Kanojo, Okarishimasu 3rd Season

With her late grandfather's inspiring words in mind, Chizuru Mizuhara teams up with her friend Kazuya Kinoshita to launch a crowdfunding campaign for an amateur film. The two hope that with the success of the project, Chizuru can honor her grandparents' wishes before she loses her grandmother as well. After their wild encounters with three girls—Kazuya's clingy "trial" girlfriend, Ruka Sarashina; their nosy new next-door neighbor, Mini Yaemori; and Chizuru's shy work friend, Sumi Sakurasawa—they all collaborate together to reach the campaign goal and begin production of the film. As their ambitious endeavor progresses, Chizuru and Kazuya grow closer and begin to struggle with their mutual feelings.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ichinose, Chizuru Main

Amamiya, Sora Japanese

Kinoshita, Kazuya Main

Horie, Shun Japanese

Sakurasawa, Sumi ing

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Sarashina, Ruka ing

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Nanami, Mami ing

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Yaemori, Mini ing

Serizawa, Yuu Japanese

Kibe, Yoshiaki ing

Akasaka, Masayuki Japanese

Kinoshita, Nagomi ing

Nozawa, Yukari Japanese

Ichinose, Sayuri ing

Sadaoka, Sayuri Japanese

Kuribayashi, Shun ing

Kajiwara, Gakuto Japanese

Yamazaki, Hiroaki Producer

Matsuzaki, Yoshiyuki Producer

Tachibana, Kou Producer

Kakizaki, Taiki Producer

Reviews

Sep 29, 2023

Marinate1016

Recommended

I can’t believe what I’m about to say, but Kanokari season 3 is really good. Seriously, this season is actually an improvement in almost every single objective evaluation of the story. The writing is much more mature, Kazuya gets a LOT of development and acts like a normal human being for once, and there’s several genuinely emotional moments that made me cry. Is it worth sitting through 20+ episodes or two seasons to get to? Probably not, but I am glad I watched it. This is the best the series has ever been.

What really makes the season stand out compared to the first two is ... that it focuses on Chizuru and Kazuya primarily. Instead of the aimless, cringe style of storytelling that the first two seasons had, this is much more precise. Kazuya wants to help Chizuru advance her acting career and goes out of his way putting together a film project for her. For a guy who couldn’t do anything but jack off to thoughts of his ex and Chizuru, to see him actually be reliable, hard working and dare I say it, mature, it was a pleasant surprise. Chizuru, who I was not a fan of at all before, gets a ton of character development as well. Not only do we see her finally take steps towards achieving her goal to be an actress, but she’s also starting to be honest about her feelings towards Kazuya.

One of the biggest issues with this show before, cringe jokes aside, is that it really was going nowhere. We’d have some fanservice, a few gags and then the credits were rolling. It never once felt like any of the girls or Kazuya were actually evolving. To his credit, the author actually put some thought into things for once. Chizuru is slowly realizing that things between she and Kazuya are not just business related. To what extent they go beyond that, is still a question, but I really appreciated seeing her struggle with these things. After all the time they’ve spent together, it’s only natural that you’d contemplate things like this. It feels natural and very smooth in the context of the season. So if you’re a romance enthusiast, I believe you’ll be satisfied with what this season brings on that front.

I am also ittedly someone who usually hates main girls in anime. A lot of times they’re generic, cookie-cutter style characters who only win because they appear on the first volume of the manga. For the most part, I felt Chizuru was that type of girl until this season. The obstacles placed in front of her in this season and how she and Kazuya overcome them, changed my perspective totally. In reality, she’s not this perfect paradigm of a female love interest. She’s got her flaws, insecurities and weaknesses that are put front and center in this one. What’s cool is how Kazuya is able to compliment those strengths and weaknesses. They flow together so well in this season and got me second guessing my Mami supremacy agenda.

Now, you can’t talk about Kazuya and Chizuru’s growth this season without bringing up the person who makes it all happen. Yaemori has been a really popular character that I’ve seen all over Twitter for years now. I finally understand why. She’s truly an amazing character. Hilarious, silly and a damn good wingman. In a way, she’s the audience’s stand-in in the show. Pushing Kazuya to take the lead on the film project, making sure he and Chizuru get closer, she really was arguably the biggest reason this season is so good.

Like I said in the opening, there’s a few moments that legitimately made me tear up in this show. Take that for what you will. Obviously, everyone’s emotional tolerances are different, but Chizuru’s relationship with her grandparents being such a big focus of this season was beautiful and there’s some really heartfelt story beats there that I think most people will at least appreciate.

Kanokari S3 is the best the series has ever been, and regardless of what the series has been in the past, or where the manga goes after this, this season was good. Credit where it’s due. The story is much more well written, the characters are more layered and it’s just a fun watch. No regrets here.

Kanokari S3 gets 8 out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Sep 29, 2023

Mcsuper

Mixed Feelings

Well-written

I shed a tear to Rent-a-Girlfriend??? What has the world come to? Is this reality?

Rent-a-Girlfriend is at the butt end of a lot of jokes in the anime community, and hated by many, understandably so. You might ask, then why are so many of these losers watching this absolute joke of a show? There’s a simple answer. We eat unhealthy foods all the time, we have fast food, instant noodles, sugary junk, that we all know is bad for us, but we still eat it anyway. If anything, RAG does a nice job in keeping the fools coming back for more, by sprinkling in some ... of that MSG. Say that Chizuru is asked if she likes Kazuya, and you know she can’t say yes, because that wouldn’t drive the story along, so she says she doesn’t like him, but doesn’t dislike him. That last line is so frustrating, but it’s that MSG that keeps you coming back, because at this point, we’re all so deep into this rabbit hole that we can’t escape, just like many can’t escape the clutches of junk food. We all say we hate RAG, but how much do we actually hate it if we’re coming back for more? To you manga readers, I salute you, for getting through three hundred chapters of this dumpster fire. You all must be the soldiers of the god that is Reiji Miyajima.

If you’ve been paying attention to the animanga community, most people have said that this arc is the peak of the story, and compared to the previous two seasons, I would have to agree with that sentiment. For RAG standards, this is honestly really solid, but compared to the rest of anime, it’s fine, though there were some great moments this season that caught me a bit off guard. There is a level of development for Kazuya, the main character, although he is still the guy that he always was, but unlike the previous seasons, there seems to be a better sense of narrative direction, as Kazuya attempts to produce a movie for Chizuru and for her grandma to realize her wish to see her granddaughter on the big screen in a film. In the process, the lie of Kazuya and Chizuru’s relationship is finally tackled, something that dragged on for far too long.

A nice addition to the cast this season is Mini Yaemori, a bundle of fun energy, and she boasts one unique trait, the fact she isn’t in love in Kazuya, and was the er for Kazuya and Chizuru’s relationship. She brought in some nice humour, and was definitely one of the best parts of this season. Chizuru has long been a very boring character to me, as she’s just seen as the “perfect girl”, which to me, is just very uninteresting. However, as she’s the main female character, the story direction must revolve around her a bit, and some of the developments this season certainly elevated her character to somewhat greater heights. Sumi is as wholesome as ever, and Ruka is just… there, though she had some nice moments as well.

It’s junk food in the end, but at least this time, it was more palatable junk food, and as much as we love to rag on this anime, let’s be real, you’ll probably be back for that eventual Season 4. Let’s not lie to ourselves, yeah? See you then.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 5, 2024

Noot54

Not Recommended

Funny

I’ll preface this review by saying that I am a huge fan of Rent-A-Girlfriend. I have rewatched the first season three times. I have spent days worth of time listening to OPs, EDs and the OST of this show. The show resonated with me so profoundly that it is no exaggeration to say that it changed my life, in ways I cannot even begin to describe. Even for me, however, Rent-A-Girlfriend season three was not enjoyable.

This season centers more around Kazuya and Chizuru’s dynamic as director and actor instead of client and rental girlfriend. In this arc, Kazuya actually acts quite courageously for a change, ... especially as he helps Chizuru fulfill her dream of her grandma getting to watch her on the big screen. Season three takes itself somewhat more seriously as the two main characters work together to achieve a common goal. This is EXACTLY the problem. Audiences watch Rent-A-Girlfriend for it’s over-the-top drama, and it's absurd comedic antics. You’ll never find yourself on the edge of your seat, eagerly anticipating the next episode or anything of the sort. The entertainment value appears to have suddenly driven off a cliff. I wasn’t laughing at much of the “comedy” in each episode. When broken down, the show has just one recurring joke to offer which can be summed up as “hot girl with loser guy lmao”. The story is predictable and feels drawn out when compared to Kanokari’s signature fast, all-up-in-your-face pace.

One of the worst aspects of season three is Chizuru herself. She was once someone who could change herself on a whim to fit the situation, but now she comes across as bland and emotionless. It’s strange how they clearly tried to add additional depth to her character, yet she acts almost soulless this season. Mami is completely missing from the story, which is a shame because she is best girl from a storytelling perspective. Kazuya’s friends and family have also basically vanished, it seems their screen time has instead been taken over by the new girl, Yaemori. She is a quirky Gen Z cosplayer who s Kazuya’s relentless pursuit of Chizuru. With Yaemori’s assistance, there ends up being some “development” (I’m using that term VERY lightly here) between the two. She’s an interesting and unique character, for sure, but she definitely wasn’t worth the sacrifice.

The visuals are a further downgrade from an already underwhelming season two. Many scenes legitimately look as if they were put together in MS Paint. The animation (when there even is any) looks janky and rushed. My eyes felt strained after staring at the way too bright, god-awful illustrations, I would’ve dropped any other show for the abomination that was put on screen. Characters often don’t even look like they fit in with the background properly. It’s difficult to enjoy something which doesn’t feel like it had much effort put into it. Art this season does not do justice to the remarkable art of the manga. The art style in season one was perfect for the show and changing it was a poor choice. Budget cuts? Maybe.

The opening song was literal earrape every time it played. Sound design for the rest of the show isn’t quite as bad, although at times soundtracks sound either out of place or are much too abrupt in timing. Credit to the VA’s though, they did their job spectacularly well for the third season in a row.

If you were not very fond of the earlier seasons of Rent-A-Girlfriend, you probably won’t like this season either. If you’re planning to hate watch this, don’t bother, you’ll quickly find yourself bored. The only good thing about this is the fact that it’s the sequel to the sequel of the greatest masterpiece in anime history.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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