorry interregnum, but this show straight up s**ked. I know you accept these kind of shows and waifus included, but these characters have no spine, no charm, no inteligence, barely any depth. The story didn't set anything: Ruka was thrown into a wholesome mess, appearing here and there, looking cute, but rather too clingy and attached to Kazuya. And if she wasn't, then she was sumbissively tolerating Kazuya's adventures with other girls. The role of Sumi baffles me - I don't understand why the director, if the 2nd season was on mind, didn't cut her out, rearrange the story a bit and leave her for the 2nd season. She brought nothing, she meant nothing and only broke any attempt of the story to have some kind of a steadier focus. Mami was simply annoying except when she really played the innocent role at the start. Chizuru went from best girl to level Kazuya. In the latter half her inteligence and charm seemed to vanish, she started to shamelessly lie and prolong the whole fake relationship using Kazuya's words and excuses. She was losing more and more confidence every episode, started to be boring and turned into that fake rental girlfriend rather than a wholesome sympathetic girl she was before.

All the 12 episodes was a constant beating around the bush filled with clichéd misunderstandings or missions impossible: Confession. Only Mami-chan was a little bit of a fresh breeze, since I don't think we have that often a calculating swindler like her in similar shows. And where are we after 12 episodes? Nowhere! Classic.

So, no. No. No. I am not going to continue with S2. It is time to stop. Thanks for the company, guys! Your comments made this show bearable.

1.5/5. Out of my sight.

 

[ACrankyOldMan]

Spoiler: Full series...

The way I imagined this script was written was that the author came up with a bunch of roles and gave the actor & actresses the opportunity to write their own backstory in the middle of a hot summer. Instead of doing the research that was required, they all went to the beach together... except for one person who took the whole summer to write a pretty neat and serious backstory. Since nobody, but Mizuhara, had a backstory they were all forced to be turned into comedic relief characters and they're not all that great at that role either.

I like the personalities of the characters though, the animations are pretty dope but besides Mizuhara (& Mami questioning Mizuhara's intentions) there really isn't too much to this show. The main character just isn't interesting at all, Ruka just feels like a Chika from Love is War (Just... make it work), Mami feels like a character that is still writing her backstory which is why we haven't seen her much and Sumi...

2.5/5

I'll be watching season 2 for Mizuhara... Hopefully, Mami has finished her backstory by then.

 

[Madoka]

ps:
also: male lead is a piece of shit.

you should of dropped by here more often, you would of fit in well.

Episode 12 Opinion

Spoiler

I will split this up into characters and then the 2nd half/ending:
Kazuya (urgh) and Ruka:
So this one was a weird mash of okay and bad mixed into one. Honestly i kind of liked the first part, Kazuya let his balls drop and he actually was ready to make his move on Ruka and take things for real, he agreed to a date, bloody hell stop everything, Kazuya made progress towards a girl after spending the series complaining he wanted a GF when he had one ready and willing? wow. I mean, he is still trashy in that it took his not so serious prostitute to say she is thinking of quitting and they need to move on for him to act but hey, progress, right?
So he literally tells Ruka he wants to make their dating official, finally! It only took 50 dates ignored from him, 345 missed calls, 21 ignored texts and a vile attitude to her everytime he met her but some how she still wants to be with him, no wait, no! NO
STALKING TIME!!!
So it's kind of a meme by now, this guy is just cut out for this shit. He catches the two on their "date" and of course enters stalker mode. He weirdly enough should of known they was there by working there but whatever, guess he and Ruka was too busy in their private room (what a nice place to work!), but Kazuya is our next level stalker guy so he has to open the door and listen in... because, that is what we all do. Weirdly he didn't get spotted and sorta put 1 and 1 together, he figured our Mami had rented Mizu... well, he assumed it... then questioned it?
Anyway, i wont get into that because Kazuya rule 101 is, that's right, if you wanna know more, STALKER MODE - ON!
Dude forces himself to throwup to get out of work, what a creep. He dashes after them and listens pathetically to the girls chat, i will cover this shortly though.

Ruka (bonus) - why did you ask him if you have a BF? like i get what she is going for but that's pretty low, i mean, even if you was really dating (like, pretend it's normal and not Kazuya), why would you ask the guy seeking confirmation? It's plain creepy. And if you was just discussing/about to discuss your relationship, why put strain on that by acting so dumb?

Mami/Mizu:
Mami went full attack, i do like she wasn't bitchy about anything really, she insisted mizu sing which felt dark in a fun way but she never broke character, she held her poker face and even played the rules, paid for her date and everything, i was sad to see Mizu give up from the start, she felt so weak and useless. I know it wouldn't be easy but just smack on a smile and pretend Mami is a client, sing, have fun and let her see what Kazuya see's in you (whatever that is supposed to be, i personally think your dull).
The bridge was pretty weird, a mix mash of drama and not, i love how Mami's eyes drained, i totally wanted her to go Yandere and throw Chizuru of the bridge, what a ending that would of been!
Bonus to mami that she told Mizu to but-out their private business, whilst this was (for the show) 2 steps backwards, she not only played Mizuhara's game against her (not spilling the beans on Kazuya's dates) but she did what a smart person would do, kept it private.

Sumi - i shall ask again, why are you here? You for what's worth counting didn't appear in this episode, so you had a episode? really... really?

Part 2/ Second half of the episode and the ending:

So Kazuya somehow takes off from the bridge without seeing seen, weird, he is there in tears slumped over with his legs sticking out, surely Mizuhara saw him on her way down, right? Even if he moved quick, she would likely see in as he left the bridge but no worries, dude got free.
Thus Ruka died... or something. I dunno, we just don't see her anymore (until the end credits...) so i guess we just pretend that scene at work didn't happen?

Back to this house, he tells her he wants her?! WOOT, is he finally gonna end this crap? Nah, he wants her as his rental? WHY! Just be honest, the fact she was interested and taking you serious tells you she was willing to hear you out (not as a rental but as a woman!) but spineless Kazuya withdraws a confession because... Kazuya.
Then complains why he is so useless and makes the life's tough argument by questioning himself? WHAT?! Screw you!

We got a snap of Chizuru, finally we see her prospective to see yes, she wanted him to confess to her for real, nice going Trash-kun Kazuya.

Credits Role;
Oh hi Sumi - there is your appearance to remind us you was a character for a episode and definitely wasn't a object to move the plot and not at all completely pointless or replaceable.

There's his friend... video chatting with the hag? errr what...

Mami being bored - dunno, if you want Kazuya, after that thing with Mizu, just tell him! You know he still likes you (from what Mizu said) and your always bored, stop complaining and go get him.

Oh , Ruka didn't die, huh, guess she just forgot him earlier, thank god she is the overly attached type, eh?

annnd a boring shot of Chizuru... who is boring so no shockers there.

Honestly, as said, it was a mix of bad and good, i wont lie, i actually liked the first bit, it felt like Mami and Chizuru together was some drama the show needed, the tension felt interest and i wont lie, i did actually find myself watching it proper (unlike SNAFU in which i got bored and started looking up voice actresses). The second half let it down, it built up hype and delivered... Kazuya, i think his name is enough to describe that feeling, when something is terrible and leaves a horrible taste.
Honestly though, truth to be given, i did enjoy this episode a lot more than any other in this show in a long time, so there is that.

Conclusion:
I found myself hating most episodes, Kazuya has wormed his way into one of my most hated MC's in a very long time which isn't a record to brag over, the series fell short almost everywhere with it's best character being cut from the show for half the series for who knows what reason. Honestly, it failed to impress and felt dull, the concept was new (sorta) and could of been a bit interesting, as someone how enjoy romances and doesn't care too much over love harems/triangles, this failed to meet even some of the most basic criteria by consistently removing any doubts it could go anywhere but to Chizuru. Then the ending, it was hardly a ending, nothing happened it just ended... what? WHY? Nothing was resolved at all!
Honestly, i am being kind when i say:
1.5/5
If Kazu didn't ruin the scene at the end and didn't destroy all progress he made (that one move of progress in other words), i might of squeezed a two if it ended like that, or if Mami went Yandere.

Bonus to the series though - it does beat SNAFU this season, i did enjoy this more than that dumpster fire.

Spoiler: Replies to the above

bunch of roles and gave the actor & actresses the opportunity to write their own backstory in the middle of a hot summer

i could see your whole example as being true, and it kind of made me laugh.

Mami may be hot, but I find her voice super-grating so my ear suffered some cramp

i actually like her voice, it's not that i love it but it feels different, in a good way.

Not only he is the worst stalker I have seen (for God's sake, do you understand the term "privacy"?

This guy needs to scrap his studies and become a Private Investigator, despite he is terrible at stalking, he almost never gets caught, and he seems to do it at least once a week, so might as well put his one skill to use, i hear it pays well, the money will do big in helping pay for his rentals.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Haha, what? You pathological lying lowly bug, you just took back your confession you told to Chizuru! Not only, Ruka is melting near you and even Sumi would snapdate you, meanwhile I don't think convincing Mami for a ride in bed

I left this out my post on purpose, i love this screen shot too much!
What a moron he is, i love despite he says "i set my life" he makes it out it's hard on him "to hard mode" - stop lying to people and ask Mizu out, Tell Ruka you wanna be serious, Tell Mami you want her on you, tell Sumi you dig the mute type... tell your ratty friend you wanna go gay, stop messing everyone around and then complaining like life is hard on you, you have so many people after your hideous face and you complain it's hard? Go die, just die Kazuya!
(PS - i love your insults to him, and the "pathological liar" is so fitting considering how he spoke of Ruka, Nice!).

Another hated character to my collection.

same. there are some bad MC's but this one - he brings new meaning to trash.

Also, we get no Sumi but in the after credits we get..uh..uhm?

we needed to be reminded she exists, i mean, remember all the episodes she was in? all the moments she shared and the development she had? We can't forget her and had to be reminded how.... ohhhh that's right, errr, yikes...

#KilltheGrandma Skyping with Kido..? Why? What did I miss?

I...errr...ummm... have no idea but i was equally as confused, when... what... why?

I know you accept these kind of shows and waifus included, but these characters have no spine, no charm, no inteligence, barely any depth.

Honestly, i generally like what many call bad shows, i can sit through harems and enjoy them, i can enjoy a cheesy cliche love show, what i can't enjoy is Kazuya and the rest of this terrible writing, bad use of characters and just lack of anything this show offered.
So yeah, it sucks lol.

Chizuru went from best girl to level Kazuya.

love that naming "level Kazuya"

In the latter half her inteligence and charm seemed to vanish, she started to shamelessly lie and prolong the whole fake relationship using Kazuya's words and excuses. She was losing more and more confidence every episode, started to be boring and turned into that fake rental girlfriend rather than a wholesome sympathetic girl she was before.

I honestly never liked her, she was dull and boring, but i do agree to this, by the end of the beach episode(s) she went from being strong and opinionated to even more boring and empty, she went from "we gotta end this lie" to "why not carry it on" and played into his hand. If she stepped up and admitted she had feelings for him at the end it would be a bit better, at least she would of felt more like she developed (even if it wasn't for the best) but nah, denial and stupid mode on as per.

Only Mami-chan was a little bit of a fresh breeze, since I don't think we have that often a calculating swindler like her in similar shows

I said this before but Mami episodes was usually the good ones, she is pretty dumb but she did have a cunning side, she could use her head at times and play the bad guy if it was needed, which is why she was for me, the favourite of them.

So, no. No. No. I am not going to continue with S2. It is time to stop.

Same. i have a bad habit of wanting to know how these shows end but i wont be joining S2, despite this last episode being on of the best (which isn't saying much), it defo wont have me returning for S2... and as said, i enjoy some pretty bad shows as-is.

Essay over, ohhh only 2am, early bed!!!

 

[interregnum]

Spoiler: 12 (out of 10)

Kidding.

I...have...so many thoughts about this episode, guys. They're a-jumble and all over the place. I'll do my best to be coherent.

Spoiler: 12

I love this show. And I loved this episode.

Phew. That was tough.

Spoiler: Okay, seriously, this time: 12

I frikkin' love this show. And this episode.

It needed an editor--at the authorial level. And it needed a director who could better shape the (somewhat better detailed) source material. But I still absolutely love it. Genuine 4 out of 5 on the ol' interregnum scale. (I mean, it ended on a "...baka," boys. How could I be anything but in love with it?)

And that's both for the season and for the episode. Because this episode may well have been a microcosm of the whole of the show. All the trashy romcom/harem I could want, paced as though time was a foreign concept to the production team.

Spoiler: SIDEBAR

A year? They've been...for a year?! How much money did Kazuya spend on her?! Holy crap--a year! That is INSANE. Even just from a storytelling perspective. How is it not just a couple of months? (I mean, I know it was just Christmas, a couple of episodes ago, and not it's clearly not the peak of winter, but...come on--a whole frikkin' year?!)

Which means he's been stringing Ruka along for, what, six months? That's not a trial period, Kazuya.

Spoiler

Why must anime always hurt Yui like this?!

"She wins in Nisek--"

F*** YOU NO SHE DIDN'T ONODERA WON I DON'T CARE WHAT THE MANGA SAYS.

So, let's hit all the beats:

SPECTACULAR use of Mami, who earned her psychopathic supervillain merit badge in f***ing spades. What an absolute all-star b****. I mean, she pulled some straight-up serial killer s*** on Chizuru, in the karaoke bar. Like she was a heartbeat away from demanding she put lotion on her skin. ("Sing. The. Song." Gave me chills.) And that confrontation on the overpass...I have no idea what her game is, and I wish I did. But talk about cold and selfish. It really does seem that she cares not a wit about Kazuya but, instead, about how devastating it must be to lose her, showing concern only that he not find happiness anywhere else. So...thank God she never found out about Ruka.

Now Ruka...sweet, beloved, magnificent Ruka, towards whom the benevolence of the universe should always shine...golly, she deserves better, huh? I mean, really. She's terrific, transfixing you with every moment she is on screen. She's evanescent, and Kazuya cannot ever make her happy--not least of all because he's just not into her. It was stupid and rash for him to decide that he should just give in and openly start fully dating her, and Mami's evil plot saved him from fully making that mistake, in the end, which is probably another point in her column, overall. If only we'd had more time with her and her story and the fallout from Kazuya's botched "confession" to her.

And then there was Chizuru. Who...well, speaking of Mami being the plot messiah who actually makes things happen, what a nice chance for Chizuru to actually give us a little insight into what she's really feeling. The whole time Mami was digging into her, you could tell her concern was about Kazuya, not herself. She hated that Mami was making him sound pathetic but couldn't lash out for fear that Mami might take her negative feelings for Chizuru and deflect them towards Kazuya, ruining his chances of getting back together with her...and she also couldn't lash out because she knew Mami was right, that she's been using the rental scheme as an excuse to keep seeing Kazuya, allowing him to stunt his post-breakup recovery just so they had a pretense for hanging out. Whether it was a crush she knew about or didn't know about or thought was just the pull of friendship, she clearly wasn't supposed to be as involved with him as she was--and she didn't do anything to stop it. I've already committed to the manga, so I suppose I'll find out eventually (unless Season 2 gets here first!), but, even with the closing moment in her apartment, I really wish there had been more of her side of their relationship. Because I need to know how she couldn't be aware that Kazuya was actually in love with her.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of the epilogue--or, really, what to make of that final shot of joyful Chizuru. Feels like an utterly ambiguous wrap-up beat, just in case this is the last episode this series gets. Could be her meeting Kazuya (rental or otherwise) or it could be her meeting another client. I just know that Mami is soulless, and apparently her love life in reflecting exactly that; Ruka is somehow still dating Kazuya (which...she really needs a lot more time, as a character); and Kazuya really wasn't lying when he said that his pal and his grandmother were friends, proving yet again that this show liked to tell you truthful information in the least convincing ways possible. (I still can't believe Chizuru's just doing this for acting. I really can't. It sounds so fake.)

But, yeah--what a great time. I totally get why people don't like it, and I've pointed out more than a few flaws in its...everything, along the way. But I've loved every second of it, good, bad, and ugly. It's been a blast to watch--and a blast to discuss.

Now, let's see what you've been saying...in the comments.

Spoiler: THE COMMENTS

Spoiler: Okay, just scalpelexis

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Haha, what? You pathological lying lowly bug, you just took back your confession you told to Chizuru! Not only, Ruka is melting near you and even Sumi would snapdate you, meanwhile I don't think convincing Mami for a ride in bed would take too much effort too?

Heh, yes, well. Kazuya makes plenty of trouble for himself, but it's not like the girls are helping him out. He's an idiot and a coward and depressed and inexperienced and confused and very, very unsure of himself. What he needs is a good friend and some time to reset. What he has is...not those things. (Chizuru is probably his best bet for both of those things, but she's too committed to being a rent-a-girl and he's too committed to crushing on her.)

I'm going to talk about Ruka in a moment, but I want to get the other stuff in there first:

1. Mami wants no part of him. No way in hell would she sleep with him--unless it was the only way she felt she could pry him away from Chizuru. And, even then, I feel like she'd probably blueball him after taking a selfish with his cock that she could send out in a "chekcmate, b****" text.
2. Sumi, as everyone has said, isn't a character, really. As @Nekus pointed out, it's the OP/ED tricking us into thinking she'd be more significant than she turned out to be (this season, at least). As a plot point to get Mami back in the game, I think she was fine, and that she's Chizuru's "friend" went a long way to making her introduction make organic sense. Which, um, is a long-winded way to say I doubt she'd actually get together with Kazuya.
3. ...and there's @Madoka, again.
4. No, y'know what, I'm keeping the name on this spoiler tag.
5. Kazuya is convinced that Chizuru doesn't like him--romantically. He thinks he's taking advantage of her pity.

Again, I'm not saying that anyone should like him...just that he doesn't make as little sense as everyone often seems to think he does.

What got my jaw dropped was also him telling Ruka to make the dating official? Wha..wha..where did that come from suddenly?

Oh, I saw that coming a mile away. It's kneejerk because Chizuru might be leaving him behind. He thinks, as the forums no doubt do, that it's silly that he isn't going for Ruka. So he's like, "I'll just follow the math instead of my emotions! That will probably work out!" which is EXACTLY what someone as broken as he is would do: when the heart hurts too much, he tries to replace it with rational thought. Which isn't going to yield the kinds of results he wants.

#KilltheGrandma Skyping with Kido..? Why? What did I miss?

Ha! Well, way back when, Kazuya mentions that to Chizuru, claiming they can't tell him they broke up because he talks to Kazuya's grandmother all the time. And, last week(?), the friend is texting the grandmother or asks Kazuya about something the grandmother told him; and he mentions being the webmaster for the old people dating site she uses.

No, seriously.

Sorry interregnum, but this show straight up s**ked.

Apology accepted.

We can't be friends anymore, but I forgive you.

I'm kidding. I don't forgive you.

...I'm kidding. It's fine! I think people are allowed to be wrong. (No, seriously, I really do get it. I'm just having some fun.)

I will need you to explain why you censored "sucked," though.

these characters have no spine, no charm, no inteligence, barely any depth.

I...wow. Okay.

she started to shamelessly lie and prolong the whole fake relationship using Kazuya's words and excuses. She was losing more and more confidence every episode

You think so? I thought she was just gradually losing the ability to keep the Kazuya portions of her life compartmentalized. She wanted to spend time with him, but--for any number of unspecified reasons--felt she needed to keep the ruse going for that to happen.

And where are we after 12 episodes? Nowhere! Classic.

I mean...it's a classic for a reason, right? (...r-right?)

I dunno, what can you say. That's serial storytelling based on a single premise, right? Not everything is able to adapt its premise while also sticking to its premise.

STALKER MODE - ON!

Oh, come on! If this one doesn't get a pass...

I mean, this is the one scenario I think it would make way less sense for him not to try and spy on them.

Kazuya let his balls drop and he actually was ready to make his move on Ruka and take things for real

I'm not sure if this is just stream-of-consciousness, but this was clearly not a move he should have made. As in, he was making it for obviously bad reasons. And I don't think any of those bad reasons were even "Well, I want a girlfriend...and I'd like to get laid..."

Rather than letting his balls drop, as you put it, I think this was him regressing further.

Something I did like about it, though, was that it further reinforced that the Ruka situation makes him more like Mami: "I'll go out with you because you asked, but...I don't really like you." Which makes it kinda fitting that his asking her out was cut off by literally seeing Mami.

why did you ask him if you have a BF?

It was pretty cheaty of her, no? Just her trying an underhanded trick to lure him to her. By guilting him into saying yes.

I mean, she couldn't just take off her socks at work, could she?

So Kazuya somehow takes off from the bridge without seeing seen, weird, he is there in tears slumped over with his legs sticking out, surely Mizuhara saw him on her way down, right? Even if he moved quick, she would likely see in as he left the bridge but no worries, dude got free.

Good point.

I guess she could have left by going down the other set of stairs. Or maybe she was standing there for a bit, stunned, and he was able to leave with the sound of traffic covering the noise of his escape?

Did Mami see him, though, or was that shot with his leg sticking out just for us? Like the "lean" feature in a first-person stealth game.

so i guess we just pretend that scene at work didn't happen?

It's one of the things I didn't like about that "not sure we're getting a second season, so...!" epilogue. They left the three girls on unfinished beats, in the main story, then sort of waved it away with the epilogue.

From what I can tell, either nothing changed, with Ruka, or he actually started dating her full time. I don't know how Ruka's next appearance in the story just lets the almost-confession slide, since the one thing he managed to say was that he wanted them to be a real couple.

Honestly, though, a second season would have to ignore that epilogue entirely. So, really, I don't take it very seriously.

And, I mean, if I'm not taking it seriously...

There's his friend... video chatting with the hag? errr what...

Wait, am I really the only one who remembered this?

I just wanna know who the third dude at the table clinking beers was. We had Rat Friend and Mohawk Guy and...generic person man? Did we meet him?

annnd a boring shot of Chizuru... who is boring so no shockers there.

Bonus to the series though - it does beat SNAFU this season, i did enjoy this more than that dumpster fire.

...that's better.

 

[Crua9]

For EP 12, what did he drink? To me it looked like water, but I'm guessing it could be cleaning stuff

 

[CptMysticStirling]

Am not planning to watch this, but can someone highlight why the net blew up with this? Anything worthy to drop? Am fine with spoilers

 

[Scalpelexis]

Am not planning to watch this, but can someone highlight why the net blew up with this? Anything worthy to drop? Am fine with spoilers

Spoiler

Well, I don't even think anybody expected anything at all right from the start, even though the concept showed some promises.

Well, you have an absolutely incompetent, extra-horny, virgin, undecissive, pathologically lying male MC who has 4 girls around him:
1. Cheating and arrogant trickster who dumped him before the story.
2. You get about an episode long screening with a little, totally shy girl who barely utters a word.
3. A yanderish, overly attached but hot girl who is completely into the MC, but the MC because of that doesn't want her.
4. Right from the start storywise favorited girl who is the complete package and is the wishful girl of the MC. He pays her to fake their relationship in front of everyone. Obviously the story does everything to make them not confess, so it can extend the story as much as it can and thus making it clichéd and silly.

Between all the 12 eps the story didn't move a bit. I think you can put all the puzzle pieces in place now.

 

[Madoka]

@interregnum - i have read and will reply (likely tomorrow, i have work pretty late today, i might get chance but i wouldn't count on it) but i figured you would like to know, apparently Season 2 has been confirmed...

Sorry i wont be here lol
but i will reply tonight/tomorrow, i have fun with long replies :3